The Way to God

Q: What does the Bible say about the way to God?

Hebrews 10 outlines the way to God through the perfect sacrifice of Christ, who fulfills the Old Testament sacrificial system. In Hebrews 10, the author presents a clear declaration of the way to God, emphasizing that the sacrifices of the Old Testament were merely shadows of the ultimate reality found in Christ. These sacrifices could not take away sin but pointed to a greater fulfillment in Jesus' one-time offering of Himself. The chapter connects the Old Testament rituals with the New Testament understanding of salvation, illustrating that Christ's sacrifice is the only effective means by which sinners can approach God, highlighting the importance of His blood in securing a relationship with God.

Q: How do we know Christ's sacrifice is sufficient?

Hebrews 10 teaches that Christ’s single offering perfected forever those who are sanctified, proving the sufficiency of His sacrifice. The sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice is underscored in Hebrews 10:14, which states that by one offering, He has perfected forever those who are sanctified. This indicates that no further sacrifices are needed, and believers can have assurance of their salvation because Christ's work is complete. The perpetual sacrifices of the Old Testament priests are contrasted with Christ's finished work, demonstrating that while animal sacrifices could never take away sin, Christ's sacrifice was once for all, effectual for those whom He redeems.

Q: Why is the Old Testament sacrificial system important for Christians?

The Old Testament sacrificial system foreshadows Christ's ultimate sacrifice and helps Christians understand the depth of their salvation. Understanding the Old Testament sacrificial system is crucial for Christians as it sets the foundation for comprehending the significance of Christ's sacrifice. Hebrews 10 explains that the sacrifices of bulls and goats were intended to point to the need for a perfect sacrifice, which is fulfilled in Jesus. These rituals reveal the seriousness of sin and the need for redemption, highlighting that the blood of animals could not atone for sin, but served as a reminder of the forthcoming ultimate sacrifice. This perspective enhances the believer's appreciation for the grace and mercy displayed in Christ's work on the cross.

Q: What does Hebrews 10 say about assurance of salvation?

Hebrews 10 offers believers confidence by proclaiming that Christ's sacrifice has perfected them forever. In Hebrews 10, believers are assured that through the offering of Christ, their sins are forgiven and they have been made perfect forever. This is a profound truth for Christians, as it assures them that their standing before God is secure, not based on their works, but on the finished work of Christ. Verse 17 emphasizes that God will remember their sins no more, which should provide believers with deep confidence and boldness in their relationship with Him. The work of Christ assures them that there is no longer any need for further sacrifice and that they can approach God with certainty.

Now, here's what I'd like to
do today. I want to bring you what I consider
to be a most vital, important Bible study from the book of
Hebrews, chapter 10. Now, I'd like so very much, I'm
going to try to just stay with the verses that are written here
and tell you what they're saying and try to tell you, if God's
Spirit gives me some liberty, what they mean, what God is teaching
here. And I'll tell you this, if you'll
be finding the book of Hebrews chapter 10, find it in your Bible,
and if you don't have a Bible handy, if you're somewhere you
don't have your Bible, then order this tape. Order this tape and
listen to it again and read these scriptures. For Hebrews 10 is
the gospel. Not a question, not a doubt in
my mind about it, Hebrews 10 is the gospel. And another thing,
Hebrews 10 is the clearest declaration, one of the clearest in all the
Word of God on the way to God. That's right. The way to God
is clearly defined right here in Hebrews 10. And another thing,
this chapter, Hebrews 10, links together the Old Testament and
the New Testament. If you've had some problem with
the tabernacle and the sacrifices and the priesthood and the mercy
seed and the Passover and these things of the Old Testament,
linking it together with the New Testament, the gospel of
Christ, the death of Christ, the blood of Christ, then listen
and follow Hebrews 10 while we talk about it this morning. And
you'll find that this Hebrews 10, this chapter literally links
the Old Testament with the New Testament. And then Hebrews 10
explains the Old Testament sacrifices. It tells you why they existed,
why they were ordained, why they were carried out. And Hebrews
10, something else, gives confidence and assurance to the people of
God. Oh, my, when we get through,
if you are a believer, if you are truly a believer, when we
get through this chapter, Your confidence and assurance in Christ
will be strengthened, strengthened many fold. Talks about full assurance. And I'll tell you this, if you
learn Hebrews 10, you'll learn God's way of salvation. It's
right here. All right, let's take your Bible. Let's look at
Hebrews 10, verse 1. Chapter 10, verse 1. It starts
out this way. 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're offered year by
year, continually make the comers there unto perfect. Now the law,
what's it talking about, the law here? Well, when you see
the word law in the Scriptures, it means one of three things.
It may mean the moral law of God, which God gave to Israel
at Sinai. It may mean the Word of God,
just all the Word of God. They, you know, when the rich
man in hell said, send Lazarus back and let him witness to my
brethren that they come not to this place, Abraham said, they
have Moses and the prophets. They have the law and the prophets,
the Word of God. So the law many times when it's
used means the Word of God. But here it means the Levitical
law for the law, the Levitical law, the ceremonial law. Moses
went up on the mountain, and God told him to make a tabernacle,
told him the dimensions, told him the description, gave him
the blueprint for the tabernacle, for the priesthood, for the sacrifices,
for the mercy seat, for the Ark of the Covenant, for the table
of showbread, for the candlestick, for the incense, for the altar,
for the sacrifices, for the scapegoat. All of these things, all of the
ceremonial Levitical law was given to Moses on that mountain.
And that's what it's talking about here. When Paul says in
Hebrews 10 verse 1, the law, the Levitical law, the ceremonial
law with its feast days and its days of sacrifice and its many
sacrifices, it's a shadow of good things to come. Now, what's
a shadow? Well, a shadow is not the substance of anything or
the image of anything. It's just a sort of a reflection.
It's sort of an outline. An outline, that's what it is.
You can see a shadow and you can tell I'm looking at a shadow
here in the studio and I see a shadow of a camera. I see the
shadow of a man. I see the shadow of something
else. You can tell if it's a tree or if it's a man or if it's a
car or if it's an animal by the shadow, but that's all you can
tell. Detail is not there, just the
shadow, just the shadow. And that's what he says about
the law, about the ceremonies and sacrifices and priesthood
and all these Old Testament things. They were but shadows, just a
bare outline, just a figure, just a type of the good things
to come. What are these good things? Salvation,
eternal life, forgiveness of sins, to know God, to enter into
His glory, to have a hope of eternal life, to have justification
and sanctification. And this law, this ceremonial
Levitical law, is just a shadow of these things which we are
to have in Christ. And all these sacrifices, and
you know they sacrificed, the morning sacrifice, the noon sacrifice,
the evening sacrifice, the atonement once a year, there was a sacrifice
at the birth of a child, there was a sacrifice when it was weaned,
there was a sacrifice when it was twelve years old, just sacrifices,
just thousands of bullocks and rams and and turtle doves and
lambs were sacrificed and their blood was shed. And these sacrifices
which are offered year by year, year by year, all through from
the time of Moses, from the time of Abel, he sacrificed a lamb,
all the way to Christ came into the world. All of these sacrifices
which are offered continually can never make the comers or
the worshipers or the ones who are sacrificing perfect. These
sacrifices cannot put away sin. They were never given to put
away sin. They were given to show how sin is put away. They
were never given to forgive. They were never given to make
a man perfect. They were never given to put
away transgressions. They were given as a shadow,
as a type, as a picture of the good things of Christ who is
to come. of our great high priest, of
our Redeemer who is to come. Now watch the next second verse.
4. If these sacrifices could have
put away sin, if they could sanctify a man and put away his transgressions,
would they not have ceased to be offered? That's right. In other words, if a man brought
a lamb as a sacrifice and the lamb was slain, his blood shed
and put on the altar, If that lamb's blood could put away that
man's sin, he wouldn't have to sacrifice another one. Because
it says here that the worshipers, once purged, once sin is put
away, would have no more conscience of sin, would have no more reason
for sacrifice. That's the reason we don't offer
sacrifices. There's been one sacrifice. Christ
has died. His blood is sufficient. His
sacrifice is effectual. He put away our sins by the sacrifice
of Himself. And therefore, we offer no sacrifices
on any kind of altar because Christ has died. And these people,
if the blood of lambs and rams and bulls and goats and turtle
doves could have put away sin, they wouldn't have offered any
more. That's what it says there. For then would they not have
ceased to be offered? Because once sin is purged, and
once sin is put away, and once sin is forgiven, there's no more
necessity for a sacrifice. But, verse 3, watch. In those
sacrifices, there is a remembrance, a reminder of sin every year. A reminder, a remembrance of
sin made every year. In other words, when these people
brought the sacrifice, This particular year, there was a Day of Atonement.
Once a year, the great high priest would slay a lamb and sacrifice
it, burn its body and take its blood into the Holy of Holies
and put it on the mercy seat called the Day of Atonement.
Well, next year, do the same thing. Next year, do the same
thing. Next year, do the same thing. And what these sacrifices
are saying is there's still got to be a supreme sacrifice. Still the Lamb of God has got
to come. Still, the once-for-all offering
has got to be offered. You're still sinners. You're
still guilty. And every time they brought a
sacrifice, it reminded them their sins were not put away. They
were still sinners. But here's another reason. Verse
4, It's not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should
take away sin. It's not possible. And here's
the reason. You see, sin is a transgression of the moral law of God. What's
an animal got to do with that? Another thing is those animal
sacrifices are ceremonial. This sin against God is spiritual. Another thing, the blood of an
animal is not the same as the blood of a man. It's a different
blood. It can't be identified. Another thing, sin relates to
the mind. Sin relates to the heart. Sin
relates to the conscience. An animal cannot enter into this.
He has no identification with this. We've got to have a sacrifice,
a lamb, a sin offering to effectually put away our sin who can be numbered
with us, who can be identified with us, who has the same flesh
and the same blood that we have. You see, the children being flesh
and blood. Therefore, it was necessary for
Christ to take upon Himself our flesh and our blood. And that's
what verse 5 is saying. when he cometh into the world,
when Christ cometh into the world. He did come. The scripture says
in John 1 verse 1, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God. And verse 14 says, and the Word
was made flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. Paul wrote in I Timothy 1, Christ
Jesus came into the world. He wrote in I Timothy 3, 16,
Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in human flesh. So when, verse 5, look at it.
When he cometh into the world, when the God-man, when the Lamb
of God, when the priest after the order of Melchizedek, when
our great high priest literally, actually left heaven's glory
born of a woman, made under the law, took upon himself our sin
and our guilt, took upon himself our flesh and our blood. When
he came into this world, he said, referring to all of those Old
Testament sacrifices, all of them, from Abel to the day he
came into the world, he said this, listen, sacrifice and offering,
thou wouldest not. Thou wouldest not. Verse 6, look
at it. In burnt offerings and sacrifices
for sin, God has had no pleasure, no satisfaction. All of those
sacrifices going, you know, God had respect to Abel's offering. He rejected Cain's offering,
but he had respect to Abel's offering. Why did he have respect
to Abel's offering? Because it pictured Christ, because
it portrayed and was a pattern of Christ. because Abel brought
it, not trusting that animal blood to put away sin, but trusting
God to send his lamb at a future time who would take away sin. And that lamb was a pattern.
But God found no pleasure in the blood of that lamb. God found
no pleasure in the blood of any lamb or bull or goat that was
offered on Jewish altars. The blood of bulls and goats
on Jewish altars slain cannot put away sin, cannot put away
one guilty stain, but a body, Christ said, thou hast prepared
me. And sacrifice and offerings for
sin thou wouldest not, neither had any pleasure therein, but
a body thou hast prepared me. Then said I, then said I, then
said Christ, the second person of the blessed trinity, very
God of very God. Then said I, lo, I come, I come. In the volume of the book, it's
written of me. In what book? Well, this book. In the volume of this book, it's
certainly written of him. He told those Pharisees, he said,
you search the scriptures. In them you think you have life.
They testify of me. This is the story of Christ from
Genesis to Revelation. It's Christ in the volume of
this book. But you know what book I believe he's referring
to? John in the book of Revelation had a vision. God gave him a
vision. And he saw one sitting on a throne.
And in his hand was a book. He said, Written within and without
and sealed with seven seals. The book. The book. And he said, there was no one
found in heaven or earth who was worthy to open the book.
And he said, I cried, I wept because no one was found worthy
to open that book. What is that book? It was not
a Bible. What is that book? What is that
book in the hand of God who sits on the throne? What is that book
that was sealed with seven seals that no one could open? What
is that book that no one in heaven, earth could could be found worthy
to open that book. No one, not an angel, not a man,
not a seraphim, not a cherubim, not an inhabitant or creature
of heaven or earth could be found to open that book. I'll tell
you what it is. And to reveal the things written. That book
is the book of God's purpose. That book is the Lamb's book
of life. That book is the book of God's will. That book is God's
plans and purposes for the new heaven and new earth. No one
was found worthy, but one of the elders said weep not The
line of the tribe of Judah is worthy to open the book and he
said I look and from the midst of the throne Because he's God
Jesus Christ is God from the midst of the throne came one
as a lamb that was slain and Went right up to him that sitteth
on the throne and took the book And then all of heaven rejoiced
and sang unto him who loved us and washed us from our sins in
his own precious blood and made us kings and priests unto God.
Unto him be the glory both now and forever. Christ opened the
book. That's what he's saying here.
All these sacrifices, burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin, Passovers,
lamb slain, thou hast had no pleasure. thou hast had no satisfaction,
thou hast had no joy, but lo, a body thou hast prepared for
me, a body of flesh, bone, and blood, made like unto the children,
for whom I came, and for whom I died. And he said, it's in
the volume of the book, it's written of me, I come to accomplish
thy will, O God. See it there in verse Lo, in
the volume of the book, it's written of me, I come to do thy
will, to accomplish thy will, to accomplish thy purpose. That's
why he came, not to get people to feel sorry for him, not to
try to scrounge up some volunteers so he can build an army or a
kingdom. He came to do the will of his Father, the purpose of
God. Above, when he said, look at
verse 8, sacrifice, offering for sin, thou wouldest not, neither
had pleasure therein which are offered by the law. God had no
pleasure in all of these sacrifices. Then said I, Lo, I come, I come
to do thy will, O God. Now watch this. And he taketh
away the first, that he may establish the second. He taketh away the
first. What is that first that he takes
away? He takes away the first covenant, that covenant made
with Adam. He takes that covenant away.
He establishes a new covenant, which is an everlasting covenant.
He takes away that old tabernacle. We don't have a tabernacle anymore.
Christ's tabernacle among us. He takes away the old priesthood.
Christ is our high priest. And every believer is a priest.
And every believer offers sacrifices, not of blood, but of praise and
prayer and thanksgiving to God. He takes away the old mercy seat.
The old art. He takes away all of those things,
all of the sacrifices, priesthood, tabernacle, covenant, all of
these things. He takes away the first and establishes
the second. What is that second? That's Christ.
Christ is our high priest. Christ is our tabernacle. Christ
is our mercy seat. That's what he said. He set forth
his son to be a mercy seat. Christ is our sinner. Christ
is our atonement by whom we have the atonement. You see that?
Christ is our King. Christ is that prophet. He takes
away the first. Everything in the Old Testament,
the typified Christ, has been fulfilled by Christ. And those
things, the old Sabbath day, Christ is our Sabbath. The old
law of tithe, Christians give now because they love God. Everything's
motivated by love for Christ. He takes away the first and establishes
the second. And by the witch will, We are
sanctified. Look at verse 10. By the witch,
he said, Lo, I come, my father, to do your will. And verse 10
says, And by that will we are sanctified through the offering
of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. By God's will, by God's
purpose, by God's design. We are sanctified. What does
that mean? Set apart. Sin is put away. Transgressions
are forgiven. iniquities are purged, sanctified. We're holy in Christ, unblameable,
unreprovable in Christ. Our sins are forgiven, past,
present, and future. By this, we're sanctified through
the offering. Christ came as a sin offering,
as a substitute, the offering of the body of Christ once for
all. No more sacrifice for sin, no
more sin offering, no more atonement, Christ once for all put away
our sins. Now watch the next verse. And
back in these Old Testament days, it says, Every priest standeth
daily, ministering, offering oftentimes the same sacrifices,
which can never take away sin. You see that? That's so clear.
How could words be plainer? Somebody says, Well, people back
there were saved by those sacrifices. No. People back there were saved
by the law. No. People back there were saved
by obeying the ceremonies and the feast day. No. It says, every
priest standeth. Why do you always stand? He never
sat down. His work was never finished. He stands daily, offering
the same sacrifices, which can never take away sin. But this
man, this God-man, Jesus Christ, after he had offered one sacrifice
for sin forever, sat down. Sat down. You see, compare those
Old Testament priests with Christ, our High Priest. One, they were
men. He's the God-man. They lived
and died. He ever lives. Their priesthood
had an ending. He is a priest forever. They
offered animal blood. He gave His own blood. There
were many of them. He just won. They offered many
sacrifices. He just won. They ministered
in an earthly sanctuary. He appeared in heaven to put
away sin with a sacrifice of his own blood. Their sacrifices
never were effectual and could not forgive one sin. His forgave
all sin. Their sacrifices were never finished,
therefore they never sat down. It says here, this man, this
God-man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sin forever,
sat down. on the right hand of God. Listen,
from henceforth expecting till all his enemies be made his footstool. What are his enemies? His enemies
are the same enemies his church has, same enemies of his people,
the same enemies of his elect, Satan. He's defeated Satan. I
hear everybody talking about Satan did this and Satan did
that. Satan can't do anything without God's permission. He
can't touch God's people without God's permission. He told Peter
that. He said, Satan hath desired thee.
Satan had to get permission to touch Job. Satan has been defeated. Sin has been defeated. The law
has been defeated. The curse has been defeated.
And death has been defeated. And the last enemy that shall
be put away and totally destroyed is death. All his enemies are
under his footstool. Why? Look at verse 14. For by
one offering, one offering, one sacrifice, he came to the world
one time. He walked this earth in perfect obedience to impute
to us a righteousness. He went to the cross and offered
one offering for sin, one blood sacrifice. And by that one offering,
He has perfected. What is perfect? Complete. Nothing
needs to be added. Totally secure. He has perfected
forever them that are sanctified. That's what Scripture says. Is
that what it says? Wherefore, the Holy Ghost is our witness.
He bears witness, for He said, God said this before, this is
the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith
the Lord. It's not that old covenant. It's
not the covenant of dew. It's not the covenant of offer
sacrifices. It's the covenant of Christ.
And I'll put my law not on tables of stone. I'll write it on their
hearts that they'll love it. And I'll put my law in their
minds that they'll think upon it and their sins and iniquities. I'll remember no more." They're
blotted out by the death of Christ. They're cleansed by the blood
of Christ. They're cast into the depths
of the sea. They'll be remembered no more. You'll remember, but
God doesn't. Isn't that what He said? Their
sins will I remember no more. No more. This is the way of salvation. This is the way to God. This
man, after he'd offered one sacrifice for sin forever, sat down on
the right hand of God For by one offering, He has perfected
forever those who believe, those who trust Him, those who come
to Him. And their sins, God said, I won't
remember them anymore. Now, where remission, the word
remission is forgiveness, where remission of sin is, there's
no more offering for sin. There's no more work to be done.
Christ has done it all. He paid it all. All the dead
I will. Preachers say, if you'll do this,
you'll do that, you'll do that, the other God will save you.
It's not if you do anything. It's if you can believe. All
things are possible to them who believe. Can you believe Christ?
Abraham was not justified by works. The Scripture says he
believed God. He that believeth on the Son
hath life. He that believeth not the Son
shall never see life. Where remission is, there's no
more offering, there's no more work to do, there's no more deeds
to be accomplished, there's no more days to keep, there's no
more righteousness to fulfill. Christ has done it. Having therefore,
because of what our Lord has done for us, now, brethren, boldness
to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. What is this
holiest? Well, back in the days of the
sacrifices and ceremonies, it was a cubicle. 15 by 15 by 15,
where the Ark of the Covenant was, where the mercy seat was,
where the cherubims were, where the Shekinah glory of God was
manifested, where the high priest went in once a year with the
blood of an animal and sprinkled it with hyssop on the mercy seat
and made an atonement. And he did that every year. But
when Christ died on that cross, that veil was rent entwined from
top to bottom, from top to bottom. God tore it apart. And the way
come boldly down. Therefore, brethren, having boldness
to come to enter into the holiest, into the presence of God by the
blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated
for us through that veil, that is to say, His flesh, let us
come boldly. Get this tape and listen to it
again. Share it with someone else. This is the way to God.
That's the name of this sermon, The Way to God. Till next week,
God bless you.

The Way to God

What does the Bible say about the way to God?

How do we know Christ's sacrifice is sufficient?

Why is the Old Testament sacrificial system important for Christians?

What does Hebrews 10 say about assurance of salvation?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

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The Way to God

What does the Bible say about the way to God?

How do we know Christ's sacrifice is sufficient?

Why is the Old Testament sacrificial system important for Christians?

What does Hebrews 10 say about assurance of salvation?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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