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Everyone pretty much instinctively knows that sin is an impurity. But then; so is a guilty conscience.

†. Heb 10:21-23a . . Since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience

Sprinkling was a common ritual in the Old Testament-- sometimes with water, sometimes with oil, and sometimes with blood --for example: Ex 29:16, Ex 29:21, Lev 14:7, Lev 14 16, and Num 8:7, et al.

Sprinkling typically serves to de-contaminate someone or some thing in order to make it suitable for God's purposes. Well, in point of fact; none of the Old Testament's sprinklings served to sanitize people's conscience once and for all time. They had to keep bringing one sacrifice after another in a perpetual stream of sacrifices because each sacrifice sanitized their conscience just that one time instead of for all time.

†. Heb 10:1-3 . . Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of them, it can never make perfect those who come to worship by the same sacrifices that they offer continually each year. Otherwise, would not the sacrifices have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, once cleansed, would no longer have had any consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is only a yearly remembrance of sins.

Well; thanks be to God that Christ put an end to the tedium of perpetual sprinklings.

†. Heb 10:14 . . By one offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.

The Greek word for "perfected" in that verse is teleioo (tel-i-o'-o) which essentially speaks of completion; viz: finished.

The Greek word for "sanctified" is hagiazo (hag-ee-ad'-zo) which essentially speaks of things and/or persons set aside for God.

In other words: the sprinkling doesn't actually clear somebody's conscience; It only makes it possible for God to account their conscience clear.

Accounting practices like that are a bit strange, but not unusual. For example; at Num 23:21, the prophet Balaam, speaking for God, said: "He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel"

Well; anybody familiar with the Old Testament would certainly disagree with God's assessment seeing as how the record plainly attests that there was iniquity and perverseness aplenty in Moses' people.

Another example is Rom 6:3-11 where Christ's believing followers are urged to account themselves crucified with Christ and also to account themselves risen with Christ from the dead 110% sinless and immortal.

I have no clue how those kinds of accounting practices work; but if they're okay with God, then for sure they're okay with me too.

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