Sunday, April 20, 2014

Marsha's Musings: Jesus' Work Is Sufficient (Hebrews 10:5-10 NKJV)

Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come— In the volume of the book it is written of Me— To do Your will, O God.’ ” Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them ” (which are offered according to the law), then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (Hebrews 10:5-10 NKJV)

Here we see the phrase once for all again.  Jesus was the sacrifice for our sin once for all.  That means there is no need for repeated ritual, to take away sin or to earn merit with God.  Jesus did it all, once for all.  His sacrifice was sufficient.  There is no more need for burnt offerings and sacrifices.  There is no need for candle lighting, penance, mass, baptism for the dead, priests, ritual of any kind that is designed to gain merit with God.  It's all useless and needless because Jesus took care of all that on the cross once for all.  In fact, all that stuff is saying in effect that His sacrifice on our behalf was not sufficient.  

Wow!  I'm so thankful that Jesus' sacrifice IS SUFFICIENT for forgiveness of sins.  It brings such peace knowing that it's not my efforts and works that make me right with God. How can one ever know how many good works and rituals to do to reach that goal? What if you were just one short and didn't know it?  What an eternal disaster that would be!  But Jesus has taken care of all of that. There is no question.  He did it all on our behalf.  So our job is only to trust Him.

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