Hebrews 10

Heb 10:22, 39

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.

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. (ESV)

Reading through this chapter three thoughts struck me. First is that verse 14 says exactly the same thing I blogged about on Hebrews 9. I would encourage you to go back and read that blog. Hebrews 10:14 says that "by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified." Our holiness may be in process, but it is on the basis of the truth that in Christ it is already a done deal.

Second is verse 22. I have often heard people challenged to pursue God or to "run hard after" God. In fact, I have challenged people to pursue God. But this verse says the opposite. We don't draw near to God in order to find him or pursue him. We draw near because he has already found us. We draw near in "full assurance of faith." We draw near understanding that we have already been washed clean and accepted by him. We are not trying to find God. We have been found by God. Holiness is not something we run hard after. It is something that flows out of a heart that has already been cleansed by a holy God.

Third is verse 39. It says that "we are of those who have faith." The next chapter will then go on to list those who had faith in the Old Testament and remind us that we are a part of that list. Here is the fascinating thing to me: We often refer to Hebrews 11 as the Faith Hall of Fame, but these were not exceptional people. They were people just like us. Sarah is listed, but we know that she laughed at the possibility of God giving her a son. Moses is listed but we know that he was not allowed to enter the Promised Land because of disobedience. Samson is listed but he did more good when he died than he ever did when he was living. The list goes on, but the truth is that these are just fallible people like us. Their greatness did not come from their great faith, but from their faith in a great God. "We are of those who have faith."

This whole letter to Hebrew believers is about faith. Faith in the once for all sacrifice of Christ. Faith in the truth that we do not have to try and find God. We have been found by him. Faith in the truth that we are members of that group credited as being men and women of faith. As believers in Jesus Christ that is not who we want to become. That is not something we aspire for. That is not something that we hope to one day achieve. That is who we are and we rest in it.

Father, forgive me for so often forgetting who I am in Christ. Today may I walk by faith.

By His grace,
Rick Weinert