Evening

November 14

Hebrews 10:12-14 ¹²But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. ¹³Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, ¹⁴because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

This passage is reminding us that Jesus' work of redemption is finished. He is now seated at the right hand of God, the place of power and authority. What He did cannot be undone. Meanwhile, God is putting everything under Christ's feet. That is an often-repeated theme of Scripture.

Part of the process of putting all things under His feet is described in verse 14. Many Christians do not understand why they continue to sin. If Jesus made us perfect, if we are a new creation in Christ, if our heart has been made new, then why am I still struggling with the flesh? Why do I have to crucify it daily?

All those things are true of you. You have been made perfect before God. A transaction has been made. You gave your sins, past, present and future, (for all time) to Jesus upon the cross. You received His righteousness like a credit to your account. It is not yet what you express in your daily life, but it is what the Father counts as yours.

The last line of our passage sounds like a contradiction if we do not understand this idea, "made perfect forever those who are being made holy." Remember that God sees all time presently. The work is done and yet it is in progress. You are being made holy in your daily expression, yet you are perfect before God from His eternal view. Our daily struggle with sin, our daily crucifixion of our old nature, is putting the enemies under the feet of Jesus. We are being made holy, and will be finished only when we see Him. (1John 3:2) It is the process of sanctification, and it will be completed. Don't despair of the struggle. Battle on! It is God putting all enemies under the feet of your Savior. The last enemy will be death itself (1Corinthians 15:26). Don't be discouraged. It is a work of God.

Meditation: How can I cooperate today with God's work of making me holy?