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“The writer presented three
benefits that explain why the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is superior to the
old covenant sacrifice,” my commentary said.
First, it TAKES AWAY
sin. Under the old system, the same
sacrifices were made over and over. They covered
sin, but never removed it, and they
could never remove the guilt from
the person’s heart. The sacrifices only reminded people of their sin. “No amount of sacrifices could substitute for
obedience,” my commentary added.
Also, Christ’s sacrifice need to be repeated. “When a sinner
trusts Christ, his sins are all forgiven,
the guilt is gone, and the matter is completely settled forever.”
Christ’s sacrifice opens
the way to God. “On the basis of
these assurances – that we have boldness to enter because we have a living High
Priest – we have an open invitation to enter the presence of God.
The old covenant high priest visited
the Holy of Holies once a year, but we
are invited to dwell in the presence of God
every moment of every day … We must prepare
ourselves spiritually to fellowship with God … The New Testament church
must come to God with a pure heart and a clean conscience. Fellowship with God demands purity.”
The fourth of five exhortations
shows up here. The sequence has been “drifting
… doubting …. dull of Word …” This
results in despising the Word – willful sin.
“’If we willfully go
on sinning’ … is not dealing with one particular act of sin, but with an attitude
that tends to repeated disobedience. Under the old covenant, there were no sacrifices for deliberate and willful
sins … God does not always take the life of a rebellious believer, but He
always deals with him.” And we therefore have to worry about “the sad
consequences of forgiven sins.”
Father, more than anything, I want You to change my heart to
understand that there is no substitute for obedience. I’m grateful for Your forgiveness, but if I
would obey and not sin, there would be no need
for it.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
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