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GRACE BLOGS COLLECTION

748. Hebrews 9: The Failure of Ceremony and Sacrifice

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Priests appointed through the law under the Old Covenant always went into the tabernacle to offer the blood of animals for their own sins and the sins of the people. It was a temporary solution that needed to constantly be repeated because these gifts and sacrifices could not meet God’s requirement of perfection, and left the worshippers in a state of sin consciousness.

But when Christ appeared as High Priest (after the law), everything radically changed.



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735. Hebrews 1: God Has Spoken to Us Through His Son

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Welcome to a series where we will provide an overview of the book of Hebrews. We will sift and skim some highlights to help provide context of these very important writings when it comes to realizing the grace and truth that came through Jesus Christ … and the differences between an expired Old Covenant and a New and better covenant.

The writer starts off in Chapter One by pointing out to Jewish believers that God had formerly spoken to them—their ancestors—through the prophets (and the writings related those prophets). But now in these days, He has spoken through His Son, who has been appointed an heir of all things, through whom the world was made.



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719. Tear Down This Wall!

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In Ephesians Chapter 2, Paul talked about a dividing wall which brought a separation from Christ. It kept us from the covenants of promise while leaving us without hope and without God in the world. What was this wall of separation? Many might be surprised to find out that Paul revealed it was the law of commandments contained in ordinances.

Jesus broke down this barrier and it resulted in us who were far off being brought near by His blood. It ended with both Jew and Gentile being brought together into one new man (Christ). For centuries, the religious business has attempted to rebuild this wall which Jesus leveled… leaving people in a place of covenant confusion and uncertainty.



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707. Born Identity: God Remembers Sins No More

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The Christian religion is often built upon the idea we should repeatedly be seeking a renewed forgiveness from God whenever we fall short.

It’s time to ask ourselves a question at it relates to the message of the gospel and the New Covenant of Jesus Christ: How can we be forgiven for something that God says He no longer remembers?



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706. Born Identity: Forever Forgiven – Unconditionally

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How can we know for certain we’re forgiven by God? Is it based on the condition we repeatedly confess all our sins? Is it dependent on whether we forgive others or not? Water baptism?

Let’s ask a different question that contains a very significant answer: Why did our High Priest offer His blood by a sacrifice that occurred “once for all” and afterwards - He sat down? Knowing you are completely forgiven by God should never be something you have to wonder about.



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705. Born Identity: God’s Forgiveness Is Not Repeated

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If we needed to continue seeking more forgiveness from God for every time we fell short, then the second covenant established by Jesus was a failed experiment. Repeated forgiveness is what the Jews pursued under the first covenant (before the cross).

If more forgiveness needs to be dispersed by God, then Jesus would need to keep offering Himself again and again. We have a better proclamation inside of a new and better covenant. Sins weren’t just covered; they were taken away.



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703. Born Identity: You Are Sanctified

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Hollow religious teaching will declare you’re saved by grace (justified), but being sanctified is a gradual, progressive, life-long process which must work at in order to become more set apart before they reach the finish line . It’s time to change our thinking. Consider that through the cross God has already gifted you with sanctification and this is the starting line. Whew! It’s the ultimate head-start, and now you can run from here.



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680. 1 John 1:9 (Part 4) No Longer Asking for What Has Already Been Given (Forgiveness)

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This week we reflect on a relatively small number of scriptural passages which confirm our forgiveness in Jesus Christ. It’s “forever forgiveness” that occurred through one righteous act at the cross of Jesus Christ. His blood not only brought a permanent forgiveness of all sins (past, present and future), but cleansed us from all unrighteousness. The work of Jesus has already brought us the gift of justification, righteousness and sanctification. In him we are new, alive, clean, holy, perfected and so much more. In addition to our previous programs in this series, part of our goal is to help believers understand that the context of 1 John 1:9 was not meant for us to keep trying to remember all of our sins, mistakes and shortcomings in order to try confessing all of them be forgiven again. The church has failed to realize this keeps people in a sin consciousness which Jesus came to free people from. It only brings a temporary emotional release from guilt, leaving people with a false identity by thinking they are just sinners who can’t seem to overcome. A better way to living in victory is placing faith in what Jesus did, and that it was more than enough.



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676. Receiving the Forgiveness That Has Already Been Given

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A once for all forgiveness for sins occurred through Jesus Christ when His blood was shed at the cross. The problem of sins ever bringing a separation or coming between God and us has been dealt with by God Himself through the body of Jesus Christ. God was in Him, reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their sins against them. He no longer deals with us according to our sins, which have been cast as far away as the east is from the west. When the priests under the law made offerings for sin, it was a temporary covering (atonement) and a new forgiveness was needed shortly thereafter. They kept standing, offering the same sacrifices that could never take sins away. But our new High Priest (Jesus) made one offering… then He sat down, because when forgiveness is a completed and finished work, “there no longer remains an offering for sin” (Hebrews 10:18). Now in order to experience and enter the life of Christ, we simply believe in Him and what He did on our behalf. The gift of forgiveness that has already been “offered” is received by simply believing (see examples in Acts 10:43; 26:18).



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675. The Lamb of God Who Takes Away the Sins of the World

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Continuing on our journey on the subject of forgiveness of sins from God, some questions we discuss this week… when does forgiveness occur? Is it something God extends to each individual on a one by one basis, or is it a gift that has been offered and made available to everyone in the world? We know Jesus was identified as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. As it relates to the finished work of Christ and the power of His blood that was shed once for all, were sins taken away at that time over 2,000 years ago? Or is a new act of forgiveness from God still required? In other words, is it possible God has closed the book on forgiveness after the cross of Christ, and all that is left now is for people to receive it by believing the work of Christ was and is sufficient? If sin is no longer an issue of separation between God and people, is unbelief the only thing that will keep people from experiencing the life of God through salvation and righteousness? These are some of the questions we are asking in our discussion as we consider the magnitude of the cross.



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674. Forgiveness Complete, Offerings Stopped

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Good news: The blood of Jesus Christ did not cover your sins (don’t panic). Why is this good news? Because something better happened. Instead of covering them, His blood took them completely away. They were removed once and for all by one sacrifice. Contrast this with the many sacrifices of the blood of animals with ceremonies offered under the first covenant. Those sacrifices were offered daily and provided an atonement (covering), but they could never take sins away. Forgiveness was temporary for the Jewish people under the Law. In the kingdom where we grace radicals abide, we talk much about forgiveness of sins that have occurred whether they be past, present or future. As we challenge our traditional mindsets on this subject, the question we begin to ask is… when did this occur and is it synonymous with salvation where we find life in Christ? To be continued…



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668. What Can Separate You from God?

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As a believer in Jesus Christ, it’s possible you’ve heard a list of things that can separate you from God. At the very least, you’ve been told that fellowship with God can be broken, hindered or put on hold based upon certain behavior malfunctions on your part. In some corners of Christianity, it becomes a rather long list of things you should work at avoiding, along with another list you should put effort into doing. If you have “fallen out of fellowship” with God, religion might have you reaching for a rededication prayer while seeking a renewed forgiveness from God, as if Jesus had just returned to perform another sacrifice.

For those with a spiritual separation anxiety, we have edited the list of things that can cause some type of a separation between you and God (see below):

  1. Nothing.




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