Hebrews 10:16-25.                           Sacrifice for our sin!!!                                     14/4/17

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.

Today we remember the greatest and most important day in all of history. Here is the event that changes everything for humanity. Despite the fact that it looks and seems to be anything but that which is history changing, for the better. Here in the suffering and death of Jesus Christ there is now a sure and certain hope for us as we face the future.

Here is taken care of, the most important need that we have, but are all too reluctant to acknowledge. Though deep down we know, our pride and arrogance all too often gets in the way. We don’t want to think about. For if we do, we know that the implications for our lives are great. We no longer will be in charge of our own lives; thinking and doing as we please.

Never the less, here on Good Friday Jesus does what has to be done so that we can be freed from the chains that hold us down. You see, here on the cross Jesus is taking on himself what we deserve. We are the ones who have rebelled against God and chosen not to do what he says. For this, God is quite clear, death is the consequence. We deserve the punishment that Jesus is receiving. We deserve to be rejected by God for all eternity and caste into hell. So serious are the consequences.

Again even though deep down we know all of this, for God has written it on our hearts and consciences, we don’t want to admit it. We would like to think that we are better than that: that we are basically good people, who might occasionally do the odd bad thing. We want some semblance of pride in ourselves left intact. However, God’s Word is very clear that death and hell are the best that we deserve. We are the ones who deserve to be on the cross.

But who do we see there; none other than God himself, in Jesus Christ. This is absolutely amazing. God’s Son himself taking the punishment that we deserve on himself. We are clearly told that this is what is happening here. Despite our rebellion against him, his love is such that he does what needs to be done to rectify the situation.

Jesus Christ takes our punishment on himself so that God can forgive us and accept us back into his family. He himself became the sacrifice for our sin. He dies so that we no longer have to do anything to pay for us to be acceptable to God. Jesus has done it all for us.

We here can know that this is all for real. Even though Jesus appeared to be simply just another human being, he is also God’s very own Son. He was the one that was promised throughout history, who would come to defeat the power of sin and death for us. The evidence is clear that Jesus is the one whom the Old Testament spoke about over and over again.

So many of those prophecies that were written hundreds and hundreds of years before, even though they were humanly impossible, came to fulfilment in Jesus Christ. His death on the cross and his resurrection three days late are clear proof of the fact that here God himself is at work.

So we can know for sure that here in Jesus and his death on the cross we have something that is absolutely important for us and for our lives. Here we have that which surely will ensure that he not only is, but we will seek to have him, as that which is all important for us and our lives, each and every day.

With that we will then take particular note of the message we have here in our reading today. It begins with: “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.”

So as a result of Jesus’ death and resurrection we will now seek to think and do what he tells us is important for us and our lives today. His laws will be what is all important for us, rather than what the world around us says. Because of who he is and the love he has for us, we will now respond as he would have us, rather than still making me, myself and I the centre of our lives.

Also, as a result of the cross, we are now assured that: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”  We no longer need to carry the guilt for our past misdemeanours. Christ has taken care of our sins, so we can lift our heads and get on with life without the weight of our past on our shoulders. We can constantly look to him in repentance and faith and know that he has taken care of our sins.

So: where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary. We no longer have to, either hide our past failures, or try to make up for them in some way, in order to be acceptable. We do not need to pretend today that his law is now not important for us as Christians, so as to minimise our guilt. Nor do we try balance the bad by doing good, in order to be acceptable.

We will instead set out to live and do what he wants, aiming to do the very best in response to what he has done for us. But then when we fail, as we will, we can turn again to our Lord and the forgiveness that he has extended to us. Then set about again to live as is pleasing to him and in response to his love for us.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 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.

Because of Jesus’ death on the cross we now have free access to God. As a result of the forgiveness that Jesus has made possible now we can live at peace with our Lord and in a close personal relationship with him. In fact, he tells us that he now lives with and in us so that we can know that we are loved, forgiven and assured of life and salvation.

Now then we can hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. Now we can take him seriously each and every day of lives. No matter what is happening around is in our current society and our own lives, we can hold unbendingly to him who is all important and what he tells us. In connection with him we now know that nothing in all creation can separate us from his love.

So again we are reminded of how great and important Jesus Christ and his death on the cross is for us. His sacrifice turns life upside down for us. Now we can go forward boldly and confidently. We have every reason to take Jesus Christ and what he says and has done for us seriously

So 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.

Here too is another important reminder for us here today. At a time when Easter weekend and Sundays are being filled with all kinds of things to distract us and many others who used to sit in these pews, from what is important. Let us encourage one another to hold fast to that which is all important, so that we are not distracted and finally led to let go of that which is vital to us all.

As we are beginning to see more and more, Christianity in this country is coming under severe pressure from all quarters. Pressure groups and left-wing media from society are denigrating and beginning to persecute Christianity. Sunday sport and work increasingly imposing itself on people’s lives. Even within Christianity there is pressure to conform to the culture and the ‘I wants’ of individuals.

So we need to consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. We need to encourage one another to keep our focus where it needs to be; on our Lord Jesus Christ and the importance of his death on the cross for the forgiveness of sins.

Here today then as we remember and celebrate with humble awe the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, let us again be amazed at the extent of God’s love, that he should do this for us. Our lives have here been turned upside down. Instead of death, there is life. Instead of judgement, there is forgiveness. Instead of hell, there is heaven. Instead of hopelessness and despair, there is meaning and purpose. Jesus Christ makes all of this and more possible here on this special day. He alone then becomes the all-important one in our lives.

So to him again then be all glory and honour, now and always. AMEN.

Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish