Day 753: The cure for guilt - Hebrews 10 vs 1 - 18

1-4 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshippers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5-7 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”

8-10 When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11-14 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

15-18 And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds”, then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. Hebrews 10:1-18 English Standard Bible

The writer has shown that when Christ took the blow which guilty sinners deserved, it was a sacrifice so perfect in God's sight that it would never need to be repeated. If the blood of bulls and goats sacrificed in the temple had been sufficient to cover sins, what would the result have been? (vs 1-4)

The worshippers would have no longer been weighed by down by guilt, and sacrifices would not need to have been made over and over again. This explains why the writer applies to Jesus the words we read in vs 5-7. Those words were actually spoken in Psalm 40 by King David. He was a man who came to realize that animal sacrifices could never blot out the sins of moral beings. The Old Testament sacrifices were not something God desired, but were required for mankind to be reminded of their death deserving sins and their need of atonement.

Verses 8-10, also from David, show how even way back then, God's plan was to bring in a new covenant which would lead to sinners being made holy in His sight through the offering made by Christ. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son! Verses 11-14 sum up the case the writer has been making. He says “by a single offering He (Jesus Christ) has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” And, as if that was not already wonderful enough news for sinners weighed down by guilt, what is the encouragement he adds in vs 15-18?

He quotes again God's own promise through the prophet Jeremiah when He said “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more!” God chooses to overlook and 'forget' the sins of those for whom the Messiah died. When Christians eat the bread and drink the wine of communion they are not making a fresh sacrifice, they are looking back to the finished perfect sacrifice Jesus made. They are remembering the One who paid the penalty they deserved. That's why they should no longer cling to any consciousness of sins. Their guilt has been removed. God willing, we will see how the writer applies this in the next post from Hebrews.