Today I would like you to turn
in your Bible to the book of Hebrews. Turn with me, please,
to the book of Hebrews, and let's consider just one verse. Hebrews
9, Hebrews chapter 9, verse 26. Hebrews 9, verse 26. And we read,
But now, once in the end of the world, once in the end of the
age, the Lord Jesus Christ, He hath appeared, God Almighty,
manifested in the flesh. He appeared to put away sin.
by the sacrifice of himself. Now we have put before us a very
plain summary of the way the Lord Jesus Christ came to accomplish
salvation for his people. Now make no mistake about it,
what he came to do, he accomplished. The angel came and said to Joseph
and Mary, call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people
from their sin. He effectually obtained what
he suffered for, and what he obtained with his suffering,
with his shedding of his blood, he obtained eternal redemption
for his people. What he meant to do on the cross,
he actually did. He didn't die in vain. He did
not leave any work, work of salvation, work of justification, he did
not leave any of his work undone. He prayed in John 17 and said
this, I have glorified thee on the earth, I finished the work
which you gave me to do. He didn't die. Now, listen to
me carefully, please. He didn't die. The Lord Jesus
Christ didn't die to make men savable or to make salvation
a possibility. The Lord Jesus Christ died the
appointed death at the appointed time, anointed of God as God's
sacrifice for sin, and He saved and secured everlasting salvation
for His people. Now, make no mistake about it.
He's not a failure. here in His love, not that we
loved God, but that He loved us, and God sent His Son to be
a sacrifice, a propitiation for our sin. Now, this is no theory
of atonement. This is not my view or a theory
of atonement. My friend, we have no theory.
We have atonement. The Lord Jesus Christ by Himself
purged and put away our sin. We have one high priest. the
eternal great high priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, who had somewhat
to offer, and the offering he had was himself. There was one
high priest, there was one death. He suffered and died for our
sin, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us unto God.
There was one sacrifice, one almighty and eternal sacrifice
that he offered up. There was one atonement made,
and my friends, the result of that one high priest, one death. One sacrifice, one atonement
is redemption, reconciliation, and salvation, my friend, that
is accomplished. Not attempted, but accomplished. It would be traitorous to his
person, dishonorable to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, denying
the plain testimony of Scripture to suppose or suggest that he
tried and failed. that he attempted to put away
sin and that he failed in his high priestly work for which
he was sent of God Almighty to accomplish the purpose of God
in the salvation of his people. We read in the book of Isaiah,
he shall see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied. We read in Isaiah 42 that he
shall not fail nor be discouraged. Now here is a summary of the
gospel found in verse 26. But now, once in the end of the
world, Hebrews 9, 26, he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice
of himself. Now let's consider four things
from this verse. And here we see again the summary
of the gospel. Here we see in this verse, the
first thing we see is sin, the sin problem, or the problem presented
in this little word, S-I-N. Sin is infinitely, horribly,
an evil thing. Sin is a very little word, but
it contains big problems. Sin is a transgression against
God. David said, Against thee and
thee only have I sinned. It's rebellion against the sovereign
majesty and rule of Almighty God. Sin is the denial of God's
right to be God. Sin is in every one of us. We
all have that sin nature and principle that we're born with.
We've all committed sin. We've all sinned and come short
of the glory of God. We are defiled with it. And to
deny this is to call God a liar. John said if we say we have no
sin, notice it's singular, sin nature, sin principle, born with
sin. We have a sin nature. We deceive
ourselves and the truth's not in us. By nature we're totally
depraved and sinful before God. You see the sin problem? And
sin is very difficult to put away. All the Jewish sacrifices
under the law could never put away sin. We read in Hebrews
10, it's not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should
take away sin. All the religious zeal of the
Pharisees and priests couldn't put away sin. Their sacrifice,
which they offered year by year, could never take away sin. All my repentance, now will you
hear me? All my repentance, all my faith, all my praying through,
all my devotion to God, all my religious zeal will never put
away sin. And even the eternal suffering
of an endless hell cannot put away my sin. God said, I have
no pleasure in the death of the wicked. And He's saying, He means
by saying that is this, your eternal suffering in hell will
never put away your sin. That's why hell is eternal. Because
sin will never be put away. Sin deserves punishment. God
said, the soul that sinneth must die. Wherever there is sin, there
must be punishment, for God is too holy. For God is too holy
to look upon sin with favor. You see the problem presented?
S-I-N. That's the sin problem. Well,
secondly, we see this, the solution revealed. It says in our text
that he appeared. Now, who is this? Who is it that
appeared? God our Savior, the Lord Jesus
Christ, who He that appeared is God. Who is this that appeared
to accomplish salvation, to accomplish removing our sin? God Almighty. In the fullness of time, God
sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law. He who against
all sin is committed appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice
of Himself. Now the very thought of the one
who put away our sin To put away the sin of God's people compels
thoughts of sweet comfort. Who is this one that came to
put away sin? Had any, if God Almighty, had
anyone else appeared to put away sin but God, it never could have
been accomplished. Had anyone else appeared except
God Almighty to put away sin, it never could have been accomplished.
But with God, all things are possible. He who came to put
away sin didn't come unsent. He was appointed, commissioned,
anointed, empowered by God Almighty to be the Savior of sinners.
And my friend, he's no amateur Savior. He's no rookie Savior. He's commissioned of God, sent
of God, God Almighty manifested in the flesh. You see the sin
problem? But we have good news because
the solution is revealed. And the solution is, He hath
appeared. God sent His Son. Thirdly, we
see this, the sacrifice described. The sacrifice described. It says
here that He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of
Himself. In Hebrews 9, verse 14, we read,
How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal
Spirit offered Himself, without spot to God, purge your conscience
from dead works. The sacrifice of himself. Jesus
Christ didn't come to put away sin by example, nor merely did
he put away sin by teaching. He came to put away sin by the
sacrifice of himself. And it involves his whole person,
body, soul, and blood. He bare our sin in his own body
on the tree. God made his soul an offering
for sin, and we know all through this scripture it's the blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ that cleanses us. It's the blood of
the Lamb of God. It's the blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ that redeemed us from all sin. The high priest of old
dared not approach God without a suitable sacrifice, and my
friend, the Lord Jesus Christ came to God. He entered into
not the holy place made with hand, but into heaven itself
to appear in the presence of God for us with his own blood."
Jesus Christ himself is the suitable sacrifice for sin. He had given
himself, we read in Ephesians 5, he had given himself for an
offering and a suitable sacrifice to God. as a sweet-smelling savor,
a sweet-smelling savor unto God. Now, Isaac of old asks the all-important
question to Abraham. You remember Abraham and Isaac
went to Mount Moriah to worship, and Isaac said, Behold, where is the Lamb? He said, we
have the fire, we have the wood, we have the knife. He asked his
father, where is the lamb for the burnt offering? And Abraham
said, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. That lamb that God provided is
God himself. John the Baptist identified him,
behold, the Lamb of God. Now, God helped us to be determined,
as Paul, to hear, to preach, and to know nothing. but Jesus
Christ and Him crucified as all our salvation. That's the sacrifice
described. We see the sin problem, the solution
revealed, He appeared, and the sacrifice described. What is
this sacrifice? Jesus Christ Himself. And fourthly,
in closing, we see this, the success declared. He says here
that He appeared to put away sin, to put away sin. Jesus Christ's
one offering put away the sin of God's people forever. We read in Hebrews 10 verse 12,
but this man, speaking of Christ, the high priest, after he had
offered one sacrifice for sin forever, sat down on the right
hand of God from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his
footstool, for by one offering hath he perfected forever them
that are sanctified. By the one offering that the
Lord Jesus Christ made, it put away the sin of God's people,
God's elect. He made an end of our sin by
the sacrifice of himself. John said this, he was manifested
to take away our sin, and in him is no sin. Since the Lord
Jesus Christ has stood as my substitute, Such a high priest
became us who was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from
sin. He stood as a believer's substitute,
and he stood as a believer's substitute and representative,
bearing my sin. God laid on him the iniquity
of us all. He stood as my substitute, bearing
my sin. He shouldered my guilt. God laid
on him our iniquity. God made him to be sin for us.
He endured my punishment. The wrath of God fell upon him.
And in doing so, he satisfied God's justice. And that's the
only way the holy justice of God can be satisfied, with the
sacrifice the Lord Jesus Christ made. And he made peace with
God. He reconciled us unto God through his blood. Therefore
now, in Christ, there is no condemnation to those who are in him. You
see, he put away our sins. It wasn't an effort, it wasn't
an attempt, it was an atonement for sin. Now, who can lay anything
to the charge of God to let the blood atonement of the Lord Jesus
Christ, the blood atonement didn't simply hide our sin or temporarily
put away our sin, it put them out of existence. They no longer
exist. David said this, as far as the
East is from the West, our God has separated us from our sin. Now, I hope you can remember
this message, and next time you think about the sacrifice of
the Lord Jesus Christ, you remember that his sacrifice is an effectual
sacrifice. It's a glorious sacrifice. It's
a substitutionary sacrifice. It's a satisfying sacrifice unto
God.