I. The Law’s Inability To Perfect
A. The Law Was A Shadow, Not The Substance V. 1a
1. Shadows are not bad things, but they are not the substance of a thing.
2. They give an incomplete profile of the object they represent.
3. The Law (10 Commandments, O.T. sacrificial system) was a shadow of something better that would come later.
4. The law showed man he ought to live a holy life, but didn’t give him the power.
5. The law commanded sacrifices so that sins would be covered, but not removed.
6. Law commanded imperfect sacrifices which did a partial job of dealing w/ sin.
7. The law was a prefiguring of that perfect sacrifice which would come: Jesus
8. The Law is less than The Gospel. It falls short of the Gospel.
9. And yet, some people still try to be right with God based upon keeping the Law.
10. Believer’s Bible Commentary- To prefer the law to Christ is like preferring a picture to the person represented.
B. The Law Was Powerless To Make Men “Perfect” V. 1b
1. Perfect- not sinless, but a condition where one could have relationship to God.
2. Teleioō– to make perfect, complete, to carry through completely, to accomplish, finish, bring to an end, add what is yet wanting in order to render a thing full, to bring to the end (goal) proposed, to accomplish.
3. The Bible Reader’s Companion- The word is used in the common biblical sense of bringing someone or something to an intended goal.
4. The O.T. sacrifices could never bring the worshippers into the kind of forgiven & cleansed condition that was needed to have the fullest relationship with God.
C. The Law Was Powerless To Cleanse The Conscience V. 2
1. If the O.T. sacrifices were sufficient to cleanse a person forever from sin, then the worshippers would have had a sense of their consciences being cleansed, and that forgiveness had taken place. (The Law/works doesn’t alleviate guilt)
2. They would not have felt the need to repeat those offerings year after year.
3. Believer’s Bible Commentary– Whoever has to take medicine every hour to stay alive can hardly be said to be cured.
4. The Law brings uncertainty re. salvation & relationship with God
a. “Now I lay me down to, I pray the Lord, my soul to keep.
If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take”.
b. The Christian can (ought to) pray, “I KNOW the Lord, my soul, will take”.
Confidence not on man’s imperfect works, but on Christ’s finished work.
D. The Law Reminds The Worshipper Of Their Sin V. 3, 4
1. The offerings for sin were repetitive.
2. Not only were the repetitive offerings mandated for sin…but…
3. They were intuitively recognized as needed by the worshippers.
4. A person with diabetes need to take a shot daily to stay healthy, which is good, but each shot reminds them daily of their illness.
5. Those O.T. sacrifices did not give the worshipper any lasting sense of having a right relationship with God.
6. Rather, because of their repetitive nature, and their inability to cleanse conscience, the O.T. sacrifices regularly reminded worshippers of their sins.
7. The O.T. offerings covered the sins of the people.
8. They hid the sins, in a sense, from the view of God.
9. Those offerings were designed to point to something completely effectual to remove sins: Jesus Christ.
II. Jesus Supersedes The O.T. Sacrificial System
A. God The Father’s Attitude Re. O.T. Sacrifices
1. V. 5a-God did desire them, for He commanded them, but did not take ultimate satisfaction in them, as they were never designed to take away the sins of men.
2. Vs.6, 8- Whole burnt offerings-the sacrifices for sins. Commanded by God’s Law.
a. The whole burnt offerings never took sins away; they just allowed them to be covered, overlooked.
b. God desired more than that. A good Dr. is not satisfied w/covering the symptom, he wants to treat the problem.
c. The whole burnt offerings were bulls & goats who had no consciousness of what was happening to them. No intentional giving of self. They were imperfect, lesser victims.
B. God The Father’s Preference Of Sending His Son
1. V. 5b-The Father prepared a body for the Son, & the Son gave His body to the will of the Father. Jesus went to the cross to die for our sins, once & for all.
C. Jesus’ Willingness To Obey The Father
1. V. 7- Volume– Literally, the roll. Speaks of Psalm 40, the parchment or roll which contained this Psalm.
a. Jesus gave Himself intentionally. The perfect, sinless, greater, and intention sacrifice. Not a victim.
2. V.9- Jesus’s death did away w/ the O.T. sacrifices, which accomplished little.
a. He established a new agreement between God and man.
b. Sins not covered, but forgiven. Consciences cleansed. No other sacrifices needed. We need only to believe, remember, celebrate, and trust in Jesus’ finished work on the cross.
3. V. 10-sanctified- a past tense verb: “to be set apart”, “put to the proper use”.
a. There is an ongoing practical sanctification throughout the believer’s life.
b. However, that starts w/positional justification/sanctification which takes place as soon as a person put’s their faith in Jesus as His sacrifice for sin.
c. Bible Knowledge Commentary- By the sanctification which is accomplished thru the death of Christ, New-Covenant worshipers are perfected for guilt-free service to God.
4. The struggle for the Christian is to believe in the efficacy of the sacrifice of Jesus.
5. Hebrews 7:26, 27; 9:12; also speak to us of the finality of the work of Jesus in paying for our sins.
6. Part of this is designed to help the Christians walk on the consciousness of forgiveness and of being “perfected” thru faith.
7. We are called to believe the power of Jesus’ sacrifice for us to forgive us.
8. This ought to help us walk with cleansed consciences.
9. This ought to also keep us from getting into a works mentality, trying to pay for our sins thru good works.