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Unleavened Bread |
Dear Brethren,
We hope that the Passover and
the first day of Unleavened Bread went well for you. These were
certainly very happy and inspiring occasions for us here in central
Arkansas. The Last Day of Unleavened Bread is Wednesday, April
15th.
The Feast of Passover pictures
Jesus Christ – who is the unleavened bread of
sincerity and truth – dying for our sins. The Feast of Unleavened
Bread shows us that simply accepting Jesus’ sacrifice to pay for our
sins is not enough. We must endeavor to cease sinning. After
repenting of our sins and being forgiven by God, we must strive to
come out of sin completely, just as Israel came out of Egypt, a type
of sin (Hebrews 11:25-29). True Christians continually strive to
rid sin from their lives.
God’s Feast of Unleavened
Bread pictures this part of His plan for mankind – coming out of sin
and becoming righteous. How does this take place? Jesus Christ
gave His Church this second annual Feast, which has great meaning.
The observance of this seven-day Feast teaches us that we must
put on righteousness and strive not to return to
the sins Jesus paid for with His shed blood.
Jesus Christ gave the Feast of
Unleavened Bread to the tribes of Israel before they reached Mt.
Sinai, and He instructed them, and succeeding generations, to
observe it forever (Exodus 12:17; 13:10; Leviticus 23:6). The first
and seventh days are set apart as Holy Days of convocation – days of
rest and worship of God. The Feast of Unleavened Bread begins on
the 15th of Abib, the day following Passover.
Leaven is often used in the
Bible as a type of sin. God instructed the Israelites to put all
leaven bread out of their homes during the seven days of the Feast
of Unleavened Bread (Exodus 12:15-19; 13:7). It symbolizes
putting away sin. Leavening agents are substances, like
yeast, that are used to make dough rise by the process
of fermentation (Matthew 16:6, 11-12; Luke 12:1; 1Corinthians 5:8).
Unleavened bread contains no
leavening agent, and therefore typifies sin-less-ness.
God commands His people to eat unleavened bread
during the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Exodus 12:15, 19-20; Leviticus
23:6). It symbolizes putting on righteousness and obedience to God.
These lessons are even more
important for the New Testament Church than they were for ancient
Israel. Upon repentance and baptism, Jesus’ sacrifice blots out
all past sins. He died so that we would not have to pay the penalty
of eternal death (Romans 6:23). We are to “go and sin no more,”
and strive to obey His Law – to "unleaven" our lives.
The apostle Paul showed
clearly, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that New Testament
Christians are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (1Corinthians
5:8). Paul told the Corinthian Church members, who were keeping the
Feast of Unleavened Bread, to put out spiritual leaven
(sin), just as they had already put out all physical leaven
products in preparation for the Feast. They were to keep the Feast
not only with real unleavened bread, but also with the spiritually
"unleavened" attitude of sincerity and truth.
In order for us to become
Spirit-born members of God’s Family in the resurrection, we must
prove that we will obey God here and now by striving to put the
spiritual leaven of sin out of our lives and keep it out. Paul said
that we are to lay aside every sin that so easily besets us –
striving against sin (Hebrews 12:1, 4).
During these seven days of
Unleavened Bread, lets be reminded of our need to keep God’s
Commandments. Let’s renew our resolve to live in harmony with God’s
Law, and rededicate our lives to continual spiritual growth and
overcoming. Once, we were destined to die eternal death for our
sins, because “the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23)
“All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
(Romans 3:23)
It is crucial that we
understand what took place as Jesus was dying on the stake [Greek
‘stauros’]. God the Father had to desert Him. It was the most
excruciating time for the Father and for Jesus who had always been
together. It was the fulfillment of Messianic prophecy. Jesus
became Sin. He who had never sinned – became sin in our place.
Because God the Father is Most Holy, no sin can ever come into His
sacred presence. “Your iniquities have separated between you and
your God, and your sins have hid His face from
you.” (Isaiah 59:2) It is sin that separates one from
God. Only reconciliation can bring us back to God. "Christ has
suffered once for sins, the Just for the unjust,
that He might bring us to God." (1Peter 3:18)
2Corinthians 5:18 and :21 are
the key verses that explain how this reconciliation with the
Father is possible. "God has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus
Christ" (vs 18). When Jesus took upon Himself all of our sins,
He became Sin – the total sin offering. God the Father had to turn
His face and abandon Jesus to die on the cross. Jesus cried with a
loud voice – describing the rejection, “My God, my God, why hast
thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) The Father forsook Jesus
because Jesus had become Sin.
Jesus, Who never sinned, paid
the death penalty in our place, substituting His death for ours.
His death substitutes for our well-deserved death, which we earned
through sin. Let’s notice the double-substitutionary act of God.
Jesus was sacrificed in our stead, and we in turn
have His righteousness imputed to us.
In the same way that God made
Jesus to be Sin, He has made us to be Righteous.
God in turn, substitutes the righteousness of Jesus
to us! God the Father made Jesus Christ, who never sinned, to be
sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.
Jesus took on our sin, so that we might put on His Righteousness.
“He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no
sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God
in Him.” (2Corinthians 5:21)
***
Righteousness Series:
Sermon: |
"Sin Out - Righteousness In" |
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Sermon: |
"Unleavened Bread" |
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Sermon: |
"Righteousness of God" |
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