TUESDAY, March 10th, 2009

Hey Guys! It was pretty cool to see 5 of you on here yesterday! Even a new face! Michael Saxton, good to see you on here man! Do you play sax? I think that would be pretty sweet, (hence the last name) ok, on to less cheesy stuff! (not your last name... my jokes are whats cheesey)

Hebrews 9 (by the way, I know some of this Hebrews stuff is pretty difficult, but it will be worth it! Trust me!)

1 Then indeed, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary.
2 For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary;
3 and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All,
4 which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant;
5 and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.


6 Now when these things had been thus prepared, the priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle, performing the services.
7 But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people’s sins committed in ignorance;
8 the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing.
9 It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience
10 concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation.

11 But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.
12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
13 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh,
14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
15 And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

Wow! If you read this once and did not get it, then read my comments and go back and read the passage again! This passage is incredible! It is absolutely astounding! Let me explain: Verses 1-5 of this passage tell us about the earthly temple... this is the temple that we saw in the Old Testament, the temple where the priest would go to pay atonement for the sins of the people. If you read verses 1 - 5 carefully you can visualize parts of the temple, like the holy of holies and the ark of the covenant, and so on...

Then we read verses 6-10, these verses explain to us what The priest did inside the temple... It explains the rituals and the sacrifices that the preist made for the sins of the people. Verse 9 is important as it reminds us that this whole process is SYMBOLIC... (in other words, killing a goat or a bull OF COURSE would never pay for mans sin... that does not make sense, but if you were willing to go through that process it is because you believed that the Messiah (Jesus Christ) would come one day to pay for the sins of the World!!

Finally, we see the last verses, verses 11 - 16. These verses make it clear that Christ CAME AS THE HIGH PRIEST~!!! Christ came to pay for our sins... I don't know about you, but there have definitely been days when I kind of stood around and wondered how it made sense that Christ had to die so that we could live...

This passage makes it clear: Christ came and paid the undeserving penalty of death on the cross... because of His sacrifice for us, wew do not have to face the penalty for our sin, eternity in Hell...

Christ paid our sin debt, a debt we could not pay!!