Day of Reckoning. Day of Atonement. Day of Repentance. At one point in time in this society, those words would strike fear, would cause a person to pause, or would make a person think about their actions and choices. Revivals might have started over a weekend and would be extended for weeks because people were hungry for the Word of God. I haven’t heard or seen these things, but my parents and my grandparents have recalled these in times past.
So why do we not feel those things now?
Desensitization. Callousness towards sin. Blatant disregard for the cost of sin. Those are a few reasons I’ve come up with for where we are today.
What if we were living back under the law? What if we had to watch, hear, and smell the Day of Atonement? Would it change anything? I’ve been reading in Leviticus 16 about how Aaron would have to sacrifice a bull for his sin and the sin of his family. Then he would sacrifice a male goat. He would put some of the blood on the horns and all sides of the altar, sprinkle some to cleanse and purify and set Israel apart from its sins. When he finished purifying the most holy place, the tent of meeting and the altar, then he would present the live male goat. Aaron would place his hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wrong done by the Israelites. Then the goat was released in the wilderness carrying away all their sins into a desolate place where the sin would be released. This happened one time a year.
Jesus took the place of the sacrificial goat and the scapegoat for us, thereby, fulfilling the law, and it was done once for eternity. Our sin costs a high price. Isaiah 53:6, All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Our sin was laid on the head of Christ. The crown of thorns pressed into his head was our sin. The blood he shed on the cross was his sacrifice. His time in the grave was the wilderness where our sins were released, but unlike the sacrificial goat and the scapegoat under the law, our Savior overcomes. He overcame death. He overcomes the sin that was placed on Him. And He did it all for us, for you.
Words, words, words. Blah, blah, blah. Reread that last paragraph until it really sinks in. Don’t let them just be words. Your sins cost the life of an innocent man. A sinless, perfect, spotless lamb slain to cover your sins. When was the last time you felt the weight of that? When was the last time you repented and confessed your sin? Just because you call yourself a Christian doesn’t mean you’re perfect.
When was the last time you rejoiced and celebrated the liberation and freedom you have in Christ? When was the last time you shared the joy only knowing Christ can provide? When was the last time you told someone about the hope you have for the future? When was the last time you talked to someone about your home in heaven?
I’m so thankful for the blood, the cross, the victory. I’m thankful we have freedom and hope for tomorrow. I’m so thankful we are no longer under the law requiring the slaughtering of animals to cover our sins.
I want to challenge you today to talk to someone about what God has done for you. We live in a sick and dying world who needs Jesus. Who are you to withhold Him?