Press On…
Opening Prayer
Jesus, I think about the time when I first became Your disciple. May I never take Your love and Your grace for granted.
Read Hebrews 10:26–39
26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
32 Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. 33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. 34 You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. 35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.
36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37 For,
“In just a little while,
he who is coming will come
and will not delay.”
38 And,
“But my righteous one will live by faith.
And I take no pleasure
in the one who shrinks back.”
39 But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
How have your attitudes changed since becoming a believer, for better—or maybe for worse?There’s some hard teaching in this passage that has had many Christians scratching their heads. Does it mean that we can lose our salvation?
Think back to the story of the people of Israel and the golden calf in Exodus 32. These people too were children of the covenant, and yet they risked it all through their own unfaithfulness, and many were punished and perished. Whatever else our passage in Hebrews teaches us it surely shows us that we must never take the grace of God for granted, for “It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
By contrast we should look back to how we used to behave. As time goes by our commitment can become dulled, so we need to learn the lessons from our own past and “keep on keeping on.” Looking back on your Christian life, what do you need to be reminded of today?
There’s a great word of promise for us here too, in verse 39, which in faith and confidence we can hold onto in the face of that anxious question about losing our salvation.
Apply
Verse 39 is a promise. Think how you can press on in faith and endurance to make its promise yet more sure.
Closing prayer
Lord, thank You for the assurance of salvation. I praise You that as I walk in obedience, I can walk confidently as Your child.
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