September 28, 2025: Sunday School

Order of Service

• Scripture Reading — Hebrews 10:1-10
• Sermon
• Prayer of Closing

---

Sermon Title: Reality, Reminder, and Resolve in the Finished Work of Christ

Scripture: Hebrews 10:1-10

I. Reality — The Shadow and the Substance

A. The law is a shadow of good things to come, not the true form of those realities (Hebrews 10:1)

1. A shadow assumes both a substance and a light; the Old Testament shadows point forward to Christ
2. The substance belongs to Christ — Colossians 2:17

B. The "good things to come" have their roots in the first gospel promise — Genesis 3:15

1. God has been graciously unfolding the good things to come since the fall
2. Christ appearing as high priest fulfills the good things to come — Hebrews 9:11

C. The Old Testament shadows are insufficient to make perfect those who draw near (Hebrews 10:1-2)

1. They cannot cleanse the conscience or perfect the internal man
2. Calvin: the things of the law were like rough pencil outlines before the true colors are applied
3. The light of Christ's revelation allows us to see clearly what the Old Testament outlines were pointing to

II. Reminder — Old and New

A. The Old Testament sacrifices served as a repeated reminder of sin (Hebrews 10:3)

1. The blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sins — Hebrews 10:4
2. The cycle of sin and sacrifice continued without ultimate resolution

B. The New Testament believer also has a reminder of sin, but it is fundamentally different

1. Paul's exhortation to remember Jesus Christ — 2 Timothy 2:8
2. The reminder comes through the Word preached and the Lord's Supper
3. Our reminder points us to the once-for-all finished work: sin has already been dealt with, nailed to the cross, and imputed to Christ
4. The Holy Spirit cleanses the conscience; we have assurance of forgiveness by looking to Christ

III. Resolve — The Obedient Will of Christ

A. Hebrews quotes Psalm 40:6-8 on the lips of Christ at his coming into the world (Hebrews 10:5-7)

1. The Hebrew text of Psalm 40 reads "ears you have dug for me" — the ear representing hearing and obeying God's Word
2. The Septuagint renders this "a body you have prepared for me," which Hebrews applies to Christ's incarnate obedience
3. Psalm 40 is a psalm of obedience; Christ is the perfect, obedient Israel, the second Adam

B. Christ's sinlessness is essential to his priestly ministry

1. He was tempted in every way, yet without sin — Hebrews 4:15
2. Holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners — Hebrews 7:26
3. His resolve in Gethsemane: "Not my will but yours be done"

C. Christ's active obedience

1. His entire life of perfect law-keeping imputed to believers by faith
2. We become the righteousness of God because his righteousness is credited to us — 2 Corinthians 5:21

D. Christ's passive obedience

1. The Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all — Isaiah 53:6
2. Like a lamb led to the slaughter, he opened not his mouth — Isaiah 53:7
3. Delivered up for our trespasses — Romans 4:25
4. He bore our sins in his body on the tree — 1 Peter 2:24
5. Berkhof: his passive obedience consisted in paying the penalty of sin by his sufferings and death, discharging the debt of all his people

E. By Christ's will we have been sanctified through the offering of his body once for all (Hebrews 10:10)

1. The Father does not delight in mere sacrifices and offerings because they do not transform the heart
2. What God desires is a transformed heart attuned to his will — accomplished by the Spirit through Christ's ministry
3. Believers can look to the Word and the sacraments and rest in Christ's finished work: sin imputed to him, his righteousness imputed to us