[0:00] Let us now turn to the chapter read in Hebrews chapter 10. The text is verses 11 to 14. Hebrews 10 and verses 11 to 14.
[0:11] And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
[0:24] But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God, from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
[0:36] For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. Hebrews 10 and verses 11 to 14. Now a few verses further on in this chapter, we come to the end of the doctrinal part of this epistle.
[0:59] In fact, in verse 18. And then beginning at verse 19, we enter into the practical part of the epistle. And this practical side has to do with the application of Christian doctrine, in which we are urged to make personal use of it.
[1:19] Just as those in chapter 11 made personal use of it, in that role of honour going down through the corridors of time. But in the closing part of the doctrinal section, which we are concerned with this evening, the writer, like any good student, summarises and rehearses the main thrust of his writing throughout the epistle.
[1:46] Which is to show the superiority of the Christian faith over all other faiths, and especially that of Judaism. Indeed, the superiority of the Christian faith lies in its finality.
[2:04] There's nothing more to be said. And for this very good reason, that the one whose faith it is, the Lord Jesus, is not only the Alpha of that faith, the beginning of it, but he is also the Omega.
[2:20] He is the last word. And the faith that has come from his hand is marked by its finality. Now the great divide between Christianity and all other faiths, and especially the faith of Judaism, rests on the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[2:45] And here the Lord Jesus Christ is shown once again in this epistle, as one who is sufficient for every one of us and for our salvation.
[3:00] There is brought before us here, once again, the soul sufficiency of Christ, and the perfection of his once for all sacrifice.
[3:11] And this soul sufficiency of Christ, and this perfection of his sacrifice, is really the theme of our text. And it's brought out in three ways.
[3:24] And first of all, by way of contrast. We notice the, first of all, the contrast his sacrifice reveals. The contrast his sacrifice reveals.
[3:38] In this passage before us, there's a contrast made between the sacrifices that were under the law, and Christ's sacrifice.
[3:49] Between the sacrifices of bulls and of goats, and the shedding of animals, blood on the one hand, and Christ's sacrifice on the other. Both sacrifices, kinds of sacrifice, were required by God at different times.
[4:05] Both originated with God, those under the law, and Christ's sacrifice under the gospel. But one was temporary, in contrast to the other, which was permanent.
[4:19] One was the shadow, in contrast to the other, which was the reality. But there are other contrasts that we want to notice now. Showing the beauty of Christ's finished work, and the soul sufficiency of Christ as our Savior and Redeemer.
[4:38] For one thing, there is one priest, in contrast to many. One priest in the Christian faith, in contradistinction to the many priests, in the faith of Judaism.
[4:56] You see, our text speaks of every priest, standing daily, ministering, offering oftentimes the same sacrifices. Every priest, several priests, in fact many priests, down through the time of the old dispensation, many multitudes of priests, stood daily, offering often the same kind of sacrifices, down through the years.
[5:25] The whole tribe of Levi was set apart for the priesthood. The fathers were succeeded by their sons in the priesthood. One priestly generation followed another priestly generation.
[5:40] And so many priests were necessary because there were so many things to be done in the temple, so many duties to be performed. One priest could not possibly undertake all the duties.
[5:53] And more than that, continuity in the priesthood was necessary because of mortality. The priests were human, and they passed away like the rest of mankind.
[6:07] And the continuity and the progression and the succession in the priesthood was rendered necessary by the fact of mortality that all men are flesh, and we all pass away.
[6:23] But over against the multitude of priests, we have this one priest in the Christian faith, the Lord Jesus Christ. One priest only, solitary, irreplaceable, unique, and this is the glory of the Christian faith and the glory of the Christian gospel.
[6:44] On this one person, this one priest, there rests our hope of salvation. For without this priest, we have no forgiveness.
[6:56] For without this priest, there is no putting away of sin, and therefore there is no expiation. Our priest can do the work of the many priests under the old economy.
[7:10] For our priest is not after the order of Aaron. Our priest is after the order of Melchizedek, and Melchizedek is a priest forever, having no beginning or ending of days.
[7:23] Mortality, therefore, does not touch our great high priest. He is beyond mortality. He ever lives to make intercession for us. One priest in contrast to the many.
[7:38] That's what our Christian faith proclaims, and that's the glory of it. One priest who has the power of an endless life, and is not subject to mortality, for he lives forever.
[7:57] Then again, we notice this other contrast. One sacrifice in contrast to many sacrifices. And how many sacrifices down through the ages were offered by the Old Testament priests.
[8:10] Daily sacrifices, the same sacrifices, repeated sacrifices, morning sacrifices, evening sacrifices, day after day, and year after year. On they went.
[8:22] And you see, this multitude of sacrifices were necessary because expiation, the putting away of sin, was not complete. Every day, the priests had to begin again as if nothing had been done the day before.
[8:39] The morning sacrifice didn't put away sin, therefore the evening sacrifice was necessary. And as soon as the sun began to set, another victim was taken and slain, and another sacrifice was made.
[8:53] And so on, year after year, all because each sacrifice was in itself quite incomplete and could not take away sin. But notice the glorious contrast here.
[9:07] One sacrifice. One sacrifice, says our text. But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.
[9:21] And one sacrifice was necessary. Only one sacrifice was necessary because of who this man was. The Son of God, the only begotten Son of God, who made the sacrifice in our human nature.
[9:34] And in our human nature, suffered and bore the penalty. And in the Christian calendar, there is only one day of atonement. Not one day every year, but one day of atonement.
[9:49] A day of greatest, the greatest possible import. And one of the greatest possible solemnity. It was the day on which Jesus died. And that day, and that sacrifice, and Christ's offering, were predicted by the prophets, who said, he was to be wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities.
[10:18] Recorded by the evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, recorded the events that took place on that great day when atonement was made, as shown, and they are shown in the Gospels, and that day is shown in the Gospels as having taken place as a historical fact.
[10:39] And so, what was predicted by the prophets was recorded by the evangelists, and is expounded by the apostles as the death of death in the death of Christ.
[10:53] One sacrifice in contrast to many. And yet again, one complete remedy in contrast to the incomplete.
[11:08] A complete remedy in contrast to the incomplete. For however great the multiplicity of priests and the multiplicity of sacrifices, they could never take away sin.
[11:20] Now, notice this, that is said three times in this one chapter for emphasis. Verse 1 says, they can never make us perfect those sacrifices. Verse 4 says, it is impossible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sin.
[11:36] And here in verse 11, these sacrifices can never take away sin. That's definitely enough. Three times for emphasis. It is brought before us that all the multiplicity of sacrifices all together can never take away sin.
[11:52] It is not possible. Well, if that is so, what conceivable connection can there be between the death of a bull or a goat and our sin before God?
[12:08] Only this, that the Old Testament sacrifices were a kind of visual aid. they pointed to Christ. They pointed to his one sacrifice for sins forever.
[12:21] And those Old Testament sacrifices taught the indispensable principle of substitution. But they themselves never became the substitute.
[12:35] For there's only one substitute. The only value of the Old Testament sacrifices was to fix the attention of the Jew, of Jewish worshippers on the Messiah and on the coming redemption which that Messiah was to bring.
[12:56] And this they did for all who truly believed in the Old Dispensation. salvation. But the sacrifice of our priest does take away sin.
[13:13] It does take away sin. It makes perfect those who are sanctified. Verse 14. Now notice this word to take away or not to take away.
[13:27] The word take away is a strong word. It means to strip away. As you would strip off a soil garment as quickly as possible and as definitely as possible.
[13:38] So the blood of bulls and of goats cannot strip away our sins but the blood of Jesus does. It does this distinctly and definitely indicating the certainty of the remedy provided that his blood strips away like a soil garment our sins.
[14:01] Which animal sacrifices can never do. Well there is the contrast. One priest but over against many in the old system.
[14:13] One sacrifice over against many sacrifices. One remedy. A complete remedy as against the incompleteness of the system under bulls and goats and the ashes of a hyfer and the sprinkling of the animal's blood.
[14:31] And I want to say this. Jewish priests and Roman priests with their sacrifice of the mass are not the only people who offer what can never take away sins.
[14:50] sin. For those who come to the altar of God, those who come to the house of God depending on their physical attendance, relying on their prayers, trusting in their loyalty and in their righteousness to put away sin and to bring some merit to themselves, are doing the same thing.
[15:14] It's the same thing in principle. They are trusting in what can never take away sin. My dear friends, if there's anyone here and that's your kind of ministry, that's your kind of offering, that's the way you approach the altar of God, trusting in these other things that can never take away sin, then cease that kind of ministry and trust wholly in the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[15:40] For he has been given to us for that purpose, to do what nothing else can do, our prayers, our righteousness, our attendance, our Bible reading, or whatever, none of these things can strip us from sin, nothing but the blood of Jesus.
[16:00] That's the first thing we notice then, in the text here, the contrast his sacrifice reveals. Now we come to the second thing and notice the character his sacrifice exhibits.
[16:15] The character exhibits. The sacrifice exhibits. In verse 12, but this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God, and so on.
[16:27] The character his sacrifice exhibits. Now this comes over very clearly in verse 12, and it comes over in three parts. The sacrifice first was made by a man.
[16:42] man. Secondly, it was made once. And thirdly, it was made forever. Notice these three points here, regarding the character of this, the character this sacrifice exhibits.
[16:57] It was made by a man. It was a personal sacrifice. Our text says, but this man, this man, sat down at the right hand after offering one sacrifice for sins forever.
[17:12] this man, it's personal and individual. Now the word man is not in the original. So that reading is, but this, this one.
[17:23] Well, may we not say, this man? We may indeed. For he was the son of Mary, the son of man, our kinsman redeemer, our Emmanuel, God manifest in flesh.
[17:37] He was indeed this man, the man Christ Jesus. will we not also call him priest and say, this priest offered?
[17:48] We may indeed, for that's what he is and that's what the whole epistle to the Hebrews is about. He has a priesthood that is after the order of Melchizedek and we can say therefore not only this man but this priest takes away sin.
[18:05] will we call him God? We may indeed, for that's exactly what he is. And he thought it not robbery to be equal with God.
[18:18] And there at the altar we see this God-man. There on the cross there is this God-man who alone prod the winepress of the wrath of Almighty God on our behalf.
[18:33] The sacrifice was made by a man who was a priest who is God over all and blessed forever. This man, this priest, this God-man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of the majesty in the heavens.
[18:55] The sacrifice first was made by a man, second by a man, secondly it was made once. It was made once. And three times this is said in this chapter.
[19:09] Verse 10, once for all. Verse 12, one sacrifice. Verse 14, one offering. So what is brought before us here is the once-ness of Christ's sacrifice.
[19:24] Once for all is the great theme of this epistle. Once for all is at the very heart of the gospel. and it's because of the once-ness of this that we are brought face to face with the efficacy of Christ's death.
[19:41] Because its once-ness highlights the efficacy of that death. It does not need to be repeated. His sacrifice is non-repeatable.
[19:52] Made by man, made once, and made, we are told here, forever. forever. One sacrifice, verse 12, one sacrifice for sins forever, that is, for all time.
[20:08] So this sacrifice of the Lord Jesus is non-repeatable, and it is all perpetual. It has eternal validity. And because it has eternal validity, this sacrifice holds open the door of heaven to the very last moment of time, till all the ransomed church of God are saved to sin no more.
[20:32] That's the value of the sacrifice. The door of heaven is open to the very last moment of time, until the very moment before Christ returns. So the very last person has the opportunity to enter into the kingdom before Jesus comes, for then our redemption, the opportunity for redemption will end.
[20:52] I wonder, my dear friends, what do we think about our one priest, his one sacrifice, his one complete remedy available to the very end of time?
[21:05] What do we think about it ourselves? Do we think about it? Do we consider, as chapter three says, do we consider the apostle and high priest of our profession?
[21:15] Does he come into our thinking at all? Further down in this tenth chapter, this writer says to us, let us draw near in view of all that Christ has done, in view of the character that his sacrifice exhibits, in view of the contrast between the Christian faith and other faiths, in view of it all, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.
[21:43] Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering. Let us not forget the assembling of ourselves together and exhorting one another and so much the more as you see the day approaching, the great day of judgment, when the day for salvation will be ended.
[22:03] In view of all these things, let us draw near to the throne of grace and to the one who sits on that throne. Now we come to the last part of our text, and a very important part it is.
[22:17] We notice now not only the character that his sacrifice exhibits, but we notice now the consequences that his sacrifice produces, the consequences that his sacrifice produces, the contrast his sacrifice reveals, the character his sacrifice exhibits, and now the consequences his sacrifice produces.
[22:45] after the Lord Jesus offered this once for all and once forever sacrifice on the cross, certain things followed, and they are put out before us here in this text, and they are in three directions, first of all, as to himself, what followed after his once for all sacrifice?
[23:09] He sat down, at the end of verse 12 we're told, he sat down on the right hand of God. That was the first consequence that his sacrifice produced, he sat down on the right hand of God, and that's a favorite expression in this epistle to the Hebrews, to sit down, Jesus sat down, four times it's mentioned, and it's mentioned as the sequel to his death, and to his finished work.
[23:40] He finished his work, so he sat down. Now, when the Jewish priests in the temple finished their work, what did they do?
[23:53] They went home. Why? Because there was no seat or resting place provided in the temple for them to sit down. Their work in the temple was a work in which they had to stand all the time.
[24:09] And then when they finished their work for the day, they couldn't sit in the temple, they had to go home to sit, for there was no provision made for sitting in the temple. Standing only was for the Jewish priests.
[24:21] Every priest stands daily ministering. So they stood, because the work to which they were committed was never finished.
[24:33] but when they finished their part of the unfinished work for the day, they had to go home to sit there, for in the temple there was no place to sit.
[24:45] But you see, when Jesus finished his work, he sat down. He sat down, indicating that his work was finished. And he sat down in the highest place that heaven affords, he sat down on the right hand of God.
[25:02] For he was not only a servant, he was God's son. And not to any angel, but to God's son, God said, sit on my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool.
[25:15] Now the right hand of God, at which Jesus sat, the right hand of God, says Marcus Lone, is first the place of majesty, where Jesus was crowned with glory and honor.
[25:29] Also it's the place of ministry, where he saves to the uttermost all who come unto God through him. And it's also the place of monarchy, where he sits down with his father on his throne, far above all principalities and powers.
[25:46] When Jesus sat down at the right hand of God, he sat in the place of majesty, and in the place of ministry, and in the place of monarchy. So his sitting was indeed the evidence that the work that was given him to do was a finished work.
[26:05] And my dear friends, that's all we have to trust in. And that's all we need to trust in. The finished work of Christ, symbolized by the very sitting of Jesus in the place of ministry and majesty and monarchy, at the right hand of the majesty in the heavens.
[26:25] that's the first consequence then of that his sacrifice produced. As to himself, he sat down. Then the second consequence is as to his enemies.
[26:40] Verse 13, as to his enemies from henceforth waiting till his enemies be made his footstool. Waiting till his enemies be made his footstool.
[26:52] Now the Lord Jesus had enemies in the days of his flesh. He speaks of them in Psalms 22 and 69.
[27:04] He speaks of the dogs and the bulls of Bashan and those who pierced his hands and his feet. And the Lord Jesus has enemies today in alarming numbers with alarming boldness as an anti-Christian spirit sweeps across our land with great ferocity.
[27:22] But Jesus is not alarmed at his enemies. He waits. He waits. He calmly waits for the final overthrow. In other words, he waits for the fulfillment of Psalm 110 where we read as we were singing a short time ago, the Lord did say unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand until I make thy foes a stool where on thy feet may stand.
[27:48] That's the quotation that we have here from Psalm 110 10 in this part of our text. Waiting until his enemies be made his footstool.
[27:59] My dear friends, the Lord Jesus can afford to wait. For he waits until the great overthrow of all his enemies. For they will become his footstool.
[28:12] But we can't afford to wait if we are enemies of the King of Kings. If we are enemies of Jesus tonight then, the Bible says, Psalm 2 says, kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you perish from the way when this anger is kindled.
[28:28] But a little. It only has to be kindled, but a little, for us to perish from the way. So as to himself, he sat down on the right hand of the majesty in the heavens.
[28:38] As to his enemies, they will become his footstool, and he calmly waits until that day, for he knows that he will be conqueror over them. And then finally, as to his own people, in verse 14, we read, by one offering, he has perfected forever.
[28:59] He has perfected forever those who are sanctified. Here is the final consequence of his sacrifice. As to his people, by one offering, he perfects them forever.
[29:14] those who are being sanctified, and this is the tense that is used really, those who are being sanctified here below, will yet be perfected there above.
[29:30] Those who kiss the son, are no longer his enemies, they become his friends, they become friends of Jesus. And when they become friends of Jesus, they become a separated, sanctified, holy people.
[29:46] Their election, their calling, their justification are all unto sanctification. That's the purpose of their election, and their calling, and their justification, that they might be sanctified, a sanctified, set apart people.
[30:01] Now will you notice this, that the writer is not saying here that those who are being sanctified are already perfect. We must not take that meaning out of this verse.
[30:14] By one offering, he has perfected forever them that are sanctified. This does not mean that those who are being sanctified here below are already perfect. But rather, he sees them, Jesus sees them as already perfect.
[30:30] They are in the purposes of his grace already perfect. For what he has purposed for them, he will yet fulfill in them, and he sees them as perfect, even although they are only now being made perfect as they journey through life.
[30:49] Now we can put it this way, those who are being sanctified here below, are already perfect in respect of their justification.
[31:02] A person's justification, a sinner's justification, is perfect and complete as soon as he is justified. It can be added to, it can be developed, it can be increased, it can be bettered, it's complete and perfect.
[31:17] All who are justified are already right with God, they are already accepted in the beloved, and their justification cannot be matured or developed or increased, but their sanctification can and has to be.
[31:34] And their sanctification will be made perfect. Made perfect first, verse 14 says, because of the one offering that he made on the cross, because of his death on the cross, for those who believe, their sanctification will be made perfect.
[31:59] And also perfect when at the moment of their own death, believers will be made perfect in holiness and will immediately pass into glory.
[32:10] And so certain is this perfection that it can be seen as already taken place, as being already accomplished.
[32:22] So certain is it that those who are being sanctified now will be fully sanctified at the moment of death because of Christ's death.
[32:36] For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified and the offerer sees them even now and sees believers in this church even now as already perfect in his purposes of grace.
[32:56] well my dear friends where are we at this moment and where do we expect to be?
[33:08] Are we at Jesus feet or are we part of his footstool? Are we at his feet as friends and disciples ever learning from him?
[33:23] or are we to be part of his footstool unnumbered among his enemies? For the footstool will be composed of the enemies of Christ.
[33:37] My dear friends if we are part of that footstool if we're to be part of that footstool by our rebellion and by our sinfulness if that's what awaits us as things are going just now in our lives then let us look to Jesus for there is no other hope and there is no other saving help underneath these skies but Jesus who for us and for our salvation offered himself one sacrifice for sins forever and if we are not to be part of the footstool of his enemies then let us look away to him that one sacrifice let us look with that saving look that sees the marks in his hands and the wounds in his head and the marks on his back when he was struck and smitten and when we see a wounded
[34:40] Jesus let us fall before him in surrender and in glad contrition of heart before him that he might deliver us from our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness what a blessing it is that we have this as the very heart of the gospel message that he made one offering for sins forever and unto those who look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation may we be ready for his second coming by coming now to him and committing ourselves to him for forgiveness from the one who made one offering for sins forever let us pray our gracious God we give thanks to thee tonight for all that the
[35:42] Lord Jesus Christ has done for us we thank thee for that finished work that once for all work we thank thee for its sufficiency we thank thee for its efficacy we thank thee for the fact that it embraces all people of all classes and climes and races who believe and who look away to Jesus number us tonight amongst those who are looking unto Jesus as the author and finisher of our faith as the one who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame and is now set down at the right hand of the majesty in the heavens we thank thee that we have a saviour who tonight is in the place of majesty and ministry and monarchy a glorious saviour help us lord to fall at Jesus feet and to crown him lord of all the lord of our life and the god of our salvation we bless thee for this part of scripture that was brought before us this evening oh may we see afresh the wonder of our christian faith may we not despise it may we not take it lightly may we not look upon it casually but help us to remember the infinite cost at which it was purchased and produced and brought to us the cost of Jesus blood and help us with thankful hearts and humble hearts to lay hold upon him whose faith it is that we might make it our own and be numbered among those who are being sanctified and who will at the end of the day be perfected for his great name's sake we ask it amen helping listen to hear what morelä or to help out and when or theirält go to
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