[The following devotional is a part of our 2015 Easter Season Devotional Book “Passion Road.” We will be posting a devotional each day on this blog between February 18 – April 5, 2014.]
A Sacrifice to End All Sacrifices by Jonathan Holmes
Read: Hebrews 10:1-14
The writer of Hebrews, in the middle of his message on the sacrifice that was to end all sacrifices, quotes from Psalm 40:6-8. Plainly put, God has never found any pleasure in the sacrifices of men as was formerly required by the law. From the very beginning these sacrifices were shadows of the future sacrifice of Jesus’ death. All men, from Adam to the last man, would now and forever be justified by the death and resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ.
It is so easy for us to beat ourselves up because of our continuous struggle with sin, but in this passage we find hope. Hope is found in the “offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Just like the Jews continued with the same sacrifices. Our hearts are prone to believe that our sin must be atoned outside of the blood of Jesus. Feeling the guilt of our sin, we turn to ways we believe we can earn God’s grace and mercy towards us again. The Jews turned to their trusted altars. We turn to our righteous works.
“Christ offered for ALL time a SINGLE sacrifice for sins…”
Your righteous works will not earn you another drop of God’s grace. For we are already drowning in the ocean of His grace towards us. The next time you feel the guilt of sin, don’t turn to attempting to earn, rather step back and use the reality of your sin to show you the radical grace of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.
Questions:
- Why is it important for you to understand that Jesus died “once for all?”
Prayers for Lent
- Thank God for fulfilling the promise of salvation.
- Ask God for an opportunity to share with someone this radical grace.