Text: Hebrews 10:1–18
Preacher: Pastor Brian Sauvé
Salvation, To The Bone
This morning, our text in Hebrews invites us to a particular question: How great is Jesus? I want you to consider that question for a moment. How great is Jesus? How great is his salvation? What does it do?
Imagine a young boy, a young boy who is tremendously naughty. He talks back; he’s belligerent and disobedient, refuses to respect authority—the whole naughtiness package.
He never passes up an opportunity to throw a plate of food on the ground, complain about something, or disrespect his mama. Just what our grandparents called a bad apple. Now, imagine two approaches his father might take to deal with him:
One way might be like this: His father sits him down after a particularly bad episode, and says, “Son, you are a wicked child. You don’t respect authority, you disobey continually, you are just altogether bad. And so son, you have sinned, and what you need is forgiveness. So here you go: You have sinned against me, your father, and I forgive you.”
And then that’s that. The boy walks out, forgiven. His dad heaves out a sigh of relief, “Phew, glad that’s taken care of.” Ten minutes later, the little boy is cackling with glee as he beats his little sister over the head with a whiffle ball bat.
Replay the scenario, but this time, the father sits the son down and says, “Son you are a wicked child. You disobey continually, you are just altogether bad. I want you to know that whatever it takes, I am not going to be satisfied with leaving you in this state. Whatever it takes, however constant my discipline and chastening has to be; however many spankings and heart-to-heart talks and instruction and help it takes, I am going to see you become an honorable man. I love you, son, and I forgive you for your sin. Let’s go apologize to mom and sister for the last 10 minutes and then get to work.”
See, too often, we tend to think about our salvation like that first dad. But the Lord Jesus did not come to put a bandaid on the terminal cancer patient, but to radically heal, to cut him open and slice away the cancer. He did not come to scrub some moss off of gravestones, but to raise the dead men rotting 6 feet under them.
Remember the story of Mary and Joseph. Matthew tells us that when Joseph discovered Mary was pregnant during their engagement,
“…Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying ‘Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’” -Matthew 1:19–21
No, Joseph, your betrothed didn’t sin, but she does bear the one who has come to save men from sin. Call him Yeshua. Joshua. Jesus. Joseph was instructed to name this Son the Greek version of the Hebrew name, Joshua—why? Because this virgin-born son would be a greater Joshua.
Joshua was the man who took the mantle from Moses after Moses was barred from leading the people into the Promised Land. Moses, the Law-giver, had failed to lead them there. A whole generation had fallen dead in the wilderness.
But Joshua, whose name means Yahweh Is Salvation, led them into the land to conquer and colonize and dwell with their God. And this greater Joshua, Yeshua, Jesus Christ, would not just represent the salvation of Yahweh—no, he actually was Yahweh, come to save.
Name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. And what the author of Hebrews would have us see here in this tenth chapter is that this salvation is not just from the penalty of our sins, but from our sins—from the enslaving power of our sins. That Jesus is deep Savior, total Savior, effective Savior. Look with me at Hebrews 10:1. This is the Word of the Living God:
“For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,
“Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
but a body have you prepared for me;
in burnt offerings and sin offerings
you have taken no pleasure.
Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God,
as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,
“This is the covenant that I will make with them
after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws on their hearts,
and write them on their minds,”then he adds,
“I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”
Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.”
-Hebrews 10:1–18
There are three basic sections in the text this morning. We’ll take each one up in turn, but we’ll spend most of our time handling that third section, since we have extensively dealt with the concepts of the first two sections already. That said, the three sections run in this direction:
In verses 1–4, we will see again the impossibility for the shadow sacrifices of the Old Covenant to actually remove sin.
Then, in verses 5–10, we’ll see essentially a prooftext of that point from the Old Testament, from Psalm 40.
Finally, in verses 11–18, we’ll see four things that this once-for-all sacrifice has done.
Let’s get to work, starting with verses 1–4, where we will see one of the great purposes of the Old Covenant Law.
Success Through Failure (1–4)
In chapter 9, verse 11, the author told us that Jesus Christ appeared as a “…high priest of the good things that have come.”
Now, here in chapter 10, verse 1, he tells us that the “…the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities,” and so it could never, “…by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.”
Instead, these sacrifices functioned, verse 3, as “…a reminder of sins every year, for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
Here’s the point, which he’s been building for several chapters now: The shadows of the Old Covenant succeeded by failing. Let me explain.
The shadows of the Old Covenant were successful in the ministry to which they were appointed by not being successful in removing sin. The shadows weren’t failures because you couldn’t climb up them to heaven—that’s not what shadows are for. They weren’t failures by failing to be the substance.
They were successful in their appointed ministry by doing two things at the same time: First they succeeded by reminding sinners of their sinfulness with gory, shed blood. As the bulls and goats bleated with slit throats and bled red blood, they were preaching, “This is what you deserve! Your sin requires your blood! You need a sacrifice to take your place if you will have hope!”
And at the same time, they succeeded in their ministry by making it obvious that something more was on the way, that something great than this Old Covenant ministry was hurtling towards them in the future: The New Covenant ministry of Jesus, a ministry that would succeed, not by failing, but by succeeding.
A Prooftext (5–10)
The author proves all of this in the next section by offering us a prooftext from the Old Testament, from Psalm 40.
“Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,
“Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
but a body have you prepared for me;
in burnt offerings and sin offerings
you have taken no pleasure.
Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God,
as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second.”
-Hebrews 10:5–9
The point is that, if they had read and understood the Old Testament all along, they never would have concluded that the sacrifices in the Temple and Tabernacle were anything other than signs signifying something that was still to come.
They would have concluded, “Unless something more comes, we will never really be sanctified, made holy, set apart from God’s use and God’s covenantal friendship.” That’s why he concludes in verse 10,
“And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” -Hebrews 10:10
We needed another offering, an effective offering, not just bulls and goats. And that is what Jesus is: The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. We are sanctified through the offering of his body, not through all of those previous bodies.
The Strength of This Salvation (11–18)
Finally, let’s take up the last section, from verse 11–18, and we’ll see what it is that this Old Covenant had been about all along:
“And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,
“This is the covenant that I will make with them
after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws on their hearts,
and write them on their minds,”then he adds,
“I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”
Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.”
-Hebrews 10:11–18
This final section teaches us four glories that have sprung from the lowly death of Jesus—four things this lowly death has done. Number one:
1. This lowly death has led to the highest throne: Jesus will not return until every enemy has been put down except for one (11–13).
Look at verse 11, if you would.
“And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.”
-Hebrews 10:11–13
Remember way back to the beginning of Hebrews, the author began making the case that Jesus is greater than all of his rivals and his forerunners, from angels to Moses to Aaron and on. And right away in his endeavor to build this case, he laid down a big, heavy, concrete foundation slab to build on in the form of arguably the most important Psalm in the Bible, Psalm 110.
Psalm 110 is the most quoted verse in the New Testament from the Old Testament, and it is all about what results from Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. And what that Psalm and its New Testament use teaches us is plain: Though we think first of the cross in terms of forgiveness, the Apostles thought first of the cross in terms of Jesus’ exaltation and enthronement as King of a cosmic Kingdom.
“The LORD says to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies your footstool.”The LORD sends forth from Zion
your mighty scepter.
Rule in the midst of your enemies!Your people will offer themselves freely
on the day of your power,
in holy garments;
from the womb of the morning,
the dew of your youth will be yours.The LORD has sworn
and will not change his mind,
“You are a priest forever
after the order of Melchizedek.”The Lord is at your right hand;
he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.
He will execute judgment among the nations,
filling them with corpses;
he will shatter chiefs
over the wide earth.
He will drink from the brook by the way;
therefore he will lift up his head.”-Psalm 110
This Psalm and its use in the New Testament gives us a timeline for the entire New Creational age, from cross to Christ’s return. Here, it is plain that Jesus’ humiliation led to his exaltation to this Psalm 110 throne, where he is currently seated, reigning.
During this whole age we are presently in, what is happening? The Father is subduing the world through the Son. The Father is putting all enemies under the feet of Jesus through the work of the gospel—the preaching of his salvation, his Kingdom and Kingship, his grace, and his rule.
That is what is happening through this age. And Paul, using the same passage, tells us when this age will end. 1 Corinthians 15:22,
“For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For ‘God has put all things in subjection under his feet.’” -1 Corinthians 15:22–27a
Jesus will reign until every enemy has been subdued, save the last enemy—death. Then he will stand up, and return to a conquered world to destroy death forever, render his final judgment, glorify his people, and reign forever over a completed New Heavens and New Earth.
2. This lowly death has freed a people from sin’s penalty: It has perfected a people for all time (14, 17).
Look at verse 14 and verse 17,
“For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified… [now quoting from Jeremiah 31] ‘I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.’”
-Hebrews 10:14, 17b
The death of Christ was the death of our penalty before God’s holy Law. The law is only binding on you as long as you live. If with Christ you died on the cross, then you died to the penalty of the Law as well.
And so, having paid for our sin-debt on the cross, he declares us righteous. This is the language of what theologians call justification, which means our declared righteousness before God.
This is what God does in the moment of your salvation, when the Father unites you to the Son by the Spirit. He forgives your sin and imputes the perfect, Law-keeping righteousness of Christ to you, so that he can declare you righteous.
This is tremendously good news, because in Christ, you have a perfect, cast iron righteousness. It is a complete, finished sort of righteousness, a holiness that can’t be improved on. From the moment of your salvation, you will never be more or less righteous in the sense of your justification. You don’t add to this or contribute any part to it, whatsoever, not one good work.
This is the perfection that the woman at the well—who had lived her life as a sexually loose, wicked, harlot of a woman—was given. This is the perfection that Paul, on his way to murder Christians, was clothed in. This is the perfection that covers all of your worst days. There is no hope without this forgiving, justifying grace of God. But there’s more:
3. This lowly death has freed a people from sin’s power: It is sanctifying those he has perfected (14–17).
This time, let’s look at the whole section from verse 14–17,
“For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,
“This is the covenant that I will make with them
after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws on their hearts,
and write them on their minds,”then he adds,
“I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”
-Hebrews 10:14–17
We are, by this sacrifice, perfected for all time, that is, justified. But we are also, by this sacrifice, being perfected, that is, sanctified. One is a legal standing. One is progressive process. One is momentary and complete. One is ongoing and not yet complete.
What this means is that Jesus did not leave heaven and take on mortal flesh to suffer and die and rise and rule in order to put a dab of Neosporin and a bandaid on the festering wound of our sin. No, he came to heal, and to heal completely. This salvation is a deep salvation.
Jesus is not just intent on saving us from the legal consequences of our sin, but from our sins, that is, from our very desire to sin. So listen Refuge: If you are in Christ, you are not a slave to sin, to do its will. You have been bought, washed, adopted, and cleansed. You have been freed.
God has made this covenant with us: “I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds.” God is not the weak father of the illustration I gave at the beginning—forgiving us and then leaving us in our bondage to sin. No, he has committed his whole might to bringing us to righteousness—both in this life and the next.
Do not live as if sin is your master. Do not wallow in your lusts and your lying and your fear of man and your cowardice and your greed. Do not give in to the snare of pornography and pettiness and gossips. Fight.
Fight, because God has given you his word, that he is perfecting and he is sanctifying. You are forgiven and counted righteous. And you are renewed and Spirit-filled. Go to the fountains of grace he has already made available: Pray. Open your Bible. Be in fellowship with your church family. Confess your sin at the Lord’s Table.
You are cleansed and so be clean—not to make God love you more, but because he has loved you and given his Spirit to you already.
4. This lowly death has decisively and permanently ended the previous sacrifices (18).
Finally, see verse 18 with me,
“Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.”
-Hebrews 10:18
No more work needs to be done to secure any of this, friends. No more bulls and goats and lambs need die—and no more penance need be done by you. God is not waiting for you to pay off your sin, feel bad enough, say enough Hail Marys, feel spiritual enough feelings, or anything. Jesus has finished it.
Don’t we love to try to make new ways to sacrifice to please God, though? Are we not addicted to it? Jesus finished the work and he sat down, because it was finished. And we so often act like he’s not seated, as if there’s more to be done to justify.
We love to add our works to this gospel as part of our right standing before God, don’t we? Nevertheless, it is faithless to do so. Faith trusts in Christ’s work, even as faith lays hold of God’s sanctifying grace. Don’t dare try and add anything to his work, but rather receive it with joy.
Even as we come to this table now, confessing our sin, confess with joy—your sin is already forgiven you in Christ. Let’s pray.