“But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, … For by a [that] single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” - Hebrews 10:12, 14 (ESV)
We might well find in this verse much encouragement for imperfect sinners like us, and our motivation for holiness. Each of us who are in Christ still face the trials of temptations that can lead us off the road and into the ditch full of muck and mire. The promise of this verse is that we have assurance today that we stand perfected and complete in the eyes of our heavenly Father. This is not because we are perfect now, but exactly because we are “being made holy,” “being sanctified” — that, by faith in God’s promises, we are moving away from our persistent imperfection toward more and more holiness. That’s the kind of faith we can have in the midst of failure and can look to Christ and say, “You have already perfected me in your sight O Lord.” This is not boasting. It is the mourning of the weak who recognize their spiritual bankruptcy and their desperate need of a Savior. Today, let us all be weak enough to trust this promise and put our faith in Christ in this way.
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This devotional is from John Piper’s sermon “Perfected for All Time by a Single Offering” 2/16/1997
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