Pastor's Article Jan. 15, 2023

Newsletter Article
For: January 15, 2023
The Book of Hebrews was written to Jewish believers who had stepped away from Judaism into Christianity but were having trouble adjusting to life by grace. Think about the adjustment of their life, they had been raised under the laws of Judaism and now were told that their hope of eternity was in the finished work of Jesus, not the law, the sacrifices, the priest, or religious practices. Change is hard to accept and understand even when it is good change. I would like to think that this is something that people no longer experience but that would be the wrong assumption. Many people are taught that to go to heaven they must try harder, be a good person, go to church, and give alms. Why it is important to do all these things, this is not the way to heaven. Jesus is the way, He is the truth and the life, without Him there is no hope of heaven or of a good life here. We live under a new covenant called the Dispensation of Grace, meaning that our only hope is salvation through the grace of God. We are saved by grace through faith not of our works. Understand what the Jewish people had to come to terms with, no amount of good works was sufficient to make you good enough to be right with God, because just one sin makes you a sinner unworthy of heaven. The Gift of God was His Son who died to pay for our sin and was resurrected from the dead to sit on the right hand of God as our High Priest making intercession for us. Don’t stumble over the gift of God’s grace, receive it and rest in His finished work.
Pastor, Rev. Wayne Marcus