Condemnation

Can you imagine what it would be like to go to Jesus after you failed miserably and sinned and He NOT be sympathetic with your weaknesses?  What if He was unrelenting and unforgiving? But that is not who our sweet Lord Jesus Christ is. Although He is God the Son and our HIGH PRIEST, He is sympathetic to our weaknesses. Here’s how Hebrews 4:15-16 describes Jesus.

We do not have a HIGH PRIEST who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.

That’s incredibly good news, but we’re not to stop there.

Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.  

In other words, when we sin we’re not supposed to keep sinning. Neither are we to avoid Jesus because we’re ashamed. Rather, we’re to humbly go to Him and confess, “I sinned. I gave in to my flesh or this temptation. Forgive me and strengthen me to stand against this weakness in my life. Conform me to Your image, Jesus.” Jesus extends grace to us when we repent, but He also admonishes us, “Go and sin no more.” Why? Because He loves us and doesn’t want us to live in a habit of sin but rather to live in a habit of holiness. If we’ve sinned and been avoiding an intimate conversation with Jesus and confession of our sin, now is the time to draw near to our sympathetic HIGH PRIEST.

We praise you, Lord and High Priest, that although you are high and lifted up, you sympathize with our weaknesses and forgive us when we repent. Help us stand against rather than give into sin. 

Can you imagine what it would be like to go to Jesus after you failed miserably and sinned and He NOT be sympathetic with your weaknesses?  What if He was unrelenting and unforgiving? But that is not who our sweet Lord Jesus Christ is. Although He is God the Son and our HIGH PRIEST, He is sympathetic to our weaknesses. Here’s how Hebrews 4:15-16 describes Jesus.

We do not have a HIGH PRIEST who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.

That’s incredibly good news, but we’re not to stop there.

Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.  

In other words, when we sin we’re not supposed to keep sinning. Neither are we to avoid Jesus because we’re ashamed. Rather, we’re to humbly go to Him and confess, “I sinned. I gave into my flesh or this temptation. Forgive me and strengthen me to stand against this weakness in my life. Conform me to Your image, Jesus.” Jesus extends grace to us when we repent, but He also admonishes us, “Go and sin no more.” Why? Because He loves us and doesn’t want us to live in a habit of sin but rather to live in a habit of holiness. If we’ve sinned and been avoiding an intimate conversation with Jesus and confession of our sin, now is the time to draw near to our sympathetic HIGH PRIEST.

We praise you, Lord and High Priest, that although you are high and lifted up, you sympathize with our weaknesses and forgive us when we repent. Help us stand against rather than give into sin. 

Can you imagine what it would be like to go to Jesus after you failed miserably and fell into sin and He NOT sympathize with your weaknesses?  What if He was unrelenting and unforgiving? But that is not who our sweet Lord Jesus Christ is. Although He is God the Son and our HIGH PRIEST, He is sympathetic to our weaknesses. Here’s how Hebrews 4:15-16 describes Jesus. “We do not have a HIGH PRIEST who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.” That’s incredibly good news, but we’re not to stop there.  “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”  In other words, when we sin we’re not supposed to keep sinning. Neither are we to avoid Jesus because we’re ashamed. Rather, we’re to humbly go to Him and confess, “I messed. I sinned! I gave in to my flesh or this temptation…again. Please forgive me and strengthen me to stand against this weakness in my life. Conform me to Your image, Jesus.” Jesus extends grace to us when we repent, but He also admonishes us, “Go and sin no more.” Why? Because He loves us and doesn’t want us live in a habit of sin but rather a habit of holiness. If we’ve sinned and been avoiding an intimate conversation with Jesus and confession of our sin, now is the time to draw near to our sympathetic HIGH PRIEST.

We praise you Lord and High Priest, that although you are high and lifted up, you sympathize with our weaknesses and forgive us when we repent. Help us stand against rather than give into sin. 

Can you imagine what it would be like to go to Jesus after you failed miserably and fell into sin and He NOT sympathize with your weaknesses?  What if He was unrelenting and unforgiving? But that is not who our sweet Lord Jesus Christ is. Although He is God the Son and our HIGH PRIEST, He is sympathetic with our weaknesses. Here’s how Hebrews 4:15-16 describes Jesus. “We do not have a HIGH PRIEST who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.” That’s incredibly good news, but we’re not to stop there.  “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”  In other words, when we sin we’re not supposed to keep sinning. We’re not to hang our heads and avoid Jesus because we’re ashamed. Rather, we’re to humbly  go to Him in prayer and confess, “I messed up big time. I sinned! I gave into this temptation…again. Please forgive me and strengthen me to stand against this weakness in my life.” Jesus extends grace to us when we repent, but He also admonishes us, “Go and sin no more.” Why? Because He loves us and doesn’t want us living in sin but rather in holiness. If we’ve been avoiding Jesus because of our sin, today is the day to draw near to our sympathetic HIGH PRIEST.

We praise You, our Lord and High Priest, that although You are high and lifted up, you sympathize with our weaknesses and forgive us when we repent. Help us stand against rather than give into sin. 

#biblegateway Blogger Grid Member

Can you imagine what it would be like to go before a HIGH PRIEST who DIDN’T sympathize with your weaknesses?  How haughty would that high priest be? How unrelenting might he be? How judgmental? Yet, that is not our Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, He is a HIGH PRIEST, as Hebrews 4:15-16 tells us. But, listen to the description of our High Priest. “We do not have a HIGH PRIEST who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.” Then, he tells us what to do.  “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”  I want to sing and shout “hallelujah” at this description of our merciful High Priest. Why? Because I mess up every day. Unlike Jesus, I get tempted and do sin. But knowing that I can humbly approach Jesus makes me love Him all the more. I can go to Him in prayer and confess, “I messed up big time. I sinned! I fell for this temptation…again. Forgive me. ” Jesus extends grace to us when we repent, but He also admonishes us, “Go and sin no more.” Why? Because He loves us and doesn’t want us living in sin but rather in holiness. If we’ve been avoiding Jesus because of our sin, today is the day to draw near to our sympathetic HIGH PRIEST.

We praise You, our Lord and High Priest, that although You are high and lifted up, you sympathize with our weaknesses and forgive the repentant sinner. Help us sin no more.

#biblegateway Blogger Grid Member