Okay, well, come back to Hebrews
chapter 9, and I want to look at the last few verses. Hebrews chapter 9, and the last
few verses. The epistle was written, I believe,
by Paul to these Hebrew or Jewish believers who were craving a
return to what we called a couple of weeks ago, the blueprint for
the gospel. The blueprint being the Old Testament
pattern, the Mosaic law pattern, the tabernacle temple sacrificial
system, which was a blueprint, a pattern of the gospel of grace. It itself never saved anyone,
but it was a picture in so many ways. It was physical. It had tangible things, you could
see, you could touch, you could see a veil, you could see a priest
dressed in his robes, you could see an altar where a sacrifice,
an animal sacrifice, you could see real blood of animals being
shed. These were physical, tangible
things and there was this hankering after going back to that because
we're so bound by the flesh. But true worship as we keep saying,
is in spirit and in truth, not in patterns and pictures. So
many today, and down the ages, continue to think that true worship
is in patterns and pictures. You must do things in a certain
way, there are certain places, you must go to a certain building
before you can pray to God. No, true worship is not in this
mountain, or that mountain, as Jesus said to the Samaritan woman,
it's in spirit, and in truth, it's a heart thing. the Old Testament
pattern of which the blueprint was the core, that Old Testament
pattern ended for good when Christ came and fulfilled it all. All
the time it was in place from when Moses gave it to when it
was ended in A.D. 70, all that time, God's approval
was on it. It was his way that people would
approach him. It was his ordained way, but
it ended. Just as the prophets had said
it would, it came to pass, exactly as was said. It all ended. Now
verse 23, look at verse 23 of chapter 9 with me. It was therefore
necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should
be purified with these, with blood. He's been talking about
blood purifying. He's been talking about the blood,
the hyssop, all of those things, the sprinkling of blood. He says
it was therefore necessary that the patterns of things, the blueprint
for the gospel, that Old Testament pattern, should be purified with
these, the blood sacrifices, but the heavenly things, the
reality, the truth themselves with better sacrifices than these. It was necessary for the patterns
or the blueprints to be purified with the blood of a sacrifice,
a picture sacrifice, an animal sacrifice, picturing sin debt
payment in the lifeblood of an acceptable substitute, but the
reality the truth, the reality, the heavenly tabernacle, the
church, the people of God, purified with effectual blood, the effectual
sacrifice, the better sacrifice. Why was it better? Because it
was the blood of Christ. It was the precious blood of
Christ, his own precious blood. Why was that blood better than
the blood of animals? His blood was real human blood,
but his blood was the blood of the infinite son of God. God
shed his own. It says somewhere that God bought
the church with his own blood. This is the blood of the infinite
God who became man to shed human blood for the sins of his people. That's why it's a better sacrifice. It's better because of the blood
that was shed. Not the worthless blood of a
mere picture, but the valuable currency that pays the sin debt
of his people. Verse 24, for Christ is not entered into
the holy places made with hands, which are figures of the true,
but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God
for us. Christ, just as the Old Testament priest, the high priest,
would go into the holy place, and the high priest himself,
only once a year on the day of atonement, into the holy of holies,
he would go in there, and he had to go in in the way God had
ordained, and with the blood of an acceptable sacrifice. But
Christ, as our high priest after the order of Melchizedek, who
was the priest of God, not just a picture, order of Melchizedek,
our high priest went into the holy places, he didn't go into
the holy places that were made with hands, which was the tabernacle,
and the temple, those physical things, which are figures of
the true, they're blueprints of the true, they're patterns,
they're pictures of the true, Where did he go? Into heaven
itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us. You see,
they were just figures of the true in Jerusalem, but he went
into heaven itself. And there in heaven itself, in
the holy of all, he took his own blood. And there on the mercy
seat, the true mercy seat, not the picture one, there that blood
was presented. And there in him, in our Lord
Jesus Christ, our great high priest, all of his people meet
with God face to face. As God said to Moses, you will
speak to me face to face at the mercy seat. through the works,
the person of an intercessor, a mediator, who is Christ himself. He now appears in the presence
of God for us, and we are in him. And read the article I put
in at the back of the bulletin, written by John Owen a long time
ago, 350 years ago, about our union with Christ. Because when
Christ went in there, his people went in there with him. And you
say, I wasn't there. If you're in Christ, you were.
as far as the reckoning of God is concerned, you were there.
Verse 25, nor yet that he should offer himself often as the high
priest entereth into the holy place every year with the blood
of others. You see, the blueprint, the pattern, required daily,
weekly, and annual repetitions of the pattern. Why did it require
that? Why did they have to go? Why
did the high priest have to go every year on the day of atonement?
Why were there the repeated daily offerings? The answer is this.
They were pictures only. They were pictures, they were
saying how it would be achieved but they themselves didn't achieve
it. They were ineffectual. They didn't
achieve reconciliation. Those blood sacrifices didn't
pay the sin debt of any sinner at all. They were just pictures
of that which would. They were oft repeated, oft repeated,
but Christ didn't need to offer himself often because his appearing
once was effectual. His appearing once did achieve
it. Now let's read verses 26 to 28
which is going to be our focus this morning. For then must he
often, this is Christ, must he often have suffered since the
foundation of the world. But now once in the end of the
world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of
himself. And as it is appointed unto men
once to die, but after this the judgment, so Christ was once
offered to bear the sins of many. And unto them that look for him
shall he appear the second time without sin and to salvation. This is what I want to focus
on this morning. And I've called this once only,
because did you keep seeing once in the end of time? Pointed to
man to die once. He came once. But yet a second. Once, but yet a second. He came
once, but then there's going to be a second coming. You see,
because as I said earlier, the believer's view of cosmology,
what's this world and this universe all about, is this. Very simply,
God created, Christ came for salvation, when the fullness
of the time was come, God sent forth his son, made of a woman,
made under the law to redeem those that are under the law.
He came for salvation, And then he's coming finally to end all
things. to judge and to take to be with
him his people. That's the believer's view of
cosmology. And everything else, you know,
we observe things objectively and rationally, but we recognize
that what we see is this instant of time. We see things how they
are now, but the scriptures reveal God created, Christ came for
salvation, Christ is coming again for judgment and to take his
church to be with him. So the first point, just two
points. First point is this. Now, once, he hath appeared. Verse 26, the end of it, but
now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away
sin by the sacrifice of himself. In effect, that coming of the
Lord Jesus Christ, that appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ ushered
in what's called the last times. You know, when his ministry and
then his ascension into glory, it's now, we now live in the
last times because all prophecy and revelation is fulfilled and
completed. and all that is yet to happen
is that Christ is to come again at the end of the world he appeared
to put away sin all of those things were leading up to it
bit by bit more and more revelation but then he came he appeared
in the end of time at the end of that phase he came to put
away sin you see prior to Christ's coming God was hidden he was
discernible in that which, you could look at things and you
could infer the existence of God, and there's philosophers
who still try to do this now, they argue about the existence
of God from a philosophical point of view. You can look at creation,
you can look at creation as we see it today, and you can discern,
you can infer there must be a God. I know the mind of man is so
blinded that it comes up with ludicrous ideas that it all put
itself together, but really the truly rational opinion is that
if you look at what you see here, you conclude that there is a
God. Fine. you look at the conscience of man and that sense of immortality
and that sense that there is a God that is in each one of
us with the consciousness that we have. You can infer from that
that there is a God. Where did this thing called consciousness
come from? We're not just mechanistic collections
of molecules. There's some soul, there's some
spirit, there's some consciousness there. You can look at the written
scriptures that have been miraculously preserved down the millennia,
written by so many different authors and yet all with an utterly
consistent message of sovereign grace. You can infer from that
You can look at the pre-incarnate appearances of the Lord Jesus
Christ, what are called the Theophanies, when the angel of the Lord appeared
to Abraham, when that one appeared to Gideon, when that one appeared
to Samson's parents and they thought they were going to die
because no man shall see God and live and they thought oh
woe is me it's up with us we're done for we've seen God now we
know what the scripture says we're bound to die there were
those theophanies which were those pre-incarnate appearances
of the Lord Jesus Christ you know who knows I personally find
it hard not to believe that Melchizedek was a pre-incarnate appearance
of the Lord Jesus Christ. But I wouldn't be dogmatic and
argue with you about it. But 2012 years ago, if our calendars
are really correct, give or take a few years, God was manifest. 2012 years ago, God did appear. He did appear. Look at 1 Timothy,
chapter 3, and verse 16. There's lots of three verse 16's,
you know John 3.16, 1 Timothy 3.16, in fact 2 Timothy 3.16
is another one. I think, yes it is. Yes, all
scripture is given by inspiration of God. But 1 Timothy 3.16 says
this, and without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. Great is the mystery of God.
There are things here You know, you can understand all sorts
of things, you can feel that you're getting your head around
all sorts of things in this life, but this is deeply, deeply mysterious. Great is the mystery of godliness.
God was manifest in the flesh. God was manifest in the flesh,
justified in the spirit. seen of angels, preached unto
the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. God was manifest in the flesh. He became a baby. No man had
seen except for the confirmations that God had given through the
theophanies that God would be seen uh... for example remember
we read in exodus twenty four i think it was last week when
moses and joshua and and uh... they they they went up to to
worship God and the seventy elders went with them and we read there
that they saw God you know that that was a kind of a that was
a kind of a prelude to the fact that yes our eyes will see him
his people will see him but in general nobody had seen God and
the idea was that if you saw God you would die At Bethlehem,
God became man. At Bethlehem, God was manifest. At Bethlehem, he did indeed appear,
manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit. Justified in the
Spirit? I think what that means is that
the whole holiness of God was in that little baby that was
born. in Bethlehem, and grew into that
man who had no form nor comeliness that we should desire him, yet
all the holiness of God was in him, in his flesh. And how do
we know? In that he raised him from the
dead. When he bore our sins in his
own body on the tree, when he paid redemption's price for sin,
God vindicated him and raised him from the dead. And he ascended
on high, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached in the
world. He was born as a baby. He became
a child. He grew. A toddler. Can you imagine
that? We look at little Luca wandering
around and you see that little package of you. Our Lord Jesus
Christ was a little toddler like that one day. God was manifest
in the flesh. It's unbelievable, isn't it?
As several of the hymns in our new hymn book say, God contracted
to a span. The infinite God who made everything,
who sustains everything, who upholds all things by the word
of the power of the second person of the Trinity contracted to
the span of a little baby who grew into a child. The word made
flesh, as John tells us, the word of God The essence, the
mind of God expressed, the word of God made flesh. No man has
ever seen God at any time, but the only begotten Son, who is
in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. He has made
Him known. He grew up in obedience to His
parents. in his society. He grew up in
sinlessness amongst brothers and sisters. He was heralded
by John the Baptist, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the
sins of the world. He had a very, very public ministry. He was heard by crowds of people,
by the sea, on the hillside, in Jerusalem, in the temple,
on the roads to Jericho. He was heard one to one in Samaria,
Sychar, by that well, just him and that woman, one to one. He
had a very public ministry. Very public ministry. He was
ministered to by angels. He was feared by devils who came
and said, what are we to do with thee, O thou son of God? God
was so manifest that in John 14, when the disciples were asking,
Philip asked to see the father. And Jesus said to him, and remember,
this is a man speaking. A man who had no comeliness that
we should desire him. A man who looked older than his
years. He was but thirty-something,
thirty-one, two, three, something like that. And yet they said
to him, you're not yet fifty years old. A man who had no comeliness
that we should desire him. And he said to them, he who has
seen me has seen the Father. John said, we beheld his glory,
the glory as of the only begotten Son of the Father, full of grace
and truth. God was manifest in the flesh. He appeared now once in the end
of the world, as he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice
of himself. Throughout Judea, he was seen.
He was seen by Pilate. Not only those adoring crowds,
but by Pilate and by Herod. He was seen by Roman soldiers
who abused him. He was lifted up on the cross.
He was seen by the crowds as he was lifted up on the cross,
just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness. He was seen
there. He was seen by the disciples
when he'd risen from the dead. when he'd borne his people's
sins, when God raised him, declared him to be the son of God with
glory and that he raised him from the dead, he was seen by
his disciples. And why did he come and do all
of that in those 33 years? Why has he appeared once in the
end of the world? To put away sin. To put away
sin. He didn't come to be a good example
although he was a good example. There was never any better example
of humanity. He didn't come to show us God's
goodness and God's love, though nobody ever declared the goodness
and love of God better than the Lord Jesus Christ. Those things
are true, but if that's all you focus on, as so many do, you
totally miss the center of the whole thing. He came to put away
sin. That's why he came. He came to
put away sin just as in the picture in the Old Testament sacrifices.
The scapegoat, you know there were the two goats that were
taken and one was slain and shed its blood. and then the priest
put his hand on the head of the other and confessed the sins
of the people over it and then let it away into the wilderness
that it might carry symbolically those sins away into the wilderness
far away like the scapegoat carrying the sins away he came to put
away sin Whose sin? Whose sin did the scapegoat carry
away? It was the sins of Israel that
the priest confessed. He put his hand on the head of
the scapegoat and confessed the sins of Israel. And it carried
the sins of Israel. Israel is a picture of the elect
of God. When our, when our Lord Jesus
Christ came to bear the sins of his people, to be the one
that shed its blood and the one that carried away the sins into
the wilderness, it was for his elect that he did that. It was
for his people that the father gave him before the beginning
of time. And how did he do it? It says, by the sacrifice of
himself. Our modern thinking doesn't like
the idea of sacrifice. We think of weird religion and
blood sacrifice and all this sort of thing. And we think,
oh, there's something very odd about that. Listen. In the revelation
of God there must be sacrifice to pay for sin because the wages
of sin is death. and the gift of God is eternal
life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The wages of sin is death. The
wages of sin is the life of the one who bears the sin. The wages
of sin is pouring out the life. And how do you pour out the life?
You pour out the blood, for the life is in the blood. Paying
the sin debt of his people with his life blood. By the sacrifice
of himself, paying the sin debt of his people, by the sacrifice
of himself, pouring out his lifeblood, pouring out his life as the law's
just payment for those sins, that the justice of God might
be satisfied, that sin might be forgiven. And how often did
he do it? Once. And once only. Only once. Never to be repeated. Look at
chapter 10 and verse 12. But this man, speaking of Christ,
you see verse 11 of the same chapter 10, every priest stands
daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices
which can never take away sins. But this man, our Lord Jesus
Christ, this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins
forever, one only, not daily, not weekly, not annually, not
on the feast days, once, forever. One sacrifice for sins forever,
sat down. Why did he sit down? You're doing
some work. What do you do when you've finished
your work? You sit down. You rest. It's finished. There's
no more to be done. He'd done it. He's finished it.
He sat down on the right hand of God. Once and once only. Finished, never to be repeated.
effectual in its design and purpose in one go, if I can put it that
way. Fully effectual in its design and its purpose in one go. All
the rest that were repeated were mere repeated pictorial reminders
of the fact. Repeated pictorial reminders.
He came to put away the sins of his elect. He died the just,
for there was no sin in him, for the unjust, And as we were
looking in Isaiah 59 earlier, we know that we're unjust. The
just for the unjust. We know that we desire peace
with God, and we read in Isaiah 59 about there being no peace
for the wicked, and the earlier chapters, no peace in sinful
scheming. But Isaiah 53 verse 5 says, the
chastisement of our peace was upon him. He bore that chastisement
to purchase our peace. And thereby Paul tells the Colossians,
chapter 1 verse 20, Christ has made peace. How has he made peace? In the blood of his cross. The
blood that he shed on the cross of Calvary is what makes peace
for the sinner with God. Is it well with your soul? Am
I right with God? Need I fear the judgment to come?
Need I dread that day when I stand before the judgment seat of Christ?
No, I look, the blood has been shed. He's made peace in the
blood of his cross. His blood has paid. How will
I pay my sin debt? You go and the books are opened,
and if you're in Christ, you'll see nothing there. For who shall
bring any charge against God's elect? It is Christ that's died.
It's Christ that's died. He's done it. He's made peace
in the blood of his cross. He bore the sins of his people
in his own body on the tree. He's blotted out the handwriting
of ordinances that was against us, nailing it to his cross.
He came once. In the end of the world, he has
appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. He is the
only one, the only one in whom sins are taken away. Never in
those Old Testament sacrifices were sins taken away. Never in
all of that temple ritual that was a mere picture was one solitary
sin taken away. Never. He is the only one in
whom sins are taken away. Now what about you? Do you hope
for another? Do you look elsewhere? You'll
say most people couldn't care less. Most people I come across
give no thought to it. Oh yes they do. I'll tell you
what they think. I'll tell you what they think.
They think they think that God isn't like the scriptures say
he is. They think because there's a sense of immortality within
each one of us that it's bound to be all right. And so they
invent a God that is so pathetic in their own mind that they invent
a God that will excuse their sinfulness, that will pardon
their weaknesses, their little foibles, their little outbursts,
their little inconsistencies as we might think of them, They
think like that. They're idolaters, basically,
because they build a God who is not the true God of Scripture.
No. There's no other way, no other
way, that you're made the righteousness of God except in Jesus Christ. What must you have to see God? You must pursue holiness, righteousness,
without which no man shall see God. Do you want to see God?
Because I tell you, to not see Him is hell. is torment, eternal
torment for the soul. But do you want to see him? You
must have holiness. You must be the righteousness
of God in him. Where are you going to get it?
Only one place, in the one who has made the sin of his people,
that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. It was a once
for all sacrifice. It was once for all time, and
it was once for all, not all people that ever lived without
exception, but all of his elect, who are people from all over
the world without distinction. And his is the only propitiation. Propitiation sounds like a complicated
word. It just means the turning away
of anger. It means the mercy seat. It means
where sinners can approach God. No blasphemous, oft-repeated
mass you know this idea that there are uh... you know that
these christian churches that call themselves catholic and
high anglican that celebrate mass that's utter blasphemy that's
an utter denial of what the scriptures say there is no blasphemous oft
repeated mass there's no law works there's no idolatrous views
of a soft god there's nothing but the blood of jesus there's
a hymn we sometimes sing that says just that, nothing but the
blood of jesus, nothing shared once for all for all his people.
And why once? Look at verse 27. Now, if you've
been listening to me preaching for some time, I reckon you might
have heard this verse once or twice before. As it is appointed
unto men, once to die, but after this, the judgment. Isn't that
an indisputable fact? Why was it that once he appeared
to put away sin, it was effectual, but also it's a reflection of
the fact that for us it's appointed to man to die once, just for
all of us, for you and me. We've got one appointment with
death, and after that, judgment. And that is a truth that you
cannot deny. you can argue against my theory
of creation or all sorts of other aspects but you cannot argue
with this somebody once said that there are only two things
that are certain in this life one is death and the other is
taxes we all got to pay taxes but we're all going to die and
that's absolutely true it's an indisputable fact and that's
why it says it here it's as just in the same way as it's appointed
to man to die once And that is the unchangeable end of the account
for each one of us. Think of this. Think of it. You
must think of this. When you die, there's no second
chance. That's it. That's the end of
the account for you and for me. That's the end of it. It's an
unchangeable end of the account for each one of us. And that's
what is being said here. Just as for you and me when we
die, that's it. The state you are in is the state
you enter eternity and nothing after death will ever change
that. That is it. In the same way, that one offering
for sins forever, sealed it for eternity. It doesn't ever get
changed. There's no purgatory. There's
no place where things are put right and adjusted and made amends
for. It's the end of it. The death
of the Lord Jesus Christ for sin, the sacrifice of himself,
paid for the sins of his people absolutely and utterly. And so,
verse 28, verse 28, so Christ was once offered to bear the
sins of many and unto them that look for him shall he appear
the second time without sin unto salvation. He was once offered
to bear the sins of many. Note that doesn't say bear the
sins of all. It doesn't say he died to bear
the sins of everyone who ever lived. It says the sins of many.
The many are his elect. We know that from what it says
everywhere else in the scriptures. The many sons he's bringing to
glory from chapter 2 and verse 10. And so the second point is
this, he shall appear the second time. He shall appear the second
time. Revelation chapter 1 and verse
7 says this, behold, he cometh with clouds and every eye shall
see him. This is the cosmology of scripture.
The time is coming. every eye shall see him, and
they also which pierced him, they who crucified him, who's
that? Us, all of us, all of us, and all kindreds of the earth
shall wail because of him. It doesn't sound like they're
having a good time, does it? All kindreds of the earth shall
wail because of him when they see him. Even so, Amen. Thus says the Lord. That's what
God says. He's coming and every eye shall
see him. The first time he came in all
the sufferings of human flesh. It says in Hebrews 5 verse 7,
we saw a few weeks ago, talking about in his humanity, his strong
crying and tears. We read of him being a man of
sorrows and acquainted with grief. He knew hunger, he knew physical
tiredness, he knew weeping, he knew joy. But the second time
he appears without sin. He appears without sin the second
time. It's all been put away. All the
sin has been put away. His second appearing is a glorious
appearing. As Paul says to Titus, looking
for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of the great God. Who's
going to appear? The great God who is our Savior. Jesus Christ, our great God and
Savior, Jesus Christ. He's going to appear without
sin. He who was made sin has no more sin. He lived his life
on earth without sin. He was never a sinner, but he
assumed and took upon him the sin of his people. He was made
sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Then on the cross he bore the sins of his people, but the second
time he will appear without sin. But he's dealt with that. The
once for all has dealt with that. It's finished. The books are
closed. It's the end of it. It's finished. Without sin in
him and without sin in his church. For when he appears to take his
church to be with him, what will he present in heaven? A church
of people that are saved by the skin of their teeth who've got
all sorts of ragged edges that they need to be punished for
and denied rewards for. That's what some people will
erroneously tell you. You read this book, there's not
the slightest hint of it. That's what religious folks want
to try and give you to keep you in some sort of bondage so that
they can control what you do and how you think and the way
you live. No, he presents a glorious church which is without spot
or wrinkle. This is it. You know what we
read in Isaiah 59 about sin in human flesh? Without spot or
wrinkle. Every eye shall see him and wail. Except, we read in Revelation
1-7, every eye shall see him and wail. Except, look, those
who look for him. Them that look for him. To them,
to them that look for him, he shall appear unto salvation. He'll say, behold, I and the
children that the Father has given me. He'll say to those
gates, lift up your heads, O ye gates, and the King of glory
shall come in. Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and
mighty. That was the first time. He was triumphant. The Lord mighty
in battle. The second time he'll come, lift
up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting
doors. and the king of glory shall come in. Who is the king
of glory? The Lord of hosts. Behold, I and the children whom
he has given me. The Lord of hosts, he is the
king of glory. Their vile bodies have been transformed
into his glorious body in that great day when he appears for
salvation. Those bodies that were sown in
corruption of his people will be raised in incorruption, as
he says to the Corinthians. Are you looking for him? Are
you looking for him? You know we read about the virgins,
the wise and the foolish, and the ones who were not ready,
and they were left out. Are you looking for him? He shall
appear the second time without sin unto salvation to them that
look for him. To all the rest, they'll see
him, but they will wail because of him. They will wail because
of him. But you, are you looking for
him? You know when somebody says they're coming round to your
house, And it doesn't really matter who it is, but you do
something to prepare for them, don't you, usually? If you get
some advance warning, you try and, oh, quickly, you just have
a little tidy up and you just sort of get ready, because they're
coming. You're expecting, there's some kind of expectancy. You're
prepared for visitors. The house is ready. You're waiting. and watching. Charles Spurgeon
said that as he walked around the posh areas of South London,
he always knew the houses that were expecting visitors because
the great big gates were open on the front of the house. They
were waiting for somebody to come. Is that how it is with
your heart and mine? Are we looking? Are we looking
to them that look for him? Are we looking for him to appear
and take us to be with him? Do you hope with confidence or
do you fear the grave and judgment? Who will you believe in this
world as you go through this life? Who will you believe? Will you believe God and his
word, because that's what his word says? Or will you believe
your fellow man and his idols in his sinful, corrupt state?
Oh, that God would give repentance and faith that we might trust
Christ and look for Him, look for His appearing.