THE SACRIFICE FOR SIN

After Adam sinned, God told him exactly how to offer a sacrifice for sin. Offering this sacrifice hurt Adam very much. Adam would have to kill an animal. This was the first time Adam had seen anything die. As Adam watched the lamb suffer and die, he looked by faith into the future and saw Jesus dying as a sacrifice for his sin.SRme 1.146

Every time Adam killed a lamb as God told him to do, he was reminded of his sin and guilt. Taking the lamb's life helped Adam understand better how terrible sin is and that only the death of God's Son could redeem a sinner. Adam was deeply impressed by the greatness of God's love in giving His Son to save guilty man.SRme 1.147

As Adam killed the innocent lamb, Adam felt that he was killing Jesus with his own hand. Adam and Eve did not obey God, so now animals and man must die. But Adam's offering gave him hope. Adam understood that the sacrifices of animals showed the great and perfect offering of God's dear Son. This was as a star lighting up the dark and terrible future.SRme 1.148

In the beginning the oldest man in the family was the priest and ruler. Later the number of people on earth increased. Then God chose special men to do the work of making sacrifices and offerings for the people. The blood of animals was to make people think about the blood God's Son would shed for sins. The animal's death was to show that the result of sin is death. When sinners sacrificed animals they admitted they were guilty of sin. They also showed their faith in the perfect sacrifice of the Son of God. Without the death of Jesus there would be no way for God to save sinners.SRme 1.149

God wanted His law to be honored. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God's law, a fearful separation came between the human family and God. Before sin, Adam was able to talk face to face with God. After sin, God had to talk with man through Christ and the angels.SRme 1.150