I want to bring a message today
from Hebrews chapter 9. I've entitled this message, Christ
Offered Himself Once. Christ Offered Himself Once. So as you're turning to Hebrews
chapter 9, I also want to direct your attention to Luke chapter
18, 18th chapter of the book of Luke. Hold your place in Hebrews
chapter 9. I want to give you this by way
of introduction to the message today. I was contemplating this
this last couple of days. It struck me as I read or as
I thought about this place in Luke chapter 18. My daughter, asked me to give her some thoughts
that I had from the book of Proverbs on Proverbs chapter 25, because
in their homeschooling, my grandson, they're studying analogies. And
so Proverbs 25 contains, it's just full of analogies God has
given in scripture. In fact, for example, one of
them is a word fitly spoken, is like apples of gold in pictures
of silver. That's an analogy. God compares
a fitly spoken word to apples of gold in pictures of silver.
That's a very beautiful analogy, and we might wonder what it means.
Well, as I began to think about that in answer to my daughter's
request, I realized that almost every time Jesus taught his disciples,
he used an analogy. Almost every time, he hardly
said anything without drawing a truth from an analogy. And some of those analogies are
long and drawn out called parables. Parables, it's a longer analogy
really. And Jesus used parables profusely
throughout his ministry on earth, and they're recorded for us in
scripture. Well, it turns out this that I'm about to read to
you is a parable. It's an analogy. And many analogies
compare things that in other ways are completely different,
but for the purpose of drawing out the truth, That thing that's
different is used in a comparison to amplify the truth that's being
taught. For example, in Matthew 13, Jesus
talks about tares and wheat, and he compares the tares to
the unbelieving world and the wheat to the elect of God who've
been given faith in Christ through the word of God. And so tares
have nothing to do with people in most ways, but God uses that
as an analogy. Here in Luke 18, Jesus draws
an analogy as a parable. He begins in verse nine. He says, he spake this parable
unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous
and despised others. Here we have God dividing the
entire human race into two classes of people. Those who trust in
themselves and despise others. This is all of us by nature.
We all have our place here. Hypocritical, judgmental, critical,
trusting in ourselves that something that we do or are, we're entitled
somehow to God's blessings, that he should have favor on us, considering
what we do, we should escape somehow his wrath and justice.
Nothing could be further from the truth. But this man in the
parable, though he is a man that you could find in society, this
is a parable. So the Lord Jesus Christ, he's
not making it up in the sense that there is no physical person
that corresponds to this. There's many, the world's full
of them. But he's making up this character in the parable in order
to word for word teach us the way he sees things as the judge
of all. And this should sober us up. Those who trusted in themselves
that they were righteous, they had this view of others, they
despised them. And so he says this, verse 10.
Two men went up into the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee. and the other a publican, think
politician or tax collector. In history, people obtained the
office of a politician for one purpose, to extort others for
their own improvement, for their own status and their own enrichment.
And so it is throughout history. Verse 11, the Pharisees, and
we naturally despise those kinds of people, don't we? They're
supposed to be representing the people, but all they do is serve
themselves. That's the way we think of a
publican tax collector. The most hated kind of people
on earth. Verse 11, the Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself. Now remember, these are Christ's
words. describing men, and we're going
to see in them the fruit of a heart that trusts in itself how they
come to God. What do they look at when they
come? Like Cain, they look at something. They bring something,
and they are considering that, expecting God to turn away his
wrath from them, or to show them favor, to accept them, and to
reward them, to bless them. To find something in what they
bring, they look upon it in consideration and in trust. They trusted in
themselves that they were righteous. So the Pharisee stood and prayed,
consistent with what was in his heart. He said, God, I thank
Thee that I am not as other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers,
or even as this publican over here. I fast twice in the week. I give tithes of all that I possess. So the Lord Jesus Christ is the
judge of men's hearts, reveals to us how religion affects us. Our natural heart takes religion,
natural man's religion, and it contorts it and comes to God
with this attitude of Cain. I've worked hard. I have produced
fruit. Yes, God was in it, but it was
because of my labor and we bring it looking to that fruit, thinking
that because of the sweat of my brow, God must accept me. There's something that cannot
turn me away because of what I am or what I've done. And verse
13, now listen to these words carefully. These are the words
of the judge of all. These are the words of the one
who knows the hearts of men. These are the words of God who
is just, the God of truth, who cannot lie, who cannot compromise. He will not compromise his truth. He cannot. Now listen, this is
him and the publican, this sinful man who was identified by this
other one who was self-righteous. This publican standing afar off,
because he could not come, he could not think in his mind to
even approach into the temple. He would not lift up so much
as his eyes to heaven, but he smote upon his breast, saying
this, God, be merciful to me, and the word should be the sinner.
The one that was just described by this other man who seems to
be righteous. That's me. I'm the sinner. And
Jesus Christ, the Lord and judge of all, yet the mediator for
his people, tells us what is produced by the Spirit of God
when he saves a man. This is his prayer. Be merciful,
consider, look upon the propitiation offered on the mercy seat for
me, the sinner. And notice what happened in verse
14. Jesus said, I tell you, this
man, this publican, this sinful man, by his own admission, he
went down to his house justified rather than the other. Amazing,
isn't that? The publican was made by God
to come to God on the one basis that God alone provided, that
God alone required, that faith enables us to come in agreement,
absolute agreement and thanksgiving to God. We have no claim. Look upon the sacrifice. Receive
the one offered and be propitious to me, the sinner. Be merciful
to me, the sinner. These are Christ's words. He
made up the story in order to teach sinners how to come. in
order to teach us what his spirit produces in our heart, to point
us, to direct us to the truth of heaven, that the judge and
God of all truth accepts sinners because of the sacrifice, and
he gives them faith to know it, and they come on the word of
God, and therefore they glorify God. Romans chapter 3 and verse
31 says this. He says, do we then make void
the law through faith? In believing Christ, do we say,
well, God's just, but he didn't find any justice among men? We
didn't do it and we can't endure it. God requires righteousness,
but no man could provide it, so therefore God, instead, he
requires that we believe. Is that the nature of this? No,
no. Faith doesn't make the law empty
or void or purposeless or vain. God's law always is God's law. It doesn't change. God still
demands perfection according to his law. He demands a full
compliance in perfect obedience, in full satisfaction. And so
he says here, do we then make void the law through faith? No,
God forbid, yea, we establish the law. Faith looks to not its
own work and labors in order to gain acceptance, but looks
one place only, the righteousness of God, Jesus Christ, the one
who offered himself and sacrificed himself. for our sins and so
establish an everlasting righteousness. That's what glorifies God, Christ,
and Him crucified. And faith enables us to agree
completely with glad embrace of what God has done in His Son.
Amazing that the Lord Jesus Christ would give us this parable to
teach us, to give us words to convince our hearts that he does
accept sinners for Christ's sake alone. This is the truth. Jesus
said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. It's the truth
he revealed. God is just, yes, but he is the
justifier of the ungodly through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus. So in Hebrews chapter nine now,
I want to read through and I just want to give you a simple exposition
of many of these things here. To see the argument, God builds
the argument through his servant here, the writer to the Hebrews,
and it's such a powerful argument. He's showing us that there was
a testament, the first testament, which pointed forward to the
New Testament. The first was called the Old,
the second was called the New, the first came around the time
of Moses, But there was another one established even before that
time, but not revealed until after the Old Testament, until
Christ was crucified. Then it was made known. He's
held up the cup. When he handed it to his disciples,
he said, this cup is the New Testament in my blood, because
that's what made the New Testament. In verse 11 of Hebrews chapter
9, it says, but Christ being come, and high priest of good
things to come by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not
made with hands, that is to say, not of this building." Under
the First Testament, there were many priests. They had sin of
their own. They therefore died and they
could not continue to be priests because they died and because
they were sinners. Job said, whoever perished being
innocent, no one. We die because of sin, as by
one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and
so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. Death
is our due. Death is certain. We die because
we're sinners, and that's the only reason. There were no priests
in the Old Testament who could, because they all died, they were
all sinners. Because of their sin they died,
and their priesthood also was of a lesser dignity than the
priesthood of Christ that we learn about through Melchizedek.
His name, Melchizedek, meant King of Righteousness, remember
chapter 7, and King of Peace because he was the King of Salem.
Those under Aaron's priesthood were men. Christ is the Son of
God. Melchizedek came before them.
He had no beginning of days, no end of life, but he continues
forevermore and his priesthood therefore continues forever.
And all priests in the law honored Melchizedek as the high priest
because they were in Abraham's loins when Abraham met and honored
Melchizedek. And so they proved in that that
his priesthood was superior to theirs, coming before theirs,
enduring after theirs, and therefore theirs only pointed to his. Christ's
priesthood was promised after the law was in place proving
that their priesthood made nothing perfect and that it would be
replaced by His. Because theirs was just a shadow,
but His is an everlasting priesthood because He never dies, His life
is forever. These are just things I'm bringing
back to your recollection from Hebrews chapter 7. They offered
the blood of beasts, Christ offered himself. They offered for the
ceremonial cleansing of the people, Christ offered himself and actually
accomplished a full cleansing of our sins. Their priesthood
was made without an oath. Christ was made by the oath of
God. God staked himself to it and
therefore established in that oath the everlasting covenant
in Christ's blood. The Lord Jesus Christ lives forever
and his living is at the right hand of God to make intercession
for his people, therefore he shall save them to the uttermost. They all come to God by Him. They've been given an allotment,
an inheritance of faith because of His righteousness. 2 Peter
1 says that we have received like precious faith with them
through the righteousness of our God and our Savior, Jesus
Christ. And so this faith is given to
us as a lot, our inheritance, our lot from Christ because of
His redeeming work. All for whom Christ died are
redeemed by His blood and are given this faith. Now the Lord
Jesus Christ is the one and only High Priest. God the Father promised
His priesthood to Him and He is both the High Priest and He
is the King. And it was all seen in Melchizedek
before. But in Aaron, in the priesthood
of the Levites, he was foreshadowed, and their priesthood was but
a reflection and a shadow of his, which is the true priesthood.
Christ has now come. He has actually performed the
great work of atonement. He has actually obtained our
redemption, and it is an eternal redemption, therefore nothing
Nothing need be done because he has sat down on the right
hand of God, he's finished. Nothing can be done, he's obtained
it. Nothing else can be or need be
done because the work is finished, it's complete, it's perfect,
God has said so, Christ is now seated in glory, which is proof
of it, and all power in heaven and earth is given to him. because
he did this. Total submission of himself to
God to do the will of God to save us from our sins. Amazing
grace. And that's what this is saying,
but Christ being come and high priest of good things to come
by a greater and more perfect tabernacle. What tabernacle?
And on earth there was a room, animal skins divided in half,
the holy place and the holiest of all. But Christ is one. His
tabernacle is his human nature. Ramel read it earlier. It says,
the word was made flesh and he dwelt among us. He tabernacled
among us. And we beheld his glory because
in the tabernacle God's glory was seen. At least they thought
it was. But here in Christ we see the
full glory of God in the Lord Jesus Christ. Amazing grace,
isn't it? So the earthly tabernacle was
only a shadow and a reflection of the true, it wasn't the actual,
it wasn't the substance, and it didn't accomplish anything
more than the ceremonial cleansings of those people who served in
that tabernacle. The main function of that tabernacle
was simply to portray the true, to represent the one who would
come and to depict his service, to hint at the eternal redemption
that he would actually obtain by the real and all-sufficient
price of his own precious blood. Amazing grace. Look at verse
12 of Hebrews chapter 9. Neither by the blood of goats
and calves but by his own blood he entered once into the holy
place having obtained eternal redemption for us. What a contrast
is drawn. Animal blood. versus the blood
of the Son of God. There's no comparison, is there?
Absolute infinite distance between the two. The animal blood accomplished
nothing. The blood of Christ accomplished
everything. What a contrast. Goats and calves
and their blood are not offered. Now, they are not to be offered
ever again, because the picture pointed to the person. The person
has come. The picture pointed to the atonement
that would be made. Christ has made that atonement.
It pointed to the redemption that would be obtained. Christ
obtained it. They were offered year by year
continually because nothing was ever accomplished. It was just
a reminder that sin was never put away and that the one portrayed
had not yet come. But when Christ came, all sacrifices
ended. all lawful sacrifices. People
today still offer sacrifices of animals. They're all an abomination
to God. Daniel 9.24 says he would make
an end of sacrifice, an end of sins, make reconciliation, and
establish an everlasting righteousness. In fact, I should just read that
to you. Daniel, chapter nine. It's just before the book of
Hosea. It says this in prophecy, 70 weeks are determined upon
thy people and upon thy holy city to finish the transgression,
to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity and
to bring in everlasting righteousness and to seal up the vision of
the prophecy and to anoint the most holy. That's Christ. He
did all those things. This prophecy is speaking about
his redeeming work. himself who would come, who would
be the sufferings of Christ in the glory that would follow,
which is the testimony of all the Old Testament scripture.
And so we have it here in Hebrews chapter 9 verse 12. It wasn't by the blood of animals,
not goats and calves, even though the law required them, but by
his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained
eternal redemption for us. Why once? Why, if that was a
picture in the Old Testament that many sacrifices were offered
year by year, continually, why once? Why only one sacrifice? Because one was all that was
needed. And once was all that it could be done. Once was sufficient. Here in this testimony, the argument
of the book of Hebrews is building up to a climax. It reaches its
crescendo, its peak. And here at the peak, God is
saying Christ offered himself, his life in total submission,
his life offered in blood, a sacrifice to God for our sins, to bring
us to God, just like the publican prayed, God, be merciful, be
propitious, look upon the sacrifice, the propitiation. God ordained,
God provided, God accepted for my sins. I'm the sinner. Lord,
consider only Him. By faith we consider only Him.
We look to Christ alone and we bring no other. We don't look
for another because one was enough. It was the blood of Christ. There's
no measure to the value of the obedience and submission of Christ
that He yielded in love to His Father and in holiness There
was no spot here, no taint of sin, no failure to complete everything. He didn't come to destroy the
law and the prophets, but to fulfill them. And even though
we were sinners and full of sin, in truth, He took care of everything. Not one sin was left undone,
not a sin of thought, not a sin of motive, not a sin of intent,
not a secret sin, not an open sin, not a sin of lust or pride,
not a sin of envy or hatred or murder. All of the sins of all
of his people were laid on him. And you can see what God thought
of those sins. What did those sins do to the
beloved son of God? It nailed him to the cross of
cursing. They spit in his face and beat
upon him with their fists and they covered his face. They shamed
him, they mocked him, they ridiculed him, they beat his back with
lashes of bone stuck in the lash until it ripped his flesh off
and you could see the bones. And then they mocked him more
and they challenged him to deliver himself. They said he saved others. They admitted that he did. Himself
he cannot save, because he couldn't save himself, because he gave
himself to save his people. And he actually put away the
sins of his people. Not one is left, because God
is a God of truth, a God of justice, a God of righteousness. and there's
not gonna be any compromise. He lets all of the onlooking
universe look upon his son. The three labels put on his cross
in three languages all said this, this is Jesus, the King of the
Jews. He's the one who conquered all
and reigns over all, the king of his people, according to God's
promise and appointment, because he obtained our eternal redemption. He established an everlasting
righteousness. On that day in Leviticus 16,
the high priest would ceremonially go in and obtain a ceremonial
cleansing by offering the sprinkling of that blood on the mercy seat
in that tabernacle. But Christ took his own blood
by the eternal Spirit of God, His human nature, expending Himself,
spending and being spent for us a price paid unequal, unimaginable,
unmeasurable, and yet what God required and received by God
in full satisfaction and complete payment so that an eternal redemption
was obtained by Him, and it was obtained then in history. He
did it then. He doesn't have to offer himself
anymore. Christ does not need to do anything
more to redeem us from our sins. He has redeemed us. Our justification
is by His blood and by His obedience. God never justifies us because
of anything found in us. Not now, not before our conversion,
not after, not in eternity. There's not going to be any justification
of any sinner in the day of judgment on any basis except this one
basis, the blood and righteousness of Christ. Period. And all who
believe him on God's word, like the publican, laying hold on
the sacrifice, coming to God on his own word and with that
word in his mouth as a letter, here's what you've said, Lord
do as you have said I'm trusting as a sinner entirely upon the
sacrifice you provided and accepted in your son. That's what we do.
We don't want another, we don't need another, we don't look for
another. We can't have any, we can't tolerate any thought of
leaving him. We need him, we want him, and
we trust him, and we're delighted in him. We have peace in our
conscience and joy, and that's what it says here. Look at Hebrews
chapter nine. He didn't go into that earthly
tabernacle, but a greater, a more perfect tabernacle. His own body,
his own human nature, not made with hands. That is to say, not
of this building God prepared for him a body. Neither by the
blood of goats and calves, in verse 12, but by his own blood
he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal
redemption for us. Verse 13, for if the blood of
bulls and of goats, I'm sorry, the blood of bulls and of goats,
and the ashes of an heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctified to the
purifying of the flesh, the ceremonial cleansing in that old covenant,
how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal
Spirit, His own divine nature, the Son of God, the Spirit of
Christ, offering His human nature, How could the Holy Spirit of
God offer anything less than perfection? Anything less than
what God required? Anything less than would obtain
the salvation God promised from eternity to His people? Nothing
less than the perfect sacrifice, the complete offering of the
body and the blood of the Son of God was made by the eternal
Spirit of God. And it was made to God in the
presence of His glory. without spot to God, you see? How much more shall he who offered
himself to God by the Eternal Spirit without spot purge your
conscience from dead works to serve the living God? We don't
bring our works expecting God to buy our works, consider them,
and therefore avert the wrath due to us, or to favor us, or
to accept us, or to bless us, or any of those things. We don't
think of ourselves in any way as being entitled except to deserve
God's wrath, but the wrath of God in justice was fully expended. upon the Son of God in our nature. And he was then offering himself
under that wrath, being poured out, trusting his Father in judgment
according to truth and for righteousness. Now that And that alone, when
given to us by the work of the Spirit of God in our hearts,
purges our conscience. We see that God is satisfied. In the open court of heaven,
God has executed the decision of the Supreme Court, justified
according to the strict plumb line of His law. in full satisfaction
of his justice, the full display of his wrath in the pouring out
of his justice upon the precious Son of God, his own Son. He delivered
him up. God himself plunged the sword,
it says in Zechariah 13, 7, the sword against my shepherd, my
fellow, And so it says here in verse 15, and for this cause,
because he offered himself to God without spot by the eternal
spirit and obtained our eternal redemption, 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. There's so much here, every word,
every coupling of words, every phrase, the whole sentence is
just chock full of pure doctrine, dripping, directing us to the
one offering of God's own Son in our nature for our sins. to bring us to God. As our high
priest, he was accepted. His offering was accepted. Therefore,
we're accepted because God appointed him to stand there for us, to
bear our sins. That's what he's saying here.
Sins have been put away. The answer has been rendered.
The full satisfaction has been made. God is satisfied. God is
pleased with him. Christ loved us and offered himself
for us, a sacrifice that was pleasing to God, a sweet-smelling
savor. Ephesians chapter 5 verse 2.
God was pleased with him. God was never pleased with any
animal sacrifices. Just keep offering them over
and over. In sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body
hast thou prepared me. That's what he said. And so he
did. He's the mediator. He's the one
who made this testament. He's the one who put it into
force by his own death. The last will and testament put
into force by the blood of the Son of God in our nature. And
so that that covenant blessings, everything in that covenant is
brought to us, given to us, bestowed upon us. We're made sons of God,
given His Spirit in our hearts to know these things and believe
them too, and to walk in life. Everlasting life is given to
us according to His righteousness. Everything because of the propitiation
and even an eternal inheritance. What God has given to His Son
is given to us because it was given to him for us. The high
priest received all from God for his people. He bore all their
sins and he received in payment a full redemption and a full
and eternal inheritance. Verse 16, For where a testament
is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
For a testament is of force after men are dead. Otherwise it is
of no strength at all while the testator liveth. Whereupon neither
the first testament was dedicated without blood. For when Moses
had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law,
he took the blood of calves and of goats with water, and scarlet
wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book and all the people,
saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath
enjoined to you." Moses was the one God designated as the mediator
of that first testament. He took the blood, which was
required in that testament, and he sprinkled the people by sprinkling
that blood on them because it was a reflection of the true,
that blood sprinkled, that animal blood sprinkled on them as a
reflection of what Christ would actually do. He sprinkled the
book, the tabernacle, all the vessels of the ministry, everything
in that First Testament necessarily was cleansed by the blood because
everything in the New Testament was actually, really, cleansed
from all sin by the blood of Christ. In that Old Testament,
there was a tabernacle. In the New Testament, what is
there? The body of Christ, the people of God. In that Old Testament,
there was a book. What is there in the New? It's
the Gospel, the Testament that God put into force by His blood.
Everything is sprinkled with blood and put into force by it.
In the Old Testament there were vessels of the ministry, and
what are they? But those who are designed by
God and chosen by God as vessels to glory and honor, they themselves,
we ourselves, and everything we do, everything about us, our
service, our prayers, Our life is cleansed by the blood of Christ,
so that all that we are and do as believers, joined to Christ
in his body, is purged. He says this in Ephesians, as
an example, in Ephesians 5, verse 25, Husbands, love your wives
even as Christ loved the church as a wife, his body. He loved the church and he gave
himself for it, not just a little of himself, not part of himself,
his entire self, for her, the church, the people of God, that
he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water
by the word. That word that sanctifies is
the word of the gospel that tells of his sanctifying blood. That's
what purges our conscience. Verse 27, that he might present
it, the church, to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle
or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish. This is what Christ did by his
own blood. He washed his people from their sins and he gives
them the gospel so that in their conscience they're in alignment. They're in total agreement. How
can two walk together except they be agreed? We're completely
agreed. This is all of the cleansing. God has accepted the sacrifice.
He has declared, deliver him from going down to the pit. I
have found a ransom. Remember Job chapter 23? This
is what the Lord has been testifying about all through the Old Testament. So the force of that Old Testament
was put into force by the sprinkling of blood, cleansing everything
by blood, almost all things are by the law purged with blood,
and without shedding of blood is no remission. But by the shedding
of blood, there is remission. Verse 23, it was therefore necessary,
Hebrews 9, 23, it was therefore necessary, that the copies or the patterns
of things in the heavens should be purified with these. Because
the true, the real, the substance, the eternal was actually done
this way in truth. It was necessary for those patterns
of the things in the heavens to be purified with these. But
the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. Verse 24, for Christ is not entered
into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures
of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the
presence of God for us. Amazing. The high priest entered
into the holy place once a year, but Christ now has not only entered,
but abides and remains there. appearing before God in the glory
of God, in His presence, where there's no compromise, there's
no deviation from pure light. Everything is disclosed, everything
is set right. Christ is there, accepted, offering
His blood, and God is saying here that what He required, He
has fulfilled. All that is law, required of
us, He's fulfilled it for us. In our high priest, in his own
substitution of himself, he appears for us, there interceding with
himself, accepted for us. We are accepted as him. I often
say this is the pinnacle of the gospel. This is the distillation
of it. God justifies me, the sinner, because of what he thinks
of Christ, the sacrifice. This should raise our our joys to heights unknown,
our peace with God, and our conscience, our very conscience, so that
we never again come to God thinking that what we do is somehow going
to finally remove the barrier between us. It won't. God did
it once. There's nothing left to do. The sin has been taken care of.
It is as if my sins are removed as far as the east is from the
west. No, it is that way. Isn't that what he said? I will
remove their sins from them as far as the east is from the west.
I will remember them no more. How could God in truth, the God
of truth, say this? Because it was actually done.
God required it, therefore it would do the job. Christ is seated. God isn't going
to seat his son in exaltation of glory as if something was
done that wasn't actually done. So he says in verse 25, nor yet
that he should offer himself often as a high priest entereth
into the holy place every year with blood of others. They had
to come every year, year after year, sacrifices, animal blood,
the place reeked with blood because it was so often offered. But
here's the amazing thing, Christ offered himself but once. And he didn't have to offer himself
again because that one offering of himself was a total giving
It was the treasure of heaven emptied. Nothing more could be
paid. God's own justice could require
nothing else. We are justified according to
righteousness, the absolute righteousness of God. The curse has been removed. Sin has been washed from his
people in his own blood. Not even the devil can find fault
with this. Why are we so reluctant to come
boldly by the blood of Jesus, openly, without concealment,
in total communion with God because of what Christ has done? Because
we reserve some small part in our conscience to think that
we still have more to do. that something yet has to be
done. We're going to enter into judgment, brothers and sisters
who believe on Christ. We're going to enter into judgment.
We might be there soberly. We might be there with a sense
of awe, and we will be, but we will be there in peace. We will
be exonerated, justified, and we will expect to be justified
because we are looking at what God's looking at. What God has
accepted. There's boldness in the blood
of Christ. We have confidence. Let me read
to you in 1 John chapter four. This is not made up stuff. This
is what God himself has said. I like what Jesus said in that
parable of the rich, of the publican and the sinner. This man went
down to his house justified. Amazing. In 1 John 4, verse 17,
Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in
the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. How is Christ? He's our forerunner,
our captain, seated in heaven, heaven accomplished all, so are
we in this world. We are accepted in the Beloved
according to God's eternal will, according to Christ's own shed
blood, according to the witness of the Spirit of God from the
Word of God. God said this, we didn't make this up. You watch
these TV shows and you'll see the hero in some inextricable
problem. How in the world is he going
to get out? And suddenly something happens, you know. The rules
are changed. Physics are changed. I don't
know what happens. They have to change something. God never
changed anything. God always required this. God
would always do this. He promised it before the world
would. He declared the end from the beginning and he accomplished
his word. And here it is. There is no fear
in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear hath torment.
He that feareth is not made perfect in love. And what is that love?
Herein is love, not that we love God, but that He loved us and
sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. What is the love
of God? How do we know it? The propitiation Christ sent,
Christ offered, Christ accepted, and with Him, His people, that's
love, and we believing Him as our propitiation, trusting Him
as our righteousness, as the full cleansing of our sin, come
to God boldly only by Him. And so we have boldness in the
day of judgment. I often tremble at the thought
of judgment. But why? Because my conscience is still
carrying around the stain of my own unbelief. But Christ has
done all for His people. Therefore, we're to trust Him.
We're to come to God by Him. Anything short dishonors God. We should have full assurance
of faith, and anything short is not glorifying God. Faith
glorifies God, because faith says, Christ, look at Him! Amazing! There's God's justice
and truth and holiness and righteousness, and His grace and mercy all set
forth, His wisdom, His strength. The subjugation of His enemies,
the conquering of them, and the salvation of His people, His
eternal glory is seen in His Son offering Himself for our
sins. It was done once, it can't be
repeated. Not only because the Old Testament
sacrifice kept this repetition up because they could never put
away sins, but because Christ was enough, he's all sufficient. And not only that, verse 26,
for then he must have suffered since the foundation of the world
if he had not put away sin by himself. But now once, verse
26, but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to
put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And he did it. Could
the son of God fail? Can the one who is truth, the
king of righteousness and the king of truth, the king of peace,
can he fail? No. Otherwise God wouldn't be
God. He couldn't have a throne. He
couldn't rule. This word wouldn't be true. The whole universe would
collapse. There would be no purpose in
life, no basis for hope, no basis of confidence. We would be miserable
above all men because we trust that Christ is our answer. And
yet he wouldn't have answered, but he did answer. That's the
point. And verse 27, he builds another case here, he says, God
has appointed that men die once, as it is appointed unto men once
to die, but after this the judgment, he's applying it now to the Lord
Jesus, so Christ, being a man, was once offered to bear the
sins of many. Now, He bore all the sins of
many. He didn't leave their sins partially born, or He didn't
do it in a contingency based on what they would do. He actually
bore away their sins. And their sins are really put
away. They're actually redeemed. He gives them the release that
He purchased by His own blood. But not all men could be included,
otherwise all men would believe, and all men would have the Spirit
of God, and all men would be given eternal inheritance and
eternal life. But because God knows his works
from the beginning before the foundation of the world and works
everything according to his will, all those in eternal heavenly
bliss are those he predestinated for that, those he gave to Christ,
those he said his spirit because he redeemed them by his blood.
The many that has redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every
kindred, tongue, people, and nation. And unto them that look
for him, this is the character of their lives, they look for
him who died for them, and they live upon him by faith. Unto
them that look for him expectantly shall he appear according to
their expectation the second time without sin unto salvation. Amazing grace, our Savior. It's all about him here, you
see? All about his work. and the effects it has on us,
not only the effects it has on us, but primarily what it did
for God. Christ's sacrifice didn't change
God. He's the one who required it. God was always satisfied
with his people for Christ's sake. But it had to happen. It
had to be fulfilled. And now that it's fulfilled,
it's declared to us, don't think to bring something. Don't consider
anything. Like Abel, look to the sacrifice,
a more excellent sacrifice. Nothing else could possibly be
required. Certainly nothing else given.
Christ having offered himself once, offered himself in total. There's no need to do it again.
Our salvation is final. It's done. It's complete. It's
perfect. we should come to God that way,
with full peace and joy in our hearts. And so what should we
say? Well, when sin assaults us, when
sins prevail against us, we say with the public, and God, consider
the propitiation, my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who offered
himself and is the propitiation to God for my sins. On your word
I come. by him alone. If you don't accept
me, if his answer is insufficient, I have no answer. I cannot be
accepted. Your justice must be fulfilled
in my eternal damnation. And it won't be, because it'll
go on for eternity. But we come to God that way.
We take his word. This is the truth. People think
of truth nowadays, like Rommel was saying earlier, as what men
say. That's never been truth. Let
God be true, but every man a liar. No wonder if you trust in men,
you'll be disappointed. They've proved themselves false
from the beginning. And it starts at the root. They don't like
to retain God in their knowledge and they don't hold God's word
to be the truth. But they make up their own. They
look to their own subjective interpretations of it. Your truth,
my truth. The baloney, that's what it is.
Just pure baloney. And that's a kind word. But God's
word is true from the beginning, and every one of thy righteous
judgments endureth forever. Jesus said, not one jot or tittle
of the law shall fail until all be fulfilled, because he himself
would do it. It didn't depend on us, God did
it. So our salvation is in the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal
Son of God, who made himself our high priest according to
God's will. And God looks upon his son, our
high priest, and his sacrifice of himself. And he says, very
good, very good. His work is always very good. It's only his work, and therefore
it's all to his glory, can't fail. We should take delight
in it. We should be directed, as he
does so in his word, to Christ, outside of ourselves, to him
who sits on the throne. And in so being directed by faith,
we find the Spirit of God at work in us. because that's the
fruit of his work, to direct our hearts to him in love. So
he says, reckon ye, reckon yourselves also to be dead indeed to sin,
but alive to God. Don't yield yourself, servants,
to righteousness, but to holiness, because you have died with Christ
and risen with Christ and are seated with Christ. Walk by that. That's the faith, the spirit
of God that we walk by. Let's pray. Lord, thank you for
your mercy towards sinners and your justice and truth and righteousness
that for Christ's sake you receive sinners according to the perfect
pure light of your eternal glory and that we will stand in your
presence without spot, blameless, in perfect peace because you
have given your word that Christ is our peace. He made it with
his own blood. and His blood cannot be denied.
His petitions are always heard. His intercession in His own person
at your right hand will prevail, and we shall be saved to the
uttermost. We expect you to do according to your word, according
to the righteousness of your Son. And though we have no reason
in ourselves for confidence, we have every reason in Christ
for confidence. Thank you for Him. In Jesus'
name we pray, amen.