When Christ came to this earth two thousand years ago, He came to be the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world. When He went back to the Father and sat at the right hand of the Father in the heavenly Sanctuary, He went as our Priest. The word “priest” means somebody who represents the congregation before God. It is the opposite of a prophet. A prophet represents God before the people; a priest represents the people before God. So Christ, having redeemed us fully and completely by His life and by His death, went to heaven to intercede on our behalf. We need an intercessor because, even though we are perfect in Christ, we are still sinners in ourselves. Luther was absolutely right when he told his listeners that Christians, believers, are simultaneously sinners and righteous. We are one hundred percent sinners and one hundred percent righteous at the same time. We are sinners in ourselves but we are righteous in Christ. That, of course, is what the gospel is all about. It is the good news of salvation. Verses 15-21: “The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds. Then He adds: Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more. And where they have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place (that is, the very presence of God) by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” As long as we depend on Christ as our Mediator in the heavenly Sanctuary, we can be absolutely sure of our salvation. Therefore, for the early Christians Jews to go back to Judaism, and for Christians, living in the 21first century, to give up their faith in Christ, is the greatest mistake we can ever make. Note the contrast between the Old Covenant, represented by the earthly Sanctuary and the New Covenant, represented by Christ. Unlike the Old Covenant, which was a contract, an agreement between two parties where God gave the law and men would have to keep it in order to be saved, the New Covenant is compared to a will made by God in Christ. Christs death made effective the will or promise of God. In this New Covenant God does not only redeem us from every aspect of the sin problem but He writes the law in our hearts. This simply means that He puts the unconditional, the self-emptying love of God, which is the spirit of the law, into our hearts. This changes our desires; it changes our motives; it changes our direction; it changes the way we live so that now we want to do the will of God which is in harmony with the law of God. This is the distinction between works of the law and works of faith. Works of the law is keeping the law as a means of salvation. It is motivated by egocentric concerns. The gospel did not do away with the law. It did away with us under the law but in the New Covenant, the law is written in our hearts so that it does not become a requirement in order to be saved but a desire, longing to live by it because the love of Christ constrains us. In verses 22 and 23, Paul points out a fundamental truth about the law. Only the shedding of blood, life laid down in death, can legally forgive us our sins. This is because the Lord declares that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) and, in the same way, the heavenly Sanctuary has to be cleansed by blood, not the blood of animals but the blood of Christ. Here it is in Hebrews 10:23,25: “Let us hold unswervingly the hope we profess, for He who promises is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another towards love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Continue…
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 08:13:35 +0000
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