HEBREWS 10:6

The Bible says in Hebrews 10:6, “In burnt offering and sacrifice for sin thou hast had no pleasure.” This verse is one of several verses in this part of chapter 10 that are quotations from one of the Psalms that speaks of the Christ. Why would it be said of God, “In burnt offering and sacrifice for sin thou hast had no pleasure?” That is because the sacrifices of the Old Testament were not good enough. Those sacrifices could not take away sin once for all, but Jesus could. When the time camr for the Messiah to come and be a sacrifice for the sins of the world, it was time for the law to pass away. When that time came, God had no pleasure in the Old Testament sacrifices, because God wants to save mankind. The time had come to put God’s plan for salvation in to action. That is why God became man and was born into the world as Jesus Christ.

The Bible says in Hebrews 10:7, “Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O, God.” In Psalms 40:8 Jesus said, “I delight to do thy will, O my God.” That is one of the reasons that Jesus came into the world: to do the will of the Father. No other human has done the will of God in all points. But Jesus did. Jesus lived the life of a human being the way that it ought to be lived. That is one of the things that Jesus the God-man accomplished. Everyone else in some way was self-willed or selfish or cruel or prideful. Everyone else sinned. “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Jesus said in Hebrews 10:7, “In the volume of the book it is written of me.” The work that is translated “book” is the word “biblios” from which we get the word “Bible.” The word that is translated “volume” means “chief part” or “principle part.” The most important theme of the Bible has to do with the requirement that man be obedient unto God. That requirement was given to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. They failed to keep it. The requirement of obedience was given to the children of Israel through Moses in the Ten Commandments. They failed to keep those commandments. Everyone has failed to keep those commandments: except for Jesus. Jesus came to do the will of God, and He did it. Now we know why Jesus told us to pray, “Not my will, but thine be done.” Jesus obeyed the Father, and that is why Jesus went to the cross of Calvary. It was the Father’s will that Jesus would suffer and die for the sins of the world. How many have run away from the sufferings that God would have led them to? How many have chosen the pleasure of sin for a season instead of the will of God? How many have gone their own way instead of God’s way? According to the Bible, everyone has done that terrible thing. It says in Isaiah 53:6, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

The Bible says in Hebrews 10:8-9, “Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldst not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law. Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.” These two verses are a restatement of two verses from the Psalms, as well as an important point to make about each verse. The reason that God was not pleased with the sacrifices and burnt offerings and offerings for sin is because they “are offered by the law.” As soon as Jesus came into the world and said, “I come to do thy will, O God,” the first covenant was taken away, and the second covenant (the New Testament) was established.

The Bible says in Hebrews 10:10, “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Notice the word “will.” Whose will is being spoken of? God’s will is being spoken of. It is God’s will that Jesus Christ was offered once for all. It is God’s will that the first covenant be replaced by the second covenant. It is God’s will that a means was created through the death of Christ for people to become sanctified. Speaking of those who are born again, the Bible says in John 1:13, “Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” Hebrews 10:10 says “we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ.” To be sanctified means to be made holy. Only holy human beings can go to heaven, and the only way for a sinful human being to become holy is through faith in Jesus Christ.

The Bible says in Hebrews 10:11-12, “And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God.” This verse says that the sacrifices of the Old Testament “can never take away sins.” Nothing can take away sins except the sacrifice of Christ. The fact that Jesus sat down on the right hand of God signifies that the work of paying for sins is finished. No one else can do anything to pay for sins. Jesus paid it all. For those who are true believers this truth is a basis for eternal security. Jesus already paid for all sins: past, present, and future. Believers are eternally secure in Him.

The fact that Jesus “sat down on the right hand of God” also signifies His power and authority. The right hand of God is a place of power and authority. Jesus said in Matthew 28:18, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” The Bible says in Hebrews 10:13, “From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.” The unbelievers and the people of the world put Jesus to death on the cross. “He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” But those who are the enemies of Jesus will give an answer for their hatred and hard hearts.

To say that his enemies will become His footstool means that Jesus will rule over his enemies. Jesus will rule over everyone because He is the King of Kings. He will rule the world with a rod of iron. The Second Coming of Christ will be much different from His first coming. When Jesus came the first time, the human race was allowed to do whatsoever they would to Him because Jesus came to die for the sins of the world. How much different the Second Coming will be! Revelation 19:15-16 speaks of Jesus when He returns to the earth and says, “And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

The Bible says in Hebrews 10:14, “For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.” This salvation that Jesus purchased for His believers is a wonderful thing. Jesus does not take back that which He has given, and salvation is a gift. Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross of Calvary. The result of that sacrifice is declared in this verse with three words: “perfected,” “forever,” and “sanctified.” If you are a believer in Jesus, you have already been perfected and sanctified because of Jesus. You have a position of perfection and sanctification before God. This has already happened. It took place in the past, and it will be true “forever.”

The Bible says in Hebrews 10:15-17, “Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, This is the covenant that 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.” In previous verses we were given clearly written declarations of the truth of what Jesus did for us. We can read these verses and others like them, and they enlighten us and strengthen our faith. “the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us.” For those of us who are saved, the Spirit speaks to our hearts in ways that cannot be learned in the ways that humans normally learn. That is how those who are saved can know they are saved: the Spirit speaks to them about Jesus. Has the Spirit spoken to you to come to Jesus, and have you answered His call?

Hebrews 10:15-17 is also a passage that teaches the inspiration of the scriptures. It quoted the Old Testament scriptures from Jeremiah chapter 31, and it said about those scriptures, “the holy Ghost saith.” In Second Timothy 3:16 it says, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God.” It also says in Second Peter 1:21, “holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”

This new covenant is based upon what God has done for man instead of what man does for God. Even a truly reformed life is due to what God has done for a person instead of what that person has done for God. One prophecy that was given in the Old Testament on this subject said, “The Lord said, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them.” Before a life can change, the heart must change. In order for the heart to change, God must do something to change the heart. That is what takes place in the new birth through faith in Christ. God is still interested that his laws be kept, but not by emphasizing man’s responsibility. That method was tried in the Old Testament, and it did not work because of man’s weakness. A person is converted to Christ when that person has a change of heart and a change of mind. That change is brought about by God Himself. It happens in the day in which we live just the way that Jeremiah said that it would: just the way that God said through Jeremiah that it would happen.

God said through Jeremiah, “And their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” The greatest problem of every human being has to do with the sins and iniquities that each person has committed. This is a problem because God knows everything about each of us, and He is the holy Judge before whom each person must stand. The amazing thing is that the all-knowing God created a plan whereby He will “remember no more” the sins of those who are forgiven. Forgiveness from God is a wonderful thing. It is only possible because Jesus went to the cross of Calvary.

Sins were paid for once and for all. Because of this, there needs to be no more sacrifice for sin. That is what Hebrews 10:18 is saying: “Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.” The sacrifices of the Old Testament had to be performed over and over because those sacrifices did not take away sin once and for all. Those sacrifices were only symbolic. The sacrifices of the Old Testament were limited in what they accomplished, and they were temporary. Once Jesus came He fulfilled the Old Testament law, and Jesus became the final sacrifice.

Because Jesus was the final sacrifice for sin, we who believe have forgiveness of sin. And we also have other great benefits that go along with this forgiveness. It says in Hebrews 10:19-20, “Having, therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh.” Because of Jesus we know that we will be in heaven when we die. But before we get to heaven, we can still enter into the very presence of God through faith in Christ. Look to Jesus and speak to Him, and you are at the very holiest place near the throne of God.

This access that we have to the throne of God is called “a new and living way.” It is new because it replaced the old. It is a living way in contrast to the Old Testament law that brought only death. The law brought death because man did not keep the law. You can take part in the new and living way by turning from your sins and turning to Jesus.

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