When the recipients of this letter became Christians it seems like the sky had fallen on their heads. The devil had come roaring in, trying to disrupt, discourage and destroy this new faith in God. I think this is so normal that warnings about it ought to be included in all courses exploring Christianity. It is part of counting the cost of following Jesus.
Read moreThe Unforgivable Sin; Heb 10:26-31
This is a passage most Christian were rather not in the Bible. It is extremely uncomfortable reading. Having urged believers to draw near to God with consciences cleansed by Jesus, the writer now warns of the opposite in the most urgent and serious words:
Read moreLet Us Come; Heb. 10:19-25
God wants to give you access to his very presence, to his very throne. He wants you to be able to come to him. The way was closed until Jesus Christ came and died to open it up:
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body Heb 10:19-20
And he lives and presides as Great High Priest to keep it opened up:
and since we have a great priest over the house of God Heb 10:21
The words that hit me are the "us" and the "we". This is for me! This is for every Christian. This is available to anyone who isn't a Christian yet if they put their trust in Jesus Christ. He has done this for you, he offers this to you, why on earth wouldn't you come??
Read moreThe Holiest Place; Heb 10:19
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus... Heb. 10:19
Stop right there, let it wash over you. Let it sink in. For the original hearers it was the biggest imaginable paradigm shift, the most revolutionary challenge of all time to their worldview.
Read moreReligous Duty; Heb 10:1-14
Any Christian out there who is trusting your own holiness, your own church attendance, your own good works, your own morality or your own Christian ministry thinking that you get brownie points with God for them, I urge you to stop, repent of it right now, and turn to him with utter thankfulness for the righteousness of Jesus given to you absolutely freely and for nothing.
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