Grace 101, week 10, the eternal blood of jesus

Grace 101: Week 10, “The Eternal Blood of Jesus”

Week 10, The Eternal Blood of Jesus Hebrews 8, 9, 10

Hebrews Overview There is no more significant book than Hebrews in discovering the meaning behind the sacrificial death of Jesus.

In this study, we will focus on just a few passages in Hebrews 8,9, and 10, but for context, we do a very brief overview of all 13 chapters.

The book of Hebrews is written to Jewish people. Some of them were Christians; some were on the brink of receiving Jesus as their Messiah and the final sacrifice.

The entire book of Hebrews is about “better things.” Each chapter contrasts Jesus in some respect with something inferior.

• Chapters 1 and 2 contrast Jesus with the angels. The writer says, “For to which of the angels did He ever say: ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You’?” (Hebrews 1:5) Jesus is the only begotten Son of God and part of the Trinity. Jesus is greater than any angel.

• Chapter 3 contrasts Jesus with Moses. Moses was a faithful servant, but Jesus is the Son. Which is greater, the servant or the Son? The law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. (John 1:17) Grace is greater than law. Mercy triumphs over judgment. (James 2:13) • Chapter 4 contrasts the Promised Land of rest we have in the finished work of the cross with the Promised Land that Joshua led the Israelites into. There was no true rest for them. Enemies were all around. The rest we have in Jesus is far superior because it’s a perpetual rest that begins in our conscience as we believe the work is finished.

• Chapter 5 contrasts Jesus as our High Priest with Aaron, the first high priest of Israel. The standing of Israel was dependent on the high priest. If he was good, then the nation would be blessed. If he was bad, the nation would be cursed. But there was no security for Israel because the high priest - as good as he might be - would eventually die. Aaron died, but Jesus, having died once and risen again, will NEVER die again. He is our perfect High Priest representing us before God. His perfect work has removed our sins forever!!

• Chapter 6 contrasts the sure hope that we have in Jesus as the final offering with the impossibility of the Old Covenant sacrifices to save us. Many of these Jews were still sacrificing animals on the altar to atone for sins. This practice among Jews who had rejected Jesus as the Messiah went on for 40 years after the resurrection until the temple was destroyed in 70 AD. The writer is pleading with those who were on the brink of receiving Jesus as the final sacrifice. He begs them not to turn back. They had been enlightened, tasted of the heavenly gift, partaken of the Holy Spirit, and tasted of the good word, but had not been born again. (Hebrews 6:4-6) The disciples before the cross were in this category.

None of them were born again at that time because the blood had not been shed. All but one - Judas were born again after the resurrection. Many think that Judas “lost his salvation,” but he never had it in the first place. He killed himself before the cross. The warnings of Hebrews 6 are for those who continually reject Jesus. For them, it is impossible to renew them to repentance. But for those who embrace Jesus, God promises on oath: “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” It is impossible for God to lie. (Hebrews 6:18)

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• Chapter 7 contrasts the greater priesthood of Jesus with the Levitical priesthood of the Old Covenant.

Chapter 5 talked about the PERSON of the high priest. Chapter 7 talks about the WORK of the high priest. Aaron could bless the people only when they obeyed God and could only curse them when they disobeyed. But the priesthood of Jesus came “after the order of Melchizedek” and only blesses and blesses and blesses some more! It’s a better priesthood!

• Chapter 8 contrasts the Old Covenant of law with the New Covenant of grace. It’s all about a better covenant based on better promises!

• Chapter 9 contrasts the earthly tabernacle of Moses with the heavenly sanctuary that Jesus went into and sprinkled His blood. It’s about a better sanctuary.

• Chapter 10 contrasts the eternal efficacy of the blood of Jesus with the blood of bulls and goats which only offered temporary forgiveness.

• Chapter 11 is the famous hall of fame of faith. It lists all the heroes of the Old Testament who had accomplished great exploits for God. No sins are recorded because Hebrews 11 is actually straight from God’s book of remembrance in heaven, and heaven does not record sins. The only things recorded are what they did by faith. They all died in faith, believing the promise that God would send salvation through His Son. When they died, they did not enter into the heavenly kingdom, but they had to wait for the promise of God to be fulfilled. Today God has “provided something better for us.” (Hebrews 11:40) The promises have been fulfilled through Jesus, and when we are born again, we enter His heavenly kingdom and are seated in Christ at the Father’s right hand.

• Chapter 12 speaks of those heroes of the Old Testament and all who have gone before us as the “great cloud of witnesses” that cheer us on. But our eyes are not to be on them, but on Jesus. We don’t look unto Moses or even Abraham who is the father of our faith. We look unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith! (Hebrews 12:2) He started it and He finished it. He is infinitely better than anyone who went before or who will ever be.

• Chapter 13 is the final chapter with some concluding instructions, a benediction, and farewell.

With that as a backdrop, we will begin our study in Hebrews 8.

Hebrews 8 8:1-13 Hebrews 8:1-6, NLT - Here is the main point: We have a High Priest who sat down in the place of honor beside the throne of the majestic God in heaven. 2 There he ministers in the heavenly Tabernacle, the true place of worship that was built by the Lord and not by human hands. 3 And since every high priest is required to offer gifts and sacrifices, our High Priest must make an offering, too. 4 If he were here on earth, he would not even be a priest, since there already are priests who offer the gifts required by the law. 5 They serve in a system of worship that is only a copy, a shadow of the real one in heaven. For when Moses was getting ready to build the Tabernacle, God gave him this warning: “Be sure that you make everything according to the pattern I have shown you here on the mountain.”

6 But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises.

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The book of Hebrews was written to the Hebrews, many who were still practicing the blood sacrifices of the Old Covenant. The writer of Hebrews was telling them by the Holy Spirit that Jesus is the final sacrifice, and the Old Covenant with all its rules, regulations, offerings, and judgments was no longer in effect.

Hebrews 8:7 - For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.

Think about what this verse is saying: if the the 10 commandments had worked to make man righteous, then no place would have been sought for a second plan. There’s no need for another covenant if the first one had worked!

As believers in Jesus Christ, we are sons of the New Covenant. The New Covenant of grace has replaced the Old Covenant of law, and the Bible tells us that Christ is the end of the law for us. (Romans 10:4) God found fault with the first covenant which said, “If you obey Me, I will bless you. If you keep all of the 10 Commandments and all My statues, then all the blessings of heaven will come on you.”

There have been many prayer meetings in churches where the blessings of Deuteronomy 28 were declared over someone - everything your hands touch is blessed, etc. But have you ever read the first couple of verses of Deuteronomy 28?

Deuteronomy 28:1-2 - Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God. Who has ever been able to do that?! It was an impossible endeavor! And if you read the second half of Deuteronomy 28, you’ll read the list of the curses which will come upon you if you don’t obey every command. Only Jesus could fulfill the law. Now we can say with all confidence: “all of these blessings will fall on me because JESUS OBEYED every command!”

God found fault with the Old Covenant because it robbed His people of intimacy with Him. So He changed the whole system, and for Him to do that it cost Him His own Son. Romans 5:8-9, The Message - But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 9 Now that we are set right with God by means of this sacrificial death, the consummate blood sacrifice, there is no longer a question of being at odds with God in any way.

Next in Hebrews 8:8-13 we have a prophecy from Jeremiah 31:31-34: Hebrews 8:8-11 - Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 9 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord. 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 11 None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.

Let’s look at verses 10 and 11 to see what happens with this New Covenant:

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1. He puts His laws on our mind and He writes them on our hearts. What are these new laws? Are they the 10 Commandments re-hashed? NO! God found fault with that system! Under the New Covenant we have NEW commandments!

1 John 5:3 - For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

Commandments with no burden?! This could not have been said of the law of Moses: Acts 15:10 - Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?

However, on this side of the cross we can love and serve and obey BECAUSE Jesus loved us and served us and obeyed every commandment of the system of the law on our behalf because we were unable to bear them!

John 13:34 - A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

1 John 3:23 - And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.

Galatians 6:2 - Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

The “commandments” of Christ are not the Mosaic law or any aspect of the law. The law of Christ is not the law of Moses. It’s not the ministry of death and condemnation (2 Corinthians 3:7,9). It’s the law of the Spirit of life! His laws are the “royal law of love” and the “perfect law of liberty.” (James 2:8 and 1:25) 1 John 4:19 - We love because He first loved us.

Romans 8:2 - the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

And how does this all work? By the Holy Spirit who lives inside of us!

2. Under the New Covenant God says He will be our God and we will be His people. Whenever God said that phrase in the Old Testament, it was related to a miraculous intervention on His part. If the people heard that statement, they knew they could expect supernatural signs and wonders directly from God Himself.

• If you are sick, and you hear God say to you, “I will be your God,” then you are healed!

• If you are suffering financially, and you hear God say to you, “I will be your God,” then you can expect financial breakthrough!

• If you are are lacking peace in your life and you hear God say to you, “I will be your God,” then you can expect perfect peace that will overcome all fears and doubts. This perfect peace will put you on the path of Wisdom. Why? Because of the next verse: “All will know Him.” 3. God says no one will need to teach his neighbor saying, “Know the Lord.” Why? Because all will know Him! The first time the word “know” is used in verse 11 (Know the Lord), it’s the word “ginosko” in the Greek and it means to have mental knowledge of something. Someone needs to tell you this type of knowledge for you to know it.

The second time the word “know” is used, it’s a different Greek word, “eido,” which means intimate knowledge. All will intimately know Him in the New Covenant by the Holy Spirit who lives inside of us!

All will know Him from the least to the greatest - from the most uneducated person in the African bush 129

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with no access to good Bible teaching all the way to the most theologically trained preacher in the world!

From the least to the greatest! God’s system is the opposite of the world’s system!

And what will happen to cause this covenant to take affect in our lives? Here is the covenant-activating clause: Hebrews 8:12-13 - For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” 13 In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete.

That last clause is what makes everything else happen. God says, “I will, I will, I will... BECAUSE (“for” means because) I will be merciful.” God “remembered” all of our sins 2000 years ago when Jesus was on the cross, and Jesus was punished for our sins. Today God is faithful to the believer to remember our sins no more. He CANNOT remember them! Why? Because He is just and they have already been remembered - every last one of them!

In this New Covenant you can’t find YOUR part! It’s all Him. “I will put My laws... I will be your God...All will know Me... I will be merciful...your sins I will remember no more.” What’s our part? Believe that what He said He would do, He will do! In the Old Covenant of law - it’s “you shall not.. you shall not...” It’s all your part. In the New Covenant it’s all God!

Hebrews 9 The writer of Hebrews 9 continues the theme of chapter 8 by contrasting the Old Covenant of law and the New Covenant of grace. To understand the book of Hebrews, context is helpful. In Hebrews 9 we find many references to the tabernacle “made by hands.” This was the portable temple that God told Moses to build after He gave the law. The parts to the tabernacle were called “shadows” of the things to come under the New Covenant.

In Hebrews 9 and 10 the high priest is a central figure because he was a shadow of our High Priest, Jesus. The sacrifices made by the high priests and the other priests were also shadows of the Lamb of God. The importance of blood sacrifice cannot be overstated in our study of the scriptures. The Bible is described as a "book of blood and a bloody book."

Hebrews 9:22, NLT - For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.

Sin is lethal and has contaminated every human being since Adam. The holiness and justice of God requires that sin must be punished by death. Sin and death are represented by the shedding of blood.

Ezekiel 18:4 - The soul who sins shall die.

Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:22 - For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.

Leviticus 17:11 - For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.

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In the outer court of the tabernacle “made by hands”, the priests sacrificed various offerings to God for their own sins as well as for the sins of the people. There were five kinds of offerings: the burnt offering, the grain offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering. Sacrifices were made daily and weekly on the Sabbath. There were special sacrifices associated with the 7 annual feasts of Israel and the Day of Atonement.

Hebrews 9 and 10 speak specifically about the Day of Atonement. On the Day of Atonement once a year, the high priest would make the regular daily offerings, but he would also make additional sacrifices of a bull and two goats.

In the tabernacle was a tent which had two parts, the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place, also called the Holy of Holies. The Holy of Holies was the “earthly sanctuary” (Hebrews 9:1) where God’s presence would dwell. This is where the high priest would go on the Day of Atonement to sprinkle the blood of the bull and the blood of one of the goats on the Mercy Seat which covered the Ark of the Covenant so that the sins of entire nation of Israel would be covered, and the people would be blessed for another year.

If the sacrifice was acceptable and the high priest came out alive with his hands raised pronouncing a blessing on the nation, they would cheer because they knew that this meant their crops would produce fruit and their enemies would be defeated. But if the sacrifice was not acceptable and the high priest did not perform his duty perfectly, he would die in the Holy of Holies and all of Israel knew that they would be under a curse that year.

The other goat sacrificed on the Day of Atonement would be the “scapegoat.” The high priest would lay both of his hands on the head of the goat and confess all of the sins of the people. The sins of the people would be transferred to the goat. The “scapegoat” would then be driven into the wilderness carrying the sins of the people “as far as the east is from the west.” (Psalm 103:12) Leviticus 16:22, NLT - As the goat goes into the wilderness, it will carry all the people’s sins upon itself into a desolate land.

According to the Mishnah (a commentary on the Torah), a scarlet cord was tied around the neck of the scapegoat to represent the sins of the people. The cord was reported to have turned white year after year as the goat was led out to the wilderness representing their sins having been scarlet, but becoming white as snow. However, starting in 30 AD, the red sash failed to change color. They continued this practice for 40 more years until the temple was destroyed in 70 AD, but, reportedly, the red sash never turned white again.

What happened in 30 AD? The final sacrifice was made!! Our Scapegoat, Jesus Christ, took our sins as far as the east is from the west!!

Isaiah 1:18 - Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.

With that context, we will see how the shadows of the Old Covenant system could never truly fix the problem of sin.

9:7-10 Hebrews 9:7-8 - But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people’s sins committed in ignorance; 8 the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing.

Under the Old Covenant, only the high priest could go in the Holy of Holies and stand in the presence of God and only once a year. As long as the Old Covenant tabernacle system (or later on, the temple 131

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system) was in place, the Holy of Holies was closed to anyone but the high priest. In other words, God was inapproachable. No one else in all of Israel could go inside and live through it. Even the high priest himself would drop dead if he failed to perform every ritual perfectly.

Hebrews 9:9 - It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience...

Even if the high priest performed his duties perfectly and he was able to walk out of the Holy of Holies alive, his conscience could never be perfect. The “shadows” could never permanently remove the guilt and stain of sin. There was always a sense of incompleteness because the job was never finished.

Today, however, we can have a perfect conscience. A perfect conscience says to us we are complete in Christ. The moment you receive Jesus, in God’s eyes you are perfect and complete in Him. There is a progressive discovery for us of that perfection, but more perfect you cannot be.

Hebrews 9:10 - ...concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation.

Here the writer is making the point that the old way of covering sins was just whitewashing the sin. All of the ceremonial rituals were exterior and would only be in effect until the “reformation” came. This word “reformation” means to “set straight; the inadequate would be superseded by the better order of things.”

Here is Hebrews 9:10 in the Amplified: Hebrews 9:10, Amplified - For [the ceremonies] deal only with clean and unclean meats and drinks and different washings, [mere] external rules and regulations for the body imposed to tide the worshipers over until the time of setting things straight [of reformation, of the complete new order when Christ, the Messiah, shall establish the reality of what these things foreshadow—a better covenant].

9:11-14 Hebrews 9:11-12 - But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.

12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

The blood of Jesus offers eternal redemption. We are not just redeemed until our next sin. If that were the case, then the blood of Jesus would be of less worth than the blood of bulls and goats. If the blood of Jesus only covered until our next sin, then the Israelites would have had it better than us! At least their sins were covered for a year!

Hebrews 9:13-14 - For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, 14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? The phrase in verse 14 that says “through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God” has all three persons of the Trinity represented. This New Covenant was made within the infallibility of the Trinity.

JESUS offered Himself through the eternal SPIRIT to GOD. Not only does the blood of Jesus cleanse us from all unrighteousness, it cleanses our conscience! If our conscience is cleansed, then we will be free from dead works!

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What are dead works? Dead works are not sin. They are Christian efforts or religious activities that you do, thinking that by doing them you obtain good standing before God. In other words, dead works are simply self-righteousness. We all fall into self-righteousness when we don’t have a perfect conscience. In other words, we fall into self-righteousness when we have a guilty or unworthy conscience.

Have you ever felt guilty and hung on to it for more than a little while? Well, if you receive guilt, it’s only a matter of time before you will do something to try to make yourself right before God. For example, you’ll pray harder, fast more, go to more church services, make a resolution to stop that bad behavior... Selfrighteousness is born from a conscience full of sins. You are trying to atone for - COVER - your sin.

Long before we see the works of the flesh (for example, adultery, fornication, selfish ambitions, heresies, envy, drunkenness,...see Galatians 5), we will see self-righteousness. Whenever we see selfrighteousness, it’s matter of time that sin will result.

Cycles of sin develop because of self-condemnation. And if you condemn yourself, you cannot get out of the cycle of sin. Why? Because you believe you ARE WHAT YOU DO. It’s an identity issue. You will act like what you believe you are.

The more people think that God demands righteousness by works, the more they say, “The Christian life is too hard.” But the Christian life is not hard - it’s impossible! There’s only one person who could live it: Jesus. Allow Him to live through you by resting in Him. The first thing we need to know, though, is that we are holy and blameless. There is no sin in us! Let us labor to enter into rest, (Hebrews 4:11)!

Hebrews 10 10:1-4 Hebrews 10:1 - For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect.

The priests of the Old Covenant would offer the blood of bulls and goats and lambs to God continually year after year to cover the sins of the people, but these offerings could never make the people perfect.

Perfect in what sense? Perfect in behavior? NO! Back in Hebrews 9:9 we saw what “perfect” means. It means “perfect in regard to conscience.” There is no such thing as perfect behavior except for Jesus Himself!

Two of the five types of offerings that the priests made in the Old Covenant were the Sin Offering and the Burnt Offering. The “shadow” of these two offerings depicts beautifully what Jesus has done for us.

1. The Sin Offering. In the Old Covenant, the priest represented the people to God. When a person would sin, he would bring a lamb to the priest so that he could examine the sacrifice to see if it was acceptable - without blemish or defect. The priest wouldn’t examine the man - he would examine the lamb. This lamb was the “sin offering.” The “offerer” - the person with sin - would place his hands on the lamb, and his sin would go into the lamb. Now he could go free - until the next time he sinned. The lamb, however, would have to die. Why? Because the sin of the sinner was imputed to it. This is a picture of the cross when Jesus took all of our sin 2000 years ago. We were the “offerers” transferring the guilt, stain, and punishment for our sins into Jesus.

God has examined the Lamb and has accepted the sacrifice. Today it’s not a question of how good you are. It’s a question of how good your Lamb is. When you accept Jesus Christ, God accepts you - forever.

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John 1:29 - Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

2. The Burnt Offering. When the priest would offer up the Burnt Offering, it would send up a “pleasing aroma” to God, unlike the Sin Offering which had no pleasing aroma. Our Lamb of God is forever a pleasing aroma to God because sin has been removed and now the righteousness of Jesus has been transferred to us. Our sins are no longer counted against us. Instead, we are now counted as righteous!

The Great Exchange: Our Sin Offering took our sin away. Our Burnt Offering gave us righteousness in exchange.

The sacrificing of animals under the law and all of the steps to God’s presence represented by the tabernacle were just shadows of things to come. Because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, all the shadows are done away! All that those shadows accomplished was just to cover sin from one year to the next year to the next year until the true Lamb of God came! And He would not just cover - He would take away ALL the sins of your entire life.

The atonement of the priestly sacrifices was just a covering - like sweeping the sins of the people under the carpet. Each year more would be swept under the carpet, but it was still there. It was like a credit card, pushing the payment forward. Each year the carpet would get fatter and fatter. It would look clean on the outside, but all the dirt was still there. Is that real cleansing? No. It’s only covering. Atonement means covering, and the Day of Atonement was a yearly reminder that the true Lamb had not yet come.

Hebrews 10:2 - For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins.

Because the sacrifices never worked, the worshippers were never “once purified.” This verb is in the perfect passive participle. Perfect means it’s one act that needs never be repeated.

Hallelujah! The true Lamb has come! He lifted up the carpet and took all of the sin of all humanity into Himself!

Now there is nothing being covered. It’s all TAKEN AWAY by Jesus’ blood. God doesn’t see you covered in anything. He sees you as completely righteous and holy and blameless.

Even as we begin to understand our righteousness as a new creation in Christ, often we still think of ourselves as being “sinners saved by grace.” We think of God looking at us through the “filter” of the blood of Jesus. When He looks at us, He sees what APPEARS to be holy. In other words, we are only “covered” in the blood of Jesus, and what He is looking at is Jesus, not us. But the truth is that He IS looking at us! The truth is that we - the REAL us - is perfect! Our true selves have been completely severed from the flesh which still sins. The more we realize this, the more we will behave accordingly!

WE HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED BY GOD BECAUSE WE HAVE NO SIN IN US!!

Because the sacrifices never worked, the worshippers were never “once purified.” But we have been “once purified” by Jesus’ blood forever! “Once purified” we should have no more consciousness of sins!

We hear sometimes that we need to keep on asking Jesus to wash us with His blood. We don’t realize that we are actually undermining the value of the blood of Christ by saying such things. The blood of Jesus has washed us once forever.

God wants you to have a perfect conscience before Him. Hebrews 4:15-16 - For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

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God wants us to come boldly with confidence to His throne! The Greek word for boldly, “parresia”, means “free speech, openly, without concealment, confident, unreserved”!

There is no need to fear in the presence of God! Many of us are afraid of the presence of God because we are afraid that His light will expose our sins, but that light only exposes the perfection of Jesus’s blood to remove those sins.

Is it hard to believe that God doesn’t want you to be conscious of sin? Isn’t sin consciousness what we’ve been taught our whole lives? But think about what happens when you focus on your sin and your flesh. You will feel unworthy in God’s presence. You won’t speak to Him freely. You’ll throw a few prayer requests at Him and move on with your day.

It seems the very goal of most of the church today is the make the Christian conscious of sin. The idea is that the more conscious you are of sin and your unworthiness before God, the more pleasing you are to Him. In fact, leaders and pastors will have you search your heart for sin before you can worship or receive the Lord’s Supper. Once you search and search and find as much sin as you can, you should then ask your spouse or your parents or your friends, and they will remind you of the sins you forgot. There is no end to that search!

This is a well-intentioned practice because the goal is to God with no barrier of sin, but the problem with that practice is that it frustrates the grace of God! The barrier of sin HAS BEEN removed by the cross!

Jesus’ blood is either eternal or it’s not! It either worked or it didn’t! We’re told that we should cleanse ourselves daily from our sins by confessing and repenting and asking for forgiveness as if Jesus’ blood was not enough. These are “sacrifices” that do nothing to cleanse the conscience. Like the Old Covenant sacrifices they just push the payment forward like a credit card. The sense of debt is still there on your mind.

If you owe someone, you will have debt on your conscience. It’s that way with God. If you feel that you have come short on your “account” with Him, you will not be comfortable in His presence until you pay.

But in your heart of hearts you know that there is nothing you can possibly do to truly relieve the debt.

Even so, you keep on trying. You attend more church services, prayer meetings, and Bible studies. You serve in the community. You do whatever you can to repay Jesus for what He did for you. That’s not too much to ask, is it? But this line of thinking goes completely against the Gospel.

There are three reasons that people have the debt of sin on their conscience today.

1. Our “Creditor” (God) sent a messenger to tell them the debt has been paid, but the messenger didn’t tell them. Just because he didn’t tell them doesn’t mean it wasn’t paid, but because they don’t know it, they still feel guilty. The debt is paid, but it’s not ours unless we receive it.

2. The messenger hasn’t done a good job in telling them how good the good news is. That’s where many believers are. They have heard a mixed message: “Yes, your sins are forgiven. BUT you need to behave perfectly.…” In other words, we are saved by grace, but we are perfected in the flesh. (Galatians 3:3) It’s like saying your debt of $50,000 is paid, but you must pay $10 a month. It’s a double message. It’s good news, but actually it’s not good news.

3. And then there is a third option: perhaps the messenger has done a good job in telling them that the debt has been paid, but they just don’t believe the Good News can be that good. When we condemn ourselves, it doesn’t mean the debt isn’t paid. Peter tells us in 2 Peter 1 that if we’re short-sighted and blind, barren and unfruitful it’s because we’ve forgotten that we were cleanses of our sins (2 Peter 1:8-9).

Consciousness of sin brings condemnation which causes us to draw back in our relationship with the Lord instead of drawing near. What are we to be conscious of? Jesus. As we behold Him, we are

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transformed into His image from glory to glory from the inside out. Reminders of the inward reality of the new man that we are in Christ will result in the outward manifestation of His glory!

Hebrews 10:3-4 - But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.

A reminder of sins tells us that either the payment was not enough or the recipient is not happy. A reminder of sins insults both Jesus and God the Father.

The reminder of sins is the opposite of its removal. The blood of bulls and goats only offered temporary relief, but couldn’t fix the problem. The sad thing is that ancient Israel had it better than most Christians today who think that we must be forgiven each time we sin. At least under the Old Covenant they knew that had temporary forgiveness. Most Christians today do not know that the the problem has been solved, and we can have security knowing that we are right with God.

10:5 Hebrews 10:5 - Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me.” Jesus turned Himself into a fetus and was placed inside a virgin. It took a virgin birth because the father determines the blood of the baby, not the mother. So Joseph, the earthly father couldn’t determine Jesus’ blood because Joseph’s blood was contaminated with sin. Jesus’ blood came straight from heaven from His Father. His blood was holy, royal, sinless, divine. That’s why His blood can save us and wash our sins whiter than snow.

If Jesus had come as God, He couldn’t have died for us because God cannot die. Only as a man could Jesus die. His blood, sweat, tears, and pain were real in a real body that was prepared for Him. Jesus Philippians 2:7-8 - made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

In the garden of Gethsemane Jesus struggled with pressures and even sweat blood, but not because He didn’t want to endure the physical sufferings - He was willing to do that for us. He suffered in order to make it possible for us to be accepted by His Father.

Jesus knew He was coming to die. He wasn’t murdered. He came of His own choice because He loved us!

When the soldiers came to arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, He had His chance to walk away: John 18:6 - When He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

No one could kill Him before His time. He laid down His life. It was His choice to become sin for us and die in our place.

John 10:17-18 - “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself.” I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.”

John 26:39 - “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

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The word “nevertheless” is the most reassuring and comforting word. The destiny of all humanity hung in that one word “nevertheless!” He took the cup of suffering, sorrow, pain, disease, sin, shame, condemnation and wrath, but worst of all separation: Matthew 27:46 - “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?” Jesus had never called Him God before. Jesus called Him God so that we could call Him Father. Jesus was forsaken so that we could be embraced by our heavenly Father! God turned His back on Jesus.

Why? Because if God had not turned His back on Jesus, He would have to turn His back on you. God in His holiness cannot look upon sin. Jesus took your place that you might take His place of having God’s face always smiling on you.

Numbers 6:25-26 - The LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.

As God, God turned His back on Jesus. But as Father, His heart was touched and He was pleased with His Son. John 10:17 - My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life...

Ephesians 5:2 - Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

Jesus loved us enough to be rejected by God so that we would never have to be rejected. Now we can rest assured in this promise from God: Hebrews 13:5 - “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

10:6-10 Hebrews 10:6-9 - In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. 7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—In the volume of the book it is written of Me— To do Your will, O God.’” 8 Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the law), 9 then He said, “Behold, I have come to DO YOUR WILL, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second.

We often wonder what the will of God is. The will of God is that He doesn’t want His people under law.

So Jesus took away the first covenant of law that He could establish the new covenant of grace.

All the sacrifices of the Old Covenant could not cleanse the conscience until Jesus came and said, “Father, I have come to do Your will.” It is God’s will that we be blessed under the better promises of a better covenant.

Hebrews 10:10 - By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

We’ve been sanctified. “Sanctified” means “separated from unto.” It means “made holy.” It means that we are separated from darkness to light. Separated from disease to health. Separated from poverty to abundance. Separated from fear to peace. For how long? “Once for all”!!

And it’s “by that will” that we have been made holy. It’s not through our performance, but through His blood!

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And don’t worry - this doesn’t promote sin! When you realize what a gracious God He is, you fall in love with Him. And when you fall in love with Him, you don’t even think about performance, you just do it.

A fruit isn’t focused on being a fruit. A fruit is born from it’s connection to the tree or the vine. The fruit of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control comes by abiding in the vine. We’re just the branches. Behold Jesus in His word, feast on His love for you, and you will love without even being conscious of it. You’ll do random acts of kindness, and they will be random even to you! Self-discipline will be replaced with self-control. New Year’s resolutions will be replaced with faithfulness that is so supernatural it’s natural. Peace like a river will flow from God through you and splash onto others. And patience won’t be an impossible feat, it will be a fruit. Abide in the vine abide in God’s love - and the fruit of the Spirit will be a result.

John 15:4-5 - Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

So what does it mean to abide? It’s the word “meno” in the Greek and means “to remain as one, not to become another or different.”

1 Corinthians 6:17 - He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. There is a joining to the Lord, a becoming one spirit Him, that occurs when we are saved and the Spirit of God comes inside of us. We become the “temple of the Holy Spirit.” While this is true, our attitudes, words, and behavior need development. There is an outflow of the new inward reality that comes from knowing and believing a certain foundational truth. This foundational truth is that we have been made righteous through the blood of Jesus. Our sins have been removed!

This truth is the essence of love. God demonstrated His love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. The first thing in knowing who were are in Christ and embracing our new identity in Him is to know and believe one simple thing: that God loves us.

John 15:9 - As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; ABIDE IN MY LOVE. 1 John 4:16 - We have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love and he who abides in love abides in God and God in him.

10:11-12 Hebrews 10:11-12 - Every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly. 12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God. Notice that the priest would stand. There was no chair in the Holy of Holies! Why? Because the work was never finished.

Notice he offered repeatedly. Why? Because the offerings only worked temporarily. But Jesus offered ONE sacrifice for sins. Why only one? Because it worked the first time!

And how long did it work? FOREVER! “One sacrifice for sins forever!”

After He offered the sacrifice, what did Jesus do? He sat down. Why? Because the work was finished!

And where did He sit down? At the right hand of God. The right hand is the place of honor, acquittal, blessing, righteousness, and AUTHORITY. 138

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Stop for a minute and recall the meaning of this truth for us today: no amount of confessing, repenting, praying, fasting, serving, giving, or any other work can add to what Jesus did! Anything good that we do should be IN RESPONSE to this great act of love!

IT IS FINISHED! Hebrews 1:3 - ...when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

Jesus BY HIMSELF purged our sins! He didn’t need our help!

In Hebrews 10:12, it says that Jesus sat down at the right hand of God as “this Man.” Jesus did not sit down at the right hand of God because He is God the Son. He was and is and always will be God the Son. But He sat down as “the MAN Jesus Christ” on our behalf!

10:13 Hebrews 10:13 - ...from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.

Here’s the reality for you as a believer today:the devil has been disarmed and triumphed over. He is defeated and any enemies that now come against you become your footstool because you are in Christ seated in heavenly places far above all dominion and power.

Ephesians 2:5-6 - ...even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus...

When the Holy Spirit inspired the writers of the scriptures to use the analogy of the footstool, it was because of the well-known historical context of war in ancient times. When two countries would go to war, one king would go against another king and his armies. Whoever won would drag the other king and his general and maybe even all his captains back to his country in chains. Then they would have a parade and bring the conquered leaders out for all the people to see. They would take them to a public arena where all could see the enemies being vanquished. The victorious king would sit on his throne and bring the other king and his leaders before him and make them bow to him on all fours. The king would then put his foot on the conquered enemies, and they became his footstool.

Jesus has conquered the enemies of sin, depression, poverty, disease, premature death, and all of the other curses that came with falling short of the standards of the law. When were they conquered? At the cross. For the last 2000 years all of those enemies that have been conquered are now being put under Jesus feet one by one. The last enemy to be put under Jesus’ feet is physical death.

1 Corinthians 15:25-27 - He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. For “He has put all things under His feet.”

Our posture is Jesus’s posture: seated, resting, trusting.

Hebrews 4:10 - For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Whatever enemy you are facing - sickness, debt, issues with children, relational strife, persecution - know that it is now under you feet. You are not trying to fight it. It is under your feet you are in Christ who is seated on the throne.

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Declare the finished work. We’re not trying to defeat the devil by “warring” against him. Our very fighting indicates disbelief in what Jesus has already accomplished. The devil has been disarmed, and he’s nothing more than a public spectacle trying to convince us that we have no power over him.

10:14-17 Hebrews 10:14-17 - For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. 15 But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, 16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” 17 then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

Christians are always wanting to know what the Holy Spirit is saying to them. Is He telling you to wear a blue shirt or a red shirt? Is He telling you to take this job or that job? People are looking for signs, such as a verse to jump off the page which will tell them the answer to their questions, often using the Holy Spirit like they would a crystal ball.

However, this is the witness of the Holy Spirit: “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

But how does that help you know what direction you should go in each day? Here’s how: IT BRINGS PEACE! It’s peace that gives you a perfect conscience as a son or daughter of God. The Holy Spirit witnesses to you that you are a child of God, as righteous as your older Brother, Jesus. When you are at peace, wisdom flows. All of the paths of wisdom are peace. (Proverbs 3:17) In peace we can hear the voice of the Holy Spirit.

A perfect conscience and worry cannot co-exist. If you know you are righteous, you know that God is for you and will lead you.

Psalm 23:1-3 - The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

10:18-23 Hebrews 10:18-20 - NOW where there is remission of these [sins and lawless deeds], there is no longer an offering for sin. 19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus. 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh....

In other words, the law was an old and deathly way. If they sinned, they might drop dead or be stoned or catch a disease or be thrown out of the camp away from everyone so no one else would be contaminated by their sin or sickness. But now because of what Jesus has done, it’s a new and living way. That means the more you rest in His presence, the more alive you become. The healthier you will be! The more your emotions will be healed! The more your mind will be renewed to the truth that GOD LOVES YOU and ACCEPTS YOU and is PLEASED WITH YOU! Even when we sin, we are still the temple of the Holy Spirit. Even when we sin, we are still holy. NOW we are in the presence of God. NOW God lives in us. God cannot be in an unholy place. He has found a permanent dwelling place in His new creation! And God will not share His permanent holy dwelling with a demon. This is why a believer cannot be possessed by a demon. Jesus has taken possession of His home in us!

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Psalm 16:11- In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

And we are at His right hand hidden in Christ in heavenly places!

Hebrews 10:21-22 - and having a High Priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience.

When you draw near to God, come with an assurance that He will never ever bring up your sin. An evil conscience tells us that we’re not worthy to come into His presence. Take those thoughts captive! (2 Corinthians 10:5) It’s not your obedience that puts you in a position to approach God. It’s the obedience of Jesus Christ - even to the point of death. (Philippians 2:8) Never fear that God is angry with you or that He would ever leave you (Isaiah 54:9). He will never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). He will abide with you forever (John 14:6).

The word “evil” in verse 22 is the Greek word “poneros” and it means “full of labors, annoyances, hardships, pressed and harassed by labors.”

What’s an evil conscience? A conscience that always feels guilty, always feels down, and condemned. It’s a conscience that is harassed and pressed by the labors, annoyances, and hardships of self-effort. An “evil conscience” in this context is not a conscience that is full of lustful or greedy or angry thoughts. It’s the kind of conscience that will keep you from drawing near to God. It’s the kind of conscience that says, “I better get right with God before I approach Him.” But once Jesus has provided the payment for sins, you should have a debt-free, labor-free, hardship-free, hassle-free, guilt-free conscience. You should have a righteousness-conscience born out of understanding, acceptance, and rest in His righteousness given to you as a gift.

Hebrews 10:23 - Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.

Hebrews 3:1 tells us that Jesus is the High Priest of our confession. What is the confession of our hope?

The word “confession” is the word “homologia” in the Greek and it means, “to say the same thing with.”

It’s to say the same thing with Jesus. We are to “see” this great High Priest who has passed through the heavens and hold fast our confession. (Hebrews 4:14) Because Jesus has passed through the heavens and is seated safely and securely at the Father’s right hand representing us and mediating for us having purged us of all our sins (Hebrews 1:3), we can now hold fast in saying the same thing that Jesus is saying, “Father, see My hands, see My feet, see My scars on My back and in My side? See My blood sprinkled here? The sins of your beloved children have been removed. Father, now we are one! As you have always been in Me and I in You, now they are in Us! I have given them the glory You gave me, so they may be one as We are one. You love them as much as You love Me!” (John 17:21-23) What is our Father’s response? “Come visit with Me. Talk to Me. Draw near to Me. All that I have is Yours. Come share in your inheritance. Come receive!”

We hold fast the confession of our hope. Biblical hope is the word “elpis” in the Greek and means “a joyful, confident expectation of good.” It’s not just a passive, neutral wishing for good. It’s CONFIDENT expectation of good in your future.

Name a promise, for He who promised is forever faithful!

To end this session we will briefly look at a passage that has a verse that has been taken out of context in many Christians circles bringing great insecurity to believers: 141

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Hebrews 10: 26-31 - For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Many people have lived in fear of judgment because of wrong interpretations of Hebrews 10:26. The reason is that they have been taught that there is a line in sinning that you can cross that will cause you to lose your salvation. Nothing could be further from the truth. As we have learned in the book of Hebrews, the blood of Jesus is eternal! It has forever removed your sins from you.

In Romans, Ephesians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, and Colossians, Paul talks about the spiritual circumcision and the new creation that was raised up in Christ when Jesus rose from the dead. The old man that was in sin and in the flesh was cut away by the cross. The old man died and was buried with Jesus. The new man was created and raised up in Christ, and sin has been removed as far as the east and the west from us. Our identity is now in Christ and His perfect performance on our behalf, not in the sinful deeds of the flesh. This is the truth that we can rest in. This is the truth that gives us a perfect conscience.

In the context of the entire book of Hebrews, it is clear that to “sin willfully” was to continue to believe that the blood of bulls and goats could atone for sins after the blood of Jesus had been shed. At its basic core, “sinning willfully” is the rejection of the blood of Jesus to save you and cleanse you.

Today if we are IN CHRIST, we are forever in Him. However, if we believe lies about the gift of righteousness and the eternal efficacy of the blood of Jesus, we will fall prey to erroneous teachings that will lead us to self-righteous acts that frustrate the grace of God in our lives. Just as throwing another bull on the altar would be a dead work for those that the writer of Hebrews was pleading with, we can perform “dead works” in a foolish attempt to achieve righteousness apart from faith in the eternal blood of Jesus. Righteousness cannot be achieved. It is simply received.

We as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, washed in the blood, raised to new life and seated in Him, never need to fear judgment. We do not need to fear Judgment Day of any day of judgment when fiery darts of condemnation from the enemy pummel our minds. ALL OUR JUDGMENT was received by our Lord. It is finished.

1 John 4:17 - Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.

However, for those who consistently and persistently reject the blood of Jesus, there no longer remains a sacrifice for them. Jesus was our one sacrifice for sins forever. The sin of unbelief is no less than trampling underfoot the Son of God, counting His precious blood as common as the blood of bulls and goats, and insulting to the Spirit of grace. Yes, there is judgment for those who reject Jesus.

But God does not desire that any perish. God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that through Jesus the world might be saved.

How beautiful are the feet of those who bring Good News.

Copyright © Patricia Gunn 2013

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