Hebrews: The Accessible Jesus

On Sunday, Simon continued our series on the book of Hebrews. He said,

"In Jesus, God reaches out in love to save us from ourselves in ways that we can never manage by our own efforts. And this is not an exclusive gift, offered only to the chosen few who in some way deserve it, or have earned it through holy living or careful study. The love of God made manifest in Jesus is a universal love that is extended to all people, in all places, in all times.

"The word ‘universalism’ gets a bad press amongst Christians, as if it were a marker of heresy. But I’d like to reclaim it, and invite you to rejoice with me that God’s love is universal, and that Christ died for all, and was raised for all, so that each and every person, and indeed the whole of creation itself, can find its true nature and purpose within the love of the God who is beyond us.

"And I find myself wondering why Christians spend so much time trying to define God in human words, arguing over who’s right and who’s wrong, over issues of orthodoxy or heresy, over who’s in and who’s out, over whether there are some people who God loves, and some whom he judges. It seems pretty clear to me that through Jesus, all people are brought within the love of God. Good news for one must be good news for all, or it is not good news. And if we seek to keep the good news of the love of God from some, we in turn withhold it from ourselves. That is the judgment of God.

"But this new kingdom of God is a kingdom with no barriers, it is a city with no walls, a nation with no borders. So each of us are invited onto the holy ground before the burning bush, to discover that God who is not us speaks words to us of love, acceptance, forgiveness, freedom, and justice."

Read the script here:

http://baptistbookworm.blogspot.com/2018/07/the-accessible-jesus.html

Listen to the sermon here:

https://soundcloud.com/bloomsbury-1/the-accessible-jesus