Sermons

We continue our reflection on the second of five exhortations urging those in whom Christ has begun a new life to remain faithful in that life until the end. Previous sections revealed that the reader could trust Jesus Christ to enable their faithfulness based upon His power to sanctify saints, liberate sinners, and support believers in their time of temptation. He is portrayed as the single source of deliverance, which no angel or other created being, including Moses, can rival.

In the first chapter, the superiority of Jesus Christ over the angelic realm was based upon His Divinity, His identity as Son of God, His immutability as Creator, and His position as Sovereign King. His superiority included His power to sanctify saints, liberate sinners, and support the believer in the time of temptation. No angel or other created being has any claim in doing this. In response to Jesus’ position and work, the reader is called to remain faithful to Jesus and avoid the peril of apostasy.

Look around and it will be patently clear that Jesus is not here in the lives of most that draw breath in our life and time. Some have never heard of Him, others have turned away because they don’t like what they hear, others turned back to the world’s path having given a walk with Him a try, others squeeze out the joy of knowing Him through a conjured self-piety, and yet others vehemently try to destroy His impress wherever found. For these He is not here.

God showed what completion unto glory looked like through Jesus’ suffering and tasting of second death on behalf of humanity. God purposed this to lead many believers through the path of suffering to glory. No angel or other created being has any claim in doing this. This revelation, like the exordium and catena that came before, calls the reader to remain faithful to Jesus and avoid apostasy. This is as necessary for us who are prone to drift, as it was for those young in the Christian faith of that time who were wooed by the pomp of the culture that surrounded them.