The Season of Lent: Confession
By: Alan Morales
Devotional
25 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 7:25)
Reflection
Imagine working at a job where you couldn’t talk to your boss or supervisor personally. In order to get to them, you had to go through another individual (or third party) so that you could communicate with them. Your superior had told you that if you had any questions, comments, or concerns, you were to tell the third party and they would relay the message on your behalf. How would you feel? Impotent because you cannot give the message yourself? Frustrated and wondering if your superior cares about you or your concerns? Anxious because you can’t be certain that the message will get to them and in the way you want it told? Although all examples and analogies have shortcomings, this is what the people in the Old Testament dealt with when it came to their relationship with God.
Since their sinfulness separated them from a just and holy God, the people in the OT could not personally go to God for anything. They were not worthy to do so. Instead, they had to go through a third party, a priest. Priests were specifically appointed by God to live strict and holy lives so that they would be worthy to come before Him. Their major responsibility was to stand before God on behalf of man and before man on behalf of God. Since there was no personal contact between God and the people, every time God’s people sinned, the priest would offer a sacrifice of forgiveness to God on behalf of the people so that God’s wrath would be temporarily satisfied. The same would go for those who wished to offer praise or thanksgiving to God. Further, priests were also the mouthpieces of God, and when He asked something of His people, the priests would relay His message. By necessity, everything that involved God and the people, the priests were also involved.
Although a lot of time has passed since then, we are still the same, sinful, and unworthy humans as the Jews were in the Old Testament. To prove this, how many times have you sinned before coming on here and reading this blog? Have you burst out of anger against your wife or your husband? Have you been unjust to your children? Have you been having sinful thoughts at home, work, or church? If so, welcome to the club. Since we have fallen short of God's standard, just like those in the Old Testament, we are not worthy to go to Him for anything. We deserve nothing more than to be tossed out of His holy presence forever. In short, what we deserve for our sinfulness is death. So where is our hope?
In the letter to the Hebrews, our author knew that his readers were very familiar with the tradition of the Old Testament. The Hebrews knew and continued to practice the law, including going to priests. The author of Hebrews writes to them to make it clear that there is no longer a need to go to a priest in order to communicate with God. Instead, he writes that we could approach God personally through Christ, who is now our Great priest.
The author proclaims about Jesus, writing, "He is able to save [completely] those who draw near to God through him..” Although the priests of the Old Testament were viewed as worthy by God, they were inadequate in that they were sinful men who could not save people from their sin. When priests provided sacrifices to God on behalf of the people, this would only temporarily cover their sins until another sacrifice had to be made. However, in addition to Jesus being a sinless man, He is also God. Therefore, He has the ability to forgive people of their sin completely and cause an internal heart change. But as we see in our verse, He saves those who draw near to Him. The way we draw near to God is through the confession of our sins to Jesus. When we confess our sins, not only are we acknowledging Jesus as king, but we are also accepting the charges put against us. Namely, that we are sinners worthy of death. By nature, we think of ourselves as self-righteous and self-sufficient, with no need to turn to God. However, in confession, we are acknowledging that we are not perfect and are in need of a savior. This is the internal work of Jesus on our hardened hearts.
The author continues,"... since He [Jesus] always lives to make intercession for them.” The only reason we can freely confess our sin is because Jesus intercedes for us. Jesus is currently seated at the right hand of the Father, pleading on your behalf that He would forgive you of your sin, continue to sanctify you, and keep you saved. This is not because you deserve it, but rather, because Jesus paid a great price for you. Church, we can personally and intimately go to Jesus right now and confess all of our sin. I encourage you to make your prayers, praises, and thanksgivings known to Jesus. He forever lives to intercede for you, and we can have confidence in knowing that when we come to Jesus, we are approaching God Himself. Church, "let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Heb 4:16).
By: Alan Morales