Hebrews 10:8-10

Summary retelling of Hebrews 10:8-10

The author of Hebrews now sets up a comparison of two statements: “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” and “Behold I have come to do your will.”  This shows us that Christ has taken away the first covenant into order to bring forth the second covenant.  It is through this second covenant that we have been sanctified before God once and for all through the offering of Jesus Christ.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Here in this passage we have another reference to the order of the covenants.  Again, if we are not careful, we get the impression that the first covenant is destroyed as if it was bad.  The first covenant isn’t destroyed, it is “taken away.”  The first covenant had served its purpose, so it was replaced by the second covenant.  Think of it like a young child learning to ride a bike.  Training wheels are added to teach a child how to ride.  But once a child has learned how to ride, the training wheels can be removed.  That doesn’t make them bad; it just means that their purpose has been fulfilled.

How has your perspective on the Law changed as you have read through Hebrews?  Can you sufficiently state the reason that God gave us the Law?  Can you state why the Law is good, even if the sacrifices of animals were replaced by the sacrifice of Christ?

Second Thought:

This passage tells us that God takes pleasure when we do His will.  God took pleasure not in Christ’s death, but in Christ willingness to humble Himself to God’s will and to do what is necessary.  God did not enjoy the human self-centeredness when humans called for the crucifixion of Christ, but God does take pleasure in the salvation that can come through such an act.  It’s kind of like taking medicine when we are sick.  We might not enjoy taking the medicine.  But we do certainly enjoy the benefits that the medicine brings.

How does this point speak to spiritual maturity?  Why is it important to learn how to take pleasure in obeying God?  Why is it important to learn to take pleasure in the things that bring long-term (even eternal) gain more than the things that bring short-term gain?

Third Thought:

At the end of this passage we hear that we “have been sanctified” before God.  I’m going to go into the Greek for a second.  This verb is a perfect passive.  The perfect tense means it is an action that began in the past, continues into the present, and will continue into the future.  The passive voice means that the subject of the sentence is receiving the action from someone else.  The question thus begs, who is the one who can work on others in the past, present and future?  Who else but God?  In the Bible, we treat most – if not all – perfect passive verbs as being the work of God in us.  Thus, when it comes to talking about sanctification – being made holy – we understand that it is a lifelong process that God does to us.  We do not sanctify ourselves.  Nor can we say that we already are sanctified.  We are in the process of God sanctifying us.

What do you think it means to be in the process of being made holy (being sanctified)?  How would you describe that process to another person?

On a side note, many Christians should learn the difference between justification and sanctification.  Justification is a “once-and-for-all” process that Christ accomplished on the cross.  When Jesus died on the cross, He dealt with sin.  Period.  We were justified before God at that moment.  Sanctification – being made holy – is a process that God does in us our whole life.

Passage for Tomorrow: Hebrews 10:11-14