Journal the Journey

In my last post, I talked about the importance of living out our faith as transformed children of God, dead to sin and alive in Christ. We are seeing this in Hebrews 10: God offers forgiveness through Jesus, and there is also judgment awaiting those who accept salvation through Jesus and then fall back into a life not surrendered, a life of disobedience.

We see the warning against trampling on Jesus, and we see the way to avoid it all in the same passage.

Draw near. (v.19-22) This isn’t a flippant, thoughtless drawing near. There is imagery here of a sacred sanctuary that we are permitted to entered through the curtain – His very flesh – where we are completely cleansed from evil and sin… heart, mind, and body. We draw near in full realization that our Great High Priest, Jesus, is the only reason we are invited to and allowed into the throne room of God. And it is in this throne room we bring worship, through gratitude and praise of all He is and all He’s done, along with our petitions as we seek to bring Him glory in all He’s yet to do.

Hold on to your confession of hope without wavering. Why? Because “He who promised is faithful.” (v.23) This boils down to trust. Where are you placing your hope? Are you trusting yourself or others for all your needs instead of the One who is perfectly trustworthy? Tell your story. Don’t waver. Your hope and your trust is not in vain when placed in Christ alone.

Live a life of fellowship with other believers. (v.24-25) Why? Because this is how love and good works flourishes in and through you. This is where we are encouraged, and where we have the privilege of encouraging others. Guess what? The enemy has an awfully hard time lying to you, trapping you in bondage and entangling you in sin, when you are surrounded by Spirit-filled believers that are praying for and encouraging you. There aren’t words to describe how satisfying it is to be able to encourage and pray for others, and how blessed we feel when we do the same for others. In fellowship, you are part of the winning team. King Jesus has won, and He has called us co-heirs of His inheritance.

Remember. (v.32-34) It isn’t the ones who hear the Gospel and then deny it that are being warned of trampling on Jesus and insulting the Spirit of grace; it is the one who surrenders to Him, but then is pulled away due to temptations or hardships or any other worldly thing. It’s easy to feel on fire for Jesus at the moment you first believed, in awe and humbled by the truth that He died in your place and is offering you a forever, unconditional kind of love with Him, His Father, and His Spirit. Emotions can run high as you’re in the honeymoon stage of your new life in Christ. But what are we to do when the current troubles and temptations of this world seek to uproot our faith? We remember. We remember what He’s done, and how freeing it felt to be all in, no holds barred. We remember the past, while looking to the future… which brings me to the last point:

Gain endurance, fueled by confidence. In verse 34, we are told to remember how we reached out to others and with joy accepted persecution, “knowing that you yourselves have a better and enduring possession.” Remembering the past and moving forward must go hand in hand. “So don’t throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you need endurance, so that after you have done God’s will, you may receive what was promised. For yet in a very little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. But My righteous one will live by faith, and if he draws back, I have no pleasure in him. But we are not those who draw back and are destroyed, but those who have faith and obtain life.” (v.35-39)