Sermon Cloud

The Time Of Reformation

Hebrews 9:11-14

Grace Fellowship Church

February 24, 2008

Series 3 Sermon 35

¹¹ But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) ¹² he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. ¹³ For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, ¹⁴ how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

Introduction

New and improved happens to be a very popular catchphrase in our culture. When someone has a product or a service that they want the public to buy or participate in then that person will advertise the product or service as new and improved. There are very few things that are marketed in our society that can’t bear this label. We have new and improved dishwashing soap. We have new and improved laundry detergent. These will make clothes smell fresher and cleaner than they have ever smelled before. We have new and improved food as well. New and improved clothing that takes longer to fade and stands up to those tough boys that like to slide into third base and rip the knee out of those jeans.

When I was a kid my mom and dad bought Tough-skin jeans from Sears for me because it did not matter how long I had a pair of jeans I could slide the knees right out of them. If you have ever seen these new and improved jeans they would take another piece of material that kind of felt like rough sandpaper and glue it behind the front part of the knee. This worked for keeping the knee from being ripped out but I could still slide the first layer of denim off and also found ways to slide a whole in either the part above the knee or below the knee. Maybe that is why I have bad knees today, all that sliding.

Now I need some new and improved knees to go with my new and improved jeans. I could use a new and improved back as well. Maybe I could put in a request.

What is indicative about our society is that we like new things. Otherwise the marketing scheme of new and improved would never work. But we have the advertisements. New and improved everything.

Doug, maybe we should put that on our new website. The new and improved Grace Fellowship.

Sometimes things really do not need to be improved upon. Sometimes things work just the way they are supposed to. I like the fact that God has ordered a 24 hour day. I like that He has given us half a day of light and half a day of dark or some of us would never get any rest. I like that God has given us families and that we can love one another and enjoy fellowship together.

But there are times when things do need to be changed. Somebody really needs to change the price of gas back down to about $1 a gallon. That needs quick change.

Context

New and improved is the theme of the Epistle to the Hebrews. It is out with the old and in with the new. It is the replacement of an antiquated religious system with the eternal plan of God for the perfection of His elect. It is the replacement of animal sacrifices for the ultimate sacrifice of the perfect sinless life of the eternal Son of God.

Briefly, what we have seen thus far is the replacement of the Old Covenant by the New Covenant. Last week in chapter 9:1-10 we saw the two reasons that the Old Covenant must vanish away. The two reasons were because of its earthly place of worship that was only temporary and its regulations for worship that were temporary as well. From these two reasons the writer made his summation in verse 9. Look at it with me.

According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, 10 but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.

This week we turn our attention to that phrase, the time of reformation. In verse 11 the writer begins with the signal that indeed this time of reformation had come. Look at verse 11.

¹¹ But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come,

The proof that a new dawning in redemptive history had come was the advent of the Lord Jesus Christ. When the Messiah came all would be put in its proper order. But in this proper order there had to be some similarities between the Old and the New Covenants. After all, the writer of Hebrews has already made the argument that the Old Covenant was merely a shadow of the good things that were coming in the New Covenant. So the writer shows the place of worship and the regulations for worship for the New Covenant act of redemption.

Remember, the picture the writer of Hebrews is painting is general and specific. From a distance the picture shows the whole of the Old Testament sacrificial system but when you get up close he is really highlighting the Day of Atonement.

This atonement is reconciliation with God. This is the covering of sin for the express purpose of being able to stand before God. And all of you should know by now that God requires perfection, sinlessness, and holiness for those who will stand before Him.

So as we have discovered in our study thus far, if indeed this New Covenant is better than the Old then everything about it must be better including its place for worship and regulations for worship.

This is what the writer does. He starts off verse 11 by showing us that the time of reformation was inaugurated by the entrance of the new High Priest, the Messiah. Then in the rest of verse 11 the writer shows us that this new High Priest would have a better place for worship. Look at the rest of verse 11.

then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation)

Now look at Hebrews 9:24 for the explanation.

²⁴ For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself,

The Old Covenant had its earthly, soon to pass away tabernacle. The New Covenant had its heavenly, eternal tabernacle. Which obviously is better.

Then the writer turns his attention to the act of atonement. The earthly regulations were highlighted in chapter 9 verses 6-8.

6 These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, 7 but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people. 8 By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing

The point of this is that the Old Covenant system had this repetition of sacrifices that served to show the pervasiveness and the ongoing consequences of sin which would not allow a person to enter the presences of God. Only the High Priest could go in and only once per year and then only timidly.

This is in sharp contrast to the command of Hebrews 4:16 that tells those of us who have entered the New Covenant that not only can we but we are commanded to come boldly before this throne of grace.

What the writer is pointing out is the repetition of the Old Covenant sacrificial system that could never “perfect the conscious of the worshiper” and then showing how the New Covenant regulations for worship could accomplish that.

Before you look at verse 12 I want you to notice that the writer uses positive and negative language to make his point. Look at verse 12.

¹² he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood,

So the place of sacrifice and the sacrifice itself of the New Covenant is better and more perfect. So what did this sacrifice accomplish? What can we as New Covenant believers experience now and look forward to in the future? What can we say about ourselves that those in the Old Covenant could not say about themselves? The question we need to ask ourselves is whether or not we are here and now enjoying the benefits or accomplishments of this New Covenant?

PNP

Over the next few weeks I want you to see nine accomplishments of the once for all sacrifice the Lord Jesus Christ.

Today we will see the first two from Hebrews 9:11-14.

1. Christ’s sacrifice accomplished eternal redemption.

2. Christ’s sacrifice accomplished purification of our conscience.

Purpose

My purpose in preaching this section of Hebrews is to show you what the writer says about the accomplishments of Christ as the priest and mediator of this New Covenant with the hopes that you will walk in freedom and joy in your salvation in Christ.

So many people who call themselves believers have very little joy in their salvation. Mainly because they have been under bad teaching that centers on whether or not they perform to a certain level in their Christian walk or even for emotional reasons because they can’t be absolutely sure they were sincere enough when they prayed the unbiblical prayer called the sinner’s prayer.

God did not send His Son to die to cause confusion about salvation. The Word of God is clear and plain so it is imperative that we not only understand what God has given us in Christ but also that we walk in it with understanding.

Now I don’t think that we can actually wrap our minds around all the eternal glories in our salvation in Christ but I think we can certainly understand enough to greatly benefit us here on planet earth. Certainly as believers we have a lot to look forward in the fulfillment of the kingdom of God but we also have a lot to enjoy here and now.

RPNP

So look with me at these two accomplishments of the once for all sacrifice the Lord Jesus Christ.

1. Christ’s sacrifice accomplished eternal redemption.

Look at verse 12 with me.

¹² he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.

The picture is clear here. The writer takes us back to the Old Covenant and particularly to the Day of Atonement. The sacrifices of goats and calves and the blood of the sacrifices were sprinkled on the mercy seat. And God’s righteous judgment was appeased for a time. But this sacrifice had to take place year after year as the Lord would wait for the perfect time to send the spotless lamb of God to be slaughtered for sin.

The picture at the trial of the Lord Jesus was clear. Two men stood trial and one would be allowed to escape. Just like the two goats on the day of atonement one would be slaughtered for sins and the other would be sent out into the wilderness as the scapegoat. The Lord Jesus was chosen to be slaughtered and Barabas the murderer was set free.

But this time the blood would not be sprinkled on the mercy seat in the Temple that stood in Jerusalem. This time the blood of the sinless Son of God would be poured out on earth and then sprinkled on the mercy seat in the tabernacle which is more perfect and eternal in Heaven. This sacrifice, this sprinkling of the blood of Christ on the heavenly mercy seat, would be all the sacrifice that would ever be needed. It would satisfy the righteous wrath and judgment of almighty God as He now had a covenant people that were holy, blameless, beyond reproach, and perfect. Not because they are in and of themselves perfect but because Christ had borne their sins and now they would bear His eternal perfection and righteousness. All that was accomplished was accomplished in this single sacrificial transaction.

Look at verse 12 again.

¹² he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.

Did you notice those last five words? The writer says that this sacrifice “thus secured an eternal redemption.” I want you to notice the word eternal in verse 12. This is very important. Not only does this word mean eternal in the sense of forever, it carries with it a lot of weight. It carries with it the idea of quality not just duration. The writer has already told us of the inability of the blood of goats and bulls to perfect us before God. Now he tells us that the blood of Christ is not only able to redeem us but in fact for those who are in the New Covenant they are redeemed eternally.

Let me break this down for you. If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, which means that God has chosen to bestow His grace and mercy on you in Christ’s atoning sacrifice then that means all of your sins, not just what you did wrong before you became a believer, but everything you have ever done wrong and everything you will ever do wrong is forgiven already.

The Greek word for redemption here is the word that was often used to describe what happens when a slave was set free in the ancient world. That slave was purchased by another person and they became his or her property. Just like if I go out and by a cow or a piece of land. But that slave could be purchased and set free. And that is the word the writer chooses to describe this redemption in verse 12.

So we have eternally been set free from the slavery of sin and its punishment which is death. We have been redeemed eternally and completely. And the writer has already shown us in the giving of this New and Better covenant we have the absolution of our sins past, present, and future. Look back at Hebrews 8:12.

For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”

So what does this mean for us? What does this mean theologically? What it means is that Christ has worked on our behalf already and has paid eternally for all our sins thus there is absolutely nothing we can do to add to our salvation. If you are in the New Covenant then God has already decided that you are His and His promise is that none who are His will be lost. If one elect person goes to Hell then the sacrifice of Christ and how Scripture describes it is a failure.

So those who think that we are saved by grace through faith then are responsible for maintaining our salvation by a made up idea of holy living are dead wrong. Those who ask the question about sincerity at the time of conversion and base the security of salvation on the posture of your heart when you prayed a prayer are dead wrong.

True biblical salvation is repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. What is required for salvation in Christ is a realization of spiritual bankruptcy.

You all know what financial bankruptcy is. It is when your debt is so large that you can not meet your financial obligations and you throw yourself on the mercy of the court for protection from your creditors. They have been calling and demanding payment but you can’t pay. You don’t have the resources to pay them and you realize that you are in dire need of help.

What a person needs to enter the New Covenant is a realization of their spiritual bankruptcy. They need to realize that their sin debt is far more than they could ever pay. They need to realize that they can’t work hard enough, be emotionally sincere enough, love God enough, love their neighbor enough, be holy enough, do enough religious work or charity work to pay the wages of sin which is death. So they go to the bankruptcy court in Heaven and they throw themselves at the feet of the Righteous Judge of the Universe and plead for mercy and help. And what they find out is that the debt has already been paid in full and not only the debt that was accrued before the trip to the judge but all the debt for their whole life.

And that is why we keep trusting in Christ for our security of salvation. We don’t trust in what we can do or how well we can behave as a Christian. We trust in Christ who not only paid the price for our sins but also lived a perfect life on our behalf.

That is why salvation is faith in Christ. It is the ultimate denial of our selves and our abilities because we realize that our redemption is in Christ alone. We sing this truth. In the hymn “It is Well With My Soul” in the second and third verse he wrote:

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

So what is the result of this eternal redemption? Does it give us the right and opportunity to now sin freely knowing that everything we do is already forgiven? This is why we need to see the second point. We have already seen that Christ’s sacrifice accomplished eternal redemption now I want you to see that:

2. Christ’s sacrifice accomplished purification of our conscience.

Look at verses 13 and 14.

¹³ For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh,(and this did happen but was only temporary) ¹⁴ how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, (the writer again highlights the uniqueness of the sacrifice of Christ. So besides securing for us an eternal redemption what does this sacrifice accomplish?) purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

The Old Covenant was for purification of the flesh and it temporarily accomplished that. We see the foreshadowing in the Old Testament when the people were commanded to be circumcised in their heart and not just in their flesh because what was done in the flesh was only symbolic of what needed to happen internally. And here is where the New Covenant is so much better. Not only is our sin forgiven finally and fully but we have the testimony of the Holy Spirit and of the Word of God that we have been forgiven fully and have been given the gift of a conscience in the process of being purified.

The Old Covenant was a constant reminder of our sin. The New Covenant is a constant reminder of our salvation and forgiveness. Therefore we have been set free because the Son of God has set us free. So we are free indeed.

Now here is where the rubber meets the road. The Bible truth is that we have been forgiven for all of our sins past, present, and future. We are free. But are we free to sin? Here is where you know whether or not you are in the covenant. It is in the desires of your heart. If you know that nothing you do will ever be held against you then the unsaved person would see how much more they could do wrong and get away with. But the believer who has had their sins forgiven is not perfect and sinless in the flesh and still falls short and sins but they have a great desire not to sin. Sometimes the flesh wins the battle but we can rest assured that the flesh will not win the war.

When a Christian sins, small or great in our eyes, the desire of our heart is to be rid of that sin. We feel guilt and we desire to be forgiven and we plead with the Lord to free us more from the bondage of our own flesh. We hate the sin that we commit even though we are constantly reminded of our sinfulness by the sin we commit.

I hope this will be some help for those of you, which by the way is all of you, who are struggling with some certain sin in your own life. Maybe it is a lack of contentment with what is going on in your life right now. Maybe it is a lack of trust in the providence and sovereignty of God. Maybe it is some sin that you can’t seem to get rid of that is always in the back of your mind tempting you and enticing you. Here is some help.

Listen to Galatians 5:16-25.

¹⁶ But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please . ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. ¹⁹ Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality , impurity, sensuality, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions , ²¹ envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
²⁵ If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

This is ultimate reliance on the Spirit of God that abides in us to keep us from fulfilling the desires of the flesh. Folks this is war.

John Owen in his book, “The Mortification of Sin” said this. “Either you will be killing sin or it will be killing you.”

The war rages on. The end of this battle will be celebrated at our funerals. To not do battle against the depravity that is within us is to act as a slave and not a free person. The war is hard. It is difficult. We will lose some battles but we have been promised ultimate victory.

Many of you have seen the movie Braveheart about the Scottish warrior William Wallace. In the scene before the battle when the Scottish clans defeated the English army William Wallace gave a speech. Some of the men were saying how they were outnumbered and that they should just surrender and go back home. And the rumblings among the soldiers started. Wallace says, “Go back home and work your farms and live under the slavery of the English your whole life. But know this, when you lay dying in your bed, you would gladly give up all that you had to come back to this moment and fight for your freedom. If you leave you will live. If you fight some of you will die. But you will die as free men and not slaves. They may take your life but they can never take away your freedom.”

Folks, sin will ultimately take each of our lives. Our hearts will fail, cancer may destroy our bodies, accidents may happen that will cut short our lives, it may be old age that gets you but no matter what it is that takes your life and causes you to breath your last just understand that at that time sin has won its final battle but in that small victory death has been defeated for the Christian.

So the point for verse 14 is this. Until that completed time of ultimate victory when death and Hades are thrown into the lake of fire and we are in Heaven to forever be with our Lord we are here on earth to live and act as those who have been freed from the weight and guilt of sin and we have true freedom in Christ. Look at verse 14 one more time.

¹⁴ how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

In Christ we have eternal redemption and we have a purified conscience from sin so that we can serve the living God in a way that pleases Him. Who is fit for New Covenat ministry? Only those who have been set free by the great High Priest of this New and Better Covenant.

Let’s pray.