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Please remain standing and we’ll read from God’s Word. Our passage this evening is taken from
Hebrews chapter 9. We’re looking at verses 11 through 14 this evening. Hebrews, the Word
of God, Hebrews chapter 9, starting in verse 11, But when Christ appeared as a high priest
of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent, not made with
hands, that is not of this creation, he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means
of the blood of goats and calves, but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.
For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes
of a heifer sanctify for the purification of their flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ,
who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience
from dead works to serve the living God. Amen. You may be seated. Let’s pray. Our Father in Heaven,
we thank you for sending your Spirit to inspire this very Word so many years ago. We thank you
for your preserving it through the centuries that we might have it in our hands today and translate
it into our own language. Lord, we ask that you would send to that same Spirit that he might open
our ears, that we might hear and believe and obey this Word, that you might be with the preacher,
that your Word might be faithfully proclaimed, and that you might be glorified, your people
might be fed, and we might be transformed into the image of Christ. We pray this in Jesus’ name.
Amen. How do you make an entrance? Depending on the context, that could be a good thing or
a bad thing. In Peter Jackson’s film, The Return of the King, based on JR Tolkien’s The Lord of the
Rings series, there is a scene shortly before the most significant battle in which the heir to the
throne, Aragorn, decides to make a detour through an ancient mountain tunnel on his way to the city
of Gondor, which is the site of the final conflict. Despite being cautioned against it, Aragorn
determines that the benefits outweigh the risks. On the doorway of the mountain tunnel is the
warning that the way is shut. It was made by those who were dead, and the dead keep it.
No previous travelers had escaped unharmed. Yet Aragorn, as the rightful heir to the throne,
expects a different outcome. And while his companions, Legolas and Gimli, stand reading
the inscription, Aragorn mutters, I do not fear death, and strides past them into the darkness.
What he finds within the underground cavern is a host of dead men who have been imprisoned under
a curse for breaking the covenant that they made with Aragorn’s ancestor, who was king at the time.
As they prepare to destroy Aragorn for entering their ghostly dwelling, he produces the reforged
sword of his ancestor as irrefutable proof of his royal lineage. He reverses the situation
and offers these cursed dead men a chance to be free from their imprisoning curse. He offers them
a chance to end their meaningless ghostly existence and fight with him for a new purpose.
In the end, they take him up on his offer, and after fighting for Aragorn in the battle,
he releases them from their tormented and cursed existence to depart in peace.
All this took place because Aragorn dared to enter where no one else could.
Aragorn approached the doorway to the mountain, which said that the way was shut, and he entered.
In our passage this evening, Christ came to the place that was shut, and he entered.
And my sermon title is, He Came, He Saw, He Entered. And this is, of course, an allusion
to the famous saying attributed to Julius Caesar, I came, I saw, I conquered,
which is even more poetic in the original Latin, veni, vidi, vici. While Christ certainly conquered
in his work of atonement, the focus of our passage this evening is on his entering,
which we see in verse 12. Now it stands out in stark contrast in Greek because of the verb tense,
but you can see it in English as well. Right there, he entered. The focus of the action is
right on that verb, he entered. When Christ appeared, he entered. Now despite the title,
we will deviate it slightly from it slightly in framing our points. We’ll follow the flow of the
passage this evening and consider Christ’s actions described in this passage in three ways.
Number one, Christ came in order to enter. Number two, Christ entered in order to secure.
And by entering, number three, Christ secured our purification. Christ came, Christ entered,
and Christ secured. Number one, Christ came. This comes from verse 11.
But when Christ appeared, now this Greek word is translated appeared in our passage in the ESV,
but almost everywhere else in the New Testament, it is translated as came up or approached, stand
beside. Instead of thinking that he appeared out of nowhere, we should think of him coming near,
to stand beside. But this subtle word choice is another reminder also from the author of Hebrews
that Christ stands beside his people, that he came near. He came near to us in his humanity.
He is fully human, flesh and blood, able completely to identify in our weakness and able to be a
suitable substitute. He also came near to God. He is fully divine. The mysterious union between God
and man, two distinct natures in one person forever. But verse 11 continues, when Christ
appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come. High priest of the good things that have
come. But before we get to what Christ did, what he does, we want to take a moment to notice who he
is. How is he described? A high priest of the good things that have come. Notice the tense, have come
versus the good things to come. The Christ, the anointed high priest has come near and he brings
his benefits here and now. Of course he will come again and there will be more to come. But in the
already, those in Christ have access to good things. I think the author of Hebrews is wanting
his readers to realize that as much as we have to look forward to when Christ returns, there is much
that we already have. Our passage in Hebrews 9 doesn’t spell out exactly what he means by the
good things that have come. But the Westminster Shorter Catechism gives a Bible-based summary
of some of those good things that become available in Christ in this life because of who he is and
what he’s done. The big three that often come to mind each get their own question and answer,
as we saw earlier. Justification, adoption, and sanctification. But then there’s that follow-up
question and answer. What are the benefits? What are the good things that do either accompany or
flow from these three big benefits of salvation in this life? And of course those are
assurance of God’s love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Spirit, increase of grace,
and perseverance in that grace to the end. I think these are worth a few moments of our
consideration. Number one, assurance of God’s love. Assurance of God’s love is an invaluable
treasure. To be absolutely confident that the creator of all, the judge of all the earth,
the Almighty God loves you. This flows from justification, adoption, and sanctification,
and is for those who have Christ as their high priest. Christ intends for you to have
complete assurance of God’s love. Christ didn’t die to leave you wondering whether God loves you.
Christians are meant to live in the absolutely freeing assurance God loves you now. Of course
the second is peace of conscience. Complete freedom from nagging guilt, constantly worrying
if you’re good enough, if you measure up. Now that Christ has come near, entered, and secured
purification for your conscience, you can have true peace. Christians are not meant to live in
perpetual guilt. While it’s true that as Christians mature and see God better, they often grow more
aware of their sin. But that guilt is never meant to be an ongoing reality for the Christian.
Godly guilt over sin is meant to lead to repentance and confession of sin, which then brings that
peace of conscience because of who Christ is and what he’s done. Of course the next is joy in the
Holy Spirit. Happiness is something that all people seek in one way or another, but all other
sources of happiness fail to deliver in one way or another. Joy in the Holy Spirit transcends
circumstances because no matter what happens, what you lose in this life, you still have the love of
God in Christ, which is everything. So even if everything is taken away in this life, you still
have everything left. A Christian’s joy is rooted in God and it reaches higher and deeper. Psalm 16,
in God’s presence is fullness of joy. There’s nothing fuller than full.
Christians are able to enjoy God and everything else in a way that others could only wish for.
Increase of grace. This is not an increase of favor toward believers, since in Christ this is
already full. This is an increase in the power to do what is right. The Christian doesn’t stay
as he is when he first believes. There’s an increase of that grace which makes him more and
more like Christ. An increase in faith, in obedience, in wisdom, in patience, love,
self-control, and all the rest. When you have Christ as your high priest, this is your reality.
And an increase, not a decrease, or a plateau of grace. Finally, perseverance of grace,
in grace to the end. Tied in with the increase of grace is the assurance that will never run out,
or more like you will never run out. When Christ as your high priest, with Christ as your high
priest, you continue in grace until the very end. When you’re starting a marathon, you might wonder,
will I make it all the way? It’s a lot of miles. You want to know you’ll make it. You won’t quit
halfway, or even almost all the way through. You want the assurance that this grace will carry us,
carry you, all the way to your death and into glory. So these are some of the good things that
ought to come to mind when we see that Christ is a high priest of the good things that have come.
But as we look at verse 11, we see that Christ came near in order to enter. Verses 11 and 12,
but when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the
greater and more perfect tent, not made with hands, that is not of this creation, He entered
once for all into the holy places. Before we consider that He entered, we need to ask what it
is that Christ is approaching. What is the author referring to by this greater and perfecter tent?
If we were to flip back to chapter 8, verse 2, we see a reference to the true tent,
which is where Christ ministers. This is in contrast to the priests who minister on earth.
So the author of Hebrews is returning to the point that he began in chapter 8.
When we looked at that a few weeks ago, we saw a contrast between the heavenly
and the earthly, which we saw was more of a reference to quality or origin than location.
The author of Hebrews is returning that point by filling out his description
of the place in which Christ entered. Christ entered the greater and perfecter tent,
which is non-handmade, which means not part of this creation. Now the first phrase, greater and
perfecter, parallels with the description in chapter 8, verse 2, the true tent. We considered
previously how true didn’t mean that the other was false, but that this was the reality that the other
was merely a sketch of. The word more perfect or perfecter carries the connotation of more complete.
This is the greater or more complete reality. A second phrase, not made with hands or
not handmade, parallels the description in 8, verse 2, which the Lord set up, not man.
In chapter 8, verse 2, it speaks of the setting up of the tent, but in chapter 9, verse 11,
the greater tent wasn’t even made by hands. Now what is handmade in contrast with?
Store-bought? Manufactured? Is a Costco tent better than a handmade one? No, in this case,
it’s a reference to human-made. Humans make things with their hands. God makes things with
his words. He doesn’t have to use his hands. So this is a tent not only set up by God, but created
also by God. But the third descriptor is what’s really important for understanding what Hebrews
is talking about here, not part of this creation. The first two descriptors would have left room
for this to be an actual tabernacle that might exist in one location or another.
The final description makes it clear that this greater tent is instead meant to be understood
not as a literal location, but a metaphorical one. It is described as not of this creation.
In the biblical worldview, everything that exists falls into one of two categories, creator and
creation. Pantheism and other religions blur these distinctions, but the Bible keeps them separate.
Even invisible realities like angels, demons, and the rest, they’re all part of creation.
So if the greater and perfecter tent were a literal tent in existence somewhere,
it would have to be part of creation. Instead, the writer clarifies this tent is not part of
this creation. If it’s not part of this creation, then it must be part of the creator.
It must be what the earthly tabernacle had been meant to represent from the beginning,
the true presence of God. Christ came near to the presence of God.
And then, as we’ll consider next, he entered that presence.
Christ entered. Verse 12. He entered once for all into the holy places.
In verse 8 of chapter 9, which we considered last time, it said that by this the Holy Spirit
indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened. Now this phrase the holy places
is the same thing that Christ entered in verse 12. The tabernacle, which represents the presence
of God to the people of Israel, also indicated that the presence of God was restricted. It was
closed off. But when Christ came near, he entered. Christ was granted an entrance where others had
been forbidden. This was all based on the all-important reason that he brought different
blood. He didn’t just force his way into God’s presence. He was invited in because he brought
greater and perfecter blood, which alone was suitable to grant an entrance into God’s presence.
The tabernacle, commissioned by God to be built by Moses to facilitate God’s presence with his
people, made clear that the way to God was not open. It was shut. All the furnishings, sacrifices,
rituals, and priests formed a barrier between God and his people. But as we noted last time,
the problem wasn’t primarily within the procedures. It was with the people. Sinful people
get incinerated in God’s presence. This is because the presence of God is either dangerous
or blessed. One might say that the difference between heaven and hell is not the presence of
God but the presence of sin. Some people think that heaven is just the place where everyone
goes when they die. But when I’m sharing the gospel with strangers who don’t understand this,
I often explain that being with God is only a good thing if your sin is taken care of.
While we can speak of hell as being away from God’s presence in one sense, there’s another sense in
which that is not technically correct. In reality, the difference between heaven and hell is not
whether God is there. The difference is whether sin is there, whether it is sinners in the presence
of God or saints. Hell is God’s response to sin. So those who die in sin will experience the presence
of God as excruciating wrath against them, what they’ve done, embraced, and indulged in.
When sinners come into God’s presence, they experience his holiness as a burning raging fire
because sin is antithetical to God. Sin is the absolute epitome of everything that God hates
with all of his being. It demeans, dishonors, devalues, and threatens everything that he loves
with an everlasting love. A spouse’s greatest jealousy or a parent’s greatest protective instinct,
they’re only hints and pictures. They don’t even come close to the white hot passion that God has
for everything that he loves. The last thing that God ever is, is indifferent.
So for those who have embraced, pursued, and indulged in all that God hates, the presence of
God is the last thing that they would ever want to experience. It will be a living hell.
In contrast, heaven is God’s response to cleansing from sin. When former sinners,
turned saints, enter God’s presence, it will be absolute bliss and delight beyond what can be
imagined. Heaven is the presence of God for those who are in Christ and have had their sins not only
paid for, but completely washed away, making them saints, holy ones. For the saint, the presence of
God is the most blessed thing imaginable. True fellowship with the one who created you, who knows
you better than you know yourself, who can give you glimpses of glory and experiences of ecstasy
which truly surpass your present limited imagination. The true love of a husband for a wife,
a parent for a child, a brother or a sister or a friend only provide the slightest teasers
of the pure fellowship of God that awaits former sinners who enter the presence of God through
Christ. Because Christ entered God’s presence with his own blood, the only offering potent enough to
grant a favorable entrance into God’s presence, he secured an eternal permanent redemption.
We might ask, when did Christ do this? When exactly did Christ enter God’s presence with
his blood offering? Well, how do you bring your blood? This isn’t a blood drive donation.
Christ’s offering his blood is called a synecdoche, which speaks of one part of something,
but means the whole thing. Christ’s blood, of course, means his life. He offered his blood
by dying. There’s no need to try to pinpoint Christ’s offering to a time between his death
and resurrection, and this is further reinforced by the phrase in verse 14 that says he offered
his blood through the eternal spirit. See, not only did Christ offer a different sacrifice
in a different tabernacle, he offered it by different means. Here we see a further distinction
made between the earthly priests and Christ. Both eternal and spirit are in contrast to temporal or
temporary and flesh. Now, this is not to say that Christ was anything less than flesh and blood.
He was all that and infinitely more. Christ’s sacrifice was greater and perfecter.
It was once for all, and it was directly to God in a way that no other sacrifice could be.
One commentator says this. An analogy may prove illustrative. From an earthly perspective,
it looks as if the sun rises every morning and sets every evening. It would appear that the sun
revolves around the earth. A more complete perspective reveals that it is the other way
around. Similarly, the perspective of the eternal spirit reveals that the earthly perspective is
limited. From a limited external point of view, the Mosaic regulations have their value as cleansing
rituals. The value of Christ’s work, however, must be observed from God’s vantage point.
It offers cleansing on a different level. Christ wasn’t finishing things up in heaven somewhere
after he died, trying to make it back down in time for his resurrection. He set it on the cross.
It is finished. Matthew chapter 27 verses 50 and 53 describes some of the other unusual things that
happened at that moment of Christ’s death. Matthew 27 verse 50, and Christ cried out again with a
loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from
top to bottom. And the earth shook and the rocks were split and the tombs also were opened. And
many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised and coming out of their tombs after
his resurrection. They went into the holy city and appeared to many. The curtain was split at
the moment of his death. The old covenant, which had been pointing to this moment and when it finally
happened, was instantly obsolete. The Holy Spirit was indicating that the way into the presence of
God was now open. The old tabernacle was now a dead end. The way that was open was not the old
covenant tabernacle, but instead through the man hanging outside Jerusalem on a cross outside the
walls. As Christ suffered outside the city of Jerusalem, he was actually entering the true tent
of God’s presence with his own blood.
But that’s not the whole story. Christ didn’t just enter to enter. This was a means to an end.
He entered the true holy places in order to offer a greater and perfecter sacrifice
that would secure an eternal redemption. And so number three, Christ secured.
Verse 12 says, thus securing an eternal redemption. And then verse 14 tells us what that redemption
does. Purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Christ secured purification.
The problem of sin is not just guilt. The problem of guilt is real.
The problem of guilt is real. Sin brings real guilt that must be dealt with. God’s justice demands
that he punish law breaking. But what’s in view in this passage is the way that sin makes us unclean.
The Old Testament included laws both for sacrifices of guilt of sin as well as required
rituals for cleansing from defilement. And we see this in the example in verse 13 where it says,
the ashes of a heifer. This comes from the passage that we read earlier in the service,
Numbers chapter 19 verses one through 19. This was a ritual for cleansing.
This was not a sacrifice for sins. It was a cleansing from defilement.
Death, contact with the dead for an Israelite, defile. Verse 11 of Numbers chapter 19,
whoever touches the dead body of any person shall be unclean seven days.
Now this was different from being merely guilty. The Israelites were not being charged with a crime
here, but they were defiled and they needed cleansing. The charge of guilt would come later
if the person did not seek that cleansing. Numbers chapter 19 verse 13, whoever touches
a dead person the body of anyone who has died and does not cleanse himself defiles the tabernacle
of the Lord and that person shall be cut off from Israel because the water for impurity was not
thrown on him. He shall be unclean. His uncleanness is still on him. All kinds of things could make
you unclean, but in Numbers 19 the particular uncleanness in view was that of contact with the
dead. This was more than a concern over hygiene. It was a ritual on cleanness. Death is not part
of this good creation. It’s a part of God’s curse for man’s sin and in Numbers 19 God gives his
people a method of becoming ritually clean after such contact with the dead. A heifer, a young
female cow was burned up on the altar and its ashes were saved and mixed with water to provide
a cleansing from defilement. Hebrews chapter 9 verse 13, for if the blood of goats and bulls
and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer sanctify for the purification
of the flesh. It says that this cleansing of the flesh was good as far as it went. It was suitable
for the time that was given, but our defilement from sin runs much deeper than that. We need to
be cleansed from dead works. What are dead works? Dead works are the only thing that the spiritually
dead can do. Romans chapter 8 verses 5 through 8 describes this same reality, but it uses different
terms. It uses the words the flesh versus the spirit to speak about how the spiritually dead
can only do dead works. Romans chapter 8 starting verse 5, for those who live according to the flesh
set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the spirit
set their minds on the things of the spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death,
but to set the mind on the spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the spirit
is hostile to God, for does not submit to God’s law. Indeed it cannot. Those who are in the flesh
cannot please God. Think of zombies. They can’t offer any helpful contributions to society.
They can only spread death and destruction. Everything they touch gets infected and defiled.
This is a picture of unbelievers in the sight of God. Even the most outwardly upstanding citizens
who hate God in their hearts are actually spiritually dripping with the filth of sin.
Unbelievers, sinners who remain in their sin are like spiritual zombies. Now you need to understand
this if you’re an unbeliever. You can’t please God in this state at all. Dress a zombie up in
nice clothes all you want. You still can’t invite him into your house. Until you are cleansed from
your sin you cannot please God. No matter how upstanding you appear to others on the inside
in the sight of God you’re filthy. But as believers we need to be reminded about this
about unbelievers. Not so that you can look down on them but so that you can properly pity them.
Properly understand what the end for them is. Many unbelievers live outwardly prosperous
and successful lives but the Bible is full of warnings about not viewing people only in terms
of this life because it’s such a strong temptation. In Psalm 73 Asaph a worship leader
in Israel found himself thinking it’s unbelievers who have the good life
and nothing to worry about while being a Christian is purely a burden.
But then Asaph went into worship and he was reminded of the eternal perspective.
These people don’t stand a chance in the end. Without Christ they’re doomed.
Everything done without Christ is dead works. But eternal redemption through Christ secures
permanent cleansing from dead works. There’s only one way to truly serve God in a way that
pleases him. It’s with a purified conscience. Attempting to serve God with dead works
is like a child vacuuming all the carpets in your home but with each step
tracking the dog poop he just stepped in outside over every square inch he just vacuumed.
It’s difficult to even appreciate the effort and the filth that it leads behind negates anything
initially beneficial. God’s not even tempted to give A’s for effort when the effort is done
by filthy consciences that haven’t been cleansed from dead works.
Conscience that hasn’t been purified from dead works thinks that it can somehow still make it
up to God. It will keep trying to earn salvation apart from Christ. There’s people around us every
day performing merely dead works. In the parable of the lost and found son the older brother kept
up appearances but it turned out he’d been serving his father out of resentment not out of love.
And ironically the son in the parable who was able to truly please his father was the son who
admitted his sin humbled himself and then accepted his father’s forgiveness. The older son didn’t
think he needed to be forgiven so he stayed away only causing his father more grief not pleasing
to his father. The Christian life isn’t about wishing our mistakes away telling ourselves
we’ll do better next time. It isn’t even about swearing to obey God for the rest of your life.
It’s built upon believing that Christ’s sacrifice can and does apply to you. That despite everything
you’ve done you even you can be cleansed and brought into fellowship with God now.
If you’re here this evening and you find yourself among those who are doing dead works
you realize you’re not pleasing and cannot please God. That you don’t have all those good things
that are in Christ. Do you want this? Do you want this cleansing? Those good things like assurance
of God’s love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, increase of grace. What is keeping you
from asking for this cleansing and these good things from Christ now? If you’re here tonight
and you are a believer you’ve tasted of these good things that have come in Christ. This assurance,
peace, joy, increase of grace and perseverance in it. Don’t settle for a weak assurance of God’s love
for a small increase of grace, a tepid joy in the Holy Spirit, an unstable peace of conscience.
These things are yours in Christ to be apprehended by faith. If you’ve been settling
for less lately start there and ask for a hunger for more. Christ came bringing near
good things to us because he entered God’s presence. He secured an eternal redemption,
purification from sin down to our very conscience so that we are freed to do
that which genuinely pleases God. Amen. Let’s pray.
Father in heaven we thank you that you have sent your son Jesus Christ that he might come near,
that he might approach, that he might enter the holy places with his own blood, that he might
purify our consciences from dead works to serve the living God. Lord we ask that you would do that,
you would purify our consciences, make us clean, make us able to serve you in a way that pleases you
by trusting in the merits of Christ and relying on his work. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.
Let’s turn now to respond with a hymn 509, hymn 509 and let’s stand as we sing 509.
The cross
is near with its cheer and will never leave me.
Make them fall to life’s mournful story.
Make a way that we may enter their victory.
Lord, what I shall
ever take me to be.
How art mine, I was thine,
even ere I knew thee.
I am thine,
for thou hast taught me.
Thus I stood, but I walked,
preach of eternity.
How art mine.