[Transcript represents full sermon's text]

       Continuing today in the midst of the conversation, the writer of Hebrews is discussing what happened when Jesus died on the cross as pertains to us—from a spiritual viewpoint—which relates to our spiritual security in Christ. Thus, Hebrews chapter 9, picking up in verse 13: “For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (ESV).

       Drawn up for us at the start is a comparison between what was accomplished with the Old Jewish system, to what now is accomplished under the New System of Christ. Two different systems with two different end results. To recap, the animal sacrifices of the Old Testament could not make an individual clean in the sense of their inner spirit. It had no spiritual power behind it. Sure, it could make a person outwardly clean, and did just that. It made a person ceremonially clean before God. That’s what the author means by “sanctify for the purification of the flesh.” Notice the word “flesh.” That’s the focus. Purification of the external flesh is what it manifested, but not the internal spirit. A dramatic difference exists in that under the new way, by what Jesus accomplished on the cross, by what the Apostle Paul spoke of in Romans chapter 6—by uniting us with Christ in his death and resurrection spiritually—now we are a new creation. It’s not like the old way where one just got externally purified, or even superficially purified, but we are actually truly purified by Christ’s shed blood—by trusting in that to take away our sins.

       Hidden in this text, well, sort of, is a point on the temporariness of the old system with the permeance of the new system. Recollection can be made that in the Old Testament one would have to continually, from time to time, come back and offer animal sacrifices before God. The high priest would have to enter the Holies of Holies once a year, every year. It wasn’t a one-time thing that he did. The instructions of the Law had to be repeated over and over. And good news for us, this is, that the way provided by Christ doesn’t have that result. That is, one does not have to repeatedly become saved from their sins over and over. It’s a one time deal from the moment one believes. Martin Luther brought up this important point during the Reformation, when certain Christians broke away from the Roman Catholic Church. A distinctive point this is, and a distinctive understanding. The author explains how this is a one time thing by calling the Spirit of God, the “eternal Spirit.” It shows that Christ’s accomplishment was achieved for all time—not just that moment in time around when it happened in human history, around 30 A.D. or so. Christ does not have to keep descending and ascending to die over and over again, thank goodness.

       Demonstrated is how one can rest in their belief in Christ, and know for sure that one’s sins have been forgiven for all time. This is what we believe as Evangelical Christians. Of course, admittedly we do and should like to see a change in persons after their conversion. That change signifies to the person as well as to others that they actually have believed. We do know that there are groups of Christians, some we are probably friends with, who don’t see it this way. They think either salvation can be lost repeatedly through sinning, or that salvation in and of itself is more of a living thing, wherein a person needs to follow God throughout their life to sort of demonstrate that their salvation is real, and then they will be hopefully saved in the end. It seems fitting and appropriate to count these folks as brothers and sisters, for God has accepted them, but it also at times seems that this unstable view results from a lower consciousness, and seems to be fear driven. It appears that because people are afraid of God that they hold this kind of view. Yet, we know, or should know, that perfect love casts out fear, as John has told us. That being the case, to really have a secure and trusting relationship with God, we need to feel comfortable around him, and not feel he’s so holy or so wrathful that we cannot do that.

       Anyhow, the writer of Hebrews also speaks of Christ’s accomplishment “purify[ing] our conscience.” “[P]urify[ing] our conscience.” Again, this shows the fact we can rest in Christ—that it’s not a game that we have to play our whole entire lives. Thus, Jesus’ words in Matthew become experientially true, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30, ESV). This is how our new experience is supposed to be. If it’s anything other than, it seems that strongly evaluating things would be advised. Religion can complicate matters, and add more that only weighs down and hurts in the long run. Sure, it may make one ‘feel good,’ and often that good feeling may have its root in the pride of accomplishment. The pride of accomplishment. That is, people feel good for the religious services they have accomplished before God, and all the while may be failing to recognize where their hearts are at—whether they are being changed from the inside out. Not whether the outside is just constantly being changed. This is what Jesus got after the Pharisees repeatedly for, and really it is a central point, again, of Evangelical Christianity versus other Christian paths.

       Having our pure conscience does indeed allow us to serve God—as the writer points out. We don’t want to miss that. It seems a definition would be fitting at this point. What does it actually mean to serve the living God? Does it mean outward religious service? It could eventually lead to that, sure. But what is the core focus of God? What was the core focus of Jesus? Again, it’s that which is on the inside—what resides in the heart. We know, for instance, that a woman wants to be liked for her good heart, right? She wants others to feel she has a good heart. A man, in contrast, likes to be known for his external achievements. We like to say, “I’ve done this, that, and the other.” Both are important, both are important. Yet, we are viewing this independently based on the sexes. What God wants to see overall is that we have internal change that leads to external change. Remember that. Internal change that leads to external change. Not simply one or the other. Not an external change that doesn’t come from the heart. This is where religion comes into play. Force never accomplishes anything good. It may feel good short-term, but it doesn’t really accomplish anything long-term. If we are changing our hearts by aligning them with Truth, then the externals will naturally change in service for God—however that service manifests. It will be slightly different for all.

       Moving on. Verse 15: “Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive. Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood” (ESV).

       Basically, verse 15 is a summary of the Gospel message, the Christian message, and shows what Christ did as well as what happens for us as a result. It lays at that 1) Christ is mediator, 2) It is a new covenant, 3) those who choose to believe will receive all the eternal blessings God wants to give them, 4) Christ died to take away all sins under the old covenant (which, in effect, for our understanding also means he’s died for all past sins). That’s all summed up there in verse 15. It’s a good verse. As a matter of fact, why don’t we read it from the King James version as well, because the King James Version has an interesting way of stating it: “And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance” (KJV). The KJV there puts things in a different order. Nevertheless, let’s consider that we are all going to receive an “eternal inheritance.” That point can often be forgotten. So focused we can get on this life, and what is going on in this life—both good and bad—that we forget that it’s actually the time spent after this life where everything is ultimately good. What is our focus? What is our focus? Certainly, it is required that we focus on this life to some degree. For one, we have work we are doing in the world. For two, we have persons we love, whether that be family or friends. For three, we have hobbies and personal enjoyments. We have to take time to rest, or the other areas of life will suffer. We have our relationship with God, right? In the midst of all this—because we are going to have live—we simply need to keep eternity in focus. Enjoyment can be had of this life while at the same time not holding onto too closely.

       Awareness is present that in the Old Testament, when the people of God lived under the Jewish Law, the sacrifice of animals was necessary to temporarily cover sin. That’s because God is holy. To speak of what Christ accomplished on the cross an analogy is used of a human will. You know, a Last Will & Testament that all people are supposed to have. It’s a good thing to do because that way, when a person dies, it can greatly reduce any fighting that might occur from people’s sin-natures, or sense of covetousness to obtain more in this life. It’s a wise thing for anyone to do who has significant assets. The writer notes that the animal deaths in the Old Testament put into affect the Jewish Law. At the same time, Christ’s death on the cross puts into affect the New Testament—the new way under the Spirit. We saw this illustrated vividly by the signs which occurred when Jesus gave up his spirit on the cross. We remember, for instance, the curtain in the Temple was torn into two. Christ’s accomplishment brought the new covenant into effect. It was a choice God made to die on the cross for all the people of the world—for all those who have ever lived. It’s interesting to think about, and the speaker doesn’t really have an answer to this, to think about if the Jewish people had indeed accepted Christ as Messiah, if that had happened, how sin would have been atoned for. That’s an interesting one, and no ready answer comes to mind. While we may not understand the logistics behind the cross, we can understand the end result. We know our sins our forgiven from the moment we believe; we know we have peace with God; and we know we don’t have to worry about being separated from him ever again in the future.

       Verse 19: “For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you.” And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship. Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (ESV).

       Exodus chapter 24 speaks of what happened right after everything was established with the people of Israel. Let’s go ahead and go back there, and consider some of what is written. Let us go to verse 3:

“Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do.” And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD. And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words” (ESV).

Thus, we see that back then, obedience to the law was required. Some theologians think it was required simply out of honor to God, and some think it was actually required for one to keep one’s salvation—to have that salvation. Some Christians even carry over this idea into the church today. Regardless, the people were to be obedient to God—and certainly wanted to be, at least, in the beginning, at this juncture. Then came the animal sacrifices—the animals blood to cover the people’s sins. This would be the blood in the basins, the blood on the alter, and the blood thrown on the people. Obviously, this symbolizes in a preliminary form what Christ was later establishing with the bread and the cup, that which we call Communion. And this Communion, where we talk a small piece of bread and eat it, as well as drink some grape-juice or wine, is necessary even for our current time. Notice the difference in that back then Moses threw the blood on the people. The Israelites were a group of people chosen by God—his own people. Nowadays, each of us people as individual members of the body of Christ, as members of the universal church, each take and eat the bread and drink the cup by our own accord. A minister doesn’t force the bread into our mouths, and force us to drink the cup (at least, hopefully). In that view, it shows that we have freely chosen to come into personal relationship with God.

       Now we come to the foundational verse—indeed, it is foundational—because it tells us what the Gospel is in the most simplest sense. This was brought up at the beginning of our study. Again, the writer of Hebrews states, “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (ESV). “[W]ithout the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” This is what Christ accomplished when he gave up himself as a ransom for our sin—a ransom for many. The Apostle Paul told Titus, that Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession” (Titus 2:14, ESV). As we have been discussing about the Old Testament, blood was necessary to atone for sin. Animal blood couldn’t atone for sin. Perfect human blood could—and Christ’s was perfect because he never sinned. That’s important. Christ wasn’t a ‘good’ man in that he rarely sinned, or overcame sin by dying on the cross. It wasn’t that he reached the pinnacle and became a perfect human being. None of those speculations are correct. Christ as God himself descended to the earth, and he gave of himself—that is, he gave his blood—to atone for sin. Again, it’s not that Christ gave himself up to the wrath of God, or to appease an angry god, as we might be tempted to read into it. That simply wasn’t the case. It is as Paul told Timothy, he “gave himself as a ransom for all” (1 Timothy 2:6, ESV). What was the problem? What were humans enslaved to? Humans were and are enslaved to sin, right? So when Christ gives himself as a ransom, it frees us, humans, from the bondage to sin. This is what Paul spent a great deal of his time talking about. Now, now, we can be like Christ just as he was sin-free, so we also, by choosing to believe in him, become sin-free. We immediately become sin-free in God’s eyes, and overtime, we seek to put to death the deeds of the body. And ultimately, ultimately, we become totally sin-free for the next life.

Verse 23: “Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him” (ESV).

       We discussed the fact that what was in the Jewish Temple, the elements—the manna jar, Aaron’s staff, the copy of the Law, the Ark with the mercy seat—all that, we discussed how that is a copy, to some degree, of the things in Heaven. This was talked about in the messages on Hebrews 7 and 8, as well as last week. So Christ has made, by what he has accomplished, all these things obsolete, or out-dated, if you will. As Christ has returned to Heaven, his very presence before God means that we can now be permanently forgiven for our sins. We can become holy again (in view of Adam’s holiness), just as God is holy. Again, the writer of Hebrews didn’t say just a minute ago, “without the bearing of wrath there is no forgiveness of sins.” That wasn’t the issue. The issue is that God is holy, and we were not. But as Paul told the Corinthians, “But [we] were washed, [we] were sanctified, [we] were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11, ESV). Just as Paul uses the past tense there, so it is that the writer of Hebrews notes that Jesus does not have to repeatedly offer himself. It’s not like it was in the Old Testament, where the sacrifice for sin had to be repeated. Since Christ is God, and he is perfect, his sacrifice, his ransom, takes care of sin for all time. This again is a beautiful eternal security verse as it shows that once you believe you are good to go. It’s not a really close basketball game between God and the devil where whoever makes the last shot wins. It’s not that when we sin, we lose our salvation and then have to regain it again. It’s not as the Holiness Movement might think. Just as Christ does not repeatedly offer himself, so we do not have to repeatedly become saved. If that we the case, Christ would continually suffer before God, going back to the cross again and again. This is why also, by the way, we don’t picture Jesus suffering on the cross our our crucifixes. It is why Evangelical churches (among others) display empty crosses in their sanctuaries.

       So Christ’s death also takes care of sin for any of the coming ages, for the writer says, “he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” An important point that is, and one not to be missed. It means that even during the Tribulation period, or Millennial Kingdom, or eternal state, that what Christ has already accomplished is the answer. Even during those different times, those different dispensations. It doesn’t mean individuals can sin and be saved like during the Millennial Kingdom, but it simply means that the cross stands for all time. We also can point out, and this is sort of an aside, that people only live one time. That is, we only have one life to live, or one lifetime. We are aware of the teachings from Hinduism or Buddhism (and others), that people have many ‘earthly’ lifetimes. In other words, persons are born in one particular human body, live, die, and then are reincarnated into another human body. So the soul or spirit continues to live through different bodies in different time periods. Obviously, we don’t believe that, and the writer of Hebrews here clearly rejects that idea. Really, at the root of that idea is that a person needs many lifetimes to become perfect, to become sin-free. This is called Enlightenment. We believe a person becomes sin-free through their trust in Christ’s sacrifice, not though becoming perfect over many lifetimes. People even claim to have recollections of past lives, but we would view this as deceptive imaginations, like when Paul said people become “puffed up without reason by [their] sensuous mind[s], and not holding fast to the Head” (Colossians 2:18, ESV). This isn’t said to be critical, but simply to make the point that Christianity doesn’t support reincarnation. This also shows the value of life, in that if a life is lost, it really is lost. That child is in the afterlife—they aren’t reincarnated. What reincarnation does, unfortunately, is story-ize life, much, unfortunately, like Calvinism does in Christianity. Give that one some thought.

       The writer of Hebrews states that “Christ… will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” He’s probably not speaking of The Rapture of the Church, since he’s primarily speaking from a Jewish perspective. Yet, the text could actually be referring to that event, even if the author was unaware of it at the time (as it was a mystery revealed to the Apostle Paul). Regardless, at that event, at the Rapture, we who believe in Jesus certainly will be saved from this world, from the confines of it and the sin-affectedness of it. It will be a glorious day. After all, that is what we should want—to really, ultimately, get out of here. That which our state is to be in Heaven, during the Millennial Kingdom, and during the time of the New Heaven and New Earth is far greater. Even if life is going well for us right now, it’s still way better. We know that at the end of the Tribulation period, the period where the Antichrist is ruling and reigning, where he assemblies the armies of the world to come against Christ, who is descending from Heaven, we know at that time—at The Battle of Armageddon—Christ will return to the earth a second time (that is, fully descend to the earth). This is likely the event the writer of Hebrews is thinking of, and that which Jesus talked about in Matthew chapters 24 and 25. For the saved Jews, for the saved people of the earth at that time, they will be waiting on him to come. They will be in hiding from the Antichrist, and they will eagerly with great hope be looking forward to that expectation, that culmination of everything where Christ comes and makes everything right. And then he provides the Jewish people their promised kingdom, that which was promised to King David back in 2 Samuel chapter 7, their everlasting kingdom, where the true Messiah, he himself, where Christ rules and reigns for a thousand years.

- Daniel Litton