Jesus - The All Sufficient Sacrifice for Sin - Part 1

Let's get back to Hebrews chapter 10. We're gonna be in verses one to 10, although verses one to 18 really go together. This is a part one and a part two. Now I will turn over to Colossians later in the message, chapter two, verse 16 and 17. You don't have to turn there, but I was just giving you a heads up. Now this morning, we're gonna see that the author is simply moving along in the message that really he's been preaching since chapter seven. Now let me explain what I mean by that. In chapter seven, verses one to 10, the author explained that King Melchizedek of Genesis 14, he was an actual king and a priest of the most high God.

And the author explained that his priesthood was superior to, greater than the Levitical priesthood. And then in the rest of chapter seven, we learned that Jesus and his priesthood is like that of King Melchizedek, but his ministry and his priesthood is even greater than Melchizedek's. The priesthood of Jesus was greater because he provided a guarantee of a new covenant, a better covenant. And that is because he is the eternal priest and savior of this new and better covenant. Then in chapter eight, we learned of the superiority of Jesus as our great high priest and the superiority of this new and better covenant.

And we saw in greater detail what the superiority of Jesus and the superiority of the new covenant looked like. And then when we got into chapter nine, verses one to 14, the author showed us how the old covenant earthly tabernacle and the sacrifices and services performed there, those things were unable to bring a man into the presence of God, but not so with the new covenant tabernacle, which is in heaven. The sacrifices and services performed by Jesus in the heavenly tabernacle, those things certainly able to bring a man into the very presence of God.

But then in the rest of chapter nine, we learned that because Jesus is the great high priest of the new covenant, he has become the mediator of the new covenant. And that was made possible because of his complete and perfect sacrifice on the cross. So chapter seven is all about Jesus, a greater priest, with a greater priesthood than that of the old covenant priests and their priesthood. And chapter eight and nine are all about Jesus, who is the great high priest of the new covenant, which is better than the old covenant.

But here in chapter 10, we will see that the author simply continues to unfold the message that Jesus is better and the new covenant is better. And in verses one to 18, the author proves that Jesus and the new covenant is better by explaining that the sacrifice of Christ on the cross had the power and the effectiveness to do what those old covenant sacrifices could never do. Now, I know I've said this many times, and I know that I have said, I sound like a broken record, but we need to keep in mind the original recipients of this letter and why the author wrote as he did.

This letter was written to a Jewish congregation and many of them were struggling to see and believe that everything in the old covenant was temporary and meant to prepare them for the new and the better covenant. So that meant that there was this very real temptation to go back to life under the old covenant, and many of them were going back. Scholars tell us that at this time that the letter was written, the temple was still standing in Jerusalem. So that meant that old covenant temple worship was still at the very center of Jerusalem and still at the very center of Jewish life in Jerusalem.

Now, when we studied chapter seven to chapter nine, I made the comment that at the heart of old covenant Jewish life was the fact that they were a covenant people. We know our Bibles, we know that they were descendants of Abraham and Abraham was of the covenant. And that is why many of them were struggling to let go of the old covenant. They were covenant people. But we have also seen that something else was at the heart of old covenant life and old covenant worship. And that was their sacrificial system that was still being practiced there in the temple. And that is where the author lands here in chapter 10.

Here in verses one to 18, he makes quite a few contrasts between the old covenant sacrifices and the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. And basically this was his message in verses one to 18. He was explaining that all their animal sacrifices and even the old covenant as a whole was flawed. Now, it is not that the sacrificial system in the old Testament laws behind that system were sinful or evil. No, that's not the case. Those things were flawed in that they were unable to effectively remove sin and to put a person into a right relationship with God permanently.

And he goes on to say that Christ and his single sacrifice for sin was and is able to do what the old covenant sacrifices could never do. His sacrifice on the cross was the once and for all, the all sufficient sacrifice for sin, unlike those animal sacrifices that went on day after day, day after day, year after year. Therefore, the sacrifice of Christ on the cross was and is able to do what the old covenant sacrifices never ever could do. Now that leads me to the title of the message. Verses one to 18, we're all about Jesus, the all sufficient sacrifice for sin. Jesus, the all sufficient sacrifice for sin.

And this will be a part one and a part two. Now, as we divide these verses, we will see that the author makes several contrasts as he explains this all sufficient sacrifice for sin. And I want us to zero in on four things here. First, the ineffectiveness of those old covenant sacrifices. We see that in verses one to four. And then next he turns it around, the effectiveness of the sacrifice of Christ. And we see that in verses five to 10. Now that's what we'll cover this morning. But then in our part two, we will look at third, the sacrifice of Christ that brings perfection before God. That's in verses 11 to 14.

And then last, the sacrifice of Christ brings forgiveness, true forgiveness from sin verses 12 to 18. So let's get into the message or the body of the message. So number one, I want us to look at the ineffectiveness of the old covenant sacrifices. The ineffectiveness of the old covenant sacrifices. We see this in verses one to four. Let's read them again. The author says, "For since the law has but a shadow "of the good things to come instead of the true form "of these realities, it," that's the law, "can never by the same sacrifices "that are continually offered every year "make perfect those who draw near.

"Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered "since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, "would no longer have any consciousness of sin, "but in these sacrifices, there is a reminder "of sins every year, for it is impossible "for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins." Now for us in our day and in our world, it is impossible to picture the scene and the activities that are behind all of these words. But here the author was referencing the animal sacrifices that were made at the temple when he wrote this letter.

And in their service there in the temple, those old covenant priests that he mentioned and has mentioned so many times, they were busy all day from dawn to dusk, slaughtering animals and then offering those animals as sacrifices. I give us a glimpse of what some of this looked like. My study I saw where one scholar mentioned that it is estimated that as many as 300,000 lambs could have been sacrificed in one week during Passover. So many animals were killed that massive amounts of blood would run out of the temple through channels that were cut in the floor so as to dispose of the blood.

That blood would run out of the temple into the brook, kindred, and at the time, it was said that the brook would run red because so much blood was spilled and taken out of the temple. But here in verse four, the author says that all of those animal sacrifices and all of that blood from those sacrifices could not take away the sins of those worshipers. Warren Wiersby says of those animal sacrifices, they could cover sin and postpone God's judgment, but those sacrifices could never affect a once and for all redemption for man.

So there was a desperate and even despairing need for a better sacrifice because of the ineffectiveness of those animal sacrifices. Now, if we look into the verses, we will see that the author unpacks the ineffectiveness of those sacrifices. And I want us to start off by asking a few questions and these come right out of verse one. But the first question, what is this term the law refer to? This term the law in its strictest sense can speak of the law of Moses and in its broadest sense, it can speak of the entirety of the Old Testament.

But here the author is speaking of the entire Old Testament and specifically the Levitical law and the sacrificial system as seen in the Levitical law. But the next question, what is the meaning of this shadow? The word shadow here, it speaks of shade that is caused by the interception of light. Now an easy example that'll help us see, if I have a very bright light behind me, then shade is cast out in front of me. My body intercepts that bright light behind me and it creates and it casts what we know as a shadow. Notice what the author is saying here.

The Old Covenant and those sacrifices were nothing more than a shadow, the amplified says a shadow just a pale representation, but a shadow or a pale representation of what? The rest of verse one tells us, the New American says it like this, for the law since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things. And this term very form comes from a word in the original which speaks of an image, a figure or a true likeness.

Now the point here is this, the author was explaining that the Old Covenant sacrificial system, really the entire Old Covenant was a shadow of a pale representation of the very form or image of things to come. One commentator that I ran across this week used art and an artist to explain this. He said that the law is no more than a preliminary or an introductory sketch. That sketch shows the shape of things to come, but the solid reality is not there in the sketch and the solid reality is Christ Jesus.

Of course the author does not say that the good things to come are Christ Jesus, but the rest of the verses in the entirety of the book of Hebrews tells us. We know that the good things to come, that's Jesus, that's Christ our Lord. John MacArthur sums this up by saying, the spirit, that's the spirit of God, is saying that the Old System, that's the Old Covenant and the sacrificial system was a shadow whereas the new system, that's the new covenant, is the actual substance, the very reality. But there's one more thing in the language that we need to see. And this sets us up for the main point that the author is making here.

Language scholars tell us that this word shadow is in the emphatic which means this is the main part of this part of the verse. That tells us that the author was emphasizing the fact that the Old Covenant and everything in the Old Covenant was indefinite, it was unsubstantial and nothing more than a pale representation of that which was to come. And declaring that the Old Covenant and all of those animal sacrifices were nothing more than a shadow, that set the stage for the author to explain the total ineffectiveness of the entire Old Covenant.

And he explains the ineffectiveness of the Old Covenant from verse one of the second part of verse one to verse four. Let's read those verses again and notice how he unpacks the ineffectiveness of it all. For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, notice how he explains it. Here comes the ineffectiveness. It can never by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year make perfect those who draw near.

Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered since the worshipers have been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sin, but in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Now here I want us to see that the Old Covenant was unable to do three things. And seeing these facts will enable us to see that the Old Covenant was actually able to do three other things. This all goes together. I think you'll see it when it's unfolding. But first, the author's telling us that the Old Covenant was unable to perfect a person.

At the end of verse four we see that the law, the Old Covenant sacrifices, the entire Old Covenant was unable to make perfect those who draw near. And this term make perfect, it means to make perfect or to make complete. And the point here is this, the author is saying that the ceremonial law in all of those animal sacrifices could not bring the worshipper into a right relationship with God. It could not save them. And then second, he is explaining that the Old Covenant was unable to cleanse the conscience of a man. The beginning of verse two really goes with verse one.

And in verse two the author was basically saying that if those animal sacrifices had been effective in bringing the worshipper into a right or a perfect relationship with God, they would have not needed to be repeated. And if that had been the case, if those sacrifices had brought those worshippers into a saving relationship with God, well then their consciences would have been clear and clean. But that was not the case. Because those sacrifices and obedience to the Levitical law could not save, the result was that those worshippers never possessed a clear and cleansed conscience. They were always aware of their sin and sinfulness.

As one writer described it in referring to the Day of Atonement, he said an atonement that needs constant repetition does not really atone. A conscience which has to be cleansed once a year has never been fully cleansed. Matter of fact, one writer that I came across this week said this was a depressing merry-go-round, and it was. And he goes on to say a really effectual atonement would mean the permanent removal of the worshipper's sins, therefore producing a cleansed and a clear conscience. But then third, the author is saying that the Old Covenant was unable to take away a person's sins. We see this in verse three and four.

Let's look at those verses again. But in these sacrifices, those Old Covenant animal sacrifices, there is a reminder of sins every year. Now this every year refers to the Day of Atonement when they would make sacrifice for their sin. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Now a question here. What did those animal sacrifices do? What did they accomplish? Verse four clearly tells us that those sacrifices could not in any way take away sin. It was impossible for that to happen. In the original, this word impossible is very, very strong. In this phrase, take away, it means to take away, to take off, to remove.

And the point here is this. This taking away speaks of a complete and total removal of sin so that it is no longer an issue between God and man, and God. And the author says it is totally impossible, completely impossible for the Old Covenant and those sacrifices to take away sin from that person's account. So look at the ineffectiveness of those animal sacrifices. Really the ineffectiveness of the entire Levitical system adhering to those commands and those laws and those sacrifices could never bring a man into a saving relationship obeying those laws at best.

And to the best of their ability could never clear the conscience of the worshipper. Those things could never take away sin. So the Old Covenant and life under the Old Covenant was despairingly depressive. It was ineffectual. But there's more. Remember that I said that the Levitical law and those animal sacrifices were able to do three things. First, the author is telling us that the Old Covenant law was able to expose one's imperfection. We learned in verse one that the Old Covenant law and those animal sacrifices were unable to bring the worshipper into a saving relationship with God. Well, what was the result?

Adherence to the law and those sacrifices were a constant reminder of the fact that the worshipper desperately needed a relationship with God and they needed to be made right with God. But then second, he is showing us that the Old Covenant law was able to stoke a man's conscience. We saw in verse two that those animal sacrifices and adherence to the law could not cleanse the conscience. It could not clear the conscience of those worshipers. Well, what was the result? Those unto the Old Covenant lived with violated consciences because their sins were not taken away.

At best, their conscience was appeased temporarily when their sins were temporarily covered, but they never experienced a permanent clear, cleansed conscience. And then third, he is showing us that the Old Covenant law was able to bring to remembrance one's sins. We learned in verse three and four that it was impossible for the blood of animals to take away or remove sin, but we did not really get into verse three and what those sacrifices actually did. Look at verse three. I wanna read it from the Amplified.

Verse three says, "But as it is, "these continual sacrifices," remember day in and day out, year in and year out, "bring a fresh reminder of sins to be atoned for "year after year, year after year." And here the author says that those sacrifices were an actual reminder of their sin. In this word reminder here, it simply means to remember. One source that I studied this week pointed out that this word is used only in the accounts of the Lord's Supper. And in those accounts, Jesus calls on his people to participate in the Supper, therefore remembering what he did on the cross. Now what's the point?

The author is explaining that those under the Old Covenant and those animal sacrifices were a constant reminder, a constant reminder, a constant reminder of their sin. McConther points out that when they made those animal sacrifices according to the law, they did attain a temporary covering of sin, but those sins were never taken away. Now what was the result? Every time they faced those sacrifices, they were a repeated reminder of their sin and sinfulness. So notice what we have here in verses one to four. The author was and is giving these Jews here two basic but very important facts about the Levitical law, really the entire Old Covenant.

First, the Old Covenant was a shadow or a simple, pale representation of the good things to come and the good things to come were the promised Messiah who provided a better sacrifice for a better covenant. That's the new covenant. And then second, he's pointing out that the Old Covenant, those Levitical laws, the entire sacrificial system was unable to take away sin, therefore putting a person into a saving relationship with God, giving him a clear conscience in regards to their sin and their relationship to God, it was impossible for the Old Covenant to provide perfect and permanent redemption for man.

Now before we move into the effectiveness of the sacrifice of Christ, I want us to ask some questions here. As a matter of fact, I gathered these questions up from quite a few different resources. If the Old Covenant and the Levitical system was flawed, I said that earlier, in that it could not take away sin, well, why did God give the Old Covenant? It's a legitimate question. If the entire Old Covenant was a shadow and it was unable to provide salvation from those Jews who were under the Old Covenant, well then why did God give it? First, we must make sure that we understand the purpose of the shadow.

The shadow was a reflection of the substance. The shadow was a pale representation of the substance that it represented. Simply the shadow was meant to point the worshipper to the salvation that would be provided in the substance who was to come and that substance was and is Jesus. Now this is gonna take a second, but let me show you how this applies to us today. Here is where I wanna read those verses in Colossians, Colossians 2 verse 16 to 17. Paul writes here, "Therefore," writing to a church now, "Therefore let no one pass judgment on you "and question the food or drink or with regard "to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.

"These are a shadow of the things to come, "but the substance belongs to Christ." Now this is what Paul was addressing. The Jewish observances that Paul mentions in verse 16 were simply a shadow. They were a pale representation of the substance which was and is Christ. Those things were given as pictures which foretold of and were a pale representation of Christ. And Paul was saying this, since the substance has come, then why in the world would you go back to the shadows? And that was a problem with some of the Colossian church. But I venture to say that we do the same thing today. Let me explain.

We read our Bibles, we do our Bible studies, we send out of the preaching of God's word, we come to small groups, and we can do all of those things and more all while being disconnected from an intimate personal relationship with Christ our Lord. And if we read our Bibles without looking for Christ our Lord to interact with us in the pages of God's word, then we make a shadow out of the Bible reading and we miss the substance. But if we come and we sit under God's word as it is preached, if we come to small groups, and if we seek Christ personally in all of these things, he will meet us in these things.

And when we find him, when we hear him in these things, we apprehend the substance instead of grasping for a shadow. You see how we are a lot like they were? But then second, at the center of the shadow of the Old Covenant and the Levitical system was the sacrificial system. At the center of the shadow was blood and a constant flow of blood, a gruesome flow of blood. And seeing and understanding this reality shows and reminds us that the punishment for sin was and is death. The punishment for sin was always has been, always will be death.

And for those Jews who went to the temple, they were constantly reminded of the truth of Romans 6.23, for the wages of sin is death, for the wages of sin is death. And that is because there was this constant death, the constant shedding of blood every day. Theirs was a bloody worship. But what about us? We do not have the temple and animal sacrifices as a visual reminder to us that the wages of sin is death. On my ride to church this morning, just like every Sunday morning I ride by First Baptist Church. I have a lot of friends at First Baptist Church. But I didn't see any blood running out of the doors of that church.

I didn't see blood running down the sidewalks. Our reminder is coming up here in verses five to 10 and seeing the effectiveness of Christ's sacrifice on the cross. For us the reminder that the wages of sin is death is seen on the cross. The perfect son of God had to go to the cross and he had to die a physical bloody death for our sin. First Peter 3.18 says, "For Christ also suffered, suffered once for sins, "the righteous for the unrighteous." And look folks, the wages of sin is death. And all sin must be paid for in death. And our sins are paid in death in one or two places.

For those of us who were redeemed, our sins were paid for on the cross. Christ died a physical bloody death on the cross for our sins. But for the unredeemed, they will pay for their sin in hell. Suffering and dying and never dying for all eternity in the lake of fire in the bottomless pit. All sin must be paid for in death. That is a fact and the old covenant sacrificial system reminds us of that fact. Maybe we need to do a study on it. Maybe we need to do a study on it on our own. Third, God gave the shadow not only to point those worshipers to the coming Christ, but as a covering for sin.

When those Jews offered their sacrifices according to the law and with a true and pure heart of worship, those sacrifices removed immediate and temporal judgment from God. Those sacrifices were temporary and provided a temporary appeasement for sin. And for those Jews, if they refused to obey the law and they refused to provide the commanded sacrifices, they were cut off. They were cut off from God's people. They were cut off from God. They were cut off from God's blessings. They were judged of God. And for us in our day, we have the shadow. We have the pale representation of the good things to come in Christ in the Old Testament.

And we also have the substance. We have Christ in the gospel. We have what the Old Covenant represented, what it pictured, what it promised. So there is no waiting for us. And if a person rejects Christ Jesus, well, they are cut off from God. And if they choose to stay in that state, they will be cut off from God. They will be cut off from a saving relationship with God for all eternity. You know, in the life of our church, we don't give what's called a traditional invitation.

I had a visiting pastor friend one time tell me, Chris, you don't give a traditional invitation at the end of the message, but you give invitations all throughout the message. Well, here's where I wanna pause and give an invitation. Please come to Christ. Please come to Christ. He's done it all. Come to Christ. He will save you. If you'll repent of sin, if you'll believe savingly in Christ Jesus, he will save you. The problem is it with Christ, the problem is with you. The problem is it with the gospel, the problem is with you. One more thing. Then how were those Old Covenant Jews truly saved?

If the Old Covenant and those sacrifices could not save, how would they save? They were saved by grace through faith, just like we are. Romans 4.3 says that Abraham believed God and he was saved. They were saved by looking forward to the promised Messiah while we are saved by looking back to the promised Messiah. So the ineffectiveness of the Old Covenant in the Old Covenant animal sacrifices. And then next, number two, I want us to look at the effectiveness of the sacrifice of Christ. The effectiveness of the sacrifice of Christ. We see that in verses five to 10. The transition is easy for us to see. Let's read the verses.

Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me. In burnt offerings and sin offerings, you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book. When he said above, you have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and in sin offerings, these are offered according to the law. Then he added, behold, I have come to do your will. He does away with the first in order to establish the second.

And by that will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all. Now, as we can see, the author moves from the negative in verses one to four to the positive in verses five to 10. Now let me explain that. The climax of the ineffectiveness of the old covenant is seen in verse four. The author said it was totally impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin. But here in verse 10, he gives the climax of the effectiveness of the sacrifice of Christ. He said that through Christ, those who believe in Christ are truly able to be set apart to God.

Warren Wiersby says of this work and I'm quoting him, "Believers have been set apart, sanctified by the offering of Christ's body once for all." No old covenant sacrifice could do that. An old covenant worshiper had to be purified from ceremonial defilement repeatedly. But a new covenant saint is set apart finally and completely. So the desperate and depressing need of a man to be made right with God, with the old covenant sacrifices and the revelation of those things, the exasperation of those things, that need can be met. A truly effective sacrifice for sin has been offered in Christ.

Now as we get into the verses, we will see that the author unfolds this effectiveness of Christ's sacrifice. And notice he does this by going to the Old Testament. Now if we think about it, we've seen the author do this many times. Many times in Hebrews, the author lays out his teaching and then he goes back to the Old Testament to back up his teaching. And this is what he does in verses five to 10. Now right here I wanna give an overview of what the author is doing here and then we'll get into the details. Here the author quotes verses from Psalm 40. And we see two basic things.

First these verses highlight the importance of God's will in these things. And here we see that it was God's will that Christ sacrificed himself on the cross over and above those old covenant sacrifices. Second in these verses, we see a conversation. We see the words of Jesus spoken to God which speak of his coming into the world to do the will of God. One writer said that this conversation took place just before Jesus stepped across the threshold of the incarnation just before he stepped from eternity and into time and human history. Let's look back at verses five to seven and see if you can't notice the conversation.

Consequently, when Christ came into the world, that's the incarnation he said, sacrifices and offerings you have not desired but a body you have prepared for me and burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, behold, I have come to do your will, oh God as it is written of me in the scroll of your book. Now, before we dive into the verses, there's one point that I wanna make which has wonderful application for us. In these verses, we see that Jesus' number one goal in coming into the world was to do the will of the Father, period.

Jesus' number one goal in coming into the world was to do the will of the Father, period. In John 4.34, Jesus said that his food, that is his nourishment, his sustenance was to do the very will of the Father and no more. And for us as God's people and his church, our number one goal in life must be to spend our lives doing the very will of God. We'll come back to that a little later. As we get into the verses, we will see that the author unpacks this effectiveness of Christ's sacrifice on the cross. And I want us to see this by examining five things here. They're rather short.

First, the author explains that God took no pleasure in those old covenant sacrifices. Now we see this from verse five to eight. Now notice how many times we see God's desires and what gives him pleasure. Again, let's look at the verses. Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, sacrifices and offerings you have not desired. But a body you have prepared for me in burnt offerings and sin offerings, you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, behold, I have come to do your will of God as it is written in the scroll of the book.

When he sat above, you have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings. These are offered according to the law. Now this leads me to a question. If God instituted the sacrificial system, then why did he take no pleasure in those things? Why did he not desire those things? What the author is saying here does not somehow say that those sacrifices were somehow contrary to God's will and plan. No, it was God who instituted the old covenant, the Levitical sacrificial system, and he clearly commanded his people to abide by those things. So the point here is this.

Whenever those Jews offered those sacrifices out of a heart of genuine worship and true repentance towards God, those things were acceptable to God. So he desired those things and he took pleasure in those things. But whenever they offered those sacrifices and those things were not out of a true heart of genuine worship and repentance towards God, those things were rejected by God. So he did not desire those things and he took no pleasure in those things. Bible scholar Leon Morris explains it real quickly by saying God took no delight in the routine performance of the ritual sacrifice.

And scholars tell us that that is what worship had become for so many Jews. Ritual sacrifice, routine religious performance. It was all externals. And we see that Jesus taught against routine religious performance all throughout the gospels. Now question, think with me here. How does God feel when our prayers, our Bible study, and our church attendance becomes ritual? How does God feel when our prayers, our Bible study, and our church attendance is nothing but external. Not out of a true expression of love and praise and worship to him. How does he feel? Second, the author says that God's ultimate desire was to sacrifice his son.

Here in verse five, the author says that God does not desire sacrifices and offerings but a body which he prepared. Now what does that mean? Before Christ crossed the threshold between eternity and earth in the incarnation. Here we see that he acknowledged that the father had prepared for him an earthly body. Verse five says, sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me. And notice what this tells us. This clearly tells us that Christ's physical body was offered up on the cross. His body was crushed. His lifeblood was spilled out. He died an actual physical death on the cross.

And then third, Jesus says that he came to earth to do his father's will. Look at verse seven and then look at verse nine. Then I said, behold, I have come to do your will, oh God. Verse nine, then he added, behold, I have come to do your will. He does away with the first in order to establish the second. Now the important thing for us to see here is this. Jesus only had one goal or mission in mind and that was to do the will of the father. But we must not have a misunderstanding here. Christ did not lay aside his will and obey his father's will as if it was some kind of authoritative restraint placed upon him. No, that wasn't the case.

Christ's submission to the father's will was his own will as well in that he was perfectly one with the will of his father in going to the cross. Again, there is a lesson here for us. As God's people, our will must be to do and to know and to follow God's will for our lives. Now you may ask, pastor, where do I find God's will? How do I find God's will for my life? Well, it starts by being faithfully plugged into a healthy local church. See, the center of God's activity on earth is the church. So you plug your life into a healthy local church. Then you stay under the preaching and the teaching of God's word.

Then you connect with other believers in what we would call small groups. And then you develop through small groups and being faithful in the life of the church, brothers and sister relationships who will pray for you, who will walk with you, who will live with you. And what I'm trying to show you is this. We plug our lives right into the very center of where God's working and in that, he will reveal to us his will for our life. And if you try to find God's will outside of God's prescribed means, you'll end up in a ditch. Fourth, he says that God does away with the old to replace it with the new. Look back at verse nine.

Then he added, "Behold, I have come to do your will." He does away with the first, that's the old covenant, in order to establish the second, that's the new. Here the author was saying again that the old covenant was never meant to be an end in itself. It was never meant to be permanent, but it was always meant to be temporary. I like how one scholar ties a lot of these things together. He says the first covenant and the first tabernacle and the first sacrifices have given way to the second covenant, a heavenly tabernacle and the final indefinite sacrifice. Well, we know that's Christ. Think about that original audience.

It's really hard for us to comprehend what these things meant to them. This would have been revolutionary for those Jews receiving this letter. This would have been mind blowing. But if they did not accept the fact that the old covenant was done away with and replaced by the new, then they would have held on to nothing but an empty shell of a dead religion. But we need to see that people do that very same thing today. People grow up in dead churches. People grow up in dead denominations. People grow up in horribly erroneous and dead doctrine. And then by God's good grace, they come face to face with the gospel.

They come face to face with Christ Jesus. And what do some do? They reject new life in Christ. They reject the gospel that will save them from their sin, that gospel that will make them a new creation in Christ. And then they go and they hold on to that empty dead religion. I've seen it time and time again. I've seen people grow up in dead churches, bad gospel, bad doctrine, and all of their families are involved in nothing but dead. They come face to face with the gospel. And what do they do? They hold on to the old dead religion because they don't wanna hurt their mother's feelings. They don't wanna make uncles and aunts mad.

They hold on to that which is dead. And fifth, through all these things, the author tells us a person can truly be set apart under God, the last verse, verse 10. And by that will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Christ Jesus once for all. Now here we come to the climax of what the author is teaching in verses five to 10. And that is that by and through Christ and his all sufficient sacrifice, a person can be saved. Really, this is the climax of the entire book of Hebrews. But let me unpack this a little.

Here we truly see the ultimate will of God, although God ordained the old covenant, it could not bring about his ultimate will. His will was to bring about redemption for men and men by and through the all sufficient sacrifice of Christ upon the cross. And notice what kind of redemption this wasn't is. Here the author says that through Christ, a person can be sanctified. All the translations we study use the word sanctified. And this word sanctified here, this simply means to be set apart under God. But here this does not refer to progressive sanctification or the work of becoming more and more Christ-like, but to a positional sanctification.

This speaks of one savingly believing in Christ. And in that they are saved, they are set apart, they are sanctified far and unto God. But there's one more thing here. Language scholars tell us that the construction of the language tell us that this is communicated in the strongest way. The one who believes continues in this permanent, unalterable salvation. MacArthur says that the force of the language truly means something like this. You have been permanently made holy and set apart unto God. I'm gonna say something and I'm gonna sound a little sarcastic.

It's unbelievable how we have so many in our culture who profess Christ, they'll tell you they've been baptized and they're a member of the church. They will even use Bible language. They'll say, "I'm saved, I'm saved, I'm saved." But they're not even saved enough to live for God and come to church. Whereas what we see here is a sanctification, whereas true believers are permanently made holy and set apart unto God. Something's wrong, folks. There's a big difference between cultural Christianity and what we see here. So notice what we have here in verses five to 10.

The author was and is explaining that by and through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, what the old covenant could never provide has been provided and this was God's will and plan all along since before time in human history, perfect redemption for men and man has been provided. Perfect and permanent salvation is available for those who would believe. And again, come and believe. Come and believe. He's done everything so that you could come and believe. So the effectiveness, the sacrifice of Christ. Now I wanna close by looking back at verse four, which is the pessimistic climax of verses one to four.

And then I want us to look at verse 10, which is the optimistic climax of verses five to 10, really the climax of the entire book. Verse four. Four. It is impossible. We understand that means totally impossible. It is totally impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Verse 10. But by the will of God, we have been sanctified, set apart perfectly, totally forever through the offering of the body of Christ Jesus once and for all. And this brings us right back to the title of the message. Jesus, the all sufficient sacrifice for sin. Let's pray.

Let's commit these things to the Holy Spirit of God, asking the Spirit of God to apply these things where needed, to save the lost and to grow us as saints, according to all these things.