Hebrews is a book rich with historical reviews of stories in the Old Testament.  At every turn, the writer uses these stories to show us the relationship that God had with his people back then,  and to explain clearly the new, better, eternal relationship that Jesus has brought to us.

Heb. 9:14  "How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"

The term "dead works" is referring to keeping the law in hopes of salvation instead of serving the living God.  Nothing wrong with the law, we should keep the law.  But it doesn't save us.  Only the law God has written on our hearts will prompt us to service of the living God.  We give our lives to Him, and He prompts our conscience.

I have always been a truthful person, sometimes to my detriment.  I have only told a lie two times that I remember.  The first was as a senior in high school when the principal asked me if I had had lunch with some of my friends--who were standing behind him nodding their heads up and down.  They didn't want to get in trouble.  I never did find out what they had done.

I said, "Yes."  A lie.  Which haunted me from within my Spirit filled conscience for twenty years, until we had our first high school reunion.  My old high school principal was there.   I found him and told him what I had done.  And how sorry I was.   Confession is good for the soul.

He said, "I should never have put you in that position. I knew they were guilty."

But he did put me in that position.  And I lied.  And God wouldn't let me forget it.  When He lives in our bodies, His temple, He decides what is right and what is wrong.  You can't escape Him.