A Bible Study in EasyEnglish (2800 word vocabulary) on the Book of Hebrews
Keith Simons
EasyEnglish is a system of simple English designed by Wycliffe Associates (UK).
Last part: Citizens of the New Jerusalem (Hebrews 12:23)
You can read about the murder of Abel in Genesis 4:3-10. His brother killed him, and his blood poured onto the ground. You might expect that the blood of a holy man like Abel (Hebrews 11:4) would make the ground holy too. But in fact, the opposite happened (Numbers 35:33). Even the blood of Abel spoilt the earth (Genesis 4:11-12).
But the blood of Jesus has a much better effect. It makes people holy (Hebrews 9:14). By it, Jesus has established the new covenant (agreement) between God and his people (Hebrews 9:15). Because of it, they can approach God with confidence (Hebrews 10:19). Jesus’ blood makes them citizens of the city that God has prepared (Hebrews 11:16; Hebrews 12:22-24).
The author has described the events when God spoke his commands at Sinai (Hebrews 12:18-21). When God speaks, his message is very important. And today, God speaks to us by the blood of Jesus. In other words, there is a very important message for us in the blood of Jesus.
It is only by the blood of Jesus (in other words, the death of Jesus) that God can save us. Jesus died so that we can have a right relationship with God. We must confess our evil deeds to God and we must invite him into our lives. Then God can forgive us because Jesus died for us.
If we neglect that message about Jesus’ blood, then God will not save us. We certainly will not avoid the punishment for our evil deeds (Hebrews 2:3). The people in Hebrews 3:15-18 refused to obey the voice of God that they heard at Sinai. They could not escape their punishment. So we certainly shall not escape if we neglect God’s message now. By the evidence of the blood of Jesus, God warns us from heaven.
© 2012, Keith Simons.