a. The ineffective washing of animal sacrifices (verses 1-4). * The blood of the covenant (Exodus 24:8) * Ground Hog Day- ‘the reminder of sins’ (Hebrews 10:3) * Washing greasy hands
b. God wills a perfect washing through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ (verses 5-10). * Not a change of plan- God’s eternal will to cleanse sin through the offering of His own Son (Hebrews 10:10) * Jesus’ ‘new’ covenant was not brand new- the clarity of the original text (καινὴ -‘fresh’; a renewed version of something old rather than νέος- brand new).
c. The perfect washing produces a perfect result (verses 11-18). * Key verse- v14. “…by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” * “We live under grace; not under law” * Law is ‘written on their hearts.’ (God gives them a heart to love his law- eg David- Psalm 119:27)
d. Washed clean but not yet perfected (verses 19-39). * “Those who are being sanctified” are not passive in this process * Note the imperatives in the passage eg ‘draw near’, ‘hold fast’, ‘consider one another’, ‘stir up’, ‘exhort’. * ‘Sinning wilfully’ means to reject God consciously and determinedly – those who reject the knowledge of the truth in this way have no hope of salvation (vs26-30). This behaviour is a mark of an unbeliever or an apostate. * The mark of a believer is a life lived ‘by faith’ (v38). * The work of the Spirit in a Christian’s heart will see him/her living positively for Christ, rather than drawing back from Him and living deliberately in sin.
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