This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. (Hebrews 9:9)
The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming-not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. (Hebrews 10:1,2)
What does Hebrews mean by saying "the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper"; "the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins"?
I think we can gain the biblical understanding by referring to a passage from the Book of Romans.
What shall we say, then? Is t he law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, "Do not covet." But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead. (Romans 7:7,8)
Paul was an observant Jew. Perhaps he had coveted another person's house or position in Israel. If he had done this, and he became aware of it, he would have gone to the Temple and made the appropriate sacrifice, confessing his sin and making an atonement for it.
According to the Word of God, which cannot ever be changed in the smallest detail, Paul was forgiven. The Book of Leviticus states he was forgiven. Paul, a follower of the Law, knew he was forgiven.
Why then was Paul troubled? Not because he was not actually forgiven when the sacrifice was made, because the Law said he was forgiven.
Why then was P aul's conscience not clear? His conscience was not clear, not because he was not forgiven but because he was still coveting. He had been forgiven for a covetous action, but the sin of coveting was still present with him.
So the defiling of the conscience, which resulted in Paul's "death," so to speak, had nothing to do with the fact that the Book of Leviticus does not mean what it states. Paul indeed was forgiven by obeying God's Word. But his conscience was not clear because the sin of covetousness still remained in his flesh. Not the guilt concerning the action he had confessed to the priest, but the sin itself.
Thus, when the Book of Hebrews speaks of the superiority of the new covenant, the writer does not mean it is superior because it offers a better forgiveness but because it has the authority and power to actually remove the sin itself; not the guilt of the sin only, but the sin itself.
Because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:2)
Paul was distraught because of the presence of sin in his life. When he turned to Christ he found himself without condemnation, even though the sin was still present.
But something else also was present: "the law of the Spirit of life."
It is true that Paul was forgiven because of the atonement made by the Lord Jesus Christ. But something else was true, something that is an integral part of the new covenant. The law of the Spirit of life, that is, the Holy Spirit, was now dwelling in Paul.
The powerful law of sin was resident in Paul's body. But a more powerful law had now entered, a law able to overcome the law of sin.
We understand, therefore, that the new covenant was providing Paul with something more than forgiveness. He was given a power strong enough to enable Paul to resist the compulsion to sin.
The differ ence between the two covenants is not that one offers a more perfect forgiveness, it is that the new covenant contains the power of the law of the Spirit of life.
How does the overcoming of sin operate in practical terms?
When the Holy Spirit reveals to us a sin in our personality, we are to:
Confess clearly to the Lord what we have done.
Firmly denounce the sin as being unworthy of the Kingdom of God.
Vigorously renounce the sin, telling the Lord we do not want this sin to be a part of us ever again.
Draw near to God. When we are tempted again, we will discover that now we have the ability to resist the devil.
By following the above four steps you will put the sin to death, and you will begin to notice the difference in your life. The sin is still present in you, but its power has been broken. Be careful to walk in the light of God's will for your life; because the sin, once killed, has the ability to come back to life if you do not live as a disciple.
The dead sins that remain in us are the "kings" of our personality. These vary from believer to believer. Some are of a romantic nature. Others have a great need to be preeminent. Still others are judgmental and critical. Some are covetous of material things.
Usually there is a host of transgressions that are symptoms of the "kings." These transgressions are to be overcome each day by confessing, denouncing, and renouncing them, and then drawing near to God and resisting the devil.
But the "kings," while they have been "put to death" as we cooperate with the Spirit, must be guarded carefully all the days of our discipleship. It is our point of view that the climax of the day of redemption that is to come will occur as the "kings" are removed from our personality and thrown into the Lake of Fire.
To be continued.
Copyright © 2014 Trumpet Ministries Inc.
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