Hebrews Chapter 10
The Old Testament law was a shadow of the good things to come. The law pointed out our need for a complete forgiveness of sin and not just a temporary covering. That is exactly what God promised He would do. He would send one who could completely take away our sins. The law points to the truth that God is holy, and man is full of imperfections. We also see that the sacrificial system (or going to a priest to offer confession) is incomplete. As the Hebrew writer expressed, the people needed to bring their sacrifices every year because they could not be made perfect with this system. Only through the shed blood of a perfect sacrifice, Jesus, can we be declared righteous.
In this chapter we find many reasons why the sacrificial system was a temporary and incomplete solution for the sins of mankind.
Let's Reflect
1. Why did Jesus come according to verse 7 and verse 9?
2. Verse 10 teaches us that the death of Jesus Christ, the sacrifice of God’s Son, allows us to be sanctified, made whole or made clean. What else does this sacrifice allow for us?
Jeremiah 31:33-34 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
The Hebrew word for atonement “kophar” means to cover. Animal sacrifices could cover sin, but they could never take away sin.
3. How does verses 19-21 describe how our sins have been taken away?
4. The veil has been torn. We can now come boldly to God since we now have direct access to Him. Verses 23-25 describe how we should live with this knowledge. Our faith is not passive, but active. What activities should we be doing?
5. There is also a clear warning for those who have heard the gospel truth - not to turn back to their sinful ways and to reject the mercy of Jesus Christ. It says that the Lord will judge his people. And what does verse 31 tell us?
6. We who have accepted Jesus as our Savior have a better possession than anything this life has to offer. So even if we would lose our worldly possessions or be mocked, we know that our salvation is complete and eternal. Verse 36 tells us we will receive what?
7. What does the writer of Hebrews encourage us to do in our faith which is the opposite of those who give up on God’s promises and they shrink back?
