Anytime I hear a speech, sermon, presentation, etc. I think to myself "so what..what is the bottom line of what has been said? What can I take away from all that I have heard?" So, I bring that question to the book of Hebrews. For 10 and a half chapters the author of Hebrews has been showing the superiority of Christ, particularly in relationship to the Old Testament law. Now he moves to the bottom line--the "so what" of the message. How are we to respond to all of this? First, if you are outside of Christ he wants you to know that "it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (v31). God is a loving and graceful God but He is also holy and will not allow sin to remain in His presence. Through His Son, God has given you everything needed to receive eternal life and avoid eternal punishment, but it is up to you to accept that or not. For those of us who have accepted Christ as our Savior, the writer tells us to do five things. First, we can and should draw near to God with a true heart (v22). Second, we need to hold fast our confession of hope without wavering (v23). Next, we should be considerate of other believers to love them, encourage them to do good (v24), and to gather together with them for worship and exhortation (v25). Then, we should remember where we came from and the way in which God has guided us to this point (vv32-34). Finally, we should hold to our confidence in the Lord regardless of our circumstances (vv35-36). All of these things are now possible thanks to the complete and superior sacrifice of Christ. That's the bottom line!
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Frank Banfill is an author, international speaker, and president of MaxPoint Ministries, whose purpose is to help individuals, churches and ministries reach their full potential. Please forward this blog to your family & friends. Not a subscriber? Sign up now at www.FranksBibleBlog.com. If you would like to share a comment about today's blog, you may do so at www.maxpoint.org/message_board.
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