Nothing But The Blood of Jesus

Hebrews 9:15-28 | Nothing but the Blood of Jesus If you have your bibles, now will be a good time find Hebrews 9. We will be looking over verses 15-28. Imagine having a loan. Now, you've been paying the required amount month after month, but the balance just never seems to get any lower. Now imagine that someone comes in and just pays that loan in full after countless years of making payments on this loan. You didn't do anything to deserve this. You didn't make a deal with anyone to cause this to occur. You honestly didn't even imagine that you'd ever get away from this loan. But it has been paid. In full. In our passage this morning, we will see that very thing happened to you and me when Jesus went to the cross, died, was buried, rose again, then ascended into Heaven to take His seat at the right hand of God. Because you see, when Jesus died a criminal's death on the cross, He paid our debts and died the death that you and I deserve. In full. Please follow along as I read our passage this morning. 15 THEREFORE HE IS THE MEDIATOR OF A NEW COVENANT, SO THAT THOSE WHO ARE CALLED MAY RECEIVE THE PROMISED ETERNAL INHERITANCE, SINCE A DEATH HAS OCCURRED THAT REDEEMS THEM FROM THE TRANSGRESSIONS COMMITTED UNDER THE FIRST COVENANT. 16 FOR WHERE A WILL IS INVOLVED, THE DEATH OF THE ONE WHO MADE IT MUST BE ESTABLISHED. 17 FOR A WILL TAKES EFFECT ONLY AT DEATH, SINCE IT IS NOT IN FORCE AS LONG AS THE ONE WHO MADE IT IS ALIVE. 18 THEREFORE NOT EVEN THE FIRST COVENANT WAS INAUGURATED WITHOUT BLOOD. 19 FOR WHEN EVERY COMMANDMENT OF THE LAW HAD BEEN DECLARED BY MOSES TO ALL THE PEOPLE, HE TOOK THE BLOOD OF CALVES AND GOATS, WITH WATER AND SCARLET WOOL AND HYSSOP, AND SPRINKLED BOTH THE BOOK ITSELF AND ALL THE PEOPLE, 20 SAYING, "THIS IS THE BLOOD OF THE COVENANT THAT GOD COMMANDED FOR YOU." 21 AND IN THE SAME WAY HE SPRINKLED WITH THE BLOOD BOTH THE TENT AND ALL THE VESSELS USED IN WORSHIP. 22 INDEED, UNDER THE LAW ALMOST EVERYTHING IS PURIFIED WITH BLOOD, AND WITHOUT THE SHEDDING OF BLOOD THERE IS NO FORGIVENESS OF SINS. 23 THUS IT WAS NECESSARY FOR THE COPIES OF THE HEAVENLY THINGS TO BE PURIFIED WITH THESE RITES, BUT THE HEAVENLY THINGS THEMSELVES WITH BETTER SACRIFICES THAN THESE. 24 FOR CHRIST HAS ENTERED, NOT INTO HOLY PLACES MADE WITH HANDS, WHICH ARE COPIES OF THE TRUE THINGS, BUT INTO HEAVEN ITSELF, NOW TO APPEAR IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD ON OUR BEHALF. 25 NOR WAS IT TO OFFER HIMSELF REPEATEDLY, AS THE HIGH PRIEST ENTERS THE HOLY PLACES EVERY YEAR WITH BLOOD NOT HIS OWN, 26 FOR THEN HE WOULD HAVE HAD TO SUFFER REPEATEDLY SINCE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD. BUT AS IT IS, HE HAS APPEARED ONCE FOR ALL AT THE END OF THE AGES TO PUT AWAY SIN BY THE SACRIFICE OF HIMSELF. 27 AND JUST AS IT IS APPOINTED FOR MAN TO DIE ONCE, AND AFTER THAT COMES JUDGMENT, 28 SO CHRIST, HAVING BEEN OFFERED ONCE TO BEAR THE SINS OF MANY, WILL APPEAR A SECOND TIME, NOT TO DEAL WITH SIN BUT TO SAVE THOSE WHO ARE EAGERLY WAITING FOR HIM. Here is our main idea for this morning's text: The blood of Jesus provided a final solution for redemption. We've talked about this problem for several weeks now. The problem that the old covenant sacrificial system was not sufficient, nor was final and complete. If you think about it, we saw the copy and prototype of the solution all the way back in the Garden. In Genesis 3:21 we read: AND THE LORD GOD MADE FOR ADAM AND FOR HIS WIFE GARMENTS OF SKINS AND CLOTHED THEM. This tells us that blood has always been a part of this process of redemption and as an act of worship, as seen as early as Abel in Genesis 4 and Noah in Genesis 8. Because of the shift from the old way to the new and improved way, we can be comforted in the finished work of Christ. This passage breaks down into two major parts, verses 15-22 and verses 23-28. Verse 15 is almost a summary statement of the whole section, and verses 18-22 can function as an example of verses 16-17. Verses 23-28, therefore, draws a conclusion of verses 15-22. So, we will use these natural section breaks this morning, as I want to answer the question: HOW CAN THE BLOOD OF JESUS COMFORT US? I believe there are three things from this passage that we need to believe to answer that question. First, we believe that ... 1. Our salvation is a gift from God (15-17) a. In verse 15, the writer identifies the saved as "THOSE WHO ARE CALLED." b. Back in Hebrews 3:1, the writer addresses those, WHO SHARE IN A HEAVENLY CALLING i. So, we know that the writer is speaking to those who have received this inheritance c. This idea of redemption speaks to the final payment of a debt. A debt that was unpayable by you and me, and only able to be paid in full by Jesus. d. I would contend that verse 15 is hard to understand without verses 16-17. e. Because these verses help us to understand how an inheritance works under the illustration of a will. Simply put, the writer here is reminding us that a will cannot be executed without the death of the one who wrote it. i. In other words, death must occur so that one can receive the inheritance that they were given. ii. And this inheritance is a gift f. When we break down this section, we can get a clearer picture of why Jesus had to die. i. This passage describes the reason for shedding of blood, and more specifically why Jesus' blood was the only sufficient source. This is the reason we can celebrate His death, because we know what that did for us, and we know how the story ends. This leads us to our next point: 2. The shedding of blood was necessary for the forgiveness of sin (18-23) a. On the surface, this may not sound comforting, but we'll get there. b. To set this up, may I remind you of a familiar verse: Romans 6:23 tells us: FOR THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH, BUT THE FREE GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD. c. Recall, we looked at verse 22 last week. There, the ESV uses the phrase FORGIVENESS OF SINS. The term forgiveness in the Greek refers to the pardon of sin, the release of sin, or most commonly rendered as the remission of sin. This is to say that we have been set free, released from our debt. d. Another important word in verses 19-23 is purification. While not explicitly used in verse 19, the concept is used there. You see, the writer of Hebrews uses Exodus 24 and later Numbers 19 to demonstrate the process of purification and dedication. The Exodus passage shows us how the Old Covenant affirmation was made. After the words of the covenant were read to the people, and they affirmed these words, Moses wrote them down, built an altar and half the blood was sprinkled on the altar, while the other half he threw on the people. i. The mention of the water, scarlet wool and hyssop is seen in Numbers 19 in the ceremony of the heifer. e. This is why the writer says to us in verse 18, that even the old covenant was inaugurated with blood. f. The shedding of blood was no new concept as we saw earlier with the examples of Adam and Eve, Abel and Noah. g. The writer continues in verse 23, by stating that it was also necessary for the COPIES OF THE HEAVENLY THINGS to be purified with blood. i. Commentator FF Bruce paraphrases verse 23 this way: while ritual purification is adequate for the material order, which is but an earthly copy of the spatial order, a better kind of sacrifice is necessary to effect purification in the spiritual order. ii. As Bruce points out, the most important statement comes at the end of this verse, where the writer speaks of a better sacrifice. h. In this illustration, the writer affirms even the earthly copies had to be purified, but Jesus was pure and ushered in the New Covenant with His sacrifice and in doing so, gives us confidence and comfort in this world. Next, we see ... 3. The sacrifice was final and complete (24-28) a. In this final section, the writer describes the perfect sacrifice. i. One that is final. ii. One that is binding. iii. One that is complete. iv. Where the blood was pure, because Christ's blood was the substance that led to salvation. b. Verse 24 uses the phrase "MADE WITH HANDS" when referring to the tabernacle. This term is regularly used of idolatry. In Acts 17:24, Paul uses this to address the Athenians who built their pagan temples. Paul also used this word in Ephesians 2:11 speaking of circumcision. So, the author here is critiquing the tabernacle, in a sense. Obviously, we know the tabernacle had its function and was God-ordained, as we saw last week. The critique was because it was a only a model of the things to come. c. We are reminded again that the Old Testament sacrifices did not take away sin, it simply covered it temporarily i. This is why it had to be done again and again ii. This is where remission and redemption contrast one another. 1. Remission was a temporary covering of sin, whereas redemption is final. d. Christ's redemptive act is a critical truth for us today. One bible study put it this way, "it means Jesus' death is the climax of human history. Everything before it was building up to it. Everything since is affected by it." e. Because of this, we can have assurance of our faith. f. Because of this, we can know that we have eternal life. g. While death is something awful that we all must deal with - the writer says that we're all appointed to die once - because of Christ's finished work, when we do die, we are in the presence of God for eternity, in a place without sin. h. I know this may not sound extremely comforting, but as Christ followers, we can be comforted and confident knowing that this stop on earth is temporary, as we are citizens of Heaven. We will be in the presence of the Lord for eternity. Are you confident this morning? Are you comforted because of this truth? Because we were reminded this morning that: The blood of Jesus provided a final solution for redemption. ... and that is the best news we can hear. I couldn't imagine living in those times of daily sacrifices. Once a year atonement. Festivals. Rituals. We have a hard time today if we catch all the traffic lights on the way to our destination. We have a hard enough time if we get stuck behind the train. We have a hard enough time if we forget to turn on the coffee maker in the morning and we're running late. Forget about daily sacrifices and keeping the 613 commandments! When Christ does all the work, those are no longer necessary. Yet, we still fret over the little things. Yet we still complain about the details of the day to day. Instead, we ought to be concerned over those who don't know the Lord. Those who are sick. Those who are hurting, etc. Christ suffered the death of countless sinners. That includes you and me. NEXT STEPS? If you are a follower of Jesus already, then these two are for you: 1. Get ready for Jesus a. We can get ready by sharing Him with others i. I know we talk about this often, but we really show our love to others by sharing Him with them b. We can get ready by serving others i. Part of serving includes being encouraging to one another and praying for one another c. We can get ready by continuing to work i. We cannot be like the Thessalonians and sit idly. There is still work to be done d. We can get ready by pursuing righteousness i. This is not an easy one, is it? ii. We do this through obedience iii. We can get closer to Him and know His heart when we spend more time with Him iv. When we are with Him, it is much harder to have sinful thoughts and act on them v. We must resist temptation, running to Him in those moments 2. Don't add to Jesus a. Adding to Jesus is a form of idolatry b. We must be careful to which online pastors we are listening to, the commentaries that we read, or the bible studies that we pick up. i. Unfortunately, some of these teachers are more interested in fame and fortune, than to bring you the Truth. ii. Scripture interprets scripture. That should always be our starting point c. Even these programs and systems that well intended organizations put together can be dangerous if they are approached as the only way to achieve X, Y, or Z. If you are not a follower of Jesus, then these two steps are for you: 1. Act now! a. Believe i. We must believe that Christ is the savior of the World, the Son of God, the one true King ii. We must believe that by believing in Him, we can experience eternal life iii. We must believe that Christ died so we could be forgiven of our sin b. Confess i. We must realize and confess that we are sinners and in need of a savior c. Repent i. Repenting means to turn away from our sin and towards God 2. Get involved in a local body a. Attend church i. While we'd love to be that church for you, it doesn't have to be us. The key is to be with other believers and to be at a church that teaches the Bible. b. Attend bible studies or small groups i. If nothing else, listen and meditate on the discussion ii. Small groups are useful to ask questions and dig deeper into the text c. Read your bible i. We had to know this one was coming. ii. It is critical. iii. We call the Bible the "Word of God" and we hold firmly that it is God's inspired Word. iv. This is where we most clearly hear what God has to say to us. v. Find a simple, yet systematic way to read through the Bible each day d. Pray daily and often i. Many of us have a bad habit of praying when we need something. ii. Instead, we should live prayerfully always. 1. Let me give you an example: 2. When I worked in Hospitality, I got in the habit of saying good morning, good afternoon or good evening to anyone I saw - anywhere. I got in the habit of picking up trash I saw on the ground. I was consistently opening up doors for patrons at the local Applebee's. To this day, I will occasionally stack our plates and silverware to make it easier for the server or busser. You get the idea. I was always "ready." 3. This is how we should be. Always wanting and ready to talk to God. If you are ready to take that next step in your relationship, or take that first step, please see me or Pastor Pat after the service, we'd love to speak with you more about this. The early church had it harder than we do today. We have their example that we can lean on. We have the Holy Spirit that guides and interprets. We have the Bible that we can learn from. So, as we read this book, if nothing else, we ought to be thankful for the work that Christ has done for us. But we should also have a better appreciation of the Old Testament and books like this that help us to see that it all pointed to Jesus. As we depart this morning, I want to leave you with this quote from the theologian Lewis Sperry Chafer: True salvation is wholly a work of God. It is said to be both a finished work and a gift, and, therefore, it lays no obligation upon the saved one to complete it himself, or to make after payments of service for it. And because of this, we can have comfort in the finished work of Christ. Let's pray. 2