Paul concluded his argument by showing the supremacy of the New Covenant. He did this by reminding his readers that by one offering Jesus has forever or perpetually perfected (G5048) the saints (Hebrews 10:14). This is in contrast to the perpetual (G5048) offerings, which were offered daily by the Levitical priesthood (Hebrews 10:1), which couldn’t perfect anyone.
According to Jeremiah 31:31-34, God promised to make a new covenant with his people by writing his law in the hearts. Israel had broken the Mosaic Covenant, written on tables of stone, which they had made with him. The question is, however, what law did the Lord intend to write in the hearts of his people, according to this new covenant. Did he intend to write the Ten Commandments? If he did, there are many who claim to be believers who don’t keep the seventh day as their Sabbath, and, according to the Scriptures, there is only one Sabbath, and it has never been changed to another day. Moreover, it seems illogical to write the Ten Commandments into the hearts of men, because, as part of the Old Covenant, they were powerless to make men perfect (G5048; cp. Hebrews 10:1). Its power lay in condemning men (Romans 7:9-10), and teaching us what sin is (Romans 3:20; 7:7). So, the question remains: what law did God write in our hearts?
Jesus told his disciples on the night before he died that he was giving them a new commandment (John 13:34), namely, that we should love one another. In fact, this new commandment tells the world that we are Jesus’ disciples (John 13:35). We have no other means of being recognized as his, but by obeying this commandment. This is the law that is written in our hearts. Nevertheless, what does it mean to love one another, according to Jesus? Keep in mind that Jesus explained to his disciples they should not only love one another, but they needed to love one another: as he had loved them (John 13:34), because there is no greater love than that a man should lay down his life for his friends (John 13:35; 15:12-13).
Think about this for a moment. We were created to image God (Genesis 1:27), and Jesus came to show us what God is like (John 1:18). God in the Person of Jesus (John 1:14) laid down his life for his friends (John 13:35) and there is no greater love than that. Therefore, we are commanded to do likewise and this is the law or commandment that is written in the hearts of men through the enactment of the New Covenant.
Jesus is our example that we need to follow (John 13:15, 34; 15:12-13; Romans 12:10; Ephesians 5:2; 1Peter 2:21; 1John 2:6). To love one another, is to be as Jesus is, which is to be like God, according to the Lord’s original plan (Genesis 1:27). There is no other means, through which we are able to be perfected (Hebrews 10:14-17) than to love one another. This is done by looking into that perfect law of liberty (James 1:25), which is Christ, and it is he who changes us from glory to glory (2Corinthains 3:17-18; 1Corinthians 13:12; Colossians 1:27; 3:10).
The question remains, however, what does the Lord mean by saying he “will remember their sin no more” (Hebrews 10:17; Jeremiah 31:34; 1Timothy 4:10)? Paul tells us in his epistle to the Romans that he had not known what sin is except by the law (Romans 7:7) and through the law, he had knowledge of or remembered his sin (Romans 3:20). Therefore, if the Lord does not remember the sins of men, there is no law in our covenantal relationship with him that accuses us – no Ten Commandments etc. In other words, it is impossible for us to break the New Covenant by sinning! Sin is not the point. Christ is the point of the New Covenant. We grow into maturity (i.e. to be perfect – G5048), not by trying not to sin, but by seeking to be like Jesus (John 13:15). In the language of the Garden of Eden, this would be we do not partake of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil (i.e. the Law) but rather eat of the Tree of Life (i.e. Christ).
Finally, in Hebrews 10:18 Paul tells us that where remission (G859) of these (our sins) is, there is no more offering of sin. In other words, Christ has set us at liberty (G859)[1] from the bondage of sin. If our sins are no longer counted against us, and our past sins have been forgiven, there is no longer a need for a sacrifice for sins to keep us in a covenantal relationship with Christ. God simply does not call our sins to mind, because it is Christ who perfects us, not our own morality, which the Scripture describes as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). When we put on Christ (Romans 13:4; Galatians 3:27) i.e. follow his example, we cannot sin, because in him there is no provision for the flesh to latch onto. When we put on Christ, we put on Righteousness, because he **is** our righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6; 2Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 3:29).
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[1] Thayer’s Greek Lexicon defines aphesis (G859) as: “release from bondage or imprisonment; forgiveness or pardon, of sins (letting them go as if they had never been committed), remission of the penalty.”
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