Hebrews 9:15
And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
Christ is the only Mediator of the new covenant, serving as Saviour, High Priest and Intercessor who pleads for all who come to God through Him. By means of His death He redeems the transgressions committed under the first covenant so that those called by God may receive the promised eternal inheritance. His death has this power because He offered Himself without spot to God as a perfect, sinless offering of infinite value that met what the divine law required. That blood purges the conscience from dead works to serve the living God, far beyond what animal sacrifices could do, for they were only symbols pointing to Him with no saving virtue in themselves. In dying He ratified the covenant of grace promised after the fall and confirmed to Abraham, purchasing an immortal inheritance for all who receive Him as God's children and joint-heirs with Christ.
Mediator and His Death
Christ is the only Mediator, the only hope and the only refuge, serving as Saviour and King and as High Priest and Intercessor in the most holy place, pleading for those who come to Him in faith. He alone bears sin and His death is the one sacrifice that makes atonement for sin. Sin had cut off communication between God and humanity, and Christ alone restored it, becoming the channel through whom God communicates with fallen humanity to carry out redemption. His sacrifice opened access to God for the guilty and opened the way for sinners to approach God.
For this cause He is Mediator of the new testament or covenant by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions committed under the first testament or covenant, so that those who are called by God may receive the promise of eternal inheritance. His death has this redeeming power because He offered Himself without spot to God through the eternal Spirit as a whole and complete offering, a perfect, sinless offering of infinite value. He was sinless, resisted Satan's temptations without yielding in obedience to the Father, and His worth met what the divine law required.
His blood, offered without spot through the eternal Spirit, purges the conscience from dead works to serve the living God. This is far greater than the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of an heifer sanctifying to the purifying of the flesh. His mediatorial work upholds and vindicates the holiness and unchangeability of God's law. He redeems from the law's curse those who obey and accept the mercy offered through His atonement. He laid down His life without spot that His enemies might become friends of God, and for their sakes He became poor that through His poverty they might be made rich.
No human virtue or intercession is needed beside His one sacrifice, and prayer and confession are to be offered to Him. Sinners may always come to Him with their burdens, and however great their sins they need have no fear of repulse, for He has pledged His word to forgive transgressions and cleanse from all defilement.
Shadows and Covenants Fulfilled
The animal sacrifices together with the priesthood and the sanctuary services of the old order were symbols pointing forward to His death and mediating work, and they kept before the people the separation caused by sin and the need for mediation, having no saving virtue or saving power in themselves apart from Him. They pointed forward to His death as the one great offering and the one sacrifice that makes atonement for sin. The types and shadows of the ceremonial law lead to Him, to His crucifixion, His priesthood, and the sanctuary of His ministry. As Messiah He is the Antitype of all the sacrificial offerings, the great object that cast its shadow backward into the Jewish age.
Through these symbols believers even before the Jewish nation was established looked forward to the Redeemer and trusted in Him. The gospel is the development of the Hebrew faith, and He came for the special benefit of the nation looking for His coming as the consummation and glory of the Jewish system. When the type met its fulfillment in His death, the blood of animals and the sacrificial offerings of the Jewish law no longer had value. They continued only until His perfect offering replaced them, and He observed the law binding on the Jews until His death.
His death ratified the covenant of grace first promised after the fall and renewed to Abraham, and once so ratified this covenant is called the new covenant. It had already been accepted by faith and was valid in Abraham's time because God confirmed it by both promise and oath. God's law is its basis, bringing people back into harmony with God's will so they can obey His law. The Sinai covenant was a separate, earlier compact with Israel ratified by the blood of a sacrifice, while the Abrahamic covenant was sealed by His blood and is called the second or new covenant because its sealing blood was shed later.
Promise and Its Reception
His death as a sacrifice and His resurrection as Mediator make salvation and peace with God possible. His atonement lifts men out of misery and despair. His blood secures the promise of eternal blessings for the redeemed. That blood is the believer's only hope, and nothing but His righteousness entitles anyone to those blessings.
By ratifying the new covenant He purchased an immortal inheritance and became the Redeemer of those who receive Him. Those who receive Him become children of God and joint-heirs with Christ. With that sonship come the blessings heaven provides for this life and the life to come.
This inheritance is not a reward received here. Its promise gives reason to endure hardship and deny self, and to give thanks even amid suffering. The bread and wine of the sacrament keep the sacrifice by which the covenant is secured before each disciple in remembrance.
That remembrance calls believers to recall His love in sin, suffering, and hardship, and that He lives to intercede for them. The names of all His people are written in His book of life. Sin is the transgression of the law. Those who continue in sin after light has shown what sin is, refusing to lift the cross for fear of limiting worldly gain and refusing to partake of His life of self-denial and self-sacrifice, will lose eternal life.