Hebrews 10:14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
15 Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,
16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
18 Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
God continued to establish the fact that Jesus Christ satisfied His demands first revealed in Genesis 3:15 with one offering. The Greek word translated as “perfected” means “to complete”. We have talked about the word “propitiation” before. Jesus Christ completely satisfied the demands of His Father in His sacrifice on the cross.
Again, we have the word “sanctified” here. It is a Biblical fact that those who are saved are set apart unto holiness. New Evangelicalism suggests that holiness is not important. On the other side, the holiness movement has a wrong emphasis regarding the holiness of God and the importance of holiness among God’s people. None of this distortion takes away from the fact that those who turn to God in repentance and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation have eternal life and also are given a new nature at salvation. That new nature changes the desires of the true child of God.
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
In verse 15 we see that the Holy Ghost is a witness in the child of God that he or she is saved. Salvation is a wonderful gift of God and included in that gift is the ability to fulfil God’s plan for the child of God. The true child of God is not left to find their own way through life. God shows the way that He expects His child to walk and He also provides all that the true child of God needs to be able to walk obediently with God. The Holy Spirit is there to remind the true child of God of His truth and also to assure him or her that they are not alone. Physically, we might be all alone, but spiritually the true child of God is never alone. What we need is to walk by faith and learn to trust God in all things.
In verse 16 God tells us that He will put His laws in the heart of the saved. He will also write His laws in their minds. God first prophesied this fact through the prophet Jeremiah in chapter 31:33-34. There the prophecy is directed toward the nation of Israel. For the nation of Israel this will be fulfilled in the Millennium. Today, most Jews still reject God and His Word. All the Jews that will enter the Millennium will be saved and thus they will have God’s law in their hearts and their minds. (In fact no one that is unsaved will enter the Millennium.)
In our text we see that this promise also applies to Gentiles. In the context of what we have already seen, Jesus’ offering applies to all those who are sanctified.
God tells us that every person has a conscience. With that conscience the lost person knows they are guilty before God. They know they need help and God in His mercy and grace works in the heart and conscience of each person to draw them to Himself. The lost person needs to listen to God as He works in their conscience, and decide to listen to God and be saved. If the person does not want to be saved, that will be to their shame. The end result of that will be eternal judgment in the lake of fire.
Those who listen to God will be saved and given eternal life and have the ability to glorify God because they have been sanctified through the blood of Jesus Christ.
In verse 17 we see that when a person is sanctified, their sin is removed from them. God chooses to forget about past sins of all those who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. Every person desires to be free from guilt. Many try to work to be free from guilt. They try to do certain things that they hope will appease their imaginary god. The Catholics have many things they teach their people that they claim will help ease the guilt they are living under. The reason the Catholic religion has so much wealth is because they have stolen the money from gullible people who refuse to listen to God as He seeks to draw them to Himself.
Many other false religions also have their rituals that they teach. God’s Word alone will show us what is truly needed to know God’s peace. In the book of Hebrews God shows us clearly that it is the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ that provides the peace the lost sinner needs. God is good and He makes His way of salvation readily available for all.
In verse 18 we have further assurance. The Greek word translated as “remission” speaks of “freedom, pardon”. It is a great blessing to be set free from sin.
For the past while we have had protests in the streets of cities and towns. The main call in those protests has been FREEDOM. Over the past almost 2 weeks this cry has been amplified. The freedom being demanded will not be final. It will be short lived due to the lack of spiritual life in those who are seeking the freedom, as well as the inability of the politicians to truly grant freedom. What is missing in this entire exercise is the acknowledgement that Jesus Christ is the “Prince of Peace.” Based on the sure Word of God, it is clear that Jesus Christ is not leading this protest. True freedom comes from knowing His forgiveness and salvation. We may never know what God could have done to move the hearts of our officials because we, (many of those who profess to be saved), have not followed God’s way of doing things. It is common for us as people to think we need to do something to get things done. God has instructed us as to what we need to do. We need to pray to Him. We have access to God’s throne of grace through the one time sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have access to the Creator of all things. He is working in spite of man’s interference. I know the convoy is trying to claim victory in some areas even now. Those who are saved need to understand that God took down the walls of Jericho by Himself. The nation of Israel was required to march around that city once a day for six days. On the seventh day they were to march around that city seven times. Notice the instructions given to the people on that final time around that city:
Joshua 6:16 And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city.
Joshua had no doubt in his mind that the LORD was in charge. Before the walls fell, he told the people to shout this statement. There was no need to wait to see the walls come down. That was already assured by God.
Gideon had an army of 32,000 men ready to go against the Midianites. God told him the army was too big.
Judges 7:2 And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.
Notice what God said to Gideon in that verse. God did not want the people to be mistaken and think they had won the victory. Notice the shout that Gideon was instructed to give the people as they came into the enemy camp:
Judges 7:18 When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.
It is not possible for those involved in this convoy to be able to shout that the LORD has given them the victory. There is far too much vile activity for that to be possible. However, if true local churches come together and seek God’s face in prayer and in confession and repentance it would be interesting to see what God would do. Again, I am not talking about ecumenical “prayer groups”. That helps nothing. There are some true churches that are having prayer meetings on a regular basis. That is where the power is. If we understand the Bible correctly, there will not be a massive revival at this time. Society is too hardened against God. This does not mean that prayer is useless. God can move lost people to accomplish His purposes. Part of our prayer at this time should be for the soon return of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Victor. Paul tells us that all of creation is groaning for His return. We know this world is groaning, not because of “climate change”. Not because we are running out of resources. It is the wickedness that is the problem. That was the problem in Noah’s day. That was the problem in Israel’s past history. That is why they went into exile. That is the major problem today as well for mankind. True Christians have the privilege of exalting God so that some might be broken and turn to the true God and be saved.
Those who trust in Jesus’ sacrifice do not need to worry that they may not have done enough to be forgiven and saved. The true child of God knows that Jesus Christ did all that was needed for a person to be saved. The saved person trusts in Jesus’ finished work and he or she has eternal life in Christ!. What a great blessing.
Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Jesus provides rest to those who come to Him for salvation. Those who are saved take His yoke upon them. They do not walk alone. They walk with the Lord. Jesus Christ is never overbearing. He never expects more of His child than His child can do. He enables His child to do all that He requires of those who are saved.
We must keep in mind that the “doing” happens after the person is saved.
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Here we are reminded that salvation is by grace through faith. Verse 10 tells us that it is after salvation that the person is required to do good works. Prior to God’s salvation, no one can do any good work.
Isaiah 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
God wants us to understand that no one can please Him apart from receiving His salvation. God treats all people the same. All must turn to Him in repentance and be saved through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no other way. The Bible tells us that we are all born as lost sinners. Those who choose to reject God’s provision for salvation remain lost. It is their choice. God gives all the opportunity to be saved. He has given so much truth throughout the Bible so that all can know how to be saved.
What a blessing to rest in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Pastor Bartel
