Bible Study

Good evening, everyone. Good to see you all here at our Wednesday night Bible study. Hope your week is going very well. I'd like to welcome all of you that are here in the room at the home office. Welcome to the study. Also, I'd like to welcome all of you who are watching on the web. Welcome to our Bible study. We're going to be going through parts of Hebrews, continuing our study there in the book of Hebrews. We're going to pick it up in chapter 9 tonight. And so, we might talk about a couple of things we talked about in the last study, but maybe from just a little bit different perspective. And so, we'll pick it up in chapter 9. So, before we start our Bible study, we certainly want to ask God's blessing on our study tonight. So, if you bow your heads, we'll pray and ask God's guidance. Great loving Heavenly Father, God Almighty, thanks so much for Your wonderful blessings. We are so thankful, Father, for Your truth and Your love and Your way. God, we want to come before You once again today to thank You for these things and ask for Your presence and guidance with us in the study tonight. We pray that You would bless us as we delve into Your Word and that You would guide us and help us to understand Your way and Your Word and Your plan even that much more thoroughly. So, we thank You for Your guidance and pray for Your presence. Pray that You would bless everything that's said and bless our hearing as well, Father, so that we can draw closer to You. So, Father, we put these things into Your hands and ask for Your presence and pray for Your blessing. We ask it all by the authority of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. All right, if you want to flip over to Hebrews 9, we're going to pick up in that chapter by remembering where we left off and really taking a look at what the letter to the Hebrews is all about. We'll look at in chapter 9 a comparison between Jesus Christ and the tabernacle.

We had quite a thorough discussion of what the tabernacle was all about and the accoutrements and the priestly service, all of those kinds of things. We took some time and looked at that in our last study. And of course, in chapter 9, it's going to get to the heart of what this letter is all about. And if you remember from some of the chapters that we've been through before, we're going to zero in on the importance of Jesus Christ, the supremacy of Christ.

How significant is our Savior? Of course, chapter 9 is going to focus on the fact that not only is He our Savior, not only is our Lord, but He's also our high priest. And so Paul is going to show the function that Jesus Christ has as our high priest.

And of course, if you remember all the way back to our introduction to Hebrews, one of the things that was a high point throughout the letter is the word better. And Paul is going to talk about in chapter 9 how much better covenant that we have a part of rather than the old covenant. And he's going to talk about how much better a high priest in Jesus Christ that we have than those physical high priests that served in Israel.

And so that's what he's going to zero in on here in chapter 9. So if you want to look at the beginning of chapter 9, we're just going to read through some of these things a little bit quickly tonight because we remember from the last time the tabernacle and if you remember, Mr. Eddington had put up a picture of the tabernacle.

In fact, it's online as well at our Bible study page. So if you go to our webcast Bible study, you can find it there. And it gives you an image that you can look at to remember exactly what was that tabernacle like. And so let's rehearse that. Beginning of chapter 9, it says, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary.

So he's talking about that tabernacle, which later, of course, was the temple. He says in verse 2, the tabernacle was prepared. The first part, which was the lampstand, the table, the showbread, which is called the sanctuary or the holy place. That was that first part in that inner part of the temple structure or the tabernacle structure. It says behind the second veil, verse 3, the part of the tabernacle, which is called holiest of all or some translations call it the holy of holy. And it says, which had the golden sensor and the Ark of the Covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron's rod that budded, and the tablets of the Covenant.

Above it were the carobim of glory, overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things, we cannot now speak in detail. Now, probably that's about the most detail most of us remember about the tabernacle. But wouldn't it have been great if Paul had a lot more time and could go into some of those things in that much more detail? Maybe part of it is because, of course, he's addressing the Hebrews. These would have been people that had a background in worship at the tabernacle, or at least in this case, the temple.

And so they had a basic understanding of what the priestly service was all about, what the temple was all about. They remembered what the Ark of the Covenant, what they had been taught about that Ark. And so he leaves it at that for now.

Really, to make an important point, he says in verse 6, "...when these things had thus been prepared, the priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle, performing the services." So they would go and perform the sacrifices in that initial part, that first part, the holy place, is where they would do the sacrifices.

But, he says in verse 7, "...into the second part, the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people's sins, committed in ignorance." And of course, we know that one time a year that the priest would go into the Holy of Holies. That high priest would go into the holiest of all once a year, and he would do that on the day of atonement.

And so it says, verse 8, the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing. Now, you might initially read that and say, well, wait a second, the priest went into the holiest of all once a year. Once a year, they would go in there. So what does he mean that the way wasn't made? Well, he's setting up his next statement. He's setting this up to say there's a deeper meaning behind all of these physical things.

And here's where he gets to the deeper meaning. He says in verse 9, it was symbolic for the present time. That's important. If someone were to say, well, what's so significant about the worship in the tabernacle? Well, it says, verse 9, it's important for now. It's symbolic for right now. For you and I, this is something that's significant. Why is it significant? You know, if someone asks you, well, what's so significant about the worship in the tabernacle or later in the temple? Why is that important to you? Maybe most of us would say, well, I don't care about the sacrifices.

That's not important to me. It doesn't really matter. But yet Paul's saying, wait a second, this is important. There's an important aspect of this that is significant for you and I. It should be meaningful in our lives right now. And so he says, for this present time, he says, in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered, which cannot make him who perform the service perfect in regard to conscience. Now, keep that in the back of your mind. What were the priests doing?

That's exactly what they were doing. They were offering gifts, right? They were sacrificing. And he makes this point, did it really cleanse the individual? Did it really clean them up? He says, it didn't. It didn't make them perfect. He says, verse 10, it's only concerned with foods and drinks, various washings, fleshly ordinances, imposed until the time of Reformation. All right, let's go back to our question then. Verse 9, why is it so important for now? What's the symbolic significance for you and I? Well, verse 11 begins to answer that question then and get to the heart of the meat, I would say, of this letter, the superiority of Christ.

Verse 11, he says, but Christ came as high priest of the good things to come with the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is not of this creation. So now he begins to show all of this, this physical service, the physical sacrifices, the tabernacle, the temple itself, it was all representative. It was all symbolic of the work of Jesus Christ. And that's why it's important to you and I. And so he begins to show why. Okay, why as Christ being that high priest, why is it so significant for you and I? Because he says those sacrifices, verse 12, the blood of bulls and or goats and calves, not with that blood, but with His own blood, He entered the most holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

And so we talked a little bit about that the last time that the sacrifices didn't really make the people perfect. But for you and I, what does the blood of Christ do? Well, that's what justifies us. That's what makes us right in God's eyes. That's how we can have forgiveness. That's how we can have that reconciliation so that we can be right with God. It makes all of that possible. And so through Jesus Christ, we have not just the symbol, but we have the reality. We have the reality that wait, we can have a cleansed conscience. It can make us perfect in regard to conscience.

And so as you think about that, that is a major issue. And maybe one that sometimes we forget a little bit the difference between the way things were set up during this time of the Tabernacle worship and the Temple worship, as opposed to how we worship today. Oftentimes we have many connections to that ancient form of worship. And yet Paul is pointing out something that is amazingly significant. If you were to flip back to Leviticus, because this pictures, in fact, in chapter 9, we'll oftentimes read through big sections of chapter 9 on the day of atonement, because it deals so much with this concept of atonement and reconciliation, and how can we be justified? And the fact that we have that opportunity through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And yet, in the Old Testament, back in Leviticus chapter 16, it gives us some information here about the day of atonement and the sacrifices themselves. And Paul had to have some of these things in mind as he was writing to the Hebrews. So if you flip back to Leviticus chapter 16, I want to notice something, because there's two different words that are used, and Paul refers to here, when it comes to reconciliation or atonement. And the word in the Old Testament, I've already written on the board, is the word kaphar, K-A-P-H-A-R, or various forms of that, depending how it's used in the sentence. Let's notice a couple of those examples, and try to get a feel for how this word was used and what actually was happening on that atonement, when a sacrifice was made to atone for someone's sins, or on the day of atonement, when there were sacrifices for the entire community. Let's notice down in verse 6, Leviticus 16, 6, it says, "'Eren shall offer the bull as a sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and his house.'" So guess what this word atonement is in Hebrew? Well, it's this word kaphar, atonement. He shall make reconciliation that can be translated. In fact, if you were to look that up in the Hebrew, it has various translations. Reconcil can be won, or be reconciled, or have reconciliation. We see here in verse 6, we have atonement.

We've heard of Yom Kippur, the day of atonement. The kippur comes from this base word kaphar, and literally what it means is to cover, to cover. In fact, the mercy seat sometimes is called the seat of reconciliation, and what was the mercy seat? It was the top of the ark, and it was the part that covered over the rest of the chest. And so we have the mercy seat that covered the ark, and inside the ark was God's law. And of course, you have that picture in your mind. It's a pretty amazing picture that God's mercy covers His law. And so when we violate God's law and we come to Him in repentance, we're covered by mercy. And so it's kind of a beautiful picture. And so this kaphar, atonement, reconciliation sometimes, covering. The day of atonement sometimes is called the day of covering. Now if we skip down to verse 10, a little more instructions here, it says, the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement on it. Remember what the priest would do? The priest would take his hands and cover the head of that goat and pronounce the sins on it. And so the goat would be covered, in that sense, and it would atone for the people's sin. Verse 11, Aaron should bring the bull of the sin offering for himself and make atonement for himself, kill the bull as the sin offering which is for himself. And so once again, that's that same word for covering, kaphar. And so we see as the practice continues on that this word for atonement or covering keeps coming up over and over. Verse 17 caught my eye. Oh, verse 16, so he shall make atonement for the holy place because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel because of their transgression for all their sins. Then, verse 17, there should be no man in the tabernacle of meeting when he goes in to make atonement in the holy place. So over and over again, we see there had to be a covering for sin.

There had to be an atonement for that sin because God's very presence was there in the tabernacle, and God could not reside with sin. So there had to be a covering for it. And so God designed this method. Now, of course, here we have the goats referred to. We have bulls, other sacrificial animals. What did we just read about that in Hebrews? You see, we read in Hebrews. I'm looking back in Hebrews 9, verse 12, not with the blood of goats and calves. Did that bring about forgiveness of sin? You know, were those ancient Israelites forgiven of their sins?

No. No, did they repent? It doesn't seem, at least not on the whole, it doesn't seem that way, does it? But God covered those sins. He covered those sins so His presence could be there at the tabernacle. And so there's quite a difference between this Hebrew concept of reconciliation and atonement and covering for sin as opposed to what Paul begins to talk about in the book of Hebrews, because he talks about something that's totally different, because this kaphar did not make the people at one with God, did it? They weren't at one with God. That was symbolic for us, like Paul said in Hebrews. It was symbolic for our time that we can be at one with God. Paul told us in Hebrews, he said that it didn't clean up their conscience, right? It said, it did not. It cannot, verse 9, 9, 9, cannot make Him who performed the service perfect in regard to conscience. It couldn't clean them up. It couldn't remove their sin. It covered over it, much in the way that that mercy seat covered over the ark, because it didn't change their heart. It didn't change their mind. It didn't alter their relationship with God the way it needed to. In fact, you might say, well, how do we know that? Well, in my Bible, I flipped the page over to chapter 10 for just a moment. Chapter 10, right at the very beginning, verse 1, it says, the law having a shadow of good things to come and not the very image of things, says, can never with these same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year make those who approach perfect? And yet, if your sin is forgiven, are you justified with God? Are you perfect? That moment of repentance and God's forgiveness, are you perfect with God? Yeah, we're forgiven. We are. And so here's Paul contrasting these two concepts of what ancient Israel was going through and their example, as opposed to the unbelievable opportunity that we have to not just have our sins covered over, but to have them completely removed. And so in the New Testament, there's a couple of Greek words that are used in contrast to this kafar of the old Hebrew. Catalaso is one of them, or katalage is another one. They're both from the same base word. And there's an interesting example of this. If you flip back to 2 Corinthians 5, let's notice 2 Corinthians 5. So we'll start in chapter 5, and here we'll see one of the uses for this particular word, catalaso. Verse 18 is where we'll pick it up. In 2 Corinthians chapter 5, and I'm going to make every effort tonight to try to spell my words correctly.

I've been known to make a mistake here or there, believe it or not.

But I have been told it's a weak-minded man that can only spell a word one way.

So sometimes I guess I'm too strong-minded that way. All right, so let's pick that up there if I get the cat back on my marker, otherwise it'll try out before I use it again. Let's look at chapter 5, verse 18. It says, Now all things are of God who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.

Guess what word this is? This is that word catalaso, and we see reconciliation is one of the words or to be reconciled. Now what's the difference then between this use in the Old Testament, it seems the same in English, but does it mean exactly the same thing?

Why is it different? What's the difference between the way that this catalaso or catalage is used in the New Testament compared to what the Day of Atonement was all about in the Old?

Well, that word not only means to reconcile, but it also means to favor, to favor. So we are brought into favor, and we can see how that fits here with 2 Corinthians 5, and not just simply favor, but one of the key elements that's different here from the use in the Hebrew is that word carries the connotation of change. You see, because before we weren't reconciled to God, we weren't right with God. This indicates there is a change, and not just a simple little well, I think a little bit differently now, and so I'm changed in that way, but this is talking about a absolute thorough change.

And that's quite a bit different than what we find back in the Old Testament. So what Paul begins to point out in chapter 9 of Hebrews is that this cavalogue, this reconciliation that he's talking about, totally transcends everything that's going on in that old system. Totally transcends it. It comes much, much more important, that much greater because this is something that happens spiritually. We are justified, we are made right, we are reconciled by the blood of Jesus Christ. And so we can have reconciliation, true reconciliation. We have a true relationship with God. And of course, it's interesting that this reconciliation means that we can become sin-free.

We can have our sins not just covered, but absolutely taken away. They can be purged away. And so we see that in, if you want to flip back to Hebrews, Hebrews 9, verse 14. Remember, you just got done saying, if the blood of bulls and goats, the ashes of Heifers, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the forgiveness of sin, that's verse 13. Well, wait a second.

It doesn't say that, does it? It doesn't say that the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of Heifers sanctify for the removal of sin, does it? No, it says, for the purifying of the flesh, because God would cover over their sin so that His presence could be within Israel, within the people. But for you and I, it's not just a purifying of the flesh.

It's not just a covering. He says, how much more, verse 14, shall the blood of Christ, through who the eternal Spirit offered Himself, without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works, to serve the living God? And so, He's contrasting the amazing opportunities that we have, as opposed to Israel. They could never do this in ancient Israel. In fact, the people were the problem with that covenant, with that agreement. And they could never have this take place. But we have that opportunity, that we can be cleansed, we can be purified, our conscience can be cleaned up, we can be brought together with God.

And He says, we don't have to do these things that lead to death. When it says dead works, that's really what it's talking about. It's talking about the fact we don't have to be continually engulfed in the activities that only lead to death.

The kind of thinking, I think, in the back of His mind, well, that's what happened in ancient Israel. That's what happened to them. They kept doing these dead works, these works that just led to death. They didn't have that opportunity to have a real spiritual relationship with God. And so now, because of this katalah soul, because of the reconciliation that we have through Jesus Christ, we have this transcendent type of forgiveness that comes through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Now, isn't that the kind of high priest we want? We want a high priest that can administer that kind of forgiveness, and we can have that kind of a relationship with. Like a little bit farther on, let's see where it is, in verse 23, He says, It's therefore necessary the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

So not bulls and goats, not ashes of a heifer, but Jesus Himself, verse 24, Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands that are copies of the true, but into heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God for us, for us. And so we have that opportunity. So we have this opportunity to have a changed life, a changed perspective.

We can have a life that brings restoration, that brings restoration and favor, reconciliation to our lives through Jesus Christ. And so oftentimes throughout the New Testament, we'll find this catalasso or catalague as translated a reconciliation.

Sometimes it's just translated favor as well. Maybe we could look at one other place that's significant. It's over in a section of Scripture that oftentimes people will read before they come to baptism. Over in Romans 5, throughout much of chapter 5, 6, 7 are tremendous sections of Scripture that deal with sin, forgiveness of sin, and making a commitment to God, having Jesus Christ live His life in us. And so in Romans chapter 5, we could pick it up in verse 6.

Romans chapter 5 verse 6, He says, For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. So there's the death of Jesus Christ who becomes high priest on our behalf.

He says, verse 8, But God demonstrates His own love toward us, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more than having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. So we can be made right with God. We can have a right relationship with God. We can have our conscience cleared. And then He says this, verse 10, For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And so this word for reconciliation here is this catalagae, that we can truly be justified. We don't have just our sins covered. God doesn't just, you know, blink at us, but instead we have total forgiveness. When we repent, when we repent, we recommit our lives to God, we have full atonement. That is becoming one with God. You know, that's having a changed heart. Now that's having the correct outlook. We're beginning to have the mind of Christ. And so that's what Paul has in mind as he draws this significant difference between the symbolism of what was going on in ancient Israel and what we have through the amazing sacrifice of Jesus Christ. So, you know, some powerful concepts that Paul is talking about here throughout chapter 9. So who wouldn't want a high priest that could do this sort of thing? That's part of, I think, the logic that Paul is using here as he's talking to the Hebrews. He's talking to people with this Jewish background. And so this is where they came from. How much better would you want to have a high priest that would completely remove your sin and you can begin to have a right relationship with God? And so he begins to point that out here and shows that significance of Jesus Christ. And that's why he gets into some of the concepts that he talks about being high priests. Now, there is a connection that he makes here that I think is also one that I think maybe sometimes we worry about it a little bit. Maybe it causes some concern for us as we read a little bit about the New Covenant and Christ being that mediator of the New Covenant. And he talks a little bit about the Old Covenant throughout chapter 9, throughout chapter 10, several places throughout Scripture, throughout the Book of Hebrews. He'll talk about the Old Covenant. He'll talk about the New. And then sometimes he'll say the First Covenant. Sometimes he'll call this the First Covenant. Sometimes this will be the Second.

And he's talking about just the recent past because we know that these aren't the only only two covenants that were mentioned in the Bible, right? So he talks about this Old Covenant. Sometimes it's called Moses' covenant, the covenant he made with Moses.

And so these are just different terms for the same things. And so these are the two that he's comparing and contrasting as he goes through chapter 9 and 10. And sometimes we get a little bit concerned because as he says here in verse 15, this reason he's mediator of the New Covenant by means of death. For the redemption of the transgressions under the First Covenant, those who are called may receive the promise of eternal inheritance. So he's saying, all right, there's a difference between this First and the Second. He even says here in verse 18, therefore not even the First Covenant was dedicated without blood. And he goes through that example of how that tabernacle being dedicated. Moses used that blood in order to dedicate the tabernacle. And as he finishes up this section, he begins to talk about the necessity that there had to be a new covenant. And oftentimes people will get a little nervous because, well, if the old covenant's done away, then they say, well, God's law must be done away. And we've probably heard those examples before that, well, this old covenant, sometimes people will also put in here old law, which is not anything that Paul uses here. He doesn't use that terminology, but oftentimes others will use that terminology to try to say, well, I don't have to keep God's law. Was it possible for this old covenant to be done away? Paul is going to tell us a little bit later that it's growing obsolete. Of course, right at this time, as we just read in chapter 9, it seems those sacrifices were still going on. The temple was still there in Jerusalem, it seems, when you read the context, but it's about to fade away. It's about to be gone.

The Roman troops were about to come in and everything was going to be changed. That was about to happen. It hadn't happened yet. But why do we have to be nervous if the old covenant is growing obsolete? Do we have to be worried? Do we have to worry about the law? Does that mean that, then, if the old covenant is obsolete, that the law is done away? That's what most people conclude when they think about that. Well, I don't have to keep the Sabbath because I'm in the new covenant, and I don't have to worry about those laws anymore. Well, do we have to be worried about that? I don't think so for a couple of reasons. We don't want to forget what a covenant is, right? Because a covenant is an agreement. And if we wanted to find out the terms of the agreement for the new covenant, we have an idea where we might look for that. I mean, we look a little bit farther here in Hebrews.

But we can go back to Jeremiah 31. Jeremiah 31, if you want to flip back there with me.

It will tell us pretty specifically the basis of that new covenant and the agreement.

Verse 31, easy one to remember, 31, 31.

And in Jeremiah 31, 31, what does it say? Behold, the days are coming when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant I made with their fathers, the day I took them by the hand and led them out of the land of Egypt. So that's obviously Moses' covenant, the Old Covenant, right? He says, not like that. But verse 33, this is the covenant I'll make with the house of Israel after those days. I'll put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I'll be their God. They shall be my people. And so if we just stop right there, where was the law written in the Old Covenant?

Now we know that was written on stone, but the new is going to be written for you and I, it should be on our hearts. And yet that law, someone argues, done away. But that's not what Jeremiah said. What laws was Jeremiah talking about? Well, the only laws Jeremiah would have known. The only laws he would have known. And so as we begin to see, the law isn't done away. Now, how do we know that? Can a covenant be concluded and yet the law continue? Yes. Why is that? Well, if we remember what a covenant is, a covenant says, I'll do this, you do that. And we have an agreement. And so when we look at, there's several covenants, right? We think of, if we go back a little ways, there was a covenant with Noah, wasn't there? God said, I'm going to flood the earth and then I'm not going to do it anymore. And there was also other covenants. Wasn't there a covenant with Abraham? I think there was.

Right? I'm running out of space over here. Should have thunk ahead. There was certainly a covenant with Abraham. Well, has the agreement been fulfilled? Pretty much. Pretty much. So if this is done, Noah is done, what supersedes all of these covenants? You see something that supersedes all of these things. Here is God's law. And we're not talking about sacrifices. That's here, right? Not talking about washings. That's here. But God's holy, righteous, perfect law was a Sabbath in effect, even before Adam and Eve were created.

Interesting. You look in your Bible, look at what was in effect before specific agreements. So without these people, without these agreements, God's law, which really is based on love, was in effect. You know, how did no one know clean and unclean? Well, that was already... that was one of these laws that were already in place. Now, some of these laws can be a part of those different agreements, but the law supersedes the agreement. So this agreement can be totally finished, complete, done. It doesn't change the fact that we still keep the Sabbath.

It doesn't change the fact we keep the holy days, clean and unclean means. Those are things that exist outside of these various agreements. And so when we read these sections in Hebrews or other places where it talks about the covenant and this covenant becoming obsolete, there's nothing that we have to be nervous about because this agreement can be complete.

And yet, the laws within that agreement are something that supersede the agreement itself.

So hopefully that maybe clears it up a little bit. Hopefully it didn't make it a little bit more fuzzy. So hopefully that does.

All right. So let's go back to Hebrews 9 for just a moment. I carried away talking about the covenants for just a minute. So we were just finishing up this section where Christ enters the holy place. Remember, we're talking about the supremacy of Christ. Chapter 9, verse 24, Christ has not entered the holy place made with hands, now to appear in the presence of God for us. Verse 25, not that He should offer Himself often as the high priest enters the most holy place every year with the blood of another. He'd have to suffer often since the foundation of the world. But now, once at the end of the ages, He's appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself, of Himself. And it's appointed for men to die once, but after this, the judgment. So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him, He will appear a second time apart from sin for salvation. And so here we begin to see we have a high priest that hasn't entered a physical tabernacle, but has entered into the real deal, the real deal through the Holy of Holies not here on earth, but into the Holy of Holies in heaven, into at the seat of God. He's right there at the throne room of God. And so here is Christ. And of course, we see that this is a powerful, powerful difference between what God has given us as opposed to the sacrificial system that was through the tabernacle and the priesthood. He also says then in chapter 10, maybe we can pick it up in chapter 10 for just a moment. In chapter 10, we read a little bit earlier about the law having a shadow of good things to come. Sometimes that particular passage has brought about some concern that I've heard some people tell me personally, well, Myers, you've got the shadow, but I've got the real thing.

So they'll say that the Sabbath or the Holy Days are only a shadow and that if I just have Christ, if I just believe in Him, that's more important. Well, wait a second.

These things go hand in hand. These things go hand in hand. And when you see what it actually says here, it doesn't say the law is only a shadow. It says it is a shadow. It's having a shadow of the good things to come. The good things to come. He says, and not the very image of these things. And so the sacrifices that come through this law, which was in the Old Covenant, He says, they can never make those perfect. But wait a second. Through Jesus Christ, I can be made perfect. I can be made perfect. In fact, He even says here, where is it? In verse 3, He says, part of the purpose for those sacrifices in that Old Covenant, He says, we're a reminder of sins every year. A reminder of sins every year. And He says, of course, it's not possible for the blood of bulls or goats to take away sin. So once again, we see that contrast between the reconciliation of the Old Testament versus reconciliation in the New. And so we see that the sacrifices didn't change people's attitudes. It didn't change their sinful nature. God's law applied to our lives should be a shadow of those good things to come. But we have the physical or the representation of the physical, so it should translate into spiritual things for you and I. So as we read through that little section here, notice... where did we leave off? Verse 5. He says, therefore, when He came into the world, He said, sacrifice and offering you didn't desire, but a body you prepared for Me.

So Christ sacrificed His life. He says, in burnt offerings, sacrifices for sin, you had no pleasure.

Then I said, behold, I've come. In the volume of the book, it's written of Me, to do your will, O God. And so we see part of the purpose of those sacrifices were to remind us of sin. Those temporary rituals didn't define sin, but they were reminders of sin. God's perfect holy law does define sin. It shows us what sin is. And so God's law defines it for us. And as defining what sin is, explaining what it is, it becomes obvious that those laws that are still in effect have to be kept today. They have to be kept today. And so in verse 8, He goes on, previously saying, sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, offerings for sin you didn't desire or have pleasure in them, which are offered according to that old covenant, to that law. But then He says, behold, I've come to do your will, O God. We have the sacrifice, the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And so He says, He takes away the first that He may establish the second. So that first covenant, that old covenant fulfilled. It's done in that regard. And He establishes this new covenant, this spiritual covenant with you and I. He says, by that will, verse 10, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. He says, every high priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. And once again, we see that kaphar of the Old Testament didn't do it, couldn't do it. But, verse 12, look at how awesome Christ is. Look how superior He is. This man with a capital M, Christ, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God from the time waiting till his enemies are made his footstool. And so we have an awesome Savior. He says, by that one offering, he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. So He kind of puts a big exclamation point on that difference between the reconciliation of the Old Testament, the atonement of the old, and the atonement that comes through Jesus Christ. He says, He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. That's supposed to be you and I.

Verse 15, He goes on, but the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us, for after He had said before, now He's got a quote from Jeremiah, this is the covenant I'll make with them after those days.

We read that in Jeremiah 31, 33, I'll put my laws into their hearts and their minds. I will write them, their sins and lawless deeds. I will remember no more. And so we can have complete removal. He stresses it once again. It's gone, removed. I'll remember them no more.

Have you ever thought of it like that? Sometimes we'll remember. We'll remember sins, something will come to our mind, and maybe even we prayed to God and asked Him to forgive us of something we've already asked Him to forgive us for.

You know, I imagine God, I don't know, what does He say? What does He think when that happens? You know, if we've already been forgiven, we haven't recommitted that sin and yet it comes into our mind. We start talking about it and God just says, what are you talking about? I forgave that. I forgotten that. I've removed that. It's gone. And yet sometimes we don't. But that's what He says. He says, I don't remember those anymore. I don't remember those anymore. And I think that's an encouraging thing for us in the sense that oftentimes we have a tendency. Well, maybe there's two perspectives overall. Sometimes at one extreme, we'll have a sin come to our mind. And it's, you've been, you repented of it. It's been forgiven. It's removed. And yet it comes back into our mind and we feel this guilt. And we still have that sense of shame. And yet God says He doesn't remember it. He doesn't remember that. And it's also interesting in, if you look up in Psalm 51, it even talks about the guilt of sin is something that God can deal with and remove as well.

And so oftentimes we can feel guilt when we shouldn't feel any guilt. When God says, it's removed, it's gone. Psalm 103 says, east and west, it is removed. And yet on the other hand, sometimes we're on the other extreme and it's like, well, forgive me for that, God. Thanks, I appreciate it. And we take it too lightly. And we don't really have the kind of mindset that we need. And of course, Paul may be having that in the back of his mind here as he's contrasting the work of Jesus Christ as our high priest, that He paid the penalty for us in that sense. He gave His life for us so that we could have a relationship with God, so that we could be right with Him, so that we can have the kind of relationship that brings us into the right kind of relationship where those kinds of things don't get in the way. Guilt and shame, they don't get in the way of love and mercy. And so that's the kind of God we have when He says, I'm not gonna remember those sins. Not gonna remember those laws, Steve. When you repent of them, when you're forgiven, they are gone and I remember them no more, no more. And so He says in verse 18, where there is remission of these, there's no longer an offering for sin, because it's done, because it's done. It happened once through Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus. Now He gets to the heart of the matter because of the difference in the kind of reconciliation that we can have as opposed to ancient Israel. Because it's not just a covering, just because it's not just kind of looking the other way from sin, but because we have a spiritual relationship with God, we have our sins totally forgiven, totally removed. He says that should create a different perspective in how we live.

And He sets that up by the way He words this here in chapter 10. And did you notice the way that He puts it there? Let's see if I can find which verse that is. Verse 19, brethren, having boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus. And He goes on, by a new and living way. What happened at the death of Christ? Remember all the way back to the crucifixion. At the crucifixion, you remember what happened at the Holy of Holies? The Holy of Holies, the curtain was torn from top to bottom, torn from top to bottom, showing that we have access to the throne of God. And symbolically, it was representative of that. And that's exactly what Paul's talking about here, that now we don't have to have a high priest go before God on our behalf. Now, because of the death of Christ, because we've got such a superior high priest than that man that used to go in once a year in atonement, because we have such an amazing Savior, he says, now we got to walk into that Holy of Holies and not just enter it, because that's not enough. Not just entering it once a year like the high priest would. He says, no, that's not what I'm talking about here. If you notice what it says, we have boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus. So because of His sacrifice, I can be forgiven. I can have a right relationship with God. I can be in the very throne room of God. He says, by a new and living way, He consecrated for us through the veil that is His flesh. So like that physical veil that was torn, that curtain that was torn, because Christ's flesh was torn on our behalf, because He sacrificed His life for us, we can come into the presence of God. And you think we're supposed to just walk in and say, hi, God, and walk out? Or are we supposed to stay? You see, this is a new and living way. We're supposed to come into the Holy of Holies, come into the presence of God, and we're supposed to stay there. We're supposed to stay in the presence of God. We're to live our life in the Holy of Holies. That's what Paul is getting at here. He consecrated it for us, verse 20, through the veil that is His flesh. And having a high priest over the house of God, let's draw near.

What are we drawing near to? We're drawing near to God. We're coming into His throne. We're worshiping and praising Him. We're bowing down before Him. We're having a relationship with Him. He is our God. We are His people. So we're drawing near to Him. We're living our life as we're drawn to God. So it's no longer a once a year kind of thing. This is where we live our life, right in the midst of the Holy of Holies. So let's draw near, he says, with a true heart in full assurance of faith. And so he says, these things are sure. This isn't just wishful thinking, you know, like, I hope, I wish, if only. Now he's saying, we can have full assurance. We can have the confidence. Remember, faith is all about confidence. Faith is all about trust. We don't have trust in ourselves, but we have trust in that high priest of ours, in that Savior of ours, because of what Christ did, because of His sacrifice, because that veil that was torn, His flesh, we can come in to the Holy of Holies because He led the way. He led the way and we follow Him. We are followers of Jesus Christ. We follow Him into the Holy of Holies. And so we can have, it says, our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

We can be clean. We can be clean. And so He just makes this such an important point here. So let's do that. That's what life is all about as God's people then, is that that's what we're striving for, to continue to live the way that God would have us live. And that is in His very presence. And we're to have Christ living in us. Christ is living His life in us and through us. And so in order to do that, we live in the Holy of Holies. And so should that give us boldness?

You know, should that give us... Well, I don't have the confidence in myself because I know myself, I fall down and I mess up and I fall short. But I can have that boldness because of Christ.

And it's pretty cool the way this word boldness keeps coming up. I don't know if you notice, sometimes we miss it because our studies are only every other week. But if you go back, look through the other chapters in the book of Hebrews, notice how many times this word boldness keeps coming up.

You know, because oftentimes as human beings, we're normal everyday people, boy, it gets you down when you fall short. It's discouraging when I don't measure up.

But Paul uses this word for boldness over and over when we're tempted to give up, when we're tempted to quit. We need that encouragement. We need that boldness. We need that faith. We need a trust. We need the confidence in God. And so that's what he uses this over and over again. So I think in chapter 3 and chapter 4, and we just read it here in chapter 10 a couple of times, we're to have that kind of boldness. And you think God's there ready to help us and to guide us and lead us in that kind of a perspective? Absolutely. Absolutely. Because if you were to look up that word for boldness, it means fear not. Fear not, little flock. You know, that we can accomplish the will of God. We can have the courage. And sometimes that word's even translated assurance. And that sounds kind of like a protestantly kind of a word, assurance.

Well, assurance is a confidence, isn't it? It's a type of a trust and a faith, an assurance that God's going to do what He says He's going to do. So do you think He's going to help us as we strive to enter the Holy of Holies? Absolutely. Absolutely. Remember, who is the way?

Who is the truth? You know, who is the life? If Christ is the way, does He want us to get lost as we're, you know, striving to live within that Holy? No. He's going to help us. He wants to guide us. He's consecrated this way. He's opened up the way. He's our forerunner. And so we have that. We can have that confidence in Him. We can have that confidence in Him. And so He tells us that as we do that, He's going to encourage us. And so He gives us a couple of things here in the next couple of verses, three things I think that are so very important as He encourages us to have that kind of boldness, that kind of assurance, that kind of faith and trust in Him. First He says in verse 22, first exhortation that He mentions here, He says, draw near. Draw near to God. So that's what we're supposed to do. Have that boldness, have that confidence, and draw near to God. Get into that Holy of Holies. Take that step and don't go any other way because we have been blessed, because we have been cleaned up, because we baptized. Isn't that a reference to baptism here? Our bodies have been washed with pure water. Sin's been washed away. And so we have an opportunity to have a right relationship with God. So draw near to God. Of course, as we draw near to God, we know who's going to flee. Draw near to God, Satan's going to flee. So draw near to God. That's the first exhortation that He gives us here in these next couple of verses. Second exhortation, He says in verse 23, hold fast. So draw near, hold fast, He says, the confession of our hope without wavering. Well, I sometimes have a tendency to waver. You know, I can't always have that confident walk that's constantly maintaining spiritual things. Sometimes I kind of waver.

But He says, hold fast and gives us the encouragement by saying, He who promised is faithful.

So can I have less wavering? Because I know I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Can that help as I walk the walk? Well, I think so. Will that help me to hold fast?

Those are the things that we set our confidence on. You know, we set our mind on things above.

You know, not earthly things, not the things that are around, but the things that are above. And so we can hold fast. And so He says that. Draw near, hold fast. And then He says, stir up, verse 24. That's a third exhortation here that He gives us. Let's consider one another in order to stir up love and good works. And so He brings this concept together that, oh, we're not in this alone. It's not all about me. You know, it's about us. It's about us.

So I strive to put my life in order and live within the Holy of Holies. And by the way, we are a group. We are a family. We are a church. We're the called out ones. We've been brought together by God. And so we have a responsibility, responsibility that I need to strive to do what's right. And along the way, we're in it together. So we stir each other up. We encourage one another, and we do it by love and good works. And so through these exhortations, He says that becomes, in a way, a practical application for our faith. You know, it's not just that we believe, you know, and that I understand these things to be true, but it translates our beliefs into actions.

Isn't it? And that's really what it's all about, that we have an active, living, high priest in Jesus Christ. And He wants our faith to be active and living. And so we're doers of the Word. We're not just hearers only. So we're constantly drawing nearer to God. We're refining the godly character within us. So I'm throwing out my character, my thinking, my doing, and I'm putting on Christ. I'm holding fast to the truth, to the Word of God, holding fast to my Savior, Jesus Christ. He's not going to waver. He's promised He's going to be with me. He's faithful.

And so I can then live within the Holy of Holies. And then that can motivate me then, in a way, to the next level, that it's not just about me either. That part of my duty, part of my calling, is to help others and to serve others and to be givers to others.

And so through those three exhortations, I guess you could call them, we see our faith in action.

And of course, we have a Savior that is in action for us. And so we're to be in action as well.

All right. With that, I think we are right about at the hour and without getting into assembling ourselves together. Maybe this is a good place to stop for tonight. So if we remember for next time, we'll pick it up in chapter 10 around verse 25 or so is where we'll pick it up for next time. Hope you enjoyed the Bible study. Time seemed to go fast. But I'm sure glad that you're all with us here this evening, here in the hall. Thanks for joining us on the web. Remember, our next Bible study is going to be August 7th. So we've got a couple weeks off.

We're having some repairs done in the room here at the home office. So our next study is going to be August 7th. So make a note of that. It'll be 7 o'clock once again on August 7th. So we hope to see you then. Have a good night.