Our Status in Christ
While certainly the opening verses of this chapter revolve around
Jesus Christ, I’d like to explore what they say about the Christian first. We hear that the author of Hebrews calls the
followers of Christ a holy brotherhood.
The word holy means separate. It
means different. Those in Christ are not
like the rest of the world.
We hear that those who follow Christ share in the heavenly calling. We are a companion to Christ in His
work. That doesn’t mean He can’t do it
without us. Rather, it means that He has
graciously included us in it!
Third, we hear that we have a confession. The word confession literally means “to speak
like words.” A confession is something
that many people say in agreement. Think
of a creed. Or think of a statement of
faith. Think of Jesus when He says,
“those who confess me before men I will also confess before the Father.” {Matthew
10:32} Through the grace that Christ
brought, we share a common confession of a common faith.
Christ Is Greater than Moses
Once more the author of Hebrews is making a comparison between
Jesus Christ and the Law. This time,
however, the author goes for the jugular.
This time the comparison is between Christ and Moses.
Certainly there would be none greater than Moses with respect to
the Law. In fact, the only one more
revered in all of Judaism is Abraham.
The people were chosen through Abraham; the people were given the Law
through Moses.
It is important to make sure that we understand that the author of
Hebrews is not trying to diminish the testimony of Moses in the slightest. Moses was indeed faithful in the
tabernacle. Moses was indeed faithful
with respect to the Law and justice.
Moses was indeed faithful in leading the rebellious generation through
the wilderness.
However, as faithful as Moses is Christ is even more. Christ is the Son of God. Christ fulfilled what Moses spoke. Christ took the Law and brought the Holy
Spirit to us so that not only can the Law be written upon our hearts but also
so that we may collectively and individually be the temple of God. Jesus Christ has taken what is great about
Moses and ratcheted it up several levels!
Our Response
The author of Hebrews exhorts us to not let our hearts grow
hardened. At first, this might think
like an impossible thing. Who would walk
away from God once they’ve experienced Him?
But think about that faithless generation in the wilderness. They literally saw the Lord lead them out
through the Red Sea. They literally saw
all of the Ten Plagues. The saw water
come from a rock. The saw manna come
from heaven. They saw the mountain when
Moses ascended to obtain the Law. They
saw incredible witnesses to God’s nature and His power.
But what was the end result?
The generation was forced to wander the wilderness on account of the
hardness of their hearts. They all died
in the wilderness in order to prevent all but two of them from seeing the
Promised Land. They saw so much of God
at work, yet they were not obedient.
If they saw everything and still were disobedient, then it makes
sense that the author of Hebrews warns us as well. We must be careful to not fall away from God
with hard hearts. Sin is a tricky and
evil master. It will pull us away before
we even realize what is going on. We
must exhort one another out of sinful behavior.
Entering the Promised Land
The last sentence of this chapter is so powerful yet so
subtle. “They were not able to enter
because of their unbelief.” It is belief
that is the key. Obedience without faith
is nothing. Anyone can go through the
motions and appear externally as though they are truly a follower. But if it is not real and true belief within
our heart, what good is it?
What good is charity if it does not portray God? What good is obedience if it does not
acknowledge the Creator? What good is
justice if it does not truly depend on God’s ways? Without belief, all of these seemingly good
things simply turn into human works and crumble away.
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