Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; ¹² but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, (10:11-12).

Many scholars agree that the book of Hebrews was written before the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD, which would of course mean that the practice of temple sacrifices was still taking place.

Note on Hebrews 8:4 [Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are those who offer the gifts according to the Law] from NIV Study Bible:
The present tense of the verb “offer,” here and elsewhere in the letter, indicates that the temple in Jerusalem was still standing. This letter, therefore, must have been written prior to the temple destruction in AD 70.”

And from Dating the New Testament website, http://www.datingthenewtestament.com/Hebrews.htm
“More than any other book in the New Testament, Hebrews reads as a book written prior to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Heb 5:1-4 says “For every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God, in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins; he can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is beset with weakness; and because of it he is obligated to offer sacrifices for sins, as for the people, so also for himself. And no one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was.” This passage about what high priests do is set entirely in the present tense, something that would be overcome by events if the book was written after 70. Heb 9:25 says “the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood that is not his own.” Heb 10:11 says “Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.” Again, both passages are set in the present tense. Furthermore, Hebrews is making a case that the sacrifices before Christ were insufficient. If the writer knew of the destruction of the Temple, the altar, and the entire sacrificial system, he could have used these events to bolster his argument, saying “see, they have passed away in any case.” The reason he doesn’t do this is probably because when he wrote Hebrews, these things had not yet happened.”

The writer proceeds with his analysis of the ineffectiveness of the ongoing offerings of animal sacrifice; sacrifices that definitely come up lacking, for the blood of bulls and goats can never eradicate sin.

And as the writer points out, these sacrifices were never intended to cleanse anyone from sin but were meant to strike the conscience with a reminder of the pervading sin condition in man and the utter inability of the temple sacrifices to eliminate the problem. The blood of bulls and goats was a foreshadowing of what the blood of the Sinless Son of God would accomplish through the Sufficiency of His Sacrifice.

For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near. ² Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins? ³ But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. ⁴ For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins, (10:1-4).

And the impossibility of finding hope in the Law is emphasized in “the better things” in Christ and the Sufficiency of His Sacrifice.

Consider the Sufficiency of His Sacrifice

• The Sufficiency of His Sacrifice has removed the guilt of sin.
  • Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins? (10:2).

• The Sufficiency of His Sacrifice has taken away sins.
  • For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins, (10:4).

• The Sufficiency of His Sacrifice was prepared by His obedience.
  • “Sacrifice and offering You have not desired,
    But a body You have prepared for Me;
    ⁶ In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You have taken no pleasure.
    ⁷ “Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come
    (In the scroll of the book it is written of Me)
    To do Your will, O God,’” (10:5-7).

• The Sufficiency of His Sacrifice has sanctified us through His offering.
  • By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all, (10:10).

• The Sufficiency of His Sacrifice has finished the work of our salvation.
  • Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; ¹² but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, (10:11-12).

• The Sufficiency of His Sacrifice has perfected every believer for all time.
  • For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified, (10:14).

• The Sufficiency of His Sacrifice has enacted His New Covenant.
  •  “This is the covenant that I will make with them
    After those days, says the Lord:
    I will put My laws upon their heart,
    And on their mind I will write them,” (10:16).

• The Sufficiency of His Sacrifice has removed our sin from His memory.
  •  “And their sins and their lawless deeds
    I will remember no more,” (10:17).

• The Sufficiency of His Sacrifice has put an end to all other offerings for sin.
  • Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin, (10:18).

How do we respond to the Sufficiency of His Sacrifice?

The end of this chapter is an inspired guide for our response. However, sandwiched in the middle of these verses is another passage that some have used (out of context) to suggest that our salvation can be lost (thereby surmising that His Sacrifice is not, in fact, Sufficient). Context is essential in the interpretation of this passage.

 For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ²⁷ but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. ²⁸ Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” ³¹ It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (10:26-31).

We often think of “sinning” as willfully committing those acts that are clearly against the commands of God; and this is true. And if we say that we don’t sin we are deceiving ourselves.

If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us, (1 John 1:9).

But this Greek word, “sinning,” means “missing the mark.” It’s an archery term conveying the fact that there is only one bullseye and anything outside of the bullseye misses the mark. In other words, our failure to hit the target is “sinning.”

sin: “264. ἁμαρτάνω hamartánō; fut. hamartḗsō, aor. hēmártēsa; 2d aor. hḗmarton. To sin, to miss a mark on the way, not to hit the mark… To err, swerve from the truth, go wrong…” Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance.

From the context of the entire book of Hebrews (and all of Scripture for that matter), to “go on sinning” is to go on missing the mark by willfully refusing to accept His message of the gospel by faith and thus seriously insulting the Spirit of Grace.

The Bible is clear: all of us have missed the mark and it is only the Sufficiency of His Sacrifice that justifies us before Holy God. Rejecting this truth is to go on sinning willfully by taking aim at our own works in adhering to the Law rather than relying solely on the gift of His Grace through the blood of Jesus.

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; ²⁵ whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith… (Romans 3:23-25).

And again, as discussed in our consideration of Hebrews 6, the writer is not suggesting that anyone has gone on to willfully reject His Gospel of Grace “after receiving the knowledge of the truth.”

“It is material to remark here that the apostle does not say that any true Christian ever had fallen away. He  makes a statement of what would occur on the supposition that such a thing should happen,” Barnes’ Notes on the Bible.

This supposition brings us face-to-face with the thought of facing God apart from His Gift of Grace in Jesus; and that thought should both absolutely terrify us as well as lead us into a deeper dependence on the Sufficiency of His Sacrifice for all of life.

It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (10:31).

Further indication that the writer of Hebrews is not relaying a situation that has actually occurred is in his expressed confidence of the eternal security of his readers.

But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul, (10:39).

Let us ask Him to grow us in our faith in the Sufficiency of His Sacrifice. He needs nothing from us to accomplish or keep our salvation.

As we believe His Inspired Truth, we will have confidence to draw near to Him in sincerity and assurance, for the Sufficiency of His Sacrifice has cleansed our conscience, enabling us to stand in His Presence, forgiven and cleansed from sin.

Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, ²¹ and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²² let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water, (10:19-22).

It is His Grace alone that enables us to hold fast in faith. Oh, let us continue to be strengthened in His Grace given in the Sufficiency of His Sacrifice

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; ²⁴ and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, ²⁵ not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near, (10:23-25).

While life can be more than difficult and the enemy is relentlessly at work to move us out of His Grace and into our works, let us refuse to give in; for that would be to throw away the only confidence we have for our eternity.

Oh, that we would walk in enduring faith, for by His Grace, He has enabled us to “hit the bullseye” in this life, that we can know we will receive the promise we have from Him through the Sufficiency of His Sacrifice.

Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. ³⁶ For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. 10:35-36).

Let’s Grow Together!