182 - The Eternal Sin Offering Jesus#
182 - The Eternal Sin Offering Jesus Christ
(JP Text Group - beloved compilation)
The topic we are sharing is: The Eternal Sin Offering Jesus Christ
Hebrews 10:1-14
1 For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. 2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. 3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.
5 Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me. 6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure.
7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—In the volume of the book it is written of Me—To do Your will, O God.’” 8 Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the law), 9 then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second. 10 By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, 13 from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. 14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.
Let us begin with a prayer:
Heavenly Father, we especially thank You for preparing this opportunity for Your children to worship and praise You together here! You have given us this time to share Your words, lead us during this time today, so that each one of us here can gain something! You personally come to correct us and renew us! Our eyes are all looking up to Jesus Christ You Yourself, through Your words personally supply us, so that we can have a full gain today! In the name of Lord Jesus, we pray, Amen!
Do you know what the relationship between the Old Testament and the New Testament is? The Old Testament is a shadow, the New Testament is the reality, do you all understand? It means that many things recorded in the Old Testament are actually shadows, just like photographs, are photographs very similar to real people?
Today, if I take a picture with my phone, isn't it very similar to you in real life? But you can't say that the photograph is the real person; it is just a shadow. So, many things in the Old Testament are shadows. Who is the reality? Jesus, that's right!
Just like when you take a picture with your phone, the reality is you, and your shadow is left in the phone, do you understand? But the shadow is indeed different from the reality, there are some differences in it. So we know that the Old Testament law is a shadow of the grace of the New Testament.
Why did God give the law? It is to let people know that they are sinners, and then people cannot follow the law, so they need to be brought under grace, do you understand?
Brothers and sisters, the sacrifices of the Old Testament are also shadows. You see, in the Old Testament, did the Israelites have many rituals? Every year they have a specific date to wash things, do you know? There are also various sin offerings, various sacrifices, in fact, these are all shadows. They foreshadow the New Testament Jesus Christ, when the reality Jesus Christ comes, all of this is fulfilled in Jesus, Amen!
In the scripture we just read, in verse 3, “But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year,” you will find there is a difference. When they offered sacrifices in the Old Testament, what did the sacrifice make them think of? It made them remember that they are sinners, made them remember that they have committed many sins.
If a person thinks he has no sin, he does not need to offer a sacrifice. When he goes to offer a sacrifice, for example, leading a bull or sheep to offer a sacrifice, he must first know that he has sinned. From Adam until today, are all people sinners? Have we all sinned? Then having sinned, in the Old Testament, there was a Day of Atonement every year for the Israelites.
In Leviticus 23:26-30, let me read it for you:
26 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 27 “Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. 28 And you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God. 29 For any person who is not afflicted in soul on that same day shall be cut off from his people. 30 And any person who does any work on that same day, that person I will destroy from among his people.
What is this day for? Atonement. If you do other work on the Day of Atonement, God says: I will cut you off from among your people. This person must die, do you understand? Because your sin remains on you, this person must die without a doubt.
So this Day of Atonement is on the tenth day of the seventh month, the people must offer sacrifices and make atonement. So when the people saw the high priest offer sacrifices, putting the sacrifice on the altar and burning it, what did he think? This sacrifice made him remember that he has committed many sins.
So when they in the Old Testament brought bulls and sheep before the priest, what action did they have to do? They had to lay both hands on the head of the sheep and say all my sins are transferred to this sheep. Before this, the priest did not look at how many sins you committed and say: write down all your sins for me.
It was not like that in the Old Testament; he checked what? He checked whether this sheep was perfect, whether it was without blemish. If this sheep indeed had no problem, no disability, no blemish, at that time he would say to the person: Good, you put your hands on this sheep and say all your sins are transferred to this sheep. Then this transfer of sin is completed. When he sees this sheep again, what does he see? All my sins have been transferred to this sheep.
This is called the transfer of sin. So this is why in the Old Testament, the sacrifices made them remember their sins every year. Because the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sins, but it can cover sins, do you understand? It temporarily transfers your sins to this sheep, and then the priest has to give him a knife, and he has to kill this sheep, collect its blood in a basin, and the priest takes this blood before God.
Because the Bible says very clearly, "Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins." As long as someone sins, there must be shedding of blood and sacrifice. Why does this person not have to die? Because this sheep has already shed blood; it has already died in place of this person; it is a substitute.
Now for us, we have sinned; how can this sheep substitute for our sins? So this sheep is just a foreshadowing, foreshadowing who? Jesus Christ. If there is no Jesus Christ, do you think: if we sin, we kill a sheep, will God easily forgive us? How could that be? If that were the case, we could sin at will and just buy a few more sheep to keep, right? That is not the point; the point is this sheep foreshadows Jesus Christ.
So at that time in the Old Testament, when they saw this sheep, was the sin still there? It was just transferred to the sheep, so the sacrifices in the Old Testament made people remember their sins every year. But this matter itself is not what God delights in, so as we said earlier, “For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect.” So under the Old Testament, under the law, is there a perfect person? No, because their sins have not been removed, they have only been temporarily covered, Amen!
If sins were removed, there would be no need to offer sacrifices again, so it goes on to say, “For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins.” You see, is there a difference between the New Testament and the Old Testament? In the Old Testament, offering sacrifices made you remember your sins, right? Because the sacrifices of the Old Testament are limited; they cannot take away people's sins; they can only cover people's sins, so they must be offered every year, every year they must be offered, every year on the Day of Atonement they must offer sacrifices.
Is it that if you offer sacrifices, you become perfect? No. Even if you offer sacrifices, you are not a perfect person before God. This is the flaw of the former covenant, do you all know? The law has its benefits; it is holy, it is just, but the law has its shortcomings. What kind of shortcomings does it have? It can only make people remember their sins, make you feel that you are a sinner, you are a sinner. This is what we talked about some time ago; the purpose of the law is to make people aware of sin! So under the Old Testament law, you take the sacrifice to offer, it makes you remember your sins, waiting for the true sin offering, Jesus Christ.
So in Hebrews 8:6-7,
6 But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.
What does the first covenant refer to? The covenant of the Old Testament law, Amen! So the Old Testament law has flaws, and when Jesus came, was He a better covenant? He established a new covenant with His own blood, so He is the Mediator of a better covenant. Jesus is the Mediator of the New Covenant, absolutely not the Mediator of the Old Covenant, Amen! So brothers and sisters, do you understand? The sacrifices of the Old Testament made people remember their sins every year because it is not an eternal sin offering, but in the New Testament, Jesus is our sin offering!
We also read in verse 5, “Therefore, when He came into the world, He said, ‘God, You did not desire sacrifice and offering, but You prepared a body for Me. Burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You did not desire.’”
So why does God not like sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings, and sin offerings? The parentheses in verse 8 also say, “These are all offered according to the law.” God does not want us to remember our sins every year. Always remember: God does not want us to live in sin.
If you are always thinking about sin, sin... you will definitely live in sin, this is not what God delights in. God delights in us living in His righteousness, living in His grace, Amen! So it goes on to say, “I have come to do Your will.”
The second half of verse 9 says clearly, “He takes away the first that He may establish the second,” what is the first? He wants to take away the covenant of the law. So now everyone knows that it is not a certain person who removes the law, right? It is Jesus Christ who said He wants to take away the first covenant to establish the second, what is the second covenant? The covenant of grace of the New Testament, Amen!
Verse 10 says, “By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” What kind of will? Look at the following, so do not casually understand God's will. Many people say: “Oh, you must walk in the will of God.” You ask him what God's will is? He says, I don’t know. This will bind people.
He will do one thing, saying: “Lord, am I walking in Your will? Is this thing in Your will? Is my prayer in Your will?”
He will have a lot of confusion in it, so when the Bible mentions God's will, there will definitely be an explanation before or after. Let’s see how it is explained in this text, “By that will” what kind of will? “He takes away the first that He may establish the second,” this is God's will, isn’t it? “By Jesus Christ offering His body once for all, we are sanctified.” Look carefully, this is God's will!
What is God's will? It is not to make you remember your sins every year, it is not to make you imperfect every year, it is not to make you always live under the law; this is not God's will. God's will is to let you live in His holiness, through whom? Jesus Christ. How does Jesus Christ let us live under His new covenant?
Very simple, remember, are we sinners? Were we sinners in the past? Then how can a sinner remove his sins? There must be a sin offering. The Old Testament relied on animals, and in the New Testament, it relies on Jesus Christ. The body of Jesus Christ became the true sacrifice. So the sacrifice He offered on the cross is how many times? Once for all, isn’t it brothers and sisters? “Therefore, by Jesus Christ offering His body once for all, we are sanctified.”
Are we striving to be sanctified today? Today do you know how many churches say you must strive to be sanctified? The shouting is quite loud. How can we possibly become holy? Look at the Israelites in the Old Testament; weren’t they already holy enough? They offered various sacrifices every year, and their lives were better than ours, right?
But were they holy? So why should we think we can do better than the Jews? So if it is according to the law, we absolutely cannot, Amen! We do not strive to be sanctified; how do you become sanctified? Please remember, you become holy not by your efforts, but by the work of Jesus Christ. Who made us holy?
You must remember this, it is not that Jesus offered Himself and became holy; they do not need to offer sacrifices; they are also holy! Jesus offered Himself once to make us holy. Isn’t it simple, brothers and sisters? In this way, we can say that today we can say we are holy before God! Hallelujah!
Then verse 11 says, “And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.” Isn’t this a problem under the Old Testament? Standing daily to minister to God, standing to offer sacrifices, but can never take away sins, brothers and sisters. This proves that even the priest offering sacrifices is also a sinner. So we see today that through Jesus Christ, we are different from the Old Testament.
If today we offer sacrifices and find that we are not as good as the sacrifices of the Old Testament, then that would be a problem. Today many people say: “Lord, I have sinned again today; You must especially forgive me; I confess my sins to You; You must forgive me; have mercy on me; please do not strike me down.”
In such a case, the effect of this sacrifice seems to last only one day, while the Israelites in the Old Testament had a whole year. Now we make Jesus this new sacrifice only have the effect of one day, and then we rely on our efforts to become holy, striving to become holy before God, this is a problem.
Brothers and sisters, which is better, the sacrifices of the Old Testament or the sacrifices of the New Testament? The sacrifices of the New Testament are better! Isn’t that right? So the New Testament must be better than the Old Testament, right? Since the sacrifice of the Old Testament has a one-year effect, how long is the effect of the sacrifice of the New Testament? It is forever; you must remember: it is forever.
So verse 12 says, “But Jesus Christ offered one eternal sin offering.” How long is forever? In the original Greek, forever means no time. Jesus Christ offered His body to make you holy; how long is the effect? Time can no longer limit you; you cannot say: Today I am holy, and tomorrow I am not holy.
Isn’t that within time? So today, through Jesus, He makes us holy without time limits. Through the blood of Jesus Christ, you have been cleansed forever.
You see, two forevers, the Old Testament sacrifices can never take away sins; the New Testament is that Jesus Christ has removed your sins forever. But you will find that many believers today still do not believe that because of Jesus Christ shedding His precious blood on the cross, he has been made perfect forever; he does not dare to believe this.
Let’s read verse 14 together, “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” Amen! Who did Jesus Christ perfect forever by one offering? You must remember, it is not that Jesus offered once and became perfect; they do not offer sacrifices and are also perfect!
Jesus Christ, by one offering, has perfected those who are being sanctified forever, referring to us, right?
Let us who have been made holy be perfect forever in the eyes of God. But many people do not dare to believe this; it is impossible! Today I have sinned; you say I am perfect; this is too ridiculous! They think perfection means not sinning; actually, it does not mean that. In God's eyes, all your sins have been replaced by Jesus; Jesus has shed blood and died for your sins, so in God's eyes, you are perfect.
If you take Jesus away, there is not a perfect person, do you understand? But because of Jesus Christ, today we are perfect before God, Hallelujah!
Why are you perfect? Because Jesus offered once! Please remember: this perfection is all because of the work of Jesus Christ on the cross! So it is not your effort to become perfect; it is not what you do that makes you perfect. Even if you sin today, you are still perfect. When you remember you are perfect before God, you can indeed overcome sin, can you understand?
Just like we often say: If you constantly instill a wrong idea in a person, believing he is corrupt, garbage, and filthy, this person's behavior will definitely be that way. Because in his heart, he feels that he is that way. Just like we used to teach children, do not always tell the child: you are a fool, you are a silly person, you do not understand anything, you are destined to beg in the future.
If you say this for a long time, this child will feel: Yes, I am a fool; I do not know anything. He will give up everything and stop trying. The reason is that he accepted this wrong thing. So the fear is that we do not know we are perfect before God.
If today you often declare before God: In Christ, I am perfect; you can live a separated life, a life that overcomes sin actually comes from here. If you always focus on your sins: Oh, I have committed many sins this month; when I count, oh, more than a thousand sins, forget it, what does it matter? Do you see those murderers like this? They have already killed ten people, and this person is still fierce in front of him, saying, I have killed ten people; what does it matter if I kill one more?
In the end, what happens? It does not matter.
So if we focus on our sins, and he has found that he has committed many sins, he will say: What does it matter if I commit one more sin? But today we tell others: You are perfect; he will always look at himself with perfection, and he will not commit sins.
You may find it strange; why does it mention that God particularly says He has washed away all our sins? Let’s look at a passage of scripture, Hebrews 9:11-14, Jesus Christ offered one eternal sin offering and sat down at the right hand of God. Let’s see what happened? Hebrews 9:11-14, let’s look at it together:
Hebrews 9:11-14
11 But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. 12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, 14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Here is a comparison. The front tells us, “Sacrifices and offerings You did not desire.” So did Jesus Christ come? Jesus Christ has come, hasn’t He? So Jesus Christ has come, has become the High Priest of good things to come. He passed through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands. Jesus entered heaven.
So it goes on to say, and not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood. Is Jesus sinless? You must believe this! If you think Jesus is sinful, no matter how much blood He sheds, He is still sinful; if Jesus is sinless, isn’t His blood also sinless? Only sinless blood can cleanse us!
Is Jesus without sin? So because Jesus is sinless, He entered the Most Holy Place once. What did He go into the Most Holy Place for? Think about it again; in the Old Testament, was the body of the sacrifice burned in the bronze altar? Where did the blood go? It entered the Most Holy Place.
Wasn't Jesus' body on the cross? Where is His blood? It has reached before God, do you understand? In this way, as long as the blood reaches before God, the person offering the sacrifice is perfect.
So you see, think about the shadow of the Old Testament. When a person brings a sheep, the blood of this sheep is collected in a basin, right? Isn’t this sheep burned? The blood enters the Most Holy Place, and then God does not look at the body of the sheep that is burned outside; that body is a sinful body, do you remember? This blood has now flowed, representing the price of sin has been paid in this blood, so this blood is brought before God, and God looks through this blood at the person offering the sacrifice, and he is perfect.
Isn't Jesus redeeming our sins like this today? The body of Jesus hangs on the cross, and the wrath of God pours all His anger on Jesus; did Jesus die? His blood flowed out, and after the blood flowed out and reached before God, in this way, through the blood of Jesus, God sees you as perfect.
Because you believe in Jesus, so when we accept Jesus, we actually do one thing, which is to say before God: Heavenly Father, I acknowledge that Jesus Christ is my sin offering; I present Jesus before You; through Jesus, all my sins are cleansed. It is equivalent to the Old Testament when you offered the body of that sheep; it is just that now you are using the blood of Jesus Christ, so He can cleanse you forever.
You see how verse 13 says, “For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh,” do you understand, brothers and sisters? If this person is contaminated, well, the ashes of a heifer, this heifer is a perfect cow; it is burned, and this ash is also holy ash, isn’t it? So this ash sprinkled on this person makes this person holy.
In the Old Testament, the blood of goats and calves also has this effect; through the blood of the animals, we can become holy. In the past, this could make people holy and purify the flesh, didn’t the sacrifices of the Old Testament do this? In the New Testament, do we have something better than the sacrifices? That is Jesus, “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
In the original text, it is conscience. Do you know that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses our conscience? Do you know that this conscience usually affects our thoughts and behaviors? When a person has guilt in his heart, his facial expressions and behaviors will change. When a person often lives in guilt and pain, do you see his behavior is the same as a normal person?
What does a person with depression often think? How many wrong things have I done in the past? That makes me regret so much; why did I do such things? As a result, his mind turns and turns, and he gets stuck in a corner, and he cannot get out; in the end, he thinks dying would be better, isn’t that the case? This means that his conscience has been condemning him, and this leads to changes in his behavior. So you will find this person is always in a daze, saying things he does not even remember, often forgetting things. What causes these reasons? The conscience inside has been condemned. So today, the blood of Jesus Christ is to cleanse your conscience.
In the scripture we just read, you see, the sacrifices make people remember their sins every year, but in the New Testament, you see, “the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins.” Who cleansed it? So every time you come to the gathering, you should remember that the blood of Jesus Christ has cleansed your conscience.
You may spend six days in this world, and many people tell you that you did not do well in this place; you have sinned, so God will strike you, or bad things will come upon you. You have suffered many attacks, curses, and slanders from the world, all these unfair grievances weigh on you, but after this, I will tell you that the blood of Jesus Christ has cleansed your conscience. Do not get entangled in those past mistakes anymore because today Jesus gives you strength to live a new life, a victorious life.
In this way, “His blood shall not cleanse your conscience more?” You must remember, in the Old Testament, when a person made a mistake, he could be forgiven through the blood of bulls and goats. Today when you make a mistake, you are also forgiven through the blood of Jesus.
It goes on to say, “To remove your dead works,” you must remember: the blood of Jesus Christ has removed your past dead behaviors and corrupt behaviors. That is, every time you remember the blood of Jesus Christ, He has cleansed you, it can remove the death penalty, that is, you are unwilling to sin, Amen! And serve the living God, so this is the sacrifice of Jesus; this sacrifice can remove sin! Hallelujah!
So, the conscience being cleansed means no longer feeling guilty. Under the Old Testament, offering sacrifices made you feel guilty; under the New Testament, worship makes you feel no longer guilty. Today, you must remember: this is a distinguishing method. If you go to listen to the sermon, and after listening to the sermon, you feel your sins are full, what does this prove? It proves that the sermon you heard is wrong; you are living under the law again.
Where did Jesus go? He is gone; He did nothing. So today, even if you have problems, when you come before Jesus, after you hear the word, you feel you are no longer guilty; it is Jesus who helped you. This word is the best word. Because in this way, it allows you to be completely cleansed and then start a new week of life; you will have a new beginning. Otherwise, are you still continuing to sin? Anyway, I have done this; God did not like me last week; God certainly does not like me this week; so it does not matter; he will continue the life of last week.
But after you come here, I tell you, Jesus Christ has already cleansed all your sins through His blood. From today onwards, make a determination: Yes! Last week I cursed people; this week I must rely on Jesus not to curse people. Isn’t it a matter of faith to live a new life?
Otherwise, I will tell you: Oh, you cursed people last week; God will not let you go; just remember, God will definitely deal with you this week. You think: Anyway, God is going to deal with me; it does not matter. Do you understand? He has already stopped caring. Because God has already noted what happened last week, God will not let me go this week; why should I change? I do not need to change. But I tell you, today God has cleansed you; at that time, you will be willing to live a new life. So this is the difference, brothers and sisters.
In the Old Testament, the priests stood there, right? You see, whether it is the Holy Place or the Most Holy Place, is there a chair? They do not set up chairs for them. Why? Because their work is never finished. Sitting down represents a posture of rest, do you understand, brothers and sisters? Sitting down is a posture of rest.
Let’s look at Jesus Christ; verse 12 says, “But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.” God let His Son offer a sin offering for us; this sin offering is an eternal sin offering, which is effective at any time. So Jesus does not need to repeat it, right? He does not need to offer sacrifices again, right? So in this way, He has completed His work of atonement, and He sat down, sitting at the right hand of the Father.
This right hand refers to a place of victory and glory, and it also represents a place of rest. Do you all understand? Have you noticed that when you finish your work and sit down at night, it represents that your work is done? You temporarily rest there, so this is also a way God gives us, in fact, to let us know: Since Jesus Christ said He offered one eternal sin offering and then sat down, His work has been completed. Do you need to do it again?
So today, many people bring us back again, boldly saying: What Jesus did, we must do. Some even say: You must take up your cross and follow Jesus every day. When did Jesus carry the cross? Did He carry the cross? He carried the cross while walking to Golgotha. Where did He go? He went there to die, for whom? (You).
Today many pastors say: You must take up your cross and walk like Jesus. What do they want you to do? They want you to die. So many people interpret it this way: If your husband persecutes you at home, that is your cross; carry it until you die! Did Jesus die to let us die?
He died to let us live; the work of atonement has already been completed by Jesus alone; you do not need to participate in anything anymore. What do you think Jesus offered for us? Can you say: Jesus, I will offer my arm; my arm sins the most. Jesus says: It cannot be the arm. What should it be? It should be everything, right? There is no place that does not sin. So today we know that Jesus offered for us because we cannot do it, so what Jesus did, you cannot do.
Some even say: We cannot abolish the law; didn’t Jesus say, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away”? So we must strive to keep the Ten Commandments; we must strive to fulfill the law. Have you heard this argument? Making people strive to fulfill the law, do you think you can fulfill the law? Can you? Who can fulfill the law? Only Jesus Christ can fulfill the law. Did Jesus fulfill the law? Yes! Then why do you still want to do it yourself? You see, Jesus has already done it for you. You say: No, I want to do it too. Do you know what this represents? It represents that you do not believe in Him; it represents that you do not trust Him.
For example, you go to the supermarket to buy something, and when you check out, I say: I paid for his bill. He says: No, I want to pay for myself. Do you know what this represents? It means you do not believe me and look down on me, do you understand, brothers and sisters? So since Jesus has already done it for us, what can you do on the work that Jesus has completed? Thank Him, right? This is why God wants us to always be grateful in everything, because someone has already done it for you.
For example, today I go to the supermarket to buy something, and someone pays for me; I should thank this person, right? You should not say: Don’t pay for me; I look down on you; I want to pay for myself. This person will be very sad. For God, He has already done all this; if you do not believe Him, you still have to do it yourself, then God says: Okay, you do it yourself; I give you a standard, pay the full price, die, and after death, you must accept judgment. Do you understand?
There are two paths for people: either through Jesus or you achieve it yourself. You cannot say Jesus accomplishes part, and I accomplish part; that cannot be. Either you achieve it yourself, or Jesus completes it. You cannot say Jesus does a little, and I do a little; this is why many people fail in life today, the reason lies here. They think what God has done has already been done; the part I should do is to imitate Jesus and redo what Jesus has done.
So you know today many people travel to Israel during Easter to try hanging on the cross; do you think it is necessary? They say I have to try what it feels like to hang on the cross like Jesus did. I also have to walk the road Jesus walked! Then why don’t you really nail yourself up? So these roads are unnecessary; Jesus knows you cannot walk this road, so He walked it for you. He has already sat at the right hand of the Father, representing that all this work has been completed. He has cleansed people's sins and sits at the right hand of the Most High God. Let’s read this passage of scripture, Hebrews 1:3,
Hebrews 1:3, “Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.”
Who does “He” refer to? Jesus! That’s right, Jesus is the brightness of God's glory, which means: When you see Jesus, you see God. He is the express image of His person. So in heaven, if one day we all go to heaven, do we still need to look for God? When you see Jesus, that is the image of God. He is the express image of His person, and then it says, “Upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins.” Does this refer to you? Does it exclude you? This refers to all who believe in Jesus Christ.
To put it another way, Jesus has cleansed the sins of all who believe in Him and sat down at the right hand of the Most High God. So did Jesus die for the whole world? But some people do not believe in Him, so the effect of this forgiveness does not work on that person. Although Jesus has the power to forgive, that person does not believe, so this effect does not work on him. Do you understand? Because some people insist on relying on themselves to do it, they insist on relying on themselves to fulfill the law, they insist on relying on their efforts to be sanctified, then God says: Okay, you go and try hard.
This is just like the Israelites at that time; how was the covenant of the law given? It was also for this reason. The Israelites said: We can do everything that the Lord has said. Do you understand? It means: Do not always say You give me grace; I say no. Today do you not find that some people are like this? Do not always talk about grace; let’s talk about God's law; let’s talk about God's righteousness and fiery wrath; we cannot always talk about grace. Have you heard this tune?
The Israelites at that time were like this; do not always say You treat me with grace; let us do something; whatever You say, we can do it. God said: Okay, since you choose this path, I will give you my standard, the Ten Commandments for them; this is my standard. As a result, the Israelites were dumbfounded; they could not do even one.
Jesus Christ came and said: Okay, since you admit you cannot do even one, do not rely on your efforts anymore; I have completed it for you. So what did Jesus complete for us? The problem of sin Jesus solved for us, right? The problem of sanctification also solved for us, right? The problem of victory in life Jesus also solved for us.
So today, do not say: We are saved by Jesus; we still have to rely on ourselves to win. Relying on ourselves is still failure; we are saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, right? We are forgiven our sins by the blood of Jesus Christ; we are justified by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ; today we win? It is by the grace of Jesus Christ. Relying on ourselves is still failure, so this point is too important for us. “He purged our sins and sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,” represents that all this work, Christ has already completed. Whether you are saved or victorious, you must rely on the grace of Jesus Christ.
As He is, so are we in this world.
1 John 4:17 “Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.”
There is a very important thing here, “Love has been perfected among us in this.” In fact, in the original Greek, it means: When we are in His perfect love, God's love for us is perfect love; when we are in His perfect love, you will have no fear; you can have boldness in the day of judgment.
Today many people say: “Be careful; what you do today, God will judge in the future; the sins you commit will be judged by God in the future.” They often repeat this word judgment. Brothers and sisters, do believers have judgment? Yes, the Bible tells us: Judgment begins at the house of God; the real judgment begins with believers; those who do not believe do not need to be judged. John 3 clearly says, “He who does not believe is condemned already.” Is there still a need for judgment? No need for judgment.
In your life, who dares to say you have never sinned? As long as you have sinned, there is no need for judgment; just throw you into the lake of fire, and that’s it. The real judgment is the judgment of believers, but God's judgment of believers is not to judge what bad things you have done or how many sins you have committed. The problem of sin we just said has already been solved by Jesus.
What will be judged? It will judge what you have done for God. You must remember that this is what needs to be judged. If today before God, your problem of sin has already been solved, hasn’t it? All sins have been solved by the blood of Jesus; now what remains is how much you have done for the Lord Jesus. Isn’t that different? This must be different, right? So God will judge you based on this and give you rewards.
So in the future, the judgment of believers before God's throne is definitely not a judgment that makes you afraid; it is a judgment of reward, just like running to the finish line, now everyone stands on the podium. Do you think the person standing on the podium in the Olympics we watched recently is fearful? Even if he is the runner-up and gets a silver medal, he is still happy in his heart. So this is a way of judgment.
So why is he a bronze medal, silver medal, and gold medal? Based on your efforts, based on your behavior, isn’t it? You ran first, gold medal. So for us, okay, you have done a lot for the Lord; God says I will give you more rewards; he did a little less, and he will receive less reward. This is the judgment we will face before God in the future.
It goes on to say, “In the day of judgment, we may have boldness.” It is boldness; this proves you are joyful, Amen! It is joyful; think about it; when you get to heaven, will you still have fear? Is that place still called heaven? Fear itself is a curse. How can there still be fear in the kingdom of heaven? So these are all our past concepts; we need to clear them away and correctly understand God's words, Amen!
The Bible says very clearly, when we are in His perfect love, we can have boldness in the day of judgment. What does boldness mean? Boldness represents that your heart is joyful, Amen! No fear means no fear, because as He is, so are we in this world. The reason is simple; do you think Jesus Christ was fearful when He went to see the Father? Look, did Jesus Christ not die and rise again? At that time, Mary wanted to touch Him; Jesus said do not touch me; I have not yet ascended to My Father. Did Jesus say: If you touch me, I will be fearful when I go to see My Father? Is that the case? No, it represents that He wants to be the first to bring Himself before the Father, Amen! So in the future, when we go to see the Father, not a single person will be fearful; always remember how Jesus is, so are you.
Now God also tells us: As Jesus is, so are we in this world. This means you are not only bold when you get to heaven; you can also live boldly while you are on this earth. Do you need to ask the Father? Do you need to pray? You also need to live boldly. Because when we pray, we come before the Father, asking or begging Him to do something for us, we must pray with a bold heart. You should not say: Lord, please do not kill me. Such a prayer is better off not being said; such a prayer represents that you do not know that Jesus is already your eternal sin offering; this eternal sin offering represents that you are forever bold before God, Amen!
In this way, for us, it guarantees that you can live victoriously through Jesus. Even if you fall into a snare, what should you do? Just call on God, that’s enough, right? You see Peter, when he was standing on the sea, was he looking at Jesus? When he saw so many big waves around him, he "whoosh" fell down. At that time, did Jesus say: You thing, why do you not have faith in me? Why do you look at the sea? Did Jesus blame him? Did Peter first confess his sins? He said: Lord Jesus, I was wrong; I should always look at You; as soon as I looked at the waves, you said, why did I become afraid? Why did I fall?
What did he do at that time? He said, “Lord, save me!” So this is the way we win in life. Even if you fall into sin today, it is not to say: Lord, I did this and that...
It is not to let you do these things; it is to let you say: Lord, save me; save me from this sin. So in this way, you are still bold before God. Otherwise, you would say: Lord, I have committed so many sins; you may not save me. Peter would say: Oh, look at me; I do not believe in You; you might as well not save me.
It is not like that. Even if you accidentally fall into sin today, you should call on Jesus to save you; this is how you can live a bold life on earth. Amen!
Because Jesus is our eternal sin offering, an offering that never expires, this guarantees that God is always the God who hears our prayers, also guarantees that He is always willing to bless us, willing to hear all our prayers, and will never forsake us. In this world, when you encounter any problems, you can boldly come before the Father and pray to Him.
You must believe this: As Jesus is, so am I in this world, because Jesus is your sin offering; through this sin offering, you have been completely accepted by God; through this sin offering, you have become holy before God; through this sin offering, you know you are a righteous person. So as Jesus is, so are you in this world! Jesus is victorious in heaven at this time; you can also be victorious in this world.
If there is illness in your body, you say: Jesus is healthy in heaven, so in this world, I rely on Jesus; I am also healthy; just receive this health and receive this power and victory from Jesus, Amen!
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father, we especially thank and praise You! Thank You for leading us during this time, allowing us to share about Jesus again. Jesus, You are our eternal sin offering; we know the meaning of forever is timeless, eternal, and never expires. Jesus, You are our eternal sin offering, representing that today we can always be accepted by God, not relying on our behavior, but relying on the blood of Jesus Christ. Because of Jesus Christ, Your eternal sin offering, today I am eternally forgiven!
When I know I am eternally forgiven by God, I do not intentionally sin; I truly rely on the grace of Jesus Christ; I can live a victorious life because our salvation is by the grace of Jesus, and our victory must also rely on the grace of Jesus Christ.
Today please help me as this new week begins, let me live by Your grace, let me overcome all bad habits in life, overcome all evils in life; my focus is not on sin but on Jesus Christ, because as You are, so am I in this world!
You are loved by the Father; I believe today I am also loved by the Father! You are healthy, so my body is also healthy because You are willing to bless me this way, and I am also willing to be a blessing to the world! Please help me to glorify Your name during this week! In the name of Lord Jesus Christ, we pray, Amen!