Jesus Puts Away Sin
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[00:00:00] Nine. Hebrews chapter nine. We're gonna begin in verse 15, and we're gonna read to the end of the chapter. If you're able, please stand again. Hebrews chapter nine, verses 15 to the end of the chapter. Again, if you're able, please stand and hear this for what it is. Don't take it for granted. It is so easy to take this book for granted.
It is so readily available in so many forms. This is the words of God. These are the very words of the living God. There's only so many words in scripture, and yet these are the words that God saw fit to preserve for us, that we would have them for our entire lifespan upon this earth. So hear these for what they are, the living words of God Almighty.
For this reason, he, Jesus is the mediator of a new covenant, so that since a death has taken place. For the redemption of the transgressions [00:01:00] that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance for where a will is. There must have necessity be the death of the one who made it for a will is valid only when men are dead for it is never enforce while the one who made it lives.
Therefore, even the first covenant was not inaugurated without blood. For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats with water and scarlet wool and hiss and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people saying, this is the blood of the covenant, which God commands you.
And in the same way, he sprinkled both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry with the blood. And according to the law, almost all things are cleansed with blood and without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. Therefore, it was [00:02:00] necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these.
But the heavenly things themselves, with better sacrifices than these, for Christ, did not enter into a holy place, made with hands a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God for us. Nor was it that he would suffer often as the high priest, I'm sorry. Nor was it that he would offer himself often as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood that is not his own.
Otherwise, he would've needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world. But now, once at the end of the ages, he's been manifested, put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And in as much as it is appointed for men to die once and after this judgment. So Christ also having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without sin, so that those, [00:03:00] to those who eagerly await him, may God bless the hearing, the reading, but more importantly, obedience to his word.
Please be seated.
So a couple of weeks ago, we did the first half of Hebrews chapter nine, verses one to 14. Today we're gonna look at the second half. Uh, but it's interesting because the author really repeats himself in, in many ways. The second half of chapter nine is a slight expansion, but mostly a repetition. Of what he's already said in the first 14 verses, and we'll see that again in chapter 10.
There's even more repetition. So I just wanna remind you that both Peter and Paul felt that reminding Christians, reminding the sheep was important. So Peter writes in second Peter chapter one, verse 12, he writes these words, therefore, I will always be ready to [00:04:00] remind you of these things. I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them.
And Paul writes in several places and, and Peter writes this again as well, but in Philippians chapter three verse one, Paul writes, finally, my brethren rejoice in the Lord to write you the same things again, is no trouble to me. And it is a safeguard for you. So to be reminded of these things is good, and we need to be reminded.
We need to be reminded of all these things. Uh, number one, in your bulletin, uh, you have a couple of things. You have a sermon handout. There's fill in the blank. You also have another half sheet with some extra notes that I've supplied. We'll, we'll look at that in just a moment. Um, but number one on your sermon outline is Christ the mediator of a new covenant Christ.
The mediator of a new covenant. But because there's so much repetition, I thought that what I would do as we walk through these verses is I wanted to bring out certain key [00:05:00] concepts. So if you look on your bulletin handout with the extra notes, you'll see an outline of chapter nine, and you'll see the second half is bolded.
'cause that's what we're gonna look at today. But you'll also see a list of keywords. And I don't know if you've ever read a, uh, journal study or some books will do this, but oftentimes you're supposed to supply keywords at the beginning of the study. And these are the keywords that you wanna, uh, pay attention to, pardon the pun, but key in on as you're going through the passage.
So I'm not gonna read these keywords to you, you've got 'em in front of you. I will read them as they come up in the text, but the reason I'm not gonna read them is kids on your outline. I've got a list of those key words and you have to complete them. You have to fill in the blank. So what I want you to do is I don't want you to look at the bulletin.
I don't want you to fill 'em in. Now. I want you to listen, and as these key words come up in the sermon kids, then I want you to fill 'em in. All right? Um, so let's start in verse 15 for this reason. [00:06:00] And for this reason refers to the beginning of chapter nine. It begins to the entirety of the book of Hebrews, basically what the author is saying because of the superior work of Christ.
Because I've been comparing the work of Christ to the work of the Levitical priesthood. I've been comparing the work of Christ to the work of the Old Testament high, high priest, and the work of Christ far surpasses what these men and this man could ever have done. For this reason, he, Jesus is the mediator of a new covenant,
so that those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. Now, if you're following along, you will note that I skipped a whole sentence of words there. And the reason I skipped it is because I want you to get used to following the author's argument. And what the author does here is he starts with Jesus being a, a [00:07:00] mediator of a new covenant.
And the purpose for that is found at the end of the verse so that those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. And what we find in the middle is not necessarily parenthetical, but it's an added explanation. So keep that purpose in mind as we're reading now, let's look at the entire verse.
For this reason, he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that since the 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. And if you are paying attention to the key words, you will note that four of them are found in this verse.
The first key word, and these are words or phrases. The first key word is mediator. And we need to understand that a mediator is a go-between. We've talked about this a little bit, but a mediator is a go-between. A mediator is to bring two parties together. It is to reconcile either parties or persons. And we read in Galatians chapter three, [00:08:00] the 20th verse.
Now, a mediator is not for one party only, where God is only one party. If you remember the context, Paul is comparing God's covenant with Moses and God's covenant with Abraham, and he was showing the superiority of Abraham's covenant because God went directly to Abraham. And yet with Moses, he used a mediator.
And in one Timothy two, five, we see who the parties are in one Timothy two, five, for there's one God and one mediator between God and men. The man Jesus Christ, Jesus is our mediator. We began today's service with a call to worship. And in that call to worship, I reminded you and I exhorted you as scripture exhorts us to draw near with confidence, draw near to the throne of grace.
And when we put those words together with everything we've been reading in the book of Hebrews, it's basically enter the holy of Holies. Enter the Holy of Holies before the [00:09:00] throne of grace with confidence. Something the Old Testament preach could only do once a year, but Christ has opened it and you were to come before the throne of God with confidence.
And so we are to approach boldly, we are to approach with confidence, but I think that sometimes the church takes this too far. And you have churches doing all kinds of odd things in worship services, and it trickles down to evangelicals. And as evangelicals, we often forget that the only reason I can approach the throne of grace, the only reason that I have this relationship with God is because of the work of Christ Jesus.
But sometimes I forget that, and sometimes I treat God as if he were just a friend. Sometimes I treat, and I'm not saying he's not a friend, but he's much more. But sometimes I treat God as a friend that I can ignore because I'll pick it back up on Sunday morning. Sometimes we approach the throne of grace without humility, and I [00:10:00] just wanna remind you, and this is why, this is one of the key words that I wanted to point out.
We need a mediator, and if it wasn't for Christ Jesus, we could not approach God. If it wasn't for Christ Jesus, we would be consumed in his wrath. We need a mediator. We need a go between, and we need to remember that, you know, the Bible teaches us to pray in the name of Christ and, and what we've done, and there's nothing wrong with it.
I do it all the time. I do it from upfront, but typically we will end our prayers in Christ's name. Nowhere are we commanded to end our prayers that way. It's a habit that we've gotten into. Again, nothing wrong with it, but it's, it's more of a reminder to ourselves. I'm praying because I have a mediator.
I'm praying because Jesus Christ has opened up the way to heaven. I'm praying because Jesus Christ has made it possible for me to pray directly to the Father in his name through the power of the Holy Spirit. And so we remind ourselves as we pray, and we end it [00:11:00] in the name of Christ Jesus. But that's the first key word, mediator.
The second key word that I wanna hone in on is new. For this reason, he is the mediator of a new covenant. And I just wanna remind us, because sometimes I feel like evangelicals in the church will take this concept new. They'll either take it too far or not far enough. Okay? We, Jesus Christ, initiated the new covenant and some evangelicals will take that too far.
And what they do is they will disregard all continuity. They will treat this new covenant as if it's a fresh start over, and everything that the Old Testament talked about really doesn't apply to us unless the New Testament tells us it does. We just kinda automatically discount it because we're in the new covenant.
It's not what the new means in that phrase. It means new in quality. It means new in the sense that it's superior, but it doesn't do away. With the concept of continuity and [00:12:00] discontinuity that we've talked about before, there is much continuity. Things do not disappear from the Old Testament without discussion in the new.
Yes, there is an immeasurable difference between God's covenant with Christ in all the previous covenants, but never forget that all the previous covenants. Looked forward to Christ. All the previous covenants shadowed and pictured and typified the coming of Christ. And in one sense, we had many new covenants and we've studied that God entered into covenant with Adam.
Adam sinned, God reentered into covenant. And then God renewed that covenant with Noah and he expanded it. And he gave us more knowledge. And then God enters into covenant with Abraham and he expands those previous covenants and he gives us more knowledge. And he renewed that covenant [00:13:00] with Isaac and Jacob.
And then God enters into covenant with Moses and it's renewed even more, and again with David and it's renewed even more. And ultimately with Christ, which is superior and far surpasses all the old covenants. So we call it new, but you see there is a strand in the church. That thinks that someday we will go back to the old, there's a strand in the church that thinks that someday a brand new temple is gonna be built and this temple is gonna be built and we're actually gonna go to this temple and we're gonna again start offering animal sacrifices.
I know that's popular and I know I've probably stepped on some toes. But you cannot read the book of Hebrews. You cannot understand what the book of Hebrews is telling us about the superior superiority of the new covenant and think we could ever go back to the old, even the outward manifestations. So often we take this word too far.
Often we don't [00:14:00] take it far enough. He's the mediator of a new covenant.
So that since the death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, and that's our third, uh, key phrase under the first, and there's a special sense in which Jesus died for, for everyone that Jesus went to the cross for, he died for all of their sins.
Whoever Jesus died for, he took all of their sins to the cross and he paid the price and they have been removed. However, and Paul brings this out in Romans, and the writer of Hebrews brings it out here. There's a special sense in which Jesus went to the cross to die for the sins of his old covenant people.
And the reason that the author points this out, and I'm gonna read, uh, Romans chapter three here in just a minute, is because none of the sins from the time of Adam until the death of Jesus Christ, none of those sins were actually ever forgiven. [00:15:00] They were overlooked. Knowing that Jesus was coming, they were overlooked knowing that these people's names were written in the Book of life since the foundation of the world, but they were awaiting Jesus.
And so when you put all of scripture together, what you find out is when Old Testament Saints died, they didn't go to heaven, they went to a place called Shield. And it appears when again, you put scripture together, that shield had two compartments, so to speak. One was paradise. Believers would go to paradise and they would have a conscious existence, but they were not in the presence of God.
And unbelievers would go to Hades and they would be separated from God. And one of the things that Jesus did when he died on the cross is he went to shill, he went to Paradise, and he took all those Old Testament saints to heaven into the very presence of God Almighty. So there was a special sense.
Jesus died for the [00:16:00] sins of the old covenant. Listen to the words of Romans chapter three, beginning in verse 23, and you're all very familiar with the verse 23, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And what Paul is talking about here, because he set up the whole context in chapters one and two, he's talking about all sin.
He's talking about all people he's talking. There is no exception. The only exception to this rule is Jesus, but all have sinned. Enoch sinned. Though God took him because he was righteous, he still sinned and the blood of Jesus covered his sin. Daniel sinned and Daniel is one of those old Testament saints.
When you read his book, you never read of his sin, but he sinned and he needed a savior for all. Have sinned and fall short of the glory of God being justified as a gift. By his grace through the redemption, which is in Christ Jesus. You'll notice a lot of similar words. The the writer of Hebrew uses this word redemption.
Paul uses this word redemption, and redemption means to be purchased. [00:17:00] And I've reminded you of this, but I wanna remind you again, you have been purchased. Think about that. You are owned by Jesus Christ, and yet we continue to ask silly questions. Could I fall away? Not if he purchased you, not if he bought you, not if he paid for you.
He owns you. You have been redeemed. You have been purchased, bought out of the slave market of sin. Through his grace. We have been. Justified as a gift. This is back in Roman, still by his grace through the redemption, which is in Christ Jesus, whom God displayed as a propitiation in his blood through faith.
We've read that word in the book of Hebrews and we've seen that Jesus is the mercy seat. Jesus is the the lid of the ark. The ark of the covenant. Jesus is the mercy seat. Jesus is where the blood is spilled. Jesus is where God's anger and wrath is pacified. Jesus is where sin is [00:18:00] aone for and covered and removed.
That was the crucifixion. And why did all of this happen? According to Paul, this was to demonstrate the righteousness of God because in the forbearance of God, he passed over the sins. Previously committed exactly what our author is referring to. Jesus died for the sins committed under the old covenant because there was a sense in which they were never truly forgiven until the coming of Christ Jesus.
So that, that was the third key phrase. The fourth key phrase is the word called He did all this so that those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. And the Bible uses this word called in two different senses, and we need to make sense of it so that we understand the Bible as we read it.
So the Bible uses this word, word called in two different [00:19:00] ways. It distinguishes a meaning. One is the external call, okay? And the external call is simply the preaching of the gospel. So the great commission in Matthew 28, 28 go out and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them, proclaiming the gospel.
That's the outward call, and not everyone responds to it. Okay. The outward call is found in Second Corinthians, chapter five, where Paul says, we persuade men. We reason with them, especially with family members. I'm sure you've done that. You've probably spent hours sharing your faith with family members and you're, you're trying to persuade them.
You're making an appeal. Paul uses that word, and Paul even uses the word beg. We beg unbelievers be reconciled with Christ. That's the outward call, but there's also an inward call, an effective call, and this is the call where the Holy Spirit changes the heart, where the Holy Spirit creates new life in us, where he grants the gifts of faith and repentance, and [00:20:00] we respond to the gospel.
And we read about this internal call in Romans chapter eight, and it is a verse we've looked at before. So I'm simply gonna read it and make a really few quick comments, but in Romans chapter eight, verse 29. For those whom he for knew. He also predestined to become conformed to the image of his son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brethren and those whom he predestined, he also called, and those whom he called, he also justified and those whom he justified.
He also glorified theologians will refer to this passage as the golden chain of redemption. And the reason they call it the golden chain of redemption is the grammar is very clear. It cannot be broken. If you are fore known, and literally the word comes from the root and literally it means for loved. If God loved you before an eternity past, like Ephesians chapter one says, before the creation of the world, if God loved you, then you have been predestined to become conformed to the image of his son.[00:21:00]
And if you have been predestined, there's no interruption. You will be called. And if you're called, you will be justified. And if you are justified, you will be glorified. So there are two senses of a biblical calling. It's simply the outward proclamation of the gospel, but it is also that inward transformation of a life.
And then the very last words of verse 15. So that those who've been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. And this idea of eternal inheritance, I think sparked in the, the mind of the author is, uh, verses 16 and 17, I think are best understood as app parentheses. And what the author does here is he's gonna continue to use the Greek word for covenant.
And if you're curious, the Greek word for covenant is the. It's used throughout the Old Testament translation, the Sagent, and it's used throughout the New Testament, but it has more than one meaning. And he's gonna shift meaning here. And [00:22:00] we know this, uh, because of the context. And what he's gonna do is he's simply gonna give us an illustration.
But I wanna, before we look at this, I just wanna remind you, we read James at the very beginning of our service, and most of you didn't catch it because you can't catch it in English. But James does the exact same thing. That the writer of Hebrews is doing here, and so I wanted to have it read at the beginning, so let me just reread a portion of it.
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, that's verse two of chapter one, verse 12. Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial for once he has been approved. Once he's been tested, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love him. But then we keep reading in James and we get to verse 13, and we read these words, let no one say when he is tempted, I'm being tempted by God.
For God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed in his own lust. And believe it or [00:23:00] not, in the Greek text, trial and tempted are the same word. Now, if you've got a Bible program and you're gonna look 'em up, they're gonna look slightly different because one's a verb, one's a noun, but they both come from the same root.
But based on context, one way to understand it is testing and when the context shifts, another way to understand it is temptation. Same thing that happens here. So listen back in Hebrews chapter nine. And again, this is an illustration and here's the point of the illustration. And I think there's more to this illustration.
I just don't think figured it out. But I really think there's something deeper, something more profound about this illustration. At the very least. At at the very least, basically, what he's trying to illustrate is even human death produces change. If human death can produce change, if human death can produce blessing, then most surely from the lesser to the [00:24:00] greater, the death of Jesus Christ is going to produce death, uh, blessing and change.
Chapter nine, verse 16. For where a will is, a will or a testament, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it for a will. A last will and testament is only enforced when men are dead, for it is never enforced while the one who made it lives again, his point. And this is number five. This is my, uh, fifth key phrase or key word, and that's will.
The point here is simply he's using a human example. If human death can produce something different, if human death can produce a blessing, an inheritance, how much more will the death of Christ produce something greater? Look at verse 18. Therefore, he's returning to his thought of verse 15. Therefore, even the first covenant was not inaugurated without blood.
For when every [00:25:00] commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats with water and scarlet wool and hiss and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people saying, this is the blood of the covenant, which God commanded you. And I just wanna mention, or the key word here is blood.
Every redemptive covenant. In fact, I would argue I don't have the time. I would argue every covenant in scripture. Tied to death, which I think is why he used the example of a last will and testament. Every covenant in scripture is tied to death. In fact, I would highly recommend it's a book. The title of the book is The Christ of the Covenants, the Christ of the Covenants.
It's written by a man. His name is O Palmer Robertson. And if you're interested in studying this covenant ideology in more detail, it is a great book. But listen to how he defines all covenants in scripture. A bond in blood. Sovereignly [00:26:00] administered a bond in blood sovereignly administered, and now he, I take back what I just said, he's focusing more on redemptive covenants, but I would argue every covenant has that element in it.
Every covenant has either a, a picture of blood, a sacrifice, or the promise, or a picture of death. So for instance, when God entered into covenant with Adam, he sacrificed animals and he clothed them. When God entered into covenant with Noah, Noah came outta the ark and he offered to clean animals and God put a rainbow in the the sky.
And what is that rainbow? And we've looked at it before. It's a war bow. It's not the word for rainbow. It's a war bowl. It's a warrior's bow, and who's it pointing at God, because God was gonna take on all the requirements of the covenant at the cost of death. When God entered into covenant with Abraham, the animals were sliced into, and God showed himself in the vision of a, a burning oven, and he passed through.
The [00:27:00] parts, again, taking on all the conditions of the covenant up to death. When God entered into covenant with Moses, Moses sacrificed animals and sprinkled things with blood. When God entered into covenant with David and a lot of us think, oh, there's no blood there, yeah, there was, there was the promise of the coming seeds death, and we've looked at that before, so I don't have time to unpack it today, but.
The coming seed was going to be punished for sin, and that's what Jesus did. He was punished for sin on the cross, and the punishment of sin is death. Covenants are always inaugurated with blood. Verse 21. In the same way Moses sprinkled both the tabernacle and the vessels of the ministry with blood. And then we get the, the key idea here.
According to the law, almost all things are cleansed with blood and without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. And that's my seventh key phrase, forgiveness. Forgiveness only comes about with the shedding of blood. [00:28:00] Why? Because what is the penalty of sin? Death and death is the end of human life.
Forgiveness can only come about with blood. And blood throughout the Bible is tied to life. So for instance, in Leviticus 17, the 14th verse, for As for the life of all flesh, its blood is identified with its life. Therefore, I said to the sons of Israel, you shall not eat the blood of any flesh for the life of all fleshes in its blood.
Whoever eats it shall be cut off. And so the principle that we see in the law. His blood sacrifice on the great day of atonement, five different animals to picture the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ at the Passover. An innocent lamb to illustrate the sacrifice of the innocent lamb. So forgiveness is only purchased through blood, and we need to remember that.
We need to remember that as much as we need to remember that we need a mediator. Because not only does [00:29:00] Jesus stand in between for us, but he offered his own blood, and I just want you to think about that. I know you believe it, but we don't always meditate upon it. Jesus gave his life for you. There is a biblical self-esteem.
You'll read self-esteem books and the world takes it way too far. But do you realize how valuable you are? That the God of the universe would utterly humiliate himself and become flesh. And then he would go to the cross and he would be tortured by the very creatures he maintains their life, and he would go to that cross with your name on his heart, your name on his mind.
And he would stretch out his arms and he would allow his creatures to nail him to that cross, and he would experience the wrath of God. For [00:30:00] you and me, it's easy to say. It's easy to talk about, but do you remember it? In your day-to-day living, does it affect your desires? Does it affect how you live? Does it affect what you watch on tv?
What you look at on the internet, how you treat your wife or your husband, how you love your children, how you work at work?
Forgiveness is purchased through the blood. Of a precious, spotless, sinless, more valuable than words can describe Lamb. Whose name was Christ Jesus the Messiah. So number seven is forgiveness. Number two on your sermon outline, Christ a better sacrifice. Christ a better sacrifice. In verse 23. Therefore it was necessary for [00:31:00] the copies of the things in heaven to be cleansed with these.
And I wanna note out, 'cause something I'm gonna point out in a minute. It was necessary for the copies of the things in heaven to be cleansed by these plural. And he's referring to all the priestly functions. And then he goes on. But the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. And my, my next key phrase, or my next key thought is sacrifices.
And I just wanna point out, and maybe you noticed it, maybe you didn't, is it's plural and it might trip you up because there was only one sacrifice. It was the death of Jesus on the cross. And the author makes it very clear as he goes on in multiple places, one time only. Once for all, never to be repeated.
And yet here he uses the plural. And I'm just gonna let you know, I don't wanna spend a lot of time here, but. It just has to do with Greek grammar, and it's just a correspondence. He spoke in the plural earlier. He speaks in the plural here because he's making a comparison to what the old covenant priests did and [00:32:00] what Jesus did, and Jesus', one sacrifice basically took all those other sacrifices that pictured him and he accomplished it in one fell swoop.
Verse 24. For Christ did not enter a holy place, made with hands a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God for us. Nor was it that he would suffer. Often there's that recurring phrase. Jesus' sacrifice was not repeated, nor was it that he would offer himself often as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood.
That is not his own. Verse 26. Otherwise. He would've needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world, but now at the consummation, as some translators do it, or now at the end of the ages, he has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And in this verse, we get key phrases nine and 10.
And the [00:33:00] first one that we need to understand because we need to understand biblical language, is what does it mean that we have come to the end of the ages? And again, that's what this word means, consummation or end. Uh, Matthew uses this word multiple times, the exact same wording in the Greek, the end of the age.
You see the author of Hebrews and the book begins this way in the second verse of the entire book. He says, in these last days, God has spoken to us via his son. We. We, I don't believe we're living in the last days, but the author of Hebrews believed he was living in the last days, and now he says at the end of the ages.
So again, something is happening and, and what I would argue and what I've argued in the past, so this is kind of a culmination of what I've said before. So if this is new to you, you can go back and listen to some other sermons. But the idea here is when Jesus died on the cross, when he was buried, when he rose from the [00:34:00] dead and ascended into heaven, the old world ended because the old covenant was seen as an old age and the new world started.
It and it's what theologians talk about the now and the not yet. There's a now to that reality and a not yet. Yes. I think there's still a consummation. Yes. I think that when Jesus comes back, new things are gonna happen. But I've said this before and I'll say it again. We are in the new heavens and the new Earth, and the church is losing because we don't believe that.
So we continue to lose. In the political realm, we continue to lose in the social realm. We continue to lose in the realm of the family because we don't believe that all things are new, just as you are a new creation. So God has created a new world that we're living in and it's meant to be understood.
Covenantal, we like to refer to Isaiah and Isaiah often, no, not often. Actually, only twice. And Isaiah 65 and [00:35:00] 66, he speaks of the new heavens and the new earth. I want you to listen to this passage because oftentimes when we read that, or when we use that expression, 'cause Peter uses it too, we think of the consummate state.
We think of the return of Jesus Christ in glory. That is not what Isaiah is talking about. Listen to his words. Isaiah chapter 65, beginning in 17. For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth. Then the next two passages he talks about, these have been created for rejoicing, but now beginning in verse 20, listen to how Isaiah describes the new heavens and the new Earth.
No longer will they be in it, an infant who lives, but a few days in the new heavens and new earth, according to Isaiah, there will be infants. And yet Jesus makes very clear in heaven there's no marriage. Ergo no infants. But Isaiah says, no longer will there be in an infant who lives, but a few days, or [00:36:00] an old man who does not live out his days for the youth will die at the age of 100.
If you die at the age of 100, you're considered a youth. There's death in the new heavens and new earth. According to Isaiah, life is extended because we now have spiritual life in Christ Jesus, and I do believe things will improve. I do. For the youth will die at the age of 100. The one who does not reach the age of a hundred will be thought a cursed.
They will build houses and inhabit them. They will plant vineyards and eat of their fruit. We're still gonna build homes, we're still gonna do gardening. That is Isaiah's description of this new heaven and new earth. It is in Christ Jesus. All things are new. You are a new creation, and we live in a new world because we're under the new covenant.
So number nine is consummation. And then number 10, and we can do this quickly 'cause we looked at it a couple of weeks ago. But the purpose for his coming, the purpose for his manifestation was to put away sin and kids. There's a question on your [00:37:00] handout. What does it mean that Jesus put away sin? And the answer is simple.
He removed it, he removes sin, he takes it out of the way. And as I said a couple of weeks ago, and we'll get into it a little further, those for whom Jesus died. Your sin is gone. There are times in the past at communion and sometimes even at the confession of sin that I would pray a prayer similar to this, thank you Lord, that all of my sins are forgiven, past, present, and future.
And it actually offended some folks, and I had people come up to me about, how do you know if your future sins are forgiven? Well, because all my sins were future when Jesus died. I know my future sins are forgiven. If I am in Christ. What did Jesus do? He put away my sin. He took it out of the way. He paid the price for it.
It is gone. That should not lead to arrogance. That should not lead to a lifestyle of sin and overconfidence, but it should lead to humility and thanksgiving, [00:38:00] and a desire to worship and please and serve God Almighty.
Putting away of sin is the removal of sin. Verse 27, in as much as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment. And that is my 11th key phrase, judgment. And I just wanna say something really simple, and this has more to do with apologetics, but there are certain faiths out there that think, uh, in one sense or another, that we get a second chance after death.
And that's not what this passage says. First comes death. Then immediately after is judgment. And yet the Mormon cult, 'cause I believe it's a cult, Mormons, teach that when you die, you get a second chance. Those that didn't hear the gospel will get a chance to hear the gospel. You get a second chance.
Catholicism teaches the doctrine of purgatory where somehow your sins that weren't forgiven in this life can be worked off in the next, well, according to this verse, there are no second chances. [00:39:00] Another practical application that I won't spend a lot of time on, but ghosts, there's all these specials on ghosts, and you hear ghost, or there is no such thing as a ghost.
By definition, a ghost is a departed human spirit that's haunting or wandering. No human spirit is on earth, haunting or wandering because every human spirit that has died has faced judgment. Some to glory, some to hell. Now, do I believe in spirits? Yeah, they're called demons. But guess what? If you're a Christian, they can't hurt you.
Verse 28. So Christ also having been offered once to bear the sins of many will appear a second time for salvation without sin to those who eagerly await him. And here we find numbers 12 and 13 in terms of keywords. And number 12 is a tough one for many. And number 12 brings us [00:40:00] back to what we spoke of several weeks ago, but it says that Jesus came to bear the sins of many.
It doesn't say all. And it would be very odd if Jesus died on the cross for every single man, woman, and child. Why would you use the word many if I told you that after service, many of us are gonna go camp out. Would you at all interpret that as if everyone is going? No. Not if you understand the human language.
Many does not mean everyone. And yet the author here says that Jesus bore the sins of many and to bear literally means to take up and remove. Jesus took up and removed the sin of many. Listen to the words of Matthew 26. And we're gonna read this again during communion because this is Jesus initiation of the Last Supper or, or the Lord's supper.
Matthew 26, verse 28. For this is My Blood of the Covenant, which is poured out for many for the [00:41:00] forgiveness of sins. And you'll recall that several weeks ago we asked the question, in what sense is the atonement limited? Because regardless of what you believe, it's limited. In some sense, it's either limited in extent, which is the view we take, that Christ went to the cross for the elect only, or it's limited in effect that Jesus went to the cross and he died for all people, but he no one's forgiven.
Jesus made salvation only possible, and somehow our faith triggers the work of Almighty God instead of being a gift, instead of being part of the package. The author of Hebrews is very clear and it lines up with everything else he has said. Jesus bore the sins of many and yet there will be a second time when Jesus comes for salvation.
And this is very important because he's gonna come to for salvation without reference to sin for those who eagerly await him. And this is another thing, and this is number 13. [00:42:00] And the key phrase is eagerly await. And we've seen this throughout the book. What we've seen throughout the book is the sovereignty of God in salvation, the completeness of the work in Jesus Christ, in securing our salvation.
We've had a reason to reference the book of Isaiah, where over and over again, God says, I am Savior. There is no other. I am Yahweh, which means God saves. There is no other and he is not a potential savior. He's not a possible savior. He is Savior, and he does all the work. Ephesians chapter one, the first 14 verses all the work, the book of Hebrews, all the work God does, but there's also human responsibility and both are presented in scripture.
So what does the writer of Hebrews says there? All of this is done for those who eagerly await him. And so I ask you this question, do you eagerly. Await God. Do you eagerly await the coming of Christ? And this is an odd [00:43:00] question, but I'm gonna ask it anyway. Is there any sense that you look forward to death?
Not in a weird way. Not in a way that I wanna rush it, but think about a funeral and as a minister of funerals are not my favorite thing to do, but think about a funeral for a believer. And we go to a funeral for a believer and we mourn and we're sad and it's okay and it's good, and we're supposed to mourn.
We're supposed to mourn in a godly way, but the person in the coffin is not mourning. If the person in the coffin is a believer, he or she is having the best day of their life, do you eagerly await him? I'll never forget this, and it's not just me because I've talked to multiple young couples that have said the same thing.
When Stacey and I were about to be married and we believed the eschatology of the day, we believed that the rapture could come any minute. And I remember praying, [00:44:00] God don't rapture me before I'm married. What a stupid prayer. Take me home. Do you eagerly? Await him. Do you eagerly look forward to him? And if you eagerly await his coming, do you eagerly spend time in the scriptures on a daily basis?
Because that's how we meet with him. Now you see there's a human responsibility. We've looked at 13 key words. We need a mediator. We have a new covenant sins under the first covenant were paid for. We've been called in the sense that the Holy Spirit has changed our life. The covenant of salvation. The covenant of redemption is similar to a last will and testament Blood is necessary for forgiveness.
Jesus sacrifice took what all the Old Testament sacrifices couldn't do, brought 'em together and accomplished it. The writer of this book was living at the [00:45:00] end of the age. We are living in a new world. Sin has been put away. At death comes judgment. Jesus died on the cross for many, for his people, and we must eagerly await him.
You don't have to do this, I'm not this, but if you want to just close your eyes, maybe you wanna bow your head. I just wanna read a passage to you and then we're gonna pray and it's Romans chapter eight, verse 32 through 34. God. Who did not spare his own son, but delivered him over as our substitute, and that's what the words mean.
How will he not also freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies. God is Savior. God is the one that does it all. He is the one who justifies. Who is the one who condemns [00:46:00] Christ? Jesus is he who died? Yes. Rather, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God demonstrating the completion of his work and who intercedes for us.
Jesus has done all the work and he bids us. Come his sheep, hear his voice and his sheep obey. Let's pray. Father in heaven, thank you for these words. Thank you for the repetition that we find in scripture because Father, you call us sheep for a reason. We are slow and we are prone to wander. So thank you, Lord, that your word is full of reminders because we need to be reminded.
Father, help us remember these things. Help us meditate upon these 13 truths today. Help us talk about them at lunch. Help us discuss them. Help us be challenged by them. Help us ask questions. Help us reach out to the church. Let iron sharpen iron. But Jesus, thank you that you are [00:47:00] the complete savior. And though you're ascended, though you sit at the right hand of your father, you did not leave us alone, but you poured out your spirit and your spirit indwells us and he continues to sanctify us.
He continues to challenge us. We continue to grow because we possess him. Father, we are owned by him. We are sealed by him, and we are protected by him. Thank you. It would be hard to make a list of everything your death, burial, and resurrection accomplished. Thank you.
Thank you, and all of God's people said amen.
