Monthly Archives: March 2015

Made Perfect Forever

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MADE PERFECT FOREVER

Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God, and since that time He waits for His enemies to be made His footstool. For by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy (Heb. 10: 10-14).

Don’t you love the finality of the writer’s words? One sacrifice . . . perfect forever. What other man-made religion can make an authoritative and convincing statement like that?

What does it mean for us? Jesus sat down – not literally, of course – but in the sense that, firstly, His work was accepted. When the high priest had sprinkled the blood of the second goat on the Mercy Seat in the Most Holy Place on the Day of Atonement, he would come out from behind the curtain and sit down, signifying that the sacrifice had been accepted and the sins of the people atoned for, for another year.

Secondly, when Jesus sat down, it meant that His work was complete. Unlike the Levitical sacrifices which had to be offered year after year because they could never do away with sin, the offering of His own blood was acceptable forever, never to be offered again. He took His place in heaven to take up His work as mediator of a new covenant, since the old covenant had now become obsolete.

Thirdly, He sat down at the right hand of God because it is the place of authority and power which He had earned by His victory over the devil, and over the works of the devil. He had conquered sin and death and become the firstfruits of the resurrection. To Him was given the right to rule over His enemies; to make them His footstool.

Fourthly, and this is a part of His work that we find difficult to grasp and even more difficult to accept, He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. There is something awesome going on here. The writer speaks about the work of Jesus as already complete but also as happening now. Through the sacrifice of Jesus, God sees those who believe in Him as already perfect from the perspective of eternity but, at the same time, we are in the process of being made holy, from the perspective of time.

God looks at us through the lens of Jesus’s perfect righteousness which He has attributed to us as a gift. We cannot achieve perfection according to God’s standard by our own efforts because we are already sinners from birth. We are already alienated from God before we take our first breath. No amount of “good deeds” which are tainted because of our sinful, selfish natures, can wipe out our record of failure.

But Jesus met every requirement as a son which He gives to us freely when we receive His gift of forgiveness. We are already perfect in God’s sight. Perfect? Yes, perfect, because His death paid for all people, for all sin, for all time. He can never again hold sin against us because sin has been removed and we are clothed in the righteousness of Jesus.

But, at the same time, as long as we are in this life, we are to keep walking the path of trust and obedience because we are moving towards a predetermined destination – likeness to Jesus. God puts us through our paces as we live each day in our everyday circumstances. He allows us to face all kinds of challenges to test and strengthen our trust in Him, and to bring to the surface those faults and flaws in our nature which hinder the process of being made holy.

The situations that bring out the worst in us are not attacks from the devil to be resisted. They are God’s way of revealing what is still in us that needs to change. Instead of blaming others or dodging responsibility for our sinful reactions, He wants us to own our ungodly attitudes and reactions, and turn to Him for grace to overcome. Little by little, situation by situation, test by test, as we submit to His correction, we are being set apart from sin to God.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those He predestined, He also called; those He called He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified (Rom. 8: 28-30).

Again, it’s a done deal.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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A Done Deal

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A DONE DEAL

Therefore, when Christ came into the world, He said, ‘Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, ‘Here am I – it is written about me in the scroll – I have come to do your will, my God.’

First He said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them” – though they were offered in accordance with the law. Then He said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all (Heb. 10: 5-10).

It’s a done deal.

King David, the man after God’s heart recognised, centuries before Jesus came, that animal sacrifices could not take away sin. After his own dismal moral failure with Bathsheba, he was terribly aware of his guilt before God. No amount of animal blood could wash away the guilt and pollution of his sin. He could only cast himself on the mercy of God and pray that God would forgive Him and wash him clean.

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion, blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. . . Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow (Psa. 51: 1-2; 7).

He could not rely on a sacrifice to secure God’s forgiveness.

You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings (Psa. 51: 16).

God was not interested in sacrifices as a substitute for ungodly living. Sacrifices were not intended to be a cover-up for sin. They were only a visual aid to remind His people how serious sin is – it can only be atoned for by death – the shedding of blood.

My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, God, you will not despise (Psa. 51: 17).

In Jesus’s day, the religious leaders arrogantly believed that sacrifice was all that God required. How they lived inwardly was irrelevant. As long as the smoke of their sacrifices kept rising up to God, they thought He was satisfied. How they missed it!

David also wrote the Psalm quoted in this passage. He spoke prophetically of Jesus, God’s sacrifice, who came in person, clothed in a human body, to offer Himself up after a life of perfect obedience to the Father. The prophecy states clearly that the purpose of His coming was to do the will of God.

Going a little farther, He fell to the ground and prayed that it possible the hour might pass from Him. ‘Abba, Father,’ He said, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will but what you will.’ (Mark 14: 36).

What was God’s will?

Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer, and though the Lord makes His life a guilt offering, He will see His offspring and prolong His days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in His hand (Isa. 53: 10).

It was the will of the Father that He suffer, but not for suffering’s sake but for the outcome of His suffering – many children like Himself, who would be God’s family forever. His blood did not just cover sin, it removed sin, once for all by one sacrifice. Why would the Jewish people want to rebuild the temple and begin to offer sacrifices again when Jesus suffered for them, once for all? Sadly, they refuse to believe that Jesus is God’s Messiah and their Redeemer.

Hallelujah! Your sin, my sin has been removed from the record book forever. Where once we owed God a huge debt, there is now written over every page, “Paid in full”.

It’s a done deal.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

It Is Impossible

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IT IS IMPOSSIBLE

The law is only a shadow of the good things to come – not the realities themselves. For this reason, it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. Otherwise, would they have stopped being offered? For the worshippers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins (Heb. 10: 1-4).

We often think that, because God is God, there is nothing impossible with Him. In one sense it is true, but in another sense, it is not true because God will never contradict His own being. There are many things that are impossible for man to do which God can do, but there are many things that man can do, simply because man in sinful, which God cannot do. Hallelujah!

What can God not do?

1. God cannot lie. He is the embodiment of all truth. What He says, He will carry out, be it for our blessing or for judgment. God’s judgment, even though it is delayed because of His mercy, is just as sure as His promises.

When you did these things and I kept silent, you thought I was exactly like you. But now I will arraign you and set my accusations before you (Psa. 50: 21).

2. God cannot be unfaithful. He is utterly steadfast. He is as sure and immovable as a rock. He is trustworthy and dependable. Unlike humans who are fickle and changeable, God remains steadfastly the same. Unlike the gods who are capricious and unpredictable, God always acts within the framework of His own nature.

If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot disown Himself (2 Tim. 2: 13).

3. God cannot reject a repentant sinner. It is His nature to have mercy, and He longs for His wayward sons and daughters to return to Him. He takes no delight in the death of anyone. Jesus gave His life for the sin of the world, not just for the sin of the elect. He issues an open invitation to “whoever”. He assures us:

All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away (John 6: 37).

4. God cannot not love. God is love. The essence of His being is to love. He is true to Himself when He loves. God shows His love by acting. To His wayward people, through the prophet Jeremiah, He declared:

The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.’ (Jer. 31: 3).

5. God cannot grow weary. God does not need to rest. Though he rested on the seventh day after creation, it was not a rest of weariness but of completion. He rested when His work was done. Jesus rested for three days in the grave because He had completed the work of redemption.

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom (Isa. 40: 28).

6. God cannot sleep. He does not need sleep. God is always watching over His work and His word. He keeps watch over His people. Nothing can slip past His vigilance because He is steering His creation towards His desired end.

He will not let your foot slip – for He who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep (Psa. 121: 3-4).

7. God cannot be unjust. It is His nature to be perfectly just, always. Though people think they can get away with what they do because He seems not to notice or not to care, we can be assured that He will act to bring justice, even after the end of time. There are no favourites with God either.

And will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones who cry out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? (Luke 18: 7).

8. God cannot change. Neither time nor age can change God. He is timeless and consistent.

Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and forever (Heb. 13:8).

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows (James 1: 17).

Therefore, because of who God is, He cannot justify the sinner on the basis of animal blood. Just as it is impossible for God to act outside of who He is, so it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin. Sin can only be atoned for by the blood of the sinner – or by the blood of a sinless human whose blood is shed as a substitute for the sinner. Jesus was the perfect substitute for us.

But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way, and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all (Isa. 53: 5-6).

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

 

Once For All

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ONCE FOR ALL

It was necessary, then for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; He entered heaven itself, now to appear before us in God’s presence. Nor did He enter heaven to offer Himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood not his own. Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But He has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Just as people are destined to die once, after that face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many, and He will appear the second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation for those who are waiting for Him. (Heb. 9:23-27).

Isn’t it comforting to know that sin has been dealt with and done away with, once and for all? Once – that’s all it took for Jesus to do a complete and final work of salvation by being the sacrifice to which all other sacrifices pointed. There is no need ever again for an animal to be killed in the vain hope that its blood will deal with sin.

What about all the sacrifices that are still being offered by people who hope that animal blood will atone for their sin? A vain and futile hope since it is only the blood of Jesus than can take away sin. How tragic that people either do not know or do not want to know that their sins have been forgiven and will be removed from God’s record book once for all if they would only accept what He has done for them.

There are major religions in the world, including the religion of God’s own people, who fiercely defend the right to be wrong, even to the death, their own or others, if necessary. How many millions have been sacrificed for Jesus on the altar of lies because people refuse to believe and receive the truth? Why? Because false religions, not matter what they teach as long as they dodge the truth, are spawned by the devil so that, at least for a season, he will get the worship he craves.

He leers at the worshippers from behind the mask of every grotesque so-called god, be it carved in stone or engraved on people’s minds, no matter how vile or cruel that god happens to be. Whatever human minds conjure up to worship, they are all mere copies of themselves at their worst – and that’s how the devil likes it. Fear! Hold people in bondage by fear, and they will fight to the shedding of their own blood if necessary, to defend their fear.

What god would demand that his worshipper strap explosives around himself or even a little child, in order to murder as many people as possible, for the right to be wrong? What god would take delight in watching three masked and armed men pointing machine guns at the head of an innocent child because his parents refuse to deny the truth? What god would demand the death of a child by crucifixion to defend the lies they persist in believing?

What god would perpetuate the lie that filthy river water, which cannot even cleanse the body, would be able to wash the soul clean of sin? What god would demand the futile exercise of endless rituals in the hope that he would be satisfied, when they know in their hearts that their enough is never enough?

There is only one true God – the One whose name is Father. He sent His Son, not to take but to give. He knew that there was nothing His sinful children could do to atone for their sin or meet the demands of His holy nature. He is the only God of true justice and true mercy. No one could live up to His holy standards so He came Himself. He lived as a human being in the midst of temptation and sin, subject to the same conditions as His people.

He was killed for being right, but He rose from the dead to prove He was right. Now He offers forgiveness because He took His own blood into the heavenly sanctuary and washed away the sin of the world. Justice has been satisfied. Now mercy prevails, once for all. What other god did that?

Death comes to all people, once, and then it’s over. Judgment! In the light of God’s radiant purity and holiness, no one will escape. He will not need to utter one word. God is not the accuser. He is the justifier. Everyone who has embraced His mercy will receive mercy because they have already been justified – acquitted because of the blood of Jesus. It’s a done deal.

The devil himself will be exposed for the liar he is. Jesus did that when He died, innocent as He was, as though He were a criminal. Every knee shall bow, Satan too, because his is not Lord, never was and never will be. Jesus is Lord! Those who bowed the knee to fake gods will go with him – to where he belongs. How tragic that they believed the liar!

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

No Blood, No Forgiveness

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NO BLOOD, NO FORGIVENESS

When Moses had proclaimed every commandment of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. He said, ‘This is the blood of the covenant, which God commanded you to keep.’ In the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in the ceremonies. In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Heb. 9:19-22).

Blood as a cleansing agent? Sounds contradictory, doesn’t it! Blood is one of the most difficult stains to get out of fabric. Forensic scientists know that, even after a murder has been committed and the blood cleaned up, the evidence remains. A substance called Luminol, sprayed on the place where blood was spilt, will cause the stains to glow in the dark, revealing the crime that the murderer tried to conceal. Blood spilt by a murderer will still cry out even when the stain has been washed away. It’s a bit like the blood of Abel, isn’t? His blood cried out from the ground for vengeance and God heard.

But blood within the body, both human and animal, serves a different purpose. Blood is vital for life. Without blood, nothing can live. Blood has many functions within the body. It forms an efficient transport system, carrying oxygen and nutrients to the remotest cells in the body. It can flow through tiny tubules no bigger than a hair, its red cells moving in single file to do their work.

Blood also has a unique function as a cleansing agent. Where there is an injury, it rushes cells to the spot to plug the hole, stop the bleeding and transport soldier cells to fight invaders that would move in to contaminate the entire body. Its transport system also does an efficient job of removing waste products from the cells via the lungs and kidneys. A build-up of the waste products of breathing, eating and burning fuel will kill as surely as an assassin’s bullet, without the blood.

But human and animal blood cannot cleanse the soul of the pollution caused by sin. God’s covenant with Israel gave them clear instructions about living God’s way but it also made provision for failure. And fail they would because their hearts were tainted with the rebellious nature of Adam. No amount of self-effort would satisfy God’s perfection. His standard demanded nothing less than perfection. There had to be provision for forgiveness for their sheer inability to live up to His holiness.

Was God being too demanding? Why couldn’t He just lower the standard a little, taking into account their human frailty? He cannot change His own nature and the nature of sin. His solution was to pay the penalty for sin Himself because He is the only one who can measure up to His own standard. How did He do that? He became human in the person of His Son.

Sin demands the payment of blood, but pure blood, unblemished by sin. Of course we understand that blood represents life. The life in is the blood. When blood is shed, life is sacrificed. When the life of a sinless person is given in sacrifice, the demand is met and paves the way for forgiveness.

Animal sacrifices prescribed for forgiveness under the old covenant were a picture of what had already taken place in the eternal realm – Jesus, God’s provision for forgiveness and cleansing to remove sin. The old covenant came into effect through the sprinkling of animal blood, providing ceremonial cleansing from sin. The new covenant came into effect through the sprinkling of Jesus’s blood, providing eternal redemption, the forgiveness of sins, for all sin, for all people, for all time.

How tragic that so many of God’s children have not grasped this truth. When bad things happen in their lives, the accuser cashes in. ‘God is punishing you for this, that or the other that you have done,’ he whispers, and they believe him. Satan is a liar and the father of lies. He can only speak the language of lies. Why listen to him?

God is perfectly just. Even in our human systems of justice, no one can be punished for the same offence twice. Since Jesus has paid for the sin of the whole world, God will never judge His children, not even those who do not acknowledge Him, unless they refuse to accept His forgiveness. How He must grieve that the blood of His Son has been wasted on so many who will not embrace His forgiveness and live in His love!

No blood, no forgiveness! Yes, it is true, but . . . blood has been shed, pure, unblemished human blood, for the forgiveness of sins. All it requires is acknowledgement that I, the sinner, need forgiveness and cleansing for breaking God’s law and from the pollution of my sin, and grateful acceptance of the blood of Jesus that He shed in my place so that I can go free.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.