New Testament · Letters

Hebrews chapter 10

The law was just a of the good things coming — not the reality itself. That’s why the same repeated year after year could never make the people who approach God completely .If those sacrifices had actually worked, wouldn’t people have stopped offering them? Once truly , they wouldn’t still feel the weight of their .Instead, those sacrifices were an annual of failures —because it’s impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to actually failures.That’s why, when came into the world, he said: “You didn’t want sacrifices and offerings — instead, you prepared a for me.Burnt offerings and gave you no pleasure.Then I said, ‘Here I am — it’s written about me in the — I’ve come to do what you want, God.’”First he said, “You didn’t want sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and failure offerings — they gave you no pleasure” — even though the law required them.Then he said, “Here I am — I’ve come to do what you want.” He the first system to establish the second.And because of that decision — God’s will — we have been through the offering of the body of Jesus, The One, .Every stands day after day performing his duties, offering the same sacrifices over and over — sacrifices that can never take away failures.But this man offered one sacrifice for failures and then at God’s — permanently.Since then, he’s been waiting for his enemies to be made his .Because with one offering, he has those who are . also confirms this to us. First he says:“This is the I will make with them after those days, says : I will put my instructions in their hearts and write them on their minds.”“Then he adds: Their and their — I will never think about again.”And where these have been , there’s no longer any need for an offering to cover failures.So brothers and sisters, since we can now through the blood of Jesus,through the way he opened for us through the (that is, through his body) —and since we have a over —let’s approach with sincere hearts and absolute confidence in our , with our hearts from a guilty conscience, and our bodies washed with clean water.Let’s hold on to the we’ve declared without wavering, because the one who made the promise can be trusted completely.And let’s figure out how to each other toward love and good action —not giving up on , like some have gotten into the habit of doing, but encouraging each other — and all the more as you see approaching.Because if we keep on failing after we’ve received the , there is no sacrifice left for failures —only a terrifying expectation of and a blazing fire that will consume the opposition.Anyone who rejected the was put to death without mercy based on the testimony of two or three witnesses.How much worse do you think the punishment will be for someone who has the , treated as worthless the that made them whole, and insulted ?We know the one who said, “Justice is mine — I will ,” and again, “Yahweh will judge his people.”It’s a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the .But remember the earlier days when, after you first , you endured an intense with suffering.Sometimes you were and attacked. Other times you with others who were going through the same thing.You suffered alongside , and you accepted the seizure of your possessions with joy, because you knew you had .So don’t throw away your — it comes with a .You need , so that after you’ve done what God wants, you’ll receive what he promised.Because in just a little while, will come and won’t delay.“My will live by . But if he , I take no pleasure in him.”But we are not the kind of people who and are . We are people of , and our lives are being .