Foundations: Hebrews - Day 8

READ Hebrews 7

As we have already noted, this book was written to a congregation of believers who were all Jews. Most of them would have known the Law thoroughly. The Law was the basis for their government, their relationships, their education, and every aspect of life. They studied it and knew it well. It is to their credit that they loved the Law, respected it, and saw it as a way to understand God. So when it came to the way they practice their religion, the Law was paramount again. Every little detail had to be obeyed! Detailed genealogies and histories were kept so that even the tiniest aspect of the Law would be kept. They were sticklers for detail – every single thing had to line up with the Law  - every single thing – or it was not accepted.

This is why the writer of Hebrews takes so much time to explain how and why Jesus is the perfect High Priest. If even one question or detail was missing, it would give Jews good reason to discount Jesus as our High Priest.  It’s incredible to see how carefully God planned out every detail so that every nuance of the Law was fulfilled in Christ!

Because of Christ’s complete perfection and His appointment as High Priest, the salvation He offers is literally of the highest quality as well. The ESV talks of this salvation in verse 25 as being “save[d] to the uttermost”. The NIV says “to save completely”. The NLT translates it to say “once and forever, to save”.  The power of the salvation of Christ will not run out.

Unlike a warranty that expires in a year, or ten years, the salvation Jesus offers us through His position as our High Priest will never, ever wear out. It won’t get old. It won’t come to an end. The salvation Christ offers us is eternal – as long as Christ exists He is the security of our salvation! Since Christ is God He will always exist!

The salvation is also complete. We are saved ‘to the uttermost’. That leaves no room for sins too big for God. There is no wiggle room for God to come back to us later and say, “oh, but that one thing… I don’t forgive that”. No way! The salvation God extends to us through Christ is over and above what is necessary. When we take a moment to think about our salvation we often think about what we feel guilty of, or what has cost us the most. Really though, when we think of salvation we should be drawn to the truth that Jesus has poured out salvation over us like a tsunami which completely changes the fabric of our being and saves us to the maximum ability of a perfect God. Incredible!

There is nothing… nothing… nothing Christ’s sacrifice excludes. We are truly saved… to the uttermost when we submit to Him.

JOURNALING AND PRAYER

1.      Take some time to ask God to show you a few things in your life that He has coordinated and lined up with perfect timing and detail to bring about spiritual growth or revelation in your life. Thank Him for how He took care of making sure every detail of Christ’s lineage and appointment to High Priest meets every requirement of the Law. Thank Him for this kind of involvement in your life.

2.      Ask the Lord to search the deepest part of your heart and mind and reveal to you anything you believe or worry might nullify His salvation. Ask Him to speak to you about His “uttermost” salvation.  Thank Him for the truth that His salvation covers everything.

3.      Today there are many Jews who have not submitted to Jesus Christ. Many of them don’t believe Jesus could be God, or our High Priest. Spend a few moments praying for any Jews you know (if you don’t know any, pray for the Jewish nation in general) that they would have their eyes opened by the Holy Spirit to see the truth of Jesus’ identity.