Scripture

When sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices

Observation

Christ cancelled the first covenant in order to put the second into effect. God’s will was for us to be made holy by the once for all sacrifice of Christ.

Under the old covenant the priests offered sacrifices again and again. but our High Priest offered himself as a sacrifice. Now he sits at the Father’s right hand, waiting for his enemies to be humbled.

Now there is no need for further sacrifices because our sins have been forgiven.

Application

In A.D. 70, God allowed the Roman army to enter Jerusalem and destroy to the ground the Temple. Not one brick remained on top of another as Jesus had prophesied.

God destroyed the Temple because it was obsolete. There was no need for sacrifices any more because the perfect sacrifice had been offered.

Jesus was described as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” The sins are gone. All offences are forgiven and guilt removed.

Jesus has taken away my sins forever. There is no need for me to ever offer anything back to God to atone for my sins.

As Jesus said on the cross,”It is finished.” Amen

Prayer

Thank you Jesus for being my perfect sacrifice, the once and for all time offering. Amen.

Scripture

For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Observation

The old system with its law and sacrifices was a dim shadow of what was to come. The sacrifices had to be repeated year after year because they could not provide perfect cleansing.

If they did, the sacrifices would have stopped for the worshippers would have been purified once for all time.

Sacrifices did nothing to purify, they just reminded people of their sins. The blood of animals cannot take away sin .

Christ said to God,”You do not want animals or sacrifices for sin, but you have given me a body to offer.”

Application

The sacrificial system of the Old Testament was imperfect. It could remind people of their sins. It could cover their sins. But it could do little to purify them from the sinful nature.

We are condemned to sin unless God changes our hearts. The animal sacrifices could not do this. But the sacrifice of Christ does.

The death of Christ on the cross demonstrates to us how much God loves us. He has given Himself up for us.

I see my Saviour on the cross dying for my sin, it makes me realise that sin is a big issue for God.

But His love also convicts me that my sin hurts Him and distresses Him. In my love for God, I do not want to hurt Him, and so my heart is changed.

Not only that, but God has given me the Holy Spirit to help me in my times of trial and temptation.

Prayer

Thank you Lord for taking away my sin and my desire to sin. Amen.

Scripture

Just as each person is destined to die once, and after that comes judgement, so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people.

Observation

Christ did not enter into a man-made holy place. He entered into the real one in Heaven.

He did not offer Himself over and over like the High Priest offers sacrifices year after year. No, once for all time, Christ appeared at the end of the age to remove sin by His own death.

Each person dies once, and then faces judgement, so also Christ died once as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. He will come again, not to judge sin, but to save those waiting for Him.

Application

Some religions, including the pagan religions often called the New Age Movement, teach that when we die we are reincarnated on this Earth to atone for previous sins.

The Bible says that we live once and die once. We do not come back over and over to work our way up to Heaven.

Jesus paid for our sins. If we put our trust in His sacrifice, then it makes no sense to believe that we will be reincarnated after we die.

We have been born again to a living hope, and this hope is better than being born over and over.

When we believe in Jesus and receive His salvation, then we are promised eternal life. Our bodies, which deteriorate with age and ultimately die, will be replaced with perfect bodies that neither age nor become sick. We will live with God forever.

Prayer

Hallelujah! Lord what a salvation you give to us in Jesus Christ! Thank you. Amen.

Scripture

Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.

Observation

When someone leaves a will, it is effective only after the person dies. For this reason, the first covenant was put into operation with the blood of an animal.

When Moses read the commandments, he sprinkled the book of the law and the people with the blood of calves and goats. in the same way, he sprinkled blood on the Tabernacle and everything used for worship. There is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood.

The Tabernacle, and everything in it, had to be purified with the blood of animals. But the real Tabernacle in heaven was purified with a far better sacrifice.

Application

Our salvation was purchased by the shed blood of Christ.

This is something that we can tend to forget in our nice, clean, sanitised worship. Even the celebration of communion, in which we specifically remember the body and blood of our Lord, is very well mannered.

We speak the words of atonement, but the reality rarely affects us.

Jesus Christ died for sinners. He died in a barbaric way, agonising, tortured to death.

The blood of Christ brings us forgiveness because of who He is, and not because we are in any way deserving.

Because of that death, the blood poured out for us, we are now forgiven.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, what suffering you endured for me. Thank you for laying down your life so that I can live for ever. Amen

Scripture

By the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.

Observation

Christ is now the High Priest over all the good things that come from the covenant. He is in the perfect heavenly Tabernacle. He offered His own blood and now lives in the Tabernacle forever.

Under the old covenant, the blood of various animals could cleanse a person from various sins. But Christ has offered His own blood, a perfect sacrifice for all sins.

Christ now mediates a perfect covenant in which we receive an eternal inheritance.

Application

Under the old covenant, a sacrifice was required to cover various sins, even various natural occurrences which made a person “unclean.”

When a person sinned again, a new sacrifice was required because the blood of animals had a limited effectiveness.

But now Jesus Christ, the perfect Son of God, has offered His own blood to pay for our sins.

Because He is God and is perfectly good, His blood covers every sin. We don’t need to come back to God with a new sacrifice every time we transgress the law. The blood of Jesus covers it all.

While the blood of Christ has the ability to cover every person, we have to apply it to our own lives. If people want to live apart from God, and continue in their own selfish ways, God gives them that option.

To everybody who comes to Him with a repentant heart Jesus grants total forgiveness.

Prayer

Thank you Jesus for paying for my sins. Your death on the cross has set me free from the penalty of sin. Amen.

Scripture

By these regulations, the Holy Spirit revealed that the entry to the Most Holy Place was not truly open as long as the Tabernacle and the system it represented were still in use.

Observation

In the first covenant, there were regulations for worship and for a place of worship. The tabernacle had two rooms. In the Holy Place there were a lamp-stand, a table, and sacred bread.

In the Most Holy Place, there were a gold altar and the Ark of the Covenant.

The priests regularly entered the first room, but the Most Holy Place could only be entered on one day of the year by the High Priest. This was to show that the Most Holy Place was not freely open as long as the Tabernacle remained.

Application

Under the old covenant, worship was, in many ways, determined by regulation. in particular, only priests could offer sacrifices in the holy place. Only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies on just one day of the year. Even then, he first had to offer sacrifices for his own sins and for those of the nation.

On the other hand, we have been cleansed by the blood of Christ, and we have free access to God’s presence all the time. Worship springs from our hearts and not just according to the law.

More importantly, we don’t come into the presence of God. The presence of God, the Holy Spirit, is in us. He leads us, equips us, and transforms us to be more like Jesus.

The new covenant, which has been mediated for us by Jesus, is far superior to the old covenant with its rules and regulations.

Prayer

Thank you Father for the privilege of worshipping you and fellowshipping with you daily. Amen.

Scripture

“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,” says the Lord. ” I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be there God, and they will be my people.”

Observation

The first covenant with not perfect, and so the Lord brought a new covenant. He foreshadowed this through the prophets.

The new covenant would be different to the old. Instead of a written law telling people how to behave, the Lord would write his laws on their hearts and minds. He will be their God, and they will be His people.

Nobody will need to teach their neighbours or relatives, or exhort them to know the law. Everyone from the youngest to the oldest will know Him already.

Application

When we walk with the Lord, there is no reason for laws, rules and regulations. If we all love the Lord, we will all love one another.

There is a tendency in every move of the Holy Spirit to codify what is happening, so that new converts know how to honour the Lord. That is not a bad thing. The trouble is that, over time, we may start to elevate the rules above the Holy Spirit. Eventually, what started as a life-giving move of God is stifled by legalism.

God has written His laws on our hearts. If we keep desiring to please God, He will show us what is required in every situation.

Prayer

Lord, I thank you that you do not require us to learn rules and live by laws. I have a living relationship with a living God and I can trust you to lead me. Amen.

Scripture

They serve in a system of worship that is only a copy, a shadow of the real one in heaven.

Observation

Jesus, our High Priest, sat down in the place of honour beside God’s throne in heaven. He ministers there in the true place of worship.

Jesus offers gifts and sacrifices in heaven. The priests on earth serve in a system of worship that is just a copy of the real one in heaven. When Moses was constructing the Tabernacle, the Lord warned him that it must be made according to the pattern He revealed.

Jesus, our High Priest, has a ministry superior to the old priesthood, for He mediates a better covenant with God.

Application

There are christians who argue that we should worship according to the Old Testament model – the feasts, singing psalms, and so on, but no animal sacrifices because that would be yucky.

That is the old priesthood and the old covenant. We have a new priesthood in which Jesus is our High Priest as well as our sacrifice. All believers are priests in God’s Kingdom, a royal priesthood that is eternal because the kingdom is eternal.

The new covenant, and the new priesthood are superior to the old. The old was just a shadow of the new. the old worship was just the shadow of the heavenly worship.

We all have the Holy Spirit communing with our spirits, teaching and encouraging us to worship in spirit and in truth. When the church gathers to worship, it is a part of the heavenly worship.

The old covenant was the prototype, but the new covenant kingdom is the real deal.

Prayer

Thank you, Lord, that we have this privilege of worship. Please help me to worship you in all that I do. Amen.

Scripture

But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lives forever.

Observation

The priesthood of Jesus was established by an oath made by God. The descendants of Aaron became priests without any oath.

Under the old system, there were many priests. But Jesus lives forever and does not need to give up his status as Priest. He is able once and forever to save those who come to God through Him.

Jesus is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. under the old covenant, the priests had to offer sacrifices everyday for their own sins and the sins of the people. But Jesus never sinned so He does not need to make a sacrifice for His own sin. He is also the perfect sacrifice that takes away the sins of the world.

Application

Jesus lives forever and He continues to act as a kind of priest for all humanity.

He intercedes with the Father on our behalf. This is not to suggest that the Father needs persuading. No, the presence of Jesus in heaven is an eternal sign that Jesus has offered himself as the sacrifice that takes away every sin.

Jesus also represents the Father to us. His death is a sign of God’s perfect love. God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, so that whoever believes in Him will not perish. This is our God!

Prayer

Lord Jesus, you are my perfect High Priest. Thank you for your eternal intercession on my behalf. Amen.

Scripture

For the law never made anything perfect. But now, we have confidence in a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

Observation

The perfection which God required could not be achieved under the old priesthood of Levi. Instead, God instituted a different priesthood with a priest in the order of Melchizedek.

If the priesthood is changed, the law must also be changed. Our Lord came from the tribe of Judah, and the law of Moses never mentioned priests from that tribe.

Jesus became a priest, not by belonging to the tribe of Levi, but by having a life that cannot be destroyed. The old law never made anything perfect, but we now draw close to God through our great high priest.

Application

The law of Moses could not make a person perfect. Like any law, all it could do is tell you what to do and warn of a consequence if you did not do it.

In Christ we have a better hope, a better priesthood. He is making us perfect and he opens the way for us to draw close to God .

Firstly, Jesus declares that our sins are forgiven. There is no punishment, or fear of punishment, where there is no trespass. If the judge declares that we have not broken the law, we will not be punished.

Secondly, the sin that separates us from God is removed. Therefore, I can enter into God’s presence at any time. Under the old covenant, only the high priest could enter the Most Holy Place, and then only once per year. We can enter God’s dwelling place at any time.

Thirdly, the Holy Spirit is transforming us to be perfect. This will not be completed in this life, but every day, as we seek to follow Jesus, the image of God in our souls is being restored.

Prayer

Thank you, Lord, that you are making me perfect and sinless. Amen.