Written ~ 12-07-2023
Hebrews 10:11-18
11 Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. 12 But our High Priest offered Himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then He sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 13 There He waits until His enemies are humbled and made a footstool under His feet. 14 For by that one offering He forever made perfect those who are being made holy.
15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies that this is so. For He says,
16 “This is the new covenant I will make
with my people on that day, says the Lord:
I will put My laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds.”
17 Then He says,
“I will never again remember
their sins and lawless deeds.”
18 And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices.
When I read through the Old Testament it always amazes me everything the Israelites had to do in order to maintain forgiveness for sin. I can’t imagine the lofty task the priest had to take on each and every day. If you go back and read from verse one of Hebrews chapter 10, the old covenant sacrifice was something that had to be “repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing.” Sacrificing a bull or goat was never going to remove sin completely.
But then, God gave us Jesus to be the perfect Lamb, His sacrifice established the New Covenant. Once a person has come to the place in their lives where they understand the sacrifice Jesus has made for them and they put their trust in Him and repent of their sins, their sins are forgiven, completely, “…when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices…” “…for by that one offering He forever made perfect those who are being made holy…”
Every person who gives their life over to the Lord and repents, through the sacrifice of Jesus they are being made holy. It is a concept we need to understand as believers. We have become holy. The moment you asked Christ to come into your life, you have been made holy! Mind blowing, I know! That means we have become completely devoted to the Lord and dedicated to the work of the Lord. The Holy Spirit has entered in and He is the One who has begun an incredible work within each of us! Let’s look at how The Message version translates verses 10:14-17,
14 “By that single offering, He did everything that needed to be done for everyone who takes part in the purifying process. 15 The Holy Spirit confirms this:
16 This new plan (New Covenant) I’m making…
isn’t going to be written on paper,
isn’t going to be chiseled in stone;
This time “I’m writing out the plan in them,
carving it on the lining of their hearts.”
17 He concludes,
I’ll forever wipe the slate clean of their sins.”
In the Old Testament, the people had the Law of Moses written on stone tablets. Today, the Holy Spirit writes the Word in our hearts, The Message version says, the Holy Spirit carves it in the lining of our hearts! That is pretty awesome, don’t you think? That’s why when we read the Scriptures it becomes alive in our spirits. If the Word is written on our hearts and we read, study and meditate on the Word it unites what the Holy Spirit has already placed within us. So, by accepting the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross and receiving forgiveness from sin, the Holy Spirit forever wipes clean the sin from our lives and replaces it with the Word of God. We have been made holy, that’s how the Scriptures can be instilled within us because our hearts have been wiped clean, making it a place suitable for the precious Word of God.
The verses in Hebrews 10:14-17 are taken from the Book of Jeremiah. Look at the prophesy written in Jeremiah 31:31-34…
31 “The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. 32 This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord.
33 “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put My instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know Me already,” says the Lord. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”
The Book of Jeremiah was written sometime between 628 and 580 B.C. Fast forward 600 years and we have Jesus fulfilling that prophesy, doing exactly what He said He was going to do. Isn’t it incredible to know that every person on earth has the knowledge of Jesus Christ written on their hearts, it may be that the enemy has put a veil over their hearts so they cannot see or hear the truth. But when their hearts have softened and the veil is removed the Word of God can become alive and powerful within them.
So… it’s time to look inward. Have you really established within your own heart that you fall under the New Covenant? Can you acknowledge without doubt that the Word of God is written on your heart and by studying the Scriptures that’s what draws you closer to the perfect Lamb of God? Jesus Christ the Son of God is the One who sacrificed it all so we might be saved and He did that so we can be washed clean with the blood He shed for each and every one of us!
Our Savior, Jesus Christ, paid the price for our sins, He did the will of God by sacrificing His life for us, once and for all. When He did that, then rose from the dead, “He sat down in a place of honor at God’s right hand…” where He is waiting for all to believe.
Thank You Father for sending Your beloved Son to die in my place. Sin would otherwise separate me from You and life eternal. But because You sacrificed Your only Son I have been forgiven and I have Your Word written on my heart. Continue to teach me and guide me, I want to grow in the holiness You established within me when I accepted Christ as my Savior. Holy Spirit come and fill me with Your presence, speak to my heart with boldness and power so I can shine the light of Jesus wherever I go.
~AMEN~