The great American psychiatrist Karl Menninger, author of the book, Whatever Became of Sin, once stated that if he could convince patients in psychiatric hospitals that their sins were forgiven, 75% of them could walk out the next day.
His statement underscores the struggle that all of us human beings have in a fallen world, where our sin is an everyday fact of our lives. How in the world do we deal with our sin, the guilt that assails our consciences as a result, and the dread of an ultimate judgment or condemnation that may come as a result?
Well, as the writer of Ecclesiastes has said, “God made man upright, but he has sought out many devices.” Among those devices, according to psychologists, are defense mechanisms, all the mental gymnastics which we exercise in an attempt to deal with our sin and guilt. I looked at one website this week that listed 31 different defense mechanisms that you and I and others use to some how try to wipe the slate clean, somehow absolve ourselves of the sins we have committed. Among them are denial, magical thinking, blame-shifting, rationalization, spiritualization, excuses, projection, sublimation, acting out by washing hands, etc., etc. etc.
So I ask you this morning, do you feel guilty? Do you have regrets about things you have said or done, how you may have hurt other people? I do! Absolutely I do! Those things tend to happen to one degree or another every day in my life. The question is whether there is any solution—where there is any way to wipe our slate clean—to cleanse our conscience of the sins that it declares to us we have most certainly committed. How can we escape the guilt and the dread of condemnation that comes with being sinful human beings?
That’s really the question before us this morning as we come to the concluding arguments of the major teaching or doctrinal section of the Book of Hebrews. How do you deal with sin and guilt? And the answer is this—that there is only one way to deal with our sin and guilt for all time and forever, and that is to trust in Christ’s sacrifice as the payment for our sins. God has offered only one solution to the problem of guilt and sin that we all face, and that is Christ’s death on the cross where He satisfied God’s just wrath against us once and for all men for all time.
Now, remember, the writer to the Hebrews has written Hebrew or Jewish Christians in the first century out of the Holy Spirit’s concern that many among them were contemplating abandoning their faith in Christ to return to Judaism—a religion that had offered the forgiveness of sins through the Old Covenant sacrifices of bulls and goats in the tabernacle and then in the temple, which still existed at the time of its writing. Their erroneous thinking would no doubt have been that God gave both the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. He gave both the Old Covenant sacrifices to forgive sins and He gave Jesus Christ’s sacrifice to forgive sins. Since both were at one time or another viable ways to receive God’s forgiveness for sins and to be right with God, then what difference does it make if I continue to follow Christ or return to Judaism?
He combats that thinking by teaching that the Old Testament sacrifices never did take away sin. That wasn’t their purpose. That in fact the Old Testament itself predicted and affirmed that only one sacrifice would ultimately take away sin—the sacrifice of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, who paid for sins once and for all men for all time.
In verses 1-4 he tells us that the Old Testament sacrifices, or the Law, never did work to take away sins. In verses 5-9 he tells us that the Old Testament itself predicted that Christ’s sacrifice alone would perfect us, not animal sacrifices. And in verses 10-18 He concludes the Christ’s sacrifice alone provides forgiveness of sins for all mankind forever.
So verses 1-4—the Law was never effective with regard to this problem of sin and guilt which we all face. The Law never took away sin. In fact, it only foreshadowed, or showed how it would happen.
Now the writer had just stated clearly in Hebrews 9:26-28 that Christ Himself had been offered once and for all to take away all sins. And so the question the Jews he was writing to might have asked was this: Why were there Old Testament sacrifices at all? Didn’t they do the same thing. Didn’t they result in the forgiveness of sins? Why would it be so bad to return to them in order to have my sins forgiven?
His answer in verses one through four is as a matter of fact, those Old Testament sacrifices never did take away sin. The real purpose of the Old Testament animal sacrifices was only to be a shadow, or a rough outline, an explanation of how our sins would be taken away ultimately once and for all through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Remember here is we read in verse one that the words “The Law” here refers to the Old Covenant or Old Testament and the various sacrifices which it prescribed: “For the law, since it was only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near.”
The key words here are shadow and form. A shadow is clearly an outline cast by a three-dimensional reality. The author is saying that the Law was an outline, a rough sketch, of the greater reality of how God would ultimately take away sin. The ultimate reality was Christ’s sacrifice of Himself on the cross as the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the World. No, He wasn’t an actual lamb, or goat or bull, but his sacrifice in that involved a death and the shedding of blood was like them. That is, really, they were a rough outline of His ultimate sacrifice on the cross. They were shadows, foreshadowing His coming, showing that a yet greater sacrifice would need to take place of the life of a sinless man to actually not merely cover, but to take away or remove our sins completely.
Now the Greek word used here for shadow was one of two words that could have been used to express shadow. It’s the weaker of the two words. It means a pale shadow. It was a two-dimensional outline, or rough sketch, of the reality that it paralleled and portrayed. The three-dimensional object that it displayed, the reality or substance of our salvation, the actual means by which our sins would be taken away, was Jesus Christ, and His substitutionary atonement on the cross which came after the Law. The Old Testament blood sacrifices of bulls and goats merely prepared the people of Israel to receive God’s ultimate sacrifice of His only begotten Son to make perfect those who draw near to Him. The word “make perfect” here refers to us being declared righteous, free from sin, cleansed from sin, in the sight of God at the moment of our faith in Christ’s death for our sins.
And notice the clear declaration of verse one—“The law because it has only a shadow of the good things to come”—namely the New Covenant and Christ’s sacrifice—“can never , by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near.” In other words, the Law, and its sacrifices, never did take away sins. It never did perfect those who drew near to God. Sure, it declared them forgiven, but on a provisional basis. Those who drew near were forgiven, but not on the basis of those sacrifices offered at that time ultimately. It would be on the basis of the Messiah’s sacrifice on the cross. As the writer has already said, even those under the first covenant were redeemed from their sins by the sacrifice of Christ under the New Covenant.
So obviously, Hebrew Christians, don’t go back to Judaism. It never took away your sins, never ever, even when those sacrifices were in effect. It only foretold the pattern, the outline, by which those sins would be taken away. The reality of your salvation, the real forgiveness of sins that perfects the worshiper, is ultimately found in Christ’s sacrifice. Your sins will not be forgiven if you abandon the reality for the shadow.
In verse 2-4, he gives three reasons why the Law’s sacrifices never took away sins.
First, in verse 2—the repeated, continual and endless nature of the sacrifices demonstrates that none of them ever finally and completely took away sin. If they had, would they not have ceased to be offered.
Verse 2: “Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins.” In other words, the very fact that these sacrifices were endlessly repeated demonstrates that none ever really took away sin.
So then, why were they offered? Verse 3 provides the answer. “But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year.”
Obviously, at the moment, he is speaking of the sacrifices that took place on the Day of Atonement, since they were annual sacrifices. It is important to note that the word atonement in the Old Testament was the Hebrew word kaphar which meant only to cover, not take away sins. When the Day of Atonement took place, and blood of bulls and goats were offered on the altar in the Most Holy Place, that blood merely covered sin. It did not take away sin at all. Sins were simply covered, in effect from God’s sight, for yet another year, until other sacrifices which never took away sin could be offered once again. The people were instructed on the Day of Atonement to humble themselves. It was not a joyous festival like the other feasts, but a day of solemn reflection regarding their sin. And thus it was literally a reminder that there was still a problem between Israel and God. That problem was sin. The sin was still an issue. It had only been covered. The sacrifices demonstrated the way, the rough outline, the sketch with regard to how the sin would be completely cut off, taken away, completely removed, but those sacrifices never removed them. That would not happen until the sacrifice of the sinless God-man, Jesus Christ, who offered Himself and His own blood on the cross to satisfy God’s wrath against us for our sin.
Why didn’t those sacrifices work to take away sin? Verse 4 tells us: “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin.” Again, bulls and goats as amoral animals could not possibly represent mankind. Only a sinless man, and an infinite one at that, the God-man, Jesus Christ, could literally satisfy God’s wrath against billions of sinners for a nearly infinite number of sins.
So don’t return to Judaism! Don’t turn to any other sacrifices; don’t turn to any other means of wiping your slate clean, whether it’s defense mechanisms, or other religious systems or, or philosophy, or washing your hands. They won’t work. Only Christ’s sacrifice takes away sin.
And he proves it by the authority of the Old Testament Scriptures themselves in verse 5-9. The author now quotes Psalm 40:6-8 which he divinely interprets to be a Messianic Psalm—a prediction of the Messiah. It’s a Psalm of David which, based on this writing of the Book of Hebrews was foreshadowing of the Messiah and His sacrifice for our sins. He is going to demonstrate from it that even the Old Testament itself, the Law and the Prophets, shows all the sacrifices of the Old Testament would be abolished and replaced by Christ’s one sacrifice on the cross.
Verse 5: “Therefore, when he comes into the world, He (Christ) says, (and he now quotes Psalm 40:6-8): “’Sacrifice and offering you have not desired. But a body you have prepared for Me; In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, “Behold I have come (in the roll of the book it is written of me.) to do your will, O God.”’” And then the writer explains this passage Himself in verses 8 and 9: After saying above, ‘Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you have not desired, nor have you taken pleasure in them’ (which are offered according to the Law), then he said, “Behold, I have come to do your will.’”
Now what is God’s will? Well, since a body has been prepared for Him, according to the Greek translation of this verse in Psalms, that body would now be what was sacrificed, in place of any and every kind of sacrifice that was offered under the Old Testament Law.
Now the rest of verse 9: “So He takes away the first”—a reference to all the various sacrifices offered under the Law, “to establish the second”—a reference to His sacrifice of Himself on the cross. The word “take away” here means to abolish, nullify. The Old Testament sacrifices were made absolutely obsolete, null and void with respect to any value toward the forgiveness of sins by Christ’s coming and death for our sins. Now only Christ’s death for our sins, His sacrifice of His body on the cross is effective for both the forgiveness of sins and ultimately taking away sins, the latter of which was never accomplished by the animal sacrifices of the Old Testament.
So, don’t go back to Judaism. Don’t trust in any other means for the forgiveness of sins. You want your slate wiped clean; you want to be right with God. There is only one sacrifice that matters—the sacrifice that abolished all other Old Testament sacrifices and made them obsolete. It made them obsolete, because it was ultimately the only one that could remove, or take away, sins completely. That was Christ’s sacrifice alone. So don’t abandon it or Him. Trust in Him as the only one who could ever wipe your slate, or your conscience clean. Jesus alone saves!
Now comes the powerful conclusion to the whole the last nearly four chapters of meat that we’ve been studying in Hebrews. In verses 10-18 the climactic exhortation is this: Don’t abandon Jesus for Judaism, or for that matter, any other means of dealing with your sin and guilt. Don’t abandon Jesus because Christ’s sacrifice alone provides forgiveness once and for all and forever! Don’t abandon Jesus for any reason, for any other religion for any other means of dealing with your sin. For Christ’s sacrifice alone provides forgiveness once and for all mankind for all time!
Verse 10 provides the conclusion, verses 11 through 18 provide more support for it. “By this will, this will of God that Christ sacrifice His body for our sins, “we have all been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
The word “sanctified” doesn’t have the sense of progressive righteousness as it does when Paul employs it or when we often use it in our own discussions of theology. Here it has the sense of justification once and for all, being declared righteous in God’s sight one and for all, in a moment of time, since, positionally, our sins have been taken away, and God regards us as clean. That was accomplished by the offering of Jesus Christ once for all.
Now this is a huge statement in Hebrews. A huge conclusion. I can’t emphasize it enough, nor can I emphasize the last three words enough. The offering of the body of Jesus Christ sanctified, cleansed us from sin in God’s sight, once for all people and all time and eternity.
Now back to our text. The writer now provides further evidence that Christ’s sacrifice alone takes away sin. He again contrasts the single sacrifice of Christ with the repeated and futile sacrifices of the Old Testament priests, and now he’s speaking of all their various and sundry sacrifices which they daily offered throughout the year.
Verse 11: “Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices which can never take away sins, but He (Christ), having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God.”
Again, this is a quotation from another Messianic Psalm, a prediction about the Christ found in Psalm 110:1. This point is therefore proven from the Old Testament Scriptures once again. It has the very authority of God’s Word.
The effective finality of Christ’s sacrifice for our sins is clearly demonstrated in that after He offered Himself and ascended to heaven He sat down at the right hand of God, indicating His work of offering sacrifices was done, He was finished, it was finished, just as He had said on the cross. There was no further need of sacrifices, because His one sacrifice had done it all—it had finally paid for our sins, when none of the other sacrifices ever had.
This is in stark contrast to the fact that every Old Testament priest stood while offering sacrifices repeatedly—they stood and never sat down indicated their sacrifices never paid for sin because they never ceased being offered—they were repeatedly, and ultimately offered because they only foreshadowed the payment for sin, but were never the ultimate payment for sins.
And then in verse 13 the writer says that Jesus remains seated at the right hand of God right now, “waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet.” Which I take is an example for us—we should be waiting, patiently, in faith and with confident hope that His enemies will be made a footstool for his feet at His second coming.
And again, it appears the writer cannot emphasize the importance of what He has just said enough. So he repeats Himself in verse 14: “For by one offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. This is a forever thing. One sacrifice perfected our conscience, dealt with our sin and guilt before God ultimately forever. No other sacrifice or sacrifices are ever needed—listen Roman Catholicism.
And just one more confirmatory point, again by using God’s Word, the Old Testament itself, to prove His point: He quotes from Jeremiah 31:31-34, the passage about the coming New Covenant once again in verses 15-17: “And the Old Testament also testifies to us, for after saying, ‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My Laws upon their heart an don their mind I will write them,’ He then says, ‘and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.’” This is forgiveness, remembering our sins and lawless deeds no more. This is what we all desperately need. No continued anxiety and struggle and mental gymnastic and more religious rituals and sacrifices to take care of our sins. Now, the assurance that the slate has been wiped clean. We have been forgiven, by the sacrifice of Christ, once and for all forever for all time and eternity. Period, paragraph, Next page. Eternity!!!!!
And then this simple conclusion, relevant not only for those considering trusting in repeated Old Testament animal sacrifices as a means of dealing with their sins, but also relevant to anyone who would claim any further sacrifice of Christ, or anybody anything else is necessary for forgiveness of sins, verse 18: Now where there is forgiveness of all these things, there is no longer any, any, any, offering for sin.”
No more masses. No more sacrifices of Christ in our day or at any time in history. No more sacrifices of animals, no more blood sacrifices. No more need for mental gymnastics, or defense mechanisms, or excuses or justifications, or spiritualizations in order to free us from the guilt and condemnation of our sins.
Now try telling that to a Catholic priest. How in the world can they justify their repeated sacrifices day-by-day in the mass as being effective in paying for our sins? And they not only make that claim, contrary to this and all other New Testament Scriptures, but when they do so the call us heretics for holding to this Scriptural truth! They not only claim their masses are “truly propitiatory”—that is that they truly pay the penalty for our sins—but they also deliver an anathema in Canon I and Canon II of The Council of Trent upon any of us who say it doesn’t! That is, they tell us we’re going to hell because we hold to what the Bible says. They effectively anathematize the writer to the Hebrews and the whole New Testament, and even Jesus Himself, in the process.
Christ’s death, Christ’s sacrifice paid for those sins and wiped our slates clean once and for all time and eternity.
So how do you deal with your sin and your guilt? A mental hospital will not fix it. Defense mechanisms will not justify or erase it. More hand washing or hand wringing will not take care of it. More prayers will not fix it, apart from reference to Christ’s death 2,000 years again. Nor will any other supposed sacrifices of Christ in any religion, or Roman Catholic or Orthodox masses. There is only one sacrifice that matters, only one that works. Only one to put your trust in. And that is the sacrifice of Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago as the only effective and final means of taking away sins. Trust in Him and His sacrifice alone. Accept no substitutes. Your salvation depends on it!
Let’s pray.
