Dead Works from a Guilty Conscience

Reading in Hebrews 9 this morning, I was struck in a new way by the outward appeal of the law to the flesh. In particular, the writer speaks of the effect of the ceremonial law with regard to sin:

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, 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. (Hebrews 9:13-14 ESV)

I suppose what really caught my attention was that the ceremonial blood rites were to ‘sanctify for the purification of the flesh’ and that this was contrasted with the blood of Christ which is able to ‘purify the conscience’. The sprinkling of blood and ashes were to deal with the outward sin of one’s life, but had no power to cleanse the conscience. Only the blood of Christ will cleanse the conscience.

This led my mind back to the words of Christ in Matthew 5. His series of statements with regard to the moral law – “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder… commit adultery… swear falsely’” – remind us that the law is aimed at the flesh in an attempt to sanctify a person’s actions. This is sanctification for the purification of the flesh, as the writer of Hebrews puts it. The corresponding series of answers – “But I say to you…” – are pointed at the inner man. These statements take aim at the place within us that cannot be purified by works or religious ceremony but only by the blood of Christ.

We cannot turn from dead works to serve the living God so long as our consciences condemn us. We will, like our first parents Adam and Eve, continue to hide and run from the condemnation of a holy God. This is why we need a savior – because “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” (Hebrews 9:22 ESV) Until our consciences rest in the assurance that Christ has given account for every wrong committed by our sinful hearts, past, present and future, we cannot openly commune with the living God, let alone serve him in accordance with His will. To be useful to God we must concede that religious ceremony and dead works which give the appearance of cleanliness to the outer man cannot cleanse the heart, which is where the problem truly lies. “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.” (Matthew 15:19-20 ESV)

The passage from Hebrews quoted above tells us the purpose for the cleansing of our consciences; that we might serve the living God. Christian, if you are trusting in your works as a Christian to prove your sincerity toward God, you are on sinking sand. If you feel as though you must always be doing something in order to please God, you have forgotten that the only thing that pleases God is faith in the efficacy of Christ’s blood. Our consciences are to be cleansed by the blood of Christ so that our works are not conscience driven, but Spirit driven. Perhaps you have forgotten that at one time your conscience mercilessly drove you to perform dead works in an effort to please God and have fallen into that habit once again. If your conscience is bothering you, go to Christ who gives rest. He will not give you more than you can handle, but your conscience will never stop heaping on dos and don’ts.  The blood of Christ will purify your conscience from dead works so that you might truly serve the living God.

That is the gospel truth.

God bless.