Let us...

Through Hebrews we have discovered the necessity of Jesus’ death. It was required in order for true freedom and restoration to be inherited by his followers. So, what is your response to that? How can you respond to so great a gift?

Hebrews 10 encourages and exhorts us as follows:

22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. *23*Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. *24*And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, *25*not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. 
Hebrews 10:22-25

Did you notice the phrase, ‘Let us’ is repeated three times? Whenever anything is repeated in any text it draws attention and indicates significance. So, what is the relevance of the words, ‘let us’? These words suggests that we have permission to do what follows, and we are invited or encouraged to partake in what follows. As Jesus has left to us his great inheritance, our response should be to;

‘Draw near with a true heart’
‘Hold fast’
‘Stir up one another’

This is the expectation. As a follower of Jesus, it is your responsibility to do these things, so what do they involve? Let us have a closer look….

‘let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith’

You have permission, freedom and an invitation to get close to God. We can get into His presence because Jesus has paid the sacrifice to make you pure, isn’t that exciting?! You are clean, cleansed, free from ALL sin! Therefore you are encouraged into the presence of God, not to stay at a distance, but invited in as close as you can get! WOW!
So, how close are you?
What do you do in your everyday life to get closer to God? How’s your prayer life? How often do you read the Bible? Discuss Scripture with others? Do you take part in fellowship with other believers? Are you active in your faith? Are you taking opportunities to grow? Are you desiring to get to know the King of heaven better?

‘Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.’

‘Hold fast’. Be steadfast. Persevere. Keep going. Don’t quit.
Life gets hard, you may get doubtful (even Jesus closest friends did), attacked for your faith, but HOLD FAST - Remember the hope God has given you because, ‘he who promised is faithful’. Other things will let you down, but God won’t. When the tough gets going, keep going.

‘let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works’

The final exhortation of this passage is to; encourage, challenge and inspire others. You have the opportunity to build people’s faith. To support them to grow, and inspire them to trust God in new ways. Do you do that?
This kind of goes against the culture that we live in where everyone is out for the best for themselves, self-promotion and self-elevation. This verse encourages us to bring out the best in others not ourselves.
Are you actively inspiring and supporting other believers? Do you ‘stir up’ people to act out their faith in new and brave ways?

So, today as you ponder these things, is there a personal challenge that is brought to mind where you can get closer to God? Is there an encouragement to keep on going even when times are tough? Or are you inspired to support others in faith?

‘Let us’ as a result of the love and sacrifice of Jesus make a difference to this world through the outworking of our faith and the demonstrated love we have for God and one another.

why did Jesus have to die?

The main crux of the christian faith is that we sinful humans are released from all our wrongs because of the death and resurrection of the son of God, Jesus. Jesus repaired the rift between us and God, caused by sin, by being beaten and crucified.

Have you ever wondered though - why did Jesus have to die? 

Why did human blood have to be shed in order for the relationship between God and man to be fixed?

I have been a christian for many years and just simply accepted that God knows what He is doing even if I don’t understand it. So, I confess, I never really understood why it had to be that Jesus was required to die. I understand the symmetry between his death and the death of sin, yet even then It seems extreme and cruel. Also, the whole Earthly life of Jesus was about his death. That was the purpose of his time on this world, to  be the perfect heavenly man, and then be killed. Doesn’t that sound like a tragedy rather than the event we celebrate it to be?

So, why did Jesus have to die? I know, as you may do too, that the Jews offered animals as sacrifices throughout the Old Testament to atone for sin, they had to give regularly. When Jesus came, he was the ultimate sacrifice - once for all - he has covered all sin once through his death. As he died no more animal sacrifices are required, his one offering was enough for all eternity, which is pretty incredible!

Yet, still, why did Jesus have to die? What was it that made it necessary? Surely the measures outlined above are not it? They don’t seem a big enough issue to change the whole of the faith system let alone justify the torture and murder of an innocent, perfect, holy man.

Well, you see, God does see and know more than us, and we are right to trust Him, because He is not cruel nor unjust, He always had a plan and a purpose, this is it;

‘he (Jesus) is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. *16*For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. *17*For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive.’
Hebrews 9:15-17

Now, that makes sense - God had made a will. His  promise was for a new way, a gift of freedom from sin forever, and just lie a will - this promise can only come into effect when the one who has made the assurances within it dies. Therefore Jesus had to die.

Jesus, the son of God, was involved in the creation of all things; the universe, people, animals, the Old Covenant. So, in order for that way of doing things to be changed, ‘the death of the one who made it must be established.’ That is Jesus. He was around at the formation of the world as well as at the formation of the covenant, ‘without him (Jesus) nothing was made that has been made’ (John 1).

Jesus saw that the Old Covenant did not give a finality or full restoration to God, so there was a greater plan, a will that was formed. A promise for the future generations to benefit by, everlasting restoration. Yet it cannot come into being until, ‘the death of the one who made it’.

Therefore, Jesus had to die. He couldn’t of just died naturally either, where would the sacrifice of been in that? Jesus had to die in order for the will to be fulfilled and come into effect, yet the atonement for sin requires sacrifice. Jesus had to endure the weight of the world’s sin on his shoulders and suffer separation from God for a time in order to be able to restore our broken relationship with God.

Jesus had to die. He had made a will, a promise, a covenant and assurance to all humanity. Jesus passed onto us a rich inheritance, and he was tortured, beaten, murdered to give it to us. Jesus died so that his promises could be realised.
Without Jesus horrific death nothing would have changed. The will, the promises made throughout the Scriptures would not yet be realised because the ‘will’ would not be in effect.

You have the privilege of freedom, you have the gift of eternal life, you have a relationship waiting for you - do you accept it?

what's your everyday focus?

‘when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) *12*he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.’
Hebrews 9:11-12

The new era of Christ means that now, believers in the One true God have; good things, a greater and more perfect form of worship and relationship as well as 'eternal redemption'! Wow!

So, what have we to really be worried about?! Do you, like me, ever get caught up with the trivial worries of this world? In light of the verses above, any concerns we have on Earth don’t really compare, do they? I know things in this world are important, but should they be most important?

Can you imagine if you lived more of your life considering the ‘greater and more perfect’ life Jesus got for you, how your life would be? What concerns would you be free of? What responsibilities would you lay down? How much of your workload would you take home? How much time would you spend in front of the TV or out shopping?

If you believe in God today, and recognise that Jesus is the only way you can be free from sin, if you know that and are determined to live your life with him in it, then do you realise who have ‘an eternal redemption’?
An incredible gift has been given to you, one that will never run out, wear away or go obsolete, it is an everlasting salvation. So, how much time are you paying attention to that in your everyday life? Everything else that consumes our time; work, hobbies, people, expectation, houses, gadgets, even this very bodies, these things will all fade away and die. They will all end, yet we are given something that is more perfect and greater than all these things that will last beyond our earthly years. We are promised complete and utter release from sin. Forever.

How much time do you spend considering this? How often do you even stop to appreciate this absolution from sin?

Jesus has brought your freedom. His own blood was spilled so you can be redeemed. It is an eternal, never-ending, everlasting, continual, redemption. Anything you’ve ever done wrong is covered, anything you’re doing wrong right now is covered, anything you’ll do in the future is covered.

You have an eternal inheritance that you can start enjoying now. If you live in the knowledge of your ‘eternal redemption’ everyday, imagine what your life would be like….

Old and New Covenant

Chapter 8 of Hebrews sums up some of what has been discussed about the two covenants God made with His people -  the first  (Old) covenant, and the New covenant made through Jesus.

This chapter reiterates that the Old covenant is basically worn out. From it’s inception it was becoming obsolete.
The way of the Old covenant was never intended to last forever. For a start there had been many High Priests who served for a time and then expired. Therefore the High Priest’s office is in itself a temporary thing. Temporary people can only serve a temporary system. The service of the High Priest  is finite, just like the Old Covenant. The Old covenant also required constant renewal, just like the renewal of the High Priest -when one died another would take his place - so too the offerings needed to be re-given. They were continually required, because people continually sin. Yet, before the High Priest could bring an offering to God, he first had to cleanse and atone for his own sin before he could give the offerings for the sins of the people.
These aspects clearly show that the Old covenant system was not perfect. The priests lived, served and died showing their temporal nature and the offerings that were given had to be provided again and again and again. There was no long-term solution to the problem of sin in the Old covenant, Even those working within the priestly system had faults as they had their own sin to atone for - they, although elected to godly duties, they in themselves were not innocent or pure, therefore their offerings could not be either. Even the best intentioned offerings were faulty because all of humanity have sinned. Sinful people cannot offer pure sacrifices no matter how hard they try. Therefore the estrangement between God and man could not be resolved through any of our own means. There could be no pure, eternal solution provided by sinful, temporal man.

A New way was needed and promised, God says through Jeremiah, ‘I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel’. God knew the need for a greater resolution, and he had another way planned, a way where sinful man and holy God can be united.
So a different way, a New covenant was required. One which established a final, eternal solution to deal with the destruction of sin.
A perfectly pure, blameless,  everlasting willing sacrifice was needed.

That’s where Jesus comes in.

He alone could do it and has done it.
He lived a perfect, blameless, pure and holy life, and died a perfect, willing, holy, blameless death.
He went through the most horrendous experience of becoming the ultimate pure, spotless sacrifice for all sin.
As Jesus was sinless, his sin offering on our behalf brought a complete end to sin - a holy sacrifice given to eradicate all impurity. His one offering is enough. Enough for all eternity. Jesus has brought a New covenant that is living, complete and eternal.

Jesus, our High Priest still lives and is continually mediating on our behalf before God. Jesus rule is not wearing out and will never become obsolete because he lives for all eternity, so there will be no end to his office. Jesus will not vanish or wear out. The New covenant he has created will not die out. The New way Jesus has brought is forever. Jesus has made away for you to be with him and have relationship with God no matter what you do. No sin can separate you from God now, no matter how much or how often you mess up. Jesus has sorted it. He is eternally standing before the Father petitioning on your behalf.

Do you believe and trust in this Jesus? Do you know that you are given a sin-free life? Are you living it?

Jesus has given a way for you to have a new life - you don't have to continually make amends - Jesus has done it. Are you living with the security of that? Are you taking into your own life the reality of the New covenant and your freedom from sin, and your freedom in relationship with God? What has this New covenant given you that you didn't have before?

Law v Jesus

In the 7th chapter of Hebrews, we are told that The Law is, ‘set aside because of it’s weakness and uselessness (for the Law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.’ (Verses 18-19) What do you make of that?

This is key for christianity; that the Law - the set of instructions from God that the Jews worked hard to live by - is here referred to as weak, useless and set aside.

To understand the relevance and impact of this, we first need to realise the purpose of The Law.
The Law is an extensive set of instructions given to the Israelites as a standard of perfection that they were to aim to live by in order to make themselves right and acceptable before God. It gives clear guidance about everyday life and sets a clear standard. By doing so it shows the many ways in which we all can offend God and separate ourselves from Him. Even in ways that we have no control over.
The Law also makes clear that we need to make amends for these offences and how we can do that.  Every human being that’s ever lived has done something offensive to God - that's why we needed The Law - to show us what was wrong, and how, eventhough we are separating ourselves from God in a  myriad of ways, God still yearns for a positive relationship with us. God doesn't want us to be separate from Him, yet we are.
This is the problem.
So, God made a way for mankind to be able to seek and enter His presence -  He put together The Law and gave it to us. The Law reminds us not only of the awesomeness of God, how holy and pure He is, but also the standard required by Him. We, then sadly see ourselves in stark contrast to that.
When we read The Law, it doesn't take long to realise that it seems unattainable. Due to our imperfections and sin, it is so easy to see how we do not measure up. We can never be fully righteous according to The Law - there is always the necessity for some restitution requiring an offering to be made, and not a one time offering either, the sacrifices and offerings required are continuous. Every time something comes along to remove us from God's perfect standard, another sacrifice is needed.

Yet, The Law did provide a way to get closer to God.
It gave us a standard to live up to, a manner in which to repent of our wrongs, a way in which to show worship and gratitude to God,  but it never completely made up for our iniquities. There was always the need for more sacrifice. Every time we sin, another sacrifice is required, every time we become impure, another offering needed.
The Law, as incredibly prescriptive and clear as it is, still does not allow us to obtain full perfection or full restoration with God. It does supply a temporary fix, but the offerings need to be repeatedly given and the rules constantly obeyed. Even then, humanity could still not attain complete perfection or holiness.

Therefore the Law is weak and useless.

It cannot repair what we have broken, it cannot put together God and mankind as they were intentioned to be at the beginning of creation. Therefore, even in it’s complexity and thoroughness, the Law is weak. The Law is useless at providing an eternal solution to the problem of sin separating us from the holiness of God.

Thank God for Jesus!

Now, because of the perfect son, the perfect, holy, and pure sacrifice of Jesus, we can realise that, ‘a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.’

Wow!

We now can, ‘draw near to God’.

All because of Jesus!!

The Law no longer has the power to separate us from God. When we put our hope and trust in Jesus; perfect, pure, Jesus, who offered his own life as the unblemished, holy sacrifice to atone for all of our weakness and sin; He makes a way for us to be made perfect in the eyes of God. He has restored the relationship between us and God forever. Nothing can diminish or destroy what Jesus has done. Jesus sacrifice is the once and for all sacrifice that was needed. Jesus has achieved what we, and The Law could never attain - He has brought about the hope that we can draw near to God!

Are you following the forerunner?

Jesus is our forerunner (Hebrews 6:20).
This idea has stuck out for me this week.
When the text of Hebrews was written, a forerunner was someone who went out ahead of the army on a reconnaissance mission. They encountered the unknown territory and checked out the people of the land (much like Joshua and Caleb did in the Old Testament). Forerunners spied out the enemy and went ahead of their army. What a vulnerable position - they had to, without the protection of others, to gather information. They had to navigate unknown territory by themselves then give advice for the rest of the army to follow.

Jesus is our forerunner.

Jesus has done the same for us. He has gone ahead and he has made a path for us to follow. Jesus entered the fray. He didn’t back away, in fact, he surged ahead. He went first, that we might follow. Before Jesus, we couldn’t get entrance to the kingdom of God - there was even a physical veil separating the presence of God from humanity.
So Jesus went as a forerunner, ‘on our behalf’. He had no selfish motive, it was purely to enable and invite us onto new ground. To allow us the access to God that we have lost through our sins. When Jesus died, the veil was torn, and a new path was made. Access to God is now available, You can now have a part in HIs kingdom because of your forerunner.

Jesus knew the way, he knew what he needed to do. He demonstrated what a relationship with God was like and showed a new way. He went ahead to a gruesome death because he was opening the veil for us. He has gone ahead in order to show you the way to go, as hard as it might be - are you following his way?
He is willing and able to lead you in this life as he’s already gone ahead and lived it. Now Jesus invites you to follow him. Will you trust him to lead you?
Are you willing to follow the forerunner?

have you attained maturity?

11*About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. *12*For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, *13*for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. *14*But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
Hebrews 5:11–14.

Are you drinking milk or solid food?

This passage is a challenge to us to consider our maturity in faith. It causes us to consider our own maturity.

From this passage, spiritual maturity comes down to whether you are putting into practice your faith or not (v14).
So are you? Are you regularly acting and reacting from a place of faith in God?

v14 tells us that part of growing up in faith is being able to distinguish good and evil, yet it is not only being able to tell the difference, but being able to put the right way into practice. In the everyday challenges of life, in the little, unseen moments, how are you responding? Are you walking right even when no-one else knows about it? Are you putting into practice the things God is prompting you about?
The way to maturity is distinguishing and practicing what you know God’s will is - walking in faith means you will grow up and become skilled in righteousness. Isn’t that something you want to aim for?

What is so important about attaining maturity? Well,  do you want to stay a baby forever?! No-one really wants that - to be fully reliant on others for basic needs and safety, only ever drinking milk and unable to perform the basic functions of life independently. It is essential that you grow up. It is a natural process, we see growth from a baby to a toddler, teenager and beyond. So it should be as we continue our journey of faith - the longer you follow God, the more you should be learning, developing and practicing the ways of God. As a part of the process there will be; training, discipline, comfort, listening, reading, prayer, challenges and mistakes. Experiencing these things and allowing them to form your character means that you gain righteousness and maturity.

Being mature doesn’t happen overnight, it’s a gradual process. Like learning to ride a bike, you have to take it slow, listen to others, have a go, take advice and keep practicing until you learn to balance and ride. It is scary, it doesn’t feel comfortable, but  it is putting faith in practice that helps us grow up.
Like riding a bike, seeking spiritual maturity means learning from others. You need to rely on others wisdom and experience to give you the wisdom and lead you to practice ‘good’. There are faithful disciples around you, fellow members of God’s church, who will walk with you and encourage you. Seek out those who can help you with the next steps of faith, what is it that God is teaching you right now? Are you ignoring or taking up the challenges God is giving you?
If you are a person of spiritual maturity - do you have the opportunity to teach others? How can you impart the knowledge, wisdom and practice of faith into the loves of others so that they too can grow up in their faith?