Major Series / New Testament / Hebrews
[0:00] Well, we're going to turn again to our Bibles and to our reading for this morning, which you'll find in the second half of Hebrews chapter 9.
[0:12] Last week we looked at the first half of this up to verse 14. We're going to be dealing with a long section this morning, the rest of chapter 9 and a good bit of chapter 10 right down to verse 18.
[0:24] It's a long passage, but it is one that all hangs together and I want to deal with it in one so that we just don't get completely bogged down in this long section over too long.
[0:37] And so we'll have to have our wits about us this morning and be paying attention. I shall do my best to try and explain this long and not entirely easy passage.
[0:48] We're going to read beginning at verse 13 of chapter 9 to get us in. And as we go along, I will make one or two alternative readings, which I hope will help us understand it a little bit better.
[1:02] But we'll have more of that later. And be looking particularly for all the references to the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, especially in the first half of the reading, and also to the body of the Lord Jesus, particularly in chapter 10.
[1:23] Chapter 9, verse 13. For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, how much more will he purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
[1:51] Therefore, he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance.
[2:03] Since a death has occurred that redeems them, that is eternally, from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. Now, verse 16, you'll notice there's a footnote here which says that the word translated here differently is translated, it can be translated either covenant or will.
[2:24] All through the book of Hebrews and all through this passage, it's translated covenant. And it's most odd and unhelpful to change that. So verse 16, we'd better read this way. For where a covenant is involved, he's talking about sins committed under a covenant.
[2:39] For where a covenant is involved, the death of the one who made it must be represented. For a covenant takes effect only on the basis of dead bodies.
[2:55] That is, only with the making of sacrifices. Since it's not enforced, the covenant is not ratified. As long as the one who makes it has not bound himself to that covenant in blood.
[3:10] That's really what it's saying. And therefore, not even the first covenant, that is the covenant he's speaking about of Moses, was inaugurated without blood.
[3:21] For when every commandment of the law had been declared, this is on Sinai by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats with water and scarlet wool and hyssop and sprinkled both the book itself, that's the book of the covenant representing God, and all the people saying, this is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you.
[3:43] And the same way he sprinkled with the blood, both the tent and all the vessels used in worship. Indeed, under the law, under the old covenant, almost everything is purified with blood.
[3:57] And without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. Else it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites.
[4:08] But the heavenly things themselves were better sacrifices than these. For Christ has entered not into holy places made with hands on earth, which are just copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.
[4:32] Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly as the high priest enters the holy place every year with blood not his own. For then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world.
[4:43] But as it is, he, Christ, has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
[4:55] Just as it's appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time.
[5:06] Not to deal with sin. But for those who are eagerly waiting for him to bring salvation. For since the law, that's the old covenant under Moses, has but a shadow of the good things to come, instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, it can never make perfect those who draw near.
[5:33] Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered? Since the worshipper, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sin. But in these sacrifices, there's a reminder of sin every year.
[5:50] Because it's impossible, obviously, for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you've prepared for me.
[6:08] In burnt offerings and sin offerings you've taken no pleasure. Then I said, behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.
[6:20] When he said, above, you have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifice and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings, all these things offered according to the law. Then he added, behold, I have come to do your will.
[6:34] He abolishes the first, all these sacrifices and things, in order to establish the second, the will of God.
[6:45] And by that will, that is, by the obedience of Christ to God's will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
[7:00] And every priest, every earthly priest, stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.
[7:26] For by a single offering, he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us.
[7:40] For after saying, and he's quoting again from Jeremiah that he quoted from in chapter 8, after saying, this is the covenant I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord, I will put my laws on their hearts and write them on their minds.
[7:53] Then he adds, I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more. Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
[8:12] Amen. May God bless to us his word and help us to understand its gracious message for us. Well, please do turn with me to the passage we read in Hebrews 9 and 10.
[8:27] And it's a long passage and it's a difficult passage. So you will have to stay awake and we'll have to work hard this morning. But I hope that it will be worth our while.
[8:39] This is a passage that teaches us something very, very important. That we are purged forever from our sins and that we are perfected forever for service by the blood of Jesus and by the body of Jesus.
[8:59] This passage deals with something at the very heart of our faith. Something that the Bible insists that we have to distinguish but never divide when we are thinking about the saving work of our Lord Jesus Christ.
[9:13] And that is the body and the blood of our Lord Jesus. You'll remember Jesus himself speaks about his body and his blood as he eats the Passover with his disciples.
[9:25] And he says his blood is the blood of the covenant. Which he says is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. And so he's explaining his death as the fulfillment of all God's promises of salvation.
[9:41] All his covenant promises right from the very beginning. And that of course is the message at the very heart of the book of Hebrews. The many and varied promises through the prophets and so on in all the former days are fulfilled in these last days by the Son of God.
[9:59] Who as chapter 1 says forever has made purification for sins. And therefore forever has been exalted as the glorious Son of God in heaven.
[10:12] Therefore, look at verse 15 of chapter 9. Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant so that all those who are called may receive. They receive the promised eternal inheritance.
[10:29] So he's very clear there that new covenant doesn't mean new in the sense of different. But means in the sense of fulfillment. The sense of consummation of all the covenants of promise from the very beginning.
[10:40] That God would be his people's God. That they would be his people forever. That was the promise given to Abraham at the beginning. We'll see it in chapter 11. God promised Abraham an inheritance.
[10:52] And that inheritance was not merely in an earthly country but a heavenly one. Not an earthly city but a city that was built forever by God. In a world of resurrection life.
[11:07] That's the promised eternal inheritance. And so the new covenant that he speaks of here is the eternal covenant. That's at last fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
[11:19] To which all the other covenants in history bore witness. His blood is the blood of the eternal covenant. That he speaks about in the last few verses of chapter 13.
[11:29] So what Jesus was saying in the upper room to his disciples. This is at last the real thing. And that's Hebrews message. All the covenants are fulfilled in the Christ of the covenants.
[11:44] He is the substance of which all the earthly covenants pointed. And in which all are fulfilled eternally. Verse 12.
[11:55] It brings eternal redemption. Verse 14. Through the eternal spirit. So in chapter 5 verse 9. He's become the source of eternal salvation.
[12:06] From the eternal judgment. That chapter 6 verse 2 speaks of. So all the covenants that God gave to his people. All through their unfolding history. Were to teach his people about these eternal ultimate realities.
[12:20] And at the heart of all that they taught. Was this. That to receive the inheritance for eternity. They would have to be redeemed from their iniquity.
[12:32] For eternity. That God's promise of an eternal future. Will only come through the purging of eternal forgiveness. But that is now the decisive intervention.
[12:48] That Jesus Christ has made. Look at verse 15. The second half. The promised inheritance can now be received. He says. Since a death has occurred. That redeems.
[13:00] From all the transgressions committed. Under the first covenant. Why must a death occur. In order to mediate this. New eternal covenant.
[13:12] Why did Jesus say. He must give his body for us. And his blood for us. Well because. The ultimate reality. Which all the covenants. That God gave spoke of. The ultimate reality.
[13:23] Is that sin. Separates human beings from God. The result of man's disobedience to God. Is death. It's bodily exclusion.
[13:33] From the presence of God. That's what Genesis 3. Is picturing for us. In Hosea chapter 6 verse 7. Puts it like this. Adam. Transgressed.
[13:43] The covenant. And that led to both physical. And spiritual death. He was excluded. From the garden. The place of God's dwelling. Never to walk bodily.
[13:54] With God again. And that rebellion. Cursed the whole of. Humanity. By one man's disobedience. Says Paul in Romans 5. The many. Were made sinners.
[14:07] Because of one man's transgression. Death. Reigned. But praise God. That wasn't the end of the story. That should have been. The end of the story.
[14:19] By rights. And by justice. God promised. Way. Way. Way. Way. Back then. In the very first covenant. Of promise. He promised. An eternal answer. To that problem.
[14:30] Of sin and death. Through the seed. Of the woman. Who at last. He said. Would come. Would destroy. The one. Who now held. The power. Of death. Over man. That is the serpent.
[14:40] The devil. The evil one. And that promise. Never died. Later on. Remember. He renewed it. He affirmed it. Personally. To Abraham. In a sworn oath. In a covenant. As a bond.
[14:50] In blood. With God. That's what a covenant is. It's a bond. In blood. To the death. We reflect that. Even in our marriage service. Because marriage is a covenant. Till death.
[15:01] Us do part. And that was what the covenant. Between God. And Abraham. Was. Literally. It was sealed. In blood. You can read about it. In Genesis chapter 15.
[15:12] Sacrifices were made. And it was sealed. Over the dead bodies. Of those sacrificial animals. Representing. The participants. In the covenant. Themself.
[15:23] Binding each other. To death. In that oath. A bond. In blood. And then later on. At Sinai. After God had redeemed. The Israelites. Out of Egypt.
[15:34] He affirmed his covenant. With Israel. And again. The covenant. Was sealed. With the blood. Of sacrificial. Animals. To represent the penalty.
[15:45] Of breaking the covenant. And thereafter. As we've seen. The whole. System. Of the tabernacle. Had endless sacrifices. Endless blood. Why all this.
[15:56] Sacrificing. Of bodies. Of animals. And their blood. Well. To teach. God's people. So that they would never fail. To realize. That there is a huge.
[16:07] Barrier. For all human beings. Even those. That God has. Has called. Into his service. To have the privilege. Of his heavenly. Revelation. Of grace.
[16:17] There is a huge. Barrier. To them. Attaining. Their true destiny. Which is to serve. The living God. Which is to image. His glory. Through all creation. That barrier.
[16:29] Of course. Is the tenacious. Disobedience. Of the human heart. Which has led us. Into the slavery. Of sin and death. Because we've broken. God's gracious.
[16:41] Covenant of life. And the whole system. Of Israel's. Priestly religion. Centered on the tabernacle. It spoke about. Those two things. Yes. It spoke about. The promise. Of restoration.
[16:52] To our true destiny. Of fellowship. With the living God. But also. It spoke about. Our need for rescue. From our disaster. Through.
[17:03] The forgiveness. That can only come. From God. And both sides. Are required. You see. Not just the negative. Not just the rescue. From sin. But the full.
[17:15] Restoration. To our service. Our destiny. Our purpose. In the presence of God. Because only then. Will things be fully. Put right for us. And only then. Even more importantly.
[17:25] Will things be put. Fully right for God. But father. Used to illustrate. This point. In this way. Imagine. You have a very precious. Painting.
[17:36] In your house. As a matter of fact. I do have a precious painting. It's a portrait. Of my father. And it was painted. By somebody. In the congregation here. And it's very precious to me. Imagine my house. Is broken into. And that picture.
[17:47] Among other things. Is stolen. Well imagine. That the police. Actually. Were interested. In a burglary. They don't seem to be. Very interested. In that sort of thing. Today. But imagine.
[17:58] They were. And even more amazingly. Imagine. They managed to catch. That thief. And actually. Take him to court. And prosecute him. And have him punished. And he's put in prison. And you might say.
[18:10] Well. Justice has been done. But there's a problem there. Isn't there? Because he might be in prison. Serving out the penalty. For what he has done. But. I haven't necessarily.
[18:21] Got my painting back. And true justice. Demands restoration. Doesn't it? And reparation. And just so.
[18:31] In exactly that way. You see. Sin has robbed God. Of the perfect. Living image. Of himself. In man. And he wants him back.
[18:42] He wants us back. So for God. You see. The punishment of sin. Is but the means. Of his true goal. Which is the perfecting.
[18:53] Again. Of his sons and daughters. For their true destiny. It redeems from evil. So as to restore. For eternity.
[19:05] From the disaster of sin. But for. The destiny. Of our service. To the living God. For which we were created. That's what verse 14. Is speaking about. Purifying from dead works.
[19:15] Works that lead to death. To service of the living God. And that's why. You see. All the sacrifices. Of the old covenant era. Emphasize both the body.
[19:26] And the blood. A spotless body. Representing a perfect. Consecration of life. To God's service. And also shed blood.
[19:38] Representing the purging. Cleansing. Of life. From sin. Now all these earthly. Sacrifices could do. Of course. Was to picture. And to represent.
[19:48] The eternal reality. As shadows. Of a promise fulfillment. That was still to come. But at last. Verse 11. Here of chapter 9. Says. When Christ appeared.
[19:59] As the ultimate priest. To fulfill. All God's covenant promises. Then at last. Through his death. For sins. Then the destiny.
[20:10] Of man. As God's ruler. For this whole world. Has been restored. Remember. Chapter 2. Of Hebrews. Told us that. We're still waiting. To see the consummation.
[20:21] Of that. In all. A renewed. Human flesh. But already. In the human flesh. Of the risen Lord Jesus. Already. He is crowned. With glory and honor. Because of his suffering.
[20:33] And death. Because. As verse 14. Here. Tells us. In his death. As the eternal priest. Effecting the ultimate sacrifice. He offered. Not animals.
[20:44] But you see. Offered himself. His life. Without blemish. To God. And that did. Two things. Verse 14. That the earthly sacrifices.
[20:54] Themselves. Could never achieve. He purified our consciences. From. Dead works. Works that live to death. He purged the worshiper. From their sins. And.
[21:05] For. Service to God. He perfected. The worshiper. For service. You see. He truly cleanses. From sin.
[21:16] Through his perfect obedience. Even to death. Fulfilling all the covenant. Penalties. To satisfy God's wrath. At our sin.
[21:27] And. He truly. Consecrates. For service. Through his perfect obedience. Even unto death. He fulfills. All. The covenant. Precepts.
[21:38] For us. To sanctify. Our worship. And that's why. Verse 15. He says. At last. Once for all. For all time. Those who are called by God.
[21:48] He means. All through the ages. They are redeemed. From. Transgression. For. And for. For. For. An eternal. Inheritance. They're cleansed.
[22:00] From. Disobedience. And they're consecrated. For. A destiny. Of service. To God. God. And the rest of chapter 9. Deals with. How Christ.
[22:11] As a mediator. Of the eternal covenant. Brings that once for all. Cleansing. From sin. By his blood. And then chapter 10. Verses 1 to 18. Show us how he is once for all.
[22:21] Sanctified. Once for all. Consecrated. For service. All those he has called. Through. The offering of his body. The long section.
[22:35] But I want to deal with it together. Because it gives us so clearly. These two things. Side by side. So first of all. Let's. Think about. Verses. 15 to 28.
[22:46] In a sense. Verse 28. Right at the end of chapter 9. Summarizes. The whole thing. Literally. Actually. In the original. In just four words. Not sin. But. Salvation.
[22:59] Not sin. But salvation. First of all. The second half of chapter 9. Then. Is telling us. That in Jesus Christ. In the mediator. Of the new eternal covenant.
[23:09] We have been perfectly cleansed. From sin. Once and for all. And forever. Summed up there. In chapter 15. The second. In verse 15.
[23:20] The second half. Redeemed. From. Transgression. By. Jesus Christ. And through him. We are redeemed. From the penalty. Of disobedience.
[23:32] To the covenant God. From the slavery. To sin and death. And the whole of verses 11 to 28. Here. Focus on the earthly cleansings. And the priestly rituals. What they could not do.
[23:43] Christ. Has. Now done. For us. He has purified the conscience. Once for all. From death. To life. He has purified us.
[23:55] From. Sin's stain. By his precious blood. Look at verse. 26. Once for all. Putting away sin.
[24:05] By the sacrifice. Of himself. Verse 28. Once for all. Offered. To bear away the sins. Of many. A death.
[24:18] Of blood. A shedding of blood. And it must happen. To cleanse from sin. To redeem. From. Covenant. Transgression. That's what verse 15 says.
[24:28] Because. As we've seen repeatedly. Today. And it's. Here again. In verse 22. Because. Without blood. There is. No. Forgiveness. Of sins.
[24:40] But this. Christ has done. And he's done it. Once and for all. To cleanse. Not just the earth. Says verse 23. But also the heaven. And so. When he appears again. At the last.
[24:50] On this earth. As verse 28. There is saying. It will not be for sin. But for salvation. To deliver. Into. That destiny. Now that's the argument. It's important to get that very clear.
[25:01] Because some of the detail. Is difficult. Especially. Because. The translation. In verses 16 and 17. Is very unhelpful. Look at verses 16 to 22.
[25:13] They're essentially. They're a parenthesis. That explains. The second half. Of verse 15. Why it's death. Why it's therefore. Blood. From Christ.
[25:24] That brings redemption. Redeems us from the curse. Of transgressing the covenant. Here's the reasoning. Verses 16 and 17. Is saying this. All covenants. As we know.
[25:35] Are bonds in blood. To the death. And so. They're only ratified. Through. A sacrificial death. We all know that. That's why. Verse 18. Even the first covenant.
[25:46] Under Moses. Was inaugurated. With blood sacrifices. At Sinai. And indeed. That's why. Ever after. Verse 22. There were so many sacrifices. All the time.
[25:57] So. Obviously. The ultimate. Eternal reality. That these things. We're speaking of. The ultimate. Cleansing for sin. Required far better. And indeed.
[26:08] Ultimate. Sacrifices. Not of animals. But of Christ himself. Offered once. To bear away. The sins of many. Through the shedding. Of his. Precious blood. The blood of the eternal covenant.
[26:20] That's the point. He's making. Now. It's obscured for us. In our Bibles. Because verses 16 and 17. Translate a word. That's translated covenant. Everywhere else. In the book of Hebrews.
[26:31] And everywhere else. In the context here. As covenant. And it translates it. Instead as will. Which is entirely wrong. And unhelpful. In the Greek language. It can be translated that way. But it has absolutely nothing to do.
[26:42] With what's going on here. I haven't got time to go into depth. About that. But if you want to read. Very convincingly on that. Let me point you to. William Lane's commentary. In the word commentary series.
[26:53] And to the book. By Palmer Robertson. On Hebrews. You can read copiously on it. But here's how it should read. Look at verse 15. Verse 15 tells us. That a death.
[27:05] The death of Christ. Redeems from covenant transgression. Why a death? Well because verse 16. When a covenant is involved. The death of the one who's making it.
[27:18] Has to be represented. Because it's a bond in blood. It's a bond to the death. That's what a covenant is. For. We all know this. A covenant.
[27:28] Is ratified. Only on the basis. Not of death. But of dead bodies. That is. The sacrifices. Which symbolically represent. The death. Of the ratifier. Should they break the covenant.
[27:40] Remember Abraham. In Genesis 15. The dead bodies laid out. And he walked through them. Along with the fire. Which represented the presence of God. They walked through them. To seal the covenant. If you want a parallel statement to this.
[27:54] You can read later on. Psalm 50 verse 5. Where God speaks of his faithful ones. Who made a covenant with me. By sacrifice. That's how a covenant ceremony.
[28:04] Is ratified. So verse 17. A covenant is only in force. It's not ratified. Until the one making it. Has bound himself. By oath.
[28:15] By means of a representative death. That's what he's saying. That's how covenants work. We all know that. It's a bond in blood. Sworn to the death. And that's why then.
[28:26] Verse 18 says. Of course. Even the Mosaic covenant. The first covenant. Was instituted. At Sinai. With blood. In just that way.
[28:36] You can read about it. In Exodus chapter 24. That's what he's speaking about here. God bound himself to Israel. And they to him. By blood. It sprinkled them. It sprinkled the book of the covenant. It bound them together.
[28:48] Under the penalty of death. For disobedience. And then of course. All these sacrifices in the law. As he says in verse 22. They were teaching the same ultimate truth.
[29:00] That there is no forgiveness of sins. Without the shedding of blood. So we saw in verse 7. Not without blood. Not even temporary. Earthly atonement could be made.
[29:11] Without blood. So how much more. Must there be better sacrifices than these. To bring real and everlasting cleansing. That verse 23 is speaking about. The copies on earth.
[29:24] The teaching aids. As it were. That God gave to Israel. They must be assiduously cleaned by blood. Because that was to teach. God's people.
[29:34] The vastness of the cleansing. That was going to be required. Not only to cleanse earth. Look at verse 23. But also. Heaven itself. If things are to be put right. Between man and God.
[29:46] Because you see. The sin of man. Hasn't just tainted our. Little locality. The sin of man. Has brought a stain. A great taint. On the whole. Of God's creation. Indeed. On the heavens.
[29:59] Earth and heaven. You see. Is inextricably linked. God. God. God. Created space and time. Our world. If you like. Within his. Eternal world.
[30:11] But man's. Sin. Man's rebellion. Has therefore infected. Even God's personal home. By defacing his. Image. In mankind.
[30:21] Kind. That's why no mere. Earthly. Human priests. Or human sacrifices. Could ever. Put matters right. With God. Ultimately. Even if they could achieve.
[30:34] Peace on earth. Which they can't. The problem isn't just on earth. The problem is in heaven. And it's between earth and heaven. That's where the green movement. Today you see. Is so mistaken. However well meaning.
[30:45] It might be. The cosmic problem. In this world. Is not just a mere. Earthly thing. Can't be solved. Just on earth. It's in heaven. And it's between earth and heaven.
[30:57] And something far far better. Than a mere human solution. Something better than mere human reparation. Is needed. But that is.
[31:09] What Jesus Christ has done. That's what verses 23 to 28 are saying. They're elaborating. What we saw last time. In verses 11 and 12. Which tell us that. It's by means.
[31:19] Not of the blood of earth. Earthly sacrifices. But by the means of his own blood. And blood offered not. In a mere earthly sanctuary. A copy of the heavenly things.
[31:31] But as verse 24 says. Offered in heaven itself. And not repeatedly. Like on. Earthly priesthoods. But once and for all. Says verse 27. Offered at the end of the ages.
[31:43] Once and for all. To put away sin. By the sacrifice. Of himself. And cleanse. The stain of sin.
[31:54] From both earth and heaven. That's what Paul says in Colossians chapter 1. To reconcile all things to himself. Whether on earth or in heaven. Making peace. Through the blood.
[32:05] Of his cross. There's a great 6th century hymn of the church. That has this verse. From his patient body. Pierced. Blood and water. Streaming full. Earth. And seas.
[32:16] And stars. And mankind. By that stream. Are cleansed at all. Once and for all. Perfect. Cleansing. For sin. At last. Earth.
[32:26] And seas. And stars. And mankind. Purged. Of sin's stain. By his precious blood. At the cross of Jesus Christ. And therefore.
[32:37] He says. You see. In verse 28. At the coming of Jesus Christ. The second coming. Which is as. As certain. As the axiomatic. Saying in verse 27. That man will die once. And then have judgment.
[32:48] When he appears again. A second time. It will be to unveil. A world. Not of sin. But of salvation. Salvation. Fully realized. At last. Darkness defeated.
[32:59] Eden. Restored. A world of salvation. Is a world of world. Worship restored. Not. As verse 14 says. Works that lead to death.
[33:10] In a world of sin. But worship. Service of the living God. In a world of salvation. That is. The promised. Eternal. Inheritance. The full firing.
[33:22] Of the city of God. The heavenly city. The world of resurrection life. That was. Promised. To Abraham. Right at the start. And when Jesus returns. As verse 15 says.
[33:33] All who are called. Will receive that. Bodily. Together. Those who eagerly awaited. For the savior. From those ancient. Former days. Abraham. And the great patriarchs.
[33:44] And others. And. Those who are eagerly awaiting. His return now. Today. Together with us. The end of chapter 11 says. They also will receive.
[33:54] The promised inheritance. But he says there also. Something very significant. He says this. For us. For us. Something better. Has already begun.
[34:07] Even in. Our earthly bodily lives. Because what could not begin. Until the ultimate redeeming death. For sins. Was provided. That has now begun.
[34:19] Because as verse 15 says. A redeeming death. Has now occurred. Occurred. Once and for all. In human history. And we friends. Christians today. We live in the light of that. When Christ returns.
[34:32] The salvation that he brings. The risen life. Of his eternal kingdom. It will be as wonderful. For all the people of God. Whenever they lived. In this earthly age. Whether they lived. Thousands of years.
[34:43] Before the coming of Christ. Or whether they live today. But until that day. We who live now. In these last days. We have something better.
[34:54] Than they ever had. Because even those faithful ones. Even those ones. Who called on God. In that covenant era. That they lived in. Still awaiting.
[35:06] The decisive salvation of Christ. That meant. That the overwhelming message. Of God's revelation to them. Full of grace. And promise. As it was. The overwhelming message.
[35:16] Was to remind them. That they were still sinners. Well as for us. We look back. On Calvary.
[35:27] And the overwhelming reminder. That the revelation of God. In this new age. Gives us. Is that we are. And this is what the New Testament.
[35:37] Always calls Christians. Saints. And that's the joyful message. Of chapter 10. Verses 1 to 18. You see that in Jesus Christ. In the mediator of the new covenant.
[35:48] We. Have been. Perfectly. Consecrated. For service. Once and for all. And forever. Through Jesus. We are restored. To our promised destiny.
[36:00] To serve God. In eternal life. And these. These verses focus. On what no. Earthly. Consecration. By offerings. And sacrifice. Could ever do.
[36:11] But what Christ. Has now. Done for us. As verse. 14 of chapter 9. Puts it. He has purified. He has done it. He has purified. Our conscience.
[36:21] So we can serve. The living God. Not only has he purged us. From our sins. By his precious blood. But he has perfected us. He has. Consecrated us. Sanctified us.
[36:32] For service. Through his perfect body. Which was offered. In perfect obedience. To God. In life and death. There's two key verses here. In chapter 10. Look at them. Verse 10.
[36:43] By that will. That is by the obedience. Of Christ. In all things. We. Have been. Sanctified. We have been set apart. As holy. We've been consecrated. For his service.
[36:54] Through the offering. Of the body. Of Jesus. Once for all. And verse 14. By a single offering. He has perfected. For all time.
[37:05] Those. Who are being. Sanctified. The dominant note. All through this section. Is the offering. Of the body. Of the body. Of Jesus Christ. In perfect obedience.
[37:16] To God. And the wonderful message. Of that friends. Is that his. Perfect. Holy obedience. Sanctifies us. To serve the living God.
[37:28] Look at the verses. At the end. Verses 15 to 17. That's what they're telling us. What the Holy Spirit. Wrote then. To Jeremiah. All those centuries ago. He says here. He is speaking. Directly to us.
[37:39] In these verses. Because what he's saying is. This is fulfilled. In us. Now. Through what Jesus. Has now done. Through his perfect obedience. In life and death. So look.
[37:50] Verse 17. That is true. Of you and me today. If we are Christians. In Christ. He remembers. Our sins. No more. Our lawless deeds.
[38:00] Our transgressions. Of his eternal covenant. If we are those. Who trust in Christ. It's remembered. No more. Our sins. Are not just covered.
[38:11] They're not covered. By a perpetual atonement. For sin. Again and again. In an earthly tabernacle. They've been put away. Forever. They have been erased.
[38:22] Already. From the memory. Of almighty God. What a contrast. That is. Isn't it? Even to the most faithful. Of those saints of old.
[38:33] The sort of people. That's being talked about. Here in verses. One to four. Of chapter 10. People of real faith. Who are worshipping God. As God instructed them to do. Bringing their sacrifices. And so on. Think of people like.
[38:44] Zechariah. And Elizabeth. Or Simeon. And Anna. Those ones that you meet. In Luke's gospel. Chapter 1 and 2. We're told. Aren't we? These old covenant believers. They were righteous. And devite.
[38:54] They were walking. Blamelessly. Before God. They were longing. For the consolation. Of Jerusalem. Trusting in God's covenant promises. For fulfillment. One day. Of everything he'd spoken.
[39:05] But they're still living. In the shadowlands. As it were. Of God's grace. They knew. That these sacrifices themselves.
[39:16] Couldn't make them perfect. Because their own experience. Told them that. Verse 2 of chapter 10. Here expresses that. They still had. Didn't they? A deep consciousness.
[39:26] Of their sins. In fact. The irony is. In verse 3. You see. The more they faithfully worshipped. The more they were reminded. Of their sins. And so.
[39:37] The more they longed. For the coming. Of the promised Christ. To take that sin away. To release them. At last. From sin's guilt. From sin's shame. The whole.
[39:49] Old Testament. System. As one writer. Has put it. Was an eloquent witness. To its own. Insufficiency. And that's why God instituted it. And so.
[40:00] The more faithful. The sinner. The more conscious. They were. Of their ultimate need. For forgiveness. And of the decisive. Renewal. Of their hearts. So that they might.
[40:11] At last. Serve the Lord. In holiness. And righteousness. All their days. Without fear. That's how Zechariah. Put in his song. Remember. Longing for the sunrise. As he calls it. In the knowledge.
[40:24] Of forgiveness. Of their sins. But look at verse 5. When Jesus Christ came. That sunrise. Arrived. Verses.
[40:35] 5 to 10 here. Tell us. Of the inadequacy. Of all the era of shadows. How that gave way. To the marvelous. Substance. Inaugurated. In the body. Of human flesh.
[40:46] In the person. Of Jesus Christ. Just as it was promised. In the scriptures. He's quoting there. For Psalm 40. And David's words. About his heart's desire.
[40:58] They're fulfilled. Most wonderfully. Most perfectly. In the person. Of Christ. And you see. He tells us. Precisely. In verses 8 and 9. Exactly what that means. It means.
[41:08] That the whole business. Of sacrifice. And offerings. For sin. Has never been. What God is really interested in. From the beginning.
[41:19] In terms of worship. From his people. What God wants. Is verse 9. Look. Quoting verse 7. God wants. Human beings. Who do his will. Who reflect him.
[41:32] That's so plain. All through the Bible. Right back from the very beginning. In the law itself. In fact. There's actually nothing. About. Sacrifices. And offerings. All the way through. The book of Exodus.
[41:43] Until you get to the end. Until after. All the spelling out of God. Telling his people. How to live like him. You find nothing. About sacrifices. And offerings. In the whole of the book. Of Deuteronomy. Which is all about God.
[41:54] Telling his people. How to reflect him. And his glory. How to love him. With heart. And soul. And strength. And how to walk in his ways. That's why God created us. That's what God wants from us.
[42:06] The whole business. Of sacrifices. And so on. It's only because. Human beings. Rebelled. And refused his will. And brought on themselves.
[42:17] The terrible curse of sin. In a sense. That whole side of worship. The altars. The priests. Everything. Was a necessary evil. It was something God never wanted.
[42:28] It was only there. To deal with a lack of obedience. With a huge deficit in holiness. In sinful people. God's goal.
[42:39] The writer here tells us. Absolutely plainly. God's goal for all these things. Was never to establish. A religion of priests. And sacrifices forever. He says here. His goal was to abolish it.
[42:50] Forever. To set it aside. And then to forget. Forever. About all the things. That made them necessary.
[43:01] In the first place. Our sinfulness. And that is what he has now done. He says. Through Jesus Christ. And his life. And his death. And his resurrection. Look at verse 9.
[43:12] Because he came and did. Perfectly. The will of God. He lived as man. In the body. For man. In perfect obedience to God. And he has abolished.
[43:24] Therefore. That whole era. Of sacrificial religion. For sin. In order to establish. A whole new era. Of sanctified renewal. In the service of God.
[43:34] That's what verse 10 says. By that will. By his obedience. Offered to God. In life and death. We. Have been sanctified. Once. And for all. Perfectly. Consecrated.
[43:45] For eternal service. Eternal worship. Through his perfect. Body. It's done. The great transaction. Is done. That's what verses 11 to 14.
[43:57] Reiterate again. You can see. He keeps repeating himself. So often. He's determined. That you will get this clear. No more. Repeated offerings. Which themselves.
[44:08] Could never take away sin. With priests. Standing. At the altar. Repeatedly. On and on and on. No. Verse 12. Jesus. Offered a single sacrifice. Which is effective.
[44:19] He says. For all time. For all time. There's nothing more to do. It's finished. He sat down. To indicate. That all such need.
[44:30] For atonement. Is done. Forever. But also. Of course. To indicate. As we saw. In chapter 8. He sits down. At the right hand. Of the majesty.
[44:41] On high. By the throne. Of God. He is shown. To be. God's. Holy. Exalted son. The human being. God created. From the beginning. To be. His.
[44:51] Beautiful image. The one who is crowned. In glory. And honor. Ultimately. Pleasing to God. Rejoicing. The heart of God. Rejoicing. The whole of heaven. And he sits there.
[45:04] Notice. Verse 14. Not just for himself. By his single offering. Of his. Perfect. Bodily obedience. He has perfected.
[45:14] All. For all time. Not just his own. Human flesh. But all. Who through him. Are being sanctified. All his saints. The many brothers and sisters. He's leading to glory.
[45:25] Remember. Chapter 2. All the children. That God. Has given him. And that's you and me. That's those of us. Who love and follow Jesus Christ. Today. And we are able now.
[45:38] In fact. We're called. By God. To serve him. We are liberated. From slavery. To sin. For. Joyful. Service. To our savior.
[45:50] And that means. Friends. That you and I. If we. Love the Lord Jesus Christ. And walk in him. We can bring. Great pleasure. To God our father. By our life. All our righteousness.
[46:03] Is not. As filthy rags. Before him. Because in Jesus Christ. We are sanctified. For service. Your life.
[46:14] Can bring joy. To God. Can bring joy. To the angels in heaven. Can bring joy. To the whole world. Through Jesus Christ. In him. We have been. Perfectly cleansed.
[46:24] From sin. Forever. God remembers. Our sins. And our lawless deeds. No more. And in him. We have been. Perfectly consecrated. For service to him. To go on. Forever. God doesn't.
[46:36] Remind himself. Any longer. That we are sinners. And he doesn't want us to either. Doesn't mean. We can ignore our sins. Doesn't mean. That we mustn't.
[46:46] Confess our sins. Or battle our sins. Of course. But it does mean. That our sins. No longer. Define us. We have been. We have been. Decisively forgiven.
[46:58] Forever and ever. We've been decisively. Sanctified. For him. That's why the New Testament. Always addresses Christians. Not as sinners. But as saints.
[47:10] Sanctified. Sanctified. In Christ. Saved. Already. To serve. The living God. Redeemed from disobedience. For our destiny. Which is to live out.
[47:22] From our hearts. The perfect will of God. Through Jesus Christ. Forever. Beginning now. Beginning. The very moment. That we believed. That's why God redeemed us.
[47:32] To belong to Jesus. To be like Jesus. For all time. In his glorious kingdom. But you see. The privilege for us. Is that through Jesus Christ.
[47:44] All his perfect life. Is imputed to us. It's made ours forever. When we believed. And that means that through him. Today. And every day.
[47:54] Of our lives. Through him. As chapter 13. Tells us. We'll see. We can continually offer up. Not sacrifices of forgiveness. That's a thing of the past. But because we have forgiveness.
[48:05] Because we've been redeemed. To serve the living God. He says we can continually offer up. Through him. A sacrifice of praise. To God. The fruit of lips.
[48:16] That acknowledge his name. Our daily lives. Lived. In faithful obedience to God. Through Jesus Christ. Are a sacrifice of praise.
[48:27] That delights the heart. Of our heavenly father. And that friends. Is the privilege. That it is for us. To live. Not in the shadow lands. Not with a constant reminder.
[48:37] Of our sins. That might make us. Draw back in fear. But our privilege. Is to live in these sunlit uplands. Of these latter days. With a constant reminder.
[48:49] Not of our sins. But of our savior. Through whom. We are assured. We can draw near to God. In faith. What a privilege.
[48:59] We have. What a great responsibility. To love him. And to live for him. So just as we close.
[49:13] Listen to the words that. The writer. Ends. His exhortation with. May the God of peace. Who brought again. From the dead. Our Lord Jesus. The great shepherd of the sheep.
[49:25] May he by the blood. Of the eternal covenant. Equip you. With everything. Good. That you may. Do his will. Working in us.
[49:36] That which is pleasing. In his sight. Through Jesus Christ. To whom be. Glory. Forever. And ever. We are purged.
[49:49] And perfected. Forever. Through the body. And the blood. Of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Heavenly Father.
[50:03] We thank you. For the. Inestimable. Privilege. Not only. Of being called. To your eternal salvation. Through Jesus Christ. But to live.
[50:14] In these last days. Where all. Those who are yours. In Jesus. Because of what he's done. Are looked upon by you.
[50:25] Not as sinners. But as saints. Ransomed. For the saints. For the saints. For the saints. Ransomed. And forgiven. And. For the saints. And forgiven. And restored.
[50:36] And healed. Call back to the destiny. For which he created us. And for which. Now you've redeemed us. Through his precious blood. And through his perfect.
[50:47] Life. Lived. For us. For us. So Lord. As the saints of old. Loved. And followed you. In great faith. In great faithfulness.
[50:59] How much more. Is that great calling. Upon our lives. So help us. We pray. Grant us. Through the blood.
[51:10] Of the eternal covenant. That we should be equipped. With all that we need. To live for you. To love you. To show forth. Your glory.
[51:20] And your goodness. Every day of our lives. Help us. To help one another. To remind one another. Constantly. Of the joy. We have in Jesus. And so.
[51:32] As we long. For the day of his coming. We might live for it. Every day. With gladness. And joy. In our hearts. For we ask it. In Jesus name.
[51:44] Amen.