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Subject 23 : The Epistle to the HEBREWS
[Chapter 2-2] Let’s Consider Deeply Jesus Christ, the High Priest (Hebrews 2:14-15)
(Hebrews 2:14-15)
“Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”
God sent Jesus Christ on a mission to make sinners like us into His children. Hebrews 2:14 says, “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.” “He, Himself” here refers to Jesus Christ, the Son of God. God the Father clothed Him in human flesh and blood like us when He sent His one and only Son to this earth in order to deliver us from the sins of the world. Even the Savior and Creator has partaken of flesh and blood like humans. In other words, the Savior Jesus Christ actually became a Man to deliver us from the sin of the world.
God the Father put human flesh on His Son and brought Him to this world so that He could save all human beings who are bound in the flesh by their sins. God the Father put His Son, the Creator of this universe among humans to redeem all of them from all the sins of the world. This is the reason why God the Father let His Son Jesus Christ partake of flesh and blood. He wanted to deliver His sin-stricken people from their sins. And this is God’s grace. When we understand all this fully, we can comprehend the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
He Himself Also Has Partaken of Flesh and Blood
It is written in today’s Scripture reading, “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same.” From this verse, we can learn what God the Father had in His mind when He created humans.
Before God created us, He created angels first. Satan was originally the archangel but was cursed by God for challenging Him to be like Him. By this account God showed that no creature can challenge Him.
Then God created humankind as an object of His love. He had a very clear purpose behind the creation of humans. He wanted to adopt us as His children and show us His grace. So He made us a little lower than angels just for a while. God’s plan was to put us on a platform of His children and to show us His love and grace. When He created Adam and Eve, He already knew that Satan’s deception would make them fall into sin. He allowed it to happen, for He had future plans to save humans through His Son completely. And when sin entered Adam, God the Father sent His Son and saved humans according to His plans.
Do you take it as something as unimportant that you have received the remission of all your sins by understanding and believing in the righteousness of Jesus? I want you to know that we have been saved from the destruction by the great Truth of God. After we learn about God’s great plans by shedding the light of the righteousness of Jesus Christ, we can realize that everything was planned by God for our salvation. What is the reason that God the Father sent His son Jesus Christ to this world? It is because He wanted to rescue us from all our sins, death and from Satan and to show us His favor and to seat us on the right hand of God’s throne in the future. He granted us the grace of salvation in His Son and wanted us to praise His righteousness. That was the blueprint of God’s salvation. For this reason alone, we are thankful to God.
These days, graduate students in seminaries study about the concept of the Triune God. They learn that God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one God with different functions. But they do not comprehend this concept very well. Theologians are teaching their students that God the Father had a plan for salvation for believers, which He was going to fulfill through His Son’s sacrifice. However, because they do not know the gospel of the water and the Spirit, they cannot teach the right concept of the Trinity. As a result, their teachings cause confusion in their students’ minds. Graduate students under such theologians cannot understand the concept of the Trinity, for they learn about the work of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit without knowing the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
On the other hand, those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit can understand the Triune God and His ministry fully. Therefore, if you want to know about God of the Trinity, you need to firstly believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. People who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit can understand clearly that Jesus Christ is the Savior who removed all our sins and the Holy Spirit is the Guarantor to this work of salvation. The Triune God created the heaven and earth; planned our salvation; saved us from sins once and for all with the gospel of the water and the Spirit. This is why God comes into the hearts of those who have received the remission of sins by faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and promises that, “I will dwell in your heart, not in Solomon’s Temple.” So in the hearts of those who believe the salvation by Jesus Christ, which is the righteousness of the Son of God, the Holy Spirit resides as the Guarantor.
God gave this right to become one of His children, only to those of us who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. He gave His Spirit to those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and adopted us as His children. As far as we know, the Holy Spirit who was with Jesus Christ is within us as well. Now, we can call God Abba Father just as our Savior Jesus called Him His own Father. We came to follow Him with the understanding that He is our Helper and the Designer and Finisher of our salvation. God is our Father; our Lord Jesus is our Savior who delivered us from all our sins; the Holy Spirit is the Witness who stays in the hearts of those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. We became God’s children with this proper knowledge of the God of the Trinity. To disable the Devil, God sent His own Son, let His Son be baptized, bleed, and rose up from the dead. Although the Devil still deceives people in this world, God will put him into the bottomless pit.
“Death, Where Is Your Sting?”
Jesus declares to death and to the Devil. He said, “The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.” Like this, it is sin that drives every sinner into hell, the eternal death. For sinners like us who will die from the sting of our own sins, God the Father planned to send His Son Jesus as the Savior of all humankind and to pass over all these sins onto Jesus. This plan was fulfilled by the crucifixion of Jesus after being baptized by John the Baptist. We can find God’s righteousness at the scene of Jesus’ baptism. It is written in Mathew 3:15, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” This passage means that it is most proper for Jesus to take all the sins upon Himself by the baptism received from John the Baptist. In other words, Jesus had to receive baptism from John the Baptist, which took away the sins of the world to the Cross, died there, was buried, and rose up again from the dead just so that He could save all humans from all their sins. Sin leads to death. Now death cannot rule over the believers in this Truth since Jesus Christ took all the sins of the world and died on the Cross and rising again from death. “As it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). We were the wretched beings destined to hell without exception. Nonetheless, our Lord so loved us and transformed us, we the believers of the gospel of the water and the Spirit, into His children who will never die.
We need to understand what the writer of the Book of Hebrews meant in the verse. Those who have received the remission of sins by understanding and believing in the righteousness of Jesus do not have any sins. Sins cannot even linger around them, but instead everlasting life is waiting for them. God the Father even tells us that He sent His Son to this earth in order to set free those who are imprisoned and enslaved by death. Only those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit do not have sins but have eternal life.
Can sins remain intact in our hearts when we believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit? No! Not a fragment of sin can remain intact in the hearts, we who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. No matter how Satan tries to deceive us, sin is not found in our hearts. Thankfully, the Lord granted us this great opportunity to hear the gospel of the water and the Spirit so that we could receive the remission of our sins.
The curse of death cannot be found in those who are born again by believing in both the baptism and the blood of Jesus. However, sins still remain intact in those who do not know the gospel of the water and the Spirit. They will pay the price for their ignorance, if they do not receive the remission of sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. For this reason, the slaves to death who are enslaved by the power of the Devil must receive the remission of sins. Sinners always tremble with fear. They are afraid of their physical death. They live their whole life as a slave to death, fearing the judgment after their physical death.
On the other hand, those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit will enter the Kingdom of everlasting life. The righteous are not afraid of anything except for living a dishonorable or disgraceful life before God. When people are sick, they get dreadful about death. The righteous, however, are not worried about their deaths. It is because God is alive in their hearts. When Jesus was on this earth, He said, “You believe in God, believe also in Me” (John 14:1). What is there to worry when God is going to take care of all His children?
“For Indeed, He Does Not Give Aid to Angels”
It is written in the Bible that God did not send Jesus to help angels, but to help the descendants of Abraham. Then who are the descendants of Abraham? God said to Abraham, “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice” (Genesis 22:18). Here, “your seed” refers to Jesus Christ, but it also refers to anyone who believes God’s Word just as Abraham did. Spiritually speaking, the descendants of Abraham are the righteous people who have received the remission of their sins by their faith in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Such heirs of salvation have the desire to put their faith in the righteous work done by Jesus Christ and to be saved, even though they are bound in their flesh and bound to die due to their sins. God the Father sent His Son Jesus Christ for such people.
It is written, “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same” (Hebrews 2:14). We, who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, are sons of God the Father. The Word of God states that Jesus Christ is our Savior and at the same time He is our Eldest Brother. This is incomprehensible for those who do not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
What Did Jesus Christ Do on This Earth?
Jesus did everything as a merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Jesus Christ is the faithful High Priest in the Kingdom of Heaven. We call Him the faithful High Priest because He has saved all humans by being baptized by John the Baptist, was crucified, and was resurrected from the dead. He is the one and only faithful High Priest to all humans.
In the time of Old Testament, the High Priests offered sacrifices to atone for their people’s sins. Without them making propitiation for their sins, there was no other way for the people to receive remission of sins. And only Aaron and his descendants could be High Priests. But in the age of the New Testament, Jesus became the merciful and faithful High Priest of Heaven according to the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 5:10).
Nevertheless, Jesus Christ was born in human flesh just like us. While Jesus was on the earth, He had to pray to God just as we do. Jesus lowered His status to save us from sins and offered fervent prayers to God for help just like we do. He Himself became the merciful and faithful High Priest, and gave Himself as the Lamb of God to spare whoever He wanted to spare and to condemn whoever He wanted to condemn. Just as the High Priests of the Old Testament era made sacrifices for the Israelites, the Son of God, Jesus Christ saved His people from all sins, by carrying all our sins on His body and giving Himself to God as the sacrifice for all mankind. The name Jesus means the Savior as it is written, “You shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins” (Mathew 1:21). Jesus was born to make us God’s people and do the work of salvation. Then He incites people to have a desire to receive the remission of their sins.
The Kingdom of Heaven is coming near to those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. And in this Kingdom, there is the Triune God―God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. There also will be God’s people. Only those who have been saved by the righteousness of Jesus Christ will be able to dwell there with God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. To save His people and live with them forever in this paradise, God the Father sent His own Son as the faithful High Priest. God the Father washed us clean with the water and the blood of His own Son, not with the blood of animals.
No Matter How Fervently People Offer Prayers of Repentance, the Holy Spirit Does Not Come by That
When we accept the Truth that Jesus Christ took away all our sins through the baptism He received from John the Baptist, and He shed His blood for our sins, the Holy Spirit comes into our hearts acknowledging our faith. In short, the Holy Spirit does not come no matter how fervently we offer prayers of repentance. He comes into our hearts only when we accept the righteousness of God into our hearts.
If someone claims to believe in Jesus as his Savior not knowing the righteousness of God, he has not received the remission of sins nor the Holy Spirit. We can receive the remission of sins only if we first understand without a doubt exactly why God the Father sent His own Son to this earth and what kind of sacrifice His Son made to deliver us from the sins of the world. When we believe with the proper knowledge on the righteous work Jesus Christ had done, we can receive the remission of sins, and only then can the Holy Spirit come into our hearts. Other than this, receiving the remission of sins or the Holy Spirit is absolutely impossible. Because Jesus Christ took all our sins by the most fitting way of the laying on of hands (Mathew 3:15), you also have to believe in Jesus Christ according to the gospel of the water and the Spirit in order for you to receive the remission of sins or the Holy Spirit. In other words, if you do not acknowledge the righteous work that Jesus took away all the sins of the world through the baptism He received from John the Baptist, your sins will still remain intact in your hearts, not to mention the Holy Spirit who cannot and will not come into your heart.
That we have received the remission of sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit is all thanks to God’s plan for our salvation. Jesus Christ came to this earth in obedience to God; He was baptized by John the Baptist and shed His blood to save us all from all our sins. When we accept this Truth, we will receive the remission of our sins and the Holy Spirit as a gift. At this moment, the Holy Spirit approves our citizenship in the Kingdom of God. And this approval is effective forever because the Holy Spirit is the same God as God the Father, and Jesus Christ the Son. However, if we believe in Jesus omitting even one thing from God’s master plan, the Holy Spirit cannot dwell in our hearts. The Holy Spirit is the same as God the Father, so He dwells in only clean hearts of those who have received the remission of sins. He will come into our hearts only when we become united with Jesus by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
It is so pitiful that many people say, “I received the Holy Spirit by offering prayers of repentance,” as an answer to our question, “How can you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit?” Not knowing about God’s plans, or the righteousness of Jesus that has come by the gospel of the water and the Spirit, they still insist that they have received the gift of the Holy Spirit by offering prayers of repentance fervently. They are strongly convinced by such a prosperous notion.
But the truth is that the Holy Spirit comes into the hearts of only those who have received the remission of sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. It is written, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). As it is said in this verse, the Holy Spirit comes into our heart when we receive the remission of sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Then the Holy Spirit testifies to our sonship in God and our salvation by Jesus Christ. We may make mistakes and become forgetful of God’s grace, but the Holy Spirit, the Helper who dwells in us, guides us and leads us to live out our faith. He certifies that we have become God’s children. He also testifies that God has saved such insufficient people like us through both the water baptism of Jesus and His blood on the Cross. And He engraves in our hearts the gospel of the water and the Spirit so that we may not forget the fact that we have received the remission of sins. So He lets us praise the righteousness of the Lord forever and ever. Like this, the Holy Spirit is within the hearts of the righteous.
“He Himself Has Suffered, Being Tempted”
It is written, “For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted” (Hebrews 2:18). Jesus Christ justly took all our sins through His baptism, He was tempted, and then He suffered on the Cross. When we look into the Scriptures, He was tempted in every way, that is, by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. He was tempted by what is edible, what is visible, and what is honorable. While He was in the wilderness for 40 days fasting and praying, He was led by the Holy Spirit, being tempted by the Devil. For those 40 days He was tempted in every possible way that a human can face.
What is important here in this account is that He has overcome all these temptations and trials. Moreover, since the Lord Himself has suffered, and by being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted? Jesus Christ already knew what kind of sins we would commit, or what our weaknesses are. This is how Jesus Christ could take all the sins of the world onto His body. It is not the case that He took away today’s sins only and we must take care of our future sins on our own by offering our prayers to repentance. Rather, Jesus took all our sins―sins of the past, sins of today, and sins of future―away once and for all.
The Bible declares, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). As the above verse says, our sins cannot be eradicated unless their wages are paid off. Without the payment, nothing regarding the problems of sin can be resolved. If our Lord had taken only the sins of the past and not the sins of the future, how can we receive our salvation by faith? Because God understands fully those who are tempted by sins, He took away all the sins through the baptism. Jesus carried away all our sins including the sins of the future. Since He Himself suffered, being tempted, He knew well about our weaknesses, faith, memory and will. In short, He knew our helplessness so that He took all our sins with His baptism and made us perfect.
This is the truth that the writer of the Book of Hebrews talks about. Remember there is no one who can be forgiven even for a day’s sins by offering prayers of repentance. The Bible clearly tells us that the problem of sin cannot be solved with words only. It declares, “Without the shedding of blood there is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22). God says that we must pay off the price for all our sins with sin offerings. For the sins regarding to the holy things of the Lord, shekels of silver had to be paid as a trespass offering (Leviticus 5:14).
Dear fellow Christians, you should know that you do not even deserve the bottom of hell if you lead your neighbor to hell by misleading them with the wrong doctrines. You deserve a worse place than hell if there is any. The real question is this― “Can you solve the problem of your sin even if you pay off the price on your own?” No! Not at all! Receiving the remission of sins through prayers of repentance is absolutely groundless. With some knowledge of the trespass offering in the Old Testament, you can figure out this truth.
No matter what kind of sin it is, its price must be paid off for each sin. That is why the Law states, “Eye for eye, tooth for tooth” (Exodus 21:24). If you make someone blind, you should be made blind as well. “Tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot. If anyone calls God in vain, he should be stoned to death.” You can find so many such examples in the Old Testament: there was someone who was put to death for working on the Sabbath, and people who coveted unrighteous materials like Achan were stoned to death. Didn’t Achan confess his sin to Joshua and ask for forgiveness? What happened next? He was still stoned to death. Admitting your sins with words can’t do anything. Does God forgive you when you just say, “Lord? Please forgive me of my sin. I won’t do it again”?
The Law of God states, “Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.” God is the God of justice and He never overlooks any sins for free by any chance. Before God forgives, He wants ransom. To give us His full remission of sins, God sent His son, Jesus Christ, in the same flesh of man; He passed all the sins of the world onto His own Son; and He let His Son take the punishment for all those sins. He delivered us like this. God pronounces to us that He has forgiven us because He punished Jesus in our stead after He had His Son take up all the sins on Himself through His baptism.
Since Jesus Himself had suffered being tempted, He can help us humans who are tempted. So He can indeed save us all from the sins of the world. He, as the faithful High Priest, thus saved us with His baptized body, not with the blood of animals. God did not forgive you unconditionally just because you believed in Jesus. He sent His Son as the faithful High Priest; had Him take over all your sins properly by His baptism; and had Him pay the price for your sins by being crucified. This is how He has saved you from all your sins. By making His Son the heavenly High Priest and the sin offering for all humans, God passed all the sins of the world onto Him and took His blood, so that He could save us all. Otherwise His people would have to bring sin offerings once every year, without solving the problem of sin fundamentally. This is how we were saved. The word, ‘redemption’ has such a background. That is how Jesus Christ has become our Redeemer. He has become the High Priest of Heaven.
He came to this earth in human flesh to save us. He then was baptized for us at the age of 30. His baptism was to take away all our sins onto His body. When He was about to be baptized, He ordered the reluctant servant John the Baptist, saying, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Mathew 3:15). Jesus’ baptism was necessary to remove all the sins from the entire human race. Jesus was baptized because He had to carry the sins of this world on Himself to bring salvation to all the peoples of this world. Mathew 3:13-17 confirms it. He was baptized to fulfill all righteousness. The baptism of Jesus was God’s way of passing all the sins onto Jesus. Jesus is our eternal High Priest. As our High Priest, He put all the sins of the world on His back and gave Himself as the eternal sin offering in order to fulfill all righteousness, remit all our sins and deliver us from sin forever.
The Lord is the Holy God who is without any sin. His birth began with the work of the Holy Spirit, as it is written, “Mary was found with child of the Holy Spirit” (Mathew 1:18). He is God Himself who came to this earth in a human body to be faithful to God the Father. It is said, “Jesus Christ was faithful to God who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house. For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house” (Hebrews 3:2-3).
Let’s Compare the Faithfulness of Jesus and That of Moses
How was Moses? He was called the servant of God’s house. It is written, “One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house.” Is there not any builder of a visible architecture? Does this house not have its builder? Each skyscraper in Manhattan has its builder too.
Then, how about this great house, the universe? Jesus is the builder and the owner of this universe. The writer of the Book of Hebrews knew it well. It is Jesus Christ who created the heavens and the earth and everything in them. Jesus is the One who made this universe, stars and this beautiful planet Earth. Therefore, He is more faithful, more honorable and more glorifiable than anyone or anything else. Just as there is a builder for each house, Jesus is the builder of this universe and all the hosts in it.
Who in this world is the most faithful to God? Who loves us the most? It is Jesus Christ our Creator and Savior, as it is written,
“For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).
He is the most faithful High Priest to God. He is not only the Creator God, but also the faithful High Priest to His Father. He is Jesus Christ and our God. Do you believe so? Who has ever loved us so much? Only Jesus Christ has. The name of Jesus Christ is worthy of our praise and honor. This is why we call Him Lord. He is the Lord who created us! He is the Savior who delivered us from all our sins! This is why the Apostle Paul said that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth and of those under the earth (Philippians 2:10).
Nevertheless, what did men do to Him while He was on earth in human flesh? People did not welcome Him. The Devil also provoked people to mock Him. People struck Him at Calvary, saying, “Hey! You, bastard! Are You saying that You are the Son of the Highest?” They spat on His face and shouted at Him to come down from the Cross. Someone even hit Him in the face. Knowing all what would happen, Jesus had received the baptism in the Jordan River to save us from all our sins.
Jesus has saved us completely from the sins of the world. Jesus is the Almighty God and the Son of God the Father and our Owner. This is the reason why we all bow our knees before the righteousness of the Lord. Even demons bow their knees to Him. They will leave when we rebuke them, saying, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ. Go away, demons!” The Devil and the demons can’t do anything but flee because of our faith in what Jesus has done. They will leave even when someone with sins commands them in Jesus name by faith. Even the non-born again can scare them away by using the power in the name of Jesus.
“And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end” (Hebrews 3:5-6). Halleluiah! This passage tells us that we have been saved thanks to the righteousness of Jesus Christ, who is the Apostle of our faith and the truth. Put differently, we cannot but be saved when we hold tight onto the righteousness of God. After that we receive the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit that leads us to our sonship in God. Then we become a house where God can dwell. The servant who wrote the Book of Hebrews describes the saved people as the house of God. We are His house if God is in our hearts. This is why the heart of the righteous is called God’s temple. Our bodies are God’s temple. The Lord calls us His house. Those of us who are saved are His house. Jesus is the Apostle of the faith and our High Priest. God is our Father and His Son is our High Priest. Thanks to His righteousness, the Holy Spirit can come into our hearts.
Our sins, which are committed under the Mosaic Law, do not disappear by our prayers of repentance; rather, we have been saved by believing in the righteousness of the faithful Son of God. The Lord perfected the salvation from the sins of the world by the gospel of the water and the Spirit and has given it to all of us. He also made us the believers in Him perfectly sinless. That is what the writer of the Book of Hebrews is telling us in Chapter 2 and 3. In the next chapter, he tells us to hold on tight to the Truth that has saved you from sin. He also warns us, saying, “Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion in the day of trial in the wilderness.” He goes on to say, “Trust in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, who is the Apostle of faith.” He admonishes those who do not believe in the righteousness of God that they will eventually go to hell. This is what is going to happen to anyone who tramples on the name of the Son of God.
We have received salvation when we trust in Jesus according to the righteousness of God. When the Lord saved us, He washed all our sins cleanly away to take us to Heaven. He removed all our sins by transferring them onto His body through the baptism He received from John the Baptist, and by paying off the price for all those sins on the Cross. We can now come before God by believing in Him like this. The writer of the Book of Hebrews tells us that this is the path to faith.
Do you know the Truth of faith that can save us from all the sins of the world? What is the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit that removed all our sins? Jesus received baptism from John the Baptist, for He had to take all our sins unto Himself. Then He took the punishment for all those sins in our place. Therefore, we must understand the righteousness of God before putting our faith in it. God’s Son saves people by the law of faith. The Book of Hebrews also tells us that we must believe with the understanding exactly how He saved us, when we put our faith in Jesus Christ the Son of God as our Savior.
We all know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And we believe so. “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same” (Hebrews 2:14). The word “children” in this verse refers to the children of God. The reason for Jesus’ partaking in flesh and blood is explained in verses 15 and 16: “That through death, which is the devil, and releases those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham” (Hebrews 2:15-16). The Lord partook in flesh and blood to give aid to us.
Dear fellow Christians, have you become the seed of Abraham? Who are the seeds of Abraham? We are the seeds who believe in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. The New Testament begins with the following passage: “The genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham” (Mathew 1:1). Who are those who have become His people in the righteousness of Jesus Christ? It is we who have received the remission of sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. We have been born-again out from the sinful state by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Dear fellow believers, do we the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit then still remain in sins? Do we have any sin still intact in our hearts? No, not at all!
Let’s say that I went to a store to pay for the things I had bought previously on credit. I went there completely forgetting that I had paid the previous day. When I said to the store owner, “Ma’am, I owe you some money, right?” she said, “You gave it to me yesterday.” I couldn’t remember paying her, so I gave her the money anyway, saying, “You must be mistaken.” What a preposterous thing I did! Just as in this example, people who offer prayers of repentance everyday do not admit to the fact that Jesus Christ has already removed all their sins as well as ours, but keep on asking for forgiveness of their sins by clutching onto only the Cross.
If you do not know the righteousness of Jesus and believe that you are saved, then you are quite mistaken. It is also wrong to ask every day, “Lord, please remove my sins.” But so many Christians do so believing that they should offer prayers of repentance everyday to be cleansed of their sins which remain intact in their hearts. Such people may suffer from mental diseases later.
Dear fellow believers, we must believe in Jesus Christ according to the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit. God the Father sent Jesus Christ His Son to save us; we have become His children by faith in the salvation work of this Jesus Christ. This is why the Holy Spirit came into our hearts.
I thank the Lord by faith for every blessing He has given us.
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