Rev. Calvin Bennett & family

Church of God (Holiness)

Proclaiming the Cross of Christ, Anchored in God's Word

A Better Plan - Hebrews 9:11-14, 19-28

By David Woods

Note: This lesson differs from the one in the Adult Teacher's Quarterly, as I was unhappy with the sparse comments/questions I made for this lesson and decided to write a new lesson for this coming weekend.

The title for our lesson today is “A Better Plan.” The point of the lesson is that the New Covenant established through the blood of Christ is better than that of the Old Covenant with the blood of bulls and goats.

Think about the Old Covenant for a moment. It was a glorious covenant, wasn’t it? In the first five verses of chapter nine, the Hebrews writer briefly mentions some of the things that were part of the Old Covenant - the Tabernacle, the lampstand that was to be kept lighted at all times (?), the bread of the Presence, the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place.

Inside the Most Holy Place was a golden altar of incense. The Ark of the Covenant was covered on all sides with gold. Inside the Ark was a golden urn containing manna, which God had provided the Israelites for nearly forty years in the wilderness.

Also in the Ark was Aaron’s rod that budded. This rod was like any other - a dead piece of wood. But when rebellious Israelites challenge Moses and Aaron’s authority, God caused Aaron’s rod to bud in order to establish his authority among the people.

Finally, in the Ark were the two tablets of the covenant containing the Ten Commandments. As Ron Clites pointed out in our class last week, Moses was the first person who “broke” the Ten Commandments.

That is, Moses shattered to pieces the first two tablets God had cut out and inscribed when he saw the people engaged in idolatry. The tablets that were in the Ark were those that Moses himself cut out at the command of God.

Just recalling these things that were part of the Tabernacle reminds us of the glory and power of God that was evident in the Old Covenant.

But Hebrews 9:11 says, “But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle.”

Why was the New Covenant established in Christ a better plan?

As I studied this scripture, I came to the conclusion that in order for us to truly understand the significance of what our text teaches that we need to again consider several basics of the Christian faith. I realize that some of these questions may be very basic, but I feel that time often dulls our comprehension of these truths.

Discussion: How does God feel about sin?

Discussion: Why does God become so angry over our sinfulness?

Discussion: What are the consequences of sin? Are one’s “little” sins (ie white lies) really that terrible?

Discussion: Do we really believe that every single person who has unconfessed sin in his/her life when he/she dies will go to a Hell where he/she will spend eternity in unspeakable agony in punishment for his/her sins?

Discussion: Why is it impossible for a person who has lived an incredibly good life to gain salvation from sin’s penalty through the good works he/she has done?

Discussion: Why should a holy God who hates sin and to whom sin is a personal affront provide any possible redemption for sinful mankind?

The wonderful truth is that though we were sinners and bound for an awful eternity in Hell with no hope of salvation in and of ourselves, God loved mankind so much that He decided (before He ever created the universe, in fact) to do something about our sin predicament.

God decided to reveal His plan of salvation in stages. First, God made a covenant with Abraham to bless him. Then, God renewed His covenant with Abraham’s son Isaac, the son of His promise. Then, God chose Jacob, one of Isaac’s two sons.

Then, with the Israelites, the descendants of Jacob, God made a covenant in the wilderness. They would be His people and He would be their God. God set up a sacrificial system by which the people might receive forgiveness for sins they had committed.

God revealed His Law to the people - a perfect Law. With a great many ceremonial regulations, God would set apart His people from all nations of the earth.

It was a glorious covenant. This covenant was instituted by God appearing to the people at Mt. Sinai in a thick cloud, punctuated with lightning and thunder and rumbling of the earth. God actually spoke in an audible voice to the people!

But the Hebrews writer points out that this glorious covenant had great shortcomings. Verse twenty-three of our text talks of a need for a better sacrifice.

Discussion: Verses thirteen and fourteen point out one reason why Christ’s sacrifice was better than that of bulls. What is that reason?
(By sacrificing the bull, the person’s external purity was restored. He was again made acceptable in God’s sight. Yet this person’s conscience was not freed from the guilt of his sin. (see Beacon Bible Commentary, Volume 10, pp. 104, 106))

Discussion: What do these verses teach us about the difference between conscience of 1) the sinner who tries to gain salvation by good works, 2) the Old Covenant Jew who offered a bull for his sin, 3) the New Covenant Christian who trusts in Christ for salvation?
(1. The sinner feels guilty and has no assurance of salvation, no matter how hard he works to do good. 2. The Old Covenant Jew knew he was forgiven by God yet his conscience remained uneasy. 3. The New Covenant Christian has a conscience completely free of guilty for past sins.)

Verses nineteen through twenty-two talk about how the Old Covenant priest would sprinkle blood on the book, the people, and the different furnishings in the Temple.

These were types (patterns) of heavenly things. Verse twenty-three says, “It was therefore necessary” that the heavenly things be purified with a better sacrifice.

Discussion: Why couldn’t man (a priest) enter Heaven with the blood of a bull?
(Besides the physical impossibility, consider also that the priest could only enter the Holy of Holies once a year and with great care or God would strike him dead for his sinfulness/irreverence.)

Discussion: What is the significance of the fact that Jesus did not enter the earthly Temple to make atonement for our sins, but went to Heaven?
(See verse twenty-four.)

Discussion: What advantage is it that Christ appears before God for us?

Discussion: Why is it unthinkable that Christ would offer Himself repeatedly for our sins? (v. 25)

Discussion: What advantage do we gain in that Christ’s sacrifice was made once-for-all?
(See verse twelve. Also note the comments on verse 26: “The Levitical system dealt with individual transgressions; Christ’s atoning death dealt with sin as a principle. His blood makes possible the abolition of sin.)

There is an interesting parallel in verses twenty-seven and twenty-eight. On the one hand, man is appointed to die. This is the consequence of his sin. Then, man will face the judgment where, apart from Christ, he will go to Hell for eternity.

On the other hand, Christ died a substitutionary, voluntary death. Unlike man, Christ was sinless. He took our sin upon Himself so that we might live. Therefore, God raised Christ from the dead on the third day. Thus, Christ will someday soon appear again to bring final salvation to all those who have trusted in Him.

When you consider the holiness of God, the wickedness of our sin, and the wrath of God over our sin, you might well wonder how the blood of bulls was ever considered suitable as a sacrifice for our sin.

Yet God set the Old Covenant in place in order to teach the world of the necessity of Christ’s spotless sacrifice. The Old Covenant was glorious and suitable for the time that God instituted it, but the New Covenant established by the blood of Christ is so much better.

With Christ, we have a High Priest who goes into the very presence of God to plead on our behalf. With Christ, we have a one-time sacrifice suitable to take away all sin - both committed sin and inbred sin. With Christ, we have a living God - a living Saviour - who continues to intercede on our behalf, but will one day return to earth triumphant and to complete our salvation.

Why is the New Covenant a better plan?

Big Idea:Christ’s atonement provided that which mankind desperately needed.