Trinity Baptist Church

The Book of Hebrews

Christ: The Living Sacrifice #4

Hebrews 10:1-18

 

We are continuing tonight our study from Hebrews 10 where we discover seven ways the sacrifice of Christ on the cross is superior to the Old Testament sacrifices.  Last week we covered the first three which are

 

#1 – It was God’s Will

#2 – It replaced the old system and

#3 – It sanctifies the believer.

 

Tonight we’ll cover the next four.

 

Fourthly, Christ's sacrifice is better because

 

 

"But this one," "man," as a word, itself is not there. We could substitute in italics "priest." "But this priest, after he had offered," how many sacrifices? "One sacrifice for sins for ever." He was done, so He sat down. He didn't need to stand up. The work was over with.

 

Now, the subject here in 11 and 12 is the complete removal of sin. And He says, "The old thing couldn't do it." It's a series of contrasts. Look at the two contrasts as we go. First of all, "every priest" is contrasted in verse 12 with "this one." The Levitical order had 24 orders of priests, and in each of those orders there were all kinds of priests.

 

And they went through cycles. They only ministered in the Temple only periodically, because they went through all these cycles of 24 different priests, and in each order of the 24 there were more and more priests all the time. And so of course there were just hundreds of them, thousands of them, ministering all the time. And so He says, "every priest," vs. "this one."

 

Another contrast is the word "stands".  In verse 10, they were always standing up because they never got done. And it says in verse 12, "Jesus sat down at the right hand of God." He was finished. Theirs was the position of a servant. His was the position of a king. And today He's seated in heaven for us.

 

Now look at the next contrast. "Daily ministering and offering often the same sacrifices." Over and over, the same stuff. Verse 12, "after He had offered," what? "One sacrifice." What a contrast.

 

Another contrast. "Which," verse 11, "can never take away sins." The old system couldn't do it. Verse 12, "one sacrifice for sins." The sacrifice of Jesus was made once, and it was effective forever.

 

There's no analogy to adequately describe that. There are some things that can't be reproduced, and the act of Jesus can't be. And, therefore, to make an analogy that explains it is difficult, but let me give a humble effort. It's possible, for example, to reproduce poor art. Would you buy that? That's very possible. I mean, they reproduce that stuff hand over wrist. And it's possible even for some of you to reproduce poor art and do it just as poorly as it was done originally. No. You know, to make it look like the original. Right?

Not only that, I think it is very easy to reproduce poor music. I mean, they're making a million on that every day. But just sit down with your little handy dandy paint-by-number kit and try to reproduce Rembrandt. Or sit down with your little sheet of music and try to reproduce the Ninth Symphony of Beethoven, or maybe the Fifth. You can't reproduce that. That stands alone.

 

You see, there's a uniqueness to certain things, and they cannot be reproduced. And such is the case with the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is so unique that it could never be repeated anyway, so He sat down. It was a masterpiece of the ages. It accomplished everything it was ever intended to accomplish. There wasn't anything else to do. And nor was there anybody who could reproduce it. It doesn't need to be reproduced, and it cannot be reproduced, for it removed sins forever for all who believe.

 

Fifth, Christ's sacrifice was effective because

 

 

Do you know that all the sacrifices in the Old Testament didn't do a thing to get rid of Satan? Not a thing. They had absolutely no effect on him at all, nor on the godless people. They didn't have anything to do with them.

 

But look at verse 13

 

When Jesus died on the cross, He dealt a death blow to all of His enemies.

 

First of all, He destroyed him that had the power of death, Satan, Hebrews 2.

Secondly, He showed openly in triumph over fallen angels, when He descended into the prison where the angels were kept and He declared His triumph over them. So He declared a victory there.

 

Thirdly, over all those who reject Him and reject God throughout the ages He showed His triumph. And He's only waiting now until all of His enemies be made His footstool. And the term here simply expresses the fact of a king who sits on a throne and his subjects are beneath him.

 

Jesus Christ will stand above all those who were His enemies. He destroyed them at the cross. You see, all of the enemies of God throughout all of the ages gathered together all their strength, and the best thing they could come up with to get rid of Jesus was to kill Him. After all, the greatest power Satan has is the power of death. And he threw it all at Jesus. And you know what happened? He just went in one side and out the other side.

 

And, in effect, what happened was, Satan shot his wad at the cross, and it didn't work. That's all he's got. Him who had the power of death spent it all on Jesus, and He came right out of the grave. Therefore, Satan is defeated. The apostle Paul even says he's under our feet, because we're in Christ.

 

And so the day is coming, verse 13, when all these enemies will be made His footstool. And don't you love to read in Revelation where it says that one of these days He's going to come and He's going to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords? What a wonderful promise!

 

Then His sacrifice was effective, sixth, because

 

 

verse 14

 

He didn't perfect us until we next sin. He didn't bring us into access with God until we blew it and deserved to get kicked out. "For by one offering" He brought us into God's presence "forever." There is no way that a believer can lose that forever forgiveness.

 

The old covenant forgiveness was as good as the last sins. It covered yesterday, and when you sin today you've got to go back again. But the death of Jesus Christ covered sin forever.

 

Some folks think that means you can live any way you want and do anything you feel like.  But if you're really a believer, you won't even have that desire. And so there is a permanent state of completeness in salvation brought about by one act.

 

Lastly, the sacrifice of Christ is effective because

 

 

God said, "I'm going to bring a new covenant." And when Jesus died, He sealed the new covenant. Remember, the covenants in the Old Testament were always sealed in blood. Jesus died and sealed the new covenant.

 

And the writer, in verse 15, begins to quote from Jeremiah 31 again, the same thing He quoted in chapter 8, verse 13. And Jeremiah 31's a prophecy of the new covenant, you see, and it says to the Jew, "God always intended a new covenant, so what are you so uptight about?

 

Because it's arrived. What are you accusing us of heresy for? What are you accusing of some new revelation for? This is the same thing Jeremiah told you was coming. Read your own testament."

 

So when He does this, it's unbelievable what He does to them.

 

 Listen to verse 15

 

Do you believe in the Holy Spirit?" is what he's saying. Of course they did. "The Holy Spirit told us," of course, through Jeremiah, "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts." That's something new. Not on tables of stone, but right in their hearts. "And in their minds will I write them, and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more." That's the new covenant promise, that it's going to be inside, and sin's going to be forgiven and washed away and removed.

 

And Jeremiah said it would happen, but Jeremiah didn't say it on his own. He was inspired by the Holy Spirit.

 

See what the writer is doing to these Jewish readers? He's placing these readers in a position where they will accept their beloved prophet Jeremiah, and they will accept what the Holy Spirit said through him, and if they do that they'll have to accept Christ and the new covenant. If they reject Christ and the new covenant they also reject Jeremiah and the Holy Spirit.

Now, that's a tough spot to be in, because they loved Jeremiah, and they believe in the Holy Spirit.

 

And what He's saying to them is, "You don't need the old, because the new is come, and God even promised that it would come."

 

Then in verse 18, He wraps it up.

 

What a terrific statement. "Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin." It's done. It's forgiven. Don't go back to the Temple and make more sacrifices. It's over. Complete forgiveness. You just need to lean on the one sacrifice of Jesus. You say, "You mean to tell me that I can be saved tonight, without any works, by just leaning on the one perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ?" That's exactly what I'm trying to say.

 

The sacrifice of Christ is effective, then, forever, because it fulfills God's will. It replaces the old system. It sanctifies the believer. It removes sin. It destroys the enemy. It has eternal security built into it. And, lastly, it fulfills the promise for a new covenant. It's so perfect you can't add anything to it. All you need to do is believe.

 

You say, "Does God want me to do that?" Yes, He does. II Peter 3:9, Peter said, "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." God has revealed this glorious revelation in Christ for you so that you might not perish, but that you might come to Christ and have your sins forgiven. It's a glorious and a perfect salvation. Let's pray.