He is able also to save forever

 Hebrews 7:18-28 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness ¹⁹ (for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God. ²⁰ And inasmuch as it was not without an oath ²¹ (for they indeed became priests without an oath, but He with an oath through the One who said to Him,

“The Lord has sworn
And will not change His mind,
‘You are a priest forever’”);

²² so much the more also Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.

²³ The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, ²⁴ but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. ²⁵ Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

²⁶ For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; ²⁷ who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. ²⁸ For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever.

Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.     Through Jesus and the finished work of the cross we are saved for eternity.     God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16) To be saved forever through Christ also means that we are saved, forgiven for every sin, past present and future. The text says:  For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens;  who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.     Jesus not only offered Himself up once for all, He also is ever interceding for us. Jesus is at the right hand of the Father. Anytime we fall or fail He is there to stand between our failure and the Father’s eyes. When Christ is our Lord and Savior, the Father sees everything we do through the finished work of the cross.

Those who lived under the old covenant needed to bring sacrifices continually for their sins. Each sacrifice was meant to cover the sins between the last sacrifice and the next one. We who are in Christ need to learn something from them and from that model. We often have a tendency to seek forgiveness for what has already been forgiven. We carry the weight and burdens of guilt and condemnation long after our Father has forgiven us. 1 John 1:9 says:  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  In Isaiah 43:25 God says:  "I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins.”    When we have confessed our sins, He is faithful to forgive them and He no longer remembers them. Again through the prophet Isaiah, in Isaiah 1:18, God says:  “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.”       We as believers need to not continue to hold ourselves as guilty for things that God has forgiven, forgotten. He cleanses us from all unrighteousness, in God’s eyes, because He sees us through Christ’s intercession, we are pure and white as snow. When we are reminded of past failures and sins, it is never God reminding us, it is the devil who tries to cause us to hold on to the guilt and condemnation of past sins.

On the other hand though, as 1 John 1:9 says:  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.   We must be willing to confess as sin, the things which God calls sin.  The only sin which the cross of Christ cannot provide forgiveness and cleansing from, is the sin we choose over Him. If we choose to remain in sin, if we justify our actions choosing the worlds standards or our own standards rather than those of God, we nullify the cleansing power of the cross regarding that sin. If we choose sin over the cross, we then are judged by our sin, not through Christ’s sacrifice. Jesus says:   “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” (John 3:16-22)       This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light.      Judgment does not come on us for what we do, it comes on us for what we love. If we love and choose darkness and sin over light and righteousness, we are judged according to our choice.  

Again, 1 John 1:9 says:  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.   We are saved forever, forgiven of all sins. James 1:13-15 says:   Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.       Each of us has our own areas of weakness and temptation, our own lusts. I should not judge someone else for the area of their temptation just because I am not tempted in the way they are. We also though should not seek to justify and give in to our own lust, allowing it to conceive sin, leading to judgment and death. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says:    No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.    Regardless of what our own weakness and temptation may be, whether addiction, worry, fear, whether sexual perversion, lying, gossip, whatever it is that we struggle with, which God calls sin, He has provided a way out. Hebrews 4:15 says:    For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.     The temptations we struggle with are common to man, others struggle as we do. They also are common to the Son of Man, the only begotten Son of God. Jesus experienced all the lusts and temptations of the flesh, without sin. He is the way out of temptation. We must love and choose Christ and the cross rather than darkness. The text says:  He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him.   James 4:8 says:  Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.     The psalmist says: Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart.  

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit, thank You for Your faithfulness to forgive and forget my sins, to fully cleanse me from all unrighteousness. Holy Spirit show me what it is that I need to confess and what has already been forgiven. Help me not to live in the past nor worry about the future, but rather to draw near, to delight in You in the present.   Amen