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Daily Devotions

Hebrews

Hebrews 
Day 
Day 342

"For it is good that the heart be established by grace..."

Text: Hebrews 13:9

THE DOCTRINE OF GRACE

One of the most outstanding doctrines that has set Christianity apart is the doctrine of grace. Three features of God’s grace may be highlighted:-

1. Grace is the premise of the doctrine of salvation in Christ (Cf. Ephesians 2:8-9)

2. Grace was also greatly emphasized in the Old Testament. God’s Manifestation of Himself in a formal proclamation to Moses included the phrase “merciful and gracious”
(Cf. Exodus 34:6-7)

3. Grace and truth were particularly associated with the Person of Christ (Cf. John 1:14-18)

ESTABLISHED BY GRACE

The writer of Hebrews was also writing to address false doctrinal ideas. He too defended the doctrine of grace in the following text.

“For it is good that the heart be established by grace,
not with foods which have not profited those who have been
occupied with them. We have an altar from which those who
serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. For the bodies of those
animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the
high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp.”
Hebrews 13:9b-11

1. There is no substitute for the doctrine of grace.

a) The ritualistic sacrifice of the Temple would not suffice.
b) The partaking of the food made in sacrifices had no efficacious value at all.

2. Which have not profited those who have been occupied by them

This is a reference to the priestly rituals.

3. We have an altar

This is a reference to the spiritual and heavenly altar of Christ who functions as High Priest.

4. No right to eat

There is a reference to the spiritual food that only those who are in Christ may partake of (Cf. The Lord’s Supper Luke 22:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-34).

The heart can only be fully established by grace! Every believer must seek to guard and to defend this doctrine of grace with deep understanding and appreciation.