Alright, pay attention as we
read. This is a wonderful, wonderful spiritual passage of the Word
of the Lord. Hebrews 9 and verse 25 and following. And you see immediately that
we're breaking in the middle of the flow of thought, but it's
impossible that we avoid that. Not possible that we avoid that. For Christ is not entered into
the holy places made with hands the figures of the true, but
into heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God for us. Nor yet that he should offer
himself often as the high priest entered into the holy place every
year with the blood of others. For then must he, that is Christ,
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 to die, but after this the judgment, so Christ was once
offered to bear the sins of many, and unto them that looked for
Him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. Now let me give you my subject
this morning, taken from this text of the Scripture. I want
to speak on this subject, the sufficiency of the one death
of Jesus Christ. Dealing with a question. How
can Christ die one time and do what all of the multitude of
Old Testament sacrifices never could do? It is sufficient that
our Lord died one time and one time only. Now having said that, we find
in the book of Hebrews several contrasts and comparisons between
the Levitical priesthood and their ministry, and the priesthood
of Christ and His ministry. And all of those contrasts are
designed unto one end. And that is to prove and to exhibit
the excellency of the priesthood of Christ our Lord over that
of Aaron and all of his successors. That Christ, if compared to the
angels, has a more excellent name than they. Hebrews 1 and
verse 4. And concerning then the priesthood
of Christ compared to that of the Levites, or that of Aaron
and his sons, we read in Hebrews chapter 8 and verse 6, he has
obtained a more excellent ministry by how much he is also the mediator
of a better covenant. Now this is, and it was established
upon better promises, so that that of Christ excels that of
Aaron. Now in unfolding the Hebrew epistle,
such contrasts are made as the following. We'll just look at
them quickly to go on our way. Here are some contrasts that
show the excellency of the priesthood of Christ. First of all, Aaron
was a Levitical priest. Aaron was a Levite priest. Christ was a priest after the
order of Melchizedek. That means that he had an intransmissible
priesthood. He did not follow another priest
of that order, nor will any follow after him. He is a priest forever
after the order of Melchizedek. And here's an important distinction
as well. Aaron was a sinner. And when
he went in, he had to offer sacrifices for his own sin before he could
do those of the people. Christ has a sinless and an endless
life, and that is the difference. Another thing. Aaron, when he
went in, went in bearing the blood of beasts, of goats and
such like. Christ entered in by His own
blood. He did not come with blood of
beasts, but with His own. Another contrast is this. Aaron
served in an earthly sanctuary. Aaron went into a sanctuary that
was made by the hands of men. But Christ, Our great High Priest
entered into heaven itself, into the heavenly sanctuary, and there
into the very presence of God. Now in our text this morning,
there are two great contrasts that are made in verse 24 and
verse 25 that set Christ apart and above from those Aaronic
priests. Number one, in verse 24, Christ,
as our great High Priest, is not entered into the sanctuary
made with hands. That is, He is not in one made
by the hands, by the labor of men, by material gathered from
upon the earth. But He, Christ, is entered in
as a priest in the office and capacity of a priest into heaven
itself and the very presence of God. Now, on atonement day,
the high priest of Israel would make his preparatory sacrifices
at the altar, and then he would enter into the holy place with
the blood of those sacrifices. He would enter there into the
typical presence of God, there above the mercy seat, overlaid
with gold between the two cherubim angels that overlooked it. And
there he would sprinkle the blood of the sacrificial animal that
he had brought in and make a blood atonement in behalf of the people
and their sin. So the contrast in verse 24 is
Christ, as a priest, is not entered into the earthly sanctuary but
into heaven itself. Now, the second contrast that
we see is found in verse 25. And again, there is a great difference
between the sacrifice of the Aaronic priest and that sacrifice
of Christ. That as He did not enter into
an earthly tabernacle, neither did He suffer often. That is,
over and over again and again. Now there is a great difference
here that needs to be reconciled in the mind of the first century
Jew. Perhaps not so much in our mind,
but in the mind of the first century Jew. For the high priest
offered a new sacrifice at regular intervals all through the history
of Israel. At regular appointed intervals,
he would enter in by the command of God and make an atonement. Every year he would enter into
the holy place with newly shed blood. Every year at the same
or the appointed time. And though this was by the appointment
of God, yet we have been told in verse 24 that these things
were typical. They were not the real substance
themselves. They were typical. In other words,
verse 25 is saying that Christ made no repetition of His sacrifice,
nor need He do so, for it was necessary for the reason that
we will consider later, that our Lord only need to die once. First of all, however, before
we move into that, let's acknowledge something that is given strong
emphasis in the Hebrew epistle, which is the repetitive nature
of the Levitical sacrifices while Christ made a single sacrifice
for sin which had been done thousands of times by the Levitical priests. And His sacrifice did what their
thousands of sacrifices never could do. Of the sacrifices of
the Jewish priests, we read, chapter 9 and verse 7, that it
was every year, every year, He went. Chapter 9, verse 25, every
year and often are both used in that verse. Chapter 10 and
verse 1, year by year, Aaron went into that place with a sacrifice. Hebrews 10 and verse 3 repeats
it again every year. Now, these expressions refer
to a cycle of time and to mark a space of time between them,
that which takes place year by year, or every year, it was repeated. On the other hand, constantly
in the book of Hebrews, we're reading something about Christ. And that is that Christ made
one and only one sacrifice for sin. Now, if you remember those
verses of Aaron yearly and every year, in Hebrews 7, And 27, once
is the word that is used there. Hebrews 9 and 12, once our Lord
lay down His life. 926, once. 928, once. 10 and
10, once. 10 and 12, one sacrifice for
sin. so that there is the contrast. And oh, by the way, the one death
of Christ is also emphasized in other epistles in our New
Testament. For example, 1 Peter 3 and verse
18 says, Christ also has once suffered for our sin. Paul writes in Romans 6, that
great chapter, In the 10th verse, he died unto sin once, once and
only once. Now in verse 25 of Hebrews 9,
he did not, he need not offer himself often or again and again. As if to say, neither was it
necessary that he offer himself often as the high priest did
a sacrifice every year. But look at verse 26. If that
had been the case, if his sacrifice had needed any repetition, then
there are two things that would have followed. One, he should
have suffered often. He should have suffered early
as well. He should have suffered in the
beginning when sin alienated men from God and began to bring
them down to the grave. or sacrifices for sin were needed
early on. And if Christ is the sacrifice
for sin, why did He not come sooner in the history of the
world? What of those long before Christ
died who served and believed? Then, the second thing, He should
have suffered often. Not only early, but often. Again and again. over and over
at proper times and at proper intervals. The Jews were used
to the repetition of their sacrifices for sin, but as a person does
not experience a second physical birth, neither will Christ experience
a second incarnation. Though the Israeli high priest
came out of the earthly tabernacle At the same time next year, He
would make another offering of the same kind. Yet Christ will
not, for He has made His offering risen from the grave and entered
into heaven itself, and will come, according to verse 28,
a second time, but not to effect a sacrifice for sin. Catch this
if you can. Number one, that Christ had died
once, speaks of the efficacy of that atonement. That He died
once and no more of His sacrifice. That it is everlastingly sufficient. That it is perpetually sufficient
no matter how long the world shall stand and the human race
multiply. No more is needed for the expiation
of sin than the one death that Christ died upon the cross. But secondly, we notice, the
repetition of the Jewish sacrifices, that they were done over and
over and over again, was proof of their inability to remove
sin. This we read in Hebrews 10, 1-4.
And with your permission, I'd like to read in our hearing Hebrews
10 1-4. For the law having a shadow of
good things to come, not the very image of those things, can
never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually
make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have
ceased to be offered, because that the worshipers once purged
should have had No more conscience of sin. But, that's not the case. On the other hand, verse 3, in
those sacrifices, there is a remembrance again made of sin every year. For, verse 4, it is not possible
that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sin. Now this is important for us,
more important to the Jewish readers in the first century.
They could not perfect the worshiper. They could not purge the conscience
of guilt and condemnation and dead works. Let us hear the connection
between verse 2 and verse 3 there in chapter 10. That such offerings
would have ceased to be offered if they brought perfection. And
verse 2, the last part, and verse 3. The worshippers once purged
should have had no more conscience of sin. But in those sacrifices
being repeated, there is a remembrance made of sin every year. The reason is in verse 4. It
was impossible that such sacrifices could take away sin. But let's go back to Hebrews
9 and verse 26. If Christ must suffer often,
then it would commence from the beginning of history. Instead
of that, we find that He appeared in the end of the world and He
died one time only. And that one death put away sin
by the sacrifice of Himself. Thus we know. that when He appeared,
which was in the end of the world, or John Owen put it, not then
but now, not often but once, not from the foundation of the
world, but in the end of the world or the ages. Now, as men
count time, it was long delayed, the coming of our Lord. He came
not before the flood, when the earth was full of sin, and of
violence. He came not before Israel mourned
under the bondage of the Egyptians in their land, not in the time
of Abraham, not in the time of Moses, not in the time of David
or the prophet. But he came in what the writer
refers to here as the end of the world. It's what Paul calls
in Galatians 4 and verse 4, the fullness of time. In the fullness of time, he was
made of a woman and made under the law. Now almost all expositors
can agree that the words could and perhaps should have been
translated in the end or the consummation of the ages. In the consummation. is how some
have put it. This is expressed in several
different ways in the holy oracles of God. And for some examples,
Hebrews 1 and verse 2, remember what it said, have in these last
days spoken unto us in His Son. In other words, the last age,
ushered in by the appearance of Messiah coming in the flesh. Paul makes a contrast in 1 Corinthians
10 and 11, I don't think that I really grasped this before.
When he wrote of some examples from former times, he said, now
these things happened unto them for examples, or as the Margin
said, for types, and they are written for our admonition upon
whom the ends of the world or come, or is come. In my Marshall's
interlinear, it has it, to whom the end of the ages has arrived. 1 John 2 and 18. Little children,
it is the last time. And the appearance of Antichrist
signals that it is the last time. Historians tell us that this
is an illusion to that Jewish custom of speaking. that they
spoke of the age before the law, the age during the law, and the
age after the law. And that the age or time of Messiah
was then considered the end times or the last times. John Owen
made the point that the dispensation of the gospel grace, quote, has
come under that head and consistency in Christ wherein No other alteration
will be made." There will be no change. There will be nothing
new introduced from this time and forward. No change will be
made in the disposition of God toward the world of mankind. Then in the end of verse 26,
the reason for the appearing of Messiah in the consummation
of the age is given. It was to put away sin. He appeared that He might put
away sin. The mighty incarnation of our
Christ in flesh was in regard to sin. Christ came to the world
that He might deal with sin. And He came not to observe it,
not that He might fight it, not to study it, but as one inspired
author has put it, to put it away. Put away sin. And what does he use? The word
sin. For notice, if you will, it is
not sins in the plural, but it is sins in the singular. He means the condemning power
of sin. Freeing his people from the power
and the guilt of sin. that He made satisfaction to
the point that sin is not imputed unto them anymore that Christ
died for. And in this sense, He put it
away. He condemned it in the flesh,
as Paul says in Romans 8 and verse 3. He became incarnate
by His dying. He might destroy the one having
the power of death, the devil. we read in the second chapter
of Hebrews. Now, does anyone raise the question,
has Christ put away sin? Has He put it away indeed when
there is more sin in the world than there has ever been? The
answer is, He has not put a stop to men's sinning, nor has He
banished sin from the universe But He has taken away the power
of sin to condemn those given to Him to save and for whom He
has died. Now you realize, you have to,
that sin has laid a double hurt upon the family of Adam. A. It lays us open to guilt and
to condemnation. It makes us liable unto death
and the wrath of God. And except for the intervention
of our Lord Jesus Christ had put us in danger of hellfire,
sin is a tyrant. Abel, as Paul tells us, to use
the holy law of God to slay us in Romans chapter 7. But then,
B, there is another thing. It rules in us. It dominates
our life and all of that until we are saved. It leads us captive. It leads us about as its slave. It exercises a dominion over
us so long as we are in the flesh. And as the Puritan John Owen
put it in the greatest Hebrew commentary, I think, written
besides the Bible, quote, Christ appeared to abrogate the law
of sin to deprive it of its whole power." This he did in regard
to the two things just mentioned. Number one, he took it away.
He took away its condemning power so that it has no claim against
us to condemn us. Secondly, by means of the atonement,
we are no longer the slaves of sin. The conscience is purged
of its guilt. There is a measure of sanctification
that is carried on in the lives of the regenerate one. Well,
then that raises, perhaps in the mind of some, the question,
how has the Lord Jesus Christ put away sin? What means has
He used to accomplish this marvelous feat. And by what means is sin
stripped of its power and denuded of its ability to bring us down
to condemnation? The answer is here. By the sacrifice
of Himself. He put away sin by offering Himself
without spot and without blemish to God. Hebrews 9 and verse 14. which also states that Christ
offered Himself, catch this now, through the eternal Spirit to
God. My, what holiness in the atonement! A sinless Christ, an eternal
Spirit, and an eternal God, that Christ offered Himself through
the eternal Spirit unto God. In Ephesians 5 and 2, it states
that Christ has given Himself for an offering and a sacrifice
to God, catch this, as a sweet-smelling savor. Please note that Paul
uses two words, offering and sacrifice, which expresses the
idea of a full sacrifice and a full atonement. One that is
made, that expiates sin, that takes it away, that puts it away. And to whom was the sacrifice
made or the offering given? The answer, Christ gave Himself
a sacrifice unto God. His blood was shed, His suffering
embodied. The death and suffering on the
cross as a presentation to a just and holy and righteous God. God required a perfect sacrifice
for sin And Christ gave Himself perfect unto God. In Ephesians
5 and 2, Paul calls the offering of Christ something that ought
to get our attention. He calls it a sweet-smelling
savor, and that unto God. Of course, this is an allusion
to the Old Testament description of the sacrifices when they were
made. I think they're first mentioned
in Genesis 8, Verse 20 and verse 21, you remember after the flood,
Noah came out of the ark, and the Scripture said, Noah built
an altar there, and he offered offerings upon it. And verse
21, Genesis chapter 8, and the Lord smelled a sweet savor, whereby
the Lord then vowed never to curse the earth again as He had
done in the flood. That offering of Noah was sweet
and pleasing to God. And yet, as some expositors have
rightly noted, not just because of the burning carcasses upon
the altar, but looking forward to that great sacrifice of Christ. That this sacrifice of Noah was
a type, and look forward to the sacrifice of Christ. that would
die upon the cross. A type, it was, of Christ who
gave Himself an offering and a sacrifice for a sweet-smelling
savor unto God. Now, the same simile, sweet-smelling
savor, is used in the book of Leviticus concerning the sacrifices
that were made under the law. I'll not turn, but here are some
of the places. Leviticus 1.9 and 13, and 17. Leviticus 2, verse 9, and again
in verse 12. And again, Leviticus 3 and verse
5. All of these use that expression,
a sweet savor unto God. Now strictly speaking, absolutely
speaking, the actual smell of the burning sacrifices was not
sweet and pleasing to the nostrils. For there on the altar was burned
the inwards, the legs, the head, and the feet, and yet were they
a sweet savor unto God because of what they typified or represented. Even so, to the carnal man, or
to the moral religionist, or the self-righteous Pharisee,
the death of Christ upon the cross holds no particular attraction
or beauty unto them. Some see it, in fact, as foolishness
that one could die and save others. But to the regenerate, the death
of Christ upon the cross is the power and it is the very wisdom
of God. It is a sweet savour, not only
to God, but to all of them that are cleansed in that blood. There is a matter that might
be discussed in this particular place. I think it is appropriate
to raise it now. The question is this, since Christ
did not die at regular intervals, nor did He die until the consummation
of the ages, and since the blood of beasts cannot take away sin,
what then of the Old Testament saints? What of Sarah? and of Abraham, of Isaac, of
Jacob, of David, of Isaiah, and all of those. How were their
sins remitted? For none can be saved except
their sins were remitted. How were they saved so long before
Christ died upon the cross? To answer that, let us be firm.
Every sin forgiven, every soul ever saved, from the first till
now and beyond, will be so by the death and the blood of Christ,
and Christ only. John Brown put it this way, quote,
All the sins which have been committed in the past, or shall
be committed in the future, that shall be forgiven, will be forgiven
on the ground of the same propitiation, end quote. That death of Christ
our Lord. I think there are two New Testament
passages that confirm this for us, that Christ's blood and atonement
suffice for the Old Testament saints as well. And if you thought
they got saved by keeping the law, remember, none have ever
kept the law. None in their depraved condition. But the two New Testament texts
are Hebrews 9 and 15, right here in our chapter. And 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. Now since the sacrifices of the
Jewish high priests could not take away sin, nor could they
purge the conscience, nor could they perfect the worshipers,
what then is the state of those who lived and worshipped and
hoped under the first covenant thousands of years before Christ
came and died. How are their sins to be atoned
for and to be put away? John Brown again wrote, the great
design of the new covenant is that the called ones, the chosen
and the called ones, might receive from God the promise inheritance. And in order for this to be true,
Those saints who worshipped under the first testament. There must
be a redemption of those transgressions which were under that first testament
or covenant. This not only required death
and required the shedding of blood, but the kind of death
and the kind of sacrifice that our Lord did offer. The other
passage dealing with the Old Testament sins of the Old Testament
saints is a better one, more thorough. It's found in Romans
3 and verse 25 and verse 26, where Paul said that Christ is
set forth a propitiation for the remission of sin that have
passed through the four barons of God. In other words, the sins
which were not properly expiated by the legal sacrifices, yet
were sinners in that age saved on the credit of the coming death
of our Lord on the cross. So that all that have ever been
saved or shall ever be saved, where before or after Christ
died, will be saved by the one death of the Lord upon the cross. Isn't that wonderful? It will
never, never lose its efficacy. It will never, ever need to be
repeated. Should this world go on and on
and on, it will never need to be repeated. Now, while there's
some time left, let's shift our attention to verse 27. Some of
you know that we're at the funeral. I used this verse at the funeral
this past week. But here's a verse Verse 27,
"...is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment."
Here is a verse you have heard quoted many, many times, but
usually taken out of its context. Now, how does it relate to the
context? It has some relation to what
the Apostle is writing. How does it fit with the surrounding
context that it is found in? How does it relate? 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 die once and only once to put away sin, one time and no
more. One death is all that God required
of Christ for the propitiation of sin. Verse 27, therefore,
fits the argument. It shows that there is this analogy
between the death of men and the death of Christ. That though
man is a sinner, and some are great sinners, and though the
wages of sin is death, yet by the ordination of God, even the
most sinful person must undergo death but one time." And that's
the apostles' argument to confirm that Christ may die once for
sin. For it is appointed unto man
once to die. True, there will be a judgment
to follow, but he need not die again over and over. We do not bring them back again
that they might die over and over again because as John Owen
said, God enacted an everlasting law concerning Adam and his posterity
that they should all die, and that but one time. Man dies one time. Man undergoes
this penalty of sin but one time. Thus Christ, by His one death,
has perpetuated sin. Verse 28 now, in closing, Even
so, he says, even so, as it is appointed unto man once to die,
even so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many. He will die no more. Never again. So long as the world stands and
sin abounds, yet Christ will never die again. even though
He appear again after His death, yet it will not be to die again
for sin. It is appointed unto man once
to die. Christ was once offered to bear
the sin of many. He bear our sins in His own body
yonder on the tree. One final thing to notice in
this text is a little word that some miss sometimes and may be
on purpose, but those sins that He bore are denominated as many. To bear the sin of many. He bore the sin of many. Not everyone without exception,
but many. Isaiah 53 and 12 says the same
thing. He bared the sin of many. This great sacrifice. Matthew
20 and 28, even as the Son of Man came to give Himself, His life,
a ransom for many." And those are the words of our Lord. We
say, all that the Lord died for will be saved, for His death
is the means to redeem them. Christ cannot die unsavingly
for any. His blood cannot miscarry. And that by the ordinance of
God. To quote Hebrews 10 and 14, for
by one offering He has perfected forever them that are sanctified."
Whoa, did you get that? Forever. Romans 6, 9, Christ
being raised from the dead dies no more. No more to die. Sin cannot condemn Him or put
Him to death again, nor can it condemn those for whom our Lord
has died. So we have established the sufficiency
of the one death of Christ. No more need be added to it. It never need be appended. It
never need be altered. It never need be repeated. The
one death of Christ bearing the sin of those given unto Him is
sufficient to save those before and those after our Lord died
upon the cross. One time and one only. That's what's so bad about apostates.
when the writer said, they crucify to themselves afresh the Son
of God and put Him to an open shame. One death saves forever. One death puts away sin. One
death is all that's needed when it is the death of the God-man. Thank you, and let's stand together
for a word of prayer, please.