The Day of Atonement

I want you to go with me here tonight to Leviticus in the Old Testament, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Leviticus chapter 16. And we're going to go to part 5 of our series on penal substitution. You know when people attack the gospel and attack the cross and undermine the value of the blood I get to fighting. I want to tell you, my spirit gets stirred within me. My blood begins to boil within my body. You know why? Because that is our salvation. And when heretics and false teachers and compromised Christianity dares touch these things, I get very stirred over the gospel of Jesus Christ. Because the real gospel is the power of God unto salvation to all them that believe. And so any damaging of the gospel destroys the power of God in the message of the Lord Jesus Christ. I take that very personally, very seriously. And I want to tell you, I fall deeper in love with Jesus when men attack the truth of the gospel. Because I think of what would have happened to me if I had never heard the real gospel. And so I want to take you to Leviticus chapter 16, just going to read two verses. I'd love to read the whole chapter. It is very powerful, but I'm going to dip into this chapter. I want you to understand this chapter. I'm not going to deal with everything, though I'm sorely tempted to preach a few messages just on this one chapter. But I want to give you the heart of this chapter. And so we're here at part five of our series. And my message is the day of atonement. Reading from Leviticus chapter 16, verse 21. And Aaron shall lay his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness. And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited, and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness. And then just read, and you don't need to turn to it, but I'm going to read one verse from 1 Peter chapter 2 and 24 in the New Testament. Who his own self, talking of Jesus Christ, who his own self bear our sins in his own body on the tree, that we being dead to sins should live unto righteousness, by whose stripes ye were healed. Let's pray tonight. Father, I thank you for the word of God, the truth of your word. Lord God, it is powerful. Lord God, when not tampered with, not changed, not added to. Lord God, not compromised, not undermined, but when it's preached simply. Lord God, unaffected by the hand or the mind of man. And Father, we pray for the power of your Holy Spirit right now in this room. Lord God, that your Holy Spirit will bear witness unto the written scriptures. We love the word of God. We love the truth of God. And Father, we desire that your word would impact this city of Limerick. Lord God, that you bring the real gospel, the simple gospel of blood atonement. Lord God, to the hearts of sinners. Lord God, we plead with you for your grace and your mercy tonight. Open our eyes, open our understanding, open our hearts. That we might perceive things taught by your Holy Spirit. In Jesus' mighty name, amen. My message tonight, in the fifth part in this series, the day of atonement. The day of atonement. We've just read in 1 Peter chapter 2 and 24. Concerning Jesus Christ dying on the cross. Do you realize how often Christ's death on the cross is mentioned in the New Testament? If you remove that, you destroy the gospel. And you know, people may say they believe in the preaching of the cross, or the message of the cross, or the blood of the Lamb. But one thing I've learned, if you don't preach on sin, and you don't preach on the blood, and you don't preach on the cross, clearly, continually, exactly, then I assure you, we destroy the power of the gospel. This is at the very heart of the gospel. Let us own self, bear our sin. The word bear there means to take up, to take up our sins. Jesus Christ, bear our sins. Our sins were laid on Jesus Christ. Only in one place were your sins. They weren't just forgiven. You were not just forgiven. God, out of his love, did not just forgive you. His character isn't just to forgive you, and he forgave you. That did not happen. That cannot happen. That did not happen. No matter what heretics teach. You know what the Bible says, not just once, not three times. Not in some proof text, but all through the scripture, constantly, all the time, emphasizing in clear words. It says, Christ, bear your sins. And so the word means to take up or to carry, to carry away, to remove from you. So you don't bear your sins anymore. He bear your sins. You don't bear them. You don't bear the consequence of your sin. You won't suffer the penalty for your sin, the righteous judgment of God for your sin. We are told that Christ himself bear your sin, carried them, and bear them away. In other words, removed your sin. He actually took your sin, carried them, and bare them far away. That is the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Christ on the cross, and it happened on the cross. Not in hell, not in Hades, not after his death on the cross. It happened on the cross. He bear your sin on the cross. Your sin. What was Christ doing on the cross? He was bearing your sin. He was carrying your sin. Your sin was laid upon him on the cross. The exact same thing that we just read in Leviticus 16. And that's why I've tied these together. They're not separate. They're not two different things. They're connected. They're absolutely connected in a profound way. Christ bearing your sin. Your sin being laid on Christ on the cross. That's what happened on the cross. Your sin were laid upon him. He died for your sin, suffered for your sin, bear your sin. What was Christ doing on the cross? He was bearing your sin. He lifted your load of sin. He bear it. He carried it away at the cross. What happened on the cross? Carried all of your sin far away. Never to be carried by you ever again. Never to be suffered. You suffering the consequence of your sin. That's what happened on the cross. And so did I. We've already dealt with in the weeks before. We dealt in Genesis 4 about Abel's sacrifice. In Genesis, a remarkable story. And there's lots of pictures of that in Genesis. Then we looked at Exodus chapter 12. The day of Passover. What happened there? And now we're coming to Leviticus. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus. And I can keep you in Leviticus about 10 weeks, I want to tell you. But I'm going to condense it here. Some of you may be skeptical, but I'm going to condense it here very briefly. And so when you come to Leviticus, don't separate it from the New Testament. There are probably about 90 references from Leviticus in the New Testament. And in fact, more than that, the book of Hebrews is joined at the hip to Leviticus in the Old Testament. In other words, if you read Hebrews in the New Testament, you can't understand it unless you read Leviticus. Unless you understand Leviticus, you will never understand the book of Hebrews in the New Testament. Hebrews is written on the basis of Leviticus. The writer of Hebrews and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, it's all there. Hebrews is written with the understanding that you possess Leviticus, that you read Leviticus, that you study Leviticus, that you have to understand Leviticus. If you remove Leviticus, or you're ignorant of it, or you don't know about it, or don't understand it, you will never have the key to Hebrews. Hebrews will be a closed book. And so you go into the Old Testament to Leviticus, and Leviticus opens up an entire New Testament book for the church. You can't comprehend it. You don't understand it. Or you'll only understand it very vaguely here and there. But Hebrews is a commentary, an explanation, and an application of Leviticus. Remember what I said before, the New Testament's a commentary, and it's the best commentary in the Old Testament. And the Old Testament is a commentary on the New Testament. Do you want to understand the New Testament? Do you want to understand the four Gospels? Do you want to understand the book of Acts, and Hebrews, and Romans, and the letters of Paul? Do you really want to understand them? Then read the Old Testament. You know why? There are keys. There is insight. There is understanding. That you don't get in the New Testament, you only get it in the Old. Only if you read the Old, and you meditate on the Old, and you understand the Old, does the New actually open up. They're dependent on one another. What was the Bible of the New Testament church when it was first birthed? It was the Old Testament Scriptures. That's what their Bible was. They preached from it. They taught from it. They shared it. They carried it. That's what they had. And then the New Testament was built on top of that. And so we look at Leviticus here. Listen to me. Leviticus is a book filled with types, pictures, shadows. Absolutely filled. So much so, I actually went, should I preach three messages? And I went, no, no, no. Let's just condense it into one here tonight. To give you an understanding of the book. Types is a word I use often. I use words like types and shadows. Remember how Candice shared that a pastor's wife in this city began to mock my use of saying types, shadows, pictures. Even the word redemption. A pastor's wife in this city mocked, tolerated the mocking of using words like redemption. So in a lady's Bible study someone could say, I don't know why we use the word redemption. And yet a pastor's wife would think that's okay and tolerate it. And not lift their voice against it. My wife comes back with tears rolling down her face saying, how could a pastor's wife, or how could someone be tolerated that ever says that. A lady's Bible study where that sort of trash and rubbish is spoken about. Mocking types. Let me tell you, that shows gross ignorance in the church of our day. Absolute gross ignorance. And I get very concerned, really do. Let me tell you that Leviticus is filled with types. Yes, the word types. And you know what, the word types is the Greek word tupos. Which is used 16 times in the New Testament. Tupos is our English word types. What is a type? It's that when you go to Leviticus, there are certain people, there are certain events. There are places, there are rituals that God himself has molded. He molds them there. He molds these events, things happening. Even people, or their clothing. He molds it in order to give insight into the New Testament gospel. So hundreds, thousands of years before, God is molding. His Holy Spirit is molding these pictures, these types, these shadows. He himself molds them. And he's going to use them as a commentary on doctrine many years later. And so in the New Testament we see the fulfillment of types. The word tupos means to keep striking a thing. Keep marking a thing until it's the shape that you want it to be. So God is working over. In Leviticus as we read it, he takes Aaron and he works Aaron over. He beats Aaron into shape. His clothing, his words, his action, his ceremony. And he beats Aaron into shape to be a type that he's going to use in the book of Hebrews. So we see this as a work of God. Where God molds it. It's also a shadow of the real. So what's a type? It's a shadow of the real that's yet to come prophetically or in the future or eternally. This is a thing of time. It's passing. But God uses it. And you know the actual thing is called the anti-type. The shadow or the type is just a type. But the anti-type is the real thing. The fulfillment or what it is focused on. This word type means model. To make a model. To mold something. To make an image. A representation or an example. This word typus is often used in the New Testament for an individual who is an example of what we all should be. That is a type. That's what it is. And so when you find in Leviticus types. You're actually going to see something carefully molded. It's an example. When you look at it. You're going to begin to see how things are going to be or ought to be. As well the word shadow. Listen in Hebrews chapter 10 verse 1. For the law having a shadow of good things to come. Do you hear that? In the Old Testament. The law has a shadow or is a shadow. Of good things to come. The law gives you a shadow. Now what's a shadow? It's a reflection of the real. So the law and its shadow is not the real thing. The law gives you a shadow. It presents you with a shadow. So you look at a shadow and you get a vague idea. It's not perfect. It's not exact. But when you look at a shadow. You begin to see what is going to come. And so in Hebrews chapter 10. Which is the Leviticus of the New Testament. It talks about a shadow. The law having a shadow of good things to come. When you look at the shadow in the Old Testament. In the law. In Leviticus. In the Old Testament. There's a shadow. And you can look at the shadow and get an idea. You know if you ever see a shadow of a beagle dog. You're going to get an idea. There's a beagle dog lurking around the corner. You can actually identify. It may not be clear or distinct or colored. But I tell you. You get an idea of what's just around the corner. And it says not the very image of the things. So there's a shadow and an image. An image is the exact thing. It's not exact. But it's a shadow. So in Leviticus you get types. You get shadows. Also in Hebrews 9 and 11 it uses the word figures. Figures. Which means symbols. And it says the tabernacle in the Old Testament. When you walk into the temple. That is a figure. It says that in the book of Hebrews. So when you go back to the Old Testament. And you get all the teaching. You know some of those chapters in Exodus and Leviticus. And it starts telling you all about the curtains and the colors. And the hooks. You know us men have great trouble with that. Maybe you ladies find it easier. But you know when you begin reading about that. It's actually saying it's a figure. It's symbolic. It actually means something. The ritual in Leviticus means something. And you're going to find out in Hebrews. In the New Testament. These things are figures. The entire Old Testament is a figure. The tabernacle is a figure. The priesthood is a figure. What does that mean? They are symbols to teach you. So you begin to see that the whole Old Testament. Is symbolic in order to teach you. Then you have the word pattern. Pattern. We're going to get into this. But I want you to hear this. The word patterns in Hebrews 9.23. And it talks about the tabernacle being a pattern. Of what's true in heaven. So when you put all this together. Types, shadows, figures, patterns. These are all important words. So you go back into Leviticus. And you get blood. A lot of blood. You get sacrifices. You get priests. You get ritual. You get a way of doing things. You know what the Bible is saying. All of these are types and shadows. Of the Lord Jesus Christ. Of the Gospel and the New Testament. And you know what. You may say. But I understand Jesus and the Gospel. I promise you. There's an awful lot you won't understand. Unless you go back and study. It's a commentary on the Lord Jesus Christ. It's teaching all about Christ. Can you imagine having a manual. To teach you about Jesus. To explain what happened on the cross. I would go as far as to say. By the New Testament. By itself. You won't fully understand the cross. You cannot. There's certain things explained. And taught in the types and shadows. And in the prophecies of Isaiah 53. You don't find in the New Testament. You see the Old Testament. Is the Bible of the first church. It's what they preach from. It's what they taught from. It's what the Gospel was proclaimed out of. The Old Testament. You know that early church in Jerusalem. As Pentecost and Revival came. And the church began to build. Do you know the apostles preached. Every day. Every night. From house to house. And in Solomon's promenade. And as they preached and taught. They taught from Leviticus. And they taught from Genesis. And Exodus. And all the way through the Old Testament. They took a hold of Leviticus. And they began to teach. You know why? Because the cross is there. And there's an explanation of what Jesus. Done on the cross. When you come to Leviticus. You have the words of God. Now I don't like red letter Bibles. Some of you do. You go to the New Testament. And you find the words of Jesus. And it's in red. I don't like that. Okay. Because it's not more important than the rest of the text. But some people really like it. And say oh those are the words of Jesus. Direct from his lips. Can I tell you. There's one book in the entire Bible. That has more direct speech from God. Than any other book in the Old Testament. Or the New Testament. And doesn't even come close to this one book. Have you guessed which book it is? It is Leviticus. 90% of the text of Leviticus. Is direct speech. It is the words of God himself. And listen. It says often in Leviticus. And the Lord spake unto Moses. Saying this. Or it may say the Lord commanded Moses. Do you know Leviticus is filled with blood sacrifices. And it wasn't borrowed from paganism. The entire book is God commanded these sacrifices. It is filled with different kinds of sacrifices. Some of them are bulls. Some are goats. Some are lambs. Some are birds. Not just a lamb anymore. No in Leviticus you get an entire book. Filled with sacrifices. And you're told in detail. What each one of them is for. And you're told in detail. How you're to do this. What it represents. What it accomplishes. And there's all these sacrifices given in great detail. And you know as it does that. I want to tell you. That did not come from paganism. Don't tell me that Israel picked a blood sacrifice. I know none of yous are. But I'm telling you. Heretics out there. And they try to say the pagan world influenced Israel. No it did not. It didn't. And I want to tell you. We might as well throw our Bible away. If someone believes that. If they re-believe that. Then there's nothing to this book. But I want to tell you. God spoke to Moses. And he taught on the ritual. Every sacrifice. Everything that would happen. In great detail. It was the exact word of God. And he says don't add to it. Don't take away from it. When you build a tabernacle. Build according to my pattern. I don't want your suggestions Moses. I don't want your ideas. I don't want you to change anything. I want you to build a tabernacle. Every color. Every size. Every type of metal. Don't you dare change anything. And you know what we do in this generation of the church. Leaders think they can change things. They think they're bigger than Moses. They think they're better than Paul the Apostle. Paul was given the master plan for the church. He was given a plan. He didn't write the plan. God gave him a plan. Said there. That's what the church is going to look like. Preach according to this. Don't add to it. Don't improvise with the leadership. Don't change the name away from elders. Or bishops. Or overseers. Don't you play around with this. I tell you what it's to look like. Don't add to it. Don't take away. Don't improvise. Don't bring your ideas in. Just leave it alone. Absolutely alone. And so saints of God. As we come to Leviticus. It's remarkable. We're going to deal in Leviticus 16. With the day of atonement. When you go to Genesis. You see Genesis. And we've already seen this. With the skins for Adam and Eve. Blood was shed. We see the sacrifice that Abel offered up. It was in place of him. It was for his sins. In Genesis. And you know what you get in Genesis? You get the worldwide perspective. From the creation of all mankind. The entire world needed blood sacrifice. To walk with God. In Exodus. That we dealt with last time in chapter 12. You have the Passover. Now it's not worldwide anymore. Now it's a nation Israel. So worldwide they needed blood sacrifice. But in Exodus. You have an entire nation. The nation of Israel. And we saw in Exodus. It's a lamb for an entire nation. An entire people. A ransomed nation. And it has a national scope. But here in Leviticus. It gets narrower still. In Leviticus chapter 16. It focuses on ministry. It focuses not on the nation. It focuses on one tribe. One family. The family of Levi. Or the family of Aaron. And so the book of Leviticus. Is named after the Levi priests. After this family. The family of Levi. That's where we get Leviticus from. But you know what? It's not just about the Levites. It's about the entire priesthood. It's about real ministry. You know what Leviticus is? It's a manual for ministry. About blood sacrifice. And atonement. And substitution. And the dangers of not being washed. In the blood of the lamb. And how the wrath of God will come. And the consequence of your sin. Will catch up with you. You see. Leviticus does teach. Penal substitution. Not just once. Not just in one shadow. But time and time and time again. It gives you lots of pictures. It gives you lots of teaching. It gives you lots of shadows. And the whole thing. Is about what Jesus Christ. Done on the cross. For your sins. And in fact Leviticus was given as a book. In one month. It covers a period of one month. Where as Exodus. Covers a period of about 300 years. And then Genesis. Covers a far greater. Period of time. But here you have a period of one month. And I want to tell you. In Leviticus. It is very restricted. It is very distinct. You have exact detail. On what you do with everything. Do you know when men begin to teach. About the cross and change it. And say it does not matter what you believe. As long as you believe God loves you. And Jesus died on the cross. That is enough. Oh no it is not. Do you realize when you come to Leviticus. Which is a manual. To give you depth and breadth. And understanding of the cross. You now come to a very distinct. Detailed. Understanding of the cross. It is very clear. And you know why it says it is so important. That you understand this. Because life and death. Rest on these details. If you change it. You are going to be in real trouble. You will either not be forgiven. Or your life is going to come under. A death threat. I want to assure you. One of the most important statements. In Leviticus is. Be holy for I am holy. It covers the entire book. And it is quoted. In the new testament. More than any other verse. Be holy for I am holy. Leviticus is a holiness book. It is about the holiness of God. It is about you being holy. It is about God hating unholiness. And desiring holiness. Amongst his people. So what does he do? He gives you an entire book. About blood sacrifices. Because that is how it comes around. Let me take you into the book here. Chapter 16. That chapter. In Leviticus. From chapter 1 to 27. Is the heart of the entire book. In fact. The entire book. Pivots upon that one chapter. Chapter 16 is the hinge. Of two parts. Of the book of Leviticus. Chapters 1 to 15. In Leviticus. Speak about the way. To be accepted by God. It is about justification. By faith. Or having your sins forgiven. Chapter 1 to 15. Before chapter 16. All those chapters are about. How you get right with God. It is filled with blood sacrifice. It gives an entire system. Of sacrifice. Principles in great detail. Showing you. How can a man be right with God. How can a sinner. Walk with a holy God. All those chapters are given. So you can understand it. But then afterwards. From chapter 17 to 27. It is all about how we walk. With a God like that. After we have been forgiven. That is sanctification. From chapter 17 to 27. You have chapter. After chapter. After chapter. All about holiness. How do you walk holy. After you have been forgiven. These two things. Justification. And sanctification. Are joined in chapter 16. With the day of atonement. That is what joins these two things. The entire book revolves around this. Your entire acceptance. With God. Brings you to the day of atonement. And your entire walk. With God and holiness. Begins with the day of atonement. You know the day of atonement. Was more important. Than the day of Passover. We think a lot about Passover. And today is actually Passover. Today. According to the Jewish calendar. But you know what? Passover was not as important. As the day of atonement. The day of atonement. Atonement was the most important day. In the Jewish calendar. Because every year when you get to it. You know what? If God does not accept your sacrifice. On that day. You are in trouble that year. And so there is only one day. In which the entire nation. Gets accepted by God. Forgiven by God. And you are okay for another year. That is what Leviticus 16. Actually was all about. In Leviticus 17. Verse 11. Listen this carefully. For the life of the flesh is in the blood. And I have given it so to you. Upon the altar. Now listen. He gives the blood. The life is in the blood. That is where the real life of God is. God gives it on the altar. In the tabernacle. To make an atonement for your souls. For it is the blood. That maketh atonement. For the soul. I want you to see it is blood shedding. That makes atonement. That word atonement. Is used 16 times in this chapter. That is very very important. 16 times. In chapter 16. The word atonement. Is used. It is actually the word kaffir. And it is what we know today. As Yom Kippur. The feast of Yom Kippur in Israel. It is celebrated every single year. It is the day of atonement. That they remember. You see Passover is looking back. To the nation coming out. It was the birthing of the entire nation. A lamb was shed. Was killed. His blood was shed. But you know when you come to the day of atonement. This is every year you have got to be accepted. Every year. A sacrifice has to be made. Or you are in trouble. What does kaffir mean? The word atonement in this entire chapter. There is an atonement for Aaron. There is an atonement for the priesthood. There is an atonement for the building. There is an atonement for the altar. There is an atonement for the nation. In fact there is no salvation without an atonement. Without Yom Kippur. Or without kaffir. This word kaffir. You have nothing. You are in serious trouble. What does the word atonement mean? It means you are forgiven. It means to be cleansed from your sin. It means that a payment is made. Or a ransom. Very important you understand that. Atonement means somebody has paid a great price. Somebody has paid a price. That you can be forgiven. That you can be made clean from your sin. And also the word kaffir means. To avert wrath. Or judgement. Or punishment. So in this word atonement. That fills this entire chapter. You know what? You have the day of atonement. You have a day of forgiveness. A day of ransom. A day when somebody pays a price. To avert the wrath of God. The judgement of God. Because God is a holy God. This is the actual day of atonement. And this is a day still practiced. With Israel. You know the only problem with Israel today. They don't shed the blood of any animal. You know Israel today. Has no Passover lamb. No sacrificial system. They have no blood. They have no atonement. As an entire nation. If you ever evangelize a Jew. I'm in a real Jew. A religious Jew. A moral Jew. You know what you need to say. Where's your lamb? Remember what Isaac said to his father Abraham. As they went up to make sacrifice. He says where is the lamb? That's a very important statement. You ought to ask any Jew. Where is your lamb? Where's your Yom Kippur? Why is it the entire nation of Israel. Stood trembling. Going we've got to be accepted. And why is it now. That your nation has no lamb. Has no blood. Has no sacrifice. The entire salvation of the nation. Depended on blood sacrifice. Do you see how in scripture. From Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus. The sacrifice of an animal. Whether a lamb. Or some other animal. Actually affected the entire history. Of the people. Let me take you. And I've got three points here I want to give you. Here tonight very briefly. First of all you have. Personal preparation. Look at verse one. Come to verse six with me. Personal preparation. See for this day of atonement. One man was to make atonement. One man was chosen. For this task. It was to happen only on one day of the year. It couldn't happen any other day. No other man could do it. Only Aaron the high priest. He was chosen. He was prepared. He was taught. He was the man. That spent all year long. Making himself ready. To make this sacrifice. Because the entire nation. Depended on him getting it right. Can you imagine that. If you've ever seen the movie of Luther. And Luther is there offering his first mass. And he gets so nervous. He spills the juice. He spills the blood of Jesus. That's a terrible thing for a Catholic priest to do. And his father goes berserk on him. Because he went and spilled the blood of Jesus. At his first holy mass. When he was consecrating it. And turning this wine. Into the blood of Jesus. Can you imagine Aaron going. The entire forgiveness of the nation. Depends upon me. I get one chance at it. One day of the year. And it's got to be in a certain place. Done in a certain way. Or else it gets rejected. If I don't do this right. God's wrath comes down. On the entire nation. It seems to God. What a responsibility. You know when you come to this chapter. It begins Leviticus 6. And the Lord spake unto Moses. After the death. Of the two sons of Aaron. When they offered. Before the Lord. And died. This had happened just before. The day of atonement. It's in Leviticus chapter 10. You know what happened. His sons were prepared for ministry. They are the young generation. And you know what they done. They began to improvise. They said we can change the worship. We are a new generation. With new ideas. And it says they offered up. Strange fire. In the presence of God. As they made sacrifice. You know what happened. The heavens opened up. Fire came down. And God consumed his two sons. God killed these two men. You know the book of Leviticus. Is all about blood sacrifice. But I want to tell you. It shows the sin of men. It shows the seriousness of sin. How deadly sin is. That if you don't do things. According to the blood. According to God's will. You are on dangerous ground. You are on very dangerous ground. In ministry. In your Christian life. You better get the gospel right. You better have your faith in the blood of the lamb. You better understand. What was accomplished on the cross. You better make sure. You are clothed in the righteousness of God. You better make sure. That Jesus took your place on the cross. That he suffered your wrath. And that you are now set free. Through his work. It's so, so important. Here is Aaron coming. To do this day of atonement. And his two sons have just been killed. They've been killed. And yet he still has to minister. He still has to come into the house of God. And the Lord said unto Moses. Speak unto Aaron thy brother. That he come not at all times. Into the holy place. So you can't just come anytime. You can't come anyway. God is very specific. And what he will accept. You know those people who say. God can just forgive all of your sin. Out of the whim of his heart. No he can't. He is very exact. I demand blood. I demand sacrifice. I demand that it happens on the altar. Don't change the gospel. I will not forgive you. Apart from what happened on the cross. Apart from the blood of Jesus. There is no forgiveness for you. I won't excuse your sin. Unless you go to Calvary. There is no other gospel. It's all there on the cross. Jesus dying for sinners. Bearing your sin. Carrying your sin. Carrying your punishment on the cross. Don't change the word of God. And so he had to come into that place. Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place. With a young bullock. For a sin offering. And a ram for burnt offering. This is my first point. Personal preparation. Before Aaron could make the day of atonement. And offer a sacrifice for the nation. Do you know what he had to do? He led a bullock. And a ram. As his own sacrifice. Because he is a man. He is a sinner. He is someone who himself. Needs a sacrifice. Before he offers a sacrifice. For the nation. And so in one hand. He is pulling a bullock. Which is a male calf. For a sin offering. For his sin. So blood has to be shed for sin. I'm sorry to say simple statements. But when the truth gets attacked. I've got to say this very clearly. Also a ram. Is a male sheep. That's for a burnt offering. And so he comes pulling two animals. Before he can go into the holy of holies. Before he can minister for the nation. He is a sinner. His sin has got to be forgiven. Or he could die. You know the Jews they say. That all through the centuries. What they used to do with the high priest. Because they knew they were sinners. And imperfect. They used to tie a rope to their leg. When they went into the holy place. Because you know what? They weren't sure if they would come out. Or not. And if they died in there. It means they could pull the rope out. Without having to go in and die themselves. So it was just in case. So we can pull your dead body out. And bury you. Because it's such a dangerous thing. You see you better have the gospel right. When you are in the church of God. Aaron had to make sure. He's offering the right sacrifice. Before he thinks of the nation. He is thinking of himself. And have taken the sacrifice right in. It says in verse 11. And Aaron shall bring the bullock. Of the sin offering. Which is for himself. And shall make atonement for himself. And his house. Or his family. So these are the most religious. Best trained people. In the entire nation of Israel. You know what? There's got to be a sacrifice. A bullock, a ram has to die for them. For their sin. The blood has to run on the altar. Or there's no forgiveness. He can't make atonement for you. Unless he himself is clean. So notice the responsibility. In the entire book. Making personal preparation. For your own sin. You know when you come over. To the book of Hebrews. You read about another high priest. His name is Jesus Christ. You see here in Leviticus. He is a man. He's got one life, a short life. Someone's going to have to replace him. And then someone else in his entire family. He is imperfect. He's got to offer sins for himself. You know what the book of Hebrews presents? Is a great high priest. Who is sinless. Who doesn't have to offer any sacrifice. For himself. What a great high priest we have. You know what? You have one who didn't need to be forgiven. He is absolutely righteous. He stands on your behalf. So he is your high priest. He's ministering for you. He's going to go within the veil. You know what? He'll never die. When he goes within the veil. He ever makes intercession for me. He is there for me. He represents me before God. He stands in the presence of God. He is my great high priest. And so Leviticus shows us. The shadow. The type. But when we come over to Hebrews. We see Jesus Christ. We don't see the Aaronic priesthood. The priesthood of Aaron. Now we see the Melchizedek priesthood. It's an everlasting priesthood. It's a perfect priesthood. Built on better promises. It establishes a better covenant. Saints of God. You better make sure. You're in the right covenant. And so you begin to see. What Aaron does here. That's the first point. Personal preparation of the high priest. The second thing here. Is we see in verse 7. And verse 9. And he, that is the high priest. Shall take two goats. And present them. Before the Lord. At the door. Of the tabernacle. Of the congregation. You've got two goats. And this is my second and third point here. They're two goats. It's not a lamb anymore. Do you see what we have? Now we've got bullocks. We've got rams. We've got goats. Two goats are in this. And you know what? See these two goats. It's called the sin offering. In other words the two goats. Represent one sacrifice. It represents the sacrifice. Of Jesus on the cross. And I want you to see this tonight. This is the day of atonement. This is the sacrifice. For the day of atonement. That's fulfilled. In the book of Hebrews. And so two goats are taken. And I want you to see. What happens with these two goats. Because you know what? It shows you two different works that happen. On the cross of Jesus Christ. One of these goats. The first goat. It is the shedding of blood. But the other goat. Is called the scape goat. Two different things happen. What happens with the first goat? You see it in verse 7 to verse 9. And he shall take the two goats. And present them before the Lord. Verse 8. And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats. And the lot of the Lord. One lot for the Lord. And the other lot for the scape goat. And Aaron shall bring the goat. Upon which the Lord's lot fell. And offer him for a sin offering. So this goat. That the lot falls upon. Represents the work of the cross. What happened to Jesus? This goat is actually taken. And his blood is going to be shed. That is for God. In order for God to forgive you. Blood has to be shed. Of this innocent animal. It's a chosen animal. It could have been either. Because it all represents one work. But this first lamb. Is taken by the high priest. Who is Aaron. And it is led. It is killed. It is slaughtered. It's blood is shed. And then he takes the blood. Right into the holy place. Under the mercy seat. And he puts the blood. On the mercy seat. Now what is the mercy seat? The mercy seat is the place. Of forgiveness. It's where God actually deals. With your sin. That's where the blood is going to be. In the holy place. In the secret place. In the presence of God. And God can't have any dealings with you. Without the shedding. Of the precious blood of the lamb. Without the shedding of blood. There is no forgiveness. There is no redemption. Don't tell me blood is a small issue. Blood is central to your forgiveness. You cannot be reconciled to God. God will not have any dealings. With any sinner. Apart from the blood of Jesus. And here in Leviticus 16. The nation cannot be atoned for. It cannot be reconciled. It cannot be forgiven. It cannot have the wrath of God averted. Unless blood is actually shed. The blood of the lamb. Has to be shed. It says in verse 15. Shall kill the goat of the sin offering. That is for the people. Notice. The goat is for the people. It's for the people. In place of the people. And bring his blood within the veil. It says here in scripture. It's because of their sin. Their sin. Is why the goat dies. The blood has to be shed. Because of sin. Their sin. Brings about the death. The shedding of the blood. And the blood has to be applied. To the mercy seat. You know that mercy seat. Is a very important place. That's where God speaks to you. That's where you speak to God. When you go in prayer. You go to the mercy seat. That mercy seat is where. God himself sits. It's a place of communion. With God. You don't have access to God. To commune with him. Unless there's blood upon the altar. So that first goat gets taken by Aaron. The blood is shed. This is to reconcile the entire nation. Without the shedding of blood. There's no forgiveness. There's no covenant. There's no forgiveness with God. There's no union with God. But the third thing. Is the scapegoat. And I want to deal with this. Just before we close here. Verse 10. But the goat on which the lot fell. To be the scapegoat. Notice that word scapegoat. Don't we use that word scapegoat. In our culture. All through our society. What is a scapegoat? That's a person you blame. Remember when you're at school Mary. And I'm sure Mary done it. And her friends done it. Maybe it was done on Mary. I don't know. But a scapegoat is someone who you blame. They didn't do anything. You know that kid in your class. They never did anything wrong. They never said anything wrong. They're always in time. They always get the best grades. They're always perfect. So what do you do with that? You don't choose someone. Who's a messer. Or who always causes trouble. You never choose that person as a scapegoat. You choose some innocent. Naive. Ignorant person. Who never does anything. And you actually blame him. Everyone blames that person. And say they did it. They are guilty. That's what a scapegoat is in our culture. In other words an innocent person. Carries the buck. Gets the blame. Suffers the consequence. Do you know what came from this verse? That whole concept. Of a scapegoat in our culture. Came from this actual verse. They are the scapegoat. And so. This second goat. Is the scapegoat. And Aaron shall lay his hands. Upon the head of the live goat. This is the scapegoat. This is substitution. This is penal substitution. I want you to hear this. I want it to be engraved on your mind. That this scapegoat. Aaron the high priest. This is what Christ is going to do. In the new testament. He lays his hands on the scapegoat. And what happens? It says and confesses over him. All the iniquities. Of the children of Israel. And all the transgressions. In all of their sins. Putting them upon the head. Of the goat. You know what the high priest does with the goat? He lays his hands and he confesses the sins. Your sins. The entire nation standing there. On the day of atonement. See in the day of atonement. It's the only day in the entire nation. Every year. When the entire nation fasts. And comes together. And no one eats. They all fast. They afflict their soul. You know why? Everything depends on that scapegoat. That scapegoat is going to bear my sin. Remember what Christ done? He bear your sin on the cross. And so the scapegoat. The high priest is confessing. The sin of the nation. He puts his hands. He is putting the responsibility. On the goat. You know that goat. Can literally carry sin. Jesus didn't literally carry your sin. He carried the responsibility. The consequence. He took your place. He bear your sin. The penalty. The consequence of all of your sin. Was laid upon Christ. Like this goat. And so the high priest is laying. The burden of all of your sin. Upon that goat. Then they have a very fit man. A chosen man. Who is going to take this goat. And take it out into the wilderness. Where it will never be seen again. But that goat remains alive. It doesn't die. It gets carried out to a place. Where no one is going to see it again. The entire sin of a nation. Rests on one goat. What is this substitution? That goat is going to suffer. The consequence of the entire nation. To be cut off. You know what is happening to the goat? It is being cut off from the nation. Cut out from the nation. You know what happens to you. If God cuts you off. You are finished. But what happens to this goat? It is going to bear the consequence. It can't be amongst the people anymore. It has got to go out. It has got to be carried far off. And it bears your iniquities. Far off. And suffers those consequences. And so you have a goat. That bleeds and dies. And you have another goat. That becomes your substitution. He suffers in your place. He stands in your place. And so you see. The full work of the cross. Dying and bleeding. Bearing your sin. Carrying your sin far away. This is the work of the cross. Aaron the priest is literally putting. The full responsibility of the nation. Your sins. Your lies. Your attitudes. Your thoughts. Your actions. Everything you have done. Is being placed on these two goats. One goat is going to die and bleed. The other goat is carrying. All those sins away. Do you know what it represents? It represents the one work. Of Jesus Christ on the cross. This is the day of atonement. The most important day. In all of Israel. Saints of God I am telling you. In these types of pictures. In Abel's sacrifice in Genesis 4. In Exodus chapter 12. The Passover lamb. And now here. With these two goats. We are seeing in all of these cases. These animals become a substitute. All of your sin is placed. On these animals. They are taking the place of the individual person. When you come to the new testament. You see clearly. From Genesis 4. Exodus 12. And now Leviticus 16. Jesus what he is doing on the cross. He is dying in your place. He is bearing your sin. All of your sins are placed upon him. He is carrying your sins away. That you will never see them again. You will never bear the consequence. Of them again. This goat is the scapegoat. He was innocent. Utterly innocent. Sinless. But you know what? You are guilty. But your guilt gets put on the scapegoat. And the scapegoat suffers in your place. As I got in the car tonight. And drove in. And I want to close. I suddenly thought of something. I haven't thought of for a long long time. And that is the peace child. I am not sure if any of you have read. A book called the peace child. I read it years ago. But you ought to read it. It is a man Don Richardson. Was a missionary. Back before I was born. I think about two years before I was born. And he went to Papua New Guinea. Way down in the direction of Australia. And he was an unusual missionary. Very unusual. You see he actually believed. That within every culture. God has a plan to save that people. Or to reach out to them. So here he is a young missionary. With his young wife. Not that long married. And I believe it is. I haven't read this book for many years. So forgive me if I get any details wrong. But his child was about nine months old. And there in Papua New Guinea. On a boat. Going out into the forests. With these tribal people. Who the outside. Have never communicated with. They have no contact. But here is a missionary. Who says I love them. And I want to preach the gospel. And I believe God wants to redeem them. And save them. And so there he is on a boat. Heading into these tribal people. And he has done this several times. Over all different people. Sometimes they are head hunters. Sometimes they are cannibals. Sometimes they are just a murderous people. You know what was unique about this people. Eventually when he got to preach the gospel to them. They began to cheer. And celebrate Judas. As the hero of the story. Because their entire culture. Was built on betrayal. And they believed the greatest act. You could do within their culture. Was the greatest act of betrayal. Where you trick your enemy. And you kill him. And then eat him for a meal. That was their entire culture. But here is Don Richardson. He doesn't know that. He is going to find that out later. And so he is heading in amongst this people. This is their ethos. This is how they think. And you know what. As he comes in amongst them. I believe if I remember right. All he knows to do. Is these tribal people. Come towards him on their boats. He simply holds his child. In his arms. And what he doesn't know is. That is the mark of coming in peace. It's the only mark they will accept. As he began to evangelize them. And begin to. Break. They think Judas is a hero. How am I ever going to reach this people. You know what he discovered in that tribe. That ancient. Archaic tribe. With thousands of years old culture. Pagan culture. You know what he found. He found an ancient teaching. Called the peace child. In that culture. Two tribes were warring. And he is trying to evangelize both tribes. And this day as they fought. He saw the practice. Of this peace child. Where a father in one tribe. Took his only child. Listen to this carefully. Who put this there. Within that culture. His only child. His first born son. It had to be a first born son. His only son. And that father. In order to stop and bring peace. Between the two peoples. And it was a vicious warfare. He grabbed his son. And he ran into the soldiers. Of that other tribe. And they can't touch him. See if you come with a peace child. They can't touch you. They can't kill you. They can't harm you. And he ran right in amongst them. They're all armed. Fighting. Killing. And it all stops. And he runs straight for their tribe. Straight for their houses. And he makes a beeline. Straight for them. And he runs in amongst that tribe. And you know what he finds? He finds a father. In that other tribe. To take responsibility for his child. And he literally hands this peace child. Into the hands of this other father. And he says. There. He's your responsibility. You need to raise him as your child. And for as long as that child lives. There's a peace child. Those two tribes can never fight. They're now at peace because of the peace child. Because the peace child has gone from one tribe. Now he's living in that other. Do you know what Don Richardson does? When he saw this. He began to preach the gospel. From the peace child. This ancient. So called pagan. Culture. With it's traditions. Somehow the Holy Spirit had left a remnant. And you know what? Don Richardson wrote various books. Read the peace child. Read it to your children. It's fascinating. Read it at bedtime. It's fascinating. And you know what? He found it wasn't only in Papua New Guinea. He went to other places. And he began to find the same. You know he wrote a book on Islam. He said there's no redeeming. Influence within Islam. It's totally different than. These old pagan cultures. He said all those old pagan cultures. God's always left something there. That they can be reached with the gospel. But not Islam. It's an abomination. I'm telling you that all through the Old Testament. It's a manual. It is a book. It is about penal substitution. I can preach it from anywhere in the Old Testament. What Jesus done on the cross. Is explicitly stated. Don't let men steal your gospel. Change the word of God. We believe in blood atonement. Atonement. And that word atonement. As the old preacher said. If you want an easy way to remember. Atonement. At one meant. When two people. Become one. That is atonement. Like the peace child. Two peoples. Because God sent his only begotten son. And you know what? If you come and touch that peace child. You're born again. You're forgiven. If you can see that child. He died for you. On the cross 2000 years ago. Father we thank you. For the word of God. Father this wonderful truth of substitution. That you sent your son into this world. That you entrusted him into the hands of Joseph. He was born of the virgin Mary. And Lord God. He was your peace child. He was your substitute. He was the one that was going to take our place. On the cross. He was the one that made atonement. He was the one that reconciled us unto you. He's the one that bare. The very wrath of God. He's the one that bare. The consequence of our sin. And Lord God we thank you. For your grace and your mercy tonight. That we have a savior. We have a redeemer. We have a great high priest. Who is perfect. Whoever makes intercession. For us within the veil. He's the one that stands in your presence. Lord God bare in witness. To the effect of the blood. And saying that you carried. Our sins far away. We love you tonight. And we bless you. And we magnify you in Jesus mighty name. Amen.