"How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to worship the living God!”
Hebrews 9:14 (NLT) To be purified means to be free from guilt or moral or ceremonial blemish. In Scripture the words pure, clean, Holy, and sanctified are used to convey this same meaning. It seems like a lofty and unattainable goal or standard. The one thing to remember when thinking of being pure, clean, Holy or sanctified is that it is unattainable on our own. The true downfall of anyone seeking after God is self-reliance. Especially in the western world where we have taken individualism very seriously. The reality is there are some things we cannot do on our own. I am sure you can think of a time when you tried to accomplish something on your own, but couldn't. When it comes to our faith, we cannot purify ourselves. This is the Good News of the Gospel! We don't have to. God has given us a great High Priest in the order of Melchizadek. This great High Priest, Jesus Christ, gave his life as the perfect sacrifice on our behalf. When we accept this gift by grace through faith in Jesus Christ we are purified. We are clean, Holy, and sanctified. This is the greatest news ever. Jesus did for us what we could not do. If you have been struggling trying to be perfect, to follow God perfectly, you cannot. God asks us to surrender not struggle. Place your whole trust in the work that Christ has already done for you. Rest peacefully in the assurance that you are purified by Christ. Then follow Him in faith. Christ has already made you pure. I look forward to sharing more about this with you in worship this week. I can’t wait to see you in church!