Hebrews 10:11-18 (MSG)
“Every priest goes to work at the altar each day, offers the same old sacrifices year in, year out, and never makes a dent in the sin problem. As a priest, Christ made a single sacrifice for sins, and that was it! Then he sat down right beside God and waited for his enemies to cave in. It was a perfect sacrifice by a perfect person to perfect some very imperfect people. By that single offering, he did everything that needed to be done for everyone who takes part in the purifying process. The Holy Spirit confirms this: This new plan I’m making with Israel isn’t going to be written on paper, isn’t going to be chiseled in stone; This time “I’m writing out the plan in them, carving it on the lining of their hearts.” He concludes, I’ll forever wipe the slate clean of their sins. Once sins are taken care of for good, there’s no longer any need to offer sacrifices for them.“
Reading the Old Testament laws concerning sacrifices to be offered to God is daunting to say the least. When I read over these rules and prescriptions I am overwhelmed by the sacrifices required to pay the penalty for my sin, and that payment was only temporary. It had to be paid over and over and over again. Reading the laws gives me a greater awareness of just how far I miss the mark of what it means to be holy. It points to my need for something more than sacrifice to make me holy and acceptable to God. I will never be able to follow those laws to the fullest requirement. I will never be able to offer enough sacrifices to pay the penalty in full.
But, thankfully, I don’t have to. God didn’t give us the law to make us holy. He gave us the law to show us our true condition–just how far from the mark we are. And He didn’t give us the ritual of sacrificial offerings to pay the penalty of our sin. He gave it to us to show us just how much sin costs and just how woefully unprepared we are to pay that cost. He wanted us to look for more. He wanted us to look to Him for help. So God gave us Jesus. In Jesus, the debt is paid in full. The sin problem is taken care of. Jesus is the ultimate solution!
Because Jesus’ sacrifice was enough to pay the debt, we no longer have to try. Because Jesus’ death and resurrection cleanse us from our sin and allow the Holy Spirit to live inside our hearts, it’s no longer up to us to be holy enough. God makes us holy. He writes the law on our hearts. He puts His Spirit in the same hearts to make sure that we can be holy in His eyes. It’s no longer about us….about our sin…about our lack…about our falling short. When God looks at us, all He can see is Jesus. And Jesus is more than enough!
Father, thank you for your unfailing love. Thank you for grace that looked down and saw just how far I missed the mark, had compassion on me, and provided a way. Thank you for your son, Jesus, and for his death that paid my sin debt in full. Thank you that you provided the ultimate solution to my problem of sin–a problem I would never be able to overcome on my own. And thank you for your Holy Spirit living in me, making me holy. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
A Beautiful Mess 