Hebrews
By Joyce Webb 2018
Chapter 12
Verse 1
Paul says All around us are those who are watching us. They are witnesses to what we do.
So put away anything—-any sin—-that would hurt your spiritual life with God.
Sin will make us go off the right path. Put it away from you.
Let us run this Christian race with patience and carefulness.
Verse 2
We look to Jesus—-he is the author—where our faith began.
He is the one who is the end of our faith—the finish.
Jesus endured the pain of the cross and he endured the shame of the cross—— because of the joy of he would have—– knowing that he paid our penalty/punishment of death.
Jesus is now sitting at the right hand of God’s throne in heaven.
Verse 3
Think of what Jesus went through for sinners—-for us.
Do not become tired and give up.
Verse 4
You have not yet had to suffer to the point of “bleeding” as Jesus did.
You have not given up your life in your struggle against sin.
Verse 5, 6
Remember the scripture that says:
My son, do not hate the discipline the Lord gives. Do not feel upset when he corrects you. Job 5:17
The Lord disciplines the ones he loves.—-just a a father disciplines and punishes his child.
Verse 7
If God is disciplines you, it shows that you are his child.
Who ever heard of a child that is not disciplined by his parents?
Verse 8
If you would not be disciplined by God, then you would not be his child.
You would not be his real child. You would be like an illegitimate child—–and not a real son.
Verse 9
We have had earthly fathers who disciplined and punished us.
They did it as a human who is not perfect, and sometimes made mistakes, and disciplined us sometimes because of their own selfish desires.
We still gave them respect and obeyed them.
How much more we should respect and obey and learn from the discipline that the Lord gives us—–which is perfect and always for our own good—–and so we will grow to be more holy.
Verse 11
No one likes discipline or correction. We feel hurt and upset.
But afterwards, we can see how we learned an important lesson or grew in faith.
Verse 12, 13
So lift up your hands in praise. Lift up your heads and be glad.
Make your path and way of living—-straight—-true—-obeying Jesus’ teachings.
Those who are watching you will be able to follow you in truth and in a right way of living.
Verse 14
Try to have peace with all men.
Be holy.
If we do not have holiness of spirit, we will not see God.
Verse 15
Be careful and stay away from doing sin. You do not want to fall away from the grace of God and go from the right path.
Do not let bitterness, anger, not forgiving others, to grow in your heart.
These things have been a danger to the spiritual growth and spiritual heath of many. Those kinds of feelings robs the spirit—it makes it weak. It is like poison to the Spirit within us.
Verse 16
Do not allow anyone to become guilty of fornication (having sex with someone who you are not married to).
Do not let anyone become like Esau who did not respect his birthright and the blessings that came with it.
Esau was interested in only what gave his pleasure at the moment. He did not look to the future and the blessings of God that would be his.
Later, he was sorry for that decision, but it was too late.
Verse 18
You are not like the people of Israel who stood at Mount Sinai when it was in a cloud of blackness, and there was thunder and lightning.
They heard God’s voice. It was powerful. Sounding like a loud trumpet. They were so afraid, they asked Moses to tell God not to talk to them anymore. They wanted God to talk to Moses and then Moses could tell them what God said.
God’s voice was so powerful it made them shake and tremble.
Verse 20
Everything about the mountain made them afraid. Even if an animal were to touch the mountain, it had to be killed.
Verse 21
Even Moses said he was afraid and trembled.
Verse 22
Paul said to the believers, You have not come to Mount Sinai, —– You have come unto Mount Zion, the city of God, the heavenly Jerusalem. —There are many, many angels.
You have come to where an assembly/gathering of the firstborn of the believers in Jesus are gathered together.
Their names are written in heaven.
You have come to God, who is the judge of all men.
You have come to those whose spirits have been redeemed and made perfect through Jesus Christ.
Verse 24
You have come to Jesus, the One who stands before God the Father, and speaks for us to him.
Jesus speaks to God for us—-under this New Covenant or Testament.
Jesus’ blood covers our sin, or sometimes we say, washes away our sin. It is not like the blood of the Old Testament sacrifices that had to be done again, and again. It is not like Abel’s sacrifice.
Verse 25
Do not refuse to obey the words of the Lord.
The people of Israel were punished when they did not listen to Moses, an earthly man who spoke for God.
We will be punished if we do not obey the words of God from heaven.
Verse 26
When God spoke from Mount Sinai, the earth shook. God has made a promise that in the future,—-I will shake not the earth only, but heaven also. Haggai 2:6
Verse 27
This verse means that everything in earth and heaven will be shaken and it will disappear.
A new heaven and new earth will be made. Revelation 21:1
The only things that will remain will be the things that are eternal.
Verse 28
We will receive a kingdom that will be eternal and will never be destroyed.
May we have grace to serve God in a way that is acceptable to him, with godly respect and fear.
Verse 29
Our God is a consuming fire. (A fire that burns up everything.)