C-Tuit

Read Hebrews 12:14-28

“Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy;
without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that
no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root
grows up to cause trouble and defile many. See that
no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau
…see to it that you do not refuse him who speaks
…let us be thankful, and so worship God
acceptably with reverence and awe”
(Hebrews 12:14-15, 25, 25)

Thoughts… The great thrust of Hebrews is the superiority of Christ’s priesthood and the all-sufficiency of his sacrifice. The writer is reminding us of the awesome truth that Christ death and resurrection has saved us completely, and we can add nothing to it.

And yet, we have some duties in response to all that Christ has done for us. There are some “c-tuits”, if you will, that he speaks of in this passage:

To begin with, we are to “see to it” that we maintain harmony in the body of Christ and peaceful relationships with those in our community. Wherever conflict exists, the work of God is hampered, even if it is not our doing. If at all possible, we must ensure peace.

Furthermore, we are to “see to it” that we maintain an attitude and a lifestyle characterized by holiness. Holiness simply means to be set apart for God’s sacred use. It is our duty, in light of what God has done for us, to dedicate ourselves in purity to his purposes.

Additionally, we are to “see to it” that a bad attitude does not choke out the grace of God in our lives. Bitterness, for a variety of reasons, is an ever-present danger to the believer, and if it is allowed to set in, becomes a devastating spiritual crippler. We must guard against it at all times.

We are also to “see to it” that our sexual purity is maintained. The writer has said, “without holiness, no one will see the Lord.” Perhaps the most devastating corruption of our holiness is the violation of sexual standards. We are susceptible to sexual misdeeds when we fall into the patterns of Esau, who made his own desires his god. We must ruthlessly maintain purity in our actions and in our thoughts with regard to sexuality, living to please him rather than to gratify ourselves.

Another ““see to it” is to make sure we are hearing and responding to the voice of God. The writer says, “don’t refuse him who speaks.” God speaks to us everyday through his Word and by the Spirit. Our duty is to be in a spiritually sensitive place where we are actively listening and quickly obeying.

Finally, we are to “see to it” that gratitude and worship are the consuming passions of our lives. In other words, this gracious and holy God must be our continual “all in all.”

Of course, this list of spiritual duties is no big sacrifice on our part in comparison to the sacrifice he made for us. This is the least we can do.

There are just a few things that we have been given to do. We have our list. Hopefully, we won’t just get a “round tuit”, but we will “c-tuit” that these are completed today.

Prayer… Lord, the response of a holy life is no sacrifice in comparison to what you have sacrificed for me. I will give my joyful effort to live today as one big thank-you to you in response to the gift of salvation.

One More Thing… “Wicked men obey from fear; good men, from love.” —Augustine