We discussed in Friday's study that the sacrifices which were offered year after year were incapable of forever making holy those who brought them. But the sacrifice which Christ made is capable of forever making us able to stand in the presence of God. This is why the first covenant was set aside, so a new and better covenant could be brought in. We talked Friday about the fact that, although sacrifices were brought in obedience to the law, God was not satisfied until His ultimate plan of salvation was carried out. It's not that He wasn't pleased with the people's obedience to the law; it's that He eagerly awaited the day when people's righteousness would be obtained by faith in His Son.
"First He said, 'Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings You did not desire, nor were you pleased with them'---though they were offered in accordance with the law. Then He said, 'Here I am, I have come to do Your will.' He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." (Hebrews 10:8-10) This quote is from Psalm 40, and this conversation takes place between God the Son and God the Father. God the Son says, "Here I am, I have come to do Your will." The "will" He speaks of is God's plan of salvation for mankind, in which Christ would give Himself as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. There was never anything we could do to make ourselves holy, so Christ did what was necessary to make us holy.
The author of Hebrews is writing to Jewish Christians who are living in a time before the second temple was destroyed by the Roman army in 70 AD. We know this because he speaks of the duties the priests are still performing in his day. "Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices which can never take away sins." (Hebrews 10:11) These sacrifices, made under the law, were a temporary covering for sins. When a person brought a sacrifice in faith and with a repentant spirit, God granted him mercy. But a person had to keep bringing these sacrifices because the sacrifices weren't powerful enough to obtain for them eternal mercy and eternal forgiveness. But faith in the sacrifice Christ made is powerful enough to make us the sons and daughters of the living God, to cover our sins forever, and to grant us eternal life in the presence of our God.
He now speaks of "this priest", meaning Christ our great high priest. "But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God, and since that time He waits for His enemies to be made His footstool. For by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy." (Hebrews 10:12-14) Why is Christ seated? Because He perfectly and completely fulfilled His part of God's salvation plan. Just as God rested after He completed His work of creation, Christ is resting from the work He did on the cross. If anything was lacking in regard to God's plan of salvation, Christ would still be on His feet, but His seated position proves to us that nothing remains to be done. There is nothing we can do to add to what Christ has done for us. He doesn't need our help. Faith is our response to what Christ has done for us, for faith is what saves us...not works. Of course we will naturally become more and more like our Savior as our relationship with Him grows, but there's nothing we can do to earn salvation. This is why the author says we have been "made holy"; we didn't make ourselves holy.
Under the law, the testimony of two or three people was necessary to establish the fact that something had actually taken place. We have already seen the conversation between God the Son and God the Father which testifies to the establishment of the new covenant. Now we find God the Holy Spirit also giving His testimony that a new covenant was always planned by God. "The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First He says: 'This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put My laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.' Then He adds: 'Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.'" (Hebrews 10:15-17) These quotes are from Jeremiah 31:33-34. While the nation was still under the old covenant, God promised the people through the prophet Jeremiah that a new and better covenant was on its way.
Because the readers of the letter to the Hebrews are living in a time when the new covenant is in place, they no longer have to bring sacrifices year after year in order to obtain a temporary covering for their sins. Their faith in Christ has saved them, and they have been made into new creatures, and God no longer sees the old creatures when He looks at them. He looks at them and sees the blood of His Son, not their sins. "And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary." (Hebrews 10:18)
Saturday, May 11, 2019
Friday, May 10, 2019
Our Great High Priest: A Study Of The Book Of Hebrews. Day 29, The Fulfillment Of Psalm 40
In our study today the author shows us that the sacrifice Christ made is the fulfillment of the prophetic words of King David in Psalm 40. These words prove that God always intended to bring in a new and better covenant, a covenant confirmed by the blood of Christ and not by the blood of animals.
"The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming---not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship." (Hebrews 10:1) Everything in the law pointed toward Christ. Therefore the author calls the law "a shadow". This shadow was like a hint, or a preview, of things to come. Just as a preview is meant to pique our interest for the real thing, the law was meant to prepare the hearts of men and women to accept Christ when He became flesh and dwelt among us.
If sacrifices and offerings were capable of making men and women right with a holy God forever, then at some point it would have no longer been necessary to keep bringing sacrifices and offerings year after year. But these earthly things did not have the power to eternally cleanse souls. "Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins." (Hebrews 10:2)
If any sacrifice or offering under the law had been capable of redeeming a soul for eternity, then a person would have only had to bring it once. But each time a person realized he had violated God's laws, he had to bring a sin offering. In addition to that, every year a sacrifice of atonement had to be made for sins that the people had committed in ignorance---for mistakes they may not have been aware of and for wrong attitudes they may not have known they were harboring. Rather than making people feel comfortable in their consciences, these repeated sacrifices and offerings served only to remind them of how much they had fallen short. "But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins." (Hebrews 10:3-4) God didn't design it this way so people would continually beat themselves up, but so they would recognize their need for Him to make them righteous. They needed to understand that they could never save themselves by performing works, for righteousness is by faith and not by works. In acknowledging their inability to be perfect, they acknowledged their need for a Savior, and this paved the way for them to accept the perfect sacrifice that the perfect Son of God was going to make for mankind.
Because earthly sacrifices were not capable of cleansing souls from sins forever, God prepared a sacrifice that would be capable of doing this. The author of Hebrews now quotes the words of King David, who by inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote down what God the Son said to God the Father in regard to the plan of salvation. "Therefore, when Christ came into the world, He said: 'Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You prepared for Me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings You were not pleased. Then I said, 'Here I am---it is written about Me in the scroll---I have come to do Your will, my God.'" (Hebrews 10:5-7, Psalm 40:6-8)
It's not that God wasn't pleased when the people did what the law commanded them to do. It's that God didn't feel satisfied until the permanent solution for sin---the new covenant---was made. God wanted to provide man with a means of salvation that would last for all time, so until the proper time came for Christ to fulfill this plan, God considered the sacrifices and offerings of the law to be only a temporary solution. These things were a shadow of the reality that would be fulfilled in Christ. So now we don't have to bring sacrifices and offerings year after year. We don't have to continually be reminded that we have fallen short. Now we have a sacrifice that makes us right for all time, and we have a great high priest who intercedes for us with God when we mess up. We are saved by faith, not by works. Christ did all the work for us. He did what was necessary to save us. He does what's necessary to keep us saved. What other religion offers a plan like this? What other God gave His life to save sinful and unworthy mankind? What other plan offers us salvation through someone else's sacrifice? If we reject Christ, there is no solution for our sins, and we will stand before a holy God someday without Christ standing by us to defend us.
"The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming---not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship." (Hebrews 10:1) Everything in the law pointed toward Christ. Therefore the author calls the law "a shadow". This shadow was like a hint, or a preview, of things to come. Just as a preview is meant to pique our interest for the real thing, the law was meant to prepare the hearts of men and women to accept Christ when He became flesh and dwelt among us.
If sacrifices and offerings were capable of making men and women right with a holy God forever, then at some point it would have no longer been necessary to keep bringing sacrifices and offerings year after year. But these earthly things did not have the power to eternally cleanse souls. "Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins." (Hebrews 10:2)
If any sacrifice or offering under the law had been capable of redeeming a soul for eternity, then a person would have only had to bring it once. But each time a person realized he had violated God's laws, he had to bring a sin offering. In addition to that, every year a sacrifice of atonement had to be made for sins that the people had committed in ignorance---for mistakes they may not have been aware of and for wrong attitudes they may not have known they were harboring. Rather than making people feel comfortable in their consciences, these repeated sacrifices and offerings served only to remind them of how much they had fallen short. "But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins." (Hebrews 10:3-4) God didn't design it this way so people would continually beat themselves up, but so they would recognize their need for Him to make them righteous. They needed to understand that they could never save themselves by performing works, for righteousness is by faith and not by works. In acknowledging their inability to be perfect, they acknowledged their need for a Savior, and this paved the way for them to accept the perfect sacrifice that the perfect Son of God was going to make for mankind.
Because earthly sacrifices were not capable of cleansing souls from sins forever, God prepared a sacrifice that would be capable of doing this. The author of Hebrews now quotes the words of King David, who by inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote down what God the Son said to God the Father in regard to the plan of salvation. "Therefore, when Christ came into the world, He said: 'Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You prepared for Me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings You were not pleased. Then I said, 'Here I am---it is written about Me in the scroll---I have come to do Your will, my God.'" (Hebrews 10:5-7, Psalm 40:6-8)
It's not that God wasn't pleased when the people did what the law commanded them to do. It's that God didn't feel satisfied until the permanent solution for sin---the new covenant---was made. God wanted to provide man with a means of salvation that would last for all time, so until the proper time came for Christ to fulfill this plan, God considered the sacrifices and offerings of the law to be only a temporary solution. These things were a shadow of the reality that would be fulfilled in Christ. So now we don't have to bring sacrifices and offerings year after year. We don't have to continually be reminded that we have fallen short. Now we have a sacrifice that makes us right for all time, and we have a great high priest who intercedes for us with God when we mess up. We are saved by faith, not by works. Christ did all the work for us. He did what was necessary to save us. He does what's necessary to keep us saved. What other religion offers a plan like this? What other God gave His life to save sinful and unworthy mankind? What other plan offers us salvation through someone else's sacrifice? If we reject Christ, there is no solution for our sins, and we will stand before a holy God someday without Christ standing by us to defend us.
Thursday, May 9, 2019
Our Great High Priest: A Study Of The Book Of Hebrews. Day 28, Without The Shedding Of Blood There Is No Forgiveness
Since the new covenant is better than the old covenant, it was confirmed with blood that is better than that which confirmed the old covenant. It was confirmed with the blood of Christ, and now He is the perfect mediator between us and a holy God. Our sins put us under the sentence of death, and there was no way to cover our sins except with blood. But the sacrifices of the old covenant had to be repeated year after year; they could not make us righteous from the inside out. The sacrifice that Christ made is able to change us through and through, so He only had to offer Himself once.
"For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance---now that He has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant." (Hebrews 9:15) All the sacrifices performed under the old covenant pointed toward Christ. Even before God made His covenant with Israel, as far back as the Garden of Eden, we find a sacrifice being made for man's sins when God made clothing out of animal skins to cover the nakedness and shame of Adam and Eve after they fell from grace. Even before the law was given, we find the blood of the Passover lamb being painted on the doors of the children of Israel so the death angel would only strike the firstborn of the Egyptians. In the story of Rahab, the harlot at Jericho who saved the lives of the Jewish spies, we find her hanging a scarlet thread in the window so she and her family would be spared on the day Jericho fell to the army of Israel. All these things pointed to the blood of Christ---the blood that would cause God's wrath to "pass over" our sins as if they don't even exist.
"In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. When Moses had proclaimed every command of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. He said, 'This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.' In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." (Hebrews 9:10-22) Under the old covenant, animal blood was substituted for human blood. Because of our sins we owed our own blood, but God loved us too much not to make it possible to offer us a pardon. He did this by using animals as "stand ins" for us. As much as God loves every creature He made, and as much as He takes delight in the animal kingdom, He loves human beings above everything else He created. But the sacrificial system could not cleanse human beings eternally from the inside out, so at the right time and in the right way God sent the perfect sacrifice: the Lamb of God---His own Son. A person could bring sacrifices under the old covenant, but in his heart he might not feel truly repentant. He might only be going through the motions without having been transformed in the inner man. But the person who acknowledges his sins and his need for the Savior will be changed at heart by the Savior.
Because the sacrifice of Christ was superior to all other sacrifices, His blood was not sprinkled on manmade things. He took the blood of the new covenant straight into the presence of Almighty God. The tabernacle, and later the temple, were merely copies of the true place of worship in heaven. The things of this world are temporary, so Christ took His sacrifice to the eternal Most Holy Place in heaven. "It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; He entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence. Nor did He enter heaven to offer Himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But He has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him." (Hebrews 9:23-28)
We owe a debt of sin, and that debt is death. If we reject the blood of Christ---the only sacrifice for sins that is acceptable to our God and Judge---we will have to pay the penalty ourselves. If we were incarcerated in prison awaiting execution, and someone came along and paid the penalty to set us free, wouldn't we be foolish to refuse to come out of our cell? How much more foolish is it to refuse to accept the eternal freedom that is offered to us through Christ?
"For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance---now that He has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant." (Hebrews 9:15) All the sacrifices performed under the old covenant pointed toward Christ. Even before God made His covenant with Israel, as far back as the Garden of Eden, we find a sacrifice being made for man's sins when God made clothing out of animal skins to cover the nakedness and shame of Adam and Eve after they fell from grace. Even before the law was given, we find the blood of the Passover lamb being painted on the doors of the children of Israel so the death angel would only strike the firstborn of the Egyptians. In the story of Rahab, the harlot at Jericho who saved the lives of the Jewish spies, we find her hanging a scarlet thread in the window so she and her family would be spared on the day Jericho fell to the army of Israel. All these things pointed to the blood of Christ---the blood that would cause God's wrath to "pass over" our sins as if they don't even exist.
"In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. When Moses had proclaimed every command of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. He said, 'This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.' In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." (Hebrews 9:10-22) Under the old covenant, animal blood was substituted for human blood. Because of our sins we owed our own blood, but God loved us too much not to make it possible to offer us a pardon. He did this by using animals as "stand ins" for us. As much as God loves every creature He made, and as much as He takes delight in the animal kingdom, He loves human beings above everything else He created. But the sacrificial system could not cleanse human beings eternally from the inside out, so at the right time and in the right way God sent the perfect sacrifice: the Lamb of God---His own Son. A person could bring sacrifices under the old covenant, but in his heart he might not feel truly repentant. He might only be going through the motions without having been transformed in the inner man. But the person who acknowledges his sins and his need for the Savior will be changed at heart by the Savior.
Because the sacrifice of Christ was superior to all other sacrifices, His blood was not sprinkled on manmade things. He took the blood of the new covenant straight into the presence of Almighty God. The tabernacle, and later the temple, were merely copies of the true place of worship in heaven. The things of this world are temporary, so Christ took His sacrifice to the eternal Most Holy Place in heaven. "It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; He entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence. Nor did He enter heaven to offer Himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But He has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him." (Hebrews 9:23-28)
We owe a debt of sin, and that debt is death. If we reject the blood of Christ---the only sacrifice for sins that is acceptable to our God and Judge---we will have to pay the penalty ourselves. If we were incarcerated in prison awaiting execution, and someone came along and paid the penalty to set us free, wouldn't we be foolish to refuse to come out of our cell? How much more foolish is it to refuse to accept the eternal freedom that is offered to us through Christ?
Wednesday, May 8, 2019
Our Great High Priest: A Study Of The Book Of Hebrews. Day 27, The Blood Of Christ
On Tuesday we talked about the blood that the high priest would take into the Most Holy Place in the tabernacle (and later in the temple) once a year. Today we talk about the blood that Christ, our great high priest, took into the Most Holy Place in heaven once and for all.
"But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, He went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation." (Hebrews 9:11) The author has already established in the book of Hebrews that the priesthood of Christ is greater than the Levitical priesthood. Now his readers must understand that the blood of Christ is more powerful than the blood of any other sacrifice. Because of this, Christ did not take His blood into the Most Holy Place on earth. He took His blood into the Most Holy Place in heaven where it was sprinkled on the mercy seat of God. In contrast to the blood the high priest would sprinkle on the mercy seat of the ark of the covenant to obscure God's view of the tablets within---the tablets that represented all the laws the people could not keep---the blood of Christ forever covers our sins. When God looks upon those who belong to Christ, He sees the blood, not the sin.
I want to say something to you who have trusted in Christ for salvation: when God looks at you He doesn't see a list of all your failures and mistakes. Maybe you see yourself that way, but He doesn't. So why not allow Him to correct your vision? Why not start seeing yourself as God sees you? Your work for the kingdom of Christ, and the testimony you give about Christ, will be far more effective if others see that you've allowed God not only to transform your character but to transform your opinion of yourself too. You are the child of the living God! I know that Satan likes to throw up a "funhouse" type of mirror in front of us, a mirror that distorts what we see so that we think we still look like the old creatures we used to be. Whenever he does that, on the authority and power of the Lord Jesus Christ you can say, "That's not what I look like! That's not who I am! I am a new creature in Christ!"
Because the sacrifice of Christ was superior to all others, it is able to redeem us from sin forever. It is not like the sacrifice the high priest had to make year after year. "He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption." (Hebrews 9:12)
"The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!" (Hebrews 9:13-14) Earthly sacrifices of earthly things could only provide a temporary covering for sins. This blood could not transform a person from the inside out. The blood of the Man from heaven is not only capable of covering our sins forever, but is able to transform us from the inside out.
Nothing else can do for us what the blood of Christ can do. No amount of good works and no performing of religious rituals can cleanse us from sins and make us righteous in the eyes of a holy God. The more we concentrate on checking off a list of rules, the deeper we sink into unprofitable legalism and the farther we grow from forming a meaningful relationship from the One who created us. Only Christ can change us from the inside out. Only Christ can provide the redemptive sacrifice needed to make up for all the ways we've fallen short.
"But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, He went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation." (Hebrews 9:11) The author has already established in the book of Hebrews that the priesthood of Christ is greater than the Levitical priesthood. Now his readers must understand that the blood of Christ is more powerful than the blood of any other sacrifice. Because of this, Christ did not take His blood into the Most Holy Place on earth. He took His blood into the Most Holy Place in heaven where it was sprinkled on the mercy seat of God. In contrast to the blood the high priest would sprinkle on the mercy seat of the ark of the covenant to obscure God's view of the tablets within---the tablets that represented all the laws the people could not keep---the blood of Christ forever covers our sins. When God looks upon those who belong to Christ, He sees the blood, not the sin.
I want to say something to you who have trusted in Christ for salvation: when God looks at you He doesn't see a list of all your failures and mistakes. Maybe you see yourself that way, but He doesn't. So why not allow Him to correct your vision? Why not start seeing yourself as God sees you? Your work for the kingdom of Christ, and the testimony you give about Christ, will be far more effective if others see that you've allowed God not only to transform your character but to transform your opinion of yourself too. You are the child of the living God! I know that Satan likes to throw up a "funhouse" type of mirror in front of us, a mirror that distorts what we see so that we think we still look like the old creatures we used to be. Whenever he does that, on the authority and power of the Lord Jesus Christ you can say, "That's not what I look like! That's not who I am! I am a new creature in Christ!"
Because the sacrifice of Christ was superior to all others, it is able to redeem us from sin forever. It is not like the sacrifice the high priest had to make year after year. "He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption." (Hebrews 9:12)
"The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!" (Hebrews 9:13-14) Earthly sacrifices of earthly things could only provide a temporary covering for sins. This blood could not transform a person from the inside out. The blood of the Man from heaven is not only capable of covering our sins forever, but is able to transform us from the inside out.
Nothing else can do for us what the blood of Christ can do. No amount of good works and no performing of religious rituals can cleanse us from sins and make us righteous in the eyes of a holy God. The more we concentrate on checking off a list of rules, the deeper we sink into unprofitable legalism and the farther we grow from forming a meaningful relationship from the One who created us. Only Christ can change us from the inside out. Only Christ can provide the redemptive sacrifice needed to make up for all the ways we've fallen short.
Tuesday, May 7, 2019
Our Great High Priest: A Study Of The Book Of Hebrews. Day 26, The Most Holy Place
Because he is speaking about the first covenant, the author talks today about the tabernacle where the duties of the priests were carried out. He speaks of the role of the high priest who went once a year into the Most Holy Place of the tabernacle with an atonement offering. He is going to compare the service of this priest to the service of Christ our great high priest.
"Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand and the table with its consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place." (Hebrews 9:1-2) The outer room contained the lampstand, the light from which represented the holy word of God. It also contained twelve loaves of bread, representing God's relationship with Israel and God's provision for Israel.
A curtain separated the outer room from the courtyard, and another curtain separated the outer room from the inner room, otherwise known as the Most Holy Place. Only the high priest could go behind the second curtain. "Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. The ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron's staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant." (Hebrews 9:3-4) Many scholars believe the incense offered on the golden altar represented the prayers of the people, that the gold jar of manna reminded the people of God's provision for them, that the staff that budded symbolized their rebellion against God, and that the tablets of the covenant within the ark were a constant reminder that the people had failed to abide by the covenant.
The high priest, when entering the Most Holy Place, would have been immediately faced with the knowledge of his own guilt and the guilt of his people. He would be aware that he was standing in the presence of a holy God whose laws they had all violated. Imagine what a scary experience this was! I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the high priest trembled in fear as he entered the Most Holy Place each year to intercede on behalf of the people. When confronted with the awesome holiness of God, and while acknowledging his own sins and the sins of his people, the priest might understandably feel terrified and discouraged. After all, God is so perfect and man is so imperfect. But within the Most Holy Place, on top of the ark of the covenant that held the tablets of the covenant that no one had perfectly kept, was something called the mercy seat. In the NIV we find this seat called "the atonement cover". Upon it the high priest would sprinkle the blood of the atoning sacrifice. The blood would cover the mercy seat, so that as God looked down from heaven upon the ark of the covenant, the blood was between Him and the tablets. The blood symbolically obscured His view of the laws which the people had broken. The blood, just like the blood of the Passover lamb, allowed judgment and wrath to pass over the people. This blood rolled their sins off them for another year, until which time the high priest would have to enter the Most Holy Place again and perform the same ritual. "Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now." (Hebrews 9:5)
"When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance." (Hebrews 9:6-7) As King David once said, we sometimes sin without even knowing it, so he prayed to the Lord, "But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults." (Psalm 19:12) Throughout the year, the people were to bring sin offerings for sins they knew they had committed. In the same way, we are to repent as soon as we realize we have sinned. But sometimes we sin without realizing it, so atonement must be made for sins of ignorance as well. The high priest entered the Most Holy Place once a year to intercede for the people because of sins they had committed in ignorance. Christ entered the Most Holy Place once for all time, sprinkling His blood not on an earthly mercy seat but on the mercy seat in heaven, atoning for both our known sins and our sins of ignorance.
The service the high priest performed every year could not make anyone perfect. It didn't make the priest perfect and it didn't make the people perfect. This ritual pointed to a sacrifice of atonement that would be able to impute righteousness to those who would believe on Christ in faith. Though we are not literally perfect, the blood of Christ covers our sins in the same way that the blood on the mercy seat covered the tablets of the first covenant. When God looks at us, He sees the blood of His Son---not our sins. "The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning. This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings---external regulations applying until the time of the new order." (Hebrews 9:8-10) These things were put in place until the time of the new covenant, until the time when the way into the Most Holy Place was opened to us all. This happened on the day Christ made Himself an offering of atonement for our sins, on the day when God reached down and tore the curtain (the curtain separating the Most Holy Place from the rest of the temple) in two from top to bottom. Now, through Christ our great high priest, we have direct access to the Father. Now we no longer need an earthly high priest to go behind the curtain to intercede for us with God. Christ intercedes for us forever, and because God would be rejecting the sacrifice of His Son if He rejected our prayers of repentance, God hears and honors our prayers for the sake of His Son.
"Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand and the table with its consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place." (Hebrews 9:1-2) The outer room contained the lampstand, the light from which represented the holy word of God. It also contained twelve loaves of bread, representing God's relationship with Israel and God's provision for Israel.
A curtain separated the outer room from the courtyard, and another curtain separated the outer room from the inner room, otherwise known as the Most Holy Place. Only the high priest could go behind the second curtain. "Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. The ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron's staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant." (Hebrews 9:3-4) Many scholars believe the incense offered on the golden altar represented the prayers of the people, that the gold jar of manna reminded the people of God's provision for them, that the staff that budded symbolized their rebellion against God, and that the tablets of the covenant within the ark were a constant reminder that the people had failed to abide by the covenant.
The high priest, when entering the Most Holy Place, would have been immediately faced with the knowledge of his own guilt and the guilt of his people. He would be aware that he was standing in the presence of a holy God whose laws they had all violated. Imagine what a scary experience this was! I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the high priest trembled in fear as he entered the Most Holy Place each year to intercede on behalf of the people. When confronted with the awesome holiness of God, and while acknowledging his own sins and the sins of his people, the priest might understandably feel terrified and discouraged. After all, God is so perfect and man is so imperfect. But within the Most Holy Place, on top of the ark of the covenant that held the tablets of the covenant that no one had perfectly kept, was something called the mercy seat. In the NIV we find this seat called "the atonement cover". Upon it the high priest would sprinkle the blood of the atoning sacrifice. The blood would cover the mercy seat, so that as God looked down from heaven upon the ark of the covenant, the blood was between Him and the tablets. The blood symbolically obscured His view of the laws which the people had broken. The blood, just like the blood of the Passover lamb, allowed judgment and wrath to pass over the people. This blood rolled their sins off them for another year, until which time the high priest would have to enter the Most Holy Place again and perform the same ritual. "Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now." (Hebrews 9:5)
"When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance." (Hebrews 9:6-7) As King David once said, we sometimes sin without even knowing it, so he prayed to the Lord, "But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults." (Psalm 19:12) Throughout the year, the people were to bring sin offerings for sins they knew they had committed. In the same way, we are to repent as soon as we realize we have sinned. But sometimes we sin without realizing it, so atonement must be made for sins of ignorance as well. The high priest entered the Most Holy Place once a year to intercede for the people because of sins they had committed in ignorance. Christ entered the Most Holy Place once for all time, sprinkling His blood not on an earthly mercy seat but on the mercy seat in heaven, atoning for both our known sins and our sins of ignorance.
The service the high priest performed every year could not make anyone perfect. It didn't make the priest perfect and it didn't make the people perfect. This ritual pointed to a sacrifice of atonement that would be able to impute righteousness to those who would believe on Christ in faith. Though we are not literally perfect, the blood of Christ covers our sins in the same way that the blood on the mercy seat covered the tablets of the first covenant. When God looks at us, He sees the blood of His Son---not our sins. "The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning. This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings---external regulations applying until the time of the new order." (Hebrews 9:8-10) These things were put in place until the time of the new covenant, until the time when the way into the Most Holy Place was opened to us all. This happened on the day Christ made Himself an offering of atonement for our sins, on the day when God reached down and tore the curtain (the curtain separating the Most Holy Place from the rest of the temple) in two from top to bottom. Now, through Christ our great high priest, we have direct access to the Father. Now we no longer need an earthly high priest to go behind the curtain to intercede for us with God. Christ intercedes for us forever, and because God would be rejecting the sacrifice of His Son if He rejected our prayers of repentance, God hears and honors our prayers for the sake of His Son.
Monday, May 6, 2019
Our Great High Priest: A Study Of The Book Of Hebrews. Day 25, I Will Remember Their Sins No More
The author has been talking about the old covenant versus the new covenant. Under the new covenant we have a relationship with our God like never before, and we are able to obey Him from the heart in a new way.
"For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another." (Hebrews 8:7) As we've said before, it's not that the first covenant was bad; it's that the new covenant is better. As a Gentile, I'm especially thankful for the new covenant, because God did not make the first covenant with Gentiles. He made it with the nation of Israel. If God had not introduced to us a second covenant---one that invites "whosoever will" to come and partake of it---I'd be left out in the cold. For He did not give the commandments, the law, and the prophets to my pagan ancestors. He gave these to the descendants of Abraham. Even so, God always intended to extend an invitation to the Gentiles, for when promising to make a great nation of Abraham's descendants, He also promised that all nations would be blessed through the Seed (Christ) who would come from Abraham's line. (Genesis 22:18)
The first covenant wasn't bad. Nothing God makes is bad. The problem was the inability of the people to abide by the covenant. "But God found fault with the people and said: 'The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to My covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord.'" (Hebrews 8:8-9) This quote is from Jeremiah 31, a chapter in which God makes beautiful promises to His people Israel. We are not to be critical of the nation of Israel, for if God had made the first covenant with Gentiles instead, we too would have broken it. We too would have wandered from God in our hearts. We might have kept going through the rituals of religion, as many in Israel did, but God would have been able to say of us, "These people come near to Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me." (Isaiah 29:13)
But let's take a moment to consider the mercy of God. Though the people failed to remain faithful to God, God remained faithful to His promises to them. Though He allowed them to be conquered and taken captive due to idolatry and hard-heartedness, He never broke His promise that the new covenant was coming. He kept His word that He would make a new covenant in which the people would not simply be going through the motions of religious ritual by checking off a set of rules. The new covenant is one written in the heart, not on tablets of stone. "This is the covenant that I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put My laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." (Hebrews 8:10-12) The author is still quoting from Jeremiah 31. Jeremiah prophesied to the people in a time when the nation was about to be conquered and go into captivity. The people in those days must have wondered whether God was going to abandon them forever. It looked like all was lost, but to assure the people that all was not lost, God reminded them of His eternal love for them. He said in that same chapter, "Only if the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth below be searched out will I reject all the descendants of Israel because of all they have done." (Jeremiah 31:37)
The author is telling his readers that they are living in a time when God's promise of a new covenant has been fulfilled. God has kept His word, and they are not to cling to the legalism of the old covenant. They are to embrace the new covenant of grace that Christ made with them through His own blood. "By calling this covenant 'new', He has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear." (Hebrews 8:13) You've heard the expression, "Out with the old, in with the new." This is what the writer is saying to the Jewish Christians. The law was good, but grace is better. Relationship with the Redeemer is better than religion, for religion can become a ritual that we follow with hearts that are far from God. But a relationship is something that grows and evolves. A relationship with our Redeemer keeps our hearts warm and open to His guidance so that we automatically live honorable lives. Though we will never be perfect while we live in the flesh, "we have an advocate with the Father---Jesus Christ, the Righteous One." (1 John 2:1) On the basis of our relationship with Him, we can approach the throne of God with confidence "so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need". (Hebrews 4:16)
"For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another." (Hebrews 8:7) As we've said before, it's not that the first covenant was bad; it's that the new covenant is better. As a Gentile, I'm especially thankful for the new covenant, because God did not make the first covenant with Gentiles. He made it with the nation of Israel. If God had not introduced to us a second covenant---one that invites "whosoever will" to come and partake of it---I'd be left out in the cold. For He did not give the commandments, the law, and the prophets to my pagan ancestors. He gave these to the descendants of Abraham. Even so, God always intended to extend an invitation to the Gentiles, for when promising to make a great nation of Abraham's descendants, He also promised that all nations would be blessed through the Seed (Christ) who would come from Abraham's line. (Genesis 22:18)
The first covenant wasn't bad. Nothing God makes is bad. The problem was the inability of the people to abide by the covenant. "But God found fault with the people and said: 'The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to My covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord.'" (Hebrews 8:8-9) This quote is from Jeremiah 31, a chapter in which God makes beautiful promises to His people Israel. We are not to be critical of the nation of Israel, for if God had made the first covenant with Gentiles instead, we too would have broken it. We too would have wandered from God in our hearts. We might have kept going through the rituals of religion, as many in Israel did, but God would have been able to say of us, "These people come near to Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me." (Isaiah 29:13)
But let's take a moment to consider the mercy of God. Though the people failed to remain faithful to God, God remained faithful to His promises to them. Though He allowed them to be conquered and taken captive due to idolatry and hard-heartedness, He never broke His promise that the new covenant was coming. He kept His word that He would make a new covenant in which the people would not simply be going through the motions of religious ritual by checking off a set of rules. The new covenant is one written in the heart, not on tablets of stone. "This is the covenant that I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put My laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." (Hebrews 8:10-12) The author is still quoting from Jeremiah 31. Jeremiah prophesied to the people in a time when the nation was about to be conquered and go into captivity. The people in those days must have wondered whether God was going to abandon them forever. It looked like all was lost, but to assure the people that all was not lost, God reminded them of His eternal love for them. He said in that same chapter, "Only if the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth below be searched out will I reject all the descendants of Israel because of all they have done." (Jeremiah 31:37)
The author is telling his readers that they are living in a time when God's promise of a new covenant has been fulfilled. God has kept His word, and they are not to cling to the legalism of the old covenant. They are to embrace the new covenant of grace that Christ made with them through His own blood. "By calling this covenant 'new', He has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear." (Hebrews 8:13) You've heard the expression, "Out with the old, in with the new." This is what the writer is saying to the Jewish Christians. The law was good, but grace is better. Relationship with the Redeemer is better than religion, for religion can become a ritual that we follow with hearts that are far from God. But a relationship is something that grows and evolves. A relationship with our Redeemer keeps our hearts warm and open to His guidance so that we automatically live honorable lives. Though we will never be perfect while we live in the flesh, "we have an advocate with the Father---Jesus Christ, the Righteous One." (1 John 2:1) On the basis of our relationship with Him, we can approach the throne of God with confidence "so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need". (Hebrews 4:16)
Sunday, May 5, 2019
Our Great High Priest: A Study Of The Book Of Hebrews. Day 24, The New Covenant, Part Two
The priesthood of Christ is superior to the priesthood of all others because the covenant of which He is a priest is superior to the old covenant.
The author begins today by saying: "Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. If He were on earth, He would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law." (Hebrews 8:3-4) Not being of the tribe of Levi, Jesus didn't possess the qualifications under the law to be a priest. So while He lived on earth He did not perform this role. But after presenting His life as a gift and sacrifice, Jesus made an offering greater than any priest could make. He didn't sprinkle animal blood on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant as the priests once did in the sanctuary and later in Solomon's temple; He took His blood straight to the mercy seat in heaven.
The pattern for the sanctuary on earth was a copy of the sanctuary in heaven. As a copy, it couldn't be as good as the original. Because it was on earth, it couldn't be as holy as the one in heaven. "They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: 'See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown to you on the mountain.' But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which He is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises." (Hebrews 8:5-6)
The old covenant was the law, and no one could perfectly keep it. God didn't give the law so people could fail in keeping it, but so people would acknowledge their need of Him. King David, who lived under the law, knew that no amount of sacrifices or good works could make up for his failures, so when he admitted his sins of adultery and murder he implored the Lord to forgive him and make him clean. (See Psalm 51.) He states in this psalm that if sacrifices and offerings would make things right, he would bring them, but that he knew the only sacrifice and offering the Lord would accept was a repentant and broken heart. This was the purpose of the law: to cause man to face his sinfulness and to cause man to turn to God for righteousness.
But now God is doing a new thing through Christ. Instead of obeying rules written in stone, man is to obey what Christ teaches him in his heart. Instead of religion, there is relationship. The God who seemed so difficult to know under the old covenant is our Redeemer, Defender, and Friend under the new covenant. This is who He always was, but until Christ came and gave Himself for us we could not fully understand the loving heart of God.
The author begins today by saying: "Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. If He were on earth, He would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law." (Hebrews 8:3-4) Not being of the tribe of Levi, Jesus didn't possess the qualifications under the law to be a priest. So while He lived on earth He did not perform this role. But after presenting His life as a gift and sacrifice, Jesus made an offering greater than any priest could make. He didn't sprinkle animal blood on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant as the priests once did in the sanctuary and later in Solomon's temple; He took His blood straight to the mercy seat in heaven.
The pattern for the sanctuary on earth was a copy of the sanctuary in heaven. As a copy, it couldn't be as good as the original. Because it was on earth, it couldn't be as holy as the one in heaven. "They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: 'See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown to you on the mountain.' But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which He is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises." (Hebrews 8:5-6)
The old covenant was the law, and no one could perfectly keep it. God didn't give the law so people could fail in keeping it, but so people would acknowledge their need of Him. King David, who lived under the law, knew that no amount of sacrifices or good works could make up for his failures, so when he admitted his sins of adultery and murder he implored the Lord to forgive him and make him clean. (See Psalm 51.) He states in this psalm that if sacrifices and offerings would make things right, he would bring them, but that he knew the only sacrifice and offering the Lord would accept was a repentant and broken heart. This was the purpose of the law: to cause man to face his sinfulness and to cause man to turn to God for righteousness.
But now God is doing a new thing through Christ. Instead of obeying rules written in stone, man is to obey what Christ teaches him in his heart. Instead of religion, there is relationship. The God who seemed so difficult to know under the old covenant is our Redeemer, Defender, and Friend under the new covenant. This is who He always was, but until Christ came and gave Himself for us we could not fully understand the loving heart of God.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)