Behold the Lamb of God!

Dear Fellow Travelers,
Another of the “strange doctrines” that Hebrews 10 clears up for us is this: We must continually be reminded of our sins and of our sinfulness; otherwise, there will be no repen-tance, and our behavior will continue to deteriorate.
Obviously, I cannot speak for you but I can tell you that by the time I was 12 years old, I had heard enough sermons, that reminded me of my sins and of my sinfulness, to have been more than convinced of both. To say the least, I was a very sin-conscious Chris-tian, who had no idea of the righteousness of God in Christ! By the time I reached my 15th birthday, I was fully persuaded that one of the things that marked me as a “good Christian” was my extreme consciousness of my own sin and of my sinfulness. Of course, the fruit of this “strange doctrine” was a very judgmental teenager, one who was quick to see the sin in the lives of others, as well as their sinfulness, and eager to point out both.
As you might imagine, I spent most of my time not only repenting of my sins, but also trying to coerce others into doing the same. In other words, the “altar call” was my best friend, as it gave me plenty of opportunity to do both.
Actually, I would have made a very good Jew, as I would have loved the Day of Atonement. Think about it: Once a year the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies, sprinkle the blood of a sacrificed lamb on the Mercy Seat, thus atoning for the all the sins of Israel for the previous year. He would then figuratively place these sins upon the head of a scapegoat, and another would take the scapegoat and the sins, as far into the wilderness as he possibly could, to lessen the chances of their return! Of course, this was the day of days for the Israelites because the burden of their sins was removed. BUT!
That’s right—BUT! This was an incredible day, BUT it was short lived because the very next step was a step of sin-consciousness, and, sadly, it continued until the next year and the next Day of Atonement. “But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year” (Hebrews 10:3). Truthfully, there isn’t much difference between the way I lived my Christian life and the way the Jews lived their Jewish lives, and that is a sad documentary.
There is good reason for this journey in futility and it is this: “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4). Incredible, we know this and, yet, we continue to live, as if the blood of bulls and goats (actually our repentance!) can take away sins. Listen up: There is but ONE cure for our sin problem and it is NOT our repentance, nor is it our sin-consciousness, nor is it anything BUT the blood of Jesus! End of sentence! “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world”! No more con-sciousness of sin; instead I live in the consciousness of His righteousness, imputed to me!