Not an Option
Hebrews12:14-24
"Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord."
(HEBREWS 12:14)
A few years ago when I was in the market for a new car, I learned that in new-car sales there is the basic price and then there is the price with all the options. I'm not sure how car manufacturers determine what is "basic" and what is "optional," but the difference sure changes the cost!
Christians sometimes use "basic" and "optional" as categories for behavior. "Kindness," "devotion," "patience"... basic Christian principles. But something like "holiness" is usually placed in the optional category and treated as such.
The Bible, however, allows for no such division. Personal holiness is not an option. For "without holiness, no one will see the Lord" (v. 14). While we know that Christ's holiness is imputed to us (see 1 Corinthians 1:30), the author of Hebrews also tells us to make every effort to be holy. Paul notes that we're chosen to be "conformed to the likeness of his Son" (Romans 8:29). It is God at work in us to make us like Christ. And He requires our wholehearted effort.
INSIGHT
"LORD, HELP ME BE COOPERATIVE IN ALL THAT YOU HAVE PLANNED FOR ME."
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
1 Kings 9-10
Proverbs 4
Hebrews 3-4
Hebrews 12:14-24
New Living Translation (NLT)
A Call to Listen to God
14 Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. 15 Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. 16 Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal. 17 You know that afterward, when he wanted his father’s blessing, he was rejected. It was too late for repentance, even though he begged with bitter tears.
18 You have not come to a physical mountain,[a] to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai. 19 For they heard an awesome trumpet blast and a voice so terrible that they begged God to stop speaking. 20 They staggered back under God’s command: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.”[b] 21 Moses himself was so frightened at the sight that he said, “I am terrified and trembling.”[c]
22 No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering. 23 You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the judge over all things. You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect. 24 You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.
Footnotes:
a. Hebrews 12:18 Greek to something that can be touched.
b. Hebrews 12:20 Exod 19:13.
c. Hebrews 12:21 Deut 9:19.
THE JESUS LENS [PART 1]
with Dr. Michael Williams
Does the Bible ever intimidate you? Many people want to understand its message from beginning to end, but find some parts confusing. Is there a way to make sense of it all? The answer is ... YES!
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