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God Looked For A Complete Sacrifice

Hebrews 10:8-10
First he said, 'Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them'– though they were offered in accordance with the law. Then he said, 'Here I am, I have come to do your will.' He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (NIVUK)

The writer seems to repeat himself from verses 5-7 which are a quotation from Psalm 40:6-8. But he just wanted to emphasise them by commenting on the content and then the order of the statements. Although they were originally penned by King David, they are presented in Hebrews 10:5 as coming from the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit who inspired the Psalm also inspired the Hebrews writer with the very words that Jesus would have spoken as a baby! They describe His mission, which He followed through flawlessly.

Christ firstly declared the sacrifices and the regulations of the Mosaic law to be redundant. Then He claimed that the purpose of His coming was to completely fulfil all Father God's will. The law had a successor, grace. So, in Christ, the old covenant between the people and God, was first set aside by God. Then the new covenant was established in His blood (Luke 22:20). That covenant ensured that every sin would be forgiven for those who trusted in Christ.

More than that, it was God's eternal purpose that the death of Christ should make repentant sinners holy – fully acceptable to God. They would no more have to offer multiple sacrifices for different purposes – the death of Jesus only occurred once and was effective for all time (Hebrews 10:12,14). It guaranteed eternal fellowship with God as members of His family (Hebrews 2:12). That was God's will. That was the divine purpose of the incarnation.

The writer is not just reciting theological truths. He is also making pastoral application. Put simply: God chose to send Jesus to die so that sinful people like us might be totally stripped clean of everything which offends God, and made holy so that we might belong to Him for ever. That was God's will. We did not ask Him to do that (Romans 5:8). He chose to lavish His grace upon us at enormous cost to Himself (1 John 3:1). That is such great love. When did you last thank God for loving you that much, for forgiving every single sin, for removing your guilt, for declaring you to be righteous and holy and His children for ever … and all because of Jesus Christ's suffering and piercing and death … which was for you? Let these truths sink into your heart and ask the Lord to show you how very much He loves you. And then thank Him for all He has given you.
 

Prayer 
Gracious Lord. Thank You for loving me so much that Jesus had to pay with His life for my salvation. Forgive me for insulting Your grace when I forget both the cost to Jesus and His extreme love for me. Please help me to value Your love, as much as You value me. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
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© Dr Paul Adams