“Much more then, being now justified by His blood…,” “…much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” Romans 5:9,10
Dear Ones:
In the letter to the Hebrews, the author writes of this one Mediator between God and man, Christ Jesus. He speaks of this One, chosen of God, for whom a body was prepared, so that, through the Eternal Spirit, Christ would offer Himself as the sacrificial Lamb of God. In doing so, He would declare by His life, death, and resurrection that He IS the sole reason, basis, and power for man to be saved from his lost, and perishing condition. We are told in the book of Isaiah, that Christ alone, by virtue of a sinless, endless life, did take upon Himself the sins of the entire world, that “…God laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Is. 53:6) This One who offered Himself, “…without spot to God,” (Heb. 9:14), when His work was finished, and completed, created a way, a new and living way, into the very presence of God, into the holiest of all, into that immediate and “near” proximity to God. There was but one reason and manner by which He could do this. It would be “…by His own blood.” (Heb. 9:12)The fact of entering into the heavenly tabernacle, there as our High Priest, traversing the veil into the holy place, not only created for the believer access to God, but a certain audience with the Father. This way into the “holiest of all” would not only be created, but established to never change. Civilizations would rise and fall, and men would come and go, but the work of Christ, and the Word of God, will never change. It is an access that has been established to begin on this earth, and be fully realized in heaven. How then are the truths of the Gospel, specifically concerning Christ and His work, so transforming? The answer lies in the knowledge of the truth, and the power of God.
The application of such transforming truth is revealed in the words, “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the Eternal Spirit, offered Himself without spot to God, purge (or cleanse thoroughly) your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (9:14) In Paul’s letter to the Romans, in speaking of justification by faith, he uses the term, “much more.” Here in this verse in Hebrews, we find the same wording. Why? It is because of the magnitude of the work that we need to grasp. The greater our grasp of this magnitude and scope of the blood of Christ, its power and effectiveness, the greater will be a transformation within us. How does the blood of Christ, so precious to the Father, work in the heart and life of the individual believer, when he comes to grasp the truth? The power of the blood of Christ possesses the power to cleanse, or “purge,” the conscience from those things pertaining to death and worthlessness. It alone can set the believer free to LIVE for that which is eternal, in service to God by the Spirit. It is only as the believer sees the power of the blood of Christ that he will grasp the extent to which ALL sin is forgiven, and washed away. This is the ONLY basis on which the conscience can rest, if it would be clean, characterized by “a cloudless sky” between the Lord and His servant.
The Lord told Israel through the prophet Isaiah, that it was her sins that put a barrier, or separation, between her and the Lord. There is but one remedy to the problem of existing sin, and it is the blood of Christ, more than sufficient to remove ALL sin. If the believer is willing to confess his sins, and walk by the Spirit, there will be a transformation in the life. The weight of guilt is gone, and the power of an indestructible life, by the Spirit, is laid hold of by faith. It is by the Eternal Spirit, according to the new a living way, that fellowship with God is secured.
Dear Father, Apply Your Son’s precious blood to us all. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad