It is Forgiven. (Hebrews Bible Study: Week 9)

Thanks for joining me this week for Hebrews 9! Come on and jump right in, here and now. Read about truth, about grace, and about our amazing Jesus.

Last week, we covered some amazing points found in Hebrews 8. Some, we’d already discussed in previous weeks, which I linked to. But don’t be afraid of repetition – so many times, the things that are repeated the most are what we really need to pay attention to.

 

So here’s last week’s recap.

 

*All this is written to show us that we do, in fact, have One – Jesus – who is the ultimate High Priest.

* This New Covenant we have is our remedy for sin.

*The New Covenant involves the Holy Spirit, and not stone tablets. It involves becoming cleansed from our sin, once and for all.

 

Last week’s takeaway: Jesus is the One that makes us who we are. He defines our identity, saves our souls, and mediates the New Covenant between God and His People.

 

Previous Posts in This Study

// Welcome to The Hebrews Bible Study!

// Who is Jesus to You? (Hebrews Bible Study: Week 2)

// How Simple Belief Rescues Our Souls (Hebrews Bible Study: Week 3)

// Why Grace Brings Us To True Rest (Hebrews Bible Study: Week 4)

// We Are Redeemed! (Hebrews Bible Study: Week 5)

// Our Only True Hope (Hebrews Bible Study: Week 6)

// Why Jesus Is Truly Enough (Hebrews Bible Study: Week 7)

// Where Do You Find Your Identity? (Hebrews Bible Study: Week 8)

Let’s Get Started!

 

This morning’s study is taken from Hebrews 9; it’s one of my favorite chapters in the entire book. Click here to read it instantly.

 

Number One:

 

We have been totally, 100% cleansed – Jesus sacrificed His holy, perfect, Sacrificial-Lamb self for our redemption. (Hebrews 9:11-14)

 

One thing about Hebrews is that, as a writer, I appreciate the imagery and writing style so much.

 

It’s so straightforward – yet profound.

 

Truths that we probably had read in other parts of the Bible are retold in this book, piecing together the covenants and transgressions and promises and sacrifices of the Old Testament with the fulfillment and salvation and overwhelming grace found in Jesus.

 

And this passage of verses essentially says, “If animal sacrifices covered the sins of the people back in the days of the Old Covenant, how much more will our blameless, holy Savior’s sacrifice for us cover everything we’ve ever done!”

 

So much of today’s Christian thinking is improperly rooted in the Old Testament, because the New Testament is never fully understood.

 

For example, just as the Israelites sacrificed animals for their sins and repented so ritualistically, so many of us repent over and over and over again to cleanse our consciences, for that is what the Old Covenant required.

 

But verses 13-14 tell us, “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.”

 

The Blood of Christ purifies our conscience. The Blood of Christ makes us clean. The Blood of Christ forgives us and washes us and sanctifies us and makes us whole again.

 

It’s not about repenting over and over again, once we’ve already been forgiven. We are clean, and we are new, and we must set our minds upon this.

 

We can live guiltlessly because of what’s been done for us – and not what we have made of ourselves.

 

We can live in freedom – because we have been forgiven.

Number Two:

 

Only in Jesus’ death could we be forgiven – His blood is the payment for our sins. (Hebrews 9:15; 22)

 

So many times we try to be tolerant of all, and say that Jesus isn’t the only way, that other ways can save too. That whether we believe in Jesus, or just that a “Higher Power” exists out there, we’re all set, or at least if we believe in goodness and some sort of afterlife, we’ll be good.

 

But if Jesus died for us, being one of many ways to find God, it’d be in vain. Utterly, completely pointless.

 

Verse 22 tells us that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins – the very same sin that separates us from God.

 

That Jesus is the only way – and that His one-time death for us was enough to remove every blemish and impurity from us in the sight of God.

 

We’re not hopeless because Jesus is the only way; we have more hope than we ever could have if He was only an option on a ballot of religious candidates.

 

He died for all of us.

 

He loves all of us.

 

He wants to save all of us.

 

And He desperately wants us to know and experience the very essence of what He has done for us.

 

He has made us clean.

Number Three:

 

Jesus died one time, and that one-time sacrifice was sufficient to atone for every one of our sins, ever. (Hebrews 9:24-26)

 

Because of the faultless nature of Jesus, we can place our faith in Him to fully take away all of our sin.

 

Not just the sin that happened before we got saved.

 

Not just the sin that we did unknowingly.

 

Not just some sin for some of the time, but all of it.

 

Christ died once and for all, and He will never have to die for our sin again – and neither will we.

 

We are free.

Recap:

 

*We have been totally, 100% cleansed – Jesus sacrificed His holy, perfect, Sacrificial-Lamb self for our redemption.

*Only in Jesus’ death could we be forgiven – His blood is the payment for our sins.

*Jesus died one time, and that one-time sacrifice was sufficient to atone for every one of our sins, ever.

 

In short? Jesus’ blood paid for all of our sin. We need not keep confessing, because He’s already done all the forgiving – and now, with clean consciences, we can stand guiltless before God.

 

Questions of the Week:

 

1. How have you seen evidence of a clean conscience in your own life?

 

2. Have you ever been told to continue in repentance, after already having been forgiven?

 

3. What verse in Hebrews 9 speaks to you the most?

 

Thank you, guys, for all of your fabulous support. It means so much to me, especially when I see on the sidebar that nearly 400 of you are reading my blog. FOUR HUNDRED! You guys are amazing and kind and generous and I have no idea where I’d be without you all.

 

I’ve been meaning to ask all of your input on this – do you enjoy the weekly Bible study? Would you be interested in it continuing after the summer’s up? I’d definitely be open to going back to the regular posts, or continuing with a new book of the Bible, just let me know your thoughts. I want this blog to be more about YOU than ME.

 

Sure, I could write exactly what I wanted to and ignore everyone else – but that’s not how a blog grows and thrives. So tell me what you’re interested in next!

 

And also, don’t forget about August’s Purposeful Pages Link-Up! Join anytime; we’d love to have you!