Day
Three: Hebrews 9:11-14 “But
the Messiah has appeared high priest of the good things that have come. In the
greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands (that is, not of this
creation), He entered the most holy place once for all, not by the blood of
goats and calves, but by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. For
if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow, 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?”
IMAGINE ITS 1941.A man has just broken the law, and is given
two choices: 1) He can spend the next four years in jail, or 2) He can spend
the next four years serving his country by enlisting in the U.S.Army.Not wanting serve jail time, he decides to join the war
effort against Nazi Germany.
Meanwhile, the German military invades nation after nation,
with the ultimate goal of conquering the world. As our fictional soldier begins his service to pay his debt
to society, he is approached by a commanding officer. This officer tells the young soldier
that his four year obligation has been cancelled, his debt erased, and that he
is free to leave at any time. The man has been completely pardoned from his crime and has
no further obligation to society. However, the man informs the officer that he is going to
remain with the military and continue to fight for his country. His service is no longer aimed at
paying his debt, but is a desire and delight to accomplish a mission.
From this admittedly limited analogy, we can see a picture
of the gospel and the response of those captured by it.When an individual tastes of the free
grace offered by Christ, he or she is immediately pardoned from the debt of all
sin.
Like the man in the story, this new freedom does not send Christians away from
the mission, but rather frees them to carry it out. In Christ, we find complete atonement
for sin.
But those pardoned from sin do not look for an escape from God’s mission and purposes. Rather, they are freed to live on
mission for God.
This mission is driven not out of obligation, but out of desire to worship and
obey the almighty God.
PAUSE AND REFLECT
▷▷Why is it an error to think free grace will cause people to not
serve God?
▷▷What is the difference between service out of obligation and
service out of delight?
▷▷Why
should Christian service be driven by delight?
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