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THE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
July, 1941
kingdom to all who will receive Christ’s death as being in their stead. Points and Problems 1. “Which was a figure for the time then present” (Heb. 9:9). The word "figure” here is not the ordinary word for “type,” but is the Greek word com monly rendered “parable.” Literally, then, the writer of Hebrews is asserting that the Old Testament tabernacle was a parable of "good things to come.” 2. “As pertaining to the conscience” (v. 9). T,he animal sacrifices of the Old Testament age served their purpose as a “parable” of Calvary, keeping alive in men’s hearts and minds the.knowledge of God’s holiness and grace, but these' sacrifices could never give rest to the human conscience. It is only at the cross that the conscience finds rest from guilt, because there' sin was not merely passed over;, it was taken away forever. 3. ; “Until the time of reformation” (v. 10). The time of reformation was not the date of our Lord’s birth, but the date of His death. The age of the law ended at Calvary, not at Bethlehem. This is the very heart of the entire argument of the Book of Hebrews, and particularly here in chapter 9. 4. “By his own blood he entered in once [Greek, ‘once for all’ ] into the holy place” (v. 12). The entrance of our Lord into the heavenly holy place, after His death on the cross, was an event of- great significance. When He went to Calvary, He took upon Himself all our sins, and bound Himself to pay the penalty of divine law for all this sin. If the giving of His life, by the pouring out of His blood, had not been suffi cient to discharge the penalty to the last farthing, heaven would have been closed to Him forewer. And the fact that He did enter “once for all’’ into the holy place of God’s presence proves that the debt He assumed in our stead has been fully paid., 5. “How much more shall the blood of Christ . . . purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” ’(v.14). As long as men were under law, they were striving to be saved by works. But they were always failing to keep, the law perfectly, and therefore all their works were "dead” in that their efficacy was always being canceled by failure to keep the whole law. For such failures God had -provided a remedy. When a man failed, he repented of his sin and brought a sacrifice, and thus his relation, to God was renewed. Thus, the religion of the law became just one weary and continuous round of failure ; and "repentance from d e a d works” (Heb. 6:1). The conscience was never purged completely. It never found a place of unhindered rest. It is only when we come to the cross and have the con science wholly purged that we can really serve the living God as we should.
Golden Text Illustration H ebrews 5:9
all that loving attention was for one so unworthy as himself! * t If we find we have sinned and grieved otir heavenly Father’s heart, He tells us in His Word what to do about it: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
We are not saved by a'.plan, but by a Man, the Man Christ Jesus, God “mani fest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gen tiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory” (1 Tim. 3:16). This is not true o f any plan, even though God be the Designer of it. The plan of salvation did not die for us. It was the Son of God Himself, "the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person,” who loved us and gave Himself fob us. “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” —Five Thousand Best Modem Illustra tions, by Hallock.
Object Lesson S aving a S inner
A Glad Father H ebrews 8; L uke 15:11-32
OBJECTS: Two large red handker chiefs, two eggs, a black crayon, and a red cardboard cross. (Sew the handker chiefs together, about one inch from the hem, on all four sides. Make a slit in the center of one handkerchief 4 inches . long. Make a small hole in each end of the eggs and blow them. At the base of the cross, make a small red box large enough to conceal one of the eggs.) LESSON: This egg looks clean and white, but like a boy or girl it does not stay that way long. I will put a black mark on it, to show how sin enters the life. One sin follows another in rapid succession, until the life is blackened, just as is this egg. The person who steals feels that he must lie in order to cover the sin of stealing. Often one who lies will swear, in the hope of making the statement appear more emphatic and more believable. The Word of God not only tells that all have sinned, but it tells of God’s remedy for sin. In Hebrews 9:22 we read, “And without shedding of blood is no remission.” “Remission” means the sending away of sin, so that we may be forgiven; and this verse teaches us that without éhed blood no one can be for given and saved. We should be glad that the Lord Jesus Christ shed His blood on the cross to save us from sin. We will place this blackened egg un der the red handkerchief, in order that we muy better understand how Christ’s blood covers our sins. [The handkerchief with the slit should be on the bottom. As the egg is covered, it can be Slipped through the slit. Twist the top handker chief around the egg, to show that the egg is inside.] , . George, will you please hold this handkerchief ?. [Hand it to the boy, twisted, so as to show that the egg is there;] When a sinner allows Christ’s blood to cover his sins, he r e c e i v e s the righteousness of Christ. [Take the white .egg from the box at the foot of thé cross.! You may hold this egg, George.
MEMORY VERSE: "Thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive” (Psa. 86:5). APPROACH: Have you ever stayed away from home ? Did you write letters to your parents ? They were glad to get them, I know. Perhaps you even sent
them a gift. That made them happy, too. But the thing t h a t made them most glad was the day that you came home. More than letters or g i f t s , parents want their c h i l d r e n , them selves. Our heav
enly Father feels that way about us, too. LESSON: Today we have a lovely story; many people think.it is one of the most beautiful stories in the Bible. Tt is about a boy who went away from home. He didn’t go for any good purpose, either. He went because he was tired of doing things his father’s way, and wanted his own way of life. His father gave him the money that was coming to him and let him go. He went into a far country and wasted his money in- riotous living. When it was air gone and he grew hungry, he was sorry that he had been so foolish. He thought of his father’s home and of how even the servants there had enough to eat. Then he made a great decision. He said, "I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: . make me as one of thy hired servants” (Lk. 15:18,19). When he arrived home, do you think his father gave him a servant’s place, Or do you think he scolded him and sent him away ? He did neither.‘ He was so glad to have his son home again that nothing was too good for him. He put the best robe on him and killed the fatted calf. And how hufnble that son’s heart must have h-en. when he realized
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