In our study of Hebrews chapter ten, we look at the meaning and consequences of "willful sin".
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For the Torah has in it a shadow of the good things to come, but not the actual manifestation of the originals. Therefore, it can never, by means of the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, bring to the goal those who approach the Holy Place to offer them. Otherwise, wouldn't the offering of those sacrifices have ceased? For if the people performing the service had been cleansed once and for all, they would no longer have sins on their conscience. No, it is quite the contrary - in these sacrifices is a reminder of sins, year after year. For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins.
In chapter 9, we saw that the blood of Jesus was a sacrifice that was sufficient to remove sin once and for all. Here, we see Paul contrast that to the animal sacrifices that were offered at the temple. Jesus went to the cross once and paid for all sin while these animal sacrifices could not. When we accept Jesus Christ as the payment for our sins, then, there is no more guilt as the sin debt is paid in full. The animal sacrifices did not remove the sin or the guilt and so had to be continually offered. Are you a Christian that is walking around feeling all guilty about your past sins? Stop it! There is no condemnation or shame for those who are in Christ.
This is why, on coming into the world, he says, "It has not been your will to have an animal sacrifice and a meal offering; rather, you have prepared for me a body. No, you have not been pleased with burnt offerings and sin offerings. Then I said, 'Look! In the scroll of the book it is written about me. I have come to do your will.'"
In this psalm, David was looking back at what God had done in his life as well as looking forward to the coming of Christ. Jesus was the fulfillment and we are the body that it speaks of.
In saying first, "You neither willed nor were pleased with animal sacrifices, meal offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings," things which are offered in accordance with the Torah; and then, "Look, I have come to do your will"; he takes away the first system in order to set up the second. It is in connection with this will that we have been separated for God and made holy, once and for all, through the offering of Yeshua the Messiah's body.
God did not design us to live under the law. The law was given to point us to the need for a Savior. Jesus came and fulfilled all of the requirements of the law and replaced it with grace.
Now every cohen stands every day doing his service, offering over and over the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this one, after he had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, sat down at the right hand of God, from then on to wait until his enemies be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has brought to the goal for all time those who are being set apart for God and made holy.
Unlike the other priests, Jesus offered himself once and for all and then He went and sat down at the right hand of God. In the temple, there were no chairs as the priests were constantly offering sacrifices. What does "his enemies" mean? An enemy of Christ and of God is one who denies the sufficiency of His sacrifice. Those who accept His sacrifice have been made perfect in the sight of God. Every sin that we have or will commit was paid for when Jesus went to the cross on our behalf. As Christians, we may not look perfect to those around us but, in the sight of God, we are and we are being made holy (set apart for His use).
And the Ruach HaKodesh too bears witness to us; for after saying, "'This is the covenant which I will make with them after those days,' says ADONAI: 'I will put my Torah on their hearts, and write it on their minds . . . ,' " he then adds, " 'And their sins and their wickednesses I will remember no more.' " Now where there is forgiveness for these, an offering for sins is no longer needed.
As Christians, we do not need a religious leader to tell us what is right and wrong. As we see here, the laws of God are written on our hearts and mind by Him. We also see that our sins have been forgiven and we must remember that, when God forgives, it is like the sin never even happened. As people, we like to forgive but keep the memory of the wrong in the back of our minds but, when God forgives, then it is also forgotten. Do you have someone in your life that always tries to bring up your past sins? If so, you can tell them that, in God's eyes, it is like they never even happened. Then, ask them if they think they are above God.
So, brothers, we have confidence to use the way into the Holiest Place opened by the blood of Yeshua. He inaugurated it for us as a new and living way through the parokhet, by means of his flesh. We also have a great cohen over God's household. Therefore, let us approach the Holiest Place with a sincere heart, in the full assurance that comes from trusting - with our hearts sprinkled clean from a bad conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
Since we have this new covenant in the blood of Jesus, we are made righteous and we can enter the very presence of God. In fact, God now lives in us through the Holy Spirit. We are still people who mess up and so we have Jesus as our high priest who intervenes on our behalf with the Father. The old high priests and sacrifices could not cleanse the conscience but Christ has cleansed us completely and so we can walk in complete assurance of our relationship with God.
Let us continue holding fast to the hope we acknowledge, without wavering; for the One who made the promise is trustworthy. And let us keep paying attention to one another, in order to spur each other on to love and good deeds, not neglecting our own congregational meetings, as some have made a practice of doing, but, rather, encouraging each other. And let us do this all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Because Jesus has cleansed us, we have the hope of eternal life with Him. We can be confident of this because of the fact that He cannot lie. We are to hold on to His work that was performed on our behalf and not try to add the works of man. We are to share this hope with others bringing them to salvation and teaching them to be disciples of Him. Paul also reminds us that we are a part of the body of believers and so we need to be connected to the rest of the "church" especially as we get closer to the day of His return. There are many leaders who use this verse to call people to all kinds of "church functions" and make them feel guilty for not attending but that is not what Paul is saying. He is not saying that we need to join a "church" or denomination but instead we are to just get together regularly with fellow believers so that we can support and build each other up in the faith. The early church did this every day! Do you have daily fellowship with other believers?
For if we deliberately continue to sin after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but only the terrifying prospect of Judgment, of raging fire that will consume the enemies.
Now, Paul gets to the heart of his message to the Jewish believers. He describes deliberate (willful) sin and that has been misunderstood and used to beat down Christians for way too long. We remember that Paul was speaking to Jewish Christians that were being told that they had to submit to the Law of Moses in addition to accepting the sacrifice of Jesus. The "willful sin" that he was speaking of is the act of allowing others to convince us to fall back under the law. While this may sound like the "religious" thing to do, by doing so we would be saying that Jesus' sacrifice was not sufficient. If that was true, then there would be no hope but only the dread of the coming judgment of God. That judgment is reserved for the "enemies of God" so, who are they? They are those that reject the plan of salvation through Jesus Christ and trust in their own works. That, my friends, is why so many Christians walk around like slaves instead of the royalty that we are.
Someone who disregards the Torah of Moshe is put to death without mercy on the word of two or three witnesses. Think how much worse will be the punishment deserved by someone who has trampled underfoot the Son of God; who has treated as something common the blood of the covenantq which made him holy; and who has insulted the Spirit, giver of God's grace! For the One we know is the One who said, "Vengeance is my responsibility; I will repay," and then said, "ADONAI will judge his people." It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God!
Paul quotes from the Law and reminds the people that it is God who will judge those who reject His ways. Jesus is The Way and those who reject His mercy and grace can only expect to be judged by Him. If you want to be judged by the Law of Moses, God will grant you your wish. The same situation is happening even more today as each denomination hangs onto a different part of the law and try to add it to the grace of God. In so doing, many are led into the willful sin that Paul was warning the Jewish believers about.
But remember the earlier days, when, after you had received the light, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings. Sometimes you were publicly disgraced and persecuted, while at other times you stood loyally by those who were treated this way. For you shared the sufferings of those who had been put in prison. Also when your possessions were seized, you accepted it gladly; since you knew that what you possessed was better and would last forever.
Here, Paul reminds the Jewish believers of the joy of grace. When they had first came to faith in Jesus Christ, they had realized that it was only a gift from God and the joy followed because they knew freedom for the first time in their lives. This joy and freedom gave them the courage to stand in the face of opposition as they looked forward with certainty to their rewards from God.
So don't throw away that courage of yours, which carries with it such a great reward. For you need to hold out; so that, by having done what God wills, you may receive what he has promised. For "There is so, so little time! The One coming will indeed come, he will not delay. But the person who is righteous will live his life by trusting, and if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him." However, we are not the kind who shrink back and are destroyed; on the contrary, we keep trusting and thus preserve our lives!
Is Paul talking about losing your salvation? Absolutely not! The throwing away of the confidence speaks of looking back to the law to somehow add to our assurance of salvation. He urges the Jewish believers to hold onto the grace that has been given to them and to resist the temptation of works. Those that "shrink back" never really had the confidence of salvation and so were never really saved. Are you confident in the sufficiency of Christ?
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