Hold Fast!
Hebrews 10:19-25 ESV

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

Jesus Christ (God the Son) died on a cross, rose again, ascended back to heaven, and is coming again one day to take his followers to be with him forever.

He who knew no sin became sin for us on that cross that we might become the righteousness of God. He died that we would die with him to sin and live with him to his righteousness. And, he died that we might no longer live for ourselves but for him who gave himself up for us (1 Pet 2:24; 2 Co 5:15, 21).

When he died on that cross, the curtain that stood between us and God’s holy presence was torn in two, thus making the way for us to be reconciled (restored) to God. Through God-given faith in Jesus Christ, which submits to him as Lord, we can be saved from our sins and have the hope of eternal life with God.

For, through God-given faith in Jesus Christ we are crucified with Christ in death to sin, we are transformed in heart and mind of the Spirit of God, and we are resurrected with Christ to newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Rom 6:1-23; Eph 4:17-24).

We are not only cleansed of our sins, but we are delivered out of our bondage (slavery, addiction) to sin by faith in Jesus Christ. And, we are empowered of the Spirit of God to now walk in Christ’s righteousness and holiness (Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 2:10; Tit 2:11-14).

So, we need to hold fast to our faith without wavering. We need to live what we say we believe. And, we need to be encouraging one another to hold fast to our faith in Jesus Christ, which results in love for God and for one another, and which results in good works which God prepared for us to walk in them (Eph 2:10).

And, in order to do that, we need to be gathering together in person or virtually via the internet, and we need to be speaking the truth in love one to the other, for time is running out, and many people need to have their hearts made right with God.

Deliberately Continuing in Sin
Hebrews 10:26-31 ESV

“For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, ‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay.’ And again, ‘The Lord will judge his people.’ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

Contrary to what the bulk of Christians are presenting today as the gospel, our salvation from sin and eternal life with God are not guaranteed on the basis of a profession or a confession of faith in Jesus as Lord. And, faith in Jesus is not something we muster up in our own selves.

Faith, like love, is what we do. That is evident by so many things, including by what it teaches us about faith in Hebrews 11, which is the “faith chapter” of the Bible. The “heroes of the faith” were known as people of faith by what they did in response to that confession of faith.

And, lack of genuine faith in Jesus Christ is shown also by what we do, but in opposition to what God calls us to do, i.e. by our disobedience. But this is not on the basis of one act of disobedience, but on the basis of us keeping on in deliberate sin against God after receiving the knowledge of the truth.

For, many people, at least here in America, have this idea that they can believe in Jesus, have their sins forgiven and have the hope of eternal life with God, and yet they go on sinning deliberately even after they receive the knowledge of the truth about sin, repentance, obedience and judgment.

Even though they confess Jesus as Lord and they say they believe in him for their salvation from sin, the authority over their heads is not God. They are still being ruled by another authority, which is Satan and the flesh.

They are lovers of intoxication to whatever their “drug” of choice may be, whether it be pornography, sports, extramarital affairs, self-gratification, entertainment, lying, cheating, stealing, and/or gossip, etc. And, they play with sin for amusement, diversion, or for spite.

So, even though they profess to believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ, they actually oppose the gospel by their lifestyle choices and by their sin nature which still rules them. They are liars and deceivers who try to make an outward appearance of righteousness while they live in secret sin.

And, so what the Scriptures teach us is that if we continue on sinning habitually and deliberately after we receive the truth of the gospel, heaven is not our eternal destiny. We aren’t saved from our sins, and judgment is what awaits us, instead.

For, those who treat God with such dishonor and disrespect have trampled underfoot the Son of God, and they have profaned Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins, and they have outraged the Spirit of grace. For, they totally disregard what it means to be saved, and they go their own way.

So, the warning here is to not go there, for it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Instead, give it all up to follow Jesus Christ with your life. Surrender it all to him and follow him wherever he leads you.

Knowing You Jesus

By Graham Kendrick

All I once held dear, built my life upon,
All this world reveres and wars to own;
All I once thought gain I have counted loss,
Spent and worthless now compared to this.

Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You
There is no greater thing.
You’re my all, You’re the best,
You’re my joy, my righteousness,
And I love You Lord.

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