Hebrews 7:20-28

Hebrews 7:20-28 And it was not without an oath! Others became priests without any oath, but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him: “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: ‘You are a priest forever.’” Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant. Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest meets our need — one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.

Because Jesus' priesthood is permanent, He brings us into right standing with God forever. God will never cast us away, will never get tired of us, for He cannot tire of Jesus Christ, The Word, who is part of him. Therefore, God's oaths are forever: The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: "You are a priest forever." God's words possess permanency beyond our understanding as finite people of many words, some remembered for a time and others quickly forgotten. The Bible says his words will never pass away. Heaven and Earth might pass away, but his words will never end. His creative power, his words, are never ending, eternal. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. (John 1:1-3) God creates through THE WORD. John 1 tells us God created all things through Jesus Christ. Therefore, in Christ, we are created anew, divinely appointed by God's words for life eternal. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Dear children who are in Christ, God knows each of us by name. Since we know Jesus, He knows us. Today He tells every believer: "You are MINE." In Christ, WE ARE HIS, and we experience the permanency of his oath, for our high priest, our propitiation for sin, is making intercession for us this very moment. He created us and makes us right with the Father as He perfects us for glory. Because of Jesus, God knows our names, and we boldly come before the throne of God with our petitions. We are no longer finite beings, lost in the nothingness of existence, caught in the universe on a speck called Earth, insignificant in all of our proportions. We are no longer wisps of smoke. No, we abide in Jesus, caught up in the presence of the Eternal One, who made all things. God's never changing word makes our lives significant and substantial. The worthless is made priceless by God our Father as Jesus, the Lamb, defends us. We cannot pass away and turn to dust, for God has made us the apple of his eye. We are in the center of God's will because Jesus is the center of his will. The Bible describes Jesus as the bright and Morning Star; He makes heaven sing and rejoice. As Peter stated, the Morning Star has risen in our hearts, and we bring great joy to the heavenlies. We are truly light and salt; angels rejoice in our salvation. As the children of God, we are the choice wine that Jesus created at the end of the banquet.

Children of God, regardless of your circumstances today, lift up your heads, for our redemption draws nigh. This world is not our home. This is not where we settle down, for this world has been contaminated by sin and will face judgment someday. The Bible says the world groans for deliverance from this oppression. We see situations that are not right: good people become ill and die; the righteous suffer; hunger, disease, and wars take the lives of the innocent. Yet the arrogant and the powerful get ahead in life; oftentimes the wicked live long lives while a righteous person might die early. Why? The world is contaminated, a poison patch where sin reigns. Confused by the conundrums of this world, the rational mind will never rise higher than this poison patch. But followers of Christ know the righteous shall live by faith, shall rise above the poison patch to another dimension with God in the spirit. We know Jesus came to save us, to deliver us. He has prepared a heavenly home for those who put their trust in him. God's oath is true: our permanent high priest will deliver us to his throne without spot or wrinkle. We will be with God himself forever. HE KNOWS HIS BELOVED CHILDREN BY NAME.

Hebrews 7:18-19

Hebrews 7:18-19 The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.

2 Samuel 22:31 As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.

Matthew 5:48 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect is the gospel. The Law could not make people perfect; it could only show man's sinfulness. The Law revealed God's righteousness, but conversely, the Law revealed man's fallen state under the wrath of God. If we must be perfect, how can we see God or be with him or reveal him to others, for the Bible says all have sinned and gone astray as sheep from a shepherd. If we must be perfect and if the Law cannot make us perfect because it has no power to change us, what can we do to please God? As David knew, we must take refuge in God, hide in him. David was a man after God's own heart, yet scripture show him as flawed man. But, David approached God with a contrite or tender heart. He knew God was his only refuge; he had to depend on God's mercy and grace for forgiveness of his sins. Jesus Christ is our hiding place, our shield and defender, our Redeemer and Lord. Jesus gave his life that we might flee to him, abide in him. He shed his blood and rose again that we might be perfect, clothed in his perfection. No longer exposed to God's wrath as a man in the middle of a violent storm, we trust in our salvation as our lives are hidden with Christ in God.

Neither the law nor our efforts could make us perfect. Peter questioned the Pharisee Christians who wanted to reestablish the Law by circumcising the Gentiles: Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? (Acts 15:10) Peter indicates that none of them were able to follow the Law completely. Rather than releasing them from sin, the Law was a yoke, a heavy burden, a mirror reflecting their sin and confirming their separation from God, for they could not fulfill the law in their hearts. Jesus said, if you even think about breaking the law, such as harboring a lustful or adulterous thought, you have broken all the law because we must be perfect inside and out. God judges our actions and the intent of our hearts. Jesus places an even greater burden on people by declaring if we do not love our enemies, we are not perfect. And imperfection will never enter God's presence. Considering this, who can enter God's dwelling place, his eternal rest? Who can boldly bring their petitions before the throne of God and look forward to eternity with him? The answer is, NO ONE! Outside of God's grace, all fall short of his perfection. However, Hebrews declares, The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God. We find this hope in Jesus Christ and HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS. Peter's answer to those who wanted to reestablish the law was, No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved. (Acts 15:11) Jesus makes right with God who then adopts us into his family.

My friend is the Law good? Yes, it is good, for it reveals the nature of God to us by allowing us to understand the purity of God and our sinful nature. But the Law cannot save: only Jesus Christ can rescue us from sin and deliver us perfect and holy to the Father. Therefore, live IN JESUS and stop trying to please God through the Law, through your good deeds or acts of piety, for Jesus fulfilled or completed the demands of the Law by sacrificing himself once and for all in fulfillment of all the demands of the Law. We trust in his works and not our own as we place our lives in his hands and please the Father. As Christ lived, we also should live: as servants, as those who love their neighbor, as those who bless their enemies and do good to their persecutors. Above all else, we should love God with all our hearts, minds, strength, and souls. God conceived a perfect plan to set aside the Law because it could not make us perfect; but IN CHRIST, we are like him, perfect in the eyes of our loving Father God.

Hebrews 7:11-17

Hebrews 7:11-17 If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the law was given to the people), why was there still need for another priest to come — one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? For when there is a change of the priesthood, there must also be a change of the law. He of whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar. For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. For it is declared: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

As our priest, Jesus stands before the Father forever. He has appeased the wrath of God on sin. As He brings our petitions to the Father, we claim everything we desire, everything we are, through his name. In Jesus' name we pray. Without him, we have no claim to the family of God. IN HIM and THROUGH HIM we have life. Any other belief is not Christianity: salvation comes through him alone. Only Jesus through his sacrifice on the cross could designate himself to take on the authority of ridding man of his sins and placing him in the household of God as holy children of the Father who loves us. Only He could make mankind as He is: holy.

The author of Hebrews reveals that Jesus Christ came through the line of Judah, not through the line of Levi. Therefore, He had no priestly authority under the auspices of the Law. As far as the Law was concerned, Jesus was a fraud, an impostor. Consequently, Jesus had to receive his priestly rights from something or someone greater than Old Testament law. John validates Christ's priestly role because Jesus was with the Father from the beginning: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. (John 1:1-5) Consequently, Jesus could swear by no one greater than himself, and He could create men anew, allowing them to be born again. He could take away sin and the sting of death from the existence of this new creation. The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" Born from the lineage of Judah, Jesus was the eternal, once-and-for-all, godly priest with all authority and power from the Father to establish his kingdom within mankind.

We who are IN CHRIST have this hope of eternal life, the hope of adoption, within us. We are not children of bondage; we are not slaves to the consequences of sin because we are free in Christ Jesus. Yet the eternal question remains: will we live as children who have inherited real life, who are free IN CHRIST, or will we live in doubt, fear and regret? If we seek the beggarly elements of this world, we will live in bondage. If we give up on Jesus Christ and his resurrection power and strength, we will live without hope of eternal life. But my Christian friends who endure by faith, we are not without hope regardless of the vicissitudes of life, for we are hidden with Christ in God. Alive IN HIM, we inherit freedom from death, the freedom to rejoice in his name. Martyrs for Christ have faced their deaths with peace in their hearts and songs of joy on their lips.

Are you free to sing for Jesus, or are you so bound by fears and earthly troubles that the joy of the Lord does not escape your lips. Turn to Jesus, giving him every doubt and every problem, thanking him for the life He is perfecting in you. Every day, He heals and sustains us. As we partake of this breakfast, our every breath is his breath. As He frees us from bondage and delivers us from our trespasses and sins, He makes us physically alive today, so we can testify of his love while carrying his message of grace to a dark and sinful world. If He were to remove his hand from our spirits or physical lives, we would perish in that nanosecond. No matter how fit and how healthy we are, CHRIST ALONE MAKES US ALIVE this day as his resurrection power flows through our mortal bodies, infusing us with his LIGHT AND LIFE. I tell you a secret, Christian friend, your running, your exercise, and your commitment to good health do not ensure God's will for you. Paul instructed Timothy to refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. God breathed life into you for his purposes, not yours. Backing off from him or failing to live in his presence rob you of your reason to live. In Christ we forever escape death as we live eternal life in him. As you serve him today, rejoice in his words and praise his name, for you are his beloved and He is yours.

Hebrews 7:1-10

Hebrews 7:1-10 This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, his name means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.” Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever. Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder! Now the law requires the descendants of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people — that is, their brothers — even though their brothers are descended from Abraham. This man, however, did not trace his descent from Levi, yet he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. And without doubt the lesser person is blessed by the greater. In the one case, the tenth is collected by men who die; but in the other case, by him who is declared to be living. One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham, because when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor.

As a man, Melchizedek's kingdom and life did not last forever--both ceased. However, the nature of his priesthood did last forever. His priesthood, righteousness, and peace came directly from God. His position as a mediator between man and God, his priestly authority, was exactly like Jesus' position between God and man, but he could not wash away the sins of mankind. Only the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ accomplished that. The author of Hebrews contrasts Melchizedek's position and reign with the Jewish priesthood. The Levites received their authority from the Law of Moses while Melchizedek's authority came directly from God's throne. Therefore, Melchizedek's priesthood was greater than the priesthood of the Law. Abraham, whose seed begat Levi, confirmed this by giving his tithe to Melchizedek. The lesser man gave tithes to the greater, and the greater man gave blessings to the lesser. Abraham received the blessing of Melchizedek because his priesthood was in a direct line to God and would never die. God heard this priest's petitions without the requirement of the blood of bulls and goats just as Jesus does not sacrifice animals before petitioning God. The Levitical priesthood in all practical terms has already died out, for their power came from the Law, which Jesus Christ fulfilled through his life, death, and resurrection.

What does Melchizedek have to do with us today? The author of Hebrews makes the case that we are no longer under the auspices of the Law, for we are under a greater priesthood than the Levites. The blood of bulls and goats could not make us right with God, but the blood of Jesus Christ secured our acceptance by God. Jesus stands before Father God as our perfect mediator, where He alone reveals God's face for us. We are blessed by God because Jesus presents our petitions directly to the Father. Through faith in Jesus Christ, we have a face-to-face relationship with God. The Levites could not present the Jews directly to God. The best they could do was to stay the wrath of God by covering the Jewish people's sins through the sacrifice of bulls and goats. They came back each year to present the same sacrifices for the sins of men, but Jesus' sacrifice was once and for all. He did not have to die again and again for man's sins; therefore, his priesthood is greater than the Levitical priesthood. Under his priesthood and authority, we possess life eternal because we are now living in his domain, literally IN HIM.

The author of Hebrews desires us to be free from the law of sin and death, the law that could not make us free. The law could only bring us into bondage by revealing our failures. But we are no longer under its authority; we are under the priesthood of Jesus Christ, who set us free from sin and death through his finished work at the cross. We are free to live in Christ, to fulfill his desires for our lives. We are free to live in joy and not fear, for we are no longer under the eternal consequences of sin. Should we go on sinning to prove God's wonderful grace and the efficacy of his blood? No, born-again children of God bring ourselves under the authority of God's righteousness by living lives that reveal his goodness, mercy, and love. Members of God's household do not live good or loving lives to earn our place in the family: we live to reflect God's righteousness and his glory.

If we continue as liars, thieves, or adulterers, will the world see God in our lives? Will the world see God's light and recognize us as his children if we continually live on the dark side of life? No, when people love someone, they desire to please their beloved. If we love Jesus, we will want to please him in everything. We will discipline our lives to honor and to serve him, for we know He is the faithful lover of our souls. Sinful man remains unfaithful in what he says and does, but God is faithful; therefore, we should remain faithful to him. Jesus Christ reflects the eternal order of the Melchizedek priesthood as He stands before God, blessing us. Consequently, we should bless him with our lives. The Bible equates this service with the tithes given to Melchizedek. However, we do not merely give God a tenth, but our whole lives, for He gave us new life through Christ, bringing us into right standing with him. Today, dear brothers and sisters, fall under his authority: trust him, follow him, and live lives that exemplify his goodness and grace. Shine as stars in the universe.

Hebrews 6:16-20

Hebrews 6:16-20 Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.

Do you have hope in the works of Jesus Christ? God gave Abraham the promise that his seed would bless all nations. But he had to wait patiently for this promise to be fulfilled, for his son Isaac was born 25 years after the promise, and his grandsons 85 years after the promise. God tested Abraham's belief that He would fulfill his promise to him. When his hope wavered, he constructed a plan to fulfill God's promise by fathering a descendent through Hagar his servant: Ishmael. But Abraham's decision to fulfill God's promise on his own brought great sorrow, and He finally had to send Hagar and Ishmael away. Disconnected from his father, Ishmael became a wanderer throughout the land and his descendants lived in hostility toward all their brothers. (Genesis 25:15) Abraham's attempt to fulfill God's promise to him through the flesh was such a failure that even today great hostility exists between the Arab people and the Jews. God's plan of salvation, his blessing, does not come through the works of the flesh but through faith in God and his unadulterated will.

My Christian friend, what hope anchors your soul, your life? What makes your Christian life worth living? The author of Hebrews says our hope of blessing rests in Jesus Christ and his works. This hope and confidence in Christ's work at the cross allows believers to enter the inner sanctuary of God where Jesus is. As we put our faith in Jesus Christ, He literally presents us to the Father God because Christ is our eternal advocate who is with the Father and brings us before the throne of God as his blood-bought brothers and sisters. As our High Priest, Christ makes intercession on our behalf. Consequently, Christians possess complete faith and eternal hope in the Christ who dwells in our hearts, Abraham's promised Seed who has blessed all nations, all people, who is worthy of honor and praise.

Although we are still here and our flesh causes us to stumble and to disappoint ourselves and God at times, our hope is not in the works of the flesh, but in the promise. God promised us righteousness, a place of right standing in his eyes. As Abraham, we wait patiently for the fulfillment of the promise in our lives, knowing He will perfect what concerns us and bring us to be with him. We wait in faith, not believing in what is seen, felt, or heard, but intentionally believing that God's promised blessing to Abraham will be fulfilled in us through his Seed. By vicariously living the life of Christ through faith in him, we trust in his righteousness and not our own. Therefore, we do not live in fear, but secure in the knowledge that God's love and acceptance are toward us. We rest in Christ's work, in his righteousness and not ours.

When God swore to make us righteous in Christ, acceptable to him, He could swear by no being higher than himself. He is not a liar, so our hope rests in his words, not in our human experiences or works. Will we reach perfection in our fleshly bodies? No, the flesh remains under judgment because of sin and will die because of sin. No matter how much you pray for your earthly shell or how strongly you believe for this flesh to prosper, the body ages and decays right before our eyes and someday turns to dust in the grave. However, believers have a glorious hope that even though our flesh is not restored, our spirits are. As newly born children of God, full of the Holy Spirit and no longer captive to sin and death, God makes us alive unto him evermore. Since we trust and believe in Jesus Christ, we are his new creation, the children of God. Because Abraham, in his flesh, foolishly attempted to fulfill God's promise of children, the Bible says Ishmael's decendants became slaves, bound to this earth. Works of the flesh do not produce children of God, but slaves. IN CHRIST we are free people, released to God, eternal as He is. As people of the Spirit, we do not rely on the flesh or serve it; we serve God Almighty who loves us. Christian friend, live where God is, not in the flesh. Live in the Spirit, rejoicing in God's sufficiency and not your own. He will never disappoint you because you are his, and He will never leave you. The flesh will disappoint you continually because at best this world only offers pleasure for a season, but the Spirit abides within us forever, giving us an eternally blissful relationship with God.

Hebrews 6:13-15

Hebrews 6:13-15 When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.

Hebrews 11:8-10 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

Luke 13:28-29 “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.

Have you received your promise from God? Do you know what He has promised? Is it land, a city, descendants? Sometimes Christians do not know what God has promised. God promised Abraham that his seed would bless many nations; consequently, he is called a father of many nations. Of course, his seed has blessed many nations, for out of his loins came Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God. God also promised Abraham a land where he and his descendants could dwell in peace. Today, we know this land as Israel, and Jerusalem means the city of peace. But was that land where he lived in tents his land of promise? Would that land fulfill his dreams, make him happy? No! Abraham did not look for a dwelling place made by human hands, he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. His primary destination was not a better life made by men; he looked for the Promised Land, the presence of God. How many of us look for a better land here and now where we can set up our tents and live a life of peace and success? Do we evaluate the worth of our lives by how many positive experiences we have had, or by how much we have accumulated, or by our children's success? Is the promise for pastors a bigger church and a better life for their congregants? What are the promises of God to you and to me?

In Acts 2, Peter says, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. THE PROMISE is for you and your children and for all who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call.” God clearly promised the Spirit would come to abide in us to be our comforter and guide and to reveal the kingdom of God within us. The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, "Here it is," or "There it is," because the kingdom of God is within you. (Luke 17:20-21) Although God blesses us with many spiritual gifts and we prosper in many ways as we serve him, God's kingdom is not about a better experience here on Earth. It is not a specific place for us to seek on Earth. The kingdom comes to us through the indwelling Holy Spirit who brings us into the land of righteousness, peace, and joy. (Romans 14:17) It is not about eating and drinking or earthly things. Sometimes Christians, even pastors, become confused, believing the promise is about having a more successful life, a prosperous place in this alien land. However, we are sojourners through this land, known as aliens. Although we might become wealthy as the sojourner Abraham did, we might also experience poverty and trials as did Paul and all the disciples. We might become successful and independent, as with Abraham, or we might endure persecution that demands total dependence upon God. Regardless of life's circumstances, we possess the promise of God because through Christ's death and the infilling of the Holy Spirit, the kingdom of heaven resides in every believer. "I have chosen you," says the Lord.

With this knowledge of the promise, even the most successful and wealthy Christian still remains a sojourner. This world is not our home and will not satisfy our longing for God. For us, life is somewhere else, not here. A Christian may be readied for martyrdom, yet even knowing life will end soon, a Christian rejoices for the promise in his heart that God will soon fulfill. The person who dies in Christ will be with God; this is our precious hope, our reason for living. We live to reach that city with foundations, to dwell with God. God gave us the Holy Spirit as an earnest, a down payment on what is to come. The Spirit shows us what heaven is all about and prepares us for service and for our heavenly home by giving us the attributes of God. As He reveals real joy and happiness to us, we realize we are CHOSEN PEOPLE, blessed with all goodness and the peace and rest of God, here and forever. AS CHILDREN OF THE MOST HIGH, our inheritance is God himself. The Levitical priests did not receive land in this life, for God was their inheritance. God did not give us, his beloved children, a land, for He is our inheritance, our abiding place forevermore. Rejoice in his Promise today dear children. Amen.

Hebrews 6:9-12

Hebrews 6:9-12 Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of better things in your case — things that accompany salvation. God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

1 John 4:20-21 We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

1 John 5:1-5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

Love and work accompany salvation. People who claim to know Jesus Christ yet do not become more loving, caring, and sensitive to the deceptions of sin, either do not know Jesus Christ or are very carnal Christians. Christianity should make all things new. Old things should pass away; new ways of acting, thinking, and talking should become part of our born-again lives IN CHRIST. The Holy Spirit always brings a new way to look at life and a new way to think. If we remain in our former lives of self and sin, we are not allowing the Holy Spirit to change us, to open a new life to us. Over the years, I have watched some people joyously accept Jesus Christ as Savior and then for various reasons, sink back into the despairing ways of their old lives. They return to the beggarly aspects of a sinful and fruitless life, forsaking the abundant life God has prepared for them. Rather than maturing so others can depend upon them, they wallow in immaturity with only a modicum of Christianity in their lives. But there is a better life, one of enduring faith regardless of the circumstances and conditions of life. This life of faith overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.

The author of Hebrews encourages readers to stand tall in an alien land by imitating those who through faith and patience inherit what God promised. We should not become lazy, going back to the familiar and living lives of defeat; instead, we should place our whole trust in Jesus Christ, knowing He will bring us victoriously through this life. He will make our lives fruitful as He changes us and as we fix our thoughts upon him while listening to the Holy Spirit within us. HIS LIFE IS REAL. He does guide his beloved. He truly comforts the comfortless. He actually adopts us into his family. But, if we faint, we lack faith. If we ignore the Holy Spirit's words, we will seek the old life, falling back into the same unprofitable mistakes that filled our lives with sin. Now, James says, I know your faith and love by your works. People with enduring faith reveal God's work by what they do and say. If the world identifies you as no different from them, then your faith is not evident; your words, actions, and activities should provide a contrast with the world. If you walk in the light, God is not unjust; he will not forget your work of helping others and loving him. Not only will the world see the difference in you, God sees and rewards you accordingly.

Christians often take comfort in the scripture: If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. Since we do not hate anyone, we assume this scripture misses us. But scripture teaches that anyone who places himself above his brother and does not prefer him over himself is not like Christ. Our love must be perfect. Anyone who does not love his brother (as he should), whom he has seen, cannot love God (as He should be loved), whom he has not seen. We cannot continue to treat people as we would not want to be treated, yet claim we are in the center of God's will as his faithful servants. We should view life from a Christian perspective. Jesus commanded us to love and serve others (our neighbors, family members, strangers, and enemies) as we want to be loved and served. If our flesh says, "Serve me, do as I say," we reflect the darkness of the self-world. Jesus says, "I must wash your feet; I MUST SERVE YOU." This should be our perspective for Christ-like living. Hebrew teaches us to embrace God fully and to love as He loves. God does not forget works of righteousness because those who perform such works act as his Son would act. He richly rewards his good and faithful servants for they bring light into a VERY DARK WORLD.