Page 63 - Hebrews- Student Textbook

Study Section 11: Chapter 9 – The Supremacy of a New Way
in Christ to Approach God

11.1 Connect

In the Old Testament, the people of Israel lived under the sacrificial system of the Law. The
were burdened by continual sacrifices of animals, rituals, and washings. These sacrifices
were repeated once per year on the Day of Atonement. And often, when they sinned
against the Lord, they would offer up sacrifices again so that they could even approach God
in confession. It was a never ending process, just as the people sinned continually.

When the Messiah came, He came to die as a sacrifice for sin. The big difference is that He came to die
ONCE for the sins of all mankind, past, present, and future. His one sacrifice did away with the rituals of
the Law. He fulfilled it! We will see that His sacrifice was supreme. When He declared, “it is finished”
he fulfilled all the demands of the law and offers up a new way to a relationship with God. Let’s see if
we can understand this...

11.2 Objectives

1. The student should be able to compare and contrast the system of sacrifice in the Old
Testament to the supremacy of the redemption offered through the blood of Christ.

2. The student should be able to describe the purpose for the Old Testament sacrifices.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN, Read Hebrews Chapter 9 from your Bible...

11.3 Chapter 9 The Supremacy of a New Way in Christ to Approach God

In Hebrews 9 the writer contrasts two ways of approaching God:
1. through the sacrifices of the old tabernacle and temple,
Or
2. Through Christ’s atoning sacrifice that completed the task once for all.

There were some severe limitations to the old covenant’s system of worship. Even
though that was the system God had devised until He provided a new order, it still was an “earthly
sanctuary” and a “man-made sanctuary” (9:24).
The old sacrifices, rituals, washings, and gifts were unable to make the worshiper clean in
conscience or to remove guilt. It was not as if the Israelites could not be forgiven of their sins when they
brought their sacrifices in faith and repentance. But those sacrifices were only tokens and signs pointing
away from themselves to something better. They were not efficacious in and of themselves. But Christ,
through His blood, obtained eternal redemption (9:12) of those transgressions for those who were

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