Forgiven and Set Free
Key Bible Passages : Hebrews 10:22b
Author : Cesca Priestley
Think of a time when you have felt trapped. Perhaps when you were sitting at a desk in an exam hall waiting to be let out, with the sound of clicking pens and uncomfortable fluorescent lighting becoming too much. Or maybe when you were standing on a packed train, longing for your stop to come, shoulders scrunched up and a stranger's face too close for comfort. Thinking of a time? Now think of when you were let out of that situation- when the examiner said pens down, when the train announcement said mind the gap. Sweet, sweet freedom. Out into the fresh air, the sunlight shining on you, nothing keeping you contained or restrained anymore. You can breathe out a sigh of relief. Being set free is a wonderful feeling.
In both of those examples, something happened in order for people to be set free- the doors were opened. In Hebrews 10 vs 22 we are told that God sets us free from having a guilty conscience. We no longer have to be contained or restrained by guilt or shame for the things that we get wrong, whatever it is. Sweet, sweet freedom. The incredible thing is, it’s not by anything that we have done that we get set free. Jesus opens the door; Jesus tears down the curtain that holds us back, allowing us to draw close to God. He does this by sprinkling our hearts with His blood and washing us with His pure living water. That can sound a bit far removed from anything we know in our culture today, but at its centre is God’s mercy. In biblical times, the Jewish sprinkling with blood was used to cleanse what was external, but being sprinkled with the blood of Jesus when He died on the cross deals with what is inside. We are forgiven, we are set free.
Don’t we all want freedom? To be able to live free of shame, free of fear, free of the pressure of trying to measure up? That’s what we get when we accept the washing that Jesus gives us. In John 7 verses 37-39 Jesus reminds us that ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart’. Jesus has the purest heart that there ever was or ever will be and He chooses to let purity flow like a powerful river over us, washing away all of those things that stop us from being free. It’s very easy to forget that we’ve been set free from the things of this world, to get bogged down in the mundane everyday, or have our vision impaired by guilt and shame. But the depth of God’s mercy compels us to draw near.
Imagine, for a moment, living in complete freedom. All of the weight you might be carrying lifted off, all of your mistakes wiped away. You can have that, in fact God desires you to have that. We are called to draw near to God, living alongside Him, living in hope. Accepting this gift of love allows us to live a life set free, but we have to do just that, accept it. Do you really believe that God’s grace reaches even you? You are forgiven- that’s what this love story is all about. We know that life isn’t always going to be easy, that we’ll get things wrong, that things will happen that we don’t understand. That’s why we need to do what it says in Hebrews 10 vs 23 and hold unswervingly to the hope we have in Jesus because God is faithful.
Let Jesus open the door of the exam hall where you’re contained, mind the gap as you accept the hand of Jesus helping you off the packed train. You are forgiven. Sweet, sweet freedom.
Questions
To help with further reflection, thought or application.
1: What is your exam hall or packed train that you’d like to be set free from?
2: How can the knowledge of being forgiven and set free change the way you live your life in the day to day?
Prayer
Father God, thank you for son Jesus who sprinkles our hearts to make us clean. Thank you that because of the cross we are free from guilt and shame. Holy Spirit fill us so that we can draw close to God in the knowledge that we are forgiven and set free. Help us to bring our guilty consciences to the foot of your cross. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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