Chapter X

Verse 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.”

The law was only a shadow of the good things to come. Therefore it could never make those perfect who offered animal sacrifices year after year. The sin, which God wanted to destroy, did not dwell in the body of an animal, but in a human body.

Verse 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.’” It was in the human body that God wanted to complete the work. Sin had entered man and it was to be driven out. God’s will could never be done in a person in whose body sin was reigning. Human flesh was unable to rule over sin. Sin was too strong for the flesh, or, if you will, the flesh was powerless against sin.

Verse 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.’” Never before was a person able to say: “I have come to do Your will, O God.” No flesh was righteous before God; all had turned aside; they had all become unprofitable; there was none that did good, no, not one. Rom. 3:11-12.

However, now He came, the Master, Jesus of Nazareth, the Root of David, to do God’s will. He successfully fulfilled all the good pleasure of the Father, so that in the end, He could cry out, “It is finished!”

This is how sin was conquered in Jesus’ flesh. What was impossible for the law became possible by the will of God and the obedience of Jesus. Hallelujah! This is Christ manifested in the flesh. By faith we understand this. Herein lies the mystery of the victory that has overcome the world.

Verse 10. “By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

We are sanctified to do God’s will by the power of God’s Spirit and the grace we receive in our time of need. Sin shall not reign over us; we shall rule over it. “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them.”

In the old covenant, the law was written on tablets of stone, but now it is written in our hearts and minds; and God has given us power by the Holy Spirit to keep these laws, for He works in us both, to will and to do. This is the perfect law of liberty, which rules in our hearts and minds by the blood of Christ. The works of God are being done and made manifest. These are works that are the result of victory, which are approved by God who says, “To him who overcomes!!!” The overcomer has all the promises on his side. Rev. 2:7-11; 17-26, etc.

Verse 13. “And now He is only waiting that His enemies are laid at His feet as His footstool.”

“The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.’ The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies!” Ps. 110:1-2.

Here we read about Him who was appointed by God as the Messiah, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. His dominion will extend from coast to coast over all the earth. All His enemies will be placed under His feet. And why is that? Because He was victorious in the days of His flesh. He broke down the enmity in the body of His flesh through death, and thus destroyed him who had the power of death—the devil.

Therefore, it is futile to resist Jesus Christ by the strength of sin and the power of the devil. He defeated all of this long ago, and any renewed attempt will be beaten down, for He is the only Lord and Ruler.

Verses 19-20. “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest in the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh . . . .”

The new and living way goes through the flesh. In the flesh, man’s big “I” is bound by sin. Here the death of Christ must work step by step, and God’s will must be accomplished—all by faith.

Verses 21-22. “And having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”

Our heavenly High Priest will help us go forward on this new and living way. He is called a “great High Priest,” a great Helper, and He possesses great grace.

The apostle exhorts everyone who is walking on the new and living way to hold fast without wavering to the confession of the hope which enters within the veil. There is only one hope, and He is faithful who gave the promise.

Since we are together on the same way, let us consider one another so that we stir one another up to love and good works. This is the opposite of quarreling along the way.

Verse 25. “Not forsaking our own assembly, as is the manner of some.” Which assembly does he have in mind? Of course, he is thinking of the assembly he has been addressing all this time, namely the assembly of those who are walking on the new and living way. Where can we find this assembly? It is just as difficult to point it out, as it is to point out the kingdom of God, which cannot be done. Just when you think you have found it, you realize you have made a mistake, for it consists only of those few individuals here and there who are walking in the light and judging themselves. Do not forsake this assembly, this fellowship with the Father, the Son and all the saints in the Holy Spirit.

The apostles had many churches, but there were only a few individuals who walked righteously and lived a victorious life. Do not forsake that assembly, where the preaching leads toward that goal. That is your assembly. Do this, for the Day is approaching.

Verses 26-27. “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the rebellious.”

God’s will is our sanctification. By this will we can walk on the new and living way and partake of God’s kingdom with all its glory. This kingdom does not consist merely of words, but of power, righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. God is infinitely gracious and merciful; He has given us a place in this kingdom that stands high above all the kingdoms here on earth.

If a person has learned to know the truth, to know this glorious kingdom, and then turns away from Him who speaks from heaven and sins willfully, he will meet a fearful judgment and fiery indignation which will devour the rebellious. Such a person is cast out from the kingdom that tolerates no sin, for if we live according to the flesh we will die. But the words that belong to the kingdom of God are spirit and life.

Verses 28-29. “Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?” “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Verse 31.

Verses 32-39. “But recall the former days in which, after you were enlightened, you endured a great struggle with sufferings . . . .”

When we receive light, a great struggle with sufferings ensues. It is no small matter to take up the struggle against the flesh with its lusts. The Hebrews had suffered insults and tribulations for the sake of their faith, and now the apostle exhorts them to remember that and not to become weary.

Verse 35. “Do not cast away your boldness, which has great reward.” If we are bold, we can make use of the opportunity. It is all too easy to let it slip away so that we lose our reward. We must awake so that we can be found ready and be in the right place at the right time.

Verse 36. “For you have need of patience, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise . . . .” Notice that it says, “after you have done the will of God.” God’s will must always be done, and after we have done it, we are to wait patiently for what is promised. “But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.” Luke 8:15.

Patience leads us to a perfect work. Jesus is longsuffering with us, and Peter says that we are to consider this longsuffering as salvation. He praises Paul who has written about this with wisdom in his epistles. 2 Pet. 3:15-16.

The word of patience will save us from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world. Rev. 3:10. If you remain patient, you have stood the test.

Verse 38. “Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”

Here he is writing about a consistent walk in the obedience of faith—going forward on the way of light. If any man draws back from this walk, God has no pleasure in him. This is “God’s way” which meets opposition on every side. Yet there is no other way. Blessed is he who hears God’s compelling voice and who walks on this way.

Verse 39. “But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.”