Jesus - the Only Eternal Solution

 

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. (Hebrews 9:11-14 ESV).

 

I love the last part of today’s reading! The writer says that Jesus’ work on the cross and in the resurrection has “purified our conscience from dead works to serve the living God (v. 14). God has solved the eternal problem of man, whether ancient people or modern people. That problem is one common to all men (cf. Romans 3:23). Think of it. Here we are in the modern age, the age of science, space travel, E-mail, heart transplants, instant replays, technology that people of my generation could not even imagine, and our problem is fundamentally the same as always: our consciences condemn us and make us feel unacceptable to God. We are alienated from God. We don't feel good enough to come to him. And no matter how distorted our consciences are, that much is true: we are not good enough to come to him.

 

We can sacrifice all that we have, give our time and money to any number of good causes, follow any number of pagan rites and practices, do good deeds for others, or any one of hundreds of forms of penance and self-sacrifice, and the result will be the same: the stain remains, and death terrifies. We know that our conscience is defiled—not with external things. Jesus said it is what comes out of a man that defiles, not what goes in (cf. Mark 7:15-23). We are defiled by attitudes like pride, self-pity, bitterness, lust, envy, jealousy, covetousness, apathy, or fear. The writer of Hebrews says these are "dead works"—that is, they have no spiritual life in them. They don't come from new life; they come from death and they lead to death. That is why they make us feel hopeless in our consciences.

 

The only answer in any age, ancient or modern is the blood of Christ. When your conscience rises up and condemns you, turn to the blood of Christ. Turn to the only cleansing agent in the universe that can give you relief in life and peace in death.