There are some places in the
scriptures that where it seems the Holy Spirit uses a phrase
of just a few words that sums up the beauty of the gospel.
One such phrase is found in the 10th chapter of Hebrews, also
in the 40th chapter of Psalms that we just read, that our Lord
said, Lo, I come. That says multitudes to the child
of God. Lo, Please turn with me, if you
would, to Hebrews chapter 10, and we'll begin reading in verse
1. And let me say this while you're
turning. In this chapter, the apostle
gives his argument in showing the weakness and the imperfection
of the ceremonial law and priesthood, which was given by Moses in the
sacrificing of animals, bulls and goats. continually year after
year and in doing so he shows the superior excellence of Christ
who alone is a perfect high priest in whom we as believers put all
our trust. Verse 1, For the law, having
a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the
things, can never, I emphasize that word never, with those sacrifices
which they offered year by year continually, make the comers
thereunto perfect. The imperfection of the law and
priesthood is shown only as a shadow of good things to come. Why? Because the insufficiency of
the annual sacrifices of these animals that were continually
made were not able to make men and women perfect. If you and
I are to be reconciled to God, we must be made perfect. perfectly righteous, perfectly
holy without sin. And these sacrifices were not
able to even cleanse the consciences of the people from the guilt
of sin. The verse says never. Never means never. Never can
make you and I perfect, and perfect is what we must be. But look
down at verse 14. for by one offering he hath perfected
forever them that are sanctified." The law never, Christ forever. That's a good way to remember
it. The law never, Christ forever. Now that's the difference. That's
the difference. The law made nothing perfect. It was actually never given to
make anyone perfect. But the gospel does. Christ does. Perfection, perfect righteousness,
perfect holiness is what it takes, as I said, to satisfy the holy
and just God. The law can't provide it. And
neither can the sinner. The law was our schoolmaster,
we've read many times, to bring us to Christ. We must come to
Christ. We must be brought to Him in
order to have life everlasting. The law never satisfied the conscience,
for there was a constant remembrance of sin. But the believer's conscience
is satisfied knowing that Christ is his and her salvation, and
that His blood put away our sin. That's the difference. The law
was compared to a shadow. But we're told that the law is
only a shadow of good things to come. Not the reality of the
good thing, just a shadow of it. Yet that good thing to come
was Christ. God's Son and God the Son. And when you stand in the sun
and it casts a shadow on the ground, let's say in front of
you, Is that shadow real? Well, it's a real shadow, but
it's not the real you. It's only a shadow. It's not
the very image. It's not the real me. And that's
what the law is. Just a shadow of good things
to come. And as I said, Christ was a good
thing to come. In Christ, the good things that
are in Him are pardoned. Oh, can you imagine how precious
a word that is to a man who's locked up in prison with a sentence
of life imprisonment? Pardon. Oh, that's a word he
would long to hear. That's what we are, friends,
by nature. We're prisoners locked up in
prison by the sin which so easily besets us. Good things, peace,
rest, fellowship with God, preservation. God finishes what He starts. God doesn't begin a good work
and then leave it up to you to see yourself through. No, He
saves and He keeps. And because of that, we endure
to the end and are saved. The good things to come is fellowship
with God. are reconciled to God. We are
now back in fellowship with Him. And we have life eternal. Now
look at verse 12 of Hebrews 10. But this man, the Lord Jesus
Christ, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever,
sat down on the right hand of God. These same sacrifices that
were repeated endlessly, year after year, could never make
perfect those who came. And this should be enough. Now
listen, that in itself should be enough to convince man that
salvation is not by works of righteousness that they can do.
It's not by offering or sacrifice of anything that they've done.
It cannot make you perfect. Even the sacrifice that was offered. It wasn't the bringing or the
offering of that sacrifice that appeased God. That'd be worse,
wouldn't it? No, it was what it represented.
It represented the shedding of God's blood. the Son of God,
shed in His blood for His elect. And these Old Testament sacrifices
and offerings pictured the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why they
were a shadow of good things to come. Oh, there's one coming,
friends, the Old Testament. Every time they killed a bull
or a goat and offered that sacrifice of the blood, Every time they
did it, God was saying, there's one coming. This is just a shadow
of good things to come. There's one coming that will,
with one sacrifice, perfect forever those that come unto Him. Now
that's mine and your hope. That's my hope of salvation.
That Christ shed His blood for me. Yes, in those sacrifices
and offerings, God was showing His elect a picture of their
real redemption in the sacrifice of His Son. Look at verse 2. For then would they not have
ceased to be offered? Because that the worshipers once
purged should have no more conscience of sins? What he's saying here
is if these sacrifices could, these Old Testament sacrifices,
could have made the sinner perfect, then would they not have stopped
being offered? That makes good sense. That's
very practical thinking, isn't it? If those Old Testament sacrifices
and offerings made you perfect, then why would you continue them
year after year? All the worshipers would have
been cleansed once for all and would no longer have felt guilty
for their sins. If I'm justified by the sacrifice
of Christ, then no need to continue to offer sacrifices, is it? And
that's what the writer of Hebrews is telling us. Those old sacrifices,
they had to be done again and again because they didn't make
you perfect. But Christ did. If I'm redeemed
by the blood of Christ, then there's no need to sacrifice
any longer the blood of animals. Hebrews 9.26, turn back a page. 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, how? By the sacrifice of himself. That's how my sin was put away.
That's how yours was put away. Okay, back in chapter 10, verse
3. But in those, speaking of the
Old Testament, ceremonial law and sacrifices, says there is
a remembrance again made of sins every year. Those sacrifices
were no more than an annual reminder of sin. Instead of actually removing
the awareness of sin, when those animal sacrifices were repeated
over and over, they actually increased the awareness of sin
and guilt. When you came to do your offering
and sacrifice, you were reminded again why you were there. Sin. There's a remembrance again made
of sins every year in verse 4, for it's not possible. It's not
possible. What does that mean? It means
it's not possible. that the blood of bulls and goats
should take away sins. Now, verse 4 means exactly what
it says. And it says exactly what it means.
It was not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should
take away sin. First of all, it's not the same
kind of blood that sinned. It's not the blood of a man.
But Christ was bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh. Look
back at Hebrews 2. Hold your place here. Look at
verse 16. For verily he took not on him
the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
He became a man. Wherefore, in all things, it
behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might
be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to
God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people." For
in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to
succor." Now that word just simply means help, assist, support,
take care of, and look after them that are tempted. Christ
was made what I was. Oh, what a glorious thought! God became a man, yet without
sin, so that this man might become sinless before God Almighty. The same type of blood must be
shed. And it's ridiculous to think
that the blood of bulls and ghosts could remove our horrific sin. Look at verse 5. Chapter 10,
verse 5, Wherefore, when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice
an offering thou wouldst not. But a body hast thou prepared
me. In Christ's coming into the world,
we see that God did not find any pleasure or satisfaction
in the Old Testament sacrifices. When Christ came into the world,
He said, Sacrifice and offering, thou wouldest not. You didn't
desire those. They are of no help to anyone
but a body. a body that has prepared me."
God never found pleasure in the Old Testament sacrifices. We
know this to be so when we consider other scriptures concerning the
law. Again, I'm going to turn you
around here in Hebrews a little bit and look at chapter 7. Verse
16, "...who is made, not after the law of a carnal, fleshly
commandment, but after the power of an endless life." You see,
friends, this is speaking about the priesthood. Christ is our
priest, who is also the sacrifice. And Christ's priesthood is after
the power of an endless life. life. Look back at chapter four
verse 15 for we have not a high priest which cannot be touched
with the feeling of our infirmities but was in all points every way
tempted like as we are And here's the key, yet without sin. Look at Hebrews 7, down at verse
18. Hebrews 7, 18, For there is verily
a disunknowing of the commandment going before, for the weakness
and unprofitableness thereof. The ceremonial law of the Old
Testament was weak and unprofitable in the salvation of sinners.
For it could not atone for one single sin. Well, you call something
of God's weak and unprofitable? When it comes to atoning for
sin, it was. Never given for that reason.
Given to point men to the fact that there's one coming. There's
one coming for him. It's just a shadow of good things
to come. Look at Hebrews 8 verse 7. For if that first covenant had
been faultless, obviously it wasn't faultless, then should
no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault
with them, he saith, Behold the days come, saith the Lord, when
I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with
the house of Judah. Look down at verse 13. In that
he saith a new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that
which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. Look at chapter 9, verse 1. Then
verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service
and a worldly sanctuary. You see, the first covenant was
in the world. And it was opposed to the heavenly
sanctuary where Christ becomes our Holy of Holies. where our
sacrifice is made, and who is himself the sacrifice for sin
made for us once for all. Yes, friends, these sacrifices
were but a type and a picture of what Christ would do in the
saving of His people. Now, you cannot read this verse
5 in chapter 10 without giving thought to the phrase, But a
body hast thou prepared for me. God has prepared for Christ a
perfect sinless body. God became a man so that he might
fulfill the law in his perfect sinless body for his elect people. God is now satisfied with the
sacrifice of Christ, the God-man. A body has self-prepared for
me. The God-man did that, and he
did in that body everything that God required of me. That's substitution. That's Him taking my place. In
1 Timothy 3.16 that Brother Todd so ably preached last week says,
"...And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh."
That's the key. "...When the fullness of time
was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under
the law to redeem them that are under the law, that we might
receive the adoption of sons." God had to become a man to redeem
man. Do you see that? In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
And then a few verses down in John chapter 1 says, And the
Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. And that flesh was
sinless, perfect, holy, righteous, And in Him, those good things
are now mine. Oh, friends, that's the gospel.
That's the message we preach. God had to become a man to redeem
us from the curse of the law. This body was prepared for Christ
to clothe Himself with, that He might dwell and in it do the
will of God and perform the work of man's redemption. And the
Word was made flesh. and dwelt among us, and we beheld
His glory." Okay, Hebrews 10, verse 6. In burnt offerings and
sacrifices for sin, thou hast had no pleasure. Again, God found
no pleasure in the burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin in that
old covenant, for they could not satisfy His justice. In order
for a man to be saved, God's justice has to be satisfied.
That's impossible for us. Impossible. We can't keep God's
law. We can't keep it. But Christ
can. Because God prepared a body for
him and that body was sinless and he lived perfectly and died
innocently, yet guilty in our place. No, these burnt offerings
and sacrifices could not appease God's anger or put away one sin,
not one single sin. And they were types of and only
pictured, as I said, the sacrifice of the son. There's only one
sacrifice for sin that God will accept. And we have so thoroughly
seen that that is a sacrifice. of His Son. What do you think
of Him? What is He to you? Seriously, I ask you this. Your
answer is a matter of life and death. How you consider that
question in your heart is a matter of eternal life or eternal damnation. There's no sacrifice or offering
that you can make, let me tell you that. There's no prayer that
you can offer. Some say, well, just repeat the
sinner's prayer. Every prayer I pray is a sinner's
prayer. I'm a sinner. No prayer you can offer. No donation
you can make. I know men that think they can
buy their way into heaven. Well, I'll put up a new building.
Yeah, and they may even name it after you. And people will
still call it your building when you're burning in hell. No work
you can do. No service you can provide. The
one and only thing that God will accept as the appeasing sacrifice
in which His strict justice will be satisfied is the bloodshed
of His own beloved Son. And here's the amazing thing.
You say, that's pretty amazing. It is. But here's the amazing
thing. God Himself delivered him up
for His people. God sacrificed him. What shall
we say to these things? Well, the first thing we say
is, if God be for us, who can be against us? If God sacrifices
His own Son for His people, who can be against us? Can you think
of one? With God on our side, how can
we lose? He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all, speaking of God's elect, how
shall he not with him also freely give us all things? If while
we were yet sinners, dear friends, Christ died for us, God not sparing
him, but delivering him up to die in our place with him, will
he not freely give us all things? Now immediately people start
thinking, well, you're going to give me a new house, a new
car, I'm going to have this, I'm going to have that. I have Christ's perfect righteousness. I have His perfect holiness. I have no sin in which God is
angry with me about. Freely give us all things. all things pertaining to salvation,
all things pertaining to life eternal. I freely have all that
Christ is, love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness,
faith, meekness, temperance. Against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have
crucified the flesh with the affections and lust. In the Lord
Jesus Christ, friend, I'm perfect. And so are you if you trust in
Him. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It's
God that justifies. Is there any that dare to bring
the charge against any of God's elect? Is there any that would
dare tangle with God by messing with one of God's chosen? Who
is he that condemneth? Is it Christ that died? Yea,
brethren, that's risen again and is even at the right hand
of God who maketh intercession for us? Would any dare to point
a finger? Would any of you dare to point
a finger at the child of God? The one who died for us, now
listen, who was raised to life for us, is in the presence of
God at this very moment. Pleading our case is our great
advocate. And he's pleading our innocence.
He's saying Tyler Richards is perfect! Perfect! Can't improve on perfection.
I died for him, the Lord says. God said, that's enough for me.
That's enough for me. Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? Paul asked. So tribulation, distress,
persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword. Now friends, knowing
what we are and what we have in Christ, I ask you this. Do
you think anyone or anything is going to be able to drive
a wedge between us and God? No. Nothing can drive a wedge
between Christ's love for us. No way. No trouble. No hard times. Not hatred. Not hunger. Not homelessness. No threatening. No backstabbing.
Not even the worst sins listed in Scripture can separate us
from the love of God. No sin can separate me from God
if I am in Christ Jesus. Not one. Only unbelief, and you're
not going to be in Christ if you don't believe in Him. We're
more than conquerors. When a man is said to be a conqueror,
we take notice, but we're more than conquerors through Him that
loved us. It's always through Him. John
Gill said, more than conquerors, not only over sin and Satan,
but the world, the reproaches and afflictions and persecutions
of it. For our great God works all things
for our good in the glory of Christ. So let me ask you, are
you persuaded? What are you persuaded of? I'm
persuaded he's able. He's able to do what? To keep
that which I've committed to him against that. What have you
committed unto him, Paul? My soul. My son, the soul that
on Jesus hath leaned for repose. Are you convinced that in Christ
that nothing, neither living or dead, angelic or demonic,
today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable, can
void the love that God has for us in Christ? Are you persuaded
of that? Be persuaded of it. It's true.
Nothing can separate us from the love of God. How can these
things be? Well, it's found in Hebrews 10,
chapter 7, which is a summation of the gospel that I told you
in the beginning. The Lord Jesus Christ says, Lo,
I come. In the volume of the book it
is written of me, to do thy will, O God. The first assurance here
is, then said I. You see, it's who that came. The Son of God who is God, the
Son came. The second assurance is, I come. Not I might come, I may come.
I come. Lo, I come. Our Lord knew that
the legal sacrifices were not acceptable to God. How did He
know? He's God. There was a body prepared
for him and that it was written of him in the book of God that
he should come and that he came with readiness to save those
that God gave him before the foundation of the world. Now
the volume, when he says here in the volume of the book it
is written of me, he refers to Revelation chapter 5 which is
the book of God's decrees and purposes. And again we see that
this book, this book is all about him. It's all about Him. If you read and study the Scriptures
and never see that this book is all about Him, then you've
read and studied in vain. If you listen to a man preach
that tells you this book shows you how to live, then you've
missed it. Because this is a book about
Him who lived perfectly for you. It takes God to reveal this to
you that this book is about Him. I come. Oh, what glorious words. God came and did what men and
women could never ever do for themselves. Keep the law of God
perfectly. Well, preacher, I've seen that
I'm a sinner, and I've seen that I cannot keep God's law. Christ
says, Lo, I come, and I kept the law for you. That's the gospel.
You might say, well, I see that if I offend in just one little
thing in the law, that I'm guilty of the whole law. I see that.
Well, that's a good thing if you see that. That's a good thing.
So the good news that I have for you is that Christ said,
lo, I come to do thy will. Oh, God. Understand that God
had no pleasure in the sacrifices and offerings of the Old Testament.
But do you understand that God the Son said, Lo, I come, and
all God's pleasure is in Him? That's what God has pleasure
in, His Son. And He says, Lo, I come. You
see, beloved, it is who that came. It is the one in whom the
volume of this book speaks. But that's not all that he said.
He said, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. That makes it even
more special. Let me hurry here. I want to
read you just a few verses John 4 34 Jesus saith unto them my
meat is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his
work. What's his work? John 6 38 for
I came now from heaven not to do mine own will but the will
of him that sent me. What's his will? John 6 40 and
this is the will of him that sent me that everyone would see
it the son and believe it on him may have everlasting life. And I'll raise him up at the
last day. Back in Hebrews 10, look at verse 8 and 9. "...Above,
when he said, Sacrifice and offering, and burn offerings, and offering
for sin, thou wouldest not, neither hadst 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." This old covenant of sacrifice
and offering, done. banished, taken away. Now the
new covenant is established. And you know what it is? We read in Psalm 40, verse 8,
I delight to do thy will, O my God, yea, thy law is within my
heart. And friends, in the Lord Jesus
Christ, God put his law in your heart. Verse 10, by the witch's
will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ once for all. Once for all. and every priest
standing daily ministering, offering oftentimes the same sacrifices,
which can never take away sin. But this man, this man, after
he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down. Where did he sit? On the right
hand of God, which represents Oh, dear sinner, do you see the
Son? Do you believe on Him? If you do, then you have everlasting
life, because He now sits on the right hand of God in all
power. And He said, it is finished.
You now have no sin if you trust in Him. He then knew no sin was
made to be sin for us. Why? That we might be made the
righteousness of God in Him. That's good news, is it not?
This is the best news I've ever heard in my life.