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Hebrews 9:25-26, Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Jesus puts sin away forever!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
January 30, 2020

Jesus existed in eternity past in loving fellowship with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Becoming obedient even to the point of his death on the cross, Jesus humbled himself and although he was sinless, took upon his being the sin of all mankind and offered himself as a sacrifice on our behalf. He left the Father’s side and was born into this world and lived, suffered, and died on the cross. He then rose from the dead and ascended back into heaven to resume his place beside the Father. He did this once and for all. There will be no repeat of such a sacrifice. Hebrews 9:25-26 says, “Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.”

Things in the physical realm are subject to passing time and change. Everything experiences a beginning, growth, decay and an ending. Ecclesiastes makes it clear that in the physical realm it is all about time and change. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 explains the various times and seasons in this physical realm with respect to our lives. “There is a time for every purpose under heaven.” It’s specifically addressing “under” heaven, not “in” heaven. Heaven is the realm above time from which Jesus came. He breached the barrier between time and eternity and accomplished something in time that he carried back to eternity for all believers. “There is a time to be born and a time to die.” The writer of Hebrews will mention this truth later in chapter nine when he reminds us all that “it has been appointed for man once to die” followed by the judgement.

In the physical realm things are changing all the time. “There is a time to plant and a time to harvest. There is a time to laugh and a time to cry. There is a time to embrace and time not to embrace.” These changes only happen in the physical realm. Things in heaven are permanent. Thus in the earthly tabernacle sacrifices have to offered over and over again, year after year, and even day by day. But once accomplished in the spiritual realm that satisfies eternity! It never needs to be offered again because once accomplished, it’s accomplished! God has made it so and God has promised to keep it so. Thus, Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf, taken to God in the heavenly sanctuary, suffices for all eternity and keeps us, secures us and maintains our position with God in heaven.  Guzik explains, “Imperfect sacrifices must be repeated continually, but a perfect sacrifice can be made once for all time, and genuinely put away sin (not just cover sin, as with sacrifice under the Old Covenant). The message is clear: He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.”[1]

[1] David Guzik, Hebrews, David Guzik’s Commentaries on the Bible (Santa Barbara, CA: David Guzik, 2013), Heb 9:23–28.

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Hebrews 9:23-24, Exodus 33:22-23, John 14:9

See Jesus is to See God!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
January 27, 2020

Hebrews 9:23-24 says that the earthly sanctuary and all its instruments are simply illustrations or symbols of what really exists in heaven.  The earthly tabernacle was cleansed with blood but it was the blood of bulls and goats. The heavenly realities require a much better sacrifice. It says, “Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.”

The phrase “in the presence of God” in the last part of this passage is more literally translated as “in the face of God.” This is interesting because this would be significant to the Jews. Twice in the book of Exodus when Moses wanted to see God, God allowed him to see only his back as he passed by Moses who was protected by the cleft of the rock.  In Exodus 33:22-23 God explains to Moses, “While my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.” According to verse 20 of that passage no one can see God’s face and live. When the High Priest entered into the presence of God in the Most Holy place, he came sprinkling the blood of the sacrifice. When Jesus entered the heavenly sanctuary, he came on the basis of his own blood. But Jesus was simply returning to his rightful place beside the Father. In John 1:1 we read, “In the beginning was the Word (Jesus) and the Word was ‘with’ God.” The Greek phrase “with God” is literally “face to face with God.”

As the High Priest took the blood of the sacrifice into the Most Holy Place on behalf of the people, Jesus returned to his rightful place in heaven with his own blood into the actual presence of God on our behalf. He came to Earth, born of flesh to be as John the Baptist said, “The lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Stedman says, “The rending of the curtain in the temple at the time of the crucifixion is ample evidence to indicate that the blood shed in the death of Jesus was the moment when full atonement for sin was accomplished.” [1] Like Moses, we can only see God when he passes by us. John says in John 1:18, “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.” God, in the person of His Son, passed by over 2000 years ago.  We can see God only when we see Him in Jesus. That’s what Jesus told Phillip when Phillip asked to see God. Jesus said, “If you see me, you see the Father” (John 14:9).

[1] Ray C. Stedman, Hebrews, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series (Westmont, IL: IVP Academic, 1992), Heb 9:15.

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Hebrews 9:21-22, 1 Peter 1:19

The Precious Blood of Jesus!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
January 27, 2020

The writer of Hebrews tells us that everything associated with the sacrificial system had to be purified with blood. It’s on the basis of the blood of the sacrifice that forgiveness can be extended. Without blood there can be no forgiveness. Hebrews 9:21-22 says, “And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship. Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” A lamb was sacrificed after the first sin from which God made clothes for Adam and Eve. Sheep had become the standard sacrificial animal in the Old Testament. This is why shepherds were involved at the pronouncement of Jesus’ birth. They were not ordinary shepherds but the ones who watched over the sheep that were raised for sacrifices. When a new born lamb passed inspection as an acceptable offering, it was wrapped in swaddling cloth to protect it. That was a sign that Jesus would be what John the Baptist said he was, “The lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.”

Peter explained that the forgiveness of sin had a price. It was a price that none of us could pay simply because we did not qualify. It had to be a perfect sacrifice. He calls Jesus’ blood precious. In 1 Peter 1:19 he says our forgiveness was purchased at great cost but it wasn’t silver or gold. Instead it was “…with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” Christ’s blood is so precious because of all that it accomplishes on our behalf. Notice these things: 1) Our redemption (Ephesians 1:7), 2) Reconciliation with God (Romans 3:25), 3) It pays our ransom (1 Peter 1:18-19), 4) It washes away our sin (1 John 1:7), 5) It makes forgiveness possible (Hebrews 9:22), 6) It sets us free (Revelation 1:5), 7) It justifies us in spite of our sin (Romans 5:9), 8) It cleanses our consciences (Hebrews 9:13-14), 9) It sets us apart as holy (Hebrews 13:12), 10) Opens the way for us to God (Ephesians 2:13), 11) Gives us peace with God (Colossians 1:19-20), 12) Provides power to live by (Revelation 12:11) and many more as well.

Guzik says, “The shedding of blood was absolutely essential for the remission of sin. Guzik writes, “This is a foundational principle of God’s dealings with men. Modern people think that sin is remitted (forgiven) by time, by our good works, by our decent lives, or by simply death. But there is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood, and there is no perfect forgiveness without a perfect sacrifice.”[1]  In conclusion, Hughes writes, “The blood of Christ makes us acceptable to God and makes our presence and praise more acceptable than that of the angels! No angel can call God his Father. To address God as “Abba, Father” is the believer’s privilege alone. No angel was ever purchased by the blood of God’s Son either, but we were!”[2]

[1] David Guzik, Hebrews, David Guzik’s Commentaries on the Bible (Santa Barbara, CA: David Guzik, 2013), Heb 9:16–22.

[2] R. Kent Hughes, Hebrews: An Anchor for the Soul, vol. 1, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1993), 238.

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Hebrews 9:19-20, Exodus 24:8

Jesus’ Promise is Unbreakable!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
January 27, 2020

Every will or testament is inaugurated with blood according to the biblical economy. When God inaugurated the Old Covenant with Moses, it was signed with the blood of the sacrificial animals. Hebrews 9:19-20 says, “For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, ‘This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you.’” God promised to “Passover” everyone in Egypt who had applied the blood of the lamb to their doorposts. When the tenth plague came, the first born of every family under the blood signed promise of God were safe. According to the Bible, lambs were the chief sacrificial animal for sins. That began when God offered a lamb and took its skin to make a “covering” (atonement) for Adam and Eve’s sin in the Garden of Eden. When Jesus came into the scene of Hebrew history, John the Baptist declared on several occasions that he was, “The lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world!”

Jesus blood, however, did more than just take away our sin. According to Hebrews 9:15, Jesus sealed the guarantee of a “promised eternal inheritance.” Jesus inaugurated the New Covenant, or signed it, with his blood at his death as the sacrificial offering for sin. All of the Old Testament covenants were inaugurated, signed or sealed with blood. Being “Hebrews” the readers of this epistle were very familiar with the promises of God and the sealing of covenants with blood. Lenski observes, “Since there was so much use of blood in connection with the Mosaic testament and all that pertained to that testament, how can any of the readers find fault with Christ’s death and blood in connection with the New Testament? They should do the very opposite: appreciate the fact that Christ’s death and blood are infinitely more precious than all the Mosaic sacrifices.”[1]

In Exodus 24:8, when Moses sprinkled the blood on the people he accompanied that act with the words, “Behold, the blood of the covenant.” When Jesus took the cup of wine at the last supper he said, “This is the blood of the New Covenant.”  Kent observed, “These words were strikingly similar to those of Jesus, ‘For this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins’ (Matt. 26:28), a similarity of which our author was doubtless well aware.” [2] And Kistemaker says, “Christ shed his blood and thus sealed this new covenant with his blood. His death made the new covenant valid and effective.”[3] Yes, the New Covenant is unbreakable! That’s what Paul told the Galatians as well. One writer put it this way, “Paul was writing to the Galatians who were attempting to improve their standing before God by their own performance.  Somehow they had been deceived into thinking they needed to perform certain religious deeds in order to maintain the covenant, or to receive more value from the covenant.  Paul’s emphatic response to this thinking is, ‘No, No, No!!!’” (See: https://beingunderthenewcovenant.wordpress.com/2011/06/08/the-unbreakable-covenant/)

[1] R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of the Epistle to the Hebrews and of the Epistle of James (Columbus, OH: Lutheran Book Concern, 1938), 307–308.

[2] Homer A. Kent Jr., The Epistle to the Hebrews: A Commentary (Winona Lake, IN: BMH Books, 1983), 176.

[3] Simon J. Kistemaker and William Hendriksen, Exposition of Hebrews, vol. 15, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953–2001), 257–258.

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Hebrews 9:16-18, Genesis 15, 22, Jude 24

Secure in Jesus!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
January 27, 2020

Before I could take possession of the house my mother left me in her will, she had to pass away. While she lived, it was hers and remained hers. It was not mine. This truth is introduced as evidence in the book of Hebrews. In Hebrews 9:16-18, the author says, “For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive. Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood.” Hughes observes, “This is true in every culture. A will is activated by the death of the one who made the will, the testator. You may be the stated recipient of a fabulous will that includes millions of dollars, a luxurious apartment, season tickets to the hottest team in town and the Lyric Opera, a villa in Majorca, and a quiver full of Orvis fly rods, but it will do you no good unless the testator dies! Such a fact has provided endless grist for writers from William Shakespeare to Neil Simon.”[1]

Referring to a will, Tanner says, “A death is necessary to activate it. If a biblical covenant is in view, the death would be that of an animal as a substitute for the one ratifying the covenant.”[2] Once that sacrifice was offered, and the blood was sprinkled around and on the participants. This was the guarantee that it would be fulfilled; it was ratified. The Greek word for “covenant” is the same word used for “testament” and “contract.” God ratified his promises to Abraham in Genesis 15 with blood sacrifices as was the custom in the Old Testament economy. He reaffirmed that covenant with Abraham by providing the sacrificial lamb as a substitute for the sacrifice of his son Isaac on Mount Moriah. Blood sealed the promises. They were once and for all unbreakable. This is true of a last will and testament for us as well. Girdwood notices, “A person might prepare and sign a legally binding will which names benefactors and assigns an inheritance. Unless changed, it is a promise which will be enforced by law.”[3]

I’m sure there are many instances in the drama of human history where humans have changed their wills at the last minute. But once the blood was shed and the testator died, the will is locked in stone and cannot be changed. Girdwood continues, “Until the testator dies, however, it remains no more than a promise for the future. Only the death of the testator changes the promised inheritance into a legal possession. Until then the will is only a piece of paper.”[4] Jesus’ death is the ratification of the New Covenant. His death, his blood, guarantees that it cannot be changed. This means believers are eternally secure. One website says, “When people come to know Christ as their Savior, they are brought into a relationship with God that guarantees their eternal security. Jude 24 declares, ‘To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy.’ God’s power is able to keep the believer from falling. It is up to Him, not us, to present us before His glorious presence. Our eternal security is a result of God keeping us, not us maintaining our own salvation.” (See https://www.gotquestions.org/eternal-security.html)

 

[1] R. Kent Hughes, Hebrews: An Anchor for the Soul, vol. 1, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1993), 235.

[2] J. Paul Tanner, “The Epistle to the Hebrews,” in The Grace New Testament Commentary, ed. Robert N. Wilkin (Denton, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 2010), 1068.

[3] James Girdwood and Peter Verkruyse, Hebrews, The College Press NIV Commentary (Joplin, MO: College Press, 1997), Heb 9:17.

[4] James Girdwood and Peter Verkruyse, Hebrews, The College Press NIV Commentary (Joplin, MO: College Press, 1997), Heb 9:17.

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Hebrews 9:15, Romans 6:23

Jesus is the only sin solution!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
January 27, 2020

The Bible makes it clear that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Under the Old Covenant, the blood and death of sacrificial animals were essential for the remission of sin. It wasn’t the blood of bulls and goats however that redeems sinners. They only pictured the redemption to come through the blood and death of Jesus himself. This is what the author of Hebrews means in Hebrews 9:15. He writes, “Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.”  Hagner explains this in his commentary, “The real answer to sins against the commandments of the Mosaic law is found not in the sacrifice of animals, but in the sacrifice of Christ. The new covenant thus contains within it the answer to the failure to abide by the requirements of the old covenant (cf. 8:12; 10:17–18). And, forgiveness experienced during the OT period depended finally—although this was hardly understood at the time—upon an event that was to take place in the future. The sacrifice of Christ is the answer to sin in every era, past and present, since it alone is the means of forgiveness.”[1]

It was a frightening thing for the “Hebrews” addressed by the author to give up their religion and put their full confidence in Jesus. They lived all their lives with the belief that the sacrificial system was the only remedy for their sin. All the rituals, rules and routines that had been part of their entire lives had to be dismissed. It was so difficult that many became “Judaizers.” Paul refers to them frequently in Galatians but also in Titus, and 2 Corinthians. Luke makes them a primary subject in the book of Acts. In the Gospels they are referred to as religions leaders, Pharisees, or Sadducees. The Judaizers attempt to blend their religion with their laws and thereby “corrupt” the pure gospel message. In the Christian denominations today we see these same tendencies. The doctrinal statements of many groups connect faith with works as a necessary part of salvation. Many still argue that one’s eternal inheritance is still obtained by faith plus works. But the overall theology of the New Testament argues that it’s faith only, in Jesus only! Jesus is fully sufficient!

The Judaizers of course were the detractors of the view of salvation by grace through faith alone in Christ alone. They pressured believers not to turn away from the rituals, rules and regulations of their religion saying it was OK to believe in Jesus as long as you maintained the traditions of our ancestors. The Judaizers would cajole, criticize, and even condemn those who turned away from their religion for the sake of Christ alone. The author of Hebrews wanted the new believers to stand firm in their faith in Christ alone, insisting on the failure of the Old Covenant and the sufficiency of Christ, the mediator of the New Covenant, to dispel guilt and shame and cleanse consciences once and for all. Not only is Jesus fully sufficient in dispelling guilt and shame in this generation, he’s the basis of God’s forgiveness of all sin in all generations throughout all time. It was his plan from the beginning and every drop of blood shed during the old economy simply pictured the true sacrifice to come in Christ. Jesus’ blood is the only basis for forgiveness of sin at any time and any place.  William Cowper wrote in his famous hymn, “There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Immanuel’s veins; and sinners, plunged beneath that flood, lose all their guilty stains.”

[1] Donald A. Hagner, Hebrews, Understanding the Bible Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2011), 141.

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Hebrews 9:13-14

Jesus versus dead works!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
January 25, 2020

The Levitical system and the blood of animal sacrifices brought only external purification. It dealt only with physical things. It had no influence over the sinful heart of man. It fulfilled an external requirement that gave one the outward appearance of purity in the community but it did not touch him where he needs it most. Unfortunately, it is often the case that acceptance by the community is all many people want. Following the religious rules, rituals and regulations of the clan helps us fit in and find acceptance. Yet, no religious behavior pleases God. I’ve often argued that the hardest thing for people to give up for Jesus is there religion. The interesting thing to me is that religion is the only thing Jesus really wants us to give up. He wants us to stop trusting in our religions and start trusting in Him and His finished work on Calvary. He is the only hope for our deliverance from the “dead works” of our religions. Hebrews 9:13-14 says, “For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”

One cannot serve the living God as long as he is following religious rules and rituals. He first must be set free from religious shackles. Fruchtenbaum writes, “The author’s argument, in verses 13–14, can be summarized in five points: (1) the means of cleansing was the blood of Jesus; (2) the basis of cleansing was the voluntary death of Jesus; (3) it was without spot or blemish since there was no moral failure on His part (Peter makes the same point in 1 Peter 1:19); (4) the object was to purge the conscience from dead works; these dead works were the works of the Levitical system; works which are now dead because they have come to an end as far as God is concerned; and, (5) the goal of Jesus’ death was for the believers to serve the living God; they are not to return to the dead works of the Levitical system but to serve the living God.”[1]

Putting our faith in the full sufficiency of Jesus sets us free from our religion. Religion itself is opposed to God’s grace for it prescribes formulas, procedures and practices designed to gain favor with God which cannot be done apart from Christ. It’s either God’s grace as seen in Christ or it’s a system of works. It cannot be a combination either as many attempt to make it. All religions stand in opposition of Christ. Kent explains, “Appropriation of His merits brings to the regenerated soul true peace of conscience through the knowledge that eternal redemption has been secured. Dead works are here viewed not just as useless or inactive but as defiling and causing the need for cleansing. Involved are legalistic ceremonies which cannot impart life (cf. 6:1), seen not only as mere externals which are not defiling per se, but as the expressions of sinful hearts bent on spurning the grace of God in favor of a system of works righteousness.”[2]

[1] Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, The Messianic Jewish Epistles: Hebrews, James, First Peter, Second Peter, Jude, 1st ed. (Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries, 2005), 121.

[2] Homer A. Kent Jr., The Epistle to the Hebrews: A Commentary (Winona Lake, IN: BMH Books, 1983), 173.

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Hebrews 9:11-12

Jesus is the Answer!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
January 25, 2020

In the first part of Chapter 9 of Hebrews, the writer speaks about the practices of the priesthood as they were performed on behalf of sinners in the Tabernacle.  The only thing these things provided the sinner was an external ritual that had no lasting impact on his guilt and shame. All of the tabernacle practices, procedures and accoutrements simply served as an illustration of what was to come. The one and only High Priest for all mankind, the Priest who came not in the order of Aaron and the Levitical system, but one who came in the order of Melchizedek, was to put the finishing touches on the system illustrated by the tabernacle for all sinners once and for all. Whereas the Aaronic system failed, Jesus succeeded. Hebrews 9:11-12 says, “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.”

Any and all religious systems along with any and all law codes can do nothing to cleanse a violator of their transgressions. These systems of practices, regardless of their nature, offer us nothing but a rigorous routine to follow over and over again. These rituals only have an effect in the here and now. They don’t lay up a ladder for us from earth to heaven. They don’t breach the physical realm and stretch into the plane of eternity. Only Jesus does that! No religion can provide what sinful humans need most. Every ritual, every observance, every sacrifice we offer leads only to another one that will come tomorrow and the day after! Nothing in religious systems is solid and secure. Where religion fails, Jesus succeeds. Brown says, “Our writer’s passionate desire is to expound the gospel against the background of law, the new covenant in the light of the old, all its incompleteness contrasted with the present secure blessings.”[1]

In 1967, Jefferson Airplane sang, “When the truth is found to be lies And all the joy Within you dies, don’t you want somebody to love?” Well, actually, I don’t want somebody to love. I want somebody to love me! Religious leaders lay burdens on people that are too heavy for them to carry. And none of their exhortations and threats can really make a difference in anyone’s life. When one finally realizes that all the religious rituals, rules and regulations do not bring peace with God, what can you do? When religion fails us and we end up broken, forlorn, and repentant, there is only one thing left for sinners. Brown describes it, “He calls to God for help, and this epistle, possibly more than anywhere else in the New Testament, gives the answer to his cry. The blood of Christ is God’s answer to man’s disturbed conscience. He can be cleansed and know he is forgiven.”[2]

[1] Raymond Brown, The Message of Hebrews: Christ above All, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 152.

[2] Raymond Brown, The Message of Hebrews: Christ above All, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 158.

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