[TABLE="class: grid, width: 500, align: center"]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]Prior To Christ's Death[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]After Christ Ascended to Heaven[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Person Sins[/TD]
[TD]Person Sins[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Person gets a pure sacrificial animal[/TD]
[TD]Christ was the pure sacrifice[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Person lays hands and confesses his/her sin onto the animal[/TD]
[TD]Person confesses his/her sin to God in prayer (Matthew 6:12 & 1 John 1:9)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Animal is brutally sacrificed to get the pure blood[/TD]
[TD]Christ's work on cross was finished. Pure blood now available[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Blood is poured for temple ministration (at base of altar & sprinkled on furnishings)[/TD]
[TD]Christ is now ministering in the temple, sprinkling his blood on our hearts to change/clean it[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Sin is forgiven by God[/TD]
[TD]Sin is forgiven by God[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Person is reckoned as clean once again, but heart hasn't changed[/TD]
[TD]Reckoned as clean, Person is also being made clean in heart so that they want to obey God not sin anymore.[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
All that has changed in this process is that Christ is performing the work he was prophesied to do; the only work he alone could do, the work that we must have faith in because we can't see him doing it in the temple in heaven (or in us), so that the cycle that occurs year after year (sin/death/sin/death/etc) is finally broken and we can one day stop sinning.
But it's still the same priest's job as exemplified in leviticus, and it's the same responsibility placed on the repentant person to do their part to confess their sin and then "sin no more" as Christ said. Only now we have a high priest who is everlasting; who never tires or needs sleep or perishes, needing to be replaced by a new high priest; who won't stop ministering with his blood until he finishes the work he begins in God's living temple made with unhewn stones (i.e. in us). That's the new and living way (as opposed to the old dead way)!
- Christ's sinless life created the pure blood for ministration.
- Christ's sacrifice made available that blood for ministration.
- Christ's resurrection provided the everlasting High Priest for ministration with that blood.
...but the sinner still has to confess their sins for the High Priest to minister God's forgiveness just like the OT examples in leviticus show...only now all we have to do is close our eyes and pray like Christ taught us.
It's a slippery slope to say we don't even have to confess our sins anymore when scripture (and specifically Christ's words) says to do exactly that.
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]Prior To Christ's Death[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]After Christ Ascended to Heaven[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Person Sins[/TD]
[TD]Person Sins[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Person gets a pure sacrificial animal[/TD]
[TD]Christ was the pure sacrifice[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Person lays hands and confesses his/her sin onto the animal[/TD]
[TD]Person confesses his/her sin to God in prayer (Matthew 6:12 & 1 John 1:9)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Animal is brutally sacrificed to get the pure blood[/TD]
[TD]Christ's work on cross was finished. Pure blood now available[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Blood is poured for temple ministration (at base of altar & sprinkled on furnishings)[/TD]
[TD]Christ is now ministering in the temple, sprinkling his blood on our hearts to change/clean it[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Sin is forgiven by God[/TD]
[TD]Sin is forgiven by God[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Person is reckoned as clean once again, but heart hasn't changed[/TD]
[TD]Reckoned as clean, Person is also being made clean in heart so that they want to obey God not sin anymore.[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
All that has changed in this process is that Christ is performing the work he was prophesied to do; the only work he alone could do, the work that we must have faith in because we can't see him doing it in the temple in heaven (or in us), so that the cycle that occurs year after year (sin/death/sin/death/etc) is finally broken and we can one day stop sinning.
But it's still the same priest's job as exemplified in leviticus, and it's the same responsibility placed on the repentant person to do their part to confess their sin and then "sin no more" as Christ said. Only now we have a high priest who is everlasting; who never tires or needs sleep or perishes, needing to be replaced by a new high priest; who won't stop ministering with his blood until he finishes the work he begins in God's living temple made with unhewn stones (i.e. in us). That's the new and living way (as opposed to the old dead way)!
- Christ's sinless life created the pure blood for ministration.
- Christ's sacrifice made available that blood for ministration.
- Christ's resurrection provided the everlasting High Priest for ministration with that blood.
...but the sinner still has to confess their sins for the High Priest to minister God's forgiveness just like the OT examples in leviticus show...only now all we have to do is close our eyes and pray like Christ taught us.
It's a slippery slope to say we don't even have to confess our sins anymore when scripture (and specifically Christ's words) says to do exactly that.