Turn to Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10. Henry said one time, it's hard
to rise twice in one day, but we will do it by God's grace
and help. I titled this message Perfect. Perfect. But the only thing we know by
experience about perfect is how to spell it. That's about all
we know. We don't know what it is to have
a perfect body. This body is wracked with sin.
We don't know what it is to have a perfect thought, a perfect action. Paul said,
when I would do good, evil is present with me. That which I
would do, I do not. That which I would not do, I
do. We don't know by experience yet what perfect
is. To have perfect To have a, listen, to have a
perfect conscience. I mean a conscience that is totally
clear, void of any kind of guilt, of any kind of accusations. Oh,
to have that. To have perfect worship, perfect
praise, perfect thoughts of God. Someday we will. I fully expect
that. But this word is used a time
or two in this chapter and back in chapter
9. Look back in chapter 9. It says in verse, let me go back
to verse 7. But unto the second went the
high priest alone once every year, not without blood which
he offered for himself, because he too was a sinner. and for
the heirs of the people. Now the Holy Ghost, this signifies,
showing by this, that the way into the holiest of all was not
yet made manifest as the first tabernacle was yet standing,
which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered
both gifts and sacrifices that could not make him that did the
service perfect." Could not make him perfect. It must be perfect to be accepted. God will not accept anything short of perfection. It has to
be perfect. And he says here, "...that could
not make him that did the service perfect as pertaining to the
conscience." Now let's go over here to chapter
10. And we know that the Bible sets
forth the only way, that there's only one way for a sinner to
be saved and to be made perfect in the sight of God. And that
way is Christ and Him crucified. Look over in John 14. In John chapter 14, the Lord
said to his disciples, Let not your heart be troubled. And they
were troubled because of what he had told them. You believe
in God? Exercise that same faith in me.
In my Father's house are many mansions, many dwelling places.
If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place
for you. And if I go and prepare a place
for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that
where I am, there you may be also. And whether I go, you know,
in the way you know." Well, Thomas said to him, Lord, we know not
whether thou goest. How can we know the way? And
Jesus said unto him, now listen, here it is. plain, simple language
that you and I can understand. Jesus saith unto him, I am the
way. I am the way, the truth, and
the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. The Word of God from Genesis
to Revelation sets forth clearly that Jesus Christ is the only
way to God. He is the only way of salvation. He is the only way of acceptance. His blood, His righteousness,
and there is no other way. The church is not the way to
God. Baptism is not the way to God. Christ is the way to God. Thomas said, we don't know where
you're going and how can we know the way? And he said, Thomas,
you're looking at the way. You're looking at it. The way
to God is through a person. It's not through a creed. It's
through a person. the Lord Jesus Christ. I am the
way. And what Paul, well the writer
of this Hebrew, which I think is Paul, but he's going to set
forth here first of all, and he's going to repeat himself,
which is a good thing to do when you're preaching the gospel.
It's a good thing to go over these things over and over and
over again. We're a lot slower than we think.
Line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little there
a little. That's what he says over in Isaiah. He's going to
show the inadequacy of the ceremonial law. And he says here, for the
law having a shadow of good things to come. They cast a shadow,
and they spoke of some good things to come. But they are not the
very image of the things. Christ is the Lamb of God slain
before the foundation of the world. Then God gives a picture,
a type, a shadow in the Passover lamb. That Passover lamb that
he gave back in Exodus 12 is a shadow, it is a picture, but
it is not the image of Christ. You know, it's not it's not him.
It's not him. You know, in Hebrews chapter
one, it says that Christ is the expressed image of the Father.
He's him. You've seen me, you've seen the
Father. But these are just shadows. Shadows,
and shadows have no substance. The object that casts in the
shadow is the substance. Well, the law having a shadow
of good things to come, and not the very image of the things,
can never, in any way, shape, or form, at any time, can never,
with those sacrifices which they offer year by year, continually,
Make the comers thereunto perfect. Perfect. Couldn't do it. Shadows and types have no and
had no power to save. Look in John chapter 6. John chapter 6. John chapter 6 verse 31. The Jews here are speaking to our
Lord, and they say to Him, Our fathers did eat manna in the
desert, as it is written. He gave them bread from heaven
to eat. He gave them bread. They ate
manna. Manna is what? It was a type
of Christ. But they missed Christ. They just saw the manna in the
desert. They said, our fathers ate manna in the desert. Look
in verse 49. Your fathers did eat manna in
the wilderness. And what? They are dead. And I believe he means this.
They are eternally dead. They didn't just die, everybody
dies, but they are eternally dead because they missed the
one whom the man represented. You know that those in the wilderness,
for the most part, that whole nation that came out of Egypt,
you know this. Now that original group, only
two went into the promised land, Joshua and Caleb. The rest were
20 years old and under. The rest of that group died in
the wilderness. And it says they entered not
in because of what? Unbelief. They did not believe God. They
did not see Christ in the types. Abraham rejoiced at what? See my day. He saw it and was
glad. Abraham looked beyond the tides.
He looked beyond the sacrifice and he saw the Lord Jesus Christ.
Job said, I know my Redeemer liveth. He's alive right now
and he shall stand upon the earth in the last day. And though my
skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God. That's faith. Most of it didn't
happen. They offered the sacrifice, and
I'm telling you, they believed that they were accepted because
of the blood of those bulls and those goats and the ceremonies
and the things they did and being good little boys and girls, and
they thought that they impressed God. One time in the scriptures, in
the gospel, God said He was pleased with somebody. This is my beloved
Son in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye Him. Listen to him. Shadows and types cannot save. He said they died. They are dead.
They didn't just die, they're dead. And it says here, they
spoke of good things to come, but they never brought those
good things. The offering of the blood of bulls and goats,
those sacrifices, those ceremonies never brought justification.
They never brought righteousness. They did not put away sin. They
could not make the comers there into perfect. They couldn't do it. They didn't.
They didn't bring righteousness. They didn't bring redemption.
Redemption came by Christ. These were preaching a message,
these types and shadows, but they were preaching a message,
but Christ's the message. He's the message. They didn't
bring any of the spiritual blessings that we have in Christ. These
all came by Christ. Look over Colossians chapter
2. Let's see here. Look in verse
15. And having spoiled principalities
of power, speaking here of the Lord Jesus Christ, He spoiled
them. He made a show of them openly,
triumphing over them in it, that no man therefore judge you in
meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holy day, or of the new
moon, or of the sabbath days, which are a shadow, or a shadow
of things to come." Listen, but the body, the substance, the
reality of these things is of Christ. Not the blood of bulls and goats
and all the ceremonial stuff they went through. The tithes
could never, it says, make the comers perfect. They could not
make us perfect. Listen, the blood of bulls and
goats, if you did not see Christ through them like Abraham did
and David, they could not give you a clean or clear conscience.
Only Christ can do that. Only the blood of Christ sprinkled
on the conscience by the Holy Spirit can give you a clear conscience. Nothing quiets an accusing conscience
but the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, the blood of bulls and
goats. He couldn't do that. Couldn't do that. For then would they not have
ceased to be offered, because that the worshippers once purged,
if they were actually purged, If their sins were put away,
they should have no more conscience of sins. If they had worked, they would
have ceased. You would have had to offer them
again and again and again. Let me give you an example. He
says here that the comers that brought these sacrifices were not made perfect. And he
says here, if it had worked, they wouldn't have offered them
anymore. Let me give you an example of something. Let's say that
I'm guilty of a crime. I'm guilty. And while walking
down the street, I see a policeman coming. I see a policeman coming. The
law. a representative of the law,
an executioner of the law. And my conscience, my conscience
says guilty, cries guilty, and that's why I want to hide. Adam,
where are you? I'm over here hiding, hiding
free. Why? Because I'm naked. Well, who
told you you were naked? I'll tell you who told him, a
guilty conscience told him. My conscience cries, guilty,
I want to hide. However, if that sin, if that
crime, that guilt has been dealt with, if it has been dealt with,
and then I have been set free. Now listen, I've been set free,
justified. Now when I see that policeman,
representative of the law coming down the street, I could shake
hands with him. That's already been dealt with.
That has already been dealt with. And that's what happens when
God applies the blood of his Son to the conscience when he
saves a sinner. And you don't have that guilty,
screaming conscience overseeing because you know, you know it's
been dealt with. at Calvary. You know all your
sins have been put away. It does not say that the worshippers
once perished have had no more consciousness. We have a consciousness
of sin. We know we're sinners. We know
that sin still dwells in us. As I said earlier, Paul said,
when I would do good, he would rest with me. I do that which
I would not do, that which I would do. He said, I can't do it. We know that. We have a consciousness
of sin, but we have no more guilty, accusing, screaming conscience
because sin's been dealt with. It's been put away. It's been
put away. You see here, because that, listen,
the worshipers once purged should have no more conscious guiltiness Look in Hebrews chapter 1. Here's what we learn, not just
in doctrine, but we learn just by experience in Hebrews chapter
1. Verse 3, who being the brightness
of his glory, and the expressed image of his person, and upholding
all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself
purged our sins. The blood of bulls and goats,
he's saying to the Hebrews, did not purge anyone's sins. But when Christ died on Calvary's
cross, he purged the sins of a multitude of sinners that no
man can number. He put them away. And then when
God calls a sinner by grace, and he applies the blood, he's
regenerated. He's born again. You learn. You learn. Did you hear what Jesus said
to me? They're all taken away. They're
gone. My sins are gone. Am I aware
of them? Yes. Do I repent of them? Yes. Do I hate them? Yes. But I know
this. I know this. That through the
blood, the sacrifice of the Son of God, they are gone. present and future. Every sin
that I've ever done, ever will do, is gone, purged by the blood
of the Son of God. Now, that'll give you a quiet
conscience. You know, there's a difference
between just, you know, you do things and the Holy Spirit convicts
you of it, and things you ought not do, you're convicted of it,
but that's different than having this clear conscience. is perfect conscience that's
been purged and cleansed by the blood of the Son of God. It's gone. Not going to be dealt
with again. Not with me. That'd be double
jeopardy. Not going to happen. He's not going to deal with me.
He dealt with my substitute over there. That's why I read to you
over here in Psalm 40. Think of Psalm 40. I read to you over here in Psalm
40. Let me look at this again. He said in verse 12, for innumerable
evils have compassed me about, mine iniquities have taken hold
upon me. And this is the Lord speaking.
Now, he knew no sin. He knew no sin. He's the perfect
Lamb of God, spotless, spotless Lamb of God. But he's my substitute. My sins were laid upon Him. He
took my sins. He took the sins of every one
of His people. They were laid upon Him. He said, My iniquities
have taken hold upon me so that I am not able to look up. They
are more than the hairs of my head. He took all the sins of
all the elect and put them away at Calvary. Purged them. Purged
them away. Therefore, my heart fails me. What a painful experience, but
I'm sure glad he experienced it or you and I would be goners.
We'd be goners. But in those sacrifices, now
listen, in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of
sins every year. There's an awful reminder every
year that sin has not yet been atoned for. Every year. And most of them missed it. Most
of them missed it. But every year, when that tome
was made, it's saying sin has not yet been atoned for. They've not yet been taken away.
That didn't happen until Christ. Until the Lamb of God died on
Calvary's cross. But now, listen. I thought about
this last night. When we take the Lord's table, He said, this do in what? Remembrance of me. See, when
they did it, it was a remembrance, again, made of sins every year. Now, when we partake of the Lord's
table, it's a remembrance of a Savior who took away our sins. It's not a remembrance of sins.
It's a remembrance of a Savior who took them away. It's a remembrance
of a person, the Lord Jesus Christ. For it is not possible that the
blood of bulls and of goats should take away the sins. That's not
even remotely possible. They thought, many of them thought,
the ones who perished, they thought that they did. They didn't see
past the blood of the bulls and goats. They didn't see past the
shadows. You know, if you see a shadow, you need to turn around
and see the object that's casting the shadow. Shadows don't cast
themselves. There is an object, and a light
is shining on that object, and that object casts a shadow. You
take away the object, you don't have a shadow. Well, they were
so obsessed with the shadows, they did not turn around and
see the object. They didn't see Christ. Now,
not all of them. Some did, and there were some
that saw Him. David, Abraham, Moses, Aaron. go on and on, and
many of it's not even written. Many of it did seem. But he said,
it's not possible the blood of bulls and goats should take away
sins. Why? Because, I'll tell you why. The
blood of bulls and goats was offered under a ceremonial law,
not a moral law. Adam broke a moral law. Sin is a transgression of a moral
law. And animals are not moral beings. And their offering was under
ceremonial law. And they're just animals. Christ
was born under a moral law, not a ceremonial law. And that's
why he could represent us. That's why he could substitute
for us. And then the blood is not the same. If you need a blood transfusion,
you're going to go kill a lamb and take its blood? We don't
get blood transfusions from animals. It's not the same blood. It must
be the same kind of blood that's sinned, the same kind of nature
that's sinned. That's why Christ became bone
of our bones, flesh of our flesh. And then sin deals with the mind,
sin deals with the heart, it deals with the soul, and animals
don't have these. Listen, animals do not know why
they're dying. All those lambs, morning and
evening, And they had no idea why they
were dying. They don't know for whom they're
dying. Every time an animal was killed,
that animal had no concept of what was going on or for why
it was being offered or for whom it was being offered. No concept. And they did not know the one
they were being offered to. Christ was offered unto God. They were just dumb animals.
But you turn over to Isaiah 53. In Isaiah 53, listen to this. In verse 11. of the travail of his soul, and
shall be satisfied by his knowledge, shall my righteous servant justify
me, for he shall bear their iniquities." Listen, he knew why he died. He knew for whom he died. He
knew the one to whom he was being offered. An intelligent, intelligent man. Perfect, listen, perfect knowledge. Perfect knowledge. He knew exactly
what he was doing. He knew exactly what was going
on. He knew exactly everyone for whom his blood was being
offered. By his knowledge, by his knowledge shall he justify
many. He's bearing their iniquities. He knows everyone for whom he
died. Those dumb sheep, they didn't
know anything. They had no clue. Now, can an animal put away the
sin of a man, a moral being, who's broken a moral law purposely,
knowingly? No. No, it can't be. That's why he's telling them,
these Hebrews, He said, look, the blood of that animal cannot
put away the sin of a man. It can't do it. It can't do it. But here's a solution. There
is one who can put it away. There's one who can put away
my sins, my transgressions, my law-breaking. There is one. Wherefore,
when he cometh unto the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering
thou wouldst not." Well, didn't you give him? Yes, he gave him,
but he gave him as a type, as a representation of the one coming.
God took no, listen, he took no pleasure in the death of those
animals. It pleased God to what? Bruise
him. Not the animals, not the blood
of bulls and goats. When He comes into the world,
He says, sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body
hast thou prepared me by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit
created the human body, the human nature of Christ in this womb
of Mary. The seed and sin of Adam had
nothing to do with the birth of Christ. That womb was borrowed for a time, that the Son of God
may become incarnate and come into this world in a human body,
listen, a perfect human body. He was perfect. But a body hast thou prepared
me, hast thou, listen, here's another rendering of that. A
body hast thou fitted me, chitted me. That I might live in this world
and produce a righteousness for a multitude of sinners? That
I might die? That I might sacrifice and I
might give up? A body hath thou fitted me, perfect
body, made for the perfect Son of God to dwell in, to take,
to incarnate. He's reaching back here to the
Old Testament. He's establishing what he's saying
on the Word of God. This is not just something he's
coming up with. He's going back to Psalm 40.
I read that to you. Psalm 40, verse 6. He's repeating
what was said back in Psalm 40, which is a psalm of Christ, a
Midianic psalm. Let me show you something. Turn
over to Isaiah chapter 1. In Isaiah chapter 1, verse 11, to what purpose is
the multitude of your sacrifices unto me, saith the Lord? I am
full of burnt offerings, of rams, and the fat of a fed beast, and
I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of
he-goats. He said, they give me no pleasure.
Look over in Jeremiah 6. Jeremiah chapter 6. In Jeremiah chapter 6, look in verse
20. To what purpose cometh there
to me incense from Sheba and the sweet cane from a far country?
Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices
sweet unto me. I take no pleasure in them."
Why? Why has God, didn't He give them?
Did He not give the sacrifices? I'll tell you why. They were
offering these sacrifices without faith in Christ, without faith
toward Christ They just went through the motions. You know,
it's like, it's like a, it's like a, you know, Catholic. You
do something wrong, you say a bunch of Hail Marys and go on about
your way. They offered these bull ruffs.
They went through these ceremonies. And listen, there was no heart.
There was absolutely no heart in their worship service. And
there was no faith. Well, there's no heart, there's
no faith. They just offered them up because
it was a religious service that served no one. And God told them,
I'm sick of it because you've missed the one they represent.
God forbid that we ever come here, and this just becomes a
religious service on Sunday and Wednesday, and we miss Christ. We miss Him. In burnt offerings and sacrifices
for sin, listen, he says, thou hast had no pleasure. The pleasure he has is of the
one they represented, the Lord Jesus Christ. He had no pleasure
in them apart from the one they represented. Those that missed
the message of the types missed salvation. Then said I, lo, I come. In the volume of the book, it
is written of me. Back there in Psalm 40, it's
written of me. I come to do thy will, O God. Well, what is that? We'll turn
over to John chapter 6, and I'll wind this down. John chapter
6. In John 6.39, let me just go back up to verse
35. And Jesus said unto them, I am
the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never
hunger. He that believeth on me shall never thirst. But I
said unto you that ye also have seen me, and believe not, all
that the Father giveth me shall come to me. And him that cometh
to me, I will know why I was cast out. For I came down from
heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent
me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, here
it is, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing,
but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is
the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the
Son and believeth on him may have everlasting life, and I'll
raise him up at the last day. This is his will. I come to do
thy will, O God. Above, when he said, Sacrifice
and offering, and burnt offerings, and offering for sin, thy wood
is not, neither has pleasure therein, which are offered by
the law. Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. Listen,
he taketh away the first, that he may establish the second,
which was actually first, because it was in eternity. Christ is
a land slain from the foundation of the world. He was before the
Passover lamb was given in Exodus 12. God taketh away the first man,
he taketh away the first earth, he taketh away the first nature,
he taketh away the first covenant, that old covenant, he taketh
away the first sacrifices. Why? That he may establish the
second which is established upon better promises which are established
in Christ. He takes all these away, that
he may really establish, reveal what he purposed and planned
before the world began. He gave these other things as
shadows and tithes, but the substance of it has been in eternity, which
is Christ and that covenant of grace. By the which will, the same will,
the will of God. Now listen, by whose will are
we saved? Ours or God's? First God's, then He makes us
willing. He says in Psalm 110, thy people
shall be made willing in the day of thy power. By the which will we are what? He's the one who set us apart.
He's the one who made us holy. We didn't make ourselves holy.
We didn't set ourselves apart. He did it. He did it. By the which will we are sanctified,
how? Through the offering of the body,
not the offering of the blood of bulls and goats or any of
those ceremonial offerings. We are sanctified through the
offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Once for all. Never to be repeated. He will never come into this
world and offer himself again and again and again. That one sacrifice was sufficient. put away all the sins of all
his people. It was sufficient. Once for all, never to be repeated. Let me read these two verses
to you, and I'll close. Back in chapter 9 in Hebrews. And as it is appointed unto men
once to die, but after this the judgment. And notice, there's
not a period there. We quote that verse a lot, but
it doesn't end there. So Christ was once offered to bear the
sins of many. He put them away. And who are
they? Who are they? He gives us the
answer. And unto them that look for him, they are the ones whose sins
he put away. And unto them that look for him shall he appear
the second time without sin unto salvation. He appear, he will
come to take us home. This sin issue's already been
dealt with by him. Already been dealt with. Perfect! The only one that's perfect is
Christ. We are made perfect in Him. And
the only thing that can give you a quiet conscience is His
blood. His blood, sprinkled on your
conscience by the Holy Spirit. He's the only one that can truly
give a quiet conscience.