Hebrews 10:14 - Being Made Holy.
Hebrews 10:14 (NIV) For by one sacrifice he
has made perfect forever those who are being
made holy.
COMMENTARY PEARL
Since I am always chasing perfection, I
key in on verses like this one that were
discussing in Sunday school. I begin to imagine myself
with no blemishes, no cellulite, and good hair.
In my magazinecover daydream, I am a Pulitzer
Prizewinner/ supermodel/ worldclass pianist who never
yells at her kids and never fights with her
husband. I always make my parents happy. Students beg
to be in my classes. Im not afraid of
anything, and I have no regrets.
Of course, this is not what the writer
was talking about, the Sunday school teacher
reminds us. What a buzzkill. The Hebrew word for
perfect is more like complete. We are made
complete in Him. So, whatever is lacking in us is
provided in Jesus. We live in wholeness, not
scarcity, not living a partial life. I begin to wrap
my head around this when I notice the last part
of the verse. Were being made holy.
My goal is perfection. Its how were
graded in school; the goal is 100 percent. Doctors
and charts tell us our optimum weight. Judges at
music competitions give us superior ratings
when we get everything right. Theres only one
winner in a spelling bee - the one who never misses
a word. One team gets the state-championship
trophy. Its the way the world works.
But its not how Jesus works. His goal
for us is not perfection. Its growth. First,
He makes us complete; thats a onetime thing
that happened on the cross and is good forever.
Then our life is a process of being made holy.
Not working for holiness, not reaching
perfection. Being made. By the work He does in us day by
day. by Gwen Ford Faulkenberry
Faith Step: Commit Colossians 2:9-10 to
memory. Its light for your every step. [Mornings
With Jesus 2020 Devotional by Guideposts and
Zondervan]
COMMENTARY
The Old Testament priest always stood as
he ministered. The fact that Jesus sat down
after He offered Himself as a sacrifice indicates
that His work was done. There were no more
sacrifices to offer. Jesus made perfect forever
those who are being made holy.
Through Christs death you and I have
been perfected. And we are being made holy. We
are in the process of becoming what we are.
This is an exciting truth. You can pick
up an acorn, hold it in your hand, and know for
sure that if it is planted a mighty oak will
grow. That acorn wont become a reed, or a stalk
of corn, or a geranium. It will become an oak,
for though it looks very different from a mature
tree, it is an oak, and in time will become one.
You and I may look very different from
Jesus today. Yet God has placed Christs own
nature in us. We are Christian now, and in time we
will be Christian. We are holy now, and in time
we will be holy.
Some fat folks post pictures of
themselves on the refrigerator, to remind themselves of
how they look. It usually just makes them feel
bad, and doesnt help at all. How much better
Gods way is. He posts His portrait of the ideal
you in your heart, and tells you to act like the
person you are. As we act in harmony with the
vision of our ideal self, that is what you and I
become.
Never let yourself be discouraged about
the slowness of your spiritual growth. God sees
you perfected, standing in His presence with a
character like that of His own Son. This is who you
are"and it is who you most certainly will become.
No wonder the passage says that those
He has made perfect forever are even now
being made holy. [The 365-Day Devotional
Commentary]
ILLUSTRATION
Redeemed Life, Redeemed Name
During Jesuss earthly ministry, people
identified him as Jesus, the son of David. The angel
Gabriel announced to Mary, You will conceive and
give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.
He will be very great and will be called the
Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him
the throne of his ancestor David (Luke
1:31"32 NLT).
And Bartimaeus, who was blind, called out
to Jesus, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on
me! (Mark 10:47 NLT). David not only was part of
Jesuss family tree, but he also was the most
important member of it (other than Jesus Himself).
The Bible dedicates a lot of ink to
Davids life and exploits. Hes uniquely called
a man after [Gods] own heart (1 Samuel
13:14 NLT). God plucked him out of obscurity and
directed the prophet Samuel to anoint him to replace
the wicked King Saul.
David was the greatest of all of the
kings of Israel. We know about his victories,
including the defeat of Goliath, a massive giant of a
man.
We also know about his horrible failure
with Bathsheba, identified in Matthews
genealogy as the wife of Uriah (see 1:6 NKJV). David
committed adultery with Bathsheba, and he tried to
cover it up. That didnt work, and so he
effectively had Bathshebas husband killed in battle.
You could sum up David's name with two
other names: Goliath (his greatest victory) and
Bathsheba (his worst defeat). Yet David makes it into
the most exclusive genealogy in all of human
history.
Even after all the mistakes David made,
he was part of this exclusive genealogy. Talk
about the redemption of a life and a name. God
redeemed David despite his shortcomings.
In the same way, God can redeem your
life. And He can redeem your name as well. [Greg
Laurie from Harvest Ministries;
https://www.harvestdaily.com] re Luke 1:32
CLOSING THOUGHT
A Friend Is Waiting
Hebrews 10:12 says, After he had
offered one sacrifice for sins forever, [he] sat
down at the right hand of God. Of course Jesus
sat down. All that needed to be done had been
done. Why dont you receive this great miracle
of mercy? Let the grace of God flow over you
like a cleansing cascade, flushing out all dregs
of guilt and shame. Friend, nothing separates
you from God. Your conscience may accuse you,
but God accepts you. Others may dredge up your
past, but God doesnt. As far as he is
concerned, the work is once-and-for-all-time finished.
Keep running the race. And, as you run,
be assured a friend is waiting for you at the
finish line. When you cross it, hell catch you
in his arms. Dont be surprised if he says
again what he said then: It is finished.
Remember, friend, you are never alone. [Max Lucado
Daily Devotional at maxlucado.com]
LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY
John 17:17 - Sanctification, What Does It
Mean? (updated)
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2011/20110602-1031.html
John 17:17 - Holiness from God's Word.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2020/20201007-1438.html
1 Corinthians 2:14 - Spiritual Discernment
So Vital.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2020/20201030-1146.html
YOUR COMMENTS
If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in
hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred
Gibbs
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
https://abible.com/links/
