Practical Proverbial, from Hebrews, 21 March 2017

For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.  Hebrews 9, verse 15.

Part of having your conscience cleaned up is remembering that the things you once did held you hostage until you were set free.  You and I don’t need to be held as slaves by the memories of those things, but it’s fitting and proper that we remember how we were kept as slaves to sin.   As people who were held hostage by terrorists.   As bystanders who are victimized by criminals.

Think about it.   That little white lie, that exaggeration, that deliberate falsehood, that cover-up:   all of those things come from that little white lie.   It’s just as serious as the cover-up that destroys everyone around it.   That little white lie holds power over you…if you let it.   That tiny indiscretion holds you in its grip, until you see there’s a better way.   Without a way out, you can’t escape.   That tiny act of rebellion holds a gun to your head and threatens you with death.

The tempter knew this.   He reveled in it, looking for victims to use in his struggle against God.   He found them in Adam and Eve.   He found them in you and I.  Those tiny moments of pitting ourselves against God are moments when we align ourselves with Satan and deny God’s better plans for us.  “I know better” becomes the deceptive cry of alleged independence.   In reality, those words are just a vow of slavery.   C.S. Lewis said “the gates of hell are locked from the inside.”   Bravo, Jack:   when we embrace our sins, we volunteer to walk into hell and lock the door behind us.   The tempter knows this, knowing the laws of God, the covenants of the Old Testament and how they convict us over and over again. Twisting those words is one of his favorite ways of continuously working to keep us focused on our sins.

Step back and take a breath now.   This is said NOT to brutalize you, to hurt you or guilt you.   There is hope, but you can’t do it on your own.  Good doesn’t result from some holier-than-thou Jesus-follower talking down to sinners like himself.  All alone you and I know what feels bad, and how things that feel good at first very often go sour afterwards.  We don’t need people hammering us over and over all the time.  All alone you and I can’t turn from our sins.  Brow-beating us with them doesn’t help, doesn’t make the situation better, doesn’t prove Jesus’ love.

Jesus proves Jesus’ love.   The way to turn from sins and for good to result from bad situations is by constantly reminding people that Jesus died for them.   That Jesus fully and completely forgives ALL our sins.   That Jesus fully and completely restored our relationship with the Holy God Almighty.   That Jesus took on all of our guilt and punished Himself with it so that holy justice wouldn’t have to punish us.   The Gospel was Jesus’ aim in living, dying, and living again.   THAT is what we need to remind ourselves with when the sins of yesterday bubble back up and threaten “I’m still here.”   No, they aren’t.   They’re gone and powerless forever.   Those memories can only hurt if we empower them.   Jesus gives us what we need to make that not happen.

When you realize that Jesus’ Gospel frees you from your sins, your conscience can become clean.   He cleans it up for you.   The guilt and tempting and re-tempting and hurt that you carried around don’t hold you hostage anymore.   Jesus holds your hand and you walk up to that locked door in hell, and He unlocks it for you, then leads you out.  He tells you that you’re forgiven.   He tells you that you are fully restored with God.   He tells you that He will be with you in all ways always, even up to the last second of your life.   He tells you that He has plans for you, that He wants to work new things in you and through you.   He tells you that, with Him, you have everything you need to stand and resist the tempting and persevere.  Those things you thought, said and did in the past may have held you hostage in the past.   But they don’t anymore.

For further reading:  Galatians 3:20, Luke 22:20, Romans 8:28, Hebrews 6:15, Acts 20:32.

Lord, thank You for setting me free, for making me clean, for forgiving me.