Encouragement to live by – Hebrews 13

There is so much encouragement to live by found in this chapter:

Verse 1: continue to love one another – this is what brings others to Christ.

Verse 2: show hospitality to strangers – back in the day, inns were expensive and this is a way the gospel was spread – and just ask Abraham and about entertaining Angels?! I know it still happens today. Hospitality, not just for the sake of hospitality, but with the purpose of sharing Christ.

Verse 3: have empathy for prisoners and those who are ill-treated – know anybody like this? We are to suffer with them (2 Timothy 1:16, I Corinthians 12:26)

Verse 4: let marriage be held in honor, and let the marriage bed be undefiled – ’nuff said.

Verse 5: your character – free from the love of money and content with what you have – all you need is everything Christ has. If you’ve ever been to that place where He’s all you have, you’ll find it’s more than enough. the more we have, the harder it is to depend upon Him.

Verse 6: If the King of the Universe is on our side, what can mere mortals do to us?

Verse 7: imitate the faith of those who lead you – made me think here. I have only a few men of faith I can honestly say I’d like to imitate. what about you?

Verse 8: Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever – one of the most frustrating things at work is the flip-flop style of management. one day we do it this way, the next another, without so much as an explanation. I’m glad my God is stable, a firm rock, upon which I can always find security.

Skipping down to:

Verse 15: let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God – we are no longer required to offer blood sacrifices, but we are asked to give a sacrifice of praise, offering ourselves, laying down our lives daily, setting aside our desires to follow him. And, out of gratitude for our forgiveness. In so doing, we’re proclaiming the glory due His name. Do the people at our workplaces see us laying down our life, setting aside our desires and praising God? Lord, help me in this area.

Verse 17: Obey your spiritual leaders. Biggie here for my life. It’s so much easier to grumble and complain about the leadership in a church (or of a nation). We are to honor and obey our leadership. If we feel they are wrong, we are to pray they will change or that God would change our hearts – because HE has placed them in leadership. By complaining and gossiping and stirring up strife, we are telling God that he doesn’t know what He’s doing. Father, forgive me.

This is a rich chapter full of truth for the way we ought to live. I’m glad to have had a chance to go through the book of Hebrews again!

peace,
e

Hall of Faith – Hebrews 11

This chapter should be called the Hall of Faith. Chapter 11 is like a parenthesis between chapter 10 & 12, giving many specific examples of those who believe with a faith that causes Christians to hold on and not lose hope in the face of persecution and trials:

• Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain

• Enoch was taken to heaven without death because of his faith

• Noah prepared an ark for the salvation of his household by faith

• Abraham packed up and left on the word of the Lord without knowing where he was going

• Sarah by faith received the ability to conceive beyond the proper time of life

• Abraham was by faith prepared to sacrifice Isaac, his only son

Well, you have read all the rest.  I was encouraged by reading all these in one spot like this, knowing God recognizes these people for their faith.  It’s not enough just to tell their story in other places in the Bible, but they are again recognized here as an encouragement to us.  What is faith?

11:1 – What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see. 2 God gave his approval to people in days of old because of their faith. 3 By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.

Rewards? Not that we should seek the rewards, but God says it:

6 – And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him (NAS).

Our reward may not be what we expect, but our faith will be rewarded in even better ways:

39-40 – And these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God ha provided something better for us, so that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

May this be a day of faith for you!  Instead of praying for guidence or wisdom, try praying for more trust – more faith. peace,

e

Of those who believe! – Hebrews 10

 

Praise God! In today’s chapter, we’re reminded that we no longer have to depend on man and animals to pay for our sins. That didn’t really work anyway: 

1b- The sacrifices under the old system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship.

3b – 4 – Those yearly sacrifices reminded them of their sins year after year. For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

11 – Under the old covenant, the priest stands before the altar day after day, offering sacrifices that can never take away sins.

So, because of what Christ did and the new covenant, we’re encouraged to:

19b – boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus.

22 – go right into the presence of God, with true hearts fully trusting him. For our evil consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.

24 – Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds

25 – And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near.

Now, verse 26 caused me to stop and ponder:

26 – Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received a full knowledge of the truth, there is no other sacrifice that will cover these sins.

We’re again reminded when people deliberately reject Christ’s offer of salvation, they reject God’s most precious gift. They have rejected the only sacrifice that could have saved them. The way this is worded, however, gave me a chill – “if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received a full knowledge of the truth.” But, like David, Paul, Peter, and several other men of God we’re given to read about, we will always struggle with sin. Some suggest that this is not talking about that, but for anyone who turns away from Christ to another religion, or, having understood Christ’s atoning work, deliberately turns away from it (Mark 3:28). Others insist that there are plenty of scriptures to indicate that if a person who once accepted salvation but changes his attitude, deliberately chooses a life of rebellion, despising God’s laws, then his sin is unforgivable because he will not repent of it (John 15:2, Hebrews 6:4-8).

 

Lastly, we’re encouraged to, by faith, rest in what Christ has done and trust Him for what he will do in the present and in the future.  Doing so will bring great reward (joy today and heavenly possesions in the future, of which the greatest is eternal life). 

35 Remember the great reward it brings you! 36 Patient endurance is what you need now, so you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised. 37 “For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. 38 And a righteous person will live by faith. But I will have no pleasure in anyone who turns away.” 39 But we are not like those who turn their backs on God and seal their fate. We have faith that assures our salvation.

I like how the NIV says it better:

39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.

We are of those who believe and are saved!

Rest in Him today.  Let him take away the pressures and difficulties.  Just smile and look to Him and let everything else just go on about you.  Tomorrow will take care of itself.  We have so much to be thankful for in Christ.  Don’t get bogged down in your “busyness” or even doing good to be so busy not to draw near to Him today.  If you humble yourself and draw near to Him, He will draw near to you.  What better way to spend the day?

peace,

e

Salvation to those who wait… – Hebrews 9

The Shadow is Replaced – Hebrews 8

Today I was having a difficult time putting together my thoughts for a meaningful post, so I turned to the Internet. I found a rather interesting site with an interesting perspective on Hebrews 8. You’ve heard the story, but it’s an interesting thought:

The Shadow is Replaced 

Once upon a time there lived a vain emperor. His only worry in life was to dress in elegant clothes. He changed clothes almost every hour and loved to show them to his people. Word of the Emperor’s “refined” habits spread over his kingdom and beyond.

Two scoundrels who had heard of the Emperor’s vanity decided to take advantage of it. They introduced themselves at the gates of the palace with a scheme in mind. “We are two very good tailors and after many years of research we have invented an extraordinary method to weave a cloth so light and fine that it looks invisible. As a matter of fact, it is invisible to anyone who is too stupid and incompetent to appreciate its quality.” Finally, the two men were allowed to meet the emperor, “Besides being invisible, your Highness, this cloth will be woven in colors and patterns created especially for you.”

The emperor gave the two men a bag of gold coins in exchange for their promise to begin working on the fabric immediately. The two men finally finished and presented the new clothes to the emperor who was encouraged to show them to his subjects. Of course he was naked, but everyone said, loudly enough for the others to hear: “Look at the Emperor’s new clothes. They’re beautiful!” “And the colors! I have never seen anything like it in my life.” They all tried to conceal their disappointment at not being able to see the clothes, and were unwilling to admit their own stupidity and incompetence. A child, however, who had no important job and could only see things as his eyes showed them to him, went up to the carriage. “The Emperor is naked,” he said.

Self Deception. The above story is an old fairy tale called “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” It was not written to illustrate the problem we find in the book of Hebrews. But it illustrates what the men and women to whom Hebrews was written thought they had done. They had left Judaism for Jesus and found trials, conflicts, and difficulties. They did not realize, as we do not usually realize, that when there is a battle, trouble is just around the corner. When they looked back, they thought they had left Judaism for nothing. They thought they were now “wearing spiritually invisible clothes.” They were wondering if they had made a mistake on leaving their old, “real clothes” behind.

So the Holy Spirit has explained that Jesus is better than the angels who in some way helped give the law to Moses (Acts 7:53; Gal. 3:19; Heb. 2:2). The Holy Spirit has shown them that Jesus was more faithful than Moses who was the mediator of the Old Covenant – the Law. (Gal. 3:18-19; Heb. 3:1-6). Jesus is also better than earthly priests, since He a priest after the order of Melchizedek, and lives forever. The Holy Spirit has laid the foundation and is ready for the shocking, unbelievable conclusion.

Main Point. The reason the first seven chapters of Hebrews were written – the main point – is now given. 

Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister in the sanctuary, and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man. (NASB) Heb. 8:1-2.

The main point is that Jesus is not just a man who lived and died, but He is our high priest and He sits at the right hand of God the Father in heaven.

A L W A Y S – Hebrews 7

 

25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

The Falling Away – Hebrews 6

Once again, the book of Hebrews offers a verse that suggests people can taste the gift of salvation and the gift of the Holy Spirit, but then choose to walk away:

 4It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, 6if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

Yet in this same chapter, there are other references to “enduring to the end” and “hope of salvation”:

 11We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure.

19We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.

There’s something more to this. There seems to be a sort of condition or caveat in verse 6 with the phrase “to be brought back to repentance.” In other words, it’s not impossible to bring them back, but to be brought back to repentance is impossible. I found it curious that it doesn’t say “to be brought back to salvation.”

I needed to understand this so I looked up the Greek word for “fallen away”. It’s parapipto which means “to stumble or fall along side.” It’s not the word apstosia from which we get the idea of apostate or apostacy.

What am I getting to? Look one more time at the first verse of this chapter:

“1 Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, ” (NKJV – emphasis mine)

The book of Hebrews has many references to showing faith through works. All this leads me to wonder if the writer of Hebrews is not talking about loosing faith that leads to salvation at all. Perhaps the writer is saying we can loose our effectiveness as a witness for Jesus Christ. Look at verses 7-9:

7 For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; 8 but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned. 9 But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner.

The things that accompany salvation – the works – are those things I believe the writer is saying are impossible to regain or to be “brought back to repentance.” Verses 7 and 8 remind us that we’re here to bear fruit on this earth – to show an example of Jesus Christ and through our works, produce fruit.

There’s another reference to this situation in the Bible that comes to mind in Revelation chapter 2, where Jesus warns the church at Ephesus that even though their deeds are good, their work is without love, and as a consequence, they will lose their lampstand, or in other words, their witness.

Bottom line: Perhaps for those who have tasted God, then fall away, it is impossible for them to regain their testimony and effective witness.

I pray something in these verses has prompted a desire to learn more. The more I study this issue of eternal security, the more I find out I do not know. Only through diligent study, prayer and discussion with other God-followers can we grow in knowledge. Please feel free to comment to my thoughts.

God bless your studies…

peace,
e

Rest. Rest! Rest? – Hebrews 4

Enter in…

I’ve heard it lately on the radio, in my prayers, in sermons, in ministry podcasts. I’ve read it in the books God has me reading. Everywhere I go, I hear the same thing: I need to carefully consider this notion of rest. Now – here it is again!!!

I looked back on my Hebrews 3 dBrag email from March of 2005 and guess what – I was going on about the same thing. I guess I haven’t learned much about rest.

As I read it through today, however, there’s something deeper than the simple fact that I need to rest during the week (which I still need to work on). Look at the first verse:

1 God’s promise of entering his place of rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to get there.

This place of rest is something that some might fail to get to. Is this heaven? Is this a peace of knowing we’re saved?

Verse 11 got me thinking:

11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience. (NIV)

Let us make every effort to enter rest. Huh? It’s like saying, “We must work hard to rest.”

Hebrews 4 seems to indicate a place of “spiritual rest.” The writer of Hebrews seems to be contrasting the freedoms we have in the new covenant with the Mosaic law. That’s the place of rest – peace of knowing God, through Christ, on a personal level.

Let me put it this way: because of Christ we no longer have to work for salvation. There are those who have not ceased from their works – and they can’t enter into rest (of salvation).

Verse 2 tells us:

2 For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. (NLT)

The author urges us to be diligent, then he mentions “the gospel.” This implies that we enter God’s rest by means of the gospel. Then in verse 3, the writer says, “Now we who have believed enter that rest…” Believed what? The gospel!

God’s rest is entered into by faith – by believing the gospel.

Does this negate the rest of Sabbath? Hardly, it’s even mentioned in this chapter, but it (the Sabbath) points to our rest through faith in Christ.

at rest,
e

Is Accountability Really Necessary? – Hebrews 3

Today the writer of Hebrews also gives us a word about accountability and holding one another up and encouraging each other.

13 You must warn each other every day, as long as it is called “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God.

We were not created to walk out our faith on our own – that’s a lie of the devil. We need each other and we need to hold one another accountable and make sure we don’t slip off into sin and thereby harden our heart against God.

Consider who you’re really accountable to. Do they really know you and your issues? Do they know how to pray for you every day? Are they familiar with the struggles you face? Do they know how to give advice for those struggles? Are they asking you hard questions to keep you from sin?

If not, it’s important for you to begin to pray and ask God to give you such accountability. It’s all about being faithful to the end – finishing the race:

14 For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.

That race, of course, is to stand before God on the day of judgement and hear the words, “Well done my good and faithful servant.”

Cherish accountability – it could save your life…

peace,
e

Eternal Security Revisited – Hebrews 3

Is there any doubt that the writer of Hebrews was writing to Christians? …to “saved” people?

1 And so, dear brothers and sisters who belong to God and are bound for heaven,…

With that in mind, take a look at verse 12:

12 Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God.  

The past few weeks, my men’s group has been going through John Bevere’s new book, “Driven by Eternity.” It has caused many to dive into the Word and determine what they believe when it comes to eternal security issues. In his book, Bevere states that it’s true God will never leave you or forsake you, but no where in scripture does it say we can’t walk away from God.

After reading today’s chapter, I’d propose he start saying that scripture does say you can turn away from God.

Thoughts?

peace,
e