Once For All: Hebrews 10:1-18

1. Pray & Intro:
   1. In Hebrews, what we have today isn’t really any “new” information or instruction, but a hammering home, bringing to conclusion the extended point the author has been making all along. –Jesus is better and higher than all created beings, and what God instituted in the former commandments was a holding place for the higher and better ministry of Christ—Jesus became both our Great High Priest and the better sacrifice we needed to pay sin’s debt before a holy God.
   2. Recently we finished up chapter 9, emphasizing the necessity of Christ’s sacrificial atonement (without it there is no complete payment for sin)… and now again a reminder of the sacrificial system’s limitation… and how it leads to the necessary conclusion of Christ completed work and how that makes our forgiveness possible.
   3. How can we relate? – What’s our reaction to sin? [Illust. murdering young birds and unwanted babies] – judgmental (above it all); careless and complacent about sin OR dramatic confrontation in ourselves and loving confrontation of it in others; wallow in guilt OR repent and confess sin
   4. Our passage focuses on the complete and permanent work of Christ “once for all,” but underlying all of this is the ‘plain as the nose on your face’ truth that this takes place because of the need to deal with sin. Sin must be dealt with. What the law could not do, Christ does. Once for all.
   5. We’ll look at this in four sections…
2. 10:1-4 Yearly sacrifices don’t cut it. (The law’s limited ability) – They don’t “cut it” because they can’t actually make us perfect to be near to God. Which means (according to these verses) that we continue to know in our conscience the guilt of our sins. The sacrifices then in fact become a reminder of our guilt. They just don’t get the job done.
   1. The law can never make perfect. (v. 1) – Quick reminder: Why do we need to be “perfected,” or “sanctified” in v. 10? – Made holy because God is holy. We are made aware of just how distant God is in his holiness. Any attempt to draw near in our un-holiness would result in incineration and obliteration.
   2. (v. 2) Not cleansed, no clear conscience. (rhetorical question) – And why does it matter in our relationship to God that we remain aware of our sin problem? These sacrifices can provide a temporary covering for the penalty of our sin, but they don’t actually make the full payment and completely remove the guilt. Here’s an example. In a relationship to someone close to you… say a spouse or sibling or close friend… Does it matter in your relationship to them if there’s some deep wrong that has been committed and you’ve both decided to pretend like it didn’t happen but in the background it is still looming? It deeply affects true intimacy in that relationship. That’s why real and complete repentance and forgiveness are absolutely critical. – We need God’s complete forgiveness. We can’t have just partial and temporary appeasement. We must have full reconciliation. That’s where Jesus comes in to make the FULL payment, once for all, so that we can repent and be forgiven (once for all). (which is a good summary of the point in vv. 1-18 here)
   3. Instead, the sacrificial system was a glaring reminder of sin and guilt. (v. 3) – ongoing grip of sin and the guilt associated with it before God (Illust – like paying down the interest only on a loan, really a constant reminder of the big fat debt you still owe.)
   4. (v. 4) That’s the problem, they don’t actually remove the sin. They were symbolic of payment for sin, but they weren’t actually accomplishing the payment. That’s what Christ did as the true form. And they served as temporary coverings. But a permanent sacrifice was needed to deal permanently with sin. – Then what does it take for us to be really forgiven and free? It takes a complete sacrifice. (to make the sin payment so that our debt is forgiven and our conscience set free from guilt) – Consequently (v. 5)…

• Christ’s complete sacrifice fully sanctifies. (the law was limited and but a shadow. Christ is the fullness and accomplishes completely what is needed.) – (In vv. 5-10 the author shares yet another OT quote and then explains) – quotes from Psalm 40 to make his point – drawing out one thing specifically: God’s ultimate will is accomplished in Christ
  1. What does God desire? (5a&6) In what does he take pleasure? God desires a sincere heart. Faithful hearts and lives more than mere ritual sacrifice. A heart that recognizes that the main point of the sacrifice is to BE a person who is deeply convicted by and sorry for sin and who seeks repentance and restoration to God. THAT kind of person, like David, knows that God desires a close relationship… not religious ritual, a relationship. God desires a relationship.
  2. “a body you have prepared for me” – literally in Psalm 40:6 is “ears you have dug for me.” Understood in the Septuagint (Gk translation of OT) and by the author of Hebrews to be metaphorical language referring to the physical creation of the Psalmist. (ears likely emphasized to reference God giving him the ability to listen and pay attention to God’s glory) – When a NT author quotes the OT, they may not always quote it identically, but always in a way that is fair to the original meaning.
  3. V. 7 is now to be interpreted Christologically. What the Psalmist said back then was prophetic, making reference to heart and actions of Jesus. (read v. 7 – WILL)
  4. 8-10 explains his use of the quotation, emphasizing that God’s will is accomplished in Christ.
     1. 8, various classifications of offerings
     2. 9, Old sacrificial system replaced with new single (once for all) sacrifice. Old Covenant replaced with new and better covenant. (8:13 & 9:15) – God was the one who instituted the law, so it was in his will, but the point being made is that his ultimate will, through the sacrifice of His Son, replaced the previous law covenant, which was but a shadow and a holding place. The fullness has come, “therefore there is no longer any offering for sin” (v. 18).
     3. 10, through Christ’s obedience to God’s will (to willingly offer himself on a cross – here referencing his body bc of the text quoted, being used the same way as “blood,” which is the more common reference here and elsewhere in the NT to represent his sacrificial death) did away with the repeated Old covenant sacrifices and provides us a perfect standing before God in Christ (by which we can be near to God). So God’s will is accomplished in Christ. – A few things (with eternal ramifications):
        1. Christ’s death was God’s will. The cross was the direct will of God.
        2. And without it, we can’t gain God. No matter how hard we try, no matter how religiously we perform ANY ritual or even any good deeds.
        3. It also means that Christ is the exclusive WAY to God. (the early church became known as “the way.” As Jesus said, John 14:6) [repeat three things]

- In all the remaining verses in our section today, there is an air of finality and totality about both what Christ accomplished and the assurance of what he secures for the believer.

1. The Finality of Christ’s sacrifice (11-14) –Contrasting Christ with Levitical priests to depict the finality of “once for all”
   1. vv. 11-12 – every priest, of which there had been thousands; doing his service daily – day after day, year after year; the same sacrifices (which don’t take away sin). By contrast, Christ offered a single sacrifice for all time, one that was complete and needed not repeating. He then sat down (as opposed to the priests standing in service) because his task of accomplishing full atonement was complete!
   2. So v. 13 reminds, in another reference to Psalm 110:1, that there is an in btwn time (of God’s patience) from Christ’s finished work until his eternal kingdom is fully consummated – a period of the last days in which we live while God brings in the full number of his people to be His Bride, His Church. – And the purpose of God’s kind waiting now is to lead you to repentance. That’s what Paul writes in Romans 2:4.
   3. V. 14 (This is a similar summary to v. 10) Perfected for all time – Not that we simply become sinlessly perfect, but that Christ’s complete and permanent sacrifice secures for us a perfect standing (position before God, not our daily walk with God) – Here we need to be clear about guilt and perfection as the author of Hebrews uses those terms. (George Guthrie, p. 333) – “Guilty Christian” is an impossibility. But a Christian who feels the guilt and shame of sinning against a holy God, that’s the sign of a true believer, and a healthy growing one. (those who are being made holy, sanctified)
      1. But if we are not positionally sanctified, made perfect through justification by faith, we won’t have a clear conscience because our guilt remains. – But even still as true believers if we remain self-focused. It is only belief in and focus on Jesus that makes our conscience clear of guilt.
      2. So here’s a good point for a bit of application: Should those pardoned from penalty go back to their sin (and act like it’s no big deal) or should they seek purity? (Recognizing its seriousness to a whole new level) Should those positionally sanctified not also seek sanctification in practice? (Illust. You’ve been recruited as a soldier…) – So our daily walk requires that we still remain in fellowship with God, pursuing growth in His character and holiness, confessing our sins when we fail to regain “family forgiveness” you might call it. (My daughter won’t cease to be my daughter but that doesn’t mean we’re in good fellowship if I hurt her by sinning and don’t make it right by seeking forgiveness.)
   4. The Totality of God’s forgiveness and our transformation (15-18)
      1. v. 15 I love it when he says stuff like this because he unequivocally credits the Bible’s authorship to God the Holy Spirit.
      2. This human author under the superintendence of the Holy Spirit links back to his earlier quote of Jeremiah 31:31-34, pulling a couple of highlights to emphasize the finality and totality of the resulting impact on those who trust Christ. (16-17)
         1. We are fully transformed (in position before God) – 16
         2. Because God has fully forgiven – 17
      3. V. 18 Here’s another good place for application: Forgiven and Free. Too good to be true? (to receive forgiveness of sin and a perfect standing before God by the sacrifice of another? Wholly by grace through faith.)
   5. Conclusion: (Truth from God’s word that is life-altering…) What if it wasn’t finished? – Jesus “It is finished.” If it were not so, permanently, completely, finally and totally… you’d have every reason to quake in your boots over your guilt. You’d have every reason to go on doing whatever it takes to appease God, no matter how temporary and partial. – But “thanks be to God,” that isn’t the case! (1 Cor. 15:57) “He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (In context, because Christ died and rose again, he gives us resurrection life when we were spiritually dead.) Christ’s atoning death and resurrection swallows up sin and therefore eternal death in victory. HIS victory becomes our victory. Because His sacrifice is complete and permanent—once and for all. Securing for us Final and Total Forgiveness – once and for all.

Once For All – Hebrews 10:1-18

Dealing with the problem of sin and guilt…

Yearly sacrifices don’t cut it. (vv. 1-4)

• The law can never make _______________________.

• Not ­­­­­­­__________________________; no clear ___________________________

• Instead, the sacrificial system is a glaring __________________________ of sin and guilt.

• That’s the problem. They don’t actually _________________________ sin.

In contrast, Christ’s complete sacrifice fully sanctifies. (vv. 5-10)

• What does God desire?

• o God desires a _____________________

• o God desires a ____________________________.

• God’s will is accomplished in Christ.

The finality of Christ’s sacrifice (vv. 11-14)

The totality of God’s forgiveness and our transformation (vv. 15-18)