The Sevenfold Destiny of the Believer Hebrews 12:18-24

GOSPEL MEDITATION

Hebrews 12:18-24

The Sevenfold Destiny of the Believer

  1. Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions.
  2. Be comfortably alert, still and at peace.
  3. Say the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer
  4. Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself.
  5. Slowly and carefully read the passages of Scripture.
  6. Reread them. From memory, determine the central points.
  7. The writer of Hebrews clearly and strongly makes it clear that the follower of Jesus has been given a destiny that cannot be shaken, changed, or destroyed.
  8. It is thought that some believers, aware of their own tendency to sin and rebel, were fearful that they might earn the wrath and judgment of God.
  9. Indeed, the believers were now firmly part of the “city” of the living God, the assembly of the firstborn.
  10. Since the believer does not rely upon his or her own ability to be free and forgiven of sin, but rather depend solely upon the work of the firstborn, the first to rise from the dead, the mediator between God and men, Jesus Christ, they were then perfectly safe and saved.
  11. Hebrews, the letter, speaks to a people who knew only the first covenant, the first testament, that of obeying the commandments of God. And therefore, their history was abundant with stories of failure.
  12. For the first time then the “pastor” of the Hebrews letter speaks to his and her Jewish compatriots of grace, truly good news but so good as to be almost unbelievable.
  13. Much of the wording and the use of symbols found in Hebrews will make it difficult for a Gentile or non-religious Jewish person to understand what God has done in the death, burial, and resurrection of the “firstborn” Messiah Jesus. This incredible communication is a blessed one indeed.

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