We will be reading from Hebrews
chapter 9 for our text of the evening. I don't know, I look
in my files and look at things and I find I'm on this text about
every two or three years. But it's such a great one, such
a great truth. Blessed my heart. to think, and
the subject here today is how Christ can die once and do what
all the Old Testament sacrifices could not do. So we'd be looking
at the sufficiency of the one death of Christ. Christ died
but one time, and that's all. Now, we're breaking in because
this is a long section having to do with Christ's priesthood
and his service, tabernacle, that kind of thing. So in Hebrews
9, we'll jump in at verse 25 and read to the end of the chapter. Watch what it said. nor yet,
in all the things that he has said about Christ, what he has
done, how he fulfilled God's will and all that, nor yet that
he should offer himself often as the high priest enters into
the holy place every year with the blood of others. For then
must he have often 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, there's that word again, 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 unto salvation. Needless
to say, as we study and read through the book of Hebrews,
we find many contrasts that are there. as the writer compares
the Lord with all those things under the old economy. Should
it be angels, then Christ hath a better name. Should it be Moses,
then he is better than that. Should it be the land of rest
or the Sabbath day, Christ's rest is even greater than that.
Should it be the high priest, Christ is a greater high priest. And so we find all of that in
the book of Hebrews. And in the unfolding of the Hebrew
epistle, such contrasts are made. We'll just name a few to get
to our study today. Aaron was a Levitical priest,
but Christ was after the order of Melchizedek. Levi and Melchizedek
had totally different priesthoods in many different ways. Christ
led a sinless life while Levi was a sinner and eventually died. Aaron, when he went to offer
at the place of sacrifice, could offer no better than the blood
of beast and of animal, but Christ gave his very own blood. Aaron entered into a handmade,
earthly tabernacle that he might do his service there. But Christ
is entered into heaven itself, into the very presence of God. And these are the great contrasts
that are here for us in the book of Hebrews. And then there is
this one in chapter 9, verse 25 under the end of the chapter.
Let's look at some things. Number one, in verse 24, Christ,
our great high priest, is not entered into the sanctuary made
with hand, one put together by men, dwelling, resting upon the
earth, and made out of materials of the earth. But he, Christ,
is entered as a priest into heaven itself and into the very presence
of God. Levi, Aaron only entered into
the typical presence of God, but our Lord into the very presence
of God himself. On Atonement Day, you remember,
the high priest would enter into the holy place with the blood
of others, place it where God had said, and such like. But
then secondly, notice the other contrast in verse 25. And that
is, there is a great difference here between the sacrifice of
the Aaronic priest and the sacrifice of our Lord. In that, as he did
not enter into an earthly tabernacle and there dwell and do his servant,
neither did he offer himself often as Aaron was constantly
offering. Christ need not die again or
even again or over and over and there is a great difference here
that needs to be reconciled particularly in in the mind of the first century
Jew as he compared Judaism and Christianity. For the high priest
of Israel offered a new sacrifice at regular intervals during the
history of their worship. Every year, he would enter into
the holy place with a newly shed blood of an animal. Every year,
at the same time, he would go again. In other words, Christ
made no repetition of his sacrifice, for it was not necessary, and
that upon the reason that we will consider shortly in our
study. But first, let us, if we will,
acknowledge something that is given a very strong emphasis
in the book of Hebrew, which is this. the repetitive nature
of the Levitical sacrifice. While Christ made one single
sacrifice, died but one, he's done all the thousand upon thousand
of Levitical sacrifice he could never do and could never accomplish. Of the sacrifice of the Jewish
high priest, we read Hebrews 9, 7, they were every year. every
year, and often, Hebrews 10 and verse 1, year by year, and again
in chapter 10 and verse 3, every year. Now these expressions,
therefore, refer to the cycle of time to mark off the space
of time when Aaron has offered, yet he offers again and again
and again. On the other hand, what is given
heavy emphasis in Hebrews and in other places is Christ made
one, only one sacrifice for sin. Here are some places we won't
turn there. Hebrews 7, 27, once. Again, in
Hebrews 9, 12, once. In 9, 26, once. 9, 28, once. In 10, 10, once.
In 10 and 12, one sacrifice for sin. Oh, by the way, the one death
of Christ is also emphasized in some of the other writers,
authors, and their epistles, such as 1 Peter 3 and verse 18. Christ also has once suffered
for sin. In that passage in Romans chapter
6 and in the 10th verse Paul writes that he died on the sin
once, speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now in verse 25 of our
text this evening he did not, he need not, offer himself often. As if to say, neither was it
necessary that he offer himself often as the high priest did
every year. For in verse 26, had that been
the case, that is, that the sacrifice need repetition, then two things
would follow as the author reasons with us. Number one, he should
have suffered early. when sin first entered into the
human family, and that from the beginning. He should have then
entered into the world and began to make sacrifices for sin. He should suffer often, again
and again, over and over, once and again, at proper, regular,
designated intervals. at set times according to the
will of God. The Jews were used to this sort
of repetition, and their sacrifices for sin were made at designated
periods and intervals. Now, such a person does not experience
a second birth, neither will Christ experience a second incarnation. And though the Israeli high priest
came into an earthly tabernacle and at a set time every year
and would make them, yet Christ entered into the heavenly place
in the very literal presence of God. And catch this if you
can, that Christ had died once speaks of the efficacy of his
death, of his blood, of his sacrifice, propitiation, and such like. And secondly, the reputation
of the Jewish sacrifices that they were offered again and again
weekly, monthly, yearly, as the case may be, was proof of their
inability to take away sin on a permanent basis. Only ceremonially. Now I won't read it, but in chapter
10 of Hebrew, verses 1 through 4, clearly it is stated what
the Old Testament sacrifices could not do. We notice there
that they could not perfect the worshipper. They could not purge
the conscience of guilt and of sin. And then let's see the connection
between verse 2 and verse 3 there in chapter 10, that such offerings
would have ceased if they brought perfection. If they made the
worshipers perfect, they would come to an end. The worshipers
once purged would have had no more conscience for sin, but
in them there is a remembrance of sin made every year. Now the reason is in verse 4,
Hebrews chapter 10. It is not possible. No, it is
not. That the blood of beasts should
take away sin. Why were they then instituted
is another argument and a study. Let's go back to Hebrews 9, now
in verse 26. If Christ must suffer often,
then would it not commence from the beginning of history? For
there were sacrifices of animals made from the very beginning,
as men, knowing themselves to be sinners and God-needing propitiation,
began to make sacrifices. Instead of dying then or coming
then, our Lord appeared in the end of the world, or the age,
as we might say, died one time and one time only, which put
away sin forever and completely by the one sacrifice of himself. Thus we note, when he appeared,
which was in the end of the age of the world, as John Owen put
it, I'm quoting, not then but now, not often but once, and
not from the foundation of the world, but in the end of it."
As men count time, it was long delayed before the flood finally
came and took them all away. And when Isaiah mourned under
the bondage of those that were in the land of Egypt or Israel,
I should have said, not in the times of captivity did time seem
to go fast but slow. Not in the time of Abraham did
our Lord appear in the world. Not in the time of the prophets
and Isaiah and such like. But in the last ages, or the
end of the world, the end of the age as it is, in the Greek,
I think. And this was the fullness of
time. This was the time that was set
by God. Now, Paul makes a contrast in
1 Corinthians 10 and verse 11, when he wrote of some examples
out of their former time and history, saying, now these things
happened unto them for examples, or as it might be in the margin,
for types, and they're written for our admonition, upon whom
the ends of the world is come, or the end of the ages. My martial
interlinear has it, to whom the end of the ages has arrived,
and the Lord has appeared. In 1 John 2 and 18, little children,
it is the last time. some have it the last hour. And
the appearance of Antichrist signaled that we were in that
time. Historians tell us that this
is an allusion to the Jewish custom of speaking, that they
spoke of the age or the time before the law, the age under
the law, and the age after the law. So do any ask, how is it
then that Christ can put away sin when there is more sin now
than ever, more sinners now than the world has ever held in its
bosom. And yet, it said, he put away
sin. He put away sin by the sacrifice
of himself. He condemned sin in the flesh,
as Paul said in Romans chapter 8 and verse 3. It does not mean
that he put a stop to people sinning, nor has he banished
sin from the universe. but he has taken away in that
one death and sacrificed the power of sin to condemn and curse
and damn and destroy forever. For sin lays a double hurt upon
the family of Adam. First of all, it lays us open
to guilt, condemnation, in that making us liable to sin, to death,
and to wrath. And except for the intervention
of Christ, who came and put us out of danger of hell by his
death upon the cross. Sin is a tyrant, able, as Paul
tells us, to use the holy law of God even to slay us. And then secondly, it rules in
us. Sin leads us captive, as we saw
last Sunday morning. It exercises a dominion over
us as long as we are in the flesh, and as long as we are under the
law. As the Puritan Owen again put
it, Christ appeared to abrogate this law of sin and to deprive
it of its whole power." And this he did in regard to two things
that are mentioned. Number one, he took away its
condemning power. in the case of the elect, so
that it has no claim against them under condemnation by virtue
of the death of Christ in their behalf. And then secondly, by
means of the atonement, we are no longer the slaves of sin. The conscience is purged of its
guilt, and there is a measure of sanctification carried on
in the regenerate ones as long as they live. And this raises
the question, how has the Lord Jesus Christ put away sin? What means has he used in order
that he might accomplish this marvelous feat that the scriptures
declare sin is put away? By what means is sin stripped
of its power? The answer is right here in our
text. by the sacrifice of himself. He put away sin by offering himself
without spot unto God. Hebrews 9 and verse 14, which
also states that Christ offered himself through the eternal spirit
unto God. In Ephesians 5 and 2, it states
that Christ has given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice
to God for a sweet smelling savor. And please note that Paul uses
the two words offering and sacrifice as if to make a distinction.
And it emphasizes the idea of a full and complete satisfaction
or sacrifice and atonement, one that is made for the purpose
of expiating sin and does exactly that. And to whom was the sacrifice
made or given? The answer, Christ gave himself
unto God. The blood he shed, the suffering
of his body, in his death upon the cross as a propitiation to
a just and a holy God. For God in his justice and sin
in his corruption required a perfect sacrifice for sin And Christ
being the only one that could give that unto God. A sweet smelling
odor it was in the nostrils of God. Of course this is an allusion
to the Old Testament description of the sacrifice first mentioned
in Genesis 8. Verse 20 and 21, when Noah built
an altar, burned an animal upon it, a clean beast, and the Lord
smelled a sweet savor, whereby he vowed never again to destroy
the earth by a flood. It was a sweet and a pleasing
odor unto God, and yet, as some expositors have noted, not just
because of the burning carcasses upon the altar, but looking to
the favor that is secured by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Noah's sacrifice was but a type
of that of the Lord Jesus Christ who gave himself an offering
and a sacrifice as well a sweet smelling savor. Now strictly
speaking the actual smell of the burning sacrifices was not
the most pleasant or sweet unto the nostril, the inwards, the
legs, the head, the fat, and yet they were a sweet savor to
God by and through what they represented. Even so to carnal
men, to men not religious, to men that are but moralist or
what we might call civil or the self-righteous Pharisee, to people
like that, the death of Christ upon the cross is no particular
affection in their heart. They think little of it. The death of Christ upon the
cross, they do not think of as the power or the wisdom of God. But the people of God do, and
those that are converted. Now there is a matter that might
be discussed in this place. And that is the question, since
Christ did not die, at regular intervals and did not die until
the last of the ages. Since the blood of beasts could
never take away sin, what then of the Old Testament saint who
lived and worshipped under that system? What of Abraham and his
wife Sarah? Isaac and Jacob and Moses and
David and Joseph and all of those. How were their sins remitted? How were they saved from their
sin? Let's be firm. Every sin forgiven,
every soul that is saved from the first even until now and
beyond will be so by the one and death of the Lord Jesus Christ. John Brown, the writer, said,
all the sins which have been committed in the past or shall
be committed in the future which shall be forgiven will be forgiven
on the ground of the same propitiation that of Christ, unquote. Now,
there are two New Testament passages I think that settle this question. One is Hebrews 9, and verse 15,
where we have it stated there. And the other one is Romans chapter
3 and verse 24, 5, and along in there. For the sins which
were under the first covenant or first transgression received
their propitiation in the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, while there's time, let's
switch to verse 27 here. Hebrews chapter 9 and some I
know use this verse in a funeral almost every time we go to a
funeral we might hear this verse but now let us put it in its
context where it is in its context, and how many have used this verse
without regard to the surrounding context that is in it. So how
does it then relate to the context? Here's what it said. And as it
is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment. Why does the author bring this
matter up? What's his point here in bringing
this matter up? What does the death of men have
in common with the death of Christ? Just this, the author has laid
heavy emphasis upon the fact that Christ need only to die
one time in order to put away sin. One time, once and no more,
one death is all that God has required of him. Verse 27 taken
in this context shows that there is an analogy between the death
of men and the death of Christ. That though man is a sinner,
he has transgressed the law of God in every way imaginable,
the wages of sin is death, yet by the ordination of God, even
the most sinful person that has ever lived undergoes death as
the penalty of sin but one time, for it is appointed unto man
once to die, true a judgment to follow, but he need not die
again or over and over and over. For as John Owen again said,
God enacted an everlasting law concerning Adam and all of his
posterity that they should die, and that they should die but
once, unquote. Well, we know there's those cases
that are exception of Lazarus, the widowed man's son, whom our
Lord raised to death. But the general rule is it is
appointed unto man once to die. Watch the connection. Verse 28,
Even so, as it is appointed unto man once to die, and after that
the judgment, even so Christ was once offered to bear the
sin of many. He will die no more, never again,
so long as the world stands and sin abounds, yet Christ will
never need die again. And verse 28, even though he
appear after his death, that he will not be to die for sin. Now note those whose sins he
bore, or denominated, as many as he bear the sin of many. He was once offered to bear the
sin of many. Not every individual without
exception, but many. Like Isaiah 53 and 12, He bear
the sin of many. And in doing that, He justified
the many. Matthew 20, 28. Even as the Son
of Man came to give His life a ransom for many. And so we
say, all that the Lord died for, will be saved, for his death
is the means to redeem them. And Christ cannot die unsavingly
or in vain for any. His blood and death cannot miscarry,
so that all that he bought shall be redeemed and justified. And to quote Hebrews 10 and 14
in closing, for by one offering, He has perfected forever them
that are sanctified. As Paul said, Christ being raised
from the dead dieth no more, no more to die, nor can sin condemn
those that Christ died for. One death did all that the Old
Testament sacrifices could not do. So we have a better sacrifice,
a more excellent sacrifice, that of the Lord In the body, God
prepared him, hanging on the cross, shedding his blood, suffering
and dying. Thank God for that one great
sacrifice that reaches as far back as it needs and as far forward
as it needs. Thank God for that.