“So Great a Sacrifice”

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…

"So Great a Sacrifice"

    Under the law of Moses, Israel brought its own sacrifices, as prescribed by God, to seek atonement for sin and acceptance with God.

    "I will offer unto Thee the burnt sacrifices of failings, with the incense of rams.  I will offer bullocks with goats" (Psalm 66:15).

    Under the grace and truth of the Lord Jesus Christ, we come to God by the offering of His atoning sacrifice whereby we become "accepted in the Beloved" (Ephesians 1:6).

   "By one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified" (Hebrews 10:14).

    By no means, under no circumstances, and in no way can we initiate and maintain our eternal salvation by our own efforts.  "The law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did, by the which we draw nigh to God" (Hebrews 7:19).  The sacrifices under the old law served as foreshadowings of the "better hope" of Christ.  His sacrifice served as the substance that cast those shadows, but which now in its fullness consecrates the saints by providing born again believers with full pardon and freely given favor with God.  We approach the Father by the Son, as led by the Holy Spirit who inspires the song of grace within our hearts and upon our lips: "Nothing in my hand I bring, only to Thy cross I cling!"

   Such grace in the Lord Jesus received and consistently affirmed motivates a heart genuinely devoted to God, along with hands and feet greatly empowered to "work the works of God" by "believing on Him whom He hath sent" (John 6:28-29).  We live self sacrificially as the fruit of trusting His sacrifice as the basis of our walk with God.  Or, as the Apostle Paul wrote, we "work out" that which God "worketh in" (Philippians 2:12-13).  However, we never perceive that our sacrifices make us more or less accepted by our Heavenly Father.  Christ alone provides such entree into God's favor.  We either come to the Father by Him, or we do not come at all.  "No man cometh unto the Father but by Me" (John 14:6).

    "Accepted in the Beloved."  In times of faithfulness, this is the anthem of our praise as we direct all honor to the Lord Jesus.  In times of failure, this is the anthem of our penitence as we avail ourselves of the marvel that Christ forever maintains our relationship and standing with God.  Little wonder that the writer of Hebrews declared our redemption as "so great salvation" (Hebrews 2:3).  Because God has given to us so great a Savior who made so great a sacrifice whereby we come to our Father and forever abide with Him in a grace that drew us near to God, and forever keeps us near to Him.

"We have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God."

(Romans 5:2)

"Let us have grace, that we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear."

(Hebrews 12:28)

Weekly Memory Verse

   "Be sober, be vigilant because your adversary the devil walketh about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."

(I Peter 5:8)

  

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