Hebrews 10

Hebrews 10:1

You make your way to the tabernacle, bringing your little lamb with you. Watching the blood flow as it is offered as a sacrifice, you’re reminded once again that you’re still a sinner, still a sinner year after year after year. When Jesus came on the scene, however, what did He say? “Do this in remembrance of Me.” In other words, He didn’t say, “Remember your sin.” He said, “Remember your Savior” (see Luk_22:19). The same is still true today. I have a tendency to keep returning to my own little sacrificial system, asking myself, “How long did I pray today?” or, “How many chapters have I read this year?” But, due to our inability to keep our own rules, rituals, and regulations, our promises and pledges only continually remind us that we’re failures. That is why Jesus said, “I don’t want you to remember your sin by continual sacrifice. I want you to remember your salvation by continual celebration.” The price has been paid. The blood has been shed. The work is done. Jesus left us with Communion, not that we would say, “Oh, we’re such sinners,” but that we would say, “Oh, what a Savior!” “But doesn’t 1 Corinthians 11 say that if we eat or drink unworthily, we’re eating to our damnation?” you ask. Yes. But what is meant there is if you don’t give worth to the work that was done, you’re going to keep damning yourself. If, however, you say, “I remember again, Lord, that You paid the price completely"then Communion becomes what it was meant to be: a celebration of the finished work of the Cross of Calvary.

Hebrews 10:5

From my own study, I am convinced that verses Heb_10:4-6 are a record of the conversation that very likely took place on Christmas Eve between the Father and Son. Even as Adam became a living soul when life was breathed into him (Gen_2:7), so, too, life entered the Last Adam, the Babe of Bethlehem. And He said to His Father, “You have prepared a body because You have no pleasure in sacrifices.”

Hebrews 10:7

If the Father has no pleasure in sacrifices, why did He establish the system in the first place? Simply put, the bulls and rams, goats and lambs were a promissory note… The one-dollar bill in your pocket would be a worthless piece of paper if not for the government in Washington D.C. putting its weight behind it, guaranteeing its value. Suppose, however, you opened your great-grandmother’s trunk and found stacks of thousand-dollar bills. Upon closer inspection, you see upon them the image of Jefferson Davis. Now, although an antique dealer might buy them from you, the bills wouldn’t be worth nearly their original value because the Confederate government no longer exists. The same is true of the sacrificial system. At one time, it had some weight because it represented the blood of the coming sacrificial Lamb of God. But once the new government, the New Testament, the New Covenant took effect, the sacrifices of the Old Covenant became confederate moneyas worthless as any sacrifice you’re presently making to try to earn God’s blessing or to get Him to listen to you. God has pleasure in only one Sacrifice. And once you see this, once it really sinks into your heart, you are free because you are in a position to receive blessing from the Father based solely upon His provision.

Hebrews 10:9

The first sacrificial system is gonereplaced by the New Covenant.

Hebrews 10:11

If you feel like you’re in a rut, doing the same things every day to try to impress God, you’re under the old system. And like the priests of old, your work is never done.

Hebrews 10:12

Jesus isn’t standing or pacing, running or fretting. He’s totally at rest concerning you.

Hebrews 10:13

That’s you. He has perfected you forever because the work of salvation is complete.

Hebrews 10:15

Because the veil was rent, we can come into the Holy of Holies. In the Holy of Holies stood the ark of the covenant. And in the ark of the covenant are the Ten Commandments that we’ve broken, Aaron’s rod that budded as a sign to a people who chafed under God’s leadership, and a pot of manna given to a people who grumbled about God’s provision. In other words, the ark held reminders of failure. But guess what. Covering the arkhiding the broken commandments, the rod of rebellion, the manna of unthankfulnesswas the mercy seat. No wonder Jesus said, “Go your way and learn of this that you might learn mercy” (see Mat_9:13). The one course of education prescribed by Jesus is mercy because it is at the mercy seat that God meets us. We have a High Priest interceding for us not with words on His lips, but through the wounds of His flesh.

Hebrews 10:21

Let us draw near with a true heartnot a pure heart, or a clean heart, but a true heart, saying, “I know I’m a sinner. But I also know what Jesus did is sufficient.” So I come boldly to Him, even if I haven’t prayed in ten minutes, ten days, or ten years. Once I come with a true heart, the effectiveness of the sacrifice of Calvary takes effect.

Hebrews 10:23

Jesus is our faithful High Priest. To whom is He faithful? He is faithful to His Father (Heb_3:1-2). Could we exhaust His patience? Possibly. Could the Father exhaust His patience? Impossible. Jesus is faithful to His Father to do what? To keep those who had been committed to Him (Joh_17:12).

Hebrews 10:24

Encourage one another as the day of the coming of the Lord draws near.

Hebrews 10:26

Like Hebrews 6, this next section has caused terror in the hearts of many. But in actuality, as we shall see, it’s a wonderful warning. The Spirit of grace refers to the Holy Spirit (Zec_12:10). “Doing despite to the Spirit of grace” means returning to the sacrificial system of offering bulls or goats or anything else to try to make things right with the Lord. The warning isn’t that if you sin or struggle with sin, there’s no hope for you. No, the sin of backsliding here in Hebrews 10 is not going back into sin, but rather turning your back on the Provision for sin. If I say, “Jesus didn’t really pay the price sufficiently, so I’ve got to contribute my own effort,” I mock the broken Body and fail to give worth to the shed blood. That’s the warning here. So what does this mean? It means I’m free. It means I know there’s nothing else I can do or must do or should do. It’s all been done, and I rest in that fact. A Wonderful Warning A Topical Study of Heb_10:26-31 A sign posted near a convent reads: ABSOLUTELY NO TRESPASSING VIOLATORS WILL BE PROSECUTED TO THE FULL EXTENT OF THE LAW Sisters of Mercy and the passage before us hits many people the same way. I mean, here we’ve been reading of our faithful and merciful High Priest, Jesus Christ, who was touched with the same feelings with which we wrestle, and tempted by the same things that tempt us. We’ve been reading that we can come boldly unto His throne of grace and that the veil has been rent, giving us access to the very Holy of Holies of the goodness and grace of God. And then we come to chapter 10, where we read that if we sin willfully, there’s no more sacrifice for sins; that if we sin, we trample under foot the Son of God; that it’s a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Thus, this passage seems, upon first reading, to be somewhat contradictory to the entire spirit of the rest of the epistle. But it’s not. You see, warnings can affect people two ways: They can either be intimidating or they can be inviting. Go to Makaha on the island of Hawaii, and you’ll find a sign reading: WARNING: HEAVY SURF! Now, if you’re a parent and you brought your little kids to the beach, this sign would be intimidating. But if you’re a surfer and you brought your surfboard, this sign would be inviting. Intimidation Throughout church history, Satan has used the passage before us to intimidate the hearts of people like you and me. Indeed, Satan has and will use the Word for his purposes… “Did God really say you can’t eat of every tree of the garden?” he asked Eve, implying God’s command was of questionable motive (see Genesis 3). “Jump off the temple,” he taunted Jesus (see Matthew 4). “Isn’t it written that God will take care of You?” he said, misquoting Psalms 91. Truly, Satan has misused the Word to cause confusion and consternation in the lives of those who love the Lord. But wait a minute. The Epistle to the Hebrews was written to Jewish believers who were being pulled back to temple worship and the sacrificial system. Therefore, the warning is this: If you return to the temple to offer sacrifices for your sins, you are missing the point totally because the price was paid completely when Jesus died in your place. There are no more sacrifices that can be, need be, or should be offered. The Way is open. The Work is complete. Going to confession, getting rebaptized, making a promise, or signing a pledge will not make you right with God. None of these sacrifices will do any more than the sacrifice of bulls, rams, or goats. You can’t add to what Jesus did on the Cross by promise keeping, confessing, working, or giving. Don’t fall into that mind-set, for if you do, you tread on what the Lord has already done. Thus, contrary to many well-intentioned sermons, the warning in Hebrews 10 is not so much in reference to backsliding as it is to back-turningturning one’s back on what Jesus did on our behalf. Certainly, this is what the writer intended, for every one of us fails. Every one of us is increasingly aware of our shortcomings the closer we get to the Lord. Every one of us joins Paul in saying, “I am the chief of sinners” (see 1Ti_1:15). Jesus died not only for our sinsbut for the sins of the whole world. How dare we, then, say that what He did on the Cross is insufficient or inadequate? How dare we trample the body of Christ? If you want to see the anger of the Father, say that what Jesus did at Calvary is inadequate without your additional efforts. The author is right. It is a terrible thing to fall into the nail-pierced hands of the living God if we fall into them with any sacrifice of our own, suggesting that His was not enough. Invitation We’re surfers, gang. The warning of Hebrews 10 is not intimidating. It’s inviting! It’s great news! “You mean Your warning, Father, is to not go back to self-efforts or religious activities to try to earn Your favor? You mean I’m free to just remember what You’ve done, and to celebrate my salvation? Wonderful!” The warning here in chapter 10 does not cause me to be intimidated, folks. Rather, it invites me to keep my walk simple, and to enjoy my salvation. There is no more sacrifice for sins. Jesus has done it all. Surf’s upso boldly enter in!

Hebrews 10:32

Part of the reason the Hebrews were returning to the sacrificial system was because, in so doing, they were no longer alienated from the community. “Why go back to the old way?” Paul asks. “They’ve already called you Jesus freaks. You’ve already been beaten up. So why, after suffering so much, would you return to the system from which this punishment came? The best is still ahead. Keep your hope in heaven.”

Hebrews 10:35

Don’t worry about fitting in with the old gang. Keep going. Keep living for heaven. A certain sheik in Saudi Arabia wanted to give his stockbroker a gift above and beyond her commission. “I can’t take anything from you,” she protested. But finally after much badgering and pressure, she relented, saying, “I’m kind of getting into golf. If you want to get me a couple clubs, that would be fine.” The sheik came back a few months later, saying, “I got you five golf clubsbut only four of them have pools and tennis courts. I hope that’s okay.” That which the Lord has in store for you and me makes the gift of any sheik look like a golf tee in comparison. So be patient, gang. Eyes have not seen, nor ears heard the wonderful things He’s preparing for those who love Him (1Co_2:9).

Hebrews 10:38

“Perdition” means “waste"a perfect word choice for the frustratingly pointless existence under the law of self-help and self-effort.