Holiness through one sacrifice
Key Verses: 1, 4, 14, 22, 25, 34
Shadows have no substance of their own. They are left when light is blocked by something of substance. If you want to manipulate a shadow, it makes no sense to try and grasp it. You must either grasp the object casting the shadow, or the light source itself and manipulate them, if you want the shadow to change.
The sacrifices of the Old Testament were shadows cast by Jesus on the Cross. They had so substance of their own. They couldn’t pay the penalty of sin. They just reminded the one offering, that they had to deal with the consequences of their sinful acts. They were never designed to actually pay for sin. They were a place-card, a temporary stand-in until the Reality arrived. They were the cardboard computer monitor from the Sears store furniture display. Jesus is the real thing.
Jesus death in our place has already made us perfect, if we are allowing Him to make us perfect moment by moment. There are these two sides to Jesus substitutionary death. His death has secured a place for us in God’s presence forever. And His death provides the power to overcome sin’s continued pull on our lives today. We are in the process of being cleaned up by Him. We are already perfect in His sight, and not yet perfect, needing more sanctification.
There is nothing that should hinder us from entering into His presence. Our sin used to hinder us, but He dealt with that already. Let nothing stop you from running into the presence of God and relying on His mercy.
The writer reminds his readers about the trials they have already endured. They had the right attitude as they faced those trials in the past. He wants them to continue to have that same confidence in Christ that they had before. In essence he is saying that we need to continue to reach forward. Don’t stop pursuing. We are going the right direction, continue on God’s path.
The Arnold Journey 