“But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord.” Leviticus 1:9
The sacrifice of Jesus is forever calling the sinner to the same state that Christ lived in; that is, “thy will be done.” The sacrifice of yourself (your plans, your will, your wishes, etc.) brings you into union with Jesus’s sacrifice, and that makes your offering a sweet savour to the Lord. An offering ordained by fire, the fire of the Holy Ghost. The scripture tells us that we must also present ourselves a willing sacrifice, acceptable unto God, and be conformed to the image of his Son. Without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we are without the power to be conformed to His and be a child of God.
In the Old Testament and under the old covenant; the Jewish people had to go to the Law if they wanted to find atonement for sins. The only salvation that was offered was that which was found in the law. The law told them that they needed to offer a burnt sacrifice unto the Lord to be saved. This was to be a lamb or bullock, their best, and a firstborn male. It was to be brought to Aaron or the sons of Aaron because they were the priest of the Lord. The sacrifice was to be prepared in a certain way, according to the law. Once this was done, and the sacrifice was made, the offering was to be burnt with fire on God’s holy altar. The offering was then acceptable unto God and so was the soul that willingly brought it. Does God still expect us to bring farm animals to the sons of Aaron to obtain salvation? Certainly not, however we are instructed to bring something to God; ourselves. The whole of who you are is to be prepared through forgiveness and laid on the altar (spiritually speaking of course). Your plans, your wishes, your will, your heart, everything you have or hope to have, must be killed, and laid on the altar. This is the death that Jesus spoke of (Mat 10:39), this is crucified with Christ (Gal 2:20), and this is being dead to sins (Rom 6:2). The old man must die, for the new man to live. However, your sacrifice is not enough to obtain salvation. You need Jesus. You need the atoning power of that precious Lamb of God Jesus Christ. He was sent to take away the sin of the world. Jesus Christ died on the cross, and his sacrifice was enough to put away sin. This does not automatically mean that you are forever covered by his blood and that you can sin all you please because Jesus paid it all. No, it means that the blood of Christ has paved the way so that we might be saved. We have sin on our garments, sins committed, and awful carnal sin; this is not something that we can sacrifice for, this is not something that we can cleanse ourselves of; we need Jesus.
Jesus Christ is the high priest for us that prepares us before God. He is the sacrifice for us, atoning for that which we could not, and he is the one making a way for us to become what we could not (holy). Finally, he is the fire that falls on us when we lay our all on the altar. It takes his sacrifice, our sacrifice, and the indwelling of the Holy Ghost to bring us salvation. His blood alone may contain the power to abolish sin, but without your consent and sacrifice there is no covenant, so it is not applied. You may sacrifice and give all in efforts to obtain favor with God, but without the merits of Jesus there is no salvation. Jesus has given all for you to be saved, but without your sacrifice there is no salvation. It takes the union of both sacrifices, which is witnessed to you by the Holy Ghost.
