By Pastor Matthew Ritchey
The Scriptures testify that forgiveness is necessary if anyone hopes to stand in God’s presence. The animal sacrifices offered by Abel and Abraham showed the need for the shedding of blood to cover sin. The Law was a visual illustration of the ever-present problem of sin and the need of a mediator to offer a proper sacrifice before God to atone for the sins of the people. The Poetical books (Job-Song of Solomon) speak of the mercy of God who is longsuffering and merciful, while the Prophets foretold of a day when a better sacrifice would bring an everlasting forgiveness through a Redeemer who would pay for the sins of the world. In the last edition of Wisconsin Christian News (June 2020), we saw how the spotless Lamb of God went to the cross, shedding His blood for the forgiveness of our sins.
Redemption through Jesus Christ is the focus of the book of Hebrews, which expounds upon the forgiveness provided by the shed blood of Jesus Christ who died for us on the cross.
Before the cross of Christ, people would offer sacrifices on an altar to atone for their sins. Later, under the Law of Moses, Israelites would go to a Levitite priest who would sprinkle the blood of his sacrifice on the altar to make atonement for him (Lev. 1:1-5), but these only provided a temporary covering of sins and had to be repeated over and over. Hebrews 4:14-16 begins by announcing that t ...
