Sin is Finished!

Introduction

However great a reproduction is, the real thing will always be better. By its very nature, a reproduction is not its own thing, but an immitation which will always, in some way, fall short of what it is copying, and so will never be perfect. You might go to see a concert where someone who looks like Elvis Presley performs, but no matter how good he might be it would never be as perfect as an actual performance by the late singer would be. Only the original can be perfectly itself, the reproduction will always fall short simply because it is a reproduction.

This is why the author of the Letter to the Hebrews makes his case that the old covenant rituals could never bring a perfect reconciliation of mankind to God. It is, after all, just a reproduction of something else; something more perfect and effective. Something heavenly and original, which predates even creation itself. What was done, where it was done, and who did, are so perfect in their power and scope that their purpose must have been completed. That purpose was, of course, to rid humanity of the stain, guilt, shame, and power of sin. The point is drawn and the message is sure, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ has brought an end to sin; it is finished!!

Better Than the Copies

Last week we left of on a verse that is likely familiar to many of you, “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” We saw how, under the old covenant, the external purity of an animal could represent the blamelessness which a sinner needs to approach God. Blood served two primary functions in the OT rituals:

First, it sealed the oaths and promises on which the covenant was built. Again, a covenant is a formal relationship of faithfulness where two parties form a family bond which they express by faithfully keeping the stipulations, the promises, that they make. As we saw last week, blood was used to represent the blood of those who made the covenant, implying that their life should be forfeit should they be unfaithful to the covenant. To violate a covenant was a death sentence.

Second, it provided a means by which a pure and holy God may be approached by those corrupted by the filthiness of sin. In this way, the blood takes on a mediatory role, a way that God can live among those with a sinful nature and not destroy them with his holy justice.

The problem with the old covenant was not that it was bad or wrong, for God himself had founded it. The problem was that it was not truly real, anymore than an Elvis impersonator can put on a real Elvis Prestly show. Chapter 8 introduced this idea of typology, that the visible rituals of the old covenant were copies and models of a truer, tho invisible, reality. The use of animals blood, the existence of a space which barred most priests from entering God’s presence, the repitition of sacrifices, the sinful priests, and the limited nature of the cleansing all pointed towards a simple fact: it wasn’t the full reality, it was only a copy.

This is where we pick up today in verse 23. As we saw last week, the outer cleansing made through animals in the old covenant was important. Here, again it is acknowledged that the “copies”, the Tabernacle and all of the alters, utensiles, and other items used in the old rituals, had to be purified by blood. Again, this is because these things were defiled by human sin and they had to be atoned for as well.

So it is a bit surprising for us to read that this is something the heavenly reality and the earthly copy have in common. The reason the Tabernacle has to be purified is because the “heavenly things” must be also. Remember, it is the manmade things that are copying the heavenly things; the reason there needed to be an outward and visible cleansing with blood is because there needed to be a heavenly one.

Now, I don’t think that we are expected to believe that God’s heavenly presence somehow became unclean and needed to be purified. As if anything could tain the pure and unfiltered presence of the almighty and holy God. Instead, we must remember why the earthly things needed to be cleased with blood. It was because of the people that would be interacting with it, touching it, using it. It wasn’t because those things were naturally impure, but because it was where impure people would go to meet a pure God. So when we read that heavenly things need to be purified with a better sacrifice it means that a purification has to be made for us to that we can enter that holy place. The point is, if we are to meet God for peace and reconciliation, the context of such a meeting must be purity and blamelessness. This was true in the Tabernacle because it is true in heaven.

Of course, the real thing has to be better than the copy and the sacrifice is no different. While the blood of a perfect animal purified externally, the real cleansing must happen within. Moreover, it must happen once and for all. The repetition of the old covenant ritual was one of the main proofs that it was real deal; it could not deal with sin in a satisfactory or permenant way. The real sacrifice, on the other hand, cleanses the people of God with finality so that they may approach God without need of further atonement.

There are two things the author now draws our attention to that differentiate the new covenant from the old and proves to us which is the copy and which is the reality. These contrasts get at the heart of what is truly important in a relationship with God and how the priestly work of Christ makes it possible.

Not made with hands, but into heaven itself

First, the location of this offering is in heaven as opposed to a tent made with hands. When Solomon set out to build the best temple he could possibly afford, he wisely acknowledged in 2 Chron 2:6

2 Chronicles 2:6 ESV

But who is able to build him a house, since heaven, even highest heaven, cannot contain him? Who am I to build a house for him, except as a place to make offerings before him?

It was always obvious to the wise that God could not be contained in any created space, much less one made by human hands. Even the highest heaven, says Solomon, cannot contain Him. Nevertheless, Solomon also saw the value of offerings and he likely knew, to some degree, that they pointed to something more substantial.

Think of the difference between walking through a room full of colourful, vibrant, diverse and yet artificial flowers compared to walking through a true garden. As lifelike as the man-made replicas may be, they will never feel real and will never do anything except serve as a reminder of what is real.

But when Christ ascended into heaven and offered his blood as atonement for us, it was as real as it gets. He did not go into a tent build by humans to merely represent the place where God’s presence is most fully seen, even if it was built as per God’s instructions. Just as the smell and feel of the flower can tell you the garden is real, the presence of Christ in heaven speaks to the reality of what he accomplished.

Not repeatedly, but once for all

Next, Christ’s sacrifice and offering were not done repeatedly, but once. Repitition speaks to preparation, practice, and anticipation. At a wedding rehersal, the couple says their vows several times but they are not married. The fact that they repeat the service over and over makes it clear to anyone who may wander in that it is a practice run, not the real thing. Likewise, if a person hurts of offends his friend and then apologizes, if the friend’s forgiveness is genuine he or she will not expect repeated apologies. Likewise, if peace has truly and finally been made between sinners and God then repeated sacrifices for sins will not be necessary. If the payment for sins was not a one-time-thing, then the author reasons that the Son would have had to suffer constantly since the beginning when sin entered the world. The point being that either his sacrifice is perfect or its not, and since Christ suffered once for sin so we can see that this is the reality. Practice runs are done, the final and real accomplishment has been made.

Appeared to Put Away Sin

But what exactly is accomplished? Verse 26 tells us that after ages of preparation, expectation, ritual, type, and shadow at the end of the ages Jesus appeared to take away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

How familiar this sentiment is and how easily overlooked. The perfect priest is also the perfect sacrifice, and because he is alive again he is able to offer the blood he shed on the cross to purify our way into the heavenly throne room.

It says that Jesus came to “put away” or “remove” sin. Jesus did not come simply to offer forgiveness; rather, the forgiveness he offers is the first part of a whole-sale deliverance from the guilt, power, shame, and slavery to sin. Justification cleanses us and buys our forgiveness before the Father, Sanctification frees us from the power and shame of sin as we learn to live in th Spirit, and Glorification when we are finally freed from sin in every aspect entirely. This is the scope of our salvation, and Jesus came to save you from all of sin. Grace cannot be a license to sin anymore than medicine is a license to get sick. 1 John 3:5

1 John 3:5 ESV

You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.

Sin cannot have dominion over a Christian, and we must be diligent to see every expression of our old sinful lives as a step towards the grave. If you trust Christ, you trust that he came to save you from sin and so you must not let sin gain a foothold in your life. It is worth remembering all of the warnings the author of Hebrews has given us throughout his letter. If Jesus would give his life to save you from sin in every way, you must take it seriously.

“At the end of the ages” doesn’t mean that God just happened to wait until the end of history to bring about salvation. Instead, the author is saying that the cross and the heavenly offering made of that sacrifice marks the end of history. Like any good book of movie, the story has reached its climactic moment, we now live in the final chapter before a glorious and eternal epilogue. Everything that ever happened before was leading up to that moment, and everything since has come from that moment. It is the one thing that ties all of history together and brings about the ultimate end of it all: God and mankind reconcilled!

The Hope of His Coming

Verses 27-28 compare Christ’s once and for all sacrifice for sin with the grim facts of life, death, and judgement. Every human being, with a couple of exceptions like Elijah or Lazerus, will face two different events once: death and judgement. We do not die over and over again; a real death is permenant and the judgement to follow only happens once. This sober reminder is not just there to remind us that we must one day die, but to parallel Christ’s saving work. Just as one day must once day, Christ died once on the cross an atoning death for sins. Just as we must face judgement once, so Christ brought his sacrificed life before the Father once to bring cleansing, satisfy his just wrath against sin, and clear the way for sinners to know him.

Again, a familiar truth that so easily loses its wonder is that Christ died for sinners. A sacrifice, a pure conscience, cleansing blood, these are all things that a sinner desparately lacks as their rebellion and shame stand between their Maker and themselves. We are not the poor victims in this story. We are rebels against God’s goodness and righteous rule. God judges sinners because he is loving and therefore he must destroy the evildoers who promote hatred and destruction and selfish gain. But God so loves sinners that he provided a sacrifice, the sacrifice of himself through the second person of the Trinity come and be made out substitute. His blood cleanses sinners to be sinners no more, not merely on an external layer like in the old covenant but internally in our hearts and consciences so that we may approach God with the full confident assurance that we are now welcome in his Temple and before his face.

So verse 28 ends this chapter Jesus, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, is returning. A time will come when he will leave the heavenly throneroom. But his leaving will not be, as it was in the old covenant, because the sacrifice has to be repeated; that he cannot dwell in the holy presence and must come back with another sacrifice later on. No, he leaves to bring the presence of God with him. He will appear, it says, a second time not to deal with sin. That is, not to repeat the sacrifice again because sin has already been completely dealt with. Instead, he will come to “save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”

Salvation here refers to the end of salvation. Remember that, although the work for our salvation is finished, the process of our salvation is not. As long as we still live in bodies tainted with the corruption of sin, we still have something we need saving from. However, that saving will not require any further sacrifice or power than what is already accomplished in the blood of Christ. Rather, it will be Christ bringing our faith to sight and the reality of our salvation to its final and glorious end. The faithful wait for that day eagerly, knowing they are accepted before the Holy Throne of God on the merits of a perfect sacrifice given for them, but also with fear lest the love of the world and its sinful delights should choke out their faithful discipleship.

Conclusion

For the Christian, the words of the Gospel are the hope against the sin that enslaved us from our birth. In our impure and fallen state, we go after fleshly passions rather than God’s righteous wisdom, we pursue our own fallible will rather than God’s perfect instructions, we ignore God’s sovereign and just rule and instead institute our own ideas and designs. This is not how we were created to be, but it is the reality and it has lead to our continual destruction and, more importantly, it has alianated us from our Maker. Sin means we must be separated from the giver of life itself. It means we are unclean and impure, unable to bear his image sufficiently. It means that his presence brings us shame, remembrance of our guilt, and awakens in us that deadly rebelliousness. It makes death our final destination and punishment our just due. Sin forces us to believe its lies, calling itself freedom while we serve in slavishly to our own destruction. Sin breaks up families, erodes trust, encourages suspicion, inflicts suffering, raises cruelty, and always ends in death.

But in Christ Jesus, sin is finished. For those who unite themselves to the Son by faith, humanity’s ultimate enemy is finally subdued. The presence of God is opened for you. Not the copy and shadow of it, but the real thing, the heavenly presence. When Christ returns there will be not Temple it all, the Apostle John says, because God will freely dwell with his people unhidden and unveiled.

Are you struggling with temptations that feel like they are too much to fight against? Are you wallowing in guilt because you have recently fallen into sin? Are you full of shame because of your sinful past, or because you see the harm your sin has done to yourself and others? Do you feel enslaved to sin? Do you feel so defeated by it that you are strongly tempted to give up hope in the struggle?

Christ has defeated sin for you. He has loosed your chains, he has washed you of guilt, he has overcome its power, he has taken your shame upon himself. Sin has no more dominion over you. So lift up your head, take up your weapon against your already-defeated foe, indeed his strongest weapon now is convincing you that he still has power, and come before the Throne of Grace in prayer and at the Table. Come find the help, for if Christ’s sacrifice has truly done away with sin than you have every reason to believe that it will be done away with in you.