HEBREWS 10: Full Assurance of something better // INTRO I’m not sure who knows it, but at the Satterfield house, we are overrun with puppies! And if you’ve ever had just one (OR 7 AT ONCE!!) then you will know the definition of chaos! Puppies are either sleeping or eating in the first few months, while the humans are cleaning them and feeding their bellies If you’ve ever gone through it, then you know that the days run together “Did I feed them or not? Did I wipe that one’s fanny?” Jen and I’ve repeated the task so many times, it gets hard to remember, so she very wisely made a chart for us to check off when they eat And because the doggie matriarch couldn’t be left out, we also got a magnetic indicator with the days of the week on Montana’s food can And it’s great because it has sliding indicators as to when you feed your pet in the morning and evening, so you don’t have to worry about it It’s the little things, you know?! That one little magnetic contraption alleviated the twice-daily question that ruled my life: “Did I feed the dog already?” So as you’re sitting here this morning, what is something that you have to do on a regular basis that you would like to never have to do again? (Shout out a few!) Have you had that experience whereby things that you do regularly, and perhaps really enjoy, become monotonous, or even a drudgery? I think that the older we get, the more monotonous we typically become, as we wear out the well-worn ruts and paths of what we’ve consistently done in the past And in talking to people randomly, I try to ask questions about temporal things (here and now - like family and hobbies), but I also want to move towards asking engaging spiritual questions in order to ascertain if there is any inclination towards Christ and His Kingdom At the end of the day, this is why we’re here The future will be peopled by those who gave their heart ands souls to Jesus So I want you to stop right now and challenge you to think of something that you have to do on a regular basis? (and just SHOUT IT OUT!) OK, now let's take it up a notch! What’s one thing that you have to do on a regular basis that you would like to never have to do again? (DON’T BE SHY!!) The things that you and I do regularly can become monotonous and even boring It’s a foregone conclusion And in a similar fashion, the OT sacrifices were insufficient and therefore had to be repeated again and again and again And this is why Jesus Christ went to Calvary so that His once-for-all sacrifice of His own precious life would sustain men, women, boys and girls into eternity This is glorious to understand, and SO important for us to come back to again and again But let’s look at the text of chapter 10… // TEXT & EXPOSITION [1] For since the law 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, make perfect those who draw near. [2] Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? [3] But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. [4] For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. The Law has only a shadow of good things to come rather than the reality So then the Law was and is insufficient *by design* to make one holy before God The application of the rituals were always temporary The kaphar or covering was the blood of animals in the old system, but they could not atone once and for all the sins of Mankind Those sacrifices were unable to do so because those sacrifices made under the Old system were insufficient to make anyone holy beyond his or her next sinful, errant thought! If the old system could have made them permanently clean, rather than temporarily clean, then Jesus had no reason to come to earth, to incarnate as a baby human, to live a perfect life, and die a sacrificial death It would have been superfluous [5] Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; [6] in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. [7] 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.’” Do you see the contrast here from the Old to the New? The point here is that Jesus was, and is, the ultimate sacrifice Instead of more ongoing animal sacrifices, and the offerings of bulls and goats and using their blood for the kaphar (the covering), the perfect Son of God gave Himself as the sacrifice for all Mankind Consider how much more the efficacy (the working) of Jesus’ sacrifice compared to the blood of dumb animals! In contrast, Jesus gave His own life willingly as the once-for-all offering that was sufficient for all people made in God’s Image When we read Hebrews, it’s impossible not to see that Jesus came to do the Father’s will And by the way, we should strive to do the same! [8] When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), [9] then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. [10] And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Hear me: Jesus had a lack of human ambition…HUMAN ambition… But He had a HOLY ambition instead He had an ambition to please and to obey the Father in all things There were NO exceptions! And V8 tells us something really crazy in the context of all we’ve been studying in the book of Hebrews It tells us that Jesus, as the 2nd member of the Trinity, did not desire sacrifices and the blood of animals The Godhead did not rejoice in these things though they happened again again And the reason being was that those were necessary because of the sin of our first parents, Adam, as our Federal Head, and Eve as his Helpmate Their sin nature was passed down to every human being, except Jesus This is because Jesus was and is fully God! Jesus is the exact and perfect representation of the Father’s nature and being Did you know that there has never been an argument among the members of the Trinity They have only ever been in perfect harmony with one another When people ask me to explain the Trinity, I put it like this: The Trinity is ONE WHAT & THREE WHO’S One Godhead consisting of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit So the Trinity is always in full agreement, and that’s something you ought to expect since all 3 members are eternal in nature Back to the text… [11] And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. [12] But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, [13] waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. [14] For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. V11 is a bold and honest confession It was the same sacrifices for the same people (until they died), and then on to their children, and their children’s children, and so on Those Old Covenant sacrifices can never take away sin This was always the point, but many of the Jews missed it, and even many today still miss the point Those temporary sacrifices could not atone permanently There was not a “once-forever” ritual that would make anyone in the Old Covenant righteous within, before God You see, something was still missing, and that thing was the application of Grace! And this is precisely why the Incarnation of the 2nd Person of the Trinity is so utterly important Jesus came into the world to save sinners It’s only by His gracious sacrifice that we have a permanent atonement for sins, rather than the ongoing version in under the Old Covenant Here is how Paul put it 1 Timothy 1:12–16 about Christ Jesus coming to save sinners: 12 I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, 13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. That’s a very true and powerful statement about how Jesus Christ works in us and through us, when His Holy Spirit sets up house in our lives It is a fundamental 180 degree turn to go in the opposite direction from where your life was pointed prior And it’s only by grace alone through faith alone [15] And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, [16] “This is the covenant that 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,” [17] then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” [18] Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. This isn’t explicitly in the text, but rather implicit The Lord sent the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to come in and live IN us permanently, not just for the completion of a task or for a season He now abides in all those who are Believers in Jesus When anyone puts his or her faith in Jesus the Messiah, the 3rd Person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit, comes into that person and makes them a new creation So this promise is incredible! Instead of remembering the 10 Commandments, written in stone, God has put His Law in our hearts Generally speaking, all people know there is a God, and know that He is good We can ascertain that much simply by observing what God has made But sinful Man continues to pull away from God, and to go his own way, which leads to sin It’s a sad state of affairs for the non-Christian who persists in going his or her own way, because it is only in Christ Jesus and through His atoning blood that anyone is made new [19] Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, [20] by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, [21] and since we have a great priest over the house of God, [22] let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. We’ve already talked and studied about why a blood sacrifice was and is specifically required for the atonement of our sins Just as a reminder, or if you’re visiting us for the first time, God Himself declared about blood in the Old Testament: “For the life of all flesh is its blood” (Leviticus 17:14) God tells us that blood represents the essence of life And our blood carries life-sustaining nutrients to all parts of the body Without it, we would die And of course the phrase, “ the shedding of blood” represents death And we’ve covered verses like this in this series, Leviticus 17:11, which states that "the life of the flesh is in the blood" But the New Covenant is the enduring promise that God will forgive sin and restore fellowship with those whose hearts are turned toward Him, but no longer in a temporary fashion No, He decided to put an end to those rituals, and give humanity a once-for-all option So it is only through Jesus Christ, the mediator of the New Covenant, and only by His efficacious death on the cross This is the basis of the promise And as we remember, that New Covenant was predicted even while the Old Covenant was still in effect So when we read that Old Covenant / Old Testament, we see the prophets all alluding to the New Covenant that was coming, and is now here… Again, the beauty and wonder of the New Covenant is the promise that God will forgive sin and restore fellowship with those whose hearts are turned toward Him when we humble ourselves and ask And Jesus Christ is the mediator of that New Covenant Leviticus 17:11-12 states clearly that the Old Testament blood sacrifices were temporary and only atoned for sin partially, and only for a short time Therefore, there was a need to repeat the sacrifices annually But when Christ entered into the Most Holy Place, He did so to offer His own blood once for all time, making any future sacrifices unnecessary And this is precisely what Jesus meant when He spoke His dying words on the cross: “It is finished” (John 19:30) Never again would the blood of bulls and goats cleanse humanity from their sins It is only by accepting the blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross for the remission of sins, can we stand before God covered in the righteousness of Christ according to 2nd Corinthians 5:21 This means that you and me, and anyone who has put his or her faith in Jesus, is now BOTH a priest of God Most High and an offering unto Him! [23] Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. [24] And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, [25] not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. [26] For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, [27] but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. The covenants of God are promises made to certain people Some of these situations involved actions which people needed to perform In all cases, however, and in all times and places, people must have faith in God and what He has revealed to them in their place and time, so as to be saved Looking back at Hebrews 11:7–12, we see the example that Noah displayed his faith by building an Ark, knowing that the day was drawing near when God would send the waters upon the earth And Noah showed his faith (proved his faith) by building an Ark based on what God had said The same is true for Abraham He showed His faith by being willing to offer his one and only son to the Lord Now, we who are partakers of the the new covenant, we must believe that Jesus' death paid for our sins If we admit we have sinned against God, and desire to stop sinning against Him, we can simply and humbly ask Jesus to forgive our sins And that faith in Jesus is all that is needed He will forgive our sins and we will be reconciled to God We also need to continually renew our faith in Jesus, the righteous One, and to offer thanks to Him for who He is and what He has done on our behalf It’s likely that some of you have sung this tune, but i’ll simply read this excerpt: Lord prepare me, to be a sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and true And with thanksgiving, I'll be a living, sanctuary, for you [28] Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. [29] How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? [30] For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” [31] It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. What does the Bible say about Hell? There are a couple of words that we translate (for right or wrong) as Hell In Hebrew – Sheol – the place of the dead It is described as deep (Job 11:8), dark (Job 10:21,22), with bars (Job 17:16) The dead "go down" to it (Num 16:30,33; Eze 31:15,16,17) In Greek it was Hades – the home of disembodied spirits But Hades (what we call Hell) refers to the abode of the unsaved dead prior to the great white throne judgment According to 1 Pet 3:19, it is a prison with gates and bars and locks and it is downward in the earth And many people that I talk to want to know, “Why did God create Hell?” The truth of the matter is that Hell was created not for man, but for Satan and his fallen angels (Matt. 25:41) But the age-old question remains: How can a God of love send people to Hell? God does not send anyone to Hell, but rather, it is the default destination for those who love and embrace sin Hear that again! Those who go to that place are there because they love their sin, according to Jesus in John 3:19 Hell is what we rightly deserve – it is our wages according to Romans 4:4 and 6:23 God gave His Son to die for mankind so that all who believe on him can have eternal life (John 3:16), and He does not want anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9) But, those who reject the sacrifice of the Lamb of God will be subject to the punishment their sins deserve forever (Rev. 21:8) God is merciful and patient and full of love, but He is also perfectly holy and perfectly just, and nothing that defiles will be allowed into Heaven [32] But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, [33] sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. [34] For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. The big thing that sticks out to me in this section is the phrase, “...after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings…” Do you know why that is the case? I’m glad you asked!! Before you gave your life to Jesus, in submission to Him and His agenda, you belonged to the Devil Yes, I’m talking about Satan…Beelzebub…the Prince of Darkness! You were his lock, stock, and barrel And all human beings sin, therefore all human beings are destined to eternal torment in Hell, and then the Lake of Fire And again, this is the consequence of sin!...BUT JESUS!! He stepped in and made a way to have salvation from our sins He gave His life, spilling His own precious blood to buy us back! And this is the only reason why v32-34 makes any sense to us Hardship and affliction are inevitable, but this is speaking, in context, of standing for Christ Check that list in 32-34 again! Publicly exposed to reproach - people turning their backs on you and walking away Affliction is simply expereincing and suffering hurt Reproach is when people don’t want to have anything to do with you Sometimes we find ourselves with those who are treated like this, and there is a comfort in knowing that you’re not alone In these circumstances, many find the compassion to minister to those who are in prison (whether they should be or not!) And the strong inference is that we should have compassion on those in prison for the Lord Others actually had the strength of the Lord to gladly and joyfully accept the plundering of their property This was because they were convinced that knew they had a better possession and an abiding one waiting for them in Heaven [35] Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. [36] For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. [37] For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; [38] but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” Now we’ve gone from the coming eternal state, back to the current reality Many Christians were being plundered as a punishment of sorts They didn’t worship the “old gods”, so they were ostracized So v36 is very true in their context - they needed an strong endurance that could only be given by God Himself And in walking in a manner that honors our Lord, these men and women endured hardship like you and I have not seen or experienced But the promise of v37 & 38 propped them up until death They believed the words of Scripture and put their faith firmly in Jesus In our day, how can we do any less? I want to stand and hear the words of our Lord, saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant! Enter into the joy of your Lord!” [39] But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. One quick example that I hope will stir your heart towards love and good deeds done in Jesus’ Name… Acts 7:54–60: The stoning of Stephen [54] Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. [55] But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. [56] And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” [57] But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. [58] Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. [59] And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” [60] And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. And here is where I really want to challenge you this morning While we wait upon the Lord and His timing, let us be bold witnesses, even like unto Stephen, who was martyred He, and those like him, down through the ages, and even until today still experience persecution , as we never have So don’t shrink back in fear Speak the Gospel with boldness in these days // APPLICATION As we wrap up, I just want to remind us all that a mediator is one who acts to work with opposing sides in order to bring about a settlement or agreement A mediator attempts to resolve a dispute And the Word tells us that there is only one Mediator between mankind and God, and that is the man Jesus Christ Jesus is our mediator We would be doomed if we tried to represent ourselves alone before God Nothing we could do on our own would be sufficient to mediate between ourselves and God No amount of good works or law-keeping could make us righteous enough to stand before a holy God And without a mediator, we would be destined to spend eternity in hell, for by, and in ourselves, salvation is impossible Praise God that there is hope! “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5) And Jesus represents those who have placed their trust in Him before God’s throne of grace He mediates for us, like a defense attorney would for his client He tells the judge, “Your honor, my client is innocent of all charges against him.” And praise God that this is true for us! And it is all predicated on grace through faith! One day soon, we will face God, but we will do so as totally forgiven sons and daughters because of Jesus’ death on our behalf Our “Defense Attorney” took the penalty for us! Let us pray and give Him thanks! // BENEDICTION May the grace of Jesus be with you, and may the Holy Spirit fill you so that He might use you for His purposes in the world! And may the Father be pleased with all that we do and say! Come quickly, Lord Jesus! Emmaus Road Church, You are sent