(Continued
from yesterday - excerpt)
If the whole congregation sinned, then “the
elders of the congregation shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock.”
Verse 15. Also verse 24; chap. 8:14, 22. The object of this action is made
clear in chap. 16:21, where the same thing is done over the scape-goat.
The high
priest was there acting in behalf of all the people. “And Aaron shall lay both
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.”
This could
be the only object in all like transactions. Thus the sin was transferred from
the sinner to the object or offering upon which his hands were laid. And this
opens to us the full sense of Lev. 1:4, and parallel passages. “He shall put
his hand upon the head of the burnt offering,”—thereby transferring his sin to
the offering, so that it bore the sin of the man—“and it shall be accepted for
him.”
Of course
it was accepted as an offering to the broken law, in his stead, for it had his
sin. While the action of the priest in Lev. 16:21 is conclusive as to the
object of laying one’s hand upon the head of his offering, to put his sins upon
the head of the sacrifice, it does not confound the scape-goat with the sin
offering, as some have imagined.
Of this we
shall speak at length in another place. The same is fully shown by the
following: Although the sinner was required to lay his hand on the head of the
offering, the priest made the atonement for him; Lev. 4:20, 26, 31, 35, and
others.
The
atonement was made with the blood of the offering. It was early revealed to man
that the blood was the life. “But flesh
with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.” Gen.9:4.
“Be sure that thou eat not the blood; for the blood is the life; and thou
mayest not eat the life with the flesh.” Deut. 12:23. “For the life of the
flesh is in the blood.” “For it is
- 91 - J.
H. Waggoner
the life
of all flesh.” “For the life of all flesh is the blood thereof.” Lev. 17:11,
14. Therefore when the Lord said, “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his
blood be shed,” it was equivalent to saying, Whoso taketh man’s life, by man
shall his life be taken; for he said again, “Your blood of your lives will I
require.” Gen. 9:5. Now “the wages of sin is death,” and “without shedding of
blood there is no remission.” Rom. 6:23; Heb. 9:22.
That is to
say, the sinner has forfeited his life, and the law dishonored cannot be
satisfied or vindicated without the shedding of blood, or taking life, for life
is its due. This plainly shows that the penalty of the law is executed by
shedding blood, or taking life; and also that the remission of sin, or its
penalty, to the sinner, does not relax the claims of the law; for when his sin
was transferred to the offering, that was accepted for him, and its blood or
life taken for his. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have
given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls; for it is
the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.” Lev. 17:11.
So the sin
was remitted or forgiven the sinner, and laid upon another, who suffered its
penalty. With these facts before us, we notice that all those scriptures which
speak of Christ’s blood being shed, are a confirmation of the fact that he
died, or suffered the penalty of the law. The wages of sin is death—the life is
in the blood; he shed his blood—he died for sin. How plain the truth; how
reasonable the plan appears when freed from the perversions and “doctrines of
men.” That which is done for another is vicarious. Death suffered for another
is vicarious death; but in the preceding cases brought from the Scriptures, the
sin offerings never were slain or offered for themselves, or for their own
wrongs, but always for the sins of others. Their blood was shed in the stead of
that of others; their deaths were truly vicarious. And if we take away from
them all ideas of substitution or vicariousness, we take away the sole reason
of their being slain, and all possibility of an atonement consistent with justice.
It needs no more than a mere reference to the Scriptures to show the relation
those transactions bore to the gospel of Christ, and that the death of Christ
was in truth substitutionary and vicarious. “All
The
Atonement - 92
we like
sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord
hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isa. 53:6. “Who his own self bare our
sins in his own body on the tree.” 1 Pet. 2:24. “So Christ was once offered to
bear the sins of many.” Heb. 9:28.
Thus he
bore our sins—they were laid on him—he was made sin for us; standing in that
relation to the law in our stead. And the wages of sin being death, because our
sin was laid on him, “he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for
our iniquities.” “For the transgression of my people was he stricken.” “His
soul” was made “an offering for sin.” Isa. 53:5, 8, 10. He that doeth not all
the words of the law is cursed; but Christ is made a curse for us to redeem us
from the curse of the law. Deut. 27:26; Gal. 3:10-13. “Christ died for the
ungodly.” Rom. 5:6. “Was delivered for our offenses.” Chap. 4:25. “Christ died
for our sins.” 1 Cor. 15:3. He died for all, for all were dead, or condemned to
death, for all had sinned. 2 Cor. 5:14. He “suffered for sins, the just for the
unjust.” 1 Pet. 3:18. “Christ hath suffered for us.” Chap. 4:1.
In all
these expressions the idea of substitution is prominent, as it was in the type.
Again, the same truth is taught in all those scriptures which speak of Christ
having purchased us. He gave “his life a ransom for many.” Matt. 20:28. To
ransom, says Webster, is to redeem from captivity by paying an equivalent. “Who
gave himself a ransom for all.” 1 Tim. 2:6. “Ye are not your own; for ye are
bought with a price.” 1 Cor. 6:19, 20; 7:23. “Denying the Lord that bought
them.” 2 Pet. 2:1. “Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and
gold,… but with the precious blood of Christ.” 1 Pet. 1:18, 19. “Hast redeemed
us to God by thy blood.” Rev. 5:9. “Which he hath purchased with his own
blood.” Acts 20:28. Now the sole idea of redeeming, purchasing, or buying, with
a price, is that of substitution by equivalent, or receiving one instead of
another.
(To be
continued)
(Excerpt
from-) THE ATONEMENT PART SECOND:
THE
ATONEMENT AS REVEALED IN THE BIBLE
(1884)
BY ELDER J. H. WAGGONER
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