If you would, please one more
time turn to Hebrews chapter nine. I'm just gonna begin reading
in verse 25. Hebrews chapter nine. Nor yet that he should
offer himself often as the high priest entereth into the holy
place, every year with the blood of others. For then 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 unto salvation. When I started this a couple
of sermons ago, this is actually where I was headed. The title
of this, Paul, is He put away sin. Now verse 26, it starts with
this, continuing on from verse 25. Nor yet should he offer himself
often as a high priest entered into the holy place every year
with the blood of others. The Old Testament priests, and
not only that, the Old Testament high priests, their work was
never done. Their work was never complete. And the reason for that was their
work was a figure. It was a type, it was an illustration. It was real enough done and it
fulfilled its purpose in that day. But it never, the blood
of bulls and goats never took away one sin. They kept working all the time.
Every year come around, guess what? We had to have another
day of atonement. The next year come around, guess
what? You gotta have another day of atonement. And in between,
you've got all the other offerings, all the feast days, all the holidays. All of them pointing to our Lord
Jesus Christ. That's what the book of Hebrews
is teaching us. And the book of Hebrews is now teaching us
that's gone away. The Jewish priesthood and the
Jewish high priest are no more. They never took away one sin,
but this man's blood has. I'm saying it in the past tense
now, which is what the writer of Hebrews is saying. Because
by the time this was written, our Lord had already died, buried,
resurrected, and ascended unto God. If his sacrifice was like the
Old Testament sacrifice, it says this, for then he must have suffered
often. Since the foundation of the world.
Because you understand, ever since man has been on this planet,
man has sinned. And come way short of the glory
of God. It's not like we were this close,
Mack. You know? We have fallen short of the glory
of God. Matter of fact, we were so short,
We were ants. Dust of the small balance. We
weren't even close. And guess what? We're not now
even as believers. I heard somebody say it the other
day. I was listening to a preacher and I can't remember exactly
who said it, but you pay attention to the scripture, right? It was after God had saved Jacob
that he called him what? A worm. Jacob thou worm. You understand, we, me, I did
not get any better. I was given the best there is. The Holy Spirit dwells in every
believer nowadays. There's nothing good about you,
but all good is in you. by the work of our Lord Jesus
Christ. The only effective effectual
sacrifice and offering is the Lord Jesus Christ's offering
of himself. And that offering, I'll say it
again, was not to you, it was to God. You understand what we're seeing
here in the book of Hebrews in chapter nine here and other places
is the work of the high priest. The true high priest. And that
work was the culmination, the fulfillment of the covenant wrought
between the father and the son. We are affected, but we are not
part. We're a partaker. by grace, by
his gift, but this transaction, for lack of a better term, this
offering was to God and it was of Jesus Christ himself. And I hate to say it this way,
but if his one offering was not sufficient, he would have had
to suffer from the foundation of the world. And you understand,
That right now will put an end, it should put an end, to what
they call the sacrifice of the mass. You understand? You're not calling Jesus down
to inhabit bread and wine. We don't do that when we do the
Lord's Table. Now, to be perfectly honest, in full disclosure, you
like that? In the spirit of full disclosure,
the Catholic Church supposedly does not teach transubstantiation
now. But guess what? It's still written
in their books and they haven't marked it out yet. And yes, they
did teach it at one time. They taught their priests to
say, this is your solemn job, your power to call down God from
heaven and put him in a wafer and in the wine for people to
consume. That's a lie. That's a lie. You understand? That offering
was made to God. We celebrate it when we remember
him, when we take the Lord's table. Do this in memory of me. I told Earl a long time ago when
we met him, I said yeah, I know. I said if there's Catholic, it'd
say do this because it's me on the table. But it doesn't. And
it's not what our Lord said. He suffered. Yes, he suffered. He died. Yes, he died. He was buried. And yes, he resurrected
from the dead, and yes, he ascended unto God. And he, what, appeared
in the presence of God for us, for us. Christ's high priestly
work, his offering, his sacrifice, his redemption, his reconciliation
is one act. And that part is done. There is no more. There is no
more offering for sin. Absolutely none. He sacrificed
himself once. Once, and once at all. But now,
once in the end of the world, hath he appeared to put away
sin by the sacrifice of himself. Our Lord incarnated himself He became
flesh and blood He became a man he came in the form of a servant
in every way like we are yet without sin And he did that once To die There is no sacrifice
without death. There is no sacrifice without
death. And it says, he appeared to put away sin by
the sacrifice of himself. Now this word put away is only
used twice in the Bible. And what the word means, in this
case, this is not like he took sin and he put it away on a shelf.
The word actually means this, canceled. Canceled, he canceled
sin. Once, he canceled sin by the
sacrifice of himself. The only other places used is
two chapters before in the book of Hebrews. Chapter 17 and verse
18. For there is verily a disannulling,
that's the word, of the commandment going before for the weakness
and unprofitableness thereof. For the law made nothing perfect. But the bringing in of a better
hope did. By the witch we draw nigh unto
God. You understand? The commandment's
been canceled. How? By his blood. Now understand this. It's the
same word, you understand? The commandment has not been
put away. It's not gone anywhere. But the
commandment, along with our sin, has been canceled by the sacrifice
of Jesus Christ. By the sacrifice of himself. You understand? With the shedding
of blood, there is freedom. There is remission. And we are
freed from what? The law of sin and death. the commandment for his people
has been canceled. Sin for his people has been canceled,
and not by anything they have done, but by the sacrifice of
himself, by his offering unto the Father. Jesus Christ canceled
sin by the shedding of his blood. the effusion, the glorious flowing
fountain of his blood, his sacrifice and his offering to God. He put
away sin. I'll add this in, forever. There's
only one sacrifice, there's only one. And I'll read that here
in a little bit. Excuse me. The law made nothing
perfect. but the better hope did. The
better hope did. You understand, not only are
we free from the law of sin and death, he has made us perfect
in God's sight. In God's sight. That song I sent
you this morning, the verse, Walter, where it talks about
God has declared us to be righteous, us to be justified totally. Why? Because Jesus' righteousness
has been given to us. I like that. We are, well here,
he put away sin forever for those for whom his blood was shed. We are justified by his blood. not by the application of his
blood, our application of it. We were justified by his blood
before God, by the sacrifice of himself. You understand, a
lot of people wanna say, well you gotta do something with it,
it's there for everybody, it's available, it's sufficient, and
yes it is. But you understand, this was
a covenant between the Father and the Son. This transaction's
done. Romans five and verse nine says
this, much more than being now justified by his blood. We shall
be saved from wrath through him. His blood, his offering to God
of his blood canceled sin. For everyone that the Father
gave him. Let's say John 17. Just gonna read that little bit. Well, these words spake Jesus
and lifted up his eyes to heaven, this is verse one. Said father
the hours come glorify thy son that thy son also may glorify
thee Verse two as thou hath given him power over all flesh that
he should give eternal life to who to as many as thou hast given
him When did the father give them
to the son I suspect it was before the foundation of the world when
he chose him. Come on now. Chosen in Christ
from before the foundation of the world. Who did you belong
to before the foundation of the world if you believe Christ?
You belong to him. The father gave you to him. And
bless God, his holy name, he gave the son to you. He brought us into the family
of God. His blood put away, canceled
my sin, and I shall be saved from wrath through him. And so
will everyone that the father gave him. Not by what I do or
what I try to do, not by what I've become. If I become a better
man, I'd like to become a better man, but I know that in myself
I am no better than I ever was. You know, what does it mean to
have put away sin, to have canceled sin? Okay, here's an example. You got bills at home, and if
you got one that's marked stamped paid, and it says paid in full,
you know what they call those things? Do you have any canceled
receipts? That's what that is. You know
why it's called a canceled receipt? It's because it's been paid.
There's no more debt. His blood, His blood put away the debt of
sin that I owed God. And that all of His children
owed God. You understand? Canceling sin
doesn't say sin never happened. It happened. It's happening. But it says that Jesus paid it
all. There is no more debt. That debt
has been canceled. That sin has been put away. And
it has been stamped and marked, paid in full. I don't owe anything. Praise
God, I don't owe anything. And neither do you, if you believe
Christ. He paid it all. He is our hope. the better hope
did. They interpolated that word,
but I understand. For the law made nothing perfect, but the
bringing in of a better hope did. By the witch, we can draw
nigh to God. Isn't that a strange thing? Fallen,
rotten sinners, saved by the grace of God, but still fallen,
rotten sinners. we can approach God. In Christ,
and in Christ alone, we can approach the throne of grace. Why? Because of his grace. Because
of his blood. There is, for the child of God,
for every child of God, for every sheep, And I'll say that, lost
or found. Lost or found. There is no existing
debt of sin before God. Oh, you still got it. Now understand
very carefully, this doesn't mean that we quit sinning. Don't
even think that. And this doesn't mean that we
won't suffer the consequences of our sin. As ye sow, so shall ye reap.
That's what it says, that's just as true as this. But here's the
thing, in God's sight, this is what we're dealing with here,
this is the work of the high priest. In God's sight, by one
offering, I read it last week, he sanctified us. Then I jumped
over and read, by one offering, he has perfected forever them
that are sanctified. And now with this verse, I wanna
read the one verse in between that I jumped over last week
on purpose. Hebrews 10 and verse 12. But this man, this man, after
he'd offered one sacrifice, four sins, forever, sat down on the
right hand of God, from henceforth expecting till his enemies be
made his footstool. You understand, that's in between
sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once,
and on the other side of it, for by one offering he's perfected
forever, them that are sanctified. What's in the middle? One sacrifice. One sacrifice, what? For sin,
and not only that, forever. He hath appeared once. To what? To put away our sin. The salvation of sinners is a
person. Is in a person and it is a person. Jesus Christ the righteous. His
shed blood means freedom for every child of God. And how did he put it away? It
says it, by the sacrifice, the one sacrifice for sin forever
of himself, of himself. The next verse says this, and
it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.
Men will die. That's a fact. We all have death to deal with. I like to think I'm ready for
it. But I like to think sometimes
a lot of things ain't true. I don't really think I am. But
the one thing about this, when you read this in the context
of what it is, it brings me some comfort. Think about this in this way.
As it is appointed unto men once to die, then think of this. The God of all grace became a
man. He became a man. And it's appointed
unto men once to die. And after that, the judgment. After Christ died, He appeared
in the presence of God for us. Guess what? Our judgment was
laid on Him. We're not skipping out. We didn't
skate free. It was paid. It was paid by our Lord Jesus
Christ. You understand, it talks in here in Hebrews, I read it
when I preached on it a while back. It talks about a better
resurrection. By his grace, I shall enjoy that
better resurrection. The resurrection and the life.
But it is appointed unto man once to die and after this to
judgment. And here's the thing. What happened
to this one man who never should have died? The one man who never
sinned, the God man. As it is appointed between the
Father and the Son, before the foundation of the world, Jesus
Christ died for sinners. Because what's it say in the
next verse? As it is appointed unto men once to die, and after
this the judgment, so Christ was once offered to bear the
sins of, and this is the word that Armenians hate, many. Many. That would have been a perfect
place to put that word all there, Walter, if it meant every single
person. If it meant every single person in the world. Understand,
they say we preach limited atonement. That's good. Some of us like to say we preach
particular redemption because limited atonement offends some
people. I like to say both. I preach limited atonement, particular
redemption. I preach God does what God wants
to do. And man can either like it or
lump it. Because trust me, it makes no
difference absolutely to the truth of God, and it makes no
difference absolutely to Jesus Christ. You can't change his
word. You can lie about it, you can
take from it, you can add to it, but you can't change the
word of God. He 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 one sacrifice
for sin forever. And here's the thing, for many,
for many, the only sacrifice for sin is
Jesus Christ. The only offering for sin accepted
by God is the sacrifice of himself to God. My only hope is Jesus
Christ the Lord has put away my sin. And this is the thing,
he's either put away sin or he hasn't. And if he hasn't put
it away, you got some sins to pay for. And you ain't got the
wallet for it. You ain't got the checkbook for
it and your credit ain't that good. You can have your black,
platinum, whatever, American Express card. I don't care, Jesus
Christ don't take credit. God the Father only accepted
the payment of his son. And you're either in his son
or you're not. I believe Jesus Christ has reconciled
his people to God. The One, the King of Kings, the
Lord of Lords, I believe He has obtained eternal redemption for
us. The One, Jesus Christ, appeared
in the presence of God for us. I believe this One sanctified
us to the Father by the offering of Himself. And I believe that
he has perfected forever us by the sacrifice of himself. This
one, the Lamb of God, took away the sins of the world. This one bore in his body on
the tree the sins of all his people. This one put away sin
by the sacrifice of himself. So I got a question to ask you.
How, by the stretch of anybody's imagination, and that's all it
is, I'll give you a hint right now. Can you say there's a way
for the good shepherd to lose a sheep? You understand, this
is his work. This is his work to the father. What did Pharaoh tell his people
about Joseph? This is Joseph, treat him just
like me, do exactly what he says. Jesus Christ came to save his
people from their sins. What do you think he did? I think
he did exactly that. He saved his people from their
sins. All that the Father gave him. You understand, none of his brethren
shall ever be lost. He said it, I will never leave
you. I'll never forsake you. And you know what he meant by
that? He'll never leave you and he'll
never forsake you. That means that he's in you,
he's gonna stay in you. You can't run him out. His word shall not return unto
him void. Now see, that's in the Old Testament.
So people like to think, oh, that's God, you know, the old
holy God, the old wrathful God. No, that's Jesus Christ. The
word of Jesus Christ will never return unto him void. And not
only that, it's gonna accomplish his good pleasure. Whatever he
sent it forth for, it's gonna accomplish. And he shall appear the second
time. What does it say? Without sin
unto salvation. And. And. Unto them that look for him,
he shall appear the second time. Without sin, unto salvation. You understand, this is all about
the work of Christ here in this book. A few months ago, I preached
on the Lamb of God, took away the sins of the world. Like that atonement goat. One
goat, the blood was shed, the other goat was laid on, and those
sins went out, never came back, out into the wilderness. That's
a picture of what our Lord did. He took away our sin, he put
away our sins, and he has obtained eternal redemption, plenteous
redemption. But it also in the book of Hebrews
here tells us what we need to do and what we are to do. And by his grace, what we want
to do. Let's see. Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 38. Walter read this, Walter
quoted it last week. And from Hebrews 11, these all
died in faith. You understand? These all died
believing. Verse 38 says, now the just shall
live by faith, but if any man draw back, my soul shall have
no pleasure in him. And I still like it better if
you read it in the Greek. It says, now by faith the just
live. But verse 39 says this. Well,
wait a minute. Now the just shall live by faith,
but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in
him. Verse 39, but we are not of them
who draw back under perdition, but of them that believe to the
saving of the soul. What are we to do? If ye are
my disciples indeed, continue in my word. We are to believe him. We are
to believe his word. We are to believe his gospel,
because he is the gospel. Jesus Christ is the good news.
He's done all this. reconciliation, justification,
substitution, righteousness, holiness. All that the sinner
needs, our Lord Jesus Christ has done. And he gives it to
us. That's where I wanna be, is in
him. And I wanna believe him. Paul calls those, here in Hebrews,
chapter three and verse one, he says, holy brethren. Doesn't that sound sweet? Those that believe Christ, he
is not ashamed to call them brethren. And if you're his brethren, you're
holy brethren. Now the holiness is in him, not
in you. But you're holy brethren. You're
part of the family of God. If you want Christ, come to him. Call upon his name. He's the
only one who can save. He's the only one who will save.
And when he does save, it is forever. One sacrifice for sin
forever. And we are both sanctified and
perfected forever in him. Our Heavenly Father, we thank
you this time, this place, most of all. Thank you for your son,
our Lord Jesus Christ, who has done all this work. And he's doing his work now.
Even seated at the right hand of the Father, he ever liveth
to make intercession for us. Even now, he's calling out those
that are dead. When they hear the voice of the
Son of God, they live. And they come forth and they
believe him by the working of his mighty power. Thank you,
Lord, for all you've done for us and all you're doing. Be with
Walter as he comes to preach your gospel. Give him the words
we need to hear and give us ears to hear and a heart to understand. In Christ's name we pray, amen.