Introduction
Are you trying to approach God by cleaning yourself up first, or have you learned to come to Him honestly, confessing your sin and trusting Jesus to cleanse you completely? The central teaching of Hebrews 10 is that you cannot understand the good news of the gospel until you face the bad news of sin and the inability of the law to perfect you, then you will see the great news that Jesus’ once-for-all sacrifice truly forgives and permanently changes those who believe. A helpful summary comes from Timothy Keller: we are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared to believe, yet at the same time more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared to hope. Hebrews 10 walks us straight down that line, bad news into great news, by showing the purpose of the law and the power of the gospel.
Main Points
Are you trying to approach God by cleaning yourself up first, or have you learned to come to Him honestly, confessing your sin and trusting Jesus to cleanse you completely? The central teaching of Hebrews 10 is that you cannot understand the good news of the gospel until you face the bad news of sin and the inability of the law to perfect you, then you will see the great news that Jesus’ once-for-all sacrifice truly forgives and permanently changes those who believe.
A helpful summary comes from Timothy Keller: we are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared to believe, yet at the same time more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared to hope. Hebrews 10 walks us straight down that line, bad news into great news, by showing the purpose of the law and the power of the gospel.
The Law Reminds Us We Need Saving
Hebrews 10:1–3 says the law is only a “shadow of the good things to come,” and that the sacrifices offered year after year could never make the worshipers “perfect.” Instead, those sacrifices created “a reminder of sins every year.”
I want you to feel the mercy hidden inside that “reminder.” God was not playing a religious game. He was teaching His people (and us) that sin is real, costly, and deadly, and that we need a Savior outside ourselves. If the sacrifices truly worked, they would have ended. But they didn’t end, because the problem wasn’t solved.
This humbles every self-righteous instinct in me and in you, the reflex that says, “I’ll do better, and then God will accept me.” The law interrupts that fantasy and tells the truth: you still need cleansing, you still need rescue, you still need a substitute.
The Law Cannot Perfect or Fully Cleanse
Hebrews 10:4 states it plainly: “It is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.” The sacrifices could only provide a temporary, partial, outward cleansing, not the final, inward, complete removal of sin’s guilt and power.
This is why “white-knuckle religion” exhausts people. If your plan is: try harder, fail again, feel dirty again, repeat, then you will live in a cycle of partial cleansing and perpetual shame. Even if you swap “Old Testament sacrifices” with modern religious duty, the outcome is the same: you can clean the outside for a moment, but you can’t change your heart.
Jesus’ words in Matthew 5 expose this too. He said unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. In other words: even the best law-keepers can’t law-keep their way into God’s presence.
And if you think, “Fine, forget God’s law; I’ll just keep my standards,” that collapses too. The moment you demand someone else “should” do better, you reveal a standard you don’t consistently meet yourself. The law, God’s law or your own, cannot make you perfect.
The Shadow Leads Us to the Light
Hebrews 10:1 calls the law a “shadow of the good things to come.” That means the law wasn’t the destination; it was a preview.
Someone once said, if you follow a shadow long enough, you’ll eventually find the light, the object casting it. That’s what Hebrews does: it walks you through the shadow (sacrifice, priesthood, repeated offerings) until you see the true substance: Jesus Christ.
So I don’t want you to despise the law’s “bad news.” Let it do its work. Let it strip away self-trust. Let it name your sin honestly. Because the law’s shadow is meant to guide you to the Savior’s cross.
Jesus Came to Do the Father’s Will
Hebrews 10:5–10 shifts us into the gospel: “Therefore, when He came into the world…” This is the turning point. God sent His Son. The answer to sin is not more animal blood, more human effort, or better religious performance. The answer is a Person.
Hebrews quotes Psalm 40 to show this was God’s plan all along: sacrifices were never God’s ultimate pleasure or final desire. The Old Covenant system was temporary and prophetic, pointing forward to Christ.
Jesus came with a real human body (“a body You have prepared for Me”) in order to obey the Father fully and to offer Himself as the true sacrifice. Hebrews 10:9 says, “He takes away the first that He may establish the second.” The first covenant is not our refuge; Christ is. The old system is not our hope; the new covenant in Jesus’ blood is.
One Sacrifice, Finished Work, Permanent Cleansing
Hebrews 10:11–14 contrasts the priests who stand daily offering repeated sacrifices with Jesus who offered “one sacrifice for sins forever” and then “sat down at the right hand of God.”
That detail matters: there was no chair in the holy place because the priest’s work was never done. But Jesus sat down because His work is done. “Sat down” means the job was completed, sin paid for, justice satisfied, salvation secured.
Then Hebrews 10:14 gives us breathtaking assurance: “By one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” The law could never perfect you. Jesus does. Not temporarily. Not partially. Forever.
This is where despair breaks. Spurgeon said the law humbles the self-righteous, but the gospel removes the despair of the lost. You are not stuck. If you are in Christ, you are not merely managed, you are being made new.
Sanctification Grows From Salvation, Not Before It
Now I need to disciple you gently but firmly: holiness is not the root of your salvation; it’s the fruit. Spurgeon put it memorably: Holiness is a flower, not a root. It is not sanctification that saves, but salvation that sanctifies.
So don’t say, “Once I clean up my life, then I’ll come to God.” The gospel says, “Come now.” Come with your sin exposed. Come with your failures admitted. Come with no bargaining power at all. Jesus is the One who perfects forever those who are being sanctified.
Sanctification is the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in us, progressively changing our inner being, freeing us more and more from sinful traits, and growing Christlike virtues over time. Hebrews 10 doesn’t only promise forgiveness; it promises transformation.
A Clear Call to Sexual Holiness With Gospel Grace
Because sanctification is real, we must apply it where our culture is most confused and where many hearts are most tender: human sexuality. I want to speak with both clarity and compassion.
First, hear this warning: there is no greater danger of pride than to look at someone else’s sin and assume their problem is worse than yours. Jesus warned about noticing a speck in someone’s eye while ignoring a log in our own (Matthew 7:3–5). Every one of us needs grace. Every one of us needs cleansing. And none of us gets to stand above another as if we were self-made.
At the same time, love cannot affirm what God calls sin. To affirm sin is not kindness; it is a path toward destruction. The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but Jesus, the Good Shepherd, comes to give life (John 10:10). So here is clear discipleship guidance consistent with Scripture and the call of Hebrews 10 to real cleansing:
- God created each person as biologically male or female, intentionally and wonderfully, reflecting His design (implied by creation theology; cf. Genesis 1:27; Psalm 139 language is echoed).
- Marriage is ordained by God as a lifelong union between one man and one woman, and sexual intimacy belongs in that covenant (cf. Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:4–6).
- Sex is a gift to be enjoyed within marriage; sexual expression outside that context is sin, not freedom (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:3–5; Hebrews 13:4).
- Singleness is a gift and should be honored; unmarried people are called to sexual purity in thought and action, just as married people are called to faithfulness (cf. 1 Corinthians 7; Matthew 5:27–28).
- Sexual immorality, including adultery, fornication, pornography, and homosexual practice, is sinful and offensive to God, and cannot be justified as righteousness (cf. 1 Corinthians 6:9–11; Romans 1:24–27; Matthew 5).
- Teachers who affirm ongoing sexual immorality and refuse to call for repentance teach false doctrine and lead people astray; we cannot partner in ministry that calls evil good and good evil (cf. Isaiah 5:20 implied; the pastoral warning aligns with the New Testament’s repeated warnings about false teachers).
- Grace never permits us to remain in sin. We do not use grace as an excuse to continue unchanged (cf. Romans 6:1–2).
- Redemption and restoration are offered to all who repent. No sexual sin is too great for Christ to forgive; everyone is invited to come, confess, and be cleansed.
This is not a “message for outsiders.” It is family discipleship for all of us, because the gospel welcomes repentant sinners, and sanctification is God’s promised work in His people.
Conclusion
Hebrews 10 gives us both the bad news and the great news. The bad news is that the law can expose sin and remind us of guilt, but it cannot perfect us. The great news is that Jesus came, offered Himself once for all, sat down because the work is finished, and by that single offering He perfects forever those who are being sanctified.
So I’m calling you to do two things today: stop trusting yourself, and start trusting Christ fully. Don’t cling to the shadow. Come into the light. Bring your sin into the open. Receive the mercy of Jesus. And then walk forward in real sanctification, not to earn salvation, but because salvation has come.
Father in heaven, we confess that we are more sinful and flawed than we have dared to believe. Your law exposes us, and we admit we cannot cleanse ourselves or make ourselves perfect. Thank You for sending Your Son into the world to do Your will. Thank You that Jesus offered one sacrifice for sins forever, and that His finished work is enough.
Lord, help me trust You instead of my own righteousness. Remove despair from my heart and replace it with faith in Christ. By the Holy Spirit, sanctify me, change my inner desires, renew my mind, and strengthen me to obey You with joy. Give us humility when we speak of sin, courage to hold to Your truth, and compassion that welcomes repentant sinners. We ask for cleansing, restoration, and newness of life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Conclusion
Hebrews 10 gives us both the bad news and the great news. The bad news is that the law can expose sin and remind us of guilt, but it cannot perfect us. The great news is that Jesus came, offered Himself once for all, sat down because the work is finished, and by that single offering He perfects forever those who are being sanctified.
So I’m calling you to do two things today: stop trusting yourself, and start trusting Christ fully. Don’t cling to the shadow. Come into the light. Bring your sin into the open. Receive the mercy of Jesus. And then walk forward in real sanctification, not to earn salvation, but because salvation has come.
Closing Prayer
Father in heaven, we confess that we are more sinful and flawed than we have dared to believe. Your law exposes us, and we admit we cannot cleanse ourselves or make ourselves perfect. Thank You for sending Your Son into the world to do Your will. Thank You that Jesus offered one sacrifice for sins forever, and that His finished work is enough.
Lord, help me trust You instead of my own righteousness. Remove despair from my heart and replace it with faith in Christ. By the Holy Spirit, sanctify me, change my inner desires, renew my mind, and strengthen me to obey You with joy. Give us humility when we speak of sin, courage to hold to Your truth, and compassion that welcomes repentant sinners. We ask for cleansing, restoration, and newness of life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.