Once and For All

Hebrews 10:17

This is a wonderful and inspiring passage of scripture. In it God shows us how before Jesus came, the priests offered sacrifices constantly for the forgiveness of sins......but "the blood of bulls and goats could never forgive sins". Moral of this story - The blood of an animal cursed by sin, would never be able to cause forgiveness of sins in a human cursed by sin. But Jesus, our high priest, offered himself once and for all, and then "Sat down at the right hand of God". It was completed. He doesn't ever have to die again, offer his blood again, or suffer again for us to be made holy. And when we are made holy, this passage quotes God as saying "Their sins and lawless acts, I will remember them no more".

God's power enables him to do what we only wish we could: to forgive AND to forget. He could remember them but he promises not to. Psalm 32 says "blessed is the man whose sins are not counted against him". Isn't it wonderful to know that when God took care of our sin, he did it permanently. We don't have to live under the burden of past guilt. We don't have to fear the loss of our salvation every time we mess up again. Verse 10 says "And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." Our assurance in a nutshell. We don't need to ask forgiveness of sins every time we make a mistake. In God's eyes, there is no time. He forgives past, present and future sins at the same time. We need to repent, confess our sins to God, and thank him for his forgiveness. What a wonderful passage! Whether I feel saved or not, I am. Why? God promises that once I accept his forgiveness of my sins, I am his. He writes his laws on my heart and mind. I will make mistakes, but his salvation is still perfect in spite of my shortcomings. I need not say "forgive me father for I have sinned", but rather "thank you heavenly father for your forgiveness".