You've been set free, but that freedom comes at a high price.
Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 1
Q. What is your only comfort in life and in death?
A. That I am not my own,
but belong—
body and soul, in life and in death—
to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.
He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood,
and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil.
He also watches over me in such a way
that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven:
in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.
Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life
and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.
Read / Listen
Read Hebrews 9:11-15
Listen to passage & devotional:
Summary
Yesterday we were reminded of the tremendous comfort that comes from belonging in life & death to our faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.
Today it becomes clear that we belong to Christ because a price was paid.
New Testament theology is really hard to understand without the context that the Old Testament provides. So often it can be difficult to keep reading through books like Leviticus because all of the rules, regulations and temple ceremonies seem irrelevant for those of us who know our salvation comes from grace alone because of Christ alone.
But passages like Hebrews 9 help connect the dots and demonstrate that all of the bloody rituals and sacrifices present in Old Testament worship painted a picture of the price that needed to be paid for your sin. As v22 says,
Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
Dig Deeper
Once a year, the Hebrew high priest would enter into God's presence and sprinkle the blood of a sacrificial lamb to make atonement (payment) for the sins of the people, but this only visualized the shedding of blood that's necessary to forgive sins. For you to be actually forgiven and made right with God, a far higher price needed to be paid.
That's why v12 say that Jesus entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.
It's because you've been eternally redeemed that you've been "set free from the tyranny of the devil."
You know how carefully you handle super expensive things. Make sure the way you live reflects the infinitely high price Christ paid for your redemption.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Father in heaven, your name is and must always remain holy.
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: I pray that I will live for the one who paid such a high price for me
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Mark 2
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