Hebrews 9:24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
25 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;
26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
There are many things happening in our country right now that are affecting us all. There are different opinions as to what the solution to these things is. The left wing media has focussed in on the few who are acting in a very foolish manner and trying to get attention in all the wrong ways. We can expect the left wing media and the left leaning parties to focus on this junk. There are a few who are reaching out and trying to find some meaningful way through what is going on. As we have mentioned before, the hope of those who are saved, should not be in a convoy or in the government. The hope of the saved is in Christ. Those who are saved know the major change that God made in our hearts when He saved us. We know that He did far more for us than we even expected when we cried out to Him for salvation.
There is always the danger of falling back after salvation. There is the danger of forgetting what we were given at salvation. God designed the local church to be the main vehicle to help the saved to remember what God has given us. The preaching and teaching of God’s Word is essential. Believing what God says is also essential. It is important that we not only remember what we were given at salvation, but also to grow in our understanding and in our obedience to the Word of God.
The book of Hebrews like many books of the Bible is a progression of facts. It starts with the basic truth that Jesus Christ is better than the angels. It builds on that and as we have noted it expands on the importance of the first covenant and the superiority of the new covenant. Everything that is given to us in the book of Hebrews revolves around the fact that Jesus Christ makes the difference.
In verse 24 we are reminded again that Jesus Christ did not present His blood at the mercy seat that was in the Temple. That mercy seat was a figure of that which is in heaven. He entered into heaven, into the presence of His Father — God. He gave His life for us. He shed His blood for us. What a merciful and loving High Priest He is!
In verse 25 we are reminded of the superiority of Jesus Christ to the Old Testament priesthood. The priests were busy receiving sacrifices from the people and offering them up before God. The high priest needed to prepare himself and the people for the yearly sacrifice in the Holiest place.
In verse 26 we see that if Jesus Christ was not better, He would have had to suffer many times since the foundation of the world. Notice that God tells us that Jesus Christ came at the end of the world. We are living in the last days. This was written almost 2,000 years ago. We see the longsuffering of the Lord in that He has been giving generation after generation the opportunity to know the truth. For almost 2,000 years local churches have been established and some have lasted for a number of years and others have failed because people rejected God’s truth.
Through all of that we have a Saviour who offered Himself once in the end of the world to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. He did not look for a substitute. He did not need the help of His mother as the Catholics claim. He went to the cross alone and He was nailed to that cross and on that cross He cried out:
Matthew 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
His mother was there at the cross as was the disciple whom Jesus loved. Jesus did not call out to them for help. He knew they could not help Him. He cried out to His Father. The weight of our sin was heavy upon Him. He willingly took that burden and shed His blood once so that all those who would put their trust in Him would indeed be saved. He shed His blood for all, but it is only applicable to those who trust in Him. There will never be another Saviour. There will never need to be another Saviour. His blood is able to save to the uttermost:
Hebrews 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
Facts are important. Facts cannot be changed. Jesus Christ is the Saviour of mankind. He did not need to offer Himself up more than once. No amount of works that we could do can save us. We need to put our trust in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ and that is what provides salvation to each and every one that does that. What great news that is! There is nothing more important in life than to know the forgiveness of sins that comes only through the one time sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. I trust that each one that is reading these devotionals has received that forgiveness of sins. That is our only hope. That is the only way to know God’s peace in our hearts.
Pastor Bartel
