Hebrews 10:1-18 | The One Sacrifice of Christ Made for All Generations

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May 8, 2022 Covenant Reformed Baptist Church Tullahoma, TN Pastor Jeff Rice

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All right, if you would turn with me and your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 10 We will consider verses 1 through 18
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Hebrews chapter 10 1 through 18 Father I come to you in the name of your son
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Jesus Christ And Lord I just ask you to speak through me
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Use the spirit that you have in me to speak To your people I pray in Christ's name
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Amen All right, so last week we saw That our redemption was through the blood of Jesus And we walked through the purpose of the resurrection if y 'all remember our three -point outline was
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We saw that a death had to occur That blood had to be shed
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And that heaven had to receive If heaven did not receive the work of Jesus Christ you and I everyone no one
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Goes to heaven to be with God When we die Right.
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That's that's the conclusion that we came to last week A death had to occur blood had to be shed and heaven had to receive the sacrifice of Jesus Christ Our theme for this week is the one sacrifice of Christ Made for all generations and again last week.
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We kind of touched on it for a minute We'll see the full picture of it today
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If the sacrifice of Christ counted to oh covenant believers then that same sacrifice
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Counts to you and I as well and we read When we walk through the text last week of hebrews 9 verse 15.
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I'm just going to read it and you're hearing today It says therefore he
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Jesus is the mediator the high priest of the new covenant covenant of grace
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So that those who are called this is the effectual call may receive the promise of the internal inheritance and remember when we on easter we walk through the internal inheritance is our
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Resurrected body since a death has occurred that redeems them
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We're going to find out who is the them from their transgression from their transgressions committed under the first covenant
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The writer is telling them That those who have already died who have been effectually called by god to believe in the promise
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They will receive their inheritance the resurrection of their body
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He's telling them don't worry about your forefathers don't worry about your ancestors if they believed they will receive the same way that you and I will so in our outline today, we will see the
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The old covenant fulfilled by jesus Through his act of impassive obedience and hopefully you'll come to understand why i've been pushing
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Those words so much the act of impassive obedience. It's because of this one section that we've been we've been driving to this one section
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We'll have a four point outline we'll see the first point the old covenant was a shadow
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Second point Obedience to the old covenant point number three the sacrifice of the old covenant and point number four the new covenant realities the old covenant shadow
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Obedience to the old covenant the sacrifice of the old covenant and new covenant realities and as we transition let us remember
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Again, I know this is something that i've said many times but i'm just trying to get us get it in us that the new covenant
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Is the covenant of grace? And that the covenant of grace Is the old covenant the covenant of works fulfilled on our behalf.
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We cannot let that Go from our mind point number one
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The old covenant was a shadow We're just going to walk through this uh passage of scripture since it's so long we're just going to Read it as we go through the first time.
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So let's look at verses one through four Hebrews chapter 10 one through four
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The writer says since for since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come
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Instead of the true form of these realities it can never by the same sacrifice
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Sacrifices that are made continually offered every year make perfect those who draw near otherwise
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Would they not have? Ceased to be offered since the worshipers having once been cleansed
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Would no longer have any consciousness of sin But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sin every year for it is impossible
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For the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins
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And I Gave this analogy and I hope you remember the analogy of the menu
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Right you go to a restaurant They give you a menu And if you're like me you like pictures you see what you want
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And you order it and then they take the menu away and they bring you back with that menu
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Pictured they don't bring you the menu back for you to eat Right the menu is a picture
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It's it's it's a type and they bring you back the answer type the mirror I mean the menu is a shadow of what you want.
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They bring you back the substance we Me and my wife we went out to eat this
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Past week for which it was kind of like an anniversary Birthday and mother's day type of a thing all in one having kids.
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We can only get a babysitter for one night So we just kind of lumped it together. I saw a picture of a steak
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I Yeah, I wasn't below me I saw a picture of a steak I ordered
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What that steak showed me my picture showed me that's what I ordered And they brought they took the menu and they brought me back a big juicy steak.
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It was so good. I can't explain it um They didn't bring me back the menu that's the point and That's the point that the writer in hebrews and I believe that all of the
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The new covenant Letters are teaching Now what we're dealing with is is it's kind of like this.
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Have you ever tried to to grab a shadow right, like like if you were to send forth a light and I was to but You can kind of see there you can see my hand is projecting a shadow because of the light that's coming down You're trying to grab a shadow
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Right You can't do it. There's there's nothing there. There's nothing to grab.
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It is not the substance The shadow is not the substance and yet that seems to be what's going on here in the text
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The writer is is telling them you are reaching you're grasping for shadows
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When the substance has come and we have in this letter the
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This letter it's a letter written to the messianic congregation And some of which they're not devoted to the teachings of the apostles, right
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Some actually believe some believe intellectually and some don't believe but the main thing is is is is those who who profess to believe they're not
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Submitting themselves. They're not devoting themselves to the teachings of the apostles and we see this in acts chapter two verse 42 but The context is speaking of those who heard peter's message
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They cried out what must we do to be saved. They were given instructions And verse 42 tells us and they those who cried out to be saved they devoted themselves
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To the apostles teaching To the fellowship to the breaking of bread and prayer
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And so he's speaking to this congregation He's writing this letter those who are grasping at shadows because they're not devoted to the teachings of the apostles
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The teachings of the apostles they're making clear the old covenant from the new covenant
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They're showing that the new covenant is the substance and the old covenant is the shadow This group of people they have a head knowledge
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Yet they're reaching back and trying to grab the shadow
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And I know as y 'all been walking through this with me.
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It's it's it's it should be very clear the argument here this this
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Bible this pages are sticking Okay, here we go So The shadows of which if they were paying attention, so they're reaching back.
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Excuse me first They're reaching back. They're trying to grab a shadow The shadow of which if they were paying attention the substance projects
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Right, so my hand again my hand Is making a shadow against that wall off the reflection of that light
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They're trying to grab the shadow instead of grabbing the substance That's what's going on here
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That's that's what the old covenant new covenant is about the old covenant is a shadow the new covenant is
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The substance that's what the writer is Pointing out that jesus the messiah the mashiach has come
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Him Bringing in the new covenant Now the writer points out that there is no assurance being
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There is no assurance of being right with god under the first covenant So listen as I read verses one and two again
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Listen what he says there is no assurance for since the law Old covenant has but a shadow
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Of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities it can never
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Listen it can never by the same sacrifices that are continually offered
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Every year make perfect those who draw near otherwise
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They would have ceased from being offered since the worshipers having once been cleansed would no longer have any consciousness of sin
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Now that last part right there. I just read consciousness of sin This should convict you and I I know it convicts me
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Being that I am a worshiper of christ I am in christ and I have been cleansed
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And the writer is saying that if these sacrifices were sufficient They would have no consciousness of sin
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I'm gonna let you think on that for a second Okay, the text tells us in verses three and four that this system
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Why this system has this consciousness of sin It says that it is used as a reminder
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Versus three and four Yeah But these sacrifices there is a reminder of sin.
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So What reminds them of their sins? The old covenant law Sacrifices by these sacrifices
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There is a reminder of sin every year for It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin
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Whenever they see the temple whenever they see the sacrifices whenever they celebrate the feast days
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That is a tool That god uses to remind them of their sins so by way of reminder
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I was kind of thinking of things like like there's times like like, you know when you pump gas and you put the uh,
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The the screw on the the lid back onto your your gas can So if you pay attention you can twist it till it's tight
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But then it twists like you can hear that click click click click click click I was told that I need to click it until there's actually two three four or five clicks
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So you make sure that it's on there. And so now This was told to me 20 years ago
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And now every time when I go to click it and I hear that click it reminds me of the person that told me to Do that 20 years ago
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Like I cannot do that without being reminded of the person who told me to do that Right I have
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I have a scar right here on my hand, you know, I can remember I was cutting the shingle I was roofing
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I was cutting and the hook blade slipped off the shingle and it and it cut me right up on my thumb
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And every time I see that scar or any other scar on my body I am reminded
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Of the time when I was injured Right or You know if you're in here with me 10 o 'clock comes my alarm goes off That alarm reminds me to take headache medicine or 30 minutes later.
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I'm gonna have a headache Right like like we have these reminders set up in our lives
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And this text is telling us that these this sacrificial system this old covenant that Israel was under it was a remind it was to remind them of their sins the question is is
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What is it that's being used in your life? That's reminding you That's giving you a consciousness of sin
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It says that if these things were perfect, they wouldn't have a consciousness of sin And yet christ's sacrifice is perfect We should be convicted
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Not of sin, but because we carry around a consciousness of sin we as we transition
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We we do need to understand that we are both saint and sinner Coining the phrase we are sin and saints
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Right We are justified positionally before god and yet we carry around this flesh
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If you will read with me romans chapter 7 We're going to read chapter 7 verse 15 all the way to chapter 8 verse 4
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If you ever try to read this real fast like it can be some tongue -tied You can definitely get tongue -tied
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And some people will like to say that when paul wrote this he's not speaking of himself as a christian
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But I want you to listen to the language. I believe that he is Listen to the language
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Romans 8 chapter 7 beginning in verse 15 For I do not understand my own actions
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For I do not do what I want But I do the very thing that I hate
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Now if I do what I do not want I agree with the law that it is good So I know long so it is no longer
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I who do it but sin that dwells within me For I know that nothing good dwells in me that is in my flesh for I have the desire to do what is right
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But not the ability to carry it out For I do not do the good
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I want but the evil I do not want is What I keep on doing
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Now if I do what I do not want it is no longer I who do it but sin that dwells within me
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So I find it to be a law within my a law That when I want to do right
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Evil lies close at hand For I delight in the law of god in my inner being
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But I see in my members another law waging war against the law Of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members
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Wretched man that I am Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to god through Jesus christ our lord.
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So then I myself serve the law of god with my mind But with my flesh
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I serve the law of sin Therefore there is no condemnation for those who are in christ jesus
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For the law of the for the law of the spirit of life has set you free in christ from the law of sin and death
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For god has done what the law Weakened by the flesh could not do by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin
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He condemned sin in the flesh In order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fulfilled in us
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Who won't not according to the flesh, but according to the spirit How is the righteous requirements of the law?
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revealed in us Because of what christ has done When we allow ourselves to look within ourselves for assurance
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There's always you look you will always find a consciousness of sin
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If you're looking within yourself To see if you are right with god you are always going to find a consciousness of sin
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I was talking to my wife this week and this is something that that we hear quite often You know when we ask someone how do you know you're a christian?
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And you might have said this. I know i've said this in my in my past I said well, you know, I started
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I was real bad and and over time I could see my life progressing and i've gotten better That's looking within yourself
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That's looking within yourself Now It's good to know that you've gotten better but that's not how you know, you're a christian
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How do you know you're a christian Because christ died for my sins.
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He was buried And he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures
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That's how I know i'm a christian, I believe that I believe that I believe that that's how
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I know Not because of my life trajectory It's good to it's good that you went from a to b and sometimes you'll fall down into a pit and come back up again
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That's life But anytime that you look to yourself
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You're not looking to christ and we find within ourself a consciousness of sin paul was
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Was explaining that we have a consciousness of sin because we look to our own good works
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And not what was fulfilled for us by christ Second point obedience to the old covenant
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Now this is the subject that we've been hitting on week after week. I kind of went off on it earlier Because it is the heartbeat of the gospel and it is the act of obedience of christ without the act of obedience of christ, we
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Do not stand positionally righteous before god So in order to be positionally righteous before god you are it means that you are justified
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Before god it is as if you have no sin Right You are righteous before god and if The act of obedience of jesus christ is not true
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Then we are not justified. We are not positionally righteous before god
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We are dependent upon the life that he lived in order for us to be righteous
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I'm gonna say that again We are dependent upon the life that he jesus lived in order for us you me everyone to be righteous
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If all that christ did was die for our sins That makes us only forgiven not righteous
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Now this is probably not something that you hear in other churches if christ only died for your sins
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That makes you only forgiven and not righteous and and i'm going to save a deep dive into that Because after we're done with hebrews, we're going to go to the gospel of john
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And the gospel of john there's a clear passage that teaches this so we're going to Put a pin to from going any deeper there
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But just know That if christ if all he did was die for us We are only forgiven.
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We are not righteous If we're only forgiven then we must keep the law to earn righteousness
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And the moment you sin the moment that that christ died for you you become a believer and you sin
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You're no longer a believer You're no longer right.
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You're no longer forgiven You need another substitute If all he did was forgive us
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We have to be made right we have to be made right which is why the work of christ
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Had to be for all so the act of obedience of christ cannot be separated from the passive obedience of christ
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Without the two hand in hand active and passive obedience. There is no gospel message
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If he only died you're forgiven until you sin Because you're not righteous
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The life that he lived him the life that he lived is credited to you causing you to be righteous that That that when you believe he credits you with righteousness
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Means you're right with him and your sins are forgiven Now let's read the passage
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Chapter 10 verses 5 through 9. I mean chapter 10. Yeah 5 through 9
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Now Consequently when christ came into the world he said
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Speaking to his father sacrifices and offerings You have not desired but a body you have prepared for me
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And burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure Then I said behold
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I have come to do your will. Oh god as it is written of me in the scroll of the book
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When He said above You have taken you have Neither desire nor taken pleasure in sacrifice and offerings
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And in burnt offerings and sin offerings these offered according to the law Then he added behold
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I have come to do your will He does away with the first in order to establish the second
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Covenant So the question is How does god?
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How does he jesus do away with the first covenant in order to establish the second covenant?
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I know if I went around the room you could probably answer this He done it by keeping the first covenant.
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That's act of obedience He kept the first covenant and by keeping the first covenant. He brings in the second covenant the new covenant
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So by keeping the first covenant he brings in the new covenant, this is what we was looking at last week the death of the testator
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We saw this in hebrews chapter 9 verse 16 and 17. I'll read that real quick It says for the will
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For where there's a will involved The death of the one who made it must be established
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For a will takes effect only at death Since it is not force
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As long as the one who made it is alive. And so we looked at the greek word.
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The greek word was deotic and You can basically translate it as covenant or will and we saw that Our translator uses the word will that if someone was to leave you something in their will when they die you receive it
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As far as is a covenant the scriptures is saying that whoever makes a covenant that covenant will not be
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Established unless the death of the one who made it dies And I pointed out that this is pointing back to the garden of eden when god made the cursed promise
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Good promise for us a curse to satan about an offspring would come that would bruise his head while only bruising his heel
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Speaking of the covenant of grace the new covenant jesus comes and he
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Ushers in the new covenant by living the life that we could not live and that when when he died
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When he died that covenant was established The new covenant was established when jesus christ
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Died and that's what the text was teaching last week That's why death had to occur and blood had to shed and heaven had to receive
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That it was god's will That it was the will of god that the old covenant was to be kept jesus came kept the old covenant in our place
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And in doing so he fulfilled the father's will so what's the father's will? Again, this is something that we already know.
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It's the covenant of redemption It was the father's purpose to save a people
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It was the father's will to save a people So in order for him to save a people the covenant had to be kept in order for the new covenant to come in The old covenant had to be kept and as we transition
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God did not desire Their speaking of the the jewish people. He did not desire their sacrifices.
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We just see we saw that in the text or offerings But he desired their obedience
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It wasn't about the blood It wasn't about the sacrifices. It wasn't about the offerings.
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It was about their obedience It had to do more with the heart of the people than it did with the blood of the animals
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God desired obedience Christ comes and he becomes the obedience and the book of hebrews is all about our our resting in his obedience, so so I Made this point chapter 4 chapter 5 that our obedience you and I So god desires obedience.
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He doesn't desire sacrifice What is our obedience that god desires for us for justification?
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Chapter 4 chapter 5 explains it our obedience is resting in his obedience
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What must I do to do the work of god John chapter 5 jesus says believe in him whom the whom god sent
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Is doing the work of god. You want to do the work of god believe in the one that god has sent
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You want to be obedient to god? Trust put your faith In the one who has obeyed rest in him he is the sabbath
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As we transition For you and I to be right with god.
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We must rest we must trust and what god has done for us third point
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Trying to get through these as fast as I can saying that there's four points The sacrifice of the old covenant.
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This is hebrews chapter 10 10 through 14 Let's only read verse 10 first Verse 10 says this and by that will
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What will covenant of redemption? We have been sanctified through the body of jesus christ once and for all
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So covenant of redemption god purpose to save a people. It was the will of god to save a people
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Jesus accomplishes his will jesus Accomplishes his purpose by keeping the law and dying the death
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Now notice what the writer says He said he says that by the act of obedience of jesus christ right here.
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It says, uh Verse 10 And by that will
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Jesus coming and keeping the law We have been sanctified through The offering of the body of jesus christ once and for all so by the act of obedience of christ.
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We are Sanctified Right. We're it says by the act of obedience of christ.
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We are sanctified through the passive obedience of christ
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Our gathering together each week should not be a reminder of sin Listen, we don't gather together each week to have a reminder of sin
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Right. That's what the old covenant system was Our gathering together each week should be a reminder of the one who took our sins upon his own flesh
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When he was hung on that cross All right I don't want to go to church i'm going to be reminded that i'm a sinner
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Well, if you're not a christian, yeah, then you need to be reminded that you're a sinner but if you're a christian Coming to church is a reminder that the one who took of the one who took our sins upon himself
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That the holy spirit speaks of a single sacrifice that's being done for all people again, let's read uh verse 10 again, and we'll
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Read through verse 14 And by that will remember the covenant of redemption we have been sanctified
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Listen sanctify this as you're living a holy life sanctified living a holy life
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Through the offering of the body of jesus christ once and for all And every priest stands daily at his service offering repeatedly the same sacrifice which could never take away sin
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But christ but when christ had offered All time a single sacrifice for sin.
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He sat down at the right hand of god Waiting from that time until his enemy should be made a footstool for his feet
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For by a single sacrifice he has perfected all those who are being sanctified
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The same gospel that you're saved by is the same gospel that you're sanctified by Since the moment jesus picture this since the moment jesus sat down on his throne the the throne of david
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The whole world is being made a footstool for his feet Right If you're a christian you have been made a footstool you have been footstool
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Uh was talking today about this roe versus way. I think it's how you say roe roe v way or whatever
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One day if not now one day it will be a footstool under jesus christ secularism footstool
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You if you're not a christian today, and if god has pre -ordained for you to be a christian one day
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You will be footstool whether you whether whether it's the uh
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Your bowing of the knee calling on the name of the lord Footstooled or whether it's your screaming torments from hell either way you're going to be footstooled
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Everything will one day be footstooled He will take possession of all things and it started the moment.
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He sat down on that throne The new covenant has come.
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He is removing the bite. He is reconciling the world through himself And he's doing it in two ways retroactively and Prospective Prospectively Retroactively the cross applies to all those in the old covenant.
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Remember we talked about it last time last week Prospectively what christ has done on the cross applies to everyone under the new covenant.
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So from Imagine the cross being the center point of history if you go backwards, so i'm right.
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Yeah, so if you go backwards Every one before the cross is that was called
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Effectually The blood that was shed on that cross applies to them retroactively
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Perspectively I hope i'm saying it right Yeah, prospectively the cross applies to us same cross same blood applies to all those in the
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The pen no, it doesn't matter how long the lord tarries the blood applies to us
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So this one sacrifice for all people everyone That is effectually called whether it's past present or future if you are
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Called by christ your way of being footstooled is that you will call upon the name of the lord
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And again, and I mentioned that Even in that active and passive obedience all those that do not call upon the name of the lord
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God will still get glory even if it's from the scream and smoke of their torment Under the old covenant sacrifice
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Excuse me under the old covenant. The sacrifices could not set could not sanctify
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Under the new covenant the sacrifice has sanctified those in christ
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It has perfected us remember we walked through this when we were speaking about quorum deo
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It has perfected us meaning What jesus has done has made us complete and we now have quorum deo.
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We now live in the presence of god quorum deo I mentioned was Christians living
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In the presence of god under the authority of god and in honor and glory of god.
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So you say well Since since we're under the new covenant, are we to follow christ? Well quorum deo christians if you are in christ if you're in the new covenant
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You are living in the presence of god under the authority of god and in honor and glory of god
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Yes, if you're a christian you are going to obey That's not for your justification and it's not for your sanctification
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All that is done by what christ has done The point is is that his people do what follow him?
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He says that my sheep hear my voice and they follow me. I can I can remember I was pulled up on this roof site
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I was doing this roof and this This lady had this piece of property and it man.
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She if she didn't have a hundred sheep. She didn't have two I mean just sheep everywhere And me and my friends that were roofing this house we got out was by the fence we were
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You know was trying to call the sheep over to ourselves. We would say hey sheep sheep we're making a little click noise and With our mouths trying to get their attention.
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They wouldn't even look at us They just kept on doing what sheeps do this woman peeks her head out the door and does some clicking sound
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Every one of them Stopped what they were doing and they ran to her
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The sheep knew her voice and they followed her If you're truly in christ you follow christ
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We live in coram deo Our works don't save us our works don't sanctify us.
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But guess what we do obey We do obey we grow we have that trajectory but that trajectory
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Does not may tell us that we're in christ. Do you believe? Do you believe
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That's how you know if you're in christ Do you believe that he died for your sins according to the scriptures was buried and on the third day?
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He rose again according to the scriptures because if you do Then you're a christian
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It's really that simple everything else is shadows Excuse me fourth point new covenant realities
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I hate when I get all worked up and they say no, I got another point to start Oh new covenant realities
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So In our last point we will see the realities that the shadow of the first covenant did not have remember
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Chapter 10 verse 1 listen to verse 1 for since the law
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Remember old covenants for since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form
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Of these realities it can never by the same sacrifice That are continually offered every year make perfect.
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This means complete coram deo Those who are draw who draw near to god now listen to verses 15 through 18
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And the holy spirit also bears witness to us after saying This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days declares the lord
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I will put my laws in their heart And I will write them on their minds
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And then he adds I will remember their sins and lawless deeds no more
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Where there is forgiveness of these? There is no longer any offering
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For sins Under the old covenant the law was written on stone on stone tablets
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Under the old covenant god remembered their sins and their lawless deeds under the old covenant
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The sacrificial system was a tool used To remind them of their sins
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Under the new covenant the law was written in our hearts and it's written in our minds meaning we
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Want what god wants we actually care about what god cares about?
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We're not just going to temples and lighting lamps Uh changing bread on the table and lighting incense like it's some kind of ritual duty
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We read our bibles we pray we love each other we're there for one another who's talking about the body earlier in sunday school
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And I was just as you were talking. I was just imagining myself man If my left hand itches does my right hand neglect to scratch it?
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No The body takes care of itself No We want what god wants
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Under the new covenant. There is no reminder of sin Nor is there a reminder of our lawless deeds.
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Yes. Well, why why is that it's because jesus has forgiven us of our sins He is he has he he has become the forgiveness
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Through his life death burial resurrection through his living the life. We could not live and through his substantary substantary atoning death on the cross
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We have to remember what we just read earlier in romans 8 1 there is no Condemnation for those who are in christ jesus if you are in christ jesus
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There is no condemnation. There should be no consciousness of sin If you're going to a church where they're always
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Shoving your sin in your face. Let's go to another church Let's not do that We're to be reminded of the one who took our sins from us
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Under the new covenant. There is no reminder of sins. There is only Only a reminder of the one who took them away
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Ladies and gentlemen, that's a hallelujah. Hollowback moment The christian is not to be the one that reaches out for shadows
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Right. We're not to be the one that reaches for shadows But instead we are to be the one who trusts us in the substance if you will look in your bulletin.
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I have a little insert You're probably wondering what's up with this insert
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And some of y 'all probably study this So if you if you notice if you know anything about philosophy, this is speaking of the allegory of the cave
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It's a plato's philosophy of dualism So what he has here is a theory of forms
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Right. He he's trying to understand the real versus the unreal
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And as you read into it and you study it you find out that what was real to them was the idea
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Right, it wasn't the earthly it was the idea. So If you were to take
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And make a table say this table right here is a square right
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Plato's philosophy that he's speaking about is he's saying that this table this square table is not real
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But the idea of a square is real Oh Meaning that this
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A fire could happen. The table could be burnt up Thousands of years could occur
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And the table would disintegrate like like it's not always going to be here But the idea of a square
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Something that's square will always be here Right. Are you following me? Okay And so it's kind of like the what i've been talking about with the earthly versus the heavenly
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So if you look at this this picture what we have here Is you see that there's a brick wall?
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And then you see that there's prisoners tied up behind the brick wall and they're
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Facing a wall that's projecting shadows and so but so on one side of the brick wall you have prisoners on the other side of the brick wall you have a a a fire and then people walk back and forth with objects whether it's horses soldiers or Whatever it is and they make noises
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And these prisoners who grew up in this prison all they know is this situation
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All they know is darkness and a light coming over a wall where shadows are coming to them
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The shadow is the real To them the shadow is the substance
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But what plato does is he says he doesn't really explain it He just says that somehow one of them was let go whether they escaped
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Or or however it was he was let go and he walks out of the cave
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And his eyes are hurting he can hardly see And he is told that the shadow
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Is not the real it's not the substance But that the substance makes the shadow and so it's hard for him to understand at first and then finally he sees the
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A ball of fire the sun and everything that's in in the way of the sun the sun causes it to project a shadow
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And so he starts to understand that that something has to project the shadow that the shadows aren't the real
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But they are the unreal That's pointing to the real the The square is not the real
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But the idea of the square is the real that's what plato is arguing And as i'll study in church history this week,
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I I I constantly go back and forth and I like I just keep going through it And again, i'm back at the early before church history and i'm going through plato and he was
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Talking about this and it made me real lucky made me just see this passage in a new light
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That our writer was someone who believed in the old covenant he that's all he knew was the old covenant and then all of a sudden
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He heard the gospel And he saw He he saw a new light.
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He was able to exit the cave And and plato's argument is is that after this man sees the substance he goes back and he tries to rescue his
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Friends and he tells them that the shadows Are not the real but they are projections of what is real
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They refused to listen to him. They didn't want to hear what he had to say And so the writer of hebrews he
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What is he doing? He is going back to his own Ethnic ethnic people and he is telling them that what you're looking at is shadows.
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It's not real It's not real Jesus christ has come the substance has come all these things were pointing to him
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He was actually what projected these things. Oh the paschal lamb that pointed to jesus
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Oh the goat that was slaughtered that pointed to jesus And the jews are refusing to listen to him
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So the call of faith and repentance is this If you're here today, and you're not a christian
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The world you're living in is not real It's not real it's it's not it's not the heavenly this world will one day pass away
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The bible is clear that the new heavens and the new earth, the consummation of the new heavens and the new earth will one day appear.
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And everything that we know of that we think is real is going to vanish away. And if you're here today and you are not a
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Christian, I've explained the gospel, He lived the life that you couldn't live, and He died the death that you deserve to die.
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And what you're called to do in response is you are to believe that Jesus is the
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Christ, the Son of the living God, that He died for your sins according to the scriptures, that He was buried, and that God raised
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Him from the dead on the third day. And the Bible is clear that if you believe this in your heart, what
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I just said, and with your mouth you call upon His name, you shall be saved.
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The Bible says, therefore, with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
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So what must you do to be saved? You must believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living
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God, that He died for your sins, and that God raised Him from the dead. And if you believe that with your heart, the
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Bible says you are justified, you are made right before God. And you confess with your mouth that He is
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Lord. The Bible is where anyone can understand it.
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To the Christian, if you are a Christian here today, if you have unrepentant sins, the
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Bible is clear. If you confess your sins, He is faithful and just to forgive you of all sins.
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Oh, Christian, isn't that the hope, right? We are sin and saints. We are both a saint and sinner.
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And we know that when we sin, that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins.
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So whether you are new in the faith, or you've been walking in the faith for a long time, this is what we're called to do.
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We've been looking at it in the Sunday school. We were called to devote ourselves to the teachings of the apostles, to the breaking of bread, to fellowship and prayer.
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Does any of those things remind you of your sin? No, but of the one who took our sins.
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We are to sing one another, we are to sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. We are to sing with thankfulness in our heart to God.
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Does that remind us of our sin? No, it reminds us of the one who took our sins.
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And that's the very thing that we've done here today and will continue to do here today. We devote ourselves to the teachings of the apostles, to the breaking of bread, to fellowship and prayer.
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And we sing psalms, hymns, spiritual songs with thankfulness in our heart to God. That's what we are called to do.
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And I don't see anything in that telling me that I'm unrighteous and I need to make myself right with God.
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But I see in that, that although I was unrighteous, God made me right with Him by sending
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His Son to take upon Himself what I deserve. I'm available to anyone who wants to talk when the service is over.
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If you have any questions, please come talk with me, Pastor Cal, Josh. Let's pray.
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Father, Lord, we love you and we do ask for your forgiveness.
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Help us to be faithful. Strengthen us. Help us to love one another,
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Lord. Help us to not take for granted what you have given to us as what
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Josh was talking about earlier today, our closest neighbors being our family, and then for our church family, and then for those in our neighborhood,
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Lord, our actual neighbor, Lord. Help us to be loving and gracious. Help us to be faithful and to speak truth no matter what.
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We love you. Please continue to be with us. Father, be with those right now as they prepare themselves to take part in the supper.
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Lord, we pray that you use this, even this, to continue to conform us to the image of your dear