Under Ritual or Under Grace?

Under Ritual or Under Grace?
Words of Faith 2-26-26
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2026
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Hebrews 9
[1] Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. [2] A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand, the table and the consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. [3] Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, [4] which had the golden altar of incense and the gold covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron's staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. [5] Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.
[6] When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. [7] But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. [8] The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still standing. [9] This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. [10] They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings— external regulations applying until the time of the new order.

The old covenant was about law. The new covenant is about God putting His law upon the minds of Believers, written upon the hearts of men through a relationship with Him that begins with the forgiveness of sin.

The old covenant was also about ritual. The Writer gives us a unique first-century glimpse into the arrangement and the ritual of the Temple. The Temple was an incredible place structured to mediate the distance between God Almighty and humanity. It was a shadow of heaven itself and the dwelling place of God upon the earth. The careful observance of ritual sacrifice sought to make peace with God, sin by sin.

But even the careful observance of the ritual did not clear the worshiper's conscience. The problem is that rituals are external and cannot bring about the changes that are needed inside. The new covenant is not about food and drink, ceremonial washings, or ritual sacrifices. The new covenant is about internal transformation. God has declared, "I will be their God, and they will be my people. They will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."

One trap we can fall into is the temptation to go back under law. Another is the temptation to return to ritual. Obedience to rules will not justify us, nor will the observance of religious rituals.

Rituals come in all shapes and sizes. There are High-Church rituals, low-church rituals, evangelical rituals, and Pentecostal rituals. Disciplines are wonderful, but anytime we trust in religious behaviors to make us right before God, we miss the mark, and we are back in the Temple burning incense and washing our hands. Only God could make things right between God and man. Only God could fulfill the demands of the law and the rituals of the Temple. He did so in the work of the High Priest Jesus.

Lord, forgive me if I have trusted in my own religious activity, thinking I could make myself righteous. I cast my whole weight upon the work of Jesus the Great High Priest. You are my justifier. In response to Your work, I pray that I may lead a life of gratitude and Christian discipline that honors You. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2026
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2026 Jeffrey D. Hoy.