“All religions are essentially the same, so there is no need to consider Christianity as some unique approach to God.” If someone makes such a claim, it clearly shows how uninformed they are in their knowledge of the various religious systems. How can all religions be the same? Hinduism is polytheistic, Islam is monotheistic but does not believe in the Son of God, Buddhism is atheistic, Christianity is monotheistic and believes in a Triune God. How can all of these faith systems be absolute truth? They cannot!
However, to be fair, there is some commonality across the world’s major religions. For example, almost all of them employ songs to praise their deity, offer prayers of supplication and intercession, involve financial giving to help the needy, and so on. Another common feature that we may not have given much thought to is the presence of some form of sacrificial system in worship.
A. The Sacrificial Systems of Approaching God
Think about Hinduism: Devotees perform yagya by offering ghee, rice, milk, fruits, and in some cases, animals. In Islam, you have the qurbani of goats. There are some wicked religions where humans are also sacrificed, typically babies, as we read even in OT times when children were offered to Moloch/Molech, a god of the Ammonites. Even if an animal or human life is not offered, there are other methods by which devotees sacrifice something: fasting, offering sweets and ornaments to their idols, throwing garlands into water bodies, distributing their wealth to the poor, and so on. Even mere meditation by sitting in one place is the sacrifice of people’s time to their gods. Here is the big question: Why do people do these things? Why do they feel their god needs some kind of sacrifice? Answer: The human conscience.
The conscience is God’s gift to all mankind whereby we exhibit a consciousness of what is right and wrong. It is that Law written in our hearts, as Rom. 2:15 teaches, that either accuses us when we do something improper or defends us when we do something right. When people approach God, whether the true God or a god of their imagination, what do you think their God-given conscience tells them? Does it tell them that they’re good people or bad people? Does it defend them or accuse them? Answer: It accuses them!
Every single person on this earth lives with a guilty conscience. Now, people can be so wicked in their hearts that they keep suppressing their conscience to the point where their conscience is no longer sensitive enough to inform them what is right and wrong. But, as long as you are honest with yourself, when you approach God, you know that you are not worthy of Him (what the Bible calls “falling short of the glory of God”). You internally understand that the higher power is angry because you have done enough wickedness and have not done enough good. And so, all religious systems have devised a plan to appease the anger of their gods. That is the whole point of the sacrificial system.
Think about Acts 17 where we find the account of Paul in Athens. Paul observed that in addition to the multiple altars for the various gods of their pantheon, the Athenians had also erected an altar to the unknown God because they wanted to be sure that they had not left any god unsatisfied. Even if someone is an atheist, we hear about them doing a lot of philanthropy, giving up non-vegetarian food, etc. because internally, they feel guilty (although they may not profess it outwardly). Consequently, they want to do enough “good” to somehow balance out the wickedness that they have done.
So, man has come up with every possible way to appease the Almighty One. Unfortunately, man cannot decide what will appease the wrath of God. God decides. So, every other sacrifice that people offer to appease God is futile, because God doesn’t accept such sacrifices. But God did reveal to Moses what kind of sacrifices He would accept. He did this by giving the Jews the Old Covenant sacrificial system.
B. The Old Covenant Sacrificial System and Its Inadequacy
The Old Covenant (Testament) had various sacrifices: burnt offerings, grain offerings, peace offerings, sin offerings, and trespass offerings. These offerings involved either animal sacrifices or plant sacrifices. These sacrifices were God-ordained means for people to express their devotion and commitment to Him, to express thanksgiving for God’s provision, and more importantly to point out the necessity of blood for the atoning of sins. Sacrifice was needed if men wanted to approach God. But even this sacrificial system was not perfect, although God Himself gave it. Why so?
For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins? But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
— Hebrews 10:1-4 (NASB)
The first reason why the Old Testament sacrificial system was imperfect was because it was only a shadow. The sacrifices of the Old Covenant were merely signposts leading towards the ultimate Sacrifice. God purposely gave them an imperfect system to point forward to something greater and Perfect that was about to come. Secondly, these sacrifices had to be offered repeatedly. If Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) had to be celebrated yearly, if the Temple service had both morning and evening sacrifices every day, this sacrificial system was not perfect. Thirdly, this system could not cleanse the worshipper’s conscience. Because a Jew knew that next year he would have to repeat the sacrifices, he knew that his sin had not been fully dealt with. He knew that even if with a sincere heart he offered the best animals from his flock, they were not enough to cleanse his sin and perfect His relationship with God. So, what can one offer to God that fully satisfies His righteous demands, fully satisfies His anger towards sin, and cleanses our conscience to assure us that nothing more is needed to have a right relationship with God? Do you think singing louder, praying harder, or giving more generously will help? There is nothing we can do. But God does it for us through Christmas!
C. The Incarnation of Jesus for the Perfect Sacrifice
God would be satisfied only if a perfect man with a perfect life would be offered as the sacrifice for sin. And so, He prepares a body for His Son.
Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, “Sacrifice and offering You have not desired, but a body You have prepared for Me; in whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You have taken no pleasure. “Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come (in the scroll of the book it is written of Me) to do Your will, O God.’”
— Hebrews 10:5-7 (NASB)
What the eternal Son does is accept this body that His heavenly Father has prepared for Him, then comes into the world as a human baby through a virgin, takes the form of a bondservant, lives a perfect life, and then dies a horrific death, thereby accomplishing His Father’s eternal plan of salvation. And through His once-for-all sacrifice for sin, He fulfills and supersedes the entire Old Testament sacrificial system. Because His one sacrifice was sufficient, those who believe in Him do not need to offer anything else to God for the atonement of their sins. God is fully pleased by Jesus’ life and fully appeased by Jesus’ death. Through Christ’s bodily sacrifice, there is now no reminder of old sin or the fear of future sin. And so, all who put their confidence in the Son can know for certain that they are accepted by the Father. That is why we celebrate Christmas. That is the confidence with which we approach God, having full assurance that because of what Jesus accomplished in His body, we now have unhindered access to God the Father. Jesus’ perfect sacrifice is all one needs to have a cleansed conscience before God.
Would you spend some time this Christmas pondering over why that little Child in the manger came into the world? He was born to die so that by His death, all who believe in Him may live. That is the truest and greatest joy that Christmas can offer!
Chembur Biblical Baptist Church 