Please turn with me in your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10. And this morning we come together to celebrate and observe the Sabbath day, the Lord's day, the Christian Sabbath that holy day which has been appointed for us as the New Testament Church. But just as under the old covenant administration there were high Sabbaths corresponding with the feast days appointed by the Lord, so too do we have a high Sabbath in this new covenant. And it is marked by a feast as well. The sacrament of the Lord's Supper. Today we feast on the body and blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ through the appointed means of bread and wine in this sacramental meal. And just as the feasts of old were tied To the sacrifices of old, so too is the feast before us today tied to the sacrifice, the once for all sacrifice of our Savior. So let us now consider this sacrifice from Hebrews chapter 10, and we'll be reading the first 18 verses. This is the word of the living and true God. For the law, having a shadow of good things to come and not the very image of the things can never, with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually, make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered because that the worshipers once purged should have had no more conscious of sin. But in those sacrifices, there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Wherefore, when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, lo, I come, in the volume of the book it is written of me, to do thy will, O God, above when when he said, sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin, thou wouldest not, neither hath 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. By the which will we are sacrificed through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all, 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 forever, sat down on the right hand of God, from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us. For after that, he 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. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. Thus far the reading of God's holy word. Let us ask his blessing on it. Father, we come to you and we ask, Lord, that you would bless this time of worship. This time we're in our worship in our service. We sit at the feet of King Jesus and hear what he has prepared for us to learn concerning ourselves and concerning himself. Lord, we know that the minister is not worthy to even be able to handle these words, much less expound upon them with the authority of the set the Lord. But Lord, it is not because he is worthy, but because Christ Jesus is worthy that this word goes forth. So Lord, feed us on this word as we anticipate feeding upon the body and blood of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We ask this in his name. Amen. What does it mean for something to be perfect? We use that term often in our day to day language. We speak about clothes being the perfect fit We talk about a pitcher in baseball pitching a perfect game. We say that the weather is perfect for whatever activity we have planned for that day. Jewelers are in search of a perfect gemstone. And we all know what this means. If something is perfect, it has no faults. It has no defects. It is pure. It is complete. It lacks nothing. But this morning, we are going to look at the perfection of Christ's sacrificial death on the cross. Did it have no faults? No defects? Was it pure? Was it complete? Did it lack nothing? Is there something other than the death of Christ that must be done to bring about our salvation? Or was his death all that was needed to purchase the salvation of his people? We argue that there is nothing else needed to be saved besides the work of Christ and his death, burial, and resurrection. And this is what the Apostle Paul has just argued at the end of chapter nine here in Hebrews. Christ's sacrifice is necessary. Christ's sacrifice was sufficient. Christ's sacrifice was perfect. Christ's sacrifice was enough. And so to prove the point of the perfection of Christ's sacrificial death on the cross, Paul here points to the Old Testament sacrificial system and compares it to the sacrifice of Christ. And he shows the perfection of the cross. He does this by showing us three things. First, the imperfection of the shadows. Second, the perfection of the sacrifice. And third, the perfecting of the saints. The apostle begins this chapter by pointing us back to the old covenant sacrificial system, highlighting the imperfection of the shadows. Look with me at the beginning of verse one. For the law, having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never, with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually, the comers thereunto perfect, for then would they not have ceased to be offered, because that the worshipers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices, there is a remembrance again made of sins every year, for it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. The law of the sacrificial system, the law governing the ceremonies of old were but mere shadows. When you're outside in the sun and you see your shadow, do you think that your shadow is actually you? Or when you were a kid and you saw your dad's shadow, did you run to your daddy's shadow and give it a hug when you saw it? Of course not. It's because the shadow is not the real thing. It's not the true form of the reality, which is an actual body. You don't hug your father's shadow, you hug your father. Your shadow is not you, you are you. That's exactly what Paul is saying here about the sacrifices of old They were but shadows of the good things to come. They weren't the good things, but instead they pointed to those good things. They pointed to the true form of the realities, which is Christ Himself. Calvin says, the difference then which the apostle makes between the law and gospel is this, that under the law was shadowed forth only in rude, And imperfect lines, what is under the gospel, set forth in living colors and graphically distinct. And because of that, because of what these sacrifices were as but mere shadows, they were imperfect. They could not accomplish the job that was needed They could not make perfect those who draw nigh. They were ineffectual. For then would they not have ceased to be offered because that the worshipers, once purged, should have had no more conscience of sins. If they were sufficient, if they were perfect, if they were effectual, then they would have only been done once because the people would have been cleansed from their sins and their sins would have been remembered no more. But we know that that is not the case. We know that the sacrifices were not just a one time thing. We know that the sins of the people were still remembered. And that's because the shadows of the sacrificial system were imperfect, insufficient, and ineffectual. But in those sacrifices, there is a remembrance again made of sins every year, for it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. This is referencing the most sacred of holy days within the Jewish community, of atonement. In Leviticus 16, it gives us the laws concerning the sacrifices on the day of atonement. The priest, after purifying himself, would go and sacrifice a bull for the atonement of his own sins. And then next, he would sacrifice one goat as a sin offering And then he would take the blood of the sacrificed bull and he would sprinkle it upon the mercy seat seven times upon the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies. And then he would do the same with the blood of the goat. And then he would take another goat and he would lay his hands upon that goat signifying the transferring of the sins of the people of Israel onto that scapegoat, which would then be sent out into the wilderness. And this was to be done every year in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, exactly when God prescribed for it to be done. This was the sacrifice which signified the atoning of the sins of the people of Israel. But the writer says that it was ineffectual. For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. These were simply shadows of the good things to come. They were not the true form of the good things, of the realities. And just as your shadow is powerless to do anything except point to the reality of yourself, so too were these sacrifices powerless to take away sins. This is the imperfection of the shadows. But if the shadows of the ceremonial system of old were imperfect, then there must be something greater, something which actually does take away sins. And here it is. And there it is. And so we see the perfection of the sacrifice. Let's read on in our passage. Wherefore, when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not but a body hast thou prepared me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, lo, I come, in the volume of the book it is written of me, to do thy will, O God. When we speak of the perfection of the sacrifice, it's not the sacrifices of old that we're talking about. It's already been shown the imperfection of the shadows. Bulls and goats and pigeons, these sacrifices were never in and of themselves what the Lord desired. They could never satisfy the penalty that we have incurred against our holy and righteous Lord. It wasn't sacrifices. an offering that the Lord desired, but the body that He prepared for His Son. It wasn't in the burnt offerings and the sin offerings that the Lord took delight, but in the Son doing the will of His Father. This is the mission for which Christ came into this world. To do the will of His Father. And we see this in John 6, 38-40. For I came down from heaven not to do mine own will, But the will of Him that sent me, and this is the Father's will which has sent me, that of all He hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of Him that sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son and believeth on Him may have everlasting life. And I will raise him up at the last day. The salvation of his people was the very purpose for which Christ Jesus came. And then Paul explains this further. Above, when he said sacrifices and offering and burnt offerings in the offering for sin, not what it's not, neither hats 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, by the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Those sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings, they were all designed to point to the reality that was to come. Their purpose was to point to Christ. And now that perfect reality has come. Now that thing that was foreshadowed is a present reality. Those things, those old ways Those things belonging to the sacrificial system have been done away with. There's a reason that we don't sacrifice bulls and goats in our worship services. There's a reason that we don't bind the sacrifices to the horns of the altar anymore. There's a reason that we don't even have an altar. Those things pertaining to the sacrificial system of old have been fulfilled in the death of Christ and have been done away with. They are no more. They are useless. That's why we don't have incense. Or priests. Because those are things pertaining to the use of the temple. It's why we don't have bronze lavers. It's why we don't have a menorah. It's why we don't use instruments. Because all of those things are directly tied to the sacrificial system, which is no more. Christ Jesus has done away with the first in order to establish the second. And we're told how this is the case. 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 forever, sat down on the right hand of God from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. We must understand that at this time there were certain Jews who were trying to persuade these Christians to return back to the Old Testament sacrificial system. There was a real threat to these Hebrew Christians. And so this is essentially the primary focus of this letter, to prevent them from going back. That's why there is the warning of apostasy, of the apostasy of going back to the old things. That's why there's so much time spent showing that Christ is superior over Abraham and Moses and Aaron. And it's why here we see the perfection of the sacrifice of Christ. pitted against the imperfection of the sacrifices of the priests. And every priest standeth daily, ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. The priest's sacrificial service was a daily one, and one that had to be constantly repeated. And why? because they could never take away sins. It was a provision given by God pointing them forward to the sacrifice that was to come, which would forgive sins. The Old Testament saints were saved in the very same way that you and I are today. Through faith in Christ. But God gave them a visible sign to point them toward what was to come. It was a perpetual reminder, a perpetual display of faith in the coming Messiah, the Lamb of God, who would take away the sins of the world. And the priests would stand daily, offering their sacrifices. There was no chair in the temple for the priest to sit down on when he was finished. No, his job was never truly finished. It was a perpetual obligation. And ultimately, it was ineffectual. But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down. on the right hand of God, from henceforth expecting till His enemies be made His footstool. The sacrifice of Christ Jesus was perfect. He didn't stand daily offering sacrifices that would never take away sins. But instead, He offered one sacrifice for sins forever. The sacrifice of Christ had no faults or defects because it did everything that it was meant to do. Namely, to take away our sins. The sacrifice of Christ was pure because He was the Lamb without blemish. the spotless Lamb of God, the Holy One of Israel, the perfect Son of God, the Word made flesh, the only one who could make the sacrifice truly effectual. The sacrifice of Christ was complete and it lacked nothing because it was a once for all sacrifice that never had to be continued. It didn't happen Daily, but it was a completed act. What were Christ's words on the cross? As he made this sacrifice. It must continue. This isn't over. No. His words were it is finished. It's complete. Nothing more can be done. Nothing more needs to be done. Nothing is lacking. It is finished. And as if to point an exclamation point at the end of that phrase, Christ sat down at the right hand of God from henceforth expecting to his enemies be made his footstool. His job in purchasing salvation was finished. His sacrifice is never to be repeated. And so the next time that He comes, it will be not as a priest offering a sacrifice. He will come as a conquering King, crushing His enemies underneath His feet. Friends, this is the perfection of the sacrifice. So this leads to the results of the sacrifice of Christ, the perfecting of the Saints. Look with me in verse 14. For by one offering, he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. We saw in verse one that the shadows of the old, the sacrifices of bulls and goats can never make perfect those who come near But the good thing, which has come, the true form of these realities, Christ Jesus himself can and does make us perfect. He has perfected us for all time. It's not a momentary thing. It's not a one. It's not something that has to be repeated. It is a one time. Perfection. But it's not a one-time perfection that then can be lost when we fall back into sin. It's a perfection instantly, but it's a perfection perpetually. He's perfected us for all time. In the past, we were perfected. In the present, we are perfected. In the future, we will be perfected. It's a completed action accomplished by his death on the cross, confirmed by his words. It is finished and then sealed by his Holy Spirit, making us new. We are perfected, but it is also a continual thing. Not that his act must be repeated, but his perfecting us continues on till we reach glory. Yes, you are perfected, but you are also being perfected. He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. Friends, you are becoming more Christlike. You are being enabled more and more to die unto sin and to live unto righteousness. And this is possible because of Christ's once for all sacrifice, because your sins are forgiven, because they are removed as far as the east is from the west. Because the Lord remembers your sins no more, you are being made perfect. The blood of bulls and goats couldn't do this, but the blood of Christ Jesus does it. and we're given the assurance of this, the promise of the new covenant, whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us. For after that, he 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, and I will write them. In their sins and iniquities, I will remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. This is the greatest assurance that we could ever have that we are being perfected. The perfecting of the saints is the effect of the new covenant. The law is written on our hearts. It is written on our minds. It is the word of God and the Lord's most perfect law. written on our hearts and minds through the work of Christ Jesus on the cross. And it testifies to our being made perfect. It's the word that convicts man of sin. It's the word that presents a savior. It's the word that instructs man in righteousness. It's the word that assures man of who he is in Christ. We are perfect. And we are being perfected. And we know this because of the promise of God. And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now, where the remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. This is one of the most beautiful things that a sinner could ever hear. This is the blessing that comes with the sacrifice of Christ. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. This is us. This is who we are. We are blessed. Our transgressions are forgiven. Our sin is covered. Against us, the Lord counts no iniquity. And it's because of Christ Jesus who bore our transgression and our sins and our iniquity upon Himself and nailed it to the cross. By offering Himself as the perfect sacrifice, perfected us. There is no more offering for sin. This once for all offering for sin has been made. And because we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit, we are empowered and enabled to grow in holiness and be perfected in righteousness. Friends, this is the perfecting of the Saints. Brothers and sisters, It's only in Christ that salvation is found. Because it's only in the cross, it's only the cross of Christ that perfectly atones for your sins. The shadows are the good things to come, the blood of bulls and goats, they could never take away sin. They were powerless, they were insufficient, they were imperfect. but they pointed to that perfect sacrifice of Christ. Christ Jesus sacrificed himself, shedding his blood for the remission of sins and fulfilled every aspect of the sacrificial system, putting away those old things. His blood did what bulls and goats could never do. He truly is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He is the perfect sacrifice and it is through that sacrifice of Christ that you are made perfect. Your sins are washed away and you are made new. The Spirit of Christ who dwells in you enables you more and more to die unto sin and to live unto righteousness. You are perfected and you are being made perfect. And friends, this is the perfect sacrifice which is remembered today in this meal that is before you. This is the sacrifice of the feast which you are to partake in today. Christ Jesus' body has been broken for you, given, and it is given to you in the elements of the bread. Christ Jesus' blood is poured out for the remission of your sins, and it is given in the element of the wine. So embrace Christ, that perfect sacrifice, and come and feast in holy communion with him today. Let's pray. Father, we come to you and we are so thankful that Christ Jesus did offer himself to be that atoning sacrifice which takes away the sins of the world. We are so thankful that we do not have to look to those shadows. We are not under the bondage of the old, but we are now free in the new. where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we thank you, Lord, for giving us that freedom. Lord, we ask that you would continue to work in us, perfecting us, making us more and more into the image of your son, Jesus Christ. As we heard last week, Lord, we ask that you would purge out the leaven of our hearts all the sinfulness that remains. And that we would be perfected in you. And Lord, now, as we prepare to come to this table to partake of this sacramental meal, which is set before us. We asked Lord that we would come in a sober and reverent manner. In such a way that is pleasing to you, Lord. Father, just as we have feasted upon your word in the preaching, we ask now Lord that we would feast upon. Your son. In this sacrament, this word made visible to us today. Use your spirit to seal effectually. The word into our hearts. And to bring us. to our knees submission to King Jesus. So Lord, bless our time and communion this day. And we ask this in Christ's name, amen.