Mike Focht 2/21/2025
For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before. This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD; I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them. Then He adds, Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more. Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.
Hebrews 10:14-18
Here, we have a clear and concise declaration of truth. There is only one sacrifice for sins. Now that the one sacrifice has been made, there is no longer an offering for sin. God the Father is satisfied with the sacrifice of His Son, and He no longer remembers the sins covered by the blood of that sacrifice.
This is a familiar truth intellectually, but we often forget it practically. You and I are still regularly tempted to offer our own sacrifices for sin. When we sin, we often feel like we must “make it up” to God and sometimes even say so openly. Intellectually, we know this is wrong, but we still feel we need to do something.
The guilt over particular sins pushes us to do something. We are convicted about our laziness in seeking God, so we attempt to “make up” for missed time and read a few extra chapters. We realize our imperfections as parents or spouses and seek to “make up” for past failures by current good works. Some may even be so daring as to sin and then decide to literally pay God back by putting more money in the offering. The examples are legion. Hastily muttered oaths of future good, rash promises of devotion, even tears and prayers. Like King Saul of old, we offer God half-hearted obedience and try to make up for it with what we sinfully acquired. These types of placating offerings will never be pleasing to God.
Good works are not wrong in and of themselves. The problem is when we begin to do our good works to make up for past sins. Our good works cannot become sacrifices intended as substitutes for Christ’s work on the cross. In that capacity, all our good works are like filthy rags. They are dead works if offered with the intent to cover sins. Our guilt and sin can never be solved by turning to anything other than God’s one sacrifice for sin. God is not looking for you to offer Him a sacrifice. He is perfectly satisfied with the Lamb of God.
What does God want from us? He has placed His Spirit in our hearts and minds. He wants us to obey Him and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in confession, repentance, obedience, service, joy, faith, hope, and love. He has removed our sins so that we can walk with Him in the Spirit and not fulfill the lusts of our flesh. So today, come to the cross of Jesus Christ afresh. Bend your knees and allow Jesus’ one sacrifice to be enough for all your sins. Enough to clean your conscience of guilt. Enough to strengthen you to follow hard after Him. Enough to leave every other sacrifice behind and simply place your faith in Him. Forget your sins. Remember His sacrifice.