The 9th chapter of Hebrews is very detailed and to be quite honest for most of us, confusing with regards to how to apply its truths. First of all, we need to realize that what the writer was writing about was perfectly clear to the Hebrew readers. This section describes in detail Exodus chapters 26-28 and the tabernacle in the wilderness. The chapter deals with one of the most difficult aspects of humanity: What to do with our nagging conscience? The subject isn’t immediately identified until we skip forward in Hebrews chapter 9 to verses 13-14. It is in those two verses that we gain perspective of this chapter: “how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
The writer is drawing his readers into the practical effect of Jesus’ ministry which are highlighted by the words to, “cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” The problem the author is dealing with is something that we all have to deal with, “How to handle a nagging conscience?” A Conscience has been defined as:
•“That still, small voice that makes you feel smaller still.”
•“It’s what causes you to feel bad when everything else feels good!”
•The Disney prophet Jiminy Cricket defined it as, “A conscience is that still small voice that people won’t listen to.”
The truth is a conscience is NOT the means by which we tell what is right and what is wrong. A conscience was never supposed to be that. It is ONLY training in God’s Word by His Holy Spirit that tells us what is right or wrong. It is only then that our conscience plays a part by insisting that we do what we now know is right and avoid what we now know is wrong.
Without a sanctified conscience we can be misguided into thinking that what we think is right is wrong and what we think is wrong is right! Our conscience can accuse us when we violate whatever standard we have adopted, even when that standard may be wrong when viewed in the light of God’s Word by His Holy Spirit. And our conscience can also wrongly approve us when we live up to some wrong standard.
Based upon the text, these Hebrews did not have a troubled conscience because of “evil deeds”, but because of “dead works.” The readers of this letter who were professing Christians knew how to handle the problem of sin. They knew that when they disobeyed God’s Word that the way to deal with their conscience was to confess their sin before God and receive His forgiveness. But their problem was an overactive conscience that was plagued with guilt over sins of omission (good left undone), not sins of commission (sinful behavior). They were trying to put their conscience to rest by religious activity, trying to ease their troubled conscience by appeasing God by greater religious activity!
You can’t find fault with their desire to please God, but you can find fault with the motivation they employed to do so, intensive religious activity! The difference from those who have an overactive conscience in comparison to those who don’t can’t be measured by activity but instead must be weighed on the MOTIVE behind such activity!
We don’t serve to placate God! Our activity is not to try to win the acceptance before God! God is not impressed by our increased effort. At issue is the motivation behind the religious activity that these Hebrews were being tested to go and do to “cleanse their conscience”.