Bulletin Articles
Sacrifice, Forgiveness, and Holding Fast: A Picture of the Gospel
Hebrews 10 gives us a powerful lesson on the plan of God. Understanding God’s plan through the shadow and form concepts appealed to in Hebrews also gives us great incentive for remaining faithful to Christ. Let’s be reminded of the importance of understanding this. Please read Hebrews 9-10 to get the bigger picture.
Shadow and Form
The Law was never meant to be the final piece of God’s plan. Instead, it was meant to point to Jesus, who would complete and perfect it through His sacrifice. The Hebrews writer says the Law contained a “shadow,” not the actual form of what God intended (Heb. 10:1). This “shadow” concept shows that one who focused on the Law and didn't see what the Law intended would be like someone staring at a shadow and thinking that the shadow was its own entity. The Law foreshadowed something much greater; it was never meant to be an end in itself.
Included in the Law were the sacrifices (in addition to other “regulations of divine worship and the earthly sanctuary,” Heb. 9:1). Because these sacrifices were part of the shadow, they could not in themselves “perfect those who draw near.” If they were capable of doing that, then they would not have needed to be offered year after year. One sacrifice worked for a time, but then another sacrifice was needed, and then another. Each sacrifice was only temporary. Why? “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Heb 10:4).
A Body Prepared
But God had a plan. These sacrifices, as part of that Law, pointed to someone much greater. How would God provide a sacrifice that would not have to be re-offered year after year? The writer appropriates Psalm 40 to show that ultimately those animal sacrifices were not what God had in mind for His plan to forgive. Rather, a particular person is in view: “I have come ... to do Your will, O God” (10:7). In order to accomplish this will, a body was prepared by which that “once for all time” sacrifice would be made. No longer would the yearly sacrifices be needed. By preparing the body of Jesus, “He takes away the first in order to establish the second” so that “by this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (vv 9-10).
The New Covenant is about forgiveness (Jer. 31:31-34; Heb. 8:7-13), and God’s plan for salvation is wrapped up in Jesus. The old law, the old sacrifices, the old priesthood, could not offer what God ultimately wanted to accomplish. They were given for a time, given temporarily until the right time for Christ to come, but the time came when they had to be set aside. By establishing the covenant through Christ, and through Christ's one offering of His own body, “He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified” (Heb. 10:14). Since forgiveness is now possible through Jesus, there is no longer a need for the continual offering of sacrifices required by the Law (Heb. 10:18).
Holding Fast the Confession
Now think about the Temple imagery from Hebrews 9. How do we go into the Holy Place of God? The answer is “by the blood of Jesus,” which constitutes a “new and living way which He inaugurated through the veil, that is, His flesh” (vs. 20). The veil that separated the Ark of the Covenant from the rest of the temple can now be approached by all who share in the blood of Jesus. Because we have such a great priest over God’s house, the results are clear: “let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith…” (vs. 22). Christ’s sacrifice was intended to allow us to draw near to God.
We have been washed, our consciences purged, and this gives us the incentive to “hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering.” We know that God is faithful. In turn, we need to encourage each other to continue doing what is right—to stimulate one another to love and good works. Sadly, some had forsaken those efforts, discouraged perhaps by persecutions and trials. But we must take the long view, understanding that God will do exactly as He has promised in His time.
Failure to stay true to God will only result in judgment. Spurning the sacrifice of Jesus has terrible consequences. If people died without mercy under Moses’ law, how much severer should the punishment be for those who regard the blood of Christ as unholy and insult the Spirit of grace? The writer's encouragement is clear: we are not those who turn away. “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised ... but we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul” (vv. 36-39).
May God help us to see the greatness of His plan, Christ’s sacrifice, and our need for remaining faithful to Him.
Doy Moyer
