The Torn Curtain

 "And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, He gave up His spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. "Matthew 27: 50, 51

"Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, His body, and since we have a great Priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10: 19-23

    Like King David, when he lamented all he'd done wrong, I feel "my sin is always before me." (Psalm 51:3) It was with great interest, then, that I cocked an ear when a question from a listener was answered on the Running to Win radio broadcast by Dr. Lutzer. 

    A 98-year-old woman from Michigan by the name of Carolyn desperately sought the assurance of forgiveness before she dies. After being date-raped as a teen which resulted in pregnancy, an abortion was performed against her better judgment. As time passed, she had married a man she loved, though they never had children. Eventually, she was able to forgive her perpetrator but she could never forgive herself saying, "My sin is always before me." The scars of that time ran deep.

    Were they too deep for the blood of Christ to heal? 

    Could I ever be forgiven for the shameful things I have done? How can God forgive me when I cannot forgive myself? A better question is, since God forgives me, why can't I forgive myself? Who am I to doubt the power of the blood of Christ?

    When Jesus laid down His life for me (and for Carolyn), that which separated me from God was torn in two. Read again the good news from the passage I quoted from Hebrews: "...to cleanse us from a guilty conscience." 

    The Bible says we have all sinned and fallen short of His glory, but praise Jesus who has opened the way to approach God with "the full assurance that faith brings." This is declared again in Romans 8:1: "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (emphasis added) We have been set free!

"How much more, then, will the blood of Christ...cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!" Hebrews 9:14