And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all…Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. – Hebrews 10:10, 13-14
I try to avoid blogging about bored-media-generated “scandals” – like the recent Bill O’Reilly flap over nothing – but every now and then, I’m compelled to join the swarm. Even when I don’t blog about these things, I sometimes get drawn in.
Today, I’m putting myself right in the middle of this one. Cable news show producers, take note.
Last week, “controversial” conservative columnist and commentator Ann Coulter appeared on the Donny Deutsch show on CNBC and said, among other things, that Jews needed to be “perfected,” that Christians were “perfected Jews,” and that Christianity is a “fast track.” The media and leftist or/and non-Christian bloggers have been swarming ever since. Ian Schwartz has the video and transcript.
It’s funny how the most “tolerant” people are completely intolerant of Christians. When we state our beliefs, based on what the Bible teaches, we’re considered hateful, bigoted, or just plain stupid. These tolerant types simply cannot handle the exclusivity of Christ’s claims. (I wish they had the same hostility toward Muslims.) Allah, Buddha, and every other god get a free pass, but the God of the Bible can’t catch a break.
Fortunately, he doesn’t need one from us. We need one from him.
Sin and Sacrifice
According to the Bible, God requires obedience from us, perfect obedience. The whys and hows don’t matter. He is our creator and he gets to decide what his creation must and must not do. (I invite you to read the Bible and discover the answers for yourselves.) When we disobey, even once, we are guilty of breaking God’s law and falling short of his extremely high standard.
The Bible teaches that God set aside the Hebrews of ancient Israel as his chosen people. He favored them, gave them a homeland, and made certain covenants with them. Through the prophet Moses, he gave them a set of laws to follow. Whenever they broke any of those laws, they had to “pay” for it. The book of Leviticus describes the rules and rituals. The guilty party had to make a “sin offering” (see also Levitcus 5). The sinner confessed his sins to the high priest and atoned for his sins. A young animal, “without spot or blemish,” was slaughtered on the altar, and the blood was sprinkled on the altar. A blood sacrifice was required for the atonement of sins, and the young animal was killed in the sinner’s place. Additionally, during the Day of Atonement, a “scapegoat” (or escape goat) was released into the wilderness carrying away the sins of the people (see Leviticus 16).
The Bible also teaches that sin offerings, the slaughtering of animals, and the shedding of blood in themselves could not save the sinner. These laws, rules, and rituals were only shadows or signs of things to come. That is, God promised the Hebrews that the ultimate spotless Lamb was coming, one whose blood sacrifice could wash away their sins and save them from God’s wrath.
That perfect, spotless, sinless Lamb was and is Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, the Passover Lamb, the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, and the Lamb who will return to deliver God’s wrath on unrepentant sinners.
The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Old Testament’s laws, rules, and rituals. (This is what Ann meant when she said Christianity is a “fast track.”) The work of perfection is complete in Christ. Without him, you are incomplete. Obedience to the law and the faithful practicing of rituals and “good” works will not save you from God’s just punishment. While Christians still are admonished to obey God’s laws, Christ’s death put an end to empty rules and rituals that had no saving power in the first place (see Burdens and Blessings).
I repeat, God’s requirement for us is perfection, a standard no fallen human can meet. But the Father sent his Son Jesus Christ to fulfill this standard of perfection. In him, we’re made perfect before a holy God. One who believes he’s a sinner, acknowledges his sins, repents of his sins, believes he needs a savior, and accepts Jesus Christ as that savior is made spotless. The sinless, innocent Christ went willingly to his brutal death on the cross so those he came to save wouldn’t have to. He took in himself every one of our transgressions. His blood washed us clean. In God’s eyes, his Son’s precious blood “covers” our sins.
Get the idea?
I haven’t begun to cover the breadth and depth of the Bible’s teachings about the law, sin, punishment, forgiveness, or salvation, but perhaps this post will give you a rough idea, and, hopefully, a desire to read the Bible and come to your own conclusions.
Coulter in Context
That’s what Ann Coulter was trying to say when she said Jews need to be perfected [in Christ], that Christians were perfected Jews, and that Christianity is a “fast track.” Her expression of one of the basic tenets of Christianity may have been inelegant, but it is based on what the Bible teaches.
ALL sinners need Christ, not just Jews. God makes no distinction between men and women, or blacks and whites, or Jews and Gentiles. This is very important to understand: We all, not just Jews, need the cleansing blood of Christ for forgiveness of sins. (see Romans 3)
When Christ said, “No one comes to the Father except through me,” he meant that he, as savior, is the only doorway to heaven, if you will. There is no other way. None. Christ claimed, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” (see John 14)
That is the glorious and clear exclusivity of our faith. You either believe it, or you don’t. But don’t kill the messenger.
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