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Today's Little Lift

    by Jim Bullington

One Sacrifice for Sins Forever (Hebrews 10.12)
Date Posted: September 13, 2020

“And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” (Hebrews 10.11-14).

The book of Hebrews contrasts two great systems, both of them authored and authorized by Almighty God. One of them, the first covenant, was inferior to the other in as much as it was designed to facilitate the establishment of the second covenant. It was not inferior in its time, but it is inferior after its time! The priesthood ordained by the Old Covenant was a priesthood that was established around authorized rituals and sacrifices. Day after day, week after week, month after month, and year after year saw the same sacrifices repeated time and time again. They were repeated because they were not designed to permanently take away the guilt of sin.

That was the meaning when the inspired Hebrews writer observed that these priests offered “...repeatedly the same sacrifices.” However, he does not stop there; he offered the rationale for the repetitive nature of these offerings. To quote him, these sacrifices were offered repeatedly because they could “...never take away sins.” The design was not flawed, but the result was not what was desperately needed by humanity. Knowing this to be the case from the beginning, God ordained that the first covenant would be fulfilled in the second one. It was fulfilled in that the things that the first covenant could not do were perfectly accomplished in the second covenant. One, and perhaps the most important of these things was the absolute forgiveness of sins.

Again the inspired writer speaks: “But this Man [Jesus Christ], after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God...” Let there be no mistake about it; Jesus was not a priest after the order of the first covenant; but He certainly was a priest! His service was of far greater significance than that of His counterparts under the Levitical order that preceded His earthly ministry. The fact that God accepted His sacrifice is proven by the fact that He now sits at the right hand of God, a place reserved only for a monarch's most favored dignitaries. To further extend that line of reasoning, the fact that numerous miracles were performed “in the name of Jesus” was proof positive that He was seated at the right hand of God.

One sacrifice for sins forever is a primary doctrine of the New Testament (Gospel) system. If the sacrifice of Jesus is not adequate for all sins for all times, it is not adequate for any sin for any time! Either Jesus was who He claimed to be, namely the only begotten Son of the Living God, or He was a shameless impostor. Either His sacrifice was what the Scriptures claim it to be, or His blood was an unholy thing sanctioned by no one other than the men who conceived the great deception in which Jesus and His followers engaged. There simply can be no middle ground in this matter. Paul recognized this to be the case in 1 Corinthians 15 in which he argued along these lines, saying that if Jesus was not raised from the dead by the power of God Almighty then the Christian has no hope of redemption and is of all men to be pitied!

But, Jesus is the Priest whose offering was sufficient for all men for all time! It is this hope that compels us to press on when all odds speak otherwise. One sacrifice for sins forever and it is ours!

Questions:

1. Why did the sacrifices of the former priesthood have to be offered over and over again?

2. Who ordained this former priesthood? Was it flawed?

3. What proof is there that Jesus is seated at the right hand of God?

4. List the ways that the sacrifice of this Great High Priest differed from those of the Levitical priests.

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Biography Information:
Jim Bullington - A Christian writer whose insight into the scriptures is reflected in practical application lessons in every article. The reader will find that the Bible speaks directly to him/her through these articles. God is always exalted and His word is treated with the utmost respect in this column.
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