“And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him.”

The “perfect” here doesn’t mean faultless. Jesus’ life was perfect in that sense. He was without sin or “fault.” Because of His obedience, He became fully qualified to be the savior of the world. He, through His act of obedience unto death, became the “perfect” one to save the world. He was the perfect high priest, and He was the perfect sacrifice, and He became the perfect savior.

The salvation that Jesus brings is eternal in its scope. The other high priests and the other sacrifices could not provide such salvation. Those sacrifices were offered over and over, year after year and could not produce eternal forgiveness. This is what Jesus did, and it is why He is the final high priest and the last sacrifice. To reject Jesus as high priest and sacrifice is to end the opportunity for salvation. There will not be another one like Him in the future.

Last in this verse is what I like to call the big IF. Almost all the promises of God dealing with mankind have the big IF. That big IF is notably the same, however, it is phrased. This statement is plain and to the point. The big IF is “…all who obey him.” Believing, trusting faith includes obedience. Love includes obedience. Becoming and remaining as children of light involves obedience. God calls, but man must answer. Grace is offered to all but to achieve it, mankind must accept it. It (grace) is the means of salvation, but there is no salvation without obedience. The Old Testament is filled with stories of those who failed to receive the promise because of their disobedience.

Task for Today: Rejoice that you do not have to be perfect in any sense of the word because Jesus was in every sense. Rejoice that you do not have to save yourself because Jesus has become the source of eternal salvation. All you have to do today is obey Jesus and do the will of God. Your mantra for today should be, “I don’t have to provide salvation for myself; I just have to be obedient.