Friday 23 May 2014

Read: Hebrews 10:1-10

We have a serious problem. If we take seriously the things that we have covered over the last few days then we are in big trouble. When we are confronted with a truly holy and just God we see all the more clearly our own sinfulness and brokenness before Him. When we measure ourselves against His standard of holiness we know that we are filthy inside and out. We can do nothing else but tremble before Him.

Worship Moment

God provided for us the sacrifice that we require to be in relationship with Him. This is the only reason that we can offer worthy worship to Him. Praise God today for the gift of His son!

How do we deal with this problem? Left to our own devices we would all suffer God's righteous and just punishment for our sinfulness but, in His grace, God provided a way to deal with our unholiness once and for all.

This permanent way of dealing with our unholiness is what the author is talking about here in Hebrews 10. He begins by describing the insufficiency of the law and animal sacrifices in taking away sin. In verse 1 he says that these things can never make perfect those who come to worship. Instead these sacrifices served as an annual reminder of sins (vs 3) and could never truly and permanently take away sin.

This is where Jesus comes in. Jesus obeys God perfectly, fulfilling the Law and living a holy and righteous life. Jesus comes to do the will of God (vs 9) and serves as the final and permanent sacrifice on our behalf. When Jesus goes to the cross He carries the unholiness of all who believe in Him, He bears the wrath that each of us deserve for our sins and He pays the penalty for all of it. Jesus is the perfect and permanent sacrifice for our sins. Through this sacrifice (vs 9) we are made holy before God once and for all.

God, in His incredible grace and mercy, provides the sacrifice that we need, the only possible sacrifice that would do the job, so that we could be made right with Him. Through His righteous life, His sacrificial death and His glorious resurrection Jesus makes us right with God and deals with all our unholiness. If we have faith in Him and His work we can be cleansed of our unholiness and come into relationship with the Holy God of the universe.

Praise God for His incredible grace to us through Jesus!

Discussion Questions for families and groups

1. What is the role of the law in the Christian life?
2. How do God's grace and our striving for holiness work together?
3. Someone in your cell group says, "If God has made me holy in Christ then I can live however I want." What's a biblical response to this error?

Prayer:

Write down your prayer points in the space provided. Use today’s reading to help you get ideas.

Adoration:

Confession:

Thanks:

Supplication:

• Pray for those in your family who don't know Christ. Pray that God would soften their hearts to hear about what He has done. Pray that you would have opportunities to share the gospel with them and that they might come to faith in Him.
• Pray for the youth group as they gather together tonight. Pray that their time would be enjoyable and that they would grow in love for God and for each other. Pray that the word of God would be clearly taught and that they would grow in their faith in Christ.