What is the meaning of “There no longer remains a sacrifice of bulls and goats for sins”? “No longer remains” means it was once available. We have to pay attention to the “no longer.” Let us read the following verses:
Hebrews 7:27 says, “Who does not have daily need, as the high priests do, to offer up sacrifices first for his own sins and then for those of the people; for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.”
Hebrews 9:12 says, “And not through the blood of goats and calves but through His own blood, entered once for all into the Holy of Holies, obtaining an eternal redemption.”
Hebrews 9:25 through 28 says, “Nor in order that He might offer Himself often, just as the high priest enters into the Holy of Holies year by year by the blood of other creatures; since then He would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world. But now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested for the putting away of sin through the sacrifice of Himself....So Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many.”
Hebrews 10:2 says, “Otherwise would they not have ceased to be offered, because those worshipping, having once been purified, would have no longer had the consciousness of sins?”
Hebrews 10:10 through 12 says, “By which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily, ministering and offering often the same sacrifices, which can never remove sins; but this One, having offered one sacrifice for sins, sat down forever on the right hand of God.”
After reading these Scriptures we must ask: why did the Lord Jesus offer Himself once and not many times? The book of Hebrews, from chapter seven onward, repeatedly makes a comparison between the sacrifice which the Lord Jesus Christ offered and the sacrifices offered in the Old Testament. The Lord Jesus Christ offered Himself only once and became the eternal sacrifice for sins, while the sacrifices offered in the Old Testament were sacrifices of bulls and goats and offered up year after year. In the Old Testament, when a man first committed a trespass, he had to offer up a sin offering of a bullock, a lamb, two turtle doves, or two young pigeons. If he committed a trespass a second time, he would have to offer up a sin offering as an atoning sacrifice again. If he committed a trespass the third time, he would have to offer up his sin offering again. This was required of every person as an individual. The whole congregation of Israel also had to offer the sin offering year after year on the day of atonement.
Why were the offerings of the bulls and goats made year after year? It was because the blood of the bulls and goats could never take away man’s sins. One offering had to be made for the trespasses of last year; another offering had to be made for the trespasses of this year. But through the eternal Spirit, Jesus Christ offered Himself to God and became the one sacrifice for sins forever, so that we who are being sanctified are perfected forever.
Therefore, Hebrews 10 tells us that if there are some who have heard the truth and sin willfully, rejecting the blood of the Son of God, rejecting the Holy Spirit, and despising the Son of God, for them “there no longer remains a sacrifice of bulls and goats for sins.” In the Old Testament, if a person missed the opportunity for atonement one year, he might still have an opportunity the following year. But today if a person rejects Jesus Christ, “there no longer remains a sacrifice of bulls and goats for sins.” The sin offering of the Old Testament is gone and no longer effective. If he knows the truth and still rejects Him, then “there no longer remains a sacrifice of bulls and goats for sins.” “And there is salvation in no other” (Acts 4:12). God has done everything He could do to save us in sending the Lord Jesus Christ to accomplish the work of redemption and to be our Savior; He has done the utmost. He cannot add anything more to His work. Moreover, God has provided the opportunity for man to hear the gospel and know the truth; if a person still rejects these and willfully sins, the Bible tells us that there is no hope for him. His end is nothing but “a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fervor of fire, which is to consume the adversaries.”
The end of those mentioned in Hebrews 6:1-8 is “near a curse.” But the end of those mentioned in Hebrews 10:26-29 is the fervor of fire, which is to consume the adversaries. It is hard to apply Hebrews 10:26-29 to Christians. This portion of the Word must refer to those who know the gospel but purposely reject it; there is no other salvation for them. Otherwise, why is “no longer” used? Why does it say, “There no longer remains a sacrifice of bulls and goats for sins”? Why is “once” used repeatedly in the previous verses? If we put “no longer” together with “once” in these verses, we will understand the real meaning.
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