“But we are not those who draw back and are destroyed, but those who have faith and are saved” (Hebrews 10:39, CSB).

The Hebrews writer made an elegant theological argument in the previous chapters and concluding in Chapter 10 that the Old Testament law and sacrificial system have been replaced through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. The former required continual sacrifices, the latter was once and for all time.

The Hebrews writer reasoned that when there is absolute atonement for sin, there is no longer a need for continual sacrifice (vs. 18).

So, sin has to go before righteousness can prevail! The cross of Christ removes sin in your life and starts you down a new path, a “new and living way” (vs. 20) of living for God in righteousness and holiness.

This new way of life inaugurated by Jesus has revoked your old way of life without Christ and replaced it with new way of life in Christ! Consequently, for those who have come to a knowledge of Christ there is no excuse to continue to deliberately sin (vs. 31).

There’s a well-known maxim that hangs over the door in many football locker rooms: PLAY LIKE A CHAMPION! As the players exit the locker room to go out on the field to play a game, they jump up and slap the sign hanging over the door to acknowledge that to win the game they must play like winners.

The Hebrews writer closes out this section of his letter with a similar admonition for Christians: We are not those who lose faith when things go wrong but we are those who remain faithful to the end and are saved (vs 39, paraphrased).

To live the Christian life you can’t fall back into sin or lose hope when you encounter problems, but you must live faithfully for God to the end of your life in this world.

So, as you start each day, jump up and slap the sign hanging over your Christian life and:

LIVE LIKE YOU ARE SAVED!

For I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I find myself. I know how to make do with little, and I know how to make do with a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:11-13, CSB)