hebrews - Chapter 10 - ENTRANCE TO THE HOLIEST OF ALL (2024)
ENTRANCE TO THE HOLIEST OF ALL
HEBREWS – CHAPTER 10
Tuesday, April 30, 2024, January 31, 2012, The Years of Our Lord
Pastor Carolyn Sissom
Our writer of the letter to the Hebrews has now finished his argument. He concludes his great theological doctrine of the Priesthood of Jesus Christ. The three Offices of Prophet, Priest and King meet in Christ.
(Our persuasion that Hebrews was written by Paul seems confirmed in Heb. 10:34: For you had compassion on me in my chains.)
“Jesus has confirmed and secured the promises made unto the fathers. He is the Son (seed) of Abraham and David. He has the land and the throne. He has inherited the earth and the right to rule it. The Abrahamic covenant gave Him the promise and the Davidic covenant the legal right to appropriate the promise.”
Our writer has not only shown that Christ is superior to the angels and the prophets, but to the Law and its priesthood. His one perfect sacrifice not only fulfilled everything required by the Law; by His life of perfect obedience (His sacrifice), the Lord---as a man---created a new kind of life called “eternal life.” It is a holy realm, the realm of the Holy Spirit. Believers are baptized into that realm (Co. 1:13; 1 Cor. 12:13). Even though we still have our old natures, we are now citizens of that realm (Phil. 3:20).
The law was but a shadow, of good things to come. The Jews then had but the shadow of good things of Christ. We under the gospel have the substance. He has proven that Christ is the true High Priest and the true atoning sacrifice.
Heb. 10:9: Then said he, Lo, I come to do your will, O God. He takes away the first, that he may establish the second.
“He took away the first covenant, the Old Testament that He might establish the second covenant, the New Testament. In the context of Hebrews 10, He took away the first Body that He might establish the second Body. He took away the Body of Jesus in ascension that He might establish the church, the Body of Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Greek word for “takes away” in Hebrews 10:9 means “to take away with violence.” The word for “establish” means “to stand.” God took away the Old Covenant with violence, even the violence of the cross! He then established the New Covenant as Jesus Christ was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of Holiness, by His resurrection from the dead (Rom. 1:4). His violent death and glorious resurrection are the basis of the New Testament in His blood. The writer has proven that Christ has established a More Excellent Ministry.
The Bible is divided into two covenants, the Old Testament, and the New Testament. Both Testaments are a revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ.
10:6-9: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You have no pleasure. Then said I (Christ), Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of Me,) to do Your will, O God… He takes away the first that He may establish the second.
The volume of the book is the revelation of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament. The writer is quoting from Ps. 40:6. The words of the psalmist become the words of the incarnate Son, overheard as they were spoken to the Father. The pre-existent Son became incarnate in accordance with the voice of prophecy. He announced His resolution to replace the ancient sacrifices by His own obedience.
The whole system of sacrifice has been abolished by the realization of the true will of God.
10:10: By which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
We are sanctified and changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. From glory to glory; out of glory and into glory...out of the glory of the law and into the glory of grace and truth (John 1:17); Out of the glory of man and into the glory of the Lord; out of the passing and into the permanent (1 Pet. 1:24). Jesus fulfilled the law and the prophets. He has consecrated for us a new and living way through His Blood.
The veil was rent from the top to the bottom. The law was finished. Grace and truth prevailed. An age, an order, an era changed. Our Savior died with violence to take away the first covenant, and then rose in triumph to forever establish the New Covenant.
The New Covenant of Jeremiah 31 and Hebrews 8 is the New Testament, pure and simple. His was the Sacrifice, once and for all! 10:14: For by one offering He has perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
There won’t be another covenant, priesthood, another anything. Jesus is better than Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and the angels.
The writer has clearly proven to the Hebrew Jews, (those to whom it is addressed): Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega; the Beginning and the End. His death and resurrection changed the priesthood and the order of the testaments permanently. His king-priest ministry after the order (manner, similitude) of Melchisedec is immutable.
10:15: Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us; for after that He had said before, this is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord, I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
On the day of Pentecost, the Spirit of Christ (Holy Ghost) came from the presence of God to bring this “eternal life” to men. Those who receive the Spirit become the children of God and have eternal life that instant (1 John 5:12). Through the power of Jesus’ cleansing blood (the sacrifice applied) even the weakest saint is privileged to have fellowship with God. He will place His laws on our hearts and minds. In the Kingdom of God, there is no “pecking order.” To whom much is given, much is required.
Beginning in 10:19; the writer will ask Christians to lay hold of their position in Christ and take advantage of the benefits Jesus secured for them.
10:19-22: Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He has consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh; and having a high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for He is faithful that promised);
We are now given access to take full advantage of the privilege of worship and drawing near into the very presence of the Lord. We have this confidence to enter into the Most Holy Place. This open access has been provided by the blood of Jesus, our Great High priest by the new and living way of his flesh.
Every barrier to the presence of God has forever been torn down through the blood and flesh. This we do in remembrance of Him through the Lord’s Supper. Not only has Christ split the separating veil, but He is there personally to escort the worshipper into the sanctuary. True worship of God, therefore, is accomplished only through Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice.
The Christian is to worship with a sincere heart, that is to say he is to come with sincerity in his innermost being. He is to worship in full assurance of faith. He is to be done with all doubt and misgiving, reflecting continuously on the basis for faith---the person and work of Christ.
He is to worship with his heart sprinkled to cleanse…from a guilty conscience and his body washed with pure water. That is to say he is to assemble for worship only after he has gained a consciousness of sins forgiven through faith in the atoning work of Christ. Also, Christians must be baptized in water.
This is the same standard required of the Levitical Priesthood and is intended to show that the Christian stands in the high place of being a priest himself ordained for worshipful service to God.
10:23: Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
We must hold unswervingly to the hope we profess. There will be plenty and many who will find opportunity to come against our faith and hope. We must not waiver. The strong appeal for such perseverance is found to be in the great faithfulness of God who has made His promises irrevocable.
10:24-25: Let us consider one another to provoke to love and to good works; not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as you see the day approaching.
Lastly, Christians are exhorted to consider how they can spur one another on toward love and good deeds. These things are of the essence of Christianity. We are dependent upon the mutual interaction with Christian society. It is absolutely essential that one assemble himself with other Christians if he is to be assured of continued spiritual development. Any type of go-it-alone Christianity is unthinkable to the writer of Hebrews who deplores the fact that, in the face of the impending Day, there are those who neglect to meet together.
Here are the exhortations found in the Pauline trinity of Faith (Vs. 22); Hope (Vs. 23) and Love (Vs. 24).
I discovered today while reading from Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible there are eight proofs listed that Paul is the author of the Letter to the Hebrews. One is that Peter confirms the fact that Paul wrote a letter to the Jews (2 Pet. 3: 15-16).
Hebrews 10:26-31: For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins. But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses; what then do you think will happen to that man who despises the Son of God, trod under foot the cleansing blood of the covenant and insults the Spirit of Grace. Will not his punishment be more severe? For we know the One who has said, Vengeance belongs to Me, I will square all accounts, and again, the Lord will judge His people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
This is a severe warning very similar to that of 6:4: For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again to repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to open shame.
We know the Lord is married to the backslider; that he is compassionate and long suffering toward us. However, according to the writer, It is possible for the baptized Christian who has been thoroughly instructed in the truth of Christianity to reach that place in his/her experience where through constant sinning his attitude becomes one of continued conscious resistance to all that he has been taught. Then because he/she has become hardened to the point where they see no redeeming value in Christ’s death then treating the blood of the covenant that sanctified them as a common thing; there is for him, therefore, no more sacrifice for sins. He has rejected the only possibility of atonement. The only thing he can look forward to is a more fearful type of judgment than that inflicted upon the man who willfully renounced the ancient covenant. The greater judgment is due to the fact that the covenant he has renounced is greater, for in this act he has trampled the Son of God under foot, treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant and insulted the Spirit of Grace.
The writer closes this somber warning with a reminder that the living God does not threaten in vain; I will repay, says the Lord, and scripture promises that the Lord will judge his people.
However, it is a comfort to remember the story of King Hezekiah and the awful sins that he committed over and over again. Then when he cried out to the Lord with a humble and contrite heart the Lord forgave him; and restored his throne and kingdom to him.
10: 32-34: Call to remembrance the former days, in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great fight of afflictions; partly until you were made a gazing stock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, until you became companions of them that were so used. For you had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that you have in heaven a better and an enduring substance.
10: 32-34 CSL: “Don’t forget those wonderful days when you first received the saving knowledge of Christ. Remember how you faced up to all the persecution which came against you so soon after wards, and how you stood firm in the faith. Some of that persecution saw you publicly insulted and abused. At other times you suffered scorn because you elected to step in and be identified with those who were suffering similar abuse for Jesus’ sake. Not only did you openly sympathize with those who were thrown into prison, but when your own possessions were seized you bore the loss gladly, knowing a richer and more lasting treasure awaiting you in heaven.”
Persecution has always strengthened the church. In this case, the persecution did not result in martyrdom. It was rather the harassment of being publicly exposed to insult; the distress of imprisonment and the loss of property which, nevertheless, is often more difficult to endure than death itself. They had persevered in all such abuses because of the certainty they had better and lasting possessions.
Persecution animates me. I don’t like it, but nevertheless, it always has the effect of causing me to accelerate. It is very strange to me that as a woman who has walked a Holy and separated all of my life served my family and the Lord to the best of my ability that the persecution I have endured came from the church. This is only partly because I am a woman pastor, gender prejudice is not the only reason. It is caused by jealousy, religious doctrines, chauvinism, controllers, take-over-devils, territorial principalities, presumption, social stigma, etc. It is not the world that has been abusive to me. It has been people who profess to be Christians and more often than not ministers. I count it all joy. The saints who have persevered in this church fellowship have had to stand and resist the “scorn” of sitting under a woman pastor.
Without the persecution, I would probably have never started a church and continued as a Pastor. (Smile)
10:35-36: Cast not away therefore your confidence, which has great recompense of reward. For you have need of patience, that after you have done the will of God, you might receive the promise.
Having endured under persecution, they must not now let down in the humdrum of everyday activities. The normal routine of life, uninterrupted by persecution, is often the real test of genuineness of one’s Christian experience. The very absence of trials and difficulties tend to promote spiritual apathy; drifting; moral sluggishness and lethargy; then the slow imperceptible hardening of attitude (boredom).
This word is to rouse them from their sleep and to advise them to persevere and be patient. So that when they have done the will of God, they will receive what he has promised. How long must they wait to receive the fulfillment of this promise? Not long.
10:37-39: For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; but if any man draw back, My souls shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back to perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
These words are quoted from Isa. 26:20 and Hab. 2:3. With these words the writer guarantees the certainty of prophecy of the soon return of the Lord (the coming one).
If he doesn’t come, he will call. The Lord is coming again as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He also comes often by visitation. The writer has changed the sequence of Hab. 2:4 so as to accentuate the fact that the one who is made righteous by God lives by faith, and so as to leave until the end that part which points up the danger of failure to persevere.
As I have had the opportunity to watch many Christians on their journey, this is a stumbling block that causes them to miss their promises.
The Christian life is like a race, a person has to keep pressing on in order to win the prize. No runner can go backwards and win. It is also clear that the writer is not speaking of salvation at this point, but of rewards. For no one is even in the race until he is saved. Only Christians can finish the race and receive the rewards. Those who are weak in faith give up easily. Don’t throw in the towel now!!!!
I have a teaching dated May 27, 2007, Beyond The Veil from Hebrews 9 and 7. It is the Glory of the church’s ministry from the realm of the Holy of Holies. Through the veil that is to say His flesh (Heb. 10:20.) I hope to teach this after we have concluded the teaching on Hebrews. I almost attached it to today’s study but will look forward to teaching this soon.
Taught by: Pastor Carolyn Sissom
Eastgate Ministries, Inc.
Scripture from K.J.V; C.S.L; Bibliography; F. F. Bruce Bible Commentary; the Priesthood is Changing by: Kelly Varner; The More Excellent Ministry, by: Kelly Varner; Comments and conclusions are my own and not meant to reflect the views of those from whom I glean.