This new way of worshipping bears some resemblance to the past, but it is very different. Yes, there is blood that has been shed, but it occurred long ago and will never be spilled again. Yes, a High Priest was appointed, but He has taken His position, and there will not be another one ever. We still go to the Priest to confess our sins, and it is still the Priest who intercedes for us, but the Priest is now in heaven, and He makes intercession from there. It used to be that the Priest would disappear behind the curtain and talk to God on our behalf. Now, we go behind the curtain ourselves (since the curtain has been removed) and talk to God the Mediator one on one.
There’s no need to discuss the temple, the sacrifice or the superior quality of the Blood of Christ and His sacrifice…since I mentioned it over the last several posts. Hebrews 9 seems to say succinctly what I have been trying to say.
In verse 13 the author uses different terms to identify the same things I was referred to. Where I called the forgiveness temporary removal from us personally, he calls it “ceremonial purification”. When I said that Jesus erased all sins forever, permanently; he said that God “purified our conscience”. It occurs to me that some people go to church simply to be ceremonially pure. They aren’t looking for the deeper path, or genuine change of heart and character. I suppose that they feel better about themselves having been “in church”, and possibly they take some ideas home with them and put them to use, making their lives easier or more meaningful. On the other hand, there is a serious spiritual work that is going on inside the church on any given Sunday. It is the process by which the Holy Spirit is cleansing the consciences of those who are willing. He erases from their very soul the stain of sin, removing from them the weight of it, so they leave God’s House lighter than when they came in. Outwardly they may look the same, but on the inside something radical has happened. As they leave, you cannot tell them from those who came for the ceremony, but as God looks on the inside there isn’t any comparison.
This is goal and hope of the new covenant. That all people would take seriously the possibility of genuine purification, and would invest themselves fully in knowing Jesus Christ. Personal relationship with the Creator is the one genuine way to be healed, to feel self-worth, and to receive strength and ability for another day. Of course, it’s also the only way to be forgiven, and to be adopted as a son or daughter. Ceremony will never do that.
PR