Let me show you what I mean – When Adam and Eve sinned, the Lord killed an animal or two and covered those sinners with its blood and skin. That animal’s death was a picture of the eventual sacrifice of the Lord Jesus for the sins of God’s elect. What if I told you that unless you wear blood-stained animal skins your sins would not be covered in the sight of God? There it is right in the early pages of the Word of God. But I would be lying to you, telling you that God taught something which He didn’t teach. Eventually God established the nation of Israel, giving them a priesthood with dozens of rites and ceremonies. Every aspect of Israel’s religion was designed to prepare those people, and whoever else in the world who was paying attention, for the Messiah – the Saviour – the Lord Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, as we look at the multitude of religious cults and sects in our world today, rather than seeing their followers bow before the Saviour, they are bowing before the illustrations. Like early Israel itself, they are bowing before a metallic calf, rather than before the Son of God. We see them taking various aspects of that early religion, spot-lighting them, and then demanding that without them no man shall see Heaven.
For example, how many religions declare that today’s Christians are actually Israelites? Israel was God’s chosen people, so if you aren’t some sort of Israelite, you are an enemy of God. At least that is what a great many people say. And the rite of circumcision has been replaced with infant sprinkling, carrying with it the promise that those sprinkled babies are now covered by the blanket of God’s true religion. There is the sacrifice of the Mass – which is nothing but a corrupt imitation of Old Testament sacrifices. Then even a great many Baptist churches claim to have an altar – whereas the only Biblical altar for today is the cross of Christ.
Another of many such heresies and Old Testament holdovers is the idea of priesthood. This is one of the most dangerous concepts in the world of religion – and one of the most common. It is dangerous, because it places the souls of sinners in the hands other sinners. It is the work of priests, even modern priests, to offer various kinds of sacrifices on behalf of their constituents, and in the process make those people dependent upon those priests. But in the Old Testament, God wanted to show the separation between Himself and sinful humanity. So He set aside one tribe of Israel to act as mediators. And to prove that they were sinners like all the others, there were special sacrifices made continually on their behalf. Once the priests were installed into his office, when any other man wanted to come to the Lord, it was necessary that he come through that priesthood. But the tribe of Levi and the children of Aaron, were merely human prophecies of Christ Jesus, the only true Priest and the only real Mediator between men and God. And today there is no need for any priest because Christ has fulfilled and replaced them all.
Now, here is where a lot of these modern heresies gather their strength – Just as the Old Testament gives us the first hints of Christ, acting as windows and illustrations, sometimes New Testament writers look back through the window and see the illustration once again. For example, Paul could be misunderstood in Romans 15:16 as teaching that he is a priest offering up some sort of new kind of Gentile sacrifice. “That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.” But Paul would never directly say that he was a “priest” – he was only speaking figuratively. There are two different Greek words which are translated “minister” and “ministering” in this verse. The first basically says that Paul is a servant or “minister” belonging to the Lord Jesus. But the second is used only once in the Bible, and it definitely speaks about doing the work of a “priest.” I am sure that hundreds of cultists have used this verse to tell their brainless followers that they are priests of God, just like Paul, and that the world is dependent upon them for eternal life. But that is not even close to what Paul is saying here. All that he is doing is reaching back into the Old Testament and pulling up something which illustrated his current ministry for Christ.
All those Old Testament offerings could be roughly divided into two varieties – sacrifices for sin, and sacrifices for other reasons, including thanksgiving. All of the sin offerings come together at the cross and in the person of the Lamb of God. There is only one remedy for our sins – the blood which Jesus shed at Calvary. Every true saint of God believes that the Son of God actually and specifically took his or her place, as the wrath of God was poured out upon Him – instead of them. That is the kind of faith we are commanded to have – that is what it is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. “I believe that Jesus Christ died for me – in my place – when He died on the cross.”
There is no reason, and no way, to say that Paul was the priest who offered this Sacrifice. The priest was the Lord Jesus, who willingly offered Himself. When He knocked the mob to the ground as they came to arrest Him, He proved that those people couldn’t have crucified Him unless He permitted it, He who walked on the water could have walked away from the cross and up to Heaven if He had wanted to. It was not Paul, nor Pilate, and not the wicked priests of Israel, who offered the sacrifice that our sins required – it was Christ Himself. So of whatever sacrifice Paul was speaking, it was not a sacrifice for sin. Since it wasn’t important enough to mention, we can only guess as to what was in Paul’s mind. And my guess is that he was referring to some sort of “Peace Offering.”
One of the things which made the Peace offering different from Sin, Trespass and Burnt offerings is that part of the sacrificial animal was taken home and made into a meal for the family. But keep in mind that whatever animal was used for the sacrifice, it was still for the Saviour and a picture of our Saviour. So the meal at home with the wife and kids was a sharing of Lord; it was a time of fellowship around Him.
Old Testament Peace offerings were either public or private. For example, the two lambs which were offered every year at Pentecost were a public Peace offering. Leviticus 23:15 – “And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath (of the Passover) Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD. Then ye shall sacrifice one kid of the goats for a sin offering, and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings.” The goat was a sacrifice made for the entire nation, and so were the two Peace offering lambs . I am told that the first lamb was regarded as “most holy”. It was sacrificed on the north side of the altar, and its flesh was eaten only by the priests. But the second lamb was slain at the south side of the altar, and its meat was given to representatives of the nation. On one occasion, recorded in I Kings 8, no less than 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep were sacrificed as Peace offerings, and they were publically enjoyed as a national feast. In addition to these public Peace offerings, any Israelite in good standing could bring his own for sacrifice.
Part of the Peace offering ceremony involved the aspect of waving and heaving the meat before God. The sacrifice was raised above the head of the priest and either waved across or up and down. The offering was being given to the Lord to enjoy, but then He in his kindness gave it back to the offerer for their enjoyment. In other words, the Peace offering speaks about fellowship and joy in the Lord.
Of course, despite some of the relaxed rules in regard to the original Peace offering … I mean, the Lord didn’t mind if it was a lamb, or a goat, or a bullock, and He let the people choose between a male or a female animal … Despite leeway in some areas, one thing that was never to be compromised was the animal’s condition. “And if his oblation be a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offer it of the herd; whether it be a male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the LORD.” Remember that like all the other offerings, this was still to be a picture of our sinless Saviour. Even though it was not a sacrifice made directly in regard to sin, it was still to represent sinlessness.
First, we have to try to understand the words that he is using and what he actually says. Apparently he had no doubt about these peoples’ salvation. The sin offering had been made, and they had put their hands on its head. Their faith was in the Lord Jesus, and they believed that He had died for them and for their sins. The righteousness of Christ, in turn, had been imputed unto them. So Paul believed that they had been made “good” in the sense of holy, and they were growing in the Lord. And yet, he had gotten pointed and bold in regard to some of their weaknesses and personal sins, because no earthly human being is perfect or even as mature as he could be. “Nevertheless, brethren, I have written the more boldly unto you in some sort.” Paul considered the office of Apostle, something which Christ had given him out of His grace. He was a servant of the Lord primarily for the benefit of the Gentiles. He was acting somewhat like a priest in regard to the gospel of God. But the gospel is not something which can be sacrificed or offered up to the Lord. The gospel is something which the Lord has given to us. Paul’s ministry in regard to the gospel was like that of a priestly prophet – teaching and applying. And it was with the intention that those believing Gentiles would be fit to rejoice around the Lord’s Peace offering. In fact, it was that they would be fit Thank offerings themselves.
And with this that I come to what I think is Paul’s point. The blood of the sin offering has made these people clean in the sight of God. They have been justified – declared righteous before the Lord. They are like Israelites who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Now, as though Paul was their priest, they are coming again as living Peace offerings, wanting to feast with the Lord. But the Peace offering must be as pure and spotless as the Sin offering itself. In this sense, we should be as holy as the Lord Himself. So Paul has his comb and water, his scissors and brush, trimming off knots and tangles, sticks and filth.
Just as it was in Rome, in Corinth, in Jerusalem and every other Biblical church, today’s churches are far from the sanctified, dedicated, spotless flocks we were meant to be. As we walk about taking care of our daily responsibilities, we become covered with the dust and mire of the world. Sometimes, instead of looking like the Lord’s sheep, we look more like the Devil’s dogs. We need to be cleaned up and prepared for sacrifice as Peace offerings or Thank offerings. The Lord understands and appreciates the fact that we might be scarred during our battles with the Lord’s enemies, and we will still be acceptable before Him. But when we wound each other, as apparently they were doing in Rome, we are not fit to become the Lord’s Peace offerings.
And the fact of the matter is, it appears that the Lord’s churches are filled with people who are not the Lord’s. Just because someone has prayed a few words of confession when they were caught in sin, this does not mean that they are children of God. And just because someone is a child of a Christian, this does not make him a child of God. Dogs will never be accepted as offerings to God.
When some Israelite, took one of his 23 lambs and brought him to the door of the tabernacle to become an offering, that sacrifice was a major loss to the family fortune. And when that sinful man, publically put his hands on the head of that animal, it was a major event. But the process of salvation today, to many people today, is nothing more than a little prayer, a tiny confession and a moment of embarrassment as they tell a few others that they want to be Christians. Following that there is often either a period of unwilling slavery to a few do’s and don’ts, or it is a life of disgusting liberty to sin or not sin, however they choose. These people are not acceptable Peace offerings to God. Paul is writing to the church in Rome in order that they might be satisfactory offerings to God – in a figurative sense.
And this is my point, the religion of the Israelite was not complete without Peace offerings. And neither is the New Testament Christian. If the life that you are living is not acceptable in the sight of God, consistent with the revelation of God, then there is little reason to believe that your soul is accepted with God – that you are a child of the King. Look at your life and your heart. Is there genuine faith and repentance? Are you a lamb without blemish, sufficient to be offered unto the glory of the Lord? God’s salvation produces purity and holiness. If in your life there is no love toward the Lord and holiness, then you are lost and headed to Hell. Repent of your sin before God and turn to the Saviour – the Lord Jesus Christ.