There may be some Biblical truth hard to understand partly because we are seeking to know some things that as Dr. Richard Trench pointed out are “transcending all human thought and failing to find anywhere a perfectly adequate expression in human language.” Some of our knowledge about the Bible could be called “empty calories” if there is no corresponding impact upon the believer. God’s Word never returns void [Isaiah 55:11] and the Gospel, in particular, is “the power of God unto Salvation” [Romans 1:16]. I know you didn’t want to be told to limit your discussion to your testimony but there are things we cannot talk about because they only inflame passion for “human thought” and we morph into zealots for a cause other than what the Savior has commissioned us for [Matthew 28:19-20].
Well, we can talk about such ideas but I am not at liberty here to offer a single example out of a concern that it might be something some young believer might consider foundational to their faith—though it will be shown by the Spirit to them later that it is not. So, we cannot talk about it.
I was going to draw a labyrinth or maze [picture this] with multiple paths through it but the simplest is right through the center which I call “the path of simple faith.” The other paths lead through intellectual searches for answers that do not serve the purpose for the maze—which is, to get through it. The maze is this life and some people can get lost in their thoughts and fears wondering if they will ever make it through. Yet, all our Lord asks of us is to live in the faith He put in our hearts, knowing that He knows the way through the maze even if we get sidetracked.
Real Biblical knowledge that is practical, inspired, inspiring, and empowering to live for Christ is all about the Cross. Or we might say, all about the sacrifice of Christ, of whom the sacrificial system Moses was given was all about. The sacrifice was an extension of the Cross. The 2 words are interchangeable [or, at least, are joined] in New Testament theology. Paul testified, “I am crucified with Christ…” [Galatians 2:20] which answers to Jesus’ admonition, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” [Matthew 16:24]. So when Paul urged us to give our lives in sacrifice to God’s service, he was referencing the cross we must carry as well. [Romans 8:36; 12:1].
Maybe—just maybe—we can look closer at the Old Testament sacrifices not only as a punishment Christ took for our sins but as, what Luther called—a “wondrous exchange.” 2 Corinthians 5:21:”He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” His cross was also ours! “For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection” [Romans 6:5].
The Pharisees thought the adornment of the temple—its golden overlays and artifacts—were necessary embellishments to make the Temple into a temple. They argued in Matthew 23:16 that, “Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor [his oath has value and must be kept!].” We might ask, which is more important: How the Temple looked, how cathedral-like, how richly adorned, or the reason it was build in the first place—for the sacrifices!
It is a sad day, indeed, when church people care more about the comforts: the seating and air conditioning or sound system, and the theological accoutrements: carpet color, instrument arrangement, baptistry and sanctuary furnishings—more about these—than celebrating our Lord’s sacrifice and learning more about ours!
The altar is more than the place where God’s wrath was appeased. It is the place where you and I by faith, found ourselves suspended between a past in sin and a glorious future in service to God.
