JESUS DID IT, ONCE
AND FOR ALL!
Introduction:
"In
2012, Getty's hymn "In Christ Alone" was involved in a controversy
with the Presbyterian Church (USA) hymnal committee in the creation of their
new hymnal "Glory to God." The committee requested permission from
Getty and Stuart Townend to use an alternative lyric to the phrase "Till
on that cross as Jesus died/the wrath of God was satisfied" changing "wrath
of God was satisfied" to "the love of God was magnified."
Getty and Townend rejected this
lyric change, and the hymnal committee barred the Hymn from the book. Mary
Louise Bringle, committee chair, defended their decision saying: "The song
has been removed from our contents list, with deep regret over losing its
otherwise poignant and powerful witness. Getty was quoted as saying:
First, it's important to express how
truly honored we feel that these groups would consider adding "In Christ
Alone" to their hymnals. We support the approach they take of studying the
lyrics of hymns as they select music worthy of being sung and preserved.
However, we believe altering the
lyrics would remove an essential part of the gospel story, as explained
throughout Scripture. The main thread of what we see revealed throughout the
Old and New Testament is the need for man to be made right with God. The
provided path toward reconciliation came through Christ's predetermined and
perfect sacrifice on the cross, satisfying God's wrath once and for all."[1] We don't want to miss out
on this truth.
In our journey through the book of
Hebrews, we come to a crucial message of the Gospel. What Jesus has done on the
cross has altered the course of sinful humanity. We will look at what Jesus did
to set people free from a reoccurring cycle of guilt and shame of sin, deliver
them from its devastating power, and how are we to live in that light? Hebrews 10:1-15
I
THE OLD SYSTEM OF WORSHIP
Vs. 1-2, "The old system under
the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come,
not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated
again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect
cleansing for those who came to worship. If they could have provided perfect
cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have
been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have
disappeared."
God's chief desire has always been that
the people He created would worship Him, forsaking everything else. From Adam
to Noah, people worshipped God by offering grain and animal sacrifices. God was
pleased with such gifts. For instance, after the flood, Noah built an altar to
the Lord, and there he sacrificed as burnt offerings the animals and birds. It
was said that "the Lord was pleased with the aroma of the sacrifice."
Gen 8:21.
When he leads the children of
Israelites from their bondage in Egypt to the promised land again, he wanted
them to worship Him. The first of the ten commandments states the object of our
Worship. Ex 20:1-3, "I am the Lord
your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. "You
must not have any other god but me."
You must not make for yourself an
idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in
the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your
God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods."
To that extent, God established a
system under which priests performed certain rituals and offered various
sacrifices. The old system was called "the Law."
In our passage, the author compares
the law to a shadow of the good things that were to come. Therefore, it had
certain limitations. For one, it was not adequate to make worshippers perfect
and free from their sin.
How do we know it was not purging
the consciences of the worshippers permanently? The mere repetition of the
sacrifices reminded the worshippers of their sins year after year. The old system
of sacrifices bears a testimony that the perfect sin removing sacrifice had not
yet been offered. If the blood of the animals is not purifying us of our sins
permanently, then what will?
II
JESUS CAME TO DO GOD'S WILL.
Vs. 5-7, "That is why, when
Christ came into the world, he said to God, "You did not want animal sacrifices
or sin offerings. But you have given me a body to offer. You were not pleased
with burnt offerings or other offerings for sin. Then I said, 'Look, I have
come to do your will, O God as is written about me in the Scriptures."
In these verses, we see a transition
from an old system to a new system of sacrifices, from an Old Covenant to a New
Covenant. From animal sacrifices to a bodily sacrifice, the body of a perfect
and sinless man that is our Lord Jesus Christ who came to do God's will on the
earth. We also see the fulfillment of a prophetic prayer by King David in
Psalms 40: 6-8.
According to scriptures, Jesus came
to do God's will not grudgingly or reluctantly but joyfully. Psalm 40:8, "I
take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my
heart. The writer of
Hebrews recognizes that blood sacrifice is necessary, yet he deems animal
sacrifices inadequate for human redemption in the heavenly sanctuary. He views
their past value as symbolic, pointing to the perfect and ultimate sacrifice of
Christ.
What was God's will for Jesus and
us? Vs. 10, "For God's will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of
the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time." This will of God for us to
be made Holy was not something God thought of when He Sent His Son into this
world. What else a Holy God requires from His creation and His children other
than that they are made Holy?
While writing to the Ephesian
believers, the apostle Paul mentions the very purpose of predestination, which
is not to save some and send others to hell, but to make us Holy. Ephesians
1:4-5, For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and
blameless in his sight. In love, he predestined us for adoption to sonship through
Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will." It is God's will
for us that we will live Holy lives.
III
JESUS DID IT ONCE AND FOR ALL
Vs. 11-12, "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. But when this priest had offered
for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of
God."
These verses explain the distinction
between the animal sacrifices that the high priests offered and his bodily
sacrifice of our Great High Priest Jesus Christ. The impact of both these types
of sacrifices is notable. One sacrifice was repetitive and insufficient, and
whereas the other one is complete and once and for all. Therefore, what Christ has done on the cross
has eternal value. The power and efficacy of that blood sacrifice of Christ are
still available to all sinners.
As a young Christian, I used to sing
one of my mothers' all-time favorite Hymn, "There is a fountain filled
with blood Drawn from Immanuel's veins; And sinners plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains: Lose all their guilty stains, Lose all their
guilty stains; And sinners plunged beneath that flood, Lose all their guilty
stains.
The dying thief rejoiced to see That
fountain in his day; And there may I, though vile as he, wash all my sins away:
Wash all my sins away, Wash all my sins away; And there may I, though vile as
he, Wash all my sins away." No matter what terrible sins you and I may
have committed, by faith, when we dive into that pool of blood of Christ, all
our guilty stains of sin will be washed away. We will come out cleansed, made
Holy, and complete.
With that one time offering His
blood forever, he made perfect those being made holy. There is nothing much you
and I can do to make ourselves Holy. Christ has already made us Holy, and we
are to live with that awareness. What do we mean by Christ has made us Holy? It
is not that we have a "ring of light "around our heads. It doesn't mean
that we are sinless and perfect. It implies Jesus repurchased us through His
death to God, where we truly belong.
What is Holiness? At times we have
an over pious view of Holiness, so we think it is beyond us to obtain. But the
good news is, God calls us to be holy but doesn't expect us to attain it on our
own strength. He gives us his Holy Spirit to purify our minds and hearts.
The word holy occurs 116 times in
Heb. O.T. Exodus 19:5-6, "Now if you obey me fully and keep my
covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured
possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a
kingdom of priests and a holy nation."
It explains all Israel was holy, a
nation that was separated for God's service. In other words, God had dedicated
Israel to be His special people. They were considered sacred by their
relationship to the Holy God. Therefore, they were urged to keep themselves
separated from other nations that do not fear God and sinful things to please
God. We, too, are advised the same.
The apostle Peter extends this
concept of belonging to God to all the believers. "But you are a chosen
people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you
may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his
wonderful light.
Once you were not a people,
but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but
now you have received mercy." I Peter 2:9-10 These two verses
affirm what Jesus did once and for all His followers. Earlier, we lived in
darkness, guilt-ridden with sin and shame. We did not belong to God. Thank God
Christ's death restored our belonging and gave us a purpose to live, by
declaring the praises of Him who has set us free from sin and death. Amen!
