"Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by THE NEW AND LIVING WAY that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 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." - Hebrews 10:19-22
In the letter to the Hebrews the writer, knowing his audience to be the Jewish Christian whose faith was under attack being tempted to return to keeping the law, wrote to show that Jesus Christ was God, the Messiah, and as such is superior to Angels, Prophets, and even Moses, through whom the law, that they had served for so many generations, had come. The writer does this masterfully.
The theme is that Jesus, the only begotten of the Father, fulfilled the law that only revealed the power that death has over us, but Jesus, in fulfilling the law brings to us a "New & LIVING Way."
"Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses' face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory?" - 2 Corinthians 3:7-8
The authorship of Hebrews is not known and many believe that someone other than Paul wrote it, still I feel like I'm reading the familiar writings of the apostle Paul. In his second letter to the Corinthian church Paul does call the law "the ministry of death" having juxtaposed it against the Spirit.
THE SINFUL NATURE, THE FLESH, LOVES THE IDEA OF THE LAW
The sinful nature within every human since the introduction of sin through Adam and Eve is the nature of Satan, and as such is motivated by what motivates him.
God is sovereign and in control of everything. He is Omniscient, Omnipotent, and Omnipresent; He is God, and God alone. Still, Satan, one of God's creations was not content to be subject to God's vision and purpose for his existence, and rather, indulged a perverse lust to be God.
The problem is that only God is capable of being God, to be in control of all things and to receive the glory for all that He does. Like it or not, this is what drives the sinful nature within us. Even though by the Word and the Spirit we know that God alone is God and we are not, the sinful nature, like Satan, holds to this perverse desire to be God, all powerful, able to stand on our own power and merit and to receive the glory that is due only to God. So, our flesh loves the idea of the law, that by our discipline, our righteousness, and our strength, we can save ourselves.
Understanding this is essential to living victoriously. In our minds we know that we are not God and are completely incapable of being righteous on our own and deserve no glory whatsoever. Still, in spite of this knowledge, we are so prone to believe that lies that tell us, in spite of the clearly articulated Word of God, we are not enough.
GRACE NOT WORKS
"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." - Ephesians 2:8-10
We must understand that it is our sinful flesh that receives and believes these lies, not us. We are to stand on the Good News of the saving power of Grace of our loving Heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ His only begotten Son, displacing what are flesh would have us believe.
"But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who WERE under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God." - Galatians 4:4-7
This Grace is activated through faith in God's plan and purpose for those who believe in Jesus Christ His Son. We must, by faith, keep in the forefront of our minds God's truth, displacing what the sinful nature within would have us believe.
This is so important because in the Proverbs 23:7 we are told that "as man thinketh, so shall he be..." If we believe the lies of Satan and the sinful nature, then the fruit of our lives will come from the that vine.
"If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples." - John 15:7-8
THE NEW & LIVING WAY
As Paul teaches the law is the ministry of death, given to show mankind that righteous through our efforts is impossible, therefore, frustrating, the opposite of life giving.
The Bible teaches that through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ we are "grafted" into the vine. Jesus says that He is the vine, and we are the branches. When a branch is grafted into a vine that branch will live receiving the life-giving force in the sap that comes through the vine. The Spirit of God, Holy Spirit, is that life giving force.
Indulging the desires of the flesh, no matter how innocent and apparently harmless, is the opposite of tapping into the life-giving flow of the Spirit.
"But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned." - 1 Corinthians 2:14
The life-giving force is only received to the extent, and as we, participate in the "things of the Spirit of God." If we are not participating in the "things of the Spirit of God", then we are NOT participating in this "New and Living Way."
If you are constantly burdened down, it is only evidence that you need to engage more in the "things of the Spirit of God," because Jesus says;
"Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke [is] easy, and my burden is light." - Matthew 11:28-30
Jesus promises that if we get into the yoke with him we will find rest. It's ironic that Christ calls us to rest by asking us to take His yoke upon our necks. The yoke is an implement of hard, taxing labor and does not invoke images of resting. I believe that Jesus in His divine wisdom does this intentionally to contradict mind of the flesh.
As believers, from the Word of God, we should know that the work that needs to be done, all of it, is done by Jesus. He does all the heavy lifting. We must know that His vision of the yoke, when it comes to our part while in it, is not about work, hence, the call to rest. It is my belief that in the mind of Christ the yoke's purpose for the believer is NOT to harness our Power, but rather our Proximity; nearness to Him. The purpose of taking His yoke is that we stay near to the side of God.
As we remain in the yoke, each and every day we live aware of the fact that the progress in our lives is not because we are doing the work, but because He is. This should cause us to Love and Praise Him even more. In the yoke we daily are reminded of how dearly loved we are by our Savior as we witness His work in our lives.
The "things of the Spirit of God" are engaging Christ through His Word, through Praise and Worship, through Fellowship with our brothers and sisters in the Faith, through fellowship with Holy Spirit, and in sharing the good news of Jesus with others and in serving others.
Jesus, for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross and its shame. He modeled what He taught; his joy came through laying down His life for us all. Jesus teaches that we are happier when we give than when we receive. This is a notion that our sinful nature does not understand, but the Spirit does.
So, let's daily, moment by moment, engage the Spirit of God within us so that we receive His life-giving flow, and that we might daily live in this New and Living Way.
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