'Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever. Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. 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. We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat.
'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.
'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.' (Hebrews 13.8-16, NIV)
I believe in the authority and power of the Word of God; all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. Today the Church is divided between those who uphold Scripture and those who want to accommodate secular opinion and attitudes; but the Bible is very clear in the book of Revelation, we cannot add or remove anything in Scripture, (22.18, NIV).
Hebrews 13 opens up with simple instructions for living a godly life, but then in verse 5, we are reminded that the Lord is our helper. Salvation is by faith in Christ. The book of Hebrews explains the differences between the old traditions, the Old Testament, and the New Testament, in which Christ fulfils all the requirements of the law. Sin ruled the world because of the actions of Adam, but Christ as the second Adam, brought salvation for all those who will believe in Him, (1 Corinthians 15.22). We are saved by grace through faith.
It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, (v9): So much of the traditional church today is based upon the ritual and ceremony found in the Old Testament. But we are instructed to follow the faith of those who speak the Word of God over us; this puts an awesome responsibility for those of us who are teachers and preachers of the Bible, to instruct those listening to us, to obey the full teachings of Christ. It is only by following the Word of God, that we will not be attracted by ‘strange teachings’, (v9).
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, (v12-13): Let us follow Christ ‘outside the camp’, which means outside organised formal religion: we are all kings and priests of God, (1 Peter 2.9), with the Holy Spirit as our teacher, (John 16.13, Hebrews 1.1-2, Hebrews 8.10-11). Under the new covenant, God’s law is inside us. It is no longer an external set of rules and principles. Now, the Holy Spirit reminds us of Christ’s words, and directs our conscience, so that doing God’s will becomes something we desire. ‘For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil His good purpose, (Philippians 2.13, NIV).
I want to encourage you to be faithful to the Lord. The Church is so divided over the authority of the Bible. Christ came to destroy the works of the devil; Christ gives us freedom from the law and a perfect salvation.
Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. (Hebrews 13.20-21, NIV)