Useful Bible Studies > Hebrews Commentary > chapter 12
The author of Hebrews is describing how Christians should live. He mentions two qualities that are especially important for them: peace and holiness. They should have peace in their relationships with other people. And they should have holiness in their relationship with God.
Peace here means right relationships with other people. It is a quality that evil people do not have in their lives (Isaiah 59:8). They do not care about right relationships with other people, because they do not care about other people. They care only about themselves. When they seem to be friendly with someone, they do it only for their own advantage.
Christians have a duty to love other people. Jesus described this rule as the second most important command that God has given (Matthew 22:39). Paul repeats this advice in Romans 12:18. It is true that some people will not accept kindness from a Christian. But Christians should always be ready to offer it.
Holiness is a wonderful word. It means the nature of all that is God’s. It describes God’s perfect character (Isaiah 6:3). And it describes the people who have separated themselves to be his, always. They are his holy people; they belong to him.
Jesus said that the most important command is to love God (Matthew 22:37). We must love him with all our heart, mind and spirit. A person who does this is holy. That person belongs to God. This is something that all people can do. We love God, so we invite him into our lives. We are not perfect, so we confess our evil deeds to him. And he makes us holy, so that we belong to him.
God’s people will see him in heaven. And they will always be his (Revelation 22:4). It is very wonderful to know that one day we shall see God (1 Corinthians 13:12).
Next part: People who cannot benefit from God’s kindness (Hebrews 12:15)
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© 2014, Keith Simons.