December 12 - Hebrews 7-10
This section of the book of Hebrews is a detailed explanation of the superiority of the New Covenant over the Old Covenant. I do not wish to get into the details today, because they are clear to anyone who reads this passage carefully. It is the results of the New Covenant that are important to all of us today. As you read this passage, let the Lord speak to you about your relationship with Christ and how it could be even better as you grow in Him.
The result of Christ's perfect sacrifice for us is that we can have a perfect and complete cleansing of our sins, when we trust Him as Savior and Lord, and also, we can have our consciences cleansed from dead works, so we can serve Him as we should. (9:14) Let this truth sink in for a minute. The Old Covenant could not make the conscience clear from sin. (9:9) In fact, it kept reminding the people of their sin from year to year. The New Covenant is designed to give us assurance of our salvation and to give us clear consciences, so that we know we have been forgiven by Christ. Then, we can live in relationship with Him and serve Him with a clear conscience. This is a tremendous blessing! God thought of everything when He planned the New Covenant, and when He carried it out through Christ coming to this earth. He has given us every advantage when we know Him.
Therefore, the point of this passage is that we should never drift away from Christ, but we must draw near to the One who has blessed us in such a fantastic way. (10:22) We should never let go of our confession of faith, but we should hold fast. (10:23) There should not be wavering in our faith, but if a believer wavers, the other believers should stir them up to love and good works. (10:24) Do you see the pattern? The New Covenant gives us every reason to go on with Christ to the end, until we reach heaven. Therefore, if we willfully sin after we say we have entered the New Covenant it a a fearful situation. If a person draws back, he was never saved in the first place. It shows that he had never been perfectly cleansed by the blood of Christ. He still had the effects of sin in his life. However, that is not true of those who know Christ. (10:39)
What do you think? Have you been changed completely by Christ? Has His blood been applied to your sin, so that it is gone? Has your conscience been cleansed? Do you have the assurance of your salvation? That is Christ's intention for you under the New Covenant.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Hebrews 11-13.
The result of Christ's perfect sacrifice for us is that we can have a perfect and complete cleansing of our sins, when we trust Him as Savior and Lord, and also, we can have our consciences cleansed from dead works, so we can serve Him as we should. (9:14) Let this truth sink in for a minute. The Old Covenant could not make the conscience clear from sin. (9:9) In fact, it kept reminding the people of their sin from year to year. The New Covenant is designed to give us assurance of our salvation and to give us clear consciences, so that we know we have been forgiven by Christ. Then, we can live in relationship with Him and serve Him with a clear conscience. This is a tremendous blessing! God thought of everything when He planned the New Covenant, and when He carried it out through Christ coming to this earth. He has given us every advantage when we know Him.
Therefore, the point of this passage is that we should never drift away from Christ, but we must draw near to the One who has blessed us in such a fantastic way. (10:22) We should never let go of our confession of faith, but we should hold fast. (10:23) There should not be wavering in our faith, but if a believer wavers, the other believers should stir them up to love and good works. (10:24) Do you see the pattern? The New Covenant gives us every reason to go on with Christ to the end, until we reach heaven. Therefore, if we willfully sin after we say we have entered the New Covenant it a a fearful situation. If a person draws back, he was never saved in the first place. It shows that he had never been perfectly cleansed by the blood of Christ. He still had the effects of sin in his life. However, that is not true of those who know Christ. (10:39)
What do you think? Have you been changed completely by Christ? Has His blood been applied to your sin, so that it is gone? Has your conscience been cleansed? Do you have the assurance of your salvation? That is Christ's intention for you under the New Covenant.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Hebrews 11-13.