Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks

Christ’s Sacrifice Is Once and for All Time

10 The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming. It is not the real things themselves. The same sacrifices have to be offered over and over again. They must be offered year after year. That’s why the law can never make perfect those who come near to worship. ² If the law could, wouldn’t the sacrifices have stopped being offered? The worshipers would have been made “clean” once and for all time. They would not have felt guilty for their sins anymore. ³ But those offerings remind people of their sins every year. ⁴ It isn’t possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

⁵ So when Christ came into the world, he said,

⁸ First Christ said, “You didn’t want sacrifices and offerings. You didn’t want burnt offerings and sin offerings. You weren’t pleased with them.” He said this even though they were offered in keeping with the law. ⁹ Then he said, “Here I am. I have come to do what you want.” He did away with the shadow of the good things that were coming. He did it to put in place the good things themselves. ¹⁰ We have been made holy by what God wanted. We have been made holy because Jesus Christ offered his body once and for all time.

¹¹ Day after day every priest stands and does his special duties. He offers the same sacrifices again and again. But they can never take away sins. ¹² Jesus our priest offered one sacrifice for sins for all time. Then he sat down at the right hand of God. ¹³ And since that time, he waits for his enemies to be put under his control. ¹⁴ By that one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

¹⁵ The Holy Spirit also speaks to us about this. First he says,

¹⁷ Then he adds,

¹⁸ Where these sins have been forgiven, an offering for sin is no longer necessary.

An Appeal and Warning to Remain Faithful

¹⁹ Brothers and sisters, we are not afraid to enter the Most Holy Room. We enter boldly because of the blood of Jesus. ²⁰ His way is new because he lives. It has been opened for us through the curtain. I’m talking about his body. ²¹ We also have a great priest over the house of God. ²² So let us come near to God with a sincere heart. Let us come near boldly because of our faith. Our hearts have been sprinkled. Our minds have been cleansed from a sense of guilt. Our bodies have been washed with pure water. ²³ Let us hold firmly to the hope we claim to have. The God who promised is faithful. ²⁴ Let us consider how we can stir up one another to love. Let us help one another to do good works. ²⁵ And let us not give up meeting together. Some are in the habit of doing this. Instead, let us encourage one another with words of hope. Let us do this even more as you see Christ’s return approaching.

²⁶ What if we keep sinning on purpose? What if we do it even after we know the truth? Then there is no offering for our sins. ²⁷ All we can do is to wait in fear for God to judge. His blazing fire will burn up his enemies. ²⁸ Suppose someone did not obey the law of Moses. And suppose two or three witnesses made charges against them. That person would die without mercy. ²⁹ People who deserve even more punishment include those who have hated the Son of God. They include people who have said no to him. They include people who have treated as unholy the blood of the covenant that makes them holy. They also include people who have disrespected the Holy Spirit who brings God’s grace. Don’t you think people like this should be punished more than anyone else? ³⁰ We know the God who said, “I am the God who judges people. I will pay them back.” (Deuteronomy 32:35) Scripture also says, “The Lord will judge his people.” (Deuteronomy 32:36; Psalm 135:14) ³¹ It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

³² Remember those earlier days after you received the light. You remained strong in a great battle that was full of suffering. ³³ Sometimes people spoke badly about you in front of others. Sometimes you were treated badly. At other times you stood side by side with people being treated like this. ³⁴ You suffered along with people in prison. When your property was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew that God had given you better and more lasting things. ³⁵ So don’t throw away your bold faith. It will bring you rich rewards.

³⁶ You need to be faithful. Then you will do what God wants. You will receive what he has promised.

³⁸ And,

³⁹ But we don’t belong to the people who pull back and are destroyed. We belong to the people who believe and are saved.

Faith That Produces Action

11 Faith is being sure of what we hope for. It is being sure of what we do not see. ² That is what the people of long ago were praised for.

³ We have faith. So we understand that everything was made when God commanded it. That’s why we believe that what we see was not made out of what could be seen.

⁴ Abel had faith. So he brought to God a better offering than Cain did. Because of his faith Abel was praised as a godly man. God said good things about his offerings. Because of his faith Abel still speaks. He speaks even though he is dead.

⁵ Enoch had faith. So he was taken from this life. He didn’t die. “He couldn’t be found, because God had taken him away.” (Genesis 5:24) Before God took him, Enoch was praised as one who pleased God. ⁶ Without faith it is impossible to please God. Those who come to God must believe that he exists. And they must believe that he rewards those who look to him.

⁷ Noah had faith. So he built an ark to save his family. He built it because of his great respect for God. God had warned him about things that could not yet be seen. Because of his faith Noah showed the world that it was guilty. Because of his faith he was considered right with God.

⁸ Abraham had faith. So he obeyed God. God called him to go to a place he would later receive as his own. So he went. He did it even though he didn’t know where he was going. ⁹ Because of his faith he made his home in the land God had promised him. Abraham was like an outsider in a strange country. He lived there in tents. So did Isaac and Jacob. They received the same promise he did. ¹⁰ Abraham was looking forward to the city that has foundations. He was waiting for the city that God planned and built. ¹¹ And Sarah had faith. So God made it possible for her to become a mother. She became a mother even though she was too old to have children. But Sarah believed that the God who made the promise was faithful. ¹² Abraham was past the time when he could have children. But many children came from that one man. They were as many as the stars in the sky. They were as many as the grains of sand on the seashore. No one could count them.

¹³ All these people were still living by faith when they died. They didn’t receive the things God had promised. They only saw them and welcomed them from a long way off. They openly said that they were outsiders and strangers on earth. ¹⁴ People who say things like that show that they are looking for a country of their own. ¹⁵ What if they had been thinking of the country they had left? Then they could have returned to it. ¹⁶ Instead, they longed for a better country. They wanted a heavenly one. So God is pleased when they call him their God. In fact, he has prepared a city for them.

¹⁷ Abraham had faith. So when God tested him, Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice. Abraham had held on tightly to the promises. But he was about to offer his one and only son. ¹⁸ God had said to him, “Your family line will continue through Isaac.” (Genesis 21:12) Even so, Abraham was going to offer him up. ¹⁹ Abraham did this, because he believed that God could even raise the dead. In a way, he did receive Isaac back from death.

²⁰ Isaac had faith. So he blessed Jacob and Esau. He told them what was ahead for them.

²¹ Jacob had faith. So he blessed each of Joseph’s sons. He blessed them when he was dying. Because of his faith he worshiped God. Jacob worshiped as he leaned on the top of his walking stick.

²² Joseph had faith. So he spoke to the people of Israel about how they would leave Egypt someday. When his death was near, he spoke about where to bury his bones.

²³ Moses’ parents had faith. So they hid him for three months after he was born. They saw he was a special child. They were not afraid of the king’s command.

²⁴ Moses had faith. So he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. That happened after he had grown up. ²⁵ He chose to be treated badly together with the people of God. He chose not to enjoy sin’s pleasures. They only last for a short time. ²⁶ He suffered shame because of Christ. He thought it had great value. Moses considered it better than the riches of Egypt. He was looking ahead to his reward. ²⁷ Because of his faith, Moses left Egypt. It wasn’t because he was afraid of the king’s anger. He didn’t let anything stop him. That’s because he saw the God who can’t be seen. ²⁸ Because of his faith, Moses was the first to keep the Passover Feast. He commanded the people of Israel to sprinkle blood on their doorways. He did it so that the destroying angel would not touch their oldest sons.

²⁹ The people of Israel had faith. So they passed through the Red Sea. They went through it as if it were dry land. The Egyptians tried to do it also. But they drowned.

³⁰ Israel’s army had faith. So the walls of Jericho fell down. It happened after they had marched around the city for seven days.

³¹ Rahab, the prostitute, had faith. So she welcomed the spies. That’s why she wasn’t killed with those who didn’t obey God.

³² What more can I say? I don’t have time to tell about all the others. I don’t have time to talk about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah. I don’t have time to tell about David and Samuel and the prophets. ³³ Because of their faith they took over kingdoms. They ruled fairly. They received the blessings God had promised. They shut the mouths of lions. ³⁴ They put out great fires. They escaped being killed by swords. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became powerful in battle. They beat back armies from other countries. ³⁵ Women received back their dead. The dead were raised to life again. There were others who were made to suffer greatly. But they refused to be set free. They did this so that after death they would be raised to an even better life. ³⁶ Some were made fun of and even whipped. Some were held by chains. Some were put in prison. ³⁷ Some were killed with stones. Some were sawed in two. Some were killed by swords. They went around wearing the skins of sheep and goats. They were poor. They were attacked. They were treated badly. ³⁸ The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains. They lived in caves. They lived in holes in the ground.

³⁹ All these people were praised because they had faith. But none of them received what God had promised. ⁴⁰ That’s because God had planned something better for us. So they would only be made perfect together with us.