Inspired by Hebrews 9:1-14
“For if the blood of goats and bulls, with the sprinkling of the ashes of a heifer, sanctifies those who have been defiled so that their flesh is purified, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to worship the living God!” Hebrews 9:13-14
It is human nature to want to be responsible for our own salvation. Even as we intellectually acknowledge that we are saved by grace through faith and not by works, we still cling tenaciously to our works, unable to let go of that little bit of control. We are convinced that there are certain things we must do to prove our faith, and that not doing them shows that we really haven’t received God’s grace, and therefore haven’t received salvation.
Jesus Christ came to free us from such ideas. Salvation is not through our repetition of ritual acts of worship or even the performance of good deeds intended to benefit God’s people, but rather through Christ’s willingly giving himself up for our sake. He has performed the ritual for all times and in all places, and his ‘good deed’ can never be reimbursed. Jesus Christ, Son of God, came to us, gave his life for us, defeated death for us, and continues to live among us, sharing the eternal love of the eternal God, who is, who was, and who is to come. It is all his doing, not ours, and all we can do is live in the grace given to us by his sacrifice.
Let us pray. Living God, you sent your Son to free us from our bondage. Enable us to accept your graceful love, that we may respond with graceful living. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.
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