[0:00] This morning, I want to read a few things for us, and I want you to see if you recognize some of these words. I want you to listen to these words. There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins, and sinners plunge beneath that flood, lose all their guilty stains.
[0:23] Lose all their guilty stains, lose all their guilty stains, and sinners plunge beneath that flood, lose all their guilty stains. Many of us remember those words and know exactly where those words come from, the song that it comes from, but have you ever noticed that almost all of the hymns we love and mean so much to us probably don't make a lot of sense to everyone else?
[0:50] So many of the songs that we sing about and that have an impact on our life, they may not make sense to a world that is lost and dying. They may not make sense to people who are unfamiliar with the Christian faith.
[1:04] What's all of this singing about the blood? What's all of this singing about the cross and the death and all of these things? So many of these songs that we love so dearly may not make sense, in fact, probably don't make sense to many other people.
[1:20] In fact, I want for just a moment for you to think with me about songs that mean something to you. Hymns or songs that we sing at church that mean something to you.
[1:32] If you could just think about one of those songs, what song comes to mind right now? What song comes to mind that just votes those responses like very few things can?
[1:43] My guess is that many of us are thinking about songs that talk about the blood, that talk about the cross, that talk about the death of Jesus.
[1:54] And even if one of those songs doesn't come to mind, maybe something else is coming to mind. Whatever's coming to mind is only made possible because of the blood, because of the cross, because of the death of Jesus.
[2:09] One of my favorite songs is And Can It Be. We don't sing it a lot because Clay tells me that it's hard to sing. And all songs for me are hard to sing.
[2:22] But if Clay says it's hard to sing, then it's probably pretty difficult to sing. But And Can It Be is one of my favorite songs because it says this. And can it be that I should gain an interest in the Savior's blood?
[2:38] Died he for me who caused his pain for me whom to death pursued amazing love? How can it be that thou, my God, should die for me?
[2:52] The song begins with the blood of Christ and continues to celebrate it. Christus Victor that we sang earlier, by the blood you have redeemed us.
[3:02] Christus, spotless lamb, mighty Savior, who lived, who died, who rose victorious. And my guess is that when I asked you just a moment ago to think of a song that just evokes a response that you can remember, that speaks about who God is, my guess is many of you thought of how great thou art.
[3:23] Where it says, and when I think that God, his son not sparing, sent him to die, I scarce can take it in. That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing, he bled and died to take away my sin.
[3:42] Another one of my favorites that the choir will be singing in the 11 o'clock service is the power of the cross. This, the power of the cross. Son of God slain for us.
[3:54] What a love, what a cost. We stand forgiven at the cross. We could go on and on. And in fact, about a week and a half ago, I texted Clay and I said, Clay, there's going to be a lot of emphasis on the blood.
[4:09] A lot of emphasis on the cross, what Jesus did for us in this message. Let's make sure that we have some of these songs in there that speak about the blood, that speak about the cross.
[4:20] And after I said, I was like, well, we probably don't have to change a lot. We probably don't because those are the songs that we sing. In fact, that's a great starting point when you're thinking about picking out songs to sing at church.
[4:32] It's songs that proclaim the blood, proclaim the power of the cross, proclaim the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. We sing these songs because they mean something.
[4:44] And this morning, as we read our passage, you're going to hear a lot about the death and the blood of Jesus. But it is my hope and prayer that as we read this and reflect on the sacrifice made on our behalf, that we will sing of the blood that gives us forgiveness and that we will boldly proclaim the death that gives us life.
[5:06] And so if you have a copy of God's word, I want to invite you to follow along with me. Hebrews chapter 9, we're going to start in verse 15 and then continue through the end of the chapter. Hebrews 9, starting in verse 15, this is what the word of the Lord says.
[5:20] It says, And in the same way, He sprinkled with the blood both the tent and the vessels in worship.
[6:24] Indeed, under the law, almost everything is purified with blood. And without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.
[6:36] Thus, it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
[6:48] For Christ has entered not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.
[7:02] Nor was it to offer Himself repeatedly as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood, not His own. For then He would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world.
[7:15] But as it is, He has entered once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
[7:25] And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him.
[7:45] And so as we read this, the main idea that the author is trying to communicate to us today is that because of the blood, because of the sacrifice that Jesus made, He is our mediator and the one who brings transformation to our lives.
[8:04] And what I hope and pray that we see clearly today is that the cross transforms us like nothing else can. And that causes us to live for God with boldness and courage.
[8:18] And so from this passage, I hope we can clearly see the power of the cross and what it brings to us. To begin with, let us see the power of the cross brings transformation.
[8:31] The power of the cross brings transformation to our lives. Verse 15, again, it says this, This verse right here, in many ways, sums up the rest of the chapter.
[8:57] In many ways, this verse almost serves as a thesis for what is going to be said in the remainder part of this chapter. And for the remainder part, we're going to see the transformation that this brings.
[9:09] In this one verse, we see the inheritance we are given. We see the forgiveness of sins we are, the cross brings. And the hope that is available to all those who place their faith in Jesus.
[9:21] In the passage, it tells us that Christ is our mediator. He's our mediator. Now, I think that this has the potential to be a little bit troubling for us.
[9:34] Not because that's not what the author means. Not because that's not a good translation of the word. But because of what this word has come to mean for us and how we use this term oftentimes.
[9:46] Oftentimes, when we think of a mediator, for many of us, when we hear the word mediator, we think of a mediation where someone gets two opposing sides together and tries to come up with an agreement, with a compromise, where everybody comes together and says, you know what, I'll compromise here, you compromise there, and we can come together.
[10:08] And a lot of times, that's where our mind goes, where they try to find some common ground and come up with a solution that works for both parties. The problem with this understanding, at least in this context, is that there is no common ground between a holy God and sinful humanity.
[10:27] There's no compromising on God's part. We don't compromise. We don't find somewhere where we can agree to disagree. There's no compromising here.
[10:38] We must understand that Christ, as our mediator, doesn't find a compromise between our sin and God's holiness. Because God's holiness cannot be compromised.
[10:51] In fact, Christ agrees with the Father that we deserve the full wrath of God for our sin. He sees the ugliness of our sin. He agrees with the Father that a sacrifice must be paid.
[11:04] But as our mediator, he agrees to be the sacrifice. He agrees to be the one that takes the full weight of God's wrath and satisfies our sin debt.
[11:18] You see, the transformation that the cross brings to our lives could not be greater. When we speak of the life-transforming power of the cross, it's not just a phrase we say.
[11:33] It's not just a catchy thing that we like to say. We actually mean it. We actually mean it that because of the cross, because of what Jesus does, it transforms our life.
[11:44] It transforms our eternity. It takes us from death to life. It takes us from an eternity in hell to an eternity with God the Father in heaven. It transforms our eternity.
[11:55] And it could not do it in a more drastic way. But not only that, it transforms our life today. And so when we see this, when we see the power of the cross, we see that it brings transformation.
[12:08] Now the rest of the chapter deals with an explanation of this transformation. It gives us examples of this transformation as we continue to look at it.
[12:19] And so the first thing that we see in this example of this transformation is the power of the cross gives us an inheritance. It gives us an inheritance.
[12:30] We see this in verses 15 through 21. I'm going to just read the first few there. It says, Therefore, he is the mediator of a new covenant. This is what we established already.
[12:41] So that those who are called may receive the promise eternal inheritance. Since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.
[12:53] For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. For will takes effect only at death since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive.
[13:07] Therefore, not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood. And so in this passage, the author gives us a picture here of receiving an inheritance.
[13:18] The author uses language of an inheritance very deliberately here because he's going to make an analogy about a will. You see, in our English translations, it may be difficult to see, but will and covenant are actually the same Greek word here.
[13:35] So he closely ties this talk of the new covenant. We've seen it over and over again up to this point. All this talk about the new covenant. And so he closely ties this new covenant coming into taking effect with the death of Jesus.
[13:50] This is the will that we receive, the inheritance we receive is this new covenant that comes at the death of Jesus. Pastor Josh Smith noted once that whenever you find out that you've been left in a will, he says there's two questions that you have.
[14:08] There's two questions that you always have whenever you find out that you've been left in a will. And you can ask probably the lawyers in the room if this is true afterwards. But there's usually two questions.
[14:18] The first question he says is, well, how much money is there? How much do they have? You know, because a will, this is really only good. I mean, if the person leaves you in their will and they're $10 million in debt, this is probably not good news.
[14:32] And so you first ask, well, how much is there? And then he says the second question. Again, this is him. This is not me saying this, but he says the next question you ask is, well, how much longer do they have?
[14:47] How much, you know, because we understand something, right? We understand that for a will to be enacted in order to receive the benefits of the will, a death has to occur.
[15:01] We understand this in our context. And so this is what the author is trying to help us to see. You see, Jesus has a great inheritance stored up for you, but you can't receive it unless he, the person who made the will, passes away.
[15:19] The pastor says a will takes effect only at death. We receive the promised eternal inheritance because a death has occurred.
[15:31] Kent Hughes, he calls us to consider the inheritance offered to those who give their life to Jesus. He tries to bring our attention to the benefit of this.
[15:41] And he says this, he says, think of the benefits we enjoy because of Christ's death, forgiveness, a clear conscience, peace, purpose, and ultimately eternal life in heaven.
[15:56] All of this is impossible apart from his death. And it is all activated by his death.
[16:06] For those of us who've placed our faith and our trust in Jesus, we have an inheritance that is greater and more valuable than anything and everything in this world.
[16:19] And so we see that because the power of the transformation of this, we see that we have this inheritance. But the next thing we also see is the power of the cross gives us forgiveness.
[16:34] It gives us forgiveness. We see this in verses 22 through 26. It says, indeed, under the law, almost everything is purified with blood. And without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.
[16:46] And then skipping down to the end of verse 26, it says, but as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
[17:01] He gives us forgiveness. He puts away sin by the sacrifice of himself. You see, inheritance and forgiveness here are closely related because at its core, the inheritance we receive is the forgiveness of sins.
[17:16] For sins to be forgiven, a sacrifice, a death had to happen. This is where we've seen over and over again in Scripture. This is where it's so beneficial to read the Old Testament because you see this take place over and over again in Scripture.
[17:34] Even going back to the beginning, right after, right after Adam and Eve sinned, we see the proto-evangelion, the first good news where God declares to the serpent.
[17:45] He says, there's going to be one coming from the offspring of one. There's going to be one coming that's going to crush your head. There's going to be a snake crusher that comes that is going to have victory over you.
[17:57] And then right after this, he goes to Adam and Eve who at this point are hiding. They're ashamed because of their sin. They're ashamed because of what they've done.
[18:08] And to cover up this shame, it says they've sewn together these fig leaves to cover themselves. They're ashamed because of the sin. They're trying to cover this shame with these fig leaves.
[18:19] But then it says God did something for them. Do you remember what God did? He made a sacrifice and made skins that would be a covering for them. He made these skins that would be a covering for them.
[18:31] And so a death occurred from the beginning. Sin brings death. And that death is the payment that covers our sin and our shame. We see it over and over again in Scripture.
[18:43] The original Jewish audience would have understood this very well. They would have understood that sin brings death. It's a cause and effect relationship.
[18:56] Sin equals death. It would happen over and over again. They would have seen this as they look through the Old Testament. As they hear these stories of how they had to atone for sin, they would have understood this over and over again.
[19:09] Adrian Rogers, he once made the statement. He says what had happened was they really had had a conditioned response to sin where they understood that sin brings death.
[19:20] Many of you may remember from psychology class, Pavlov and those dogs that he trained. Do you remember the ringing of the bell? These dogs, he had this experiment where he would ring a bell and then feed the dogs.
[19:34] Ring a bell, then feed the dogs. Ring a bell, then feed the dogs. It was over and over again so much so that the dogs were conditioned to hear the ringing of the bell and think that there's food on the way.
[19:47] And they had been conditioned so much to understand this that even without the presence of food, they would hear the bell ring and they would begin to salivate. They would begin to anticipate that food was on its way.
[20:00] They would begin to anticipate what was coming. You see, the Old Testament had a conditioned response that wasn't merely an experiment, but it was an actual reality.
[20:13] It wasn't just an experiment, but it was a reality that sin brings death. And in order for sin to be atoned for, a death must occur. The audience understood this and the author shows them that a perfect sacrifice, a lasting atonement had been made.
[20:31] What the author is saying is that the death of Jesus brings an eternal forgiveness of sins that no other death could.
[20:42] You see, ever since sin entered the world, we've been trying to fix it. As soon as sin entered the world, we've been trying to fix it on our own. Adam and Eve did it by sewing together some fig leaves.
[20:53] They tried to cover their sin, cover their shame by doing something, by sewing together fig leaves. That didn't work. And then following a strict sacrificial system that was only ever temporary to today where many people hope they can go to heaven one day.
[21:12] Well, I hope I've done enough good to outweigh my bad. Where they've gone to church, help out where they can. But those things don't save anyone.
[21:27] The only thing that saves, the only thing that gives eternal security is the blood of Jesus, which begs the question of us. What are we giving our lives to in hopes that we will pay our sin debt?
[21:40] Are we giving our hope to the faith that our parents had? Are we saying, well, you just, the house that I grew up in was so amazing. My parents loved Jesus. They loved him more than anything.
[21:51] It changed everything that they did. And because of their faith, because I love them, then that must mean that I am saved. Or we try to put our hope in, and well, I've gone to church more than I've gone anywhere else in my life outside of my home.
[22:07] I've spent more time in church, more time doing those things than anything else. And so maybe that will be enough that will get me there one day. Maybe that will be enough what is there.
[22:17] I've served on the deacon board. I pray. I read my Bible. Or are we looking to the cross? Because only Jesus, the one who hung on the cross, has the power to save, has the power to forgive those sins.
[22:36] You see, the final transformation that we see in this passage is the power of the cross gives us hope. It gives us hope. Listen to these last two verses.
[22:48] It says, And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time.
[23:03] Not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. In order to understand our hope in Christ, we must understand our need for hope.
[23:17] The passage tells us that each and every one of us have an appointment with death. And so if that's confusing, let me explain it to you. The passage is telling us that every single person in here is going to die one day.
[23:29] Each and every one of us have an appointment with death. The Bible, unless Jesus returns, each and every person in here is going to die one day.
[23:40] Not a few of us, not some of us, but every single person. And then the other thing that this passage tells us is not only do we have an appointment with death, it tells us that after death comes judgment.
[23:54] After death comes judgment. And so there's two inescapable truths that we are reminded of here. That you will die and that judgment will happen. But the author now brings Christ into the equation.
[24:09] Because if that's it, if there's just death and judgment, then we don't really have any, we don't have any hope. We don't have any hope here, but he brings Christ into the equation here. And so he says, man died, is going to die once.
[24:22] Then comes judgment. So Christ. Christ also died once. And the payment of your sin was placed on him. Your judgment was put on him.
[24:35] If you've placed your faith and your trust in Jesus, then your sin is nailed to the cross with Jesus. If you've placed your hope and your trust in Jesus, then you have a hope for eternity.
[24:48] But one thing we see here is that every person is going to die and every person is going to receive judgment. Michael Kruger, he talks about a time when a hurricane five, category five hurricane was coming towards his home.
[25:06] He lived near the ocean and he recalls a time when it was evident that a hurricane, a large hurricane, category five hurricane was coming towards his house. And he says that the power and the size of this hurricane were enormous.
[25:20] So much so that he said before the hurricane could even get to where they lived, before they could even see, really feel the hurricane, they could hear the rumblings and they could feel the rumblings that it was coming.
[25:34] He said there was no doubt that it was on its way and that it would be there shortly. He said that God's judgment is like a hurricane heading towards your town.
[25:46] It's not here yet, but you can see it on the horizon. We can feel the rumblings. It is enormous, terrifying, inevitably heading our way.
[25:58] We can't avoid it. We can't run from it. We cannot wish it away. In such a scenario, we need a place of refuge. We need someone who can bear the brunt of the storm for us.
[26:11] The good news is that Christ has been offered once to bear the sins of many. He died once and faced judgment once on behalf of every single person who trusts in him.
[26:26] And only he can do this. Only he can save us from the judgment to come. I want you to imagine with me for just a moment that that appointed time when you die has taken place and you're standing before God in judgment.
[26:44] You're standing before God and all of your sins that you've ever committed are there before you on a ledger. Where God is reading these things out to you. And so many sins, probably far more than you could ever imagine.
[26:56] All of those sins that every single person knows about and all of the sins that nobody knows about. All the evil and impure thoughts that we have that we thought just stay right here and don't affect anything else.
[27:09] All of those things are laid out there. All of the times that we've gossiped and talked down about people either right in front of them or behind their back. All the even good things that we've done with evil intentions.
[27:22] All of those things are listed out. And you see all of them before you. And all of a sudden God says, what are we going to do about this? What are we going to do about this?
[27:34] How are we going to answer that? Are we going to stumble around and say, well, you don't understand, God. I was just, I got caught up in the moment with everybody else around me.
[27:44] You don't understand. It was just, it was a difficult time for me. Are we going to try to highlight all the good things that we've done? Well, yes, God, I did do this.
[27:55] But, but look at all the other good things that I've done. We're going to stumble around and try to make up excuses for it. Or are we going to say nothing but the blood of Jesus?
[28:11] What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again?
[28:22] Nothing but the blood of Jesus. For my part in this I see nothing but the blood of Jesus. This is all my hope and peace. Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
[28:35] That is our hope. That is what we get to proclaim before God one day. It's not up to me. It's not up to you. It's what Jesus accomplished on the cross. This is our hope for all of eternity.
[28:48] This is what gets us excited. This is what makes a team fly from here to Ensenada, Mexico to share the good news of Jesus with those who may not know. Because of what Christ has done for us.
[29:03] The power of the cross gives each and every one of us hope. And if you're unsure about your relationship with Jesus, about your confidence before God, there is hope in the cross.
[29:16] There is power in the blood. There is salvation in Jesus Christ. And there is nothing that I would love more than to talk with you about that in just a moment. But if you have this hope, then I want to encourage you to live in it.
[29:33] To live in this hope. Maybe today you need to stand up boldly and sing the verses of the song that we're going to be singing for our closing invitation. Or maybe you need to just sit right where you are and think about these words.
[29:48] And think about and reflect on what God has done for you. The sacrifice that was made on your behalf. Or maybe you want to come down front. There's nothing special about this stage.
[29:58] There's nothing special about this part down front. But maybe that's a tangible way that you can say, God, I want to follow you. I want to live for you. I want to live in this hope. I want to live in light of what you have done for me.
[30:11] I want to boldly proclaim your goodness and your grace to everybody that I come in contact with. And maybe you want to just come down and pray and say, God, give me the strength and boldness to do that today.
[30:23] I don't know where you are. But God does and you do. And so I want to encourage you to respond in a way that brings his name, honor, and glory.
[30:34] Father, thank you so very much for these powerful words that we read. Powerful words that remind us of the inheritance that we have because of your death.
[30:52] Powerful words that remind us of the forgiveness that can only be made possible because of the sacrifice. Powerful words that remind us that our only hope in this life and the life to come is you.
[31:09] And so, Lord, I pray that we boldly proclaim that. I pray that we live in light of that each and every day and give us the boldness to live for you in everything we say and do.
[31:21] It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. However God is speaking to you this morning, I want to encourage you to respond as we stand together and sing. Amen.