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Hebrews 10:11-18

¹¹Under the old covenant, the priest stands before the altar day after day, offering sacrifices that can never take away sins. ¹²But our High Priest offered himself to God as one sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down at the place of highest honor at God’s right hand. ¹³There he waits until his enemies are humbled as a footstool under his feet. ¹⁴For by that one offering he perfected forever all those whom he is making holy.

¹⁵And the Holy Spirit also testifies that this is so. First he says,

¹⁶“This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their hearts
so they will understand them,
and I will write them on their minds
so they will obey them.”

¹⁷Then he adds,

“I will never again remember
their sins and lawless deeds.”

¹⁸Now when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices.

Reflect

My oldest daughter Sarah is learning her gazindas in school. We were discussing the different ways to learn how to perform these problems quickly. I told her that when I was a kid, we repeated our gazindas every day. We would begin each class reciting our gazindas. Eventually, everyone knew that three gazinda nine, three times!

The High Priests repeated the sacrifices daily hoping to satisfy Gods requirement for the cleansing of sin. These sacrifices, although repeated daily, could never take away sin. Only Christ’s perfect sacrifice of Himself on the cross could and did. With God’s new covenant, He uses the Holy Spirit to write these laws in our hearts and minds so that we will obey them and since God forgets our sins, they are forgiven once and for all. Or in other words, forgiveness gazinda our sins, every time.

Respond

How does the Holy Spirit help you obey God today?

What did God mean when he said that He would never again remember your sins?

If God forgets our sins, why is it that we sometimes have a hard time forgiving ourselves?

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Hebrews 10:1-10

¹The old system in the law of Moses was only a shadow of the things to come, not the reality of the good things Christ has done for us. The sacrifices under the old system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. ²If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared.

³But just the opposite happened. Those yearly sacrifices reminded them of their sins year after year. ⁴For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. ⁵That is why Christ, when he came into the world, said,
“You did not want animal sacrifices and grain offerings. But you have given me a body so that I may obey you.
⁶No, you were not pleased with animals burned on the altar or with other offerings for sin.
⁷Then I said, `Look, I have come to do your will, O God–just as it is written about me in the Scriptures.’ ”

⁸Christ said, “You did not want animal sacrifices or grain offerings or animals burned on the altar or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them” (though they are required by the law of Moses). ⁹Then he added, “Look, I have come to do your will.” He cancels the first covenant in order to establish the second. ¹⁰And what God wants is for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time.

Reflect

I don’t pretend that I am good at building things, but I try. I built a tool cabinet in my garage to keep all of the various hanging tools that accumulate but never get used. Instead of using a “measured drawing” that would have given me exact instructions on how to build it, I sketched out a rough idea of what I wanted and then proceeded to build it. Eventually, I finished the project and hung it on the wall. After loading my cabinet with all those useless tools, I tried to shut the doors. Somehow, between my drawing and the actual construction, the measurements were a little off and the doors won’t close fully. Now, every time that I need a tool, I am reminded of my imperfection.

Under the Old Covenant, the sacrifices that the people had to make daily only reminded them of their sins. Jesus came to cancel the first system of sacrifices and established the second through his perfect sacrifice on the cross.

Respond

Why wasn’t God pleased with animal sacrifices?

Are there things in your daily life that remind you of your imperfections?

How does Jesus’ death on the cross cover those imperfections?

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This is Pastor Bart Wilkins speaking on Hebrews, Chapter 10 entitled “Waiting for Jesus’ Return”.

Direct Link To MP3 File

If you are also participating in our group study on Hebrews, you can download your Chapter 10 Study Materials.

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Hebrews 9:24-28

²⁴For Christ has entered into heaven itself to appear now before God as our Advocate.[a] He did not go into the earthly place of worship, for that was merely a copy of the real Temple in heaven. ²⁵Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, like the earthly high priest who enters the Most Holy Place year after year to offer the blood of an animal. ²⁶If that had been necessary, he would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But no! He came once for all time, at the end of the age, to remove the power of sin forever by his sacrificial death for us.

²⁷And just as it is destined that each person dies only once and after that comes judgment, ²⁸so also Christ died only once as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again but not to deal with our sins again. This time he will bring salvation to all those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Reflect

Consider this. Since Jesus’ sacrifice was perfect, he only had to perform it one time for all. If the sacrifice of Jesus was not perfect, it would have to be continual and constant. Imperfect sacrifices must be repeated continually. This is why the suffering of hell must be eternal for those who reject Jesus. They are in hell to pay the penalty of their sin, but being imperfect beings, they are unable to make a perfect payment. Their penalty is eternal just as our redemption is eternal through Jesus.

Respond

Can man completely pay the price of redemption for their sin? Why or why not?

The above verses state that after someone dies, they face judgement. Is this true for those who believe in Jesus?

What does the above verses say about reincarnation?

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Hebrews 9:16-23

¹⁶Now when someone dies and leaves a will, no one gets anything until it is proved that the person who wrote the will is dead. ¹⁷The will goes into effect only after the death of the person who wrote it. While the person is still alive, no one can use the will to get any of the things promised to them.

¹⁸That is why blood was required under the first covenant as a proof of death. ¹⁹For after Moses had given the people all of God’s laws, he took the blood of calves and goats, along with water, and sprinkled both the book of God’s laws and all the people, using branches of hyssop bushes and scarlet wool. ²⁰Then he said, “This blood confirms the covenant God has made with you.” ²¹And in the same way, he sprinkled blood on the sacred tent and on everything used for worship. ²²In fact, we can say that according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified by sprinkling with blood. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.

²³That is why the earthly tent and everything in it–which were copies of things in heaven–had to be purified by the blood of animals. But the real things in heaven had to be purified with far better sacrifices than the blood of animals.

Reflect

As we get older, we often make plans on what will happen to our things after we die. The common story is we all dream of a rich uncle that leaves us a large inheritance. Since a testament (as in “last will and testament”) only takes effect when a person making the testament dies, Jesus also had to die for the testament - the covenant - to take effect. Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin. There is no perfect forgiveness without a perfect sacrifice.

Respond

What is the inheritance we are guaranteed by Jesus’ death on the cross?

Why wasn’t the spilled blood of the old covenant good enough to forgive sin permanently?

Why is Jesus’ sacrifice superior to those offered by the High Priests of Israel?

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Hebrews 9:11-15

¹¹So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that great, perfect sanctuary in heaven, not made by human hands and not part of this created world. ¹²Once for all time he took blood into that Most Holy Place, but not the blood of goats and calves. He took his own blood, and with it he secured our salvation forever.

¹³Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow could cleanse people’s bodies from ritual defilement. ¹⁴Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our hearts from deeds that lead to death so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. ¹⁵That is why he is the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, so that all who are invited can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.

Reflect

The blood of goats and calves was sufficient for a temporary covering of sin; but only a perfect sacrifice could obtain eternal redemption. Jesus, as our High Priest ministers in Gods house in heaven and by his shed blood, we are eternally redeemed.

That is why we, who live under God’s new contract, can have fellowship with Him at any time. Jesus secured place for us in His kingdom. His sacrifice was superior in that it was perfect, voluntary, rational, and motivated by love. Where the old contract was for temporary forgiveness, the new contract is for permanent forgiveness.

Respond

What are some rituals that you are aware of that are practiced in churches today?

Do they have any relevance today under the New Convenant?

Since Christ died to set us free from the penalty of sin, what is our role in the redemptive process?

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Hebrews 9:6-10

⁶When these things were all in place, the priests went in and out of the first room regularly as they performed their religious duties. ⁷But only the high priest goes into the Most Holy Place, and only once a year, and always with blood, which he offers to God to cover his own sins and the sins the people have committed in ignorance. ⁸By these regulations the Holy Spirit revealed that the Most Holy Place was not open to the people as long as the first room and the entire system it represents were still in use.

⁹This is an illustration pointing to the present time. For the gifts and sacrifices that the priests offer are not able to cleanse the consciences of the people who bring them. ¹⁰For that old system deals only with food and drink and ritual washing–external regulations that are in effect only until their limitations can be corrected.

Reflect

During this time, the only Israelites who could go into the holy place were the priests. They went in daily to tend to the tabernacle. You could say that they went in to have fellowship with God. They only entered the holy of holies only once per year and alone. It wasn’t for fellowship with God. Ancient Jewish Rabbis wrote of how the high priest would not prolong his prayer in the Hoy of Holies on the Day of Atonement, because it might make the people think he had been killed. When He came out, he threw a party for all of his friends, because he had emerged safely from the presence of God.

Unlike the Old Covenant, we can go to God as often as we like. We don’t have to wait for the Day of Atonement to have fellowship with God. In fact, you can throw your own party, as often as you like because you get to fellowship with God on a regular basis!

Respond

Do you have the same “fear” of God that the Israelites had?

What does it mean to fellowship with God?

If the old way didn’t provide a clean conscience for the people, does the new contract with God provide a clean conscience? Why?

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