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“The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:
“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
with burnt offerings and sin offerings
you were not pleased.
Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—
I have come to do your will, my God.“
First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”—though they were offered in accordance with the law. Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:1-10)
Man by himself cannot deal with his own guilt or sin problem. He must have help from the outside.
In order to forgive himself, he must have forgiveness from the one he has offended. Yet man is unworthy to ask God for forgiveness.
That then is the reason for the cross. The cross did what sacrificed lambs could not do. It erased our sins, not for a year, but for eternity. The cross did what man could not do. It granted us the right to talk with, love, and even live with God.
You can’t do that by yourself. I don’t care how many worship services you attended or good deeds you do. Your goodness is insufficient. You can’t be good enough to deserve forgiveness. Not me, not you, not anyone! The Bible states in Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
And that is why you and I need a savior in Jesus Christ. “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit” (1 Peter 3:18).
Let's Talk Gospel 
A very good word. Thank you.
Oz
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Your quote from Hebrews 10 merits some comment. The book quotes from the Greek Old Testament to substantiate its argument about Jesus’ incarnation.
James Barr, Professor of Hebrew at Oxford University, tells us about this Greek text:
‘The Septuagint is a work of epoch-making importance, the first full-scale translation of a body of works like the Old Testament to be made on this scale and in a scope that involves languages as different as Hebrew and Greek and cultural milieus as different as the Jewish and the Hellenistic.
But, under the circumstances, it was not surprisingly, as a translation, a work of very mixed quality. It differed from book to book, since different techniques of translation were used; at some places it must have had a Hebrew text different from ours, while at others it seriously misread or misunderstood the Hebrew. No scholar who knows the material doubts that this is so. But this makes a difference when we consider the New Testament. For it does not only use the Septuagint in a general way: it often uses the exact ductus of its swords as argument or proof of a theological point.
Quote from ‘Escaping from Fundamentalism’ page 142
Let’s look at an example that illustrates this phenomenon, from the Epistle to the Hebrews 10.5
Consequently, when he came into the world, he said,
“Sacrifices and offerings thou hast not desired,
but a body hast thou prepared for me…’
This passage is a quotation from Psalm 40:7ff. In the original Hebrew, which is what is translated in our English Bibles (check one and see) we read:
Sacrifice and offering thou dost not desire; but thou hast given me an open ear… (Ps.40.6)
Now the whole point of the quotation in the Epistle to the Hebrews is that it mentions the preparation of a body for the Christ coming into the world; the writer comes back to exactly this:
And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all (Heb 10:10)
But there was absolutely nothing about a body in the original Hebrew at all! Scholars debate over whether it was a mistranslation or a copying error in the transmission of the Greek text. But we can nevertheless draw the following conclusions:
1) There is no doubt that the Epistle to the Hebrews was proving a point of doctrine from a word that did not exist at all in the Hebrew Bible and which was either the product of an error in transmission or a mistranslation.
2) The matter was theologically important: the question was whether there was in the Bible a previous reference to the clothing of Christ in a body. And as we have seen this difficult demonstration is accomplished entirely through the appeal to the erroneous words of the Septuagint.
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Thanks a lot for your comment Paul. I cannot argue with you on this one. But I do appreciate the enlightenment.
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Beautiful post, Noel! Thank you so much for a wonderful reminder of the efficacy of the Cross! God bless!
Paulette
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Thanks you very much for your comment Minister Paulette. Jesus chose the cross on our behalf. He could have called 10,000 angels to help Him; and He could have freed Himself but He chose death instead.
Thanks a lot for stopping by. God bless you.
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The grace of God is sufficient. The faithfulness of God is excellent. The mercy of God endures forever. What a wonderful God we serve and my soul cries out in worship to the King of Judah, Jesus my Savior.
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Thank God for the cross of Christ.
Great post Noel.
Blessings to you and yours
Greg
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