Thursday 3 May 2018

May 3: Hebrews 6:1-8

Key Verse: Hebrews 6:1
Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God…

Devotion:
I do love learning more about God, more about what is written in the scriptures and more about what is to come; to me, it is a never ending journey as I grow each day in Christ. This letter to the Hebrews is an instruction to the people to get them to move on from the basics and get to know Christ in a more personal and life-changing way. We all get to pass on the knowledge of the beginning of our Christian walk, but we also need to be willing to continue that journey with those around us.

The foundations of Christianity are very important, because, without them, our discussions and decisions will most likely fall apart as people try them and disagree with us; but with solid foundations we stand firm in God’s Word and we move forward with Him and the Holy Spirit. One thing we need to recognise first of all is the statement in the middle of this section. It does not say that a back-slider will never be able to come back to God! It says the act of forgiveness or original act of repentance should never have to be revisited and cannot, hand-on-heart, be redone.

If we do believe that Christ has forgiven us for our sins, then that forgiveness is permanent. If we go off and taste the world again then we need to come back and say we are sorry for walking away from Christ and not to beg for the forgiveness as if starting again. If we do that we are effectively re-crucifying Christ! When Christ said the words “it is finished” He did not mean to come back to do this all again just because you want it. He meant it is finished, once and for all.

I thank God I did not have to ask Him to go back on the cross every time I walked away from Him. I thank God He has done everything that needed to be done so I can have forgiveness – just as you can/have. When we want to grow further with God we need to continue receiving from Him; that does not mean receiving the original forgiveness over and over again but receiving our daily bread and growing in faith as we realise just how much He loves us!

Points to Ponder:
Have you asked Christ to forgive your sins?

Will you now aim to move into a deeper relationship with Him?