In Christ: Know It, Live It - 13 (Forgiven!)

"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace..." Ephesians 1:7

Forgiveness in our day, like too many other lofty and glorious words, has lost its heart-stopping, mind-blowing impact.

The very life blood of the eternal Son become also man was paid as the ransom price for our redemption from sin's penalty and power. What came to us with the payment of this price? FORGIVENESS! Forgiveness comes from a verb meaning, "to send away." It also has the idea of "loosing someone from what binds him."

A wonderful Old Testament picture of this took place on the high Day of Atonement...see Leviticus 16:15-22. On that day the high priest would take 2 goats for a sin offering. He would slay the first goat for the uncleanness and sins of Israel. He would then take some of its blood into the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle and sprinkle the blood over and in front of the mercy seat. Afterwards, some of the blood of this same goat would be sprinkled on the altar of burnt offering outside the Tabernacle. Next, the high priest would take the remaining live goat and put his hands on its head, confessing over it the "iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins" Leviticus 16:21. After the sins were confessed on the goat it was taken away into the wilderness to a distant place from which it will never return, signifying the permanent removal of Israel's sin.

Note:

• Both goats are pictures of Jesus! The first goat is killed as a substitute, taking the punishment (death) of the people. The innocent suffering death for the guilty. Its blood is sprinkled on and in front of the MERCY SEAT. Over the mercy seat dwelt God in his holiness and Shekinah glory. In the mercy seat was the law of God that Israel had broken and transgressed. How could the holy God look down at His holy law the people had broken and not punish them? ONLY when SOMEONE ELSE was punished for them. A blameless sacrifice suffering for the blameworthy. Hallelujah for our blameless substitute Savior! The second goat, which remained alive, had the sins of the people confessed on his head, symbolizing that the sins were being laid on him and he would "carry" them in the sense of being a sin bearer. He was taken into the wilderness from which place he would never return, symbolizing the permanent removal of the people's sins. NEVER would the people awake one morning to heart the sound of that goat's bleating. Jesus carried our sins outside the city of Jerusalem to a hill on which He was crucified as the final, ultimate Sin-Bearer, the SCAPEGOAT for our sin, all our sin, past-present-future sin, forever. Hallelujah for our Sin-Bearing Savior!
• The Mercy Seat is also a picture of Jesus. HE is the place where mercy can be offered, where a propitiation of blood can turn away the just wrath of God against us as law-breakers. He TURNS ASIDE God's wrath from us. Hallelujah!

How far has our Mercy Seat, Scapegoat Savior taken our sin away?

"As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us" Psalm 103:12.

"...He will tread our iniquities under foot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea" Micah 7:19.

With such complete and permanent forgiveness, let us approach God with bold confidence through the blood of Christ, knowing that we do not come before Him with lingering sin, partially forgiven sin, the fragrance of sin, the guilt of sin, the memory of sin (See Jeremiah 31:34!), the threat of wrath for sin, or distance created by sin. We come FORGIVEN!