Busy in Sacred Service

In his letter to the Hebrews, Paul stressed the superior value of Jesus' sacrifice in the new covenant.  (Hebrews 9:13-15) Jesus' better  sacrifice is to "cleanse our conscience from dead works that we may render sacred service to the living God."  For Hebrew Christians, "dead works" included  "the transgressions under the former covenant." For Christians to day, they include sins committed in the pas over which God has forgiven.  (1 Corinthians 6:8-11) With consciences cleansed, anointed Christians render "sacred service to the living God." And so do the great crowd.  Having cleansed  their consciences  through "the blood of the Lamb,"  they are in God's great spiritual temple, "rendering him sacred service day and night." -Revelation 7:14, 15. 

In addition, Paul said:  "Let us approach with true hearts in the full assurance of faith, having had our hearts sprinkled from a wicked conscience and our bodies bathed with clean water." (Hebrews 10:22) How can we show that we have "the full assurance of faith?" Paul urged Hebrew Christians:  "Let us hold fast the public declaration of our [heavenly] hope without wavering, for he is faithful that promised. And let us consider one another to incite to love and fine works, not forsaking the gathering of ourselves together, as some have the custom, but encouraging one another, and all the more so as you behold the day drawing near." (Hebrews 10:23-25)  If our faith is alive, we too will not 'forsake the gathering of ourselves together.' We will delight to incite our brothers and be incited by them to love and fine works and to be strengthened for the vital work of publicly declaring our hope, whether it is earthly or heavenly. -John 13:35. 

Next time: The "Everlasting Covenant"

From the Watchtower magazine, 1998