Without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him

Hebrews 9:11-28 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; ¹² and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. ¹³ For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, ¹⁴ how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

¹⁵ For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. ¹⁶ For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it. ¹⁷ For a covenant is valid only when men are dead, for it is never in force while the one who made it lives. ¹⁸ Therefore even the first covenant was not inaugurated without blood. ¹⁹ For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the Law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, ²⁰ saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded you.” ²¹ And in the same way he sprinkled both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry with the blood. ²² And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

²³ Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. ²⁴ For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; ²⁵ nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood that is not his own. ²⁶ Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. ²⁷ And in as much as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, ²⁸ so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.

Isaiah 1:18 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.”   Many people focus only on the forgiveness of God and the redemption from sin that we receive through Christ and the cross. In context in Isaiah 1, in verses 16-20 God says:  “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil,  Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow… If you consent and obey, You will eat the best of the land; But if you refuse and rebel, You will be devoured by the sword.” Truly, the mouth of the Lord has spoken.   There is a necessary response and responsibility on our part because we are forgiven and redeemed. God says: “Come now, and let us reason together,” Romans 12:1 says: I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.   God reasons with us and it is reasonable that we present ourselves to Him, holy and acceptable.  Today’s text says:  When Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation;  and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse  your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?   Ephesians 2:8-10 says:  By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.  Not only are we forgiven; washed clean by the blood of Christ, but our conscience is also cleansed. We serve the living God, doing the good works He prepared for us and prepared us for. If we don’t walk in the good works of God, we are not fully cleansed.

Today’s text ends saying:  in as much as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,  so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.  Indeed we will all die and we will all be judged. In John 3:16-21 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.”    We all will die once, but we live every day. The judgment we face is not about how we die, but rather about how we live; whether we believe in Christ and practice the truth, whether we love light or darkness. Our judgment is not about our death at all. Instead, because Christ died, once for all, we have life in Him. When Christ appears, either when He returns or when we leave this life, there will be no reference to sin if we have believed in and lived for Him. God says: “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.”     

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit; I eagerly wait for You. Because Jesus died for me, I will live for Him. In response to Your forgiveness I will walk in the good deeds You have prepared for me. Because You died, I will live.  Amen.