Post by Cindy on Nov 16, 2024 8:22:53 GMT -5
Blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin. (ROMANS 4:8)
God has given each of us a conscience, a moral compass within our hearts, bearing witness to His Law. In sinful or self-righteous people (those whose dominant characteristics are either obvious sin or obvious self-righteousness), the conscience is to some degree “hardened.” But in a growing Christian the conscience becomes more and more sensitive to violations of God’s Law. As a result, our consciences continually indict us, accusing us not only of particular sins, but, more important, of our overall sinfulness. We recognize that specific sins are simply the expressions of our still-wicked hearts. Our sinfulness is very real to us, and we find it difficult to believe God would no longer remember each offense.
It’s here that I find it helpful to visualize the Old Testament scapegoat carrying away the people’s sins that have been laid on its head. This is an accurate picture of what Jesus did with my sin.
In fact, Christ’s work on my behalf is greater still. “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (Hebrews 9:14). Only the blood of Christ can cleanse our consciences and quiet their accusations against us. To experience this cleansing subjectively we must agree with our consciences in true penitence, then by faith appropriate the reality of His cleansing blood. The burden of uncanceled guilt ceases.
Do you believe that the sin you’re now so painfully and shamefully aware of will never be counted against you? If by faith you see Jesus as your scapegoat, you’ll subjectively experience the reality of that wonderful truth and be freed from a guilty conscience to serve the living God.
Holiness Day by Day
God has given each of us a conscience, a moral compass within our hearts, bearing witness to His Law. In sinful or self-righteous people (those whose dominant characteristics are either obvious sin or obvious self-righteousness), the conscience is to some degree “hardened.” But in a growing Christian the conscience becomes more and more sensitive to violations of God’s Law. As a result, our consciences continually indict us, accusing us not only of particular sins, but, more important, of our overall sinfulness. We recognize that specific sins are simply the expressions of our still-wicked hearts. Our sinfulness is very real to us, and we find it difficult to believe God would no longer remember each offense.
It’s here that I find it helpful to visualize the Old Testament scapegoat carrying away the people’s sins that have been laid on its head. This is an accurate picture of what Jesus did with my sin.
In fact, Christ’s work on my behalf is greater still. “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (Hebrews 9:14). Only the blood of Christ can cleanse our consciences and quiet their accusations against us. To experience this cleansing subjectively we must agree with our consciences in true penitence, then by faith appropriate the reality of His cleansing blood. The burden of uncanceled guilt ceases.
Do you believe that the sin you’re now so painfully and shamefully aware of will never be counted against you? If by faith you see Jesus as your scapegoat, you’ll subjectively experience the reality of that wonderful truth and be freed from a guilty conscience to serve the living God.
Holiness Day by Day
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