Hebrews Chapter Nine
We are Made to be free
“That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.”
Hebrews 9:15
Read Hebrews 9
Not Enough
When we were growing up, there was a time when my mom had a parlor. It was the front room in our house, and we rarely used it. She said that it was special, for company. That’s what comes to mind when I think of the Holy of Holies. It was a special room in the temple that was reserved for God. Inside the Holy of Holies was the Ark of the Covenant which included Aaron’s rod, a sample of manna, and the ten commandments. Because this room as so special, only the high priest could enter it and then, only once a year.
We’ve talked about this. The author of Hebrews has talked about this. If it seems like I’m repeating myself it’s because the book of Hebrews is repetitive. The author wants to make his position clear. Jesus is better. Christianity is better. The new covenant is better.
Animal sacrifices were insufficient. The sacrifices prevented God from destroying sinners because of their wickedness, but the sacrifices could do nothing to cleanse consciences. In the past, the people offered a sacrifice to God so that they could worship God, pledge their devotion to him, and receive atonement for their sins. However, those animal and grain sacrifices could not and did not do anything to ease their guilty feelings.
The Old Testament sacrifices were a way of spiritually cleansing the body for physical worship, but they failed to change the heart. They were gifts for a time but not for eternity. The blood sacrifices of animals purified the people temporarily to continue to worship God, but the sacrifice of Jesus purifies us permanently to live for Him.
Nothing but the Blood
Years ago, I was in Kroger when a man fell to the floor in a seizure. He hit his head, and blood started rushing from the wound. I am not a medical person, and I had never seen so much blood before. The average adult has 4 to 6 liters of blood in their body. That means a person can lose between 2 ½ to 4 liters of blood before dying. That’s a lot of blood. Emergency people came to the man’s aid, and I never knew what happened to him. I often wonder how much blood he really lost. Maybe it just seemed like a lot to me.
There is something almost instinctive about blood. I don’t remember teaching my boys that bleeding was bad, but they knew that if they were bleeding, they needed help. Why? Because our life is wrapped up in that internal fluid that carries oxygen to and carbon monoxide away from our vital organs.
Blood is the proof of affection and sacrifice. To voluntarily shed one’s blood for another is to give the best that one can give. Blood is the representation of life, and our lives are the most valuable thing we have been given.
God laid out the rules at the beginning of time. The punishment for sin is death (Genesis 2:17). When Adam and Eve sinned, a price had to be paid. Ultimately, the price would require the taking of their life. Their life blood would cease to flow, and they would die
Without God’s intervention, that would have been the end of them (and all of us). We would have been destined not only to a physical death but to eternal separation from God. But God instituted the sacrificial system whereby a temporary substitute was made for human sin. An unblemished animal could temporarily take the place for a human.
Think of it like paying the interest on a loan but never touching the balance. Humans have a sin debt that can only be paid with death. The sacrificial system paid the interest, but the balance was still due.
A Debt We Couldn’t Pay
Have you ever tried to pay off a credit card bill by only paying the minimum due? You don’t get very far. In fact, it’s impossible. That’s why animal sacrifices didn’t relieve the guilt of God-followers. It was a temporary fix. God knew that when he put it into place. He wanted people to understand that there is nothing we can do to fix this problem on our own.
Pastor Tim Harris once said, “Your problems are not really your problem. Your problem is sin, and there’s nothing you do about it. Sin is not just the bad things you do; it’s a crippling disease of your soul.” Animal sacrifices could never cure the disease. Animal sacrifices could never pay the price for human sin. That’s why God sent Jesus. Because he is perfect, he didn’t have any sin of his own. Because he is human, he can pay a human price.
Animal sacrifices might have paid the interest on our sin debt, but Jesus paid it off! He gave his blood—his life—for ours. Only he could do that because only he lived a perfect life and had no debt of his own to pay. In addition, only he had the power to rise from the grave.
Romans 3:23 says, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” No matter how much we try, we will never be perfect this side of heaven. It’s impossible because we are born into a sin nature, and we live in a sinful world.
God works through his spirit and our consciences to help us feel guilty about our sin. Those feelings of guilt help us to recognize our own wrong-doing, but we are helpless to do anything about it on our own. Even the best of us on our best days will mess up. Living with those feelings of guilt can become overwhelming. The good news is that through Christ, we don’t have to live in guilt and condemnation. Because Jesus is the perfect sacrifice, we have been freed.
Voluntary Confinement
Elephants are powerful animals. The average adult Asian elephant weighs between 4 and 10 thousand pounds. A trainer would be hard pressed to restrain an elephant with a 20 lb concrete block, but some say they can. The trick is to train them when they are young. A baby elephant is chained to a concrete block that it cannot move. After a while, the elephant realizes that it cannot move the block and stops trying—even after it has grown substantially and could easily move the block with a little effort. Obviously, an elephant in this type of situation would not be considered free.
Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The author of Hebrews wanted his readers to understand that the sacrifice of Jesus was better than any system of animal sacrifices because it offered them freedom. Christians no longer have to live with guilty consciences.
Yet, we often live like the adult elephants. We allow a 20lb block of sin to hold us back instead of trusting the Power that lives inside us. Because we know our own sinfulness, we stay trapped instead of relying on the One who died to make us free. Jesus did not intend for us to live in a state of misery.
John 10:10 says, “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”
When we ask Jesus to forgive us, he does. He has already paid the price. So, when we commit our lives to Him, we are given the free gift of eternal life, salvation not only from an eternity spent without God but also from an earthly life of shame and regret.
The Unchained Gang
Years ago, I wrote an article about The Unchained Gang, a group of motorcycle riders. While they looked like your typical rough and rowdy Harley riders, this group of men were different. Their jackets bore the picture of hands, once shackled, but the chain was broken. They testified of the freedom they found in Christ.
Guilt is like chains that bind us. We have trouble looking someone in the eye when we feel guilty about something we have said behind their back. We have trouble sleeping when we know we’ve taken something that didn’t belong to us. Guilt is a miserable feeling, but it’s also a blessing. If someone never feels remorse, that person is not likely to recognize her wrong-doing or correct it.
Perpetual guilt, however, can also be a curse. Constant feelings of guilt lead to feelings of worthlessness and self-loathing. A guilty conscience can even make a person physically ill.
God does not want us to live like that. As believers who have committed their lives to the Lord, we are meant to live in freedom.
Romans 8:1 says, “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.”
Because Jesus paid the price for our sins, we don’t have to be afraid of God’s judgment for our sins. Our sin debt has been paid. We will never be perfect this side of heaven, but we don’t have to live in fear of messing up too much, of losing God’s love or our salvation.
Does this mean that we should live recklessly or in constant disobedience to God’s commands? Absolutely not. Paul addressed that very question in Romans 6:1-2. He said, “Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? 2 Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?”
God has given us rules to live by because, like any good parent, he knows what is best for us. We should obey him out of love, honor and respect but also out of a desire to live fully and experience as many of God’s blessings as possible. We don’t have to live in fear of judgment or the repercussions of messing up. God has freed us from the bondage of guilt. He has cleansed us with the blood of Christ. Because Jesus is the perfect sacrifice, we are MADE to be free.