September 2
“But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, ‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days,’ says the Lord: ‘I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,’ then He adds, ‘Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.’ Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin,” Hebrews 10:15-18.
In the text above, we have verses quoted from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah, chapter thirty-one, verses thirty-three and thirty-four. While the verses quoted were written by the prophet Jeremiah, the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews ascribes the words to the Holy Spirit, who is the real Author of the Scriptures.
The apostles Paul and Peter also testify to the truth that the Holy Spirit is the real Author who moved the men to write the Scriptures and gave them the exact words to write. To Timothy, the apostle Paul wrote, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,” 2 Timothy 3:16. “By inspiration of God” means that the Holy Spirit motivated the men to write, and He breathed into them the exact words to write. The apostle Peter wrote, “Prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit,” 2 Peter 1:21. It did not occur first in the minds of the human authors that they wanted to write the Scriptures. The impulse to write the Scriptures was given to them by the Holy Spirit.
In his First Epistle to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul testifies that God the Holy Spirit revealed to the human authors the exact words which He wanted written. Paul wrote, “These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches,” 1 Corinthians 2:13.
The Book of the Hebrews’ author wrote, “‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days,’ says the Lord.” The Old Testament period would come to a close. It would be the end of all of the Old Testament sacrificing. The New Testament period would be ushered in with the conception and birth of Jesus. Through the Gospel of Jesus, the Holy Spirit would touch the hearts and minds of the hearers. The Holy Spirit inscribes the message of redemption gained by the blood of Jesus upon our hearts. It is the message of full and free salvation.
The loving, merciful, and gracious God sent His Son to take away our sins and to conquer in our place sin, death, and the power of the devil. Jesus fulfilled the will of the heavenly Father. With His holy, precious blood He washed away our sins. The apostle John wrote, “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin,” 1 John 1:7. Through the prophet Jeremiah, and repeated by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, the Lord says, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more!”
The Holy Spirit moved the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews to confirm the assurance of our forgiveness on the basis of Jesus’ complete sacrifice on the cross. He concludes, “Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.” Jesus sacrificed Himself, once and for all! And God asks you and me and all people to believe in Him as our only Savior.
“One there is for whom I’m living,
Whom I love most tenderly;
Unto Jesus I am giving
What, in love, He gave to me.
Jesus’ blood hides all my guilt;
Lord, oh, lead me as Thou wilt!” Amen.