There are two things in the end of Hebrews 10: “Once in the end of the world hath He appeared, to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” It is not actually put away yet. “If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” Sin is also still in the world. But faith is assured that at the end of all trial of man, Christ appeared for that very purpose to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. The work is accomplished, and the result of that one sacrifice will surely follow in its time. Blessed prospect, when we shall see Him and be like Him, sinless as He is pure. And how bright the prospect, when the new heavens and new earth shall appear!
Then there is also this fact, “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall he appear the second time, without sin, unto salvation.” What a pillow, weary soul, is this to rest upon! Do you believe God? Then instead of looking for death and judgment, the just due of the human race, you can look for Him who was offered to bear your sins; and He has so borne them, that He is about to appear, and not a question of sin can be raised. He has passed through the awful wrath and judgment due to us, and now He assures us that we shall not come into it. He will come and receive us to Himself in infinite love, “without sin unto salvation.”
Chapter 10. We now turn to the contrast of the many offerings of the law — what they could not do, and to what the one sacrifice of Christ can do, and does do. As we have seen, the offerings of the law being finite, could not possibly express the full infinite value of the one sacrifice of Christ. They were offered year by year, but could never make the Jewish worshipers perfect. If perfect they could have had no more conscience of sins. They never could get a perfect clearance of sins. There was a remembrance of sins every year. The very remembrance of sins was a proof, that the question of sins was not settled. It was never intended that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins. They were shadows or figures. And such was the love of God to us, that He could have no pleasure in those sacrifices, which could not bring the objects of His love into His presence without sin: He would have them in the perfect enjoyment of His unhindered love.
Is it not now very blessed to hear the eternal Son speak? “Then said I, Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God.” Dwell on this. He knew the will of God: He came to do it. This is altogether a new thing. “He taketh away the first that He may establish the second.” The system of the law must be entirely set aside, and an entirely new order of things introduced and established. And this is the will of God, not man’s will. The whole new order of things must be according to His will. All is now of God. The various offerings of the law had served their purpose to point forwards, and now are set aside. Jesus could say (in the volume of the book it is written of me), “Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God.”
Now what was the will of God? Is it not revealed in what follows, that we should be sanctified, separated unto God, by the offering of the body of Christ? “By the which will we are sanctified, through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once.” Note, it was not the will of God to set up another system of many offerings, or masses, but one offering, offered once. It is then a great foundation truth, a fact, that through the one offering of Christ, once offered, we ARE sanctified. Do you believe God as to this? or do you say, No, that one offering is not enough to separate me forever to God? Beware of unbelief as to this.
Further, note this distinct statement of inspired scripture: “And every priest standeth daily ministering, and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.” This is a universal truth, whether applied to the Jewish priests of old, or to those who take the place of Jewish priests now. Every such priest, and all who trust in his repeated daily sacrifices for sins, must own, to his inmost sorrow, that all such sacrifices can never take away sins; and hence, there is no peace with, or joy in God.
But now let us turn to Christ and His once offering of Himself. As it is written, “But this man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins, forever sat down on the right hand of God.” It is not that He sat down, and then if one of His people should sin, He has to get up, and offer Himself again. No, by one offering He has cleared His people of their sins forever, in the sense of continuously. Thus our eyes are taken off ourselves. The Lord Jesus, who was delivered for our iniquities, who bore the whole wrath of God due to our sins, who was made sin for us, and once offered to bear the sins of many, who undertook the whole question of our sins — where is He? Seated, the very expression of the work being forever finished, continuously, on the right hand of God. And since all our sins were future, when He bare them in His own body on the cross once, He must have perfectly cleared all away from the sight of God, or His work would not be finished, neither could He sit down in the light and glory of God.
What then is the effect for us of His one offering? Let us hear: “For by one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.” “Forever” is the same word in the original as in verse 12. Oh, let us ponder over these wondrous words. What has Christ done for you, my fellow believer, by His one sacrifice? Perfected you as to the conscience in unchanging continuance. It is not that you are as yet perfect as to the redemption and change of the body (Rom. 8:2323And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. (Romans 8:23)). You are still “waiting for the adoption, the redemption of the body.” You are waiting for the resurrection from the dead. In that sense you are not perfected (Phil. 3:11, 1211If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. 12Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:11‑12)). You are not yet perfected in sinless purity like Christ, but when He appears you will be (1 John 3:22Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2)). “When He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see him as He is.” Oh, blessed hope! We are not perfect in the sense of sin being eradicated from us: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:88If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1:8)). On all these points the scripture is clear enough.
Neither are we perfect in the sense of no weakness, or no liability or possibility, of sin or failure. No, “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and He is the propitiation for our sins,” etc. (1 John 2:11My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: (1 John 2:1)). Thus there is a liability recognized of “any man” sinning, as we all know by sad experience; and yet there is the most blessed provision and the relationship to the Father maintained. Only note, there is no contradiction in scripture. The provision here, in case a believer should sin, is not a fresh offering for the sin. But it is Jesus Christ the righteous. He is still our unchanging righteousness. He is our Advocate, and He is the propitiation for our sins. And here beware of every shade of unsound doctrine, as though He had to make atonement, or has to make atonement or propitiation in heaven after His death on the cross, and consequently not by death, or suffering divine wrath. No, all this is sad error, and denies the true character of atonement finished on the cross. Just as the blood was brought into the holiest, and sprinkled on the golden mercy-seat, so the infinite value of the blood of Christ is ever continuously before God. The value of that precious blood ever maintains the righteousness of God, for the sin that is confessed to the Father was borne by Christ on the cross.
In what sense then are we perfected in unchanging continuity? In this sense, that there is not a single charge against us. The way is opened for us into the holiest in perfect peace with God. We are there according to the value God sees in the one offering of Christ: and that is infinite. Everything that once shut us out of His holy, holy presence is cleared forever away. This was the eternal will of God, thus to bring us to Himself. For this He sent His Son. To accomplish this He gave Him a body. Far more indeed, though not the subject of this epistle, did God purpose, and it is now accomplished, even to bring us into favor in the Beloved!
Here in Hebrews, it is the question of the conscience: and by the one offering of Christ the believer has no more conscience of sins. The Holy Spirit is a witness that God has nothing now against the believer, as He says, “And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.” Oh, the holy boldness, or liberty we have to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus. Now the one question is, Do we believe God? You must admit that it is altogether of God. Do not send out the spies of unbelieving reason, to see if it is so. Do not look within to see if it is so. The Holy Spirit bears witness that He who died on the cross, as the sacrifice for your sins, has perfected us forever -in unchanging continuance. Christendom does not believe the Holy Spirit. All her printed prayers show that men do not believe this wondrous grace of God. Ever using vain repetitions for God to be merciful, when He declares in the plainest words of all believers, “Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more!” If you believe God, you must have done with masses and vain repetitions. It is a serious thing to say, We are Jews, when we are not; to set up an earthly priesthood again, and to repeat prayers only suited for a Jew before Christ died.
If Christ by His one sacrifice has settled the whole question of our sins, perfectly or completely to the glory of God, then plainly there is no more offering for sin. To offer sacrifices now for the sins of the living and the dead, is the most distinct denial of Christianity, be this by whom it may. But if while protesting against such a human priesthood and vain unscriptural sacrifices, in the pretended offering up of Christ on human devised altars, we ourselves disbelieve the testimony of God to the one sacrifice of Christ, what better off are we than they?
Do you then believe God? Is Jesus the fulfillment of all the sacrifices of the law? And infinitely more. Let us go up (from) the picture gallery in Leviticus to God. Is He your sin-offering once delivered for your offenses, so that with the hand of faith laid on Christ, you can say, He has died for me; God has not now one sin against me? Is He your peace or communion-offering? Have you now communion with the Father and the Son, in the light that reveals all sin cleansed by His precious blood? Is He your meat-offering? Is the living Person of Jesus, as seen in the gospels, the food of your soul? Is He your burnt-offering, accepted in all that He in the sweet savor of His Person and offering is to God? If so, you will not be filled with doubts and fears, but praise and worship. O God our Father, grant this may be so with every child of Thine who should read these lines, for Thy beloved Son’s sake. Amen.