1 Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come, and not the actual form of those realities, it can never perfect the worshipers by the same sacrifices they continually offer year after year. 2 Otherwise, wouldn’t they have stopped being offered, since the worshipers, once purified, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? 3 But in the sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
5 Therefore, as He was coming into the world, He said:
You did not want sacrifice and offering,
but You prepared a body for Me.
6 You did not delight
in whole burnt offerings and sin offerings.
7 Then I said, “See—
it is written about Me
in the volume of the scroll—
I have come to do Your will, God!”[a]
but You prepared a body for Me.
6 You did not delight
in whole burnt offerings and sin offerings.
7 Then I said, “See—
it is written about Me
in the volume of the scroll—
I have come to do Your will, God!”[a]
8 After He says above, You did not want or delight in sacrifices and offerings, whole burnt offerings and sin offerings (which are offered according to the law), 9 He then says, See, I have come to do Your will.[b] He takes away the first to establish the second. 10 By this will of God, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all.
11 Every priest stands day after day ministering and offering the same sacrifices time after time, which can never take away sins. 12 But this man, after offering one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God. 13 He is now waiting until His enemies are made His footstool. 14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are sanctified. 15 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. For after He says:
16 This is the covenant I will make with them
after those days, says the Lord:
I will put My laws on their hearts
and write them on their minds,
after those days, says the Lord:
I will put My laws on their hearts
and write them on their minds,
17 He adds:
I will never again remember
their sins and their lawless acts.[c]
their sins and their lawless acts.[c]
18 Now where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.
Heb. 10:1-18
How is the law described here? As a shadow of good things to come, not the reality of those things. So the law with its sacrificial system only pointed to the greater sacrifice of Christ that was to come. What could the law never do? It could never perfect people. If it had been able to perfect people through its sacrifices, what would have happened? People would have been purified once for all, would have had no more consciousness (awareness) of their sins, and so the sacrifices would not have been needed and would have stopped being offered. But instead, what did the old sacrificial system do? Instead of taking away awareness of sins, it kept reminding people of their sins! Why was that so? Because animal blood can't take away sins.
Did God delight in the old way of animal sacrifices? No. So He sent Jesus, and what did Jesus say He came to do? To do God's will, and He took away the old system of sacrifices and ushered in a new way. What was God's will that Jesus completed? Jesus sanctified us through the offering (sacrifice for sin) of His body once for all.
List some ways Jesus is different from the old covenant priests:
1 - the priests offered sacrifices day after day, Jesus offered His only once
2 - the old sacrifices couldn't take away sins, so had to keep being repeated; Jesus' sacrifice was one sacrifice for sins forever
3 - the priests were always standing, but once Jesus offered His sacrifice, He sat down.
So we see that Jesus' sacrifice was so good and so encompassing and so complete that He only needed to offer it once, and it worked for all time: it took away sins once for all! So since His sacrifice was complete and sufficient for all time, successful in taking away all sins for all time, Jesus' work was done and so He sat down! When someone sits down, it means they are finished, their work is done, and they are in a position of rest! Jesus' sitting down tells us the all the work to take care of our sins is completely done and finished!
How does verse 14 sum up this whole work of Jesus? It says that by one offering He has perfected us forever! What the law's sacrifices couldn't do, Jesus did! Remember how we listed what would have happened if the law sacrifices had worked, how people would have been purified and stopped making sacrifices, etc.? Well, those things are now all true because of Jesus' sacrifice!
Let's look back through the passage and list those things that are true for us right now because of Jesus sacrifice:
1 - it perfected us
2 - it purified us once for all
3 - it has taken away the consciousness (awareness) of sins
4 - any other sacrifices have been stopped, they are not needed
5 - Jesus' sacrifice took away sins
5 - Jesus' sacrifice stands for all time, is effective forever
6 - it sanctified us
7 - it perfected us forever
God makes a statement about the new covenant in a quote from Jeremiah. What two things does He say He will do in the new covenant? He will write His law on our hearts and minds, and He will never again remember our sins! Jesus' sacrifice is so perfect, so all-encompassing, so complete, that it doesn't just cover our sins. It takes them away! They are so GONE that God says He will never remember them again! According to this verse, is God ever going to think about your sins again? NO! Is He ever going to bring up your sins again? NO! Is He ever going to relate to you on the basis of your sins again? NO!
Look at the last verse in the passage. What is the benefit to us of all that Christ has done so well in taking away our sins? Well, since He forgave all our sins in such a complete way, by truly taking them out of the picture, there is NO MORE sacrifice for sins that ever has to be made! You never have to do anything about your sins anymore. They can never come between you and God anymore, for they are gone! When you sin, you never have to feel that you must 'do something' to get back your position of fellowship with God or get back in His good graces, because you never lost your good position with God, and you are still IN His good graces (favor)! Christ's sacrifice has given you a permanent forgiveness of all your sins by wiping out your sins completely so that God never remembers them!
You are not just a 'forgiven criminal' with your sins still hanging over you. Your sins have been taken away! They aren't on you anymore! It isn't just that you have them, but won't be punished - you don't even have them any more! They are gone! You are cleansed, perfected, purified, and sanctified (made holy) once and for all, according to the passage above. How, by your hard work and consecration and prayers of surrender? NO! By the sacrifice of Christ once for all! His sacrifice not only forgave you, not only took away your sin, but it cleansed you so well that you are holy and perfect! How long are you perfect, just till your next sin? No, you have been perfected forever! Forever is a very long time to enjoy your good, clean, right and pure standing before God! There is nothing left against you, and you are not only forgiven but also cleansed! That is why the passage talks of having no consciousness or awareness of sins. God doesn't even want you to be aware of your sins, conscious of them, thinking about them in any way. You are completely purified and cleansed and holy - clean! Not dirty! So verse 19 of Hebrews 10 says that we have 'boldness' to enter God's presence through the blood of Jesus! We can run boldly to God, we can be confident of His welcoming us, we can pray to Him anytime, enjoy our relationship with Him anytime without worrying about our sins coming between us ever again, because those sins are gone!
When God looks at you, He doesn't see any sin. Not because the sin is covered, but because Jesus took it AWAY and it is GONE! There is no sin on you today. The verses above say that once and for all, by Jesus' sacrifice, you have been cleansed, purified, sanctified (made holy) and perfected. You are clean, pure, holy and perfect! So come boldly to God and enjoy His presence without any consciousness of your sins! Do as God does concerning your sins - do not remember or think of them anymore! Have no awareness of them, because they aren't there at all; instead, be aware of the presence of God with you, because He is there with you always and forever due to the perfect sacrifice of the Son! Since the Son cleaned you out so well, you are actually God's holy temple where He is at home and is dwelling right now! Hallelujah!