HEBREWS 9:23-28HOWARD BUCK

JUNE 1, 2014

Hebrews 9:23-28 23 Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the

things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices

than these.

24 For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;

25 nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year

with blood that is not his own.

26 Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at

the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of

Himself.

27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,

28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for

salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.

Lets take a closer look:

23 Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices

than these

As always, what is the “Therefore”, there for?... We must refer back to the preceding verse:

9:22 And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without

shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

Our discussion opens with the conclusion of the previous discussion

23 Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices

than theseWe begin discussion the “copies” and the fact they

were cleansed with blood

Do you remember what the “copies” are?...

The copies are concerning the Tabernacle:

…copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with

better sacrifices than these

The earthly and temporary “copies” were “cleansed” by the shedding of the blood of animal sacrifices

Daily for sin offering and annually for the all encompassing atonement sacrifice

Note the key word for the book is popping up again, that word is?...

BETTER

We have to remember that pre-cross, sin was simply covered up:

Heb. 10:4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin

God enacted the blood sacrifice because the “wages of sin is death”

Imagine watching an innocent animal being sacrificed for your sin

The idea is for us to see how horrible sin is, and more so, how horrible the payment

…but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these

What is the “better” sacrifice?...

Jesus Christ, based on the shedding of His holy blood on the cross

Heb. 9:26 … He has been manifested to put away sin

24 For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;

The depth of the theology here is so overlooked by a casual reading

Where did the priest enter on the day of atonement?...

The Tabernacle area known as the Holy of Holies

Is that where Jesus entered?...No, He entered the presence of God in heaven itself!!

…now to appear in the presence of God for us Consider this:

God is Holy he is separate from sin and incorruptible “His holy presence rejects impurity”

The impeccability of God is closely related to his holiness. It means that God is unable to sin

The righteousness of God may refer to his holiness, to his justice, or to his saving activity

He is just, rightly judging heart, mind and deeds

Wayne Grudem suggests that:

"if God loves all that is right and good, and all that conforms to his moral character, then it should not be

surprising that he would hate everything that is opposed to his moral character”

So since God is holy, impeccable, righteous and just, where does that leave us?...

Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death;

We are in troubleNow what?

Some how this penalty must be paid

And even moreover, since as stated, “His holy presence rejects impurity”, the payment must be

acceptable to a holy, righteous God

For us to be holy and acceptable to God, we must live a holy and perfect life

Why?...Rom. 7:12 "So then, the Law is holy, and the

commandment is holy and righteous and good.”

Simply, if we break God’s law, we are no longer holy, righteous or good

So, God created us for destruction?...No, He created us for fellowship

But no one can keep God’s law except only God Himself

The dilemma gets deeper; a corrupted human cannot be in the presence of a holy and incorrupt God

“This is simple logic. If we are unable to fulfill the Law, then we will be punished by it. But, since God desires

us to be saved, the Law must be satisfied. Since we cannot keep the Law and it must be satisfied

Then, the only one capable of keeping the Law must keep the Law: God.”

(Christin Apologetics and Research Ministry)

Now, in comes the second person of the TrinityCol. 2:9 "For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in

bodily form.Jesus is God, Jesus is man, Jesus lived the perfect life

as a man and was willing to give that life as the ultimate sacrifice for human kind resulting in:

the rest of the Romans 6:23 text:…but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus

Christ our Lord.

This is what the writer of Hebrews is trying to convey:

now to appear in the presence of God for us

Two VERY important words here

He appears on our behalf in front of God the Father as our advocate having already provided the perfect

sacrifice

He offers that sacrifice, that payment of our just wage of death freely to all who will simply accept the offer

25 nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with

blood that is not his own.

26 Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at

the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

Our author brings up another theological point we have already mentioned, the sacrifice Jesus provided

was accomplished

ONCE and for ALL SIN, for all time it is PUT AWAY

…consummation of the ages The beginning of the final days started with the

advent of Jesus

1Peter 1:20: For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the

sake of you

27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,

First, we are all going to die at God’s pre-appointed time

But now to “drop the other shoe”, our author makes it clear that after we die comes judgment

When you stand there, you stand either on your own merit or that of Jesus Christ

28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for

salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.

Again, the reference to a one time sacrifice (26) Jesus died once, not over and over as some teach

He is going to return and I think the reference here is to the ingathering of the church (rapture)

So this trip isn’t to deal with sin but to unite the saints for the party while the war rages on earth

…will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.

This is the consummation of Christ’s salvational work

His return is not to deal with sin but to wrap up process by gathering His church

Notice there is no reference to the unsaved, just those who eagerly await

We have the “already in heaven” group returning with Christ to gather up the “rapture” group

Our scriptural “take out”Jesus died in our place as a once and for all payment

for our sinsTo accept that payment means eternal life in His

presenceRejecting that payment means a separation from

God for eternity

SPREAD THE WORD!!!