“But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.” NKJV
God has a group of people called the remnant who will respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit to enter into the new that God is doing. These people will be driven by their hunger and thirst for something different than the desolation and defeat they have lived. The move of the Holy Spirit in their lives is now making them aware that the need a Savior. They no longer want to surrender their lives to the status quo of idolatry and lawlessness. These are the people Isaiah 10:20-21 refers to,
“And it shall come to pass in that day That the remnant of Israel, And such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, Will never again depend on him who defeated them, But will depend on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, To the Mighty God. For though your people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, A remnant of them will return;” NKJV
Joel 2:32 also says,
“And it shall come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord Will be saved [from the coming judgment] For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem There will be those who escape, As the Lord has said, Even among the remnant [of survivors] whom the Lord calls.” AMP
These are not like the prophets of Baal and Asherah who sat at the table of wicked Queen Jezebel and served her and her idol gods to rule Israel by their opposition of everything that came from God. What they brought to Israel was the dead works of sorcery, sexual immorality, blood sacrifices, and things offered to idols in exchange for false power, riches, influence, and even to receive things they coveted from others (1 Kings 21:7-16)—this covetous system of idolatry comes from the nature of the one who leads them—Satan, the usurper and thief who has always coveted our worship that belongs to God alone.
But God is calling many who gave in to this false system to respond to His Spirit and forsake the lies of the enemy. As they turn to the Lord, they will escape the destruction appointed to those who choose to continue in this path. For this is what it means to be part of a remnant—a small group that escapes the destruction. It is not by the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, and sprinkling of things unclean that they can live sanctified lives or be cleansed in their conscience. These dead works lead to eternal damnation. However, the answer to avoid an eternity of destruction and the fire of hell is their repentance (turning) from sins and receiving the salvation Jesus gave to us all by the shedding of His Blood.
Some reading this post may think, “I don’t do those things.” “I don’t live in immorality or idol worship.” “I don’t engage in the things of the dark world.” However, let me explain that idolatry not always looks like that. Idolatry means that anything that we place a higher value and attention to other than God, is an idol and we have been bowing to it. It could be our looks, our career or financial status, our family, hunger for influence, fame and prestige, big ticket toys, relationships, and as we allow the Spirit of God to search our hearts, we may be able to add to this list.
If having those things do not glorify the Living God in and through our lives, those things possess us, we don’t possess them. They are our idol gods and we live under the influence of the system of this world and its ruler, Satan. Even Christians are being now delivered from dead works where they have believed that they have to perform works to be right with God. Their idol—self focus, has kept them from recognizing and receiving His grace to accomplish what He predestined for them before time so they can operate in the earth in partnership (cooperating) with Him to rule the earth and bring His Kingdom for others to enter in.
Their identity is in the wrong place. They’re children of God who are loved, justified, and made righteous by what Jesus did for them. They’re acceptance of this fact cleanses them from guilt and, by His grace, they can enter into the works of Jesus to conquer territory for His Kingdom. These things are revealed to them through their relationship with God and as He leads them by His Holy Spirit. Therefore, trying to live by dead works that do not account for eternity (God does not recognize them on their behalf for salvation) is still living in idolatry. Psalm 24:3-6 says,
“Who can possibly ascend the mountain of the Eternal? Who can stand before Him in sacred spaces? Only those whose hands have been washed and hearts made pure, men and women who are not given to lies or deception. The Eternal will stand close to them with blessing and mercy at hand, and the God who redeems will right what has been wrong. These are the people who chase after Him; [like Jacob, they look for the face of God].” VOICE
God is calling those who will seek His face (His presence) and turn from pursuing idols of all kinds. Verses 3-4 also say in the New King James Version, “Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully.”
It is worth repeating that Jesus became sin when He was sinless so that we would have eternal life and be saved from the consequences of our sinful nature inherited from Adam. His sacrifice was once and for all so that we would not have to follow the rituals demanded by the law in to be cleansed from sin only temporarily (for a year). His Blood was shed to sanctify us, purify us, and cleanse our conscience once and for all from dead works to serve the living God. Acts 15:28-29 tells us that we don’t have to live under these burdens. It says,
“For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.” NKJV
Isaiah 53:3-6 also reveals to us the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus for us all when everyone thought that God had stricken and rejected Him, but it was our sin that was laid on Him. He surrendered His life to save us from the penalty we deserved, the damnation that awaited us in hell for our sinful living of trusting in dead works as we trusted more in an enemy that wanted us to always live in defeat and die. In His love, our Lord Jesus took upon Himself the destruction and defeat the enemy had for us, so we would have by His grace, eternal life, and live our lives abundantly in every area. It says,
“So he was despised and forsaken by men, this man of suffering, grief’s patient friend. As if he was a person to avoid, we looked the other way; he was despised, forsaken, and we took no notice of him. Yet it was our suffering he carried, our pain and distress, our sick-to-the-soul-ness. We just figured that God had rejected him, that God was the reason he hurt so badly. But he was hurt because of us; he suffered so. Our wrongdoing wounded and crushed him. He endured the breaking that made us whole. The injuries he suffered became our healing. We all have wandered off, like shepherdless sheep, scattered by our aimless striving and endless pursuits; The Eternal One laid on him, this silent sufferer, the sins of us all.” VOICE
More on the next post. To God alone be all the glory. *
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