How To Be Perfect
Hebrews 10:1-18
October 25, 2015
This morning we are going to talk about how to be perfect.
There’s a reasonably good chance that upon hearing that statement
You may actually scoff a little.
I mean, after all we are often told “Nobody’s perfect”
It’s the age-old human cop out.
There are no perfect husbands, no perfect wives
There are no perfect children, no perfect parents
There are no perfect bosses, no perfect employees
Our society is more than willing to accept the standard of imperfection.
We all feel better about ourselves if no one expects perfection.
There is a problem here of course.
That problem is that God demands perfection.
Leviticus 11:44-45 “For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. And you shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm on the earth. ‘For I am the LORD who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy.'”
Peter reiterated that in the New Testament:
1 Peter 1:14-16 “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”
Jesus certainly enforced this
The Jews had also adopted this “Nobody’s Perfect” attitude.
They assumed that when Messiah came He would help them see
Which commands mattered and which ones didn’t.
Remember the Rich Young Ruler when he asked Jesus what he must do to obtain eternal life. Jesus told him to keep the commandments. His response was, “Which ones?”
They assumed the bar would have to be lowered.
Matthew 5:17-20 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
And in case you didn’t catch it there, notice how He ended Matthew 5.
Matthew 5:48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Obviously society isn’t cool with statements like that.
Our world doesn’t see perfection as attainable.
Yet, not only does God demand perfect holiness the Bible says
He will pour out His wrath on anyone who is less than holy.
Romans 1:18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,”
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death…”
I’m not making this up, God demands perfection.
Are you ready for me to shock you further?
I’m about to give you a fact about myself that only two people in the world know about me. (My mom and my wife)
“I am perfect”
Some of you may have already assumed that, but for those who were unaware, I’ll just lay it out there. I am perfect, I am holy, I am righteous.
And I’m not joking.
In fact this morning I’m going to tell you how you can be perfect too.
That is actually what the writer of Hebrews has been building to.
This morning I’m so glad you’re here
To walk through the first 18 verses of this 10th chapter with me.
This is the culmination
This is the mountain top
This is the big point
This morning the writer of Hebrews
Is going to bring all of his arguments to a head.
• All the little truths…
• All the O.T. passages…
• All the points…
He’s bringing them all together here in the first 18 verses of this chapter.
In these first 18 verses we get 3 powerful truths.
Now, they aren’t new to the book of Hebrews,
He’s been all over them for some time now.
But here he gives you the final culmination
Of all the research and all the work
To lay out for you the three main things he wants you to understand.
I can’t stress these enough,
I’ve you’ve felt lost at times throughout this study, grab these three truths.
#1 A SYMBOL, REPEATED PERPETUALLY, CAN NEVER SAVE
Hebrews 10:1-4
You remember that the writer just spent chapter 9 giving us a parable.
It was the parable of the Day of Atonement.
The writer asked us to look at 4 symbolic realities from that parable.
1) The Existence of the Veil
Man is separated from God
2) The Execution of the Sacrifice
Blood is the requirement for a broken covenant
3) The Expiation of the Sinner
That blood must be taken to God to appease His wrath on sin
4) The Emergence of the Priest
The priest coming out reveals that God accepted the sacrifice
The writer revealed to us that
Everything that happened on the Day of Atonement didn’t actually work.
It was a parable, it was a symbol
• It wasn’t real heaven, it was just a tent
• It wasn’t an acceptable sacrifice, it was just a goat
• It wasn’t taken to God, it was just taken behind an earthly veil
• It didn’t accomplish real forgiveness, it just symbolized it
The problem was that so many of the Jews had missed the point. They performed that ritual so long that many of them
Started to believe that there was power in the ritual.
Somehow they came to believe that
Building a tent, killing a goat, and sprinkling blood on a man-made altar
Would actually bring forgiveness.
Welcome to the dangers of religion.
Religion can easily cause people to trust in a symbol or a ritual rather than in God who is Savior.
And welcome to all the weird traditions people undertake
Because they think it benefits them somehow.
• You’ve seen Hindus bathing in the Ganges river to wash away sins.
• Mormons wear sacred underwear to protect them.
• In western India parents have their babies dropped off of a 50’ temple into a sheet which is said to make their children more intelligent. http://www.bootsnall.com/articles/11-04/unusual-religious-rituals-around-the-world.html
• Some under the banner of Christianity handle serpents and drink poison as a means of testing their faith.
We could go on and on and on with bizarre religious behavior.
What is common in all of these bizarre instances is that
People starting placing too much value in what is symbolic.
AND THAT IS WHAT HAD HAPPENED IN JUDAISM.
They performed the symbol and yet thought that it appeased God.
Before long the symbol became more important than anything else.
But the writer of Hebrews is clarifying that
THERE IS NO POWER IN THE SYMBOL.
(1) “For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near.”
Did you catch the problem?
The Law… All those sacrifices…
“can never…make perfect those who draw near.”
• Attend every Jewish festival
• Kill thousands of goats
• Present millions of wave offerings
• And at the end of the day you still will not be perfect.
That is tragic since we’ve already established that
Perfection is all God accepts.
Do you want proof they can’t make you perfect?
(2) “Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins?”
If you are a person who likes “logic” and “reason”
Then this verse is for you.
Let’s say that on the Day of Atonement
That offering actually did what it was supposed to do.
Let’s say it actually atoned for all the sinner’s sin.
If that happened wouldn’t the offering have stopped?
If those people had actually been forgiven they would have had a clean conscience and would no longer feel the need to sacrifice.
But that is not what happened.
That sacrifice didn’t make them feel forgiven
And that is why the kept coming back.
(3) “But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year.”
Those sacrifices didn’t make you feel forgiven,
Those sacrifices only reminded you that you were a sinner.
THERE AGAIN IS RELIGION.
Make no mistake religion needs sinners.
Religion needs people that it can threaten and terrify and command.
That’s how religion gets power
That’s how religion gets support
That’s how religion gets funded
The worst thing for religion is permanent forgiveness.
Then it loses it’s hook.
Indeed that is never the goal.
What religion wants to do is get people enslaved.
You have to keep coming back here
And keep doing this thing over and over and over OR ELSE.
• If you don’t bathe in the Ganges
• If you take off your sacred underwear
• If you don’t attend this service
• If you don’t partake in this sacrifice
• Then you aren’t pleasing to God.
That’s how religion flourishes – NEVER LET THEM OFF THE HOOK
(For a detailed study here, go read Galatians)
That is what the Law did.
Come back year after year and be reminded that you are a sinner!
That is all the Law did.
• It didn’t forgive anybody.
• It didn’t make anybody feel forgiven.
• All it did was continually remind people that they didn’t measure up to God.
Now the question is:
WHY DIDN’T THE LAW FORGIVE PEOPLE?
IT COULDN’T
It was just a symbol and a symbol,
Regardless of how many times you repeat it, it can never save.
(4) “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”
Just let that sink in for a second.
• Do you really suppose that killing a goat makes you right with God?
• Do you really suppose that getting dunked in a baptistery makes you right with God?
• Do you really suppose that eating crackers and drinking grape juice makes you right with God?
Of course not, those are symbols.
A symbol, regardless of how many times you repeat it, can never save.
I mean do we really suppose
That God is sitting up in heaven and men are requesting entrance and He is saying, “Nope, not until you drink a little more grape juice.” “Nope, not until you eat a few more crackers”
Do you catch the absurdity?
They were killing a goat and that has no power over anything.
I mean let your banker call and say, “I’m going to foreclose on your house because you are behind on your payments.” And you say, “I tell you what I’ll do, I’ll kill a goat.”
Let your boss call you into his office and say, “You’re doing a lousy job and I’m going to have to let you go.” And you say, “Instead of that, why don’t we just kill a goat?”
That’s how absurd it is to think religious ritual can save you.
That’s how absurd it is to think religious symbols can make you perfect.
They never can – it is the first major point of the writer of Hebrews.
A symbol, repeated perpetually, can never save.
#2 A SAVIOR, ROBED IN PERFECTION, DID FINALLY SATISFY
Hebrews 10:5-10
So first we come to grips with the fact that
All of those religious efforts were terribly insufficient.
They never worked.
That means sinners remained in their sin and still needed forgiveness.
What are they to do?
(5-7) Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, “SACRIFICE AND OFFERING YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, BUT A BODY YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR ME; IN WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR SIN YOU HAVE TAKEN NO PLEASURE. “THEN I SAID, ‘BEHOLD, I HAVE COME (IN THE SCROLL OF THE BOOK IT IS WRITTEN OF ME) TO DO YOUR WILL, O GOD.'”
Here is the writer’s third major text he wants to preach to you.
• He started with Psalms 110:1-4 about Melchizedek
• Then he went to Jeremiah 31:31-34 about the New Covenant
• Well now he’s on to Psalms 40:6-8
I wish we had time to go back and study the whole Psalm
Because it is absolutely amazing.
It is a Psalm that literally lays out the reality of salvation.
The writer of Hebrews recognized it as a Messianic Psalm
Because he attributes verses 6-8 as being about the Messiah.
This Psalm perfectly makes the writer’s point.
“Sacrifice and offering You have not desired”
That’s been the whole point. God doesn’t want a dead goat!
Psalms 50:7-15 “Hear, O My people, and I will speak; O Israel, I will testify against you; I am God, your God. “I do not reprove you for your sacrifices, And your burnt offerings are continually before Me. “I shall take no young bull out of your house Nor male goats out of your folds. “For every beast of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills. “I know every bird of the mountains, And everything that moves in the field is Mine. “If I were hungry I would not tell you, For the world is Mine, and all it contains. “Shall I eat the flesh of bulls Or drink the blood of male goats? “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving And pay your vows to the Most High; Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me.”
Isaiah 1:11-14 “What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” Says the LORD. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. “When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts? “Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies — I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. “I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them.”
Jeremiah 7:21-24 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat flesh. “For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. “But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘ Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, that it may be well with you.’ “Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and went backward and not forward.”
God didn’t want sacrifices.
What did He want? Obedience!
He only allowed the sacrifices as a way to show them
The enormous cost of disobedience.
But the Israelites completely missed the point
And started placing all the value in the sacrifice.
But when Jesus came He did it the right way.
“Sacrifice and offering You have not desired, but a body You have prepared for Me.”
When God sent Christ into the world, He didn’t send Him with a pet goat.
He didn’t say, “Now Jesus, you go down there and show them the proper way to sacrifice a goat.”
He just sent Jesus to be a living example of perfect obedience.
And that is what He did.
(6-7) “In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sins You have taken no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold I come (in the scroll of the book it is written of Me) to do Your will, O God.”
I didn’t come to sacrifice goats, I came to live a perfect life.
I didn’t come to be religious, I came to be righteous.
I didn’t come to perform ceremonies, I came to be perfectly holy.
(8-9) “After saying above, “SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS AND WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR SIN YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, NOR HAVE YOU TAKEN PLEASURE in them” (which are offered according to the Law), then He said, “BEHOLD, I HAVE COME TO DO YOUR WILL.” He takes away the first in order to establish the second.”
And notice the end of verse 9.
The writer is making another Old Testament point.
The fact that Psalms 40:8 said “I have come to do Your will” means this.
God was taking away the first ordinance (that He would accept goats)
And establishing the second (that He would accept Christ)
In Psalms 40:6-8 Jesus was saying, “I will come and be the sacrifice. I will come and be the offering. You don’t want goats, so I won’t offer them. I will offer My own perfect life.”
And then notice the power of verse 10.
“By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
How many times did Jesus offer His righteous life to God? “once”
What did He accomplish in doing so? “we have been sanctified”
Do you know what “sanctified” means?
It means “set apart as holy”
Now do you know why I tell you I am perfect?
Because Jesus made me perfect in God’s eyes
When He offered His perfect life as a payment for my sin.
He did what bulls and goats never could.
He satisfied God’s requirements.
There is just no over stating the wonder and majesty and perfection
Of the sacrificial death of Christ.
It is bigger than huge, it is everything!
And that is the second main point the writer wants you to know.
A symbol, repeated perpetually, can never save.
A Savior, robed in perfection, did finally satisfy.
#3 A SINNER, RELYING ON HIS PAYMENT, IS FULLY SANCTIFIED
Hebrews 10:11-18
Now here comes the awesome comparison.
He’s going to put that priest at the Day of Atonement
Side by side with Christ.
(11-14) “Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET. For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”
First comes the earthly priests.
• Do you see them?
• Do you see them standing?
• Do you see them “daily ministering”?
• Do you see them “offering time after time the same sacrifices”?
• Do you see that they “never take away sins”?
Now look at Christ.
• He didn’t offer man sacrifices but “one sacrifice for sins for all time”
• He isn’t standing because He’s finished, He “sat down”
• And He didn’t offer a sacrifice that didn’t work. “For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”
That’s it!
That’s the beauty!
At that moment on the cross when Jesus offered Himself to God.
He took every single person who would ever believe in Him
And He made them perfect!
2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
Isaiah 53:4-6 “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”
Colossians 1:19-20 “For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”
Colossians 2:13-14 “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”
Matthew 27:45-54 “Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” that is, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?” And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, began saying, “This man is calling for Elijah.” Immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink. But the rest of them said, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him.” And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many. Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
When Jesus died on the cross something happened
That no Day of Atonement had ever accomplished.
THE VEIL CAME DOWN!
For the first time since the fall in the garden access to God was available.
And the only way that is possible is if sinners are made perfect
Because no one else gets into the presence of God.
That is what Jesus did on the cross.
He made those who trust in Him perfect, acceptable to God!
The headlines in heaven read:
• “Sinners made perfect by shed blood of Jesus”
• “Veil comes down, access to God granted through death of Jesus”
• “Forgiveness achieved through crucifixion of Jesus”
We call that freedom!
It is the exact opposite of religion!
• God isn’t out there holding my sin over my head as a means of making me perform a certain way.
• God has declared me perfect, forgiven, a child whom He loves and simply says, “You’re welcome to come to Me anytime you want”
That is what Jesus accomplished on the cross.
And that is the point of the writer of Hebrews.
Now listen as he brings his argument full circle.
(15-18) “And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying, “THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THEM AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS UPON THEIR HEART, AND ON THEIR MIND I WILL WRITE THEM,” He then says, “AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE.” Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.”
Do you recognize that passage?
It is Jeremiah 31, that passage on the New Covenant that he introduced to us back in chapter 8.
He is reminding you of the promised effect of that new covenant.
“their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
The promised effect of that new covenant
Was forgiveness of all your sins.
And the writer wants you to know that it happened.
To which he says: “Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.”
In other words, you no longer need the Day of Atonement.
• You don’t have to go to Passover anymore.
• You don’t have to attend the feat of booths any more.
• You don’t have to bind that Law on your forehead.
• You don’t have to bring God any more goats or bulls or grain offerings.
Your religious ceremonies are no longer needed.
Jesus satisfied God’s requirements.
Jesus paid your debts.
You are forgiven – You are free – You are now perfect
And that is true for every single sinner
Who places their faith in Jesus Christ.
They are now perfect.
Romans 8:1-4 “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
Jesus did what the Law couldn’t do.
He surrendered His perfect life as an offering for sin,
We are now declared perfect before God.
Do me a favor this morning if you’ve placed your faith in Jesus Christ.
Take a deep breath in. Now let it out.
Your labors are over
Your work is over
God is pleased and there’s nothing left for you to do
MercyMe has a great album out about this awesome new covenant and the salvation of Jesus. It’s called “Welcome to the New”
There are many great songs on that album.
One of my favorites is a song called “Flawless”
There’s got to be more Than going back and forth From doing right to doing wrong ‘Cause we were taught that’s who we are. Come on get in line right behind me You along with everybody Thinking there’s worth in what you do. Then Like a hero who takes the stage when We’re on the edge of our seats saying it’s too late, Well let me introduce you to amazing grace.
No matter the bumps, No matter the bruises, No matter the scars, Still the truth is The cross has made; The cross has made you flawless. No matter the hurt Or how deep the wound is. No matter the pain, Still the truth is The cross has made; The cross has made you flawless.
Could it possibly be That we simply can’t believe That this unconditional Kind of love would be enough To take a filthy wretch like this And wrap him up in righteousness? But that’s exactly what He did.
Then Like a hero who takes the stage when We’re on the edge of our seats saying it’s too late. Well let me introduce you to grace, grace, God’s grace.
No matter the bumps, No matter the bruises, No matter the scars, Still the truth is The cross has made; The cross has made you flawless. No matter the hurt Or how deep the wound is. No matter the pain, Still the truth is The cross has made; The cross has made you flawless.
No matter what they say, Or what you think you are, The day you called His name He made you flawless. He made you flawless.
And that is so true!
I am perfect because of Jesus.
And that is so the cry of the writer of Hebrews.
• Leave your religion behind!
• Leave the toil and the labor of the system!
• Latch on to Jesus!
• So what if they’re kicking you out of the temple.
• So what if they’re telling you “No more sacrifices”
• So what if they’ve said you can’t participate in the feasts any more.
WHO NEEDS THEM?
FURTHERMORE WHO WANTS THEM?
A symbol, repeated perpetually, can never save.
We’ve got Jesus!
And A Savior, robed in perfection, did finally satisfy
So that a sinner, relying on His payment, is fully sanctified.
All I have to ask this morning is do you trust Christ?
• Would you be willing to call upon His name for forgiveness of your sin?
• Would you be willing to leave behind all the efforts?
• Would you be willing to leave behind all the enticement of the world?
• Would you be willing to say, “I’ll lose it all, just give me Jesus!”?
Romans 10:13 “for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”
