THE SACRIFICIAL LAMB OF GOD

In this week's 'Words of Life' message...

We encounter God’s holiness as the blazing center of Scripture and the thread that ties Leviticus to the cross. When Pastor Mark reads, “You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy,” he isn’t offering a slogan; he is pointing to God’s essence. Holiness means absolute moral purity and perfection, the total absence of sin. By contrast, we are not just flawed; we are fallen and unable to bridge the gulf. Leviticus reveals God who desires to dwell with His people while still being perfectly holy. That tension drives the entire sacrificial system: if God is near, sin must be dealt with. Yet, Israel is set apart, not because they are better, but because God chose to make Himself known through them and required a way to approach Him without being consumed.

The Old Testament way was sacrifice. Blood was not a superstition; it was a stark acknowledgment that sin brings death. The high priest entered the holiest place with blood, not opinions. Bells at his hem reminded everyone that approaching God on our own terms is fatal pride in self-confidence. Day after day, year after year, the altar ran red because the people kept sinning and the sacrifices could only cover, not cleanse. Our primary text, Leviticus 20:26, pulls the curtain back: holiness is not optional; it is demanded. Yet mercy shines through the smoke. God creates a path into His presence, teaching hearts to feel the weight of sin and the cost of forgiveness, preparing history for a better priest and a perfect Lamb.

Hebrews announces what Leviticus anticipates: Jesus is the holy, innocent, undefiled High Priest who offered Himself once for all. He does not repeat sacrifices, because His blood actually removes sin rather than merely postponing judgment. Only a true human could represent us, and only the sinless Son could bear guilt without being crushed by His own. At the cross, justice and mercy meet. The penalty is paid, the curtain is torn, and Christ sits down because the work is finished. Where there is forgiveness through Him, there is no longer an offering for sin, which means no ladder of merit, no spiritual treadmill, and no priestly middleman can add a thing.

Holiness still defines Christian life, but now as fruit of grace rather than a ladder to heaven. Peter’s call to be holy is not moralism; it is adoption language. If the One who called us is holy, our conduct must reflect our new family likeness. The Spirit applies Christ’s finished work by changing our desires and training our habits. We renounce sin, not to earn entrance, but because we belong to the God who loved us at infinite cost. Holiness moves from temple walls to human hearts.

The question is painfully simple: are you prepared to meet God safely? There is no other name given among humanity by which we must be saved. Not sincerity, not spirituality, not tradition, not self-improvement. The blood of Jesus must not be treated indifferently, because it is the one thing that makes sinners safe in the presence of a holy God. 

The door stands open, but not forever. The time to respond is while you have breath. Have you accepted GOD'S offer of receiving His perfect, sacrificial lamb (Jesus) who bore the iniquities that we deserved?

Your answer (or lack thereof) determines your eternity - join us to discern how you are approaching God - now and eternally.

In lieu of eternity, sermons and musical artists are featured to extol JESUS CHRIST as the sole hope for the eternal souls of humanity.

Transcript

Welcome And Opening Prayer

SPEAKER_00 0:00

We thank you for joining our Words of Life broadcast or podcast where our mission is making God known for extolling Jesus the Christ as the sole hope for the eternal souls of humanity. We now join Pastor Mark for this week's Words of Life message.

Text In Leviticus: Be Holy

What Holiness Means And Why It Matters

Sacrifice And The Requirement Of Blood

Israel Set Apart And God’s Presence

The High Priest And The Holiest Place

From Leviticus To Christ

Jesus The Superior High Priest

Once-For-All Sacrifice In Hebrews 10

Be Holy In All Conduct

How We Approach God Today

Application: Are You Safe To Meet God

SPEAKER_01 0:17

Hey there again to you, Words of Life listeners and viewers. I am Pastor Mark, and before we get started, I always like to address you. I thank you. Because the truth of the matter is, you could have been doing anything else, you could have been watching or listening to anybody else, whether you're watching the broadcast or you're listening to the podcast, but you have allowed God's Spirit to direct you to this ministry to minister the words of life, God's word, the Bible, the gospel through Jesus Christ. You have chosen to listen to us or to watch us. And for that, I want to say thank you. With that intro done, uh, we are going right into our opening text. And our text for this week's sermon is we're gonna go to the book of Leviticus. Um, the Old Testament. You have Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, that is that third Old Testament book that we're gonna start with. I'd like for you to turn to chapter 20, verse 26, again, Leviticus 20 and 26. And while you are turning there, uh allow me to open with prayer. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we thank you so much for this opportunity, for your goodness, your mercy, your grace. We first ask that you forgive us for our sinfulness, thought, word, or deed. We have missed the mark of your holiness somewhere. But we thank you. There is no condemnation because of Jesus who allows us to come before you. We know that we are forgiven if we simply just confess our sins unto you. And now we thank you for your Holy Spirit, who has promised to perfect the work, to complete the work that you have started in our heart. We ask that you touch every listener. We ask that you touch every viewer, and we ask that you speak specifically the need to the heart that is listening or watching. We will be careful to give you all the glory. In the name of Jesus Christ, we do pray. Amen. Hopefully, during that prayer, you have made it to the book of Leviticus, chapter 20, verse 26, and I'm going to read, I'm going to begin reading that one verse, Leviticus 20 and 26. And if you're watching the broadcast, the words are uh being put up on the screen. Uh, but if you're listening to the podcast, here we go: Leviticus 20 and 26. The word of God says, You are to be holy to me. Because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be mine. May the Lord add a blessing to the hearers, the readers, but most importantly, those that intend to do. With God's help, his holy word. The title of our message this week is entitled The Sacrificial Lamb of God. The sacrificial lamb of God. So as we get into the text or our sermon this week, uh, thinking about my introductory thoughts, you know, there are many attributes of God. I I I mean, they're just endless. He is so faithful, he is loving, he is so merciful, he's he's just all that with the many varied attributes of God. Today I want to address the one that our finite minds have trouble comprehending, but it is a must that we understand it when it comes to God's essence and any human attempt at a relationship with Him. And here it is. We must understand this attribute because there's no getting around it. He is holy, and so let's go to our scriptural exegesis of the text in context. When we're talking about holy, again, uh, our finite mind, we just don't get it. That is just absolute moral perfection. He is holy, he is pure, he is inherently holy, while on the opposite end of the spectrum, humanity. We are inherently sinful and infected. Holiness is absolute purity, moral perfection, free from sin, and we are uh uh just mountains, miles away, oceans away from that. So, within the context of the opening text, hopefully we've given an overview or a brief review in trying to understand what holy is that is definitely God. But the second part, I'm gonna throw in this exegesis before we start exegeting the scripture in context. I want to bring out that word that we put into the title sacrifice or sacrificial. A sacrifice is an offering, it is a victim. We can combine those and we can actually say a sacrifice is the offering of a victim. Uh, here's where it's key. I'm gonna reference a New Testament scripture real quick, the book of Hebrews, chapter 9, verse 22, in which the verse says, without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins. And that New Testament requirement for the forgiveness of sins, we must understand that our forgiveness, uh being made right, reconciled to God because of Jesus, that is only possible through the shedding of Jesus Christ's blood. And that serves as a perfect and a final sacrifice. It signifies that the penalty for sin, it is death, and that penalty had to be paid for forgiveness to occur, and that's where Jesus comes in. But let's backtrack before transitioning to the New Testament application of this requirement of blood had to be shed. Somebody had to die. Let's backtrack so that we can exegete uh the opening text, Leviticus 20 and 26, within the same context of God's holiness and the demands that God had. Then, guess what? They stand today because God is the same yesterday. He is the same today, and he is the same forevermore. You know, holiness is a demand. And when we go back to Leviticus, I want to read the scripture again. He tells the Israelite, you are to be holy to me, because I, the Lord, am holy. And so what God is doing is the backstory, the exegesis is understand that Israel will always be forever God's covenant people. But here's the beauty of that statement: we don't have to feel like we're stepchildren, Gentiles, if you are not of Israel's heritage or Jewish, that is his covenant people. But for us, those that are outside of that, just because of their rejection of him, and they will be reconciled, God opened the door for us to be grafted into his family as Gentiles. So now we are part of his family as well. But back to the text. As we're exegeting the text, God says, You're to be holy to me. I, the Lord, your God, I am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be mine. What is stunning about this is God, even in his mercy, he is holy. We are not. Even in his mercy, we see in the book of Leviticus, in this verse, that God is preparing his people for his presence. I mean, think about that for a second. He's saying, Hey, I am who I am, I am what I am, you are what you are, you are sin personified, but I will dwell among you. My presence will visit you, I will be with you, I will be your God, but don't trip. I am holy. So there are some things that have to take place before I allow you to even be in my presence. I'm just gonna stop right there because that right there is showing the mercy, the grace, and the love of God. I want to dwell with you. I created you for me, I love you dearly, but don't ever forget, I am holy, and you're just not approaching or waltzing into God's presence. Nobody is. It's not happening now, and it's certainly not happening for eternity. And so now, hopefully, we can understand in context the reason God demands holiness to, you know, that that in in referencing Leviticus 20 and 26, he demands of his people, hey, I am holy. God's presence would be among his people, and again, nobody simply approaches God. So Israel needed help with this, they needed some directions. Understand right now the role of the high priest back then, and there is a high priest that had to prepare to enter the holiest of holies to offer a perfect animal sacrifice by the sprinkling of the blood on the mercy seat. Now understand this had to be done every day, every month, every year. Sins had to be dealt with. And even if the high priest did not approach within the holies of holies the right way, he would fall dead. And there was a little bell on his side that it would, once he fell dead, they would have to drag him out of there, the holiest of holies, if he did not approach the correct way. And so let's backtrack now in context, in so many words, Leviticus 20 and 26. Israel was being prepared by God. You are to be holy to me, because I am holy. I've set you apart from the nations to be mine, and so Israel had to prepare to be in God's presence, lest they be consumed and die immediately. The word of God, Lamentations chapter 3, verses 22 and verses 23 indicate it is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because God's compassions fail not, they are new every morning. Great is the Lord's faithfulness, and so I want to repeat again before we start making this transition from the old testament to the new testament. Nobody, even God's chosen covenant people, Israel, nobody gets to approach God without implementing specific directives that God has laid out that must be followed. And so now let's make this transition into the New Testament. Because as we transition into the New Testament, we have the same concept. God is holy, we are his people. We have the same concept, but a more excellent sacrifice once and for all time. It is available to everybody. I want to go to the word of God and start reading some of these New Testament scriptures that literally undergird uh the aforementioned. When we look at the book of Hebrews, and we're gonna look at chapter 7, verses 26 and 28. I believe I'm gonna read 26 through 28. That is correct. The word of God says, For this is the kind of high priest that we need, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He doesn't need to offer sacrifices every day as high priests do, first for their own sins, then they do this for the sins of the people. Jesus did this once and for all time when he offered himself. And I want to enclose it with Jesus, the Son of God, has been perfected, he took care of the law, all of its requirements, offering his body, his blood as the perfect sacrifice. He is Jesus, a superior priest. Let's skip down to Hebrews. We're going to talk about the perfect sacrifice. Let's go to Hebrews chapter 10, a few chapters later. Let's read verse 5. Therefore, as he, Jesus, was coming into the world, he said, You did not desire sacrifice and offering, but you prepared a body for me. You did not delight in whole burnt offerings and sin offerings. Then I said, See, it is written about me in the scroll, I have come to do your will, God. Skipping down to verse 10, by this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time. Skipping a few verses, let's go over to verse 12. But this man, after offering one sacrifice for sins forever, Jesus sat down at the right hand of God. He is now waiting until his enemies are made his footstool. For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are sanctified. Skipping down to verse 18. Now, where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer an offering for sin. Let's skip over to 1 Peter chapter 1. Um, I think I'm gonna start reading midway between verse 13, where the scriptures tell us to set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conform to the desires of your former ignorance. But as the one who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct. And then skipping down, I do believe you'll forgive me because I am literally trying to do this without my glasses, but I'm gonna press on anyway. Through him, through Jesus, you believe in God who raised him from the dead and gave him glory so that your faith and your hope are in God. There's a phrase that I love to say: no Jesus, K N O, no God, K N O W. K N O W No Jesus, K N O W, no God. But no Jesus, N-O, no God, N-O. And so we find that Jesus, as we begin to transition now from the New Testament to our application now. What does this mean to us? Well, we have to understand, just even in context. We read in the book of Leviticus, the book of Leviticus makes clear that God is holy, but he still wants to dwell with and visit his people, and there are things that need to be done: a sacrifice, a blood, blood has to be shed, a life has to be given. So God is preparing his people for how to approach him. And we do understand that the priest was the mediator, he had to be purified, he stood between Israel and God, and he's the one that offered that sacrifice on their behalf. And again, remember, just think about this. What if you had to do something every day, every year? And it better be right with no mistakes anywhere within. This had to be done by the high priest to cover the continual sins of the people. But along comes Jesus as we make this transition to the New Testament and how we can apply it to our lives. Because Jesus did for us what high priests had to do before Jesus. Old Testament believers, they needed animal sacrifices every year. But for the New Testament believers after Calvary, we have been sanctified through the offering of Jesus Christ in his blood once and for all. Animal sacrifices are now obsolete, they're not needed. Every sacrifice has been fulfilled in Christ and it lasts forever, and that is how we must approach God. There is no if, there is no but, there are no rules or ways around it. A life has to be given for sin, blood has to be shed for sin. And Jesus came along by God's will to reconcile us back to Him. We don't get to choose, Lord, this is how I'm gonna approach you. Nope. No one will just walk over with disdain the precious holy blood shed by Jesus Christ for our reconciliation and salvation unto God. So as we think about applicable points prior to closing, I want us to think about these as we go forth towards the end of our message. Here's our first application point to consider. One, are you prepared to meet God safely? If we look at the book of Revelation, chapter 20, verses 15 and 16, or 14 and 15, am I mistake? We're gonna read these verses, and they're talking about these verses talk about the final judgment. Uh, because we will die, we will meet God. The final judgment in Revelation 20, 14 and 15 says, Then death and Hades, hell, were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. I want to pause right there before I even get to verse 15 because it's stunning when I read it, and then you come to understand it. Let's just say prior to the rapture, you die. As a Christian, you are immediately into the presence of God. But if you die without Jesus as your Savior, if you refuse, you neglect God's offer of accepting Jesus as your perfect high priest, and the rapture has not occurred, well, to hell you go. But if you look at this verse, you're not going to one, you're going to two, you're going to suffering unimaginable. And your soul and spirit are cognizant of everything happening to you. And that will last for so long, time doesn't even put any minute, any second or hour on it. But now consider when God says, Okay, that's enough. I'm gonna go ahead and put an all to this, I'm gonna restore everything back to newness, I'm gonna put the devil and demons, sin where they belong forever, and I will dwell with my people forever. The word of God, if you caught that in verse 14, it says, Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This, the lake of fire, that's the second death. Wow, you're eternally separated from God with no hope of redemption. Verse 15, let me conclude. And if anyone was found whose name was not written in the book of life, from death and Hades, the first time you die, they are then thrown into the lake of fire, which is the second death, the lake of fire, verse 14 says. I'm gonna pause just for effect there to think about that. Eternity is nothing to play with. Sin, it must be dealt with. God is going to deal with it. But the beauty is for those of us that have accepted his offer, he's dealt with it at Calvary. Are you prepared to meet God safely? Because it can only be done through Jesus, our high priest, the perfect sacrifice. Here's application point number two: the blood of Jesus will not be treated indifferently. There is no other name that we can have redemption through any other sacrifice, it is through the blood of Jesus. Hebrews chapter 9, verses 24 through 28, verse 24 start. Nor did Jesus enter heaven to offer himself again and again, as the high priest enters the most holy place every year with blood that is not his own. Verse 26. Otherwise, Christ would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But now he has appeared once, and for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin. Here we go, by the sacrifice of himself. Verse 27: just as man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment, so also Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many, and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await him. Have you accepted that there is only one sacrifice that God will accept? It is the sacrificial Lamb of God, Jesus. We are redeemed through his blood alone. We don't have to go to another priest. Nobody has to intercede on our behalf when it comes to eternity and being reconciled to God. That is done and over with. Leaving point two, the blood of Jesus, it will not be treated indifferently, leads us right into point number three. There is no other sacrifice acceptable to have a relationship with God. Acts four and twelve. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by whisk by which we must be saved. John 14 and 6, Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Philippians chapter 2, verses 9 through 11. Therefore God exalted him, Jesus, to the highest place, and gave Jesus the name above all names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. It all comes back to Father. Everything comes back to God the Father. I am holy, you will be holy, and it better be done through Jesus and my Holy Spirit now perfecting you and completing the good work that He alone starts in you, because you are my people if you accept Jesus as your high priest, the sacrificial lamb given for you and me. Isaiah chapter 43, verse 11. I, yes, I am the Lord, and there is no Savior but me. So as we conclude today's message, point number one, we talked about are you prepared to meet God safely? We challenged ourselves with point number two. The blood of Jesus will not be treated indifferently. How do I treat it? Even how do I represent it at the Lord's Supper? And then the third application point there is no other acceptable sacrifice to have a relationship with God. How are you trying to approach him? My friend, there is only one perfect, holy, unblemished sacrifice that meets God's demands to reconcile sinful humanity back to Him. And this must be done prior to the beginning of an eternity that starts unbeknownst to us at different times, but God alone knows our exit date from earth. This is not the time to be gambling with or playing Russian roulette with our eternal safety in God's presence. And so I would like for you to pray for me. If you do not, if you're not even sure, have I accepted God's offer of salvation and safety, reconciliation through the only sacrifice, unblemished, perfect, the sacrificial Lamb of God, Jesus. Have I done that? If you are one iota, unsure, I want you to pray this prayer with me. Father God, in the name of Jesus, I first acknowledge my inability to sacrifice or do anything to secure my eternal reconciliation to you and my salvation in your presence. So, Lord, help me. To be, to believe that Jesus did all of this. He accomplished all of this for me. And all that I have to do is trust him and behold. And then finally see, Father, I confess with my mouth that you are my Lord and I will go forth. Lord, help me. Holy Spirit, you will perfect that. That good work that you started in me. And Lord, help me as I go day by day, renouncing sin, depending upon you to make me holy. Because I do belong to you. If you pray that prayer, I'm celebrating with you because heavenless heaven certainly is rejoicing. And I am grateful that God has given you this opportunity to accept Jesus as your high priest, the perfect, sacrificial lamb of God that we all need. Before I get out of here, I do want to thank you, listeners and viewers. Again, if you're listening to the podcast, you're watching the broadcast, or if you miss this broadcast or podcast, the downloads are available at your preferred digital retailer, your digital retailer. Well, I always start rushing when my producer starts giving me the wind up. So I'm going to get through this. I'm going to try not to make another mistake, but meet my time mark. These are available at your preferred digital retailers or at our webpage, words of life with pastormark.com. Also, we continue to be excited about our new book, Navigating Life. And it is available as well at Amazon, Google Play, Barnes and Noble Press, Books.by slash MarkD Ingram or anywhere else. And last but not least, we did get our songwriting project released. And it is entitled One Way. And that also is available anywhere. Streaming downloads are sold. And to close this week's message, our song of the week is the aforementioned title of the entire project. And we do hope the song ministers to your spirit and that you have made the decision to appropriate Jesus' perfect sacrifice to your life prior to eternity. We do thank you for listening. We thank you for watching. We are praying for you, and much love we convey to you as we get out of here knowing and agreeing with you that God alone, He is the keeper of our soul. God bless you. We'll see you again at another time. Much love. Bye-bye.

Song: One Way (Closing Worship)

The Blood Of Jesus Is Not Optional

SPEAKER_02 33:31

Don't even bother. One way, one way, two God. There's only one way. There's no colour. One way, crystal clear. One way. Judgment. One way. There is no way. One way. There's only one way. Who's got the time isn't that? Calgary just for you and one way. There is no love. One leg. One leg. And trust. Oh eternity. It's for you and me. One of the things that we're going to