Introduction: Have you enjoyed studying this series of lessons on the
sanctuary? The great news in this series is righteousness by faith! A
judgment is going on in heaven in which Jesus, our High Priest, is
presenting Himself as the sacrifice for those who accept Him by
faith. What does this mean for daily living? Our last lesson in this
series closes with a look at the relationship between grace, works
and confidence in our salvation. Let’s plunge into our study of the
Bible and learn more!

  1. Made Perfect


    1. Read Hebrews 10:1. What does it mean that the law is a
      shadow and not the reality? (It means that it gives us an
      idea of what God has in mind, but it is not actually what
      God has in mind.)


    2. Read Hebrews 10:2-4. What law do you think is being
      discussed? Is it referring to the Ten Commandments? (I
      think the Ten Commandments are a shadow of what God has in
      mind for us, but here I believe the reference is
      specifically to the sacrificial system.)


    3. Read Hebrews 10:5-7. If God established the sacrificial
      system, how could He not be pleased with it? (I think the
      sacrificial system had two roles: to point to what Jesus
      would do for us and to ( Hebrews 10:3) remind us of the
      terrible nature of sin. I don’t think God was pleased with
      the death of so many animals or the fact that it was not
      the true cure for sin.)


    4. Read Hebrews 10:8-10. Is the sacrificial system still in
      place? (No. When Jesus died on our behalf, He set aside
      the old system.)


      1. Why is that good news? (Because Jesus died for us, if
        we accept it, “we have been made holy … once for
        all.”)


        1. What does that mean – for you to be made holy
          once for all?


    5. Read Hebrews 10:11-14. Notice how this states things a
      little differently. It tells us that Jesus has “made
      perfect forever those who are being made holy.” How does
      that clarify the question about us being holy? (When we
      rely on Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, we are
      perfect. We are perfect because Jesus is perfect, not
      because we are perfect people. But, this places us on the
      road leading towards holiness – a decision to live a life
      in accord with what Jesus has made us – perfect.)


    6. Read Hebrews 10:15-16. “After that time.” After what time?
      (After Jesus made us perfect.)


      1. What happens after Jesus has made us perfect? (He
        puts His laws in our heart and writes them in our
        mind through the Holy Spirit .)


        1. What does that mean – to have laws in our heart
          and mind? (First, that we have a heart for God.
          We desire to do His will. Second, it means that
          we have made a mental decision to do His will.)


        2. How does that accord with your life? I find
          myself being attracted to sin. How about you?
          (I don’t think the pull of sin ever goes away
          this side of heaven. Romans 7:21-25 explains
          the pull of sin, but also notes that we want to
          do good. A heart for God means that we want to
          do good even when our sinful nature pulls us
          into sin. We need to make the mental decision
          every day to live a life led by the Holy
          Spirit.)


  2. Confidence in Our Salvation


    1. Read Hebrews 10:19-21. What does it mean to “enter the
      Most Holy Place?” (Read Leviticus 16:1-2. God appeared in
      the Most Holy place – and sinful humans would die in God’s
      presence. But now, we can enter into the presence of God
      with confidence that we will not die because Jesus has
      made us perfect.)


    2. Read Hebrews 10:22. What does “our bodies washed with pure
      water” bring to mind? (Baptism!)


      1. Read Romans 6:3-7. What does baptism mean for us?
        (“We are therefore buried with Him through baptism
        into death in order that, just as Christ was raised
        from the dead … we too many live a new life.” When
        we are baptized, we participate in Jesus’ death for
        our sins!)


      2. Look again at Hebrews 10:22. What is a sincere heart
        in full assurance of faith? (While we cannot earn our
        salvation through our works, Jesus is looking for
        those who really mean it when they say that they are
        relying in faith on what He has done for them.)


      3. When Hebrews 10:22 tells us that our guilty
        conscience is something that is also cleaned, what
        does that mean? (It means that you no longer need to
        feel guilt for your sins. Satan is the accuser, not
        God. God cleansed us and therefore you should accept
        your forgiveness and leave guilt behind!)


    3. Read Hebrews 10:25. What is the potential problem
      mentioned here? (We all need to be encouraged in our
      faith. We all need to be reminded of what Jesus has done
      for us. We need to meet together with other believers to
      be encouraged.)


      1. What does that suggest about reading this Bible
        study? (It means that just reading a lesson on the
        Internet is not good enough! We all need to be
        studying the Bible with other believers. We need to
        be meeting to praise and worship God with others.)


  3. Warning


    1. Read Hebrews 10:26-27. That got ugly fast! I know that
      you probably sinned today. I’m certain your sin was not an
      accident – it is not like you tripped and fell into sin.
      You sinned knowingly and deliberately. Perhaps you did not
      say, “I think I’ll sin today,” but your sin was most
      likely not an accident. Should we all now be expecting
      “fire that will consume the enemies of God?”


      1. How could we snap so fast from confidence in entering
        the presence of God to fear that we have become God’s
        enemy?


      2. How do we explain Romans 7:21-25? Was Paul God’s
        enemy?


    2. Read Hebrews 10:28-29. What kind of actions are described
      here? Notice the “action words” – “rejected,” “trampled,”
      “treated as an unholy thing the blood [of Jesus],” and
      “insulted the Spirit of grace.” What do these action words
      suggest? (This in not “deliberate” sin in the sense that
      most everything you do is deliberate. Rather, this means
      that you have rejected God. You have rejected grace. You
      have rejected what Jesus did on your behalf. Your mind-set
      is hostile to all that God has done.)


      1. Is God being fair here? Is this really a quick and
        nasty snap into ugliness? (No! Since God did it all
        for us by dying a terrible, painful death in our
        place, isn’t God entitled to be upset if we reject
        His love and sacrifice? If we “trample” on His love
        and grace? I say,”Yes.”)


      2. Is there anything positive in these verses? (Yes. We
        do not accidentally become lost. We make a decision
        to reject all that Jesus has done for us. All saints
        find that they are deliberately sinning. But, that
        is not what I believe is being described here. This
        is deliberately rejecting Jesus’ sacrifice on our
        behalf and choosing a life of sin.)


      3. What if you have a son, daughter, parent or spouse
        who you fear has rejected Jesus; is there any hope?
        (Yes. Notice that Hebrews 10:26 says, “after we have
        received the knowledge of truth.” Most of those who
        are rejecting Jesus now never fully understood the
        truth. I recall at one point when I was a young man,
        because I had been taught righteousness through
        works, I concluded that I would never been good
        enough and I might as well reject God. I had not
        “received the knowledge of truth.”)


  4. Courage


    1. Read Hebrews 10:32-34. How would you compare the bad
      things in your life to this list?


    2. Read Hebrews 10:35. What kind of confidence are we talking
      about? (Confidence in God. Confidence that we are doing
      the right thing even though it might cause us to suffer.)


    3. Read Hebrews 10:36-39. What does it mean to “shrink back?”


    4. Read Revelation 21:8. Cowards are listed before murderers?
      What message is God giving us in these references to
      shrinking back and cowards? (God is looking for those who
      trust Him. He is looking for the faithful who have
      confidence in what Jesus has done for them. Those who are
      confident in their salvation.)


    5. Friend, will you determine today to trust God? Will you
      place your faith in Him and His grace? Will you leave
      behind trusting in yourself?


  5. Next week: We start a new series of lessons dealing with being
    disciples of Jesus.