14 because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
This is a great verse. Let’s dissect it starting at the end of the verse. There are people who are in the process of being made holy. The first thing we need to realize is that someone else is doing the making. They are working on us to make us holy. We let them work. I go to a chiropractor. I have to let him work on me. If I resist as he manipulates by back, it won’t work. I have to breath out and purpose to relax my muscles even though I know there is a ‘pop’ coming that will bring momentary intense pain. I have to let him do this because the tension in those muscles is causing me even greater pain. So it is with me spiritually. I have to let the Lord work on me. There are areas He is going to touch and manipulate because they are causing me pain. The process of working out those pains hurts, so I usually try to avoid the immediate pain. It is hard to admit the sin and the entrenched consequences. But the Lord wants to make us holy, and holiness requires getting the sin out. He is doing the work; we are letting Him work. The next part says that what Jesus did at a point in history on the cross continues even to today. When He died in our place, He completed the process of redemption that started with the skin coverings God provided for Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden. All the Old Testament sacrifices were shadows of the one event: the cross. His death provided perfection to those, who at one point in history, started trusting Him and they continue to trust Him to this day. His perfecting process began at that one point in history when we said “yes” to His calling and that process continues right through today moving us toward eternity. He is by no means through with us. We are in no way perfect apart from Him, but we are in the construction zone. His actions are active in transforming our lives toward the goal of being like Him in character, attitudes and actions. In what ways does God want to work on you today?
The Arnold Journey 