ACCEPTANCE.
We now come to Acceptance. What we have had hitherto has been, in a certain sense, negative -though, of course, very real as far as it goes. To be forgiven is very real, but is of a negative character. Let me give an illustration. Suppose a young man has behaved badly, left his home, squandered what he had and got over head and ears in debt. If he returned to his father and confessed what he had done, and his father forgave him and paid all his debts, it would be very kind indeed on the father's part, and would be very real as far as it went; but, if nothing more was done, how would the young man get on? What would he live upon? Suppose, however, that the father was a very wealthy person and head of a very large and very prosperous firm, and took the young man into partnership. He is now a member of the firm and might be heard talking of our firm, our business, etc. That would be a great deal more than being forgiven and his debts paid. So it is with the believer. It is not only that his sins are forgiven and that he is delivered from all that was against him, and that there is no condemnation for him, as we have seen, but he is a child of God, yea even more than that, " if children then heirs; heirs of God, and joint (or co) heirs with Christ" (Rom. 8:1717And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. (Romans 8:17)).
In Lev. 4, we had what Christ was in His death for the sinner, but in chap. 1. we have what He was in His death for God. And whilst the word " burn " in connection with the sin offering means to consume (as expressive of the judgment of God against sin), " burn " in connection with the burnt offering means " to rise up a sweet savor," being quite a different word. Apart from the question of our salvation, fellow-believer, infinite was the glory brought to God by the cross. In the very scene where His glory had been, as it were, trampled under foot, this world-as to the very thing so dishonoring to God, sin-in the very nature that had been the enemy's willing agent in all this, man's-Jesus glorified God: " I have glorified Thee on the earth I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do" (John 17:44I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. (John 17:4)). Was not all that precious beyond measure to the heart of God:? Let the judgment of God search Him in the most minute way (the skin removed and " cut into his pieces" ver. 6) there was nothing' but perfection to be found, and all was for God, and rose up a sweet savor (" burn" in ver. 9) to Him. The words, " of His own voluntary will" in ver. 3, should be " for His acceptance." In the next verse we have: " And He shall put His hand upon the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for Him, etc." We have seen (pp. 44 and 97), that putting the hand on the head of the animal was expressive of identification. But how different the identification now; as to the sin offering, faith can look at the cross and say, " That's me-He measured my distance from God and bore all the consequences-but God has raised from the dead the One who hung on Calvary's cross and given Him glory, that our faith and hope might be in God (1 Peter 1), so faith can look right up to where Christ is now and say, `` He who once measured my distance from God is now the measure of my acceptance and of my nearness, for: " as He is so are we in this world" (1 John 4:1717Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. (1 John 4:17)); and we are " accepted in the beloved" (Eph. 1:66To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. (Ephesians 1:6)). The reader will notice that it does not say, " accepted in Christ." No question but it means Christ. But, dear fellow-believer, God would show you and me not only how near we are, but how dear we are, to Him. So further on the same epistle, it says: " Be ye followers (or rather imitators') of God as dear children. How the Lord Jesus pressed home on the hearts of His disciples (slow to believe—as alas! ours also are), " The Father Himself loveth you" (John 16:2727For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. (John 16:27)); and, " That the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them" (John 17:2626And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them. (John 17:26)), which the world will know by and bye (John 17:2323I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. (John 17:23)).
But what became of the skin which we are told in Lev. 1:66And he shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces. (Leviticus 1:6) was removed from the burnt offering? If we turn to Lev. 7, where we get the regulations in connection with the offerings, we find in ver. 6, that
" the priest who offereth any man's burnt offering, even the priest, shall have to himself the skin of the burnt offering which he hath offered." Now, whilst not wishing to dogmatize as to the interpretation, it seems to me that the lesson taught is this. The priest is the type of the child of God as a worshipper. Of old, the priest had access only into the holy place. Now, the veil is rent and it is into
The holiest we enter
In perfect peace with God;
Through whom we found our center,
In Jesus and His blood,
Though great may be our dullness
In thought, and word, and deed,
We glory in the fullness
Of Him that meets our need.
But when I do enter, I do so, not only as a forgiven sinner (though, through grace, I am that), but as a child of God and with all the value of the work of Christ resting upon me. And it is well to remember that it is God's estimate of the value of His work, not mine. Who is it who alone estimates sin aright? God. You and 1, fellow believer, may hate sin, and the nearer we are to God, as to the state of our souls, the more we will do so. Still I could not say (nor could any believer) that I have as correct an estimate of sin as God. So also of the work of Christ. It is written, " Christ also hath loved us, and bath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor" (Eph. 5:22And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savor. (Ephesians 5:2)). The " sweet ' smelling savor rose up to God." So in the burnt offering in Lev. 1 The 9th verse tells us that (the skin having been removed) all of it was butt on the altar. Dr. Young's literal translation brings out the force of that verse with much beauty: " The priest hath made perfume with the whole on the altar, a burnt offering, a fire-offering of sweet fragrance to Jehovah." Who smelt the sweet fragrance that arose and put a true value on it? God, for that was all for Him. So I (once a poor, guilty, lost, hell-deserving sinner) now, through grace, stand before God (as does every one resting only on the work of the Lord Jesus for acceptance) according to the value that God puts on the work of the Lord Jesus Christ! What matchless grace!! Well may the Holy Spirit speak of " the EXCEEDING RICHES of His grace," which, " in the ages to come," God is going to show!!! (Eph. 2)
Again T ask, dear reader: "HAVE YOU SO Learned CHRIST!"
(Concluded from page 100.)