Deuteronomy 17:1 reads, “You shall not sacrifice to the LORD your God an ox or a sheep in which is a blemish, any defect whatever, for that is an abomination to the LORD your God.” (ESV)
Israel had received the divine favor of God Who chose them as His holy people. He demanded holiness of them. In Exodus 22:21 He says to them, “You shall be holy men to Me.” As holy men, they were to not only be holy before Him but were to offer holy sacrifices to Him in worship. Thus, the animals sacrificed were to be pure, unblemished and spotless.
Each of us who have been called by God’s grace are also called to be holy. As God’s elect people we are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession” (1 Peter 2:9). Paul says in Romans 12:1 that we are to present our “bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” Every day we live, our lives are a living sacrifice to Him.
The question is: what do we do with our defects? Since they are an abomination to God, what do we do about those blemishes of sin? There are two points here. The first is that because of our fallen nature we are blemished and spotted and, therefore, unacceptable to God. We have no righteousness of our own to offer Him and we could never muster up enough holiness in our sinful nature to make atonement for our myriad sin. We must come to God through Christ, dressed in His righteousness. Only Christ could be the perfect unblemished sacrifice for sin. We could never attain that perfection no matter how long we live and how strenuously we strive for it. We must come to Christ for this cleansing to make us an acceptable sacrifice in God’s sight. Paul reminds us of this blessed truth and the blessed exchange in 2 Corinthians 5:21 – “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
But the other side of the coin is: once we come to Christ, what do we do with the sin that remains because of the flesh? How can we be a sacrifice pleasing and acceptable to God when we have these blemishes? We’ll, the first thing is to acknowledge that we are cleansed through the blood of Christ, and because of His sacrifice in our place we are acceptable to God. But the second half of the equation is that we must acknowledge sin each day, repent of it and turn to live in holiness before God. We cannot and must not take the grace of God for granted and think that since we are in Christ we don’t have to worry about our sin. That is antinomianism, which tries to tell us that we don’t have to be holy. “A little sin here and there is not going to be a problem.”
God said, “do not offer any sacrifice that has a blemish in it – that is an abomination to the Lord.” In our struggle against the world, the flesh and the devil we must strive earnestly to rid ourselves of all blemishes. That means we must take every sin seriously. Far too many who claim to be redeemed Christians make light of their sin. Paul felt the weight of his sin (see Romans 7). We must feel the weight of our sin and recognize that it is an abomination to God. If it is an abomination to Him, it ought to be the same to us.
As we mature in Christ we will sin less – but we will feel the weight of the sin more. It should cause us grief and pain so that we will turn from it. Even as we rejoice in the grace, mercy and forgiveness of our Father.
Therefore, “let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” Hebrews 12:1
“You shall be blameless before the Lord your God.” (Deuteronomy 18:13).
Fight on, Christian; fight on!
That You May Know Ministries 