Art Toombs Ministries
Online Bible Commentary
A Life of Victory
Hebrews 10:11 And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, 13 from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. 14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. 15 But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, 16 "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," 17 then He adds, "Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more." 18 Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin. (NKJV)
The early Eastern Church (Dionysius and Clement, both of Alexandria), from the second century, claimed Paul was the writer of Hebrews. The Western Church later agreed.
Luke translated the letter to the Hebrews into Greek, according to Clement in the second century. Luke was with Paul during his second Roman imprisonment and was his amanuensis during Paul’s final days (2 Timothy 4:11).
It is likely that Luke was also Paul’s amanuensis for this letter. My conclusion is that this was Paul’s last writing, written in late 67-early 68 A.D.
In this letter, Paul is writing to Hebrews who have converted to Christianity from Judaism. Family and friends are pulling at them to return to Judaism, so Paul is ministering to these Hebrew Christians of the superiority of Christ.
In this passage Paul completes the subject of the superiority of Christ over all things Judaism. He ends that topic with this passage.
Previously, Paul has been proclaiming the superiority of Christ’s sacrifice. Verses eleven and twelve contrast the work of the priest to that of the High Priest Jesus Christ.
Paul begins by writing “And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices” (v. 11a). The Israelite priests, from the family of Levi, were in charge of watching over the fire on the altar of burnt offering which sat in the courtyard close to the door of the tabernacle, and later the temple. The fire would burn day and night.
The priests would make sacrifices each morning and each evening on the altar. Each sacrifice included a meat offering and a drink offering. It was hard work, and the same drudge day after day.
Paul continues with “which can never take away sins” (v. 11b). The act of animal sacrifice could “never take away sins”. It was simply a ritual, performed in order to comply with the Law of Moses. The sins were never removed, and neither was the guilt.
Next, Paul writes “But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God” (v. 12). In contrast, when Christ came, He offered “one sacrifice for sins forever”.
Christ’s sacrifice of Himself paid the penalty for all the sin of the world forever, past, present, and future. With His work complete, “he sat down at the right hand of God”, the Father, in Heaven.
Paul continues with “from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool” (v. 13). Christ now waits for his enemies to be made his “footstool”, when He returns to rule the world and every knee bows to Him.
Paul continues “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified” (v. 14). Unlike the earthly priests, Christ does not need to continually offer sacrifices because by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
One sacrifice was enough, because His sacrifice had the power to remove sin along with the guilt that accompanies it. Those who believe in Him as their Lord and Savior are “made perfect”, or Holy.
This is called positional sanctification. Christians are seen as being sanctified even though it is a process that continues throughout their walk with God.
Next, in verses 15-17, Paul quotes from the words of the Holy Spirit as given to Jeremiah (Jer. 31:31-34). Paul writes “15 But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, 16 ‘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,’ 17 then He adds, ‘Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.’ "
The Holy Spirit spoke of the New Covenant of Christ which replaced the Old Covenant, the Law of Moses. The New Covenant of grace changes hearts and minds, so that obedience follows. By God’s grace He forgives, and forgets, our sins.
The Old Covenant, the one God made with Moses on Mount Sinai, sought to reward obedience with blessing, and failed. It failed because the Israelites broke their part of the agreement, the covenant, through disobedience.
Paul closes this passage, and section, by writing “Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin” (v. 18). There is no longer any sacrifice for sin, because Christ has already done that work for us on the cross.
The New Covenant, written of in the New Testament, is a covenant of grace. Through God’s grace He forgives and forgets our sins when we profess our belief in Him as our Lord and Savior.
The Holy Spirit then works in our hearts and minds to make us the people God wants us to be. We become a new creation.
Our behavior changes, and soon our habits change. We no longer want to do the things we did before.
Soon we begin to see sin as God does, dark and destructive. Soon we do not want to have any part of sin, because we know how it grieves our Lord.
Soon it grieves us also, and we grieve for those who are caught up in sin. We want to help them escape from their sinful lifestyles and so we attempt to tell them about our Lord.
We are not better than them, we are just better informed. We have been there, done that, and we know that there is a better life to live.
That life is one of following Christ, living the Christian life in obedience to Christ. It is a life of victory.