Obedience — Part I
The Cross Was Once for All
I tried to get some sleep tonight, but there was a thought weighing on my mind that I couldn’t seem to shake.
I tried ignoring it. I laid down, tossed and turned, and managed to doze off a few times, but I never really settled into sleep.
Have you ever had that feeling that you’ve forgotten to do something? You know something needs your attention, but you can’t quite put it out of your mind until you get up and take care of it.
Well, try going to sleep with that feeling.
After nearly three hours, I finally got out of bed. And now, here I am, sitting at my desk around midnight, writing this letter to you.
The thought that kept coming back to me was about obedience, sin, and the sacrifice Jesus Christ made for us.
And for some reason, my mind went to the movie Groundhog Day.
If you’re familiar with the movie, you’ll remember that the main character keeps waking up to the same day. No matter what happens, the next morning begins all over again.
But the scene I began imagining wasn’t from the movie.
It was the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
Imagine waking up every morning knowing that Jesus had to go back to the cross because of the sins you committed yesterday.
Then imagine waking up the following morning and discovering that He had to do it again.
And again.
Every day, the same sacrifice.
Every day, another crucifixion.
That thought troubled me deeply.
Think about the sins we commit. The ones we recognize immediately, the ones we try to justify, and even the wrongs we don’t recognize until God’s Word brings them to our attention.
We are sinful people living in a sinful world.
And when I began thinking about what it would mean if my Saviour had to suffer again for every sin I committed, I felt the weight of just how much I owe Him.
But then I was reminded of something wonderful.
He doesn’t have to do it again.
God’s Word says:
“By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
Hebrews 10:10 (KJV)
Once.
For all.
The writer of Hebrews continues:
“But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;”
Hebrews 10:12 (KJV)
Jesus Christ did not offer a sacrifice that would need to be repeated tomorrow.
He offered Himself once.
His sacrifice was sufficient.
His work was finished.
When Jesus declared, “It is finished” (John 19:30), He wasn’t announcing that He had completed the first of many sacrifices.
He had accomplished the work the Father had given Him to do.
And that changes the way I look at my sin.
Sometimes I think we become so accustomed to hearing that Jesus died for our sins that we forget to consider what those words mean.
He bore our sins.
He gave Himself for us.
He accomplished what we could never accomplish for ourselves.
And His sacrifice doesn’t need to be repeated.
That doesn’t mean sin has become harmless. It doesn’t mean I should be comfortable continuing in something God’s Word calls wrong.
Paul confronted that very thought:
“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid.”
Romans 6:1–2 (KJV)
Grace is not permission to continue living in sin.
It is a reason to be thankful, to repent, and to live differently.
Tonight, sitting here at my desk, I find myself grateful that my salvation doesn’t depend on Jesus having to return to the cross every morning.
And I’m grateful that it doesn’t depend on my ability to live a perfectly sinless day.
It rests upon the finished work of Jesus Christ.
One Saviour. One sufficient sacrifice. Once for all.
But that leaves me with another thought.
If Jesus doesn’t have to return to the cross every day for my sins, what does He ask of me when I wake up tomorrow morning?
That is where obedience comes in.
And that’s where I want to continue this conversation in Part II.
For tonight, I’ll leave you with one question:
Have I become so familiar with the forgiveness of my sins that I’ve forgotten the sacrifice that made forgiveness possible?
Until the rain falls again…
Grace and peace,
A Porch Believer