6 realities about being reconciled to God
I. There Is a Correct Way to Approach God
A. There is a wrong way to approach God
Leviticus 10:1-2 - Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.
Leviticus 10:3 - Then Moses said to Aaron, “It is what the Lord spoke, saying, ‘By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, and before all the people I will be honored.’” So Aaron, therefore, kept silent.
B. There is a right way to approach God
Leviticus 16:1-2 - Now the Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they had approached the presence of the Lord and died. The Lord said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter at any time into the holy place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, or he will die; for I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat.”
II. There Must be Correct Preparation Made by the High Priest (a foreshadow of Christ)
A. God requires the right offering (vv.3,5-7)
Leviticus 16:3, 5-7 - Aaron shall enter the Holy Place with this: with a bull as a sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering. And he shall take from the congregation of the sons of Israel two male goats as a sin offering, and one ram as a burnt offering. Then Aaron shall offer the bull as the sin offering, which is for himself, so that he may make atonement for himself and for his household. He shall then take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting.
B. God requires the right clothes (v. 4)
Leviticus 16:4 - He shall put on the holy linen tunic, and the linen undergarments shall be next to his body, and he shall be wrapped about the waist with the linen sash and the linen turban wound around his forehead (these are holy garments). He shall bathe his body in water and put them on.
C. God requires the right sin-bearer (vv.8-10)
Leviticus 16:8-10 - Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat. Then Aaron shall offer the goat on which the lot for the Lord fell, and make it a sin offering. But the goat on which the lot for the scapegoat fell shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make atonement upon it, to send it into the wilderness as the scapegoat.
1 John 3:5 - You know that He appeared in order to take away sins…
Isaiah 53:5 - But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.
1 Corinthians 1:30 - By His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption.
2 Corinthians 5:21 - He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Philippians 3:8-9 - I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.
III. There Must be the Righteous, Sinless Standing of the High Priest Before God
A. The High Priest had to approach God through a sin offering (v.11)
Leviticus 16:11 - Then Aaron shall offer the bull of the sin offering which is for himself and make atonement for himself and for his household, and he shall slaughter the bull of the sin offering which is for himself.
B. The High Priest received God’s mercy through the shed blood of the sacrifice (v. 14)
IV. There Must be the Atoning Sacrifice—the Covering and Taking Away of Sin—for the People
A. The penalty for sin was death (vv.15-16)
Leviticus 16:15-16 - Then he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people, and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat. He shall make atonement for the holy place, because of the impurities of the sons of Israel and because of their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and thus he shall do for the tent of meeting which abides with them in the midst of their impurities.
B. Only the High Priest can make atonement for the penalty of sin (vv. 17-22)
Leviticus 16:17 - When he goes in to make atonement in the holy place, no one shall be in the tent of meeting until he comes out, that he may make atonement for himself and for his household and for all the assembly of Israel.
Numbers 12:4-8 - Suddenly the Lord said to Moses and Aaron and to Miriam, “You three come out to the tent of meeting.” So the three of them came out. Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the doorway of the tent, and He called Aaron and Miriam. When they had both come forward, He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, shall make Myself known to him in a vision. I shall speak with him in a dream. Not so, with My servant Moses, He is faithful in all My household; With him I speak mouth to mouth, even openly, and not in dark sayings, and he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant, against Moses?”
Isaiah 53:6 - All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.
V. There Must be an Acknowledgment that Cleansing and Sacrifice Are Required to be Reconciled to God
Leviticus 16:23-24 - Then Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting and take off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there. He shall bathe his body with water in a holy place and put on his clothes, and come forth and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people and make atonement for himself and for the people.
A. Recognize your need for cleansing from sin
B. By confessing your sins
VI. There Was a Permanent Observance of the Day of Atonement (vv. 29-34)
Ephesians 1:7 - In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.
Authors
