Let me add my greeting and say
good morning to all of you. It is a pleasant sight indeed
from this vantage point. Excuse me. Okay. Something's not on somewhere.
Oh, it is. Well, hey, y'all. It's for you
all, not for me, I reckon. Sounded funny. How about turning
to Hebrews chapter 10? Hebrews chapter 10, reading at least through verse
22 of Hebrews 10, And I'm calling this, quoting
the words of our Lord Jesus Christ that appear in this chapter,
and in a very wonderful way in this chapter. He simply said,
Lo, I come. And that makes it absolutely
certain that he's coming. Now let's bow for prayer. Lord, thank you for letting us
come into this place today. Thank you for each one of these
folks gathered here. But Lord, it's not my presence
nor anyone else's being present. that accomplishes anything. The
issue is, always has been and will be, are you present? In the person of your blessed
spirit, we beg you to come among us this day. If we are your children, If we've been saved by Christ
alone, plus nothing, oh, what a happy day. What a happy day. But if my religion is head knowledge and not heart
knowledge, we'll surely perish. Lord, open our eyes and our ears
and our souls to receive from this chapter of Holy Scripture
these glorious words concerning our precious Redeemer and Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, send your Spirit, we pray,
to quicken our minds and our hearts that we might understand
these things, that we might rejoice in them and love them supremely
above all else, making your Son, our dear Savior, the Lord Jesus,
our all and in all. Help us, we pray, for Christ's
sake. Amen. Alright, verse 1 of Hebrews chapter
1. For the law having a shadow of
good things to come, and not the very image of the things,
can never, it didn't in the Old Testament, It didn't in the New
Testament, and it does not now. What we offer to God wouldn't fill a thimble, not a one. Many people in churches this
morning are going through Old Testament rituals and ceremonies
and all this other jargon that they use, but they have missed
Christ. Don't know Christ. Cannot be
born again without knowing the Son of God. So our Lord, in this chapter,
gives this word to the law in verse 1. Having a shadow of good
things to come. The Old Testament has hundreds
and hundreds of thousands of sacrifices and no telling how
many other offerings and burnt offerings and heave offerings
and wave offerings and all other kinds of offerings. Whereas man
trying to give God something that he does for him, that man
does it for him. And that is not the case. But
those things are actually pictures and types of our Lord Jesus Christ. So they're spoken of here in
verse 1 as a shadow of good things to come. And not the very image
of the things. These shadows, these law observances,
ten commandments, The sacrificial law, whatever the Levitical law,
having a shadow of good things to come and not the very image
of the thing, can never with those sacrifices which they offered
year by year continually, they cannot make the comers thereunto
perfect. And believe it or not, I hope
you believe this, In order to see God, in order to stand in
the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, we must be absolutely
perfect. How perfect? As good as God. And you and I can't do it. We
have to find a substitute. And that substitute is before
us in this chapter. It is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Alright, verse 2. For then would these things not
have ceased to be offered if those Old Testament laws and
regulations and sacrifices and so forth could have made people
perfect?" Ada said, I'm free of these things. And they would
have been right. Because that the worshipers once
purged should have had no more conscience of sins. And there's
the first time in this chapter that we have the expression,
no more. We're going to find it three
other times in this one chapter. Once purged should have had no
more conscience for sins. But in those sacrifices, there
is a remembrance again made of sins every year. Every time they
observe a Passover, for that matter, the Lord's Table or any
other religious rite or ceremony, if it is not clear in our hearts
and minds that we are made perfect in our Lord Jesus Christ, then
all these things do that are being continually observed is
make us more and more aware of our separation from God in Christ. Verse 4. For it is not possible
that the blood of bulls and of goats could take away sin." Now
think about that. You go out to the pasture and
you kill an animal, and you sacrifice it, and you say that's taking
away your sin. Oh my goodness, we've got a small
definition of sin then. Surely it must take a great deal
more than this. You know what it takes? God. God. It's not possible that the blood
of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Wherefore, when
he comes into the world, referring now to our Lord Jesus Christ,
when he came into this world, he said, sacrifice and offering
Referring to his Father in heaven, you would not. God was not pleased with sacrifices
and offerings. Well, why did they give these
things? Because he told them to. Well, what's missing then? Something's
missing. What is it? They could not see
Christ in those things. They could not see without God. Keeping those things, you can
keep a thousand or a million of them if you want to. You just
become more lost every time you do. Further away from God. But a body, have you prepared
me? Referring now to the physical
as well as spiritual body of our Lord Jesus Christ. in his
spirit has always been and on equal terms with the Father and
the Holy Spirit. Verse 6, he tells us this another
time, which means it is important for us to nail this down and
grasp it as it appears in these statements. Verse 6 of Hebrews
10, in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin, you have had no pleasure No pleasure. Why no pleasure
to God? Because there's no satisfaction.
God's justice must be satisfied. And you can kill all the animals
in the state of North Carolina and you ain't going to touch
it. It's still there. Still there. Verse 7, Then said
I, I'm assuming that conversation now took place in heaven. Because
in verse 7 we read, Then said I, though I come in the volume
of the book, it is written of me to do thy will, O God. Why did Christ come? To perfect,
to fulfill the Word of God. Above what He said, sacrifice
and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin, you would
neither have pleasure therein which are offered by the law.
Then said he, then our Lord Jesus utters this statement, Lo, I
come! Lo, I come in the volume of the
book. It is written of me to do thy
will, O God. Christ came to do what? To perfectly
perform and keep the word and law of God. He's the only person
wearing human flesh that has ever kept a single law of God. Same thing to do with ceremonies
and sacrifices. Then said he, verse 9, second
time around, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. Now we have
a different follow-up than what we had back in verse 7. This one ends with this. Lo,
I come to do thy will, O God. He, that is God, takes away the
first, that he may establish the second." Now what on earth
is this? This is the two covenants. One of them started with Adam
in the Garden of Eden. And a bunch of people are still
going to that same shrine right now this morning. God takes away the first covenant
in order to establish the second covenant. What is the first covenant? It
is the law. It's Moses. It's sacrifices and
offerings and so on and so forth. But what is this other covenant?
It is the new covenant in grace, in Christ. Because in this covenant,
Christ is everything. You'll find this taught in this
same book of Scripture in the latter part of Hebrews chapter
13. And I know good and well I ain't
going to even read this thing, it looks like, before our time
runs out. So you'll have to read that for
yourself. Verse 10. Now in verse 9, the Lord Jesus said
He came to do God's will. Verse 10 says, By the witch will,
we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ once for all. It's done. He uttered those precious
words in the next to the last saying on the cross. What was
it? It is finished. Finished. Finished. And we can't add our two cents
to it. All that would do would be to
pollute it. And it is unpollutable because
it is divine holiness and divine righteousness. Verse 11, and
every priest stands daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same
sacrifices which can never take away sins. But this man, this God-man, Christ
Jesus, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, did
what? Sat down at the right hand of
God on His throne in glory. And that's where He is right
now. And everything in this world
is here because of Him. It has to be that way. Salvation
is of the Lord. It's not the preacher, it's not
the church, it's not the denomination. It's not you and it ain't me. Verse 13, referring to the fact that our
Lord is sitting on the right hand of God. From henceforth,
from that point on, expecting till His enemies be made His
footstool, for by one offering, one sacrifice, offered one time,
He has perfected Forever! Them that are sanctified. Those
that are born again in Christ Jesus, who have received from
Him a spiritual nature, and they still have this old one that's
as bad as it ever was. It's full of sin and arrogance,
whatever else you can name. He has perfected forever them
that are sanctified. whereof the Holy Spirit also
is a witness to us. For after that he had said before,
this is the covenant that I will make with them after those days,
says the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in
their minds will I write them." That's glorious news indeed.
Now, let's see if you can get a hold of verse 17. And their
sins, and iniquities which to human ability is unable to be
calculated, their sins and iniquities will I remember," you remember
this little phrase? No more. No more. The sins that were paid for by
the blood of Christ God cannot see them anymore. They are behind
his back. They are in the depths of the
deepest sea. They are out of sight and out
of mind. This man, after he had offered
one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of
God, from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his
footstool. For by one offering he has perfected
forever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost, Holy
Spirit, also is a witness for us. For after that he said before,
this is the covenant that I will make with them after those days,
says the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts and in
their minds will I write them, and their sins and their iniquities
will I remember no more." Verse 18, now here's the third of those Now, where remission of these
is, wherever there is a sinner, that Christ has borne that sinner's
sin, raised him from a spiritual grave to a living spiritual person
before the Lord Jesus Christ, where the remission of these
is, there is no more offering for sin. I don't know if I can prove this. I don't have time to prove it.
But I think it's correct anyway. But you might not think so. Take the average religious person
in America. If he gives $100 or $100,000
in a year's time, it's all one and the same. Why do they give it? It doesn't have anything to do
with God saving you. So why do people push tithing
and this, that and the other? They're trying to buy God's favor. Lord, look how this distinguishes
me from the people that I know. No more offering for sin. Verse 19, having therefore brethren,
boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new
and living way which He has consecrated for us through the veil, that
is to say, His flesh. Now, if you've ever read the
Bible to any degree almost, you remember reading in the gospel
accounts At the moment our Lord bowed His head on that cross
and gave up the ghost and died, that thick veil, that curtain
back there over the Baptist's window is awful thick, but I
have a venture that the one in Jerusalem was a lot thicker than
that. And that thing split right wide open the second that Christ
gave up His soul to die. Split it right wide open. And
the scripture says it was split from top to bottom. From top to bottom. What verse was that? 19? Huh? Y'all been sleeping on me. Let's
start with 20. "...by a new and living way which
he has consecrated for us through the veil," that is to say, his
flesh, "...and having a high priest," the persons to whom
this letter is addressed, "...having a high priest." Where did they
get this high priest? It is the crucified, dead, resurrected,
living, reigning, ruling Lord Jesus Christ in glory. Having
a high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with
a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled
from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. And I'm going to stop the reading.
I want to jump down to verse 26 to give you the fourth of
those no mores. Verse 26. For if we sin willfully,
and I'm just about of a mind to say that all sin is willful, If we sin willfully, after that
we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no
more sacrifice for sins. Now, I have to leave it. I wish
I could finish the chapter, but I can't. I want you to go back to verses
5, 6, and 7. And here we see these shadows
of the Old Testament, the types of the Old Testament, being swept
out, removed, no longer needed, no longer here. Let's try verses
5, 6, and 7. Wherefore, when Christ comes
into the world, he said, Sacrifice and offering you would not, but
a body have you prepared me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices
for sin you have had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come in the
volume of the book, it is written of me to do your will, O God. Above, when he said sacrifice
and burnt offerings and offerings for sin, he would not neither
have pleasure therein which are offered by the law. Then said
he, Lo, I come, these are the words of our Lord Jesus at the
time that he took on human flesh, Lo, I come to do thy will, O
God. He takes away the first, that
he might establish the second. So sweeping away the shadows,
and most all of us came out of the same kind of religion that
is nothing more than a duplicate of the Jewish religion. It's
got something to do with what you can do for God in order for
Him to do something for you. Preachers are bold enough to
say if you'll take the first step, God will take the second.
Not the God of the Bible. Heavens no. Not the God of the
Bible. This is the God that men imagine
God to be. That's affected and moved by
what we do and don't do. Oh no. Not this one. Not this one. Here's the first
thing about sweeping away the shadows of the law and reformed
and legal religion, no matter what name goes along with it.
The incarnation of Christ. Christ taking on human flesh
is the end of all types. All the Old Testament types and
pictures and shadows. Why? Why do you stop them? Why not let them continue? Because
the real thing is already here. Why do we need a picture if we've
got a person? Do you understand that? God in Christ is our worship. That's the person to whom we
give homage. Not only the incarnation is the
end of the types, but the Levitical sacrifice and ceremonies are
removed wholesale all at one time when our Lord said on the
tree, it is finished. Now these things that are no
more never really satisfied God. And how then where Old Testament
believers justified. How can David be said to be in
heaven, and Abraham, and Ruth, and Naomi, and whomever else?
And there are plenty of examples of this. I'm going to read you
one scripture. I'm not going to let you turn,
because I know you will if I let you in on where I'm going. Now, Moses in the law, commanded
us that such should be stolen. This is the case of the woman
that was dragged before our Lord Jesus Christ in John chapter
8. But I'm on the wrong verse. I
want to jump over to verse 56. Our Lord said to these people
who are fixing to try to kill Him, Only three verses later,
he said to these people that claimed to be Abraham's seed,
and God is their God and so forth, your father Abraham rejoiced
to see my day. And he saw it and was glad. Abraham saw what hardly anyone
else in his day could see. And that's God revealed in Christ
His Son, a substitute. Oh, Abraham is in favor of the
gospel that's got substitution. Then said the Jews unto him,
You're not even fifty years old, and yet you've seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily
I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am." Christ is the I am God. My soul, He's Abraham's maker,
as well as his Savior. And look what happened. Then
took they up stones to cast at him. And this wasn't a game,
it was to stone him to death. And he went out of the temple
going through the middle of them and so passed by. Just left them high and dry. These things that were being
offered is not what God required. Being put away They're not to
be followed by similar things just changing a few things. Nope. If you're in a church building
and they're in there, they just need to be took out back and
burned. Gotten rid of. We don't need
religious symbols. We don't need all the tommyrot
that's in religion in our day. Second thing about this chapter,
The shadow is gone and the substance is revealed and Christ is that
substance. Revealed as having a prepared
ear. You remember that in Hebrews
10 about His ear? Very important statement. It also revealed a prepared body. A preexistent Christ. A Christ
who is forever and ever in both directions. In the past and in
the future. Christ is still all. The Lord Jesus assumes human
nature in order to do for us what God required and what God
desired. And He did. He did. When he said, it's finished,
he's referring to all that he came to do as well as his death
on the cross. Third thing about this chapter.
When did our Lord make this declaration? Refer again to verses 5 through
7, particularly the spot that says, If I can find it. Verse 7, Then said I, Lo, I come,
in the volume of the book it is written of me, to do thy will,
O God. Then said I, Lo, I come. When did Christ come? He came at a point in time that
had been eternally set before there was such a thing as time,
before this globe ever existed, before anything was ever made.
These words were spoken in old eternity. But what was happening on this
earth when our Lord makes this declaration? Sacrifice an offering
you would not, then said I, lo, I come." It is the time of failure. The Jewish religion is as rotten
as it has ever been. And in our generation, religion is
as rotten as it's ever been. There's more tricks of the trade
than a pickpocket. It's just, it's crazy. People
are gullible. Without the guidance of God the
Holy Spirit and the Word of God, we would all be absolutely lost,
going around in circles, not knowing where we're going, but
believing all the time, I'm going to heaven when I die. Well, somebody
ain't going to be there. I know that much. A massive host of persons. It might help us to pursue some
time in thinking about these things. And observe also in regard to
this statement, that our Lord speaks the language of deity.
He doesn't say, if you'll help me, I'll come. He doesn't need our help. Contrary
to popular opinion now, most people think God can't get
along without them. And I know good and well you
know better than that. My soul, I think he'd have been
better off without me. But I want you to observe the
tone of his words. Verse 7, for example. I don't see any disappointment, any dread. Then said I, Lo, I
come, in the volume of the book it is written of me to do thy
will, O God. Sounds like he's satisfied with
what he's done. And given where these words are
placed in our Bibles, he's evidently still of this
mind. When this book was written, which
was A.D. 64, and our Lord was crucified
in A.D. 30, 30 some years after his death
on the cross, Men didn't kill our Savior. They thought they
did. He gave up the ghost and died. You and I can't expect
to die that way. If we know we're getting ready
to die, we're trying to save every breath we can and hang
on to it as long as we can. This ain't how it is with the
Lord Jesus. He does according to His will.
in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth,
and nobody can say anything to him such as, what are you doing?
I can tell you what he's doing. He's doing his will. He's carrying
out his will. And when he's finished, this
earth will be finished. It won't need it anymore. This one statement, this announcement,
sounds the note of finality. Salvation is finished. Finished. Now look at the phrase in the
volume of the book This is verse 7 again, in the
volume of the book. It is written of me to do thy
will, O God. And then we move to verse 9. The Savior is said to delight to do God's will. Let me find it. I've lost it. Well, I can't find it right this
minute. I probably said more than you
can remember. Let me try this question in conclusion. What did the Lord Jesus delight
in? What did he delight in? The first
answer has to be the law of God. You know, there was a whole organization
in the Jewish religion that spent a lifetime studying the Old Testament
Scriptures and trying to interpret things and solve disagreements
and all this kind of stuff. But the Lord Jesus, my soul,
He is the law of God. He came to fulfill the law of
God. The Lord Jesus delights in God
himself, and so he's jealous in regard to the glory of God. Now, here's one that's hard to
understand, but absolutely necessary. The Lord Jesus delighted in becoming
a man, a human being. without sin, and a separate altogether
divine nature. He's two natures in just one
person. Just one. When He spoke those famous words
from the cross, it is finished. He was certainly delighted that
what He came to do is done. And it's forever. Forever. And ever, and ever, and ever. Right, sirs.