Tag: atonement

Holiness is a Desire and a Duty

1 Peter 1:16
Since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

Holiness is the desire and duty of every Christian. Recognizing that sustained holiness is beyond our grasp because of our sin nature, we must be mindful that it is still remains our responsibility as followers of Jesus Christ to reflect His holiness in our lives. We must seek holiness in all of our endeavors under all circumstances. We should reflect our holiness as we engage with all people.

Of course, this level of holiness is not reachable through our own efforts. We must trust in the grace of God for His holiness to be reflected in our lives. We must turn to the Holy Spirit for strength so that we can manifest the holiness that God has given us through the presence of His Son in our lives.

We shall be holy. It is a promise from Our Savior. We just will not be absolutely holy at any time in our life on earth. Absolute holiness is the final product for the disciples of Jesus Christ. We will become absolutely holy when we go to meet Our Lord for all eternity.

Let us prepare ourselves to live in the fullness of the manifest holiness of the One who dwells within us. Let us strive to have the world see us as holy.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the atonement that You have provided through Your Son which allows us to be holy, as You are holy. We rejoice in knowing that we are in perfect union with You when we are abiding in Your Son. We ask, Father, that the Holy Spirit will help us to be on guard against the sins to which we are inclined. We pray that Your countenance shine upon us and Your grace be with us always so that we may turn away from evil and obey Your will in all areas of our lives. May the world see the holiness of Your Son in our lives. We ask all these things in the name of Your Holy One, Jesus Christ.

Our High Priest

Luke 24:51
While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven.

In the old testament, each person needed a priest to represent him or her before the throne of God. Through their high priest and the accompanying sacrifices, each person’s sins were atoned for. Without the intercession of the high priest, the individual person had no hope for salvation nor for their prayers to be answered.

Jesus changed it all when He ascended into heaven after His death on the Cross. He was welcomed by His Father, by all the glorified saints and holy angels. He was seated at the Father’s right hand. He remains there forever as Our Mediator in restitution for all of our sins.

He rules eternally from His seat next to the Father so that our fears may be silenced, our sorrows may be sweetened and our hopes may be kept up. He holds open the doors of heaven so that we can go directly to the throne of God with our praise, our worship, our prayers and our solicitations. More importantly, He holds a place for us because we are His redeemed lambs.

Let us go to the throne of grace. Let us call on the promises of Our Risen King. Let us set our affections on the high things above. Let us expect Our Savior to complete His good work in us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that you allowed Your Son to ascend into heaven to sit at Your right side and stand in intercession for all of us that call Him Lord. We thank You that You allowed Your Son to return to earth after His resurrection to confirm to the world the victory over sin and death that we, who have received Him as Our Savior, partake in. We ask that we will receive the fullness of His blessings as Our High Priest. We pray that we may share those blessings with those people who You place around us. We ask all these things in the name of our Risen Savior and King, Jesus Christ.

Only One Sacrificial Offering in the New Covenant

Hebrews 10:14
For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

Under the law in the old testament, regular sacrifices were required to atone for sins. The high priests served as mediators, offering up the blood sacrifices to atone for the sins of the people. The people had no access to their own atonement for sin. More importantly, they had no way of individually insuring that they would be acceptable to Almighty God. This all changed when Jesus ushered in the new testament. Under the new testament, the law was replaced by grace and all men were enabled to access their own atonement through one mediator, Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. No man can get into heaven without recognizing the sacrifice of the precious Lamb of God. No matter who we are or what we have, reinstatement with God the Father is only possible by accepting Jesus Christ as Our Savior. No matter how vile, corrupt and sinful we may be today, we can receive the eternal life that God promised and made available to all men through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Salvation is not earned, but accepted by every man who calls on the name of Jesus as his Savior. For the shed blood of Jesus has the power to wash away all that separates us from the Father. There is no other way that is deemed acceptable.

Let us live in continuous thanksgiving for the One who exchanged His divine station in heaven for a lowly station on earth so that He could fulfill His Father’s plan for salvation for all men. Let us live in continuous praise for the Lamb of God who was the necessary sacrifice for us to be able to exchange our carnal station on earth for a sanctified place with Him in heaven for all eternity. Let us boldly proclaim what He has done for us so that those around us may know Him and claim Him as their Savior.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your new covenant which established Your Son as the only sacrifice necessary to fulfill the law for all men to be deemed acceptable before You. We exalt Your name for providing a way for us to receive the eternal inheritance that we could not earn on our own. We pray, Lord, that we will always be mindful of the suffering of Our Savior. May our lives reflect our thanksgiving for His sacrifice. May our joy in Jesus Christ draw others to Him. We ask all these things in the name of the precious Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.