The Perfect Sacrifice

SERMON OUTLINE

• 💭 Consider this: Do you live each day with the knowledge that Christ’s sacrifice is truly enough? How can you point others—not to themselves or their efforts—but to the perfect, finished work of Jesus?
• I. Foreshadowed In The Ceremonies
• II. Fulfilled By Christ
• III. Fixed Through The Covenant

TRANSCRIPT

Grace be unto you, and peace from God our Father, and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Thank God for this privilege coming before thee, before God, before you, to share this message from Hebrews 10: 1-18 — The Perfect Sacrifice.

Once I was approached by a man who told me that we as Christians are very weak people. We are dependent on one man called Jesus Christ. He told me that, ‘Why can’t you try yourself to do what is good, what is righteous, a blessing to others? Why do you always depend on the work of Jesus Christ? You are using a crutch—Jesus is your crutch. You are a weak person.’

Indeed, there are many in the history of the church—people who try to diminish, undermine, and undervalue the perfect sacrifice of Christ. There were heretical teachings even in biblical times. there were Judaizers in the time of the Apostle Paul who said that it is not enough for us to just believe in what He has done for us. It is not enough for us to just trust what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for us on the cross. ‘We need to continue doing the sacrifices,’ they said. ‘We need to continue to do what Moses has commanded—circumcision, giving all the sacrifices into the temple, and doing all the commands given in the Old Testament.’

Even in the later part of the life of the Apostle John, there were people who tried to undermine the great sacrifice of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. There were those Gnostics who claimed, ‘Oh, Jesus did not really come as God. He was just a phantom. He was just somehow an imagination of man. The one who was crucified was not the Christ—He left the man when He died on the cross.’

There were also those who tried to undermine the sufficiency of the death of Christ. They said that He is not fully God—He’s just a man, He is 50% God. These Arians wanted to promote that we need to do something in order to further or to complete the work of Jesus Christ because He did not fulfil and do all things required for us to be saved.

Even after the Reformation, there were so-called Reformed Calvinistic theologians who tried to undermine the soteriology—the salvific work—of our Lord and Saviour. They said, ‘Well, Jesus Christ came to die at the cross just to demonstrate God’s anger and His wrath upon sinners so that man will be moved to receive Him.’ They thought that man is not totally depraved, and we must have—or we have—the ability in ourselves to believe and receive and choose the Lord Jesus Christ. So it was not to die for our sins—it was just a demonstration of God’s wrath upon sinners.

These are things that come throughout the history of the church to put down the value, the significance, of the Lord Jesus Christ’s sacrifice. And here we have in Hebrews chapter 10 a clear teaching—the doctrine that Paul (as I believe he is the writer of the book of Hebrews) gave an outline here—that the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ was perfect, is perfect, and will always be perfect, and will always be the only sacrifice that we can trust. It is the only sacrifice where we can rely on.

I. Foreshadowed In The Ceremonies

And he says it is a sacrifice that was foreshadowed in the law. When God saw that man cannot fulfil or cannot do anything for his salvation, when God saw that man cannot do anything for his redemption, God in His laws ordained that there is a Messiah—a seed of a woman—that will come. And in this, He wants the people to learn that in the coming of this Messiah, there is a sacrifice to be done. He will offer Himself to die, and He will shed His blood on the cross (though it was not mentioned that it was a cross, but He will shed His blood).

And when you look forward to the work of this Messiah, you have to learn that this must be done, and this must be illustrated, demonstrated, in the way that God says, ‘You must do in the ceremonial laws that I have commanded you.’ And in these ceremonial laws, He wanted them to believe and to have faith in what the Messiah would do.

In fact, that was what He said—or that is what He said—in verse 1: "For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect."

In fact, it was ordained even before Moses. We understand how God told Adam and Eve—and we know that this was told to them because Abel and Cain did those sacrifices. So we see that in this foreshadowing, the writer of Hebrews tells the people that this is a sign or a pointer to the real thing. This shadow points to something that is the very image of that thing, but it is not the real thing.

And he says this pointer would tell us—would tell the worshippers—that they have to await and put their faith on that coming sacrifice. But that sacrifice itself is not the work that would cleanse you, the work that would deliver you out of your sins. "For then would they not have ceased to be offered?” (Hebrews 10:2a) If indeed those sacrifices are the perfect or the fulfilment of the cleansing and forgiveness of sins of those who offer, then they would not have done it again and again.

And verse 2 says: "because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins." If the moment he brings a lamb, the moment he brings a goat, the moment he brings an ox to offer, and it is that fulfilment—or cleansing, total forgiveness of your sins—then you don’t have to do it again. When the writer says it is done year by year, because it is not the sacrifice that would cleanse you, it is these sacrifices that will point you to the very sacrifice that God has ordained—and that is through the Messiah. It is like a pointer. It is like a sign.

A few days back, we went to Phillip Island for the camp, and there were signs that show from here there is about 80 or 100 kilometres. We don’t stop at that sign. We don’t stay there because it says there is still a distance to travel. We have to move, and we have to reach that final destination. That sign does not say that it is the place where we have our camp. It is not Phillip Island itself.

And so the writer here describes the ceremonial laws that were commanded in the past were not in themselves the cleansing, the forgiveness of your sins. It is looking forward to what the Lord has ordained for you to be done. And why should there be a sacrifice? Why should there be a Messiah who will come?

But we all know—and I believe all of us, or most of us, have known—that we need someone to represent us, someone to substitute us. We have sinned. Not only that we have sinned, we are sinners even when we were conceived in the womb of our mothers. The first parents have sinned, and through their sin, we have also our original sin. And through that original sin, we who are sinful people in nature—sinners—come out or are delivered into this world by our parents, and we sin continually, daily.

So we need somebody—we need someone—to atone and substitute us because we cannot do it by ourselves. No matter how much we try to do good things in order to be forgiven, to be pleasing before God, we know that we cannot do it. "There is none righteous, no, not one." (Romans 3:10) The Bible says no one can expiate, or no one can propitiate, or no one can make himself righteous before God.

And God has promised, ‘I will send the Messiah. I will send the seed of the woman to be the final sacrifice. He is the sacrifice—the perfect sacrifice.’ (Genesis 3:15, Galatians 4:4, Hebrews 10:10, John 1:29) So those who have gone through the sacrifices in the Old Testament—God foretold that you have to do this so that you will have faith on the coming Messiah, and you have to do this in order to look forward to His coming. (Hebrews 10:1, Colossians 2:16-17, Galatians 3:24, John 5:46)

And in verse 3, it says: "But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year." Every time they confess, every time they offer, every time they come to the temple, they’re reminded of their sins. But every time they come, they must look forward and remember that there is a final offering of this sacrifice for the cleansing and forgiveness of our sins.

"For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins." (v. 4) If you offer sacrifices—if you offer bulls or oxen or goats or lambs—that offering itself will not cleanse you. That offering itself will not let you be cleansed and be righteous. That offering itself will not grant you forgiveness of your sins. That just shows how there must be a final offering that will be done. You have to believe in the promise of God. You have to believe in the covenant of God. You have to believe what God has told your forefathers. And you continue on doing this, looking forward to the coming of Christ.

II. Fulfilled By Christ

So the author says, ‘Yes, it was foreshadowed, but it was fulfilled in Christ.’ We thank God that today we are not in the age of foreshadowing in the Lord. We are not in the time when we look forward to His coming. We are not in the time that we are hoping that He will come to offer Himself as a sacrifice for our sins. We look back—He has done it. He finished it. He has gone through the life on earth in order to give Himself as a man who fulfilled all the demands of the law that was given by the Father.

And not only the active fulfilment of the law of God, but He also passively went to the cross, obeyed what God has said, so that He will receive the punishment of the sins of the world. John the Baptist says, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." (John 1:29) So all the foreshadowing in the law, all that was described in the book of Leviticus—the giving of the offering of sacrifices, offering of burnt offerings, offering of those lambs, goats, bulls—were done in the past.

And today, we don’t do it here. And nobody is bringing a lamb or a goat here to be sacrificed on the altar. We look back on what was done on the cross of Calvary. So that was fulfilled by Christ. And in verses 5 to 14, the writer describes this fulfilment. His fulfilment was done, in the first place, when God the Lord Jesus Christ came into this world in the incarnation. We talk of incarnation—God became flesh. He dwelt among us. He needed to be one with us. He needed to be man Himself. Although He remains to be God 100%, He is also man 100%. That we must understand from the Scripture. He is God-man. He is not 50% man and 50% God. He is 100% God. He is 100% man. He was incarnated.

And so here in verse 5, it says: "Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me." He came as a man. He was not a phantom. He was not an imagination. He came here on this world—God-man. He dwelt among us. He became flesh so that He fulfilled everything that we cannot do. And that is the active obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ—that everything that was required by God the Father for us, which we cannot do.

Whatever works we are required to do—the laws of God, the commandments of God—we cannot do all this. We cannot worship truly God. Even though how much we desire to worship the Lord, we are distracted in many ways. We come to the worship service—sometimes we miss many things in the sermon or whatever things we do here because sometimes our minds wander. There may be some concerns. There may be some kind of business. There may be some kind of errands that we have to do. We forget something. We have to go after the service and be there on time. We are distracted.

We want to worship fully, but we cannot do it.

• We don’t want to worship idols, and yet in our daily lives, the world is there to disrupt and try to catch our attention. And we love the things and the pleasures of the world, and we forget about God.
• We don’t want to say bad things. We don’t want to blaspheme the name of God. But somehow in our minds and in our thoughts, we do and we say things that are against God. We forget who He is. We question and murmur at His dealings with us.
• We want to worship God always during the Lord’s Day. But sometimes our office, our workplace, there are so many things that pull us away from coming to worship the Lord in the Lord’s name. Many Christians today just take the Lord’s Day as a few hours—one and a half hour—that’s all. If the preacher will extend a few minutes, you will complain. You will look at your watches and show to the preacher, ‘It’s already time.’ The Lord’s Day is brought into a Lord’s hour.
• The children today—we teach them how to honour their parents, but we know how they are told and trained in the schools that you cannot allow your parents to discipline you. Do something to fulfil what the Bible has said on chastening and disciplining children.
• We might not have killed a person, but we know in our minds, in our hearts, there are people that we are angry at, we hate.
• We think we are not committing adultery, and yet we know in our eyes and in our minds, we see other things—other women, wives of other men—that we lust after.
• We know we are not stealing—not stealing in big things—but in our heart, as we desire that these things are ours, how we look forward that ‘I can have that. My neighbours have this—I should have that. I should have all this.’
• We don’t want to lie, and yet we are telling and even accusing others also.
• And in all these things, we covet the things of this world.

We desire to do what is right, but we cannot do it.

One must come to fulfil all this perfectly and have only a perfect fulfilment of the commands of God—the demands of the Father. Through Him, He also must pay the penalty for our sins because we have done the sins, all the things that we have done or have made before God—all the transgressions, all the iniquities. So it’s not just fulfilling the demands, but also the paying of the punishment.

He says, "In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure." (Hebrews 10:6) It is not that God was not pleased with them in coming when they come to offer sacrifices. But here the Bible tells us that it is not through this that we can be forgiven. It is not through this that we can be atoned or be reconciled to God.

"Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me) to do thy will, O God." (Hebrews 10:7) It has been prophesied. It has been ordained. It has been written in the past. And this is our trust—that truly God’s Word is preserved. Because without God’s preservation of His Word, how can this be fulfilled if it has changed throughout the ages? There is no fulfilment—"in the volume of the book"—but it is written.

We thank God that indeed our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ came to do the will of God. This quotation here is taken from Psalm 40:6–8. The writer quoted this in order to prove to the recipients of this letter that it was said and told by the signs in the past. And you have to remember that this was done. This was made. This was declared.

And he continued to describe that this is the fulfilment of what has been prophesied. “Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein which are offered by the law;" (Hebrews 10:8) It is not through these sacrifices.

So he says here and continues to describe the Messiah who comes—and in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ—”Then said he, Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God. He taketh away the first that he may establish the second.” (v.9) The word "taketh away" is to put to death, to stop, to fully cause it to cease. No more will you do it again. No more will you look forward to come and offer bulls and oxen and lambs or goats. It has been put to death.

When we arrived in Phillip Island, there was no sign ‘50 km’ or ‘80 km’ because we were there. You don’t need a sign that you have to go further. There is no sign that you have to turn right or left. You are there in the island. And the writer says here is the final sacrifice. No more looking forward because we are here. No more looking to the coming because He came. In verse 10, "By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." Through this, we are sanctified.

Let me just bring you back to Romans chapter 5 in order for us to fully understand what this "taking away the first that he may establish the second" (v.9) means. Let me just read to you Romans chapter 5—and this is the covenant of God in Christ. And verse 12 says: "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world" (this is Adam), "and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of Him that was to come." (Romans 5:12-14)

Take note of this in verse 15: "But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification." (Romans 5:15-16) “Unto justification”—we are justified in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are made righteous before God. We are represented by Him. He made us sanctified.

Back to chapter 10 of Hebrews, verse 10: "By the which will we are sanctified"—this is the positional sanctification of the believer by which, when he believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, he is now seen as a saint, is now seen as one who is to be glorified, is now seen as a child of God. He didn’t have to look forward for another sacrifice. It says here, “through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." (v.10b) It was through His death on the cross. There is no other way by which a person can be saved. It is only through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And we understand this.

Today as we remember His death on the cross, this is the good thing in Good Friday. We know that He indeed offered Himself to die on the cross. And that sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all—His perfect sacrifice—is credited to us by which, when we truly believe and trust in Him, we are made righteous before His presence.

In the past, the priests stood daily, ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices. But those things they cannot take away sins. (Hebrews 10:11) The bringing of animals cannot take away sins because that was just a foreshadow, and that was done by the priests. But this man—the Lord Jesus Christ, your Lord and Saviour, my Lord and Saviour—after He had offered one sacrifice for sins, for ever sat down on the right hand of God.

Now take note of this in verse 12, He says: "But this man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;" “For ever”, this means that the sins in the past—starting from Adam and Eve—to the sins of this generation who are in this world today, and even to the last generation that will come—all of these sins, past, present, and future, are all paid by the Lord Jesus Christ.

He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever. We don’t look forward in the years to come another lamb who will be crucified. Another Christ that will be crucified. Another prophet that will represent man. Another man who will say, ‘I am here. I am sent by God to sacrifice in order for you to be forgiven.’ There is just one sacrifice, and that is through the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no other.

You can’t find it in prophets and any gods of other religions. It is only through the Lord Jesus Christ. And after that, He was received, pleasing before the Father—because after His death on the cross, He was taken down, buried, and then He rose again after the third day. And this resurrection led to the ascension, and that He is now sitting at the right hand of God—accepted before God. It was pleasing to God. It was God’s victorious work to redeem His people.

God says, ‘You sit down at My right hand. This is what you deserve. You are glorified.’ (Hebrews 10:12-13, Psalm 110:1, Mark 16:19, Hebrews 1:3) Take note—we don’t think of a picture of an old man, and the side there is Jesus, and the other side is the so-called Holy Spirit as a dove. It is giving Him the authority. Sitting down on the right hand of God is giving Him full authority. He’s the Lord of lords, the King of kings, and He is here demonstrated as one who has done that perfect work for the redemption of mankind.

There was no other Saviour in the past, no other Saviour in the future. It is only through Jesus Christ. That’s why the writer here explains: "From henceforth expecting till His enemies be made His footstool." (Hebrews 10:13) And this is the prophecy of His coming. He soon will come, and He will reign, and He will be the King on this earth for a thousand years. He will come to rule this world. (Acts 1:11, Revelation 20:4,6)

For because of His one time offering, He had perfected forever them that are sanctified. (Hebrews 10:14) You and me—we have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ. And have believed and received and have fully acknowledged that it is only His work on Calvary that saved us. We are already seen as people who are glorified (Colossians 3:3-4), positionally sanctified before God. You have a place in heaven. (Ephesians 2:6) You have a seat that no one can take. You have a place that no one can take over. (Revelation 3:21) There is that place for you because you, in His eyes and in His record, is already perfectly sanctified, justified before Him—perfected because of what He has done.

III. Fixed Through The Covenant

And how can we be assured of this? How do we know that this is really sure? How do we know that this is really the case? The writer continues on: It is not just fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ, it has been fixed. Even from the beginning, those who will come to Him has been fixed by His covenant. It was witnessed by the Holy Ghost.

The writer says: "Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before," (Hebrews 10:15) It was said before—not that after the death of Christ, but even before. And this was again a quotation of a verse in the Old Testament: "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days,” (Hebrews 10:16a) This is taken from Jeremiah—by the way, Jeremiah 31 (Jeremiah 31:33-34). It says here, "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days." Take note that Jeremiah lived 500 to 600 years before the birth of Christ. He was already prophesied in those days that there will come a Messiah. And when the Messiah will come, not only that He will offer sacrifice for us, He will also prepare the hearts of those who will believe. He prepares the hearts of those who will come.

You are here not because it is your will and choice to listen to this message. You are not here because you just want to be here. You are not here because you have a free time or you have no other place to go this evening. You are not here because somebody forced you to come. You are not here because somebody pulled you and promised you something to eat later in the supper. It’s not because of those promises. You are here because God ordains that you will be here. It is God who ordains that you will hear this message. It is God that ordains that you will be reminded of His Word. (Proverbs 16:9, Jeremiah 10:23)

"I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more." (Hebrews 10:16-17) God will change our hearts. When we recognise, acknowledge, believe, trust, and receive the Lord Jesus Christ—His work on Calvary—He Himself has promised that He will change our lives.

Instead of having the burden of the dos and don’ts that they said of the law, we have the love to do it. We have the love to fulfil it. We have the love to obey it. We have the love to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. "I will put my laws in their hearts, and in their minds will I write them." (Hebrews 10:16b) He will cause us to be reminded always of what is done. "And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more." (v.17) What a sweet promise! "Sins and iniquities will I remember no more."

Today, we examine our lives. Even for us who are Christians, we know how we fail the Lord. Even though we are here preaching in the pulpit—ministers of God’s Word—we know that we are more sinners than you are. We know how we appeal to God. But how sweet a promise it is that if we trust truly and believe in the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ at the cross of Calvary—as we remember today—He says here, "Their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more."

I believe you are in the book of Micah these days in your studies. But here we have in this book—the last part of this prophecy, the minor prophecy—that of the promise of God. And he says here in Micah 7:18-19, (remember this is given before the birth of Jesus Christ) "Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea." What a wonderful promise from God!

Sometimes we are convicted of our sins, and we fail, and we ask the Lord, ‘Lord, am I truly saved? Am I truly Yours? Am I truly going to heaven?’ We have these promises from God. But truly, if we have believed in the perfect sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are no more to remember and even to think this. As God Himself who has subdued our iniquities, and He will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. (Micah 7:19) Paul says: "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." (Romans 8:1) Oh, how wonderful this is!

And he continues to this end in this passage that we consider he says: "Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin." (Hebrew 10:18) Now why did the writer continues to remind them?: "No more offering for sin." No more other ways. No more other person. No more other prophet. No more other means by which you can be forgiven. There is no more offering for sin. It is only in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now we have to understand that this epistle to the Hebrews was written by the Apostle Paul (I believe, and many of the conservative scholars believe also that it is Paul). The writer was in the time where they were undergoing persecution. It is believed that it was in the time of the Emperor Nero, because this was about 67–68 AD—prior to the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem.

The temple was still standing, and many of the Hebrews (in fact, it was originally titled ‘To the Hebrews’) were looking backward, planning to go back into their Judaistic faith. They were supposed to have believed in Christ already. They were supposed to be Christians—Jewish Christians, as we call today, Messianic Jews. They supposed to have trusted in Christ. They supposed to have followed Him.

But when there was a time where there was persecution of Christianity—Christians were labelled as those who burned the city of Rome in 64 AD—they thought that, ‘Oh, this is a difficult state. We’d rather have to go back into our Judaistic faith rather than continue on to be identified as Christians and suffer this great persecution.’

And so they thought, ‘It’s the same. We believe in Jesus Christ. He was foretold in the Old Testament. Therefore, we can also go back—step back—and worship God in the way we worshipped Him before. Worship God in the way by which we can offer sacrifices again—back into bringing the oxen and lambs and goats. Why go through this heavy suffering, difficult times? We can just return back into the ways of the past.’

It was easy. The Jews were exempted. Only the Christians were persecuted. And so the writer of Hebrews, this epistle—if you return back, step back into that point, you are not only leaving Christianity, you are denying Christ, and you are also rejecting your own Old Testament. It is like going into Phillip Island, and then after reaching there, it’s so cold—you have to go back to that point where it says ‘80 km’ and you stay there. It’s not just you are leaving Phillip Island. You are also denying that sign that says ‘80 km from here is Phillip Island.’

So it’s not just denying the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s denying the prophecy in the Old Testament that He will come—and He came, so they were challenged: ‘If you fall away, if you leave the faith, if you recant and deny the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Lord because you don’t want to suffer, you don’t want to have this persecution—you are denying the faith, and you are denying the Old Testament prophecies. You are denying the covenant of God. You are denying everything.’

And this is also important for us to understand as believers, as Christians. Because there are many Christians today who would rather fall away or step back in times where there are some economic problems, situations where we are so tied up—try to step back from our zeal and our service unto the Lord. When there are things that happen in our family, we try to step back and prioritise those things. When there are problems in our companies, in our workplace, we’d rather have to go into these things rather than give our service unto the Lord. We step back. We prioritise. We think that this is more important than Christ.

And if you fall away, the writer says, ‘There is no more sacrifice.’ You have denied your faith. You have rejected. You have stepped back. You have returned back to the world. And you can never have anyone to pull you out from that depravity. You are a person who apostatised, and the progression of such will continue on if you don’t trust in the perfect sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ.

If we don’t return, if we don’t go back, if we don’t repent, if we don’t confess that we have done evil before Christ—I pray that we will remember truly this perfect sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. How He has suffered so much. How He was scourged. How He was beaten. (Matthew 27:26, John 19:1) How He felt that agony in the garden of Gethsemane. (Luke 22:44, Matthew 26:38) How He carried that heavy cross. (John 19:17) How He was nailed on the cross (Mark 15:25)—that excruciating pain where He suffered not only because of us today, but even the sins of the past and even the sins of the future (1 Peter 2:24)—that He willingly did in order to save us.

And if we slowly have distanced ourselves from the Lord, please don’t go on and on and be away from Christ. There is no other way that you can be saved. There is no more other offerings. Don’t hope for any other person to come and save you. Today is a day by which we continue on to follow the Lord. There are times that we stumble. We fall. We fail. We miss many things from God. But we are to continue and follow the Lord Jesus Christ. We don’t have to fall away and go back into the world. There is no other sacrifice.

If you turn back from Christ, that means you are turning away from the path to heaven, and you are now going into your quest to hell and destruction. The only way by which a person can be saved and truly be able to enter into the kingdom of God is through the perfect sacrifice that the Lord Jesus Christ has done. He has done it. He has finished it. He has made it.

A preacher went to a village, and he had a gospel rally. He wanted to invite as many farmers as he can. He went to house to house to invite them. There were many who agreed, and they came. But there was one farmer who said, ‘Oh, I’m busy today. I have to plow the fields. I have to plant tomorrow. I have to do these things and do that.’ The preacher continued on to tell him, ‘This is more important than your field. This is more important than your agriculture.’ But he said, ‘No, I have to do this.’

And so on that afternoon, the preacher did share the gospel. Many came, but this farmer went to the field. But it rained heavily. He wasn’t able to do what he desired to do. And so he realised that he missed something. ‘I should have gone to that meeting.’ He ran to the meeting place. It was already almost night, and everyone already left the place—but the preacher was still there.

And so when he saw the preacher, he asked the preacher, ‘Please tell me. I know I missed the message. I know I missed the gospel meeting—but I want to know, how can I be saved?’ The preacher told him, ‘It is finished. It is finished.’ He said, ‘No, I’m still here. You can tell me even in few messages, in few sentences, in few words—tell me, how can I be saved? What must I do to be saved?’ The preacher says, ‘It is finished.’ Yes, It is finished! He has done it on the cross.

What we need to do is to truly believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. (John 3:16, Acts 16:30-31, Romans 10:9) That is it. He has paid it in full. He has done it. He has made it. He accomplished it for us. He has fulfilled it. (John 19:30, Hebrews 10:14) And how should we thank the Lord for doing it for us? Who are we that we are worthy of such sacrifice? Who are we who will say we are worthy of such agony in the cross?

"It is finished." (John 19:30) And on that day when He did it on the cross of Calvary, He has in His mind your name and my name. He died because of you and because of me. He died because of the sins of the people. And He died—He paid in full. There is no more other offering. He did it all. I pray that we will remember this. We will meditate upon this. We will consider this work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

When we were young—you know, in the Philippines, there are so many superstitious things that we do. And during Good Friday, we were told by our parents to remove or to follow the procession—going from one cross to another, to follow the stations of the cross. And they said, ‘You have to go barefooted. You don’t have to wear your slippers or your shoes.’

In our place, it’s all asphalt—you know, that kind of road where it is so hot—from around 30°C, it will melt. It is very hot. It’s painful. But our parents would always tell us, ‘You have to bear because it’s a way by which you sacrifice so that you can take away some of your sins—that they will be forgiven.’ We have to sacrifice. It was hard. It is difficult. But we thought that by sacrificing—by doing what the Lord Jesus Christ has done—we can be forgiven at least of some few sins that we have done. And we did it. It was painful.

(Note: Barefoot processions, physical penance during Good Friday, and the belief that self-inflicted suffering can atone for sins—are most commonly associated with Roman Catholicism, particularly as practiced in the Philippines (where over 80% of the population is Catholic). These traditions reflect a blend of official Catholic teaching and local folk religiosity.)

Later, when I became (Christian)—when the Lord graciously saved me—we went into a church. This is fundamental, conservative. But this church thought also, ‘Well, you know, the Lord Jesus Christ has already saved us. He already rose from the dead. He is victorious. We need not to reflect upon Good Friday. We don’t have come together and remember what He has done on the cross. He is already victorious. Hallelujah! Christ is already risen!’ And so we have camps on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.

And for Roman Catholics, we were told not to eat meat during the Passion Week. That’s part of the sacrifice. But in this so-called evangelical church, ’Oh, we even have the roasted fish like that there in the corner’—to show off that, ‘Oh, we don’t have to follow all this sacrifice. We don’t have to suffer. We don’t have to do all this because Christ did all these things to us. We are already saved. He is alive.’

(Note: De-emphasizing Good Friday observances, prioritizing Christ’s resurrection victory, and holding camps/services instead of traditional solemn commemorations—are characteristic of low-church Evangelical, Baptist, or nondenominational Protestant traditions.)

Thank God for bringing us into this Bible-believing church. Thank God for the B-P (Bible-Presbyterian) movement. And not only that we believe that there is resurrection. We not only believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead and is victorious and He conquered death. We have also to recall and remember how He had died for us. And this is important. Good Friday is important for us to remember—not for us to sacrifice over anything. He has done it all. "It is finished." But to remember how great a sacrifice He has done for us.

For many Christians today take for granted what the Lord Jesus Christ has done on the cross. They just remember that He is resurrected. He’s alive. He has forgiven us. But we forget to think and to meditate upon the great pain and excruciating pain, that agony that He has experienced on the cross just because of you and me.

I pray that we remember this perfect sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ—that truly, we can make ourselves remember also the great work that He has done on Calvary. Not only that He died for us, He did resurrect, and we are looking forward even to His coming again.

And I pray the Lord will grant us the wisdom to remember these things in our Christian lives. We need to reflect upon the good work of the Lord Jesus on Good Friday, remembering also His resurrection, and looking forward to His coming again as He promised for all those who believe in Him.

So let us trust in the Lord. As Christians, we have to continue trusting Him. As Christians, we have to look forward to His coming again. We should not deny Him our zeal and our worship and our service. We should continue on to offer our lives as living sacrifices, holy, acceptable unto God. And let us continue on telling others of the Lord’s perfect sacrifice on the cross of Calvary that saved us, that erased and removed and cleansed us from all our sins. May the Lord bless us. May the Lord help us. Let us pray.

Our gracious Father in heaven, we thank Thee for how Thou hast ordained everything according to Thy perfect plan. We thank Thee for Thy good plan that Thou hast done, even the promise of the coming of Thy Son. Now Thou hast fulfilled it in the Lord Jesus Christ.

We thank Thee that Thou art our God who hast promised also that since He is now seated at the right hand, Thou hast promised that He will come again. And He shall bring us up again. And while we await for that time, help us, O Lord, to remember what He has done for us, that we may also be moved to serve Him, to serve Him even to offer our lives unto Him.

Allow us not to be moved by the seductions of this world. Help us to be fixed with our eyes focusing on Him always. We follow Him and serve Him and give all things that we can for His glory and to His honour.

Bless His work here in Bethel BPC. Continue to use Thy people to be Thy light so that others may come to the saving grace of Thy Son, the Lord Jesus, and may see the truth through the preaching of Thy Word. Thank You, Lord, for Thy mercy and grace upon all of us. We ask and give Thee thanks for all these things—in Jesus’ name. Amen.

THE BOOK OF HEBREWS

Christ, The Living Word

Christ, The Living Word

Hebrews 1:1-2a

The Sevenfold Supremacy of Christ

The Sevenfold Supremacy of Christ

Hebrews 1:2b-3

The Greatness of Jesus Christ (Part 1)

The Greatness of Jesus Christ (Part 1)

Hebrews 1:4-6

What Child is This?

What Child is This?

Hebrews 1:4-6

The Greatness of Jesus Christ (Part 2)

The Greatness of Jesus Christ (Part 2)

Hebrews 1:7-14

The Danger of Drifting Away

The Danger of Drifting Away

Hebrews 2:1-4

What is Man, that Thou Art Mindful of Him?

What is Man, that Thou Art Mindful of Him?

Hebrews 2:5-9

The Captain of Our Salvation

The Captain of Our Salvation

Hebrews 2:10

Jesus, Our Sanctifier and Conqueror

Jesus, Our Sanctifier and Conqueror

Hebrews 2:11-15

Jesus, Our High Priest

Jesus, Our High Priest

Hebrews 2:16-18

Jesus is Greater than Moses

Jesus is Greater than Moses

Hebrews 3:1-6

Start and Finish Well

Start and Finish Well

Hebrews 3:7-11

Harden Not Your Heart

Harden Not Your Heart

Hebrews 3:12-19

Enter into God’s Rest

Enter into God’s Rest

Hebrews 4:1-11

Encountering the Word of God

Encountering the Word of God

Hebrews 4:12-13

Sola Scriptura: Scripture Alone

Sola Scriptura: Scripture Alone

Hebrews 4:12-13

Through The Priests Or To God Directly?

Through The Priests Or To God Directly?

Hebrews 4:14-16

Christ, Our Great High Priest

Christ, Our Great High Priest

Hebrews 4:14-16

Jesus, the Superior Great High Priest

Jesus, the Superior Great High Priest

Hebrews 5:1-10

Dull of Hearing

Dull of Hearing

Hebrews 5:11-14

The Tragedy of Falling Away

The Tragedy of Falling Away

Hebrews 6:1-8

Things That Accompany Salvation

Things That Accompany Salvation

Hebrews 6:9-12

Things That Accompany Salvation

Things That Accompany Salvation

Hebrews 6:9-12

The Anchor of Our Soul

The Anchor of Our Soul

Hebrews 6:13-20

The Greatness of Melchisedec

The Greatness of Melchisedec

Hebrews 7:1-10

The Sufficiency of Melchisedec

The Sufficiency of Melchisedec

Hebrews 7:11-19

The Superiority of Melchisedec

The Superiority of Melchisedec

Hebrews 7:20-28

A More Excellent Ministry

A More Excellent Ministry

Hebrews 8:1-6

The New Covenant

The New Covenant

Hebrews 8:7-13

The Tabernacle Fulfilled in Christ

The Tabernacle Fulfilled in Christ

Hebrews 9:1-7

The Time of Reformation

The Time of Reformation

Hebrews 9:8-14

The Reasons Why Jesus Had to Die

The Reasons Why Jesus Had to Die

Hebrews 9:15-26

An Appointment None Can Escape

An Appointment None Can Escape

Hebrews 9:27-28

The Perfect Sacrifice

The Perfect Sacrifice

Hebrews 10:1-18

We Preach Christ Crucified

We Preach Christ Crucified

Hebrews 10:1-18

Introductory Message

Introductory Message

Hebrews 10:19-25

What Shall We Do?

What Shall We Do?

Hebrews 10:19-25

A Living Faith

A Living Faith

Hebrews 10:24-25

It is a Fearful Thing to Fall into the Hands of the Living God

It is a Fearful Thing to Fall into the Hands of the Living God

Hebrews 10:26-31

A Call to Perseverance

A Call to Perseverance

Hebrews 10:32-39

Message 1: The Nature of Faith

Message 1: The Nature of Faith

Ephesians 2:8, Hebrews 11:1

Message 1: What is Faith?

Message 1: What is Faith?

Hebrews 11:1, Jude 3

The Faith of Abel

The Faith of Abel

Hebrews 11:4

The Faith of Enoch

The Faith of Enoch

Hebrews 11:5-6

The Faith of Noah

The Faith of Noah

Hebrews 11:7

The Faith of Abraham

The Faith of Abraham

Hebrews 11:8-16

The Faith of the Patriarchs

The Faith of the Patriarchs

Hebrews 11:17-22

The Faith Of A Beloved Mother

The Faith Of A Beloved Mother

Exodus 1:22-2:10; Hebrews 11:23

The Faith of Jochebed

The Faith of Jochebed

Hebrews 11:23

The Faith of Moses

The Faith of Moses

Hebrews 11:24-29

The Faith of Joshua and the People

The Faith of Joshua and the People

Hebrews 11:30

How Have You Been Running The Race?

How Have You Been Running The Race?

Hebrews 12:1-2

How to Run the Race Faithfully

How to Run the Race Faithfully

Hebrews 12:1-2

Let Us Run The Race

Let Us Run The Race

Hebrews 12:1-3

The Christian Race

The Christian Race

Hebrews 12:1-3

Despise Not Divine Chastisement

Despise Not Divine Chastisement

Hebrews 12:4-11

Guard Against Stumbling and Falling

Guard Against Stumbling and Falling

Hebrews 12:12-17

Follow Peace and Holiness

Follow Peace and Holiness

Hebrews 12:14

From Untouchable to Approachable

From Untouchable to Approachable

Hebrews 12:18-29

True Faith Leads to True Living (Part 1)

True Faith Leads to True Living (Part 1)

Hebrews 13:1-3

True Faith Leads to True Living (Part 2)

True Faith Leads to True Living (Part 2)

Hebrews 13:4-6

Remember Our Leaders

Remember Our Leaders

Hebrews 13:7, 17

Jesus is The Same

Jesus is The Same

Hebrews 13:8

Do Not Be Carried About by Divers Strange Doctrine

Do Not Be Carried About by Divers Strange Doctrine

Hebrews 13:9

Are You Willing to Stand with Christ?

Are You Willing to Stand with Christ?

Hebrews 13:10-16

Pray for Us

Pray for Us

Hebrews 13:18-19

Blessed Assurance

Blessed Assurance

Hebrews 13:20-21