TOPIC: Salvation

A stone lamb that stands on top of a small church in Germany has an interesting history. When workers were building the roof, one of the crew members fell off. The other workers quickly went down to the ground expecting to find their co-worker dead. But he was unhurt. A lamb that had been grazing below was crushed to death when the falling crewman fell on it. A co-worker of the "surprisingly unhurt" man was so moved that he made a stone image of the lamb and placed it on top of the church as a memorial.

If you are a believer in Christ, you also owe your life to a Lamb--the Lamb of God--who takes away the sin of the world (See John 1:29).

What Does God Say?

Let's go back to the Old Testament to see something about sacrifices.

Although Israel's sacrifices to the Lord had several variations, purposes and requirements, there are some similar characteristics in many of them. Read Leviticus 1:1-5, which describes the burnt offering, and notice the following procedures:

1. The sacrificial animal must be a male without blemish, chosen from the herd or the flock (1:2-3).

2. The offering must be acceptable before the Lord (1:3).

3. The person presenting the offering must lay his hand upon the head of the animal to show that he is making the animal his substitute, acceptable as a covering or atonement, for his sins (1:4).

4. The sacrifice must then be killed before the Lord, and its blood must be shed (1:5).

God says, "Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness" (Hebrews 9:22, NIV). (See Leviticus 17:11.)

The Old Testament sacrifices provided only temporary relief for the sinner (Hebrews 10:3-4, 11). It covered the sin, but it didn't take it away. Christ's offering on the cross for the sins of mankind, however, was an eternally sufficient sacrifice that actually removed sin. Read Hebrews 9:12.

My Thoughts

Here is great and good personal news for you. Paul says this about the Lord Jesus Christ in 2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV): "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

That means Christ became your sin offering, took your sin on Himself, went to the cross and shed His blood to forgive you for your sin, paid your debt and provided the only possible way in the world that you could be made permanently acceptable to God.

Read the following scriptures and record what you see about Christ's death for you on the cross.

1. Galatians 3:13

2. 1 John 3:5

3. 1 Corinthians 1:30

4. Romans 8:3

5. Romans 4:24-25

My Part

Christians celebrate the Resurrection of Christ, their Savior, year around. But this is a season of the year that helps you to focus your attention on the cross, the empty tomb and the living Lord.

Today, read and reflect on the account of the death and Resurrection of Jesus as recorded in John 19 and 20.

Acts 4:12 (ESV) is a good verse to memorize and keep in your heart:

" And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."