I have been pondering the word, "conscience" in Hebrews chapter nine for a few days.
verse 9 "...gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the worshiper's conscience."
verse 13 and 14 "For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who are defiled, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of the Messiah, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to serve the living God?"
Hebrews 10:1 and 2 "Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come, and not the actual form of those realities, it can never perfect the worshipers by the same sacrifices they continually offer year after year. Otherwise, wouldn't they have stopped being offered, since the worshipers, once purified, would no longer have any consciousness of sins?" (verse four goes on to say that "For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins."
10:19-22 Therefore, brothers, since we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that He has inaugurated for us, through the curtain (that is, His flesh); and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
I find such hope in these verses. I know they were written to the Jews about to get whomped in Jerusalem in 70 AD. But, these verses tell me that God is concerned about the conscience He put in us, and He is int he business of cleansing it and thanks to the work Jesus did on the cross, we can indeed DRAW NEAR, and persevere to the end, and help and encourage each other.
Thank you, Lord, for a clean heart, a clean conscience. Only You can do this work in me. No matter what, thank you for getting me ready for what You would have me do here, and ready to spend eternity with You ! In Jesus name. Amen
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Is there something you're feeling guilty about and not telling me? (Nah, that's not it. You tell me everything.)
Seriously now, the context is the key to understanding what the writer means by:
"Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful."
Back at the end of Hebrews 4 the author of Hebrews wrote:
"Let us therefore [since we have such a Great High Priest in heaven interceding for us] draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need."
Levitical priests came before the Mercy Seat in the Holy of Holies with fear and trembling (as well they, as sinful men, should have), but we are commanded to come boldly, not because we're so much better than those Levites, but because our High Priest is so much better.
Our "good conscience" (our assurance of a pure standing before God) isn't based on our good conduct, but on our High Priest's perfect righteousness. We can come boldly, not because we've been good, but because our Savior is both great and good.
Our faith is in Christ, not ourselves.
Thanks dear ! You would love the very literal greeting card Mary Engelbreit made of a little girl drawing a picture outside in nature. As Christians, according to what you are saying, we can pull out our art pencils or oil paints or watercolors in the throne room of God. Bet the Light is great there, don't you? Visitors to the throne room have only painted with words, so far...
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