He holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. 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 7:24-25

Jesus’ sacrificial work as our High Priest is a finished work, a once-and-for-all accomplishment with regard to sin. There is no need for repetition and no possibility of addition. But why is it, exactly, that He is able to “save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him”?

Because, first, Christ’s role as our Great High Priest is the solution to our rebellion. Deep down inside, each of us knows that we have rejected our dependence upon God, instead making a bid for independence. In trying to live our lives independently, we reveal that our stubborn hearts are curved into themselves. We pridefully think, “I don’t need an advocate. I don’t need anybody to do anything on my behalf. I can handle this myself.”

But despite the fact that we have rebelled against God, amazingly, He seeks us out and saves us. Jesus brings about reconciliation by dealing with our alienation from God, which is two-sided: we are alienated on our side by our sin and on God’s side by His wrath. Jesus has paid the penalty for our sins; He has satisfied God’s wrath by offering Himself as an unblemished sacrifice.

Second, Jesus saves “to the uttermost” because He has destroyed the leverage that the Evil One uses to fill us with fear. In Hebrews 2, the writer explains, “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery” (v 14-15). Through His own death, Jesus has set us free from Satan’s grip, liberating us from what ought to be our greatest fear: death itself. When Satan seeks to accuse us before the Father, Jesus is, as it were, able to point out that his words are empty—that he has nothing to say against us. And Jesus’ priestly work still continues in His continual intercession on our behalf. In Jesus we have a Priest who sheds His grace on our lives day by day through His heavenly mediation. As Jesus enjoys being in His Father’s presence today, right now, He is not offering a sacrifice, but rather speaking as our advocate before the Father. We may picture Him standing by His Father, saying, That one is mine. I died for her. She is covered by my blood and is clothed in my righteousness.

So, “When Satan tempts me to despair, and tells me of my guilt within / Upward I look and see Him there, who made an end of all my sin.” Therefore, “I know that while in heaven He stands, no power can bid me thence depart.”^[1] Jesus, your Priest forever, stands in His Father’s presence today, speaking of you and for you. There is nothing to fear.

Questions for Thought

How is God calling me to think differently?

How is God reordering my heart’s affections — what I love?

What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?

Further Reading

Hebrews 7:23-28, Hebrews 8:1-6

Topics: Christ as Priest Eternal Security Satan

FOOTNOTES

¹ Charitie Lees Bancroft, “Before the Throne of God Above” (1863).

Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotional by Alistair Begg,

http://www.truthforlife.org

This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true.

Psalm 18:30

God is never in a hurry. He’s never late. His timing is always perfect. Yet so many of us spend so much of our lives hurrying from place to place, anxious to make things happen when we think they should happen.

Consider Esther 6 as an example. There’s a lot of hurry-up in this one chapter. It’s not the hurry-up of God, though, but the hurry-up of humanity.

Haman woke up and hurried off to see the king about hanging Mordecai (Esther 6:4). When King Ahasuerus requested that he hurry with the king’s robes to exalt the person the king delighted to honor (v 10), it was no problem for Haman to do so, assuming that the honor was intended for himself. Later we see Haman hurrying once more—but this time it is to his house in shame (v 12), embarrassed at being ordered to honor his most hated enemy, Mordecai. He didn’t want anyone to see him. He covered his head, like an arrested criminal trying to shield himself from the gaze of the TV cameras. He was a picture of disappointment and pain.

Mordecai, however, was not in a hurry. He had been overlooked. His warning of an assassination plot had been significant, yet apparently nobody cared about it, not least the very king who was the beneficiary of what he had done. Four or five years had passed without any honor or recognition (Esther 6:3), and still Mordecai patiently and faithfully continued to do what was right. He trusted in God and His timing. He knew that “this God—his way is perfect.”

Derek Kidner writes that “‘all God’s delays are maturings, either of the time … or of the man.”^[1] The psalmist says, “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word” (Psalm 119:67). Like the psalmist, our default is to just do our own thing and wander any way we want. But when God in His providence makes us wait longer than we might like or even brings disappointment, pain, and heartache into our lives, we are given the opportunity to pay attention to His words and to trust that His plan is unfolding perfectly.

We are called to believe that God’s way is perfect and His word is true—not just when His favor is evident but when the wheels are falling off and the good that we’ve done, which is deserving of honor and acclaim, is largely ignored. Do you believe that? Remember that even God’s ultimate plan of salvation did not require hurry: “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6, emphasis added). God’s ways are perfect and His timing impeccable. Set aside your hurry, then, and give up your anxiety, learning instead to trust God to do His work at the right time.

Questions for Thought

How is God calling me to think differently?

How is God reordering my heart’s affections — what I love?

What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?

Further Reading

Proverbs 3:5-12

Topics: Providence of God Sovereignty of God Trusting God

FOOTNOTES

¹ Psalms 1–72: An Introduction and Commentary on Books I and II of the Psalms, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, ed. D. J. Wiseman (InterVarsity, 1973), p 61.

Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotional by Alistair Begg, 

http://www.truthforlife.org

At one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.

Ephesians 5:8-10

Being made righteous should lead to us living righteously.

We trust Christ alone for our righteousness and never our good works. We must never lose sight of that. But we must also realize that the righteousness Christ gives us inevitably manifests itself in righteous deeds. Paul puts it this way: as believers, we are to “walk as children of light.” And why? Because “the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true.” In short, the Lord has made us righteous; therefore, we are to act righteously.

We cannot be the beneficiaries of the objective righteousness of Christ without the evidence presenting itself in our righteous living. Sinclair Ferguson puts it wonderfully when he says that “we are now the recipients of an irrevocable justification (or righteousness) in Christ, which in turn leads to a growth in righteousness in ourselves.”^[1] Similarly, John Calvin wrote that “the Son of God though spotlessly pure took upon himself the ignominy and shame of our sin and in return clothed us with his purity.”^[2] Christ bears our sin for us, grants us His unblemished record, and then empowers us, by His Spirit, to “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him” (Colossians 1:10).

The Puritans used to speak in terms of a righteousness that was imputed and then a righteousness that was imparted. They were seeking to distinguish between the objective righteousness that Christ affords us and the subjective righteousness that we enact in our lives in the power of the Spirit. As believers, we are the grateful possessors of both.

Whatever your preferred terminology, this much is always true: the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ isn’t simply a free pass that excuses us to do as we please. No, the gospel calls us and empowers us to do what pleases the Lord. The key is that the gospel always turns us back to Jesus. As you look to Christ for your righteousness, He will enable you to “lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely” and strengthen you to run the unique race God has set out for you (Hebrews 12:1-2). So today, be sure not to trust in your righteous living to earn you salvation or blessing from the Lord. But equally, be sure not to make the mistake of allowing your salvation to tempt you to be half-hearted in your pursuit of righteous living. You have been made righteous; now go and live righteously.

Questions for Thought

How is God calling me to think differently?

How is God reordering my heart’s affections — what I love?

What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?

Further Reading

Ephesians 5:8-15

Topics: Christian Living Imputed Righteousness Jesus Christ

FOOTNOTES

¹ Let’s Study Ephesians (Banner of Truth, 2015), p 181.

² Institutes of the Christian Religion 2.16.6, quoted in Bruce Milne, Know the Truth: A Handbook of Christian Belief, 3rd ed. (InterVarsity, 2009), p 212.

Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotional by Alistair Begg,

http://www.truthforlife.org