WHEN THE WORK GETS FINISHED

When the Work Gets Finished

Have you ever felt like your work is never truly done? You clean one room and another needs attention. You deal with one struggle, and suddenly a new battle begins. Many of us live with constant pressure to manage, fix, and finish things that never seem to stay finished.

The Old Testament believers experienced that same reality in their worship. The priest continually offered sacrifices, yet sin remained present. Guilt lingered. The people kept coming back, because nothing ever fully changed. As Hebrews 10 explains, the old sacrificial system was only a shadow of what was to come. It pointed forward to a Savior who would not perform temporary work, but eternal and perfect redemption.

Jesus Christ came as both the perfect High Priest and the spotless sacrifice. His work is complete. The question is: Do we live as if His work is enough? When people look at our lives, do they see our effort to earn righteousness, or do they see the power of what Jesus has already finished?

Scripture shows us what makes the work finished in Christ and how this truth transforms our lives today.

1. Sin Has to Die

Before the gospel frees us to rest in Christ, it first calls us to confront sin. The priests in the Old Testament knew this well. Every sacrifice reminded the people that sin was real, alive, and resistant to surrender.

Hebrews 10:3 says, “Those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year.” Animals had to be dragged to the altar and forcefully restrained. The altar was a place of struggle. This physical picture reveals a spiritual truth: our flesh does not give up easily.
All of us have areas where sin tries to stay alive. It bucks and fights to remain in control. Addiction resists surrender. Anger refuses to die. Insecurity continues climbing back onto the altar. Yet Romans 8:13 teaches that by the Spirit we “put to death the deeds of the body.” Sin must die for freedom to live.

Jesus came not to cover sin temporarily but to crucify it permanently. Through His sacrifice, the battle against sin has a path to victory. The work He finished empowers us to lay down the old nature daily, knowing the final triumph belongs to Him.

2. The Garments Must Be Cleansed

Killing the sacrifice was not the end of the priest’s duty. Covered in blood and filth, he had to wash before entering God’s holy presence. Scripture describes the bronze basin as a place of cleansing that happened privately. This reveals a crucial spiritual principle: holiness begins in the secret place.

Here is where many modern believers struggle. We want the public victory but avoid the private washing. We want to feel clean without surrendering to the Lord’s sanctifying work through His Word.

Hebrews 10:2 reminds us that if human effort could cleanse us perfectly, the sacrifices would have stopped long ago. Only Jesus cleanses us completely. Ephesians 5:26 assures us that we are washed by the “cleansing of God’s word.” When we submit our hearts to Scripture, shame loses its grip, and guilt dissolves under the truth of grace.

Christ has provided a cleansing that reaches deeper than outward behavior. He washes the conscience. He purifies the mind. He restores identity. In Him, we are made clean.

3. Praise Invites the Glory

Once cleansed, the priest would move to the altar of incense, where worship rose before God. Praise was not an afterthought. It was the pathway into God’s presence. Psalm 100:4 tells us that thanksgiving and praise are what bring us into the courts of the King.

This means praise is not about personality or preference; it is about access.

There will be days when praise feels costly. When lifting hands feels heavy. When singing feels unnatural. Yet Hebrews 13:15 calls us to offer a “sacrifice of praise,” because praise elevates our focus from temporary battles to eternal victory.

Spectators never experience what worshipers experience. Breakthrough often meets us in the moment we choose to praise before we feel victorious. Praise reveals heaven’s reality:
Jesus has already overcome.

4. The Man Who Sat Down

All of this leads to the ultimate truth of Hebrews 10. In the old covenant, the priest never sat down. There was no chair in the temple. The work was endless and unfinished.
Then we read a startling contrast:
“Our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down…”

Hebrews 10:12
He sat down. Only a finished Savior can sit. When Jesus declared, “It is finished” (John 19:30), He forever ended the cycle of striving for righteousness. His seated position demonstrates:
• Sin has been conquered
• Shame has been removed
• Salvation is secure
• The victory is complete

Jesus is not pacing heaven wringing His hands about your struggles. He is seated in power and authority, waiting until every enemy is fully placed beneath His feet (Hebrews 10:13).

Our battle is not finishing the work. Our battle is believing the One who already did.

Living in the Finished Work

Life will shake. Trials will test us. Emotions may overwhelm us. Yet when turbulence comes, believers can look toward the throne and remember: The One who holds all authority is still seated. The shaking around us does not signal defeat. It reveals the stability of the One who cannot be moved.

So let this be the declaration over our lives:
If Jesus is your High Priest,
Sin can die.
Your heart can be cleansed.
Praise can open heaven.
And your soul can rest…
Because this Man sat down.

His work is finished. Let us live fully in the victory He has completed.