TODAY IN THE WORD
A recent television commercial for a cleanser boasted that this product could remove stains with one application. Why, the commercial hinted, would anyone choose another product that required repeated washing and scrubbing when one time was enough with this detergent?

Hebrews asks us a similar question regarding Jesus’ sacrifice. His sacrifice is superior because it had to be offered only one time and was powerful enough to cleanse us all.

The old covenant required the repetition of sacrifices, one clue that these sacrifices were not ultimately sufficient for God’s people (v. 1). If they had done the job that really needed to be done–if they had really dealt with issue of sin–then they wouldn’t need to be repeated year after year (v. 2).

In fact, the sacrifices in some ways only made the problem more acute, since rather than cleansing the conscience of the worshipers they only reminded them of their sins. The sacrifices simply couldn’t take away sin (vv. 3-4).

The sacrifice of Christ, on the other hand, did deal the deathblow to the problem of sin. Today, those who hope in Christ are already declared perfect, even while our lives are still being made holy (v. 14). Theologians describe this as the distinction between justification and sanctification. If we have truly become sharers in Christ, through His sacrifice we are perfect or justified in God’s eyes. However, we still wrestle with the power of sin in our lives. The more we walk with Christ and His people, the more we become sanctified or holy, even as He is holy.

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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Do you know people who struggle with having assurance of their salvation? These verses can be tremendously encouraging to those who wonder where they stand before God.

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