By Rev. Peter Youngren
“…but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” (Hebrews 9:26)
“But Christ came as High Priest… Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.” (Hebrews 9:11-12)
What futility in relying on our own effort, when Jesus has once for all redeemed us. Our inability to redeem ourselves is evident. James 4:17 tells us “to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” Again we read, “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.” (James 2:10) No one can live up to this standard. Being 99% obedient doesn’t help us, we are still “guilty in all.”
There is no proportional blessing. If we are 10% obedient, we don’t get 10% blessing. If we are 90% obedient, we don’t get 90% blessing. In fact, if we are 99.9% obedient, we get 100% of the curse. This ought to make everyone capitulate and exclaim that we need God’s grace, which is precisely why the Law was given.
Sometimes I am asked, “Peter, don’t you believe in God’s Law?” Of course I do, I believe in the law for the purpose for which it was given. The Law was not to make us holy, but to make us recognize that we are hopeless without God’s grace. Many today abuse the Ten Commandments by suggesting that they are instruments to make us holy and righteous, while Paul tells us that those very commandments arouse in us a desire to sin. It is Jesus in us who causes us to live righteously.
The Hebrew writer continues, “…how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Hebrews 9:13-14) The blood of animals did purify the Jewish people, but that purification was very time limited. Contrast this with the blood of Jesus, which cleanses our conscience from dead works. Notice the cleansing occurs in our conscience! What is it that we are no longer conscious of? Our “dead works”, which simply means our own religious efforts whether prayer, church attendance, Bible reading, giving, or any spiritual exercise which we think will make us holy.
Sin consciousness is regrettably present among Christians. Many grovel before God, with prayers like “Oh God, I am so sorry, I am such a failure! I come humbly before You with all my shortcomings.” You notice how these words are full of self, focusing on our own inabilities. The blood of Jesus was shed to cleanse us from self-consciousness, and from looking at our own efforts. Instead, our attention is totally turned to the only One able to save us.