ONCE FOR ALL

Hebrews 9:25-26 (NIV) “Nor did He enter heaven to offer Himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But He has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself.”

In the OT, the payment system in place to cover man’s sins was the blood of a spotless animal. There were also grain offerings and burnt offerings. But blood must be spilled to cover the sins of a man (inferring the inclusion of all humanity). The key word in that sentence is “cover”. These blood sacrifices were required annually and you couldn’t perform them yourself, rather they had to be performed by a priest.

The significance of the above passage of scripture from Hebrews is that Christ gave Himself up willingly as the one true blood sacrifice that was sufficient to eradicate or wipe out one’s sins … all of them … once for all time. What the OT blood sacrifices covered, Christ’s blood sacrifice removed. I liken it to this: Take a red white board marker and write the word SIN. Now tape a piece of opaque paper over it. You can no longer see the SIN, but it is still there. Now write the word SIN in red again and then take the eraser and remove the SIN from the board. THIS is what Christ’s blood did for us. The board is clean … just as if we had never sinned in the first place. THAT is a wonderful gift.

Why do so many take it for granted or disregard it as unnecessary? If it were a new X-Box Game System or 50” flat screen TV, we would gladly receive it, but being given a fresh start with one’s past misdeeds wiped off the board doesn’t hit home with many. Too many people have been duped into believing that they are good people who make mistakes, but are basically good, so it is alright. God is for those that need a crutch to lean on. We don’t hurt others with our decisions. The fact is we are inherently bad. We strive to do that which pleases us and are for the most part selfish, self-centered individuals. Even as believers who HAVE received “the gift” of salvation, it is a struggle to ward off the old man who is suppressed, but still breathing within us.

Understand the significance of what Christ did and understand that He did it for YOU. You may not have asked for it, but it is only because you were unaware of your need for it. Think about all the pain and shame Christ willingly endured for each of us … and realize that He would do it all again if necessary, to bring one more soul into God’s kingdom. The good news in all this is that it is there for the taking … He need not go to the cross ever again. Amen!

WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!