Although the tabernacle was once a holy place of worship instituted by God, the writer of Hebrews reminds the Hebrew people of its limitations and ultimate failure to perfectly reconcile us to God. The tabernacle was only a precursor to the perfect tabernacle that we now have in Jesus, giving us free and open access to God.

Scripture References

Hebrews 9:1-14

Our Great God | NewSpring Worship | iTunes
1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 • Deuteronomy 31:8 • Psalm 118:5-16

Christ Our Savior | Grace Church Worship

To the Cross I Cling | The Village Church | iTunes
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 • Ephesians 2:4-6

Thank You | Hillsong Worship | iTunes
1 Chronicles 29:13 • Psalm 30:12 • 1 Samuel 2:2 • Psalm 31:16

Seas of Crimson | Bethel Music | iTunes
Isaiah 53:4-5 • Matthew 26:28 • Revelation 12:11

1. When struggles, situations, and needs arise in our lives, we emote, reason, or act ourselves into certain sins that shape our conscience into a form they were not created to be. We can have a twisted, deceived conscience or one that is overly sensitive and consumed with guilt. Has there been a time in your life that you suppressed your conscience to justify your sin or make yourself feel better about it? How can you remind yourself of the truth when you are faced with that temptation?
2. If you tend to have a guilt-ridden conscience of not believing that Jesus’ sacrifice is enough, you may find yourself overly sensitive to criticism or often feel like a victim. This unhealthy guilt will make it difficult to extend grace to others, but good guilt will drive us to repentance and gratefulness. We might find ourselves feeling shame and isolating ourselves, repetitively asking forgiveness, or avoiding approaching God. Do you find yourself most often with good or bad guilt? What lies are you believing about the sufficiency of Jesus’ sacrifice?
3. Our wounded conscience can be healed by listening to Truth, trusting good, godly direction according to God’s Word, being transparent in community, and running to Jesus for healing. Which of these practices or truths do you need now or have you found must come into play in healing your wounded conscience?
4. Our lives are filled with the desire for access. We want access into the lives of celebrities, our loved ones, and our friends—this longing of ours keeps activities like social media, reality TV, and sports alive. What do you find yourself seeking access to? Why do you desire this access into something “private”? How does Jesus satisfy this desire we have for access?

Thoughts to Consider

– Although the tabernacle was holy, it was imperfect and limited; it did not provide free and open access to God for everyone and only provided partial cleansing.
– We want access to something greater than us, but the access holds out a promise that never fully satisfies unless our craving is for God alone.
– “We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.” —Tim Keller
– Through Jesus, our access to God is personal and immediate. There is no gap.
– Communion is a physical representation of the spiritual reality of our open access to God.
– We know that God accepted Jesus’ sacrifice as sufficient to cover our sins because of the resurrection; the resurrection is the approval and assurance from God.