Sacrifice In The Old Testament And The New Testament

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Since the Fall, it has not been possible for the individuals on earth to live without sin and enjoy the presence of God based on their own moral purity. In order for human beings to be free of sin, God commanded sacrifices to be given. There are many sacrifices that take place within the Old Testament and the New Testament. The idea of sacrifice is not fully established or clarified until the book of Leviticus and when these scriptures were understood then it would be made clear that they would eventually lead up to the ultimate sacrifice and atonement that was accomplished through the death of Christ in the book of Hebrews. Sacrifices were designed to show appreciation to God and to demonstrate a pure heart before him and to also atone for sin. The word atone or atonement is very important because it is all about reconciling, making amends for the things that have gone wrong and restoring peace where conflict is present. Atonement allowed those who were living with sin, which created distance between themselves and God, to once again enjoy being “at one” with God. These sacrifices would be given once every …show more content…

The sacrifice within the Old Testament acted as a covering for the sin that was committed and forgiveness was forgiven by God, but the sacrifice was considered to be a failure because it did nothing to redeem the soul of the individual who was making the offering. “According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifice are offered which cannot perfect the conscience of the worshipper, but deal only with food and drink and various baptisms, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.” This means that the sacrifices that were given within the Old Testament did not serve the purpose of removing the sin but rather were foreshadowing the redemptive Sacrifice of

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