WEBVTT 00:00:15.160 --> 00:00:22.640 This is Weimoku Falls in Maui. It drops hundreds 00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:27.760 of feet down this massive cliff, and when you're 00:00:27.760 --> 00:00:30.440 standing there looking at it, it is absolutely 00:00:30.440 --> 00:00:32.500 overwhelming. Whether you can stand at the bottom 00:00:32.500 --> 00:00:34.780 of it, which is a very difficult hike to get 00:00:34.780 --> 00:00:37.359 there, or you're standing a little bit away looking 00:00:37.359 --> 00:00:41.640 at it from a distance, it is absolutely... overwhelming. 00:00:41.759 --> 00:00:45.119 The sound, the height, the mist, just the sheer 00:00:45.119 --> 00:00:49.060 scale of it. It is the largest single drop waterfall 00:00:49.060 --> 00:00:54.259 on the island. Now, you don't start at the waterfall. 00:00:55.020 --> 00:00:57.420 What you do is you actually travel the road to 00:00:57.420 --> 00:01:00.420 Hana and you go all the way up. It's about a 00:01:00.420 --> 00:01:03.780 six hour drive on one lane roads each way and 00:01:03.780 --> 00:01:05.540 you better hope you have a good driver or you'll 00:01:05.540 --> 00:01:09.790 be nervous really bad. So don't have Brother 00:01:09.790 --> 00:01:15.310 Rick driving this trail. And then you get to 00:01:15.310 --> 00:01:17.230 the state park and then when you get to the state 00:01:17.230 --> 00:01:21.069 park you see this sign. It tells you the trail 00:01:21.069 --> 00:01:25.890 on how to get to the waterfall. The sign tells 00:01:25.890 --> 00:01:28.709 you exactly where the waterfall is. It tells 00:01:28.709 --> 00:01:31.390 you the distance, tells you the right direction, 00:01:31.549 --> 00:01:33.170 it points you in the way that you are supposed 00:01:33.170 --> 00:01:36.859 to go. The sign is accurate. The sign is helpful 00:01:36.859 --> 00:01:40.379 and the sign is necessary. But let me ask you 00:01:40.379 --> 00:01:42.859 a simple question. Is the sign the waterfall? 00:01:44.099 --> 00:01:48.359 No. So what you do is you take this hike all 00:01:48.359 --> 00:01:50.219 the way up. We weren't about to try to get the 00:01:50.219 --> 00:01:52.200 hike to the bottom of that falls. We had already 00:01:52.200 --> 00:01:56.060 spent two and a half miles traveling up through 00:01:56.060 --> 00:01:58.239 a bamboo forest. It's beautiful. It's glorious. 00:01:59.000 --> 00:02:01.780 It is wonderful. But you have to leave the sign 00:02:01.780 --> 00:02:05.689 in order to go to where the sign Points and when 00:02:05.689 --> 00:02:07.909 you arrive, you know what? You're not interested 00:02:07.909 --> 00:02:10.349 in when you finally see this waterfall. You're 00:02:10.349 --> 00:02:13.330 not interested in the sign You don't think to 00:02:13.330 --> 00:02:15.370 yourself standing at this waterfall You know 00:02:15.370 --> 00:02:17.729 what we need to do. We need to hurry back down 00:02:17.729 --> 00:02:20.610 so we can go look at that sign again If we just 00:02:20.610 --> 00:02:22.530 get a good look at that sign, well, that'll be 00:02:22.530 --> 00:02:27.189 glorious. It'll be beautiful Once you reach the 00:02:27.189 --> 00:02:31.129 thing that the sign is pointing to You've reached 00:02:31.129 --> 00:02:34.620 your destination and there's no reason to want 00:02:34.620 --> 00:02:38.919 to go back to the sign. You're looking at the 00:02:38.919 --> 00:02:46.460 glory, and it truly was glorious. This is exactly 00:02:46.460 --> 00:02:51.259 what Hebrews wants us to understand about the 00:02:51.259 --> 00:02:55.020 Old Covenant. The priests, the sacrifices, the 00:02:55.020 --> 00:02:57.159 tabernacle, the day of atonement, they were all 00:02:57.159 --> 00:03:02.319 real. They were all God -given, all of them important. 00:03:03.560 --> 00:03:06.560 But the old covenant was never the destination 00:03:06.560 --> 00:03:13.120 The old covenant was pointing beyond itself all 00:03:13.120 --> 00:03:16.879 of these things were in fact shadows of something 00:03:16.879 --> 00:03:22.860 better and once you see the reality You don't 00:03:22.860 --> 00:03:28.280 go back and cling to the sign or cling to the 00:03:28.280 --> 00:03:32.460 shadow and that is what Hebrews Chapter 10 is 00:03:32.460 --> 00:03:34.099 all about so we're gonna read these first 10 00:03:34.099 --> 00:03:37.740 verses and then we'll dig into them and look 00:03:37.740 --> 00:03:43.780 at this Sacrifice that stopped the sacrifices 00:03:43.780 --> 00:03:49.120 verse 1 For since the law has but a shadow of 00:03:49.120 --> 00:03:52.680 the good things to come instead of the true form 00:03:52.680 --> 00:03:58.400 of these realities it can never By the same sacrifices 00:03:58.400 --> 00:04:01.520 that are continually offered every year make 00:04:01.520 --> 00:04:09.879 perfect those who draw near Otherwise they would 00:04:09.879 --> 00:04:13.719 have ceased to be offered since the worshipers 00:04:13.719 --> 00:04:16.259 Having once been cleansed would no longer have 00:04:16.259 --> 00:04:20.839 any consciousness of sin But in these sacrifices 00:04:20.839 --> 00:04:25.800 there is a reminder of sins every year For it 00:04:25.800 --> 00:04:27.939 is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats 00:04:27.939 --> 00:04:31.879 to take away sin Consequently when Christ came 00:04:31.879 --> 00:04:34.980 into the world He said sacrifices and offerings 00:04:34.980 --> 00:04:37.560 you have not desired but a body you have prepared 00:04:37.560 --> 00:04:41.060 for me in burnt offerings and sin offerings you 00:04:41.060 --> 00:04:44.100 have taken no pleasure and then I said behold 00:04:44.100 --> 00:04:47.480 I have come to do your will O God as It is written 00:04:47.480 --> 00:04:51.639 of me in the book a scroll of the book And when 00:04:51.639 --> 00:04:54.319 he said above, you have neither desired nor taken 00:04:54.319 --> 00:04:56.480 pleasure in sacrifice and offerings and burnt 00:04:56.480 --> 00:04:58.779 offerings and sin offerings, they are offered 00:04:58.779 --> 00:05:01.740 according to the law. Then he added, behold, 00:05:01.879 --> 00:05:04.920 I have come to do your will. He does away with 00:05:04.920 --> 00:05:08.459 the first in order to establish the second. And 00:05:08.459 --> 00:05:11.959 by that will, we have been sanctified through 00:05:11.959 --> 00:05:16.860 the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once 00:05:16.860 --> 00:05:20.939 and for all. Let's pray. Lord, I come to you 00:05:20.939 --> 00:05:23.019 and I thank you, God, for this text. It is glorious. 00:05:23.279 --> 00:05:26.079 It is beautiful. It is wonderful. And I'm so 00:05:26.079 --> 00:05:28.439 thankful that we get to dig into it today and 00:05:28.439 --> 00:05:32.459 find all of these treasures that are found here 00:05:32.459 --> 00:05:34.660 as you inspired the author of Hebrews to write 00:05:34.660 --> 00:05:36.639 this letter. Lord, we know that the greatest 00:05:36.639 --> 00:05:39.040 treasure that all of this is talking about is 00:05:39.040 --> 00:05:41.480 you. And we are so thankful that you have given 00:05:41.480 --> 00:05:44.519 yourself to us and made it possible for us, Lord, 00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:47.500 to have a relationship with you. In Jesus' name 00:05:47.500 --> 00:05:51.920 we pray. Amen. The writer of Hebrews begins chapter 00:05:51.920 --> 00:05:56.439 10 telling us exactly what the mosaic system 00:05:56.439 --> 00:06:01.980 was. He says, for since the law has but a shadow 00:06:01.980 --> 00:06:04.899 of the good things to come, not the true form 00:06:04.899 --> 00:06:08.680 of the realities itself. So the law is a shadow. 00:06:09.639 --> 00:06:13.180 That does not mean that it is bad. It doesn't 00:06:13.180 --> 00:06:15.759 mean that it is false. And it certainly doesn't 00:06:15.759 --> 00:06:18.160 mean that God made a mistake when He gave Israel 00:06:18.160 --> 00:06:23.199 priests and sacrifices and rituals. God designed 00:06:23.199 --> 00:06:26.519 the entire Mosaic system, but He designed it 00:06:26.519 --> 00:06:32.660 to point beyond itself. A shadow gives you the 00:06:32.660 --> 00:06:36.120 outline of something real. It tells you something 00:06:36.120 --> 00:06:39.500 about the shape of the real thing that is casting 00:06:39.500 --> 00:06:44.329 it, but the shadow is not the substance. John 00:06:44.329 --> 00:06:47.149 Calvin compared the old covenant to the first 00:06:47.149 --> 00:06:49.930 sketch of a painting before all the colors have 00:06:49.930 --> 00:06:54.670 been filled in. The basic shape was already there. 00:06:55.709 --> 00:06:58.870 Now, when he says shadow here, I mean him, I 00:06:58.870 --> 00:07:02.230 take him to mean the entire old covenant mosaic 00:07:02.230 --> 00:07:07.889 system. The priesthood was a shadow. The tabernacle 00:07:07.889 --> 00:07:10.509 was a shadow. The day of atonement was a shadow. 00:07:10.959 --> 00:07:16.939 Every lamb that died pointed beyond itself. It 00:07:16.939 --> 00:07:20.420 too was a shadow. The entire Mosaic system was 00:07:20.420 --> 00:07:27.860 preaching Jesus before Jesus came. And that means 00:07:27.860 --> 00:07:32.139 that we take, we make a very serious mistake 00:07:32.139 --> 00:07:35.759 when we read the Old Testament. as though God 00:07:35.759 --> 00:07:39.319 was trying to save people one way and then abandon 00:07:39.319 --> 00:07:44.480 that way for a better idea. There has only been 00:07:44.480 --> 00:07:49.540 one way that people are saved by grace through 00:07:49.540 --> 00:07:55.220 faith. There has only been one Savior. There 00:07:55.220 --> 00:07:58.220 has only been one way for sinners to be reconciled 00:07:58.220 --> 00:08:01.579 to God. The difference is that Israel saw Him 00:08:01.579 --> 00:08:06.470 in the shadows. While we see him in fulfillment 00:08:06.470 --> 00:08:09.769 and there is a limitation to every shadow is 00:08:09.769 --> 00:08:14.350 there not a Shadow can show you the shape of 00:08:14.350 --> 00:08:19.209 salvation But it cannot accomplish salvation 00:08:19.209 --> 00:08:22.350 And that is exactly what the writer says next 00:08:22.350 --> 00:08:27.050 the sacrifices Could never make perfect those 00:08:27.050 --> 00:08:30.290 who draw near now this word perfect in the context 00:08:30.290 --> 00:08:33.649 that it is used does not mean morally flawless 00:08:34.759 --> 00:08:37.600 The writer here is talking about being brought 00:08:37.600 --> 00:08:42.019 into relationship with God He's talking about 00:08:42.019 --> 00:08:45.580 the the the relationship that human beings need 00:08:45.580 --> 00:08:48.860 With God it's talking about being cleansed being 00:08:48.860 --> 00:08:53.500 accepted able to draw near with the barrier of 00:08:53.500 --> 00:08:58.700 guilt removed So the sacrifices could never bring 00:08:58.700 --> 00:09:02.480 a worshiper in right standing before God they 00:09:02.480 --> 00:09:07.110 could picture the cleansing They could point 00:09:07.110 --> 00:09:10.110 toward the meaning of the cleansing, but they 00:09:10.110 --> 00:09:16.110 could not finally cleanse. And church, it's interesting 00:09:16.110 --> 00:09:20.570 because I think human beings still have a tendency 00:09:20.570 --> 00:09:24.750 to go back and rest on the shadows, even people 00:09:24.750 --> 00:09:27.350 who have come to Christ. Of course, we're not 00:09:27.350 --> 00:09:31.090 bringing sacrifices and animals to an altar, 00:09:31.669 --> 00:09:36.139 but we can still put our confidence in religious 00:09:36.139 --> 00:09:39.500 things that were never capable of making us right 00:09:39.500 --> 00:09:42.899 with God. Going to church does not make you right 00:09:42.899 --> 00:09:47.740 with God. Serving at a church does not make you 00:09:47.740 --> 00:09:50.519 right with God. Giving cannot make you right 00:09:50.519 --> 00:09:53.440 with God. Having Christian parents does not make 00:09:53.440 --> 00:09:57.100 you right with God. Even becoming more disciplined 00:09:57.100 --> 00:10:01.419 and cleaning up your life cannot remove the guilt 00:10:01.419 --> 00:10:07.340 of sin. All of those things are good things But 00:10:07.340 --> 00:10:10.039 good things become dangerous things when you 00:10:10.039 --> 00:10:12.399 begin to use them in a way they are not intended 00:10:12.399 --> 00:10:17.879 to be used Trying to use those things to do what 00:10:17.879 --> 00:10:22.919 only Jesus can do Here the writer is gonna go 00:10:22.919 --> 00:10:25.539 on and give us the evidence that these sacrifices 00:10:25.539 --> 00:10:30.799 could never do it and here's his Proof that these 00:10:31.549 --> 00:10:34.289 Sacrifices were incapable of finishing the work. 00:10:34.909 --> 00:10:38.169 Verse 2, otherwise would they have ceased to 00:10:38.169 --> 00:10:40.649 be offered. In other words, the fact that they 00:10:40.649 --> 00:10:43.950 have to keep being offered over and over and 00:10:43.950 --> 00:10:46.370 over again is proof that they're not working. 00:10:48.110 --> 00:10:51.730 The question here in verse 2 exposes the entire 00:10:51.730 --> 00:10:56.269 problem. If the sacrifices had finished the work, 00:10:56.429 --> 00:10:59.710 then why are we still making sacrifices? If last 00:10:59.710 --> 00:11:03.110 year's Day of Atonement had finally removed sin, 00:11:03.330 --> 00:11:05.909 why are we coming back this year at the Day of 00:11:05.909 --> 00:11:11.190 Atonement? And then the next year. Then the next 00:11:11.190 --> 00:11:14.090 year and the next year NT right uses a picture 00:11:14.090 --> 00:11:17.429 of repeatedly taking something back to be repaired 00:11:17.429 --> 00:11:20.570 Let's say you hear a weird noise in your vehicle, 00:11:20.570 --> 00:11:23.809 and you know something's wrong Okay, maybe your 00:11:23.809 --> 00:11:26.409 transmissions messing up that happened to brother 00:11:26.409 --> 00:11:31.409 Rick find out this week Maybe maybe your alternators 00:11:31.409 --> 00:11:35.149 going out Something's wrong right so you take 00:11:35.149 --> 00:11:39.779 your car into the shop The shop works on it tells 00:11:39.779 --> 00:11:42.620 you it's fixed, gives it back to you, you're 00:11:42.620 --> 00:11:44.820 driving it the next week, and you hear that same 00:11:44.820 --> 00:11:49.259 noise. You take it back to the shop. The shop 00:11:49.259 --> 00:11:51.820 says, yeah, our bad. We got it. Start working 00:11:51.820 --> 00:11:54.639 on it again. They tell you it's fixed. They give 00:11:54.639 --> 00:11:58.500 you the car. You start driving it again. And 00:11:58.500 --> 00:12:01.320 you hear the noise again. And you take it back. 00:12:01.820 --> 00:12:05.980 At some point, you have to stop and realize the 00:12:05.980 --> 00:12:08.990 problem's not getting fixed. If I gotta keep 00:12:08.990 --> 00:12:11.850 taking my car back to get fixed for the same 00:12:11.850 --> 00:12:14.309 problem, then the problem's not getting fixed. 00:12:14.889 --> 00:12:18.250 And that's the writer's argument here. Year after 00:12:18.250 --> 00:12:21.470 year, sacrifice after sacrifice, priest after 00:12:21.470 --> 00:12:25.330 priest, blood after blood, every new sacrifice 00:12:25.330 --> 00:12:29.070 is testifying that the previous sacrifice had 00:12:29.070 --> 00:12:33.210 not finished work. If it had, we wouldn't be 00:12:33.210 --> 00:12:39.710 making another sacrifice. And I think there's 00:12:39.710 --> 00:12:44.750 something here that can reach right into the 00:12:44.750 --> 00:12:48.710 way that many Christians relate to God. I want 00:12:48.710 --> 00:12:52.929 you to be very honest with yourself here. If 00:12:52.929 --> 00:12:55.049 you're a Christian, you believe Jesus died for 00:12:55.049 --> 00:12:58.950 your sins. Okay? It is a requirement to be a 00:12:58.950 --> 00:13:01.909 Christian. It's to believe that you are a sinner 00:13:01.909 --> 00:13:04.269 in need of forgiveness and come to Jesus Christ 00:13:04.269 --> 00:13:09.149 to be forgiven. but it is very easy for us to 00:13:09.149 --> 00:13:14.529 begin thinking and Living as though his sacrifice 00:13:14.529 --> 00:13:21.389 wasn't quite enough We fail God and then we think 00:13:21.389 --> 00:13:25.470 we need several days of feeling terrible about 00:13:25.470 --> 00:13:28.389 ourselves Before we're allowed to come back to 00:13:28.389 --> 00:13:34.149 him We sin and instead of immediately running 00:13:34.149 --> 00:13:38.059 to Christ with that failure, we feel like we 00:13:38.059 --> 00:13:42.580 gotta pay for it emotionally. We punish ourselves, 00:13:42.720 --> 00:13:45.440 we withdraw, we promise God we're gonna do better, 00:13:45.559 --> 00:13:49.000 we try to build up enough good behavior to feel 00:13:49.000 --> 00:13:53.200 clean again. And without realizing it, we start 00:13:53.200 --> 00:13:56.639 adding our own little sacrifices to the final 00:13:56.639 --> 00:14:00.110 sacrifice of Jesus. We start thinking, Well, 00:14:00.110 --> 00:14:02.970 if I do these little things, then somehow God 00:14:02.970 --> 00:14:05.610 will feel better about me, or welcome me more, 00:14:05.769 --> 00:14:08.529 or I'll be more acceptable to Him after I fail 00:14:08.529 --> 00:14:13.370 and after I mess up. But your guilt is not removed 00:14:13.370 --> 00:14:17.830 because you feel bad enough about it. It is not 00:14:17.830 --> 00:14:20.370 removed because you have a good week after a 00:14:20.370 --> 00:14:24.289 big failure. It is not removed because you punish 00:14:24.289 --> 00:14:29.649 yourself sufficiently. It is removed only by 00:14:29.649 --> 00:14:33.809 the sacrifice God provided. And the Old Testament 00:14:33.809 --> 00:14:37.690 sacrifice could not bring that finality. In fact, 00:14:37.789 --> 00:14:41.389 verse 3 tells us something very surprising. These 00:14:41.389 --> 00:14:44.789 sacrifices, in these sacrifices, there is a reminder 00:14:44.789 --> 00:14:49.970 of sin every year. So the sacrifices not only 00:14:49.970 --> 00:14:54.919 didn't remove the guilt or the sin, It actually 00:14:54.919 --> 00:14:58.259 reminded Israel every single time that the problem 00:14:58.259 --> 00:15:01.679 remained. Imagine standing there on the day of 00:15:01.679 --> 00:15:05.039 atonement. The priest goes in, the animal dies, 00:15:05.320 --> 00:15:09.059 the blood is shed, and instead of the ceremony 00:15:09.059 --> 00:15:13.620 concluding and announcing the problem is gone 00:15:13.620 --> 00:15:18.620 forever, it actually carries the reminder of 00:15:18.620 --> 00:15:23.159 you're gonna have to do this again. Next year 00:15:23.159 --> 00:15:26.299 you're gonna have to come back. Another animal, 00:15:26.419 --> 00:15:31.320 another sacrifice, another reminder. And that 00:15:31.320 --> 00:15:35.019 is why verse four is so absolute. It is impossible 00:15:35.019 --> 00:15:37.940 for the blood of bulls and goats to take away 00:15:37.940 --> 00:15:42.299 sin. Not difficult, not unlikely, impossible. 00:15:43.500 --> 00:15:47.000 An animal could never be the moral, could never 00:15:47.000 --> 00:15:49.779 bear the moral guilt of a human being before 00:15:49.779 --> 00:15:54.509 a holy God. Its blood could teach, it could symbolize, 00:15:54.529 --> 00:15:57.629 it could point forward, it could demonstrate 00:15:57.629 --> 00:16:01.149 that sin deserved death but animal blood could 00:16:01.149 --> 00:16:03.389 never reach into the human conscience and say 00:16:03.389 --> 00:16:06.690 your guilt is gone. I mean it's actually just 00:16:06.690 --> 00:16:11.210 silly to think that. Now this is where we need 00:16:11.210 --> 00:16:15.690 to be careful again. We need to appreciate what 00:16:15.690 --> 00:16:18.649 God was doing through the Mosaic system. The 00:16:18.649 --> 00:16:24.100 Mosaic system did not fail. Okay The old covenant 00:16:24.100 --> 00:16:27.860 was not a failure. It actually accomplished exactly 00:16:27.860 --> 00:16:30.080 what God designed for it to accomplish It was 00:16:30.080 --> 00:16:32.460 a failure if you think it's trying to do something 00:16:32.460 --> 00:16:35.279 that it's not trying to do then it's a failure 00:16:35.279 --> 00:16:40.980 But the old covenant actually accomplished exactly 00:16:40.980 --> 00:16:46.379 what God wanted it to accomplish The sacrifices 00:16:46.379 --> 00:16:50.990 were never intended to compete with Jesus They 00:16:50.990 --> 00:16:56.070 were intended to prepare people for Jesus The 00:16:56.070 --> 00:16:58.929 shadow succeeded when it made people look to 00:16:58.929 --> 00:17:03.009 the substance The priest succeeded when it made 00:17:03.009 --> 00:17:05.670 people long for a priest that would not have 00:17:05.670 --> 00:17:09.670 to be replaced The repeated blood succeeded when 00:17:09.670 --> 00:17:12.930 it made people long for a sacrifice that would 00:17:12.930 --> 00:17:17.049 not need to be repeated So for century after 00:17:17.049 --> 00:17:22.509 century the altar kept saying Not yet, not yet, 00:17:22.690 --> 00:17:26.430 not yet. That is what the old covenant kept saying. 00:17:27.349 --> 00:17:30.750 That's why it's a shadow. And if you put your 00:17:30.750 --> 00:17:34.589 faith and your trust in these things, you are 00:17:34.589 --> 00:17:36.990 asking it to do something that God never designed 00:17:36.990 --> 00:17:40.829 it to do. It was simply saying, not yet. The 00:17:40.829 --> 00:17:44.829 work is not finished until the one casting, the 00:17:44.829 --> 00:17:49.529 shadow, steps into history. That's where our 00:17:49.529 --> 00:17:52.630 author moves next. This is where the writer turns 00:17:52.630 --> 00:17:56.509 verse 5 Begins with one of the most important 00:17:56.509 --> 00:18:01.170 transitions in the passage Consequently when 00:18:01.170 --> 00:18:05.809 Christ came into the world he said For four verses 00:18:05.809 --> 00:18:08.990 the writer has been telling us what the sacrifices 00:18:08.990 --> 00:18:15.109 could not do and then verse 5 Christ came into 00:18:15.109 --> 00:18:20.039 the world That's the turning point That's the 00:18:20.039 --> 00:18:24.420 shift. The answer to the failure of the sacrifices 00:18:24.420 --> 00:18:29.319 was not a better animal. It was not a better 00:18:29.319 --> 00:18:32.519 priest from the tribe of Levi. It is not a more 00:18:32.519 --> 00:18:35.740 elaborate ceremony. It was not more blood poured 00:18:35.740 --> 00:18:42.180 out on the altar. The answer was a person. Christ 00:18:42.180 --> 00:18:45.619 came, verse 5 says. And then what the writer 00:18:45.619 --> 00:18:48.599 does, is he's going to take quotes from Psalm 00:18:48.599 --> 00:18:53.839 chapter 40 and he's going to use these to explain 00:18:53.839 --> 00:19:00.660 what Jesus did when he came. He puts Psalm 40 00:19:00.660 --> 00:19:04.440 in the mouth of Jesus. Okay? That's crucial. 00:19:04.799 --> 00:19:08.960 He takes Psalm 40 that was written by David And 00:19:08.960 --> 00:19:12.059 he understands Psalm 40 as not really being about 00:19:12.059 --> 00:19:14.640 David, but being about Jesus. And so he takes 00:19:14.640 --> 00:19:17.000 those words and he puts them in the mouth of 00:19:17.000 --> 00:19:21.380 Jesus. Sacrifices and offerings you have not 00:19:21.380 --> 00:19:25.200 desired, but a body you have prepared for me. 00:19:25.920 --> 00:19:28.779 Jesus speaking according to the writer of Hebrews. 00:19:30.880 --> 00:19:37.990 Now we have to be careful here. What does Scripture 00:19:37.990 --> 00:19:40.609 mean when it says sacrifices and offerings you 00:19:40.609 --> 00:19:43.390 have not desired. Now that's weird if you don't 00:19:43.390 --> 00:19:46.410 understand that because who commanded the sacrifices 00:19:46.410 --> 00:19:50.769 and offerings? Jesus did. So in one sense he 00:19:50.769 --> 00:19:53.769 required them to be made and then in another 00:19:53.769 --> 00:19:57.470 sense he did not require them. That can be confusing. 00:19:58.269 --> 00:20:02.319 So let's understand context. In what way did 00:20:02.319 --> 00:20:04.519 God require them? Well, He commanded them because 00:20:04.519 --> 00:20:07.079 they were to be a shadow or a sign pointing to 00:20:07.079 --> 00:20:09.680 Jesus. But in what way did He not require them? 00:20:09.759 --> 00:20:13.559 He never required them to be an end in themselves. 00:20:14.619 --> 00:20:20.000 He never saw these things as the ultimate that 00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:24.319 He desired. The sacrifices had value because 00:20:24.319 --> 00:20:27.099 they were offered in faith and because they pointed 00:20:27.099 --> 00:20:29.539 beyond themselves to what ultimately God would 00:20:29.539 --> 00:20:33.890 provide. So so what he means is if you are just 00:20:33.890 --> 00:20:36.349 coming and offering sacrifices and that's where 00:20:36.349 --> 00:20:40.410 it ends God in fact in the book of Amos God says 00:20:40.410 --> 00:20:43.349 away with your sacrifices. I don't even want 00:20:43.349 --> 00:20:46.930 them Why because the sacrifices were supposed 00:20:46.930 --> 00:20:49.390 to be brought in faith looking forward to what 00:20:49.390 --> 00:20:52.470 God was going to do They were never to be an 00:20:52.470 --> 00:20:57.609 end to themselves The blood itself was never 00:20:57.609 --> 00:21:01.859 enough And now Christ comes and says, a body 00:21:01.859 --> 00:21:05.400 you have prepared for me. That statement takes 00:21:05.400 --> 00:21:09.440 us right to the incarnation, doesn't it? The 00:21:09.440 --> 00:21:14.599 Son of God took on a real human body. And any 00:21:14.599 --> 00:21:18.259 Christian, quote unquote, Christian religion... 00:21:18.240 --> 00:21:21.460 that does not believe in the incarnation of the 00:21:21.460 --> 00:21:23.660 second person of the Trinity, does not believe 00:21:23.660 --> 00:21:26.359 in the incarnation of the Son of God, wherefore 00:21:26.359 --> 00:21:29.619 he takes upon himself the fullness of the human 00:21:29.619 --> 00:21:34.970 nature is not Christianity. Christianity by its 00:21:34.970 --> 00:21:38.710 very definition believes that Jesus had always 00:21:38.710 --> 00:21:41.630 been God, but in the incarnation he took on the 00:21:41.630 --> 00:21:45.690 nature of a human being without releasing any 00:21:45.690 --> 00:21:48.390 of the nature of God. So therefore he has two 00:21:48.390 --> 00:21:52.549 natures, fully God and fully man. And he enters 00:21:52.549 --> 00:21:55.650 into our world and he becomes one of us. But 00:21:55.650 --> 00:21:58.750 he doesn't just become one of us to experience 00:21:58.750 --> 00:22:03.789 what we're experiencing. He took the body so 00:22:03.789 --> 00:22:07.930 he could obey the Father. He took the body so 00:22:07.930 --> 00:22:10.130 he could suffer. He took the body so that he 00:22:10.130 --> 00:22:13.589 could die. He took the body so he could offer 00:22:13.589 --> 00:22:17.789 himself in the place of sinners. The body that 00:22:17.789 --> 00:22:21.549 was prepared for Christ was the body in which 00:22:21.549 --> 00:22:26.089 he would accomplish the will of the Father. Christmas 00:22:26.089 --> 00:22:31.099 was already pointing to Calvary. Shane and Shane 00:22:31.099 --> 00:22:35.839 have a song called Born to Die. Christmas is 00:22:35.839 --> 00:22:38.500 already pointing toward Calvary. The manger was 00:22:38.500 --> 00:22:41.819 already pointing to the altar. The body prepared 00:22:41.819 --> 00:22:45.200 for him was the body that he would eventually 00:22:45.200 --> 00:22:51.480 give for you. That's why he says sacrifices and 00:22:51.480 --> 00:22:55.480 offerings you have not desired, but you gave 00:22:55.480 --> 00:23:01.440 me a body. Verse seven gives us the heart of 00:23:01.440 --> 00:23:05.160 this mission behold. I have come to do your will 00:23:05.160 --> 00:23:08.680 oh God Now you know what this distinguishes it 00:23:08.680 --> 00:23:10.440 distinguishes Jesus from every other sacrifice 00:23:10.440 --> 00:23:12.619 that has ever been made because the animals never 00:23:12.619 --> 00:23:18.539 chose the altar Right The lamb never said I've 00:23:18.539 --> 00:23:22.700 come to do your will a Bull never willingly laid 00:23:22.700 --> 00:23:27.400 itself down, but Jesus did He wasn't dragged 00:23:27.400 --> 00:23:31.970 unwillingly into the plan of God. He came willingly. 00:23:32.109 --> 00:23:35.130 He came deliberately. He came obediently. And 00:23:35.130 --> 00:23:39.089 He came saying, I have come to do Your will, 00:23:39.210 --> 00:23:43.210 Father. That means the cross was not an accident. 00:23:43.769 --> 00:23:47.430 It was not merely the tragic end of a good man's 00:23:47.430 --> 00:23:50.970 life. It was not Jesus losing control of the 00:23:50.970 --> 00:23:54.849 situation. The cross was the obedient mission 00:23:54.849 --> 00:24:00.339 of the Son. And by the way, since God is not 00:24:00.339 --> 00:24:04.740 bound by time, that has been the eternal mission 00:24:04.740 --> 00:24:11.799 of God himself. Before time and space came into 00:24:11.799 --> 00:24:17.240 existence, Jesus having a body and dying on the 00:24:17.240 --> 00:24:20.740 cross was always God's plan. Not the backup plan 00:24:20.740 --> 00:24:24.960 after Adam and Eve messed up. As if God set everything 00:24:24.960 --> 00:24:29.150 in motion and then went, oh man. Adam and Eve, 00:24:29.150 --> 00:24:32.970 what are y 'all doing? All right, Trinity, gather 00:24:32.970 --> 00:24:39.289 it up. Plan B? You'll go? All right, we got a 00:24:39.289 --> 00:24:43.089 plan. That's not what happened at all. Jesus 00:24:43.089 --> 00:24:44.930 was the lamb of God slain before the foundation 00:24:44.930 --> 00:24:52.170 of the world. This was always God's plan. Philippians 00:24:52.170 --> 00:24:55.039 2. says that he became obedient to the point 00:24:55.039 --> 00:24:57.559 of death, even death on a cross. Hebrews is saying 00:24:57.559 --> 00:24:59.880 the same thing simply from another angle. He 00:24:59.880 --> 00:25:02.960 came to do the Father's will and that willing 00:25:02.960 --> 00:25:06.420 obedience means that the problem of humanity 00:25:06.420 --> 00:25:12.279 is not merely that we've done bad things. It's 00:25:12.279 --> 00:25:15.119 easy to think that the problem with humanity 00:25:15.119 --> 00:25:19.740 is that we do bad stuff. Our deepest problem 00:25:19.740 --> 00:25:24.119 is that we refuse the will of God. From the very 00:25:24.119 --> 00:25:26.559 beginning, what did God tell Adam and Eve? Be 00:25:26.559 --> 00:25:30.700 fruitful. Multiply. Fill the earth. Fill the 00:25:30.700 --> 00:25:34.180 earth with what? Just people? Was that God's 00:25:34.180 --> 00:25:35.759 plan? I just want the earth filled with people. 00:25:36.559 --> 00:25:40.480 Or was it fill the earth with people who are 00:25:40.480 --> 00:25:43.400 image bearers of God and are gonna take his glory 00:25:43.400 --> 00:25:48.579 all over the world? And Adam and Eve said, no 00:25:48.579 --> 00:25:54.700 thanks. Humanity has always been saying, not 00:25:54.700 --> 00:26:01.000 your will God, mine be done. Always. We have 00:26:01.000 --> 00:26:04.500 wanted God's gifts without His rule. We have 00:26:04.500 --> 00:26:07.819 wanted life on our own terms. We resist His authority 00:26:07.819 --> 00:26:12.500 and we have disobeyed. Where Adam disobeyed, 00:26:12.559 --> 00:26:15.460 Christ obeyed. Where Israel failed, Christ obeyed. 00:26:15.559 --> 00:26:17.539 Where we have rebelled against the will of God, 00:26:17.680 --> 00:26:22.180 Christ obeyed. and the Savior dies in our place, 00:26:22.740 --> 00:26:27.819 perfectly obedient to the will of God. So we 00:26:27.819 --> 00:26:29.779 need to catch the connection between sacrifice 00:26:29.779 --> 00:26:34.339 and obedience. Christ does not merely die. His 00:26:34.339 --> 00:26:37.140 whole life is one of obedience to the Father. 00:26:37.759 --> 00:26:42.539 His death is the climactic act of that obedience. 00:26:43.460 --> 00:26:48.000 You with me? All of the life of Christ is obedience. 00:26:48.460 --> 00:26:53.200 The death on the cross was the climactic moment 00:26:53.200 --> 00:27:00.079 of obedience. This matters enormously for us 00:27:00.079 --> 00:27:03.460 because our salvation does not depend on the 00:27:03.460 --> 00:27:07.440 quality of our obedience. It depends on the perfection 00:27:07.440 --> 00:27:13.380 of His obedience. If my standing with God rests 00:27:13.380 --> 00:27:16.759 on how faithful I have been to His will, then 00:27:16.759 --> 00:27:21.720 I have no hope. I have not done it perfectly 00:27:21.720 --> 00:27:26.380 and neither have you. We've obeyed inconsistently, 00:27:26.559 --> 00:27:29.380 we've loved imperfectly, we've believed weakly, 00:27:29.619 --> 00:27:33.039 we've sinned knowingly, and we have failed repeatedly. 00:27:33.299 --> 00:27:36.799 But the gospel is not that God finally found 00:27:36.799 --> 00:27:40.420 people who obey well enough. The gospel is that 00:27:40.420 --> 00:27:43.720 the obedient son came for disobedient people. 00:27:45.920 --> 00:27:49.339 And the writer just continues to press this contrast. 00:27:50.139 --> 00:27:53.380 Verse 8 when he said above you have neither desired 00:27:53.380 --> 00:27:55.740 nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings 00:27:55.740 --> 00:27:58.539 and burnt offerings and sin offerings Then he 00:27:58.539 --> 00:28:02.559 added behold. I have come to do your will The 00:28:02.559 --> 00:28:05.019 writer explains. What's this what this means? 00:28:06.160 --> 00:28:08.599 He does away with the first to establish the 00:28:08.599 --> 00:28:12.759 second The coming of Christ does not simply add 00:28:12.759 --> 00:28:17.079 one more sacrifice through the others He brings 00:28:17.079 --> 00:28:22.319 the sacrificial order to an end. And I know there 00:28:22.319 --> 00:28:24.859 is a lot of talk about a rebuilt third temple, 00:28:25.319 --> 00:28:28.180 okay, and then you get into all the eschatological 00:28:28.180 --> 00:28:30.940 talking about how things are going to play out 00:28:30.940 --> 00:28:34.059 and all that stuff. Let me just say this flat 00:28:34.059 --> 00:28:37.839 out. If Israel builds a third temple and starts 00:28:37.839 --> 00:28:41.539 sacrifices, it is a blasphemy to Jesus Christ, 00:28:42.359 --> 00:28:45.039 okay? So we're not sitting around going, oh this 00:28:45.039 --> 00:28:46.400 is a good thing, Israel's starting back up the 00:28:46.400 --> 00:28:49.059 sacrifices. No, it's idolatry if they do that. 00:28:49.220 --> 00:28:53.519 Why? Because Christ has brought an end to those 00:28:53.519 --> 00:28:56.980 sacrifices pointing anywhere. Why? Because the 00:28:56.980 --> 00:29:01.119 shadow is done, the reality is here. The sacrificial 00:29:01.119 --> 00:29:04.839 system wasn't repaired when Jesus came. It was 00:29:04.839 --> 00:29:07.400 fulfilled. And because it was fulfilled, it could 00:29:07.400 --> 00:29:10.539 be set aside. Once the reality has arrived, going 00:29:10.539 --> 00:29:14.339 back to the old order makes no sense. Why would 00:29:14.339 --> 00:29:16.579 you cling to the shadow when the reality is there 00:29:16.579 --> 00:29:18.720 in front of you? Why would you run from the waterfall 00:29:18.720 --> 00:29:21.640 back down to the sign? Why would I hug the shadow 00:29:21.640 --> 00:29:23.539 of my wife on the ground instead of hugging my 00:29:23.539 --> 00:29:29.579 wife? We may never be tempted to return to a 00:29:29.579 --> 00:29:32.240 temple and offer sacrifices, but we are constantly 00:29:32.240 --> 00:29:36.599 tempted to add something to Jesus. Jesus plus 00:29:36.599 --> 00:29:41.619 my performance. Jesus plus my morality. Jesus 00:29:41.619 --> 00:29:44.240 plus my religious record. Jesus plus my penance. 00:29:44.500 --> 00:29:48.529 Jesus plus my approval of other people. But the 00:29:48.529 --> 00:29:51.309 moment we begin to think that something that 00:29:51.309 --> 00:29:54.710 we do needs to be added to Christ in order for 00:29:54.710 --> 00:29:57.009 us to be accepted We have failed to understand 00:29:57.009 --> 00:29:59.789 what the writer of Hebrews is saying Christ did 00:29:59.789 --> 00:30:02.930 not come to improve the old system He came to 00:30:02.930 --> 00:30:05.769 accomplish what the old system could never accomplish 00:30:05.769 --> 00:30:09.289 and he came and finished the work He came to 00:30:09.289 --> 00:30:15.009 do the will of God He came freely To do the Father's 00:30:15.009 --> 00:30:16.710 will there's something beautiful about that the 00:30:16.710 --> 00:30:20.490 father didn't have to force Jesus The son willingly 00:30:20.490 --> 00:30:25.170 came to accomplish the will of God Our salvation 00:30:25.170 --> 00:30:29.890 is not Extracted from a reluctant Savior Christ 00:30:29.890 --> 00:30:33.660 wanted to do the Father's will He willingly took 00:30:33.660 --> 00:30:36.279 the body that was prepared for him. He willingly 00:30:36.279 --> 00:30:38.440 walked toward Jerusalem. He willingly endured 00:30:38.440 --> 00:30:41.279 the cross. He willingly offered himself. And 00:30:41.279 --> 00:30:44.000 so when you begin to wonder whether Christ is 00:30:44.000 --> 00:30:47.059 willing to receive sinners, look at what he says 00:30:47.059 --> 00:30:56.220 here. I have come. I have come. He came for this 00:30:56.220 --> 00:30:59.539 he came to obey he came to offer offer himself 00:30:59.539 --> 00:31:02.380 That's why it is so foolish of us to think my 00:31:02.380 --> 00:31:04.880 acceptance with God is based upon how I perform 00:31:04.880 --> 00:31:08.160 I know I got Jesus I know he loves me I get that 00:31:08.160 --> 00:31:10.559 and I understand that that he forgave me and 00:31:10.559 --> 00:31:12.279 took away the guilt and all that and there's 00:31:12.279 --> 00:31:14.559 no condemnation I get that but you don't understand 00:31:14.559 --> 00:31:20.619 what I did yesterday To that Jesus says I have 00:31:20.619 --> 00:31:24.980 come And you say, yeah, but you don't understand. 00:31:25.440 --> 00:31:27.599 This is something I've struggled with for years. 00:31:27.779 --> 00:31:32.940 To that, Jesus says, I have come. But Jesus, 00:31:33.119 --> 00:31:36.839 you don't get it. My faith is so weak at times. 00:31:36.920 --> 00:31:41.799 And Jesus says, I have come. This is the whole 00:31:41.799 --> 00:31:45.799 point. Stop trying to do something that's going 00:31:45.799 --> 00:31:53.680 to get you accepted by God. For centuries those 00:31:53.680 --> 00:31:57.599 old sacrifices kept saying Someone must come 00:31:57.599 --> 00:32:01.059 someone must come someone must come and Jesus 00:32:01.059 --> 00:32:04.059 here in this text steps forward and says I have 00:32:04.059 --> 00:32:10.619 come And all of that is done away with The shadow 00:32:10.619 --> 00:32:15.240 has pointed forward long enough No more shadow 00:32:15.240 --> 00:32:20.500 Then verse 10 is where this entire argument of 00:32:20.500 --> 00:32:26.099 the passage lands He says, and by that will we 00:32:26.099 --> 00:32:28.180 have been sanctified through the offering of 00:32:28.180 --> 00:32:30.799 the blood of Jesus Christ once and for all. For 00:32:30.799 --> 00:32:33.539 four verses the writer showed the sacrifices 00:32:33.539 --> 00:32:37.839 could not bring the finished work. Then he showed 00:32:37.839 --> 00:32:41.299 us that the Son has come into the world to do 00:32:41.299 --> 00:32:44.279 that work, the will of the Father. And now he 00:32:44.279 --> 00:32:47.299 tells us what has happened because Jesus has 00:32:47.299 --> 00:32:50.220 come to do the will of the Father. We have been 00:32:50.220 --> 00:32:54.079 sanctified. Now that word can be confusing because 00:32:54.079 --> 00:32:57.099 often we see that word sanctified and we think 00:32:57.099 --> 00:33:00.799 of the lifelong process of Moving from glory 00:33:00.799 --> 00:33:02.559 to glory and looking more and more like Jesus, 00:33:02.740 --> 00:33:06.880 right? I would say for most Christians that I've 00:33:06.880 --> 00:33:09.119 ever known when the word sanctified is used that's 00:33:09.119 --> 00:33:12.759 kind of the first First place we go Sanctification 00:33:12.759 --> 00:33:15.400 is the process where I am moving from glory to 00:33:15.400 --> 00:33:17.799 glory moving from holiness to holiness Looking 00:33:17.799 --> 00:33:20.119 more and more like Jesus and by the way, that 00:33:20.119 --> 00:33:23.880 is it is used that way in Scripture But that 00:33:23.880 --> 00:33:30.119 is not how he's using it here He is talking about 00:33:30.119 --> 00:33:33.619 something that has already happened we have been 00:33:33.619 --> 00:33:40.839 sanctified Because Jesus says I have come Because 00:33:40.839 --> 00:33:45.740 He obeys the Father perfectly, we have been sanctified. 00:33:47.640 --> 00:33:50.039 What does that mean? What is He talking about 00:33:50.039 --> 00:33:54.720 here? He's describing our standing before God. 00:33:55.079 --> 00:33:58.339 We have been set apart because of this death. 00:33:58.480 --> 00:34:01.180 We have been cleansed. We have been consecrated. 00:34:01.440 --> 00:34:05.180 We have been designated as God's holy people. 00:34:06.250 --> 00:34:09.090 The verse doesn't say by our obedience we've 00:34:09.090 --> 00:34:11.550 been sanctified or our religious devotion or 00:34:11.550 --> 00:34:13.789 finally becoming good enough We've been sanctified. 00:34:13.789 --> 00:34:16.630 It's through his offering that we've been sanctified 00:34:16.630 --> 00:34:20.809 and side note when were you sanctified? When 00:34:20.809 --> 00:34:24.590 you believed nope when the offering was made 00:34:24.590 --> 00:34:28.949 Please catch that You didn't get sanctified. 00:34:28.949 --> 00:34:31.889 You didn't get set apart. You didn't get consecrated 00:34:31.889 --> 00:34:37.099 as God's holy people when once you believed You 00:34:37.099 --> 00:34:42.559 were set apart by the offering. 2 ,000 years 00:34:42.559 --> 00:34:44.860 ago, you were set apart. We could actually go 00:34:44.860 --> 00:34:50.059 further than that, right? But at the cross, Jesus 00:34:50.059 --> 00:34:54.340 obeying the Father perfectly did what God called 00:34:54.340 --> 00:34:57.139 him to do. And because of that, God's people 00:34:57.139 --> 00:35:00.219 have been set aside now. And you're like, well, 00:35:00.219 --> 00:35:03.960 then what happens when I believe? The cross was 00:35:03.960 --> 00:35:08.070 the payment for your faith. J .I. Packer talks 00:35:08.070 --> 00:35:10.250 about it this way He says a lot of times we think 00:35:10.250 --> 00:35:13.150 that Jesus died on the cross and then we take 00:35:13.150 --> 00:35:17.050 our faith and our faith that somehow we muster 00:35:17.050 --> 00:35:20.510 up Shoots back toward the cross and then Jesus 00:35:20.510 --> 00:35:26.630 goes over the supplies to you He said no the 00:35:26.630 --> 00:35:33.590 cross Set you apart the offering sanctified you 00:35:33.590 --> 00:35:38.510 It bought your faith So when when we should look 00:35:38.510 --> 00:35:42.250 at it like this When I'm lost and undone and 00:35:42.250 --> 00:35:47.809 broken Dead in my sin and trespass Actively doing 00:35:47.809 --> 00:35:50.710 actively going against the will of God doing 00:35:50.710 --> 00:35:55.230 my will not his will By his grace. He sends his 00:35:55.230 --> 00:36:01.030 Holy Spirit to us to bring us to new life and 00:36:01.030 --> 00:36:06.250 In that new life in that spirit Inside of time, 00:36:06.530 --> 00:36:11.889 the gift of faith is given to us. So you need 00:36:11.889 --> 00:36:15.369 to see faith that's coming from the cross to 00:36:15.369 --> 00:36:21.110 you. Who is the author of our faith? You? What 00:36:21.110 --> 00:36:25.670 does scripture say? Jesus is. Where? How? The 00:36:25.670 --> 00:36:31.289 cross. And then inside of time, you get that 00:36:31.289 --> 00:36:34.670 faith from Him. And yes, you believe and you 00:36:34.670 --> 00:36:36.590 want it. Why? Because you've been brought to 00:36:36.590 --> 00:36:39.650 life. You've got a new heart. You've been born 00:36:39.650 --> 00:36:44.989 again. But please don't see it as Jesus dying 00:36:44.989 --> 00:36:47.889 and then the sanctified people come about by 00:36:47.889 --> 00:36:50.150 whoever just puts their faith in God. That's 00:36:50.150 --> 00:36:53.329 not what this text is telling us. We have been 00:36:53.329 --> 00:36:55.969 sanctified through the offering of Jesus Christ. 00:37:03.079 --> 00:37:06.099 There's nothing about your standing before God 00:37:06.099 --> 00:37:13.460 that you get to say, I did. Nothing. Hebrews 00:37:13.460 --> 00:37:23.599 leaves us completely empty handed, right? Our 00:37:23.599 --> 00:37:25.860 holiness before God is not something we achieve, 00:37:25.900 --> 00:37:30.340 it is something that Christ secured for us. There's 00:37:30.340 --> 00:37:33.110 tremendous freedom in that. Because if my standing 00:37:33.110 --> 00:37:35.730 before God depends upon how well I'm doing today 00:37:35.730 --> 00:37:37.730 Then my assurance is gonna be like a roller coaster 00:37:37.730 --> 00:37:41.690 up and down and up and down and up and down On 00:37:41.690 --> 00:37:43.349 a good day. I'll think that God really loves 00:37:43.349 --> 00:37:45.650 me a lot and on a bad day. I'll feel like well. 00:37:45.670 --> 00:37:50.010 He's putting up with me When I'm spiritually 00:37:50.010 --> 00:37:51.889 disciplined I feel really close to him and when 00:37:51.889 --> 00:37:57.869 I fail I assume I've been pushed away But Hebrews 00:37:57.869 --> 00:38:02.119 is anchoring everything about our standing before 00:38:02.119 --> 00:38:06.800 God in the work of Jesus Christ. His offering. 00:38:07.179 --> 00:38:09.280 Your feelings are gonna change. Your obedience 00:38:09.280 --> 00:38:11.480 is gonna fluctuate. Your faith is gonna feel 00:38:11.480 --> 00:38:14.519 strong one day and weak the next day. But the 00:38:14.519 --> 00:38:21.079 sacrifice of Jesus will not change. And then 00:38:21.079 --> 00:38:24.679 comes the phrase that explains how his sacrifice 00:38:24.679 --> 00:38:28.739 is different from every other one. Once for all. 00:38:29.800 --> 00:38:32.099 This is the title of the whole argument once 00:38:32.099 --> 00:38:35.300 for all again once for all add What's the word 00:38:35.300 --> 00:38:36.840 we should add to the end of that to understand 00:38:36.840 --> 00:38:38.559 it properly? We've said this like four times 00:38:38.559 --> 00:38:44.119 once for all time once for all time Not every 00:38:44.119 --> 00:38:46.880 year not every month not every time we sin not 00:38:46.880 --> 00:38:50.599 every time we fail once for all Christ site sacrifice 00:38:50.599 --> 00:38:53.219 is never repeated because the work is finished 00:38:53.219 --> 00:38:58.219 This is why this this is the sacrifice that stops 00:38:58.400 --> 00:39:02.280 all the sacrifices. The priest couldn't bring 00:39:02.280 --> 00:39:06.579 it to an end. The worshippers always needed another, 00:39:07.980 --> 00:39:11.739 but God doesn't need another because the offering 00:39:11.739 --> 00:39:18.380 that Jesus brought himself was sufficient. Christ's 00:39:18.380 --> 00:39:24.780 sacrifice is characterized by finality. Old Testament, 00:39:24.940 --> 00:39:30.079 more is needed. New Testament, Enough. Nothing 00:39:30.079 --> 00:39:34.460 else is needed. Enough has been given. And we 00:39:34.460 --> 00:39:39.159 need to let that truth settle into us. Because 00:39:39.159 --> 00:39:42.420 often we treat our relationship with God as though 00:39:42.420 --> 00:39:44.539 Jesus made a down payment and we're paying off 00:39:44.539 --> 00:39:51.360 the bill. Right? Called the debtor's ethic. I 00:39:51.360 --> 00:39:55.079 was in debt to God, God paid my debt, and somehow 00:39:55.079 --> 00:40:00.099 I got to pay him back. No, you don't owe God 00:40:00.099 --> 00:40:12.440 anything. You don't owe God anything. You don't 00:40:12.440 --> 00:40:14.860 make the blood of Jesus more effective by feeling 00:40:14.860 --> 00:40:19.599 sufficiently guilty, or serving more faithfully, 00:40:19.599 --> 00:40:23.659 or being a better Christian. Christ's sacrifice 00:40:23.659 --> 00:40:27.199 is sufficient because Christ offered it. Not 00:40:27.199 --> 00:40:30.199 because you can add anything to it and people 00:40:30.199 --> 00:40:32.960 start getting all kinds of scared right here 00:40:32.960 --> 00:40:40.619 They do How are you gonna control people? How 00:40:40.619 --> 00:40:43.099 are we gonna keep people obedient and doing the 00:40:43.099 --> 00:40:49.159 right thing first of all not my job It's Holy 00:40:49.159 --> 00:40:53.960 Spirit's job, it's not my job But I need you 00:40:53.960 --> 00:40:58.829 to listen very carefully Hebrews is not worried 00:40:58.829 --> 00:41:04.389 about producing a careless Christianity. As if 00:41:04.389 --> 00:41:07.550 the hearers are going to hear this and go, yes, 00:41:08.190 --> 00:41:10.809 we can do anything we want to, we can sin and 00:41:10.809 --> 00:41:13.010 it won't matter because we're just secure in 00:41:13.010 --> 00:41:20.530 Christ. Do you know what this message does to 00:41:20.530 --> 00:41:22.590 a child of God? It doesn't produce a careless 00:41:22.590 --> 00:41:25.570 Christianity, it produces a grateful Christianity. 00:41:27.079 --> 00:41:31.099 It produces a Christianity that says, I'm not 00:41:31.099 --> 00:41:35.179 serving to become His. I serve because I am His. 00:41:37.719 --> 00:41:40.679 I don't pursue holiness so that God will finally 00:41:40.679 --> 00:41:43.760 welcome me. I pursue holiness because God has 00:41:43.760 --> 00:41:48.780 welcomed me. I deal with my sin. I repent of 00:41:48.780 --> 00:41:52.079 my sin. I battle my sin. Not so that God will 00:41:52.079 --> 00:41:54.579 accept me again and again and again after I mess 00:41:54.579 --> 00:41:59.000 up. Because I am accepted, then I can deal with 00:41:59.000 --> 00:42:03.139 my sin from a place of victory and a place of 00:42:03.139 --> 00:42:07.619 being loved. That changes the entire Christian 00:42:07.619 --> 00:42:11.539 life. Stop doing things for God because you think 00:42:11.539 --> 00:42:15.300 that's gonna get you something from God. You're 00:42:15.300 --> 00:42:16.840 not that good enough, you're not that powerful 00:42:16.840 --> 00:42:20.559 enough, you don't bring enough stuff. And really, 00:42:20.559 --> 00:42:23.440 it's a smack to God. Because it's saying my behavior 00:42:23.440 --> 00:42:25.139 is going to get me something from God that Jesus 00:42:25.139 --> 00:42:30.599 didn't. If I can just act better today, then 00:42:30.599 --> 00:42:32.460 I'll get more acceptance to God. And God's going, 00:42:32.699 --> 00:42:35.019 you really think that the way you behave today 00:42:35.019 --> 00:42:37.380 is going to determine my relationship with you? 00:42:37.400 --> 00:42:39.679 And I'm just going to overlook what my son did? 00:42:41.920 --> 00:42:49.579 What are you thinking? Jesus is like, I've done 00:42:49.579 --> 00:42:55.239 it all for you already. I've already secured 00:42:55.239 --> 00:42:58.659 your relationship in this kingdom. I've secured 00:42:58.659 --> 00:43:02.039 your acceptance to God. I don't want you living 00:43:02.039 --> 00:43:05.320 trying to earn something from me anymore. I want 00:43:05.320 --> 00:43:09.980 you living out of worshipful gratitude because 00:43:09.980 --> 00:43:21.900 of what I've done for you. And by this, by this 00:43:21.900 --> 00:43:23.909 will we have been sanctified. Whose will? have 00:43:23.909 --> 00:43:27.769 we been sanctified by? God the Father's. It was 00:43:27.769 --> 00:43:29.989 the Father's will. I think sometimes we think 00:43:29.989 --> 00:43:32.769 that God the Father is like the angry old man 00:43:32.769 --> 00:43:34.429 sitting up on the throne in heaven, and he's 00:43:34.429 --> 00:43:36.730 looking down at how bad we all are, and he's 00:43:36.730 --> 00:43:37.889 just sitting there going, I can't wait to get 00:43:37.889 --> 00:43:39.389 them all, can't wait to get them all, can't wait 00:43:39.389 --> 00:43:42.090 to get them all. And Jesus goes, please God, 00:43:42.230 --> 00:43:44.510 no Father, please. I'll do something to stop 00:43:44.510 --> 00:43:48.590 it. Is that the gospel? For God so loved the 00:43:48.590 --> 00:43:52.619 world, he sent his Son. It's the Father's will 00:43:52.619 --> 00:43:56.280 that we're sanctified. In fact, John chapter 00:43:56.280 --> 00:43:58.800 6 says it's the Father who draws us to the Son. 00:44:04.139 --> 00:44:05.960 The Father wanted this and the Son accomplished 00:44:05.960 --> 00:44:08.679 this, and therefore our confidence should rest 00:44:08.679 --> 00:44:12.760 in no one else but God. So the Son's sacrifice 00:44:12.760 --> 00:44:15.440 actually accomplished what all the other sacrifices 00:44:15.440 --> 00:44:19.619 could never accomplish. Generation after generation, 00:44:19.619 --> 00:44:22.599 sacrifices were offered. Animals died, blood 00:44:22.599 --> 00:44:24.739 flowed, priests worked, worshipers returned, 00:44:24.840 --> 00:44:28.019 and every sacrifice pointed forward. It kept 00:44:28.019 --> 00:44:30.619 saying, not yet, not yet, not yet, until the 00:44:30.619 --> 00:44:33.440 Lamb of God steps on the scene and says, I have 00:44:33.440 --> 00:44:37.400 come. And after his sacrifice, there is no need 00:44:37.400 --> 00:44:40.519 for another. Here is where Calvin's imagery becomes 00:44:40.519 --> 00:44:44.340 so beautiful. Once the completed picture is all 00:44:44.340 --> 00:44:48.110 colored in, once the painting is all done, You 00:44:48.110 --> 00:44:52.289 don't need to keep tracing the outline. The reality 00:44:52.289 --> 00:44:54.429 has arrived. The shadow has served its purpose. 00:44:54.610 --> 00:44:56.829 The sacrifice can stop because Jesus offered 00:44:56.829 --> 00:45:00.789 himself once for all time. And if God says that 00:45:00.789 --> 00:45:03.090 Jesus' sacrifice is enough, then guess what church? 00:45:03.409 --> 00:45:10.969 It is enough. Stop trying to pay Jesus back for 00:45:10.969 --> 00:45:14.030 your sin. Stop digging up guilt that God has 00:45:14.030 --> 00:45:16.150 already dealt with on the cross. Stop measuring 00:45:16.150 --> 00:45:19.940 God's acceptance. by the quality of your weak 00:45:19.940 --> 00:45:22.679 and stop looking inward for the basis of your 00:45:22.679 --> 00:45:26.340 assurance. Look to Jesus. Paul said, there's 00:45:26.340 --> 00:45:29.500 one thing that is the main crux of what I preach 00:45:29.500 --> 00:45:36.860 to know Him and Him crucified. Look to His body 00:45:36.860 --> 00:45:39.300 offered on the cross. Look to the sacrifice that 00:45:39.300 --> 00:45:41.619 will never be repeated because our confidence 00:45:41.619 --> 00:45:44.780 is not that we have finally become good enough 00:45:44.780 --> 00:45:49.800 for God. Our confidence is that Jesus was good 00:45:49.800 --> 00:45:50.579 enough for God.