Skip to main content

Hebrews 9:23 - 28

By

In order to understand this passage, we are to remind ourselves that people of the Old Testament often offer sacrifices to temporarily atone for their sins, they were not perfect. They did not purify anything and never truly dealt with sin and judgment.  Hebrews 9:23-28 tells us that Jesus’ sacrifice was perfect.

Jesus’ perfect sacrifice

In the Old Testament, every year the high priest had to return year after year into the Holy of Holies to represent the people before God with the blood of the sacrificial animals on Yom Kippur. The blood of animals was never going to permanently atone for sin which is why the high priest had to repeat it year after year. Jesus’s sacrifice did not need to be repeated. He did not have to suffer and die over again. On the cross, judgment for our sins was taken away. Legally, this means that our sins were annulled or cancelled. It was a perfect sacrifice because it took away judgment for all those who placed their faith in Him once and for all. We have been clothed with the righteousness of Christ. Because of Jesus’s perfect sacrifice, Christians can live and should live out a victorious live. This is why Paul can write with such triumph in Romans 8: There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. We have been forgiven and redeemed. Because of this perfect sacrifice, we can look forward to an eternal life with God.  

No second chances

Apart from certain exceptions in the Bible, everyone will die once and when that person dies, there is no opportunity to redeem or repay his sins. There will be no second chance for salvation. It may be a hard truth for many to swallow. Some belief systems believe that a person will die over and over again and each time he has a chance to ‘rise’ into a better realm or life, i.e. reincarnation. Whereas some may offer prayers and sacrifices after death with the hope that the deceased will be forgiven. The Bible is clear, the account of our lives when we are on earth is the only thing that matters. It all boils down to this sobering reminder heaven or hell will based on their acceptance or rejection of Jesus Christ.  This passage serves as a reminder to us all as to why the Bible commands us to make disciples of all nations. We are commanded to tell people about the Gospel, the good news that salvation is in Christ alone and no other. 

We are also to reflect on our own lives because all of us will be called to account to God. There will be no second chances to what God has placed in our hands: our gifts or our talents. As Pastor Palan shared powerfully few weeks ago, will you be joyful or fearful when we meet God? Let’s all strive to focus on things of God, grow deeper in our relationship with Him and be faithful to Him in this race of faith.  At the finish line, we want to hear the words, well done, good and faithful servant.

Prayer: 

Thank you Jesus for being our living hope and thank you for the cross that has taken away judgment from us. Convict us and remind us to never take what you have done for us on the cross lightly. Help us to continue to be faithful with our talents that you have gifted us with. We pray that we can multiply it to Your Glory. Amen. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Danger of Spiritual Infancy (Hebrews 5:11 - 6:12)

By
Have you met people who refuse to grow up? There are some adults who prefer to remain as children because they do not want to take on adult responsibilities. Not only is immature behaviour unpleasant to observe or deal with, the consequences are often destructive. In Hebrews 5:11-14, the writer expresses his frustration that some members of the church were refusing to grow into spiritual maturity. They were no longer trying to understand God’s word (v 11). Instead of taking on the responsibility of teaching others as they themselves had been taught, they needed to be taught the basics all over again (v12). Therefore, they were unable to take on “solid food” which is for mature Christians, and they were not able to distinguish good from evil (v14) or to understand teaching about righteousness (v13). Spiritual maturity is a necessary part of our walk with God. Remaining as a spiritual infant means that you are not good at discerning right from wrong and you will have a hard time maintain
Post a Comment
Read more

22 Sep 2020 - Isaiah 54 : GOD’S PROMISE FOR FRUITFULNESS AND BLESSING

By
Daily Devotion Tuesday 22nd September  Isaiah 54 – GOD’S PROMISE FOR FRUITFULNESS AND BLESSING    This scripture is a beautiful promise of encouragement and affirmation to God’s people. If you have served God faithfully, but you feel discouraged, if you feel that your effort thus far has not borne any fruit, if you feel that you have been despised or looked down upon, this promise is for you.    God tells the “barren woman” to sing and shout for joy, because God will give her the desire of her heart and gift her with more children than she can imagine (v1). This is a prophecy for the increase and expansion of the nation of Israel through the birth of many children, and a promise that the city would be rebuilt. The barren woman could also mean a person or a church that is feeling discouraged, unfulfilled or foolish. Perhaps you feel foolish and discouraged for putting your trust in God for so long, but you have not experienced the results that you expected? If you are feeling discourage
Post a Comment
Read more

A prophet prophesies and the church fully obeys (Acts 11:27- 12:4)

By
During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) 29 The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea. 30 This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul. 12 It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3 When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 4 After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover. When Jewish believers from Cyprus (Europe) and Cyrene (Liby
Post a Comment
Read more