Welcome back to our study of the book of Hebrews, today we’ll continue to look at chapter 10 as we zero in verses 11-18. Last week, we talked about how only Christ’s sacrifice was capable of taking away sins. We need to always remember to recall the background to this letter. The writer was addressing Jewish Christians who were being tempted to go back to the old sacrificial system because they were being persecuted. In the first ten verses of Chapter 10, the writer proves by using old testament Scriptures that Christ had to die to atone for the sins of God’s chosen people. And the reason why Christ had to die was because the blood of bulls and goats could not take away sins, they only served as a temporary remedy until the time of reformation. Under the old system, people’s consciences were still stricken because they couldn’t feel and experience the internal witness of the Holy Spirit to ease their consciences. In verses 11-18, the writer is going to show that Christ’s sacrifice didn’t have to be repeated.
Jesus Christ’s Sacrifice Is Perfect
The Passage:
11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ[a] 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.
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.
Notes
- Verses 11-14
The Levite priests spend their days offering the same sacrifices incessantly; as we saw in the previous verses, they were unable to take away sins. We talked about the fact that it takes a sacrifice of infinite value to satisfy the wrath of God and wash away the infinite guilt caused by Sin. The blood of calves and goats could not achieve that end. It served as a temporary remedy until the time of reformation, that was the plan. Jesus’ one time sacrifice on the cross accomplished what thousands of years of bloody sacrifices couldn’t do. It satisfied the wrath of God and removed the sins from the people. By raising Jesus from the dead, God was proving that He was pleased with His sacrifice on the cross. And God as we saw in earlier chapters glorified His humanity by sitting Him at His right hand until all His enemies ( death being the final one) would be put under His feet. This is to show how God was so pleased with Jesus’ work. Let’s go to Romans 3:21-25 for more evidence,
21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
He has completely given us a right standing before God by His single sacrifice. Our sins, past, present and future have been atoned for by this single sacrifice. Notice that the writer the uses the word “ those who are being sanctified”. Many may struggle with this thinking that declaring to people that their past, present and future sins have been dealt with may give them a license to sin. Well, that’s not the case at all because the writer refers to those perfected ( those with the right standing) as those that are being sanctified. He answers that objection, because the sanctification is meant to conform us to the image of Christ as proclaimed in Romans 8:26-30,
21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
- Verses 15-18
The writer is basically saying in these verses, “ if you’re still not convinced about having a right standing before God, then this is the way to know”- the witness of the Holy Spirit. God didn’t just declare people just( righteous) before Him without a confirmation. The writer shows through Scripture the evidence God has provided to show our right standing before Him. He quotes Jeremiah 31:31-34. The first evidence is God Himself enabling us to do His will ( I will put my laws on their hearts and write them on their minds) . Let’s go to Ezekiel 36:22-27,
22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. 23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. 24 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.[a]
God Himself ensures that we do His will by enabling us through His Holy Spirit to obey His laws. It wasn’t possible under the old system, because of the weakness of the sinful nature. This is the first witness or evidence that the Spirit of God gives us. The next one is the promise of complete, full forgiveness .The Scripture says “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more”. In the previous verses, we learned that the blood of bulls and goats could not take away sins, and the yearly sacrifice was a reminder that the sins were still counting against the worshipers. But the Holy Spirit promises that under the new covenant wrought by Jesus, God will no longer remember their sins and lawless deeds, which means that the blood of Christ indeed served as a propitiation and expiation of the sins of the worshipers. Consequently, there is no longer any need to offer any sacrifices for sin because God is pleased with Jesus’ work on the cross.
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My name is Tayib Salami and I started Tayibs.com for the sole purpose of exploring difficult questions about the Christian faith that most of us shy away from. In 2017, I entered a very dark time in my life and it’s only by the grace of the Living God that I’m still alive today. It led me to really go deeper in my faith and consider a myriad of questions that I never thought about asking myself or others before. Welcome and enjoy the ride with me.