It’s Not the DMV
Hebrews 10:12–25
But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,
“This is the covenant that I will make with them
after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws on their hearts,
and write them on their minds,”
then he adds,
“I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”
Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
In 2008 Toria and I moved back to Alabama, my home state, to figure out what God had planned next for us. One of the first items of business after moving was getting an Alabama driver's license, and that meant a trip to the DMV. It was as if the DMV management said, “Wouldn’t it be fun if we perfectly conformed to the stereotype of what a DMV is supposed to be?” Inefficiency, life-draining color palettes and fluorescent lighting, and staff members who weren’t thrilled to be there—exactly what one would expect. I got in the back of a long line with the nagging feeling that something was going to go wrong.
Something did in fact go wrong. When I finally made it to the desk I discovered that some form was missing, or some box incorrectly checked, or something maddening like that. I don’t remember what it was exactly, but it meant another trip back on another day to go through the whole shindig again, hopefully with better results.
Praise God that his grace doesn’t operate like a lumbering, inefficient bureaucracy! Sometimes we might think of the spiritual life like going to the DMV. If we want the forgiveness of justification then we have to go to this spiritual department. And yay, we’re forgiven by grace! But if we want to grow as a Christian we have to go down the whole to another department entirely.
Nonsense! Theologian Michael Horton says, “we are being sanctified because we have been justified.” So also the author of Hebrews says that God “has perfected [justified completely with a perfect cleansing forgiveness] for all time those who are being sanctified” (v. 14). And because of our forgiveness, he exhorts us to three “let us”-es of sanctification in verses 19-25.
First, let us draw near (v. 22). Forgiven people come close knowing that the throne of God is open to them, and their Father invites them in. Second, let us hold fast (v. 23). We endure in hope and faith because our justifying, sanctifying God is faithful. Third, let us stir up (v. 24). Sanctification is a communal affair, and so we cheer and encourage each other for good works that flow out of our forgiveness.
Let us, therefore, draw near, hold fast, and stir up because God’s grace justifies and sanctifies. It’s not the DMV.
