"Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them." — Hebrews 7:25
When you have sinned, or failed again in the same old way, how do you tend to approach God afterward? Many of us pull back. We keep a little distance until the guilt fades, or we try to make up for the wrong somehow, as if we have to get ourselves clean before we are fit to draw near to Him again.
The book of Hebrews takes us straight to the root of that instinct. Under the old covenant, the priests offered sacrifices for sin day after day, year after year. God Himself had commanded those sacrifices, yet notice what all that repetition meant: the work was never finished. The blood of bulls and goats could not permanently take sin away, and it could never clear the worshiper's conscience. A person could go through every ritual God required and still walk away carrying the same weight.
Then Christ came. Our great high priest did not bring the blood of animals. He offered His own. And His single sacrifice did what generation after generation of sacrifices never could: His blood purifies everything, even the conscience. After He had offered Himself once for our sins, He sat down at the right hand of God, because there was nothing left to add.
And that changes everything about how you come to Him. The curtain that once stood between us and the presence of God has been torn open, and through it runs a new and living way, opened by the blood of Jesus. You do not have to stand at a distance until you feel clean enough. Christ has made you clean, and God has promised, "I will remember their sins no more." And the One who opened the way has not left. He is seated at God's right hand, and He always lives to intercede for you, even now.
So draw near. Not because you have made yourself ready, but because He has. Come now, as you are, with a true heart and full confidence, for Christ's blood sprinkles our conscience clean and the way to Him stands open. Coming as you are does not mean treating your sin as nothing. It means carrying it to Him instead of hiding it, confessing it and turning from it, and being met there with mercy rather than distance.
The torn curtain is not merely permission to enter. It is the measure of how much God wants you near, and of all He gave to bring you close. This is not a God who merely tolerates your coming. This is a God who destroyed every barrier with the blood of His own Son, and who is calling you to come all the way in.
Reflection Question
Christ offered Himself once for all and then sat down, because the debt for your sin is paid in full. That is not a license to take sin lightly, but the freedom to stop hiding and bring it honestly to God. Is there a place where you have been keeping your distance until you feel clean enough, and what would it look like to draw near to Him there, in repentance, trusting His blood to make you clean?
Further Reflection
📖 Hebrews 7–10 📖 Matthew 27:51 📖 Romans 8:31–34 📖 1 John 1:8–2:2
Prayer
Father, thank You for Jesus, my great high priest, who did not offer the blood of animals but gave Himself once for all. Thank You that His single sacrifice has done what no ritual ever could, and that His blood washes my conscience clean. Thank You that You remember my sins no more, that the curtain was torn, granting me direct access to You, and that Jesus intercedes for me even now. Forgive me for the times I keep my distance from You, trying to feel clean enough before I come. Help me draw near to You with a true heart and full confidence, resting not in what I have done but in what Christ has finished. In Jesus' name, amen.
I’m almost stunned at these Sunday posts. I’m blown away, not just by the content which is so edifying, but also by the beautiful writing. There’s so much “content” out there … some crazy good … but not much written so deftly, so beautifully, as these posts. Whoever is writing them deserves a Pulitzer, I read them for content first, then for pure joy of the quality of fine literature. Wow. Thank you. (Oh yeah. I buy the merch too.)
God knows when you sin because he knows all.We have problems facing him but he wants us to,confess. He already knows . I have this problem
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2 comments
I’m almost stunned at these Sunday posts. I’m blown away, not just by the content which is so edifying, but also by the beautiful writing. There’s so much “content” out there … some crazy good … but not much written so deftly, so beautifully, as these posts. Whoever is writing them deserves a Pulitzer, I read them for content first, then for pure joy of the quality of fine literature. Wow. Thank you. (Oh yeah. I buy the merch too.)
God knows when you sin because he knows all.We have problems facing him but he wants us to,confess. He already knows . I have this problem