Fruits of the Spirit in Everyday LifeÀpẹrẹ

Faithful Because of God's FAITHFULNESS

Read Hebrews chapter 10 verses 19-39

Therefore, brothers and sisters, 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 and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 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? For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. 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. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.

You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For,

“In just a little while,
he who is coming will come
and will not delay.”

And,

“But my righteous one will live by faith.
And I take no pleasure
in the one who shrinks back.”

But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.

Reflection:
One highlight of my family’s camping trip this past summer was paddleboarding on a lake with my 15-year-old daughter Grace and 10-year-old son Jack. Being much more agile than I, they took turns on the board with Mom on it – me sitting at the back while each of them took the lead. Once I felt steadier and able to stand up on the board, I took a turn by myself. As I focused on the beautiful gift of God’s creation around me, I was able to glide along with confidence toward the lake’s edge with patches of lily pads and wildflowers and a flock of geese in view. The writer of Hebrews calls us to “hold unswervingly to the hope we profess,” like standing up and paddling straight ahead on the lake. We are only able to do this because He “who promised is faithful.” We stand in what He has done for us.

The first part of this passage from Hebrews 10 grounds our faith in God’s amazing faithfulness, which is seen in the ultimate fulfilling of all His promises to His people through the work of Christ. Through Christ’s sacrifice “a new and living way opened for us,” so that we can have access to God the Father. Christ became our Great High Priest and washed and cleansed us from our guilt and sin once and for all. In Christ, we can stand in confidence before the throne.

In the rest of this passage, the writer of Hebrews exhorts us to respond to God’s faithfulness with faith, made possible through Christ. In Christ, we can “draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings.” Living by faith means not only holding on to hope for ourselves, but encouraging one another, “spurring one another on to love and good deeds,” and meeting together as the community of faith, like my kids helping me to have confidence to stand up on that paddleboard. We will of course continue to slip and fall, but faithfulness means not deliberately continuing in sin and therefore treating with contempt what Christ has done for us – a very serious offense; it also means enduring suffering, persevering in whatever may come, and not shrinking back.

As we live in the Spirit, gliding on the lake of His gifts to us, this fruit of faithfulness grows in us. May we grow in faith together, cheering each other on in Christ!

Focus verse for prayerful reflection:
“Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” (Hebrews 10 verse 22)

1. Take some time in prayerful reflection on this verse. Consider if there is anything that might be blocking you right now from drawing nearer to God.
2. Ask God for assurance of your own cleansing from sin and guilt, imagining Him washing you head to toe. Consider what it might mean to have a sincere heart and ask the Spirit to grow that in you as you come nearer to God.