A City Prepared For You Hebrews Chapter 13: Part 3

7 January, 2022

Hebrews 13:9
“Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. 
Certain strange teachings have a way of  carrying people away. Wrong teachings can even drag away people who stood very strongly in the faith. People who have great healing testimonies have turned away from the right way by hearing wrong doctrines from various sources. The main purpose of a wrong teaching is to somehow turn away a person from the right one. Sometimes when we hear wrong doctrine we think it is fine or harmless to listen to it once in a while. However, it can slowly lead you away from God or the Truth completely. The primary reason for writing the epistle of Hebrews is to exhort the people to remain in the Truth.
Looking at Christianity today, we see so many different teachings. For a person that is not rooted in the word, they can easily get entangled in this and be dragged away from the truth. 
Ephesians 4:14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.
Paul, the Apostle also writes that God has given us a five fold ministry of  the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up. (v11,12)
Hebrews 13.10 It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do so.”
The foundation of the New Testament is “grace” of God and not on any rituals or works.
The Apostle John therefore says in  1 John 3.1, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! 
Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God
Hebrews 13:11-14
The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.
Here we say many rituals in the Old Testament. We see that there is a different Holy Place that is there for us.
1 Corinthians 1:18-21 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.For it is written:“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.
The Cross of Christ is a Holy Place. Some of us think that the cross is a sign of weakness where Jesus died. But we know that the cross is really where we all get our strength from. Some  try to understand God with their small minds and imperfect logic. However, we cannot comprehend the greatness of God and thus only with faith can we see God.
Romans 10:9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Jesus suffered the cross outside the Jerusalem city wall. Now, we can visit Golgotha, the place where He suffered. The same way Jesus facing disgrace was not accepted in the city, we will also bear persecution/ disgrace and dishonour for following Jesus. The present Jerusalem and the new Jerusalem is a City, not a village. For God’s children, He is building an eternal heavenly city that will never be destroyed. We are looking forward to this City whose builder is God.
Hebrews 13:15-16
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
Praising God is  a New Testament sacrifice. Doing good and sharing with others is a sacrifice that pleases God. This talks about practical Christian life and how we must live each day in a way that is pleasing to God and how He has intended it.

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