Better, Better, Better

"He (Jesus) sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself." Hebrews 7:27 (NIV)

Our weekly women's Bible study continued this week with a look at Hebrews 4, 5 and 7. Dr. Frank Barker, founder and Pastor Emeritus of Briarwood Presbyterian Church (PCA), writes, "Hebrews is the most theological book in the Bible. In my opinion, it is the most helpful book we have for putting together the Old and New Testaments."

To be honest, we were actually knee deep in Old Testament theology and most of us were more than a little confused. The author's purpose for writing his letter to the early Hebrew Christians was to convince them that Jesus is better, better, better. Thirteen times the unknown author of Hebrews says that Jesus is better than something. He's better than the Judaism that they left as a religion. Jesus is better than Old Testament rituals and animal sacrifices; better than Moses and Melchizadek; better than old covenants and commandments. Jesus is better, not because He abolishes all of the Old Testament laws and promises of God. Jesus is better because He fulfills them. All of the Old Testament laws, covenants, and sacrifices point to our need for a Savior. And Christ fulfilled that role when He lived a sinless life, died on the cross, rose from the dead, and lives forever. He is not only our Ultimate High Priest, but also the perfect holy, spotless sacrifice as the Lamb of God.

It's pretty easy for us to understand the better, better, better aspect of Jesus. Most of us embrace the Hebrews' author's words that Jesus provides us access to God; an Advocate who intercedes for us; and an anchor for for our hope. Most of us, however, will struggle with exactly why Jesus had to die for us. We don't like the notion that we can't save ourselves. 

Most of the civilized world has been shocked, angered, and outraged at the radical Islamic group ISIS' barbarism in caging and burning alive a 26 year old Jordanian pilot who was captured by ISIS when his plane went down. I haven't watched the ISIS video, but I've seen enough still shots to recognize the depravity, savagery, and radicalism that it represents. The brutal murder was retribution and "justice" for the Muslim's pilot of bombing ISIS held territory. Following the execution, ISIS used bulldozers to dump bomb rubble onto the pilot's charred remains, sending a clear message that other opposition forces face the same fate if not worse.

Now imagine a very different scene. Instead of cheering on the burning flames, jeering at the caged prisoner, and celebrating the ISIS depravity some jihadist from ISIS suddenly put down his rifle, removed his hood, stepped into the arena and said, "Look, I know the pilot is guilty as charged and deserves death, but let me take his place. Let me be caged, beaten to a pulp, doused in gasoline, and burned alive. Let him return to his life and let me take his punishment and death." That would have been a very different video and a radical message indeed.

But that is exactly what Jesus did for us. He fulfilled God's demand for justice while fulfilling His law of love. God's justice and love intersect on the cross of Jesus.

There are lots of mysteries in the Bible that we may never understand, but there are plenty that we can. Most of our trouble comes, not from a lack of knowledge, but a failure to obey that which we do know. Spiritual maturity occurs when we take God at His Word, put it to work in our lives through prayer and practice, and grow in holiness so that we become more like Christ. We aren't looking for perfection, but we are looking for progress!

So what kind of progress are we making in our spiritual growth? Are we studying God's word? Are we dealing with sin in our lives? Do we have an assurance of our salvation? Are we diligent or slothful, committed or complacent? Are we fruitful and useful in God's Kingdom?

May all of us know, grow, and show God's Word in our lives.