Hebrews 10:8-10 Above when He {Jesus} said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin Thou {God the Father} wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; 9 Then said He {Jesus}, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He {God the Father} taketh away the first, that He {God the Father} may establish the second. 10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

As we have come through the Book of Hebrews, we have seen the New Covenant that Jesus brought in, and have seen how it replaced the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant had animal sacrifices and ceremonies that were supposed to appease God. In verse 8 we see a conversation between the Son of God and God the Father. We can determine who is speaking in the text based on the context. In verse 8 we read:

Hebrews 10:8 ABOVE when He {Jesus} said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin Thou wouldest not …

The word ABOVE tells us to look at the previous text. In verse 5 we read:

Hebrews 10:5-6 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: 6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.

Who is the One that “COMETH INTO THE WORLD”? Who is it Who had “A BODY PREPARED FOR ME”? It is Jesus. The Bible says:

1 Timothy 1:15 Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners …

Mark 10:45 … even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

And again in John 6:38-39 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.

Jesus specifically came into the world because animal sacrifices and feasts and circumcisions did not satisfy God, for these things did absolutely nothing … NOTHING to bring a person closer to God. So God Himself made Jesus a body (vs 5 a body hast thou prepared me).

God Was Never Pleased With “Looks Like” Religion

The reason God sent Jesus into the world – the reason He was “born of a virgin” (Luke 1:26-38; Matthew 1:18-25; Isaiah 7:14), is because God cares nothing for “looks like” religion. The first animal sacrifices were made in the Garden of Eden, when God covered the nakedness and sin of Adam and Eve with the fur of the innocent animal. But God never was pleased with animal sacrifices. He said in through the Prophet:

Isaiah 1:11 (ESV) “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats.

The purpose of the animal sacrifices is to show us that we cannot work our way to God. I cannot stress this enough. You say to me, “But Pastor, we don’t have animal sacrifices today”. Don’t you?

Our Sacrificial Animals: When I first came to this Church, I called every name on the Church roll to see if I could get them back to the Church. One man I called said, “Well, I don’t go to Church anymore.” I then asked if I could have his name removed from the roll. His response: “Oh no! Keep it on the roll. My mamma would roll over in her grave if she knew I had my name removed from the Church roll”. The Church roll, to many, is much like an animal sacrifice. They have the idea that Jesus cares about the Church roll. No, He doesn’t. The Bible says what brings you into the Church is the Holy Spirit of God. Don’t believe me. Read this:

1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 27 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. 14 For the body is not one member, but many. 18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. 27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.

Church membership was not even a thing in the early Church. If you were saved by faith in Christ, you were a member of the Church. Membership rolls were not kept because to do so would be a death sentence! Christians were persecuted, and did not advertise where they met.

God wants you on the roll of the Book of Life. He wants you in a living, loving relationship with Jesus. He will not judge you based on whether you are on a human roll – but on the Roll up Yonder!

Other Animal Sacrifices: Baptism is a wonderful time in a Christian’s life, when you act obediently and do what Jesus said, publicly proclaiming your faith. But water baptism has become an animal sacrifice in many churches. Here’s the thing: is the person who was BAPTIZED now LIVING FOR JESUS. If so, praise God. But if the person baptized is THE SAME PERSON LIVING FOR THEMSELVES, then God is not pleased with the baptism.

When John the Baptist saw the Pharisees coming to his baptism in the wilderness, John didn’t welcome them in order to get more nickles and noses in the crowd. He publicly said:

Luke 3:7-9 … O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. 9 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Now John preached in the transition between Old and New Covenants, but he spoke the truth. God is NEVER satisfied with the symbolic, the looks like, the pretend. God is calling a people to Himself that will love Jesus, love one another, and follow His commandments without debate.

God was never satisfied with just Israel, circumcision, and the symbolic feasts. The Old Covenant was ritualistic, closed, locked down. The New Covenant is life altering.

The Christian Is SANCTIFIED By The Body Of Jesus – Not By The Denomination He Attends

Hebrews 10:9-10 Then said {Jesus}, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first {Covenant}, that he may establish the second {Covenant}. 10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Word Study: Jesus came to this earth to set apart a people for God. The offering of the “BODY OF JESUS CHRIST” on the Cross of Calvary “sanctified” us. That is, once we receive what Jesus did for us by faith, believing on Him, God “SANCTIFIED” us. This is the Greek hagiazō which means “to be separated from the profane and the dark, and be dedicated to the service of God”. You are no longer what you were. You now belong to God. You are “SANCTIFIED” because you have believed on Christ. The Holy Spirit has come to you, and you are changed – internally – from what you were to now a Child of God.

Just as God is holy, we are holy. We do not chase after the darkness, because God has changed our perspective. We have …

Acts 26:18 (AP) … our eyes OPENED, we are turned FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT, from the POWER OF SATAN TOWARD THE POWER OF GOD. Our sins are forgiven, and we have an inheritance among all who are SANCTIFIED by faith in Christ …

We are not saved by calves, nor are we saved by golden calves. Some say “Unless you are a member of our Church, you cannot go to Heaven”. Hogwash! This is no more than repackaged Catholicism. We are SANCTIFIED by the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:16), SANCTIFIED by faith in the finished work of Christ (1 Corinthians 1:2; 6:11), SANCTIFIED by the OFFERING OF THE BODY OF CHRIST ONCE AND FOR ALL.

My hope is built on nothing less

than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand:

all other ground is sinking sand;

all other ground is sinking sand.

No “Church” went to Calvary to die for our sins, no animal, no ideology, no one but Jesus.

His sacrifice was so complete that the Bible says:

Hebrews 10:12-14 But this MAN, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; 13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. 14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

Why does it call Jesus a MAN? Because “by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12). It was the sin of Adam that brought universal sin into the world. But the Scripture says:

Romans 5:19 as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

Because Jesus OBEDIENTLY took on Himself manhood, because Jesus OBEDIENTLY went to Calvary for the sins of the world, because Jesus loved us so …. faith in Him makes us righteous before God. We come under the blessings of the Second Covenant, the Covenant of Grace.

The New Covenant Brings A Change
Of Heart And Mind

Hebrews 10:15-17 Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, 16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; 17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

When the Old Covenant was given, it relied on the outward, the festival, the circumcision, the Sabbaths, the animal sacrifices. But the New Covenant brings something entirely new. God said,

I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them

God makes the Christian understand and want to do His Law, His moral code. Some today teach that once you are saved, you are free to do whatever you want, for the Blood of Jesus Christ cleanses you of all sins.

This is hogwash!

Once saved, there is “no more offering for sin” (vs 18). But once saved, God puts HIS LAWS IN YOUR HEARTS AND MINDS. You know what pleases God.

1 As Children of God, we want to be closer to God. Under the Old Covenant people were frightened of God. From God’s mountain came thunder and lightening, and people trembled at the thought of getting too close to God. We who are saved by the Blood of Christ have an assurance. We read:

Hebrews 10:19-22 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 21 And having an high priest over the house of God; 22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

Jesus’ death covers our sins, but Jesus’ resurrection assures us we have a High Priest over the House of God. Jesus saved us, and keeps on saving us. We are saved to the uttermost.

2. As Children of God, we want to serve God in unison. We read:

Hebrews 10:23-25 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for He is faithful that promised;) 24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

If someone tells me that they are saved, but have no desire whatsoever to serve God in their salvation, I immediately suspect there is a problem. Salvation cannot be procured by works – but once you are saved, you will want to work for God. He has written His Law on your hearts. You have experienced His love.

Because Jesus took my sin, I can take His Heaven. Such a thought should bless you greatly. I owe Jesus everything. I owe Jesus everything.

Illustrate: I heard a great illustration the other day I thought I’d share with you. A preacher went to visit a friend of his, and his friend had a very big dog. He took his small daughter with him, and asked her to go back to the car and get something he had forgotten to bring in. His daughter started running toward the car – and the dog, growling – started to go after her. The dog’s owner called out: “You’d better not run, honey. He doesn’t like it when people run away from him. Walk with him. Put your hand on his neck. He won’t hurt you.”

God is like that. God doesn’t like it when we run away from Him. We should fear Him, that is, respect His Laws and Commandments. We should work together with other believers to serve Him. Pastor John Piper wrote:

“I picture myself climbing in the mountains, say the Himalayas. And I’m on these massive rock faces, and I see a storm coming. It is going to be a massive storm, and I feel unbelievably vulnerable on these mountain precipices. And so, I am desperately looking for a little covert in the rock where I won’t be blown off the side of the cliff to destruction.

And I find a hole in the side of the mountain, and I spin quickly, and suddenly the holiness, and justice, and power, and wrath, and judgment of God breaks over me like a hurricane, but I know I am totally safe, which means all that horrible danger is transposed into the music of majesty, and I can enjoy it rather than fearing it. And I think that is what the cross is. Jesus died for us to provide a place where we could enjoy the majesty of God with a kind of fear and trembling and reverence and awe, but not a cowering fear.”

Those under the New Covenant are protected by the Blood and Body of Christ. Those under the New Covenant are called into union with other genuine believers, to serve and glorify God in our lives. We are called as believers to together “consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works”.

Once you are saved, God writes His love on your hearts. You want to love Him, and follow Him. You want to love others, to love your local Church, and to serve the Lord for His glory.

What If I Reject The New Covenant
That Jesus Offers?

Hebrews 10:26-29 For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, 27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. 28 He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: 29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

Some have taken this verse to mean that you can lose your salvation. This is why we ALWAYS read scripture in context. “if we sin willfully” does not refer to just any sin. EVERY sin is a WILLFUL sin. You never accidentally sin – you will it. The WILLFUL sin in this text is the sin of rejecting the New Covenant, the sin of rejecting Jesus.

There is but one sin that sends a person to eternal damnation – that is the willful rejection of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Those who were under the Old Covenant who “despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses”. If you rejected what God commanded under the Old Covenant, there was no recourse. You were cut off from Israel. You died if you blasphemed what God said.

If you have heard of the Grace of Jesus, heard that He died for your sins, and rose again to be your High Priest. If you, on hearing this, reject Jesus as your Savior and Lord, you are willfully sinning against God. You’ve received the truth.

The Catholics believe if you leave this life without Jesus, that you will be in pergatory until you work your way out.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses believe if you die without Christ, your soul will be incinerated.

People think there will always be a second change after this life. The Bible doesn’t teach this. If God sent His Son to die for you, to take your hell so He could get you to Heaven, and you reject God’s provision …

you have no hope.

Word Study: If you mock and make light of the Cross of Christ, you walk on the Son of God. You have done despite to the Spirit of Grace. The phrase “DONE DESPITE” is the Greek enybrizō, which means “to insult”. To hear that Jesus died for you, but to cling to the Old Covenant, believing your human works will please God – it is a horrible insult to the Spirit of Grace. If there were a work that you could do that would save you, why on earth would God send His Son to the Cross? There wasn’t, and there never will be. God says:

Hebrews 10:30-31 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto Me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge His people. 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Those who are saved put their faith in Christ. We love Him, and surrender to Him. We trust Him. We believe that His sacrifice is sufficient to pay for our sins, and that Jesus and Jesus alone will get us into the family of God and Heaven. The chapter ends with these words:

Hebrews 10:38-39 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. 39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

Those who are “JUST” live their lives by “FAITH” in Jesus Christ. Those who claim faith in Him but “DRAW BACK INTO PERDITION (apōleia, destruction, damnation)” are not saved at all. Judas Iscariot was called “The Son of Perdition” (John 17:12), a “devil” (John 6:70). He did not show evidence of salvation. Those who are saved have God’s Law and God’s Love written in their hearts. Judas had the external only, the ritual.

And he died in his sins!

Beloved, do not delay. Repent, and turn to Christ this day. Give Him all of your lives, and cling to Him Who died for you. This is where salvation is – the Author of the New Covenant, Jesus Christ. May God the Holy Spirit move on your hearts. Amen.