Now Hebrews chapter 9, let's
turn there in our Bibles this evening. My subject is the death
of the testator. The death of the testator. This
message has to do with the sacrifice of our Lord. So I asked Brother
Parker to prepare the table so that we might observe our Lord's
table after this message. and remember his broken body
and his shed blood which was shed for our transgressions.
He said in establishing this ordinance, the scripture says
he took bread and gave thanks and break it and gave it to them
saying this is my body which is given for you, this do in
remembrance of me. And likewise the cup, saying
this cup is the new covenant in my blood which is shed for
you, this do and remembrance of me." So we want to talk about
his sacrifice and then we want to demonstrate that sacrifice
and remember that sacrifice. So Hebrews chapter 9, this is
an ordinance, the Lord's table is an ordinance. ordained of
God, ordained of God. And here in Hebrews 9.1, it says,
verily, the first covenant, and we've been talking enough about
covenants the last few weeks that you know what we mean by
the first covenant, mosaic covenant. Well, that first covenant also
had ordinances, ordained of God, ordinances of divine service.
and a worldly or an earthly sanctuary. For then he tells us about it.
He said there was a tabernacle made according to God's specifications,
erected by Moses and the priest of Israel. And in the first part
of that tabernacle, there was a candlestick and the table and
the showbread. And this first section of the
tabernacle was called the sanctuary. The sanctuary. holy place, that
after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies,
the holiest of all. And in there was the Ark of the
Covenant. There was the golden censer on
which they burned the incense, the high priest who entered the
Holy of Holies. There was the Ark of the Covenant,
overlaid round about with gold. Inside that Ark was the golden
pot that had manna. instructed them to preserve some
of that manna in that pot in the ark, and Avons robbed it,
but did you remember God chose Avon to be the high priest, and
there was a conflict between some of the other tribes about
who should be the high priest. They told Moses and Avon they
took too much on themselves, and so God called all these fellas
together one representing each tribe, twelve of them, and told
them all to bring their shepherd rods. And they would cast them
on the ground. And they did, all twelve of them
threw their rods on the ground. God said the one that buds and
blooms is the high priest. And they cast all those rods
on the ground, and Aaron's rod budded and bloomed. And they
put that rod in the ark, with the tables of the covenant. So
in that ark, there was the golden manna, representing our Lord,
the bread of life. There was Aaron's rod that budded,
the authority of the high priest, chosen by God, and the broken
law. And over that ark, over it the
cherubims, one on either end of the mercy seat, cherubims
shattering the mercy seat of which we cannot now speak particularly. But when these things were ordained,
the priests, see that's plural, there were a number of them,
there were many priests. And they went always into the
first tabernacle, that first part, portion, section of the
tabernacle, accomplishing the services of God. There was a
great courtyard surrounded by a fence, a linen fence. At the one gate, the eastern
gate, there was an altar on which they slew the bullocks and the
rams and goats and so forth, the sacrifice. And across the
courtyard in front of the tabernacle was the brazen labor of pure
water where the high priest would wash his hands and feet before
going into the tabernacle. But in that first part where
the candlesticks were and the bread and the altar of incense,
the priests went in there every day, kept the bread fresh every
day and the candles burning, the incense burned 24 hours a
day, 365 days a year, every day, all day. And they went about
these services, but through that veil, that veil some say is five,
six inches thick, that veil is from the top to the bottom, from
either side to the other side, the veil separated the holy of
holies. And in that Holy of Holies, where the Ark of the Covenant
and the Mercy Seat was, God's Shekinah glory, His majestic
glory, dwelt over the Mercy Seat. God's presence was in that Holy
of Holies. And he says here, into that second,
into the Holy of Holies, verse 7, went the High Priest alone. The High Priest only alone. But God said to Moses, tell Abraham,
come in there often, come in there once a year, on the day
of atonement, and not without blood, which he offered for himself
and for the sins of the people. So that was the ordinances. That
stood for years and years and years, centuries. Centuries. It stood almost two millenniums. And that was ordinances. tells us what the Holy Spirit
is teaching us in these ordinances of the old covenant. The Holy
Ghost, this signifying three things, verse 8, that the way,
what is this way? The way to God, on behalf of
all of us, for all of us, sinners. The way to God, the way of life
eternal. The way is Christ. He said, I
go to prepare a place for you, and one of the disciples said,
we don't know where you're going, how can we know the way? He said,
I'm the way. So the Holy Ghost, as long as this thing, this tabernacle
stood and these ordinances, sacrifices and high priests, the Holy Ghost
is saying the way into the holiest of all for sinners, for you and
me, was not yet made manifest, not revealed, while that first
tabernacle was standing. to God, the way of forgiveness,
the way of life, the way God can be just and justify, is not
clearly revealed, is not made manifest while that tabernacle
stands. It's revealed in types and shadows and pictures, which
some men to whom God spake understood. But that way is not yet revealed
and manifested as long as that stands. Here's the second thing
he's showing. This was a figure, this tabernacle,
this priesthood, these sacrifices were figures, pictures. For the
time being present, for all those years in which they offered both
gifts, gifts, gifts, thousands of them, sacrifices, rivers of
blood. And these sacrifices and atonement
could not make him that did the service perfect. as pertaining
to the conscience. It couldn't put away sin. Look
across the page at Hebrews 10, verse 4, verse 3. In those sacrifices, there's
a remembrance again made of sins every year. It's not possible
that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sin. This is
a picture. The Old Testament, those people
were saved by Christ who would come, not by the animal sacrifice. That's what the Holy Spirit is
showing. The way is not yet made clear, manifest. Secondly, that
these sacrifices could not put away sin or make them perfect
who offered them. And that verse 10, now here's
the third thing, how long is this intended? How long is this
tabernacle going to stand and these sacrifices be offered and
this priesthood officiate? Verse 10, only in meats and drinks
and different washings and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until,
until, until. It's going to stand until the
time of reformation. What is the reformation? It's
the messianic restoration. It's the time when he'll come
and set things straight and reveal the way to God, till he comes. He'll come and make all things
new. Go back with me just a moment
to Genesis 49, till he comes. I read that till the time of
restoration, to the time of reformation, to the time of revelation. And here in Genesis 49, Jacob
is blessing his 12 sons before he dies. And he blessed Reuben
and Simeon and Levi. Then he got to Judah, verse 8. Verse 8, Judah, thou art he whom
thy brethren shall praise. Thy hand shall be in the neck
of thine enemies. Judah was to be the kingly tribe. He wasn't nothing kingly about
him right now, but his followers would be. Thy father's children
shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion's wealth. From
the prey, my son, thou art gone up. Stooped down, he casteth
a lion, as an old lion, who shall rouse him up. And the scepter,
the reign, the authority, the kingship, shall not depart from
Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come."
And Judah, the tribe, will stand as the king of tribes until Christ
comes, and then she's finished. That has no meaning for me after
Christ came, Shiloh. And these ordinances here in
Hebrews 9, the tabernacle, the priesthood, sacrifice, they'll
stand until Shiloh comes, until the time of reformation, until
our Lord Jesus Christ comes. All right, verse 11. And he came. Verse 11. in the fulness of time. God sent
forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem
them that were born under the law. Thou Bethlehem, Micah 5,
such a beautiful scripture. Thou Bethlehem, though thou be
little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall
he come. Out of thee shall he come. This
goes all the way from Jacob, blessed in those boys, he said,
Judah, your tribe is the king until he comes. And Micah, until
he comes, until he comes, whose goings forth have been from everlasting. All right, verse 11, Christ being
come, a high priest, of good things to come. What are these
good things to come? Oh, my, peace with God, reconciliation,
righteousness, eternal life. And he'll come by a greater and
more perfect tabernacle. What's that talking about? What's
this tabernacle? Well, it's a tabernacle not made with hands. Back in
Hebrews 8, verse 2, it says it's a tabernacle, look at this, Hebrews
8, 2. A minister of the sanctuary,
the true tabernacle which God pitched, not man. I told you
Moses built that first tabernacle. God gave him the dimensions on
Sinai and said, see that you make it exactly like I told you. Man pitched it. But this tabernacle,
Christ being come, a high priest of good things to come, perfect
redemption, perfect sanctification, perfect righteousness. But he
comes by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not this one made
with hands. In this one, God's glory is manifested. dwells in Christ, that is to
say, not of this tabernacle, this building. You know, when
I read that, a house not made with hands, that's Christ's body. Look at Hebrews 10, verse 5. Wherefore, when he comes, when
he comes, we've been talking about till he comes, till that he comes into the world. He said, "...sacrifice
and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared
thee." That's what we're talking about, a house, greater, more
perfect, tabernacle, a body God prepared, not man. Man had nothing
to do with it. God prepared it. But over here
in 2 Corinthians, this I want Take a sideline here just a minute.
I'm looking for the building of God not made with hands, in
which I'm going to live some day. Our Lord came to earth,
tabernacled among us in a body not made with hands. That's what
he said, which God pitched and not man. And Paul says in 2 Corinthians
5, I know that it's my earthly house of this tabernacle were
dissolved, like your grandmother yesterday is dissolved. But now
what's this? We have a building of God, a
house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. The same God
that prepared for his son a body, sent him into this world, has
prepared for us a body, a building not made with hands, eternal
in the heavens. That's so beautiful. Our Lord
tabernacled among us. One little preacher wrote this.
Listen to it. He came to this earth in a body
prepared by God. He tabernacled among men. In
him the Shekinah glory of God dwelt and was manifested. In
him God meets men and men meet God. And upon him the wrath of
God fell. And he died the death of all
deaths, just for the unjust. He made both soul and body an
offering for sin. And when it was finished, all
that he came to accomplish, he entered into heaven itself, before
the throne, and with his own blood presented a perfect atonement
in the presence of God. and obtained for us," look at
verse 12, "...neither by the blood of goats and calves, but
by his own blood he entered once into the holy place, and obtained
eternal redemption for us, and then sat down as eternal proof
and testimony that God had accepted his offering." That's it. That's it. By one offering he
hath perfected forever them that are sacrificed." Now then, in
conclusion of the whole matter, the Apostle here in the next
few verses sets forth in four words the conclusion of this
whole matter. And number one, in verse 13 and
14, he sets forth the efficacy of his sacrifice. the efficacy
of his sacrifice. And he goes, the argument is
put forth from the lesser to the greater. Listen. Now, if
the blood of bulls and goats, we've been talking about all
these ordinances under the old dispensation, under the old covenant.
If the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled
in the unclean, sanctified to the purifying of the flesh, In
other words, when Moses and Avon and Israel slew the Passover
lamb in Egypt and put that blood on the door, and if that blood
held back the wrath of God from Israel while the sons of Egypt
died, if that blood sanctified the purifying of the flesh while
God's wrath passed through, if the blood of lambs and goats
offered by Avon in the Old Testament for these hundreds of years If
this blood of birds and goats and the ashes of a heifer could
typically sanctify the people before God and preserve them
from destruction, from the lesser to the greater, verse 14, how
much more shall the blood of Christ,
the Son of God, God himself, who through the eternals spirit
of God, by the will of God, by the divine ordination of God,
offered not the blood of an animal but himself, gave his life without
spot, without fault, without blemish. Purge your conscience. I looked up that word, purge.
It has three definite meanings. Number one, to make clean. David
said, Purge me with hyssop, I'll be clean. You purge me with hyssop,
the blood of the Lamb, I'll be clean. It means to purify. In Titus, listen to this, it
means to purify. He gave himself for us, that
he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify under himself a peculiar
cleansed, purified. And then Hebrews 10.22, you're
right there at verse 22, listen. Hebrews 10.22, washed. Let us
draw near with a true heart and full assurance, having our hearts
sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure
water. When our sins are purged, how
much more shall the blood of Christ through the eternal spirit,
offered himself without spot to God, purged, washed, cleansed,
reconciled, purified your conscience. Now, listen to this, two things. God's reconciled. I know that. Because when he had purged our
sins, he sat down on the right hand of God. The Lord said to
my Lord, sit thou at my right hand. He purged our sin and sat
down, accepted it. Hebrews 10.10 said, once for
all. By God's will we are sanctified
through the offering of his body once for all. Now this, my conscience. God's reconciled, God's satisfied,
God's pleased. This is my conscience. Read it
again, verse 14. How much more shall the blood
of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without
God, purge your conscience? What's this got to do with my
conscience? Well, over here in chapter 10, verse 2, it says,
If these sacrifices could make the comer thine to perfect, verse
2 says, they quit offering them, because the worshipers, once
purged, would have no more conscience of sin. If I'm God satisfied. I don't have any conscience of
sin. That's right, I don't have any conscience of sin. I don't
have any... I'm freed from the guilt of sin.
I'm freed from the fear of punishment. And I'm freed from dead works.
What's these dead works? Well, number one are the works
of sin. The sin such were some of you,
but you're washed! You're sanctified, you're Your
conscience is purged from those old works of sin, that old way
of life, that old walk. You're purged. Secondly, you're
purged from the ceremonial law. No more works of the law to be
accepted of God. No more priesthood and sacrifices
and ceremonies and watching and burning of incense. No more.
Purged from these dead works of the law, dead works of the
flesh. and dead works of the law, and
purged, as Paul said in Philippians 3, from my dead works of righteousness,
trying to find acceptance with God. I count them but loss, that
I may win Christ in defense. I'm purged. So my conscience
is purged from my dead works of flesh, of law, and of personal
righteousness to be accepted of God. And I serve, how do I
serve God? I worship him. The Lord seeketh
such to worship him. How do I serve God? I praise
him. We bring to God sacrifices of praise. We're all priests
of God, a holy priesthood. How do I serve God? Obey him.
How do I serve God? Honor him. How do I serve God? Believe him. And I'm purged from
these dead works. serve the ever-living God. Now that's the efficacy of his
blood. And then in the next two verses
he talks about the necessity of his blood. Christ didn't die
as an example. And for this cause he's the mediator
of the New Testament, the new covenant that by means of death,
for the redemption of the transgression that were under the first testament,
those people too are saved by his blood. Abraham, Abel, Lot,
Noah, Enoch, all of them. They which are called might receive
the promise of eternal inheritance. Now what's this? Where a testament
is, where a last will and testament is, there must of necessity be the
death of the testator. A testament is not in effect.
There are people in this congregation who have last wills and testaments,
witnessed, signed by lawyers, leaving what they have to their
children or grandchildren or whomever. Well, children don't
claim it now that he's not dead yet. You can't get a down payment
on that. That's a last will and testament.
He's got to die. The one who wrote it and signed
it has to die. It's not yours till he dies.
He willed it to you and gave it to you, and it's not yours
till he dies. Well, how about Abraham? It was promised to them
by God. They had a promise, a promise
of eternal salvation, the promise of atonement. And they believed
the promise. They believed the promise. But
when a testament, verse 17, is a force after man is dead, otherwise
it's of no strength at all while the testates are living. So the
Old Testament believers who lived under the old covenant, from
Adam to Christ, they were redeemed by promise. Abraham believed
God. It's what God had promised he
was able to perform. They offered these sacrifices
until he comes. Abel offered a more excellent
sacrifice than King, until he comes. But when the death of
the Testator is accomplished, it's ours. And that's what we're talking
about tonight. Turn to 1 Corinthians 11. This is the ordinance that
he gave us now. We don't have a tabernacle, a
temple, a holy of holies and these things and sacrifices.
In 1 Corinthians 11, here is the ordinance I've received of
the Lord. Verse 23, 1 Corinthians 11, I've received of the Lord
that which I delivered unto you. that the Lord Jesus, the same
night in which he was betrayed, took bread. And when he had given
thanks, he broke it and said, Take ye, this is my body, which
is broken, is broken for you, this do in remembrance of me.
After the same manner he took the cup, when he had stopped
saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood, this do ye, as often
as ye drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat
this bread and drink this cup, ye shall the Lord's death shall
he come, the death of the testator, the death of the testator. Christ
died, and it's ours. The inheritance is ours. And
you know, I've told you many times, here in this country and
some other countries, sometimes crooked judges and laws overturn
a man's last will and testament. They have a court battle, and
the government gets some of it, and somebody else gets some of
it, and the man's buried, he can't do anything about it. But
our testator, he's not buried, and he can do something about
it. forgiveness, sanctification, redemption, righteousness, all,
and he's at the right hand of God to enforce. His Spirit brings
the gospel to his people. All right, and here's two things
now in closing. Here's the blood illustrated,
starting with verse 18. And this is what all this is
in the Old Testament, illustration, it's figures, it's pictures.
Watch verse 18. Whereupon neither the first covenant
was dedicated without blood," this Old Testament figure. When Moses has spoken every precept
to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of
calves and goats with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and
he sprinkled the brooks and sprinkled the people. He said, this is
the blood of the covenant which God hath enjoined unto you. Moreover,
he sprinkled with blood the tabernacle, he sprinkled all the vessels.
And what wasn't washed with water was sprinkled with blood. That's
right. What wasn't washed with water
was sprinkled with blood. Everything had to be purified.
And Christ came by water and blood, and he washed us, and
he justified us. He cleansed us and sanctified
us and justified us. Without the shedding of blood,
there is no remission, even under that old law. All right, here it is now, illustrated.
that the patterns of things in heaven should be purified with
these sacrifices, these animal offerings. But the heavenly things
have got to have a better sacrifice than this, got to have a better
one. The better covenant is a better
sacrifice, you see, is blood. And here is the blood applied,
here is the fourth word, the efficacy of the blood, the necessity
of the blood, the blood illustrated Old Testament type. Now here
it is applied. Christ is not entered into these
holy places made with hands. And I don't need anybody else
to enter into these holy places made with hands anymore. Now
Moses did, and children of Israel did. And I'm not making light
of in any shape, form, or fashion those sacrifices. If I'd lived
on it, I'd have been right there sacrificing animals. But I'm
not playing that game anymore. I don't need an earthly person.
I don't need an earthly sacrifice. I don't need any of that. Because
Christ is not in it in the holy place made with hands, which
are figures of the truth, but in the heaven itself. And here's
where your parents is. Watch this. Right now, to appear
in the presence of God for us, why would you want to go to a
man and confess your sins and ask him to go to God for you?
When God Almighty himself, Jesus Christ, is in the presence of
God, intercede and forgive. Don't send one of these characters,
religious characters. Christ is appearing now, right
now, in the presence of God for us, right now, our great high
priest. Not yet that he should offer
himself often as the high priest in and in the holy place every
year with the blood of others. For then must ye have often suffered
since the foundation of the world." If he had to go every year, he'd
been doing that since God ordained the covenant of mercy in eternity. But now, once, in the end of
the world, in the last days, as he appeared, another appearance,
he appears right now in the presence of God for us. But he first came
down here into earth and appeared in human flesh. to put away sin
by the sacrifice of himself. That's how he put away sin, by
the sacrifice of himself. And sin, let me tell you something,
sin is impossible to put away any other way. If you just put
away sin, put it away so that God can remember it no more,
will remember it no more, put it away as far as the east is
from the west, To be remembered no more in the depths of the
sea? Christ can do that. How? By the sacrifice of himself.
That's the only way. All right. It's appointed unto
me and wants to die. After this judgment, shake that. It's appointed unto me and wants
to die. After that, meet God. Meet God. And I saw the dead
stand before God. The sea gave up the dead which
were in it. Death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them.
And every man stood before God to be judged out of the things
written in the book." That's an awesome, awful thing to think
about. But I don't intend to be that.
Because, verse 28, Christ, my Lord, my Redeemer, was once offered
to bear the sins of many. I'm one of those many. I'm one
of those as many as. As many as received him, to them
gave he power to become the sons of God. As many as were ordained
to eternal life, believe. As many as the Lord our God shall
call. I'm one of those many. As many.
You are too. The sins of many. He bore them
one time. That's all he needs to buy them.
And unto them that look fine, he's going to appear again. Oh,
boy. He's going to appear. presence
of God for us, back before the world began. He appeared here
on earth and put away our transgressions. And he appears now in the presence
of God, but he's going to appear again. And when he shall appear,
John says, we're going to see him. And not be ashamed, because
we're going to be just like him. We don't have to run from that
appearance, because we're going to be like him. And he's going
to appear, listen, he's going to appear the second time without
sin. So if when he appears and I'm like him, I'm without sin,
I'm to salvation. Now that's something to rejoice
about. That's something to take this,
like Moses and those men of old, brought the blood sacrifice,
rejoiced in the promise. You and I come to the elements
that the Lord gave us. He took bread, unleavened bread,
and break it. He said, this is my body broken.
Now you eat it. And he took the wine and blessed
it. He said, this is my blood. Picture. You drink it. As often as you
eat this bread and drink this wine, you show my death until
I appear, until I come again. That's what we're doing. What
a treasure. But now don't get mixed up and
make this salvation. No. He salvaged me. He's not a sacrament. A sacrament
says, He's my sacrament. He purged my sins. This is a
picture. It's a picture He ordained, and
He did it for a purpose, He said, in remembrance of me. And your
children ask you, what do you mean by this? Tell them. Tell
them. All right.