Hebrews 2:18 & 3:1-6

Hebrews 2:18 & 3:1-6 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, testifying to what would be said in the future. But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.

Hebrews 8:7-10) For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. 8 But God found fault with the people and said: “The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 9 It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. 10 This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

The writer of Hebrews tells Christ's followers, to FIX your thoughts on Jesus, the heavenly messenger and founder of our faith, and the high priest who forever presents us holy before Father God. Jesus, our Lord, became man to fulfill man's part in a new covenant with God. Because of sin, mankind failed to fulfill his part of the old covenant: his promise of remaining faithful to God. Self-interest and lust led people away from a God-focused, righteous life to a self-focused, worldly life. However, Jesus who was without sin or waywardness, who always did the will of the Father, fulfilled completely God's demands on humans: loving God with all his strength, heart, and mind and loving his neighbor as himself. As the perfect man and unblemished Lamb of God, Christ fulfilled the old covenant and the law and established a new covenant with man, one written down on the hearts of men. His sacrifice appeased God's wrath on sin. His substitution on the cross brought eternal life to all those who believe in him, for his righteous, sinless blood dealt with their sins. He conquered sin and death at the cross; therefore, we who believe, not only died with him, but are resurrected with him. As Christ ushered in this new covenant through his finished work at the cross, He enabled Christians to become A PART OF HIS BODY, the literal house of God where He dwells.

Just as Moses faithfully led the children of Israel, the earthly dwelling place of God, out of bondage in Egypt, Christ, the builder of the spiritual house of God, faithfully and eternally leads all who believe out of bondage to sin and death. Moses and the brethren he led were finite men, but even though Christ became man, He was also God. As creator, He built everything that was made; consequently, He alone could reconstruct and redeem the house of man that sin had ravaged. This reconstruction came through his sacrifice, his death for man's rebellion. The blueprint of this house had "start over" stamped on it. No longer would God use laws and regulations to make man better, but he would give mankind a fresh start by placing him on a better foundation. No longer would the integrity of the house be dependent on man's will and efforts; instead, God would build on a secure foundation, even the chief cornerstone, Christ Jesus. As the perfect plumb line, Christ insured a forever perfect construction. As the chief architect of our souls, our home, Jesus made those who are found in him pleasing to God, a perfect dwelling place for the Spirit of God.

What a great salvation we have in Jesus! No longer building on our good works, our faithfulness, we now build upon Jesus' good works and his faithfulness. When we fail, we start over, thanking him for his structure in our lives. When we succeed, we also thank him for creating us for good works. In all things, we thank him for his light and life in us. We glorify and praise him for making an intrusion into the inner sanctums of our lives and for his abiding Spirit within our souls. We humbly fix our hearts on him and follow him because we live in victory only because of him. We do as the author of Hebrews advises us, as holy brothers, (we) who share in the heavenly calling, fix your (our) thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. Every day, we abide in him, and through his strength, we know the heavenly joy that comes to his servants. As his lovely ones, so wonderfully made in his image and freed from sin, we stand boldly before the Father. Praise God that Christ's works are constantly before the Father and not ours because none of us could last for a day in the presence of a holy God, but IN CHRIST, we are his for eternity. Blessed be the name of the Lord!