Thought for Monday, 26 September

Hebrews 10:30-31 (new living translation)

For we know the one who said, “I will take vengeance; I will repay those who deserve it,” He also said, “The Lord will judge his own people.” It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

 

Today’s passage is more than a bit of a wake-up call.  This chapter tells of the ineffectiveness of the frequent sacrifices that the followers of God made that we read about in the Old Testament and how these were replaced by the once for all sacrifice in the New Testament.  That is of course when God sent his only son to carry the sins of the world at Calvary and for death to be conquered once and for all in the days that followed.

In the Old Testament, punishment for the breaking of the laws that were laid down could be severe.  With enough witnesses, the death penalty could even be the outcome.  Our salvation is totally dependent on the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made on our behalf at Calvary, a sacrifice that did not require to be repeated, unlike the sacrifices made in the Old Testament.  In this chapter we are told that if we willingly continue in sin after receiving this saving grace that there is no further sacrifice we can turn to and we are, in effect disrespecting the sacrifice made by Jesus on our behalf.  We will then face the type of judgement described in today’s verses.

At a time in our Church when we are faced with dwindling congregations, young folk and young adults not receiving instruction in Christianity, aging congregations, not enough ministers and too many buildings, it is worth looking at what we are prompted to do (v24-25) and that is; ‘think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds, and let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near’.

Once again, we are reminded that following Jesus Christ will not be without its challenges.  It may be a long and difficult journey but if we persevere in the faith, God’s promise is guaranteed, and a sure and certain reward awaits us at our journey’s end. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank you that the law, which was given to Israel, was a shadow of better things to come through Jesus, who is not only our heavenly High Priest but the sacrificial offering that you accepted as the full and final payment for our sin and the sin of the whole world. We thank you that there is nothing more that we need to do other than believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour who paid the full price for sin and broke its power in our life forever. May we never become complacent about the enormous sacrifice that the Lord Jesus paid on our account when He went to the cross for our sake and help this be reflected in our future behaviour. We thank you that today he is our heavenly High Priest who is seated on the right hand of God and who continues to make intercession for us in heavenly places. We thank you that he will come back one day to set up His eternal kingdom on earth. May all praise be yours. Amen.