Featured The Limited Atonement

It is right after God made his covenant with Abraham.

Genesis 15:1-21 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness. And he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.”

 

A "sinless animal"? Really?

I looked up Genesis 3:21 and I did not see any reference to the shedding of blood. I do see "the Lord made coats of skin and clothed them." I don't see any killing being mentioned; no blood being shed, etc.

 

". . . For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living. . . , 1 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. . . ." -- Romans 14:9-11.

 

Can you get coats of skin from something dead?

 

Paul does no such thing. Paul certainly compares the Mosaic Law with the New Covenant, but he also talks about being people of the promise, which is directly related to the Abrahamic Covenant and Adamic Covenant. If you understood the professor you would recognize Paul's broader use of covenants.

 

Can God "make" coats of skin? Yes. God just got done creating the heavens and the earth. I think he could make coats of skin.

Note: I am not saying God DIDN'T make the coats of skin from a living animal by killing it. I'm saying the text says nothing about an animal sacrifice, blood being shed, etc. It only says that God made coats of skin.

 

Would have been a blood sacrifice though, as life is in the blood!

 

Scholars are split as to the reason Abel offered an animal as his sacrifice (Gen. 4.4-4). Some believe he did so because he was giving the best he had to offer. Abel was a herdsman, so that is what he had to offer. He selected "the firstborn of his flock—even the fattest of them." Firstborn and fattest = the best Abel had to offer. As he was a farmer, Cain brought some of the fruit of the ground but he did not bring his best. You see the difference in the two sacrifices by the disjunctive clause "But Abel brought..." Other scholars believe Abel's offering was a foreshadowing of the coming Mosaic Law and the need for animal sacrifices. They believe it is in keeping with God making skins of flesh for Adam and Eve (Gen. 3.21). All sin brings death (Jas. 1.15).

What's the right answer? Maybe both. A case can be made that there was a strong inference of the need for a blood sacrifice as a result of sin in Gen. 3 & 4. But a convincing case can be made that Abel's sacrifice was better because it was made in faith.

 

From A.W.Pink; Introduction to the atonement;

When we remember that the Atonement is the most important subject which can engage the minds of either men or angels: that it not only secures the eternal happiness of all God's elect, but also gives to the universe the fullest view of the perfections of the Creator:

that in it are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, while by it are revealed the unsearchable fiches of Christ: that through the very Church which has been purchased thereby is being made known to principalities and powers in the heavenlies the manifold wisdom of God (Ephesians 3:10)-then of what supreme moment must it be to understand it aright!

But how is fallen man to apprehend these truths to which his depraved heart is so much opposed? All the force of intellect is less than nothing when it attempts, in its own strength, to comprehend the deep things of God.

Since a man can receive nothing except it be given him from Heaven (John 3:27), much more is a special enlightenment by the Holy Spirit needed if he is to enter at all into this highest mystery.

 

God had them make their clothing of animal skins: wearing such, rather than robes of linen or wool, was to be a degrading display/reminder of their being vile sinners.
They wanted to cover their naked skin?...well, God had them make their covering of animal skin, to shame them!

 

IBId,The Atonement

To what source then can we appeal for light, for understanding, for an explanation and interpretation of the Cross? Human reasoning is futile, speculation is profane, the opinions of men are worthless.