Tuesday, May 27, 2014,
4:29 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put the song in mind, “My Jesus, My Savior.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Hebrews 10:19-39 (NIV).
A New and Living Way
Therefore,
brothers and sisters, 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, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let
us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith
brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and
having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope
we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may
spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together,
as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more
as you see the Day approaching.
I will not attempt here to go into all the Jewish history
and to explain all the parallel symbols between the Old Covenant and the New
Covenant because I am no theologian. So, I will take a more simplistic approach
than that. Jesus Christ, God the Son, left heaven, came to earth, and took on
the likeness of human flesh, but was without sin. He lived out his life on this
earth from birth to death at the age of 33, I believe. The last three years of
his life was spent in public ministry. He chose 12 men to be his close
disciples and companions to go with him wherever he went, i.e. to go wherever
the Father took him. He preached repentance, for the kingdom of heaven was
near. He healed the sick and raised the dead. He fed the hungry. He comforted
the hurting. Yet, he also confronted people with their sin, called them to
repentance, and challenged them with what it means to truly follow God with
their lives. His sermons were not feel-good messages. In fact, at one point,
many who had been following him deserted him because they said his message was
too hard.
Many hated him because he told the people the truth about their
sinful attitudes and behaviors. Many of these who hated him, or perhaps I
should say the primary ones who despised him were the religious leaders of his
day in Judaism. They hated him because they were jealous of him, because he
challenged them with their hypocrisy, and because he served as a threat to
their positions of power and rule among the people. This led ultimately to
Jesus’ arrest, trial, beatings, and crucifixion, although he had done no wrong.
Yet, this was all part of God’s plan for his life on this earth, and for our
lives, too.
He became our sacrificial Lamb on the altar of sacrifice for
our sins so that we could be forgiven of our sins, have the hope of eternal
life with God in glory, and so we would escape the flames of hell. Yet, he did
so much more for us than just that! He died so we would be set free from
slavery to sin, so we would be transformed in heart and mind of the Spirit of
God away from lifestyles of sin, and so we would be free to walk daily in his
righteousness and holiness.
Since Jesus Christ did all this for us, we can now draw near
to God through sincere faith in Christ and in what he did for us on the cross,
and we can be cleansed of our sins and be given new lives in Jesus Christ. We
can be turned from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that
we can receive forgiveness of sins and have a place among those who are being
sanctified by faith in Christ Jesus (See Ac. 26:16-18). What this means is
that, by God’s grace, and in the power of the working of the Spirit within us,
we can die to once enslaved us (sin, self and Satan), we can be radically
changed in heart and mind, and we can live completely new lives in the power of
the Spirit within us – lives which are dead to sin but alive to God (See Eph.
4:17-24; Ro. 6; Gal. 2:20; Tit. 2:11-14; 1 Jn. 1-5).
Embrace Unswervingly
Then, once we have been given these new lives in Christ
Jesus, and we are following him now wherever he leads us, we need to hold (embrace)
unswervingly (steadfastly) to the hope we profess. And, the hope is not just
that one day we will get to be with God in heaven, but it is the hope that we
can walk in freedom from the control of sin over our lives day by day here on
the earth, and it is the hope that we can walk in the Spirit day by day in
Christ’s righteousness and holiness in singleness of purpose and devotion to
Jesus Christ who is now the LORD of our lives, now living holy lives pleasing
to Him! Amen! And, there are many, many words of instruction and encouragement in
scripture on just how to do that in the power of the working of the Spirit
within us, as we cooperate with and submit to God’s work of grace in our lives.
Not only should we walk in faith in Christ and live lives
pleasing to him, but we should encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ to
also live lives worthy of the calling they have now received. We do this
through sharing scripture, spiritual songs, and words of godly counsel with
them, as well as through acts of kindness and compassion. As we begin to grow
in Christ and in our relationships with him, we share with others what God is
teaching us, and how he is helping us to grow strong in faith. And, we walk the
walk and not just talk the talk. This also helps to strengthen us in our own
faith. We comfort the hurting, and encourage the timid, and we help the weak,
yet we do this as Jesus did, not in our own flesh, and not with fleshly
remedies, either. We never use flattery, lies or deceptions in order to make
others feel good about themselves. That is not love or kindness. We speak the
truth in love, because we care, and because we want others to grow in their
walks with the Lord, and to not be led astray to what is false, and to not be
captivated by sin again.
We Need to Persevere
If
we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the
truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of
judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who
rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three
witnesses. How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished
who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing
the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit
of grace? For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and
again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a dreadful thing to fall into
the hands of the living God.
…So
do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.
You
need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive
what he has promised. For,
“In
just a little while,
he who is coming will come
and will not delay.”
And,
“But
my righteous one will live by faith.
And I take no pleasure
in the one who shrinks back.”
But
we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who
have faith and are saved.
In 1 John we read that if we claim to have fellowship with
Christ, but we continue to walk in darkness, we lie and do not live by the
truth. It also teaches us that no one who lives in Jesus keeps on (in willful continuous)
sinning (active rebellion against God). It does not say we will never sin
again, but that sin should no longer be our master, i.e. that we should not
deliberately keep on sinning. If our new lives look the same as our old lives,
only maybe just cleaned up a little here and there, then maybe we don’t really
have new lives. Certainly none of us is perfect, but that should never ever be
used as an excuse for willful and continued sin. We should now want to please
our new master Jesus Christ. In Romans 8:
Those
who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but
those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the
Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind
governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the
flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do
so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God… For if
you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to
death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the
Spirit of God are the children of God.
So, if someone has sold you a line of goods that tells you
that all you have to do is pray a prayer and you now are guaranteed eternity
with God in heaven, but they don’t tell you that faith in Jesus Christ means
death to sin and self, and a transformed life in Christ Jesus, walking daily in
his righteousness and holiness, then stop believing them, and start trusting in
the true gospel of your salvation. Humble yourself before God today, repent of
your sins, let the Spirit transform you in heart and mind away from sin and
self to a walk of obedience in the Spirit, and begin your new journey with God,
walking daily in fellowship with Jesus Christ. And, then preserve in your walk
of faith with the Lord, don’t look back, when you sin, repent, and keep
trusting the Lord, and don’t ever go back to the life you lived before.
My Jesus, My Savior / Michael W. Smith
My Jesus, My Saviour,
Lord there is no one like you,
All of my days, I want to praise
The wonders of Your mighty love.
My comfort, my shelter,
Tower of refuge and strength
Let every breath, all that I am
Never cease to worship You...
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