Hebrews 10:1-18 | What's the lesson for me today?

I cannot help but pause on the above verse. It is so critical to the current state of the believer that I would be remised if I did not give it the time due.

By one offering. Jesus. The only offering that was fully sufficient to purify His people. He offered Himself wholly and entirely to the humiliation and subjection of wicked forces to show Himself approved to the Father, wherein He still now sits, ever living to make intercession on our behalf. He endured the pain and persecution from the very people He aimed to save. Being as innocent and holy as one could ever be, He laid Himself down as a spotless lamb to bear the full weight and consequences of our sin. In so doing, He purified His people to Himself.

He has perfected forever. His work is proven sufficient in a way that bulls and goats never could be. He perfected His people forever. "But wait! Aren't we still just a bunch of sinners?" I reject that notion. Though I do not believe that means we no longer have the capacity to sin,I do believe we no longer have the obligation to the dominion or consequences of sin. Spiritually, you are regenerated. You are perfected in the sight of God. When He looks upon you and remembers the blood of Jesus shed for you, He sees not the despicable nature of your sin. He sees instead the purity of His Son. It may sound controversial to you, maybe even blasphemous, that you are as perfect in His sight as you will be for all eternity. "But I still struggle with sin!" And I am glad you brought that up...

Those who are being sanctified. We are still in a process. "I thought you said we were perfected forever." Indeed, I did. And indeed you are. But we must understand the ontological nature of man. At one point, you were spiritually dead. Life was breathed into you at conversion and you were made perfect in the sight of God. We are, as I believe, tripartite people. We are spirit, soul, and body. Your spirit is perfected as you are justified. You still have a soul that was tainted by sinful flesh and this is what must be renewed and sanctified. And at the end, when the Lord Jesus returns and this mortal puts on immortality and this corruptible puts on incorruption, you will be glorified in your body. We have been saved. We are being saved. And we will be saved.

So what does this mean for the believer? Well, it means that we are not looking to prove ourselves to God and earn His grace and mercy by our own merit. It means we are not living for a status of holiness, we are living out of having already been made holy. This is what many in the faith call the Christ life. We are freed by the blood of Jesus and have access to grace by faith. So as we believe upon Him, we must also believe that He has already accomplished what was required of us. The life we then live, we live by faith in the Son of God who love us and gave Himself for us. Our lives are hidden with Christ in God. The beauty of this relationship is a lesson I find critical for every believer to have established in their lives.

What lesson are you taking away?