Hebrews 10
v.1
The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming - not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.
Wow. Since the Old Covenant was only a shadow, establishing the New Covenant is a way of God saying, “I want you to be a little closer to heaven.” We live in a fallen world and see but a poor reflection of the age to come, but his New Covenant flips the paradigm - bringing heaven down to earth rather earth to heaven. The good things God intends to bring comes from a place where there are no more shadows.
v.4
because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
v.10
And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Jesus did away with the Old Covenant by becoming the perfect, blameless sacrifice himself to atone for our sins forever. It is only by His perfect sacrifice we can be made holy. We can’t grow in sanctification with a hardened heart to the Gospel; do not confuse sanctification with gaining approval from a stream of church culture.
v.14
because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
It cannot mean that those for whom he died are made at once perfectly holy, for that is not true; but the idea is, that the offering was complete, and did not need to be repeated; and that it was of such a nature as entirely to remove the penalty due to sin, and to lay the foundation for their final and eternal holiness. The offerings made under the Jewish Law were so defective that there was a necessity for repeating them every day; the offering made by the Saviour was so perfect that it needed not to be repeated, and that it secured the complete and final salvation of those who availed themselves of it...The doctrine taught in this verse is, that all those who are in any measure sanctified will be perfected forever. It is not a temporary work which has been begun in their souls, but one which is designed to be carried forward to perfection. In the atonement made by the Redeemer there is the foundation laid for their eternal perfection, and it was with reference to that, that it was offered.
v.17
Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”
v.18
And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin.
v.22
let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
Drawing near to God with a sincere heart means for us to draw near without any personal agendas or idolization of self. It’s not about us; it wasn’t us that granted us this access to worship Him in spirit and truth. Even our guilt in how we ought to be or how we ought to atone for the sins we’ve committed prior to drawing near to Him must be cleansed from our guilty conscience.
*Gentile converts to Judaism were baptized to free them from Gentile impurity; the *Qumran sect required everyone to be baptized (as the first of many washings) to forsake former worldly impurities; Christians baptized new believers as a mark of initiation into a wholly new life. The symbolic value of Christian baptism would not have been lost on Jewish observers
v.23
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
The New Covenant is an eternal covenant established by the most perfect High Priest. Because his sacrifice is sufficient, his word is sufficient, and his gift of new life is sufficient, we can hold fast to the hope we profess. He is so faithful that when we are faithless, he is still faithful (2 Timothy 2:13).
v.24
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
Love here is the ancient Greek word agape, filled with significance by the New Testament. “Love needs stimulation and society. Faith and hope can be practiced by a solitary, in a hermit’s cell or on a desert island. But the exercise of love is possible only in a community.” (Robinson)
v.25
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are not in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
We do not meet simply to fulfill some cultural norm or law. No, we refuse to live a life of dictation (Martin Lloyd-Jones notetaker). There is a desire in the human heart to be encouraged and a desire in God’s heart to be the encourager. God desires to be desired.
So between the death of Christ and the Last Day it is only by a gracious anticipation of the last things that Christians are privileged to live in visible fellowship with other Christians. It is by the grace of God that a congregation is permitted to gather visibly in this world to share God’s Word and sacrament. Not all Christians receive this blessing. The imprisoned, the sick, the scattered lonely, the proclaimers of the Gospel in heathen lands stand alone. They know that visible fellowship is a blessing.
You mentioned casually in your last letter that the patient has continued to attend one church, and one only, since he was converted, and that he is not wholly pleased with it. May I ask what you are about? Why have I no report on the causes of his fidelity to the parish church? Do you realise that unless it is due to indifference it is a very bad thing? Surely you know that if a man can’t be cured of churchgoing, the next best thing is to send him all over the neighbourhood looking for the church that “suits” him until he becomes a taster or connoisseur of churches… the search for a “suitable” church makes the man a critic where the Enemy wants him to be a pupil.
v.26-27
If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.
Judaism had long distinguished intentional and unintentional sin (Num 15:29-31; cf., e.g., Lev 4:2, 22); one who knew better would be punished more strictly than one who was ignorant. Sacrifices *atoned for sins of ignorance, but Judaism taught that no sacrifice availed for the person who knowingly rejected the authority of God’s *law… Jewish teachers also observed that those who sinned presuming that they would be automatically forgiven were not genuinely repentant and hence were not forgiven.) In the *Dead Sea Scrolls, slight transgressions required temporary penance, but deliberate rebellion against God’s law demanded expulsion from the community. The sin in this context is unrepentant, thorough apostasy (10:29).
v.28-29
Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?
To despise the law of Moses was a serious matter…
v.31
It is a dreadful thing to fall in the hands of the living God.
God’s presence is holy. Anything unholy that attempts to draw near to him ought to be in fear and trembling. We must not undermine the holiness of our God.
v.34
You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.
We must hold fast to an eternal perspective. That our true riches are not rewarded and enjoyed in this present age but in the age to come.
v.35-36
So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. 36You need to perseveare so that when you have done the will of God, you will recieve what he has promised.
We hold fast not out of sheer determination and discipline; there is a goal that awaits us if, indeed, we press on.
“Cast not away your confidence.” But, brethren, there is something more. The apostle says, “You have need of patience, after you have done the will of God.” But why, you will say, is patience so indispensable at this juncture of experience? Doubtless you all know that we are never so subject to impatience as when there is nothing we can do. All the while the farmer is occupied with plowing, harrowing, tilling, drilling, hoeing, and the like, he is too busy to be fretful. It is when the work is done, and there is nothing more to occupy his hands that the very leisure he has to endure gives occasion to secret qualms and lurking cares.
^ Spurgeon speaking truth of my post-grad season. 1/2/23
True confidence makes the believer feel, “I am God’s child. I can speak with my Lord whenever I will and I can hear His voice everywhere—hear it in nature as well as in the Bible. I dwell always in my Father’s own house at home and I know that ‘goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.’” Oh, what a sweet feeling that is, to know that you are ever near to God, that He is ever with you, and consequently, you are always at home and your Father is always accessible.
Dear Mr. Muller said from this pulpit, “Do not begin the day unless you feel happy in the Lord.” The advice is good. See that you walk in obedience with great watchfulness, so shall you have the freedom of children towards God. “Beloved, if our hearts condemn us not, then have we confidence towards God.”