...For Those Who DO NOT Cherish Jesus Christ as their most
precious and valuable Treasure

I am convinced that the majority of individuals in America, who claim to be Christians, are only Cultural Christians. You may ask, “What does that mean?”. That means, that the majority of people who think of themselves as Christians and who go to church (some regularly, some only once in a while) are in the fast lane that leads straight to the pits of hell!

Every culture in all of history has fashioned gods to worship. Nothing has changed in the modern age and the United States. Things are just different. I believe that American culture has fashioned itself a god, or at least a horrible misrepresentation of the real and true God. We have fashioned a god in our own image; a god we believe honors the American dream more than the Bible. We trust in a god who has an eternal party for everyone who has done some good or nice deeds in this life – excluding the mean guys like Hitler and bin Laden. The god most Americans trust in is a god who hasn’t the fortitude to condemn anyone, because this god exists for us!

Frankly these beliefs sicken me! If you believe and follow this false god, you will burn in hell for eternity! In fact, if you do not cherish the Lord Jesus Christ as your most precious possession, He will judge you in the depths of the lake of fire. Disturbing isn’t it?!

What I have just written is very depressing and sad. What sickens me is that so many are perishing by believing in this false god, and the True Church of Jesus Christ is standing by watching. At times we even participate in the worship of the false god. But now I pray that the Almighty God might let His glorious Good News shine through the darkness. Many will spiritually drown and never come to Christ, but God willing, YOU will listen to this wonderful and Good News that Jesus Christ wants YOU to hear and be saved from eternal punishment.

Now let me tell you the Good News.

There is a God in heaven. He is One God, made up of three persons, God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit. The Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit are all equally God and equal in power, however they have different roles in the Godhead. God is holy and righteous and just, and these are only some of His attributes. God is love and does love human beings, but God also loves Himself. (Many might be turned off by this statement, but please continue to read and hear what I have to say). The tragedy is that human beings have rebelled against God and do not love Him.

Jesus Christ says that the greatest commandment is, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37 NIV). If this is the greatest commandment, then disobeying this must be the greatest sin. Not loving the Lord our God with everything we have is the chief evil in the universe. We are all guilty of this great treason against God. The reason we are to love God above all else is because He is the supreme and most valuable one we could ever value and cherish. Everyone would agree that there are some things that are more valuable things than others in this world. We may disagree as to what they are, but we would agree that we should value certain things above other things.

Human beings were created to be happy! God wants you to be happy. God wants us to be supremely happy, not just a little happy. When we are happy in Jesus Christ, we are supremely happy. When we put anything in front of Him, we may feel happy, we think we are happy, but we are not supremely happy. God, the supreme being of the universe, says that supreme happiness can only come from Him. God is so concerned with our happiness that He commands us to love Him above all else. To love anything more than Him is to be miserable compared to the happiness He offers.

Please take to heart the following quotes:

“Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition, when infinite joy is offered to us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in the slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

~ C.S. Lewis

“Sin comes when we take a perfectly natural desire or longing or ambition and try desperately to fulfill it without God. Not only is it sin, it is a perverse distortion of the image of the Creator in us. All these good things, and all our security, are rightly found only and completely in him.”

~ Augustine (The Confessions of St. Augustine)

“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life shall lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake shall find it.”

~ Jesus Christ (Matthew 10:37-38

What Jesus has said is hard. But once He has opened your eyes to see that He is indeed the superior treasure to value, He will bring you to the point of loving Him above all else.
This is a life long task. Only in loving the Lord our God with all of ourselves, will we ever find fulfillment in the life He gives us.

The Good News is that through Jesus Christ, we who were far off in rebellion, unable to love God, can be brought near to God. Through Jesus Christ, God the Son, you and I can draw near to God and love Him and treasure Him above all else…fulfilling our God-given longing in life!

The Bible says in 1 Peter 3:18, “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit…”

“Why did Jesus have to die?”, you may ask. The answer is, because the penalty for not loving the Lord God is death. God told Adam about sin in these words, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17). Because of Adam’s choice to love the fruit more than God, we have all died spiritually and will one day die physically.

These passages reflect God’s feelings about the sad state and plight of sinful man.

Romans 3:10-18, “There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one.

“Their throat is an open grave, with their tongues they keep deceiving,

“The poison of asps is under their lips;

“Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness;

Their feet are swift to shed blood, destruction and misery are in their paths, and the path of peace have they not known.

There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”

Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death…”

Colossians 1:21, “And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds…”

Genesis 6:5, “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?”

Ephesians 2:1-3, “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of his world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest…”

But please pay attention to the rest of this Ephesians passage (Ephesians 2:4-6):

“…But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus…”

This is the Good News, that God makes us alive in Christ and enables us to love Him, our greatest need!

But you may wonder how does this glorious work happens, in which God makes a person alive. In the book of Acts, Peter answers a crowd who asked this same thing. Peter says in Acts 2:38, “Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God shall call to Himself.”

Again in Acts 16:30, a man asks the Apostle Paul, “ ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ And they [Paul and Silas] said, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household.”

Paul quotes Joel 2:32, when he writes in Romans 10:13, “...Whoever will call upon the Name of the Lord will be saved.”

This calling on the name of the Lord involves, knowing that God is Who He says He is in the Bible. It involves knowing that you and I are sinners only deserving of hell. We are calling on the name of the Lord to save us. We ask Him to save us from sin, from ourselves, from hell, and from God. God loves humans, but He must love Himself above all else. For us to love anything more than God is the chief sin and idolatry. The same would be true if God treasured anything of lesser value than Himself, the superior and most precious treasure. So God must value Himself above all else. Praise God for this, for if God valued anything else as more valuable than Himself, we would be lost forever! Because God values Himself and His glory above all, He must punish sin – someone must pay by death. If you think that your sins are not that big of a deal, consider that it cost the very life and blood of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, to pay for our sin! Those who call on the name of the Lord for salvation, will receive the forgiveness of God and complete access to God. We are freed from our death and imprisonment and freed to love God with all our hearts! Those who refuse the forgiveness of God, will face eternity under His wrath and torment.

So I beg you to come to Christ and receive His salvation. I also beg you to examine your “faith”. There are far too many people who think they are saved but are not and will rot for eternity in hell. 2 Corinthians 13:5 states, “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you – unless indeed you fail the test?”

To be saved, you must place your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord, God, and Savior. You must approach God the Father by coming through the Son and in the confidence Jesus Christ gives you. “And without faith it is impossible to please Him [God], for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

Lest you think you are too sinful for God to forgive you, consider this verse, 1 Timothy 1:15. The Apostle Paul, who wrote most of the New Testament says, “It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am the foremost of all.” Paul says that he is the worst sinner, and yet Christ still forgave him and used him mightily for His glory.

Many Christians would end a presentation of the gospel with a model prayer. I will not. I think that far to many people are trusting in a magical prayer they prayed when they were 6, instead of trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. I will not end with a model prayer guaranteeing you salvation, but I will end with my prayer for your salvation.

Dear Heavenly Father,

I pray that You, Almighty God, would use this very humble presentation of Your Glorious Good News. I pray You would cover over my mistakes and still glorify Yourself through this attempt of mine. Please save the Person who is reading this right now! Please fill them with the horrors of their sins and the desire to find safety in Your salvation! Please make alive the person who is reading this. May your Holy Spirit take the Word of God and Awaken the dead Soul who is reading this right now!

Fill my Friend with the peace and joy that is only found in Jesus Christ! Show my friend the words he or she should say to You. Right now, I call on You to make this person call on Your Name for salvation!

Glorify Yourself, O Lord!

In Jesus Name,

Amen

...The Power of the Gospel for those who DO DESIRE to Cherish the Lord Jesus Christ as their greatest Treasure!

A Meditation on Hebrews 10:19-22

Three Reasons why Christians can be completely confident to draw near to God through the power of the gospel even when everything else screams, “DON”T!”

INTRODUCTION

Every religion, culture, and I believe every person on this earth has a plan with how they will deal with their sins before they die. God has given every human being the knowledge that there will be a day of reckoning for sins committed.

People on the British Isles devised a plan known as “Sin Eating” to deal with their sins. These people followed this practice even into the 1800 hundreds!

“Sin eating” was built on a false belief that one person, selected from the community, could bear the sins of the others upon their deaths. The selected person was called the “Sin Eater”.

The Sin Eater lived a lonely, dark life, as an outcast from society. Superstition kept people from associating with the Sin Eater except at funeral services. Before burying a loved one, the people would summon the Sin Eater. The Sin Eater was to eat a piece of bread and drink a flask of wine that had been placed on the deceased’s chest. In doing this, it was believed that the Sin Eater took that person’s sin upon himself.

People sought after the Sin Eater to ease their guilty conscience which told them, they were condemned.

We as Christians, sometimes revert back to these old beliefs that we have to deal with our own sins. We often take the feelings of our conscience without focusing on Christ as the one who took our guilt away.

God designed the conscience to show us our sins and cause us to draw near to Himself. However, when you and I place all of our focus on the feelings of guilt and unworthiness, we begin to stray from God.

Our greatest need is to draw near to God, but many times we misinterpret our conscience and hide from God when we should be running to Him.

In this portion of The Glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ, we will be looking at Hebrews 10:19-22. In this passage the Holy Spirit shows us the power of the Gospel and gives us three reasons that show us why we can draw near to God, even when everything else tells us we cannot because we are unworthy.

Hebrews 10:19 states, “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great 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.” (NIV)

BIOGRAPHY

We do not know who the human author of the Book of Hebrews is, but we do know that the Holy Spirit is the ultimate author of this rich book.

The Holy Spirit wrote this book to Jewish Christians before the year 70 A.D. The reason for the book was: some of the Jewish Christians were close to reverting back to the teachings of Judaism.

The reason this is significant to you and me is because Judaism was a religion of works based merit. In Judaism, a person’s worthiness and acceptance before God comes from himself and his own actions.

We may never be tempted to convert to Judaism, but you and I do struggle with the feelings of guilt that tell us we cannot draw near to God because we are displeasing to God.

What the Holy Spirit told the Hebrews and is telling us, is the message at the very heart of the gospel. “…there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…” (Romans 8:1 NIV).

So the Holy Spirit gives every Christian the book of Hebrews, which is devoted to displaying the sufficiency and greatness of Jesus Christ our Savior and Sacrifice.

In Hebrews 10:19-22, the Holy Spirit gives us three reasons for why we can have confidence to draw near to God.

Let us look at the first reason.

REASON # 1:

We can have confidence to draw near to God, Because of What Jesus Christ has Done For Us.

First of all, the text, Hebrews 10:19, says that you and I have Confidence to enter the Holy Place, where God is.

The Greek Word for the confidence that we have is PARRESIAN. This is a word that means boldness in the freedom and frankness of speech. This boldness comes from setting aside our guilt, and talking with God. It is manifested in our undoubting prayer to the Father. (Zodiates, The Complete Word Study New Testament, page 929).

So, the Holy Spirit begins this passage by declaring that We have complete Confidence to speak with God. We have a perfect mediator, and we do not have to approach God through any mere man on earth. We have confidence to come to the very God of the Universe THROUGH the very God of the Universe – Jesus Christ, alone!

And this is where the battle often starts. We are too preoccupied with ourselves and we fail to talk to God.

To combat this, we must grasp how amazing our relationship with God is. The problem is not if we have the right to talk with God. We either don’t desire to talk to God, or we don’t believe He desires us to talk to Him.

In this passage, GOD is calling out to you and me, declaring He wants us to talk to Him.

This past May, a terrible accident took the life of Steven Curtis Chapman’s young daughter, Maria, when his older son, Will, was driving into their driveway. I can only imagine the feelings of horror and guilt that Will must have felt when he hit Maria and even now after that accident.

I recently watched a Good Morning America interview with the Chapmans. In it, Steven told of his concern to not lose his son also in this terrible accident. As Steven was driving away with Maria to the hospital, he looked at his son and said, “Will, your father loves you!”.

And this is exactly what Our Father is telling us in this passage. He is telling us, “I love you and want you to talk to Me!”

You might think, that, that is fine for everyone else, but there is no way God would want you with what you have done.

The HOLY Spirit is telling you and me in this passage, that no matter what we have done, what Christ has done is greater. He is a greater Savior, than We are sinners.

Now just exactly what has Christ done for us? Well, the passage says,

“…since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus…” NIV

Jesus Christ, God the Son, has shed His precious blood for His people.

Listen to Hebrews 9:22:

“…In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” NIV

…and Colossians 1:19:

“For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.” NIV

We must never loose sight that our sin is great! Only the precious blood of God the Son, Jesus Christ, could pay our enormous debt. If it took the very life and blood of God to pay for our sins, ask yourself, “How great is my sin?”

But Jesus Christ is a greater Savior that we are sinners! And His righteousness, credited to our account, far outweighs the depths of our grievous sins! Now ask yourself, “How great is our Savior?!”

Our text in Hebrews 10 goes on to say:

“since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body…”

“Why did Jesus have to be the member of the Trinity to die for me?”, and “Why was Jesus Christ the only member of the Trinity who could pay for our salvation?”.

The reason that only God the Son, Jesus Christ, could do this is because of His Divine Role in the Trinity. It is the eternal responsibility of God the Son to display the holiness and greatness of God the Father. John 1:18, states, “No, one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side [JESUS], has made Him known.” (NIV).

This is why Jesus is the member of the God-head who created everything. Jesus created everything out of nothing to show just how awesome and beautiful God truly is! Colossians 1 speaks of Jesus being the creator of everything. Hebrews 1 declares that God created the universe through Jesus Christ. John 1 tells of the Word of God, Jesus, through whom everything was made.

Not only is Jesus charged with the display of the magnificence of God, He is also responsible to defend the magnificence and holiness of the Father. According to Hebrews 10:19-22, Jesus Christ is the Curtain which protects the Most Holy Place from any who might enter unworthily.

Revelation 14:10, “…he, too, will drink of the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.” (NIV)

We often don’t think of Jesus being present at the punishment of those in the lake of fire. But He will be, because He is the protector of God’s holiness. It is Jesus’ duty, to execute the wrath of God on all those who have rebelled against the God of the Universe.

According to Hebrews, the Son is the Curtain, guarding the Holiness of God from the Unholy, sinful Rebels on Earth. Jesus could not and would not let sinners defame God by approaching Him.

On the same note, it has always been God’s plan to redeem fallen humanity, but this could never be while Jesus was functioning as the divine Curtain, guarding God’s holiness. However, Jesus also knew the plan to redeem humanity.

The only way to bring the Unholy through the Curtain was to tear the Curtain. So, the Son willingly submitted to the Father crushing Him that sinners might pass through the Curtain to the Father.

Isaiah 53:10 says, “Yet it was the LORD’S will to crush him and cause him to suffer…”

The Father crushed the Son, because He willed to save sinners. The only way to save sinners was to tear and crush the Curtain, Jesus Christ, who was responsible to destroy sinners.

When Jesus Christ died on the cross, the curtain in the temple, which was a picture of Jesus, was torn from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51). This symbolized that the Father had crushed the Son, and made access to Himself through the true Curtain, Jesus Christ.

Jesus, the Son, willingly submitted to the Father’s crushing Him, because it is Jesus responsibility to carry out the will of God. Because it was the will of God to save sinners, Jesus submitted to being torn and crushed.

In Matthew 26:39, Jesus says, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (NIV).

Look at Acts 2:23, “This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge…” (NIV)

It is Jesus responsibility to magnify and glorify God the Father at any cost. It glorified God most to redeem man. Jesus had to be crushed to redeem man. Thus, Jesus willingly gave Himself to be crushed and torn, so that we could be made Holy and draw near to God which is what glorifies God most, which is what Jesus is responsible to do!

Now Jesus defends us with the same passion that He defends the Father’s holiness and punishes His enemies. We are of heavenly interest to the Father, and thus we have complete confidence that the Son will defend us from every enemy of God’s holiness!

The Curtain now covers us, protecting us from the unholy. And we are also priests according to 1 Peter 2, charged with defending the glory and holiness of our God to the world.

In addition to what Jesus has done for us, the Holy Spirit goes on to tell us reason two of why we can draw near to God.

REASON # 2:

We can draw near to God in confidence because of Who Jesus is for Us!

The text says:

“…and since we have a great priest over the house of God…”

The Holy Spirit devotes a vast part of the book of Hebrews demonstrating that Jesus Christ is our High Priest. This role of Jesus as our High Priest is of overwhelming significance!

Examine Exodus 28:36, “Make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal: HOLY TO THE LORD. Fasten a blue cord to it to attach it to the turban; it is to be on the front of the turban. It will be on Aaron's forehead, and he will bear the guilt involved in the sacred gifts the Israelites consecrate, whatever their gifts may be. It will be on Aaron's forehead continually so that they will be acceptable to the LORD.” (NIV)

Again, this is a picture of Jesus Christ, our true High Priest.

What this passage says is, the High Priest was responsible before God for the gifts the Israelites offered to God. God charged Aaron with ensuring the offerings of the Israelites were acceptable.

Aaron could certainly ensure that these gifts were “acceptable” in outward appearance. However, there is no way, a mere man could make the hearts of the Israelites acceptable to God. In the same way, there is no way a mere animal sacrifice could save a person.

Because Jesus is greater than the Priests in the line of Aaron, because Jesus is our High Priest, we are demanded to draw near to God! Because Jesus Christ is our High Priest, He and not you or me, is responsible to make us acceptable to God. If left to ourselves, even as Christians, the best we could ever earn is a place in Hell!

Look at Hebrews 10:12-14, “But when this priest [Jesus] had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” (NIV)

The reason we can confidently approach God is because our High Priest, Jesus Christ, God the Son, is waiting in the presence of God for us. He is calling us to join Him before the Throne of God. We will never face God without Jesus Christ, our righteousness, at our side!

Colossians 3:1-3, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” (NIV).

1 Corinthians 1:30, “It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God – that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.” (NIV).

Because Jesus is our High Priest, God looks to Jesus to make us acceptable. With the acceptance that God accepts Jesus, so God accepts you and me!

This is how God looks at and accepts His children! So, how should we view ourselves? That being asked, how should we view our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ? We would be far less critical and judgmental of ourselves and each other if we chose to look at ourselves and other Christians as God sees us. When God looks at us, He sees Christ’s merit, righeousness, and holiness – He sees Christ!

On our best day, we are never more able to draw near to God than on our very worst day as a Christian. Because when God looks at us, He sees Jesus Christ, our High Priest. When we are tempted to stay a far from God, we must remember that He wants us to draw near…He gave His very Son’s life so we could draw near.

Because Jesus Christ is our High Priest, at this very moment, He defends us. Hebrews 7:25 says, “Therefore, he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” (NIV)

1 John 1:8-2:2 states, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” (NIV).

Right now, as Satan and everything else accuse us and suggest condemnation, Jesus Christ is defending us before the Father!

I know that you and I would ever make the claim that Jesus Christ is not acceptable to God. But when God’s people live as though they themselves are not acceptable to God, they are telling God and the World, “My sin is a greater debt than Jesus Righteousness can pay!”

We declare by our actions that Jesus Christ is not worthy, when you and I act as if we are not worthy to draw near to God.

The Father accepts us as He accepts Christ. So, if it is true that the Father does not accept us, He does not accept Christ! Praise God, that this is not true, and that He DOES, IN FACT, ACCEPT Christ and Us!

We must put an end to this false teaching that is killing the church! We must preach the gospel to our souls and draw near to God in Christ Jesus’ righteousness. We must remember that when God sees us, He sees our High Priest, Jesus Christ. This is what God says of Jesus Christ. “This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17 NIV).

So often we are confused in regards to pleasing God. You and I cannot be any more or less pleasing to God than Jesus Christ is. WE ARE PLEASING TO GOD! Because when God looks at us, He sees Christ, this verse applies to you and me! “You are my Child, whom I love; with You I am well pleased!”

Our actions may or may not please God, but You and I are pleasing to the Father. Our actions will never please God, until We recognize that We are indeed pleasing to God, because of Jesus Christ!

When sin and Satan and self try to distract us with ourselves, look to Jesus Christ, our High Priest. He is responsible to make us acceptable to God, and He will certainly do it! We look to Him our Victorious Champion to rescue us!

Philippians 1:6 says, “...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (NIV).

Our High Priest is in the presence of God, beckoning us to draw near through Him, because of all that He is for Us! Now the Holy Spirit shows us how to draw near to God in Hebrews 10:22.

Draw Near To God

“…let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith…”

We must combat and destroy the sin of Avoiding and Neglecting God by drawing near to Him! What an insult to the work of God in Christ for us to persist in doubting God’s provision and the worth of His Son Jesus Christ, by refusing or simply neglecting to draw near to Him.

Drawing near to God does not mean attending church. Drawing near to God does not mean participating in empty Spiritual Pilgrimages. These words, “Let Us Draw Near” mean a Spiritual Movement. It does not mean that we should move our physical bodies, but rather our immaterial spirits must draw near to God!

The problem with many Christians is that we go to church. We are involved with ministry. We are doing God’s work. And all the while our hearts and spirits are failing to draw near to God. Remember this is a spiritual drawing near.

The verb also indicates a “continual” drawing near to God and a “draw near to God NOW!” in the Greek. This is something you and I must never stop doing. I pray that now even as we hear these words, we would all draw near to God. We must do this, at this very movement! Ask God to help you draw near to Him as you read these words.

I pleads with you to DRAW NEAR TO GOD! Our Spiritual Life depends on it!

If you are a Believer, draw near to God spiritually or you will be very spiritually sick! Remember that God has attributed all God the Son’s righteousness to you!

If you do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I implore you to recognize that Jesus Christ’s righteousness is not attributed to you. You are not worthy to draw near to God, until you call out to Him, begging Him to save you and give you Jesus Christ’s righteousness.

When you have come to God and Christ’s righteousness has been given you, you too, are given the right to draw near to God and be among His people.

“Let us Draw Near” is subject to a certain condition in the Greek. Jesus Christ has met that condition for us. The condition was this: the unholy had to be made holy, before we could come to God. Because of the work of Jesus Christ and His role as our High Priest, we are assured the confidence to draw near to the throne of God.

If we only realized the significance of this, would we pray more? Would we read our Bibles more? Would we memorize more Scripture? Would we fast? Would we risk everything for the sake of Jesus Christ? Would the Holy Spirit change the world through us? How much do we miss out on because we fail to draw near as we should because we’re worried about having to meet the condition ourselves, when Jesus has already met it?

Now what is the gospel…really? We were far off and Jesus brought us near! Look at 1 Peter 3:18, “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God…” (NIV)

Acts 2:39 says, “The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.” (NIV)

The gospel of Jesus Christ is this, “God the Son, Jesus Christ, brings us to God and KEEPS us there!”

The Holy Spirit now even gives us the third reason of why we can draw near to God.

REASON #3:

We can draw near to God because of What Christ Did in Us!

“…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.” (NIV)

The tense of these words, “having our hearts sprinkled” and “having our bodies washed” indicate an action that took place in the past with results continuing to the present. Because Christ has sprinkled us with His blood and washed us with His pure water, we may draw near to God.

So when everything around us screams, “GUILTY! UNWORTHY!”, when our own consciences condemn us, we must preach the gospel to our souls.

We must not reserve the gospel for the lost only and keep it on a shelf waiting for a chance to share it. You and I must preach the Glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ to our souls every day! For it is only through the truth of this gospel that we may draw near to God!

So I ask us all, “How well do we know this Gospel?”

Romans 1:16 states, “…[the gospel] is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes…” (NIV)

This is a salvation to bring sinners to God, and also to keep sinners, like you and me, in the presence of our God!

We must declare the gospel that in Jesus Christ we are worthy to draw near to God, because of what Christ has done for us, because of Who Christ is for us, and because of what Christ has done in us.

When our thoughts whisper to us, “You really messed up this time! Just stay away from God a little bit, and show Him your remorse”, even though they seem religious and pious, CUT those evil thoughts down with the sword of the Spirit!

You know, in my own life, I am tempted to not read the Bible or pray because my feelings tell me I am unworthy. I also struggle believing I can sing and worship God until I have dealt with every little sin. I fail to realize that Christ already has dealt with all my sin!

I think that others also struggle with this. Some of you may feel you are not worthy to serve God. You may think, He does not want your service. The truth is, the Father does want your service.

Luke 1:74 states that Jesus was sent:

“…to rescue us from the hand of our enemies and to enable us to serve him [the Father] without fear…” NIV

So when Satan, and Self, and everything else tell us we are condemned, remember What Jesus Christ has done for us, Who He Is for Us, and what He has done In Us!

Our consciences and feelings of guilt are meant to push us to God not keep us away from Him. When tempted to seek ways of dealing with our sin like those people in the British Isles who invented “Sin Eating”, remember this:

We already have a Sin Eater, who has eaten and absorbed everyone of our sins, so that we can draw near to God, despite everything else telling us we are unworthy!

You are worthy, because when God looks at you and me, He only sees Christ!

If we do not embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ and draw near to God in this deployment, we will have wasted it!

~ ~ ~ ~

Dear Heavenly Father,

I pray for my Christian brothers and sisters that through out the rest of our lives, we would draw near to You, through the power of the gospel!

That is our greatest need and desire! Fulfill this in us. May Your Spirit glorify Christ in us as we embrace the gospel by drawing near to You.

Help us to pray and approach Your throne, through Christ’s righteousness. We are weak, but we have a Mighty Savior!

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen!