Hebrews 9:14
Many of us use the phrase “my conscience is clean” when we know that we have done nothing wrong in a certain situation. However, when we know that we have done wrong, our conscience haunts us and condemns our actions. This causes us to try and work our way back into favor with those that we have wronged; even if that one is God. These works are genuine efforts on our part to make amends for our failures, and they often make us feel better about the issue.
The author of Hebrews pointed out that the blood of Christ obtains eternal redemption for all of us who accept Jesus (Hebrews 9:12). Having paid for our salvation, the blood goes on to do much more than just guarantee us that we are pure; it actually purges our conscience from the need to perform “dead works” (Hebrews 9:14). This means that as we realize just how forgiven and accepted that we are because of the blood of Jesus; we do not try to appease our conscience with works that can change nothing.
Acknowledging the finished work of Jesus will show us that no work on our part could ever even match, much less supersede what great price that He has paid for us on the cross. If a believer has little or no recognition of the finished work, they will live by their conscience, always trying to pay God back for their sins and failures. Satan will exploit this dependency on conscience by heaping on guilt and condemnation, even going so far as to tell the believer that they are not reading enough scripture, or praying enough, or giving enough. Some seemed shocked to think that Satan would actually encourage believers to do these seemingly “good” things, but do not be surprised; Satan wants your focus off of the finished work and onto your own!
Every time that you concentrate on your sin or your failure, you inflame consciousness of sin. Some preach that if the believer is not sin-conscious then they will ignore sin and go deeper into it. The Word teaches the opposite:
“For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? Because that the worshippers once purged should have no more conscience of sins” (Hebrews 10:1, 2).
If the sacrificial system of the law had made the individual offering them perfect, wouldn’t they have ceased to offer the sacrifices? Of course they would have, but the sacrifices did nothing to change man’s heart, thus he was always guilty. Once they were cleansed they should have no more guilt on their conscience, but we know that they did because the next verse makes that clear:
“But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year” (Hebrews 10:3).
Every time that they brought a lamb they became “sin-conscious”, and every time that they became sin-conscious, their conscience condemned them. Let us become “Savior-conscious” and watch Him purge us of our sin. Then we will have no more reason to be guilty in our conscience and we can live free in His righteousness and true holiness.
Many of us use the phrase “my conscience is clean” when we know that we have done nothing wrong in a certain situation. However, when we know that we have done wrong, our conscience haunts us and condemns our actions. This causes us to try and work our way back into favor with those that we have wronged; even if that one is God. These works are genuine efforts on our part to make amends for our failures, and they often make us feel better about the issue.
The author of Hebrews pointed out that the blood of Christ obtains eternal redemption for all of us who accept Jesus (Hebrews 9:12). Having paid for our salvation, the blood goes on to do much more than just guarantee us that we are pure; it actually purges our conscience from the need to perform “dead works” (Hebrews 9:14). This means that as we realize just how forgiven and accepted that we are because of the blood of Jesus; we do not try to appease our conscience with works that can change nothing.
Acknowledging the finished work of Jesus will show us that no work on our part could ever even match, much less supersede what great price that He has paid for us on the cross. If a believer has little or no recognition of the finished work, they will live by their conscience, always trying to pay God back for their sins and failures. Satan will exploit this dependency on conscience by heaping on guilt and condemnation, even going so far as to tell the believer that they are not reading enough scripture, or praying enough, or giving enough. Some seemed shocked to think that Satan would actually encourage believers to do these seemingly “good” things, but do not be surprised; Satan wants your focus off of the finished work and onto your own!
Every time that you concentrate on your sin or your failure, you inflame consciousness of sin. Some preach that if the believer is not sin-conscious then they will ignore sin and go deeper into it. The Word teaches the opposite:
“For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? Because that the worshippers once purged should have no more conscience of sins” (Hebrews 10:1, 2).
If the sacrificial system of the law had made the individual offering them perfect, wouldn’t they have ceased to offer the sacrifices? Of course they would have, but the sacrifices did nothing to change man’s heart, thus he was always guilty. Once they were cleansed they should have no more guilt on their conscience, but we know that they did because the next verse makes that clear:
“But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year” (Hebrews 10:3).
Every time that they brought a lamb they became “sin-conscious”, and every time that they became sin-conscious, their conscience condemned them. Let us become “Savior-conscious” and watch Him purge us of our sin. Then we will have no more reason to be guilty in our conscience and we can live free in His righteousness and true holiness.
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