Hebrews 4:14-16
When A Christian Sins
A study of the High Priest in preparation for this sermon.
1. It was not the role of the High Priest to offer daily sacrifices. I
suppose that he could, but those duties were left to the Levitical
priests—and there were many of them,
2. The High Priest’s role consisted of offering two sacrifices on one day
of the year.
a. It was called Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement.
b. The details of this day are outlined in \\Leviticus 16:1-34\\.
3. On that day, the High Priest offered a sacrifice for himself first,
then a sacrifice for the people and tabernacle.
4. Concerning the priest, we easily understand why the High Priest had to
offer a sacrifice for himself.
a. It was because he was a sinner with his own set of sins.
b. Why did he offer one for the people? Did they not offer their own
sacrifices? The answer is YES.
c. And why did he need to offer a sacrifice for the place?
5. Concerning the people, most believe that Yom Kippur was the sinner’s last
chance to get unconfessed sin covered.
a. If there was an sin that was so far un-atoned for, and you did not
repent of it on Yom Kippur, you would have to stand before God and
give an account for that sin.
b. This is not just any un-atoned for sin. It was an un-atoned for and
unrealized sin.
c. I do not know that the Bible specifically teaches this. I believe it
is more a deduction based on the fact that sacrifices were to be
offered as sins were realized.
(1) There was a sacrifice for doing something that you knew
broke the law when you realized you had done it.
(2) There was a sacrifice for breaking the law without knowing you
were breaking the law, when you realized you had broken the law.
(3) We are told that there was no sacrifice for presumptuous sins,
which I assume were sins that showed a cold-hearted, disregard
for the law. \\#Numbers 15:30-31, Heb 10:26\\.
d. So, Yom Kippur seems to be for the sins that you never realized you
committed.
e. It seems that you might could say it was the Sacrifice for the Unknown
Sin.
6. Concerning the place, the fact that sinners came to temple (sinners guilty
of all kinds of extremely contagious sin) and that death (the payment for
sin) was all around the courtyard, the place that was set aside to be
most holy was actually contaminated with sin.
a. Remember, sin spreads.
Galatians 5:9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
b. When the holy comes into contact with the unholy, it is the sin that
makes the holy corrupt, not the holy that makes the sin clean.
c. This annual sacrifice atoned for the temple area to keep it a holy
place for another year.
The Bible not only says that Jesus is our High Priest, it says that He is our
GREAT High Priest. What makes Him so great?
I. He is God. The fact that our High Priest is God changes somethings. Let
me give you a little background on the way things used to be.
A. The High Priest was the "heavy-hitter" of priests.
1. What was the role of the High Priest and sin?
a. Truthfully, most of us know very little about the role of the
High Priest.
b. In fact, I had to spend some time studying what the High
Priest does before I could preach on this topic tonight.
c. I will not share with you all that I found out, but we need
to comprehend at least some of his duties as we consider
what happens when we sin.
2. Officially, the High Priest only worked one day out of the year;
that is, he only offered sacrifice one day out of the year.
3. That day was called Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement.
4. On that day, the High Priest offered two sacrifices with three
applications.
a. One sacrifice was for himself.
b. The other was for the people and the tent of the Tabernacle.
5. The remainder of the sacrifices were offered by the Levites.
B. Because of the importance of the annual sacrifice, the High Priest
actually went into the Holy of Holies.
1. The Holy of Holies was the Holy of Holies because that is where
the presence of God was to abide.
2. God’s presence was to be between the angels on top of the Mercy
Seat.
3. \\#Lev 16:12-13\\ Interestingly, before any of the sacrificial
blood could be applied, the High Priest carried a censor full of
burning coals upon the Altar of Incense (?).
a. This created a holy smoke which filled the Holy of Holies
and "covered the mercy seat… that he die not."
b. This smoke apparently kept the High Priest from seeing the
Shekinah glory, lest he die.
c. So even though the High Priest was in the presence of God,
he never got see God.
4. This emphasizes the SEPARATION between God and ANY MAN.
a. The High Priest was God’s anointed servant, selected just for
this task.
b. Yet, even the High Priest did not have complete access to the
presence of God and when in His presence, he could not look
on God’s glory lest he died!
C. Jesus as God, is our GREAT High Priest for several reasons.
1. Because God is our High Priest, we go straight to the heavy-hitter
Priest.
a. There are no middle men in our atonement process.
b. When Jesus walked on the earth, the disciples, as well as
anyone and everyone else, got to see Him, talk to Him, even
touch Him.
c. For the rest of us, the veil in the temple which separated
the Holy of Holies from the remainder of the tabernacle was
torn in two \\#Heb 9:7-8\\, thus symbolizing that we now
have direct and immediate access into the presence of God.
d. There are NO BARRIERS between us and our GREAT High Priest.
2. Because God is our High Priest, we have no questions or doubts
about the efficiency of His work.
a. There had to be doubt in the Old Testament, especially when
the people knew some of the priests who did the service.
(1) There were doubts about the fitness of the priest.
(2) There were doubts about the quality of the sacrifice.
(3) There would doubts the acceptableness of the offering.
b. But not with God has our High Priest.
(1) He is the fit High Priest.
(2) He was also the perfect Sacrifice.
(3) His offering was accepted and is more than efficient for
all of the sins of mankind.
c. This guarantees us instant everything before God.
(1) We are guaranteed instant access to God’s presence. (We
do not have to wait for the priest to get to us.)
(2) Instant offering for sin. (We do have to wait for a
sacrifice to be brought and prepared.)
(3) Instant forgiveness, cleansing.
(4) Instant reconciliation into God’s presence. (We are in
God’s presence as soon as we chose to bring our sin to
this High Priest.)
(5) Instant help with the effects of our sin.
(6) Instant compassion and love regardless of what we have
done!
II. He desires us to come to Him where ever we are.
A. Strange that we often go deeper into sin.
B. Why? There are probably many reasons.
1. It may be due to the inertia of our sin. (We are pushing against
the Holy Spirit who finally gives in and the force of our push
carries us further than we planned.)
2. But once that is over, other conditions come into play.
a. frustration at ourselves,
b. shame and guilt over our actions,
c. anger at how life is treating us,
d. or maybe from the despair that things will never get better.
C. Some turn to the very things that have hurt them-drinking, drugs,
sex, vulgarity, rebellion, violence, gangs.
D. By going deeper into sin, we commit another sin.
1. Whatever was our first sin is in our past. What we are doing now
is a completely new sin.
a. Suppose someone is unfaithful to their mate. That is the
initial push against the Holy Spirit.
b. The couple ends up getting a divorce. That is the inertia
taking the sinner further than he wanted to go.
2. But then, out of bitterness or frustration, they turn to drinking
and engage in a wanton life.
3. The unfaithfulness was one sin; but as soon as you committed it,
that act became your past.
4. What you started doing after the initial sin is a second sin.
a. Your new lifestyle, although related to your initial sin, is
separate from your unfaithfulness.
b. Your present life is a second sin in the present.
c. The second sin will never change the first sin for better or
worse.
d. They are two separate sins, with two separate consequences,
and two separate chastenings if God so chooses to deal with
you in that matter.
E. Regardless of where you are in this cycle, God wants you to talk to
Him, to worship Him, to know that He is there to help you.
1. The sooner the better.
2. You may be just getting over the inertia of your sinful action
and feeling like God won’t hear you, but He will.
3. God will not turn His back on you.
4. He did that to Jesus on the cross so that He would never have to
do it to one of us.
5. He desires that you come to Him right now.
III. He specializes in what ails us.
A. Our actions can take us to some pretty rough neighborhoods.
1. Examples
a. Sin
b. Ruined lives
c. Hopeless situation
2. Regardless of where you are or think you are, this great High
Priest can help you.
B. He can help you with compassion.
1. This is the only High Priest who has been in every role related to
sin.
a. The roles of our High Priest.
(1) He has been and is the Holy God who was sinned against.
(2) He has been the Man who became sin.
(3) He has even been the offering for sin.
(4) Now He serves as the Mediator between the sinner and God.
b. This means that nobody has, will, or could understand sin
better than this Great High Priest.
3. Because of the greatness of this High Priest, He gives compassion.
a. This is what Jesus serves to do.
b. To bring us God’s compassion and help, not God’s wrath and
judgment.
(1) Jesus is a High Priest, not a judge.
(2) Jesus is a High Priest, not an executioner.
(3) Jesus is a High Priest, not a prosecutor.
(4) Jesus is a High Priest, not a warden.
c. He IS compassionate on the wayward—while they are in the midst
of their sins.
d. And He wants to help them to deal with what they have done,
to repair as much damage as is possible,
and to pick up the pieces of life and serve God.
B. He is able and willing to give to the sinner whatever help he needs.
1. As sinners, we must believe this.
a. He does not want to judge us.
b. He wants to restore us.
c. He wants to help us.
d. He wants to love us.
2. Whatever mess you have gotten yourself into, He is there to fix it.
a. Now understand, there is such a thing as balancing grace with
justice.
b. Neither I nor anyone else can promise that God will remove all
the consequences of sin.
c. He won’t.
d. However, God can take all the guilt and all of the condemnation.
3. Like a gifted physician, this High Priest can take the pain
away while the broken life heals!
Jeremiah 8:22 Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why
then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
4. Remember that Jesus came to be a Physician to the spiritual sick.
Matthew 9:12 But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be
whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.
IV. How do we get this great High Priest to help us?
A. Agree with God that your sin was sin.
1. Hiding sin from God is foolish.
2. Lying about your sin to others is another sin.
B. Turn away from the sin not God.
1. Don’t compound your sin.
2. Keep on worshipping and believing that God is on your side.
C. Seek the Lord’s will on ways to make things right.
1. In some situations, the people you wronged will not let you make it
right at the time.
2. In some situations, there may be nothing you can do to make things
right—except to pray.
3. But in some situations, you can do some thing and in some
situations you can do a lot. Do what God opens the door up for
you to do.
D. Take whatever consequences of sin come as a tough lesson to teach you
the wages of sin.
Here is what I want you to take with you tonight. No matter how badly you and I
mess up, we have a great High Priest who is there to help us. He wants us. He
does not throw away His own.
1. If you need that truth tonight, act on it.
2. If you know some Christian who needs to hear that truth, take it to them.
3. If neither of the first two apply, hang on to this truth. It will come in
handy before long.
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