Skip to main content

Meditations on the Glory of Christ: He is the Once for All Sacrifice for Sins

Image
By
In Hebrews 1:2-4, the author makes seven claims about Jesus that when taken together greatly exalt his glory. The sixth claim the author makes about the Son is that he made purification for sins. The Son is the heir of all things, he is the one through whom the Father created all things, he is the radiance of the glory of God, he is the exact imprint of the nature of God, he upholds all things by the word of his power, and oh by the way, he also made purification for sins.

Since the fall of Adam and Eve, and the destructive entrance of sin into the human heart and race, one of the main questions hanging over history, and the Bible itself, is this: how can our sins be washed away so that our consciences are cleansed before God, and we are able to enter into deep communion with God? The author’s answer is “nothing but the blood of Jesus.” He’ll go into a lot more detail later in his sermon, but for now he wants us to hear and be blown away by the truth that after several millennia of waiting, someone has come along who is able to deal completely and permanently with the problem of sin.

And in the big picture, this ought to take our breath away for just as the Son is the agent of creation, the agent of the nature and glory of God, and the agent of the purposes of God, so also he is the agent of salvation. All things have come into being by the Son. The nature and glory of God are made visible by the Son. The purposes of God are brought to fruition in and by the Son. And the way of salvation is the Son.

Please notice how I stated that: the way of salvation is the Son, not something outside of the Son. Jesus Christ made atonement for sins with no outside help and by offering the sacrifice of himself. He is the priest and he is the offering. He is the intermediary and he is the once-for-all sacrifice for sins. Jesus himself is the way to peace with God. Who has ever heard of, or even imagined, a priest like this?

Beloved, this is no theoretical claim: Jesus made purification for sins by offering himself as the once-for-all sacrifice for sins! Think about how great he must be in light of this truth. Think about how exalted a position he must hold in light of this truth. Indeed, Jesus is highly exalted and he alone is worthy of our praise, our allegiance, our souls, our lives, our all. Let us therefore bow before him and offer the worship that is due his holy name!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Secret of all Failure is our Failure in Secret Prayer

By
“We may be assured of this—the secret of all failure is our failure in secret prayer” (12). So writes the anonymous author of the classic little book on prayer entitled, The Kneeling Christian (Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids: 1971). He means that the reason we so often fall into sin or live in discouragement or fail to bear fruit is because we do not cling to God in Christ above all things. We do not diligently seek him or lean on him or plead with him or draw on his strength. We give ourselves to busyness over communion with God and in this way we seek to accomplish in our flesh what can only be accomplished in the power of the Spirit.  Giving first place to what our dear author calls “secret prayer” is indeed a key to the Spirit-filled life but let’s be clear: prayer is not magic, rather, it’s a relationship. It’s not as if we simply have to file requests with God, being careful to use just the right words so that we can get him to respond as we wish. God is not a vending m
Post a Comment
Read more

Deacons - How They Serve and Strengthen the Church (Part 1)

By
  One of the next important priorities for GCF is to establish deacons in the life of the church. On March 14, 2021 we were able to establish an elder team. Currently, we have a team of four elders overseeing the congregation of GCF.  However, there is more work to be done. I have come to see that establishing an elder team was the bare minimum that needed to happen for GCF to survive. I believe GCF now needs to turn our attention to raising up a team of qualified and willing deacons to serve the congregation so that it will not only survive but thrive.   I would like to begin a series of blogs on deacons to help us understand who they are and what they do in the life of the church.  In this blog let me provide three reasons why I think deacons should be near our top priority.  Number 1: It is Biblical. Paul instructs Timothy to install elders who will help him pastor the church. For whatever reason, it seems the churches in our circles treat the installment of elders as non-negotiable
Post a Comment
Read more

Does the Doctrine Divide? by Patience Griswold

By Anonymous
“Oh, I try not to talk about doctrine. It’s so divisive.” This is a sentiment that I’ve heard expressed, as well as implied, on many occasions, and one that raises the question, does doctrine divide? In answering this question, we must keep in mind a very important truth and that is that everyone holds to some sort of doctrine . “Doctrine” is defined as “a belief or set of beliefs held and taught by a church, political party, or other group.” Regardless of whether or not someone publicly holds to a statement of beliefs from a particular church, every Christian, by definition, holds to a particular set of beliefs. As Carl Trueman observes in his book The Creedal Imperative ,       [W]hile Christianity cannot be reduced to doctrine, to mere teaching, it cannot be meaningfully separated from it, either. Even the most basic claims, such as “Jesus is Lord,” carry clear doctrinal content that needs to be explicated in a world where, as we have noted before, every heretic has his text and n
Post a Comment
Read more