How many of you believe you understand the significance of God tearing the temple curtain from top to bottom at the moment of Christ's death? If I go by what I hear being taught in our churches, social media platforms, podcasts, and books I've read, I would hazard a guess that very few do. If you did you would most likely be at odds with the rest of the Christian community. Most often it seems that conformity will always trump over truth. If someone hears the same thing a thousand times by a thousand different people, then it must be true.
At the moment of Christ's death, God tore the temple curtain, 60ft tall and 4inces thick, from top to bottom. Why?
This curtain stood as a physical representation of the barrier that stood separating man from God. Within the temple it separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place where the presence of God dwelt. No one was allowed into the presence of God. Only the High Priest, and only once a year after he had been cleansed of his sins, could he then enter into God's presence. In other words, no one guilty of sin is allowed into the presence of a Holy God. And it is this truth alone that makes the tearing of the temple curtain so significant yet overlooked.
Two major truths were revealed when the temple curtain was torn that most people miss.
First, the barrier that stood between man and God was removed. If there is no more barrier separating man from God, then anyone can now enter into the presence of God. If anyone can now enter into the presence of God, then everyone must already be cleansed of their sins. Something the Israelites of the day would have understood this to mean (the good news of the Gospel). No one still guilty of sin can come into the presence of God. This has never changed. It remains as true today as it was before Christ's death. What has changed is we've all been cleansed (forgiven) of our sins. We've all come into the world forgiven of our sins with an invitation to enter into a relationship with God, free of any guilt or shame. Which brings me to the second truth that was revealed....
Forgiveness of sins does not save us. These are not the same thing, but two uniquely different, and separate, events. From our perspective, forgiveness is a historical fact. It is a completed act that holds true for all of mankind. The shedding of blood can only forgives sin, it cannot save us. It does not bring about new spiritual life (a relationship with God). It simply makes the possibility of salvation a reality. Salvation only happens when we choose, of our own freewill, to enter into a relationship with God through faith. You can be forgiven and not be saved, but you can't be saved without having first been forgiven.
Also, Salvation is not salvation if it is only temporary. That would merely be a reprieve from your current condition, not a permanent reality. For example; say we both jumped out of an airplane and your parachute didn't open, but I caught you and held on to you with my parachute open, but before we landed I decide to let you go. Were you saved when I first caught you? No. It was just a reprieve from your current condition. In the end, you were just a messy spot on the ground. Salvation must be a permanent reality (eternal) or it is not salvation.
So of course, for salvation to be eternal, there can be no possibility of losing it. For this to be a reality, all sin would need to be forgiven before salvation could be offered. Likewise, forgiveness cannot take place after or even at the moment of salvation. It must happen before salvation. Remember, forgiveness is what makes entering into God's presence possible in the first place in order to receive salvation.
At the moment of Christ's death, God tore the temple curtain, 60ft tall and 4inces thick, from top to bottom. Why?
This curtain stood as a physical representation of the barrier that stood separating man from God. Within the temple it separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place where the presence of God dwelt. No one was allowed into the presence of God. Only the High Priest, and only once a year after he had been cleansed of his sins, could he then enter into God's presence. In other words, no one guilty of sin is allowed into the presence of a Holy God. And it is this truth alone that makes the tearing of the temple curtain so significant yet overlooked.
Two major truths were revealed when the temple curtain was torn that most people miss.
First, the barrier that stood between man and God was removed. If there is no more barrier separating man from God, then anyone can now enter into the presence of God. If anyone can now enter into the presence of God, then everyone must already be cleansed of their sins. Something the Israelites of the day would have understood this to mean (the good news of the Gospel). No one still guilty of sin can come into the presence of God. This has never changed. It remains as true today as it was before Christ's death. What has changed is we've all been cleansed (forgiven) of our sins. We've all come into the world forgiven of our sins with an invitation to enter into a relationship with God, free of any guilt or shame. Which brings me to the second truth that was revealed....
Forgiveness of sins does not save us. These are not the same thing, but two uniquely different, and separate, events. From our perspective, forgiveness is a historical fact. It is a completed act that holds true for all of mankind. The shedding of blood can only forgives sin, it cannot save us. It does not bring about new spiritual life (a relationship with God). It simply makes the possibility of salvation a reality. Salvation only happens when we choose, of our own freewill, to enter into a relationship with God through faith. You can be forgiven and not be saved, but you can't be saved without having first been forgiven.
Also, Salvation is not salvation if it is only temporary. That would merely be a reprieve from your current condition, not a permanent reality. For example; say we both jumped out of an airplane and your parachute didn't open, but I caught you and held on to you with my parachute open, but before we landed I decide to let you go. Were you saved when I first caught you? No. It was just a reprieve from your current condition. In the end, you were just a messy spot on the ground. Salvation must be a permanent reality (eternal) or it is not salvation.
So of course, for salvation to be eternal, there can be no possibility of losing it. For this to be a reality, all sin would need to be forgiven before salvation could be offered. Likewise, forgiveness cannot take place after or even at the moment of salvation. It must happen before salvation. Remember, forgiveness is what makes entering into God's presence possible in the first place in order to receive salvation.
