“…and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?” Hebrews 2:2b-3a ESV

If we neglect what Christ accomplished on the cross, what other means of salvation do we have to turn to?  Jehovah, the God of the Bible, has shown Himself throughout history and the Bible to be the one true God.  That cuts out all other religions, gods, philosophies, or belief systems one may look toward to satisfy the longing of the soul to receive forgiveness and rest.  Since this book was written most likely by a Hebrew to Hebrews, the focus of this passage is dealing with the supremacy & sufficiency of Christ over the Law or some outward display of morality for salvation.

Deut. 17:2-7 and Num. 15:30-31 among countless others display the overwhelming detail and consequence of the Law.  The Law or moralism brings with it a feeling of hopelessness and despair.  We begin to feel as if we can never be or do good enough… But that was the point of the Law!  That was God’s way of revealing His standards to us, knowing we would fail the moment we were born, revealing to us, as well, how utterly hopeless and helpless we truly are.  We are sinners by birth and by choice.  We can’t work our way to God.  We need mercy!  We need forgiveness!  We need Christ!

If no other religious or philosophical system can deliver us, and we can’t be good/moral/ethical/strict enough… ever… “How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?”  Where have you placed your faith?  Turn to Christ.  Receive grace, mercy, and forgiveness.  Find rest for your soul!

This is one of those doctrines that tends to get overlooked with all the talk about how depraved we are from birth and how we can not choose God in that state, etc.  It was a refreshing read.  To finally hear someone talk about the miracle of rebirth and what God does in and through us by the power of His Holy Spirit was a great compliment to the other books and articles on our sinful state before salvation.  He never says we are perfect, but why and how we fight sin.  It gave me a sense of comfort and joy in the great gift I have been give in Christ my God!

“But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.” 2 Cor. 2:14

Despite the hardships, agony, disappointments, or frustrating circumstances we may find ourselves in, we have the divine promise that in Christ we are being led in a triumphal procession. This covenant promise is ours in Christ for one main reason. Christ is the Victor. Through His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead, Christ conquered death once for all. At the cross, He purchased the redemption of His people and sealed our victory over sin and death. As Christian men, by virtue of our adoption into God’s family, we are participating in the most amazing triumphal victory parade the universe has ever known. Our Victor is faithful to complete the work He has begun in us as stated in Philippians 1:6. Someone once said that “the eyes of faith can see the unrelenting progress of the kingdom of God.”* Day by day we participate in this victory parade. May God give us grace to be men counted faithful to Him and living in light of His victory.

*note from Reformation Study Bible, 2 Cor. 2:14.

Jesus does things differently than the traditional rabbi model of the first century.
Traditional Model:
Every Jewish boy would have gone through this process
1.Bet Sefer (House of the Book):  Ages 6-10

• Memorize the entire Tora (Gen-Deut)
• Best of the best would move on.

2.Bet Talmud (House of Learning):  Ages 10-14

• Memorize the rest of the Hebrew Scriptures.
• Learn the Jewish art of questions and answers (not our current learning system)
• The best of the best again would be permitted to move on

3.Bet Midrash (House of Interpretation):  About age 14/15

• Rabbis had slightly different ways of interpreting the Texts (The way they thought they should live out the Bible in order to best please God)
• The Rabbi’s method of interpretation or extra rules he would add to the Scripture was called his “yoke”, which makes what Jesus said make more sense.  He wasn’t just making some random farming reference.
• Mt. 11:29-30
• The best of the best would go up to a powerful rabbi and request to be one of his talmid (student/disciple/apprentice)
• Then the rabbi, wanting his way of teaching to continue on, would only chose the absolute best as his disciples.
• The rabbi would subject them to a series of questions and tests to see if they were able to carry his yoke.
• If they did not meet his expectations they were told to go home and learn the trade of their father and prepare to take over the family business.
• If they met the rabbi’s expectations (if he thought they were good enough) he would say to them “Come follow me”.
• They would leave everything and everyone to follow the rabbi everywhere he went.  They would follow so closely that they were said to be covered in the dust of the rabbi as his footsteps would kick up the dust.
• They would give their entire life to become exactly like him.

Jesus had His own way of doing things.  Lk 5:1-11

• Where did Jesus go for disciples?  Not a school.
• Why were they fishing?  They weren’t good enough to make it as rabbis.
• Put yourself there and just watch Peter’s face as a young rabbi tries to tell him and his friends, who had fished their whole lives, how to catch fish… Just a funny side note.

Mt 4:18-22

• Did you ever wonder why they “immediately” left everything to follow Him?  Part of it I believe has to do with the story in Lk 5, but also a rabbi thought the were good enough to carry his yoke and help him spread it.
• From that point on, the disciples of Christ were marked more by how they lived than by what they know.
• Marked by obedience to Christ’s commands – even the strange ones. Mt 17:24-27
• What was Christ’s final command to them?  Mt 28:19-20   … Not converts!
• Teaching them to obey ALL.  The goal was more disciples.
• By living the way of Christ, we are lining ourselves up with the way God designed the universe to operate, where we find fullness of joy.

Jesus’ disciples did things differently…

• Early church disciples were marked by their obedience and way of life.
• After the great commission the church started off with a bang.   Acts 2:41
• Worship of other gods: Going to the temple, sacrifice, go back to normal life.
• Early church was different.  Acts 2:42-47
• The early church was so different than popular culture they were known simply as “The Way”
• Acts 9:1-2
• “Christians” weren’t named until Antioch.  Acts 11:26 – Luke may not have cared for the name since he doesn’t use it again throughout Acts.
• References to “The Way” – Acts 19:9, 23, 22:4 (Paul later tells Timothy in a letter that God saved Him so that all would know the patience and mercy of God 1Tim 1:12-16) Acts 24:14, 22.
• Being a disciple of Christ was not merely something you said, but rather a way of living that stood in contrast to culture.
• They were driven by a passion for community, the poor, and the teachings of Christ.
• Bible belt is full of people who profess Christ yet in no way have these passions.  Sad statistic!
• Has true justification happened if true sanctification does not occur?  Can you biblically make that case?  NO!

The early church was marked by ACTION.  Is it this action that justifies us?  No.  Again Jesus does things differently… Always going after the heart!
Lk 18:9-14.
18:9 – Jesus was not afraid to confront people face to face.
18:10 – Pharisee = religious ruler.  Tax collector – Jew who purchased the right from Rome to collect taxes for Rome. Traitors.
18:11 – The pharisee  is very moral.

• His prayer is not a “bad” prayer as far as the verbage goes – It’s God-focused.  “…God I thank You.”
• God, through good parents or good teaching etc., has saved him from a life of destruction.
• We all do it.  “God, thank you for saving me from the road I was on, headed toward more wickedness and evil.”
• It’s not bad to thank Him for that!

18:12 – He’s very religious.

• He has a deep passion for the things of God.  He’s serious about his holiness.
• Fasts twice a week when the law only required one day a week.
• He tithes on everything: money loaned to him, etc…
• Not a bad prayer.  We’ll find out what’s wrong with it in a minute.

18:13 – The tax collector is broken.

• He mentions nothing religious or moral, although he probably had something he could boast in… ‘I haven’t murdered’, At least I’m at the temple’.  He’s just broken.

The next verse is about as disturbing as any found in the New Testament.

• 18:14a – If God would have only put a period there, we could all shout and rejoice that God would be so good to justify (right standing before God) a tax collector.  Then we could all go home in peace.
• But there isn’t a period, there’s a comma… forcing us to take a look at ourselves.
• 18:14ab – The tax collector has right standing before God, the pharisee does not.
• 18:14 – The problem with the pharisee’s prayer is not that he gives credit to God for the way he lives (spiritual growth), It’s that he believes his way of life (spiritual growth) justifies him.

The tax collector’s prayer says ‘I am deserving of Hell, the only way I can be saved is if by the mercy of God, he grants me justification through the cross of Christ.’
Again, Jesus goes after the heart.
Mt 21:31
The mantra of every true follower of Jesus is “Christ Alone”!

Here’s how we can become confused:  We come to Christ, He frees us from our baggage and we begin to grow in Him and live in The Way.  But, then we begin to focus on ourselves (our holiness, our victories, our happiness, etc.) and Christ is in the picture less and less because we’re working on things, trying to do and not do.  It’s in this cloud that we begin to exalt ourselves by looking down on those who are struggling and thinking less of them (like the pharisee).

We may not say that, but that’s how we begin treating others.  You see it in your church or on TV all the time.  Any time a Christian berates and beats down someone else for their lifestyles is pure pride.  Without the grace of God and His Holy Spirit giving us a new heart to desire Him… We Are Them!!!  Repentance does need to be preached, but out of love because we want them to be at peace with God through Christ, not just because they need behavior modification.

The fundamental root of Christianity is this:  All we have, we got from God.
It’s ALL Grace!

• Life
• Salvation
• Justification
• Sanctification
• Glorification

Some may say it’s dangerous to teach grace like that, that some people may abuse it.  That’s true, some probably will.

The answer:  Rom 6:1-2  “By no means” Greek = It cannot happen.

If we are in Christ, as we pursue Him, He will change us!

Sanctification will happen and we will begin to live in “The Way” of Jesus, but only because He has made us dead to sin and alive in Christ by the Holy Spirit trough the will of the Father.

Three main types of Christians:

1. Claim Christ with our words, yet have no desire for Him or holiness.
2. Claim Christ, try to live right, and then beat others down with our words or attitudes.  Thinking it is our righteousness that justifies us.
3. Remember that it’s all grace.  Live for His glory, allow Him to change us, and share His message in love with a lost and dying world.

Which one will you be?

I never tire of flying.  Now the wait and airport security lines, etc. can be a pain, but that thrill of accelerating so quickly down the runway that you’re forced back in your seat, the sinking feeling you get in your stomach when the tail of the plane leaves the ground, and the initial climb when the plane banks a hard turn to one side are just simply unbeatable!  It’s here, climbing to 30,000 ft., passing through multiple cloud layers, watching civilization below grow smaller by the second that you realize how tiny we really are, no matter how big our ego may be.  I know God hates pride, but I have to wonder if he chuckles a bit some times when we celebrate what we consider a large accomplishment such as flying.

I also love flying because it allows me several hours that I really can do nothing else but be alone with my thoughts and Jesus.  It’s awesome and scary all at the same time because I have some great time for prayer and introspection.  It’s there that I am continually reminded of how rotten and utterly selfish I am deep down.  That’s why the cross of Christ keeps blowing my mind!!  I’m terrible, yet Christ chose to take my sins upon Himself and bear my punishment?  He loved me before I cared anything about Him and actually worked against Him the Bible says.  To me why God loves us so much will always be a mystery.  I’m just so thankful that He does and that He is continually working in me and sanctifying me to be more like Himself.  I’m also thankful that Christ is my reward here on Earth as well as in Heaven.  That’s right, Heaven isn’t our reward…  It’s just the magnificent place we get to enjoy Christ for eternity.

Jesus is the object of my affection and worship.  Even if I try to clean myself up and be a “good”, “moral” person, without Christ, I am an Idolator because I looked inside of me and my will to “clean me up”, making myself or other people’s thoughts about morality my god.  I’m so glad I have the Word and Spirit of Jesus Christ as my God and my guide.  I can do nothing apart from Him.  The Bible says that for the Believer, it is His Spirit in us that gives us the will and the strength to act in righteousness.

I challenge you to introspection.  Just you, your gut-level honest thoughts (the real you), and Jesus!  If you don’t come out of it with praise in our heart for His never-failing, never-ending Grace… you might want to look again!  (Rom 3:23).  Praise God for His compassion and mercy for pitiful people that He changes and uses for His Glory!  Jesus I belong to You!  You do with me what pleases You!