Read the Book: April - JuneSample

Week 25

Hebrews 10

The Sufficiency of Christ

In the Old Testament, God established a set of rules (including the 10 Commandments) and a sacrificial system that the Jews were to follow. The law showed them that they all fell short of God’s perfect standards, and the sacrifices were a symbol that something (or someone) has to pay for our failures. It is clear in Hebrews 10 that the sacrifices themselves are not what paid for their sin (Hebrews 10:4). The sacrifices of the animals pointed forward to when a greater Lamb would come, live a perfect life, and sacrifice Himself to actually pay for our sins. Jesus did, in one sacrifice, what the repeated sacrifices of the Israelites could never do. 

We may not live in a culture where animal sacrifice is a common practice, but sacrifice itself is vitally important to our lives. When you put your faith in Christ, and believe that His sacrifice—His death and later resurrection—pays for your sin, you are free! “We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10). He paid for every sin that you did before you knew Him, every sin you have committed since you met Him, and for every sin that you will commit between now and your death. They are all already paid for. When Jesus was on the cross, He said, “It is finished”—which means nothing else has to be done. 

This is such a weight released from us all. It means that we don’t have to do any work to earn our salvation because Jesus already earned it for us. In response, we should do everything we can to live the way He wants us to live. Romans 6 describes how we should live in light of our new life with Christ, where sin doesn’t have to be in charge anymore. We submit ourselves to God because He loved us enough to sacrifice His Son so that we could live with Him in heaven (John 3:16-17). We can rest in the fact that Jesus’ sacrifice did what the sacrifices of the animals could never do: cover all of our sins forever. 

Family Connection: Bake a dessert as a family! As you are stirring the dessert, tell your family how the Bible calls us to “stir up one another to love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24). What do you think that means? How can you encourage others to remember God’s love for them and do the good works to which He has called them? Find one way this week you can “stir up one another” - maybe that means sharing your dessert!