The earthly sanctuary, where God chose to dwell with His people, centered around the sacrifice of the animals. Yet, the service did not end with the death of these creatures. The priest ministered the blood in the sanctuary on behalf of the sinner after the sacrifice itself was killed.

This whole service, however, was only a shadow, a symbol, of what Christ would do for the world. Thus, just as the symbols (the sanctuary service) did not end with the death of the animal, Christ’s work for us did not end with His death on the cross, either.

Study for today Hebrews 8:1-6. Pray over the verses. Ask the Lord to help you understand what is being said here and why it is important for us to know it. After you are done, write down in your own words what you think the Lord’s message is to us in these verses. Ask yourself, too, How do these texts help us understand the new covenant?

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Just as there was an earthly sanctuary, priesthood, and ministry under the old covenant, so there is a heavenly sanctuary, a heavenly priesthood, and heavenly ministry under the new covenant. What were, however, only symbols, images, and a shadow (Hebrews 8:5) in the old covenant became a reality in the new.

Also, rather than an amoral animal as our substitute, we have the sinless Jesus; rather than animal blood, we have the blood of Christ; rather than a man-made sanctuary, we have the “true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man” ( Hebrews 8.2-3).

<–Tuesday Thursday–>

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“Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father” (Galatians 1:4).

There is no question: one of the key themes (if not the key theme) of the New Testament is that Jesus Christ died as the Sacrifice for the sins of the world. This truth is the foundation of the entire plan of salvation. Any theology that denies the blood atonement of Christ denies the heart and soul of Christianity. A bloodless cross can save no one.

Meditate upon the text for today and then answer these questions: Did Jesus volunteer to die? For whom did He die? What would His death accomplish?

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Substitution is the key to the entire plan of salvation. Because of our sins, we deserve to die. Christ, out of His love for us, “gave himself for our sins” (Galatians 1:4). He died the death that we deserve. The death of Christ as the Substitute for sinners is the great truth from which all other truth flows. Our hope, that of restoration, of freedom, of forgiveness, of eternal life in paradise, rests upon the work that Jesus did, that of giving Himself for our sins. Without that, our faith would be meaningless. We might as well place our hope and trust in a statue of a fish. Salvation comes only through the blood, the blood of Christ.

Look up the following texts: Matthew 26:28, Ephesians 2:13, Hebrews 9:14, 1 Peter 1:19. What do they tell us about the blood? What role, then, does blood play in the plan of salvation?

“It is not God’s will that you should be distrustful, and torture your soul with the fear that God will not accept you because you are sinful and unworthy … You can say: ‘I know I am a sinner, and that is the reason I need a Saviour … I have no merit or goodness whereby I may claim salvation, but I present before God the all-atoning blood of the spotless Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is my only plea.’ ” — Ellen G. White, The Faith I Live By, p. 100.

<–Monday Wednesday–>

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