The old has gone so live in the new covenant
Notes
Transcript
Hebrews 10:1-18 concludes the theological explanation part of this letter. Verse 19 onwards is all about the practical application.
The writer has made their point and will then move onto the “so what does this mean practically for how you live” part of the letter.
And that is the subject of another series.
Today let’s look at Hebrews 10:1-18 and see what is a really good summary of the difference between the old and the new.
The reasons why the old could never bring someone to a perfect standing before God and why the new covenant achieves what the old never could.
When you see a shadow you know that there must be something that casts the shadow.
A shadow does not exist by itself.
It let’s you know that there is something else there and this is exactly the idea that the writer to the Hebrews wants his readers to grasp.
The Old Covenant with its system of endless sacrifices points us towards something far more substantial.
A shadow in and of itself has no substance.
It is actually an indication of a lack of something, a lack of light that tells you something else is there, something that has substance because it is blocking the light and causing the shadow.
And this is how the writer wants people to see the Old Covenant Sacrifices.
They are an indicator of something of substance, not the thing themselves.
They let people know there is a need for a sacrifice of real substance.
They don’t have real substance themselves.
Which is really strange because so much effort was put into the sacrificial system and at the end of the day the writer to the Hebrews is saying that it lacked substance.
That it actually counted for not much at all, they didn’t provide the sort of outcome that was really needed.
Permanant and complete cleansing of all sin.
This is why verses 3 - 4 are important in our understanding of the Old Covenant and the need for the new.
Hebrews 10:3-4
But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year. For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
Everything about the Old Covenant was designed to remind people of their sin.
To show them that their own efforts were not good enough.
To place them in a position where they would be reminded of their need for God’s mercy and as a result they would walk with him humbly.
This is why Hebrews 10:5-7 quotes Psalm 40 and applies the words to Christ.
Interestingly, although the writer doesn’t quote verse 8 of the Psalm; it goes onto say in Psalm 40:8 “I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart.””
The idea was that instead of seeing the sacrifices as a box to tick, a task to complete or a merit to be earned they would have the attitude spoken of in Micah 6:8
No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
The context being that endless sacrifices, even if carried out in incalculable numbers, weren’t the point.
It is the position of the heart that God was looking for.
The Old Covenant system was never going to be the end of the matter.
The systemic rituals were only ever meant to point people to their need for something better, something far more substantial, something that was a permanent solution.
The rituals and the sacrifce were to serve the purpose of helping the poeple to realise that there was a cost for their failures, a cost to their imperfection, a cost that could never be paid unless God himslef did something about it.
The Old Covenant is important because it reminds us of this need even today.
The Old Covenant is important because it contains the moral law which is summarised in the Great Commandment.
The Old Covenant is important because it is this moral framework that the New Testament takes as foundational to how we are to live in light of the New Covenant.
But the Old Covenant could never really take away sin.
It could only make the statement that a cost had to be paid and the sacrifices of animals was how that statement was made.
The Contrast of Covenants
The Contrast of Covenants
The next point that we need to remember is that there is an incredible contrast between the shadow of the Old and the Substance of the New.
If you think back to your days in high school or university you may recall the question that would come up in assessments.
Compare and contrast the views of a and b.
It was a common question in theology assessments because it showed if you really understood two or more views and had grasped their diffrerences, similarity and the implications of these particular viewpoints.
It is like comparing the economic and social views of Marx and John Maynard Keynes the famous economist whoses thinking shaped what is known as Kensington Economics the dominant approach in the west for the last 100 years.
Or comparing the ethical positions of virtue ethics as oppossed to Utilitarianism where moral absolute can at times be seen to run against maximising well being for the most number of poeple.
The contrast between different approaches to life, money and good can be quite stark.
It is the same when contrasting the new and old covenants.
The old has endless repetition, the new single completion.
The old has constant reminder of sin, the new forgets it and puts it away forever.
The old has the priest standing constantly working, the new has Christ our High Priest seated for the work is complete.
There is this overwhelming theme of completion as oppossed to ongoing requirement, expressed aptly in
Hebrews 10:8-10
First, Christ said, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings or burnt offerings or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them” (though they are required by the law of Moses). Then he said, “Look, I have come to do your will.” He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect. For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.
Once for all time.
This is what we need to grasp.
All striving to be good enough is done away with.
All religious repietition in the hope of pleasing God is done away with.
All guilt has been dealt with.
The result should be joy, hope and reassurance that we are welcome in the presence of God.
This is the truth that the writer to the Hebrews wanted his original audience to grasp.
We live in a new time.
As the people then were freed from going back, so we are freed from the things behind us.
With Christ everything is new.
Relationship with God is literally person to person, there is no need for ritual and sacrifice.
The moral code of the Old Covenant is now internalised in the person of the Holy Spirit who guides and leads.
Which raises the question for us today.
How are you and I going to live as a result of the New Covenant?
How are you and I going to live as a result of the New Covenant?
If the work of sacrifice has been finished, which is what Hebrews tells us.
Then what work is there left for us to do?
We are no longer required to make sacrifice, so do we just sit around and wait?
Certainly not!
The sacrifice is completed, the task of sharing that truth with others who are yet to grasp it is not.
Romans 10:14 “But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?”
Is pretty clear as are the words of Jesus himself.
Matthew 28:18-20
Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
My friends the letter to the Hebrews was written to a group of people who were in danger of giving up on the central truth of Christianity and going back to the system they knew and could measure their lives against.
The completeness of Christ’s Sacrifice in heaven and on earth means that everything has been dealt with.
The ongoing response should be to love God and love your neighbour and as you are going to make disciples, baptising them and teaching them to obey whilst being sure that Christ is with us to the very end and then for eternity.
We are called to look forward.
To live in this new reality.
To not look back, yearning for lives that were lived in ignorance of Christ.
Instead we are to live in the freedom, joy and peace of knowing that our eternity is assured, our purpose here on earth is clear and our destiny is to walk in eternal felowship with Christ livign in service of others.