Post 71 of Study: Hebrews 12:14-17, again

We must always keep in mind the overall themes of Hebrews. Otherwise, like my branch analogy from the previous day, we lose track and verses become decorations or just fortune cookie mottos, rather than rooted truth. There is the theme of the superiority of Jesus over all other religions, especially the rituals and sacrifices of Judaism, and there is the theme of living in times of persecution.

Since Joe Biden won the presidential election, I’ve heard a lot of fear appeals about how we will lose all our freedoms as Christians. I understand it.My first draft of this post went off into politics, which I'll delete.

That said, I’m hearing a lot of “Christians will be put in jail in ten years for preaching the gospel.” Well, it’s happened before. Why do we think we are better than other generations, to not suffer?

“Pursue peace with all people (oh, my) and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” There is a difference, Biblically speaking, between righteousness and holiness. Righteousness is in a sense legal, something we are given from faith in Christ, exchanging, as some say, our unrighteousness (or anti-righteousness) with Christ’s. “The just (righteous, justified) shall live by (his or her) faith.”  Holiness is sanctification, pursued, worked on; not so much earned as experienced daily by choices.

Holiness means to be set apart for a purpose, thus, I see it as focused on what we’re really here for and supposed to be about. “Without which no one will see the Lord,” well, that’s again in the Sermon on the Mount; if Jesus is superior to all Judaism, let’s get back to His foundational words. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”  Holiness and purity have a lot in common, really. We see holiness culturally as, unfortunately, an outfit, some type of clothing, a bowed head, a fake halo, separation from worldly things. We have stereotypes about it, when it has nothing to do with the impurity around us and our own focus, where we look, what direction we choose to direct our steps. 

Perhaps the causation element is what we miss here. Holiness and seeing God go together rather than one causing the other. If we choose to see God, we pursue the holiness.