Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from Heb 10.1 and following. Indeed, the need to repeat the sacrifices of the old covenant over and over again showed that they were ineffective. To tell the truth, they were only an act that remembered sins. God’s righteousness was not satisfied, let alone could He enjoy it. Then someone came forward who took charge of our cause. Only Jesus was the object of the Father’s good pleasure, only He could be the approved offering, the holy victim offered once and for all. While the priests of this world stood because they had never finished their service, Christ sat down, proof that His work is finished. And He who sat in perpetuity made us perfect in perpetuity. Yes perfect, this is how God sees us, our sins being washed away. And it’s not in the future, it’s accomplished and definitive. But let us not forget that the work made for us is accompanied by a work current in us. The Lord wants to put His love and commandments in each of our hearts (Hb 8:10-13). Having said to the Father when he came into the world, “It is my joy, O my God, to do what is your good pleasure, and your law is within my womb,” how could He not want His own to resemble Him (Ps 40:7-11)?
The Hebrew Christians had accepted, and gladly accepted, the rapture of their earthly possessions (Mat 5:3-12). What was their secret? Faith, which appropriated better goods and beyond the reach of the persecutors. But faith is not necessary only in bad days or in conversion. It is the vital principle of the just. It makes the future present and the invisible visible. He who does not possess it cannot persevere. He withdraws and God does not take pleasure in him (Hb 4:1-3; 1 Cor 10:1-6). Without faith, repeats ch. 11 v. 6, it is impossible to please Him. But now God will introduce us to some of those in whom He finds Pleasure (Ps 16:1-7).
Christ is presented essentially as the holy and perfect victim, of whom all the sacrifices offered under the law were but figures; sacrifices that could not take away sins, nor therefore purify the conscience. This offering of Christ as an unblemished victim had already been the subject of chapter 9, but this chapter shows above all the great results of Christ’s sacrifice. It is good, in reading these chapters, to have before your eyes what was happening in Israel in the open of the Atonement. Here we have the comment inspired by what today’s ceremonies meant. “He was manifested once for the abolition of sin by his sacrifice,” it is said at the end of Hebrews 9. What were the sacrifices offered under the law? That is what we are going to be told. The apostle who brought out the excellence of Christianity over Judaism, also shows that contempt for the former will bring a more terrible judgment than that which struck the contemptors of the latter. To despise the law that God had given by Moses was to reject it, and those who were guilty of crimes that implied this contempt were mercilessly put to death. Nothing could atone for their sin (Lev. 24:10-16; Nb 15:32-36; Deut. 17:2-7).
Rejecting Christianity after knowing and professing it was an infinitely greater crime. Indeed, the two great Christian privileges are the unique and perfect sacrifice that the Son of God offered on the cross by giving himself up, and the presence of the Holy Spirit who bears witness to the divine grace manifested in this sacrifice. To abandon these privileges after having known and professed them was to trample on the one who had been recognized as the Son of God; it was to esteem profane the blood of the covenant by which one had professed to be set apart; it was finally an insult to the Spirit of grace. God, his grace, his Son, the sacrifice of him, and the Holy Spirit who bears witness to him, everything was rejected and despised, and what remained as the final term of such a way, if not the just judgment on the part of the One to whom vengeance belongs and who will give to each according to his works? Judgment by the Lord is a certain thing: He has declared it; and how terrible is it not to fall into the hands of the living God to receive the just wages of the greatest of sins, of him who closes the door to all hope, the voluntary rejection of his grace.
A cause for which we have endured a lot is all the dearer to us, and moreover the experience of the grace of God who has sustained in these sufferings, is very apt to encourage. It is on these sentiments that the exhortation addressed to these Christians is based first. By enduring the opprobrium and afflictions, by associating themselves with the heart with those who were persecuted, by relieving those who were in prison for their faith, by allowing themselves to be joyfully stripped of their possessions, because they had in view better and permanent goods, in heaven they had shown the reality of their profession. So it was not the time to be discouraged, now that the goal was about to be achieved, and they should not give up the trust in God and His promises that they had shown and whose reward is glory. God’s rest, better and permanent goods, salvation brought when Christ appears, this is what awaits us.
But the moment when we will enter into the possession of what is promised, is near: new and powerful reason to encourage each other, to have patience and persevere. “Still very little time, and the one who comes will come, and he will not delay.” The fulfillment of all that is contained in the glorious promise is connected with the coming of Christ. But “he comes” is a striking expression and shows him, so to speak, on the way; it characterizes Christ, just as constant and patient waiting characterizes the faithful. And soon it will appear, it will not be long in coming. Everything in this verse, therefore, announces to us the very imminent coming of Christ: “still very little time”; “he comes”; “it will not be long in coming”. It is for this purpose that the Christian must live, obey and persevere. Nothing will influence his faithful walk as much as this thought: “He is coming.”
But there is one principle that is the power of this life of waiting: it is faith. It characterizes the life of the righteous, it nourishes it, it gives him the strength to persevere in the midst of all difficulties. Where it is lacking, life weakens; trials are frightening; one is in danger of withdrawing, of going back, and if someone enters into this fatal path, God takes no pleasure in him. “But for us,” says the sacred writer, placing himself in the midst of believers, fraternally associating himself with them, “we are not among those who withdraw for perdition” – this is the fatal outcome where the abandonment of trust in God for the fulfillment of the promise leads – “but of those who believe for the preservation of the soul.” The preservation of the soul, the enjoyment of eternal life in glory, is the blessed end of the path of faith. The passage: “Now the righteous will live by faith,” from the prophet Habakkuk 2:4, is quoted three times in Paul’s epistles, in Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11, and here. In Romans, the emphasis is on the word “righteous”; in Galatians, on the word “faith,” and here on the word “will live.” In the first case, the quotation is related to the righteousness of God revealed in the Gospel on the principle of faith: “Now the righteous will live in faith.” In the second, the faith that justifies is contrasted with the law that condemns. And finally, in the third, living in faith is in contrast to withdrawing and perishing.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
Exhortation to trust and firmness in the faith
- Offerings, sacrifices consumed
Ex 29:18 Thou shalt burn all the ram on the altar; it is a holocaust to the Lord, it is a sacrifice consumed by fire, with a pleasant smell to the Lord. Jos 8:31 as Moses, a servant of jehovah, had commanded the children of Israel, and as it is written in the book of the law of Moses: it was an altar of rough stones, on which iron was not carried. They offered holocausts to Jehovah on this altar, and they presented sacrifices of thanksgiving. 1 Sam 6:15 The Levites descended the ark of the Lord, and the chest which was next to it and which contained the golden objects; and they placed the whole thing on the great stone. The people of Beth Schémesch offered on this day holocausts and sacrifices to the Lord. 2 Ch 13:11 Every morning and evening we offer holocausts to the Lord, we burn the fragrant perfume, we put the loaves of proposal on the pure table, and we light every evening the golden candlestick and its lamps; for we keep the commandments of Jehovah, our God. And you, you have abandoned it. Ezr 3:3 They restored the altar to its foundations, though they had to fear the peoples of the land, and they offered holocausts to the Lord, the morning and evening holocausts.
- Spiritual, orderly purification
Acts 22:16 And now, what are you waiting for? Arise, be baptized, and cleansed of your sins, invoking the name of the Lord. 2 Cor 7:1 Having therefore such promises, beloved, let us purify ourselves from every defilement of the flesh and spirit, completing our sanctification in the fear of God. 2 Tim 2:21 If, therefore, anyone keeps himself pure, by abstaining from these things, he will be a vessel of honor, sanctified, useful to his master, proper to every good work. 1 John 3:3 Whoever has this hope in him purifies himself, as he himself is pure.
- Orderly cleanliness
Gen 35:2 Jacob said to his house and to all who were with him: Take away the foreign gods who are in your midst, purify yourselves, and change your clothes. Rt 3.3 Wash and oin yourself, then put your clothes back on, and go down to the area. You will not make yourself known to him, until he has finished eating and drinking. Mt 6:17 But when you fast, perfume your head and wash your face, Hb 10:22 let’s approach with a sincere heart, in the fullness of faith, hearts purified of a bad conscience, and the body washed of pure water.
- Seven notable examples of stability
-A man of God who refuses a reward 1 Kings 13:8 The man of God said to the king: When you gave me half of your house, I would not enter with you. I will not eat bread, nor will I drink water in this place;
-Job, in his spiritual prayer Job 23:11 My foot clung to his footsteps; I kept his way, and I did not turn away from it.
-The three Hebrew prisoners Dn 3:18 The captives are all at peace, They do not hear the voice of the oppressor;
Christ on the cross Lk 9:51 When the time when he was to be taken out of the world approached, Jesus resolved to go to Jerusalem.
Peter and John Acts 4:20 because we cannot fail to speak of what we have seen and heard.
Paul, in completing the race Acts 20:24 But I do not make any case for myself of my life, as if it were precious to me, provided that I carry out my race with joy, and the ministry I have received from the Lord Jesus, to proclaim the good news of God’s grace.
From all of the above, we note that the one who has done the work of grace is raised higher than heaven (Hb 7:23-28). And we are invited to enter in his footsteps by the new and living path, now open to the worshipper. The blood of Jesus, the torn veil, the intervention on our behalf of a high priest give our faith complete assurance. Let us approach, brothers, with “full freedom.” Let nothing hold us back from entering the holy places… nor to join us regularly in the gathering of God’s children. It is not to live alone, as egoists, that we are converted. Let us encourage each other to love and dedication. For to sin voluntarily was for the Jews professing Christianity to return to the Law and thus trample on the Holy Son of God, to degrade his precious blood, to mock grace. But this can apply to children of Christian parents who have rejected the teaching received in their youth and deliberately chosen the path of the world. Young friends who possess such great privileges, the path to heaven will not always be open for you. Draw near now (John 6:35-40). Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to respond to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow “faith, its nature and its effects.”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.