Hebrews 10:16-25.                          Sacrifice for our sin!!!                                     18/4/14

¹⁶ “This is the covenant I will make with them  after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts,  and I will write them on their minds.”

¹⁷ Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”
¹⁸ And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.
¹⁹ Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, ²¹ and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²² let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. ²³ Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. ²⁴ And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, ²⁵ not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

 How amazing the events of this day are! This event that we recall this day is by far the single most, greatest event in all of history. Nothing has come near changing world history like this event. It is an event that determines future of every single one of us; past present and future. None of us will be able to say that this event is not applicable to us.

 Many try to downplay, ignore and even scoff at this event. It is interesting that in the lead up to Easter every year the media raises some heretical issue, such as this year, suggesting that Jesus had a wife. There is this constant attempt to discredit the events of this day: All so that we might have an excuse to not take it, and ultimately God, seriously.

 For if we acknowledge that they happened then we have to take the implications of that seriously. Yet the evidence is there for each one of us to know for sure that these events that we are celebrating this Easter are for real. This is far from blind faith stuff. Even to the point of being able to see that here God Almighty himself is present and active: The miracles; the fulfilment of the promises made in God’s Word; and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, all point us to the reality of this fact.

 And if God has come into our world and is the central figure in this whole weekend’s activity then we should surely sit up and take notice. Here something very important is taking place: something that is absolutely essential to the wellbeing of each and every one of us. Here we are talking about eternity in either heaven or hell: with God and all that is good, or excluded from God and all that is good.

 Even though Jesus died for all people so that they can be with him in heaven, those who turn their backs on him and reject him and the events of this weekend, they will lose this reward and have to take their place in hell. So sadly there are many around us who are trying to believe that their loved one is in heaven, even though they have chosen to have nothing to do with him, who are sadly mistaken. The absence of many this weekend is sad proof of the fact that many could not care less about God and what he has done for us this weekend.

 Yet right here we are reminded in this reading from Hebrews that the Lord says: I will put my laws in their hearts,  and I will write them on their minds. So they know, but have chosen to ignore this. Others will say they believe, but then go on and live as if none of this is important. So the sad reality is there also.

 Yet again here we are today reminded that Jesus has died for us. He has

done that which is truly remarkable so that salvation can be there for us. Through Jesus death on the cross he reminds us in that reading that: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”  They will not be held against us. The only unforgivable sin is that of unbelief: rejection of Jesus Christ and what he has done for us.

 The importance of what Jesus has done for us on the cross is clearly spelt out in this reading and throughout the Bible. Our going against God and what he has called us to do is called sin. The old word in the Lord’s Prayer is trespasses: we have stepped onto an area of life that was barred to us for our own good. That result of that trespassing is that we have brought troubles and death on ourselves: We have rebelled against God and have brought damnation on ourselves.

However God, instead of destroying us, chose to provide a way out for us.  He sends his only Son to do what was needed for us to have salvation. So He willingly goes to the cross and says; “It is finished!” There he completes what was necessary for us to be forgiven.  He became the sacrifice which takes away the sin of the world.

 Now we can have the confidence to know that we can enter the Most Holy Place; God’s presence, even though we have sinned. Jesus paid the penalty by shedding his own blood that “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”  Absolutely amazing!

 This priestly, religious, language makes it quite clear how significant and important spiritually this is for us. It is only through what Jesus has done on the cross that there can be any hope for us. His sacrifice alone is what saves us and makes it possible for us to be in God’s presence. There is now a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body.

 Therefore, brothers and sisters, ….let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

 Yes, now we have every reason to hang in there and be faithful in our life as Christians and in our church life as well. If this is for real, which it is, we will now surely want to be where our Lord wants us to be a do what he wants us to do. We can confidently live for Christ holding firmly to what he has to say to us, in the face of a world that ridicules us.

Because his death on the cross is all important we will boldly and confidently proclaim and live its importance, even though it is not popular to talk about sin or Jesus death as so essential for our salvation. We will hold unswervingly to the hope we profess and we will seek to live it every day of our life.

 We do so because we know that the one who has done this and who promised is faithful. Because he has told us all of this in his Word we can rely on it as an absolute certainty. If he can write hundreds of years before this event that his promised Messiah would die and rise again as it happened we can surely believe all his other promises as well: many which have already come true also. So we can live boldly and confidently holding to his Word in its entirety without changing or taking away from it.

 Each day we can now live in the light of Jesus death on the cross for our salvation. Each day, we can now acknowledge our sin and our ongoing weaknesses, and know with certainty that they are forgiven and we can forgive one another.  Each day we can now do everything that we do for this one who died for us and as a response to the fact that he now is what is all important in life.  Each day we can take up our crosses and follow our Lord through the rough and tough of a sinful, selfish world.

 Each week we can draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Through this crucified Lord we can now receive Word and Sacrament as things that he sees as vital for our ongoing welfare as his people. Weekly Divine Service will be seen as essential for us his people, as a result of what he has done for us here this day.

 We are also reminded: And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. So we are encouraged to keep on keeping on in our Christian faith and helping others do the same.

 All because of the events of this day: this weekend. Jesus death on the cross is vital for not just our salvation, but for how we live and act each and every day of our life. This death on the cross and the resurrection three days later which reassures us that all of this is for real and for our good, is now of utmost importance for us. He is Lord of all.

 Here again then we have proclaimed the greatness of our God, who sent his only Son to die on the cross, so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. Here is what is all important. To him then be all glory and honour, now and always. Amen.

 Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish