The Pilgrim Path---Hebrews 10: 4 – 7, 14

For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,

“Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.

Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”

…For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

“A BODY YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR ME…”

Only a Christian could begin to believe what is asserted in this passage. The Old Testament sacrificial system was insufficient, in that all manner of sacrifices had to continually be made for the offender (the one having broken God’s law / failing to live in complete conformity with same). The fantastic benefit of the New Covenant: The God-Man Jesus gave Himself as a sinless sacrifice for “all” His people. The “terrible” requirement for Him: He must “take on” flesh (the body God prepared for Him) and bear the complete wrath of God in His own body and soul for His Own. Doing this---He perfects for ALL time---“those who are being sanctified!” HE is the full and final sacrifice for sin! Will we ever fathom the formidable press of God’s judgment he had to “carry” as the Holy Lamb of Glory? MY—my---He took the “cup of God’s wrath” for us (read through Isaiah 51 and Jeremiah 25) and “drank it” to its depths---So we would never have to.

HE bore all our unrighteous anger---and we bear a fair amount of that…

HE bore all our bitterness---how easily that springs up in the soil of our heart…

HE bore all our conceit---and we really have nothing to be proud of…

HE bore all our deceitfulness---how hard we work to smear others at times…

HE bore all our evil surmising---how quickly we can think the worst (even of Christians)…

HE bore all our doubts---it’s criminal to doubt The One who never lies…

HE bore all our falsehoods---it’s “lying” when others do it (It’s calculated living for us)…

HE bore all our gross misrepresentations---well, we were going to correct that later…

HE bore all our willfulness---we don’t always think “peace” is as important as Our Way…

HE bore all our lusts---at times we have longed for someone—or a thing---“over” Him…

HE bore all our meanness---no one else could have borne our stupidity---but Him…

HE bore our neglect of the Word---we do not always appreciate the “parts” that prick & pry…

HE bore our unforgiving spirit---nothing is more enslaving & spirit dampening…

HE bore all our sin in HIS Own body and soul---that we might be set free forever!

HE not only covers our sin---HE begins to change us---to live differently:

This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds. Hebrews 10: 16

From Thomas Brooks: A Christian must cry out, “LORD, I have two mites, a soul and body, and I give them all to you!” There is no better present than to present yourself to God. There is no present more honorable or acceptable to God than this giving ourselves to God. In the tabernacle, the oil, shew-bread, first fruits, incense, altars, vestments, the priests and Levites, the Sabbath day, and all other festival days were separated from all others for the worship and service of God. The people of Israel are frequently called a sanctified and holy people because they were dedicated to the LORD. We must be separated from the corruptions and pollutions of the world, and we must dedicate ourselves to God---“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Romans 12: 1).

From John Duncan: At their best moments, regenerated men are never so good as to be without sin; at their worst, they are never so bad as to be entirely destitute of good.

From J. C. Ryle: The poorest and most ignorant Christian can everyday find occasion for practicing love and humility.

Grace and Peace in Jesus, the Only Redeemer of broken and wretched souls, Pastor Jason