Paula Price

Perseverance is hard sometimes because we are not fighting against flesh and blood but against evil spirits, the devil is looking for the weak of us to turn us from God and follow him. We are flesh and blood and subject to fall short in our weakness if we are not careful. We live in a world that is full of sin and we need to guard ourselves against it. It is important to keep the faith if we want the promises of the Father that He has for those who are faithful. It is important to strengthen our faith by sharing our experiences and joining together in fellowship with each other to encourage and lift each other up. We should pray for each other and worship together because that bonds us and help make us stronger. That is what we are commanded to do. We should attend prayer meetings, and worship services, and any gathering of saints to learn more of what is expected in our faith and to build up the name of Jesus to draw closer to him. We should encourage ourselves daily and each other when possible in the Lord.

The second element is just as important has our belief because it is what is asked of us or commanded of us as believers to do. When we believe, we should want to learn more of what he requires because that is how we enter into the kingdom and that is the goal, right? to see God and be with him forever? Well, He has commanded us to seek him and to ask of him and to let him in when he knocks.(Matthews) We are to do his will just as he was to do the father's will. If we say we believe then we should want to trust and obey for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus. That is the word and we must walk in his word and do his will. Jesus always did the will of the Father, and we must do the same. He promised us a reward and if we believe we, will receive! He said it and God can not lie! He is a promise keeper! It makes a difference and the difference is eternal life, for if we do not believe we will not receive, God said so.... And why would we not want to believe??? We are not only to believe, but to obey his commandments and do his will. That is what He said for us to do and when we do, we will be rewarded... Don't we expect for our children to obey us??? Isn't there a consequence when they don't??? We are the children of God. He has commanded us to trust and obey and to walk in his word and do his will in order to receive our reward. I'm just trying to get to heaven..... to be with the Father... I am going to do whatever is required and thank Him for mercy and grace which covers me when I'm weak and fall short... Thank You Lord....Thank You Jesus!!!! I praise your Holy name!!!!

Faith is the belief of something. In the beginning was God. God did not believe He was. He IS. God Is. I believe that He is. I have faith, belief in Him who Is. He said it, He showed it, I see it in everything. I feel him in spirit, in my mind, my body, my soul. The reason people do not believe is lack of knowledge or lack of confidence or uncertainty, in themselves,...for many reasons but mostly is because they have not being taught from childhood. Every culture on this earth passes down from generation to generation, a faith, a belief, a way of life. Whether they understand it physically or not, they believe because it was instilled in them by parents or traditions. Then we have those who are so full of themselves, the "me me", it's all about "me" , we refuse to see anything else. But I guess that is a faith in it self? So faith is a belief in something. Even a person who does not believe in God, has faith? He believes that there is no God? faith?

The motivation I use to stay focused and to keep going and to hold on and not give up through trails and temptation and persecution is Jesus. When I read about his trial and beating and his crucifixtion, his walk with his cross up to calvary's hill, the physical pain he endured so that I might have the gift of eternal life, nothing I go through compares to his suffering! How can I complain of anything??? I like to remind others of this when I grumble and when they grumble about anything. What makes us think that we are better than Him , not to have to go through suffering and pain? It is a given that we will. But He has promised us a way to overcome and a reward when we achieve as long as we put our trust in him and call upon his name. it is not our will but God's will that we are doing and he gives us everything we need to accomplish our goal. he supplies our every need if we just call upon his name and keep the faith. .I know our flesh is weak and we are so easily tempted, but so was Jesus. That was why he came in the flesh to show us that it can be done and how to do it. Jesus prayed continually and never did anything without talking to His father. Even in the garden he ask the cup to be passed from him but said not my will but thine be done. His weak flesh and feeble mind was strengthened by the angels God sent to aid him. I don't have the many scriptures I have read to prove this but I know that He said He would never leave us or forsake us. I know you know them and have read them also. ( I am still praying that he will bring to my memory to be able to quote them off the top of my head) I'm not there yet! working on it!!!). We are to gather together to pray and lift each other up, to encourage one another in the Lord. That is how we are strengthen will we become weak and disillusioned. We are to read and study the word together to help us in hard times. When you feel weak and you feel you can't go on just think of Jesus being beaten beyond recognition and the flesh being ripped from his body as they whipped him all night long and him stumbling with his cross up the hill and the nails being pounded in his feet and hands and Him hanging there on that cross all day and the spear being stuck in his side and his body shutting down from the weight!!! And when we sin, we crucify him all over again! Nothing we go through compares to His suffering!! You motivate to keep the faith????

The author is speaking of apostasy which is the turning away from faith and God. This is different from sin of the flesh or weakness, unintentional sin. A person who willingly turns from God and will not accept him as the Savior, and continues to walk and live in sin, knowing that it is against God to do so, this is the unforgiveable sin that God will not tolerate. I use to misunderstand the phrase that God does not hear a sinner's prayer, until I begin studying the word in studies such as this. And now I try to explain to those who keep repeating this that it is not meant for the Christian who has accepted Jesus as their Savior and walking in the word and doing His will. We are covered by the blood of Christ and mercy and grace and when we sin and ask for forgiveness and turn from our sin He hears and forgives us. For those who refuse to accept Christ and do not believe and continually and deliberately sin, knowingly sin, there is no forgiveness.

We are to meet together to exalt and lift each other up, which will strengthen us in our walk with God. We are to help each other in doing good deeds which is what is expected of us. Our usual motivation is to please God and to worship him and do his will. We fall out of the habit of doing this for various reasons but I think mostly because there are things going on in our churches that are not Godly. People are trying to do their own will and not God's will during services. There are a lot of things that has been added to services, trying to include everyone, regardless as to whether they are walking in the word or not. There are so many opinions and different ways of doing things and everybody wanting to have it their way it causes a riff and division of members. We forget that we are suppose to be worshipping God and doing His will. Who wants to attend meetings with a angry mob??? We can help by presenting ourselves as sincere Christians with the heart of Christ and showing others the way to serve and worship with the sincere heart of pleasing God and doing what He has commanded us to do in his word. Not my will, but Thy will, o Lord, be done. We were created to worship God and to do his will. "Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every word into judgment with every secret thing, whether it be good or evil".

In the old testament, the veil of the tabernacle separated the holy palace, from the most holiest place, where the ark of the covenant was which represented the throne of God. The significance of the veil being ripped during Christ's crucifixion is that we are no longer separated from God. it is a new, a living way, because it did not exist for us until Christ died on the cross, making it new now and Christ being a living Savior interceding for us at the right hand of God, the father. We don't have the slay the lamb any more! We don't have to put no more blood over the door! Someone has taken the place of the lamb his name is Jesus, the GREAT I AM!

God never intended for the blood of goats and animals to be the way of atonement for sins. It was only to prepare the way for the actual chosen one . He chose a people to instruct them on what would be required and how to obtain forgiveness of sins and to show and teach others by example. The old prophets spoke of this Messiah who would come and bring man back to God. It is written in Isaiah and Jeremiah and all through the old testament. Jesus himself speaks and always quoted the old testament of his coming to redeem man from sin and back to God. He would be and is the only High Priest whose blood atones for sins! He is the lamb that was bruised and slayed as the sacrifice for man's sin. that is what God planned from the beginning when man disobeyed him in the garden of Eden. Now that Christ has died and is sitting on the right hand of God, he is the intercessor to God for us who seek forgiveness and walk in righteousness. Those who continued in the faith and kept the commandment of Moses will also be forgiven of their sins or rather are forgiven of their sins and will be judged accordingly as everyone will be on the day of judgement when Christ returns for his church. Their sins were washed in the blood of the lamb also! For that was the promise of God. If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sins, and heal their land.

Jesus is our mediator to be in the presence of God. There is only way to be redeemed backed to God from sin and that is through Jesus Christ. We must believe and confess our sins to him in order for God to hear and forgive because that is what is required by God. Jesus was born in flesh as a ransom for us to be forgiven of sin, so that we could be worthy to be with God. God will not allow sin to reign in his people for he is sinless and expects us to be sinless also. We are to be washed in the blood of the lamb (Christ) in order to receive external life with God the father. We are to live a life of holiness and free of sin in order to be worthy enough to serve him. We were made to worship God and we are to do that free of sin. God has made a way for us to do that, and that is through his only son, Jesus Christ. " For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believe on him shall have every lasting life. For God sent not his son to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved".

The blood of goat and bulls and the ashes of cows were sprinkled on the people who were unclean and this made their bodies clean again. This is symbolic of forgiveness of sins to be worthy to God. This was a physical cleansing of the body. This was the example to prepare us for the actual act of the perfect sacrifice which is Jesus, whose blood would be the one time atonement for our sins. He offered himself through the eternal spirit as a perfect sacrifice to God. His blood makes our conscience pure from useless acts so that our service is acceptable to God. God knows the heart of man and it is the heart that matters to God.

Redemption means atonement , to pay a ransom, to set free. We were redeemed from sin. Christ died and shed his blood so that we could be delivered from sin and made right to God. this redemption will last until He comes to return us to the Father, where we will be with him forever.

External sacrifices were for the physical body and just an example to teach us the way of what would be required by God. It was only to be used until a better way came which is Christ. a guilty conscience keeps us from intimacy with God because it is sinfully,. In order to have forgiveness from sin we must repent and have a pure and honest conscience and heart for God knows every secret thing of the heart and the mind. A pure heart and mind is necessary to come boldly to God. We must be sincere in our belief that He is a forgiver of our sins and we must live our lives with all intent and honesty not to practice sin.

The old law was just an example of what to do or what would be required to be forgiven of breaking the law. It was given to the people as a way of redeeming themselves back to God when they did something wrong that was not intentional. It was to show them what sin was and what God would and would not tolerate. It was to show them how to please God and be a teacher of this to others. The old law as well as the new law does not provide forgiveness for apostasy! God will not forgive those who practice sin. You can not serve two masters! In order to be forgiven of sin, you have to do what is required for that forgiveness and then do not sin again. Forgiveness is for those who are doing the will of God and sin is not God's will! Grace and mercy covers a sin that is not intentional or in a moment of weakness, but when we turn from that sin and ask for forgiveness with a sincere heart, and do not sin again, we are forgiven. Look how many times God forgave Israel!!. He will forgive us just as many, for he does not wish to see us perish. We were made to glory God! We were made to worship and adore and to praise Him ! To live according to His will and His purpose. And when we do that He will reward us and bless us! A sit in His kingdom to praise Him forevermore!

The old covenant failed because Israel or the people were not faithful to God and sinned. They did not keep the commandments that were given to them by God. they broke the covenant they had with God. So God turned away from them. ( God don't like ugly) God hates sin and will not abide in anyone who practices it. The promises of the new covenant is that it will be a better one and that it will be for all mankind, not just one people. It will be based on a better sacrifice, one of flesh and not of animal blood. One that will be made by a high priest not of earth and will able to redeem man from sin. This covenant will be written on the hearts of those who choose to follow and who will do the will of the Father. No one will have to be told by another what to do because it will be revealed through the Holy Spirit within the heart of the people. Once we accept Christ , he will forgive our sins and will remember them no more.

Jesus is our high priest, who is the mediator between man and God, to return us back to him. He is sinless and pure and the only one who qualifies to fill such a high position. He is greater than any earthly priest. The covenant that God made with Israel was only to last until a better one came, which was promised through the descendants of Abraham. Jesus was born and died on the cross to redeem man from sin, back to God the father. God speaks through Jeremiah his plan to forgive man of his sin and how it would be accomplished. through Jesus the old law is done away with and a new law or covenant is established. Jesus is the sacrificial lamb who died for the sins of the world, so that when we believe and call on his name, we are reconciled with God. the old law was for the Jews but with Jesus, the new law includes all men. This new covenant is the gospel of Christ and is written in our hearts and when we choose to live according to this new law of Christ , we are redeemed and forgiven of our sins and are back in good standing with God. When Adam sinned, man was separated from God. God hates sin, but loves us to much to want to see us perish, so He made a way for us to be returned to him and Jesus is the way!

Jesus is the one pure and perfect high priest to redeem man from sin back to the father. He is the only way to the father. God said so. he is sinless, pure, holy and righteous and set above the heavens. He will never die so he will always be there to intercede to the father for us. he has been made perfect forever and for this reason we have all confidence that we will be forgiven of sin when we ask.

Jesus can save completely because he never dies. He is the one who was promised to redeem man from sin. He is our intercessor to God the father because that is what God ordained. Jesus is holy, sinless, pure, perfect, not influenced by sinners, and he is raised above the heavens. he is not like other priest who had to offer sacrifices every day for their sin and others. Christ was sacrificed once and for all time. the law chooses high priest who are people with weaknesses, but the word of God's oath came much later then the law. It made God's son the high priest and that son has been made perfect forever.

A guarantee or surety means clearly established. Jesus is the guarantor of the New Covenant because He will never die, unlike a human king. Jesus replaced the old law with a better covenant, by dying on the cross for our sins. he was raised and sits on the right hand of God to intercede to him on our behalf when we ask for forgiveness of sins. No animal blood is able to do this. He is the only living High Priest.

This book is a letter to the people who had turned from sin , found hope in Jesus and the faith and was enjoying all the promises of the Father. For some reason some begin to fall away and return to sinning and their unbelief. This is a letter to encourage all Christians who are tempted with the trials and tribulations of this world to hold on to the hope of Christ, to flee to the place of refuge in him that he offers and promises to us. Christian hope is founded and based on our belief in Jesus Christ. When we anchor ourselves in the word of God, then when trouble arise in our lives and sin presents itself to us, we can call on the name of Jesus to rebuke the devil. Jesus is our high priest who will keep us from falling when we trust in him and believe. he has told us, he has promised us this and he can not lie. He is higher than the mortal priest that blessed Abraham for he is everlasting and will never die. Our hope is in Jesus and we believe and have faith and know that when we anchor ourselves to him he will delivery us from all unrighteousness.

When we exercise faith and patience in our daily walk, we mature in the word. We will need to use the whole armor of God to face the challenges of this world and to stand firm in our belief and conviction in what we believe. In order to obtain the promise for which Christ died, we will need God's mercy and grace to cover us. That is the gift, mercy and grace for if it wasn't for that, we would not be able to make it on our own. Man is weak. God knows our every weakness and give us his mercy and grace to help us not to be lost from him. His word is the path we must follow. We are to be obedient to his word and do his will and he will reward us for doing that. We have his assurance, through Jesus Christ. It is not because we are so good but because of God's grace that has helped us to endure. Everything we do and everything we are belongs to God. We were created to please him. Abraham and Job are perfect examples of faith and patience. They waited on God, no matter how long it took. They walked in his word and did what they needed to do to receive the promises of God. Sure they must have doubted sometimes and became impatient, but they never gave up their faith, they never acted on their doubt and repented when necessary to keep in favor with God. God' grace and mercy helps us to be strong in times of trouble so that we can with stand the darts of the enemy, sin. Exercising the fruits of the spirit will help us to be faithful and patient. When we concentrate on doing these, maybe the wait won't be so long!! Gives us something to do to take our mind off our troubles!

Apostasy is the turning away from and the denying of faith. In this case it is not believing in Jesus Christ and that he is risen from the dead. In order to receive eternal life, one must believe in Jesus and that he is the son of the living God. In order to get to God you must go through the Son, for he is the intercessor for our sins. John 3:16 -17 - " for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have every lasting life.. for God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved." It is impossible to restore someone who does not believe. God can not lie. Just like the children of Israel who turn their backs on God and did not believe and continued to walk in sin, they were condemned to perish in the wilderness and did not see the promised land. Jesus said " if you reject me before men, I will reject you before my father" .We are the good seed planted in the garden with the weed. As long as we are in the world we will be among the weed, the bad seed. but as long as we continue in faith and doing the will of God and growing and producing and baring good fruit, God will separate the weed and burn it at the harvest. That is his promise.

there are those of us who were raised in the faith of the New Testament in that we believe in the resurrection of Christ and the life in heaven which is promised through salvation. At some point, for some, during growth and living in this vast world with many voices and opinions and interpretations, and because of lack of conviction or just plain weak and easily influenced, have changed our minds and turn to another belief that is not what we have been taught. And I am using the word "us" because it is easier for me to explain or express what I am saying, not that I have fallen away, or any of you, but there are some who have.( And I am trying to make my grammar agree!!) (lololo). These are the ones who are different from the Spirit filled Christians of today. Once a person has denounced Jesus Christ and no longer believe he is risen from the dead , it is impossible to repent. that is what is meant here. not for those who still believe in the resurrection, but for those who don't believe. There is a difference in sinning unaware and repenting when you learn of it or being weak in a moment and turning from your sin asking for forgiveness and being sincere about not repeating those sins and asking for strength and guidance not to sin again. God knows the heart of every man, and for those who reject him, there is no forgiveness. The Jews who continued to follow the law of Moses and did not accept Jesus as the promised savior in the New Testament were lost and did not receive the promise. Those Jews and later Gentiles who were taught the gospel of Jesus and believed in the resurrection of Christ and that he was , is the promised savior of the old testament, and trusted and walked in his word and did the will of God, entered his rest, they were, are saved. Paul was a sinner, one of those Jews who did not believe, who was brought up in the law and was a devout believer in the law to the point of persecuting Christians and the church. But when God chose him and opened his eye and he believed, repented, confessed and was baptized, he continued in this faith and belief and did all he could to bring people to believe has he did. He truly believed before his conversion that what he was doing was right. And once he realized that he was wrong, and repented, he was just as committed in his new belief as he was in his old, never reverting back to it. This is the difference between verses 4 and 5 and the spirited Christian of today.

We become mature in God's word by trusting, believing and waiting and standing on his promises. Studying the word daily, walking in the word daily, doing the will of God daily. Abraham was a faithful servant and never wavered from his faith and belief in God. He waited for years for the promise the Lord gave to him when he was a young man. We must have the patience of Job and the faith of Abraham in order to receive the promises that has been promised us and no matter what may be the test, we must never lose our faith. Trusting and obeying the word of God is the only way to grow in maturity.

We mature in God's word when live our lives according to his will. We need to study and walk in his word and do his will. Trusting and obeying God will give us maturity to grow in the word and help others to grow also by example . In this book Paul is addressing a people who have falling away from the gospel and have returned to the ways of sin. He is reminding them that they have become like babies again, needing milk to grow back to maturity in God. They have forgotten or chosen to live their lives without God and need to learn the way of him all over again in order to be redeemed back to him. Living and do the will of God, being obedient to his word is the only way to grow and be matured in the word. Studying and learning of him and what he requires of us to live holy and righteous .

Jesus shared our weakness by becoming human. Man is weak!! that is why there is sin!!! Jesus was able to feel emotions and physical pain as we do. He was tempted by Satan and by his own disciples I am sure at some point or other during his teaching them. Also by his followers and those who opposed him, is accusers and many more no doubt. there are a lot of stories and things that Jesus did that were not written in the bible, not that he sinned, but that he was tempted to. To be sure there is no way he could have walked this earth for 33 years in human form and not be tempted!! the difference between him and us is the fact that he yielded not to temptation!!!!! I think that it was easier for him not to sin, even in his human form because he is God and there is no sin in him!! He wanted to show us that through our faith, we could obtain the same thing. The flogging he withstood during his trial was a method that was used to make prisoners confess to their sins or crimes. They beat him so badly that he was unable to carry his cross all the way to the hill. I don't even want to imagine the pain of that, but at some point during that flogging, in his weaken condition I think he may have been tempted to confess to anything just to stop the beating. I can understand it if he had. that is where understanding our weakness would come from!