There's religion all about us
more than ever before in the history of our nation. More different
denominations and organizations, preachers. I've often thought it would be
so refreshing if people were interested enough
really, truly interested in taking the time to sit down before a true servant of God,
a true witness, one called of God, gifted of God, one who has spent his life studying
the scriptures, searching the scriptures, finding the message
of God and the truth of God with one motive, to glorify God and
to be a blessing to His people. And prepare them like John the
Baptist for the coming of the Lord. And just sit and listen. As he
teaches and preaches God's Word on this subject, how can a sinner,
a son of Adam, born in sin, conceived in iniquity, brought forth speaking
lies from the sole of his feet to the top of his head, no soundness,
no goodness, nothing to recommend him to God, in his flesh dwelleth
no good thing. And how that man, in a way in
which God can be God, and not compromise his holiness, justice,
and righteousness, but how God can look upon that
man in love and forgive him totally, completely of all his debts,
all his iniquities, accept him, justify him, sanctify him, put away his transgressions,
and make him one with Christ. And he'll live eternally after
he's left this world, because it is appointed unto us once
to die. And after that, an accounting
a judgment. How can God remove that judgment
so that we can stand in His presence, ascend into His presence, and live there eternally? Wouldn't that be wonderful if
folks had that kind of interest and concern and willingness And that preacher could say this,
I don't ask people to believe me. I ask them to believe God. Believe nothing because I believe
it or because I said it. But to believe God. To be like
those noble Bereans who, after hearing Paul the Apostle, went
home and searched the Scriptures He told them the truth. That's
right. They went home after hearing
Paul, and nothing could please Paul anymore. Nothing could delight
his soul anymore than for them to go home and search the Scriptures
to see if these things be so. Abraham believed God. He didn't just believe in God,
he didn't just believe there is a God, he actually believed
God. He believed what God said, what
God had promised he was able to do. And that preacher, that servant,
that witness, and God never left himself without a witness. And that witness would want his
hearers not only to believe God, but for their faith to stand,
not in the wisdom of men, but in the power and the Word of
God. It's like the people of Samaria.
When the woman at the well who had talked with our Lord and
ran down into the village and told Him that she'd heard the
Messiah, the Messiah had come. And they rushed up there to the
warehouse, and he taught them, and they heard him. And then
they said to her, we believe, not because you said it, we heard
him ourselves. We heard him ourselves. It doesn't matter what man you
hear, it matters what message you hear. And in this chapter that I have
tonight, Hebrews 10, this chapter presents the way to God in two
words. I want you to notice this. I
wonder if you did as Brother Dan was reading it, but in verse
1 of chapter 10, it says the law. And when Scripture uses
the word law, It's generally referring to one of three things,
sometimes all three, but usually one of three. Number one is talking
about the whole Word of God, the Law and the Prophets. That's
the Word of God and the Prophets. Sometimes it's talking about
the Ten Commandments, the moral Law of God. And sometimes, as
here, it's talking about the Mosaic Law. the ceremonial law, the Levitical
law in tabernacle, priesthood, sacrifices, ceremonies, Sabbath
days, all the law of Moses that God gave him at Sinai in the
making of the tabernacle and the sacrifices and the priesthood.
And it says that these ceremonies and sacrifices and works and
deeds, listen, The law having a shadow of good things to come,
just a shadow, and not the very image of those things can never,
there's the word, never, never, never, never, with those sacrifices
which they offer year by year continually, make the comers
there unto Perkins. Religion, form, ceremony, the
doing of deeds and duties, tithes, Sabbath days, going to church,
taking communion, being confirmed, catechized. Those things can
never put away sin. That's the way. Never. Look at
verse 11. And every priest standeth daily,
ministering often, offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can
what? Never, never take away sin. That's the word connected with
human deeds and duties and human works and religious ceremonies,
confirmations or anything else. The sprinkling of an infant,
the baptizing of an adult, the confirming the rituals, the keeping
of the Sabbath, the celebration of Easter and Christmas and all
these things. Whatever men do in the name of
religion can never, never, never, never, never give peace, cleansing,
or put away sin. But look at Hebrews 10 verse
12. Now here is the other word. But
this man, the Lord Jesus Christ, but this man, the God-man, after
he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, forever, sat
down on the right hand of God, from henceforth expecting till
his enemies be made his footstool, for by one offering, one atonement,
one death, One sacrifice, one offering, He has perfected forever. The law, never. Religion, ceremonies,
never. Christ Jesus, the Son of God,
who came into this world and died on that cross by one offering,
has sanctified and perfected forever all who believe on Him. That's the difference. And that's
the heart of the message that I'm bringing tonight. So we'll
go back to verse 1 and look at some of these verses as we have
the time. All right, verse 1, chapter 10,
for the law, that is the ceremonial law, the law that God gave to
Moses regarding building the tabernacle with the holy place
and the holy of holies Table of showbread, and the candlestick,
and the incense, and the altar, and the sacrifices, and the mercy
seat, and the ark, and the blood sprinkled with hyssop on the
mercy seat. This love is a shadow. No substance,
just a shadow. I stand, there's my shadow. That
shadow is a rude outline. It's sort of a picture. It's
sort of an indication of what of what it represents. But that's
all this law is. It's a shadow. No substance. No power. It's a shadow of good
things to come. The good things to come are redemption,
sanctification, justification, forgiveness of sins, eternal
life, good things to come in Christ. But a shadow can never
put away sin. These ordinances and ceremonies
can never perfect us, can never give us righteousness, life,
or peace. Now look at verse 2. If they
could, if the doing of certain duties
toward God and certain rituals and ceremonies, if these things
could put away sin and make a sinner perfect before God, then two
things would be true. Look at verse 2, "...for then
would they not have ceased to be offered?" In other words,
when Aaron slew the Lamb, took the blood, went under the veil,
sprinkled it on the mercy seat, covered the broken lot. Perpetuatory
sacrifice. If that could put away sin, why
do it again? Why do it again? And secondly,
if they could put away sin, the worshipers, once saved, once
purged, once forgiven, would have no more conscience of sin.
The person who offered that sacrifice would have no more conscience
of sin. A debt paid is paid. We've had the happy experience
here through some very generous believers, men in this church,
of actually paying people out of debt. Two preachers. One preacher came here many years
ago and was bowed down with indebtedness. And one of our men asked him
one day, said, make a list of everything you owe. and I'll
pay." He was a happy fellow. He made a list of everything.
I had that list. I gave it to this man and he
paid. And that fellow was free. Now,
would he go around worrying about it? Concerned about it? Afraid
his debtors are going to call or send a lawyer to visit? No.
He's out of debt. And that's what Paul is saying
here. If these sacrifices could put away sin, you wouldn't offer
them anymore, and you'd have peace of conscience. Another
preacher in another state, his wife was very sick, and they
had a limited insurance policy. And she was out of work. She
was sick and couldn't work anymore, and he had a very small congregation. He just got in debt. And the
same thing happened here again. Send us all your doctor bills,
all your hospital bills, and paid it. And he was so happy. Free. And when Jesus Christ died
on the cross and put away my sins, he paid all of them. All
the debt I owe. I'm not worried about them. Not
concerned of them. They're paid for. But the law
can't do that. Never! But he did it forever. Look at verse 3. In those sacrifices, there's
a remembrance again made of sin every year. In other words, every
year. This was done every year. Turn
to Leviticus a moment. In Leviticus chapter 16. I wish
sometimes you'd just take Leviticus 16 and read it. Aaron was the
high priest, and every year he wore garments of the high priest,
the hat, the miter, holiness to the Lord, the names of the
tribes of Israel. My, it's just staggering the
beauty of his priestly garments. Picture our Lord Jesus Christ
in his majesty and glory, our great high priest. But once he
entered, Abram would take those garments off. All of the garments
denoting him as the high priest, setting him apart as the high
priest. He'd lay him aside and clothe himself in simple white
linen. And then he would slay the lamb,
walk across the courtyard and bathe his feet and hands in the
pure crystal clear water, and then go into the Holy of Holies,
put the blood on the mercy seat. representing the people, a sinner,
a man, but a designated man with the blood. And he would come
out. And here in Leviticus 16, in
verse 20, it says, And when he had made an end of reconciling
the holy place and the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar,
he will bring the live goat, scapegoat. And Aaron shall lay
both his hands on the head of the live goat and confess over
him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their
transgressions, and all their sins, putting them upon the head
of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man
into the desert, the wilderness. And the goat shall bear upon
him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited, and he
shall let go the goat in the wilderness, and the men come
back. Scapegoat. And then Aaron in
verse 24, 23, And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the
congregation, and put off the linen garments which he put on
when he went into the holy place, and leave them there, and wash
his flesh with water in the holy place, and put on his garments,
his priestly garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt offering
and the burnt offering of the people, make atonement for himself
and for the people." Oh, right. If that put away sin, it wouldn't
do it again. But next year, here he is again. Here he is again. Here the goat
is. Here he is confessing all their sins again. All their sins. Here he is sacrificing lamb.
Make an atonement. But our Lord, He's our scapegoat. And He took all of our sins.
Our sins were laid on Him. He who knew no sin was made sin
for us. I've illustrated for our children
like this. Here I am. And here's my sins. They're very
heavy and they're very many. They're very black. And they've
separated me and God. Christ came. Just like me, born
of a woman, made under the law, bone of our bone, flesh of our
flesh, but He had no sin. He took my sins, all of them. He bore my sins, all of them.
He became sin for us. And on the cross of Calvary,
all the judgment and wrath and my sins separated Him from God. He cried, My God, why hast thou
forsaken me on the cross? But God poured his wrath out
upon Christ, and he paid for my sins, and as my scapegoat
went to the tomb and wore them away. And now he shall appear
to them that look for him without sin under salvation. He doesn't
have them. I don't have them. Where are
they? God said, I remember them no
more. So we don't offer another sacrifice. We don't celebrate
another Mass. We don't have another crucifixion.
They're done. And if the law could do that,
it says in verse 3, in those sacrifices as a remembrance again
made of sin every year, verse 4, and I'll tell you why. It's
not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away
sin. Not possible. Mr. Spurgeon gave
three reasons why the blood of animals cannot put away sin.
Number one, sin is a transgression of the moral law of God. It's
a transgression of the moral law. And these animals died under
a ceremonial law. Under a ceremonial law. Made
it sine. Secondly, The blood of those
sacrifices, animal blood, is not the same blood as the one
who sinned. Not the same nature. Our Lord
took not on Himself the nature of angels even, but the seed
of Abraham. And these animal sacrifices not
being the nature or the same blood with the guilty person
cannot atone for his sin. And thirdly, our sin is a soul
transgression. It's a soul. It has to do with
the soul. David said, "...against thee,
and thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight."
It's a sin of soul and mind and conscience, and an animal can't
relate to that. But our Lord can, because He
made His soul an offering for sin. Christ not only suffered
in body and shed His blood, He said, my soul is exceeding sorrowful
even unto death. And Isaiah said in Isaiah 53,
thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin. All right, verse 5. Wherefore, now this ceremony,
these types and sacrifices are shadows, pictures, types, of
him who shall come. Now listen to what he said when
he came. Wherefore, when he cometh into the world, this is the Lord
Jesus Christ, God-man, the God-man, very God of very God, and yet
son of man, numbered with the transgressors, bone of our bone,
flesh of our flesh, in Adam we die, in Christ we are made alive.
By one man's sin entered this world, and death by sin, so death
passed upon all men. And by one man's sin many were
made sinners. By one man's obedience, one man,
many shall be made righteous." So when he comes into the world,
he said, "...sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not." These sacrifices
and offerings the Heavenly Father would not have continued any
longer. would not have continued any
longer. But a body hast thou prepared
me. Not the tabernacle made with
hands, but the tabernacle of His flesh when He tabernacled
among us. A body thou hast prepared me.
Listen, in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast
had no pleasure. All of these burnt offerings
and sacrifices have never satisfied God's law. No pleasure, no delight,
no satisfaction in these animal sacrifices. Never. They could
never put away sin. But when Christ came, He said,
this is my Son, my beloved Son in whom I am well-placed pleasure. From the time that that first
animal was killed in the Garden of Eden, and its skin taken to
cover the nakedness of Adam and Eve, and Abel offered his sacrifice
all the way down through 4,000 years of sacrifices, God has
never had any pleasure, delight, or satisfaction in any of them
or in all of them. But when Christ came, this is
my Son in whom I am well pleased. And then he said in Isaiah 53,
10, it pleased God to bruise him. Thou hast made his soul
an offering for sin. He shall see of the travail of
his soul and be satisfied, for it pleased the Lord. Pleased It pleased Him. The death of
His Son pleased Him. How can that be? Two things. It was His purpose. It was His
good pleasure. It pleased God to make you His
people. It pleased God to bruise Him. It pleased God to reveal His
Son in me. It pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. It pleased God that
in him should all fullness dwell. It was the good pleasure and
purpose of God first for him to die. He wouldn't have died
if God hadn't have willed it and purposed it and met with
his pleasure. But secondly, our God is holy. And when Christ obeyed the law
perfectly, fulfilled it perfectly, walked before God in perfect
love and perfect obedience and perfect righteousness and perfect
holiness, It pleased Him. It pleased Him that His laws
should be kept and honored by man. What's the chief end of
every man? To glorify God. And that's what
Christ did. No man has ever, in the flesh,
on the earth, glorified God. In the flesh, no man can please
God. In the flesh dwelleth no good
thing. But this man did, but this man,
that's what the book of Hebrews says, but this man pleased God. And God's justice was honored,
God's holiness, God's righteousness. This man, he said, Father, I've
glorified you on this earth. Now glorify me with the glory
which I had with thee before the world was. This man. in whom I'm well pleased." And
when he came into this world, he said, sacrifice and offering, I would
not have continued. They're over. A body you prepared
me. Burnt offerings and sacrifices
for sin, you've never had in pleasure any delight. They've
never glorified you. But I did. For lo, listen, I
come. In the volume of the book is
written of me. In the volume of the book is
written of me. What book? This book you've got in your
hands. All the prophets wrote of him.
He's the prophet like Moses. He's the priest like Melchizedek. He's the king like David. He's
the city of refuge. He's the Passover lamb. He's
the manna from heaven. He's the smitten rock. He's the
brazen serpent lifted up. He's the city of refuge. He's
the bright and morning star. He's all these things that's
written of me. But I'll tell you in the volume
of another book, turn to Revelation 5, Revelation 5. John said in Revelation 5-1,
John said, I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne,
a book. I saw in the right hand of him
that sat on the throne, a book written within, on the backside
sealed with seven seals. What is this book? This book
is before this book. This book that John saw is before
this book was ever written. What is this book? Sealed. Written on the inside with the
end on the backside. Sealed with seven seals. Sealed
with the deity. The seal of God. It's the book,
the Lamb's book of life. It's the book of God's will.
The book of God's purpose. The book of God's covenant, the
book of God's kingdom, the book of God's promises, and good pleasure. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming
with a loud voice, whose were they? In heaven, earth, or under
the earth, whose were they? To open the book and loosely
seal it, and fulfill the will of God, and the purpose of God,
and the covenant of God, and the kingdom of God. Who can make
it all work? Who's worthy? Who's righteous? Who's pure? Who's holy? Who's
almighty? Who's sovereign? Who can do it?
And no man in heaven, nor on earth, nor under the earth was
able to open that book or to look thereon. And I wept. God's kingdom will not be. God's
covenant will never be. God's will, God's purpose, salvation,
A people will never be, because there's nobody that can open
the book. Nobody can do it. And I wept
much, because no one was found worthy to open the book, to read
the book, to look down. And one of the elders said, weep
not. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. The tribe of Judah is the kingly
tribe. The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David,
He hath prevailed to open the book and to loose the seven seals
thereof. And I beheld, and lo, in the
midst of the throne," right in the midst of the throne of God,
in the middle of the throne, on the throne, in the midst of
the four beasts, in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb,
a Lion and a Lamb, yes sir, the Lion of Judah and the Lamb of
God, the Lamb of the cross and the Lion of the throne. the Lamb
of Righteousness and the Lord of Judgment, having seven horns,
almighty, seven eyes, omniscient, and seven spirits, omniscient,
omnipresent, and omnipotent. Seven spirits of God sent forth
into all earth, and He came. Lo, I come. In the volume of
the book is written of me. and took the book out of the
right hand of him that sat on the throne. And when he had taken
the book, the four beasts and the four and twenty elders fell
down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps and golden
vows full of odors, which are the prayers of the saints. And
they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to open the book,
to take the book and open the seals, for Thou hast slain and
has redeemed us to God. by thy blood, out of every kindred,
tongue, people, and nation, and hath made us priests unto our
God, kings and priests, and we shall reign." That's the book.
Lo, I come. In the volume of God's Lamb's
Book of Life, it's the Lamb's Book. The Book of Purpose, the Book
of Promise, the Book of His Kingdom, His Covenant, and the Book that
He gave to us. It's written of him, I come to
do thy will. Above, verse 8, look at verse
8. Up there in verse 8, he says, above when he said, sacrifice
and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin, thou wouldest
not, neither had pleasure therein which are offered by the law.
Then said he, lo, I come, I come to do thy will, O God, to do
your pleasure. He takes it away, the first.
and establishes a second. What does he take away? He takes
away the first tabernacle. It is no more. He takes away
the old covenant. He takes away all the holy days
and Sabbath days. He takes away the sacrifices
and the priesthood. He takes away all of it. He's our priest. He's our mercy
seat. He's our altar. He's our place
where we meet God. He's our sacrifice. He's our
sent-offer. He's everything. Takes all that
away. It's fulfilled. And establishes
Himself. I'll tell you what else He takes
away. Takes away the first Adam. And we're in Christ, the second
Adam, the Lord from heaven. He takes away the first image.
As we're born in the image of the earthy, we're going to bear
the image of the heaven. He takes away our first nature.
Not yet, but He will. And we'll have a new nature and
a new heart. He takes away the first families. There's a new
family. God's family. Sons of God. He'll take away the first earth.
There'll be a new earth. The first heaven, there'll be
a new heaven. He makes all things new. Verse 10, by the witch will,
we're sanctified through the blood, through the body, through
the sacrifice of Jesus Christ once for all. Now he goes back
and shows you this old covenant, this old priesthood. And every
priest, there were many of them, hundreds of them, standing. They never sat down because their
work was never finished. They never sat down in their
ministry. Around the tabernacle and courtyard, there were no
chairs. The priest never finished Christ when he had offered one
sacrifice for sin forever, sat down. And they stand daily, daily
sacrifices. He won't offer. Ministering and
offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can, there's
the word, never. Why would I want to go back to
that? Why would I want somebody to come along and tell me that
in order to be saved, You've got to be baptized. Or you've
got to be circumcised. Or you've got to keep the seventh
day. Or you've got to faithfully pay the time. Or you've got to
go to the priest and confess your sins. You've got to do all
these. Why would I get back under that
which can never, never, never put away sin? In which our Lord
put away. He fulfilled it and canceled
it. Christ is my holiness, wisdom, righteousness,
and redemption, and all things. That's what it said. Never, but
this man, 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
he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. That's the
gospel. And that's what I say, why won't people, why won't they
come and, or go somewhere where somebody's reading this and preaching
it? It's good news. It's good news. And here's, you
know, I've closed the message this morning and told you, when
Christ died on the cross, the Scripture said, and the veil
in the temple, That holy, holy of holies, separated from the
people by that heavy veil from top to bottom, side to side,
five, four, five inches thick, under which the high priest went
once a year, not without blood, he sprinkled on the mercy seat,
and the glory, the Shekinah glory of God was there between the
cherubim. When he died on that cross, that
veil was rent in two, from top to bottom, as if The Lord God
had torn it apart, and the Holy of Holies opened. And here in
verse 19 of chapter 10, verse 18 says, Now where remission
of these is, there is no more offering for sin, no more day
of atonement, no more sacrifice. All right, all right, listen.
Having therefore, brethren, boldness, liberty, to enter into the holiest,
ourselves, you and me, by the blood of Jesus, by a new and
living way, a new way, a living way, which He hath consecrated
for us through that veil, that is to say, His flesh, and having
a high priest over the house of God. Let's draw near. In complete assurance, He'll
receive you. Believe Him. Full assurance is
for having our conscience sprinkled from, our hearts sprinkled from
an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. His blood
justifies, His righteousness sanctifies. When He was pierced
from His side flowed blood and water. Let the blood and water
from Thy wounded side which flowed be of sin to double cure, save
from wrath and make me pure. They had the water and the blood
in the temple, but he couldn't do any good. But his water and
blood flowed from his side, sanctified us and justified us. So let's come into his presence,
and let's hold fast the profession of our faith. Don't become entangled
again in the bondage of works. And let's consider one another
to encourage the love, and let's don't forsake the assembling
of ourselves together. All right, I hope that's a blessing.