Don't judge a book by its cover. That's what they say. Whoever they is. But we just can't help it sometimes. When you go to buy a new car and you're wearing a ripped t-shirt and dirty blue jeans, you can bet that you're not going to get the kind of service that you probably wanted and you're almost certainly not going to get a good deal. On the other hand, if you're wearing a sport coat and slacks, you may get more attention than you want and everyone will be trying to make a deal with you. Either way, you're still the same on the inside. Under all of those clothes, you have the same income, the same money to spend, and same desire for a car. Nothing really changed except your outward appearance.
God is not so superficial as a car salesman, but the atonement and ceremonial cleansing of the first covenant didn't do much more than change your outward appearance. God could still see through that and recognize that no one was ever going to change on the inside as long as all that was happening was a change on the outside. That's why Jesus was so important. He didn't offer the blood of an imperfect animal to cover our sins on the outside. He offered His perfect blood to cleanse our sins from the inside. We are now free from sin, not slaves to sin who happen to have a nice set of clothes to try and hide it.
Do you see the difference? Have you experienced the change in your life, or are you still trying to hide your sin from God? Don't because you can't. God sees all, and the only salvation is to allow Christ into your heart so that you can be changed on the inside.
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