It is hard to believe the Gospel because it is hard to understand how it could possibly work.

“Believe in Jesus” sounds like something overly simple; it does not sound like it would “do” anything to simply trust him, to put faith in what an old book says he has done for you and for me.

So… how does it work out practically?

One very important glimpse into the daily-living working out of the Gospel is found in Hebrews 9. The whole chapter is worth considering at length, but let’s just focus in on vv. 13-14:

For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

Interesting. The point being made is that faith in Jesus Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice does something to us. What does he do? He cleanses our consciences.

Specifically, he cleanses our consciences from dead works. This is a huge practical glimpse into the gospel. Because all of us know that we do wrong. We think wrong thoughts. We do wrong deeds. Even our best works have threads of imperfection in them.

If you honestly look at your life, you know that you should be better. The Law points out that you should be better. And so our conscience condemns us. All your efforts to atone, all your gifts and promises to God, don’t do the trick. Your conscience, that inner judge of right and wrong, knows that you aren’t worthy to be in the same room as God.

But in the Gospel… something amazing happens. By faith in Jesus… your conscience can be washed. No guilt. Not because your moral compass has been tossed, oh no. Sin is sin. But by looking to Jesus, and trusting in what he has done.

Angry at your brother? Yes, your conscience, it calls sin what it is: sin. And you can declare, “I am clean, Jesus’ blood has cleansed me.” Immorality? Yes, your conscience, it calls sin what it is: sin. And your conscience does not condemn, because you trust in the blood of Jesus.

Do you see? Your conscience has been purified from dead works. Those are works that you’d otherwise do to try and cleanse that selfsame conscience. Self-atonement, acts of contrition. Like animals sacrificed to atone for sin. Yech. Dead end.

Conscience purified to serve the living God. Because if you trust in Jesus… you are free to not worry about you, but to respond by laying down your life. Not to make yourself pure—rather because you are pure.

The working of the Gospel in the life of the believer is the realization of a cleansed conscience by the finished work of Christ who gave his very blood for you. Not that you in your work keep yourself clean, but that Jesus cleansed you.

So guilt is good if it drives you to the cross. Where you get rid of that guilt forever.

And guilt is bad if it is your conscience condemning you in Christ. Christ paid everything. Are you saying his payment was not enough?

What God has made clean, don’t call common.
God has made you clean. Forever. By the once-and-for-all sacrifice of Jesus.

Press into him. Put your trust in him. Dwell on what he has done. Respond in a life that is pure by the blood of the sanctified lamb.

It seems to me that Christians over get confused over what is elementary and what is beyond, what is maturity. Usually we think of the ‘basics’ as how you get saved, the news the Jesus died for you and you need to believe in him. The ‘mature’ things are harder doctrinal issues, textual criticism, or even more of the laws and rules that inform daily living.

That model makes sense in terms of complexity, but it fails an important test: what Scripture says.

I’m referring to an interesting and informative passage in Hebrews. Let’s take a look at Hebrews 6:1-2:

Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,  and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.

 Interesting. The “elementary doctrine of Christ” is the foundation of three couplets: repentance from dead works and faith toward God, instruction about washings and laying on of hand, and resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.

Whoa! Those don’t seem elementary. Well… maybe not at first blush. But think. All of these are a revealing of your need. That’s one of the very basic points of the Old Testament, and one of the very basic points of Christianity.

You need to see your need for repentance from your own dead works, and you need to trust Yahweh, God. You need to see that you need cleansing, washing… you need healing, laying on of hands.  You need to see that resurrection will happen, and you face eternal judgment.

These are all statements of your need. And you get that from the Old Testament.

So what he’s saying is – you precious people, you are caught in arguments about yourselves. Your own need. That’s the basics. How good your work is, how sick you are, how much cleansing you need… even if there’s a resurrection. You’re focusing on you.

And then he says – we need to leave that. You need to see your need and get deeper.

You need to leave the elementary doctrine of Christ – elementary doctrine of MESSIAH, you know, your need for a Messiah… and into the specifics of Jesus.

That’s what Hebrews is going after. Getting maturity is getting deeper into the realities of what Jesus Christ has done. Jesus is the incredible high priest according to the order of Melchizedek, Jesus is the better blood, the better sacrifice, and he mediates a better covenant.

These things are the ‘going on to maturity.’ If you see your need, if you’ve had your eyes opened to the great need you have, the maturity is Jesus.

Our maturing is not advancing beyond Jesus, needing him less and less as we improve in practical living. Our maturing is growing in our depth of understanding of who Jesus is and what he has done. Let’s see our need… and dive into Jesus.

³ And this we will do if God permits.