Today's readings are Exodus 15.19-16.12 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Ex.+15.19-16.12 ) and Hebrews 10.1-18 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Heb.+10.1-18 ).
Day after day the Israelites got up in the morning, just like we do. They took care of themselves, their animals, their breakfast, their families, they went about their occupations, in short, they lived a life very much like everyone else in the world. The reality of their failing, their sin, was always with them, as they had offerings to make regularly. Day by day, there are constant reminders of sin and forgiveness. In many respects, this is like what we see in our own lives.
Or is it?
Shouldn't be.
When there is a daily offering for sin, we are given evidence that sin is not taken care of. When there is a daily sacrifice for sin, we are constantly being reminded that sin kills, that death has not been done away with, that we are under the curse of God for our unrighteousness. The offering for sin doesn't bring real forgiveness. It simply reminds us of sin, death, and judgment.
How many days have we gone about our daily business, prayed about the same sins, and pledged to work harder at avoiding the same sin in the future? How many days have we gone unchanged because we are pledging our future obedience to God, rather than pleading for his perfect righteousness and obedience to be imputed to us? How often have we taken this Christian life into our hands, by our own rules, and bungled it? How many daily reminders of sin, death, and judgment do we need? That is living under the law. It brings hopelessness. It brings death. Our life in Christ is not governed by the death that the law brings.
Look again at Hebrews 10.14-18. Look what our Lord is doing.
1) He gives a single offering, not multiple offerings.
2) That offering is sufficient and completes us in righteousness.
3) He plants his perfect law in our hearts so we are able and willing to keep it.
4) He writes his law on our minds so we know what is pleasing to God.
5) He forgets our sin. And since he is giving us his mind, we can forget it as well.
6) He reaffirms to us that there is no additional offering for sin to be made.
When I keep God's law without being aware that I am keeping it, I have the mind of God. When I strive with sin, I apparently am suffering from my fallen human nature. My awareness of sin drives me back to Christ. In belief and faith, I should realize that he has taken that sin away and cleansed me from sin. In my sin I always seem to grab it back. But that isn't the mark of Christ, it's the mark I bring to life.
Let us look to and rejoice in Christ, who is able to change us. He has completed righteousness. May he ever show that holy life in and through us more. And as we realize that we are unable to sanctify ourselves, let us realize that he plants his perfect righteousness in our lives. He has given himself for our sin. We can walk in that righteousness.
We're kind of like the Israelites. We end up walking in sin, remining ourselves of our failure. But unlike the Israelites, we have this great high priest, Jesus, who has become sin for us that we might be the righteousness of God. And as we remember the resurrection, let us remember that he will make us to rise as well, when our mortality (sin brings death) puts on immortality. Then we will remember sin no more.
Thanks be to God.
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