Fully Satisfied - Hebrews 10:1-18
Several months ago, a story broke in the Washington Post about my alma-mater, the Virginia Military Institute. And in it, they relayed a story about a young African-American man who was subjected to racist comments from another student. The student that made the racist comments was expelled and never returned to VMI.
But following the incident, the student who made those horrific comments approached the young black man and apologized. And he refused to accept his apology.
I believe that is his right. And in some ways it’s more honest to refuse to accept someone’s apology. As opposed to saying you accept it to their face only to allow resentment and bitterness to fester in your heart.
I tell you that story because I think it’s symptomatic of a greater cultural issue. There appear to be some sins that our culture has deemed unforgivable. We desperately do not want to be accused of racism, sexism, transphobia, homophobia, islamophobia, because just being accused of something can ruin your life. How do you come back from something like that?
What’s really interesting is where our culture refuses to forgive, Jesus Christ forgives. And that’s in spite of knowing all your thoughts, words, and deeds.
There is always forgiveness at the foot of the cross. That’s not to minimize the fact that people commit heinous sins. But can heinous sins, can the really bad stuff, can that be forgiven too?
And the answer is of course, YES! This is what Hebrews 10:1-18 deals with. Let’s look at this passage together.
Christ’s sacrifice is a better sacrifice (vv.1-6).
Remember, the writer of Hebrews is trying to persuade the recipients of his letter not to return to Judaism. He’s reminding them that what we have in Jesus Christ is better than anything the sacrificial system could offer.
In verse 1, the writer of Hebrews speaks to the perpetual nature of the sacrificial system. He goes on to say in verse 2, that the repetitiveness of offering sacrifices demonstrates its ineffectiveness of removing the guilt of sins.
On the contrary, the repetition was a consistent reminder of their sins. Because if sins could be taken away by offering sacrifices then it wouldn’t have to be repeated.
This is what the writer is talking about when he says in verse 1 that the OT system was a shadow of the good things to come. Because in Christ, we have a sacrifice that is sufficient for taking away our sins.
The blood of sacrifices like bulls and goats could never accomplish what Jesus did on the cross. This isn’t anything new! Everyone has always known this! King David didn’t know the name of Jesus but he looked forward for one to come who would take away his sins.
The writer of Hebrews in verses 5-7 quotes Psalm 40. King David wrote Psalm 40 and is saying that animals cannot remove the guilt of his sins, therefore someone who the Lord has prepared will have to do it for him!
Remember the solar eclipse that happened a few years ago? It was incredible. Could you imagine looking at the ground and saying, “Wow! It’s so dark, this shadow is amazing” and never look up at the actual eclipse?
Even if you didn’t know there was a solar eclipse, the darkness should have made you look into the sky to see what was going on.
The sacrificial system is merely a shadow of the better things we have in Christ.
There was never anything inherently wrong about the sacrificial system of the Old Testament because God established it. But the purpose of it was always to get the people to look for something better to come. They weren’t supposed to focus on the shadow, because they were supposed to be looking for the eclipse!
That’s what the writer is saying in verses 2 and 3. There was a perpetual nature to the sacrificial system that was never sufficient.
There was a clear sense of it’s insufficiency, which should have made the Old Testament Jews look for a perfect, sufficient, sacrifice.
The repetitive nature of the sacrificial system and Psalm 40 ultimately pointed to Christ!
Christ’s sacrifice fully atoned for sin. (vv. 7-10)
David was looking for a way for his sin to be fully atoned for. He was looking for a way for his sin to be permanently forgiven.
Not only did David know he needed a better sacrifice, he knew he needed someone who would perfectly fulfill the law on his behalf. Because in order for anyone to reach heaven and be with God, he requires absolute moral perfection.
And David knew that he couldn’t meet that standard!
It’s interesting because the writer of Hebrews offers commentary on Psalm 40. He quotes Psalm 40 in verses 5-7 and then exposits it for us in verses 8-10.
Look at what he says at the end of verse 9 and verse 10. He does away with the first in order to establish the second. 10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Christ’s perfect sacrifice made the OT sacrificial system obsolete. Imperfect sacrifices are no longer necessary because a perfect sacrifice has been made. And it’s through his sacrifice we can approach God. Perfect obedience to everything God commanded was required in order for Jesus to be a perfect sacrifice.
Every aspect of God’s law had to be kept in order for the sacrificial system to be removed. Jesus did this. He kept the law.
David was looking for someone to take away the OT sacrificial system because he knew he needed a sacrifice that would fully atone for his sins once and for all! God is perfectly just and as a perfect and just being sin must be punished. He would be unjust to allow sin, which is rejection of God’s will, to go unpunished.
And yet, because he is at the exact same time a loving and merciful God he created a way for you and me to avoid the punishment that we all deserve through the sacrifice of Christ.
The writer of Hebrews is saying that the perfect sacrifice that David was looking for in Psalm 40 has been fulfilled in the perfect, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The writer of Hebrews is making a technical argument for something that we talk about in church all the time: your guilt and shame of sin can only be removed through faith in Jesus Christ. Only Jesus can take away your sin.
This is incredible news, but it often doesn’t feel like it because it’s said so often. It makes me wonder if we’ve become so familiar with Christ and his sacrifice it no longer has any impact?
The Jewish people missed God because they failed to look for him in the things that he had established: namely the sacrificial system. They missed the point. They were simply going through the motions thinking that’s all that God wanted from them. Cold, dead obedience was all they gave God. They weren’t looking for anything more.
It was never about the sacrifices themselves, it was about what they represented. They were vessels that were supposed to bring the people near to God. The sacrifices were supposed to help them see their need for a Savior.
I can’t help but wonder if we do the same thing when we think about Jesus. We take Jesus for granted.
And church attendance is the impotent sacrifice that we offer today. We show up, “do our time” and leave. We show up because we think it’s the right thing to do. And I do believe that it is. But it’s not just about showing up - it’s about worshipping a holy God.
There’s a sense in which our whole lives are worship unto God, but God has appointed specific times of concentrated focused worship. And these times of formal corporate worship are supposed to be opportunities to bring us near to God. Jesus founded the church. There wasn’t some sort of conspiracy to trick you into coming here this morning.
But for whatever reason, this, what we’re doing now, can descend into ritualism. This is just another sacrifice. This is just another day. It’s just another bull. It’s just another goat. Instead, we should be expecting to hear something from the mouth of God. We want God to rend the heavens and come down! Speak O Lord!
Church is God’s ordained means in which he speaks to you and me. It’s repetitive like the sacrificial system. We do this every week. We sing songs. We listen to someone preach. But instead of it being a weekly ritual that we do, we should view it as a weekly opportunity to step into the throneroom of God.
Expect to encounter the living God on Sunday because you have something to celebrate and praise him for! Your sins are forgiven! The wrath of God has been satisfied! We have a reason to sing. Praise the Lord, for saving wretched sinners! There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!
Wouldn’t it be amazing if we saw God move powerfully across our country? If revival sprang up? I recently heard someone talk about the steps to revival.
He said, there are two steps to a revival. Step one: draw a circle on the ground. Step 2: step into the circle. Before nationwide, or citywide revival is possible, God must first revive you! He must revive me.
Before God can move out there, he must move in here. Jesus atoned for your sins. He took them away. May that never get old or familiar.
Christ’s sacrifice initiated a better covenant (vv. 11-18)
Christ’s sacrifice initiated a better covenant. A covenant is simply a contract. God has had various covenants or contracts with people throughout history.
But I don’t want to get ahead of myself. Let’s work through these last verses. In verse 11, the writer of Hebrews repeats a point he has been making on the repetitive nature of the OT sacrificial system. Not only were the sacrifices repetitive, but it was also repetitive for the priests who offered the sacrifices.
Again, this would demonstrate that even the priests, the men offering the sacrifices had no special power to take away sin. How do we know this? Because they were constantly having to offer sacrifices for everyone, including themselves.
Now the writer compares those aspects of the sacrificial system to Jesus’s sacrifice in verses 12-14. He made one sacrifice that atones, or satisfies the wrath of God for all time. His perfect life was the perfect sacrifice which is why he is exalted at the right hand of God the Father. And what did he do as the exalted King? He sat down.
Why? Because there is no more work that needs to be done. It’s over. The perfect sacrifice has been made and that is it! No more perpetual sacrifices. His one sacrifice was enough.
And the sacrifice of Christ is credited to believers. Look at verse 14. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
This verse isn’t saying that if you're a believer you suddenly become sinless. This is describing your standing with God as a believer.
The Reformer Martin Luther had a phrase for this: simul iustus et peccator: “simultaneously righteous/just and a sinner.”
He was trying to capture the biblical idea that your sins have been forgiven, you have the righteousness of Christ, and yet at the same time, you're still a sinner who is maturing spiritually. We’re progressively being sanctified, that’s what we mean when we say that we’re being conformed into the image of Christ. The Holy Spirit should be at work in your heart, convicting you of sin and drawing closer to Christ.
That’s why the writer says in verse 14, “by a single offering he has perfected” notice the past tense, believers have been perfected, or justified, which happens once. But then the writer says at the end of verse 14, “those who are being sanctified.” There’s an ongoing progressive sense to sanctification.
And then the writer of Hebrews quotes another OT passage. He quotes Jeremiah chapter 31 in verses 16 and 17.
“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” 17 then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”
The covenant that Jeremiah is referring to here, is the one that God made through Jesus in which he moves a sinner out of a state of hostility into a state of grace and righteousness. It’s often referred to as the covenant of grace.
The covenant of grace is far superior to the moral law or covenant of works where God requires moral perfection.
Although the covenant of grace and covenant of works are still in effect today, no one can achieve the standard of perfection that God requires outside of faith in Christ. This is why what God did through Christ established a better covenant.
And one of the amazing things about conversion is you no longer view the laws and commands of God as a burden. Instead, you love the commands of God!
Why? Because you love him and want to please him! Jesus said, “If you love me you’ll obey my commandments.”
The things that were a duty suddenly become an incredible delight! That’s what it means to have God’s laws written on your hearts and minds.
You know this is a simple way to test your faith: do you love God so much that you want to do what his Word says? Having your sins forgiven should make you desire to do what God says.
I want you to notice something that the writer of Hebrews points out in verse 17, the Lord says, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”
Notice that the Lord doesn’t say, he forgets what you’ve done. Forgetfulness is accidental. It’s never intentional. But choosing to “not remember” is something very different.
He remembers your sin and lawless deeds no more. If you believe in Jesus Christ, God no longer holds your sin against you. He actively chooses to let them go, not because your sin doesn’t deserve to be punished, not because he’s nice and wants to sweep things under the rug, no, he does it because the wrath of God was fully satisfied on the cross.
There are no unforgivable sins in the eyes of God. Some sins are certainly more heinous than others, but to God none are unforgivable. And when you begin to think about how your sin condemned Jesus to death, a truly innocent man, and yet offers forgiveness to all who call upon him, it’s incredible.
He exemplified forgiveness to us on the cross. Sometimes we’re like the young man from VMI and we don’t want to forgive.
We want to hang on to how we’ve been wronged. We want to hang on to how we’ve been sinned against. And much of this is probably legitimate.
For the Christian, forgiveness doesn’t mean you suddenly forget what has happened to you. Forgiveness doesn’t mean you just sweep stuff under the rug and pretend like it never happened. Rather forgiveness is an active decision. It’s something you must choose to do.
Why? Because God, despite how you’ve wronged and sinned against Him has chosen to forgive you. May each one of us forgive in the manner that we have been forgiven.
Let’s pray.