Scripture and Righteousness

"For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins... And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered ONE SACRIFICE for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God... For BY ONE OFFERING he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. 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, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them" (Heb. 10:1-4,11,12,14-16). I remember years ago studying the book of Leviticus, which is the old testament equivalent of the book of Hebrews from which I've taken our text here; and how it stood out to me that all of those many sacrifices and offerings under the old covenant were fulfilled and fully trumped by Jesus with ONE monumental offering for all men of all time! As the scripture above states, no amount or number of offerings of that covenant could truly take sin away from a man's heart and soul, regardless of volume or years they were offered. Yet with ONE magnificent offering Jesus 'perfected' everyone who believes on him unto the sanctifying of their soul by his Spirit, as our text also states. To say that no one was made 'perfect' by the offerings of the old testament means that the people still had a conscience of sin, as the first three verses detail. And they still were conscious of sin because, as the fourth verse says, "It is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins." In other words the reason their conscience told them that they had sin, was because they DID still have sin. Now this is where it gets really good because this is where we expose the vain 'Christian' tradition and mindset of "sinners saved by grace" for what it is, and that is utter heresy. My question is this: If we as believers in Christ are still sinners, saved by grace howbeit, then what the heck sense does this whole passage of scripture make? I mean why would the apostle make such a distinction between the sacrifices and offerings of the old testament, and the offering of Jesus Christ; if his offering basically left us in the same spiritual state as the people under the old covenant? ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!! Let me explain what we have plainly seen from this passage of scripture my friend, and let me explain to you that the offering of Jesus Christ is A WHOLE LOT DIFFERENT than those of the old covenant, and the result of it is JUST AS BIG for all who truly believe!

I've already shown that the consciences of the old covenant believers were not made 'perfect' because the sacrifices could not literally take sin away from the people's spirits, and consequently they still had sin in them. If you still have sin in your life, your conscience will tell you that you still have sin. Your conscience does not lie. Lying takes place in the mind if the heart is not honest about what the conscience is telling it, but your conscience never lies. So the whole 'perfect' thing in our text passage is all about the conscience, and whether it is clear from the awareness of sin. With that in mind let's look at the 'Jesus' part of the passage again: "For BY ONE OFFERING he hath PERFECTED for ever them that are SANCTIFIED. 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, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them." There it is my dear friend, the sacrifice of Jesus Chris is GREATER THAN all of the sacrifices of the old covenant over a thirteen hundred year period! And how is it greater? Because whoever believes on him unto being sanctified by his Spirit is 'perfected' in their conscience, because they literally have their sins WASHED AWAY from their very hearts and souls! The ONLY WAY that the conscience will no longer have an awareness of sin is if their is no longer any sin in the person. Yes it is wonderfully true that true faith in Jesus Christ, which results in being baptized by him with his Spirit, REALLY DOES get sin out of the hearts and souls of those who receive it. That was the only problem with the first covenant, and that is the only reason Jesus came here, namely to GET RID OF SIN from people's lives! With these things in mind, look at the beautiful spiritual sense that this verse makes: "For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God" (Heb. 7:19). Yes my friend, Jesus is indeed that "better hope," and it is surely through him that "we draw nigh unto God" by having the barrier of sin between us and God truly removed. Not convinced yet about the literal spiritual perfection that is in Christ? Try this on for size then: "For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: HOW MUCH MORE shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, PURGE YOUR CONSCIENCE from dead works to serve the living God?" (Heb. 9:13,14). That should be sounding really familiar by now. I hope you realize just how powerful this truth is, because without it one cannot have due regard for the magnitude of suffering that Jesus endured for all men. He did not do what he did my friend just so a religion bearing his name could turn him into "just another bullock" that does not really take away sin. It's really, really simple: The multitude of offerings of the old covenant did NOT remove sin from the hearts, or souls, or consciences of men; but the ONE offering of Jesus Christ does EXACTLY THAT for all who truly believe. Oh yeah, I almost forgot; there's a really good reason to believe and follow this truth: "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord" (Heb. 12:14). There it is friends, all Hebrews, all Jesus, all holy, and all truth. God bless.