OUR HIGH PRIEST

OUR HIGH PRIEST

Heb. 7:26 He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has now been set apart from sinners, and he has been given the highest place of honor in heaven.  NLT

     The high priest is he who stands before God on behalf of others and offers a sacrifice for their sins. Before the coming of Christ, the high priest was allowed to enter the holiest part of the Temple to offer blood before God on first his own behalf, and then the people's. First for his own sins because he too was a sinner in need of forgiveness. Once his heart was pure he could then go to God for the people. It was the most sacred duty he had and he could only do it once a year. He had very strict procedures to follow, and if he didn't do it he would die.

      Jesus did away with the high priestly role when he died for our sins because He became our high priest in heaven. He is holy and blameless having never sinned before God. He did not have to make atonement for His sins since He had none. His death was the ultimate sin sacrifice, sufficient to wash away the sins of all people for all time. His sacrifice was the perfect sacrifice sufficient to appease God's wrath against sin.  He is now in heaven working to make holy all who give their hearts to Him, preparing them for heaven when they die. 

      He is now in heaven where there is no sin, standing before God on our behalf. He makes it possible for God to look upon us with favor and pleasure because He is our righteousness and holiness from God. He has the highest place of honor in heaven as He sits on God's right hand ministering there on our behalf.

     He is heaven’s sunlight, her glory.  He is worthy of all our adoration, worship, and praise. Let us never take Him for granted and give Him on earth the honor and glory He deserves, even as He receives it in heaven.  Glory be our Lord and King!  Let your life bring Him glory until He comes.

JESUS IS ABLE TO SAVE

JESUS IS ABLE TO SAVE

Heb. 7:25 Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save everyone who comes to God through him. He lives forever to plead with God on their behalf.  NLT

       Never doubt the ability of Jesus to save you or anyone else who comes to Him for salvation. Anyone who wants a personal relationship with God can have it. Anyone who wants God on their side can have Him. All that anyone has to do is to come to Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins. It is very easy to enter into a relationship with God, but one of the hardest things for anyone to do. Why? Because we don't want to lose control over our lives. Satan convinces us that if we let Jesus have control of our lives we will no longer be happy. We will no longer be free to do what we want. What Satan doesn't tell us is the truth. He is the father of all lies. He is incapable of telling the real truth.

      Letting Jesus take control of our lives and being our Savior and Lord frees us from the self-destruction that happens when we live in sin. He frees us up so we can participate in and enjoy the blessings of eternal life instead of temporal life. He frees us up so we can make sense out of ourselves and life.

      When we let Jesus take over, He becomes our defender before God. There is no one else who is worthy to approach God. He alone is able to move the heart of God. The Father, Son, and Spirit are all perfectly one. They are God. Therefore, when we let Jesus control us, we have God on our side. And, God is our protector and provider. He will take care of us and not allow harm to come our way. He will never look the other way when we come to Him with Jesus as our Savior and Lord.

       Jesus lives forever to plead with God on our behalf. He is never, ever, off-duty. There is never a moment in which Jesus is not before God on our behalf. He prevents God from, in His anger over sin, sending us into hell. Jesus alone is able to keep us from self-destruction. He alone is able to keep us right with God.

      Make sure you never let Jesus out of your sight or shut the door of your heart on Him. He is the only hope you have for life in and with God.  Will it be an easy life?  No.  Anyone who tells you that living in Christ is easy and free from the stresses and valleys of life is lying to you. 

       Jesus never promised us an easy life.  He told us to daily take up our cross and follow Him.  He told us to count the cost before we start out on our journey of faith.  He said that broad is the way that leads away from God and many travel it; narrow is the road that leads to God and few walk on it. 

        However, with our eyes focused on Jesus and our trust is rooted in Him, we will do it.  We can be among the few who make it to heaven when we give Jesus all of our heart, mind, and soul.

SPUR EACH OTHER ON

SPUR EACH OTHER ON

Heb. 6:4-6 For it is impossible to restore to repentance those who were once enlightened--those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come--and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people to repentance again because they are nailing the Son of God to the cross again by rejecting him, holding him up to public shame.   NLT

      There is much division within the Church as to how these verses are to be best understood and applied to life.  There are many Biblical scholars on both sides of the fence as to whether or not a true believer can forfeit his salvation.  Taken at face value, these verses clearly teach that if he can, then it’s impossible for him to be brought back to repentance if he turns away from God.  I will let those more knowledgeable than I am debate the issue.

      What I want us to consider today is that this should never be an issue to be debated in the Church.  We should be spurring each other on to a deeper walk with the Lord at all times.  We should be watching out for each other’s soul and caring enough for each other to bring to light those things which are not right before God.  We should be praying for each other consistently.  We should be holding each other accountable for the disciplines of faith.  We should be mentoring each other so that the desire for God would not grow cold or go out.  We should be so involved in each other’s lives that we will never want to stray from God. 

      If anyone’s love for Christ does die out, it’s because we have failed that soul.  We have not lovingly embraced and nurtured that soul.  We have not prayed for that soul as we ought.  We have not done our part to draw that soul back into a loving fellowship with Christ.

      There is no chance whatsoever of losing our salvation if we stay connected to Christ.  It is a moot point if we are living obediently to Christ and taking responsibility to help others in each other’s walk.  No one should ever be left alone to fend for themselves in spiritual matters.  No one can stay connected to Christ without help from others.  Surround yourself with godly people and embrace others in their faith.  Together we will make it to heaven. 

      Let us not get hung up on the finer points of doctrine and miss out on opportunities we have to help one another grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord.  Arguing over what we understand differently accomplishes nothing except to alienate us from each other and depriving ourselves of one another’s fellowship. 

       We need to know what we believe and why and then agree to disagree agreeably with those who see things differently than we do and do what the Lord commands us to do, go into the world with the Gospel message and make disciples for Him.

ON TO DEEPER THINGS

ON TO DEEPER THINGS

Heb. 6:1 So let us stop going over the basics of Christianity again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start all over again with the importance of turning away from evil deeds and placing our faith in God.  NLT

      How much do you know about the deeper things of the faith?  Are you knowledgeable about how to live a holy life?  Do you know how to distinguish between truth and error?  Are you knowledgeable about God’s history with man and His future plans for him?  Are you keenly aware of what God calls sin and the consequences we face if we do sin against Him?  Do you know enough about holiness to make you want to live in it?  Are you able to handle whatever comes your way because you are well-grounded in the Word of God?

      There is a great lack of maturity in the thinking of God’s children.  There is a sad contentment with the minimal understanding of the Christian life.  There is so much emphasis placed on salvation and little placed on growth in faith.  Discipleship is not a priority in most Christians' lives.  We put all our energy on evangelism and neglect the nurturing of the faith of those who are saved.  Quantity trumps quality.  We shy away from the training of the soul in righteousness.

      It is not God’s will for you.  God wants you to go deeper in grace.  He wants you to grow in your ability to put into practice holiness of life.  He wants to teach you greater truths and increase your understanding of His ways.  He wants to make you into an effective servant.  He wants to equip you so that you can be of help to others.  He has much better plans for you than the elementary things of the faith.  He has great blessings in store for you that are reserved for those with pure hearts before Him.  God longs for you to become a victor over sin and not a victim to it.

      Surround yourself with those who can help you on this journey of faith.  Get close to those who will challenge you and inspire you to greater faith.  Don’t settle for less when God wants you to have more.

       Move on to the deeper things of faith.  They are the things that hold you steady in the storms of life.  They are what keeps your head on straight in the confusing world we live in.  They are what enables you to not doubt in the dark what you know is true in the light.  Move on to grab hold of the treasures God has for you in a surrendered life.  Move on and you will never settle for what the world offers you.  Move on; it’s the pathway to God.

TRAIN YOURSELF

TRAIN YOURSELF

Heb. 5:13-14  And a person who is living on milk isn't very far along in the Christian life and doesn't know much about doing what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who have trained themselves to recognize the difference between right and wrong and then do what is right.  NLT

      The only way to grow strong spiritually is to put forth the effort of feeding yourself on the deeper things of God. There is far more to know and experience in God than salvation. Knowing Jesus as your Savior is just the beginning of what God has for you in life. God wants you to tap into what He has provided for you. He wants you to become mature in faith so that you not only know the difference between right and wrong, but that you will be able to consistently do what is right.

      Maturity in Christ doesn't just happen on its own. We must train ourselves in spiritual matters. We must dig deep into God's Word, exploring its truths and striving to apply them to life. We must learn how to pray and do it regularly. We must be involved in the fellowship of believers through worship and service. We must learn to submit to and obey the Lord in all things. It takes a lot of effort on our part and there are no shortcuts. In fact, it takes a lifetime of training.

       We have a personal responsibility in our training to know that which is right from wrong and then do it. We cannot rely on others to teach us everything we need to know. No one can do our spiritual exercises for us. Each of us must invest ourselves in our training. We can, and must, learn from others. But, we must put forth the effort ourselves to learn then to apply it to life. Any training process is hard work and requires personal sacrifice. There are discomfort and pain associated with it. But, anything worthwhile achieving requires the best of our efforts.

      Don't be satisfied with the milk of the Gospel when you can be feasting on the steaks.

SOLID FOOD

SOLID FOOD

Heb. 5:14 Solid food is for those who are mature, who have trained themselves to recognize the difference between right and wrong, and then do what is right. NLT

      Most believers are not good eaters.  They are content with eating the bare minimum of spiritual food.  They are content with not growing up.  They tend to like being dependent on others.  They don’t like to move beyond their comfort level.  They acquire a taste for the bare essentials of the faith and are unwilling to try something else.  Because they are content with where they are at, God withholds solid food from them.  He does not force-feed anyone and allows them to continue to act like babies if that is what they want to do.

     However, to not grow up is contrary to nature.  God created us to grow into maturity.  His desire for us is to become adults in our thinking and living.  He knows that only the mature are able to live righteously before Him.  He knows that only the mature will survive the tests of faith they are sure to encounter.  He knows that only the mature are going to be able to be ready for the day of His return.

      Becoming mature in faith requires proper training.  It involves commitment, sacrifice, and perseverance on our part.  It requires making our relationship with God our number one priority in life.  We must be willing to discipline our souls to stay on track.

      Maturity requires us to consistently be exploring new truths to feast on in His Word.  It requires us to spend quality time in prayer, feasting on His presence.  It requires us to train our ears to hear God when He speaks.  It requires us to willingly put into practice the things the Lord teaches us. 

     The more we feast on the spiritual food God provides for us, the more food He provides for us.  He constantly gives new food to try for those who are mature in faith.  And the more food we try from His hand, the stronger we grow in faith.  Blessed are those who have an insatiable appetite for those things which make the soul grow into holiness of life.

      Becoming mature in faith does not happen overnight.  It’s a process that never ends on earth.  There are always new things to learn, new adjustments to make, new challenges to apply from God’s Word.  Great are the rewards for those who stay the course until Jesus comes.

MILKY CHRISTIANS

MILKY CHRISTIANS

Heb. 5:13  And a person who is living on milk isn't very far along in the Christian life and doesn't know much about doing what is right.  NLT

      In the previous verse, we are told to grow up in the faith.  There were many in the church who were spiritual babies who should have been spiritual adults.  These people did not understand the deeper things of faith and had to be spoon-fed.  Their faith should have shown signs of maturity, but they were far from it. 

      There are many repercussions with a child of God who never grows up.  Not only does it affect his own living, it affects those people who could benefit much from a much more mature friend.  Immature Christians often give Christianity, and thus Christ, a black eye.  They say and do things that are not honorable before God or man.  They often influence others to follow in their footsteps and fail in their faith walks.

      An immature Christian has a hard time distinguishing between right and wrong.  They lack clear Biblical boundaries to govern their behavior.  They are not able to hear the voice of the Spirit and often stumble and fall into sin.  They are easily mislead and confused as to what is or is not sin.  They are very inconsistent in their walks of faith and are generally those who keep the pot stirred up.  They are usually the ones who create division in the church. 

      God requires His children to grow up.  There comes a time in which each of us needs to be weaned off the milk and start chewing on steaks.  We need to let go of ourselves and let the Lord have His way in us.  It is God's plan and when we don't cooperate with Him, it is disastrous for us and the church.

       Go deeper.  Dig deeper.  Drink deeper.  Do yourself a favor and get with the program.  You need what God offers you.  You need to be serious about your relationship with Christ.  If you are not growing, you are dying.  You will never make it if you are not growing up.