FRIDAY DEVOTIONAL

by Kathy Cretsinger

The book on Hebrews is a very interesting book. It was written to the Jewish Christians, and we have no idea who wrote it. Most people think it could be Paul, but the writer is not named.

Image you had been brought up in a religion that used sacrifices. Then, you find that religion is wrong, and you have to conform to the differences in the religions. The Jews had been sacrificing animals since Moses\’ day, even before that we have Abraham doing the same. We can trace sacrifices back to Adam. That is a long time to do one thing. The Jewish religion was almost an inherited belief.

Enter Christ and His teachings. We know Christ died for our sins, and He was our sacrifice. We know that, and the early Jewish Christians did also, but to practice something that was completely different from what they were taught had to be hard. They still held to the Jewish religion of Holy days, festivals, and sacrifices.

The writer goes back to the early religion when Abraham was alive. The writer likens Christ to Melchizedek., Hebrews 6: 10, Hebrews 7. Melchizedek was born before the Jewish priests. We do not know much about him, except he was faithful to God. He was the forerunner of Christ. What an intelligent way to describe something to these Christians who were clinging to the Law. The writer makes a comparison of something they knew about.

Christians cannot worship as a Jew, but as a believer of Christ. We must obey Christ\’s teachings. The writer is telling the Christians that they cannot have it both ways. It\’s that simple. When Christ died on the cross for our sins, the Law was nailed to that cross. We have a new Law, a New Testament. When someone writes a new will or a new testament of their wishes after their death, the old one is null and void. The new will is upheld in every court in the land. The same is with the Bible. The New Testament (Will) is what we go by today. We cannot worship the Old Law.