This is the last review for our February reading of Hebrews 6-10. For March we will read Hebrews 11-13. Since this reading is only three chapters compared to the five we normally cover, we will add one chapter of Proverbs each day. There are 31 days in March and 31 chapters of Proverbs giving us the opportunity to do a complete reading of Proverbs during March.
Chapter 10
Chapter 10 begins with a statement comparing Christ's sacrifice with the sacrifices under the Mosaic Law. The Mosaic Law could only cleanse certain things and the sacrifice had to be done over and over again. The sacrifice was incomplete because it could not cover past, present and future sin. Christ's sacrifice cleanses believers of all sin for all time, once and forever. The old Law was only a shadow or glimpse of the perfect cleansing to come through Christ. His sacrifice does not need repeating nor is there any need for anything to be added to it. Therefore, rejection of Christ and His sacrifice is final and unforgivable.
Had the old sacrifices attained perfect cleansing the feeling of guilt would have vanished but the old covenant actually worked against freedom from a guilty conscience. Every time a new sacrifice was made, all were reminded of their sin and guilt remained. In verse 4 it is clearly stated, "For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins."
Old Testament prophesy (Psalm 40:6-8) recorded the words of the One who was to come and would do what God really wanted accomplished. The sacrifices of animals was not what He wanted. The words Jesus would one day speak would tell of the body being prepared for Him so that one day He could accomplish what the OT sacrifices could not. God set aside the old way to put the new way into effect, that new way is the way of Christ. Christ came to do the will of God. What is the will of God in this instance? Verse 10 tells us, "For God's will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time."
By that one sacrifice, Christ forever made perfect all those who are being made holy. The Holy Spirit testifies to all of that in verses 16-18. He tells us of the new covenant in Christ whereby He will put His laws in our hearts and write them on their minds. If we think about it, we don't really have to be taught right or wrong do we? Today, and even as children, we have always seemed to know when we were doing something wrong. The fact that God wrote such things on our hearts and minds is part of our everyday experience.
By the power of the New Covenant, the Holy Spirit proclaims He will never again remember believers' sins nor lawless deeds. That statement is an example of the fullness and completeness of the forgiveness for those who believe in Christ as their Savior. So complete is Christ's sacrifice that there is no need for any further sacrifices as was the way of the Old Covenant.
Understanding those things, we can "boldly" enter the Most Holy Place of heaven. Jesus' sacrifice opened the way for us, something we could never do on our own. Because of what Christ has done, having His blood cover our guilty consciences, we go in having been made clean. Going into that Holy Place brings us into the presence of God now with sincere hearts filled with trust.
We are to hold on to that trust. We must not doubt nor let our trust waiver due to the things of life. Our trust should not be in ourselves nor the way life treats us for surely a trust built on such things will fall away. Our trust should be in God Himself as He has shown Himself to keep His promises. His promise of a Savior that washed away all our sin allowing us to spend eternity with Him has been proven to be true. Even when life does not go our way, we can live with the hope of eternity which is far greater than anything this life can offer. Knowing these things, let us encourage and teach one another and motivate one another to live a life filled with acts of love toward one another.
Now that we have heard that the great sacrifice of Christ washes us clean from all sin-past, present and future and choose to reject it, we are making a deliberate decision to keep sinning. That type of sin is deliberate and willful. (See Numbers 15:29-31). By continuing to sin in such a way, we run the risk of rejecting Christ in favor of sin. There is no sacrifice that covers such a willing choice. Rejecting the truth of Christ would put us outside of Christ's sacrifice and place us before God for judgement as God's enemy. Trampling of the Son of God and treating His blood as if it were common and not holy will insult the Holy Spirit who brings God's mercy to us. It is like putting Christ up for public disgrace, humility and crucifixion all over again.
Under the Old Covenant, if a person rejected the Mosaic Law and there were at least two to three witnesses, that person would be put to death. Considering the New Covenant is far superior to the Old Covenant and the penalty for breaking the Old Covenant was death, we are asked to consider what we think the penalty for rejecting the New Covenant might be. Surely that punishment must be far more terrible than even death. The Spirit came to us bringing the grace given by the sacrifice of Christ, should we reject that gift, a much worse punishment than the death of the Old Covenant should be expected. Understand it is not an idle threat. God claims the right to judge His people. Falling into the position of being judged by God without the covering and cleansing of the blood of Christ is a place not one of us would want to find ourselves.
Hebrews concludes with an encouragement for believers to remain as excited and devoted as they were when they first heard the truth and accepted Christ. We are encouraged to persevere in our faith. Some believers suffered great things and some of us today suffer for our faith but these things can be lived through with joy. We can live through the difficulties of life with joy if we hold on to the promise of better things for us for all eternity. Things can get hard and difficult but don't throw your faith and trust in the Lord away, rather endure and be patient for God's promises are true. Soon the time will come when the faithful will be saved and those who reject God will bring destruction upon themselves.