Out with the Old and In with the New

Hebrews 9:6-10

Theme: The Sacrifice of Christ purged sin and dedicated the New Testament while fulfilling the Old.  The New Covenant provides eternal redemption, thorough forgiveness of sin, and the anticipation of Christ’s return with full salvation. We have no need of any other religious system or supplements to Christ’s service to have a clear—guilt free— conscience with God.

Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. ⁷ But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people: ⁸ The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: ⁹ Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; ¹⁰ Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation. (Hebrews 9:6-10)

How often do you think about Christ’s death on the cross? What does his suffering for you make you feel? Often, we may reflect on the death of the Lord Jesus several times during a week.  Others perhaps may think about Him offering up Himself to God weekly during church services or when it’s mentioned in a sermon.  Then, no doubt there are people who consider Christ’s redemptive sacrificial death at Calvary once or twice a year during the religious holidays.  Finally, there are too many who never give Christ’s sacrifice a second thought.

When I reflect on Calvary, I unmistakably recall how His sufferings move me and what feelings grip me deep within. Sometimes I am even conflicted…hating the fact that Jesus needed to die because of my sins, but at the same time so thankful that He voluntarily suffered in my stead to pay my penalty. Honestly, profound gratitude fills me whenever I give the subject serious thought. These emotions usually lead to a sense of obligation to live for Christ because He literally died for me. Like yourself, I know we can never really repay Him for His sacrifice; to even attempt this would be an insult to a gracious God. Still we never want to take His Cross for granted either. It’s a spiritually healthy exercise to meditate upon the significance of Christ’s fully-sufficient atonement at Calvary.

The sacrificial system was a vital element in Old Testament faith. The Mosaic Law code established standards which, while shaping the lifestyle of Israel, no individual could live up to. And anyone who fell short, in even one point (James 2:10–11), was guilty of sin.Yet God made provision for sinners. With the Law, God gave Moses the pattern for building a tabernacle, and established a sacrificial system. A sinner could bring a required blood sacrifice, have his sins covered, and so approach God. The one way into the tabernacle—the only door to the courtyard of the place of meeting with God—opened onto the altar of sacrifice. There was no other way for a sinner to approach God. Only blood on the altar could cover human sin. –Richards, Larry; Richards, Lawrence O.: The Teacher's Commentary

What kind of purification from sin occurred in the symbolic system of the Old Covenant with its tabernacle worship? (Heb. 9:7, 9, 10)

A.    The Tabernacle System Was Symbolic for That Present Time (Heb. 9:9).

1.      A picture of something better to come, it was an imperfect representation of Christ’s perfect work. What this indicates for the present time is that the Old-Covenant sacrificial system did not meet human need at its deepest level. It could not clear the conscience of the worshiper.

2.      The gifts and sacrifices could never make the worshipers perfect regarding the conscience. If complete remission of sins had been procured, then the offerors’ conscience would have been free from the guilt of sin. But this never happened.

B.     The Levitical Offerings Dealt Only with Ritual Defilements—Externals (Heb. 9:10).

1.      They were concerned with such externals as clean and unclean meats and drinks, and with ceremonial washings that would rid the people of ritual impurity, but they did not deal with moral uncleanness.

2.      The sacrifices offered, and the blood applied to the mercy seat could never change the heart or the conscience of a worshiper. All of the ceremonies associated with the tabernacle had to do with ceremonial purity, not moral purity. They were “carnal ordinances” that pertained to the outer man but that could not change the inner man. –Wiersbe, Warren W.

3.      The offerings were concerned with a people who were in covenant relationship with God. They were designed to maintain the people in a position of ritual purity so that they could worship. They had nothing to do with salvation or with cleansing from sin. The people were saved by faith in the Lord, based on the work of Christ still future.

C.    Finally, The Sacrifices Were Temporary (Heb. 9:10). They were imposed… until the time of reformation.

1.      They pointed forward to the coming of Christ and to His perfect offering. The Christian era is the time of reformation referred to here. This is a clear restatement of the temporary nature of the Levitical system (Heb. 7:10–19; 8:13; Gal. 3:15-22).

2.      The word… “reformation” … means in its physical sense the making straight, the restoring to its natural and normal condition, something which … has gotten out of line, as for instance broken or misshapen limbs.

                                                  i.      It means “to set things to rights.”

                                                ii.      …The word in its context here means “to bring matters to a satisfactory state.” It refers to the introduction of the New Testament which latter displaces the First Testament. The First Testament never was satisfactory, so far as offering a sacrifice that could pay for sin was concerned. It could not actually in itself save the believer. –Wuest, Kenneth S.

3.      Christianity itself is the great Reformation of the current Judaism (Pharisaism) and the spiritual Judaism foreshadowed by the old Abrahamic promise (see Gal. 3 and Rom. 9). –Robertson, A.T.

The writer of the Book of Hebrews argued that the Old Testament sacrifices spoke of Jesus, the perfect Sacrifice, who has done what animal sacrifices could never accomplish. Jesus has actually perfected the sinner washed in His blood and made the sinner holy in God’s sight! There is no need for repeated sacrifices, for by His one sacrifice on Calvary Jesus has fully met our need, freeing us completely from sin, guilt, and shame.Why is this teaching so important to believers today? Because, when we understand just what Jesus has done for us, we find our conscience cleansed and experience release from our bondage to past failures. And we have hope that we will live a new and holy life. –Richards, Larry; Richards, Lawrence O.: The Teacher's Commentary

Paul outlines in Romans 10:9-10, writing, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10, For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” We cannot simply believe anything about Jesus, we must believe the Son of God, died for our sins, was buried, and God raise Him up again the third day for our justification before The Father. It is crucial that we understand that it is faith in Jesus Christ and His Gospel that is the power of God that saves us (Rom. 1:14-17).

Christ’s suffering at Calvary was God providing payment for our sins. That is literally what Calvary was about—justice was served, and sin was paid for in full. Now sinners like me and you can be saved—born again to enter a relationship with God. It is the Spirit who regenerates us and gives us new life when we trust Christ. We cannot save ourselves no matter how good, sincere, or diligent we are. Instead of trying to justify yourself to God, I urge you to acknowledge to Him that you, like all humanity, do not measure up to His perfection and requirements. Like myself you know deep down inside how desperately imperfect you are. My friend that imperfection and tendency to do, say, and want what God forbids is evidence of our innate sinfulness. Our own conscious condemn us. Look at how often we lie or shade the truth. Look at how we love our self but fail to love God and others. If you take evidence seriously, then consider the many times you felt guilty for some moral or ethical failure…. I cannot count the number of times I have experience the sharp piercing of guilt in my own heart. I felt condemned in my own soul…and so have you. Beloved, this is evidence of our inborn sinfulness and we cannot change this about ourselves. We are at the mercy of God to change us deep within.

Being born again means we become a part of a new family, God is our Father who shares with us His very own divine nature. All of this is realized the moment we humble ourselves before God acknowledging our sins while trusting Christ and His payment for them. We must accept this payment personally. Beloved, we must exercise faith in the Person and Work of Christ to experience this spiritual new birth. What about you? Do you have one or two births?

Beloved, rest assured the work, his sacrificial atoning death and resurrection, that Jesus did was definitive. We no longer need to offer blood sacrifices in acknowledgment of our sin. We need only have faith in Jesus Christ and accept what He has done on our behalf. Why not cry out to God owning your sin and pleading for His forgiveness and mercy. I did back in 1990 and God forgave me and gave me a brand-new beginning!

The writer of Hebrews says that God took away the first means of blood sacrifice that He might establish the second means, the sacrifice of Jesus. The sacrifice of Jesus was the only one necessary. The phrase that is used is a powerful one: “once for all” (Heb. 10:10).

What Jesus did on the cross, He never needs to do again, and neither does anyone else ever have to suffer and die as He did. He is the sacrificial, substitutionary, all-sufficient atonement for all sin.

  

Come trust the Lord Jesus Christ today as your personal substitutionary sacrifice. God’s greatest provision for our sinfulness is a singular substitute for all humanity—Jesus Christ’s death at Calvary! By faith receive Him as your personal Substitute and full payment for your sin. Yes, even now place your trust in Jesus.