Hebrews 9, Chapter 9.
As a young woman, I decided that being cool in my new high school was more important than holding tight to my faith. A horrific personal assault the previous year had changed my view of myself and my body, and at fourteen I couldn’t process this in any way. I had no words for it. Therefore, when we moved across the country, and I started at a new high school, I made the decision to be cool.
Each time my conscience nudged me, I shoved it behind my back, so to speak. Gradually this became easier to do. Unfortunately, it took me years to figure out that I had trained myself to ignore my conscience and then twice as many years on top of that to train myself to listen once again.
I could only regain what I had seared because Jesus died to make it possible for my conscience to recover. He heals and purifies consciences, even when we have sinned intentionally.
Hebrews 9, where the discussion of Jesus’ role as our great high priest wraps up, informs us that the gifts and sacrifices of the Old Testament could not “perfect the conscience of the worshiper” (Hebrews 9:9b.). These were only in place until the “time of reformation” (ESV) or “new order” (NIV). The New Covenant and the ability to have a perfected or cleansed conscience arrived with Jesus Christ.
“Perfecting the conscience” or “purifying the conscience” in a moral sense means to fully cleanse the conscience from sin. This is in contrast to the ceremonial cleansing of the Old Testament, which sprinkled on blood and dealt with washings and regulations, but didn’t heal the spirit or soul.
13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance (Hebrews 9:13-15a ESV).
Only Jesus can make someone morally clean, bringing us eventually to heaven and a state of blessedness and glory. He cleansed our sins with his own blood, not with the blood of calves and goats. We are his prize. This was his goal. He split the curtain into the Holy Place right in two. His sacrifice only needs to be offered once, not yearly like the old sacrifices.
[bctt tweet="Only Jesus can make someone morally clean. He cleansed our sins with his own blood. We are his prize. This was his goal."]But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:26b-28 ESV).
Purifying or making clean the conscience is a significant topic in the New Testament. Paul makes clear that the conscience is essential to guiding us away from sin. There we interact with the Holy Spirit, and there we are morally guided from within. This is why we mustn’t sear our consciences. It takes years to heal such a wound.
Decades of careful work reestablished my ability to notice the conviction and the nudge of conscience and Spirit together. Interestingly, it wasn’t until I had done this work that I truly felt forgiven for my sins of that past time period. I didn’t expect this. Theologically, I knew I was forgiven, yet I dragged the guilt of it behind me for a long while.
[bctt tweet="Theologically, I knew I was forgiven, yet I dragged the guilt behind me for a long while. Have you ever been in this place?"]Jesus’ sacrifice of himself accomplished many things at once. “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” Hebrews 9:22b reassures us. When we turn to him in repentance, we are forgiven. His righteous blood covers us.
This was why Jesus came for people like me — to forgive sinners, to restore us to God, and to heal our consciences.
These truths are woven throughout most of the New Testament. Many passages make clear this change brought by Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection and how it affects our inner humanity—the conscience, the soul, the spirit. Take a peek at these passages. See all we have gained in Christ Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross.
First, we have encouragement in his Person, comfort in his love, participation in the Spirit, affection, sympathy, and on and on, thus enabling us to live a godly life. Begin in Philippians 2 with the foundational blessings accomplished by Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. . . .
Read this: Philippians 2:1-16
To bring harmony and unity, God provided the remedy for racial and cultural division through the sacrifice of Christ. Racial prejudice is a soul wound, obvious evidence that cleansing of the conscience is needed. The Lord restores us and creates a church where Jews and everyone else (Gentiles) can meet in harmony and love, free of prejudice with consciences fully functional. . . .
Read this: Ephesians 2
Then, Peter tells us that obedience to the instructions found in God’s Word purifies our souls, similar language to “perfecting our consciences,” moving the same message forward throughout the New Testament. . . .
Read this: 1 Peter 1
And finally, he has given us everything we need pertaining to life and godliness. All the essentials of growth, healing of conscience, putting aside of past sins — all of these we already have in Christ, Peter reminds us. Will we appropriate his divine power and grow? . . .
Read this: 2 Peter 1
We made a general mess of our lives, following the broken passions of our flesh, broken in heart, soul, and mind. This is the state of humankind.
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:1-7 ESV).
“But God” is one of the most encouraging and blessed phrases in the Bible. I would be a mess and not at all who I am today, but God. My conscience would have never recovered, and I would continue to be driven by lust and selfishness, but God. I would be lost and never be found, but God.
We can’t grow in our own strength. We can’t heal ourselves. Our consciences can’t be made whole and clean through our own efforts. But God, through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross and his Holy Spirit within us, can heal and purify even our consciences.
How about you? Where do you fit in this summation? But God . . .
Find the next Hebrews series post, right here.
I’m so excited to finally share the sequel to No Longer Alone with you! Be encouraged as you read about faith in action during hardship. But God . . .
Just in time for Christmas: Find The Shadows Come in Kindle and paperback, alongside No Longer Alone.
I fit completely in this message. I’m so thankful for the phrase ‘but God.’ As I was a real mess and hurt many in my life because of my sin. But God stepped in and rescued me.
Interestingly, you mention at the beginning of your article, “I made the decision to be cool.” Because of a horrific assault made on you, you made a decision to rectify it. Likewise, I did the same. Lacking a father in my life led me to look for ‘love’ in all the wrong places. We both made a decision, one that could be made. Sadly, neither one honored God, nor did they help us heal.
This ability to make a decision means we can make a good one, one that follows God’s ways vs our flesh’s. Once we follow Him, He purifies us from our unrighteousness. It boils down to a decision, will we follow Him or our own ‘wisdom?’
Wonderful article, Melinda!
Marcie, thank you for sharing your own story so transparently. Thank you for commenting. I like how you’ve turned that around and stated that we could then make right decisions, good ones, which the Lord eventually did enable us to realize and to make. I’m so grateful for his work in my life to heal that broken girl and to bring me to himself. There’s still so much work to be done on me! AND YET, I know that the Lord is at work, continually healing, and perfecting my conscience more and more. He is so good!
I’ve been there, too. I love your vulnerability in this piece! Sanctification is a conscious decision, and it is incredibly liberating. Choosing the holy, choosing to be purified through Jesus, over being “cool” and pushing Him aside, is cause for celebration. Thanks for this!
Amen, to that, Jessica! All of us who come to Christ go through some version of this decision making. Not all of our circumstances involve assault and a deliberately seared conscience, but all involve a recognition of our need for Christ and his cleansing to heal and to mend our own personal mess. A conscious decision must be made, as you point out. And it is indeed incredibly liberating.
Melinda, Love all your articles on Hebrews and the wisdom you share through not only your personal experiences, but also through God’s counsel in all of Scripture. Many times, culture wants us to look only at the surface level of our conscience…even what psychology says or wants us to know. I thought this Google definition is interesting: “an inner feeling or voice viewed as acting as a guide to the rightness or wrongness of one’s behavior.” But we both know that the Holy Spirit is our guide to rightness…righteousness, as you so beautifully state. Also love this truth; “Only Jesus can make someone morally clean, bringing us eventually to heaven and a state of blessedness and glory.”
Thank you for commenting, Karen! I’ve been so blessed by this journey back through Hebrews. I have all of my old notes, and then the Holy Spirit, of course, always lends new insight. I’m glad that the Lord has gifted human beings with a conscience, but we all know that conscience is shaped by society, family, norms of our “clan,” and many other things. Therefore, even if our consciences excuse us, we might still be sinning, yet unawares. I do know that after searing a conscience, the retraining is challenging. Many deeds we would continue to do if societal norms dictated they were okay. I think we see that in many cultural norms. This is why the Lord had written lists of what is right and what is wrong. If it doesn’t “feel” wrong, because of a damaged conscience, that matters not. The fact that God stated it is wrong makes it so.
What a powerful post! I am thankful God is with me at all times. In the past and the present and the future, His presence gives me comfort. Past sins have plagued my thoughts. I am thankful He forgives and those past sins are forgotten.
I feel the same, Melissa! When the pains and losses of the past are revisited, he reminds us that we are his, and we are forgiven and made clean and whole. Thank you for commenting!
Melinda, this study you have done on Hebrews is so rich and inspiring! I have made many wrong decisions mostly to just fit in. The older I get and the stronger I am in my faith and in God’s approval of me, I am slowly throwing off the need for approval of others. But honestly, it is something that still taps on my shoulder in myriad ways. It is an area where I must turn and return and return to Jesus. This deep teaching goes to the heart of it all: ““Perfecting the conscience” or “purifying the conscience” in a moral sense means to fully cleanse the conscience from sin. This is in contrast to the ceremonial cleansing of the Old Testament, which sprinkled on blood and dealt with washings and regulations, but didn’t heal the spirit or soul.” Jesus’ sacrifice goes to the deep places of our hearts that need healing and cleansing and power to break free. What a Savior!
Thank you for such a thoughtful comment, Melissa. It’s such a common struggle. We are social creatures, and it’s easy for us to think we’re trying to please God, but to actually have the motive of looking good for others to see or of jumping through the hoops of what we think is expected and desired, rather than of pleasing God himself. Sometimes we’re driven by fear, other times by desire for approval, and sometimes by pain and anger at God over something we don’t understand. There are many reasons. But God! Like you said, Jesus is the only one who can heal and cleanse our consciences and our desire to please others. He loves us no matter what. What a Savior! What a blessing to have the Word of God to wash us and to encourage us with these truths.
A great, well-crafted message to soothe our hearts. Forgiving ourselves is sometimes the hardest forgiveness to bestow.
That’s really true, Nancy! We’re often still beating ourselves up, long after the Lord has thrown is as far away as the east is from the west. Sometimes healing takes a long time.
This is a rich post, Melinda. I have seen it in my life, that when a conscience is seared, it is nearly dead in certain areas – possibly surely dead if it weren’t for Christ. And I have also seen that confession and forgiveness work perfectly to restore our relationship with God, even after intentional sin – and repeated sin. The blood of Jesus is truly powerful and effective, and God is merciful. What a deliverance this is.
That’s so true, Stephen! Thank you for adding your comments to this discussion. God is filled with mercy. Our confession and our turning toward him rather than away from him (“repentance”) creates a clean space within as his Holy Spirit softens our hearts and begins the work of cleansing and purifying our consciences. What a merciful Savior we have!