• Saving Faith is different than Everyday Faith

LIVING BY FAITH
HEBREWS 11
1 Now faith is the reality (assurance/confirmation) of what is hoped for, the proof (conviction/evidence) of what is not seen.

• Faith is determined by hope in God’s promises.
• This is different than the faith one must believe in for God to save them.
• This is not a definition of faith, but a description of what faith does and how it works.[1]
• There is a difference between believing in something and allowing what you believe to impact your behavior.
• True faith does two things:

1) It proves the unseen things exist.
2) It brings a desire – within believers – to behave in a way that lines up with what they have come to believe.

•   Many believe in salvation.
•   Few believe they have been made righteous.
•   This is the evil one’s greatest ploy to create a mediocre church today.
• This is why you hear the same message over and over. To increase your belief during the battle.
• This is why it is critical, without me “shoulding on you” to read your Bibles.
• It is your intimacy with the Father that increases your faith.
• The world fails to realize that faith is only as good as its object, and the object of our faith is God.[2]
• Faith is to a Christian what a foundation is to a house: it gives confidence and assurance that he will stand.[3]
• It didn’t take much faith for you to sit in that chair this morning… because you believed that the chair would hold you.
• The chair is not holding you because of your faith… it is holding you because of the chair’s strength.
• It’s not our faith in Jesus that sustains us every day of our life.
• It is only Jesus, in whom we trust, that sustains us.

2 For by this our ancestors were approved.

• “this” – is faith in God.
• Old Covenant believers believed that God would send the Messiah to forgive them of their sin.
• Because of this belief, they were approved/credited/commended for righteousness although they were not made righteous.
• At some point, Christians must be made righteous. When is that? Death? Judgment? Cross?
• At the cross, we were made righteous, he removed our wicked hearts and replaced them with new ones.
• Thank God you live after the cross.

3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.

• What better way to motivate their faith than to prove how God has already answered promises in the past.
• Why wouldn’t He continue to keep His promises?
• Confirming God’s faithfulness encourages the Hebrew Christians to walk on and trust Him. Even now.
• But how encouraging is it to know that even when the physical resources that we need do not “seem” to exist, that God can reveal them in a heartbeat?
• There is a greater adventure out there when trust in the things you can’t see.

4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was approved as a righteous man, because God approved his gifts, and even though he is dead, he still speaks through his faith.

• The writer will take us through a series of believers to show the Hebrew Christians that it was their faith in the Messiah to come that approved them righteous.
• They believed in it so much that it greatly impacted not only how they lived their lives but how they died.
• Abel made a blood sacrifice. Cain made a sacrifice from the fruit of the ground.
• Adam & Eve made the first blood sacrifice when they needed clothing.
• Bloodless sin offerings were not instituted until Lev 5:11… and those were only for the poor.
• Cain tried to reconcile with God on his own terms and it was unacceptable.
• The blood sacrifice always pointed to the cross and the offering that Jesus was to make for our sins.
• Abel was declared righteous… not made righteous.
• Long after Abel was gone… we still talk about him as a model of faith.

5 By faith Enoch was taken away, and so he did not experience death. He was not to be found because God took him away. For before he was taken away, he was approved as one who pleased God.

• Genesis 5:18-24 - Jared was 162 years old when he fathered Enoch. 19 Jared lived 800 years after he fathered Enoch, and he fathered other sons and daughters. 20 So Jared’s life lasted 962 years; then he died.
• Enoch was 65 years old when he fathered Methuselah. 22 And after he fathered Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and fathered other sons and daughters. 23 So Enoch’s life lasted 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God; then he was not there because God took him.[4]
• Intimacy with the creator!
• Mentioned in only a few verses but known for his relationship with God.
• The writer is saying that Enoch was so intimate with God that he didn’t even have to experience death.

6 Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

• It is faith… not works that pleases God. Works are a result of our faith.
• For believers, it is when we quit seeing God as a judge of sin but a giver of life and rewards.
• I’m not talking a health and prosperity Gospel here.
• I’m talking about walking by His Spirit and the moment of every breath with Him.
• It would be hard to walk intimately with a God when you think He is going to kick you in the butt every time you make a bad choice.
• What if you sin… and God says “Rusty… I dearly love you.”?
• What if you could embrace that thought…
• I’m not saying go sin so He will remind you of what He already did for you.
• I’m saying, when you realize what He did for you and continues to do for you it becomes less of a desire for you to make bad choices.
• If you see yourself as never winning this game… why try?
• If you see yourself as redeemed and forgiven, you will want to live fully in this!
• That is when real intimacy with the Father happens.
• You just wallow in His goodness.
• It is because of our faith in the object of Jesus Christ that we can walk with Him consistently.

7 By faith Noah, after he was warned about what was not yet seen and motivated by godly fear, built an ark to deliver his family. By faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

• Genesis 6:9 - These are the family records of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among his contemporaries; Noah walked with God.[5]
• “Not yet seen” – Rain and floods.
• Can you imagine the years?
• Noah was not concerned about what others thought about him.
• Now we all descendants of not only Adam… but Noah as well.
• “godly fear/in reverence” – Noah was intimate with the Father.

8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and set out for a place that he was going to receive as an inheritance. He went out, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he stayed as a foreigner in the land of promise, living in tents as did Isaac and Jacob, coheirs of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

• Abraham – Father of the Jewish Nation.
• Genesis 12:1-7 - The Lord said to Abram: Go from your land, your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you, 4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. 5 He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated, and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the land to the site of Shechem, at the oak of Moreh. (At that time the Canaanites were in the land.) 7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring, I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him.[6]
• Abraham left as the Lord was telling him to go… that is real faith.
• Where? Just go!
• He was looking forward to a city that has foundations with God as the builder.
• That hasn’t happened yet… but it will.
• He lived as a foreigner… just as the Hebrew Christians did… just as we do.

11 By faith even Sarah herself, when she was unable to have children, received power to conceive offspring, even though she was past the age, since she considered that the one who had promised was faithful.

• Sarah? On the heroes of faith list?
• What is she known for?
• Bearing Isaac in her old age…
• But also getting Abraham to sleep with Hagar to bear the son to Abraham named Ishmael and his descendants have harassed the Jews ever since.
• She made the list!
• She had a hard time waiting on God’s timing.
• But the core of who Sarah was believed that God was faithful.

12 Therefore, from one man—in fact, from one as good as dead—came offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and as innumerable as the grains of sand along the seashore.[7]

• Abraham in his old age bore a son named Isaac.
• Isaac bore Jacob (and Esau)
• Jacob had 12 sons that became the 12 tribes.
• Through the 12 tribes came the entire Jewish nation.

[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Heb 11:1). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[2] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Heb 11:1). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[3] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Heb 11:1). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Ge 5:18–24). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Ge 6:9). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[6] Christian Standard Bible (Ge 12:1–7). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[7] Christian Standard Bible (Heb 11:1–12). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.

• Jesus being the perfect sacrifice and making a way to God was the previous 18 verses… Therefore…

EXHORTATIONS TO GODLINESS
HEBREWS 10
19 Therefore, brothers and sisters (Jewish believers), since we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus--20 he has inaugurated for us a new and living way through the curtain (that is, through his flesh)--

• Think about the history of the Jew & Old Covenant.
• We have a hard time letting go of the Old Covenant today.
• They memorized and lived it out every day.
• Now it is all changed!
• Where only one man could go… now they all can.
• Jesus’ body is the veil torn open so we could have access to God.
• Jesus’ body was the barrier between God & man.
• Jesus’ blood forgave our sin.
• Jesus’ death allowed our own death (Gal 2:20 & Romans 6:6-7 - For we know that our old self, was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, 7 since a person who has died is freed from sin.[1]
• Our old self, sinful nature, Adamic nature has been eradicated.
• Now they (and we) are capable of speaking to God whenever we like. 24/7

21 and since we have a great high priest over the house of God,

• Emphasis on “great”

22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water.

• Moses was required to do two things for his sons to act as high priests.
• 1) sprinkle them with the blood of an animal (Lev 8:30)
• Their sins and their bodies had to be purified.
• The difference for the NC believer vs Aaron & Co. was the freeing of the conscious of sins.
• Aaron’s sins were not forgiven… just covered.
• Our sins are completely forgiven and eradicated.
• 2) and wash them in water (Lev 8:6).
• Aaron’s cleansing was on the outward body.
• Our cleansing was on the inside.
• New heart, new spirit, new creation, new man.
• Only mention of “pure” water in the Bible.
• Some interpret that “our bodies washed in pure water” means water baptism is necessary for salvation.
• Nothing pure about the water in the Jordan River… trust me.

23 Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful.

• Hold fast to their salvation. It is secure.
• He is responsible for keeping us saved.

24 And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works,

• Love is mentioned before good works.
• Know the Father intimately first.
• Good works for others will follow.

25 not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.

• They had been gathering but were now afraid to due to persecution.
• The day of destruction that was coming in 70 AD.
• Jesus spoke about this day in Matthew 24:2 & Luke 21:6, 20-24.

 
WARNING AGAINST DELIBERATE SIN
26 For if we deliberately go on sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth,

• They willfully continued to make animal sacrifices knowing that Christ’s offering was all that was needed.
• This is different than sins committed in ignorance.

there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,

• Old Covenant sacrifices of animals was no longer necessary.
• Jesus’ sacrificed voided all remaining sacrifices.

27 but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire about to consume the adversaries.

• If this one verse meant we would lose our salvation then it would contradict everything we have studied so far.
• This is not about eternal judgment.
• If they remained in Jerusalem and sacrificing animals at the Temple, they would lose their life as it was destroyed in 70 AD.
• They all fled before the Romans arrived.

28 Anyone who disregarded the law of Moses died without mercy, based on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

• In Heb 3:1-6, the author compared Moses to Jesus with Jesus being greater. Why wouldn’t the punishment be even greater?

29 How much worse punishment do you think one will deserve who has trampled on the Son of God, who has regarded as profane the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?

• 1) “Trampled on the Son of God” – dishonor
• 2) “Regarded as profane the blood of the covenant” – Christ’s blood was no different than any other man… possibly unholy blood?
• 3) “Insulted the Spirit of grace.” – identifying himself (not making) with the generation of Jews who blasphemed the Spirit in Jesus and would perish in 70 AD.
• Under the Old Covenant, God responded to disobedience by bringing on physical death.
• These Hebrew Christians would experience the same if they refused to abandon the idea of returning to temple sacrifices.
• Is there removal from their flesh a sign of grace from God?
• Corinthians man… Ananias & Sapphira?

30 For we know the one who has said,
Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, and again,
The Lord will judge his people.
31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

• The consequences of our sin can be terrifying.
• We are talking about earthly natural consequences not eternal judgment or it would wipe out the results of the cross.
• Remember… Losing our salvation is impossible.

32 Remember the earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings. 33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to taunts and afflictions (in the public theater), and at other times you were companions of those who were treated that way. (because you chose to hang out with other believers) 34 For you sympathized with the prisoners and accepted with joy the confiscation of your possessions, because you know that you yourselves have a better and enduring possession.

• These verses confirm this letter was written to believers in Jesus.
• He is reaffirming them in all the things they have already endured.
• Our inheritance is reserved in heaven.
• Greater things are to come.

35 So don’t throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you need endurance, so that after you have done God’s will, you may receive what was promised.

• Sometimes we just cruise along in our faith and we become independent.
• No need for God.
• It is when we go through crisis that we seek out God.
• In crisis… we either give up on God or cling to Him.
• “Throw away our confidence” does not mean “throw away our salvation”. This is impossible.
• The quality of the believer’s works in the journey will be rewarded… not the quantity.
• What works are rewarded? Those done in faith… in His strength.
• Why would one want to toss away this confidence?
• They can lose their physical lives.
• They can lose their rewards.
• They can’t lose their salvation.
• We need to accept God’s grace into every moment of our lives.
• We can receive what has already been promised and provided.

37 For yet in a very little while,
the Coming One will come and not delay.
38 But my righteous one will live by faith;
and if he draws back,
I have no pleasure in him.

• Habakkuk 2:3-4
• The same promise He made to Habakkuk He is also making to these Hebrew Christians.
• He wants us to have pleasure that comes from obedience in Jesus.

39 But we are not those who draw back and are destroyed, but those who have faith and are saved.[2]

• This confirms once again their salvation is not in question.
• “destroyed” – perdition means more than the loss of a physical life. It is utter destruction… complete ruin.
• “Faith” comes from God… we just have to claim it.
• “Help me with my unbelief”.
• It is something we already have… open the gift… use it.
• You have enough faith to finish the race.
• It is through our daily faith and grace that we can obtain an incredible life of adventure here on earth… today!

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Ro 6:6–7). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Heb 10:19–39). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.

• This is a summary of what has already been written.
• Wash, rinse & repeat!

THE PERFECT SACRIFICE
HEBREWS 10
1 Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come, and not the reality itself of those things, it can never perfect the worshipers by the same sacrifices they continually offer year after year.

• Shadow – outlines an object.
• They all knew something better was to come.
• What was to come? Jesus
• Good things to come – Jesus’ life, fulfilling the Law, death and His resurrection.
• Colossians 2:17 - These are a shadow of what was to come; the substance is Christ.
• Colossians 2:20-23 - If you died with Christ to the elements of this world, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations: 21 “Don’t handle, don’t taste, don’t touch”? 22 All these regulations refer to what is destined to perish by being used up; they are human commands and doctrines. 23 Although these have a reputation for wisdom by promoting self-made religion, false humility, and severe treatment of the body, they are not of any value in curbing self(fleshly)-indulgence.[1]
• No one wants religion.
• They want the real person.
• Perfect – reach an end, finished or complete.
• What keeps us from God now? Our sin.
• Totally perfect in our person to access God.
• We have been made perfect and have access.

2 Otherwise, wouldn’t they have stopped being offered, since the worshipers, purified once and for all, would no longer have any consciousness of sins?

• It never happened in the Old Covenant.
• This is where the battle happens today.
• The evil one accuses us and reminds of our sin.
• He even prompts us to work on our sin… the devil.
• Christ said, “It is finished.”
• We are to live our lives consciously free of sin.
• What does repentance look like?

 
3 But in the sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year after year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

• Sins were not forgiven… only atoned… covered.
• Impossible!
• Bull blood for the High Priest (Lev 16:11)
• Goat blood for the people (Lev 16:15)
• Jeremiah 31:33 - “Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days”—the Lord’s declaration. “I will put my teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know me, from the least to the greatest of them”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “For I will forgive their iniquity and never again remember their sin. [2]

5 Therefore, as he was coming into the world, he said:

• (Psalm 40:6-8)

You did not desire sacrifice and offering,
but you prepared a body for me.
6 You did not delight in whole burnt offerings and sin offerings.
7 Then I said, “See-- it is written about me in the scroll-- I have come to do your will, God.”
8 After he says above, You did not desire or delight in sacrifices and offerings, whole burnt offerings and sin offerings (which are offered according to the law), 9 he then says, See, I have come to do your will.

• Sacrifices and offerings did not accomplish forgiveness.
• Prepared a body – Jesus, God’s son lived in the body.
• Jesus chose through faith to do His Father’s will and died for the sin of man.

He takes away the first to establish the second.

• God did not take away the Law… for the unredeemed.
• But it is taken away from the redeemed.
• The Old Covenant animal sacrifices were done away with when Jesus died for the New Covenant to be ushered in.
• The Old Covenant is now null and void.
• Review the circumstances the Hebrew Christians are under in their choice.
• Persecution or going back to the Old Covenant.
• Legalism or freedom?

10 By this will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time.

• Sanctified – to be made holy, set apart, made a saint.
• Not just declared to someday attain when we die.
• Not positional – we are holy but not holy.
• Sanctified in the Greek is in the perfect tense which communicates past completed action with a resulting state of being.
• We have been made forever holy.
• You can never be more holy than you are right now.
• It is not your behavior that makes you holy.
• It is only Jesus.

11 Every priest stands day after day ministering and offering the same sacrifices time after time, which can never take away sins.

• This was a lot of daily work for the priests.
• Constantly on their feet.

12 But this man, after offering one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.

• We are a forgiven people.
• We live in a state of forgiveness.
• All sin forever… all sin for mankind.
• It is through faith & repentance that one receives this forgiveness made available to all.

13 He is now waiting until his enemies are made his footstool.

• Even though they have already been defeated at the cross… the footstool is yet to happen.

14 For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are sanctified.

• Perfected – past tense, completed action with a resulting state of being. We are perfected.
• Sanctified – present tense… it is happening now. An ongoing process.
• NIV says “who are being made holy.”
• What is being sanctified now? Our behavior.
• What you do is not who you are.
• Who you are has a great impact on what you do.
• Your soul & spirit have been perfected.
• Your behavior is being sanctified.
• Sanctified is in the passive voice meaning that it is God who will sanctify our behavior, not us.
• Believers were made perfect forever.
• It is impossible to lose our righteousness.
• Can you complete the race? Done deal.
• Perseverance… is about intimacy with God.

15 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. For after he says:

• The Holy Spirit gets credit for speaking through Jeremiah.

16 This is the covenant I will make with them after those days, the Lord says, I will put my laws on their hearts and write them on their minds,
17 and I will never again remember their sins and their lawless acts.
18 Now where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.[3]

• Forgiveness has occurred.
• Does God have a list of your sins? NO!
• Why would you continue with your sacrifices?
• Why do you keep asking for what you already have?
• This letter greatly impacted these Hebrew Christians.
• Not a single one of them perished in destruction of the Temple in 70 AD.

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Col 2:17–23). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Je 31:33–34). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Heb 10:1–18). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.

• Let me reiterate what I said last week…
• The Old Covenant originated in the Old Testament…
• Do not disregard the Old Testament.
• Learn to distinguish Old Testament from Old Covenant.
• The non-believing Jews worshipped the system described in the Old Covenant. They did this in both the Old & New Testaments.
• Today we put more value on our local churches (systems) than we do our relationship with Jesus.

OLD COVENANT MINISTRY
HEBREWS 9
1 Now the first covenant also had regulations for ministry and an earthly sanctuary.

• Offerings & sacrifices in the tabernacle.

2 For a tabernacle was set up, and in the first room, which is called the holy place, were the lampstand, the table, and the presentation loaves.

• This was before Solomon’s & Herod’s temples.
• Descriptions can be found in Exodus 35-40.
• The outer court was 150 feet long and 75 feet wide.
• The court was 45 feet long and 15 feet wide.
• Holy Place was 30 feet long by 15 wide.

3 Behind the second curtain was a tent called the most holy place.

• Holy of Holies was 15 feet long and 15 feet wide and 15 feet high.

4 It had the gold altar of incense and the ark of the covenant, covered with gold on all sides, in which was a gold jar containing the manna, Aaron’s staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant.

• All three items represented Israel’s rebellion.

5 The cherubim of glory were above the ark overshadowing the mercy seat. It is not possible to speak about these things in detail right now.

• The Mercy Seat covered their acts of rebellion.
• The Mercy Seat was soon the place where sin was to be forgiven

6 With these things prepared like this, the priests enter the first room repeatedly, performing their ministry. 7 But the high priest alone enters the second room, and he does that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.

• General priests went in and out of the Holy Place performing duties.
• The High Priest went into the Holy of Holies at least twice on the Day of Atonement.
• Once to offer a sacrifice for his sins and a second time to offer a sacrifice for all other sin.
• Obvious sins could be dealt with any day of the year.
• “sins of ignorance” were covered on the Day of Atonement only.
• “sins of ignorance” – hidden sins or sins they had forgotten.

8 The Holy Spirit was making it clear that the way into the most holy place had not yet been disclosed while the first tabernacle was still standing.

• The closest place a common Jew could get near to God was the outer court.
• Only the High Priest had access to God one day a year.
• They were limited to the access of God because their sins had only been covered and not forgiven.

9 This is a symbol for the present time, during which gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the worshiper’s conscience.

• Symbol – picture of the real thing. A copy.

10 They are physical regulations and only deal with food, drink, and various washings imposed until the time of the new order.

• The covering only dealt with the outward behavior and not the problem that existed within.
• They still had a sinful nature.
• “Time of restoration” – to make right or correct.
• All the sins during the OT were dealt with at the cross.

 
NEW COVENANT MINISTRY
11 But Christ has appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come. In the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands (that is, not of this creation),

• Jesus entered the tabernacle pitched by the Lord in Heaven.
• Ephesians 2:6 - He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus,[1]
• Jesus has provided us access to God 24/7.

12 he entered the most holy place once for all time, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.

• The high priest entered the Holy of Holies with the blood of bulls/calves for his own sin.
• He then reentered with the blood of goats for the people.
• Jesus entered one time with His own perfect blood.
• Jesus’ one time entry was for all eternity. (secure)

13 For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow, sprinkling those who are defiled, sanctify for the purification of the flesh,

• Atonement was only for behavior

14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works so that we can serve the living God?

• Christ’s blood & forgiveness was for the renewing of the soul, spirit and body.
• Our old sinful nature was removed and replaced with a new nature.
• Ezekiel 36:26 – I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.[2]
• We became saints who sometimes sin… and not lowly sinners saved by grace.
• Jesus did this through the Spirit… the same Spirit that lives in you and me.
• We have been empowered.

15 Therefore, he is the mediator of a new covenant,

• Mediator – one who intervenes between two parties to ratify a covenant or peace.

so that those who are called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance, because a death has taken place for redemption from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

• The OT believers were saved at this point.
• Saved through repentance and faith.
• They believed in the Messiah that was to come.
• They were credited righteousness. Genesis 15:6

16 Where a will exists, the death of the one who made it must be established.

• Whoever makes a will can change it as long as they are alive.
• But the will goes into effect when the person dies.
• It is binding, unalterable and irrevocable.
• Once again, we are secure.

17 For a will is valid only when people die, since it is never in effect while the one who made it is living. 18 That is why even the first covenant was inaugurated with blood.

• God established the covenant with blood.
• It was the animals that died, not the initiator.
• Why blood? – Leviticus 17:11 - For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have appointed it to you to make atonement on the altar for your lives, since it is the lifeblood that makes atonement.[3]
• The life is in the blood.
• Blood is the symbol of death

19 For when every command had been proclaimed by Moses to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, along with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll itself and all the people, 20 saying, This is the blood of the covenant that God has ordained for you. 21 In the same way, he sprinkled the tabernacle and all the articles of worship with blood. 22 According to the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

• Blood was the symbol of death… if it was just the blood, the animals would not have to die.
• Death had to occur.
• Old Covenant was sealed with blood of animals.
• New Covenant was sealed with blood of Jesus.
• Moses’ actions pointed to what Christ was to come and do in the future.
• Once the Old Covenant was sealed with blood, it could not be altered.
• The New Covenant made the Old Covenant obsolete.
• It took the death of a perfect man to remove the sin of man.

23 Therefore, it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves to be purified with better sacrifices than these.

• Why did the heavenly tabernacle need to be purified?
• Satan brought sin into heaven after he fell.
• He approached God in Job 1:6-7
• Revelation 12:10 says he is still accusing the brethren.

24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with hands (only a model of the true one) but into heaven itself, so that he might now appear in the presence of God for us.

• Jesus never entered into the Holy of Holies in the Temple (Herod’s) because He was not a high priest on earth.
• Now he represents all of God’s children in heaven.

25 He did not do this to offer himself many times, as the high priest enters the sanctuary yearly with the blood of another.

• Jesus’s blood sacrifice made it final… “It is finished.”
• One time only!
• He sat down.

26 Otherwise, he would have had to suffer many times since the foundation of the world. But now he has appeared one time, at the end of the ages, for the removal of sin by the sacrifice of himself.

• Forgiveness occurred at one time.
• He doesn’t climb back up on the cross for any more sin.
• Sin is an issue that has already been dealt with and defeated.
• He died once… never to die again!

27 And just as it is appointed for people to die once—and after this, judgment--

• General statement – Lazarus died twice as well as others in the OT/NT that were raised from the dead.
• Enoch & Elijah never died at all.
• Judgment follows death
• Great White Throne Judgment for non-believers in Revelation 20:11-15.
• Judgment Seat of Christ in 2 Corinthians 5:10.
• Romans 8:1 – Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus,[4]

28 so also Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.[5]

• When Jesus returns, He will not be dealing with the sin issue… He already did.
• When we see Jesus face to face… He will not mention one single sin to you.
• We live in a constant state of forgiveness.
• The High Priest always came out to the people with confirmation that their sacrifices had been received.
• When Jesus returns, it will be confirmation that the Father was pleased with His Son’s offering.

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Eph 2:6). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Eze 36:26). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Le 17:11–12). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Ro 8:1). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Heb 9:1–28). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.

• Hebrews 7 – Melchizedek – eternal priesthood

A HEAVENLY PRIESTHOOD
HEBREWS 8
1 Now the main point of what is being said is this: We have this kind of high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,

• If there is any one thing that I will keep repeating because it is so important is the high priesthood of Jesus in heaven.
• Right hand/side – regarded highly
• 200+ OT – 100+ NT = References
• If we are “in Christ”… where are we now?
• Earthly priests never sat down… too busy.
• Jesus sat down because the work was finished.
• In His redemptive work He is done and seated.
• In His encouragement work He stands.
• Acts 7:55 - 55 Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven. He saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 He said, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”[1]

2 a minister of the sanctuary and the true tabernacle that was set up by the Lord and not man.

• Earthly priests worked in the tabernacle that was pitched by man.
• The tabernacle in heaven was pitched by the Lord.
• Which is greater?
• Exodus 25-31 and 35-40.
• 150’ long & 75’ wide.

3 For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; therefore, it was necessary for this priest also to have something to offer.

• gifts = a portion of their blessings. (commitment)
• sacrifices = an offering for their sin.
• Jesus offered His blood which is greater than the bulls and goats blood. It actually forgave sin.

4 Now if he were on earth, he wouldn’t be a priest, since there are those offering the gifts prescribed by the law.

• Jesus’ priesthood occurs in heaven.
• He was from the tribe of Judah… not Levi.

5 These serve as a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was warned when he was about to complete the tabernacle. For God said, Be careful that you make everything according to the pattern (tee-pos = type) that was shown to you on the mountain.

• Moses’ earthly tabernacle was just a shadow of the actual tabernacle in heaven.
• A model.
• A shadow confirms that the real thing exists.

6 But Jesus has now obtained a superior ministry, and to that degree he is the mediator of a better covenant, which has been established on better promises.

• Old Covenant – based on conditional promises.
• OC was dependent on those who received the covenant to fulfill certain requirements in order for the results to be fulfilled.
• OC – If you obey the Law, will bless you. If you disobey the Law, you will be cursed.
• New Covenant – based on unconditional promises.
• NC – Even though the promise is guaranteed, we can still experience blessings and curses based upon logical consequences.
• God’s unconditional covenant with Abraham that he would have many descendants has occurred but we are dealing with the curse of his behavior still today as the descendants of Ishmael battle with the descendants of Isaac.
• OC only convicted people of sin.
• NC empowers people to overcome sin.
• Moses was the mediator of the OC.
• Jesus is the mediator of the NC.
• Who is greater?

 
A SUPERIOR COVENANT
7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion for a second one.

• The OC could not make a person righteous.
• The NC not only makes a person righteous but also empowers them to overcome sin on a daily basis.
• Living this life out today is not much different.
• You either have a church that is trying to attain righteousness or a church that is living in their righteousness.

8 But finding fault with his people, he says:
(Jeremiah 31:31-34)

• David, Jeremiah and other OT prophets knew there was another (better) covenant that was coming.
• The writer is saying, “Even Jeremiah knew…”
• “finding fault with them” – the Jews

See, the days are coming, says the Lord,
when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah--

• The divided kingdom had occurred after the death of Solomon.
• The house of Israel was the 10 tribes living in the northern part of Israel.
• The house of Judah was the 2 tribes (Judah & Benjamin) living in the southern part of Israel which included Jerusalem.
• Who made the covenant? God did.
• Who is responsible for carrying out the NC?
• Who is the beneficiary of the NC?

9 not like the covenant
that I made with their ancestors
on the day I took them by the hand
to lead them out of the land of Egypt.
I showed no concern for them, says the Lord,
because they did not continue in my covenant.
10 For this is the covenant
that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days, says the Lord:
I will put my laws into their minds
and write them on their hearts.
Deuteronomy 11:18–23 - “Imprint these words of mine on your hearts and minds, bind them as a sign on your hands, and let them be a symbol on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 20 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21 so that as long as the heavens are above the earth, your days and those of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your fathers. 22 For if you carefully observe every one of these commands I am giving you to follow—to love the Lord your God, walk in all His ways, and remain faithful to Him— 23 the Lord will drive out all these nations before you, and you will drive out nations greater and stronger than you are.[2]

• phylacteries – Wore the Word on their head & hearts.

I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
11 And each person will not teach his fellow citizen,
and each his brother or sister, saying, “Know the Lord,”
because they will all know me,
from the least to the greatest of them.
12 For I will forgive their wrongdoing,
and I will never again remember their sins.

• This is a much greater promise than the Old Covenant.
• The sin issue is done.
• Jesus’ blood is the perfect offering.

13 By saying a new covenant, he has declared that the first is obsolete. And what is obsolete and growing old is about to pass away.[3]
    - The Old Covenant only atoned (covered) sin.
    - The New Covenant forgives sin.
    - “about to disappear” – The writer knew the Temple
       was about to be destroyed and it was just a few
       years later.
    - The sacrificial system of sacrifices in the Old
       Covenant ended in 70 AD when Titus annihilated
       the Temple.

Lord’s Supper – Jesus’ blood is the perfect sacrifice.

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Ac 7:55–56). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (Dt 11:18–23). (2009). Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Heb 8:1–13). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.