At the conclusion of the last installment we saw that, according to Hebrews 9:27,28, Christ Jesus, the great High Priest of the Jewish nation, returned to heaven, entering the celestial sanctuary after having made His sacrifice for sin here upon this earth, and that He has remained there throughout the entire dispensation and will continue to wait in the presence of the Majesty on high for Israel to acknowledge her national sin of rejecting Him and plead for Him to return. When she does this, He will appear a second time "apart from sin, to them that wait for Him, unto salvation"--those constituting the remnant of Israel at the end of the Tribulation who, having been evangelized, will plead for Him to return and will await His reappearance.

The sacred writer begins chapter 10 by stating, "for the law having a shadow of the good things to come, not the very image of the things, can never with the same sacrifices year by year, which they offer continually, make perfect them that draw nigh." Since the writer used the conjunction for, it is evident that this sentence is explanatory of that which has preceded. In chapter 9 we see that the writer was discussing the tabernacle service which was authorized and which was carried on during the Law Dispensation. Since Christ has come, the High Priest of the good things to come, declared the author, the law with all its ceremonialism seemed to be but a shadow of the realities which we have in Christ. Though that service was typical of that which we have under our Lord, it was not the exact image of the realities which we now enjoy. Since the Mosaic ritualism was only typical, and since the annual atonement had to be offered yearly to roll forward the sins of the people, it is quite evident that that service could not make the worshipers perfect. The fact that it was repeated yearly was proof of its inadequacy to deal thoroughly with the sin question. If those sacrifices had been sufficient, they would have ceased to be offered--they would have made complete satisfaction for the sin of the worshipers. But the fact that they were offered annually was proof of their inadequacy. Those who came and engaged in the ritualism of the Day of Atonement or who offered private sacrifices were still conscious of the guilt of sin and the deficiency of the sacrifice after it had been made. Whenever the Hebrew in real penitence and contrition of heart brought any sacrifice to make atonement for his sins in order that he might be acceptable to God, he was conscious within his very soul that the sacrifice and the blood thereof could never adequately atone for his sins; for his conscience was not cleansed. The same sacrifices therefore had to be repeated yearly. In view of these facts, declared the apostle, it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sin.

At the time of the Exodus the Lord instituted the Passover supper at which the paschal lamb was sacrificed. The blood was to be sprinkled upon the doorposts and lintels of every Hebrew home. On that memorable night the death angel passed over the land of Egypt. The first-born in every home where the blood was applied was spared; on the other hand, in every Egyptian home, where there was no blood, the first-born was destroyed. At Sinai the Lord spoke out of the midst of the sanctuary and gave the ritualism of the different sacrifices that Israel was to offer for various reasons. All the prophets recognized that animal sacrifices were commanded by the Lord and that, in order for the worshipers to be acceptable in the sight of the Lord, they had to screen themselves behind the blood of bulls and goats. Animal sacrifices were therefore authorized by the Lord. The spurious teaching on the part of those who call themselves modern, which claims that animal sacrifices were of heathen origin, is indeed contrary to facts--is Satan's lie.

These sacrifices were ordained of God to typify or foreshadow the great and eternal sacrifice which the son of God made for us at Calvary. That the animal sacrifices commanded by Moses were of a typical character and that they were given for a limited time are set forth in Psalm 40, from which the writer of Hebrews quotes in chapter 10, verses 5-7.

Here the psalmist asserted that God was not satisfied with these animal offerings. He was satisfied with them for the time being because they served a definite purpose, but the prophet foretold that the time would come when they would no longer be acceptable to Him. They were unacceptable in that they could never touch the source of iniquity and make complete and sufficient atonement for a single sinner.

A careful study of the original prophecy in Psalm 40 and in the passage quoted in Hebrews, chapter 10, shows that this language is that of Messiah as He speaks to God the Father. The former, recognizing that sacrifices could not solve the sin problem, declared to the Father that He (the Father) has prepared a body for Him--Messiah. A glance at the psalm shows that in the original Hebrew the Messiah said, " My ears hath thou opened" The marginal reading is, "ears hast thou digged (or pierced) for me." This language, an echo of the circumstances set forth in Exodus 21:1-6, assumes that Messiah has a human body and speaks of His complete surrender to do the will of God in terms of a Hebrew slave who willingly entered into a voluntary state of bondage. There is therefore perfect agreement between the Hebrew text of Psalm 40 and the Greek text of the same passage quoted in Hebrews, chapter 10.

Messiah is also, in this passage, reported as saying to God the Father "Lo, I am come (In the roll of the book it is written of me) To do thy will, O God." In this connection it is clear that the thing which is before His mind is His doing the complete will of God with reference to atonement for sin which was typified by the Mosaic sacrifices.

In verses 8 and 9 the apostle gives a very brief exposition of this quotation by saying that in the first part of it sacrifices and whole burnt offerings, which were authorized by the law, were not satisfactory to God. In view of this situation the Messiah volunteers to come and to do the will of God in the particular. The revelation of this conversation between God the Father and God the Son is proof that the law with all its ceremonialism was only typical, that now the Son has already come to be Israel's High Priest, and that the law has been removed and the new covenant established.

In verse 10 the writer emphasizes the fact that it is by Christ's having done the will of God in respect to the blood atonement that we have been sanctified through the offering of the blood of Jesus Christ once and for all. This statement is indeed marvelous and all comprehensive. Christ's having done the will of God, in respect to atonement, is the thing that sanctifies the believer once and for all. Unlike the Mosaic sacrifices, which were many, the one sacrifice of Christ solved the sin problem. Christ's sacrifice met every demand of the holiness of God. The will of the Almighty has been perfectly satisfied by His sacrifice. We believers are therefore sanctified by His having done the will of God. Our author is careful to emphasize the fact that Christ did the will of the Almighty by the offering up of His body for our sins. He took upon Himself the human body in order that He might make this blood atonement and thus solve the sin question. The sacrifice of Christ was made once. One time was sufficient. It atoned for all the sins of the believer--past, present, and future. It was made once and for all. All the sins of men--past, present, and future--are dealt with by the one sacrifice which Christ made nineteen hundred years ago. Man's good works, his good character, his efforts, or anything that he can do cannot in the least do the will of God with reference to the sin question. The blood atonement of Christ is the only thing that can solve the problem. Mans faithfulness to the Lord cannot solve the sin question. Man's good works cannot add any merit or efficacy to the atonement of Christ. The only thing that can count with reference to any and all sin is the blood of Christ. One must see this fact clearly in order to have the proper conception of his relationship to God.

When one by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ accepts Him as the all-sufficient atonement for his sins, all of them--past, present, and future--are removed, are forgiven are blotted out. The sin question is solved for time and eternity. Christ, according to this verse, has by His doing the will of God with reference to atonement sanctified through the offering of His body, once and for all, all those who believe.

In order to enforce or emphasize the efficacy of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, the apostle, in verses 11 and 12, contrasted the sacrifices made by the high priest under the Jewish economy with the one sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ made for us. He therefore called attention to the fact that every priest stood, day by day, ministering and offering often times the same sacrifices "the which can never take away sins," or satisfy the soul and the conscience of the worshiper. In contrast with the repeated sacrifices of the Levitical priesthood our Lord Jesus Christ made one sacrifice for sin forever. Then he sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. His work was completed; it was sufficient; it needed no repetition. The justice and righteousness of God were satisfied.

King David, in Psalm 110, foretold the rejection of Messiah upon His first coming to earth. Furthermore, he revealed the fact that, after He would be rejected, God would invite Him to leave the earth, come to sit at His right hand, and to remain there in majesty and glory until Israel, convicted of her national sin of rejecting Him, pleads for Him to return. In Psalm 110:1-3 we see portrayed the entire redemptive career of King Messiah which consists of His first coming, His rejection, the invitation for Him to ascend to heaven and to sit at the right hand of the throne of God, and His return to earth at the invitation of Israel, at which time, He will set up His glorious millennial kingdom and reign from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth. The author of Hebrews therefore calls our attention to the fact that after Jesus was rejected, crucified, and raised from the dead, he accepted the invitation of the Father to come and sit at His right hand. The Apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost struck the same note as is seen from a study of Acts chapter 2.

Once more, the apostle, in verse 14, emphasizes the sufficiency of the atonement of Christ in the following words; "For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." The law, as we have seen, could make no one perfect because, after a sacrifice had been made, the worshiper was still conscious of the inadequacy of such an atonement and also was conscious of a knowledge of sin. Exactly opposite to this situation are the results of the work of Christ. By His offering the worshiper is perfected forever. If he is perfected forever, there is nothing that can add to his security. The work is done.

In this verse the writer speaks of Christians as those who "are being sanctified." Sanctification, according to this verse, is a progressive process, a growth, a development. The believer accepts the Lord Jesus Christ and is clothed with His righteousness. Before God he stands perfect in Christ. Nevertheless there is room for growth and development in the spiritual life. That is what is stated in this verse. The Christian is supposed to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth, as well as in the Christian graces.

The Holy Spirit, according to verse 15, has borne witness to us on this point. As proof of this proposition, the writer quotes from Jeremiah, chapter 31, a passage which clearly refers to the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit. By that miracle God puts His laws on their hearts, and on their minds He writes them. When He does that, He remembers their sins and their iniquities no more: "And their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." The sin question has been settled. The believer's sins are covered --all of them, past, present, and future. This is in perfect accord with Psalm 32:1,2. There David pronounced a blessing upon the man whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered, and to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. After one has been regenerated, saved, God does not chalk down against him his sins, for they have all been taken care of by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Of course every son whom the Lord receives He chastens. He corrects them for their good, but their sins are all covered by the blood. The apostle therefore, in Hebrews 10:18, declared that "where remission for these [sins] is, there is no more offering for sin." Since Christ has made the offering for sin and it is all-sufficient, then there is no more remembrance of sin.

In view of the marvelous teaching of the passage which we have been studying (Heb. 10:1-18), we see that we have a most wonderful Saviour and a glorious salvation. To God be all the praise, through our Lord Jesus Christ!

" 'Tis finished! The Messiah dies,—
Cut off for sins, but not His own;
Accomplished is the sacrifice,
The great redeeming work is done.

" 'Tis finished! All the debt is paid;
Justice divine is satisfied;
The grand and full atonement made;
Christ for a guilty world hath died.

"The veil is rent; in Him alone
The living way to heaven is seen;
The middle wall is broken down,
And all mankind may enter in.

"The types and figures are fulfilled;
Exacted is the legal pain;
The precious promises are sealed;
The spotless Lamb of God is slain.

"Death, hell, and sin are now subdued,
All grace is now to sinners given;
And, lo, I plead the atoning blood,
And in Thy might I claim my heaven."