WHY IS A SACRIFICE REQUIRED – WHY DOES SOMETHING INNOCENT HAVE TO DIE FOR MY SIN? By David Maddox
A read through Leviticus is painful. Everywhere there is blood and sacrifices and calls to separate the holy from the common. Hebrews 9:22 declares – “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22). That concept is totally out of context with any of our experiences – and for many frankly alienates them from a God who would have at any time required the death of innocents for the guilty (even animals). Yet there must be a reason – and it must be important for God Himself to have taken on flesh to be the ultimate sacrifice that ended the need for other sacrifices. What could that be?
Some say that there are two God’s described in the Bible – one the God of anger revealed in the Old Testament and the other the God of love revealed in the New Testament. That is totally wrong. The revelation of the Old Testament is why the Jesus of the New Testament had to come – and the fact that He came is confirmation of God’s love for He suffered – He bled – He died and rose again in our place so that we don’t have to. It is really all brought together in John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” God gave that we might live and that gift was required because of what was revealed in the Old Testament.
The beginning point is Romans 3:23 – we all sin. That is not debatable. We all have told a lie or hurt another intentionally by words or deeds. But what people debate is the consequences of their sins which their seek to avoid by either blaming another – their circumstances – redefining sin as a “mistake” – or they say “I did not mean to”. Leviticus deals with every one of those excuses and shows that even when you sin unintentionally – or don’t even know you have sinned – a sacrifice is required because sin leads to eternal death. Scripture affirms this truth in Romans 6:23 – “the wages of sin is death.” God is holy and just and cannot allow any sin to be committed without consequences or He is neither holy nor just. God is also love and mercy so there must be a way of escape where the sinner has the possibility of life eternally or He is not a God of love. The answer was Jesus who sacrificed Himself that sin might be forgiven and life eternal be possible for everyone. Romans 6:23 goes on to say, “but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The key word however is “possible” remembering that a gift must be accepted or it is not received. Jesus’ sacrifice must be accepted as the price for your sin – and you must commit your life to following Him (Romans 10:9-10) or His death is not a substitute for your death – you will have refused the gift. If you chose to find an excuse for your sin or to ignore your sin or to redefine your sin then the just God is required – and will in great sadness – condemn you to the consequence of your sin – eternal death (the second death) and separation from Him.
The Old Testament sacrifices are a gift from God to show us the truth of the enormity of any sin and the fact that the only hope of forgiveness is in Jesus Christ’s sacrifice (John 14:6). That is the answer to the “why” question.
About David Maddox – After a legal career in both Texas and Arizona that spanned over 40 years as a civil litigator, God called David to leave his law practice and work full time as Discipleship Director for Time to Revive. That call is really the fruit of decades of prayer for revival and teaching God’s Word, writing discipleship materials and seeking to make disciples. David married Janet Whitehead in 1976 and they minister together from their Phoenix home. God has blessed them with four children and thus far seven grandchildren.
