Christ offers the only sacrifice that brings full assurance of salvation.
Hebrews 10: Christ's Sacrifice Once for All
1 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.
2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins?
3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year.
4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, "Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me;
6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.
7 Then I said, 'Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.'"
8 When he said above, "You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings" (these are offered according to the law),
9 then he added, "Behold, I have come to do your will." He does away with the first in order to establish the second.
10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,
13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.
14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
15 And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,
16 "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,"
17 then he adds, "I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more."
18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
The Full Assurance of Faith
19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus,
20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh,
21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,
25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.
28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.
29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?
30 For we know him who said, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay." And again, "The Lord will judge his people."
31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
32 But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings,
33 sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated.
34 For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.
35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.
36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.
37 For, "Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay;
38 but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him."
39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.
Things to think about…
1. The writer in Heb 10:5-7 is quoting directly from Ps 40:6-8 which is a Messianic prophesy referring to the work of Christ in establishing a new covenant that makes the sacrifices of the Levitical law obsolete, vs 9. As such we encourage the Jews to build on Christ and not their third temple to re-establish animal sacrifices that the Lord now has no pleasure in, vs 6. The Law was a shadow and a type of things to come. Christ is the substance and fulfillment through His death, burial and resurrection. And then Heb 10:10 is fulfilled “we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all”.
2. Has Christ’s kingdom been established because of His sacrifice? Yes, but there is still a time coming when there will be a physical manifestation of this as He is “waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet”, Heb 10:13 which is also quoting and adding context to Ps 110:1.
3. Consider Heb 10:14 ‘For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified’. This clearly includes all the OT saints. This is in agreement with the catechism question and answer – Qn. How did they (OT saints) show their faith? Ans. By offering sacrifices on God's altar. The OT saints offered animal sacrifices as they looked forward in faith to the One true sacrifice that alone would atone for their sin.
4. In Hebrews 10:16-18 we see a paraphrase from Jer 31:31-34 where Jeremiah speaks about the future redemption of the Israelites through Christ. Pray that the Jews would see their Saviour who was prophesied to come and that the veil would be taken off their hearts and minds as the books of Jeremiah and Hebrews prophesy. Pray for the One for Israel ministry we support as they show Christ to the Jewish people.
5. Jesus’ sacrifice gives us confidence, Heb 10:19 to draw near with full assurance, vs 22 so that we don’t waver, vs 23. Let’s be done with doubt and fear. The perfect love of Christ casts it out, 1Jn 4:18.
6. Encouragement is a wonderful gift to bestow on someone. This is one of the reasons we join together in cell groups and on a Sunday, ‘to stir one another up…as we see the Day approaching’, Heb 10:24, 25. What Day? The day when Christ shall return and ‘his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet’, vs 13.
7. The writer then focusses on the judgement to come, Heb 10:26-31. This is directed to the Lord’s people, vs 30. Why is this so if God’s judgement has fallen on Christ? The answer is simple, to inoculate against complacency. As Paul says in Rom 6, “should we sin that grace may abound? Certainly not,” Rom 6:1,2. We are not to ‘shrink back’. The righteous who have faith are to ‘preserve their souls’, Heb 10:38, 39. But doesn’t the Lord preserve our souls? Yes, but this is the tension we have between the Lord’s work of grace in our hearts and our responsibility to be faithful in our works.
Vision Point for cell groups
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Title was “Keeping an open mind and heart” – Reading Hebrews 3:7-19.
1. We have all done some things in our past that we are not very proud of. We have gone against wise counsel or done some things that we knew were plain wrong. Can you share something dumb that you have done and later regretted?
2. The writer to the Hebrews is writing to Jews who knew the law of Moses very well, yet they were not following after Christ the way they should. He says that the ancient Israelites in the wilderness didn’t enter the promised land because of unbelief. He used the example of the hardness of heart to what they received in the wilderness. What did they receive, who did this represent?
3. Many disciples turned away from Jesus when He said eat my body and drink my blood. He said he was the manna that came down from heaven in John 6. How are the Jews still missing this today? In what ways do we do the same thing through religion, lack of bible study, lack of meeting together?
Prayer Points
1. That the reversal of Rowe v Wade has a profound effect on future children yet unborn.
2. Safety for those travelling over the school holidays.
3. Peace to rest over Ukraine.
4. Folk sick with Flu A and Covid – relief and healing.
5. Pray for other building projects – café roof, the repair of the house roof.
6. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. More new folk came to CBC on Sunday.
2. Worship on Sunday – thankyou and technical team.
3. Café helpers on Sunday – thanks Melinda and Maddison.
4. All those who faithfully serve in ministries, Worship, Sound/Technical/Kids Church/ Cell Groups/Admin - Bulletins/Finances/Property/Welcoming/Spiritual Leadership/Cafe
5. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
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Catechism question for June...
Q. 4. What becomes of men when they die? A. The body returns to dust, and the soul goes back to God to be judged.
