Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas
Jeremy approaches Bible teaching with a passion for getting the basic doctrines explained so that the individual can understand them and then apply them to circumstances in their life. These basic and important lessons are nestled in a framework of history and progression of revelation from the Bible so the whole of Scripture can be applied to your physical and spiritual life.
Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas
NT Framework - Atonement, Covering or Cure?
Jeremey challenges the common assumption that Old Testament sacrifices aimed at spiritual salvation and show how Leviticus and Hebrews distinguish ceremonial cleansing from eternal forgiveness.
More information about Beyond the Walls, including additional resources can be found at www.beyondthewalls-ministry.com
This series included graphics to illustrate what is being taught, if you would like to watch the teachings you can do so on Rumble (https://rumble.com/user/SpokaneBibleChurch) or on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtV_KhFVZ_waBcnuywiRKIyEcDkiujRqP).
Jeremy Thomas is the pastor at Spokane Bible Church in Spokane, Washington and a professor at Chafer Theological Seminary. He has been teaching the Bible for over 20 years, always seeking to present its truths in a clear and understandable manner.
Welcome to Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas and our series on the New Testament framework. Today, a smaller, bite-sized piece from the larger lesson. We hope you enjoy it.
SPEAKER_01:That view assumes something. It assumes, and this is actually a deadly assumption. I consider this to be the most deadly assumption of the word, uh, that animal sacrifices in the Old Testament function in the same spiritual sphere as Christ's sacrifice. Now, if that's the case, of course, they did not atone for people's sins or for bring forgiveness, did they? Because that would mean you're saved by animal sacrifices, right? If those sacrifices were functioning in the spiritual sphere for spiritual cleanliness, spiritual forgiveness, then that would mean that you could be saved by animal sacrifices in the Old Testament. And that's just not true, is it? So that's the deadly assumption of this idea, of this uh covering thing, or covering idea of atonement. Um, the these animal sacrifices, I'm gonna just ask you a question, and it may be controversial because people have ideas, but did the Old Testament animal sacrifices atone for sin? Yes or no? 100% yes, every single time. And it says this all over your Old Testament. It says it every time in the Old Testament. Every single time it says that they were atoned for. Now that creates uh a problem in a lot of people's minds. But again, it's because it's under the assumption that it was functioning in the same spiritual sphere that Christ's sacrifice functioned in, and that is patently false. It is biblically stated to be false. That's why I'm taking you through the word. Now, let's go to um the second meaning here, which is the actual more accurate meaning. This word means to, kipper means to smear or to so as to cleanse, to smear so as to cleanse. It's the idea that when the animal sacrifice was brought, it cleansed the offering, offerer, I'm sorry, and brought ceremonial cleanliness or forgiveness in the physical sphere. You picked up impurities bodily under the Old Testament Mosaic legislation. And because you picked up these ceremonial bodily impurities, you could not be in the presence of God who dwelt in the physical temple, right? That's why you couldn't go there without sacrifice. Because God is holy, and here you have ceremonial impurities on your physical flesh that you picked up, and that barred you from being in his presence. Okay? So therefore, the offerer would, for these purposes, have sacrificed, animal sacrifice, in order to cleanse so they could be in the presence of God, who dwelled in the temple. Now, he doesn't dwell in the physical temple today, does he? Where does he dwell? In us, spiritual temples, right? This you'll see is the difference. Okay, now that Christ has come, there's going to be a difference in his sacrifice and the sphere in which it is applicable for our salvation, so that he can dwell in us, okay? Um, so that's where we're going with all this. But let's look at Leviticus 17, and then we'll go back to Leviticus 4, and then we'll go to Hebrews to show you that this is uh even exactly what Hebrews 9 says explicitly. There's a physical sphere for the animal sacrifice, there's a spiritual sphere for what Christ was doing. Leviticus 17. And I've taken you this before earlier in discussing sacrifice in this series just a few weeks ago. Remember, 1711, the life of the flesh is where? In the blood, okay? And I've given it to you on the altar to make what? To make atonement. It's there for what? To make atonement. Does it do that? Well, yeah, that's what it's for. That's what it was happening in the Old Testament, okay? Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, No person among you may eat blood, nor may any alien who sojourns among you eat blood. So when any man from the sons of Israel or from the aliens who sojourns among them in hunting catches a beast or a bird which may be eaten, he shall pour out its blood and cover it with the earth. Why? Well, because the life is in the blood, and so you would pour out the blood and cover it with the earth, because the blood belonged to God. And therefore the hunter was not supposed to consume it. Or verse 14, the life of all flesh, its blood, the life is the is the blood, with its life. Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, You are not to eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off. Alright, so it was somewhat serious, right? Well, let's read on a little bit so we see more. When any verse 15, when any person eats an animal which dies or is torn by beasts, whether he is a native or an alien, he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water. What did I say earlier about certain sacrifices being related to uncleanliness of the body, physical, which barred you from being in the presence of God? I said that, right? Because uniquely in the Old Testament, you have God indwelling in the tabernacle and later the temple, and you had to go up to Jerusalem or to the tabernacle, right, in order to worship. Now, do we have to do that now? Do we have to go to Jerusalem? Do we have to bring sacrifice? Do we have to make this annual journey? No. Remember what Jesus said? There is coming a day when neither here or there will you worship, you know, this mount or that mount, you worship God, but all men will worship me in spiritual truth, right? Just wherever you are. Why? Because the temple's in you. You don't have to go to it, it's in you, right? So things have changed with the death of Christ. But in the Old Testament, you had to go. And you couldn't go into God's presence if you had physical impurities. And that's what it's saying here. You're unclean. You have to do this ritual of going through washing the clothes and bathing in water and remain unclean until evening, then you will become clean. So there's different procedures for ceremonial purity in the Old Testament. This one did not require sacrifice, but others did. Let's go back to chapter 4, Leviticus chapter 4, which also speaks about atonement. Chapter 4 and verse 20. It's talking about bringing a bull and what the priest will do and so forth, how he cuts up the animal, what is offered, and so forth. And then in chapter 4, verse 20, he the priest, the priest shall also do with the bull, just as he did with the bull of the sin offering, thus he shall do with it. So the priest shall make atonement for them, and they will be what? You can say it, but it's okay because the Bible says it. It's just that modern you know theology hasn't quite clear. So the priest is gonna make atonement for them with this symbol of the sin offering, and the individual will be uh forgiven. Um that's what I'm saying. They they were forgiven, but this forgiveness relates to ceremonial impurities that the offerer had brought. It was physical impurities, it was not providing for their spiritual well-being or spiritual salvation. That's something that only Christ could do. Right? Does everybody agree with that? Well, let's go see if the author of Hebrews agrees with that. Hebrews chapter 6. On the way, as we go, I'll mention that the first usage of this word atonement is with respect to the ark. Noah's Ark. You remember that after they built the Ark, they put a pitch on the external surface of the Ark to waterproof it, right? We don't know exactly what this substance was. We think of something like a tar or something like that. Whatever it was, though, it was smeared. See, it was smeared on the ark so as to signify that all its inhabitants were cleansed. It is our for first idea or picture of what atonement will do. Okay, that it will cleanse those who are smeared, so to speak. Okay, and the ark was smeared, so those within it were cleansed before God. Everything outside the ark was uncleans, right, and therefore destroyed.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you for joining us on Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas. If you would like to see the visuals that went along with today's sermon, you can find those on Rumble and on YouTube under Spokane Bible Church. That is where Jeremy is the pastor and teacher. We hope you found today's lesson productive and useful in growing closer to God and walking more obediently with Him. If you found this podcast to be useful and helpful, then please consider rating us in your favorite podcast app. And until next time, we hope you have a blessed and wonderful day.