Hebrews 10:11-18

And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.  But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.  For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.  And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord:

I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”  Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

This is a sort of summary of why the work of Christ is superior to the work that was accomplished through the sacrifices made by priests.  The religious rituals and Jewish traditions were ancient in comparison to Christianity.  The religious leaders of Judaism looked at Christianity as just some other cult but since the roots of Christianity were in Judaism they persecuted Christians like they crucified Christ.  The cost of following Christ was high.  The author of Hebrews is demonstrating that Christ was not only the fulfillment to Judaism but also far superior.  Due to persecution, some converted Jews were considering going back into Judaism to find relief.  The author of Hebrews is showing them and us why the work of Christ is superior.

THE WORK OF CHRIST IS FINISHED: While the priests had to continually offer sacrifices for sin, the work of Christ is complete with His one-time for all sacrifice.  The priest’s job was never done because there was no end to sinning and the sacrifices that were being made were animals.  Christ offered Himself as the perfect and sinless sacrifice and the job was finished.  Jesus is not up in haven offering sacrifices on our behalf.  He is sitting at the right hand of the Father.  He who bore our sin is in perfect fellowship with the Father.  He intercedes for us, and He waits for the time determined by the Father when all human and demonic rebellion will be squelched.  The point is that waiting is not working and all that is needed for our salvation has been accomplished.

THE WORK OF CHRIST IS FAITHFULNESS: Jesus did not only save us from our sins, but He sanctified us from our sins.  That means he has set us apart from our sin and set us free from our slavery to sin.  Jesus has given Himself that we might be transformed through His work.  The promise of the New Covenant is that the Law of God will be written upon our hearts.  He has perfected our standing before the Father and He is sanctifying us to that one day we will be without sin in His presence and know what it really means to be perfectly and eternally faithful.

THE WORD OF CHRIST IS FORGIVENESS: We are not forgiven because we manage to become perfect.  Our forgiveness was purchased through the finished work of Christ.  The promise of forgiveness is that God will remember our sins no more.  God is omniscient which means that He knows all things.  It is impossible for God to forget anything.  We often use the expression forgive and forget.  However, we will usually have a hard time forgetting a serious offense especially when it is recent.  I think a better expression would be to say, “forgive to forget.”  With time our hearts heal from those wounds.  However, this is not what happens with God’s forgiveness.  He simply promises to never remember our sins against us.  The condemnation of our sin has been cast away and our guilt will not be “thrown in our faces” because of the work of Christ.  We are forgiven.

APPLICATION: Rest in the truth that Jesus is waiting in heaven having accomplished all that is necessary for our salvation.  Jesus is perfecting us through the work of sanctification, but we are called to a life of faithfulness in our daily lives now.  Enjoy the forgiveness that we have in Christ and demonstrate our gratitude for it by forgiving those who sin against us.