A Clean Conscience

¹¹ But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. ¹² He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. ¹³ The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. ¹⁴ How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

¹⁵ For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. (Hebrews 9:11-15 NIV)

Our family was blessed to take a quick trip to Houston for spring break. One of the things we got to do was go to the beach. We really love going to the beach! There’s just one thing I don’t love about the beach: All the sand. Don’t get me wrong, I like walking in the sand. I like that there is sand at the beach. What I don’t like is that the sand doesn’t stay at the beach. The sand sticks to everything. Do you know what I mean? It gets between your toes and in your mouth and in your hair and all over the car. You can never leave the sand at the beach. It follows you everywhere.

There’s something else like that. Like sand. Can you guess what I’m thinking of? Sin. Sin is like sand at the beach. There’s a lot of it. It’s everywhere. And it sticks to you. Not to your body. Sin sticks to your conscience. You can look clean, but you still feel so dirty. You can try to leave that sin behind, but it rubs between your toes and grits between your teeth. You can’t get rid of it. Sin sticks to our consciences like sand sticks to your body. How can we get a clean conscience?

The Bible says there’s something that’s needed to wash your conscience: Blood. That sounds wrong, doesn’t it? Blood doesn’t clean anything. On the contrary, blood stains whatever it gets on. Yet, this is how the Bible talks about the seriousness of sin: “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Sin deserves death. That’s why ignoring it or hiding it or denying it doesn’t make your conscience feel better. Blood—the death of something—is needed to pay for sin.

Long ago, God constantly reminded his people of their need for forgiveness every time they worshipped him. Do you know how? Through animal sacrifices. The Israelites first worshiped God outside a big tent called the tabernacle. Later, they built a temple. Every time they gathered to worship God, they saw something: Blood. Before a priest went into the tabernacle or temple, what did he have to do? Sacrifice a calf or a goat or a heifer. The blood or even the ashes of that sacrifice needed to be sprinkled on him. Do you think that would be powerful to see? Sin sticks to you. You need to be washed. To be forgiven. Something needs to die so that you can live.

Sin does one more thing: It separates you from God. Besides the blood, there was another big difference between their worship then and our worship now. Who actually went inside the tabernacle or the temple? Nobody except the priest. The people didn’t get to go inside the temple. Why not? Sin separates us from our holy God. In fact, inside the tabernacle or the temple was a big curtain that separated the Most Holy Place. Only the high priest could enter the Most Holy Place, and only once a year on the Day of Atonement. All this taught people a powerful lesson: Sin separates you from God, and there’s no way to wash that sin away without blood.

You know that. You feel that. Isn’t it hard in life to feel forgiven? We don’t talk about this much outside of church. We try to keep all this inside of us. Isn’t it hard in life to feel forgiven? Isn’t it hard in life to feel like your heart is at peace? We’re good at smiling on the outside even when we’re hurting on the inside. We’re good at putting on a good front all while we’re aching inside. It’s easy to feel guilty. It’s easy to live with regrets. How can we get a clean conscience?

What is it for you? What is it for you that makes you feel guilty and dirty inside? Is it some sins you committed long ago? They are like sand between your toes. They don’t go away. They keep rubbing together. It hurts. Maybe you live with regret for what you know you should have done. It’s a little like sand in your mouth. It makes everything taste bad. Maybe for you it’s a sin you’re caught in today. Nobody knows, but your conscience is aching. You want to get it off, right? Like sand, you want to get rid of it. But you can’t! How can you get a clean conscience?

Through your real High Priest. Do you know who your real High Priest is? Jesus! All those sacrifices of the Old Testament never took sins away. They were shadows pointing to something greater: Jesus. All those high priests of the Old Testament never saved anyone from their sins. They were shadows pointing to something greater: Jesus. That’s what the Bible teaches us today: “Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here.” “He entered the Most Holy Place.” Do you see the connections with the past? Jesus is the one true High Priest!

Here’s the surprise: Jesus didn’t offer any animal sacrifices. All the other priests did. But not Jesus. What did Jesus offer? “He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death.” Jesus offered himself. On the cross. Once for all.

Did you hear all the powerful ways our short lesson describes what Jesus has done for us? Jesus obtained “eternal redemption.” That sounds good, doesn’t it? You are eternally redeemed. Forgiven. Saved. Jesus won for us an “eternal inheritance.” That sounds good, doesn’t it? Heaven is God’s gift through faith in Jesus’ blood on the cross. Jesus “died as a ransom to set” you “free from the sins committed under the first covenant.” Jesus’ blood sets us free from all our sins. “Once and for all by his own blood.” Once and for all. That sounds good, doesn’t it?

Here’s my favorite phrase: “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death.” Jesus cleansed our consciences from acts that lead to death. Every sin ultimately leads to death. “The wages of sin is death,” right? Jesus wiped them all away. It’s the blood of Jesus that cleanses your conscience. That forgives you. That saves you. You have a clean conscience.

There was something else on our trip that made me think of this. At Christmas, you all gave our family a generous gift, including some gift cards. So we went to a gas station, we owed a lot of money, because gas is really expensive right now, but we didn’t have to pay it. One of you already paid it with the gift card you gave us. Just like we owed so much for our sins, yet Jesus paid it all for us. We went to a restaurant and got a lot of food, because our family eats a lot of food, but we didn’t have to pay for it. One of you paid for it when you gave us that gift card. Just like we have received so many blessings from God for free, because Jesus paid for them all.

That sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? Whenever I use a gift card, I always in the back of my mind think it won’t work. Do you do that too? I think, “This is too easy. There’s got to be a catch. I’m going to have to pay for this.” In the same way, our consciences are really hard to convince, because our consciences know the truth about us. They know our thoughts. They know our words. They know what we’ve done. They know what we haven’t done. They know our sins. Our consciences are really hard to convince. Doesn’t this forgiveness sound too good to be true?

So God gives us more. He gives us a powerful way to know that we have clean consciences. You got to see it today. Do you know what I’m talking about? Baptism! 1 Peter 3:21 says, “This water [of the flood] symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God.” Does that sound familiar? Your Baptism gives you a clear conscience toward God. God really wants you to know that you’re forgiven. So he doesn’t just tell you. God does it. God actually washes you in Baptism.

When you were baptized, God washed your sins away. Thankfully, we don’t have to use blood in Baptism. Water is all we need, but that water does what Jesus’ blood did for us on the cross: God washed your sins away. Even sand from the beach doesn’t stick with you forever. After a shower or two, you can finally get rid of it. It feels so good to be clean! Through Baptism, God has cleansed you. God has forgiven you. God has given you a clean conscience.

All because of Jesus: “Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.” All those sacrifices didn’t keep God’s people long ago from sinning. So Jesus came to set them free. Just like nothing you or I do today can cleanse our consciences. So Jesus came to set us free. We don’t need to offer sacrifices today, because Jesus is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

That’s why every Sunday you get to come into church. Do you ever think about how amazing that is? Remember what I said about worship at the tabernacle or the temple? Where did all the people have to stay? Outside! Why? Because they were sinful, and their sins separated them from God. There was even this big curtain that separated the Most Holy Place from everything else. But when Jesus died on the cross, do you know what happened to that big curtain in the temple? It “was torn in two from top to bottom” (Matthew 27:51). So we get to come inside. Because our sins have been paid for. Jesus has brought you near to God. Isn’t that amazing?

And when you come into our church, there is purposefully something in the very center. I didn’t design our church. You did. You designed your church to have something in the very center. What? Our baptism font. It’s not in the way. It’s not just an extra thing sitting there. It’s purposefully placed there as a powerful reminder every time you are at church. Of what? You have been washed in the blood of Jesus by the waters of Baptism. The sand is gone. Doesn’t that feel good? The sin is gone. You are forgiven! Live today in the peace of a clean conscience.

(To listen to this sermon on my Upside-Down Savior podcast, please click HERE. To watch this sermon on my Upside-Down Savior YouTube channel, please click on the link below.)