Godless Like Esau

Hebrews 12:15-16 - See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is … immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal.


Genesis 25:31 - Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.”

Philippians 3:19 - Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.

Application:

· My body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Am I disgracing God’s temple?
· Do I seek to gain advantage over others by any means? Are the blessings I receive by my wits or by God’s appointment?
· Am I deeply self-centered? Do my appetites and desires come first? Have I set my mind on the things of this life?

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Treating You As Sons

Hebrews 12:7 - It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?


2 Samuel 7:14-15 - I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.

Proverbs 13:24 - Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.

Application:

· God’s discipline is evidence that I am His child. God’s discipline is a basis for encouragement and perseverance.
· God’s steadfast love will not depart from me
· Discipline teaches me to avoid wrong behavior, embrace what is right and builds godly character

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Heart

Hebrews 12:3,5-6 - Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted…And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”


Application:

· Do I see suffering and persecution as corrective and instructive training for my spiritual development as His child?
· Christ is an encouragement to me when I am weary and tempted to become discouraged, because He suffered infinitely more than I ever have or will
· God chastens me in order to correct my faults.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Not Grow Weary

Hebrews 12:3-4 - Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.


Isaiah 40:30-31 - Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Hebrews 10:32-33 - But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated.

Hebrews 13:13 - Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured.

Application:

· Christ is an encouragement to me when I am weary and when I am tempted to become discouraged, because He suffered infinitely more than I ever have or will
· If I savor God’s promise by faith, I will find endless supplies of strength
· Will I persevere in the face of loss and persecution?
· Am I willing to be disgraced by turning unequivocally to Christ?

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Author

Hebrews 12:2 - Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.


Hebrews 2:9-10 - But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.

Hebrews 13:13 - Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured.

Isaiah 53:11-12 - Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

Philippians 2:5-7 - Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

Matthew 5:10 - “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 – For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Application:

· Through His atoning work, Christ’s perfection will lead to my perfection
· I am made God’s child through God’s only Son
· Jesus tasted death as a work of God’s grace alone on my behalf. Jesus fulfills God’s great plan for me.
· Am I willing to be disgraced by turning unequivocally to Christ?
· Christ has made me righteous and has taken on all my iniquities
· Christ makes intercession for me, securing my acceptance before God
· If my life is to be lived for God, my mind must reflect on Christ
· Christ’s love drove Him to a position of weakness for me
· Do I value God above everything in the world?
· By comparison, eternal glory is far greater than all the suffering I may face in this life

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

God Had Planned Something Better

Hebrews 11:36-12:2 - Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.


Hebrews 2:10 - For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.

John 11:25-26 - Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

2 Timothy 4:7 - I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Application:

· I am made God’s child through God’s only Son
· Jesus not only is life but conveys life to me so that death will never triumph over me
· My life is a long distance race rather than a short sprint
· Am I fighting the good fight? Am I keeping the faith? Will I finish well?

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Disgrace

Hebrews 11:24-28 - By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.


Hebrews 13:13 - Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured.

Luke 14:33 - So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

Exodus 12:21 - Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb.

Application:

· Am I willing to be disgraced by turning unequivocally to Christ?
· Am I willing to renounce everything and completely surrender to Him?
· Jesus is my Passover lamb, sacrificed for me

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Future

Hebrews 11:20-23 - By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones. By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.


Genesis 27:27 - So he came near and kissed him. And Isaac smelled the smell of his garments and blessed him and said, “See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed!

Genesis 50:24 - And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”

Acts 7:35 - “This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush.

Application:

· As Jacob betrayed Isaac with a kiss, so Judas betrayed Christ with a kiss
· Will God (or has God) come to my aid when I am enslaved by my idols or enslaved by evil oppression?
· Both Moses and Jesus were sent by God. Both were rejected.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

God Could Raise The Dead

Hebrews 11:17-19 - By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.


Genesis 21:12 - But God said to Abraham, “Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your offspring be named.

Genesis 22:13 - And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.

Application:

· Am I willing to sacrifice the things God has promised to me if called to do so?
· Is my faith so strong that I believe God can raise the dead?
· As the ram died in Isaac’s place, so also Christ gave His life as a ransom for me.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

His One And Only Son

Hebrews 11:14-18 - For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named


2 Timothy 4:18 - The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Mark 8:38 – For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Genesis 22:1-3,5,8-9,12,15-18 - After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him… Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.”… Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together. When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood…He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”… And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”

James 2:21 - Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?

John 3:16 - “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Application:

· I am assured of ultimate well-being, not release from present difficulties
· Am I more concerned about fitting into this generation than following and pleasing Christ? If so, I will have no part in God’s kingdom
· Does God test my commitment?
· Does the Lord put my faith and loyalty to the test?
· Do I respond promptly to challenges placed before me?
· Do I believe God can do anything to fulfill His promises?
· The ultimate fulfillment of providing the sacrifice is Jesus Christ
· Isaac is a type of Christ
· At the final judgment, my works will be evidence of true saving faith
· Does my faith result in obedience?
· There is no greater name in which the Lord can take an oath than His own name
· If I believe in Christ I have eternal life and experience its blessings now

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Barren

Hebrews 11:9-13 - By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.


Genesis 18:14 - Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.”

1 Corinthians 1:9 - God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 Peter 2:11 - Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.

Application:

· Nothing within God’s will, including creation and redemption, is impossible for Him
· He may be trusted to do what He has promised, namely, to keep me strong to the end
· I am a sojourner and an exile, awaiting my end-time inheritance. Am I abstaining from sinful passions? Holding on to sinful desires brings spiritual harm.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

My Righteous One Will Live By Faith

Hebrews 10:37-11:1 - For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.


Habakkuk 2:4 - “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.

Hebrews 6:9 - Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation.

Hebrews 3:5-6 - Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, but Christ is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 – For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Application:

· Am I continuing to trust in God? Am I clinging to God’s promises?
· Does my life give evidence of genuine spiritual renewal?
· Am I holding fast to God? Am I enduring with Him?
· Am I losing heart by fixing my eyes on visible things? Or am I looking up and away at eternal and imperishable realities?

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Better And Lasting Possessions

Hebrews 10:32-36 - But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.


1 Peter 1:3-5 - Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Hebrews 11:35 - Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life.

Hebrews 12:1-2 - Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 9:15 - Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

Application:

· God will protect me through His power by sustaining my faith to the end
· Will I demonstrate my faith in God by persevering in the face of harsh trials and afflictions?
· My life is a long distance race rather than a short sprint. Will I be tempted to drop out of the contest because of persecution?
· I will inherit (or I have inherited) everlasting salvation

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Repay

Hebrews 10:30-33 - For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated.


Deuteronomy 32:35 - Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly.’

Philippians 1:29-30 – For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

Application:

· Avenging is God’s prerogative
· Suffering loss and persecution can result in deep concern for others
· Christian suffering, as well as faith, is a blessing. My life should consist of not only believing but also suffering.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Judgment And Raging Fire

Hebrews 10:26-29 – For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?


Hebrews 9:27-28 - And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

2 Thessalonians 1:5-8 - This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering—since indeed God considers it )just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

1 Corinthians 6:11 – And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Ephesians 4:30 – And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Hebrews 2:2-4 - For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

Hebrews 12:25 - See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.

Hebrews 13:20-21 – Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Exodus 24:8 - And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

Application:

· I will face judgment after death. Christ will appear again bringing salvation from that judgment
· Jesus the Judge will be awesome and devastating, and He will instill fear in the hearts of unbelievers
· I need to live in a way that is consistent with being righteous
· I should not cause the Holy Spirit sorrow by my sin
· If failure to follow and obey the law came with retribution, then neglecting salvation through Christ comes with more dangerous retribution
· Christ warns me and challenges me to persevere in the faith
· The new covenant has been established forever
· Only after I agree to obey the Lord can I participate in His covenant with Him

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Sinning

Hebrews 10:26-27 – For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.


Numbers 15:30 - But the person who does anything with a high hand, whether he is native or a sojourner, reviles the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from among his people.

1 Timothy 2:3-4 - This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Application:

· To reject Christ’s sacrifice for sins is to reject the only sacrifice; there is no other
· One who defiantly despises the word of God and blasphemes His name must be punished
· A person must come to understand key truths (the Gospel) in order to be converted

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

On Their Minds

Hebrews 10:16-22 - “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.


Jeremiah 31:33-34 - For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

Leviticus 16:1-2 - The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the Lord and died, and the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that he may not die. For I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat.

Hebrews 2:2-4 - For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

Application:

· The new covenant supersedes the old covenant and fulfills it
· I am no longer ignorant of Him and His will for my life. I share in the knowledge of the Lord
· Christ was my sacrifice of atonement
· If failure to follow and obey the law came with retribution, then neglecting salvation through Christ comes with more dangerous retribution

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Perfect

Hebrews 10:1,12-17 - For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near…But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”


Jeremiah 31:31-34 - “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

Application:

· Christ’s one sacrifice atoned for all sins of all time, making any further sacrifice unnecessary
· The sacrifices prescribed by the law prefigured Christ’s ultimate sacrifice
· As the old covenant was by the blood of sacrificial animals, so the new is be by the blood of Christ
· The new covenant supersedes the old covenant and fulfills it
· I am no longer ignorant of Him and His will for my life. I share in the knowledge of the Lord

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Made Holy

Hebrews 10:1,5-6,8-11 - For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near… Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure…When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.


1 Corinthians 1:2-3 - To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Application:

· Am I submissively obedient to the will of God?
· I have been made holy. I have been set apart from evil and dedicated to God’s service. Am I reflecting His holiness?
· The sacrifices prescribed by the law prefigured Christ’s ultimate sacrifice.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

To Do Your Will

Hebrews 10:5-7 - Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”


Psalm 40:6-8 - In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required. Then I said, “Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me: I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”

John 4:34 - Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.

Application:

· Have I pledged lifelong service to my beloved Master? Am I able and eager to hear God’s law?
· Am I committed to the Lord? Does His Word serve as my covenant charter?
· I am dependent on the Father. Am I doing the work He sent me to do?

All Scripture verses taken from ESV