Christ's Law

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● Heb 10:21-22 . . Since we have a high priest over the house of God, let us draw
near to God with a sincere heart, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts
sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with
pure water.

Sprinkling and washing were employed during Yom Kippur as a means of ritually
sanitizing just about everything and everybody associated with worship that day.
(16th of Leviticus)

In a similar manner; the stage is all set for the people to approach God on a much
better basis, and on a much higher level, than that of Yom Kippur. In that scenario,
the closest they ever got to God was the earthly priesthood and the earthly
tabernacle. In this scenario they are encouraged to be confident they can approach
God via a Heavenly arrangement consisting of a superior high priest, a superior
sprinkling, and a superior washing.

NOTE: Mankind was created in the image and likeness of God. (Gen 1:26-27)

But then came the forbidden fruit incident whereby mankind lost its God-given
conscience and fell prey to a humanistic conscience. (Gen 3:22)

Yom Kippur by the book addresses the people's conduct but does not address their
humanistic conscience, whereas Christ's atonement does.

● Heb 9:13-14 . . .The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled
on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly
clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit
offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to
death, so that we may serve the living God.

● Heb 10:21-22 . . Since we have a high priest over the house of God, let us draw
near to God with a sincere heart, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts
sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with
pure water.

People's conscience is their guiding light. But the actions of man's humanistic
conscience can, and often do, lead people into disagreement with their maker
because due to the forbidden fruit incident, man became a tin God.

In addition; man's conscience is capable of convincing folks they are innocent
when at times they are not.

● Jer 17:9-10 . .The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked:
who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every
man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

NOTE: Even if Yom Kippur were to address the people's conscience, it would have
to be done over and over again on an annual basis due to the limited value of the
ritual's atonement, whereas Christ's atonement does it but once and never has to
do it again. (Heb 10:1-14)
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● Heb 10:23 . . Let us cling to the acknowledgment of our faith without wavering;
(for He is faithful that promised)

"He is faithful" could also be said "He is unwavering"

One can scarcely blame the author's Hebrew audience for wondering if perchance
they're making a really big mistake dumping the covenant that Moses' people made
with God as per Deut 29:9-15. A lot is at stake.

For one thing, the covenant is their sacred heritage and their cultural identity; and
for another, the covenant is a contract that obligates God to lower the boom on His
people with some pretty severe penalties for breaching it: they're all on file at Lev
26:3-38, Deut 27:15-26, and Deut 28:1-69. When Hebrews convert to Christianity,
they have to wonder if maybe they're stepping off into an abyss from whence there
is no return.

But the reality is: they have nothing to lose by taking that step because the original
covenant provides neither forgiveness nor atonement for willful sins; which can be
defined as deeds committed by someone knowing beforehand that what they were
about to do is wrong.

"The priest shall atone for the erring soul which sinned inadvertently before The
Lord, so as to atone on his behalf, and it shall be forgiven him. One law shall apply
to anyone who sins inadvertently from the native born of the children of Israel and
the proselyte who resides among them.

. . But if a person should act highhandedly, whether he is a native born or a
proselyte, he is blaspheming The Lord, and that soul shall be cut off from among its
people. For he has scorned the word of The Lord and violated His commandment;
that soul shall be utterly cut off; for its iniquity is upon it." (Num 12:28-31, cf. Heb
10:26)

I'm pretty sure it was Num 12:28-31 that Paul had in mind when he informed his
Jewish countrymen "through Jesus everyone who believes is freed from all things,
from which you could not be freed through the law of Moses" (Acts 13:39)

One of the more common willful sins is dishonesty. Everybody knows it's wrong but
go about it anyway. Well; dishonesty is forbidden by the original covenant.

"You shall not lie, one man to his fellow." (Lev 19:11)

So then, when a Torah-trained Jew tells a lie; they act highhandedly; viz: they
commit a willful sin for which the original covenant provides neither forgiveness nor
atonement. That Jew is a scofflaw and in desperate need of a safety net.

"Cursed be he who does not uphold the words of this Torah, to fulfill them." (Deut
27:26)
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● Heb 10:24 . . And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love
and good deeds.

Man is a species of life that is quite naturally, and comfortably, inclined to provoke
and annoy each other and bring out the worst in their fellow men. It is Christ's
expectations that his own make an effort to do just the opposite; viz: bring out the
best in each other.

Good deeds speaks of one's actions, i.e. their conduct. For example: courtesy,
scruples, honesty, charity, kindness, tolerance, non violence, tact, deference,
generosity, graciousness, law abiding, an honest day's work for an honest day's
pay, helpful, modesty, sincere promises, decency, loyalty, manners, benevolent,
compliant with superiors, self controlled, speech that's treads lightly on peoples
nerves, patient, and calm, etc.
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● Heb 10:25 . . Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of
doing, but let us encourage one another

There are secret believers who avoid being seen with Christians so they'll not be
identified with them, i.e. they're ashamed and embarrassed of their trust in Christ;
especially when Christians are portrayed in one's community as kooks and
extremists.

For example: one day at work one of the guys overheard women in the office
talking about me as a Jesus Freak; which was a common expression back in the
late 60s and early 70s. That would've never happened had I kept my religion a
secret; but of course we dare not.

"If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation,
the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the
holy angels." (Mark 8:38)

Do any of us relish the thought of Jesus looking at us the way he looked at Peter on
the night of his arrest?

"If you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that
name." (1Pet 4:16)
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● Heb 10:35-36 . .Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great
reward. For you have need of perseverance, so that when you have done the will of
God, you may receive what was promised.

The kind of perseverance the author is talking about is not the dogged
determination of US Navy SEALS; which are a group of military guys who absolutely
refuse to be beaten at anything you might name. If SEALS were to play hop-scotch
it would turn violent.

I would liken the kind of perseverance in mind here as that of a farmer. The hard
rock band ACDC says it's a long ways to the top if you wanna rock and roll. Well,
farmers have a long ways to harvest if they wanna make it to market. First they
have to till the soil, then rake it, then plant seeds, then wait on mother nature to
irrigate them with rain, then they have to wait more yet for their crops to grow to
maturity before harvesting.

Farmers look forward to their harvests; they anticipate them otherwise who would
plow, rake, and plant if there were nothing to expect later on down the road?

That kind of perseverance anticipates a benefit. Webster's defines anticipate as: to
look forward to as certain; viz: to expect. As a rule, farmers don't begin the
planting season expecting their fields to produce nothing. No, they plan on going to
market because they expect to see crops in the fields at harvest time. It would be a
very strange farmer indeed who looked forward to the ravages of drought, disease,
and insect plagues every year. In other words; don't give up on God just yet; He'll
come thru on His promises.
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● Heb 12:1 . .Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses all around us,
let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us,
and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

The comparison is made to sporting events-- e.g. baseball, football, track and field,
hockey, basketball, etc --where the audience is basically seated in a circle or an
oval watching the games.

Well, for one; the passage suggests that folks on the other side are alive and
conscious. It also suggests they're all eavesdroppers and peeping Toms with nothing
better to
do.

Another audience we might consider are the fallen angels, a.k.a. demons. No doubt
they stalk us every moment of our lives. I mean, if 1Pet 5:8 is true of the Devil,
then it's likely true of his minions too.

However; I don't think the audience in this instance pertains to either deceased
saints or the spirit hordes, rather, I kind of think it pertains to ordinary people all
around us and those we encounter in our daily lives.

The moment someone comes out as a Christian,; then kibitzers, fault-finders,
skeptics, and critics, et al, start watching their every move for opportunities to boo,
make them look ridiculous, and/or destroy their credibility.

● Matt 5:14-16 . .You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be
hidden. Nor do men light a candle, and put it under a bowl, but on a lamp stand;
and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in
such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in
heaven.

I don't know exactly how the world glorifies God when it sees Christians putting
their religion into practice; but I'm pretty sure the world has nothing but disgust for
a hypocrite's religion. (cf. 2Sam 2:14) Never let it be said that your actions speak
so loud that people can't hear a word you're saying.

NOTE: The term "cloud" was apparently an ancient figure of speech simply referring
to large numbers of just about anything. Compare Gen 15:5 where "stars" are a
term for the same purpose.
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● Heb 12:3-4 . . For consider him who has endured such hostility by sinners against
himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart. You have not yet resisted
to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin

I'm pretty sure the "sin' spoken of in that passage encompasses a whole lot more
than merely something of your own; it's the entire sphere of evil in this world.

"We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the
control of the evil one." (1John 5:19)

The Jews to whom the author wrote must have had it pretty good because it was
only a matter of time before Christians were targets for arrows, swords, lances,
pyres, and the teeth of beasts in the coliseum at Rome. Even today, it is very
dangerous to be a Christian in Muslim countries.

Saturday, August 03, 2009, a frenzied mob of 3,000 Muslims stormed the tiny
Pakistani Christian village of Gojra. Enflamed by (unconfirmed) charges that a
Christian had incinerated pages of the Koran, the mob burned down fifty homes,
cremated eight Christians alive, and wounded twenty others. Thousands of
Christians had to flee the area.
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● Heb 12:5-6 . . My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose
heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He
punishes everyone He accepts as a son.

Christians have to expect that God is going to find fault with their lives from time to
time, and take appropriate steps to correct it. So be very cautious about cursing
your luck because it just might be the hand of God at work rather than one of the
Fates.
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● Heb 12:7-11 . . If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for
what son is there whom a father does not discipline? But if you are without
discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not
sons.

. . Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them
respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits
and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but
He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.

. . Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless,
afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been
trained by it.

Child training is quite a bit different than child abuse; training builds character,
while abuse breaks the spirit.

NOTE: Seeing as how most of us lack a red-phone connection to Heaven's front
desk; there's really no way to know for sure when God is chastening us or if life in
general is just being its usual unpleasant self. That being the case I suggest we
reckon all unpleasantness to be providential in one way or another; and follow job's
example.

"In all this Job did not sin, nor charge God with wrong." (Job 1:22)
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● Heb 12:12-13 . .Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak, and the knees
that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is
lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.

That almost sounds like physical therapy; which of course it is. When I had one of
my knees replaced, the therapist had to teach me how to walk all over again-- how
to walk properly because with the bad knee, I couldn't; and that had gone on for
more than a decade. And not only that, but the leg with the bad knee had become
feeble because I favored the other and wasn't using the bad one to full advantage.
So a large percentage of my therapy involved getting that game leg strong again by
means of an exercise regimen.

The Greek word translated "straight" doesn't necessarily define the shortest
distance between two points. It can also mean smooth and level; in other words:
free of tripping hazards; which someone undergoing treatment for a joint problem
(e.g. hips, knees, and ankles) has to really watch out for. In other words: it's a
therapeutic path-- in this case in respect of one's spiritual conditioning rather than
their physical conditioning.

Compare Heb 5:12-14 where it says, in so many words: that children don't arrive
from the womb intuitively knowing what people eat. It's only by instruction and
experience that they learn which things are safe for human consumption and which
things are not, viz: which things are nourishing, and which things will make them
sick. By gradually introducing them to a variety of foods, parents train their
growing children to recognize good stuff when they see it so that in time they will
know on their own what's edible and what's not without having to be babied all the
time.
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