Christ’s Special Sacrifice

Hebrews 9:1-28

Focus: Hebrews 9:1-12

Hebrews 9:1–12 (NLT)

1 That first covenant between God and Israel had regulations for worship and a place of worship here on earth.

2 There were two rooms in that Tabernacle. In the first room were a lampstand, a table, and sacred loaves of bread on the table. This room was called the Holy Place.

3 Then there was a curtain, and behind the curtain was the second room called the Most Holy Place.

4 In that room were a gold incense altar and a wooden chest called the Ark of the Covenant, which was covered with gold on all sides. Inside the Ark were a gold jar containing manna, Aaron’s staff that sprouted leaves, and the stone tablets of the covenant.

5 Above the Ark were the cherubim of divine glory, whose wings stretched out over the Ark’s cover, the place of atonement. But we cannot explain these things in detail now.

6 When these things were all in place, the priests regularly entered the first room as they performed their religious duties.

7 But only the high priest ever entered the Most Holy Place, and only once a year. And he always offered blood for his own sins and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.

8 By these regulations the Holy Spirit revealed that the entrance to the Most Holy Place was not freely open as long as the Tabernacle and the system it represented were still in use.

9 This is an illustration pointing to the present time. For the gifts and sacrifices that the priests offer are not able to cleanse the consciences of the people who bring them.

10 For that old system deals only with food and drink and various cleansing ceremonies—physical regulations that were in effect only until a better system could be established.

11 So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world.

12 With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.

INTRODUCTION:

I. CHRIST’S SACRIFICE PROVIDES FOR A PLACE OF HEAVENLY WORSHIP (Hebrews 9:1-11).

A. The place of earthly worship is a grand place. (Hebrews 9:1-5).

Hebrews 9:1–5 (NLT)

1 That first covenant between God and Israel had regulations for worship and a place of worship here on earth.

2 There were two rooms in that Tabernacle. In the first room were a lampstand, a table, and sacred loaves of bread on the table. This room was called the Holy Place.

3 Then there was a curtain, and behind the curtain was the second room called the Most Holy Place.

4 In that room were a gold incense altar and a wooden chest called the Ark of the Covenant, which was covered with gold on all sides. Inside the Ark were a gold jar containing manna, Aaron’s staff that sprouted leaves, and the stone tablets of the covenant.

5 Above the Ark were the cherubim of divine glory, whose wings stretched out over the Ark’s cover, the place of atonement. But we cannot explain these things in detail now.

1. It is grand because of what is there.

a. The elements of Worship are there.

b. The messengers of God are there.

2. It is grand because it is a place of grace.

a. It is where God’s grace is proclaimed.

b. It is a place where many find grace.

( Psalms 5:7)

Psalm 5:7 (NLT)

7 Because of your unfailing love, I can enter your house; I will worship at your Temple with deepest awe.

(Luke 18:10-14)

Luke 18:10–14 (NLT)

10 “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector.

11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector!

12 I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’

13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’

14 I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

3. It is grand because it is a place where God’s glory dwells.

(2 Chronicles 5:14)

2 Chronicles 5:14 (NLT)

14 The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of God.

(2 Chronicles 7:1)

2 Chronicles 7:1 (NLT)

1 When Solomon finished praying, fire flashed down from heaven and burned up the burnt offerings and sacrifices, and the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple.

a. He is invisibly but experientially present.

b. His glory is seen in the lives that are changed.

B. The place of earthly worship is a limited place. (Hebrews 9:6-10).

Hebrews 9:6–10 (NLT)

6 When these things were all in place, the priests regularly entered the first room as they performed their religious duties.

7 But only the high priest ever entered the Most Holy Place, and only once a year. And he always offered blood for his own sins and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.

8 By these regulations the Holy Spirit revealed that the entrance to the Most Holy Place was not freely open as long as the Tabernacle and the system it represented were still in use.

9 This is an illustration pointing to the present time. For the gifts and sacrifices that the priests offer are not able to cleanse the consciences of the people who bring them.

10 For that old system deals only with food and drink and various cleansing ceremonies—physical regulations that were in effect only until a better system could be established.

1. Access to God is limited.

a. Can’t be physically in His presence.

2. Those who minister are limited.

a. They are men of flesh (sinners).

3. The scope of worship is limited.

a. It is earthly worship that is only a type and shadow of what is to come.

C. The place of heavenly worship is going to be a glorious place. (Hebrews 9:11).

Hebrews 9:11 (NLT)

11 So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world.

1. It will be glorious because it will take place in a temple divinely built.

2. It will be glorious because God Himself dwells there.

(Revelation 21:3)

Revelation 21:3 (NLT)

3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.

II.CHRIST’S SACRIFICE PERFECTS BELIEVERS WITH A COMPLETE CLEANSING (Hebrews 9:12-22).

A. It perfects us through eternal redemption (Hebrews 9:12).

Hebrews 9:12 (NLT)

12 With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.

1. The redemption He bought is eternal.

(John 10:27-30; 3:16)

John 10:27–30 (NLT)

27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me,

29 for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand.

30 The Father and I are one.”

John 3:16 (NLT)

16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

a. αἰωνίαν = without end, never to cease, everlasting, pertaining to an unlimited duration of time—‘eternal.’

b. λύτρωσιν= to release or set free, with the implied analogy to the process of freeing a slave—‘to set free, to liberate, to deliver, liberation, deliverance.

2. The sacrifice He made was once for ever.

a.ἐφάπαξ = a single occurrence to the exclusion of any other similar occurrence—‘once and for all, once and never again.’

B. It perfects us through effective remaking. (Hebrews 9:13-15).

Hebrews 9:13–15 (NLT)

13 Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity.

14 Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.

15 That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.

1. The effective remaking cleansed us from dead works.

( Romans 7:11)

Romans 7:11 (NLT)

11 Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me.

a. ἀπέκτεινεν = put to death, to kill

2. The effective remaking made us able to serve the living God.

(Eph. 2:1)

Ephesians 2:1 (NLT)

1 Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins.

a. λατρεύειν = to perform sacred services, to offer gifts, to worship God.

b. ζῶντι = to live, breathe, be among the living (not lifeless, not dead)

C. It perfects us through everlasting inheritance. (Hebrews 9:16-22).

Hebrews 9:16–22 (NLT)

16 Now when someone leaves a will, it is necessary to prove that the person who made it is dead.

17 The will goes into effect only after the person’s death. While the person who made it is still alive, the will cannot be put into effect.

18 That is why even the first covenant was put into effect with the blood of an animal.

19 For after Moses had read each of God’s commandments to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, along with water, and sprinkled both the book of God’s law and all the people, using hyssop branches and scarlet wool.

20 Then he said, “This blood confirms the covenant God has made with you.”

21 And in the same way, he sprinkled blood on the Tabernacle and on everything used for worship.

22 In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.

1. The old testament was sealed with the blood of the sacrificial animals.

2. The new testament has been sealed with the blood of Christ.

a. καθαρίζεται = to make clean, cleanse

b. οὐ γίνεται ἄφεσις= There is no remission, forgiveness or pardon, of sins (letting them go as if they had never been committed), remission of the penalty

III. CHRIST’S SACRIFICE PROMOTES OUR POSITION FROM SINNER TO SAINT (Hebrews 9:23-28).

A. It promotes our position because Christ is in the presence of God. (Hebrews 9:23-24).

Hebrews 9:23–24 (NLT)

23 That is why the Tabernacle and everything in it, which were copies of things in heaven, had to be purified by the blood of animals. But the real things in heaven had to be purified with far better sacrifices than the blood of animals.

24 For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands, which was only a copy of the true one in heaven. He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf.

1. He is in the presence of God as our redeemer.( Revelation 5:9)

Revelation 5:9 (NLT)

9 And they sang a new song with these words: “You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it. For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.

2. He is in the presence of God as our advocate (Mediator).

( 1 Timothy 2:5)

1 Timothy 2:5 (NLT)

5 For, There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus.

(1 John 2:1 )

1 John 2:1 (NLT)

1 My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.

3. He is in the presence of God as our intercessor.

( Romans 8:34)

Romans 8:34 (NLT)

34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

B. It promotes our position because of Christ’s once for all sacrifice for us. (Hebrews 9:25-26).

Hebrews 9:25–26 (NLT)

25 And he did not enter heaven to offer himself again and again, like the high priest here on earth who enters the Most Holy Place year after year with the blood of an animal.

26 If that had been necessary, Christ would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But now, once for all time, he has appeared at the end of the age to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice.

1. The Old Testament sacrifices had to be repeated annually.

2. The New Testament sacrifice was once for all.

C. It promotes our position because of the results of the whole process of salvation. (Hebrews 9:27-28).

Hebrews 9:27–28 (NLT)

27 And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment,

28 so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.

1. Death and judgment are sure. (Hebrews 9:27)

Hebrews 9:27 (NLT)

27 And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment,

2. He is returning to complete our salvation (from the presence of sin)

(1 Thess. 4:13-17).

1 Thessalonians 4:13–17 (NLT)

13 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope.

14 For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.

15 We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died.

16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves.

17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.

CONCLUSION: