Want to learn more about The Sanctuary? Use these Bible Studies for personal devotion, group Bible studies, or teaching a church class. Below are links to the lessons in this 14-part series.
Assume that you could design your home and your job in
any way that you like. How would you design them? No doubt the design
of your home, and the kind of work you do would reflect your
priorities in life. If I asked you, “How important is it to know
about the sanctuary in heaven,” what would you say? Some argue that
it is an obscure and technical issue that has little, if anything, to
do with our salvation. But, consider for a moment that it is God’s
home and that it reflects what He does. It must reflect God’s
priorities! I’ll tell you as a sneak preview, God’s priority is you!
Let’s plunge into a new series of lessons about the heavenly
sanctuary and what it means to us!
Last week we studied God’s temple in heaven. We learned
about God’s throne, His advisors and the control center of the
universe. This week we study copies. On the face of it, what we
learned about last week seems nothing like what we will read about
this week. Let’s plunge into our study of the Bible and see why God
had us create “copies” of the temple, His sanctuary in heaven, how
many He made, and what all of this means!
“Sacrifice” is not a popular concept. Who wants to
sacrifice something? It means giving something up, right? We all
look forward to getting stuff, not giving stuff away! Or, do we?
Have you ever felt the joy of helping? The joy of giving something to
someone who needs it more than you do? What does God require of us
when it comes to sacrifice? Is sacrifice a way to get stuff? Our
study of the Bible this week is about sacrifices, let’s dive in and
see what we can learn!
What does it mean to be holy? What probably comes to
mind is a cleric of some sort. Someone who is devoted exclusively to
religious work. If I told you that you needed to be holy in all that
you do, would that mean that you would have to change your
profession? The sanctuary teaches us something about being holy, so
let’s plunge into our study of the Bible and see what we can learn!
For many years I struggled with the logic of the
atonement. Why, exactly, does our sin require Jesus’ death? On the
other hand, why is Jesus’ death sufficient to take away our sins?
The atonement was not like a math problem, with an obvious
connection. This involved issues which I did not understand. The most
valuable lesson from our study of the sanctuary this week is an
answer about why Jesus had to die. Why the atonement makes logical
sense. Let’s race into our Bible study this week and find out more!
If you had to pick the most important day of the year,
for God’s people in the Old Testament that would be the Day of
Atonement. Today, the Day of Atonement might bring a big yawn for
God’s people. Since the sanctuary teaches us important lessons for
today, I believe that is also true for the Day of Atonement. Let’s
plunge into our study of the Bible to take away that yawn and see
what we can learn!
For hundreds of years Christians have debated
the reasons why Jesus’ death on the cross saves us. Two weeks
ago, I suggested to you that a logical reason arises from the
operation of the “rule of law.” Alert readers let me know I
was not clear about what the rule of law meant, and that this
overlooked another logical explanation of Jesus’ sacrifice.
Both concerns are right on target, and our study this week
allows us to explore again what the Bible has to say about
both. Let’s plunge into our study of the Bible!
Two weeks, ago we discussed that everything has
changed. Instead of having a physical temple on earth where God lives
and humans approach God only through a priest, our bodies are now
temples (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) and God’s Spirit lives in us (Romans
8:9). If everything has changed, then why does Hebrews extensively
discuss Jesus’ current work as our High Priest? Let’s dive into our
study of the Bible to find out what we can learn about what God is
doing!
Judgment! Who wants judgment? My general observation in
life is that everyone wants other people to be judged, but they do
not want it for themselves. Yes, the police should stop and give
tickets to other people who speed. No, the police should not stop me
and give me a ticket for speeding! The “problem” with God’s judgment
is that it is for everyone. If we finally come to terms with a
personal judgment, what difference should that make in our life? When
I’m arguing a case in court, I need to know what legal standard
applies, I want to know about the judge, and I want to know about the
process. Let’s plunge into our study of the Bible and see what we can
learn about God’s judgment!
If you are scratching your head about the word
“Eschatological,” it means “last day events.” The Day of Atonement,
as we have studied, refers to the day each year when all the sins
transferred from God’s people to the sanctuary were then transferred
to a goat. The goat then headed out into the desert for its
retirement years. The Day of Atonement represented a permanent
address change for the sins the people committed during the year. So,
you ask, “What could be so important about a permanent address change
for sins in the last days?” “Last days” calls to mind the final
judgment. Do you want your sins forwarded on or do you want to be
like that goat? When Daniel prayed about the sin problem of God’s
people, God gave him a special message about His grand plan to deal
with sin. Let’s plunge into our study of the Bible and learn more!
Do you remember when you had some special news or a
special story that others did not know? How exciting was it to share
that special story with others? Our study this week is about a very
special message that we have to share with others. The message has to
do with worship, faith and the final judgment. Let’s wade into our
study of the Bible to learn more about this great news!
We all know that God is good, right? In fact, in my old
church we added the phrase “all the time, and all the time, God is
good.” So, what is there to study this week? You may know that God is
good, but a lot of people are uncertain, at best. The worst part of
that problem is that you may be the basis on which they form their
opinion about God. Let’s explore what the Bible says about this issue
and what we should do about it!
Have you enjoyed studying this series of lessons on the
sanctuary? The great news in this series is righteousness by faith! A
judgment is going on in heaven in which Jesus, our High Priest, is
presenting Himself as the sacrifice for those who accept Him by
faith. What does this mean for daily living? Our last lesson in this
series closes with a look at the relationship between grace, works
and confidence in our salvation. Let’s plunge into our study of the
Bible and learn more!
