B483 11/28/71
© Project Winsome International, 1999
"OUR HOPE: JESUS IS ALL YOU NEED"
Dr. John Allan Lavender
Hebrews 9:1-15
Now even the first covenant had regulations of divine worship and the earthly sanctuary. 2For there was a tabernacle prepared, the outer one, in which were the lampstand and the table and the sacred bread; this is called the holy place. 3And behind the second veil, there was a tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies, 4having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna, and Aarons rod which budded, and the tables of the covenant. 5And above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat; but of these things we cannot now speak in detail. 6Now when these things have been thus prepared, the priests are continually entering the outer tabernacle, performing the divine worship, 7but into the second only the high priest enters, once a year, not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance. 8The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed, while the outer tabernacle is still standing; 9which is a symbol for the time then present, according to which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience, 10since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation. 11But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; 12and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. 13For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, 14how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 15And for this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, in order that since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
Did you ever stop to think that members of the early Christian church never read the New Testament? For that matter, neither did the disciples. And for a very good reason. They didnt have it. Their Bible was the Old Testament. When Jesus sat down with His leadership team following His resurrection to teach them what scripture actually said about Him, it was the Old Testament from which He taught.
When, on the road to Emmaus, Jesus listened to two of His disciples talking of the tragedy of recent happenings, He replied to them by assuring them these events were not tragedies. Nor had they caught God off guard. Rather, they were things foretold in scripture. "And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures" (Luke 24:27).
Later, when the two disciples had rejoined the others in Jerusalem, Jesus appeared to the eleven and gave them an all-night Bible study, during which time He taught them from all three major divisions of Old Testament scripture: "The Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms" (Luke 24:44). Jesus took their Bible, the Hebrew Old Testament, and "opened their minds to understand the Scriptures" (Luke 24:45). He gave the Old Testament back to them as a new book with new meaning. At long last, they were able to grasp the significance of everything which had happened to Jesus, and to see how it fit into Gods great plan of the ages as foretold intheir Bible.
Its important to keep all this in mind as you work your way through the book of Hebrews, lest you miss the importance of the Old Testament references which appear in chapter 9. A tent in the wilderness and the rituals performed there may seem pretty dry stuff until you recall data regarding them was included in those scriptures of which Jesus said, "It is these that bear witness of Me" (John 5:39). Then these antiquities suddenly excite our interest. They have something to do with Jesus!
One of the homey bits of knowledge my father passed on to me was a saying which read: "Never take a fence down till you know why it was put up." Applied to the passage before us, this maxim suggests to me that an understanding of the Old Testament scheme will help us realize why, at long last, the good Lord put it aside. So, with this purpose in mind, lets continue our study.
From the scene and substance of Christs ministry in chapter 8, our writer moves on to deal with the sacrificial nature and sufficiency of Christs ministry. He draws these conclusions: Jesus is all you need. He is the indispensable person. So, appropriate the power available to you through Him. Achieve your full potentiality in Him. Go on from victory to victory.
One of our authors helpful literary devices is his habit of giving us a key to unlock puzzling passages. In chapter 9, we have a case in point. Two verses clarify what he is driving at in this rather lengthy parenthesis (7:1 - 10:18). "For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" (9:13,14).
If I were to give this chapter a subtitle, it might well be: "How to Handle a Nagging Conscience." Theres a good deal of misunderstanding about the functions of conscience. It has been called, "a little red light in the soul." Or, as one youngster put it, "Something inside which feels bad when everything else feels good."
Conscience is that internal voice which monitors your attitudes and actions. It does not determine what is right or wrong. That is established by training. But once you know what is right or wrong, your conscience assesses the quality of a given attitude or action, gives its verdict and then goads you into doing what you think is right and avoiding that which is wrong. However, conscience has no power to determine the outcome. That is decided by your will.
Conscience can become warped. When that happens, it is a faulty guide. The Bible reveals several kinds of out-of-kilter consciences. Jonah had a dull conscience. Jacob, an elastic conscience. Pilate, a weak conscience. Saul of Tarsus, a misguided conscience. It is not always safe or sufficient to live by your conscience. It requires training. A marksman will hit his targetonly if the two sights of his rifle are correctly aligned with the bulls-eye. Similarly, your conscience gives a correct verdict only when it is correctly aligned to and trained by the living and written word of God.
For the Jewish Christians to whom this book of Hebrews was written, the problem was not a conscience troubled with guilt spawned by wrongdoing. The nagging conscience plaguing them was one which needed to be purified from "dead works" (9:14). Barclay provides a bit of historical background which clarifies what I mean. "In the very earliest days, church and temple, so to speak, coexisted. We find Peter and John on their way to the temple at the hour of prayer as the most natural thing in the world. We read of them preaching in the temple courts as the obvious place in which to preach (Acts 3:1). At first there was no reason why a man should stop going to the temple just because he had begun going to church. So there was an age of transition in Jerusalem.
"But, bit by bit, something began to emerge," explains William Barclay. "It began to be clear that devotion to the temple ritual was not an innocent extra. It was something which obscured the true meaning of Christianity. A religion of grace cannot be a religion of sacrifice; a religion based on the triumphant adequacy of Jesus Christ cannot have additions to Him and to His sacrifice. And so there came a time when there had to be a clean break."1
Try to imagine the quandary of these Hebrew Christians. The temple had been laid out by God. The Old Testament law had been written by God. The sacrifices had been prescribed by God. Were they to turn their backs on the only God-given religion on earth and surrender themselves lock, stock and barrel to One whom their leaders called an imposter? By throwing their traditions overboard, werent they giving up more than they gained? If those ceremonial cleansings and ritual sacrifices had value in the past, didnt they still have merit? And, if they stopped doing all these worthwhile things, how were they to handle the problem of a nagging conscience plagued with guilt over good deeds left undone? They were really between a rock and a hard place!
Some of them solved the problem by what we might call the old-time religion approach: What was good enough for Pappy is good enough for me. Goaded by sub-Christian guilt over supposed sins of omission, the good deeds of ritual cleansing and sacrifice left undone, these fledgling followers of Jesus shifted into a high gear program of religious activity designed to make certain they pleased God and were acceptable to Him.
We may smile at their naivete, but is there any perceptible difference in motivation between their ritual washings, dietary precautions and what have you, and the equally misguided contemporary Christians continual round of ceaseless activity designed to help gain a sense of acceptance before God? None at all. Christ plus anything equals heresy! Though we have a lot of learning and growing to do after our salvation experience, nothing can add to what Jesus has done as a means of salvation. Jesus-plus just isnt possible.
Many twentieth-century saved sinners fall for the same old con job. Perhaps you have, too. You blow it with God in some area of your life. A short time later, Satan, who usually camps on the shoulder of most of us Jesus folk, whispers in your ear, "Youre not worthy of all God has done for you. At least, not now. After what youve just done. Or left undone. In fact, if you face the truth about yourself, youll admit youre not acceptable to God at all. You better get busy and dosomething to square accounts. Otherwise, youll never be sure God approves of you."
If you buy the devils drivel, youll set out on a feverish campaign designed to improve your situation. To rack up brownie points with God. To strengthen your standing in His sight. For awhile, you may perform like Super Saint himself. But in the process, youll wear yourself to a frazzle -- going to meetings; serving on committees; passing out tracts; even teaching Sunday School -- hoping thereby to win the affection, approval and acceptance of God. You may be doing the right things, but you will be doing them for the wrong reason. As a result, you end up frustrated. Joyless. Uncertain.
As one lady said to her pastor, "I dont know whats wrong with me. I do all I can to serve the Lord, and I still feel guilty. Then I feel guilty about feeling guilty." Precisely. It is discouraging to see all this laudable effort dismissed as "dead works." Its disconcerting to learn such effort, as a means of earning another spiritual merit badge, just doesnt register with God. He simply isnt impressed by feverish effort.
The Futility of Activity
Whats the answer? A secularized Christianity takes the "Were number two" approach. Believe
in Jesus and try harder. That sounds deceptively pious, but it is dangerously pagan. If we listen
to what the writer of Hebrews says, we will quickly recognize the utter futility of activity when it
comes to getting or staying in tune with God.
"Now even the first covenant had regulations of divine worship and the earthly sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle prepared, the outer one, in which were the lamp-stand and the table and the sacred bread; this is called the holy place. And behind the second veil there was a tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies, having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna, and Aarons rod which budded, and the tables of the covenant. And above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat; but of these things we cannot now speak in detail. Now when these things have been thus prepared, the priests are continually entering the outer tabernacle, performing the divine worship, but into the second only the high priest enters, once a year, not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed, while the outer tabernacle is still standing, which is a symbol for the time then present, according to which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience, since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation" (9:1-10).
The tent (or tabernacle) in the wilderness was meant to be an object lesson pointing to Jesus, as shown in figure 1.
Figure 1
The most sacred area was the inner room, the Holy of Holies, beyond the separating veil. This area housed the ark of the covenant with "the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat" (9:5). Permeated with the glory of God, it was a place where only the high priest was permitted, and then just once a year on the day of atonement. The tabernacle was the earthly center of Jewish faith and worship. It was the one place where, more than any other, Jehovah was thought to dwell. The ark in the Holy of Holies was believed to be Gods home on earth. It was always kept closed. But Jehovah could be reached if anything were placed on the lid, or mercy seat, as it was called. This was as close as human gifts could get to God. Thus, the mercy seat became the place par excellence. The spot on which atonement must be made and the dark smirch of sin erased.
A quick look at figure 2 (below) will show that, just inside the gate, was the brazen altar where portions of the animal sacrifice were burned. At the far end was the ark of the covenant in Gods throne room, the Holy of Holies. As the graphic indicates, the God-given arrangement of these and the other pieces of furniture, all of which were beautiful pictures of some aspect of our Lords life and person, formed the shadow of a cross.
Figure 2
Undoubtedly, Jesus pointed this out to His disciples during that nightlong Bible class when He showed them how eloquently the Old Testament scriptures spoke of Him. For the tabernacle clearly spelled out how Christians are to approach God.
As saved sinners we must first accept Christ as our substitute (John 1:29), so we begin at the brazen altar. But Jesus can do more than save us from the penalty of sin; He can cleanse us from the power of sin. Thus, the next step is to take Jesus as our sanctifier (John 3:5), the One who washes us with the water of life, so we move to the laver.
At this point, we must permit Him to be our light and guide (John 8:12), represented by the golden candlestick. We must also feed on Him who said, "I am the bread of life" (John6:35), and across the way is the table of shewbread. Because He is the One who now intercedes for us and through whom our prayers reach God (John 14:13,14; Hebrews 9:24), we must pass bythe altar of incense.
At this point, we reach the veil which, at one time, separated sinners from the presence of God.
But when Jesus died on the cross, the veil was torn in two (Matthew 27:5 1). So, we discover redeemed sinners can enter into the Holy of Holies "by a new and living way which He [Jesus] inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh" (Hebrews 10:20). The whole tabernacle speaks of Christ in many ways. Not the least of these is that over and through it all is the shadow of the cross (figure 2).
Its difficult for us contemporary Christians to understand the sanctity of this place in the thoughts and emotions of the ancient Jews. The tabernacle was super special. The music, pageantry, color and ritual of the old sacrificial system undoubtedly held a spell over some of the early Hebrew Christians. And quite understandably so. Its services must have been moving and memorable.
A little girl was walking with her daddy one night. The stars above were like diamonds stuck in the black ore of space. As she gazed up at the splendor of the sky, she suddenly exclaimed, "Oh, Daddy, if the wrong side of heaven is so beautiful, what must the right side be like!"
Thats precisely the point our author is making. He lovingly remembers the awe-inspiring beauty of the tabernacle and seems to say, "If this earthly place and form of worship were so beautiful and moving, what must the true sanctuary and worship in heaven be like!" He sees the Old Testament layout and ritual as symbolic. A beautiful object lesson of the better way Jesus had introduced. Because, for all their splendor, the Old Testament provisions had no power in themselves. They could not remove sin. They could not cleanse the conscience. They could not instigate full and free fellowship between God and man.
The old system dramatized its own inadequacy. An atonement which needed to be repeated over and over could not provide assurance ones sin was gone. A conscience needing to be cleansed again and again, year in and year out, had not really been cleansed at all. Under the old system, "the priests are continually entering the outer tabernacle" (9:6). Under these circumstances, sin and guilt which plague the conscience, are like weeds which were being chopped off at ground level. The roots, which remained, burrowed deeper and each spring more weeds sprouted. Though the old system had strong external visual value, it did not reach the root of the problem. It did not deal a deathblow to sin.
Nor did it make possible full and free access to God. Thats the symbolism of the two rooms divided by the veil, behind which the high priest alone could go, and then just once a year. As long as this holy place remained inaccessible, the Holy Spirit was saying, "the way into the holy place [the very presence of God] has not yet been disclosed" (9:8).
The insufficiency of the old system was self-evident. The daily stream of priests going in and out of the main part of the tabernacle -- tending the lamp, renewing the incense and, every seven days, changing the bread -- were dramatic proof that, despite the richness of this ritual, the daily and annual ministrations did little good. They only affected the outer man. They were "regulations for the body" (9:10). They could not "perfect (the) conscience" (9:9). They did not touch the inner man.
The old system was bankrupt. And, the moment Jesus died, the entire Old Testament religious system ceased to have any meaning to man or standing with God. At long last, the real thing had come. The Old Testament sacrificial system had served its purpose. I am sure we shall meet many Old Testament people in heaven. Nevertheless, the Old Testament sacrifices were incomplete, involuntary and at long last, they became unnecessary.
So, God abolished the first in order to establish the second. As long as those first-century Hebrew Christians remembered, believed, and lived by that, they were free. They were able to handle the problem of recurring sin in a creative way. They called it by its rightful name: sin! They confessed it to God. Repented. Were forgiven. Got back on the track of letting Jesus live His life through them.
But when, as sinner-saints, they began to question their acceptability to God -- when they began to believe various forms of religious activity could add something to what Jesus had done for them on the cross; or, believing there was real value in mere ritual and realizing they were not fulfilling that ritual, were goaded by a nagging conscience into an endless routine of dead works --- the joy of the Lord vanished. And they fell prey to the acme of futility: pointless, ceaseless, religious activity, all of which was powerless to affect their relationship to God.
What was true of them is true of you. Your relationship to God does not depend on what you do for God, but what God in Christ has done for you. He doesnt love you one whit more because you wear yourself to a nub serving Him. God loves you because God is love and it is the nature of love to be loving!
You do not make yourself any more acceptable to Him because you commit yourself to some high-powered program of Bible study, witnessing, or social action. You are acceptable to God because He sees you through Jesus. Jesus is perfect. Therefore, you are perfect from Godsperspective. You are acceptable to Him because when He looks at you all He sees is Jesus. The key word is "all." He doesnt see your sin. He sees Jesus. He doesnt see your frantic antics to make yourself more lovable and acceptable. He sees Jesus. Thats all He sees, but thats enough! "For by grace [Gods Riches At Christs Expense] you have been saved through faith [plus nothing]; and that not of yourselves [not your own doing], it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9). Once this truth hits home, you will be free. You will realize the utter futility of ceaseless activity aimed, even subconsciously, at improving your relationship to God.
The Adequacy of Reality
In contrast to the futility of activity as a means of salvation, the writer of Hebrews focuses our
attention on the adequacy of reality. "But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good
things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands,
that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves but through His
own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the
blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify
for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal
Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve
the living God?" (9:11-14).
When our author refers to Christ as "a high priest of the good things to come" (9:11), he introduces us to the adequacy of reality. (Although the New American Standard Bible shows this as "to come," they footnote that some ancient manuscripts read, "that have come.") This is not something which will happen to you some day in the sweet by-and-by. Jesus is whats happening! His ministry on your behalf is related to the everyday needs of now. He is the "high priest of the good things to [that have] come" (9:11).
Among these contemporary "good things" is the knowledge that "the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7b). The real futility of pointless religious activity is that it cannot solve your problem. It cannot touch the inner person. It can only give you a surface glaze which may dazzle others as they see you rush through your days, but which leaves you empty.
God wants to work and dwell in you at the deepest level. In that "holy of holies" which is your own spirit. Figure 1 illustrates my meaning. Your body is symbolized by the outer court. Yoursoul by the holy place. Your spirit by the Holy of Holies. It is there, and only there, you can really commune with God. Jesus said, "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:24). But the problem lay in the fact that the very place God wanted to work and dwell in, was inaccessible to Him.
Figure 3 illustrates mans state before and after the fall (Genesis 1-- 3). Man, as originally designed, was linked to the triune God by a spiritual hot line through which Gods Holy Spirit indwelt mans human spirit and communicated with him. When ego exerted itself, sin resulted and the linkage between God and man was broken.
Until Jesus came and offered Himself "without blemish to God" (9:14), all people were "dead in [their] trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1). There was no way God could work and dwell with the human race at the deepest level. He had to limit Himself to surface solutions. But when Jesus came and, through His cross, opened a way into this area (figure 4), it was possible, for thefirst time since the fall, for man to be spiritually alive.
Gods Holy Spirit dwelt in the human spirit again. Born-again people became complete human beings as their spirit began to function. Alive in the truest sense. Functioning as God intended man to function. All of this, our writer says, is accomplished "by the blood of Christ" (9:14).
What is it about Christs blood which makes it unique? To answer that question, we examine figure 3 again. As God first made him, man was a tripartite being consisting of body, soul and spirit. At the control center, or, to continue our present figure of speech, the throne room, humanities "holy of holies, dwelt Gods own Holy Spirit. (Note circle to lower left in figure 3.) With Gods Spirit feeding and fortifying mans spirit, Adam was truly alive. When Adam sinned, he died spiritually. (Note circle to lower right in figure 3.) Gods Holy Spirit left him. (Coincidentally, Adam later died physically as an after-effect of his earlier spiritual death.) The reason Adam could die because of sin was that, prior to his rebellion against God, he was truly alive! He was filled with the Holy Spirit. Those of us who have come after Adam have notbeen alive spiritually, until Jesus moves in to give us life. Being sons of Adam, at birth we inherit Adam's spiritually dead condition. But, Jesus was not a son of Adam, He was the Son of God. Jesus has been called the "second Adam" because He was patterned after the first Adambefore the fall (figure 5).
Jesus could die for sin and His blood could atone for sin because Jesus was the only man since Adam who was truly alive, that is, filled with the Holy Spirit from the moment of His physical birth and throughout His lifetime. That's what the Bible means when it says, "God (the Holy Spirit) was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself" (2 Corinthians 5:19).
In the strictest sense of the word, in all of history there have been only two deaths because of sin. Death occurred once in Adam because of his disobedience. It occurred a second time in Jesus because of His obedience unto death. Because Christs death was adequate, it will never be repeated. When you become a Christian, your spirit is quickened. The Holy Spirit of God occupies your "holy of holies." You are made alive. Truly alive. Everlastingly alive. Thats what Jesus meant when He said, "I came that they might have life" (John 10: l0b).
All this is accomplished through the blood of Christ. Theres nothing you can add to what Jesus has done to make it more complete. Tell yourself this long enough and loud enough until ithardens into a firm, life-directing, thought-controlling conviction. Then Satans effort at generating sub-Christian guilt because you arent doing enough to make yourself acceptable to God, will fail.
Your conscience will remain quiet because, when confronted with the blood of Christ, a nagging conscience has nothing to say! It is left speechless when you remind yourself the blood of Christ completely satisfies God as far as your perfection is concerned.
The heavenly Father does not accept you because you wear yourself to a frazzle in futile religious activity. God accepts you, because you are in Christ. When you grasp that wonderful truth, your service for Him will no longer be a duty. It will be pure delight. A way of saying: "Thank you, Jesus; thank you, thank you, thank you, Jesus!" And forgiveness will not be something you struggle to earn as a saved-sinner. Instead, it will be a blessing you joyfully receive, having been bought by the blood of the Lamb of God "which takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).
Do you understand? Please say, yes!
Joe Blinco, a gentle spiritual giant now gone to be with God, was often heard to say, "A thousand times Ive failed Christ. A thousand times Ive forfeited my right to heaven. A thousand times Ive marred the image of God in me. But ten thousand times ten thousand Christ has been ready, willing and able to forgive me. Cleanse me. Point me in the right direction again. And use me."Thats grace! The unmerited, undeserved, unearned goodness of God made possible through the blood of Jesus. Joe Blinco didnt focus on his failure, but upon Gods success!
Thats something all saved- sinners must learn to do. During the heat of temptation it helps to talk to Satan about the blood of Jesus. Such talk puts you on the offensive, and Satan on the defensive. The rest of the time you should remind yourself of the precious, healing stream which flows from Calvary. Repeatedly you should remind yourself of what Jesus has done.
What you say to yourself is important! If you believe the devils lies that youre worthless, hopeless and useless, you will be goaded by an uneasy conscience into trying to make yourself acceptable to God through "dead works " (9:14). If you remind yourself that the blood of Christ completely satisfies God as far as you are concerned, the pressure will be off for you to do anything to make yourself more safe and secure.
The burden of adequacy will no longer be on your back, because one day it was placed on His back in the form of a cross. What had to be done, Jesus did! Now, because He lives to make intercession for you, because Jesus is whats happening, He is doing, and will continue to do, what needs to be done in, to and through you. And that's awesome!
Notes
1. Barclay, Epistle to the Hebrews, p. 47.
2. Louis I. Talbot, Christ in the Tabernacle (Wheaton, IL: Van
Kampen Press, 1942).