Hebrews 10:1-10

Hebrews 10:1-10 The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming — not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, ‘Here I am — it is written about me in the scroll — I have come to do your will, O God.’” First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them” (although the law required them to be made). 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.

‘Here I am, I have come to do your will, O God. These words remind us of Jesus when He taught his disciples to pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:9-10) Jesus came to establish the kingdom of heaven in us. By doing God's will and obediently going to the cross, He brought the kingdom of heaven to every believer. Jesus Christ said the kingdom of God is within us, and we who are IN CHRIST are in the kingdom. Sacrificing the blood of bulls and goats and following the law could not make us perfect, could not deliver us to the kingdom. The old covenant could only remind us that we were imperfect and in need of constant cleansing to please God. Consequently, Christ came to set aside the first and to establish the second. Through Jesus doing God's perfect will, we (believers) have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

We might say, this is all fine, a good theology, but where is the change in my life? We sometimes struggle and see other people living out their previous lives after accepting Christ. Rather than finding freedom from sin, they seem more bound by sin, thrashing around in the poison patch of life rather than experiencing a new and better life in God's kingdom. Many who are in Christ face the conundrum that the "old man" seems more alive in them than the "new man." To be free from the old man and his works, the Bible says you must reckon him dead by literally declaring that his works are no longer part of the real you, the redeemed you. When he raises his ugly head, causing you to sin, you tell him, "You are not part of my real life anymore and have nothing to say about my eternal destination, for I am now IN CHRIST: HIS LIFE IS MY LIFE." By faith, we put the old man where he belongs: in the grave. Victory does not come through serving the flesh, but through crucifying it with Christ. For We have been made holy (alive) through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. In this faith process, we repent of our sins, but we don't let our failings discourage us from serving God. When the old man acts up, we serve God with more zeal as we pray, meditate, worship, and go to church more. When we actively express this faith, the poison patch becomes smaller; our old haunts and unredeemed friends are less important to us. The old man's influence lessens as we mature in Christ, as our former lives grow strangely dim, and a new, powerful life in the Spirit abounds in us.

Serving God is not a good theology, not a strong belief in good ideas: following Christ is life. To escape the poison patch, we must live in the reality of God's kingdom and his purposes, knowing we are part and parcel of the kingdom and nothing can defeat us. Nothing of this world, not death, disappointment, nor unfilled desires, will turn us away from God. When we serve God wholeheartedly and reckon the old man dead, nothing is too big for God to overcome; nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. Whatever your troubles or heartaches, He is able to overcome them, able to make your journey a happy and successful one regardless of the circumstances. But if you think you are a special case, different from the millions who went before you, you are serving the "old man," inundated with and controlled by his unbelief. God desires the joy of his eternal kingdom to become your reality, your existence. Since you have found the joy of heaven, even Christ Jesus your Lord and Savior, serve him with all your mind, soul, spirit, and strength. You will not be disappointed.