Debt, Enmity and Crime (Romans 5:6-11)

"For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life" (Rom. 5:10).

To realize our need for the atoning work of Jesus Christ, we need to understand sin and its various dimensions, namely, that sin is a debt, that it is enmity against God, and that it is a crime.

God, as our Creator, has the right and authority to impose obligations on His creation, and this is just what He did to Adam and Eve. He issued a command that they were obligated to obey. They did not have the freedom to ignore this command, but they were, by the sheer fact that they were creatures made by God’s hand, obligated to obey that command. When they failed to keep that obligation, they incurred a debt, just as when we fail to keep an obligation, be it financial or otherwise, we incur debt. Adam and Eve, and with them the entire human race, became indebted to God. But, because we are now sinners and unable to keep the law of God, we are unable to pay back the debt. That is why we need Christ. He is our surety, the one who pays our debts in our place.

Not only is sin a debt, but it is enmity against God. We are by nature—by our sinful nature, that is—enemies of God. By transgressing His law, we have violated God, offending Him. Therefore, the necessary role that Christ plays in our redemption is one of mediator, reconciling man to God, healing the broken relationship created by sin. This is a point many in the church fail to realize, especially when they do evangelism. They tell unbelievers that God loves them and has a wonderful plan for their life, when in fact God hates workers of iniquity, is angry at sin, and is estranged from man because of sin. What is needed is reconciliation, and that can only be achieved through the Mediator Jesus Christ.

Sin is also a crime. It is more than a state of being; it is a legal matter, a transgression of the law of God. God is our governor or judge, and we have broken His law; we have committed a crime. A penalty must be paid for justice to be maintained. In redemption, that penalty is paid by Jesus Christ. He laid down His life as a substitute payment to God on man’s behalf. As we learned yesterday in our study of the vicarious atonement, the penalty for sin is death. Instead of man suffering the penalty for his crime, Jesus took his place and died on the cross in order to satisfy divine justice.

Why is the atonement necessary? Why do you fail to grasp the seriousness of your sin? Admit today that you are a wicked sinner in need of God’s grace. Thank Him for salvation in Christ and His atoning work on the cross.

A Vicarious Atonement (Leviticus 17:10-12)

“For it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul” (Lev. 17:11b).

To understand atonement in Scripture, we must understand its vicarious nature. When man sinned, he owed God reparation. However, the only way he could atone for his sin was to suffer eternally, which is the penalty of sin. If God had never chosen to show mercy, this would have been the inevitable destiny of all men. But God, in His love and compassion, appointed a vicar to take man’s place, that vicar being Jesus Christ, God’s only Son. As our vicar, Christ atoned for sin and obtained eternal life for the elect of God.

Personal atonement is made by the one who made the offense. But in the case of the Cross, the atonement is vicarious, actually being made by the offended party. If we had to atone for ourselves, there would be no mercy, no grace—only justice. Therefore, vicarious atonement, as Shedd explains it, “represents the highest form of mercy.” If we had to atone for ourselves, there would be no redemption, for only our eternal death would satisfy God’s justice. However, the vicarious atonement of Christ leads to reconciliation and eternal life. Because Jesus Christ stood in our place as our substitutionary atonement, we can have everlasting life; we can stand before God’s holiness without fear of punishment.

In the vicarious atonement, our guilt was imputed to Christ, and our punishment transferred to Him. We see Christ’s sacrifice foreshadowed in the Old Testament sacrifices which were clearly substitutionary. When an Israelite brought a sacrifice, he laid his hand on the head of the sacrifice and confessed his sin. We see with clarity that this symbolized the imputation of sin. We also see this in Leviticus 16:20–22 with the laying on of hands in the case of the scapegoat. These and many other sacrifices functioned as substitutions for followers of biblical Judaism. Leviticus 17:11 supports this: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.”

Just as the sacrifices typically bore the sins of the Israelites, so our sins were laid upon Christ once and for all. He bore our transgressions (Isa. 53:6, 12). This does not mean that our sinfulness was transferred to Him, but that the guilt of sin was imputed to Him in a judicial manner. He then took our punishment, and in so doing, set us free.

Have you ever had anyone take a punishment you deserved? Have you ever done such a thing for another person? What did it mean for you to watch another stand in your place? It should create much gratitude in your heart. How do you demonstrate gratitude for what Christ has done for you?

Need for Atonement (Romans 3:21-31)

"God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in His blood. He did this to demonstrate His justice …" (Rom. 3:25a).

For the past few studies, we have been examining the building of the tabernacle and the institution of the priesthood. These instructions given by God to Moses are packed full of symbolism, foreshadowing, and figures—all pointing forward to the person and work of Jesus Christ. Because this is so integral to the text in Exodus, we will spend the next eight studies examining the doctrine of the Atonement.

The first thing we will study about this topic is the need for an atonement. Atonement is the basis of reconciliation. In this case fallen man is reconciled to God through the work of Christ. Some people maintain that an atonement is absolutely not necessary—that man, by his own works, can approach a most holy God in his own righteousness. Some people simply believe that salvation comes by death—once you die, you go to heaven. Others hold out the hope that God’s standards are not so high, or their sin is not so bad, and therefore on the basis of God’s “good will,” they will have eternal life.

These people do not understand the necessity of the Atonement because they do not understand the holiness and perfection of God, and they do not understand how great an offense sin is against a holy God. This was the point emphasized in the laws of the Old Testament. Time and again, as we have studied Exodus, we have seen how God’s holiness is emphasized, how His inapproachability is characterized in His dealings with Israel, and how the sinfulness of the people is constantly brought to the fore as they see their need for mediation and intercession, for an atoning sacrifice.

We need the cross of Christ because we are sinners and God is holy. Justice demands that a penalty be paid for our transgressions, and God’s holiness (as well as the covenant He made with Adam, the head of our race) demands that we be righteous. This righteousness cannot come by our own works, but only by Jesus Christ who has made atonement for our sins by His sacrifice on the cross. God cannot simply overlook defiance, and His justice cannot clear the guilty. Paul teaches in Romans 3:25–26 that it was necessary that Christ die for the justification of sinners. For God’s justice to be maintained while sinners were reconciled, Christ had to die.

Read Exodus 34:7; Psalm 5:4–6; Nahum 1:2–3; and Romans 1:18. Is there any chance that God will overlook sin? What is it about God that makes atonement necessary? Can you stand before the holiness of God on your own, uncovered by the righteousness of Christ? Can any of your “sacrifices” atone for your sin?.

The Work of the Priests (Exodus 27:21)

“In the tabernacle of meeting, outside the veil which is before the Testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening until morning before the LORD” (Ex. 27:21a).

One dimension of redemption that is often difficult for people to grasp is the ongoing need for Christ to pray for His people. When He died on the cross, He said, “It is finished.” All that was needed to satisfy God’s justice and righteousness, and to reconcile God and man, was accomplished on the cross. Yet, the priestly work of Christ is ongoing. Some people might ask, “If His blood fully atoned for all our sins, why should He need to make intercession for us?”

This same difficulty is presented here in Exodus: a redeemed people was protected from judgment by the blood of the sacrifice, and a priesthood was established to intercede on their behalf. Why was the priesthood necessary in Israel, and why is the intercession of Christ necessary today? The answer is that the priesthood was established to maintain the people’s relationship with Jehovah, not to secure it. In the same way, Christ’s ongoing priestly work is to maintain our redemption, not to secure it. Just as we are today, the godly Israelites were a people struggling with the remnants of sin and temptation, and they often sinned against their God. A holy God dwelling in their midst could not tolerate such ungodliness, for only the holy shall see God. So, the same grace that brought them out of bondage so they could be free to worship Him also made provision for sustaining them spiritually.

The sinful nature remains in those who have been redeemed, and because of this, redeemed sinners often do what they do not want to do (Rom. 7:14–25). The priestly ministry of Christ is essential in dealing with this ongoing struggle. John says that if we say there is no sin in us, we lie. But when we do sin, we need not despair because we have an Advocate at the right hand of God, interceding for us (1 John 1:5–2:2). Notice that the passage in 1 John does not say, “We need not despair when we sin because we have been justified,” but it says that we do not fear because we have an Intercessor who speaks on our behalf, and that we may go to Him.

Part of the function of the Old Testament priesthood was maintaining the fellowship between God and man. The priests interceded because the people still sinned against God, despite the fact that they had been set free from sin through God’s grace.

Read 1 John 1:5–2:2. Why does the passage begin by saying that there is no darkness in God? How do you have fellowship with God? Verse 7 says we have been cleansed from sin, then verse 8 says we sin. How are these two verses reconciled (hint: justification/sanctification)? Go to Christ today and confess your sins. He is your Advocate.

The Continual Light (Exodus 27:20)

“And you shall command the children of Israel that they bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to cause the lamp to burn continually” (Ex. 27:20).

In Exodus 27:20 and 21, we have a connecting link between the subject in the preceding chapters (God coming out to His people and instructing them in the building of the tabernacle) and the subject of the following chapters (God’s people approaching Him, namely through the priesthood). God says, “And you shall command the children of Israel that they bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to cause the lamp to burn continually … Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening until morning before the LORD.” Two things are presented in these verses: the maintenance of the light and the ministry of the priesthood. Even though these points are part of chapter 27, they really prepare the reader for the points in chapters 28 and 29.

Before any instruction is given concerning the garments and consecration of the priests, provision is made for a continual light in the sanctuary. The light was a top priority, and was to shine before the Lord. The priestly ministry functioned to benefit the people, but first God had to be satisfied—His interests were of utmost concern. This was certainly the order of Genesis when God said, “Let there be light,” for there had to be light before a single creature could be made. The same is true in Exodus with the function of the priesthood. This “light” could prefigure Christ, who first had to meet all the demands of God’s holiness before He could minister as our High Priest (first on the cross and then in His intercession).

It was at the Cross that the light shone forth in its holy illumination and where God’s holiness stood in opposition to sin. It was through the ministry of Christ that light came into the world. Only through Christ, the Light of the world, can we approach the Father in holiness and purity. Only through His sacrifice and His uninterrupted intercession at the throne of God can we experience the awesome privilege of worshiping God.

Also signified in this passage is the work of the Spirit in the lives of His saints. The Holy Spirit is given by Christ to God’s people to enable them to serve in the kingdom of heaven and to exercise their gifts in the church. He is the pure oil from heaven that supplies our gifts and our graces, without which our light cannot shine before men.

Take some time to read through some of the verses listed here. Meditate on what it means for you to follow the light. Exodus 13:21; Leviticus 24:2; 2 Samuel 22:29; Ezra 9:8; Psalm 18:28; 19:8; 27:1; 36:9; 43:3; 119:130; Isaiah 8:20; 9:2; 42:6; 60:1; Acts 26:23; 2 Corinthians 4:6; 1 Thessalonians 5:5; 1 Peter 2:9; 1 John 2:8–9; and Revelation 21:23.