The Bible clearly says, Jesus as “the Lamb of God” [John 1:36] was slain to “take away the sins of the world [all humanity]” (John 1:29).

As we’ve seen in this series, it is by that One sacrifice of Christ’s life that ALL mankind stands ‘Reconciled’ to God ... but again, that Reconciliation Must Be Personally and Individually ‘RECEIVED BY FAITH’ in Christ’s death and resurrection.

So, we might say there is God’s offer of ‘Prepaid Reconciliation’ is unto all men since it has already been ‘paid for,’ secured by Jesus’ Cross-death for all of man’s sins (past, present and future sins) ... on behalf of ALL mankind. Yet, our Reconciliation must simply be ‘received’ by faith.

We see this in ‘type’ in Israel’s “Day of Atonement.” It Typifies the 2-Stage Blessings of the Cross. ‘Reconciliation’ is the 1^st stage of 2 stages of our full salvation, both occurring simultaneously. We see this in ‘type’ in Leviticus 16:29-34. Here we see a great ‘dual type’ of Christ in the “two goats” of this Mosaic ritual for the Israelite Nation’s forgiveness of sins on “the day of Atonement” as prescribed by the Mosaic Law. The “Day of Atonement” also referred to as Yom Kippur is the highest holy day of the Jewish calendar. In the Old Testament, the High Priest made an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the people on the Day of Atonement. This ritual act of animal sacrifice was to pay the penalty for sins of Israel to Reconcile and restored relationship between the people of Israel and the LORD God.

Let’s now look more closely at the animal sacrifice of Israel’s Prescribed “Day of Atonement.”

1. The 1st of the 2 Goats was offered on the Day of Atonement, being killed and his shed blood was taken on the High Priest’s one “finger,” to sprinkle a ‘drop’ of blood upon the Mercy Seat [cover] of the Ark of the Covenant. This drop of ‘blood’ satisfied the righteous demand of the Law for sins of the people – the Law was now beneath the blood, in the Ark beneath the Mercy Seat. This is called the “goat of atonement” whereby all men are ‘reconciled to God.’

“And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is NO remission [of sins].” (Hebrews 9:22 (KJV)

2. The 2nd Goat is called the “scapegoat.” The sins of the people of the Nation of Israel were transferred to his head and he was then driven to the wilderness to actually carry away the Israelite’s sins.

So, the 1^st goat was killed, sacrificed for the sins of the people of Israel, typifying Jesus’ shed blood and death of the cross. The imagery gets even more interesting for us as seen in Hebrews 9:11.

“But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect [heavenly] tabernacle, not made with [man’s] hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and NOT Through the Blood of Goats and Calves, BUT through HIS OWN BLOOD, He entered the holy place Once For All [men], Having Obtained Eternal Redemption.” (Hebrews 9:11)

The 2^nd goat of Leviticus 16, was the “scapegoat.” When someone says, “I’m just a scapegoat,” we understand that this person is being unfairly blamed for some wrong another has committed. Here Jesus fits the imagery. Israel’s High Priest, Aaron, placed his hands upon the head this 2^nd goat, which symbolized the transfer of all the sins of the people to the ‘Scapegoat.’ This goat was taken out to the deep wilderness, never to be seen again. In the same way;

1) Jesus suffered unfairly on the cross for sins that He did not commit. He is the innocent “Lamb of God,” sinless yet He suffered as if He had sinned; “He knew no sin [experienced no sinning].” (Heb. 4:15).

2) Jesus also is our scapegoat! Just as the scapegoat was driven into the wilderness, Jesus was crucified outside the gate of the city of the Holy City Jerusalem to actually take our sins away... never to be recalled.

“the LORD hath laid on him [Jesus] the iniquity [sins] of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).

The Lord says, “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” (Heb. 8:12)

We could summarize this as follows:

• The fact is Christ died for ‘the sins of the world’ even while we were lost in sin. Christ has already expiated (took away) the sins of ALL men so as to ‘reconcile’ them to God, even before they’ve believe.
• Salvation’s blessing is close at hand to all men. Salvation (not judgment) is hanging over the head of every lost person as the low hanging fruit of the Christ’s Cross. Yet it MUST BE CLAIMED BY FAITH.
• Since the lost are “dead in trespasses and sins” they are helpless, needing the Free Gift of ‘Faith,’ (Romans 10:8) by which God’s grace works... unto salvation.

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing By The Word Of God.” (Romans 10:17)

“…God hath [already] dealt to every man the measure of Faith.” (Rom. 12:3 (KJV)

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the GIFT OF GOD: ⁹ Not of [the recipient’s] works, lest any man should boast.” (Eph. 2:8-9)

• So, Even the lost have the Free Gift of Faith (Rom. 12:3) sufficient to “receive” God’s Reconciliation in Christ as their Personal Savior... and receive His resurrection life to then dwell IN them.
• The lost need to hear “the gospel of the grace of God” in Christ (not judgment), with God’s ‘Prepaid Reconciliation’ so close at hand, needing only to be ‘Received,’ as simple as receiving a glass of water.
• All that we as preachers of Paul’s grace gospel need to do is to proclaim the grace gospel of complete salvation in Christ as Savior and His life to indwell every ‘believing’ lost soul (cf. Col 1:27b-28).

Nowhere does Paul preach the threat of hell, rather he proclaims “Christ”; “the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ Our Lord” (Rom. 6:23).

The Savior and His Resurrected Eternal Life Indwells Every Believer:

Colossians 1:26-28a Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: ²⁷To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of This Mystery among the Gentiles; which is ‘Christ In You,’ The Hope Of Glory: ²⁸ Whom We Preach ...

So, it’s not hellfire, eternal damnation and eternal loss that is to be preached. Today it is for us to preach “the gospel [the good news] of the grace of God” which wins men’s hearts to makes a man saved by faith in Christ. Today, ‘salvation’ is available simply for ‘claiming by Faith’ ... the ‘Prepaid Reconciliation’ that God offers us. This is all made possible only by Jesus Christ’s Cross-death for us ALL!

Today lost man stands ‘not yet’ judged, but rather “alienated from the life of God – being blinded” (Eph. 4:18). All men need the light of the glorious gospel to be preached and to shine unto them.

2 Corinthians 4:3-6 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: ⁴ In whom the god of this world [the Devil] hath Blinded the Minds of Them Which Believe Not, lest the Light of The Glorious Gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should Shine Unto Them. ⁵ For WE PREACH not ourselves, but [we preach] Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.

⁶ For God, Who Commanded The Light to Shine Out of Darkness, Hath Shined In Our Hearts, To Give The Light of The Knowledge of The Glory Of God In The Face [the Person] of Jesus Christ.

Paul’s gospel is “the power of God unto salvation.” Paul’s “gospel of the grace of God” is the ‘good news” that Christ has ALREADY died and paid for ALL our sins... all one needs is to ‘receive’ HIM!

Acts 16:31 And they [Paul and Silas] said, Believe on (trust in) the Lord Jesus Christ (alone), and thou shalt be saved, and (the same offer applies to) thy house.

“Now then [as believers] we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20 (KJV)

Being ‘reconciled’ to God and having received Christ… all alienation from God is gone, for we are;

“… justified [counted righteous] by faith [in Christ], we have PEACE with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: ² By whom also We Have Access by FAITH Into This Grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of [one day experiencing) the glory of God [in heaven]. (Romans 5:1-2)