“Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered Himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. That is why He is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant” (Hebrews 9:13-15).

Are you in need of a fresh start in your life? Then what a blessing it is for you that one of Jesus’ names is Alpha, meaning the beginning. In Him, you can have a fresh start. But there’s more to being in Christ than just knowing that your past sins are forgiven. Although Christians believe that they are forgiven when they accept Jesus as their personal Savior, many of us still war with the thoughts and scars of our past, and we carry them over into salvation.

Unfortunately, becoming born again doesn’t make us fully understand all that Jesus did for us on the cross. Peter tells us in his epistle that Satan is moves about as a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. When we don’t know or understand the “good news,” it leaves the door open for Satan to war against us in our minds. God tells us in Hosea that His people are destroyed because they lack knowing the truth.

Ministers have done an excellent job teaching converts the principle of forgiveness. But, I’ve found that people can know that they’re forgiven and still beat themselves up because they struggle with a guilty conscience. You can know forgiveness, but if you don’t know that the blood of Christ has also purged your defiled (or guilty) conscience from dead works, then you will carry guilt over into grace and try to earn your freedom.

Satan understands that you are forgiven in Christ, but if he or his imps see that you struggle with shame or self-blame over past sins, then he will quickly become your accuser. He will shoot fiery darts of condemnation or unworthiness at your mind in the absence of truth. It’s not that you haven’t received forgiveness, but that you must understand that Jesus’ blood also purges your guilty or defiled conscience from the stains of past sins. So not only does Jesus’ blood offer you atonement, but it goes the extra step and cleanses your conscience from even the shame or pain of sin. Spiritual ignorance of truth will cause all of us to struggle with something that, in Christ, is supposed to be buried forever. When we struggle, then Satan will know that we’re an open target for spiritual warfare. When the warfare begins to assault our minds, then we’ll have a conflict between what we believe in our hearts and the thoughts in our minds. Since we can’t override the thoughts in our minds, because of an absence of the knowledge of truth, we will try to work (dead works) to satisfy or earn a freedom that has already been extended through forgiveness.

So you can see how vitally important it is for believers to know what it is we say that we believe. Only when we know the truth will truth have the power to be released into our spirits. then we can overcome the warfare in our minds and find God’s peace for our lives. You are not only forgiven, but you’re also free. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed!

—submitted by Asa Dockery, US