The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"Possession and Profession"
The writer of Hebrews calls born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ to "hold fast our profession" of the Lord Jesus Christ because He holds fast our possession of His saving grace (Hebrews 4:14; emphasis added).
"We are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all… For by one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified" (Hebrews 10:10; 14).
What we do as Christians always proceeds from what Christ has done, is doing, and promises to do forevermore. We live from His salvation rather than for it. Our role involves knowledge and response to the truth. Indeed, the Holy Spirit lives in us, the Lord Jesus perfectly serves His role as our intercessor, the Bible shines upon us as a light and a lamp, fellow believers serve as examples and encouragement, and we can - and do - have every advantage. Still, we can live as if we do not possess "all things that pertain to life and godliness" (II Peter 1:3). We can fail to profess that which we possess, and thus fail to practice according to the infinitely dynamic enabling God has provided through the saving grace of the Lord Jesus. "But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements?" (Galatians 4:9).
The commands of the New Testament serve as clear confirmation of the truth we consider. They would not exist if it were inevitable that believers walk in faith and faithfulness. Despite all our advantages as believers - including primarily the indwelling presence of the living God - we must nevertheless be illuminated, encouraged, and challenged to "walk in the Spirit" even as we "live in the Spirit" (Galatians 5:25). A careful reading of the epistles reveals some Christians confirmed as genuine believers, but who walked as if they did not possess the "all things" of "life and godliness" (see I Corinthians, for example). No greater tragedy can be contemplated. Indeed, the Lord Jesus was "crucified through weakness" to make possible the presence of His strength in our spirits that empowers a life far beyond our mere human capabilities (II Corinthians 13:4). "Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might" (Ephesians 6:10). Failure to avail ourselves of such grace constitutes a neglect all the more tragic because of the price paid to make possible the life God calls us to live. "He did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief" (Matthew 13:58).
Writing these words is, of course, deeply convicting. Perhaps you feel the same in reading them. No believer fully avails himself of "the power that worketh in us" (Ephesians 3:20). We must therefore begin or proceed from where we are. Repentance, if necessary, and continuance and growth if we have been availing ourselves of God's grace, constitute this moment as the next step of our profession aligning with our possession. The Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit fulfill their role perfectly. We can fulfill ours better and more faithfully as we affirm the old axiom: "Christians live not for victory, but from victory, the triumph of the risen Christ." Yes, the more we discover who the Lord Jesus is, what He has done, what He is doing, and what He promises to do, the more we will walk in the light of a salvation far more present and effectual than any challenge we will ever face.
"Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh, and having an high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering (for He is faithful that promised), and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works."
(Hebrews 10:19-24)
Weekly Memory Verse
What hast thou that thou didst not receive?
(I Corinthians 4:7)
7274
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