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Nobleton Community Church
29084 Sentinel Street PO Box 224
Nobleton, Florida 34661
Rev. Paul V. Lehmann, Pastor
813-389-8683
Nobletoncommunitychurch.org
info@nobletoncommunitychurch.org
OUR VISION IS:
To experience SPIRIT-FILLED WORSHIP AND PRAYER
To be involved in EVANGELISM, DISCIPLINING AND TRAINING PEOPLE
To use our SPIRITUAL GIFTS
To SERVE AND REACH PEOPLE FOR CHRIST, BOTH
“ACROSS THE STREET AND ACROSS THE WORLD”
Nobleton Community Church
Date June 1, 2025
Text Hebrews 9:10-28
Pastor Paul Lehmann
In our text this morning in chapter 9 verse 12 of Hebrews we see clearly that: It is not by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, that he entered once and for all into the Holy Place, because he had secured for“ us an eternal redemption. Then in verses 20 and 22, we see that “this is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you to keep…
in fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin.” You might ask; ‘why is that?” In Leviticus 17:14 we read that;
“THE LIFE OF ANY CREATURE IS ITS BLOOD.
To drink blood, was a pagan practice, to gain the characteristics of the slain animal’s strength or speed, etc. Israel was to be separated to discourage pagan practices. God’s people were to rely on him, not on ingested blood for strength.
Jesus’ power enters into us, not by the drinking of blood (the cup –the wine). He enters into us by his Holy Spirit. That’s why we believe that Communion is symbolic, not the actual blood and body of Christ.
In the Old Testament, to preserve that symbolism of the sacrifice, it symbolized the life of the animal, as well as life itself.
To protect: many deadly diseases are transmitted by the blood.
He asks us to identify with him completely. He wants us to take his life into us, and he wants to participate in our lives.
This imagery comes from the Day of Atonement rituals described in Leviticus 16. Redemption refers to the process of paying the price or ransom to free a slave.
THROUGH HIS OWN DEATH, CHRIST FREED US FROM THE SLAVERY OF SIN FOREVER, Even though you know Christ, you may believe that you have to work hard to make yourself good enough for God. This is what all false religions teach. It is a doctrine of works. But rules and rituals have never cleansed people’s hearts. By Jesus’ blood alone we have our consciences cleansed. We are freed from death’s sting and can live to serve God. We are freed from sin’s power. We sing about these truths, usually just before Easter when we celebrate the resurrection of Christ or sometimes before or during communion services. But if you are carrying a load of guilt because you are finding that you can’t be good enough to take away your sin, you need Jesus to take it away.
The sin of the world, as John said)– and take our place and die for us. This is the basic meaning of the New Covenant, that Jesus brought, that we should have access to God.. To put it another way, we should have fellowship with God. The writer of Hebrews is talking about even those who were under the Old Covenant, now can come “boldly” before the throne of God., (that is, with confidence, we can come directly to God.) The veil (the curtain) that was a barrier to the Holy of Holies, where only the priests could go and offer sacrifices, has been torn in two. (Matthew 27:37).
In John 19:30 we read; “Jesus said, “IT IS FINISHED” and with that, he bowed his head and gave up his Spirit.” Until this time, a complicated system of sacrifices had atoned for sins. Sin separated the people from God, and only through the sacrifice of an animal, a substitute, could they be forgiven and become clean before God. But people continually sin, so frequent sacrifices were required. Jesus however, became the final and ultimate sacrifice for sin. The word finished used in John 19:30 in Greek is a commercial term. Tetelios, meaning “paid in full.” Jesus came to finish God’s work of salvation, to pay the full penalty for our sins. With his death, the complex sacrificial system ended because Jesus took all sin upon himself. Now we can freely have the forgiveness provided by God through the sacrifice of Jesus. We can say, as the Gather song goes; “It is finished, the battle is over. It is finished and Jesus is Lord.”
The writer of Hebrews states that the first covenant was primarily about rules and regulations for worship, but wasn’t effective in cleansing one’s conscience from sin. He says in verse…10 For that, the old system dealt only with food and drink and various cleansing ceremonies — physical regulations that were in effect only until a better system could be established. The old system was about ceremonial purity. When one broke a dietary law or ceremonial law, the old system could offer ceremonial cleansing. The new system, he explains, is about spiritual purity. It deals with the real problem of the human race: the sin that separates us from God and from one another. The ancient tabernacle, he explains, is designed to illustrate that free access is impossible under the old system. But under the new covenant, he explains, free access is possible, and it belongs to every believer in Jesus Christ. He goes on to state that we have access to God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. His death pays the price for our sins and opens the door to our relationship with God.
THE QUESTION OF SACRIFICE
Let’s address an obstacle that many find in this text: the talk of sacrifice.
The Old Testament system of animal sacrifices wasn’t the perfect system, because it was based on a limited and incomplete concept of the nature of God. But it did point the way to the perfect system; it gave the ancient people of God an understanding of what was to come.
If you were to say that the idea that killing an animal could somehow cleanse you of your sins is completely wrong, the writer of Hebrews would agree with you. He says…It is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. (Hebrews 10:4)He says something similar to this in chapter nine verse 9
“For the gifts and sacrifices that the priests offer are not able to cleanse the consciences of the people who bring them. For that old system deals only with food and drink and various cleansing ceremonies — physical regulations that were in effect only until a better system could be established.”
When we first came to Florida 18 years ago, Wesley Chapel hardly had any subdivisions. Route 54 had lots of road construction and cones along the roads. These temporary roads were, at best, ineffective. They consisted of one lane with barriers on both sides, (much like the Brooksville-Spring Hill section of Route 50 (Cortez Blvd.) that goes past Wall-Mart.used to be. . They were constantly congested, and took a long to travel. We’ve all had to deal with this kind of road construction, but it was temporary. It was just in place until a more perfect system could be established. Today, however, if you were to come to Wesley Chapel Route 54 east of 75 is a divided highway, The difference with this illustration though is that Wesley Chapel, and now San Antonio is constantly changing, and there are housing developments and commercial buildings everywhere. This illustrates, to a limited extent, what we see in the first covenant. It acknowledges the fact that there exists a chasm between humankind and God, that our actions — sinful and self-serving as they are — separate us from him. And it hints at the idea that God will provide a way for this chasm to be crossed, for this debt to be paid. God’s New Covenant does not change. Man’s old way, is constantly changing, hopefully for better traffic patterns, but they are constantly trying to make it better. Much like man trying to do good works to save themselves and make life better.
THE PROBLEM OF MORAL DEBT
The writer of Hebrews says…
Verse 13 Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. Let’s stop right there for a moment.
Why should God require a sacrifice for sins? Why can’t he just wave them off and forgive us of his own volition? Why does he need the blood of his Son to forgive me?” Many people ask this question. So, why did God require the death of his Son to forgive our sins? He did it because we needed it, not because he needed it. He did it because it was the only way for us to understand the significance of sin and the extent of his mercy.
WE HAVE A DEBT TO PAY
Let’s say you get a credit card offer in the mail with a ten-thousand-dollar limit. You’re already approved and good to go. Being the good American that you are, you are willing to do your share in stimulating the economy by immediately going out and purchasing $10,000 worth of goods and services. This is what a lot of people, (especially students) have done. When the bill comes in, you have three ways of dealing with it. The first and most obvious is to write a check and put yourself at zero balance. It’s a happy ending for all involved. But let’s say you don’t have the money to pay the bill, not even the minimum payment. Then what can you do? You can completely ignore the bill and refuse to pay it. If that happens, eventually the credit card company will write it off as a bad debt and they’ll put a negative mark on your credit report so that (theoretically) you can’t obtain further credit. This way, you’re not really paying the debt, the books don’t really balance, and even though you’re punished for it (with a bad credit score) the debt remains outstanding.
The third option is to have someone pay it for you. There are phone calls where if you have $10,000 or more debt, they will negotiate it down for you “You’ve incurred a debt you cannot pay, so they will pay it for you. And you don’t have to pay it back, because you can’t. In this scenario, the debt is paid and you’re free to continue your life.
The one option that doesn’t exist, especially in our world in which credits must always equal debits, is for the credit card company to say, “You can’t pay? No problem. Let’s pretend like it never happened. We’ll give a zero balance and reactivate your card and you can go out and do it again.”
I would venture to say that even if this were to happen — if your bad spending habits were just waved off and ignored — you wouldn’t become better at managing money, you’d become worse. You wouldn’t be able to grasp that your bad spending habits create hardship on others, or that your bad habits would ultimately lead to economic destruction.
Somehow, someway, a debt must be accounted for. As I said, this is only an illustration, but maybe it can give you insight into the human condition and our relationship with God. Sin is not just breaking an arbitrary rule that God established — such as: it’s wrong to wear white after Labor Day. (except maybe in Florida it’s okay)- or women shouldn’t wear pantsuits or slacks— to think that our sins are just our business, and they don’t hurt anyone else. That’s not true. The things that God defines as sin are actions and attitudes that only serve to widen the gap that exists between him and you.
Sin also widens the gap between you and the people you love. Sin is selfish, destructive behavior. It is ugly and it causes pain. The reality is that you and me and the rest of the world are sinners. We’ve hurt the people we love. We’ve stood in defiance of God. We’ve said on more than one occasion, “I don’t care what’s best for anyone else, I don’t care what is the right thing to do, I will do exactly what I want to do.”
Some may say that more often than others, but all of us have certainly said it, at least by our actions. When we know we should be generous, we’re sometimes selfish. When we know we should be patient, we’re sometimes irritable. When we know we should speak words of love and encouragement, we sometimes speak words of anger and resentment. When we know the right thing to do, we sometimes do the wrong thing.
We do this with one another and we do it with God. And the gap between us grows wider and wider.
We cannot fool ourselves into thinking that this gap doesn’t exist. And God cannot, or will not, pretend it doesn’t exist either.
If he were to dismiss our sins with a wave of his hand, he would be saying, in effect, “The damage that you have caused with your selfish and sinful behavior isn’t really that bad. The people you hurt with your selfish and sinful behavior really weren’t that hurt. Let’s just pretend that when you take advantage of someone financially, you’re not robbing them of what is rightfully theirs. Let’s pretend that when you treat someone like a sexual object you’re not destroying their dignity. Let’s pretend that when you explode in anger at your wife or children you’re not sabotaging their self-esteem. Let’s pretend when you engage in gossip to ruin someone’s reputation, that you’re not crippling their future. Let’s pretend that none of this stuff really matters.”
No, a thousand times NO! that’s not what God says, because he knows the damage that sin can cause. We need to understand it, too. It can’t be dismissed and ignored.
When we confront our sin and become honest with ourselves about what we have done and why we have done it, we realize that we’ve done damage that can’t be undone, that we owe a debt we cannot pay.
If, at this point, you’re inclined to say, “But I’m not really such a bad person,” I would say that you’re not yet being fully honest with yourself about your actions and your attitudes and the consequences they yield.
But when we do become aware of our sins, we realize, “I can never make this right on my own.” We need a sacrifice. We need to know that the debt has been paid, and that it won’t always be hanging over us.
Isaiah says…All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all. (Isaiah 53:6) Hebrews 13 says…For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.
It’s as if God is saying: “The damage caused by your sins is something you can never undo, but it’s something I will undo. The debt won’t go unpaid. Instead, it will be paid in full by someone who loves you very much. Any pain or punishment that you rightfully deserve, he will bear. He will be pierced for your transgressions and crushed for your iniquities, and by his wounds, you will be healed. This is because I love you, and I don’t want there to be anything — not even your worst sins — to stand between us.”
- Once and for all, Jesus Christ paid the price for your sins
- He did this so that you could be free to experience the fullness of God.
3.. You never have to fear God’s judgment.