Hebrews 10:10–22 NLT

FOR GOD’S WILL WAS FOR US TO BE MADE HOLY BY THE SACRIFICE OF THE BODY OF JESUS CHRIST, ONCE FOR ALL TIME … Our High Priest offered Himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time … FOR BY THAT ONE OFFERING HE FOREVER MADE PERFECT THOSE WHO ARE BEING MADE HOLY … When sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices. AND SO, DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS, WE CAN BOLDLY ENTER HEAVEN’S MOST HOLY PLACE BECAUSE OF THE BLOOD OF JESUS … Let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting Him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.

1 Peter 2:9 NIV

YOU ARE A CHOSEN PEOPLE, A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.

Ephesians 1:4 HCSB

For HE CHOSE US IN HIM, before the foundation of the world, TO BE HOLY AND BLAMELESS IN HIS SIGHT.

Hebrews 12:14 ESV

STRIVE FOR PEACE WITH EVERYONE, AND FOR THE HOLINESS WITHOUT WHICH NO ONE WILL SEE THE LORD.

1 Peter 1 :2–17 NLT

God the FATHER KNEW YOU and CHOSE YOU long ago, and HIS SPIRIT HAS MADE YOU HOLY. As a result, you have obeyed Him and have been CLEANSED BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST … IT IS BY HIS GREAT MERCY THAT WE HAVE BEEN BORN AGAIN because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by His power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. So be truly glad … Prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. SO YOU MUST LIVE AS GOD’S OBEDIENT CHILDREN.
Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires.
You didn’t know any better then. BUT NOW YOU MUST BE HOLY IN EVERYTHING YOU DO, JUST AS GOD WHO CHOSE YOU IS HOLY. For the Scriptures say, “YOU MUST BE HOLY BECAUSE I AM HOLY.” And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. SO YOU MUST LIVE IN REVERENT FEAR OF HIM DURING YOUR TIME HERE AS “TEMPORARY RESIDENTS.”

Romans 2:4 NKJV

Do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that THE GOODNESS OF GOD LEADS YOU TO REPENTANCE?

Romans 2:4 TPT

Do the riches of His extraordinary kindness make you take Him for granted and despise Him? Haven’t you experienced how kind and understanding He has been to you? Don’t mistake His tolerance for acceptance. Do you realize that all the wealth of HIS EXTRAVAGANT KINDNESS IS MEANT TO MELT YOUR HEART AND LEAD YOU INTO REPENTANCE?

2 Peter 3:8–9 NKJV

But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that ALL SHOULD COME TO REPENTANCE.

Hebrews 3:7–14 NLT

That is why the Holy Spirit says, “TODAY WHEN YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DON’T HARDEN YOUR HEARTS as Israel did when they rebelled when they tested Me in the wilderness. There your ancestors tested and tried My patience, even though they saw My miracles for forty years. So I was angry with them, and I said, ‘Their hearts always turn away from me. They refuse to do what I tell them.’ SO IN MY ANGER I TOOK AN OATH: ‘THEY WILL NEVER ENTER MY PLACE OF REST.’” Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters, make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.

Hebrews 12:24–29 NLT

You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel. BE CAREFUL THAT YOU DO NOT REFUSE TO LISTEN TO THE ONE WHO IS SPEAKING. For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, we will certainly not escape if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven! When God spoke from Mount Sinai His voice shook the earth, but now He makes another promise: “Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also.” This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain.

Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping Him with holy fear and awe. For our God is a devouring fire.

1 Peter 1:1–19 TPT

From Peter, an apostle of Jesus the Anointed One, to the chosen ones who have been scattered like “seed” into the nations living as refugees in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, and throughout the Roman provinces of Asia and Bithynia. You are not forgotten, for you have been CHOSEN and DESTINED by Father God. THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS SET YOU APART TO BE GOD’S HOLY ONES, OBEDIENT FOLLOWERS OF JESUS CHRIST WHO HAVE BEEN GLORIOUSLY SPRINKLED WITH HIS BLOOD. May God’s delightful grace and peace cascade over you many times over! Celebrate with praises the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has shown us His extravagant mercy. FOR HIS FOUNTAIN OF MERCY HAS GIVEN US A NEW LIFE—we are reborn to experience a living, energetic hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. We are reborn into a perfect inheritance that can never perish, never be defiled, and never diminish. It is promised and preserved forever in the heavenly realm for you! … As God’s obedient children, never again shape your lives by the desires that you followed when you didn’t know better. INSTEAD, SHAPE YOUR LIVES TO BECOME LIKE THE HOLY ONE WHO CALLED YOU. FOR SCRIPTURE SAYS: “YOU ARE TO BE HOLY, BECAUSE I AM HOLY.”

Since you call on Him as your heavenly Father, the impartial Judge who judges according to each one’s works, LIVE EACH DAY WITH HOLY AWE AND REVERENCE THROUGHOUT YOUR TIME ON EARTH. For you know that your lives were ransomed once and for all from the empty and futile way of life handed down from generation to generation. It was not a ransom payment of silver and gold which, eventually perishes, but the precious blood of Christ—who like a spotless, unblemished lamb was sacrificed for us.

Exhortation: Arise in Holiness

The Call to Arise in Holiness

Hebrews 10:10 TPT declares, “BY GOD’S WILL WE HAVE BEEN PURIFIED AND MADE HOLY ONCE AND FOR ALL THROUGH THE SACRIFICE OF THE BODY OF JESUS, THE MESSIAH!” This is the Church—redeemed, royal, and made holy—through His sacrifice and His blood. WE ARE TO BE HOLY AND LIVE HOLY.

1 Peter 1:18–20 NLT says Jesus had made the priceless sacrifice of His own life to redeem us.

For you know that GOD PAID A RANSOM TO SAVE YOU FROM THE EMPTY LIFE you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. IT WAS THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST, THE SINLESS, SPOTLESS LAMB OF GOD. God chose Him as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days He has been revealed for your sake.

We have been saved and born again from our former worthless, sinful lives through Christ’s work on the cross. He who knew no sin took upon Himself our sinful nature, sinful life and sinful deeds completely to the cross to be crucified on our behalf. Jesus paid the price of death for all our sins so that we are declared righteous, holy, and without sin when we believe in Him. How, then, can we neglect to be holy, live, and walk holy before Him? 1 Peter 1:2–4 NLT attests to this truth by saying,

God the FATHER KNEW YOU and CHOSE YOU long ago, and HIS SPIRIT HAS MADE YOU HOLY. As a result, you have obeyed Him and have been CLEANSED BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST. May God give you more and more grace and peace. All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. IT IS BY HIS GREAT MERCY THAT WE HAVE BEEN BORN AGAIN because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.

How, then, can we neglect such a message concerning the salvation of God and not expect His judgment? We have been saved from sin and darkness and made a holy people, royal priesthood, and a people belonging to God through the precious blood of the Lamb. Hebrews 2:1–4 LEB severely warns us that we are not to neglect this salvation message.

Because of this, it is ALL THE MORE NECESSARY THAT WE PAY ATTENTION TO THE THINGS WE HAVE HEARD, LEST WE DRIFT AWAY. For if the word spoken through angels was binding and every transgression and act of disobedience received a just penalty, HOW WILL WE ESCAPE IF WE NEGLECT SO GREAT A SALVATION WHICH HAD ITS BEGINNING WHEN IT WAS SPOKEN THROUGH THE LORD AND WAS CONFIRMED TO US BY THOSE WHO HEARD, while God was testifying at the same time by signs and wonders and various miracles and distributions of the Holy Spirit according to His will.

As Christ’s redeemed sons and daughters, children of His Light, washed by His blood to be holy, have we been negligent in living and walking in holiness before Him? Have we lived as His holy people in this world, or have we lived loving the world as those who are not yet born again? We are partakers of His redeeming blood and saving grace. We have been given eternal life by His death on the cross in our place. Isaiah 53:5 LEB says, “He was PIERCED because of our transgressions, CRUSHED because of our iniquities; the CHASTISEMENT for our peace was upon Him, and by His WOUNDS we were healed.”

HOW CAN WE NEGLECT SUCH A MESSAGE OF SALVATION AND NOT LIVE HOLY? How can the Church forget His mercy, grace, and sacrifice on the cross for us? Do we live holy as He is holy, or do we compromise? Do we walk righteously and distinct from the unrighteousness of this world, or do we sometimes participate and dabble? Does the Church no longer have the fear of God? Are we no longer in awe of God because of constantly feasting our eyes on this world and the things of this world? Are we leaning our ears so close to the voices of this world that the voice of the Holy Spirit has been muffled and our hearing desensitized and deafened to His voice? Lukewarmness is a dangerous place to live in because the lukewarm are very comfortable with their backslidden state. Those whose love for God is growing cold these last days are very secure in their self-deception, believing that they are doing fine and well in God but are in reality far from Him. THE CHURCH MUST AWAKE AND ARISE IN HOLINESS!

The Call To Arise In Repentance

It is time to awaken to the warnings of the Holy Spirit and arise in repentance to be holy and live holy. Without repentance, our sins and transgressions cannot be forgiven. If not forgiven, we are not saved, and we are not holy. ONE OF THE MOST NEGLECTED AND MARGINALIZED ISSUES OF TODAY IN THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES IS THE NECESSITY AND IMPORTANCE OF REPENTANCE FROM SINS TO LIVE HOLY. Often, messages of comfort for pain, blessings, promotion, success, and provisions are the main food that is fed to the people. These are not wrong; they are needed and good, but not at the neglect of teachings on holiness, righteousness, and the fear of the living God. Has repentance been reduced to a few words of shallow confession without a deep conviction of how we have treated God without honor? Jesus Christ has provided salvation, but forgiveness of sins cannot be effected without repentance of sins. What a sinner does not repent of, it cannot be forgiven. It is time to repent and arise in holiness.

• Repentance is essential to salvation. No one is born again without repentance, although Jesus Christ provides salvation. Truthfully, none can enter God’s kingdom if one does not repent of sins.
• Repentance is essential to holiness. Without repentance, sins cannot be forgiven and one is not cleansed. Sins not acknowledged, owned and repented of are retained.
• Repentance is essential to intimacy with God. Christians still fail and fall, sometimes in weakness. Repentance must be part of our walk. It is not about being sin-obsessed; it is about walking continuously in truth and the grace of God so that we can be holy as He is holy.

Awaken by Mercy; Arise in Repentance

OUTSIDE OF GOD’S MERCY, WE CANNOT REPENT. God’s mercy is His goodness, loving-kindness, selfless forbearance, and undeserved favor which He graciously extends to us even while we were yet sinners because He loves us. Romans 2:4 NKJV says, “Do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that THE GOODNESS OF GOD LEADS YOU TO REPENTANCE?” It is God’s mercy that draws us towards repentance by quickening our hearts concerning sins that we will turn to Him, repent, be forgiven, and be restored into a holy relationship with Him. 2 Peter 3:9 NKJV says that God is “longsuffering towards us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

God, in His mercy, sent Nathan to awaken the backslidden David to the evil he had done because He had no desire for David to be destroyed by sins. David’s hardened heart was pierced and broken by conviction. In brokenness and contrition, he arose in repentance, crying out to God for mercy and forgiveness. God forgave, healed, and restored David to a right relationship with Him. God delights in mercy, not judgment. James 2:13 NKJV states, “Mercy triumphs over judgment.”

In the Old Testament, on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest would sacrifice a bull to atone for his sins and a goat to atone for the sins of the people. Once a year, he would enter the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle on behalf of Israel and himself, carrying the blood of the sacrificed animals. In the Holy of Holies, he would encounter the Mercy Seat that covered the Ark of the Covenant and where God’s presence dwelled. Approaching the Mercy Seat with the shed blood, the High Priest had to sprinkle it on the Mercy Seat and confess all the sins of the people and his own. WITHOUT THE SHEDDING OF BLOOD, SPRINKLING OF BLOOD ON THE MERCY SEAT, AND THE CONFESSION OF SINS, THERE WAS NO ATONEMENT. This means of atonement was the mercy of God extended to His people to forgive, restore, and keep them in the covenant relationship with Him as His holy people. Without atonement, they could not be holy, and without holiness, they could not see God. This is a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ, our Eternal High Priest, whose one sacrifice of His life on the cross and His shed blood are sufficient to atone us from our sins, redeem us, and make us holy. Hebrews 10:10–14 NLT states,

FOR GOD’S WILL WAS FOR US TO BE MADE HOLY BY THE SACRIFICE OF THE BODY OF JESUS CHRIST, ONCE FOR ALL TIME … Our High Priest offered Himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time … FOR BY THAT ONE OFFERING HE FOREVER MADE PERFECT THOSE WHO ARE BEING MADE HOLY.

How great, immeasurable and unfathomable is the richness of God’s mercy that draws us to repentance and provides the grace for atonement of our sins that we should be redeemed and called sons and daughters of God. Mercy draws us to repentance; grace makes available to us forgiveness and salvation.

How, then, should the Church respond to God’s mercy that draws us to repentance? The Holy Spirit very clearly says in Hebrews 12:24–25 NLT.

You have come to Jesus, the One who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel. BE CAREFUL THAT YOU DO NOT REFUSE TO LISTEN TO THE ONE WHO IS SPEAKING. For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, WE WILL CERTAINLY NOT ESCAPE IF WE REJECT THE ONE WHO SPEAKS TO US FROM HEAVEN!

God’s Warning to Awaken at His Voice and Not Harden Our Hearts

In the end, the Church must not ignore God, but awaken and arise to repentance when God’s mercy calls us to repent. If we harden our hearts and refuse His mercy by rebelling against the sacrifice and the blood of Jesus Christ, we are testing God like the children of Israel. GOD, IN HIS ANGER, SWORE WITH AN OATH THAT ISRAEL WOULD NEVER ENTER GOD’S REST BUT FACE HIS JUDGMENT. The Holy Spirit severely warns in Hebrews 3:7–14 NLT,

“TODAY WHEN YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DON’T HARDEN YOUR HEARTS as Israel did when they rebelled when they tested Me in the wilderness. There your ancestors tested and tried My patience, even though they saw My miracles for forty years. SO I WAS ANGRY WITH THEM, and I said, ‘Their hearts always turn away from me. They refuse to do what I tell them.’ SO IN MY ANGER I TOOK AN OATH: ‘THEY WILL NEVER ENTER MY PLACE OF REST.’” Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters, make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.

When God’s mercy is calling us to come, do not harden our hearts and ignore the voice of the Holy Spirit. How does the Holy Spirit call to us in mercy? He speaks, reveals, convicts, chastens, and disciplines. We are not to be like the children of Israel who hardened their hearts, ignored, and rebelled against God’s voice. THEY TREATED THE MERCY OF GOD LIGHTLY AND AS COMMON, AND GOD, IN HIS ANGER, SWORE THAT THEY WOULD NEVER ENTER HIS PLACE OF REST. Do not ignore or treat lightly the mercy of God. Come to the Mercy Seat, where the blood of the Lamb has been sprinkled. Come with a rending of our hearts in contrition and with brokenness, acknowledging all that His Spirit is revealing and about which He is confronting us. In humility, confess and repent.

The Church must begin to tremble at the voice of the Holy Spirit and approach the Mercy Seat with fear and trembling. We must treat the sacrifice of the Lamb of God and His shed blood with the utmost honor and respect. APART FROM THIS, THERE IS NO PLACE OF REPENTANCE AND NO GRACE FOR SALVATION. SINNERS WILL REMAIN SINNERS AND WILL BE CONDEMNED ETERNALLY. It is time for the Church to awaken to the incomparable sacrifice the Holy Trinity made in offering up Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son of the Living God, to die upon the cross in our place to provide mercy and grace to atone us from sins and make us holy sons and daughters of the Living God. TO IGNORE AND REBEL BY HARDENING OUR HEARTS IS TO OUR PERIL. GOD IS TERRIFYING IN HIS HOLINESS, SO IT IS A FEARFUL THING TO FALL INTO THE HANDS OF A LIVING GOD.

How Should We Repent?

There must be a deep, profound desperation to repent, be made holy, and sin no more. It causes anguish of the heart because of being cut to the quick by the conviction of the Holy Spirit that exposes to us the sickness of sins hidden in the heart. It is the Holy Spirit’s examination that tears open the inward man and lays bare all that is within. Nothing is hidden, and nothing is unturned, unexposed, or untouched. Everything is uncovered, made visible, laid bare, revealed, and displayed in the light. All barriers, facades, and cover-ups are exposed, torn, and stripped away like Adam and Eve after they rebelled against God—they were naked. Psalm 51, David, in his repentance, cried out to God, “You desire truth in my inward parts.”

Submit ourselves fully to the Holy Spirit’s searching, examination, and judgment and fully acknowledge all the Holy Spirit exposes and pronounces concerning us. There is no room for excuses or justification. We must repent in total humility, abasing ourselves fully before God. There must be a willingness to absolutely abandon ourselves to the mercy of God and hold nothing back. In brokenness and contrition, we empty ourselves entirely before God until He washes us clean, fully setting our spirit, soul, and mind free from all that stains the soul, be it sins, ungodly motives, attitudes, thought patterns, worldviews, value systems, and memories. In repentance, we must not leave anything unturned or unexposed but rather make all things visible and bare before the Holy God. In brokenness, we must rend our hearts, ripping off all facades and pretensions and tearing down the walls that cover up sins. God will forgive, heal, and restore. He will not remove His Holy Spirit from us but give us the right spirit and a clean heart.

Arise in Holiness

To live and walk holy as God’s redeemed and holy children requires us to purpose in our hearts to live holy and daily fight to keep our consecration. We are not to give any room to the tempter of our souls, satan. The Church must stand, withstand, and overcome all temptations, deceptions, and sins to guard who we are in Jesus Christ, His holy priesthood. DAILY THE CHURCH MUST PUT ON THE FULL ARMOR OF GOD AND WAR TO WIN THE BATTLE FOR HOLINESS. A life of holiness cannot be obtained by the lukewarm, apathetic, and slothful Christians. We are in the battle of the end times, so awake and arise in holiness, without which no one can see God. The Holy Spirit is calling on us to arise as His royal priesthood and holy nation. Therefore, we must heed the words of God in Hebrews 10:10–31 NLT.

FOR GOD’S WILL WAS FOR US TO BE MADE HOLY BY THE SACRIFICE OF THE BODY OF JESUS CHRIST, ONCE FOR ALL TIME … Our High Priest offered Himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time … FOR BY THAT ONE OFFERING HE FOREVER MADE PERFECT THOSE WHO ARE BEING MADE HOLY. And the Holy Spirit also testifies … “This is the new covenant I will make with My people on that day, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” … And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices. AND SO, DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS, WE CAN BOLDLY ENTER HEAVEN’S MOST HOLY PLACE BECAUSE OF THE BLOOD OF JESUS. By His death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place … let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting Him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water … DEAR FRIENDS, IF WE DELIBERATELY CONTINUE SINNING AFTER WE HAVE RECEIVED KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH, THERE IS NO LONGER ANY SACRIFICE THAT WILL COVER THESE SINS. There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume His enemies. For anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us. For we know the one who said, “I will take revenge. I will pay them back.” He also said, “The LORD will judge His own people.” IT IS A TERRIBLE THING TO FALL INTO THE HANDS OF THE LIVING GOD.

THE CHURCH MUST ARISE IN HOLINESS!