The True Beginning of Faith: The Altar of Burnt Offering

The Israelites were only allowed to enter the outer court of the tabernacle.

Only the priests could go into the Holy Place,

and only the high priest could enter the Most Holy Place.

But the Bible says that those who are born again have become high priests in the New Covenant.

So let me ask you: Where are you living out your faith today?

Are you still standing outside the court, or have you entered into the presence of God?

When you look at the diagram of the tabernacle, you can see how everything was arranged in perfect order.

Now, try to imagine this scene:

The Israelites lived in tents surrounding the tabernacle—simple, gray, and ordinary.

The walls of the tabernacle stretched about 100 cubits (roughly 50 meters) in length and stood 5 cubits high (around 2.5 meters).

People standing outside couldn’t see inside.

God commanded that these walls be made of fine linen curtains, the whitest and purest fabric of that time.

So, the entire outer wall gleamed white.

During the day, under the sunlight, those curtains must have shone brilliantly.

And at night, when the pillar of fire rose into the sky,

they would have glowed like a massive lamp illuminating the camp.

That white color symbolized God’s righteousness and holiness (Revelation).

Standing beside that radiant whiteness, the Israelites would have felt the weight of their own sinfulness.

But among all those white curtains, one spot stood out—the gate on the east side,

woven with four colors like a beautiful tapestry.

This gate pointed to Jesus Christ.

In John 10, Jesus says, “I am the door.”

The four colors represent the four faces of Christ revealed in the four Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

People living in sin often reach a point where they think,

“I can’t live like this anymore. I need to believe in God.”

So they start attending church.

But here’s the problem:

Many churches never teach about the forgiveness of sins or being born again.

As a result, people remain sinners, even while faithfully attending church.

That kind of church is not a true church.

A true church must teach about the altar of burnt offering,

because in the New Testament, that altar represents the cross of Jesus Christ.

In the Old Testament, whenever someone wanted to be reconciled to God,

the very first step was to deal with their sin.

Likewise, in the life of faith today, we must first resolve three things:

Believe that God exists,

Acknowledge that I am a sinner, and Receive the forgiveness of sins.

Many people want to believe in God and even in Jesus,

so they go to church—but they never actually receive forgiveness at the altar.

That’s why today, I want to take some time to talk about the altar of burnt offering—

the place where our relationship with God truly begins.