Apologetics
An open letter to Pastors Chuck Smith, Greg Lawrey and all Calvary Chapel pastors.
On the radio I heard Greg Lawrey speaking about the resurrection of Jesus. Specifically when Jesus said to Mary "Do not touch me for I haven't been to my Father." Greg said "Do not cling to me...". I understand that they desperately want to defend there belief that when Jesus said "It is finished" he meant they entire salvation process.
First let me defend your stance! The sin offering as laid out in Leviticus was for the forgiveness of the peoples sins. The priest would lay his hands on the goat and transfer the sins of the people to the goat. Then the goat would be taken into the wilderness and released. On its own it would die, either by starvation or by wild beasts.
Lev 16:9 And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD'S lot fell, and offer him [for] a sin offering.
Lev 16:10 But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, [and] to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness
Lev 16:21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send [him] away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:
Lev 16:22 and the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.
Jesus was the Lamb of God. Everything about his sacrifice points to the BLOOD sacrifice. There are so many scriptures about this that I would first like to tell you the process God himself laid out for the blood sacrifice.
First the priest would select a lamb without blemish. They would then wash the lamb, during this time the chief priest would make a sacrifice for his sins. The lamb would then be taken to a table outside the Holy of Holy’s. The High priest would kill the lamb and drain its blood into a basin. The lamb would be butchered for the fire. The High priest would take the basin of blood into the place of worship and sprinkle all the Holy implements with a hyssop. He would then stand before the veil that led into the Holy of Holy’s. I believe that at this point the Spirit of God would draw him thru the veil. The High priest would the sprinkle the blood onto the Ark of the covenant, (Mercy Seat) and then pour the rest of the blood around the altar into a reservoir. If God accepted the sacrifice the High priest would leave. If the sacrifice was not accepted God would strike the High Priest dead. The High priest had a rope tied to his leg and bells attached to the bottom of his robes, and if they stopped ringing the other priests would know to drag him out. If at any time the High Priest touched anything our anyone that was unholy; from the time he made the sacrifice for himself to the time he entered the Holy of Holy’s, He was considered unclean, and the sacrifice would not be accepted.
When Jesus says to Mary in the garden, “DON’T TOUCH ME I HAVEN’T BEEN TO MY FATHER”, He knew what he was doing. Calvary Chapel would have you believe that Jesus said “Don’t cling to me”, this is not right! Jesus, our High Priest, was doing his job. He still had to present himself to God to be accepted. Calvary Chapel believes this interpretation diminishes the salvation message. It clearly does not. The Blood sacrifice seals our salvation.
Exodus 29: 10-14 Duet. 12: 27 2Chronicles 29: 24 Ezekiel 43: 19,20 Leviticus 5: 2, 3 Leviticus 6: 30
Leviticus 7: 21 Lev 17:11 For the life of the flesh [is] in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it [is] the blood [that] maketh an atonement for the soul.
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