Sermon Tone Analysis

Heb 10:

As we journey through this book we can see just how intent the author is on contrasting the old covenant with the new, demonstrating that Christ is superior to the old covenant.

But this is in no way designed to show the old covenant as evil or bad.

The old covenant had a specific purpose, it was to be a forshadowing of Christ.

I think this message is still relevant for us today.

There are Christians that would say that the Old Testament holds nothing of value for us.

They would say we should only focus on the New Covenant, stick to the Gospels and the epistles and don’t waist our time looking at the Old covenant.

And then there are Christians who would say that God never told us to stop keeping the Law and they would have us keep the feast and special days and observe the Sabbath etc.

So who is right?

What purpose does the law have for us today?

In our passage this morning I believe the apostle may help to answer some of these questions.

Essential Hebrews teaches us that there is nothing wrong with the old covenant until it is raised against the New.

They were never meant to be in conflict with one another just as John the Baptist was not in conflict with Jesus.

John proclaimed I must decrease that He (Christ) may increase.

And so it is with the Old covenant and the New covenant.

The old prepares the way for the new but the old must never prevent the new.

The old covenant must decrease so the the Gospel may increase.

In our Passage this morning we are taken through a progression from the old covenant through to the new.

As we look at this progression I believe we can also see the progression of a how a person in receiving the gospel.

Knowledge Of Sin

Without knowledge of sin a person can never find grace.

Christ said I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.

So then if a righteous person is to find grace they must first become a sinner.

So how does a righteous person become a sinner?

You say “are you trying to encourage sin?” No, the righteous person does not need to sin to become a sinner he or she simply needs to become aware of the sin that is already within them.

So how does a righteous person become aware of sin?

And this is where the old covenant or the Law becomes relevant

Lets look at our passage

Heb 10:1-4

The Law was designed to fail.

God build into the Law a blatant shortcoming.

For all that they had to do with all the sacrifices and feast and rituals it could not save them It could not make them perfect.

Take note of that word perfect because we will come back to that later.

Heb

So here’s the logical argument to show that this was not only designed to fail but the Law was designed to highlight it own failure.

For would they not have ceased to be offered?

Makes perfect sense right?

In other words it by design could not make them perfect and it was by design obvious that it could not make them perfect because the sacrifices never ceased.

Because (if it had made them perfect) then after one sacrifice once purged, they would have had no more conscience of sin.

Ok now perfect is quantified.

Because if the sacrifices had made them perfect then they would have cease to be offered because once purge they would have no more conscience of sin.

So to be perfect here is the same as to have no more conscience of sin.

Ok so if the Law through the sacrifices could not make them perfect then what was the point?

And here it is in the next couple of verses.

Heb 10:34-4

-4

The point was that these sacrifices made year by year served the purpose of reminding them of there sin.

Every time they made a sacrifice, every time they would see the smoke going up from the burnt offering it reminded them that they were sinners and that these sacrifices could not take away their sins.

The Law was to give them the knowledge of sin.

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So how does a righteous man become a sinner?

He becomes aware of his sin.

The Law becomes our schoolmaster and teaches us that we are far from righteous.

It reminds us daily that we are a sinner and once a sinner we have hope of grace because Christ calls sinners to repentance.

Once there is knowledge of sin there can be...

Elimination Of Sin

The apostle now points us to a prophecy given in Psalms 40.

Heb 10:

As we can see from the following commentary on this passage, this is a prophecy of Christ.

The prophecy agains points to the insufficiency of the animal sacrifices in that God had no pleasure in them.

God never got pleasure from the sacrifices, they could never satisfy our debt of sin.

That was never the purpose of the sacrifices.

They were to remind us of our sin and give hope that one day an acceptable sacrifice would be made.

Heb 10:8-11

So two things took place, first He declares the end of the first covenant Then he said I will come to do thy will so that He, Christ, could establish the second covenant.

By which covenant we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus once and for all.

And again the once and for all is emphasised to contrast the continual sacrifices of the old covenant which is again mentioned in verse 11.

These sacrifices could never take away sins.

But the sacrifice of Christ can and does take away our sin.

So then the sin that the Law make known to us is eliminated once and for all through the offering of the body of Christ.

And it through this elimination of our sin that our...

Conscience Purged

Note the emphasis after he offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God.

One evry big difference between the earthly tabernacle and the true, heavenly sanctuary is that in the earthy tabernacle with all it’s furniture, it had no seat because the work was never complete.

Yet Christ sat down at the right hand of the Father because the work is finished.

And He is waiting until all enemies are under His foot until the very last enemy which is death itself is conquered.

And why does he sit ?

because by that one offering He has perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

So now we come back to this perfection.

As we noted before perfection means having no conscience of sin.

We began without knowledge of sin think we were righteous but the Law make our sin known and reminds us of it so that we know we have no hope, then as sinners Christ calls us to repentance, we place our faith in the completed work of Christ on the cross We are sanctified and made perfect in Christ Jesus and now

God has no remembrance of our sin we have no conscience of sin and as the apostle say in

Where are you in this journey?

Have you never had awareness of your sin? have you never answered to call of Christ to repentance?

Or perhaps you have repented but you are letting the accuser of the brethren bring you under condemnation.