The Better Blood of the New Covenant

And if you'd open up your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 9, I'm going to be preaching chapter 9, 15 through 28.

Hebrews 9 · chapter mention

! It's on page 1193 of your pew Bible.

So if you would open up your Bibles and read with me, hear the word of the Lord.

15, 915.

Therefore, He, Christ, is the mediator of a new covenant.

15, 1015.

So that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established.

For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive.

Therefore, not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood.

For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people,

He took the blood of calves and goats with water and scarlet wool and hyssop,

and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people saying,

This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you.

And in the same way, He sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship.

Indeed, under the law, almost everything is purified with blood.

And without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.

23, thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites.

But the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

For Christ has entered not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things,

but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.

Nor was it to offer Himself repeatedly as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own,

for then He would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world.

But as it is, He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,

so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time,

not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him.

May God bless the hearing of His Word.

May God bless the hearing of Jesus.

May God bless the hearing of Jesus.

We've all made promises and failed to keep them.

God makes promises and always keeps them.

At the heart of the new covenant are promises God has made to His new people, the church.

Promises that I'm calling blood promises.

Promises guaranteed to us by the blood of Jesus.

The Old Testament covenant between God and Israel dealt with sin by repeatedly shedding the blood of animals.

And so the Old Covenant was never meant to last forever.

It was temporary.

The new covenant between God and His church dealt with sin by the once for all shedding of Christ's blood.

The better blood of the new covenant.

Which guarantees better promises.

In chapters 8 and 9 of the book of Hebrews, God through the author of Hebrews is seeking to convince us of something very important.

Something obvious.

The new covenant has been inaugurated by the blood of Christ.

And it's far better than the old covenant inaugurated by the blood of animals.

The new covenant is now in effect.

How can you be sure that the penalty of all of your sin has been fully and finally put away?

How can you be sure of that?

Blood promise.

How can you be confident that you have round-the-clock access to the throne room of God without fear?

How can you be confident of that?

Blood promise.

How can you be assured that when Christ returns and judges all, you and me included,

that He won't cast you out into outer darkness?

Where there's weeping and gnashing teeth.

How can you be assured that you won't be cast out?

Blood promise.

In Hebrews 9, 15 through 28, God is seeking to convince us that the new covenant is now in effect.

So we must hold fast to these blood promises.

There's going to be three steps to the sermon.

Verses 15 through 17.

The new covenant is now in effect.

I want you to see that.

Then I want you to see in verses 18 through 22, the blood of the old covenant.

And then, in verses 23 through 28, the better blood of the new covenant.

And when you see it, it should compel you to hold fast to these blood promises of the new covenant all the way to the end.

So let's look at the new covenant, which is now in effect.

This is verses 15 through 17, particularly verse 15.

Christ's death, His shedding of His blood means that the new covenant is now, right now, in effect.

Verse 15 starts with the word therefore.

And whenever we come across a therefore in the Bible or any other reading, we are asking, what is the therefore therefore?

And what the therefore does is connect what has gone before to what the author is saying in verse 15.

And what He wants to show us is that all that has happened regarding the new covenant has been brought into effect.

So let me just help you see some of that.

In chapters 8 and 9, we see that this new covenant is better than the old.

In chapter 8, verses 8 through 12, there's this extended quoting of Jeremiah 31.

This was written to a people at a time who were living under the old covenant.

And so during the old covenant, there is this prophetic utterance that there would be a new covenant.

Which means that the old covenant was temporary.

That's the point of chapter 8, verse 13.

And speaking of a new covenant, He makes the first one obsolete.

And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

And so the old covenant, established under Moses with the shedding of animal blood,

that's in the rearview mirror now.

Because what we see in chapter 9, verses 11 through 14,

it's the blood of Christ that has put into effect the new covenant.

And so just bear with me.

Look at verse 12 of chapter 9.

He, Christ, 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.

New covenant in effect.

Look at verses 13 and 14.

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 the outer man, the outer person,

how much more will the blood of Christ,

who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God,

purify our conscience, our inner beings,

from dead works to serve the living God.

So here's what this therefore is all about.

In light of this prophecy of this new covenant,

and in light of Christ shedding His blood,

Christ is the mediator,

verse 15,

of a new and better covenant.

It's in effect right now.

That mediator language means He's a go-between.

He's the author and perfecter of our new covenant faith.

This new covenant secured an eternal redemption.

This new covenant purified our consciences.

And so this therefore is showing kind of what is going on here.

We're being convinced that the new covenant is now in effect.

And later in verse 15, we see why.

So that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance.

Christ, through His blood,

established the new covenant

so that those who are called

may receive the promised eternal inheritance.

Who are these called people?

They're God's elect.

They are those people that God set His love on

before the foundation of the world

who He would irresistibly call them to Himself

through Christ.

These are the ones

later in this passage.

We see in verse 24,

it's,

these are the ones who now

Jesus appears in the presence of God

on behalf of.

The called.

The church.

These are the ones in verse 26

that He has sacrificed Himself for.

Who put away their sin.

These are the ones in verse 28.

These are the sins of the many

who Jesus bore their sins for.

These are the ones in verse 28

who eagerly wait for Christ's return.

These are the ones

who are persevering to the end

because God is preserving them to the end.

Well, who we're talking about?

When we're talking about the called

are the grace of God.

The church.

The true church.

The genuine church.

So that they would receive this.

All of the benefits of the new covenant.

Christ has established

the new covenant

by His blood

so that we would receive

all of this inheritance.

In the old covenant

Israel

well they inherited primarily

a land.

The land of Canaan.

But when we come to the new covenant

our inheritance

is a heavenly homeland.

If you would flip in your Bibles

to Hebrews chapter 11

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

in verse 10

speaking of Abraham.

For Abraham was looking forward

to the city that has foundations

whose designer and builder is God.

That's not an earthly city.

In 11 and 13 through 16

we read

these all died in faith

not having received

the things promised

but having seen them

and greeted them from afar

and having acknowledged

that they were strangers

and exiles on the earth.

For people who speak thus

make it clear

that they are seeking a homeland.

If they had been thinking

of that land

from which they had gone out

they would have had opportunity

to return.

But as it is

they desire a better country

that is a heavenly one.

Therefore God is not ashamed

to be called their God

for He has prepared for them

a city.

Our inheritance

where God Himself dwells.

And not only just

this future inheritance

of dwelling in God's place

it means

the inheritance now

of full forgiveness

of your sins.

It means

the inheritance now

of full access

to God

and the throne of grace

and your time of need.

All of this

all of these benefits

are ours

through what Christ

has purchased

now.

The new covenant

is a now covenant

for us.

And we see how that

was accomplished

in verse 15

with the word since.

since a death

has occurred

that redeems them

from the transgressions

committed under

the first covenant.

The word death

that's used

there's other things

other words used

for it in this passage.

There's the word sacrifice

in verse 26.

We've already seen

the word blood

show up repeated times

in chapter 9, 12, and 14.

The shedding of blood

represents death.

Something had to die

for sin.

And Christ's death

enacted the new covenant.

So the point of all this

chapter 9, verse 15

is to convince us

that the new covenant

is now in effect

because Jesus has died

and shed his blood.

In verses 16 through 17

the author

presses the point

with an illustration.

For where a will is involved

the death of the one

who made it

must be established.

For a will takes effect

only at death.

What he's doing

is he's comparing

a legal will

to God's

covenants.

To putting a legal will

in effect

is similar to putting

God's covenants

into effect.

When we're talking

about a will

we're talking about

someone's last will

and testament.

I've been thinking

about that.

Like okay,

when I die

what are we going to

leave to our kids?

It's not much

but it's an inheritance

of something.

But in order

for our will

to take effect

both Jenny and I

have to die.

Okay.

Sarah,

that's outside

of my control.

And every day

that I'm alive

I'm getting

more eager

to be

in the presence

of my king.

But what the author

here is doing

is saying

just as a will

only takes effect

when the person

who makes it

dies,

God's covenants

take effect

only when something

dies.

The old covenant

took effect

when animals

died.

Exodus 24,

we'll see it

in a second.

The new covenant

takes effect

when Jesus died

and it's in effect

now.

So this

first point

that I just want

to make obvious

is this.

The new covenant

is in effect

now

because the blood

of Jesus

has been shed

and you need

to hold fast

to this.

Not to neglect

this great salvation

but to cherish it.

So we move

from this first

point

now let's move

to the second

point

the blood

of the old

covenant

the blood

of the first

covenant.

So coming

off this

illustration

that just

like a will

is set up

with a death

so God's

covenants

are set up

with a death

now he goes

into talking

about how

the old

covenant

was inaugurated

with the death

of animals.

You see it

in verse 18.

Therefore

not even

the first

covenant

was inaugurated

without blood.

Under Moses

this first

covenant

this old

covenant

required

the shedding

of blood.

In verses

19-21

the writer

of Hebrews

he hearkens

back to

Exodus 24

3-8

and in that

passage

Israel has

been delivered

out of Egypt

they've been

brought to

Mount Sinai

God has given

them the

law through

Moses

it's been

written down

and in

verses 3-8

of Exodus

24

the old

covenant

goes into

effect

and it

went into

the effect

when Moses

splattered

people with

blood

he took

water

and he took

wool

and hyssop

and he was

just splattering

people with

blood

it was

bloody

you can

see all the

blood in

this passage

look at

verse 18

not even

the first

covenant

was inaugurated

without

blood

verse 19

he took

the blood

of calves

and goats

sprinkled

both the

book itself

and all the

people saying

verse 20

this is the

blood of the

covenant

that God

commanded for

you

verse 21

in the same

way he

sprinkled

with the

blood

both the

tent

and all

the vessels

used in

worship

22

indeed

under the

law

almost

everything

is purified

with blood

and without

shutting of

blood

there is no

forgiveness

this is

bloody

something had

to die

in order

for God

to bring a

people who

are sinful

into a

relationship

with him

something had

to pay

for the

people's

sins

and what

we know

about this

first covenant

is that it

was temporary

I mean that's

the point of

813

we know that

it was

ineffective

we know that

from chapter

9 verse 9

we know it

from chapter

10 verse 1

look at

10 1

for since

the law

has been a

shadow of

the good

things to

come instead

of the true

form of

these realities

it can

never by

the same

sacrifices

that are

continually

offered every

year make

perfect those

who draw near

it's

ineffective

the first

covenant was

anticipatory

though

I think that's

what's getting

hinted at in

verse 22

of chapter 9

under the law

almost everything

is purified

with blood

and without

the shedding

of blood

there is no

forgiveness

of sins

what the

old covenant

taught and

taught well

was this

something's

gotta die

for sin

blood needs

to be shed

over and

over and

over and

over again

because the

wages of

sin is

death

something had

to die

the old

covenant

and the new

covenant

they share

some things

in common

both were

initiated by

God's grace

and both

deal with

sin through

the shedding

of blood

but the old

covenant is

made obsolete

obsolete by the

new covenant

because of the

better blood

of the new

covenant

the better

blood

is the blood

of Jesus

promises

and this

better blood

gives better

promises

and so now

let's turn from

the blood of

the old

covenant

and let's

turn to

the blood

promises

of the new

covenant

the better

blood

of the new

covenant

in verses

23 through

28

28

we've

seen the

principle

the will

principle

just as a

will is

enacted by

death

so God's

covenants

were enacted

by death

we see that

in the old

covenant

and we also

see it in

the new

covenant

and that's

what 23

through 28

is getting

at

what I want

you to see

here in

verses 23

through 28

are three

pairings

three

comparisons

three

contrasts

that

emphasize

that the

new

covenant

is far

better than

the old

and these

promises

are promises

that are

guaranteed by

the blood

of Jesus

and you

Christian

need to

lay hold

of

you need

to hold

on to

all the

way to

the end

so let's

look at

these three

promises

blood

promise

number

one

it's

verses

25

and 26

the

blood

promise

of a

better

forgiveness

nor

was it

to offer

himself

repeatedly

as the

high

priest

enters

the holy

places

every year

with blood

not his

own

for then

he would

have had

to suffer

repeatedly

since the

foundation

of the

world

but as

it is

but now

he

Christ

has

appeared

once

for

all

at

the

end

of

the

ages

to

put

away

sin

by

the

sacrifice

of

himself

so the

comparison

is between

the old

covenant

and the

new

covenant

let me

help you

see it

in the

old

covenant

you had

a high

priest

who would

repeatedly

offer

animal

blood

blood

not his

own

for

sin

to

cover

it

temporarily

until

they sin

again

and they

got to

cover

it

again

and again

and again

and again

the key

word

is the

word

repeatedly

nor was

it to

offer

himself

repeatedly

as the

high

priest

did

in the

new

covenant

in verse

26

you see

the word

but in

the middle

of it

but

now

but as

it

is

he

Christ

has

appeared

once

for

all

that's

in

contrast

to

repeatedly

not

repeatedly

once

for

all

and once

for

all

is

better

and he

appeared

once

for

all

to

put

away

sin

by

the

sacrifice

of

himself

the

shedding

of his

own

blood

once

for

all

it

it's

a

better

sacrifice

it

guarantees

that

all of

your

sin

has

been

paid

in

full

through

the

blood

of

Christ

God's

wrath

was

poured

out

on

Christ

in

full

so

there's

no

more

wrath

over

your

head

Christian

you

put

away

the

penalty

of

sin

not

in

part

but

the

whole

we

sang a

song

just

moments

ago

when

peace

like

a

river

attendeth

my

way

when

sorrows

like

sea

billows

roll

whatever

my

lot

thou

has

taught

me

to

say

it

is

well

it

is

well

with

my

soul

why

would

we

ever

say

that

though

Satan

should

buffet

though

trial

should

come

let

this

blessed

assurance

control

that

Christ

hath

regarded

my

helpless

estate

and

hath

shed

his

own

blood

for

my

soul

well

how

many

of

my

sins

my

sin

oh

the

bless

of

this

glorious

thought

my

sin

not

in

part

but

the

whole

is

nailed

to

the

cross

and

I

bear

it

no

more

praise

the

Lord

praise

the

Lord

oh

my

soul

blood

promise

nailed

to

the

cross

paid

in

full

so

when

you

this

week

are

feeling

condemned

by your

sin

something

specific

comes to

my

mind

and

there's

no

debating

that

you

did

it

what

do

you

do

you

hold

fast

to

this

promise

you

you

you

got to

learn

to

preach

you

got to

learn

to

preach

the

blood

to

yourself

you

got to

say

things

like

this

time

out

Christ's

blood

put

all

of my

sin

and

that

sin

away

the

whole

of it

you

know

if

you

were

following

me

around

in

the

week

and

you

would

hear

me

say

it

from

time

to

time

literally

you

would

hear

me

say

this

because

I

get

buffeted

from

my

past

sins

too

and

you'll

hear

me

say

that

sin

has

been

paid

for

in

full

real

sin

real

blood

real

death

now

this

new

covenant

is the

now

covenant

you are

living

in

that

promise

and you

gotta claim

it

you gotta

hold

fast

to it

blessed

promise

the blood

promise

number one

is a better

forgiveness

blood

promise

number two

it's in

verses

23 and

24

better

access

23

thus it

was

necessary

for the

copies

of the

heavenly

things

to be

purified

with

these

rights

but the

heavenly

things

themselves

with

better

sacrifices

than

these

for

Christ

has

entered

not

into

holy

places

made

with

hands

which

are

copies

of the

true

things

but

into

heaven

itself

now

to

appear

in

the

presence

of

God

on

our

behalf

the

contrast

is

between

again

the

old

covenant

and

the

new

covenant

under

the

old

covenant

we're

told

that

the

Levitical

priesthood

that

the

tabernacle

that

these

animal

sacrifices

they

were

just

copies

shadows

of

the

heavenly

realities

you

can

see

that

in

8

5

they

serve

a

copy

and a

shadow

of

the

heavenly

things

we

see

that

in

10

1

for

since

the

law

has

but

a

shadow

of

the

good

things

to

come

instead

of

the

true

form

of

these

realities

they're

just

copies

it's

temporary

ineffective

anticipatory

of the

new

covenant

Christ

didn't

enter

a

copy

Christ

didn't

enter

a

shadow

Christ

entered

after

his

death

and his

resurrection

he ascended

on high

and he

sat down

at the

right hand

of God

the

very

presence

of God

the

very

heavenly

sanctuary

of God

that

is

where

Christ

is

now

do you

know what

he's doing

he's

interceding

on our

behalf

he's

seated

at the

throne

of grace

interceding

for us

for

the

called

and

and we

have full

access to

him

right

now

full

access

at

any

time

anywhere

you

can

approach

the

throne

of

grace

because

by

his

blood

he

has

entered

you

can

bank

on

it

anytime

any

place

you

ever

called

up a

help

desk

before

sometimes

they're

not

there

I

mean

this

is

the

ultimate

help

desk

this

is

the

throne

of

grace

you

can

go

in

at

any

time

anywhere

any

place

because

it's

been

opened

through

the

blood

of

Jesus

you

have

access

by

blood

promise

you

don't

you

don't

enter

fearful

or ashamed

you

enter

confident

on the

blood

of

Jesus

I

can

get

into

the

presence

of

God

because

Christ

made

a

way

would

you

repeat

after

me

Christ

is

my

okay

I'm

going

to

tell

you

something

don't

lollygag

it

give

it

to

me

Christ

is

my

that's

what

I'm

talking

about

risen

and reigning

let it

go

yes

priest

and

king

we

announce

that

to

you

the

anchor

of

my

soul

you

say

it

to

him

you

are

the

anchor

of

my

soul

who

is

now

interceding

for

me

right

now

you

don't

have

to

repeat

anymore

it'll

be a

really

long

sermon

if

that's

the

case

can

you

believe

that

your

risen

and

reigning

king

blood

access

support

desk

interceding

for you

right

now

right

now

and you

know

what

he's

there

interceding

you know

what a

time

3.30

a.m.

when you

wake up

and you

have all

these

anxious

thoughts

and you

don't

know

what to

do

with

them

you

know

who's

also

up

interceding

for

you

in the

throne

of

grace

that's

been

opened

by his

blood

your

risen

and

reigning

king

you're

not

alone

you're

never

alone

you don't

have to

figure it

out

your

high

priest

is

always

interceding

for you

from the

throne

of

grace

and

you

just

but

go

to him

in your

time

of need

at

3.30

a.m.

it might

take you

15-20

minutes

to realize

that the

way has

been

made

open

by the

blood

but

when

you

realize

it

you

make

a

beeline

to him

and

you

know

what

you'll

find

grace

in your

time

of need

blood

promise

it's

always

open

blood

promise

number

three

this is

verses

27-28

we've

seen

better

forgiveness

we've

seen

better

access

and now

better

hope

better

hope

verses

27-28

we have

another

comparison

and just

as it

is appointed

for man

to die

once

and after

that

comes

judgment

so

Christ

having

been

offered

once

to bear

the sins

of many

will

appear

a second

time

not to

deal

with sin

but to

save

those

who are

eagerly

waiting

for him

now

this

is a

different

kind

of

comparison

verse

27

this

comparison

is set

up

by saying

it's

appointed

for

man

men

and

women

to

die

once

we

will

all

die

if

Jesus

doesn't

come

back

in

our

lifetime

we

will

die

by

the

way

this

rules

out

any

form

of

reincarnation

you

live

once

you

die

once

and

then

judgment

and so

it's

setting

up

the

comparison

we

men

and

women

die

once

and

then

comes

the

judgment

we

will

appear

before

the

judgment

seat

of

Christ

when

he

returns

that's

the

setup

verse

28

is the

parallel

just

as

man

dies

once

and

then

face

judgment

28

so

Christ

having

been

offered

once

he

too

died

but

he

died

for

a

purpose

to

bear

the

sins

of

many

that's

Isaiah

53

12

that's

the

suffering

servant

that's

your

substitute

so

Christ

having

been

offered

once

to

bear

the

sins

of

many

he

tied

to

he

will

appear

a

second

time

and

when

he

appears

he's

going

to

judge

everybody

that's

the

setup

that's