Finally, we find
more warnings about the solemnity of the day in Leviticus 23:26-32
—26 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: “27 Also the
tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a
holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering
made by fire to the LORD. 28 And you shall do no work on that same day, for it
is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the LORD your God. 29
For any person who is not afflicted in soul on that same day shall be cut off
from his people. 30 And any person who does any work on that same day, that
person I will destroy from among his people. 31 You shall do no manner of work;
it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your
dwellings. 32 It shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall
afflict your souls; on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to
evening, you shall celebrate your sabbath.” So on the 9th of
Tisri, at sundown (or, to be more accurate, the hour before sunset), you
stopped doing anything—ANYTHING. That includes eating. This was to be a fast
from sundown on the 9th until sundown on the 10th. You
took that 24-hour (or so) period and mourned over your sins—that is, you
afflicted your soul. This was the great fall holy day, with Passover being the
great spring holy day.
And then look at what
happens to those who do not afflict their souls, and who work on that day.
Verses 29-30—“29 For any person who is not
afflicted in soul on that same day shall be cut off from his people.
30 And any person who does any work on that same day, that person I
will destroy from among his people.” Again, God threatening
immediate destruction to any who disobey His direct command, and who treat the
observance of the holy days of God as a trifling thing. Not only does this show
us, again, the absolute right of God to destroy that which He has created, but
it shows us that the atonement granted by God is not universal. When the one
goat was killed and the other sent off into the wilderness, were these acts
effective for all in Israel? Well, yes…and no. They were effective only for those
who afflicted themselves and who did no work on that day. Did the slaying and
sending off of those goats make it possible for the people to be atoned for? Or
did it purchase actual atonement? It would be silly to say the former was the
effect. And yet there are some who say that our Scapegoat, the One slain for
our sins and sent into the wilderness of death to take away our sins, was slain
and sent away to make men savable, or that He paid the price for—and atoned
for—even those who willingly reject Him. He may be the
propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world
(1st John 2:2), but that does not mean He is the propitiation
for every single person. To say that is to make His sacrifice of no effect
since, if He paid for even the sins of the unbelievers, then they are saved,
since in Christ all are made alive (1st Corinthians 15:22). And since it is ludicrous to argue that 1st
Corinthians 15:22 means that Christ has made every single person ever born
alive (since not every single person who has ever been born has believed on
Christ and thus those who do not believe are not made alive by Him), then it is
equally ludicrous for one to argue that 1st John 2:2 means
that Christ died for (and consequently atoned for) the sins of every single
person ever born (since not every single person who has ever been born has
believed on Christ and thus the sins of those who do not believe are not propitiated
by Him).
So what are we to say
then? Only this: that just as the goats were killed and sent away only for
those who afflicted their souls and did no work on the Day of Atonement (יֹום הַכִּפֻּרִים, yom ha’kippuryim), so too the Lamb of God was slain
only for those who would come to Him and believe on Him who is our atonement
for sin and our Scapegoat. John Gill explains 1st John 2:2,
and its implications concerning “the whole world”—
“[Phrases
such as] ‘When a great man makes a mourning, כולי עלמא, “the whole world” come to honour him;’ i.e. a great number
of persons attend the funeral pomp: and so these phrases, כולי עלמא לא פליגי, ‘the whole world’ is not divided, or does not dissent; כולי עלמא סברי, ‘the whole world’ are of opinion, are frequently met with
in the Talmud, by which, an agreement among the Rabbins, in certain points, is
designed; yea, sometimes the phrase, ‘all the men of the world’, only intend
the inhabitants of a city where a synagogue was, and, at most, only the Jews:
and so this phrase, ‘all the world’, or ‘the whole world’, in Scripture, unless
when it signifies the whole universe, or the habitable earth, is always used in
a limited sense, either for the Roman empire, or the churches of Christ in the
world, or believers, or the present inhabitants of the world, or a part of them
only, (see Luke 2:1); and so it is in this epistle, 1st
John 5:19; where the whole world lying in wickedness is manifestly
distinguished from the saints, who are of God, and belong not to the world; and
therefore cannot be understood of all the individuals in the world.
And the like distinction is in this text itself, for ‘the
sins of the whole world’ are opposed to ‘our sins’, the sins of the apostle and
others to whom he joins himself; who therefore belonged not to, nor were a part
of the whole world, for whose sins Christ is a propitiation as for theirs: so
that this passage cannot furnish out any argument for universal redemption; for
besides these things, it may be further observed, that for whose sins Christ is
a propitiation, their sins are atoned for and pardoned, and their persons
justified from all sin, and so shall certainly be glorified, which is not true
of the whole world, and every man and woman in it; moreover, Christ is a
propitiation through faith in his blood, the benefit of his propitiatory
sacrifice is only received and enjoyed through faith; so that in the event it
appears that Christ is a propitiation only for believers, a character which
does not agree with all mankind; add to this, that for whom Christ is a
propitiation he is also an advocate, 1st John 2:1; but he is not an advocate for every
individual person in the world; yea, there is a world he will not pray for John 17:9, and consequently is not a
propitiation for them.”
To say that Christ paid
for the sins of every person who has ever been born is tantamount to saying
that Jesus saved every single person who has ever been born—His paying for sins
and that person being saved being synonymous with one another. Thus, our Lord
Jesus Christ has paid for your sins—if and only if you believe upon Him for
salvation; if you afflict your soul, mourn over your sins, repent of your sins
and follow in His obedience to the Father; if you cease from your own labors,
trying to work your way into a right relationship with God. For if you still
labor and work to make yourself righteous, you will fail, and the cross will
not be anything more to you than a decoration on a wall, a talisman to try and
ward off evil spirits, which is of no effect to the spirits which beset a man.
To conclude, I leave you with the words of the apostle Paul, from Galatians
5:1-6—1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by
which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of
bondage. 2 Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ
will profit you nothing. 3 And I testify again to every man who becomes
circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. 4 You have become
estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen
from grace. 5 For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of
righteousness by faith. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor
uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.
The Day of Atonement was a great day. It is when our sins were transferred to an animal that had done nothing wrong. But it only cam around once a year. And if you weren't there at the Tabernacle on that day, and if you did not prepare yourself rightly, your sins were not atoned for. But now, we can have our sins forgiven at any time, as they were transferred to the One who had done no wrong.
Come, ye sinners, poor and needy,
weak and wounded, sick and sore;
Jesus ready stands to save you,
full of pity, love, and pow'r.
Come, ye thirsty, come, and welcome,
God's free bounty glorify;
true belief and true repentance,
every grace that brings you nigh.
Let not conscience make you linger,
nor of fitness fondly dream;
all the fitness He requireth
is to feel your need of Him.
Come, ye weary, heavy laden,
lost and ruined by the fall;
if you tarry till you're better,
you will never come at all.
pleads the merit of His blood;
venture on Him, venture wholly;
let no other trust intrude.
Jesus Christ is Lord.
Amen.
