To put away sin by the sacrifice of himself!

(Hebrews 9:26) “…to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself…”

It is only God who can give us true repentance and all that relates to sincerity. I have sadness upon my heart this morning, I don’t believe I could conjure it up from my own emotions; it must be God the Holy Spirit who leads the way and prompts me to such cheerlessness. It is not a hopeless sorrow but rather a concern, why? I am troubled for the faces that I see flash before me; my memory has kicked into gear with concerns, without any premeditated planning I see faces from my past that once “were amongst the number” and are no longer fighting the good fight of faith, or so it would appear. But God knows what goes on in the heart of a man, nevertheless I am concern for the well-being of people that somewhere crossed my path and now seem to have forgotten that they once confessed Jesus as Lord. It will never be enough to believe one thing in our hearts and then to act on that which is contrary to what we say our hearts believe. We must believe in our hearts that our Saviour the Lord Jesus was raised from the dead, this is only half of the equation, we must also confess (speak, act, and prove) that Jesus is Lord not only as lip-service but it must be obvious to our lives. Those around us must be able to witness this as a fact and not with others as our voice. Salvation is personal and it must begin with the individual! It is up to each individual to confess Jesus as Lord!

I will not be ignorant whilst considering the enemy and his ploys to trip up the believer. He is a roaring lion on the prowl looking to devourer. But my Jesus is far greater, in fact it is no longer a contest, if it ever was one, as Jesus conquered him once and for all, mission accomplished! It was such a brilliant victory that Satan didn’t see it coming for if he had of he would not have crucified Christ on Calvary. God our Father the greatest of all strategists and His brilliance on display, praise His name! And I am able to call Him my Father, which tickles my soul and brings a smile to my face; all because of Christ’s obedience!

One may say the Roman ruler Pontius Pilate and the leaders of the Jews were the catalysts who had Christ crucified. They did play their part, but there was much influence from Satan and his demonic forces. The unseen driving force behind Christ crucifixion was so fierce that the Psalmist David explains it like this; “Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me; they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death. For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet-- I can count all my bones-- they stare and gloat over me;” (Psalms 22:12-17)

Thank you Lord Jesus for your selfless act on Calvary, there was much you endure on our behalf, on my behalf and for this I am thankful. I will publicly acknowledge you for your sacrifice and recognize that you laid down your life for me, someone who most certainly deserved death and hell as my final destination. While I was yet a sinner you paid the price for my sin, a wretch like me, who would make so many mistakes along the way, and you knew it and yet you were still willing to die for me. Amazing! Having understood this, I will now confess you as Lord, my Lord! Thank you for this opportunity! My prayer would be that forgetting those things that are now behind, may I press forward with vigour and end well, bringing glory to God my Father.

Having said that; be certain of this fact that in effect Satan’s hands are tied. What do I mean by this? Not that he is already chained in the bottomless pit as some may suggest, but that he has been defeated. Christ had this to say while He still hung upon that cruel Roman cross; “When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” (John 19:30): - the writer of Hebrews teachers us this; “For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:24-28)

Why will sin not have to be dealt with for a second time? All who believe on Him, and confess Him as Lord is free from sins judgment. There was a time where Satan could accuse sinners of sin, but now if a man was to sin as a believer he no longer in that sense can be accused of sin, because Christ has paid the price for sin, once and for all. Satan’s accusations no longer holds any merit, even though he may have cause to accuse a saint who sins, Jesus is able to turn to him and say I have already paid his debt on Calvary. Past, present and futures sins all taken care of, praise the glorious name of Jesus. We all stand on the mercies of God; “But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.” (1Corinthians 11:32): - We are place into a new family with new rules; God our Father now personally pulls the reins on our lives. He blesses and disciplines us as He chooses and it has nothing to do with Satan’s bind.

Satan’s objective is to get us to forget this truth; this is all he is now able to do, as he has been defeated. He looks to get us to walk in unbelief or to disobeyed God, His Son and His Word. He will do his utmost to darken our hope, but if we believe God and His Word he is rendered useless. God help us to write this truth upon our hearts and inspire us to embrace Christ and His promises with all our might. May we learn to have the faith of Joshua and Caleb come what may!

Signing off

Tyrone