Grace Week 3

God makes us a promise to save us by faith, just like He made promises to Abraham. We need to wait for God to fulfill His promise to save us by faith. Abraham was willing to wait for God to fulfill His promises and he had faith that God would do what He said He would do. God swore by Himself that He would fulfill His promises, since there is nobody greater to swear by.

In our day, the anchor of our faith in Jesus, the perfector and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). He did not come to condemn us, but to save us (John 3:17). That was His purpose in coming to earth. Our performance cannot save us, only our faith in Jesus can save us.

Melchizedek is named as both priest and king in Abraham's day. This is not the way things normally worked. Usually, there was either a priest or a king, but not both in one person. However, in the case of Melchizedek, he was both. Jesus is pictured also as the ultimate Priest and King. He justifies us before God for our sin as our priest, and He is also our King.

Our faith in Jesus is what sustains us, not the good works we do. We do not have to perform works of the law to be saved or to stay saved. Instead of doing works, we have faith in Jesus to save us and let Him make us perfect through our faith in Him. What the law could not do through our flawed performance, Jesus does for us, in our place, as a one-time sacrifice for our sins.

Jesus did not offer animal blood for sin, but instead His own holy blood to eternally provide salvation for all who trust Him for their salvation. The old sacrificial system was a yearly reminder of the sin of the people. Jesus' sacrifice of Himself for us is a better way because it cleanses us of our sin. 

The thick veil of the temple separated the people from God. When Jesus had finished His work on the cross for us, the veil was torn by God from top to bottom to symbolize we are no longer separated from God, if we have faith in Jesus. Therefore, people do not go to Hell for their sin debt, which Jesus has already paid. Instead, they go to Hell because they do not accept Jesus perfect sacrifice for their salvation.