And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets. 33 Through faith they conquered kingdoms, administered justice,[a] gained what was promised,[b] shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched raging fire,[c] escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength in weakness,[d] became mighty in battle, put foreign armies to flight, 35 and women received back their dead raised to life.[e] But others were tortured, not accepting release, to obtain resurrection to a better life.[f]36 And others experienced mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, sawed apart,[g] murdered with the sword; they went about in sheepskins and goatskins; they were destitute, afflicted, ill-treated 38 (the world was not worthy of them); they wandered in deserts and mountains and caves and openings in the earth. 39 And these all were commended[h] for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised.[i]40 For God had provided something better for us, so that they would be made perfect together with us.[j]
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place he would later receive as an inheritance, and he went out without understanding where he was going.9 By faith he lived as a foreigner[a] in the promised land as though it were a foreign country, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who were fellow heirs[b] of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with firm foundations,[c] whose architect and builder is God. 11 By faith, even though Sarah herself was barren and he was too old,[d] he received the ability to procreate,[e] because he regarded the one who had given the promise to be trustworthy. 12 So in fact children[f] were fathered by one man—and this one as good as dead—like the number of stars in the sky and like the innumerable grains of sand[g]on the seashore.[h]13 These all died in faith without receiving the things promised,[i] but they saw them in the distance and welcomed them and acknowledged that they were strangers and foreigners[j] on the earth. 14 For those who speak in such a way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 In fact, if they had been thinking of the land that they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is,[k] they aspire to a better land, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. 17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. He had received the promises,[l] yet he was ready to offer up[m] his only son. 18 God had told him, “Through Isaac descendants will carry on your name,”[n]19 and he reasoned[o] that God could even raise him from the dead, and in a sense[p] he received him back from there. 20 By faith also Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning the future. 21 By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph and worshiped as he leaned on his staff.[q]22 By faith Joseph, at the end of his life,[r] mentioned the exodus of the sons of Israel[s] and gave instructions about his burial.[t]
Concluding Exposition: Old and New Sacrifices Contrasted
For the law possesses a shadow of the good things to come but not the reality itself, and is therefore completely unable, by the same sacrifices offered continually, year after year, to perfect those who come to worship.[a]2 For otherwise would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers would have been purified once for all and so have[b] no further consciousness of sin? 3 But in those sacrifices[c] there is a reminder of sins year after year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5 So when He came into the world, He said,
“Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body you prepared for Me. 6 “Whole burnt offerings and sin-offerings You took no delight in. 7 “Then I said, ‘Here I am:[d]I have come—it is written of Me in the scroll of the book—to do Your will, O God.’”[e]
8 When He says above, “Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sin-offerings You did not desire nor did You take delight in them”[f] (which are offered according to the law), 9 then He says, “Here I am: I have come to do your will.”[g] He does away with[h] the first to establish the second. 10 By His will[i] we have been made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 And every priest stands day after day[j] serving and offering the same sacrifices again and again—sacrifices that can never take away sins. 12 But when this Priest[k] had offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, He sat down at the right hand[l] of God, 13 where He is now waiting[m]untilHis enemies are made a footstool for His feet.[n]14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are made holy. 15 And the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us, for after saying,[o]16 “This is the covenant that I will establish with them after those days, says the Lord. I will put[p]Mylaws on their hearts and I will inscribe them on their minds,”[q]17 then he says,[r] “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no longer.”[s]18 Now where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
Romans 5:20-21
20 Now the law came in[a] so that the transgression[b] may increase, but where sin increased, grace multiplied all the more, 21 so that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
And so he is the mediator[a] of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the eternal inheritance he has promised,[b] since he died[c] to set them free from the violations committed under the first covenant. 16 For where there is a will, the death of the one who made it must be proven.[d]17 For a will takes effect only at death, since it carries no force while the one who made it is alive. 18 So even the first covenant was inaugurated with blood.[e]19 For when Moses had spoken every command to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats with water and scarlet wool and hyssop and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 20 and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that God has commanded you to keep.”[f]21 And both the tabernacle and all the utensils of worship he likewise sprinkled with blood. 22 Indeed according to the law almost everything was purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. 23 So it was necessary for the sketches[g] of the things in heaven to be purified with these sacrifices,[h] but the heavenly things themselves required[i] better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with hands—the representation[j] of the true sanctuary[k]—but into heaven itself, and he appears now in God’s presence for us. 25 And he did not enter to offer[l] himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the sanctuary year after year with blood that is not his own, 26 for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the consummation of the ages to put away sin by his sacrifice. 27 And just as people[m] are appointed to die once, and then to face judgment,[n]28 so also, after Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many,[o] to those who eagerly await him he will appear a second time, not to bear sin[p] but to bring salvation.[q]
But now Christ has come[a] as the high priest of the good things to come. He passed through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, 12 and he entered once for all into the Most Holy Place not by the blood of goats and calves but by his own blood, and so he himself secured[b] eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow sprinkled on those who are defiled consecrated them and provided ritual purity,[c]14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our[d] consciences from dead works to worship the living God.
For if that first covenant had been faultless, no one would have looked for a second one.[a]8 But[b] showing its fault,[c] God[d] says to them,[e]
“Look, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will complete a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 9 “It will not be like the covenant[f]that I made with their fathers, on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not continue in my covenant and I had no regard for them, says the Lord. 10 “For this is the covenant that I will establish with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put[g]mylaws in their minds[h]and I will inscribe them on their hearts. And I will be their God and they will be my people.[i] 11 “And there will be no need at all[j]for each one to teach his countryman or each one to teach his brother saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ since they will all know me, from the least to the greatest.[k] 12 “For I will be merciful toward their evil deeds, and their sins I will remember no longer.”[l]
13 When he speaks of a new covenant,[m] he makes the first obsolete. Now what is growing obsolete and aging is about to disappear.[n]
Now this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, met Abraham as he was returning from defeating the kings and blessed him.[a]2 To him[b] also Abraham apportioned a tithe[c]of everything.[d] His name first means[e] king of righteousness, then king of Salem,[f] that is, king of peace. 3 Without father, without mother, without genealogy, he has neither beginning of days nor end of life but is like the son of God, and he remains a priest for all time.4 But see how great he must be, if[g] Abraham the patriarch gave him a tithe[h] of his plunder. 5 And those of the sons of Levi who receive the priestly office[i] have authorization according to the law to collect a tithe from the people, that is, from their fellow countrymen,[j] although they too are descendants of Abraham.[k]6 But Melchizedek[l] who does not share their ancestry[m] collected a tithe[n] from Abraham and blessed[o] the one who possessed the promise. 7 Now without dispute the inferior is blessed by the superior, 8 and in one case tithes are received by mortal men, while in the other by him who is affirmed to be alive. 9 And it could be said that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid a tithe through Abraham. 10 For he was still in his ancestor Abraham’s loins[p] when Melchizedek met him.
For example, there was God’s promise to Abraham. Since there was no one greater to swear by, God took an oath in his own name, saying:
14 “I will certainly bless you, and I will multiply your descendants beyond number.”[a]
15 Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised.
16 Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding. 17 God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. 18 So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.19 This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. 20 Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.
Therefore, holy brothers and sisters,[a] partners in a heavenly calling, take note of Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess,[b]2 who is faithful to the one who appointed Him, as Moses was also in God’s[c] house.[d]3 For He has come to deserve greater glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house deserves greater honor than the house itself! 4 For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. 5 Now Moses was faithfulin all God’s[e]house[f] as a servant, to testify to the things that would be spoken. 6 But Christ[g] is faithful as a son over God’s[h] house. We are of His house,[i] if in fact we hold firmly[j] to our confidence and the hope we take pride in.[k]
Welcome to week 1 of Jesus Our Everything! You’ll find all the details below for this week’s Prayer Focus and Challenge, as well as the Scripture and links to helpful resources like the Love God Greatly App, including devotional and blog posts from the love God Greatly Team.
After God spoke long ago[a] in various portions[b] and in various ways[c] to our ancestors[d] through the prophets, 2 in these last days he has spoken to us in a son,[e] whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he created the world.[f]3 The Son is[g] the radiance of his glory and the representation of his essence, and he sustains all things by his powerful word,[h] and so when he had accomplished cleansing for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.[i]4 Thus he became[j] so far better than the angels as[k] he has inherited a name superior to theirs.
Me From the Inside Out 