The word was made flesh and dwelt
among us. God was manifest in the flesh. The most astounding thing in
the universe is the fact that God himself stepped into humanity
stepped into time in a body of human flesh. God became a man. He never ceased to be God, but
God became a man. Now everywhere, men and women
are confronted with the fact they cannot deny, and that is
the birth of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Most people would in
some way acknowledge that Jesus Christ is incarnate God. I have a question. Why? Why did he come? Why did Christ
come into this world? Few people have any idea why
he came. Why did the Son of God come in
human flesh into this world. What did he do while he was here? What did he accomplish? Where
is he now? Those questions are answered
and answered very fully in the scriptures in many ways and in
many places. But nowhere will you find a more
complete answer given in one place than in the book of Hebrews
and the 10th chapter. So I want you to open your Bibles
to Hebrews chapter 10. And we'll look at verses 1 through
14 together tonight. My subject is, why did Christ
come? Why did Christ come? If that
doesn't interest you, I don't know what might. Why did Christ
come? Hebrews chapter 10, verse 1. For the law, 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. The law and sacrifices
of God that were given in the Old Testament by God's prophets,
by God's decree, the things that God required couldn't do one
thing to put away sin. It couldn't do one thing to put
away sin. Had it been possible for any
single man to have observed all the sacrifices and all the commandments
given in the law perfectly, wouldn't atone for one sin. Wouldn't make
him acceptable with God. Wouldn't make him perfect before
God. First two. For then. Would they not have
ceased to be offered? If they put away sin, they wouldn't
eat. You wouldn't need them anymore.
I don't forget that. That's the key to this whole
thing. If the sacrifices could have put away sin, you wouldn't
need them anymore. Because that the worshipers once
purged, purged of guilt and made perfect before God, should have
had no more conscience of sins. Don't have any conscience of
sin, no need to sacrifice. Don't have any conscience of
sin, no need to make atonement. Don't have any guilt, no need
for a sacrifice. Verse three, but in those sacrifices,
every morning and every evening, Every Sabbath day, morning and
evening, every month, every few months, every feast day, every
holy day, annual sacrifices, daily sacrifices, monthly sacrifices. In those sacrifices, there is
a remembrance, again, made of sins every year. Every time the high priest went
into the Holy of Holies with the blood of the Paschal Lamb
and sprinkled that blood upon the mercy seat, he did so with
a remembrance of sin. Not putting away sin, a remembrance
of sin. Not purging sin, a remembrance
of sin. For it is not possible. It is
not possible. Pretty strong word. It is not
possible. that the blood of bulls and of
goats should take away sins. Wherefore, wherefore, when he
cometh into the world, he saith sacrifice and offering thou wouldst
not, but a body hast thou prepared me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices
for sin, thou hast had no pleasure, no pleasure, no satisfaction.
No satisfaction. That's what the word means as
it's used in the scriptures. God has no pleasure in the death
of the wicked. The wicked, if all the world
went to hell, could never give God pleasure. God has no pleasure
in the sacrifices of the law. Can't be done. God has no pleasure
in the slaying of a blood or slaying of an animal. But it
pleased God. It pleased the Lord. to bruise
his son as one thing gives God pleasure. One thing only that
gives God pleasure. One thing only that satisfies
the triune God, the blood of his son. He don't now. Verse seven again, then said,
I, lo, I come in the volume of the book, it is written to 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 has 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 he taketh away the
first that he may establish the second He takes away the old
covenant, the Old Testament, that he may establish the new
covenant, the New Testament. He takes away the old legal covenant
in its entirety. He takes away the legal covenant
in its entirety. Do you mean, preacher, that he
took it away? Let me try that again. He takes
away the first in its entirety. He took away the Passover by
fulfilling the Passover. He didn't nullify it. He didn't
destroy it. He set it aside when he fulfilled
it. He took away the tabernacle and
the temple and the priesthood by satisfying it so that they
are no more. He takes it away. And with regard
to the law, the commandments of the law he did not nullify
the law he did not destroy the law he fulfilled the law and
as the end of the law he takes it away the whole legal covenant
he takes it away that he may establish the second the covenant
of pure free grace promised by God from eternity described for
us throughout the Old Testament scriptures he takes away the
first that he may establish the second watch this now by the
which will. The Savior, as it were, lifts
his hand to the triune God and says, lo, I come to do thy will,
O my God. Now, the Spirit of God says,
by the which will, by the doing and dying of Jesus Christ, we
are sanctified, made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ once for all. The word is one time. once with
finality, once with completion. Verse 11, and every priest standeth
daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices
which can never take away sins. But this man, after he had offered
one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of
the magic of God from henceforth expecting till his enemies be
made his footstool for by one offering he hath perfected forever
them that are sanctified. By one offering he perfected
forever all who were set apart by God as the recipients of his
grace in everlasting election. Here, the apostle writing by
divine inspiration tells us four specific things that are reasons
why Christ came. Four reasons why Christ came. Let's look at them in order.
Verses one through four. Understand this first. Our Lord
Jesus, the Son of God, came here to put away sin because there's
no other way for God to put away sin. Christ came here to put away
sin by the sacrifice of himself because there is no other way
for a holy, just, and true God to put away sin. God says, I
will by no means clear the guilty. I will by no means clear the
guilty. That's how God reveals his glory.
I will by no means clear the guilty. The only way God can
forgive sin, and I've chosen my words deliberately, the only
way God can forgive sin. When I talk about something God
can and cannot do, I want to know what this book's teaching.
There's something God cannot do, God cannot lie. And God said,
the soul that sinneth, it shall die. The only way that God in
his holiness, justice, and truth can put away sin, is by making
the sinner sinless through the sacrifice of an infinitely meritorious
substitute, his own dear son. So now, by the sacrifice of Christ,
he is a just God and a Savior. He is a just God and a Savior. It is not possible that the blood
of bulls and goats should take away sin. The law of God that
was given by Moses at Mount Sinai with all its rituals, all its
sacrifices, all its ceremonies, yes, and all its commands. The
law of God in its entirety was a type, a picture of good things
to come, a shadow of those things, a shadow of those things. Those
good things Pictured and typified in the law are forgiveness, justification,
peace with God, rest in Christ, fellowship between God and men,
preservation in grace, salvation and eternal life, and the blessed
assurance of these things in Christ Jesus. The tabernacle,
the priesthood, and the law. were given not to put away sin,
but only to serve as pictures, shadows of these things, of Christ,
the true tabernacle, the true sacrifice described in the scriptures. Hold your hands here in Hebrews
10 and turn back to Colossians. Colossians chapter 2. Colossians chapter 2. Paul warns
us to beware of man's craftiness, being taken captive by man's
devices. Beware of the philosophies of
men who would turn you away from the simplicity that's in Christ.
Now watch what it says in verse 16. Let no man therefore judge
you. Let no man condemn you. Now you can't keep men from doing
that. There's a whole series of things
going on right now by email, internet exchange and fellows.
I just don't involve myself with it. Folks have been for two months
now beating me around condemning me. You know why? Because we don't keep a Sabbath
day. Oh, he's such a wicked man. He's teaching such wickedness.
He's teaching folks to live in licentiousness and godliness. And I weep for the fellows when
I'm not real mad at them. And I don't respond to them. I don't answer. Let no man condemn
you. That is Paul saying, don't let
him bother you. Don't let this, don't let this
settle in your mind. I can't keep fellas from laying
the accusation. I can not pay any attention to
it. Let no man judge you in meat
or in drink. Our respective and holy day are
of the new moon. Now, we get along pretty good
there. Get along pretty good there. Or of the Sabbath days. What? Which are a shadow of things
to come, but the body is of Christ. You mean, Brother Don, it's wrong
to keep a Sabbath day? It is absolutely wrong to keep
a Sabbath day. We rest in Christ. We rest in
Christ. It's perfectly fine to set aside
the Lord's Day. This is the day we worship God.
This is the day we set aside for the worship of God, for public
worship. This is wonderful. And it doesn't
matter whether it's the first day of the week or the third
day of the week. It doesn't matter. It's perfectly proper that we
set aside a time to worship God. But don't! have any kind of a
legal Sabbath by which you think you do something or don't do
something to make yourself holy. It is absolutely wrong to seek
any kind of acceptance with God or peace with God on the basis
of something you do or don't do. That's utterly contrary to
the gospel. All right, back to Hebrews 10.
These Old Testament sacrifices Cannot now and could not then
put away sin don't miss this argument if those sacrifices
could put away sin if doing something or not doing something if keeping
the Ten Commandments or not keeping the Ten Commandments if Observing
a Sabbath day or not observing a Sabbath day if doing something
can make you righteous before God Almighty then Christ died
for nothing. That's what Paul says in Galatians
221. If righteousness comes by the law, then Christ died for
nothing. Christ is dead in vain. God slaughtered his son for no
reason. God killed his son for no reason. And let me tell you, God didn't
kill his son for no reason. Christ died for a reason. Meryl
Hart, there's no other way God could save your wretched soul.
No other way. No other way. Well, couldn't
God just will it? No. Do you think God would sacrifice
his son if he could put away sin by just willing to put away
sin? God's just. God's righteous. God's true. Justice demands satisfaction. And God cannot put away sin but
by the sacrifice of his son. Law work won't do it. And once
sin has been purged, once it has been put away, the sinner
is discharged. Guilt is gold. Condemnation is
impossible. Since Christ died for me, since
Christ bare my sin in his body on the tree, it is not possible
for God in justice to charge me with sin and punish me for
sin. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord will not impute sin. Oh, get hold of that. Walk in
peace with God Get hold of that and sleep in peace at night Get
hold of that and rest in peace when you leave this world it
is not possible for God Injustice to charge me with sin if Christ
bore my sin in his body on the tree you understand that Now
that that'll give you something to rest. Oh, that's a bed you
can stretch out on that's covering you can wrap yourself in and
be comfortable and There is therefore now no condemnation to them which
are in Christ Jesus. Our Lord Jesus has offered one
sacrifice and believing him, we are complete, total, and completely
confident that our sins have been put away and we're accepted
of God in him. This is what God promises in
verse 17, referring back to the covenant that is spoke of in
Jeremiah chapter 31. Their sins and iniquities will
I remember no more. Their sins and iniquities will
I remember no more. Then in verse three, the Holy
Spirit tells us that those carnal legal sacrifices of the Old Testament
Only reminded the worshipers of God that someone must yet
come to put away sin Those sacrifices offered regularly on the basis
of divine decree Could never take away sin, but only gave
constant reminders constant remembrance There's one coming There's one
coming. Oh, believe God children of Israel. There's one coming believe God
sons and daughters of Abraham believe God There's one coming
who shall put away sin who shall fulfill this law who shall fulfill
the types who shall fulfill the shadows and that someone is Jesus
Christ our Redeemer All right. Now here's Reasons reasons given
in scripture why those? Sacrifices could not put away
sin Sin is a transgression of God's law What we call the moral
law the Ten Commandments Those sacrifices belong to the ceremonial
law Christ was born under and obeyed the moral law the Ten
Commandments The blood is not the same The blood of bulls and
goats is not the same as the blood of a man. It's not from
the same kind of living creature. The one who sinned must be the
one who's punished. And Christ is bone of our bone
and flesh of our flesh, blood of our blood. He died as a man. He took on himself the nature
of Abraham, the seed of Abraham, that he might redeem Abraham's
seed. Number three, sin deals with
the mind, the heart, the conscience. Animal sacrifices could never
relate to those things. Christ Jesus is that one whose
soul was made an offering for sin in the very soul of his being,
in his heart, in his mind, in his conscience. As he bare our sin in his body
on the tree, his soul was made an offering for sin that no animal
sacrifice could have experienced. He was a man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief and never more so than when he was made to bear
our sins. And I repeat, if sin could be
put away in some other way, then Christ died in vain. All right,
look back at our text again, verses 5 through 9. Here's the
second thing. Our Lord Jesus Christ came here
as a man, as a mediator, as a substitute, as a representative to do and
fulfill all the will of God and bring in a better covenant. Verses 5, 6, 7, and 8. or a direct
quotation from Psalm 40. The Apostle is here inspired
by God to quote from the 40th Psalm, that Psalm where the Lord
Jesus speaks of his sin more than the hairs of his head, his
iniquities, his perversities, those things that he took from
us and made to be his own. And he said, Wherefore, when
he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering
thou wouldest not. That is, these are not the things
that God requires, but a body has now prepared me conceived
in the womb of the Virgin without the aid of a man by the overshadowing
power of God, the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus Christ has a body
prepared him into which he came in humanity as God in human flesh. burnt offerings and in sacrifices
for sin thou hast had no pleasure then said I lo I come in the
volume of the book it is written to 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 has pleasure therein which are
offered by the law yeah certainly that's referring this volume
is referring to the volume of God's eternal decrees and sovereign
predestination. You understand that that book
by the throne of God in Revelation, chapter five, sealed on the backside,
written, written inside and out and sealed with seven seals that
only the Lamb of God can open up and unfold and reveal. Certainly
that's referring to all the book of God's purposes. But turn back
to Luke 24. And when you turn back to Luke
24, I want you to pick up your Bible in your hand just like
this. I want you to pick it up because
I want this to stick with you. I want to stick with you. Michael Campbell, you're holding
in your hand God's word. God's. Word. God, this is how God speaks to
me. It's his word. Cherish it. Now, here's what it's all about.
Look at verse 27. Luke 24, 27. Here's what it's
all about. This is what it's all about.
Oh, would God I could get the ear of every preacher. Every
man who might ever preach and make him understand this what
the whole word of God's all about is what's all about beginning
at Moses and all the prophets the Lord Jesus Expanded to these
two disciples on the Emmaus Road in all the scriptures in all
the scriptures the things concerning himself This book's not about
the Baptist church. It's not about baptism and Lord's
Supper. It's not about law and morality. It's not about history and science.
It's not about prophecy. This is all about him. It's all
about him, the person and work of our Redeemer. Look down verse
44. And he said unto them, these
are the words which I speak unto you while I was yet with you.
that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law
of Moses and in the prophets and in the Psalms concerning
me. Do you know what that takes in?
Do you know what that takes in? The law and the prophets and
the Psalms. Bob, that takes in everything
from Genesis to Malachi. That's everything that was written
in the Old Testament. Everything written in the Old Testament.
It's all about me, the Savior says. Read on. Then opened he
their understanding that they might understand the Scriptures.
When you read this book, ask God who wrote the book to open
your understanding, allowing you to see and hear Christ in
the book. That's what it's all about. In
order to fulfill and bring to pass this new everlasting covenant
and the blessings of that covenant, our Savior completely took away
the old, as we saw a little while ago when we were reading our
text in verse 9. By completely fulfilling the
redemptive will of God, the Lord Jesus has put away all the sacrifices,
all the offerings, all the priesthood and all things associated with
those things of the legal dispensation. Christ is the end of the law
for righteousness to everyone that believe it. Well, but Brother
Don, what can possibly be wrong with telling folks to keep the
law? Well, a couple of things. One
is you can't. You can't do it. You can't do it. And when you
tell folks you do, you're lying. I hear folks, they write about
it. We live by the law. Write books
about it. We keep the commandments. How can I speak clearly enough
to make folks understand that God doesn't say you do the best
you can and I'll accept you. God said walk before me and be
holy and I'll accept you. God said be perfect for I'm perfect. You mean he won't accept sincerity? If he would, Christ died for
nothing. No, he won't accept sincerity. Well, but we're talking
about since we're saved. Since we're saved, we don't need
any. We got it all. No, no, it's wrong to live by
the law. It is sinful to live by the law. It is antinomian to live by the
law. It is contrary to the revelation
of God to live by the law. We live by grace, motivated by
nothing but gratitude and faith and love for the Son of God.
That's all. That's all. Well, Brother Don,
I've got to have something else to keep me in line. I know that's
when you're a legalist. I understand that. I understand
that. And if I believe that, I go and live like I want to.
Would to God, I could live like I want to. Would to God, I could
live like I want to. I live in hope, Alan Kidby, of
soon living like I want to. It's called grace. Grace. We live in the full realization
that Christ is all our righteousness, all our sanctification, all our
redemption, all our acceptance with God. In him dwells all the
fullness of the Godhead bodily, and ye are complete in him. Now, look at number three. Verse 10. Why did Christ come? He came here to die at Calvary. He did not come to set up a kingdom
in Israel. He came as the king. He did not
come hoping that men would pretty please let him sit on some little
peanut throne over Israel. He came here as the king of glory. He sits upon the throne of David
as he sits today in heaven where he has sat from eternity. He's
the king of glory. Our Lord Jesus came here to die. He was born to die. Not to die
in just any way, but to die according to the scriptures, as was prophesied
and typified in all the sacrifices of the Old Testament, to die
as one hung upon a tree, a death specifically identifying him
as one cursed of God. He must die then not by being
stoned by the Jews, his brethren who wanted to put him to death,
but by being crucified as only the Romans and the Gentiles did.
And so our Lord Jesus was delivered by the Jews into the hands of
Pilate to be crucified at the will of the Jews, at the will
of God. He came here to die, to die at
Calvary as our substitute. Look at verse 10. Lo, I come to do thy will, O
my God, by the which will, by the doing of God's will, we are
sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once
for all, one time with finality. Now, here are four things, four
sweet revelations of God, the Holy Spirit, about our Savior's
purpose in coming into this world in our flesh. Number one, Christ
came here to offer himself as a sin atoning sacrifice to God
at Calvary. Number two, the son of God came
here to die as our substitute by the will of God. By the will
of God, by the eternal, sovereign, absolute purpose of God Almighty. Christ did not die by accident. He did not die because he couldn't
help it. He died by the will of God. Number three, he came
here specifically to die in the room and place of God's elect,
them that are sanctified. Those sanctified by God the Father
from everlasting, from eternity, preserved in Jesus Christ unto
the day of their calling. He came here to die as a substitute
for God's elect. All of God's elect and none but
God's elect. Why do you stress that? Because
people need to understand Christ is not a failure. People need
to understand that Christ didn't shed his blood in vain. People
need to understand that Christ's death is an effectual atonement
for sin and every soul for whom he died is redeemed by his blood. There's no possibility of other
things. And fourth, Our Lord Jesus has successfully accomplished
what He came here to do. That brings me to my fourth point
and my final point. I won't be but just a minute.
Look at verses 11, 12, and 13, and 14. Christ came here to make
fallen, guilty, sinful people perfect. Perfect! by the sacrifice of
himself. That's what he came to do. And
Bill Raleigh, he did it. He did it. He fulfilled his father's
will. Every priest standeth daily,
ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can
never take away sins. I have a dear friend, I knew
in college, went to Rome as a missionary. And by there, he met up with
a priest and God eventually saved this young priest. He became
very active in preaching the gospel of God's grace. Paul had
been witnessing to him in the. One day was. Going through the
stupid pagan Roman mass, but a little way from somebody's
tongue, give him a sip of water and make him The mumbo-jumbo
magical stuff they do, you know. And this, he said, this text
kept going through his mind. Every priest standeth daily ministering
and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take
away sin. I saw Denise shake her head.
When you were going through that mess, you thought it would take
away sin, didn't you? It's exactly what, bread and wine won't take
it away. Sacrifice will tell you, but this man, this man,
this one man, this one priest, this man who is God, who stepped
in the world in human flesh after he had offered one sacrifice
for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God. See him
yonder, seated at the right hand of the majesty on high. How can
he be seated? His work is done. finished. I'll go home just a few minutes
and I'll kick back my big blue easy chair, throw my shoes off,
pack my pipe and light it and I'll just sit down and rest because
my work for the day will be done. I won't have anything else to
do and my dear wife knows better than to expect anything else.
She'll be cooking and getting ready for tomorrow. I'm not doing
anything else because my work for the day is done. done. The
Savior came here to accomplish something. The eternal redemption
of God's elect to make you who are his, you who believe, perfect. Perfect. Perfect. And he did. You know, from henceforth
expecting, Could his enemies be made his footstool and you
will be made his footstool. You will bow to him either in
judgment at the last day or now in repentance made his footstool
and gladly so. For by one offering. Watch this. He has. Isn't that wonderful? Not he's going to he has. He
has. perfected forever them that are
sanctified. What can that possibly mean?
Well, let's see. When he made one offering for
sin, at that time, with finality, he perfected. He perfected. He perfected. Now you can read
that any way you want to it still comes out He perfected at one
time with finality before you ever drew your first breath in
this world He perfected them that are sanctified set apart
by God as His own from eternity to be holy and made holy in a
substitute Christ the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. That's why he came. Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable
gift. Amen.