Deliverance from Discouraged Devotion (Our Sympathizing Savior)

For Review:

The last time we were together we discussed The Cure for Careless Christianity. We looked at a twofold cure for carelessness in our relationship with Jesus.

Realize the unfulfilled purpose of humanity ().

Realize the ultimate price that Jesus paid (Hebrews 2:9-13).

We learned that the cure for careless Christianity is the closeness of Jesus Christ. It’s important not only that the Son of God became a human, but just how human he became. He identified with us in our fallen condition, taking a nature that was subject to death and temptation. Therefore, his sacrifice was sufficient for us. We can repent of our carelessness with our relationship with God when we realize that our purpose is yet unfulfilled, and that Jesus has endured infinite humiliation to open the way that our ultimate may be fulfilled.

We learned that the cure for careless Christianity is the closeness of Jesus Christ. It’s important not only that the Son of God became a human, but just how human he became. He identified with us in our fallen condition, taking a nature that was subject to death and temptation. Therefore, his sacrifice was sufficient for us. We can repent of our carelessness with our relationship with God when we realize that our purpose is yet unfulfilled, and that Jesus has endured infinite humiliation to open the way that our ultimate may be fulfilled.

Today:

Today:

We ask the question, “was this absolutely necessary? And if so, why?” In understanding why it was necessary for Jesus to completely identify with us in the fallenness of our human nature, we find deliverance from discouraged devotion.

Let’s look at the three purposes of Jesus partaking of our nature in :

Jesus took on our nature to destroy the devil (v. 14).

Jesus took on our nature to deliver us from our desperation (vv. 15-16).

Jesus took on our nature to defend the defenseless (vv. 17-18).

Action Steps:

Identify the areas in your life where the “fear of death” is keeping you in bondage to sin. How are you trying to relieve your fears by giving into the lies that sin tells us?

Go back and reread the events of Jesus’ life, especially His temptation (; ). How does understanding that Jesus had to submit Himself to God and resist the devil in the same way that you do change your relationship with Him? Do you find encouragement that Jesus felt the power of sin in His human flesh but never once gave in to the power of sin?

Connect with your merciful and faithful High Priest on a daily basis. Commit to having a time of daily prayer and study. Focus your devotional time on asking Jesus to share with you the wisdom and power that he learned during His life of resisting sin in human nature.

Go forward believing that Jesus can and will help you. “For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted” (Hebrews 2:18).