and Rejection: Hebrews 10

Transcription

1 God s Law, Redemption and Rejection: Hebrews 10 Fred Wieland Friends & Fellowship December 2, 2018

2 Pre-Class Quiz What does the Bible say about practicing the Law of Moses (Biblical Law)? A. It is one path to redemption before God B. It is a necessary step before accepting Christ C. It is impossible to use the law for salvation D. It will be followed by all believers from birth to death In Biblical times, before Christ, what happened if a Jewish person rejected the Law of Moses? A. That person was killed B. That person was ostracized (I.e., shunned by the community) C. That person had to present a sin offering to the High Priest D. That person was thrown in jail 12/2/2018 Fred Wieland Friends & Fellowship 2

3 Hebrews 10: 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. 2 Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. 3 But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. 4 It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 12/2/2018 Fred Wieland Friends & Fellowship 3

4 Hebrews 10:5-7 Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; 6 with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. 7 Then I said, Here I am it is written about me in the scroll I have come to do your will, my God. Reference: Psalm 40:1-8 12/2/2018 Fred Wieland Friends & Fellowship 4

5 Hebrews 10:8-10 First he said, Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them though they were offered in accordance with the law. 9 Then he said, Here I am, I have come to do your will. He sets aside the first to establish the second. 10 And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 12/2/2018 Fred Wieland Friends & Fellowship 5

6 Hebrews 10:11-14 Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. 14 For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. 12/2/2018 Fred Wieland Friends & Fellowship 6

7 Hebrews 10:15-18 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: 16 This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds. 17 Then he adds: Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more. 18 And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary. Reference: Jeremiah 31: /2/2018 Fred Wieland Friends & Fellowship 7

8 What are they writing about? What is this Law? The Law of Moses, or Mosaic Law, is found in the first five books of the Bible (the Torah ), but especially in Leviticus. Faith, repentance, baptism in water, remission of sins, and the Ten Commandments are all part of The Law. Over time, the Jewish leaders added many unauthorized provisions, ceremonies, and prohibitions to the original law until it became extremely burdensome the tradition of the elders. It is the tradition of the elders that is so harshly spoken about by Jesus and Paul (Mark 7, next chart) But it is the original law (Torah) that is referred to in Hebrews 10 and that Jesus upholds perfectly. 12/2/2018 Fred Wieland Friends & Fellowship 8

9 Some Interesting Biblical Passages Mark 7:5-8 So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, Why don t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands? 6 He replied, Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 7 They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules. [Isaiah 29:13] 8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions. Matthew 5:17 Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. 12/2/2018 Fred Wieland Friends & Fellowship 9

10 Types of Offerings in the Law Burnt Offering. A way of calling on the Lord to pay attention to the needs of the worshiper. Peace Offering. Indicated that all is well between the offerer and the Lord. Sin Offering. Symbolizes the atonement (reconciliation) of the offerer with God for the offerer s sins and their contamination of the tabernacle. Scapegoat offering release a goat to the wild to symbolize driving away the sin of the community. Slaughtered sin offering cleansed the tabernacle. Guilt Offering. Atonement for unintentionally treating holy things as worldly by the offerer. 12/2/2018 Fred Wieland Friends & Fellowship 10

11 Why is it impossible for the Mosaic Law to save us? It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Heb. 10:4 It would be possible if we followed the Law day and night, from birth to death, without any failures. But human beings fail all the time! If we have any doubt about this, here s what Jesus Christ Himself said in Matthew 5: 21 You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment. 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. 23 Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. 11

12 It is impossible for the Law to save us: that s what Jesus Christ did! (Hebrews 10:19-25) 19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the Day approaching. But there is an asterisk that is, fine print that warns us what not to do. 12/2/2018 Fred Wieland Friends & Fellowship 12

13 The Fine Print the Bad News! 26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, It is mine to avenge; I will repay, and again, The Lord will judge his people. [Deut. 32:35f, Ps. 135:14] 31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. But this paragraph is a difficult one. Every Christian has, at one time or another, deliberately sinned. How do we interpret this passage in light of that truth? 12/2/2018 Fred Wieland Friends & Fellowship 13

14 The key phrase in the passage is: 29 How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, It is mine to avenge; I will repay, and again, The Lord will judge his people. 31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Examples of trampling God underfoot, treating the covenant as unholy, and insulting the Spirit of grace include: Treating Him as unholy claiming that He was a good philosopher, or an excellent teacher, but not the Messiah Insulting His spirit claiming that He was just another criminal, like the two robbers hanging on either side of Him 12/2/2018 Fred Wieland Friends & Fellowship 14

15 July 8, 1741, Enfield, Connecticut: Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God (Jonathan Edwards) 31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Heb. 10:31) 1. God may cast wicked men into Hell at any moment. 2. The wicked deserve to be cast into Hell. 3. The wicked, at this moment, suffer under God s condemnation to Hell. 4. At this very moment, the wicked on Earth suffer a sample of the torments of Hell. 5. At any moment that God commands, Satan is ready to fall upon the wicked and seize them as his own. 6. If it were not for God s restraints, the hellish principles kindling in wicked men s souls would become a hellfire. 7. Simply because there are no visible means of death presently before them, wicked men should not feel secure. 8. Simply because it is natural to care for oneself or believe that others care for them, wicked men should not think that they are safe from God s wrath. 9. All the acts that wicked men do to save themselves from Hell s pain shall afford them nothing if they continue to reject Christ. 10. God has never promised to save us from Hell, except for those contained in Christ through the covenant of Grace. 15

16 Hebrews 10: You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37 For, In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay. 38 And, But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back. [Habakkuk 2:3-4] 39 But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved. 12/2/2018 Fred Wieland Friends & Fellowship 16

17 And Finally - What do we do to show our salvation? Micah 6:6-8 6 With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8 He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. 12/2/2018 Fred Wieland Friends & Fellowship 17

18 References used in this Lesson The Holy Bible (as referenced) Wikipedia: The Law of Moses ( By Faith website ( BibleGateway.com Presenter s own knowledge Sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, Jonathan Edwards, Enfield, CT: July 1741 BibleStudyTools.com 12/2/2018 Fred Wieland Friends & Fellowship 18