GOD HAS SPOKEN BY HIS SON
Meditations in Hebrews
Hebrews 9:15a
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THE apostle continues to open up to us the wonder of the sacrifice of Christ for us. In the previous verse he has told us that Christ offered himself to God as a sinless sacrifice for the sins of his people, and that this delivers us from our sins and their consequence before God, and delivers us from our useless and ineffective works which we do in order to achieve deliverance from our sins, which we find never cleanses our conscience before God, but still leaves us guilty and condemned because they are never enough to atone for our sins. In Christ, and by faith in him, we now find a complete cleansing of all our sin, and our conscience is at peace, and we know in Christ that God accepts us as just and righteous in his sight.

The apostle goes on now to tell us that Christ, by his sacrifice of himself for our sins, has become a mediator of a new covenant. It is by reason of his perfect sacrifice for us that he has become a mediator of a new covenant.

What is the meaning of Christ as a mediator here. A mediator is someone who is a go between. A mediator is someone who seeks to reconcile two alienated parties, and bring them into reconciliation. The truth about humanity in our sin is that we have become alienated from God because of our sin, and God has a quarrel with us on account of our sin, and because of our sin condemns us to suffer the just penalty for our sins, which is death. Death is separation from God. We live in death in this world until we are reconciled to God. If we are not reconciled to God, and so raised from death while we live in this world, we shall suffer eternal death which is separation from God for eternity. This is hell, because it is to be separated from all that is good, and so be severed from all that gives joy and happiness. Hell is eternal and terrible misery, because it is separation from God and all that is good.

There is no way we can be saved from death unless we become reconciled to God, and so are raised to life and favour with God again. Reconciliation with God involves resurrection from death, and a new life created by God. Christ is the mediator before God who achieves this reconciliation. How does he do this and how is this reconciliation achieved?

Christ as our mediator represents us before God. He is our advocate before God to plead our cause before God's justice. Christ is a successful mediator because he brings before God evidence that God acknowledges as a perfect answer to the problem of our sins. God can't be reconciled to sinners until their sin is purged by his divine justice being met and satisfied. Christ brings before God on our behalf entire satisfaction, which is his death, which meets all the demands of God's law and justice. Christ has met all the demands of God's justice on account of our sin. The debt which our sin has incurred, Jesus has met in full, and he brings this before God as grounds for God to wipe the account clean, and pronounce the sinner righteous in his sight. The evidence Christ brings that he has paid our debt is the evidence in his own body - the nail prints in his hands and feet, and the wound in his side. This argument God can't deny, for to deny it would be a denial of his justice. This is the answer which, in his wisdom, God supplied in giving his only Son to death for us, and by this purpose God is able to be just and at the same time justify, account righteous, the sinner. The apostle John tells us that we have an advocate before the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and he is the propitiation for our sins - that is puts out the flames of God's wrath against us by his blood.

So Christ is mediator of a new covenant. The Old one made with Moses, which was a repeat of the covenant made with Adam, was ineffective. It could not atone for our sin, and bring about our release from death. The covenant of which Christ is the mediator is wonderfully new, because it achieves all that our soul needs, and provides eternal redemption for us.

This is what is stated by the apostle here. Christ became the mediator of this new covenant so that we may receive what God has promised, which is an eternal inheritance. This is the assurance of a place in the eternal glory and realm of God, which we call heaven, and enjoy eternal life of joy, blessing and perfect satisfaction. Above all it will be to enjoy God and find our purpose in creation of enjoying him in perfect love and service.

Who are those who enjoy this great and superlative blessing? Who are those who know Jesus and have Jesus as their mediator? We are told here! It is those who are called. We enter into this blessing and enjoy it when we are called by God and by Jesus, through the power of the Spirit, into this blessing. It is because of this call that we repent of our sins, and see Jesus as precious and our redeemer from all our sins. And it is through this call that we are enabled to appreciate what Christ has done for us, and are given faith to believe in him as our Saviour.

We can't demand such a call, but we can cry in our need to God for it, and the promise is that those who seek the Lord in this way with all their hearts, will be found by God - that is receive this precious call.