Hebrews 9:13-14
"For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, 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?"
Here we find the very crux of our salvation. In two verse, we find an explanation of how God restores his relationship with sinful humanity.
When Christ died on the cross, his blood was offered to the Father as a sacrifice, satisfying God's requirement for wrath against sin. One life sacrificed, given over to death for all others. God's righteous anger is completely satiated. No penalty remains for the people of faith.
While simple in its teaching, the implications of the Spirit's offering on our behalf shows God's profound love for his creation. Knowing we could not enter into his presence without a sacrifice, God satisfies this requirement by providing holy blood as a covering for our sins. Literally, when we enter into God's presence, our Holy God only sees Christ, and we are not destroyed.
Still, notice that by this sacrifice, we are also cleansed in our conscience from dead works. This reminds us we are not just covered by Christ's blood, but the presence of the Spirit also makes us new. We are born again, no longer guilty before God. Therefore, we no longer need to have our conscience convicted by the Lord, freeing us to serve the Lord outside of guilt.
Of course, our enemy is crafty, and spends a lot of his time trying to convince even believers that we're not really forgiven and of little use in God's kingdom. After all, don't we still sin? Don't we find ourselves feeling guilt? Don't we fail our Lord even daily? Sure we do! But remember this, no more sacrifice is needed. We are free from guilt in Christ!
LORD JESUS
Lord, I thank you for offering your life for my own through the Spirit, freeing me from a lifetime of guilt. May my life be poured out for you in thanksgiving, remembering your sacrifice for your own. Amen.
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