Complete, Not Partial
So he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them” (Heb 7:25).1
Why Do We Need to Be Saved?
This verse introduces to us our need to be saved. We are all sinners, separated from God. God did not create us this way, but because of Adam’s fall, we are all born this way. We are naturally, spiritually and morally completely separated from God; this journey began at conception. King David discovered he was a sinner and expressed in Psalm 51:5 that he was “a sinner the moment my mother conceived me.” We each have inherited this sinful nature from our parents, and in turn pass it on as fathers and mothers to our children.
This is why there is arrogance, pride, violence, confusion, self-gratification, hatred, fear and sickness in our world. If we’re honest, we acknowledge that we are all sinners in our behavior as well as in our nature. We may think we can improve or do better; however, every effort we make comes short of God’s glorious standard. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). We need to be saved from being separated from God forever.
Who Is Able to Save?
The writer to the Hebrews emphasizes that the Old Covenant meant obedience to all the Law. Under that covenant, there were at least two limitations. First, the priests could not save completely because their service ended “by reason of death” (Heb 7:23). Second, the Law could not give a guilty person either peace or a clean conscience (9:9).
Hebrews presents the New Covenant from the God who makes things better. We love things that are better; we look for better conditions, improvements, or something new that surpasses the old. Hebrews 7:19 says, “For the law made nothing perfect. On the other hand a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.” God introduced the New Covenant, something better than what the Law could do, “for the law made nothing perfect.” The “better hope” means we can now “draw near to God.” Christ Jesus is the superior Person of the New Covenant in Hebrews, who is “so far better than the angels” (1:4) and who is the “guarantee of a better covenant” (7:22). This priest “always lives” (v25) and gives us peace because He purifies “our consciences from dead works to worship the living God” (9:14). So the answer to our sin and separation from God is Christ – a Person, not a set of rules.
Why Is He Able to Save Completely?
Our salvation is not partial but is based completely on what Christ has already done and His continual intercession for us. Our verse tells us that “he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” We were once sinners separated from God, but because of “the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (10:10) and His glorious resurrection, He “is able to save completely,” body, soul and spirit. And He saves forever “those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” Are you saved?
1 Bible quotations in this article are from the NET unless otherwise noted.
