(GRACE AND DISGRACE - Day 5 of 7)
“Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were thus occupied were not benefited.”
Hebrews 13:9
The book of Hebrews consists of the major theme of showing the superiority and completeness of the New Covenant (Christianity) to the Old (Judaism). In the 1st Century, it was just as wrong to try to hold onto or merge, Christianity with Judaism as it was any pagan faith. While Christianity is related to Judaism (like a shadow is “related” to an object), it is “separate and apart from it” in religious custom. The Old was a shadow and the New in Christ Jesus is the substance.
The heart of Christianity is strengthened by the grace of the gospel and not by the practicing of Jewish customs. It was so hard for many Jews to get that. To get that through their thick skull. It can be just as hard for us sometimes when we cling to cultural or historical traditions outside the gospel of grace. There have been many such “varied and strange teachings” through the centuries of the establishment of the church and there will be no shortage in the future. May our heart, and the church we are a part of, be the exception to that.
There are in fact, many today who still hold to Jewish tradition and Christianity. Still, those today who think a Christian is not complete in the gospel alone outside of Judaism. Yes, there are still Judaising teachers. They are not the only danger. They are but one of the many “varied and strange teachings”. As the Holy Spirit points out, the Jews “were not benefited” by Judaism, in part because they made Judaism about themselves rather than Jehovah God. May we not make the same mistake with the gospel!
May the gospel of grace be the daily food that strengthens us spiritually! Let us read the gospel regularly, let us live the gospel daily, and let us be strengthened in and by the gospel always! It is good for the heart! It is best for the heart!
Comments