Tag: Atonement

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Christ Our Offering with Communion

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Moses Consecrates Aaron and His Sons and Offers Their Sin Offering
Moses Consecrates Aaron and His Sons and Offers Their Sin Offering
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Public Domain Mark 1.0 License.

Christ Our Offering with Communion

You know what I find tragically humorous? Although we humans have been sinning since the beginning, we still don’t know exactly how to define it. Even though there is probably nothing more consistent in the human condition, we still can’t agree on what sin is. We seem to bicker and debate about it. Sometimes the arguments are even with ourselves. Sometimes, in order to dampen a stinging conscience over something we did, we may try to convince ourselves that as long as no one dies, I’m still okay. We try to persuade our critical inner voice that an act or a behavior has to be salacious or violent or oppressing to be labeled sin; everything else can be ignored. The church doesn’t help much. There are places where saying a swear word or looking at a girl’s ankles will get you banished to the sinner’s bench. And, then, there are other places that like to tell you that there is some sort of sin hierarchy. There are “big” sins like murder and rape. No one is allowed to do those but then we also have “little” sins like taking a wee nip of whiskey for a sore tooth or telling little white lies like, “Yes, Pastor, I did get a lot out of that message”. Those aren’t too bad and most of us can get away with them and we wouldn’t be risking hell. It’s all so confusing and not a bit of it is Scriptural.

Now, the Bible has a much simpler (and far more inclusive) definition of sin. The Hebrew and Greek original words that get translated into the English word “sin” are both descriptive and plain. In essence the literal translations are “to fall short” or “to miss the mark”. The sense is not hitting a target, an ideal, a goal. In God’s Book, “a miss is as good as a mile”. There are no such things in the Bible as little sins or big sins. (Interestingly, however, there are big sinners and little sinners. We cover a little of that in this lesson.) God gives no “wiggle room”. God does not allow you or I to define sin. God does not allow you and I or anyone to decide whether or not what we do should be categorized as “mortal” or “venial”, major or minor. Falling short is falling short. You can’t “sort-of” fall short. You can’t “kinda” miss the target. That is precisely why Paul says:

(Rom 3:23)  For all have sinned…

In fact, Paul finishes that statement with a literal rendering of the Greek word. “For all have sinned, AND COME SHORT of the glory of God”.

The point? You and I are sinners and there is nothing we can do to hide our condition. God knows we’re sinners and for that we should be eternally grateful. You see, God not only knows we’re sinners but He has done something about it. Believe it or not, God loves you. You may not love yourself but He does and He has made it abundantly clear He does NOT want you apart from Him. The problem, however, is that darn sin condition. It stands between us and a Holy God. He cannot let a single sin go by; not even those sins you and I don’t seem too worried about. They must ALL be dealt with before we can be with Him forever and the Bible makes it clear (as does our own experience) that we are incapable of making any difference in our sinfulness…except make it worse.

So, then, how do we get reunited with God? We can’t approach Him with the stain of sin on us. Are we and God doomed to be eternally separated? Of course not. Nothing stands in God’s way. That’s what actually makes Him God. Nothing and no one can defeat Him, not even sin. So…and don’t ask me how but God, from the beginning, was prepared. He is our Creator and He knew we would fail so He devised a rescue plan and that rescue plan is His Son. The entire Bible speaks of this plan. The New Testament reveals the plan in Christ and the Old Testament lays it out in type and shadow so when His Son comes to rescue us, we’ll know it’s Him. No other part of Scripture paints a clearer picture of the work of Christ quite like the Book of Leviticus and, more specifically, the Law of the Offerings. Join us in this episode as we go over some of the details of this fascinating portion of God’s Word. God’s instructions to Moses on the offerings, when studied with an open mind, will greatly strengthen your faith in God’s power, mercy and love.

But before you begin, make sure to take a few moments to prepare your heart, mind and spirit by going to God in prayer. Ask Him to help you to make sense of eternal things. Pray that He send His Spirit to open up His Word so that you can apply its treasures to your life and, in the process, grow in your relationship to Him. One final note, this lesson includes a Communion celebration, so, please, pay close attention to the beginning portion for instructions.

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Atonement Part 4-Back to Alienation

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God Judging Adam by William Blake
God Judging Adam by William Blake
Image in the Public Domain

Atonement Part 4-Back to Alienation

I don’t think we fully appreciate what happened to us in the Garden of Eden. I don’t think we really and truly grasp how much we lost back there. In fact, I’m sure we don’t. Mankind was created to be like God; the Bible says in His Image. (Genesis 1:26) Do any of you feel like a god, at the moment? Even if you have what may be considered by others as the “perfect life”; is it really? And, you know, this just happens to be one of the problems we live with: we don’t even know what makes us truly happy. Do you think God struggles with defining happiness? Of course He doesn’t. But, actually, I’m just guessing because even though I was created in His image, I have almost no idea what He’s like. Sure, I know some things about Him but He seems so different than me…so foreign. And THAT’S what happened to us in the Garden of Eden. In those opening passages of Genesis we only got the slightest of glimpses into the relationship between God and Adam but we can safely deduce from what we are told that God’s intention was plain and simple: fellowship. Don’t ask me why, but God created mankind to be His companion. Why do you think He made us in His Image? I may love my dog but I’d rather spend time with Catherine. She and I are alike. My black lab Gypsy is lots of fun to play fetch with but if I want to make a connection I have to find someone more like myself. In heaven, God has angels flying all around Him all the time. Theologians tell us that the heavenlies are full of different sorts of “created intelligences” but as far as we know, there is no being quite like mankind…except for God. He made us like Him so that we could have eternal, meaningful fellowship.

We lost all of that because of one sin. Even if Adam never sinned after that…and there is no record in the Bible that tells us he ever did…I’m not saying he didn’t but we aren’t told of one other of Adam’s sins. My theory on that, by the way, is because it doesn’t matter. We are not told of any other of Adam’s sins because, frankly, it wouldn’t have made any difference. In fact, we aren’t told if he did anything overly righteous, either, for the rest of his 900 or so years because, again, it didn’t matter. It was done. Adam’s ONE sin forever changed the relationship between mankind and God…in whose image we are created. “John, why do you keep bringing that up?” Because I want you to see how far we’ve come. I want you to grasp the impact of that one little sin. We went from “alike companions” to complete strangers because of just one sin. Do you really think sin doesn’t matter? Sin transformed us from God’s closest creation to banished strangers. Paul refers to it as “alienated”. (Colossians 1:21) God alienated us from Himself. When Adam sinned God had to put distance between Himself and the ones He created to be His family. Is it possible for any of us to sense the tragedy of that? You know what? I don’t think so…not without Christ.

We have been alienated and that is why the world is in the mess it is in. Someone may ask you why there is evil in the world. Well, you can say with Paul that there is evil in the world because we have been alienated from God…His choice…and the manifestation of that alienation down through these many millennia is that our minds now view God as a foreign enemy. Isn’t that frightening to think about? We have made an enemy out of the very personification of Righteousness, Goodness and Mercy. No wonder our newspapers…or whatever the modern medium is now called…are filled with shocking stories of human depravity. Then, like idiots, we dare ask God why He “allows” evil, all the while we treat Him as an invading tyrannical enemy. ALL BECAUSE OF ONE SIN.

But the story will not end that way. God has promised to fix all of it. Even though this isn’t His mess, He has taken on Himself the burden of restoring what He had set out to establish and THAT is what Atonement is.

This episode is the last in the series. But before you listen in, I once again, encourage you to take a moment to pray for guidance and help. Ask God to make His Love obvious to you. Seek His Understanding and Wisdom and then join us as we take one final (for now) look at this most fascinating Biblical word.

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Atonement Part 3-Covering

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The Mercy Seat (Illustration from the Holman Bible)
The Mercy Seat (Illustration from the Holman Bible)
Image in the Public Domain

Atonement Part 3-Covering

We’re still at it. We’re still trying to pry open the meaning of this word atonement. And, by the way, we’re really more interested in WHY the word atonement was created. “Atonement”, you should know by now, is an invented English word. (I realize ALL words are invented but you get my meaning.) However, it isn’t abundantly clear who invented it. Some say William Tyndale made it up; some say there is evidence that it existed before Tyndale began using it. We can, however, be certain that William Tyndale is the first person to use it in a Biblical context and, frankly, that’s really the only context we’re interested in, at the moment. The problem we’re facing is how the word is currently defined versus what we are told the word meant originally. There appears to be some conflict between the modern use of the word and what Tyndale intended the word to mean. The disparity seems irreconcilable and that is what has set us on our journey. You see, we don’t hide from controversy. We don’t shy away from what some might consider Biblical disagreement and we don’t blame God or His Word when we, in fact, suffer, simply, from a lack of understanding. Around here we do what we can to figure it out.

So, today we will look at the Old Testament use of the word. Of course, William Tyndale is not, necessarily, known for his Old Testament work. He was actually executed before he could finish his translation of the Hebrew Scripture but it is clear that his New Testament translation influenced later Old Testament English translations, including the King James. Those later translators must have liked his use of the word atonement because it appears quite extensively; more than 80 times, the majority of which occur in the Book of Leviticus. Now, this shouldn’t surprise us because it is in the Book of Leviticus that God deals, administratively, if you will, with sin. In God’s Plan, where sin exists, atonement must be present and that speaks of Christ. Starting to see why we’re taking the time to study this word?

So, once again, I call you to pause a moment and go to God and ask for His help. Pray that He will send His Spirit so that you and He can work out how His Plan fits into your life. Ask Him to open your eyes that you may behold wondrous things out of His Law. (Psalm 119:18)

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Atonement Part 2-Because “knowing” is also Important

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The Martyrdom of William Tyndale (from Fox's Book of Martyrs)
The Martyrdom of William Tyndale (from Fox’s Book of Martyrs)
Image in the Public Domain

Atonement Part 2-Because “knowing” is also Important

There are lots of things you may want criticize about this ministry and the one thing that I am sure is on most everyone’s list is that we spend so much time on so many details. I happen to agree with that one. We do spend a lot of time on details and (admittedly this next statement is against every podcasting best practice) might I say this lesson is one of the worst offenders. Today we’re going spend a lot of time on only a few things. Why? Why do we focus so intently on these things? Well, because they’re important. I unapologetically argue there is nothing more important than what we discuss on this program week after week. These are the things of life and death. These are things worth living and dying for. That’s why I love William Tyndale so much. Like most Englishman of his time, he loved Mother England but when it became apparent that he would never be able to achieve God’s calling on his life he left behind everyone and everything he knew and for the rest of his life he was a hunted fugitive who eventually paid the ultimate price so that the common man and woman could get to know God better. And do you know why he did all of that? Because he thought it was important.

In this lesson we are still struggling to properly define the word “atonement”. We go over what we’ve been told it means and we ask “Why?”. One of the sub-purposes of this lesson…and frankly every lesson we present is to get you into the habit of wondering “Why”. Some may think that that is sowing dissension or inciting rebellion or even encouraging or facilitating doubt. Nothing could be further from the truth. KNOWING is important to your atonement. You see, we have to “accept” our Salvation for it to be applied to us; right? Can you really accept something you don’t understand? God loves you, but more importantly He wants you to love Him. You can’t love someone you don’t know. You and I should spend every day of our lives getting to know everything about God that we can. KNOWING what gifts He is offering you is the only real way to fall in love with Him and the only real way you’ll be able to give yourself to Him. Is it difficult? Yes. Does it take work? Yes. But you know what I’ve learned through my many years on this earth? Nothing valuable is ever easy.

So, take a moment to ask for God’s guidance. Believe me, you KNOWING these things is more important to God than it is to you. Therefore, He is more than willing to do all He can to get you to a point where you KNOW what your atonement really is. Why we weren’t just born with complete knowledge; I can’t say. Why does God make us toil for understanding; I don’t know. I can guess that it is because He wants you to truly appreciate His Love for you and that takes effort. BUT, He doesn’t expect us to go it alone. He offers Himself as our Guide into all Truth. (John 16:13) So, before you do anything, pray that God’s Spirit will assist you on this journey of discovering the majesty of His Atonement.

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Atonement Part 1-Made-up Words

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Anonymous Portrait of William Tyndale
This image is in the Public Domain

Atonement Part 1-Made-up Words

The Bible is one of the world’s most incredible documents. Christian or not, any objective thinking person has to admit that. In, in my opinion, you don’t even have to believe what the Bible says to respect it. There are few documents that have been so meticulously assembled, cared for and studied in all the history of human literature. Now, I am certain that scoffers and atheists may argue that I’m being a little hyperbolic but I honestly believe that most who have spent a decent amount of time researching its history would have to agree with my above statements. Like no other literature of any sort…religious or not…an unbroken documentary trail leads all the way back to the origins of this very ancient collection of writing. This is a beloved and revered book and we know that because of how much priority those that love God put on it. To us IT IS THE WORD OF GOD…the mind of God…the precious thoughts, instructions and judgments of a loving, living Father.

As proof, one need only look at the efforts that men and women have put forth down through the millennia to make the Bible available for all to understand. Though difficult to accurately estimate, some have said that the Bible has been translated in part or in whole into more than 3,000 languages. Now, the important part of that statistic is to realize that the VAST majority of those translations have been completed in recent times…certainly not more than 200 years. Another important fact to realize here is that the growth in the number of languages into which the Bible has been translated is accelerating largely BECAUSE there are so many translations. You see, linguists and etymologists will tell you that there are very few isolated languages. In other words, almost all languages are related to some other language. Without getting too bogged down in the details let me just say that the more languages something is translated into the easier it is to accomplish that next translation. Each translation is used as reference for other subsequent translations. That is partly why there are so many language versions of the Bible.

Now, imagine having almost NO other translations to work with AND throw in the fact that the language you want the Bible translated into is new and, frankly, incomplete. That is what faced William Tyndale in 16th Century England. At the time, the Bible had only been translated into a handful of languages. The only “authorized” version was written in Latin; a language very few of Tyndale’s countrymen spoke. That alone severely limited access to the Word. In addition, Tyndale lived at a time of transition in England. His country was slowly defining a unified identity which would eventually include a national language. It may be difficult to believe, but the language we refer to today as English has only been spoken in England for less than 600 years. That means when God got a hold of William Tyndale and inspired him to write a Bible in the language the people of England there was hardly enough of a language to work with. Well, God always chooses the right person to accomplish His difficult tasks. So, take a moment to pray for guidance and help in understanding and then have a listen to this week’s episode as we dive into the fascinating subject of the English Language Bible.