For our Scripture reading this
morning, turn with me to Hebrews chapter 10. If you will, put a marker there.
We'll come back to it in just a little while. Hebrews chapter 10. I want to
read about half of this chapter. having a shadow of good things
to come, and not the very image of the 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. If your sins were taken away,
your conscience shouldn't be disturbed over the sins that
are gone. But in those sacrifices, there
is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the
blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Wherefore, when
he cometh into the world, he saith, sacrifice an offering
thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me. In burnt
offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
Then said I, lo, I come. In the volume of the book, it's
written of me, to do thy will, O God. Above, when he said sacrifice
and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin, thou wouldest
not neither have pleasure therein, which are offered by the law.
Then said he, lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away
the first, that he may establish the second. By the witch will,
we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily,
ministering and offering oft times the same sacrifices which
can never take away sin. But 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 hath perfected
forever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is
a witness to us. A witness of what? Huh? That the first had been taken
away and the second established. And why? And who did it? Whereof the Holy Ghost also is
a witness to us for after that he said before. This is the covenant
that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord. I'll
put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write
them. And their sins and iniquities
will I remember no more. Now where remission of these
is, there is no more offering or sin. May the Lord add his
blessing to the reading of his word. If you will, turn back with me
to Hebrews chapter 10. I want to talk to you a little
bit about the first and the second. All through Hebrews, Hebrews
chapter 8, he mentions it, the first and the second. The first
covenant, the second kept covenant. And so on. The book of Hebrews
is a letter penned actually by an unknown author. Most believe,
and I'm with them, that Paul wrote the book of Hebrews. Each
man, being inspired of God, that inspiration did not take away
that man's character or the way that he taught and spoke. His own character bleeds into
the writing. You know when you read 1 John,
you're reading the same guy that wrote John. His character bleeds right into
his writings. And so on all through the scripture.
Luke. It's penned by an unknown author,
but most believe that it's the work of Paul the Apostle. They
believe the absence of Paul's name. This was interesting when
I was studying. I thought you might like to think
about it. The reason why his name was not
put on this letter. Paul put his name on every letter
he wrote, but not Hebrews. Why not? Because the Jews hated
him so bad, and he didn't want his name to be the reason why
they wouldn't read this letter. So he wrote it anonymous. Paul loved his kinsmen. He went
so far as to say the same thing Moses said. Moses said, the Lord's
anger waxed hot. And he was about to destroy all
of his people. And Moses said, Lord, if you
blot their name out, blot mine out also. That's a pretty serious statement,
isn't it? The Lord told him, I'll blot out whose name I will.
You do what I told you to do. But here the apostle Paul said,
I could wish myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren,
my kinsmen, according to the flesh. Though he was an apostle and
an evangelist to the Gentiles, he had an unshakable burden for
his kinsmen. In Romans 9, verses 1 and 2,
he said, I say the truth in Christ, I lie not. My conscience also
bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost that I have great heaviness
and continual sorrow in my heart for my kingdom. Be that what it may, this divinely
inspired book is a book aimed at the natural Jew and his ignorance
of God and God's way of salvation. That's what this book is all
about. And it'll always be a valuable
tool to me or any other preacher realizing that we deal with a
similar plague in our day with those who are religious and lost. I don't know if I make this clear
enough to you or not. You're here this morning and
you're unsaved. If God don't do something for
you, you're as sure for hell as if you were already there. It's not limbo. You're not floating
around in a vacuum. You're under the judgment of
God. By one man, sin entered into
the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all
men. or that all have sinned. By one man, one man, disobedience,
many were made sinners. You're here this morning and
you don't know Him. You're a sinner whether you know it or not. And
your sin has put you in a desperate situation. You're 100% relying
on the grace of God. And what happens when men learn
this, when they learn a little bit about their sins, they run
to religion. Because everybody in their life
keeps telling them, this is what you need. This is what you need.
You need to go down to the First Baptist. You need to go down
to the Methodist. You need to be a Catholic. You need to be
a Presbyterian. You need to walk that aisle.
You need to kneel at that bench. You need to make a confession
and sign that pledge card. Over and over. Run to religion.
Run to religion. The Jews were religious out of
desperation. They learned a little bit about
who God is. He's God. He does according to
His will. None can stay His hand or say
unto Him, what dost thou? He's God. And they ran to religion. They
thought religion is what saved them. You search the Scriptures,
he said, for in them you think you have eternal life. And they
are they that testified me. But you won't come to me. You'll
come to mine. You'll come to my people. You'll
come to my house. You'll come to a decision. But
you won't come to me that you might have life. Life is in Christ. That's the purpose behind this
book. Paul's going to show them that all of these things under
the law were types and figures. Not the very thing. And that's
the theme of this book. He's going to show us the excellency
of Christ over all these things. Over the ceremonial types and
figures. And all through his letter, he keeps talking about
these things. He begins back in chapter 1 with
the Word of God coming by the prophets and the Word of God
coming by the Son. He's showing us the excellency
of Christ over all the Old Testament prophets. At different times, various manners,
God spake to our fathers by the prophets, Moses, Samuel, Isaiah,
Jeremiah, and so on. But in these last days, He's
spoken to us in Son, whom He hath appointed heir of
all things, by whom He made the worlds, who being the brightness
of the Father's glory and express image of His person, He's speaking
to us from the highest source of the Word in His Son. In the
beginning was the Word. Ain't that what John said? The prophet spoke of a coming
Redeemer. To Him give all the prophets
witness. But the Son is the very manifestation
of the Redeemer. He is the Redeemer. You see the
difference? They preach the Word of God.
The Son is the Word. He is the Word. They preached
the Son upheld all things by the Word of His power. Think
about it. He upholds the universe by the
Word of His power, David. Everything that goes on. Nothing
happens apart from His Word. Nothing. They're not a fly. Not a mosquito, not a bug, not
a king. Huh? He upholds everything by the
Word of His power. They talked about a coming Redeemer.
This Jesus of Nazareth, He said, by Himself purged our sins and
sat down at the right hand of God. The prophets had a beginning. The Son was from everlasting.
Creation, like a garment, will one day be folded up. But he
said, not my son. His days are the same, and his
years shall never fail. The angels dwell in heaven. But
to which of the angels said he at any time, sit at my right
hand? But he did the son, and he There's a preeminence in the
Son above all things, and rightly so. Paul said, for it pleased
the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell. Now here it is. I tell you this
all the time. I'm going to keep on telling
you. I'm going to say, by the grace of God, I'm going to keep
on telling you this. I hope I never change. Salvation
is in a person. Is doctrine important? Yes, it
tells me who the person is. That's what doctrine's all about.
It's called the doctrine, not doctrines, the doctrine of Christ. It tells us who he is, why he
came, what he did, where he's at. Salvation is in a person. To
know Him is to know God. To see Him is to see the Father.
And the very evidence of the Spirit of God in us is our knowledge
of the Son. How do I know the Holy Spirit
is in me? Because I speak in tongues? Give me a break. I know
the Spirit of God is in me because He takes the things of Christ
and shows them unto me. That's the only way you can know. Brother Barnard used to tell
him, well, I go to that church and I get such a warm feeling.
He said, you want a warm feeling? Heat up some honey and pour it
down your back. You'll get a warm feeling. It's not that. It's the Spirit
of God in you. In you. And how do you know He's in you?
He's testifying of the Son. He's testifying of the Son. He
won't speak of Himself. And God has nothing to say to
sinners apart from Jesus Christ. Nothing. Next thing He deals with is the
condescension of Christ in chapter 2. He said, we see Jesus, who
was made, verse 9 in Hebrews 2, made a little lower than the
angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor,
that He, by the grace of God, should taste death for every
man. every man given to him, all his elect. A little over 2,000 years ago,
an evil king, he was sitting in his throne room or laying
on his bed at night, who knows when, he said, I got it. I'm running a little short of
funds. I'm going to tax the whole known world. I'm the king. Good to be king. And I'll just
tax the whole world. So he sent out a letter. He said,
everybody's going, whatever city you was born in, you're going
to have to come back to that city and pay these taxes. And boy, can you imagine? That
little bit that's been done in our presidency, look at how people
have whined and cried for four years. Can you imagine taxing
the whole world? Can you imagine what was being
said and what's being talked about? And here's old Joseph
and Mary, and they're down there, and she's pregnant. And his whole
life's falling apart. And now it's new. You got to
go all the way back to Bethlehem and pay your taxes. They were so poor they couldn't
offer a lamb. They had to offer a turtle dove.
That was for the extremely poor. They were a poor family. And
so he gathers them up and he's coming along and she's nine months. She's ready to have a child.
And they get down to Bethlehem and there's no room at the inn. No room at the inn. She's pregnant.
I saw her. Every room's filled. Now there
is a little stable down here. At least you'd be out of the
rain. So they go down to that stable.
And her time comes, and she bears a son. And she didn't have anything
to wrap him up in. So they got some swaddling clothes,
and they wrapped him up and laid him in a manger. You know who
that is? That's God. That's God. God come into the flesh. Isn't that what it says? His
name shall be called Emmanuel. Huh? He's gonna be the Prince
of Peace. He's the Father, He's God Almighty.
Come into the flesh and here He lay in there in swaddling
clothes in Emmanuel. You believe that? Oh my, He's got nothing to say
to us outside of Christ. Nothing to say. This tiny baby, this helpless
infant with God come into the flesh. They going to call his name Jesus.
They were debating about what to call him. The angel said,
you going to call him Jesus. No debate to it. For he shall
save his people from their sin. But to save a people, he has
to become a priest. Every high priest taken from
among men is ordained for men and things pertaining to God
that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sin. Nobody
could just walk in the tabernacle and offer a sacrifice for sin.
A priest was ordained to that end, a high priest. One time
a year he could take that atonement and go beyond the veil. If this
man is going to save our souls, he has to be one, ordained of
God, chosen among men, in things pertaining to God that he might
offer gifts and sacrifices for sin. Men are sinners. They need a
priest ordained of God to deal with God on their behalf. And
the purpose of God in the condescension of Christ as a man is to deal
with God in things concerning our sins. He didn't have to leave
heaven's glory to teach you how to live a life. But he had to
become a man to atone for sins. The high priest of old, they
were made priests without an oath, but not so with the son,
not so with him. God himself said, the Lord swear
and will not repent thou art a priest forever after the order
of Melchizedek. He was not a high priest after
the order of Aaron. He wasn't a Levite. He was from
the tribe of Judah. And the excellency of this priesthood
is exampled by one that appeared to Abraham long, long ago. And
Abraham gave a tenth of all his foals to him. You know what he
says about this Melchizedek? He didn't have a beginning. And
he didn't have an end. He was a priest forever. And he made like unto the Son
of God. You believe that tiny babe in
Bethlehem's manger is the Son of God, our Savior, our High
Priest? It was necessary that He be born
of a woman. When the fullness of the time
was come, that time spoken of by the Old Testament prophets,
purposed of God, when the fullness of the time was come, God sent
forth His Son made of a woman. Why did he have to be made a
woman? Because he had to be made under
the law to redeem them that were under the law. You believe that He alone can
effectually put away our sins? He alone can make you acceptable
to God? And I don't care how much you
give, talk, sacrifice or do, no man, Christ said, cometh unto
the Father but by me. No other way. The old high priest
of Israel was the only way your atonement could go beyond the
veil. Even so, apart from Christ, there is no offering for sin. This tiny babe laying in that
manger came into this world as the one mediator between God
and me. And the success of his priestly
appointment is the manifestation of a better covenant. A better
covenant. Jesus of Nazareth had attained
a more excellent ministry, Hebrews 8 verse 6, by how much also he
is the mediator of a better covenant which was established upon better
promises. He tells us this, if there were
no faults in the first, there'd be no need for the second. And he said, I'll make with them
a new covenant. A new covenant after those days. What days? What days? After what days? The days of
our mediator and covenant surety after His coming and doing and
dying and resurrection, after those days, saith the Lord. When redemption is accomplished,
when justice is satisfied, when righteousness is wrought out,
when He's finished the work, it is finished, He cried on the
cross. What? His suffering? He finished
the work He came to do. did the will of God in the salvation
of a people. The days of our Mediator and
Covenant surety, after His coming and doing and dying and resurrection,
after those days, saith the Lord, I'll put my laws into their minds,
and I'll write them in their hearts, and I'll be to them a
God, and they'll be to me a people. We serve the law of God with
the mind of Christ. There's no other way. No other
way to serve Him. We serve the law in His substitution. Do we not? In His substitution. If you were going to serve the
law, a substitute had to be slain. That's what He taught us under
those Old Testament times. Christ was set forth as the propitiation
for our sins. When? Back under the Old Testament. We serve the law in his substitution,
in his representation. Abraham believed God was counted
to him for righteousness. He wasn't righteous in himself. He went down there where the
king reigned, and he told his wife, he said, don't tell him
we're married. I sound like a righteous man. Abraham believed God and counted
to him for righteousness. If you have a righteousness this
morning, that's how you have it. You believe God concerning
his son and he counts it to you for righteousness. We serve the
law in the representative Christ Jesus. We serve the law, seeing
it honored and exalted in our great high priest and our hope
in him, Hebrews 6, 19. He is most sure and steadfast
and eternal, and he goes within the veil. That's the first and the second.
Well, what's the first? The first is an age of the ceremonial
law. priests, and judges, and kings,
and prophets. These he calls in Hebrews 10.1.
If you turn there to Hebrews 10, look at verse 1. The law,
having a shadow, is a shadow of good things to come. Just
a shadow. Sabbath days, the year of jubilee, blood sacrifices,
a tabernacle, a veil, a brazen altar, a cleansing labor, Veil of separation. Mercy seat. A holy place. A holy of holies.
He tells us in Hebrews 9.1, the first covenant or testament had
also ordinances of divine service. Had a worldly sanctuary. They
made a tapernacle according to God's pattern. Things put within
it by God's design. A candlestick, a table with showbread. A candelabra, if you will, a
candlestick, he called it. And that's where the priest of
Israel went in and did service to God, and then there was a
veil hanging there. And one time a year, the high
priest, not without blood, but with the blood of the sacrifice,
went beyond that veil. One time a year. In that holy
of holies there was a golden censer, the ark of the covenant,
and over it the cherubim of glory, shadowing the mercy seat. One
time a year the high priest would take the blood of the atonement
and go in for all Israel. Hebrews 9 verse 8, the Holy Ghost
this signifying. What did that mean when he went
in there? What's going on? This signifying
that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest
while as the first tabernacle was yet standing. That way had
not yet been made. And He just keeps setting before
us in a picture. In a picture. When His coming
redeemers come, this is what He's coming to do. This is what
He's going to do. Now listen, verse 9. 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 as pertaining
to the conscience. Here comes a man and he's sinned
and he brings the sin offering and he gives it to the priest
and the priest offers it up. And he comes back out and he
blesses him. Atonement had been made for the sin. But he didn't
take them sins out of his conscience because his sins weren't put
away by that animal sacrifice. They were figures of the truth. Patterns of things in heaven,
shadow of good things to come. And men of faith understood this.
They were taught this. And had faith in His blood, in
the blood of the coming Redeemer. But most of them didn't. Most of them didn't. They went
to church. They observed the priest. He'd come out. He'd say a few
things, or the scribe, or whoever it was that was over there. synagogue
and they'd go there and they'd put their hour in or two hours
or however long it was and they'd sing some songs and leave and
go home. Most didn't understand what these things were all about.
And most, like the religions of the world today, go through
the motions, the ordinances. They regard certain days. They'll
bite you over a Sabbath day. Over dress. offices, and don't
have a clue what any of these things mean. They were a carryover
from the Old Testament. And everything you see in false
religion is a carryover of the types and figures of the old
covenant. Priestly structured religion
like Catholics and Trinity Lutherans and so on. Priestly dress, gowns
and robes and crowns and incense and candlelight and elaborate
buildings, committees, denominations, scribes and Pharisees, on and
on he goes. There was a first. That's what
Paul's telling these people that he loved so much. There was a
first. You're still over here in the
first. Get out of the first. The second
has been established. These things were types, they
were figures, they were pictures. Nothing more. Then said he, Hebrews 10, 9,
Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He didn't say it with a voice.
It was his coming that said it. If he was not needed, there'd
been nothing said. We'd still been offering lambs
and goats. We'd still have a priestly structured religion. But when
He came into the world, His coming said this, Lo, I come to do Thy will, O
God. And I pray God will give you
a heart to understand what He says next. He taketh away the
first. It's gone forever. Gone forever. They're still hunting for the
Ark of the Covenant. I hope he took it right into
glory. They're still looking for Noah's
Ark, ain't they? I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away
the first, that he may establish the second. Jesus Christ is the
embodiment of every type and figure of the Old Testament.
He's our Sabbath of rest. Read about it in Hebrews chapter
4. He's our Jubilee, our city of refuge. We have strong consolation,
he tells us in the book of Hebrews, who have fled for refuge to lay
hold on the hope set before them. That's the city of refuge. And
listen to this, Christ being come a high priest of good things
to come by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made
with hands, that is to say, not of this building, but a body,
his own body. Neither by the blood of goats
and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy
place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. Did he take
away my sins? Then I should have no more conscience
of sins. He took them away. He took them
away. He's the priest. He's the altar.
He's the blood. He's the sacrifice. He's the
bread, the light of the candlestick. He's the way. He's the truth. You shall know the truth and
the truth shall set you free. Who's the truth? Christ said,
I'm the truth. And I'm the life. He's the prophet, the word, the
king, the authority. He's the embodiment of all types
and figures. The volume of the book is written
of me. I come to do thy will, O God. He didn't come to talk
about the will of God, though he often did. He didn't come to illuminate
men to the will of God, though He often did. He came to do the
will of God. What does He require for your
salvation? That you do the will of God perfectly. From birth to death, continually. He came to do it. Acts 13, 38,
Be it known unto you, men and brethren, that through this man
is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. And by him all that
believe are justified from all things from which you could not
be justified by the law of Moses. I'm not up here every week trying
to make people religious. or change their dress, or tell
them how to wear their hair. I'm up here this morning with
every fiber of my being trying to point you to Christ. Salvation's
in Him. Look to Him, not another Jesus. But look to Him who is this Jesus. This Jesus. John said, this is the record. This is the record. This is God's
record, this is God's testimony. You want to know what God says
about this whole thing? Here it is. This is the record
that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His
Son. He that hath the Son, not the
Son's doctrine. He that hath the Son, hath life. And he that hath not the Son
of God, whatever else he has, he has He said, These things I have
written, I have said unto you that believe on the name of the
Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and
that you may believe on the name of the Son of God. Trust Him. Believe on Him. Receive Him. Rejoice in Him. Worship Him. The first and the second. You want to see the first? Go
into any church. up and down the road, you'll
see the first. You'll see the first. You'll see the robes,
the priestly robes on the pastor coming to the pulpit. You'll
see his little committee, his entourage, you'll see them down
there on the front pew. You'll see the priest. You can
see, you won't see the first, just about any church in the
land, you'll see the first. You won't see the second, the
second's in the person of Jesus Christ. The first is pictures,
figures, types, shadows. The second is the object of the
first. He's the real thing. He's the
body. In Colossians 2, verse 17, he said, Don't let any man
judge you in drink. Boy, I tell you what, most people
see you, if you had a beer in your hand or a glass of wine
in a restaurant and they saw you, He said, don't let anybody
judge you. Don't let them judge you over
a drink. Don't let them judge you over a new moon or a holy
day. Now listen, or of a Sabbath day. You don't keep the Sabbath. You
do if you believe on Christ. The only way you can keep it. We enter into his rest. Oh, my
soul. And he tells them here in verse
17, Colossians 2, these things are a shadow of things to come,
but the body, whatever, you know, there's a shadow here in the
pulpit. But here's the hand. It ain't there. That's just the
outline. The Old Testament, just an outline
of the body's Christ. What's the difference in the
first and the second? One points the way, the other
is the way. One sets forth the sun, the other
is the sun. May the Lord be pleased today,
today, to open our hearts and let us see the sun if we've never
seen him before. And those who have seen him,
give us a fresh view. to see the sun. I don't want
to miss Christ and be religious all my days. Do you? I want to
know him.