Christ's Central Achievement: Redemption and Eternal Inheritance
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In a day when people are co-opting the message of Christ for political ideologies and sometimes twisting it beyond recognition into a kind of rope that holds up the banner of our social causes, I am very jealous that every pastor who believes the Bible, every person in their churches would foreground the achievement of Christ without which all the other achievements fail. [00:01:03]
The most foundational, most central, most essential achievement of Christ was the removal of guilt and the averting of the wrath of God from those who are in Christ Jesus. Now I've seen six ways that the greatness of Christ is magnified in this text, and what I want to do is name them and then linger over them long enough to show how each of these six manifestations of Christ's greatness. [00:03:19]
The old covenant in and of itself, powerless, no forgiveness of sins. We must have a redeemer, otherwise our guilt will not be removed, and the wrath of God will not be averted. Second picture of the greatness of Christ, this time not his absence but his achievement, Christ the great achievement, eternal redemption. [00:14:50]
He willingly sheds his blood. He achieves what the sacrifices never could, and what he achieved is most fundamentally, most centrally, most essentially the taking away of guilt and the averting of the wrath of God. Chapter 9 verse 26, he appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. [00:15:36]
By a single once for all offering of his own blood, so let there be no ambiguity here, no misunderstanding, no confusion when the author speaks of putting away sin, sacrifice for sins, bearing sins. He's not talking about the purifying of uncleanness, ceremonial uncleanness. There's a lot of that in the Old Testament. That's not what this is talking about. [00:16:03]
When we sin against God, we deserve God's judgment. It needs to be averted by our guilt being taken away. Verse 22 of chapter 9, without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin. It's not going to happen. Chapter 10 verse 18, where there is forgiveness of sins, there is no longer any offering for sin. [00:18:40]
The great achievement following the great absence, Hebrews 9:12, by his own blood he secured an eternal redemption. Millions and millions of hell-deserving, wrath-deserving sinners redeemed by a single sacrifice. Jesus is very great. He is very great. So the work was finished, and the guilt of God's people was removed, and wrath was averted. [00:21:40]
Christ is not doing nothing as he sits on the throne. He is applying to us day by day, right now in this room, he is applying the benefits of his blood. He is progressively sanctifying, making holy those whom he has already perfected by his blood, and it is precisely because of the benefits flowing from our blood-bought perfection. [00:31:13]
By a single offering, he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. That's a world, there's a world in that verse. If this were Paul writing, he would say by a single offering he has justified for all time those who are being sanctified. They mean the same thing. This is the greatness Jesus is greater. [00:32:02]
The answer is by a single offering, he has removed all our guilt and averted all God's wrath, and therefore opened the sluice gate of heaven where there's a reservoir of grace and mercy and power and wisdom and love that is now pouring with infinite wisdom and power and love all over you as he fulfills every promise in the Bible for you. [00:39:41]
Verse 15 of chapter nine, he is the mediator of a new covenant so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance. How did he mediate the new covenant? Remember Jesus said he lifted up the cup at the last supper and said this cup is the new covenant in my blood, signifying how he purchases the promises of the new covenant by his blood. [00:45:00]
It means that everything God is and everything God does is for you and not against you. Everything he is and everything he does is for you and your good and your joy and not against you, and there are so many ways for God to be good to you that it will take him forever to finish. Here's the way Paul says it, the unending ages of eternity. [00:47:10]
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The most foundational, most central, most essential achievement of Christ was the removal of guilt and the averting of the wrath of God from those who are in Christ Jesus. Now I've seen six ways that the greatness of Christ is magnified in this text, and what I want to do is name them and then linger over them long enough to show how each of these six manifestations of Christ's greatness. [00:03:19]
The old covenant in and of itself, powerless, no forgiveness of sins. We must have a redeemer, otherwise our guilt will not be removed, and the wrath of God will not be averted. Second picture of the greatness of Christ, this time not his absence but his achievement, Christ the great achievement, eternal redemption. [00:14:50]
He willingly sheds his blood. He achieves what the sacrifices never could, and what he achieved is most fundamentally, most centrally, most essentially the taking away of guilt and the averting of the wrath of God. Chapter 9 verse 26, he appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. [00:15:36]
By a single once for all offering of his own blood, so let there be no ambiguity here, no misunderstanding, no confusion when the author speaks of putting away sin, sacrifice for sins, bearing sins. He's not talking about the purifying of uncleanness, ceremonial uncleanness. There's a lot of that in the Old Testament. That's not what this is talking about. [00:16:03]
When we sin against God, we deserve God's judgment. It needs to be averted by our guilt being taken away. Verse 22 of chapter 9, without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin. It's not going to happen. Chapter 10 verse 18, where there is forgiveness of sins, there is no longer any offering for sin. [00:18:40]
The great achievement following the great absence, Hebrews 9:12, by his own blood he secured an eternal redemption. Millions and millions of hell-deserving, wrath-deserving sinners redeemed by a single sacrifice. Jesus is very great. He is very great. So the work was finished, and the guilt of God's people was removed, and wrath was averted. [00:21:40]
Christ is not doing nothing as he sits on the throne. He is applying to us day by day, right now in this room, he is applying the benefits of his blood. He is progressively sanctifying, making holy those whom he has already perfected by his blood, and it is precisely because of the benefits flowing from our blood-bought perfection. [00:31:13]
By a single offering, he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. That's a world, there's a world in that verse. If this were Paul writing, he would say by a single offering he has justified for all time those who are being sanctified. They mean the same thing. This is the greatness Jesus is greater. [00:32:02]
The answer is by a single offering, he has removed all our guilt and averted all God's wrath, and therefore opened the sluice gate of heaven where there's a reservoir of grace and mercy and power and wisdom and love that is now pouring with infinite wisdom and power and love all over you as he fulfills every promise in the Bible for you. [00:39:41]
Verse 15 of chapter nine, he is the mediator of a new covenant so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance. How did he mediate the new covenant? Remember Jesus said he lifted up the cup at the last supper and said this cup is the new covenant in my blood, signifying how he purchases the promises of the new covenant by his blood. [00:45:00]
It means that everything God is and everything God does is for you and not against you. Everything he is and everything he does is for you and your good and your joy and not against you, and there are so many ways for God to be good to you that it will take him forever to finish. Here's the way Paul says it, the unending ages of eternity. [00:47:10]
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