Topical Studies
What the Bible says about
Cleansing of Consciences
(From Forerunner Commentary)
|
Hebrews 9:7
Verse 7 says the priest offered (or brought) blood for himself and the people's sins, and verse 23 underscores that the part of the ceremony involving bringing blood into the Most Holy Place was for purification or cleansing of the objects. This idea is also found in verse 22: "according to the law almost all things are purified with blood.” The Levitical priest used animal blood, but our High Priest entered the Holy of Holies in heaven with His own blood. His blood provides an entrance into the presence of the Supreme God. Verse 23 says the heavenly things had to be purified, as though simply being in the same universe as humanity meant they had to be cleansed. But Christ's blood provides a cleansing so complete that we now can “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16) His blood appeases the Father, so we can “draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience” (Hebrews 10:22).
David C. Grabbe
Azazel: Endings
|
|
Revelation 12:10-11
God describes in advance those who will overcome. John hears "a loud voice" speaking about "our brethren" who have overcome Satan, yet this encompasses more than just overcoming that evil spirit being. Satan is "the ruler of this world" (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), so those who overcome him also overcome his dominion, this world. In addition, he is the source of the fiery darts hurled at our minds and all the temptations and inducements to sin. When God's people are shown overcoming him, we can understand that it includes overcoming Satan's world, as well as the corrupted human nature he influences. Revelation 12:11 gives three descriptions of those who overcame Satan, providing a roadmap for our own efforts to overcome. First, they overcome Satan "by the blood of the Lamb." His citing the blood of Jesus most obviously signifies that it is the means of forgiveness for our sins. It is how we are justified and redeemed, and it is called the purchase price of the church (Acts 20:28). His blood pays the debts that we incur when we sin (Romans 3:25). If we had to pay our own debts, we would not live long enough to overcome anything at all. The fact that our sins are taken away when we genuinely repent means that we can keep walking this road to the Kingdom without having it cut short by the death penalty (Romans 6:23). Yet, there is more here. In verse 10, Satan is shown continually accusing Christ's brothers and sisters, acting as the perpetual plaintiff, always bringing charges of sin against the brethren. A similar scene is described in Zechariah 3:1-4 (English Standard Version): Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. And the LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, O Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?" Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. And the angel said to those who were standing before him, "Remove the filthy garments from him." And to him he said, "Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments." Joshua, the high priest after Judah's return from Babylon, represents the whole nation. What we need to consider, though, is that Satan probably does not have to lie one bit in his accusations! Verse 3 describes Joshua as wearing filthy garments, representing tremendous sin. The filth—the sin of the nation—was obvious. Satan did not have to fabricate it, yet God chose to take away the iniquity rather than exacting the wages that the sin required. Likewise, in Revelation 12:10, Satan's charges against God's people need not be trumped up at all. Satan is aware of the sins of God's people and is probably quite accurate in pointing out where we miss the mark. This is where the payment for sin comes in and why it is crucial to overcoming. Not only does God pay the debt of those with whom He is working, but the fact that He "removes the iniquity" (our emphasis throughout) adds another factor. Hebrews 9:14 says that Christ's blood "cleanse[s] your conscience from dead works to serve the living God." We know what we have done, as does Satan. At times, he uses that knowledge in his "fiery darts" (Ephesians 6:16) to discourage us and to bring us down—to get us to feel so worthless and wretched that we start thinking we may as well give up because everything is hopeless. God could not possibly love us or accept us. However, when we acknowledge our sins to God, repent, and ask for forgiveness, Christ's blood is applied to us, and He cleanses our consciences, allowing us to continue to serve God without being weighed down (see Hebrews 12:1). We may still feel remorse, but this cleansing of the conscience means we are not left wallowing in the mire, unable to rise due to heaviness of guilt. The shield of faith quenches the fiery darts of the wicked one, and a significant part of that faith is our confidence in the atoning sacrifice of the Lamb of God.
David C. Grabbe
How Did They Overcome? (Part One)
|
|
Revelation 12:11
While the blood of the Lamb represents a number of specific things that help us overcome, it could be summed up as doing for us what we cannot do for ourselves. This is the first element listed in Revelation 12:11, and as such, it is the first key to overcoming—recognizing that overcoming is beyond human capability! We cannot atone for our own sins. We cannot truly cleanse our own conscience. We cannot force our way into the Holy of Holies. We cannot give ourselves eternal life. Finally, we cannot resurrect ourselves. We have a part to play in overcoming, but the bottom line is that God does the overcoming in us. He does not merely help us. Rather, we beseech Him to overcome the corruption in us, and then we submit to the process He leads us through. This point is crucial because God has created us with a human spirit, which includes human will. The human will can motivate men to accomplish extraordinary things—like climbing Mount Everest, swimming the English Channel, and putting a man on the moon. Yet the corrupted human will is wholly insufficient for overcoming corrupted human nature, let alone Satan. The human will is dreadfully inadequate. In Colossians 2:23, Paul warns of "will-worship," which he says has the appearance of wisdom. Will-worship was part of the asceticism active in the Gnostic culture of Colossae, in which the devotees were regimented and disciplined in their religious practice. They willed themselves to avoid touching and eating things that they judged to be spiritually impure, but their demonstrations of self-control did nothing to glorify God or edify their fellow citizens. This was not the kind of self-control gained as a fruit of the Spirit but a reveling in their own ability to choose an action or way of living and stick to it by their internal fortitude. Initially, if we think about it in relation to avoiding sin, this sort of discipline sounds good, and indeed, discipline is a good thing. However, will-worship leaves God out of the picture. If God is not the One leading the process of overcoming, we will inevitably apply our will and efforts to the wrong things, at the wrong time, and in the wrong measure. Moreover, if a strong will were the answer to overcoming, then we would have something to boast of and not need God. We could create ourselves in His image. Yet, Scripture resoundingly points us back to God and what only He can provide. Creating mankind into the image of Elohim is God's project, not ours. Again, this does not mean that we are idle or passive; we have many responsibilities in this process. Understanding our part begins with comprehending the blood of the Lamb and how much we cannot do. When we are in that humble state of mind, God can begin turning us and guiding us through the overcoming process on His terms.
David C. Grabbe
How Did They Overcome? (Part Two)
|
Start Your Day with Scripture
Begin each morning with God's Word — the Berean delivers a daily verse and insightful commentary to spark reflection and growth.
Join 140,000+ fellow believers on this journey.
|
|
