Where Sins Have Been Forgiven

Hebrews 10:1-18

Only a Shadow of the Good Things (10:1-4)

As Chapter 10 begins, the author skillfully extends his previous statement about the tabernacle (8:5) to include the entirety of the law. There was a Greek idea contemporary to the writing of Hebrews which suggested that all things in this world are not real, but are poor copies of the true concepts. The table before me and all tables that are, have been, or will be are poor reflections of the true concept of table.

The Greeks did not expect ever to encounter this realm of perfect things, but the author tells us that these things are to come. Another translation would be that they are the things that are intended (Greek mellō). James tells us that that these good and perfect things come from the Father, and through the Father we are able to experience them in this world (James 1:17).

But more than this, more than simply experiencing these perfect things in this imperfect world, the author tells us that we ourselves will be made perfect and become true children of the true Father. Nothing in this shadow realm, not the blood of goats and bulls, can bring us into that perfect world, but one has come from that world into this, and returned to the realm of the Father; his blood is the true sacrifice that offers us true life (John 6:47-57).

I Have Come to Do Your Will (10:5-10)

There were certain Jews, the Pharisees among them, who were very pious – that is, they were serious about their religion and devoted considerable time and energy to its strict observance. As a part of this strict observance, they had concluded that they must separate themselves from “sinners” and, in order to carefully observe this restriction they had carefully considered who they should avoid and how. Many of us, without so much piety, have come to similar conclusions.

One day these Jews found Jesus at the home of a known sinner and in the presence of others of his kind (Matthew 9:10-13). They were confused, because they had believed Jesus to be a good person, but there he was, fraternizing with the enemy. In his response, Jesus quoted from a passage from Hosea (Hosea 6:6) that is very similar to the passage from Psalms quoted by the writer of Hebrews (Psalm 40:6-8). Jesus came to sacrifice himself for sinners, not to separate himself from them.

How is it that Jesus understood this will? Because his concern was not what he should be or do, or what others should be or do, but only on the perfect will of the Father (John 5:30; Mark 14:36).

Those Who Are Being Made Holy (10:11-14)

As the author continues, he reiterates the main subject of his message: Jesus came from heaven to offer himself and returned to the very presence of the father, becoming perfect through suffering and through his sacrifice making perfect those who are being made holy.

The theologically technical term for “being made holy” is “sanctification” which, along with “justification” is one of the favorite words of Paul (1 Thessalonians 5:23). It is an idea that was on the heart of Christ (John 17:17-19) and which he imparted to Paul (Acts 26:14-18).

By mentioning those who are being made holy, the author addresses the object of his message: not the healthy but the sick, not the righteous but the sinners, those who have nothing to claim but the blood of Christ, in a word – us (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

Where these Have Been Forgiven (10:15-18)

The author again quotes from Jeremiah, an Old Testament prophet who spoke of a New Testament, one that would be in our hearts. These words, which were after all the words of God, were carefully chosen. The first covenant was intended for hearts, as well (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). The gates and the door posts were easier then, and the external things are still the easiest. It is easier to look right than to be right. It is easier to withdraw than to love. It is easier to remain a shadow and a copy than to be made holy.

But our God made us and knows us and together with the promise of the new covenant came the promise of forgiveness – forgiveness guaranteed by the perfect sacrifice of Christ, our eternal high priest, who has gone for us into the true tabernacle, and intercedes for us in the very presence of God.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

(1 John 1:8-9 KJV)

A Copy and a Shadow

Hebrews 8 & 9

The True Tabernacle

An excellent writer (or perhaps, an excellent homeletician – a generally accepted theory is that Hebrews is a sermon that was circulated by letter) the author of Hebrews is always connecting what he has said with what he is saying, and that with what he will say. In our first passage (8:1-6) he connects us with his previous argument that had established Jesus as our High Priest. Such a High Priest is ours who enters into the inner sanctuary, there to continually intercede with God on our behalf (6:19-20; 7:24-25).

If Jesus were still on earth, he would not be such an High Priest. This truth of God’s plan was echoed by Jesus, who told us that his ascendance was to our benefit (John 16:7-8). The author tells us that Jesus now serves at the true tabernacle. Just as he is the true light, and the true bread (John 1:6-9; John 6:32-35) Jesus has become the true High Priest, serving in the presence of God. The tabernacle on this earth was only a copy and a shadow of that true tabernacle in heaven.

Paul told us that our existence on this earth is but a dim reflection in a poor mirror of the true life in heaven and he longed for the day when faith would become sight (1 Corinthians 13:12). The author of Hebrews had that day in mind, but he also spoke of something more.

Fault with the People

In the next passage (8:7-13) the author makes the simple but indisputable observation that, had there been no fault with the old covenant, there would be no need for a new one. But where was the fault? A covenant, or contract, is an agreement between to parties. The arrangement of the old covenant was that God would be our God and we would be God’s people (Leviticus 26:11-12). There was no fault with God or with the covenant itself, but God found fault with the people.

The author quotes from Jeremiah, where God reveals the New Testament in the voice of an Old Testament prophet. And even from the Old Testament our God has continually entreated us (Isaiah 65:2) and has continually called us back to the covenant (2 Chronicles 7:14).

The Way into the Most Holy Place

When the author says that the first covenant had regulations for worship and for the earthly sanctuary (9:1-10) he may be understating the case. The instructions for the building of the tabernacle begin in Exodus 25 (Exodus 25:1-9) and continue in elaborate detail through the end of the book (Exodus 40:33).

This tabernacle was the dwelling place of God. The tabernacle was replaced by the temple. The first temple was built by Solomon. This temple was destroyed, and the second temple was built after the Babylonian captivity. The second temple was essentially rebuilt by Herod the Great. Since the destruction of Herod’s temple, the Jewish diaspora has continued to worship in synagogues.

The point of this brief review is to establish the following question: with three temples to choose from, why does the author take us all the way back to the tabernacle?

We do not know when Hebrews was written. The issues the book addresses (the sufficiency of Christ and the encouragement of those awaiting his return) are contemporary with the ministry of Paul, but the book could certainly have been written some years later, possibly after the final fall of the temple. If so, the author may be avoiding reference to the temple that had been destroyed and relying instead on the tabernacle that still stood in the memory of his audience.

Whatever the main reason may be, the comparative simplicity of the tabernacle certainly serves the author well, as he conjures for us the image of that most holy place, the Holy of Holies, and that thin curtain that protects us from the presence of God.

How Much More!

Our High Priest went through that curtain and through the true tabernacle, not of this creation. He approached the true Holy of Holies, not by the blood of goats, but by his own blood (9:11-15). How much more will we gain through the blood of Christ, the true High Priest!

And our God is always offering us more! Jesus himself came that we might have life, and have it more abundantly (John 10:7-11). In the next life, of course, but certainly in this life, as well, the promise is that what we seek we will find and what we ask will be given to us (Matthew 7:7-12). This is the promise of God, who gave us his own son. Will he not give us everything (Romans 8:32)?

In God’s Presence

As Chapter 9 concludes, the author reiterates for us that earthly things are only shadows and copies of heavenly things, but Jesus has gone for us into the only reality: the very presence of God (9:16-28).

The earliest record of our reaction to the presence of God is found in Exodus, in the account of the people at Mount Sinai (Exodus 20:18-21). Moses came down from the mount, from the presence of God, to deliver the law to the people. The people were afraid. They told Moses they would accept the law, but they wanted nothing of the presence of God.

Our sanctuaries, our praise, our gifts are all shadows of heavenly things. Even the Bibles we treasure are only copies of the true word of God. Our prayer lives, at best, offer us a brief glimpse of heaven, a dim reflection from a poor mirror. But our God offers us more – so much more that it was worth the blood of Christ!

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

(Revelation 21:1-6 KJV)

He Is Able to Save Completely

Hebrews 6:13-7:28

Abraham Received What Was Promised

In our current lesson, the author of Hebrews begins a discussion of the promise of God by stating that, though he had to wait patiently, Abraham received what was promised him (6:13-15). As we recall the story, Abram was 75 years old when God called him from his home to a place unknown to him. God told Abram that he would make of him a great nation (Genesis 12:1-5). After almost 25 years, the Lord renewed this promise, renaming Abram and Sarai, and promising that a son would be born to them (Genesis 17:1-7, 15-22). Almost 75 years later, Abraham died with his two sons attendance, through whom God had promised to build two great, separate nations.

How did Abraham receive what was promised him? Was there something he saw in the face of his sons that confirmed God’s word to him? Was the blessing of two sons nation enough for him? Or did he receive the promise through faith in the word of God (John 8:56).

An Anchor for the Soul

In the next passage, the author continues his discussion of the promise of God, saying that men seal their promises by invoking some higher power, but that God could call on to higher power, and so he swore by himself (6:16-20). There is no one like God (Isaiah 46:5-10). The Trinity are God, but there is no one separate from God who is like God. If there were someone else like God, then God would not be God. There is none like God and there is no other God. This is a promise that anchors the soul (Isaiah 45:22-23).

Without Father or Mother

The author has lamented that we are not ready for solid food. Having tantalized us many times, he now gives us something to chew on with his interpretation of an enigma of the Old Testament: the priest Melchizedek (Genesis 14:17-20; Hebrews 7:-10).

The story of Abram and Melchizedek is brief and abrupt. Melchizedek appears with no previous mention in the middle of another narrative. He blesses Abram, and Abram tributes him with a tithe, and the man Melchizedek disappears, never to be seen again.

The children of Levi were set apart by God (Numbers 1:47-54). Of these, the children of Aaron were especially designated as priests (Exodus 29:9). Because of the strict rules prohibiting others from serving in the temple, as well as the rules requiring the other tribes to pay tithes to the Levites, the genealogies were of paramount importance.

But, says the author, the Melchizedek had neither father nor mother, and in fact existed separate from the line of Levi. Yet he was recognized by no lesser than Abram himself as a priest of the God Most High.

The author does not question the appointment of the Levitical priesthood, but uses the figure of Melchizedek, frozen in the brief vignette we have of him, to remind the Jews, and to remind us, that God is sovereign, and cannot be limited to our understanding of God.

Perfection

Why was another priesthood required? Because perfection could not be achieved through the Levitical priesthood (7:11-17). Again, the author does not question the specific utility of the hereditary priesthood, but the ultimate, complete, perfect utility. He has already presented this idea of perfection to us, as he has told us that the author of our salvation was made perfect through suffering (2:9-10).

Here, the author depicts that same Son of God as indestructible. How do we reconcile these ideas of the suffering and the indestructible? What is given up cannot be taken, and what is forfeited cannot be destroyed (John 10:17-18). This is the power of the indestructible life. This is the perfection to which we are called (John 12:23-28).

Able to Save Completely

A recurring motif of the author of Hebrews depicts Christ as better in every way. Here, he tells us that Jesus gives us a better hope and a better covenant (7:18-28). Our hope is in the new covenant, sealed in the blood of Christ who gave himself for us (Luke 22:19-20). When we had no intercessor, God gave his son to intercede for us. When we had no sacrifice, he sacrificed himself for us. This is the high priest who is able to meet our needs – one who is able to save completely.

God Is not Unjust

Hebrews 5:11-6:12

 

You Need Milk

In our first passage (5:11-14) the writer of Hebrews begins to take his readers to task. He has much to say, he tells us, which is difficult because we “are slow to learn” as the NIV translates it. The NASB has a more literal translation, and tells us that we “have become” a simple people – indicating that we once were among those blessed who hunger and thirst after righteousness (Matthew 5:6) but have stalled in our natural development, and are now satisfied with milk.

Immaturity is natural among the young, but the writer tells us that maturity does not come simply with years. It comes with constant practice and training. When the disciples were unable to drive out a demon, Jesus told them that it required prayer and fasting (Matthew 17:14-21 – in NIV, see footnote on verse 20). Prayer, Bible study, and Worship are not only the means of our basic nourishment, but are disciplines of the life of faith, bringing to maturity the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:18-23).

Elementary Teachings

What, then, does the author ask us to leave behind? The elementary teachings he gives us (6:1-3) are both expected and startling. Depending on your denomination and background, you may have a thorough understanding of baptism or of the laying on of hands, and depending on your background and denomination, this understanding may be different from mine. It is understandable that a recent convert should acquire and move beyond these principles. But what of repentance? What of faith in God?

So much of evangelical Christianity is established upon the basis of faith that we often fail to move beyond it. If we repent, we turn from our former ways. The author of Hebrews tells us that it is not enough to stand with our backs to our sins, our faith should lead us on.

If They Fall Away

The next passage (6:4-6) seems at first to be a departure from the author’s discourse. It is, in fact, a statement based upon the groundwork the author has been laying. But before we address the essentially practical application the author has in mind, we should consider the doctrinal implications of the passage.

The doctrine of the Eternal Security of the Believer holds that anyone who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ is from the moment of belief forever saved. The most common passage used in support of this doctrine is the familiar and powerful confession of Paul (Romans 8:31-39) but there are many others, including the words of Christ himself (John 10:27-30; Deuteronomy 32:39). Detractors of this doctrine point to the current passage, as well as the words of Christ himself (Matthew 24:4-13) which seem to say that, while no power can separate us from God, we may simply wander off (1 Timothy 6:10).

If we are saved forever, does it then make no difference what we do? This is an idea that cannot be supported, either by those who hold to, or are opposed to, the doctrine. The sins we committed before we believed are forgiven, but no one can say that they did not matter. Regardless of the affect these sins may have had on others, they were injurious to ourselves. In the same way, the sins we commit once we believe will be forgiven, but no one can say they will not matter.

Christ gave up his life freely for all. As the writer of Hebrews acknowledges, those of us who have accepted that sacrifice and then continue to sin selfishly sacrifice him again. If we depart from the disciplines of faith, we fall into the disorder of sin. If we do so habitually and become inured to the sacrifice, the writer tells us it will become impossible for us to return to repentance.

God Is not Unjust

The following verses (6:7-8) emphasize the author’s idea that it matters what we do: it makes the difference between a blessing and a curse – a curse which may ultimately lead to destruction. This is why we must mature beyond babes drinking milk to competent adults who continually practice our righteousness.

But if it the way we behave is so important, will we not ask again with the disciples, “Who then can be saved?” (Matthew 19:25-26) The author, having challenged us, now comforts us: God is not unjust (6:9-12).

In fact, God is more than just. We have been weighed in the balance and found wanting (Daniel 5:27) but God has placed his son in the balance for us.

God puts people right through their faith in Jesus Christ. God does this to all who believe in Christ, because there is no difference at all: everyone has sinned and is far away from God’s saving presence. But by the free gift of God’s grace all are put right with him through Christ Jesus, who sets them free.

(Romans 3:22-24 GNB)

The Source of Eternal Salvation

Hebrews 4:14-5:10

 

Confidence

The passage we study in this lesson is transitional, ushering in an extended discussion of Christ as our Great High Priest. The first paragraph of this transition (4:14-16) continues and transforms his previous argument. He has been cautioning us. How shall we escape without the great salvation of Christ (2:3)? We must take care to hold on to our faith (4:1) so that no one will file to receive the promised rest (4:11) because nothing is hidden from God (4:13).

Now he answers that caution with confidence. It is the ever-present judgment of God that provides us access to the throne of grace. The psalmist understood this connection (Psalm 139:1-6). The presence of God is inescapable, and this is at once our cause for fear and comfort.

For His Own Sins

The author must craft his comparison with care. If he shows us Jesus as our perfect high priest, he must address the imperfect high priest with which his audience was familiar. In the first century, the high priest was the authority behind the persecution of Jewish Christians (Acts 9:1-2). Though these men were not perfect, they were used by God (John 11:49-53). Because of their imperfection, the high priests were required to offer sacrifice not only for the sins of the people, but for their own sins, as well.

Because he was human, Jesus can understand our infirmity and our temptations, just as any former high priest. Unlike ourselves and those priests, Jesus remained perfect: he had no sin. He is therefore not only our perfect high priest, but is himself the perfect sacrifice. He is the Lamb of God (John 1:28-29).

He Must Be Called by God

But how could Jesus become high priest? The priesthood had long been established through the line of Aaron (Exodus 40:12-15). By the time of Jesus, there were so many members of this priesthood that they were collected into divisions and the divisions rotated their service. Even within those divisions, the active priests were chosen by lot (Luke 1:5-9). The descendants of Aaron were many, but Jesus was not among them.

The author’s response to this is to state that the priesthood was established by God, and it was the authority of God, not the blood of men, that ordained the priest (5:4-6). To reinforce this claim, he refers through Psalms (Psalm 110:4) to the ancient priest Melchizedek. We know nothing about this enigmatic character beyond his brief encounter with Abram. However, we know from that encounter that he was a priest of God before the line of Aaron was ordained. The author will make use of this mysterious character to remind us that power and authority are from God, not from our understanding of God.

The Source of Eternal Salvation

From the mystery of Melchizedek, the author continues to reinforce the mystery of the humanity of Christ. Simply by saying “during the days of Jesus’ life on earth” (5:7-10) the author reminds us that Jesus’ human form was a temporary condition for one who was with God and returned to God. But at the same times, he shows how complete was Jesus’ manifestation as he speaks of Jesus’ crying to the one who could save him from death.

There is no limit to the number of lessons that could be learned from the agony of Jesus in the garden, and perhaps many could be taken from this passage. But the important idea, according to the author Hebrews, is the reverent submission of Jesus (Luke 22:40-44).

The author reminds us of the idea that Jesus was made perfect through suffering (2:10) and this established him as the source of our eternal salvation. Was it necessary that Jesus should suffer? This may be a matter for serious debate. Beyond debate is the necessity of obedience. Jesus’ prayer was heard because of his reverent submission. He was made perfect through perfect obedience.

In evangelical Christianity we hold the the power of faith. We have the great promise from John’s Gospel that all who believe will be saved (John 3:16). Then what does it mean to believe? The author of Hebrews tells us that it is necessary to obey. And indeed, in the Gospel of John the ideas of faith, obedience, and love are shown to be one in the same.

I love you just as the Father loves me; remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My commandment is this: love one another, just as I love you.

(John 15:9-12 GNB)