Review: "Freefall to Fly"

Freefall to Fly:  a Breathtaking Journey Towards a Life of Meaning by Rebekah Lyons is a series of meditations on her life and how to cope with the “freefalls” of life.

She begins by telling the story of moving with her family from Virginia, where she was comfortable, to New York City – moving with her husband and their young son, who has Down syndrome.

She questions the move and whether it is right, why God had given her son his illness and how they would cope with it.  She struggles with missing what was comfortable and known, developing an anxiety disorder in the process.  She pleads with her husband to go back home – to leave this place or gates and locks, where her son throws a tantrum and lays down on Park Ave.

But she eventually comes to the conclusion that these “freefalls” – these times of lack of control, were for her to learn to use her wings.  A baby bird that drops out of the nest into freefall does not just crash, but moves its wings until it flies.  That is what the author learns and encourages her readers to do:  if you are freefalling, flap your wings until you fly – whatever that may mean in any given situation.

Lyons’ book is an encouraging piece for those times when we are trying to face life when it seems out of control.

[This review appears on my blog and at Amazon.com.  I received a copy of this book free from Handlebar Publishing for review.]

"Hell On Trial"

We continue our study of Hell tonight, D.V., at 7 PM, considering the witness of the New Testament writers.  Please join us!

"To Do Your Will" Sermon: Hebrews 10:1-10

“To Do Your Will”

[Hebrews 10:1-10]

May 19, 2013 Second Reformed Church

            Last week we began by reviewing verse twenty-two of chapter nine, and it may prove helpful to review it once again: “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22, ESV).

            We noted that this verse tells us two things:  first, it tells us that under the Sacrificial Law, most things were purified through shedding blood, but there were other methods of purification, including offering up other, non-bloody, items for sacrifice, and through baptism.

Second, it tells us that the only way sin can be forgiven is through the shedding of blood.  It is absolutely impossible for sin to be forgiven unless there is the shedding of blood.  If there is no shedding of blood, God will not and cannot forgive sin.

We went on to see that Christ is the fulfillment of the Old Testament Sacrificial System, especially in that, as the God-Man, He could live a perfect life under the Law, choose to be our Substitute in the reception of God’s Wrath for our sin, and physically rise from the dead.  To this end:  our sins are forgiven – past, present, and future, we are free from slavery to sin, we have had Christ’s Righteousness imputed to us, so that we are now seen as righteous, and through the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit, we are striving towards holiness.

And so, we turn to our text for this morning:

            “For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.”

            The author of Hebrews again tells us that the repeated offering of sacrifices are not enough to make us perfect – to pay the debt for sin and free us from slavery to sin – for reasons we have already discussed:  if the offerings had to be repeated, they were not effective to pay the debt for sin and free us from slavery to sin, and, the offerings were of goats and bulls, which could not be adequate substitutes for humans – even if you were to catch a unicorn or a leviathan – it would not be enough, only a human can take the place of a human in paying the debt owed to God.

            But the author of Hebrews gives us another reason why the offering up of animals would not be enough to pay our debt and free us from slavery:  “the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities.”

            Here, the author of Hebrews uses language from the art world:  the “shadow” is like the sketch an artist makes before commencing to paint his picture, whereas the “true form” is the painting in living color.  If any of us have taken art classes in school or tried our hand at art on our own, we know that the sketch we being with is not what we want to end up with – it looks forward to what we want to end up with – one can look at it and imagine what the final product will look like, but it is not the final product.  It is only when the artwork is fully painted, fully colored and “living” that it is finished – it has fulfilled the artist’s intentions.

            The same thing is true here:  the Old Testament Law – and especially the Sacrificial Law, is a “shadow” – a sketch of the painting that was to be painted, whereas the “true form” is the fullness of that good thing which was to come.  And this is the point that the author of Hebrews is making:  Christ Jesus is the true form of the shadows of the Old Testament Sacrifices – Christ Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament Sacrifices through the good things which were to come – His Incarnation, Life, Death, Resurrection, and bodily Ascension.

“Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”

            If the animal sacrifices had been enough – if it were possible for a person to offer up enough animal sacrifices that he would be cleansed – that he would no longer have guilt for his sin – that his conscience would be appeased – that all of his sin past, present, and future were forgiven and paid for, then people would stop making animal sacrifices – and, eventually, there would be no more animal sacrifices.  But – at the time of the author of Hebrews’ writing, the sacrifices had not ended – people were still falsely looking for forgiveness and freedom in the offering up of sacrifices – in the shadows and sketches – rather than in the true form – Christ Jesus. (This, as we have noted, proves that the book of Hebrews was written before 70 A.D. when the Temple was destroyed, and animal sacrifices came to an end.)

            Moses records what happened under the First Covenant:  “And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness” (Leviticus 16:21, ESV).

            Animal sacrifices continued year after year, and the guilt of the offerers was not removed – the consciences of the offerers were not appeased.  Anyone who was putting their hopes in animal sacrifices was under the Wrath of God.  Only those who looked forward and believed in the Savior Who was to come – and Him when He did come – found freedom from guilt and an appeased conscience.  Only through Jesus and His Sacrifice and believing in His Work, do we find ourselves at peace with God and with hope for the future.

            And some of you might be saying, “Well, this has nothing to do with us – we have never offered sacrifices of animals, so what’s the point of this all?”

            It’s true that most of us have never offered up animal sacrifices – certainly not in the Temple in Jerusalem, but have we ever clung to other shadows and sketches and thought them “good enough” – that Jesus Alone was not necessary?  Perhaps, though, we have heard people say they are “good enough” to be received into the Kingdom, no matter what they believe.  Perhaps we have heard people say they are “better than most,” that the give to this and that, or volunteer for this and that.  Is there really that much difference between offering up animals as sacrifices and our works – or goodness – as sacrifices – at least in the sense that they will never be enough?  Not to mention, they lack the blood necessary for forgiveness.

            And again, some of you may be thinking, “But, if I am forgiven, why do I need to confess my sin?  Why do I feel guilty for sin?  Why am I disturbed when I sin?  -- if the debt for it is paid and have been freed from the guilt of sin, as you have said?”

            The guilt of a non-believer for sin is a damning guilt; the guilt of a believer for sin is the Holy Spirit working within us.   If we sin – shall I say “when” we sin – we ought to find ourselves moved towards confession, because that will keep us from being prideful – we will be humble – and not say anything as foolish as, “I am good enough.”  Confession also helps us to look out for temptation – to recognize it and avoid sin in the future, to glorify God for what He has done in us through Christ Jesus, to thank Him for His Mercy and Grace, and to freshly apply to ourselves those good things which were to come and which have now come in the Sacrifice of Jesus.

            So, we understand that the Sacrificial Law with its repeated sacrificing of animals could never utterly forgive us of sin and free us from slavery to sin.  The Sacrificial Law was never and could never be a way to be right with God, but pointed to the Only Way in which a person may be right with God – through the Salvation provided through Jesus Alone as the fulfillment of the Old Testament Sacrificial Law.

            The author of Hebrews continues:  “Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, ‘Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,          but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.  Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”

            The first question that ought to strike our minds upon reading the author of Hebrews here – saying that Christ said these words after the Incarnation – is, “When?”  When did Jesus say these words?  And the answer is that there is no record of Jesus ever saying these words.  Now, before we get concerned about that – we ought to get concerned when something doesn’t seem right in the Scripture – there are two possible answers: 

First, Jesus said it but it is not recorded.  That is possible – most of the Gospels is the record of the last week of Jesus’ Life – and even that is only highlights.

But a second possibility is that Jesus said these words from Psalm 40 through His Life – through His Actions – through what He did.

In either case, we have no reason to doubt that Jesus, the Incarnate God, said these words, so let us consider what they mean:

“Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,”

Why would Christ say that God does not desire animal sacrifices and offerings when the whole First Covenant is based around sacrifices and offerings?  The answer is in what the author of Hebrews has been addressing:  people had wrongly understood the First Covenant to be a way of salvation, when that was never the purpose of the First Covenant.  As we have seen, one of the purposes of the First Covenant was to point to the coming of the Christ and to show that salvation is only possible through Him Alone.  So, we can understand Jesus to be saying that God never desired sacrifices and offerings to be the way of reconciling people to Himself – we have sinned against the One Holy God and He desires faith and belief in the Savior He was, and now has, sent, not sacrifices and offerings.  God never meant – nor desired – animal sacrifices and offerings to be a way for people to be right with Him.

No, rather, Jesus says, “but a body have you prepared for me;” – we talked about this recently:  when did God prepare a body for the Christ?

We read in the response to Mary’s question:  “And the angel answered her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God’” (Luke 1:35, ESV).

God created a body for the Christ when the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary and caused the body of Jesus to form in her womb without male participation.  God caused Mary to be with child apart from the normal means of procreation – this was God’s creation of the body of the Christ Who incarnated into Mary’s womb.  God created a body in Mary – without a man’s participation – so the God-Man would be born from her.

Why is the virgin conception and birth mentioned here after Jesus says that it is not through the sacrifice and offering of animals that a person may be forgiven for his sins?  This implication is that the sacrifice and offering that can deliver a person from his sins is the body of the God-Man, Christ Jesus, Whom God created in the womb of Mary.  It is only through the blood sacrifice of Jesus that a person can be right with God, forgiven for sin, and delivered from slavery to sin.

And, in case we are not sure that this is what the sacrifice and offering of animals refers to, Jesus is more explicit, saying, “in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.”

People recognized that they were sinners – do you? – they understood that they were at odds with God – that His Wrath was against them unless something or someone put them right with God again – if their sins could be covered – forgiven.  So the people looked at the Law which required animals to be offer when they sinned.  And they brought their sheep, and their bulls, and they offered them up, understanding that sin is only forgive through the shedding of blood, but they missed the point that the blood of animals, though mercifully received by God for their sin, forgave them in the moment – it didn’t forgive all of the sins past, present, and future, and it did not free them from slavery to sin.  As we said earlier – not even a unicorn or a leviathan would be enough, because an animal is not a human.

What hope is there for humans?  Jesus tells us:  “Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.”

            What is Jesus referring to?  What is the Will of God that the Christ came to do which is written of Him in the scroll of the book – that is, the Scripture?

            The Gospel!  Do you remember the short form of the Gospel we learned a little over a year ago?  Do you remember that sentence we are telling our friends who ask what we believe?  God came to earth in the Person of Jesus, lived a perfect life under God’s Law, died for the sins of everyone who would ever believe, and physically rose from the dead and ascended back to His throne.

            The first time we hear the Gospel is in God’s handing out punishment after the sin of our first parents:  God told the serpent:  “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15, ESV).

            Christ Jesus came to do the Will of the Father – that which was written about Him in the Scripture.  The Son incarnated to be the offspring of Eve – to allow Himself to be put to death – as the author of Hebrews wrote:  “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,” (Hebrews 2:14, ESV).

            When the time came, Jesus, knowing the horrors that awaited Him, prayed:  “Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, ‘My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done’” (Matthew 26:42, ESV).

            This is why Jesus quotes Psalm 40 – to show what they should have understood through the Sacrifices:  there is no salvation through the blood of animals.  There is only salvation through Jesus Alone – the Incarnate Son of God Who came to fulfill His Father’s Will and save a people for Himself through the Sacrifice of Himself.

            The author of Hebrews adds some commentary:  “When he said above, ‘You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings’ (these are offered according to the law), then he added, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will.’ He does away with the first in order to establish the second.”           

            Jesus, in bringing the Second Covenant – the Gospel – has done away with the First Covenant – in its Sacrificial Laws.  As we saw last week – since Christ is the God-Man, He only needed to be sacrificed once to pay the debt for all of the sins of all of those who would ever believe, free them from slavery to sin, and impute to them – credit them – with His Righteousness.

            Just like the artist we talked about to begin with who makes a sketch and then paints his painting over it, Jesus has done away with the Old Testament Sacrificial Law by fulfilling it in Himself and by Himself.  No sacrifice is ever needed again because Christ obeyed the Will of the Father.

            We do not have to offer up the blood of animals, or try to be good enough, or anything else – Christ has done everything necessary in obeying His Father to save all those who will ever believe in Him.  Christ has paid the debt to God for our sins, credited us with His Righteousness, and freed us from slavery to sin.

            As John Owen puts it:  “In this state of things, when the fullness of time was come, the glorious counsels of God, namely, of the Father, Son, and Spirit, brake forth with light, like the sun in its strength from under a cloud, in the tender made of himself by Jesus Christ unto the Father, ‘Lo, I come to do thy will, O God.’  This, this is the way, the only way, whereby the will of God might be accomplished.  Herein we have the riches of divine wisdom displayed, all the treasured of grace laid open, all shadows and clouds dispelled, and the open door of salvation evidenced unto all” (Owen, Hebrews, vol. 6, 471).  

            “And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

            Because Christ has obeyed the Will of the Father, by which He has done away with the Sacrificial System and the shadows which pointed to the coming of Christ, we who believe in Him have been sanctified.  We who believe in Jesus Alone for salvation are holy.

            How can that be?

            “For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers,” (Hebrews 2:10-11, ESV).

            All those who believe in Jesus Alone for salvation are in Him – we are counted with Him – righteous, holy, glorified – right now – in Him.  Yet, what the reality will be has not fully come.  It will come when Jesus returns.  We have the hope and the promise that that is how we are seen, yet, at the same time, it is not yet how we are.

            On this Pentecost Sunday, we remember that – just as Jesus promised – those first believers were indwelled by God the Holy Spirit – and every Christian since then has been indwelled by God the Holy Spirit.  And Jesus promised:  “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you” (John 16:13-15, ESV).

            The Holy Spirit will lead us into becoming what we are not yet.  The Holy Spirit will lead us and empower us to do the Will of the Father – which, if you open your Bibles, you will find.  The first and foremost being that we proclaim the Gospel.

            As we take comfort in knowing that Jesus Alone saves us without any help from us and that we are indwelled by God the Holy Spirit Who is making us into the Image of Jesus, Who did the Will of the Father, let us not think that we can lay back and let God work.

            No, Paul wrote, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13, ESV).

            We have hard work before us – we who believe in the Gospel – work that will keep us busy and fill us with joy for a lifetime.  Hold fast to the Work and Obedience of Jesus.  Hold fast to the promise and the guidance of God the Holy Spirit.  And in the light of that truth, seek to do the Will of our Heavenly Father.

            Let us pray:

            Almighty God, we thank You for sending Your Son to be the fulfillment of the Old Testament Sacrificial System.  We thank You for making clear the shadows and showing us the true form of joy in salvation through Jesus Alone.  We thank You that Jesus was obedient to Your Will.  We thank You for the gift of the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit.  We thank You that You are working in us, making us into the Image of Your Son.  And we ask that You would train our eyes on You – that we would seek to do Your Will with everything that we are, that You would be glorified.  For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

Community Lunch

Due to the graduations, the Community Lunch is postponed to Saturday, May 25th from 12 to 1 PM.  We hope to see you then!

Review: "Tangled Ashes"

Tangled Ashes by Michele Phoenix is a very enjoyable novel that joins two timelines in Lamorlaye, France:  the 1940’s Nazi project at the castle to breed the Aryan race and the modern owner of the castle’s desire to renovate it as a gift for his wife.

The owner of the castle calls on an American architectural company to renovate the castle to its original state.  The alcoholic, though more equipped, co-senior partner of the company reluctantly goes to oversee and take part in the project.  While he is there, he learns lessons about love from the staff and comes to confront his alcoholism.

In flashbacks, we hear about the breeding program that actually took place in the castle historically and one young one who loved the Nazi who fathered her child, so much so, that he allows her to escape delivering the child to the Nazis.

Along the way, the lines come together, because history moves forward:  secrets are revealed, and the end of the Nazi project is acknowledged in one family’s life as they are reconciled with each other.

The novel kept my attention, and I was interested to learn that such breeding programs actually did occur.  The characters are basically believable and three-dimensional, though the conclusion of the novel is somewhat expected, though not in all of its details.

I would recommend this book for and interesting, enjoyable, light read – one that makes one consider what love truly is and how to express it.

[This review appears on my blog and at Amazon.com.  I received a copy of this book free from Handlebar Publishing for review.]

"Once" Sermon: Hebrews 9:23-28

“Once”

[Hebrews 9:23-28]

May 12, 2013 Second Reformed Church

            We consider the end of the ninth chapter of Hebrews this morning, and we ought to ask ourselves:  considering what we know about what Jesus did – as High Priest and Sacrifice – did Jesus do enough?  Was His One Sacrifice enough?  Is there a need to repeat or re-present Christ’s Sacrifice to the Father for it to be effective?  Or did Jesus accomplish His Work on behalf of all those He came to save by dying once on the cross?

            “Thus”

            We ended last week looking at verse twenty-two, which reads:  “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22, ESV).

            We noted that this verse tells us two things:  first, it tells us that under the Sacrificial Law, most things were purified through shedding blood, but there were other methods of purification, including offering up other, non-bloody, items for sacrifice, and through baptism.

Second, it tells us that the only way sin can be forgiven is through the shedding of blood.  It is absolutely impossible for sin to be forgiven unless there is the shedding of blood.  If there is no shedding of blood, God will not and cannot forgive sin.

OK?  Do we get that?  If we do:  

            “Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.”

            If we understand that most things were purified by blood under the Mosaic Law, and sin is forgiven only through the shedding of blood, then it would make sense to us that the copies, the shadows, the types, the patterns of the heavenly things – the Tabernacle and all its parts and the sins of the people – would be purified with blood and the sins of the people would be forgiven through the shedding of – animal – blood.

            But the Tabernacle and all its parts and, especially, the forgiveness of the sins of the people through the shedding of animal blood were only foreshadowings of the real things – of the heavenly things – which would require better sacrifices.

            Specifically, we have been looking at the forgiveness of human sin through the bloody sacrificing of animals – and we noted that though the forgiveness was real that was received through the bloody sacrifices, it was momentary – temporary – the forgiveness was not complete, eternal, or whole.

            In order for the sacrifice to merit heavenly standards, a human would have to shed his blood for a human – and, like the animal that was sacrificed, it would have to be a human that was without spot or blemish – it would have to be a perfect, holy, sinless human.  But that would only cover all the sins of a person’s past – if you could find a perfect human who would be willing to stand in for you to be sacrificed, your past sins would be forgiven through the blood of the sacrifice, but as soon as you sinned again, you would be under the Wrath of God again.  So, not only would you need to find a real human being who was sinless, but that human being would also have to be God so He could survive the Wrath of God for all of your sin – past, present, and future.

            And, if you have heard the Gospel before, you know that there is one and only one Person Who has ever fulfilled those conditions:  Christ Jesus, the Incarnate God.  John Owen writes, “The sacrifice of Christ is the one, only, everlasting fountain and spring of all sanctification and sacred dedication; whereby the whole new creation is purified and dedicated unto God” (Owen, Hebrews, vol. 6, 378).

            Through the shedding of the blood of animals, there was a temporary forgiveness which looked forward to the Savior Who would come to merit forgiveness for all those He came to save.  And, as Owen notes, this Work of Christ, while first for the salvation of His people, is also for the restoration of the entire Creation.  As Paul writes, “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (Romans 8:20-21, ESV).

            How did Christ obtain this for us?

“For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.”

Christ did not enter into the holy place in the Tabernacle, or even into the Holy of Holies, itself – which were only shadows of the heavenly reality, rather, He entered Heaven, itself – the dwelling place of God, and resumed His Place on His throne at the Right Hand of God.

            Today is Ascension Sunday, and we may remember what happened on the day of Ascension:  “And when [Jesus] had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven’” (Acts 1:9-11, ESV).

            Jesus spoke to the disciples and then physically ascended up through the air, through the clouds, and out of sight – and the disciples stood there stunned.  But God sent angels to tell them to be about the work that Jesus had given them to do, and Jesus will return from Heaven in the same way they saw Him ascend into Heaven.  And since the Ascension is not as popular as the doctrines of Santa Clause or the Easter Bunny, we may forget why this matters:

            First, Jesus is advocating for us before the Father.  Paul writes, “Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us” (Romans 8:34, ESV).

            Second, since Jesus physically ascended, we are assured that our physical bodies will be raised to eternal life in the Kingdom.  Paul writes, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:4-7, ESV).

            And third, Jesus has sent us God the Holy Spirit to indwell us as a guarantee of our salvation.  Paul writes, “And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee” (2 Corinthians 1:21-22, ESV).

            Now, we get to the main question for this morning:  is Jesus’ One Sacrifice enough for all those He intends to save?  Yes!

“Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own,”

We remember that the priests of the first Covenant had to continually offer blood sacrifices – and the especial blood sacrifice on the Day of Atonement – Yom Kippur.  Why did the priests have to offer blood sacrifices over and over and over?

“The repetition of the annual sacrifices under the law was mainly from hence, because they were not able to perfectly to effect that which they did signify;” (Owen, 387).   The bloody animal sacrifices had to be repeated because they were never enough to pay the debt for all the sins a person would ever commit, much less free a person from slavery to sin.

Someone might offer up a cow to be slaughtered, and God, in His Mercy, would count that in the person’s repentance and forgive him for the sin for which he gave the cow.  But if he stubbed his toe on the way out of the Tabernacle and used the Lord’s Name in vain, he would be under the Wrath of God again.  (Not even considering that he would still be under the Wrath of God simply because he was not freed from slavery to sin.)

Probably few, if any of us, have slaughtered an animal in the hopes of receiving forgiveness for sin from God.  But, if we did, we would understand it would not be enough, we would have to continually offer up animals, because we continue to sin, and we would continue to sin as slaves to sin, so we would never break out of the cycle, and, eventually, we would die, and not be forgiven, but would remain under the Wrath of God.  Does that make sense?

If God said, in His Mercy, He would forgive our sin – as He did in the first Covenant, if we offered up blood sacrifices for our sin, and we never stop sinning, we would never be able to stop sinning, right?  And if we died a sinner, which we all certainly would do, we would still be lost, damned, and under the Wrath of God, right?

But, as the author of Hebrews tells us, Christ did not offer Himself up repeatedly.  Why?  Because Christ perfectly accomplished what He intended to do through His One Sacrifice.  As a real, sinless human being and as God Himself, Jesus offered Himself up as the blood sacrifice – as the Substitute for all those He came to save – and He could receive in His Body all of the Wrath of God for all of the sins of all those people He came to save, and He could rise from the dead, victoriously, freeing us from our slavery to sin and crediting us with His Righteousness.

Through Jesus’ one life, one death, one resurrection, and one ascension, He was able to pay our debt, make us righteous, and secure our place in the Kingdom of God.  Nothing more need to be done to save us, because the God-Man did it all.

And this is one problem we have with the Roman Catholic Church and all the varieties of Eastern Orthodox churches in understanding the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper:  both the Roman Catholic Church and the variety of Eastern Orthodox churches say that the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is a re-presenting of the sacrifice of Jesus, but a bloodless sacrifice.

Do you hear two problems in that in the light of our Scripture?

First, they say that the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is a bloodless sacrifice.  We started out this morning as we ended last week, looking at verse twenty-two of this chapter, in which we are told, “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.”  If there is no blood, there is no forgiveness.  A bloodless sacrifice is a useless as a screen door on a submarine. “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.”

Second, they say the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is a re-presenting of the Christ’s Sacrifice to God the Father.  They argue that since we continue to sin, the Sacrifice must continue to be presented to the Father.  If the Sacrifice has to be re-presented, that indicates it was not effectual – it did not do enough.  Do we believe that Jesus’ One Sacrifice paid the debt for all of the sins of all of the people who would ever believe in Him?  Or do we believe that His One Sacrifice was not enough and has to be re-presented every time we gather that the Father might forgive our sins?

The author of Hebrews tells us there is no re-presenting of the Sacrifice:  “for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.”

The author of Hebrews argues that if Jesus’ Sacrifice has to be re-presented every time we gather, then He must suffer every time we gather, but that is not what the Scripture teaches:  Christ appeared once for all those He came to save at the end of the age. 

We see the idea – again – that the author of Hebrews brought up at the beginning of his letter:  just as God sent prophets and preachers first, and then His Son at the end of the age, God sent priests to offer animal sacrifices for sin, and then sent His Son at the end of the age. 

The one offering of Christ for sin, puts away all sin by Himself and through Himself – as both High Priest and Sacrifice.  If you believed in Jesus Christ Alone for salvation, then Christ died to pay the debt for your sins, to free you from slavery to sin, enabling you to seek after holiness, and He has credited you with His Righteousness, so you are seen by God as righteous, even though, in this life, we continue to sin as we strive towards sanctification.

Paul writes:  “But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

“For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:17-23, ESV).

“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,”

With a scant few exceptions in history, unless Jesus returns first, everyone will experience physical death and experience that death only once.  Because of the sin of our first parents, everyone (excepting a few) is appointed to experience a physical death.  “For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead” (1 Corinthians 15:21, ESV).

Yet, whether we die or Christ returns first, all humans will be resurrected in their bodies to face the judgment.  This should not disturb we who are Christians, because we have been saved by Christ’s One Sacrifice.  However, even Christians will go through the judgment, but to a different end.

Jesus said, “For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done” (Matthew 16:27, ESV).  This is what the angels, on the Day of the Ascension, told the disciples would happen.

Lest we be confused, let us understand that we are not saved by our works – we are saved by Christ’s Works.  Our judgment is not to salvation – as Paul explains:

“According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire” (1 Corinthians 3:10-15, ESV).

Our works in response to the Gospel – and our believing it – will be judged, and we will receive some sort of reward based on the net purity of those works.  But all those who believe in Christ Alone for salvation will be received into the Kingdom – even if all their works burn up and they are saved, “but only as through fire.”

Such will not be the case for the non-believer.  All those non-believers who go through the fire of judgment will have their works burned up and they will not have the foundation of Christ and His Work to be saved by.  They will endure the Wrath of God for their sin.

            So, let us be confident and diligent in following after Jesus and doing all the good works that God has put before us.  The work that we do for the Kingdom is a joyful work, because Christ has been sacrificed once, and His Sacrifice accomplished everything it was intended to do.  There is nothing more to do to merit salvation – Jesus has done it all.  So, we can work for the Kingdom, not worrying about success or failure, because success is assured in Christ, no matter what happens on earth.  Christ is victorious, so we are victorious.

 “so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”

And we – above all people – have hope. 

Christ has paid the debt for all of the sins of all of the people He came to save.  As Isaiah prophesied:  “Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,           and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12, ESV).  He has born our sin and freed us from slavery to sin, so when He returns and receives us into the Kingdom in all its fullness, we will not have sin to deal with – the debt has been paid by the One Sacrifice of Christ Jesus.  Instead, on that day when Jesus returns, just as He ascended, this time coming down through the clouds in His physical body, He will save all those He died for, welcoming us into the fullness of salvation and the place He went to prepare for us.

Christ offered Himself as a Sacrifice for all those who will believe in Him and ascended to the Right Hand of the Father where He intercedes for us and assures us of our salvation and our future hope.

Christ’s One Sacrifice was enough to pay all of the debt for all of the sins of everyone who would ever believe and to free them from their slavery to sin; Christ only needed to shed His Blood once for our salvation.

Due to our first parents’ sin, we are all liable to die once, and when Christ returns, all people will go through the judgment of their works.  Those who have been saved through Christ’s Sacrifice will be received into the Kingdom, after eagerly awaiting the return of their Savior.

            Let us pray:

            Almighty God, we thank You for sending Your Son and for His Work on our behalf being mighty.  We thank You that we do not need to be confused or worried, but we can be confident knowing that Christ’s One Sacrifice was enough to pay our debt and free us from slavery.  Help us to follow after You and do the good works that You have set before us, and keep us eagerly awaiting Your Return, until that day when we rejoice to see the clouds part and Christ descend to the earth.  For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

Come to My Graduation!

You’re invited to my graduation – as long as the weather is nice!  (Otherwise, I have a select few tickets I will give out for an inside ceremony…sorry.)

Anyone who is willing and able to come may come to my graduation on Saturday, May 18^th at 10:30 AM at Drew University, 36 Madison Ave., Madison, NJ, 07940, behind Mead Hall.  (There are “refreshments” afterwards.)

Please feel free to bring or send large cash gifts.

Reformed Wisdom

from Calvin's comments on Hebrews 9:26 --

"And hence it is evident how frivolous is the distinction, in the acuteness of which the Papists take so much delight; for they say that the sacrifice of Christ on the cross was bloody, but that the sacrifice of the mass which they pretend to offer daily to God, is unbloody. Were this subtle evasion adopted, then the Spirit of God would be accused of inadvertence, having not thought of such a thing; for the Apostle assumes it here as an admitted truth, that there is no sacrifice without death. I care nothing that ancient writers have spoken thus; for it is not in the power of men to invent sacrifices as they please. Here stands a truth declared by the Holy Spirit, that sins are not expiated by a sacrifice except blood be shed. Therefore the notion, that Christ is often offered, is a device of the devil."

Review: "Spark"

Jason Jaggard’s book, Spark, is the story of Jaggard’s founding of his Spark Groups, which he describes both through anecdotes and basic theory throughout its pages.  The purpose of the groups is to help people move out of ruts and fear and take risks that will help them to become happier, more fulfilled, better people.  The whole theory of Jaggard’s work can be boiled down to – as he says – asking oneself, “What one risk can I take this week to make myself a better person or the world a better place?” (12). From there, he tells success stories and pulls at how one might answer one or both of these questions.

Jaggard’s groups and theory may be very useful for those who can take the first step – either on their own or through encouragement.  It is easy to become stilted and stale, so one need to do something – anything – positive that will move one out of the stasis or pride, depression, etc., that one finds oneself in.

I wish this book were more Scripture-based, though I do find his ideas helpful – if, as I said, one can get past the first step and take the risk to do something.  Also, Jaggard makes the common exegetical mistake looking at 1 Corinthians 10:13, which is a promise that believers will not be tempted beyond what they are able to bear.  He makes the common mistake of interpreting this to mean that God will never give a believer more than one can handle, which is simply not true.  God will not allow a believer to be tempted such that it is impossible for one to refuse to follow the temptation into sin.  However, God does give believers more than one can handle.

Depending on the person and their current state of mind, thinking about the question that is the backbone of these groups may just be the spark that person needs to break free and move forward.

[This review appears on Amazon.com and on my blog.  I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.] 

"Execution by Blood" Sermon: Hebrews 9:15-22

“Execution by Blood”

[Hebrews 9:15-22]

May 5, 2013 Second Reformed Church

            Do any of you have a will?  Do you understand what your will does?  If you understand – even if you don’t have a will, you will understand a major point of this morning’s text.

            “Therefore”

            Last week we ended by looking at the fact that Christ’s Blood has greater – and eternal – effectiveness for purifying the believer.  Being sprinkled with the blood of animals was a temporary, though real, purification, but Christ’s Sacrifice offered up by Himself as the Final and Perfect High Priest is an eternal purification.

We also noted that the fact of the matter is that the best works we do, even as Christians are tainted with sin.  Yet, through Christ and by the Power of the Holy Spirit, we can and ought to strive to do the good works He has set before us, continually working towards the holiness we are called to. 

            “Therefore” – since these things are true:  Christ is the Final and Perfect High Priest Who offered up Himself as the Final and Perfect Sacrifice for the purification of sin, we are eternally purified and empowered by God the Holy Spirit to turn from sin and do the good works God has called us to – we are to strive towards holiness – towards sanctification.

            “Therefore [Christ] is the mediator of a new covenant,”

            The first Covenant made by God through Moses – the Mosaic Covenant – was a lesson that it is not possible for us to be saved by our works.  God made promises and called all to keep the Law perfectly.  But the Law was never meant to be a way of salvation – the Law was to show us that we cannot keep the Law, but our Only Hope is through the Savior that God had promised to send from the Garden.

            The first Covenant called the people of God to obedience – holiness – and made the promise of an inheritance based on the keeping of the Law – and that promise was confirmed through death – that is, through the blood of animals.  But the promise was forfeit every time they sinned – every time they broke the Law.

            The New Covenant – the Covenant through Jesus – the Gospel – also calls the people of God to obedience – holiness – but made the promise of an inheritance based on God’s call and Christ’s Work – that is, through the Blood of Christ.  This promise, since it is based on the Work of Christ, is eternal for all those who will believe.

            Notice there is a mediator for both covenants:  in the first Covenant, Moses was the mediator between God and the people.  As we read:  “Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, ‘You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.’ Moses said to the people, ‘Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.’ The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was” (Exodus 20:18-21, ESV).

            In the New Covenant, Christ is the Mediator.  “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” (1 Timothy 2:5, ESV).

            Why was Christ the Mediator of the New Covenant?

“so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance,”

The problem with seeing the first Covenant as a way of salvation is that neither the mediator, nor the people could refrain from sin, and sin broke the Covenant.  In the first Covenant, the mediator could not expiate sin – he could not totally remove sin, the sin nature, the desire to sin, and the effects of sinning.  Moses did not have that power – and the blood of animals did not have that power.

Christ became the Mediate of the New Covenant so that in perfectly keeping the Law and through conquering of sin, all those who believed in Him would be saved from sin – their sins would be forgiven and they would be made holy through Christ’s Work.

God, through Christ’s Work, has adopted a people for Himself, so the inheritance we receive is not through biology or genealogy, but through being the adopted sons and daughters of God.

With Christ as Mediator of the New Covenant – Who kept the first Covenant perfectly and took upon Himself all of the sins of everyone who would ever believe in Him – all those God called to be His – we are delivered from the eternal wages of sin – eternal death – and received the righteousness of Christ as our own.

God has chosen a people to receive the eternal inheritance through the Mediator Christ Jesus:  “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified” (Romans 8:28-30, ESV).

Yet, there is one piece missing:  remember that the Old Testament is a foreshadowing or a type of what Christ would be.  Christ kept the first Covenant’s Law and, thus, was righteous and could impute that righteousness to us – to we who believe, so we would be reckoned as righteous by God.  But Christ’s Life alone does not deal with our sin – the imputation of Christ’s Righteousness to us does not deal with our sin – the wages of sin must still be paid for.  In the first Covenant, this was done with the shedding of the blood of animals.  So, the Law requires that there be blood again.

“since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.”

Christ had to die as the Sacrifice for the sins of His people for us to be forgiven of our sins and delivered from our slavery to sin.  Blood had to be shed to fulfill the Law.  Death – blood – redeems from sins committed under the first Covenant.  Blood cleanses us from our sin.

“and [we] are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins” (Romans 3:24-25, ESV).

The author of Hebrews now turns to some word play:  in Greek, the word for “covenant,” “testament,” and “will” all have essentially the same meaning, so, to make his next point, he switches from using the word “covenant” to the word “will” – as in, “last will and testament”:

“For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established.”

If you have a will, you understand that it only takes effect after you have died.  I have a will and have explained what I want done with my stuff after I have died.  It does not take effect – my stuff is not taken and distributed as I would like them to be – until I have died.  A will is executed – it goes into effect – after a death.

In the case of Christ, He wills grace and glory to those who believe in Him.  All those who believe in Christ were willed His Grace – both the imputation of His Righteousness and the forgiveness for sin and freedom from slavery to sin.  And all those who believe in Christ were willed His Glory.  Again:  “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified” (Romans 8:28-30, ESV).  All those who believe in Christ Jesus Alone for salvation will be brought into His Glory.

“The goods and inheritance of the kingdom of heaven are bequeathed absolutely unto all of the elect, so as that no intervenience can defeat them of it” [Owen, Hebrews, vol. 6, 341].

“For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive.”

So, in order for those who believe in Christ to receive the grace and glory that He has willed to them, Christ had to die.  Both in fulfilling the Old Testament Sacrifices and in fulfilling the legal working of a will, those who believe could not – in reality – receive the things He bequeathed to His people until he died.

OK?  So, if Shirley bequeathed $500,000 to the church in her will – which would be a very nice thing to do – the church would not receive it until she died.  Similarly, Christ willed certain things to every believer, but they did not receive it until He died. If Christ came to earth, lived a holy life, and ascended back to the Father, we would still be dead in our sins and without hope – it is only through Christ’s death that we inherit salvation and its benefits.

Now that we see the point of inheriting the benefits of Christ Work, the author of Hebrews resumes using the word “covenant.”  The author of Hebrews points us to the inauguration of the first Covenant – the Mosaic Covenant – to show the parallels between it and the New Covenant – the Gospel:

“Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood.”

The summary of what happened, we find in Exodus:  “And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, ‘All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.’ And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, ‘Behold the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words’” (Exodus 24:6-8, ESV).

Of course we know this was not the blood of humans, but the blood of animals – as we have been discussing.  All the same, the first Covenant was executed with blood, just as the New Covenant was executed with blood.  Why?  Because a will cannot be executed until death has occurred.

Now, the author of Hebrews looks at some specifics of what happened in executing the first Covenant:

 “For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, ‘This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you.’ And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship.”

First, Peter explained that Moses prefigured Jesus:  “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people’” (Acts 3:19-23, ESV).

Second, Moses and the priests slaughtered a number of animals – and there must have been quite a lot of them killed on that day to have enough blood to fling on all six million Israelites – and drained their blood into basins.  Half of the blood was thrown on the altar – the place where offerings were made for the forgiveness of sins.  The other half of the blood was flung on the Tabernacle, its vessels, the book of the Law, and all of the people.

Why was blood thrown on everything?  Because blood is symbolic of the execution of the Covenant and the forgiveness of sin and for the purifying of all those things, as well as the people, involved in the sacrificial ceremonies.

Jesus similarly said at the Last Supper, “for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28, ESV).  The wine of the newly instituted Lord’s Supper was symbolic of the blood Christ Jesus would shed to execute the New Covenant.

Third, why was the blood mixed with water?  Perhaps to extend it so all six million Israelites could be sprinkled.  Certainly to keep it from coagulating as he sprinkled it from group to group.  John Owen notes, “But there was a mystery in it also” [Owen, 360].

When do we see blood and water associated with Christ Jesus? 

“Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—that you also may believe” (John 19:31-35, ESV).

The mixing of the blood and the water – which is why some traditions mix the wine with water in the Lord’s Supper – was done because it prefigured the blood and water which came out of Jesus’s side when He was pierced by the spear.

Fourth, why did Moses fling the blood – not just with his fingers – but with scarlet wool and hyssop?

For this we can only conjecture – if there is symbolism to be found here at all.  Certainly Jesus is called “the Lamb of God.”  The scarlet could symbolize His Sacrifice or royalty.  And hyssop is use to purify as an antibiotic.  But there is nothing blatantly clear in the Scripture as to why these were used.  So, we dare not go too far in conjecturing.

Our text for this morning ends:  “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.”

Let us just quickly note this:  there are a number of ways to become legally pure in the Old Testament – through blood, through offering up of other items, through baptism, etc.  So, not everything is purified only through blood.

However, there is no forgiveness of sin without the shedding of blood.  There is no other way to be forgiven for our sin but someone be bled – that someone’s blood be shed.  This is the one and only way God has made for sin to be forgiven.

The first Covenant – the Sacrificial System of the Old Testament – surely makes it clear that we cannot be eternally forgiven of our sins through the blood of animals.  And if humans were coming with animals for forgiveness, mere human blood would never be enough.

No, only Christ Jesus, the God-Man, could make us right with God through His Life and through the shedding of His Blood.  As Paul wrote, “Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God” (Romans 5:9, ESV).

            We covered a lot in a short number of verses:

Christ is Mediator of the New Covenant, because no mere human is capable to be the mediator.

As Mediator, Christ lived a holy and perfect life under the Law, imputing to us His Righteousness, and securing an eternal inheritance for all those God called to be His people.

Yet, Christ’s Blood also had to be shed to fulfill the shadow of the Old Testament sacrifices and to free us from slavery to sin.

In the New Covenant, Christ has willed all those who believe in Him grace to be righteous, forgiven of sin, and free from slavery to sin.  And He has willed that all those who believe in Him will be brought into His Glory in the Kingdom.

However, in order for Christ’s Will to be executed and the benefits of salvation to be given to those who believe, Christ had to die.

Just as Moses was the mediator of the Covenant, Christ Jesus is the greater mediator of the Covenant.

Just as Moses bled animals to execute the first Covenant; Christ was bled on the cross to execute the New Covenant.

Just as Moses mixed the blood of the dead animals with water, Christ Jesus’ blood was mixed with water in His death.

God told Moses there was not forgiveness of sin without the shedding of blood, and without the shedding of the Blood of the God-Man, Christ Jesus, there is no eternal forgiveness of sins.

Let us pray:

Almighty God, splashing blood here and there seems very foreign to us, but we can understand the idea of a will and how it is not executed except by the owner’s death.  And we can consider that and hear the promises of the New Covenant – righteousness and forgiveness for sin and from slavery to sin, and we can understand that those promises which are willed to all those who will believe through Jesus Christ can only be received in His death – through an execution by blood.  Help us to take all the more seriously what You have done to save us and to live lives of humility and seeking after holiness.  For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.