HEBREWS 9:18-28
LIMITLESS LOVE LASTS LONGEST
I. LIMITED ATONEMENT: Hebrews 9:18-23
A. Legalistic.
B. Laborious.
C. Labyrinthine.
II. LATTER ATONEMENT: Hebrews 9:23-27
A. Luminary.
B. Last.
C. Locales.
III. LIMITLESS ATONEMENT: Hebrews 9:27, 28
A. Love.
B. Liberality.
C. Leavening.
Better Sacrifices. The writer to the Hebrews continues to draw our attention to the fact that everything involved with Jesus is “Better.” He continues to point to the newer as a comparison to the former to show just how much things are better in the sacrifice of Christ and His bringing in a new way for man to reach and worship God. Here he deals with the idea of sacrifices and then relates that these were a fore shadow of things to come when Christ made His sacrifice for mankind on Calvary.
In verse 23 of the text, he goes a bit further when he states that Christ’s sacrifice was meant not only for the purifying of man’s sins but also of purifying of Heaven. This may seem strange at first glimpse, but when we stop and think of who is invited to Heaven-sinful man, the necessary thing which had to be resolved was man’s sin. Heaven had to be purchased by the Blood of Christ in order for sinful/redeemed man to be able to enter into a place which knew no sin. Viewed in the light of Christ’s actions, it becomes clearer to see that the Holy Blood of our Redeemer reached to sinful man in his lost estate and also to the highest portals of Heaven in order for man to be admitted, free of sin, into a place which knew no sin-Heaven.
The idea of Redemption then has been God’s idea to purchase sinful man’s life from the time He created man and put him in the Garden. As one looks at history, one can begin to see that God had put a plan in action to redeem man and it has been slowly developed over the centuries until the Perfect Sacrifice-the Better Sacrifice was made. Redemption, redemption, redemption: God has been setting the stages for the ultimate plan of action until Christ came to shed His blood to purify the entire universe-Heaven included-in God’s plan of Atonement.
The first part of God’s plan of Atonement was LIMITED and restrictive. Then there was the LATTER plan of Atonement set in motion by Christ’s coming who has ushered in a LIMITLESS plan of Atonement for mankind. The first plan of God’s Atonement was filled full of rules; the continuous plan of Atonement was filled full of God’s unconditional Love and this Love, will last for ever. Note how the writer deals with the developing plan of God’s Atonement as he discusses the aspect of Christ giving the Better Sacrifice for all of man and indeed for all the Universe-including Heaven.
I. LIMITED ATONEMENT: When one speaks of this term, one might think the speaker is referring to John Calvin and his doctrine of the same name. However, in the case of my sermon, I use this term to refer not to what Calvin meant but to reflect what the writer of the Hebrews implied as he discussed the disadvantages of the former ways of serving God under the Old Covenant as compared to the newer way which brought Jesus to this Earth to die for man’s sin.
The Limited Atonement of which is referred to in the book of Hebrews for our study, had do with the specific nation of Israel and its role in bringing God to mankind-it was limited.
The Old Covenant was Limited because it was for one nation and it was Legalistic. The Atonement which was in vogue under the Old Covenant was without love and very legalistic. The Old Covenant way of bringing about Atonement was through the many rules and rituals of the old Mosaic Covenant. It certainly did not have the Love that Christ brought with Him when He came to reveal God to mankind. Indeed, the Atonement was so narrow and so confining that it was bound up in forms, patterns and types which were to be later fulfilled by Christ’s coming.
The Atonement which God wanted to bring to man had to start with the Jewish people and was to spread to the world but they failed in their mission to be missionaries for God. In place of bringing Atonement to mankind, the old way degenerated into rules and a system filled full of “Dos and Don’ts.” The daily, yearly and special sacrifices were all for a Limited locale and for a specific people.
The second part of the LIMITED ATONEMENT was so full of legalism that it became Laborious for any person to adequately complete. Jesus referred to the many rules that were in vogue when He was on this Earth and refused to embrace them as a means to make one spotless before God. These rules with their intricate details which covered every aspect of life were so heavy and so meaningless that the real purpose for their institution was lost by the Jews when Jesus arrived on the scene. These many laws robed the very heart of Love from those who wanted to be made right with God. It was just too hard to keep up with all the laws which were meant to make men holy, but instead it weighed mankind down to despair.
Finally, the LIMITED ATONEMENT which the Jews had became so onerous that rules replaced rational thinking and restrictions circumcised the wills of the followers of the Old Covenant. People became lost in the Labyrinthine twists and turns of the legal system of Old Judaism. The Atonement that God began with the Jewish people soon degenerated into nothing more than form. The sacrifices could not bring about the long lasting love of God’s Atonement and His redemption. The heart of man was still empty and filled full of sin, as the narrow scope of Atonement could not solve the need for peace with God and a Love that would surpass all of man’s needs. That was left to a later time when God would bring to the world a Redemption that would last. Not only would it last for all time but it would bring Atonement for all of God’s creation and would be able to make Heaven itself pure to allow man to enter because of the Better Sacrifice of Christ.
II. LATTER ATONEMENT: The writer to the Hebrews now moves to another aspect of “Limited Love Lasting Longer” than what was just for Israel in the times past. He relates how that there has appeared in his day a new Love, a new way of drawing closer to God and it was being fulfilled according to God’s timetable.
The first part of this LATTER ATONEMENT had to do with the best One coming who would shine brighter in the universe than any other luminaries who came before Him. Jesus was to be the One whose light would begin to dispel the darkness that had held nations in its grip ever since Adam and Eve rejected the Lord’s words to them in the Garden.
This coming of a brilliant Luminary’s light would begin in Israel and then would encircle the globe. One is not able to decipher God’s timetable for His actions. All we mortals know is that God moves in His own mysterious manner and what He does is perfect. The restricted Atonement which was meant to start with the Jewish nation would flicker and wane but would never be extinguished. This small light in a darken world would continue to burn sometimes in Israel and sometimes in and among the captive nations which held the Jewish nation against its will, but in God’s time, in the Latter time, God would send Jesus who would be the Light of the world for all to see. This Luminous, shining Star of David would come in the Latter time-in God’s time and would eclipse all that went before Him. He would outshine Abraham, Melchisedec, the Old Covenant and would be that Better Promise of God to this world but He would come in God’s time. That time had now arrived according to the writer to the Hebrews.
Not only did God send that Luminous Light in His plan for man’s LATTER ATONEMENT, but according to the writer to the Hebrews, this Shining Star would be the Last. The writer to the Hebrews specifically attested that this Better One would be the Last of God’s revelation to man for we humans’ redemption. History has proven that many people have not taken this message of Hebrews to heart, because there have been charlatans and self proclaimed prophets who have made outlandish claims that they are the embodiment of God on this Earth and have come to show the way to Heaven.
The writer specifically sates that Jesus was to come in the Latter time; He would be the fulfillment of the Old Covenant; He would be the Better One and He would be the Last One to bring the message of God to sinful man. He would be the One who would bring Atonement in these later times.
The Atonement that was to be fulfilled in these later times by the Last and the Luminous One would bring His Atonement not only to this Earth but to all of the Universe. The writer tells us that the shedding of His blood purified not only man’s sin but had made it possible for sinful man to enter Heaven. Heaven itself, had to be covered by the shed blood of the Better One of Hebrews. This shedding of His blood came not one moment before God’s time clock was set in motion, but came at a later time for the benefit of the Jewish nation and for the world. This Atonement was destined to cover all areas of God’s domains so that there would never be one spot where sin could exist but where it could be eradicated by the blood of the Last and best of God’s wonders.
III. LIMITLESS ATONEMENT: From the beginning of God’s desire to reach man, He has done so with certain individuals, i.e., the calling out of Abraham and the institutionalizing of Melchisedec.
From Abraham, He called out Isaac, then Jacob then his twelve sons and then the nation of Israel. Through this group of people, God meant that they were to occupy the Promise Land and then to spread the word about God and His worship through out the world of their day. This was to be done through a LIMITED ATONEMENT which was to be dispersed to the world. History has proven that this never happened. When the Jews failed to carry out God’s plan of spreading His message to the world, the resultant effect was that the possibility of Atonement for man stayed within the confines of Israel and its neighbors. This was in deed a narrow message of the Great God’s ability to reach and redeem man.
However, in His time, in a later time, God sent forth His Son and with Him came a better form of God’s message to lost Man. Jesus was the Better Promise; the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant; the superior to Melchisedec; the Best of all that went before Him. Christ came to bring the message of God’s Atonement in these last times. Along with the final fulfilling of God’s message to man, the news was dissipated that in place of a LIMITED ATONEMENT for one nation, one locale, one place, the Atonement that this Better One brought was universal and never restricted.
The first part of this LIMITLESS ATONEMENT by the Better Promise had to do with unconditional Love. The saving grace of Jesus has been marked by this phenomenon of kindness and Love which has reached to the farthest part of this world and which fills Heaven’s portals. Love, God’s love, has been brought to mankind in these latter days as a hallmark of the Christian message. In these latter times, the Better Promise has brought to this sin cursed world a Love that encompasses all of mankind and is able to cover every sin ever committed-except the Unpardonable Sin-by wayward man.
This Love of that Better One which has come in these latter times is the last and the greatest demonstration that God has shown to wayward man. This Love, has transformed the events of mankind. It has stopped the slave trade; it has brought down empires; it has raised the status of women; it has helped to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, provide shelter to homeless people; and, it still grows in this sin cursed world. This abounding, unrestrictive Atonement knows no earthly barriers and it fills every part of God’s creation. This love of Jesus-the Better One-is part of that universal atonement made to mankind by the shedding of His blood. It has appeared in God’s time and it is the best because it was brought to this Earth by that Better One.
Not only is this Love a dynamic and essential aspect of God’s redeeming grace, but this LIMITLESS ATONEMENT has been given and shed aboard by every aspect of God’s power and man’s ability to carry this message to other needy people. The very Liberality of this unbounded Atonement by Christ has been one of the hallmarks of His message in these last times. Jesus asks for no money, riches or treasures form His devotees: all He asks is that one believes in Him. He has made all the arrangements for our redemption and He gives freely with out restraint. His blood was needed to cover Heaven’s holiness and Earth’s damnation, and all He asks is that we believe in Him. In place of Him demanding payment form His followers, He gives and gives and gives. His blood purchased our salvation in these latter times and His blood has made it possible that Heaven will be populated with His worshippers inhabiting the many mansions He is building for those who run the race well.
The last point I wish to make about His LIMITLESS ATONEMENT, has to do with its Leavening of society and history. When we speak of “leavening” in the Bible, it usually carries the connotations of that which is bad. “A little leaven, leavens the whole loaf,” so says the Bible. In this case it refers to the powerful effects of how a little sin can grow and multiply until the whole body, society, and even countries are contaminated by its corroding effects. However, in my message, I wish to turn this around and show how that when Christ came to this Earth in these last days and when He offered Himself up for this universal Atonement, this one single act of His has slowly transformed society and even the world. Not only has this grain as small as a mustard seed been allowed to germinate and grow, it has spread itself into the very fabric of man’s world. We, in the Western world, mark our calendar by His birth. We celebrate two of the world’s biggest holidays based on His birth and His resurrection from death.
Our culture, our way of living, our worshipping of Him on Sundays has been disseminated into the far reaches of this world. His coming in these latter times has brought freedom from sin to everyone who comes to Him. His Love, His Liberality, and the “Leavening” effects of who He is has been a part of the world for centuries. The Moslems, the atheists, and everyone who does any living and having any commerce with the Western World, have been influenced to some degree by His coming and leaving of this Earth. The after effects of this Better One who once walked the dusty streets of old Israel, who now lives in a purified Heaven, still leaves His imprint upon this world and will do so for ever.
What started out to be a universal dispersion of God’s messages to lost man via the Jews became bogged down in a local area of the world and the Atonement offered by God became very limited. But, God would not rest with this and instead of letting the world spin away from His graces, He sent his Son in these latter times to bring to all an Atonement that is universal and which knows no limits to its reach. From the lowest spot in the Universe to the highest heavens and indeed Heaven itself, this Better One shed His blood for the only Atonement that could and does rescue man from his sin.
I am glad that God did not stop with that very narrow plan of redemption, but sent His Son to bring a LIMITLESS ATONEMENT to all who wants to come to Him for forgiveness of one’s sins.
