Our Sins...His Righteousness

In Leviticus 16, we are told of a rather strange event that would occur every year on the day of atonement. The high priest would take one goat and sacrifice it for his own sins. He would then lay hands on another goat and he would confess the sins of Israel as he laid his hands on the goat. The goat would then be led out into the wilderness far away from the temple and set free. The first goat symbolized the sacrifice for sin which brought forgiveness of sin, but it is an incomplete understanding of forgiveness. The second goat gave the Israelites a picture of what God was doing with their sins. He was removing them.

I wonder if sometimes, all we ever experience is the forgiveness of our sins. We never understand that our sins are removed. And not only are they removed, but we are empowered to live free from their bondage.

The second goat, the scapegoat was taken into the wilderness by someone who knew the wilderness. They knew the most remote places to take the goat so that it would never find its way back. Once removed, the sins of the people were removed.


2 Corinthians 5:21 says: “God made Him who had no sin to become sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of Christ.” There is a transfer that occurs. Jesus took our sins and paid our spiritual debt. But that is only one-half of the transfer. He also says, "I'll give you my righteousness, and we'll call it even." What an amazing concept. He takes our sin, we get His righteousness. Now follow this closely. Just as the transferal of our sins caused something to take place in His life (He had to die on the cross because of our sins), His righteous ought to cause something to take place in our lives (we are now empowered to live...right or righteously!

Before you begin to give the argument...everyone sins. I agree! The Scripture clearly says "All have sinned..."(Romans 3:23). And before you argue, "No one is perfect". I agree! But let me add this...to excuse our sins on our sinful nature is to deny His righteous being transferred to us. It is amazing to me that so many who want to claim the transferal of our sins to Him want to deny the transferal of His righteousness to us.

Does that mean I am sinless? Of course not. But it does mean I do not have to sin. It is my choice. Imperfection is not an excuse to live imperfectly. We are empowered to live righteously!

I am not denying that His grace covers our sins...past, present and future. But to fully appreciate His willingness to receive my sins, and I must also understand what He gives me...His righteousness.

Have I sinned in the past? Sure. Will I sin in the future? Probably. But if I do, it will not be because His righteousness is not available? It will not be because I am imperfect. It will be because of my choice. Let me put it another way. I read a definition of the word “values” today in a career planning lesson I was teaching to high school seniors. The lesson had nothing to do with spirituality or our relationship with God. The lesson defined “values” as “something that means enough to us that it changes our behavior”.

If the occupational world understands that truth, surely we who follow Jesus can at least agree that if we value our forgiveness, it ought to change our behavior! Not because of our righteousness, but because we have been empowered with His righteousness!

Experiencing Forgiveness and Respecting The Holiness of God

Can you imagine having to follow the requirement? Bring two goats into the Holy of Holies, sacrifice one and place your hands on the head of the other and then drive it into the wilderness? Talk about a strange tradition. But this was the beginning of one of the most sacred and anticipated days in the nation of Israel...the day of atonement.

But it is important that we understand why? Aaron’s two sons, Nadab and Abihu, were killed because the Bible says that they brought alien fire into the presence of the Lord. While we don't know exactly what this alien fire was, one thing is certain, they did not respect the holiness of God. God struck them down because of their irreverence. Whether we like it or not, whether we want to do it or not, we must respect the holiness of God. Sin always occurs when we lose our respect for the holiness of God.

The irreverence of Nadab and Abihu led to the creation of this holy day, known on the Jewish calendar as Yom Kippur. Leviticus 16:3-6 says, “When Aaron enters the sanctuary area, he must follow these instructions fully. He must bring a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. He must put on his linen tunic and the linen undergarments worn next to his body. He must tie the linen sash around his waist and put the linen turban on his head. These are sacred garments, so he must bathe himself in water before he puts them on. This is interesting, the high priest always wore the more ritual garments, but not on the Day of Atonement. On the Day of Atonement, he was stripped down to linen garments and it represented humility before God. Aaron must take from the community of Israel two male goats for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. “Aaron will present his own bull as a sin offering to purify himself and his family..."


Notice first of all that Aaron was to offer the bull as a sin offering for himself.  We must find forgiveness and victory over our own sin issues before we can help anyone else with their sin issues. So many Christians spend their entire lives dealing with their own issues, never getting victory over their sin, that they can never help others. Former Chaplain of the U.S. Senate, Peter Marshall, once wrote about many Christians, “We are too Christian really to enjoy sinning, and too fond of sinning really to enjoy Christianity.” The problem with living that way is that when you want it both ways, you don't get either way. It makes us miserable.

The Gospel of Leviticus teaches us that we can find forgiveness of sin but we are also empowered to be free from sin.

Good News!

In its original context, the word gospel meant good news. Let's say that a couple gets pregnant with their first child. When they make the announcement to family and friends, that would be a gospel moment. It is the moment when good news is shared.

A “lame duck” President met with his successor in the Oval Office. Near the end of the orientation, he presented the incoming leader three numbered envelopes, with specific instructions to open them, in order, when great difficulties arose. After the new President completed his honeymoon period with the media and the public, the nation experienced an economic downturn. He opened the first envelope. Inside was a card that read: “Blame me.” So he did, criticizing the former administration. After a while, social upheaval brought about a critical domestic crisis. The President opened the second envelope. Inside was a card that read: “Blame my party.” He did so, in an overt display of partisan politics. About a year later, foreign policy resulted in serious problems and the President opened the third envelope. Inside, the card read: “Prepare three envelopes.”

It’s been said, “He who smiles in a crisis has found someone to blame”. Some enterprising business came up with an idea for offering a unique service. The company was called Rent-A-Scapegoat. They advertised that they would gladly come to any business and accept blame for whatever happened, admitting to nearly anything.  This week, we are going to be looking at the original scapegoat found in Leviticus 16. In this amazing Old Testament illustration of the grace, mercy, and empowerment of God in our lives, we will discover that God has provided forgiveness and removal of our sins. And it is really good news!

Being A Part Of The Process

I have a couple of friends that are not Christians. I have prayed for them for years. I have talked to them about their spiritual condition. But at this point, they have not chosen to surrender their lives to Christ. And because of their choices, there are a couple of struggles that I experience. The first is the feeling that I have failed to reach them. The second is the temptation to continually pressure them to choose to accept Christ.

However, I am coming to realize that there comes a time when a person crosses the line between consideration of Christian and rejection of Christianity. And the responsibility of that rejection does not rest on me. It rests on my friends.

This is a really important point. Sometimes, we preachers, in an attempt to encourage our church to witness, lay a pretty heavy guilt trip on our people. We imply that some people will spend eternity separated from God and it will be our fault! Now, let me make this clear. While it is essential that we share our faith with others, (that's why I've spent three weeks on the subject), I think it is important that we remember this: If a person spends eternity without Christ it is because they intentionally rejected his offer of salvation and chose instead to live for themselves.

While they may blame a host of people for their rejection, the truth is, they made a decision and they are responsible for it. When we share our faith with others, we must remember that they are responsible for their decision.

Why is that important? We don't share our faith to absolve ourselves of feelings of guilt. There is very little true motivation in that. We share our faith because Christ has radically changed our lives, and we can't keep it to ourselves. The goal in sharing is not to "close the deal", but to be a part of the process of the Holy Spirit's working in the life of an individual. Or as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:6-8: "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor."


The process is someone will plant, someone will water...but only God makes things grow! I don't know about you, but I want to be a part of the process.

How Persuasive Should We Be?

When we share our story, we know that the person needs really needs Jesus. And we want them to accept Him right now. We don't want them to go another minute without Him in their lives.

However, part of our respecting the individual and showing gentleness to them (1 Peter 3:15) is allowing them time to really think about this life-altering decision. When an individual has lived 15, 30, or even 40 or more years without Christ, we shouldn't become upset when they don't make an instant decision to accept Jesus the moment we share our story. I once read that some studies are showing that on average, an unsaved person will attend a church for over a year before they really make a decision to follow Christ.

It is important that we remember that it is not our responsibility to persuade people to make a decision. The Holy Spirit will do His work in their lives and draw them to God's amazing love. We don't have to push anyone into making the decision. The Holy Spirit will woo (how's that for a really old-fashioned word) them. The Spirit is an accomplished persuader, having successfully persuaded millions of people throughout the course of history to put their trust and faith in Jesus Christ. The Spirit is much better at drawing people to Christ than I am. Again, my responsibility is to tell the story...the Spirit's responsibility is to draw all men to God.

I like the example Rick Warren uses: "What if you went to a restaurant and the waiter stood at your table demanding that you order steak. 'You must have steak, and you must have it right now. Today is the appointed day of steak! If you don't have steak today, you might never get another chance to have steak again!" Would you trust a waiter who tried to pressure you into having steak? Of course not. You want time to look at the menu and make your own choice."

Each of us, individually, makes the choice to accept or reject the good news of the Gospel. Recognizing that we are not responsible to persuade people concerning the choice ought to relieve the pressure and fear that so many of us feel about witnessing. If we share the story...we are successful. It is up to the individual to decide what they will do with the story. Let's respect their right to make their decision and be gentle with them as we encourage them to make that decision.