058 - The Precious Purchase (4 Sept 2021)

You pick up your Bible and wonder, is there more here than meets the eye. Is there something here for me. I mean it's just words printed on paper right well it may look like just print on a page, but it's more than eight. Join us for the next half hour, as we explore God's word together as we learn how to explore it on our as we ask God to meet us there in its pages welcome to more than I do not cleanser symptoms bleach to get all the stains out. Absolutely. But what if I told you today that it these past says something is not really clean… Clean today today on more than eight Dorothy Mike Gardner Dorothy at the end of the summer in our our garden extravaganza. While the my.

Lastly, Gardner is coming to fruition.

I've seen tomatoes that I never seemed so good, so is loving this time of your glad that you're with us. We know one Saturday morning to be out working on your garden.

If you are maybe listening on the radio in your pocket. I don't know but who knows. So were here speaking of food out of the garden today as are looking and Hebrews were looking at what the writer of Hebrews called solid food yet are definitely in the middle of the solid food member couple chapters back you can and and hugs that I love you ready for this stuff. I don't know, I know I'll do it. This requires some chewing yeah so this is this is really, I I deliberately decided we would slow down the section to say the same thing almost the same thing for the next three weeks, but in slightly different from different perspectives and emphasizing different parts of it and that's because that's what the writer does as well. This is that this is the meatiest part I think of the middle of Hebrews is trying to trying to get a part up across his transitional connection between the old and new covenant, so if you remember last week. Last we went back into camber retro view of the old covenant what goes in the temple and the sacrifice all kind of stuff you did in the beginning of chapter 9 and he was just trying to remind us of what goes on there physically. What goes on the got asked them to do. In the end they obeyed pretty much to do and we also noted that it was really quite display of blood that is connected with very elaborate ceremonies associated with blood yeah and that met was a quite a delivery things almost nothing in the entire Old Testament accounts of what goes on the temple that doesn't somehow have blood connected, then that's not an accident and that that will continue today as we take a look at this, but we did director you do last week and now he's going to segue into how it is that the new covenant is newer than that. So you look like you're going well. I say let's let's just read the last couple of verses that when I left off fast because I was thinking about this this afternoon as we been ready to court are recently Alessi so verses nine and 10. He says that the holy Place is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly, both gifts and sacrifices are offered which can't not take the worshiper perfect in conscience complete in conscience since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation.

So he's just been saying all of that Old Testament sacrificial system.

All of the regulations and the rights and ceremonies in the tabernacle were picture until a time when God puts everything right. In reality, right and that time is now correctly in Christ to write were not talking. We in the future were talking now, but I really do. I love his love is mentioned in verse nine.

This is still last week about this conscience, the conscience of the worshiper. As you mention it again today, but what is a conscious conscience is what tells you just between you and your conscience convicts you of your own sinfulness at what is right and what is wrong what is right and what is wrong and it in its it sits there and just yeah exception says boy you are really a life well and how can you quiet your conscience, yeah.) It's telling you constantly and as a writer. Hebrews had said earlier in these sacrifices there remains constantly every reminder of our sin. Remind you what your conscience does constantly emerge that you screwed up you are wrong. So as he transitions today into the new covenant. This is really the problem. You can do all the sacrifices you want to write, you can sacrifice bulls and goats all M you do this until the cows come home and you sacrifice them but I mean forever, but still is not going to change the fact that you know the truth about yourself right because all of these ceremonies you can do with your sacrifices are external, extra, and you know we come to the end of today's passage down and in verse one to the contrast is drawn between the forgiveness and atonement writing under the old covenant.

Our sin was covered and cleansed by the glory of the new covenant is a cots as I will for their sin and there will be no more remembrance is it's a radical freedom in this conscience.

Second is a cleansing of our internal person. This again is another one of the great aspects of the newness of the new company were talking about life change that is deep at the core of who we are and I think that's what you do manual touching inside inside. That's not just a ritual we go through radical real right transformation… Look at it. So we just read in chapter 9 verses nine and 10 were today's new passages in verse 11.

So you want to pick up that for us to follow this again begin by saying but when I hear it so sets up a giant contrast here when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come. Then, through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands, that is not of this creation, he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves, but by means of his blood, thus securing an eternal redemption actually stop yeah I think so better cellulose remind everybody a member member were to we are talking about the high priest, who alone could go right all the way and as far as you go in the temple of the holy of holies he alone could do that. Don't do it once a year once a year, and with the qualifications let out a sigh area lies a lot and so so that was the access into the very presence of God and and that was that was a restriction then, and only quite quite limited, but now you see, this is mentioned in here about Christ appearing as a high priest of these good things, and it says verse 12, that he entered once for all entering words. I didn't drink it's in that holy phone and he doesn't have to go in and out and in and out and out right here once for all. You remember back couple chapters ago writer had said he's opened the way he's opened the veil and anchored the way open for us back in chapter 6, and it's in stark contrast to the high priest back in their day, who on the day of atonement had to go in every single year because you kept accumulating already since then only after this elaborate ritual of sacrifice carrying right at him sacrificing for himself and his own sin right sacrifice, and to the nation and in the evening that he's saying right here doesn't doesn't even scratch the surface of your conscience problem. You still are who you are and you know it so. But here Jesus is different. He enters once for all into the holy place. Remember that holy place, symbolically speaking is a very presence of God.

He enters once for all. Know that all doesn't mean all time. Although it does include debited means also for all class, all of everybody so it's a one time to one time doing only needs to be that when he doesn't need the blood of go together. What a superior thing in that particular sentence, but he doesn't go into that holy place by means of blood in it says in verse 12, by the means of his Long Island line, the high priest who doesn't sacrifice a goat or bull, but who is sacrificed himself so member we said couple weeks ago that this is one of the primary differences in practice between the Old Testament or the old covenant and the new one is set under the old covenant that was the constant sacrificing of animals and the keep the applying of animal blood externally, but now we have the eternal blood of the eternal son of God, the eternal priest once for all, covering all so in the old covenant and the old to the old temple times all that blood.

All that blood was all pointing toward the right side of Christ that will be should force that will that will affect real change right, not just the not just the appearance of change but real change which touches the deepest most intimate part of who we are in our conscience right and actually that that's he's going to drive at home in the second half of this chapter, which I get to next week when he says he.

He. He appeared like he made it real everything with all of this other was pointing to. Okay, let's stop for a minute that beginning of the first of verse 11 because I just paused on this phrase as a high priest at the things that have come home.

What good things so is it that's it. That's a good study clue there with the writer says now there's all these good things that have come through Christ's high priest would so be watching now in this passage for what those good things are. I don't think I'll make a list for you at the let's point them out as we go through them as he is already named a couple eternal redemption yeah yeah yeah which is good news for those of us 2000 right later right entering once for all. That's a good thing he's entered what the eternal more perfect tent bending belong to this creation.

It's it's an eternal one yet because remember he said back in chapter 8 that that what was going on the temple during that time was a shadow right copy of the Mori substantial reality rise in heaven. It's it's a spiritual reality but it's more substantial. In this places we get mixed up because we think all we need it temple.

We need something concrete. We can see that's the reality.

Reality at all. Deep God decisively removed it right like it's gone, it's gone. Yeah so so you know in this new covenant we should not be expecting to go out and build ourselves a temple right sacrifice. There is exactly this not just obsolete, it's like just wrongheaded in terms of knowing what Christ is done when reality please what Christ has done exactly undercuts it and renders it unimportant and invalid. The writer of Hebrews has already said you know if you do that there's no help for you. Yeah that's right because you are now sacrificing the blood of a goat for the blood of Christ. That's just very wrong.

And maybe we'll get into this in a little bit you know that the idea of the blackest blood shows up 10 times just in this little short passage that must be important and we have Atticus as the wife is in the blood. That's right right that so this idea of of this substitutionary sacrifice. This blood represents my life yeah and and remember in the Old Testament God's of the life is in the blood. So I was very apparent. People then you know anatomically the look of its right animal is this blood of his life so symbolically, the life is in the blood right and so the issue is, every time you see blood sprinkled around Old Testament. It's an issue of restoring life right somehow and something to adopt a high in order for you to live that's really simple simple well but it's a huge, huge idea and it's so fundamental that it goes all the way back to Genesis 2 and three.

Yeah right done after the fall, God made garments of skin for Adam, when you cover their nakedness. Something had to die so we just can't escape that reality yeah and you know when you're sensitized to this to this imagery of blood. You know something has to die like us to be given. From where I have life to to you when you censor that then when you start reading the New Testament.

You see it everywhere for you just don't realize it. You know, and we were just we become jaded to up with and if you understand this, and the connection of the Old Testament and what's being shown symbolically and graphically temple in the but then you owe right so this is very key stuff to understand even a lot of what Paul talks about so anyway we need to push okay so securing any terminal point is that go on the list of good things eternal redemption. I might just point out the fact the word redemption always means money or means plot at transaction I thought.

Try something up. Bought and so when you see that word right there it's it's it's a buyback once for all, and it's eternally good. You don't have to keep trying to make the redemption work he does it through his blood, so let's pick it up in verse 13 for if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of the heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the constant right.

He had said that the previous chapter that something purifying the conscience is something that temple rites can never do the blood of goats and bulls doesn't do that only symbolically represents the cleansing of your body yeah but the conscience is a very internal thing.

In turn, it's a conviction person. Condemnation of the guilt of your sin which so many people walk around with today, and it causes neuroses left and right of me walking around with this constant awareness of your sin and your and your proclivity to do evil, which just just grosses us out who will free us from that kind of burden that lays on her shoulders and this is exactly with the blood of Christ us were purified from them. So it's really you know, we say it another ways in the New Testament, but boy he saying it right here. We're we are dealing with something in the new covenant with this blood of Christ, that changes something so profoundly deep inside of us, you might actually say at the spiritual level, which is we talked about before is actually the larger reality of this whole picture is that the reality is the spiritual level the shadow when copy is the physical temple always other things.

So yeah, without blemish, purifying our conscience from dead works we think about that dead works, what is that is all the stuff that we did on their own effort which can never bring life right thing to remember when we look at Exodus 24.

Under the old covenant that people say God said you will do this in this people said yeah we will and then the sacrifice was offered in the blood was sprinkled and you agreed will do it by our power and our will and how that worked out at the field right there.

Assumedly you can always do one more thing right.

You just can never do enough so that whole idea of dead works has amplified quite a bit by Paul in Romans surrounds you know. And in this is exactly talking about here you can you can work your tush off trying to make yourself perfect right but you're not going there. It's a dead work is just going to result in death and this just doesn't work. But interestingly enough, what Christ is done for us has now equipped us to serve the living God in a real sense rather than just trying to impress him with her good works and failing all the times and resulting in death.

We cannot actually serve the living God for real witches and it's an astonishing flip in the entire equation of thing rather than hustling all the time trying to make yourself perfect trying to purify yourself from those things that you detest about who you are. He has made you clean enough to be able serve the living God. Member the living God who is in the holy of holies that you can the holy land that is right.

Holy when you can go when you get in there by the way he has provided an and in that way provides for an answer to your sin, and so that's God, that's all. Boy, that's all.

Just cranked each other pretty well, and that the writer presses on graces verse 15 therefore he is the mediator of an those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from transgressions committed under the first covenant. So now were not only talking about eternal redemption through the eternal Spirit would talk about an eternal inheritance yes and were returning back that they may have a long time ago in Hebrews. We talked about God's promises to Israel and they they did not participate in getting into the problem because they didn't believe his promises could come true, that he could actually fulfill his promise rings and that promises to bring them in the promised land and live in a place of rest, pastor -like thing and so that's the promises of God and so because of what Christ is done then we can receive the promised eternal inheritance. That's the very thing it's God's intentions for us to live a life of joy and fullness in his presence in his nearness in the place of the provides for us and because we have a new mediator of this new covenant we can participate. Okay when you get an inheritance when somebody says the writers that introduce another illustration here and it's a can be a little bit confusing. If you're not paying attention, but then he says, talking about a will right you don't inherit until the person who wrote the will is right and he's telling you that what you're going to benefit from God's promises are at at the cost of the debt.

That's right that the death of Christ. So okay you had here soaring 16 verse 16 so so for instance, for where will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established for will takes effect only at death, since it's not in force as long as the one who made it is alive. Therefore, not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood for when every commandment of the law has been declared by most all the people he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and the people saying this is the blood of the covenant that God committed and so in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent. That's the tabernacle and all the vessels used in worship. Indeed, such under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins, the sins of the problems it keeps us from price abating in the promises of sin costs life so he's he makes his point back in 16 about will you guys know about wills you know someone dies and then you benefit well in our particular case with Christ. Christ died and we benefit and even in the Old Testament in the old covenant.

He says in and that was also part and parcel of the symbology in the old covenant was that you can't live unless something dies. That's where the blade is everywhere so that's that is just so drilled into them in the symbology of what they're saying is I have sinned. Now that's going to cost the life of this animal and this blood represents the life that now is given to me for what I did wrong so that's very deeply ingrained in the Jewish mindset so that's what he says right here as well so we know we talk about Christ and the new covenant is the same thing. Christ must die on our behalf so that his blood could just okay so the big contrast again between the old covenant and the new is that under the old covenant the old way the blood was sprinkled on as a representation of that life that was given the represents and roars, but this is what's so shocking about what Jesus did at the Last Supper, when he sent this Is the blood of the new covenant, the new covenant in my live and what is he telling to do it, do ring get us so you dissipated me come see you write you in me, it becomes an internal reality yeah yeah that whole phrases you use in the right supper is just infused with this imagery infused with this imagery and so even even when they hear the word new covenant though think you're my third one when they think blood the think the blood in the temple that's that's the representation of the life from something nice to me for the benefit of me because of my own sin. Yeah, all that just is it suspecting that the that you this cup is the new covenant right in my blood bank. I think their heads explode, and that blood of the new covenant is not applied yet is is the very blood of the son of God himself, and the only way you partake that is with this internal change in a spiritual way in the in the reality of the changed heart. So now now he's making this really deep connection that all that blood imagery in the Old Testament all the blood imagery is all about the blood of Christ sacrificed his life sacrifice for us, though, so that his life can be our life and because of that, then there's forgiveness of sins is according to verse 20. Do you hear that all through the New Testament, and since his forgiveness of sins. Now we can indeed participate cleansed in the promises of God. It made me think of a passage in Ephesians, Ephesians 2, Paul said that but now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near by the light of Christ and brought near to what brought you to God himself. So so even that that right there is harkening back to this imagery of coming near the presence of God. The blood of Christ, and I'm just as well you are saying that I'm thinking of of sec. Indians 521 God made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in him exactly all running a little short on time, but I wanted to leave when one picture with you, you know, if you go back to the temple you go back to the holy of holies you go back to inside the holy of holies is the Ark of the covenant of the mercy seat, you know, the high priest would go through once a year he go into that center section where God is the presence of God's mercy seat that represented God's promises for us in the path to that mercy seat in the ark and he would go in there with blood on his finger and he would flick that blood not only on the front of the ark, but also the pathway leading up to the ark, so that so the very path he took through the veil walking up to the presence of God with the mercy seat was was was all's laddered with blood and since you you could look at that imagery as you walked in there and say you know it's very clear that the that the coming into the presence of God is paved with blood so no one comes in the presence of God except for those who are purchased, redeemed with the blood of Christ and and you know in the and in the temple during that time of the permanent temple that that holy of holies it was a gold room.

Everything was gold inside that room.

Boy it would just look totally stunning and they are in stark relief would be the blood splattered on the floor splattered on the front of the promises of God in his art is just is just a stunning image.

It's a stunning image and and unfortunately only high priest, the high priest got the sea that every year, but I think it was. I think it shuttered. He shuttered every time he saw this beautiful pristine golden room and in splattered with blood. That's the only way to the Príncipe so that's what it's meant to teach us and that's what he's making the connection to right here so why getting less comments is a lot to think of a time to think well I just I just want our listeners to to apply themselves to this passage. Look for the things that are repeated, look for the things that he says again and again and again forgiveness the blood being purified. What is eternal the eternal redemption eternal spirit, the eternal inheritance yeah yeah pay attention to those things and write down your questions so you can mull them over and chase down these Old Testament places where these things are described in Exodus numbers and Leviticus all this cross-references should be in your column yeah and we we had previously recommended and I highly recommend that if you have little time to go to Leviticus 16 is fascinating and up close and personal look at what writing is all blood actual means by which atonement is so were out of time become Jim and Dorothy and we are looking at new covenant more than