Lev 6:6+7, Then he shall bring to the priest his guilt offering to the Lord, a ram without defect from the flock, according to your valuation, for a guilt offering, and the priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord; and he shall be forgiven for any one of the things which he may have done to incur guilt." 
    	As we are reading through this book of Leviticus, we are given many of the requirements and regulations that God put into place in order to make very evident to mankind that something far beyond human endeavor was needed for men to come into the good graces of God. The sin of Adam had been so damning and so devastating in its effects that all humanity was now lost and separated from what God purposed in terms of the fellowship that He had created. 
The Old Testament Law had its purpose in showing several things. The first was that the very best efforts of man to bridge the divide between himself and God was insufficient to do more than to make temporary appeasement of the great sin of humanity. The sacrifices of animals could only show that the need was there for man to seek the forgiveness of God. The sacrifices had to be done over and over and over again and done in the most precise and stipulated manner. Any deviation, any false step, any lack of preparation nullified the effort of man to seek forgiveness before the holiness of God.
God was to be taken very seriously and honored and reverenced in the precision of doing exactly what was ordained. Nothing could be added and nothing could be taken away from the detailed procedures which the law stipulated that the sinner would bring through a heart of repentance unto God by the measured blood of the divinely designed sacramental ordnances. We have this set before us in Lev 1:3+4. Lev 1:3+4, 'If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer it, a male without defect; he shall offer it at the doorway of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the Lord. 'And he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, that it may be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf. 
	The second truth that we find in these readings is that blood was required for forgiveness. The Holiness and Justice and Righteousness of God demanded an exacting penalty for the sins of mankind. Throughout the Old Testament, the grace of God was evidenced in the fact that God would accept the blood of animals in place of the blood of sinners. This was, beyond measure, the mercy and the grace of God on behalf of those who would come to Him in contriteness of heart and mind and being. He willingly showed His mercy through the acceptance of these sacrifices instead of demanding the life blood of those who were guilty of the sin and trespass. 
	We find this requirement of blood stipulated for us in Lev 17:11. Lev 17:11, 'For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.' We also see that God made the provision for the substitution of animals for the sake of finding the means of His forgiveness until man again sinned and needed God’s repeated pardon. If man quit sinning after the first sacrifice, there would be no need for more forgiveness. What was put into place by God was the means whereby those who recognized and repented of their sins could find forgiveness. He did not put a number on the amount of times He would pardon. 
It was by His grace of knowing the sinful nature that infested the being of humanity, that He made the substitutionary provision for man to find His forgiveness over and over again. This required that the sinner was willing to confess the sin and agree with God that there was a need for forgiveness, and willingly offer the necessary blood sacrifices, as we have dealt with in our past weeks of deliberation. The Lord would forgive as often as humanity was sincerely asking for forgiveness, over and over again. This was true because He knew that all that the sacrifices of animals could accomplish was a temporary covering of the defiled heart of humanity. Without that continued avenue of forgiveness, mankind would be eternally doomed.  
This brings us to the third truth evidenced in our readings. It is the fact that God was and is willing to forgive. In the Old Testament, it was a willingness to forgive time after time, as often as the penitent was willing to offer the sacrifice as stipulated with a heart that desired forgiveness. God never tired of forgiving, but He wanted humanity to understand that His forgiveness could only be permanently accomplished through His gift of grace in His Only Begotten Son. The works of mankind, evidenced through the blood of animals would never give man a change of heart. There was the evident need for permanent and eternal forgiveness only brought into place by the perfect blood that would utterly change mankind’s nature. The effective covering of the blood of Christ will cause all those who call upon Him to become absolutely new creations, freed from the need for perpetual sacrifices. 
This truth was declared to us by the Prophet Isaiah in the first chapter of Isaiah, verse 18. In it, the prophet voiced the heart of God in what the Lord would accomplish for the eternal forgiveness of mankind. Isa 1:18, "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the Lord, "Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool. The promise was from the heart of God in His willingness to forgive through the plan that He would institute after mankind realized that only God could save humanity from the sin that infested man’s very essence. 
The Prophet Ezekiel, in Ezek 36:22-28, reiterates not only the Lord’s willingness to forgive, but the certainty that God would make the provision for mankind’s eternal forgiveness. Please follow along with me in reading this wonderful passage. Ezek 36:22-28, "Therefore, say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord God," It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went. "And I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord," declares the Lord God, "when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight. "For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands, and bring you into your own land. "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. "And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. "And you will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God. 
	The fact that God will forgive and wash us from all our filthiness and give us a new heart and a new spirit is indicative of just how much He is willing to do to bring us into the living relationship with Himself. That is only possible through the mighty work of His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ on the cross. His blood is the only blood sufficient and powerful enough to do this tremendous work on our behalf. 
	And there is another wonderful truth declared to us by Our Lord, Himself, recorded in Matt 12:31+32. Matt 12:31+32, "Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. "And whoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in the age to come. 
While many books and commentaries and sermons have been written concerning the unpardonable sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, and rightfully so, we must not overlook the fact that Our Lord is telling us that it is the only sin that is unforgiveable. Every other sin that could be committed can be forgiven by God, including even speaking against Jesus Christ, Himself. The grace of God to forgive is absolutely declared by the One Who came to bring the truth and to be the means of that forgiveness.
	In Rom 5:8-11, the Apostle Paul picks up that reality as we can read together, if you would please open to it. Rom 5:8-11, But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. 
	The Apostle continues this glorious theme in his letter to the Ephesians, Chapter 1, verses 3-7. Here as he makes known just how richly the love of God has been showered upon us in Jesus Christ through the eternal forgiveness that can only be found in the covering of His blood. Eph 1:3-7, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, 
	The Apostle, in Col 1:9-14, gives very clear and precise encouragement to us as to what is to be now true of us as we are covered by the blood of Jesus Christ unto forgiveness from God. We can read it together and rejoice in the reality of what our lives now entail through the grace of God in Christ Jesus. Col 1:9-14, For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 
	Let it be very clear that we are not earning forgiveness nor are we worthy of forgiveness. It is all the gift of the love of God. He is the One Who has …delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. It is by His grace alone that we are no longer entrapped by the old nature with all its perverse and vile snares. The lives that we live, we now live to His honor and His glory and His praise with utmost thanksgiving for who we now are in Him.
	And finally, this morning, let us read together Heb 9:19-26, wherein the writer to the Hebrews expresses all that we have considered this morning, dealing with the need for blood as our covering for forgiveness and the eternal pardon that is given to us because of the blood of the Perfect Lamb of God. Heb 9:19-26, For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the Law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, "This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded you." And in the same way he sprinkled both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry with the blood. And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; nor was it that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood not his own. Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. 
…all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness… Christ’s blood has not only cleansed us from all our sin, but it has caused God to absolutely and forever forgive us. His death on the cross has paid the righteous price for our sins, and the power of His resurrection has brought about the complete change of our life. We are no longer under the curse of sin and death but made alive, forevermore, by the grace and the mercy and the love of God through the blood of His Only Begotten Son, sent from the very heart of God for you and for me. So be it!
Then he shall bring to the priest his guilt offering to the Lord, a ram without defect from the flock, according to your valuation, for a guilt offering, and the priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord; and he shall be forgiven for any one of the things which he may have done to incur guilt." Amen.

This morning’s benediction is 1 Chron 16:8-10. Oh give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples. Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; Speak of all His wonders. Glory in His holy name; Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad. Amen.