Hebrews Chapter 12
By
Jim Bomkamp
1. VS 12:1 - “12:1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses
surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so
easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before
us,” - The author tells us that because we are
surrounded by so many witnesses that we ought to lay aside every encumbrance to
our walk
1.1.
The ‘cloud of witnesses’
surrounding the believers plainly refers to the Old Testament saints mentioned
in chapter 11, who have gone on to be with the Lord. These witnesses are either aware and watching
the acts of present day believers or it is simply that their lives are a living
testimony even today. I like both
views.
1.2.
I heard a preacher say one
time that it is as if the Old Testament saints are sitting all around an
amphitheater watching the races of our lives of faith, encouraging and cheering
us on to victory and faith. They all
with one accord, Abel and Enoch and Noah, Abraham and Sarah, Moses and the
prophets, as with one heart and mouth witness to us: 'Be of good courage, fear not; be strong in faith, and persevere.'
1.3.
What in general the author
is trying to accomplish in these first four verses is to exhort the Hebrew
Christians to a steady, active, persevering discharge of their Christian duty,
notwithstanding all the privations and sufferings, dangers and difficulties, to
which this might expose them. The accomplishing
of this is by "running with perseverance the race set before us.
1.4.
The way that we accomplish
this exhortation is by "laying aside every weight, and especially the
laying aside the sin that does most easily beset us."
1.5.
This duty is performed is by
"looking to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, who, for the joy
that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set
down at the right hand of the throne of God."
1.6.
The author is probably
causing the Hebrews to bring to mind the races at
1.7.
The word ‘witness’
here has two meanings : 'a person who
gives testimony', and 'a spectator.' The
word is applicable to the patriarchs and saints, who for their faith are
honorably mentioned in Scripture. Their
recorded achievements, and sufferings, and attainments, attest in the most
satisfactory way the power of faith, its necessity, and its sufficiency for all
the purposes of our duty and trials as Christians.
1.8.
The cloud of witnesses would
speak to us with one voice saying that they once struggled as we now struggle,
and we shall conquer as they have conquered.
1.9.
The use of the word ‘cloud
of witnesses’is expressive of their great number.
1.10.
In these verses the whole of
Christian duty is represented as a race, a race set before each of us, one
which we must run, and "run with patience."
1.11.
The angels never tire in
their race, but it is otherwise with even the greatest child of God today. We all have imperfectly renewed natures, as
well as external circumstances, numerous causes which tend to hinder our growth
and perseverance: "Without are
fightings, within fears."
1.11.1.
We are in danger of
stumbling and falling, our attention is in danger of being allured by surrounding
objects, and, through continued exertion we are apt to become "weary and
faint in our minds."
1.11.2.
It is no easy matter to
"flesh and blood" to deny self, to take up the cross, to follow Christ,
to cut off the right hand, to pluck out the right eye, to "mortify our
members which are on the earth,” to "crucify the flesh, with its
affections and lusts,” etc.
1.11.3.
Our Christian duty, still
further, requires regulated exertion. A
man may make active and laborious exertion by running up and down in various
directions, but this is not to run a race.
The racer must keep to the course prescribed; he must "run the race set before
him," else his exertions, however active and laborious, will serve no good
purpose when he is disqualified or runs to no end.
1.11.4.
Our progression is another
aspect. A man may be very active and
labor without moving from the spot where he stands, but this is not a
race. As Christians we must make
progress; we must grow in knowledge, and
faith, and humility, and usefulness, and holiness; we must "forget the things that are
behind, and reach forth towards those which are before, and press toward the
mark "for the prize of the upward calling of God in Christ
Jesus." We must "add to our
faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge temperance, and to
temperance patience, and to patience godliness, and to godliness brotherly
kindness, and to brotherly-kindness charity."
1.11.5.
Finally, we must realize
that our Christian duty requires persevering exertion. This idea is suggested by the very term
"race," for no race is won in
which the runner does not continue running till he reach the goal. This is demonstrated in "Run with
patience the race set before you."
Some translations use the word "endurance" to bring this
out. As one person once mentioned to me,
“The Christian life is not a 100 yard dash, it is a marathon, and it takes
up our entire life.” Many Christians
make a good 100 yard dash, but fail to plan for a lifelong marathon.
1.12.
Christianity does not
consist, as too many seem to think it does, in abstract of mystical
speculation, enthusiastic feeling, and specious talk. Rather it is to be active, laborious,
regulated, progressive, and we are to persevere in it.
1.13.
We are told, “Let us run,”
and this intimates that we are to make intense exertion and perform with all of
our might our Christian duties, loving the Lord with all of our heart, mind,
and strength.
1.14.
The phrase "lay aside
every weight, and the sin that most easily besets us" is figurative of the
Olympic racers who would actually run their race naked, having laid aside all
superfluous clothing all that would encumber them. They pressed toward the mark to win the
prize. The sin referred to here then is
compared to a loose garment which readily comes round the loins of the racer,
and, entangling him, diminishes his speed, retards him in his course.
1.14.1.
We Christians should
immediately abandon and be careful to avoid everything, either in opinion, or
disposition, or conduct, which tends to prevent the ready, persevering
discharge of the duties enjoined on us.
For the persevering performance of Christian duty, everything that is
"sinful" must be abandoned and avoided.
1.14.2.
We are told in scripture to
"mortify our members which are upon the earth," to cut off the hand
that offends, pull out the eye that causes us to stumble, etc.
1.15.
Possibly the sin the author
is thinking of primarily in writing this epistle is "the evil heart of
unbelief, in departing from the living God." Their former prejudices in favor of Judaism
coupled with the privations and sufferings due to their profession of faith
caused many to do what the scripture records, "many went back and walked
no more with Jesus."
2. VS 12:2 - “2 fixing
our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set
before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the
right hand of the throne of God.” - The author tells us to fix our eyes upon
Jesus
2.1.
In this verse, Jesus is seen
as the ‘author and perfecter of faith.’
2.2.
The words ‘of faith’
can be looked at as the act of "believing" or "what is
believed."
2.3.
In these verses, Jesus is
viewed as the author and finisher of faith.
But in Heb. 2:10, we saw how the translation was that Jesus was the
"captain of salvation," meaning the "leader," or the one
who goes before and conducts others, leading them by example. This is probably what is referred to
here: Jesus, the Leader, and as the
Leader, the Exemplar, of the faith.
2.4.
Jesus, who has run the race
before us has "set us an example and we should follow His
steps." We are to walk as He
walked. In His life of self-denial and
humility, of obedience and death, He showed us that there is no way to God but
that of sacrifice, resisting the world and self unto death. There is no way of deliverance from fallen
nature but by dying to it.
2.5.
The word rendered "finisher"
or "perfecter" may be equivalent in this context to,
"rewarder." The Apostle is
keeping sight of the principal figure, the Olympic stadium; and Jesus is here represented as one who,
Himself having gained the highest honors of the race on a former occasion, sits
now on an exalted throne, near the goal, as judge of the competitors, and with
garlands in His hand to crown the victors.
He is the rewarder of the faithful, or believers.
2.6.
The Lord would say to
us, "Be faithful to death, and I
will give thee a crown of life."
2.7.
He is the Leader and
Exemplar of the faithful, for "He endured the cross, despising the
shame," and, He did this "for the joy that was set before Him."
2.8.
In running with perseverance
the race that is set before us, we are to "look to Jesus Christ" as
our Leader and Exemplar, our Perfecter and Rewarder; i.e., we are habitually to make the truth
respecting Him in these characters the subject of our contemplation. The record of the labors and sufferings and
triumphs of Old Testament believers may and ought to be a source of
instruction, motive, and encouragement to us amidst our difficulties and
trials, but the record of the unparalleled labors, and sufferings, and glories
of our Lord and Savior is our grand source of instruction, motive, and
encouragement.
2.9.
Habitually looking to Jesus
will be sufficient to make Christians, in opposition to every conceivable
difficultly and temptation, persevere in running "the race set before
them."
2.10.
We are not to look to
ourselves or our sins, but to Him who hath put away sin for ever. We should not look to ourselves or our faith,
whether in its weakness or its strength, but to Him whose presence is the life
of our faith, not to the world or its temptations, nor to Satan or his threats,
but Him who has conquered hell, death, and the grave. If we "become weary and faint in our
minds," it is because we do not "consider Him." If we neglect our duty, it is because we
forget our Savior.
2.11.
Look to Him, to see what He
is, to hear what He speaks, to do what He says, to follow where He leads, to
trust for all He waits to give. Look to
Him for His love, till you heart burns with that love.
3. VS 12:3 - “3 For
consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that
you may not grow weary and lose heart.” - The author tells us to consider Jesus in His
having endured hostility against Himself
3.1.
The Hebrew Christians were
in danger of "becoming weary and fainting in their minds" from the
afflictions which were coming to them from God Himself. To faint and be weary is just the opposite of
persevering labor and suffering for the name of Christ. It is, under the depressing and discouraging
influence of severe and long-continued trials, to abandon, either partially or
totally, the duties which rise out of the Christian profession.
3.2.
Severe and long-continued
privations and sufferings on account of our connection with Christ, try the
reality and strength of our attachment to Him.
To such privations and sufferings the Hebrew Christians were exposed,
and so that they might not yield to their influence the Apostle turns their
minds to the multiplied, severe, and long-continued sufferings of our Lord, and
His patient persevering and endurance of them.
3.3.
Jesus was exposed to worse
sufferings than any have ever been exposed, and yet He never became weary or
fainted in His mind.
3.4.
The whole of our Lord's
history is a commentary on His enduring "hostility at the hands of
sinners." They ridiculed Him as a
low-born, low-bred, fanatical madman.
They branded Him as a glutton and wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and
sinners, an impostor, a liar, a usurper of divine honors, and a person in
league with demons. They laid snares for
His life, and through the treachery of one of His disciples, He was put in
their hands and they treated Him with the worst scorn and barbarous cruelty in
beating and crucifying Him.
3.5.
The apostle not only states
that our Lord was exposed to this opposition from sinful men, but that He
"endured" it. This describes
how He suffered it. He patiently bore
it. He did not "become weary or
faint in His mind." Jesus endured
faithfully unto the end in His sufferings.
4. VS 12:4 - “4 You have
not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin;” - The author reminds the
readers that though they have been persecuted that they have not yet been
martyred
4.1.
In the Hebrews
"striving against sin" they had resisting attempts made to induce
them to apostatize and thus suffered various temporal losses.
4.1.1. They had lost the good opinion of their countrymen.
4.1.2. Their names had been cast out as evil.
4.1.3. They had been reviled.
4.1.4. Some of them had their goods taken away.
4.1.5. They had endured a great fight of afflictions, having been made a
gazingstock by reproaches and afflictions.
4.1.6. Just a few of them had become martyrs, men such as Stephen, and James
the brother of John. But at the period
when this Epistle was written, none of them were called to lay down their life
for the cause of truth and righteousness.
4.2.
The force of the Apostle's
admonition may be thus expressed: “Your
sufferings, though numerous and severe, have not yet caused you to part with
life.”
4.3.
Many believers under a
former dispensation were called on to make martyr’s sacrifice, and they
cheerfully made it. When tortured even
to death, they refused deliverance on the condition of apostasy. Now the Hebrews are being caused to consider
whether or not they will abandon the Lord if exposed to such a trial?
4.4.
The words seem also to
intimate that though not yet called on to die for their Lord and faith, it was
quite possible that they might soon have to do just that.
4.5.
When these Hebrews became
Christians, they were told plainly at what hazard the became so. They were not lied to in the preaching of the
good news to them, that the Christian life would be a life of easy and worldly
comfort. They were told that if they
would live godly in Christ Jesus that they would suffer persecution.
4.6.
I wonder how many in our
churches in
4.7.
Its not a bad idea to
consider in any persecution what is the worst thing that could happen to
us. If you think about it, if someone
kills you for your faith they have just sent you right home to your Lord and
Master and to eternal joys forevermore.
5. VS 12:5 - “5 and you
have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “My son, do
not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, Nor faint when you are reproved
by Him;” - The
author reminds the readers of the exhortation to not regard lightly the
discipline of the Lord or faint because of it
5.1.
QUOTE: Proverbs
3:11, “11 My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord Or loathe His reproof.”
5.2.
Consider this, if these
Christians were tempted to think that their suffering was a sign of divine
displeasure against them, which surely many thought, they were to remember that
Jesus God's only-unique Son suffered.
The author seeks to show in this chapter though that the fact that we
have suffer is actually sign of the love of God for us.
5.3.
Interestingly, all of the
religions of the world tend to think of suffering as being a punishment from
their god. Their goal in their religions
then is to avoid suffering by somehow appeasing their god(s). The author’s argument is unique among
religions for it states that if you are a true son of God, then suffering is
actually a sign that God loves you and that He considers you to be His child.
5.4.
With the Hebrew Christians,
their Jewish prejudices probably led them to believe that their being
Christians would cause them to be blessed, not to suffer. However, they had forgotten an important
exhortation from their scripture concerning how God uses suffering in His
people’s lives.
5.5.
Afflictions, when considered
by themselves, may be considered as a temptation to apostasy, but when viewed
in the light of God's word, they will be found to be an argument to
steadfastness.
5.6.
If, in consequence of their
afflictions, the Hebrew Christians were in danger of "becoming weary and
faint in their minds," it was because they had forgotten the scriptural
view of the nature and design of afflictions, and of their duty under
afflictions.
5.7.
We Christians today need to
beware above everything of casting away our boldness, of becoming impatient, of
losing courage. We need to learn today
the secret of never suffering loss in the soul by the sufferings of life. We instead need to learn to make our
sufferings our greatest gain, for this is God’s design for us.
5.8.
We need to link our
sufferings to God and to Jesus. It is
God who sends them. He sent them to
Jesus and perfected Him through them. He
sends them to us in the same love, and will make them our highest gain. We need to receive every inward and outward
trouble, every disappointment, pain, uneasiness, temptation, darkness,
desolation, with both of our hands, as a true opportunity and blessed occasion
of dying to self, and entering into a fuller fellowship with Jesus, "For
whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives."
6. VS 12:6 - “6 For those
whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He
receives.”” - The author tells us that if the Lord loves a
person He will discipline him/her
6.1.
QUOTE: Proverbs 3:12, “12 For
whom the Lord loves He reproves,
Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.”
6.2.
Affliction in some form or other,
is allotted by God to every individual whom He regards with peculiar favor, as
the necessary means of promoting their spiritual improvement. Sufferings then are to be considered as a
proof of His parental love.
6.3.
The exhortation founded on
this view is to "Despise not the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when
you are rebuked of Him." The Hebrew
Christians were not to despise the chastening of the Lord, nor to think them to
have little value. Rather, they were to
think of them as important blessings in their lives.
6.4.
We Christians need to
realize that our trials are chastisements, discipline intended and calculated,
and necessary for our real welfare. They
are not the strokes of an enemy, but the rod of a Father, They come from a being who is the greatest,
the wisest, the best of beings, One who can do nothing without a good reason
and nothing in caprice or in cruelty.
7. VS 12:7 - “7 It is for
discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is
there whom his father does not discipline?” - The author tells us that the Lord deals with
us in discipline just as a good father deals with his son or daughter
7.1.
All afflictions and
hardships are far from being proofs that those who are visited with them are
objects of the divine displeasure. In
fact freedom from them would be a ground of doubt whether the individual was an
object of the divine peculiar favor.
7.2.
The character of Him from
whom afflictions come, and the design for which they are sent, should induce us
to receive, and patiently bear them.
7.3.
The consequences of these
afflictions, when thus endured, are so advantageous, that they more than
compensate the pain they incur.
7.4.
"God deals with us
as with sons" : God our
heavenly father disciplines us constantly through hardships much in the same
way we discipline our children (and were disciplined by our father) daily so
that they will turn out to be good godfearing people when they grow up.
7.5.
To "endure
chastening" may mean to patiently and perseveringly submit to the afflictions
laid on us, or it may just mean simply to experience suffering.
7.6.
We Christians need to
realize that chastening is a part of a father's training, and one of the marks
of sonship. The child of God needs to
learn the lesson that suffering is chastening, the chastening of love.
7.7.
Submission to chastening
forms and proves the truly childlike character of us, God’s sons and
daughters.
7.8.
God's chastening makes us
partakers of God's holiness. What we
learn from God's discipline of us is the true nature of our character and
motivations, for our hearts are tested by our chastenings.
8. VS 12:8 - “8 But if
you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are
illegitimate children and not sons.” - Those who are not disciplined by the Lord are
illegitimate children
8.1.
The fact that we are subject
to hardships is evidence that we are not bastards, but that we in fact have a
father, one in Heaven who loves us more than any earthly father could love a
son.
8.2.
Spurious children from an adulterous
wife or illegitimate offspring, though it is criminal, are often neglected by
their father so far as parental superintendence and discipline are
concerned. Yet, God's discipline of us
is evidence that we are true sons of His.
8.3.
Every son among men stands
in need of chastisement in some form or degree, and every wise and kind father
will inflict chastisement when he sees it to be necessary for the good of his
son. If one doesn't discipline his
child, he does not love his child.
9. VS 12:9 - “9
Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them;
shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live?” - If we respected our earthly
fathers who disciplined us, how much more should we not be subject to the Father
of spirits
9.1.
We have all had natural
parents. They had a right to do so from
their relation, and they did punish us.
They restrained us and "corrected us" and we, for the most part,
did not rebel against them. We gave them
“reverence" or “respect.” Now, if
it was reasonable and right in us to submit to their chastisement, must it not
be much more obviously reasonable and right to submit to the chastisement of
our heavenly Father, the Father of our spirits?
9.2.
The spiritual relation to
our heavenly father is even greater than that to our natural father, therefore
is it not more fitting that we submit to our heavenly father's
disciplining.
9.3.
To be in subjection to the
Father is to acquiesce in His sovereign right to do what He will with us as His
own, it is a renunciation of our self-will as well as an acknowledgment of His
righteousness, wisdom, and especially His love, in all His dealings with us.
9.4.
Subjection to the Lord also
involves a diligent application of ourselves unto His mind and will, or to what
He calls us to in a special manner at that season, and a keeping of our souls
by persevering faith from weariness and despondency. It is a full resignation of ourselves to His
will, as to the matter, manner, times, and continuance of our afflictions.
9.5.
The words "and
live" is here equivalent to "to be happy". Subjection to the father of spirits is the
sure way, to true happiness.
9.6.
We Christians need to apply
our hearts to obedience. We need to try
to be pleasing to the Lord in all that we do.
10.
VS 12:10 - “10 For they disciplined us for a
short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, that we
may share His holiness.” - The author compares the discipline of our
earthly fathers with that of our heavenly father
10.1.
Our earthly fathers
restrained us and corrected us for a short season, during our infancy,
childhood, and early youth. They did so
as it seemed good to them. Many fathers
were guided by their impulse of the moment and are inconsistent. Many were abusive and cruel in their
punishment. But, Lord, being omnipotent
and almighty, always disciplines us with the purest of motives, the most
precise calculation for our benefit, and intending to promote one purpose : "our good."
10.2.
Even in the best of earthly
parents, kind, wise intention does not always secure the best means to realize
the parent's intention, however the Lord is always perfect in the way He
administrates chastisement to us.
10.3.
To become "partakers of
His holiness" involves the process of having our mind brought to His mind,
our will brought to His will, to begin to think the thoughts that He thinks, to
will as He wills, and to find enjoyment in that in which He finds
enjoyment.
10.4.
This process of the Lord’s chastening
of us here on the earth will continue until we all attain unto the fullness of
the stature of Christ, or we pass from this life to be face to face with the
Lord.
11.
VS 12:11 - “11 All discipline for the moment
seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by
it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” - Discipline isn’t fun when you
are going through it but afterward it yields ‘the peaceful fruit of
righteousness’
11.1.
The results produced by
afflictions, if we will embrace them as coming from the loving hand of God,
more than compensate the pain which they caused during their continuance.
11.2.
The author teaches that it
is of the very nature of affliction to produce pain and sorrow. The pain is not fun but is grievous instead
of joyous. However, it was Paul who said
of himself that he was "as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing."
11.3.
The person who is trained by
his afflictions, finds them to produce true joy, which accompanies "the
peaceable fruit of righteousness."
11.4.
The "fruits" which
righteousness (real holiness) produces, are the effect of affliction to those
who learn to patiently endure sufferings.
But, this fruit is born "afterwards," after the initial grieving
and sorrow of afflictions and the persevering enduring of them in faith.
11.5.
The natural effect of
afflictions on an unsanctified mind is either to irritate or depress, make
bitter, and instead of promoting they hinders spiritual improvement. This arises entirely though from ignorance,
unbelief, and obstinacy towards the Lord by the person afflicted.
11.6.
With regard to us as
Christians, in the proportion as we regard affliction as the chastisement from
the loving hand of the Lord, that affliction will promote our spiritual
interests.
11.7.
We need to also realize that
affliction is also calculated to impress on the mind the evil of sin generally,
our own sinfulness, the vanity of the world, the importance of an interest in
the Lord’s favor, the value of a good conscience, and the blessedness of a
well-grounded hope of eternal life.
11.8.
In the time of ease and
prosperity, the mind is naturally thoughtless and inconsiderate and the
realities of the spiritual and eternal state are in some measure
forgotten. The carnal enjoyments of life
take the place of the happiness which arises from a good conscience and peace
with God. But, sanctified affliction
opens up our eyes and makes us see things as they really are and realize the
importance of those things that are eternal over those which are earthly and
temporal. It is said of the wicked, that
"because their strength is firm, and they are not in trouble as other
men, pride compasses them about as a chain," Ps 73:3-6.
12.
VS 12:12-13 - “12 Therefore, strengthen the
hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, 13 and make straight paths
for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but
rather be healed.” - The author tells Hebrew Christians to
strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble
12.1.
For the hands to hang down,
and the knees to be feeble, are figurative expressions to denote a tendency to
abandon the discharge of Christian duty.
12.2.
To "strengthen” the
weak hands and feeble knees means to support them, as it were, by bandages
bracing them. Figuratively, it is an
expression then for, be active and persevering in the discharge of duty, rouse
yourselves and each other to this activity and perseverance in the Christian
faith.
12.3.
To make straight paths for your
feet means to proceed straight forwards in the discharge of Christian duty,
notwithstanding all difficulties, to beware of turning aside in any degree that
may lead to abandonment of the right way altogether, and to proceed straight onwards. If you do not do this then that limb of yours
which is lame now will come to be dislocated.
12.4.
We are admonished to
‘proceed straight onward for if your joints become dislocated this will keep
you from being able to run the race at all.
12.5.
The author then is telling
us to beware of moving, even in a slight degree, from the path of duty for that
may end in final apostasy.
12.6.
On the contrary, the readers
are admonished to allow the lame limb to ‘rather be healed.’ By turning their minds to the truths which
the author has pressed on them they will not weary in well doing and thus fall
out of the race.
12.7.
We are weak and sickly
athletes who desperately need the training from suffering in order to be
brought to health and fitness, as we run this race we are running. In order to run straight ahead, first give
your way to the Lord, yield, surrender, consecrate yourself to the Lord, then
follow Jesus the pace setter in our race.
13.
VS 12:14 - “14 Pursue peace with all men,
and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.” - The author tells the reader
to pursue peace with all men as well as sanctification
13.1.
It is the duty of Christians
to as much as is possible be at peace among themselves, and to be on their
guard against all alienation of affection towards each other.
13.2.
However, this verse seems to
reference not so much the peace which Christians should endeavor to maintain
among themselves as that which they should endeavor to preserve in reference to
the world around. They are to ‘pursue
peace with all men.’
13.3.
Some translations use the
word "holiness" in this verse instead of ‘sanctification.’ The proper meaning of the word
"holiness" is “devotedness to God.”
13.4.
Without this spiritual
devotedness to God, or ‘sanctification,’
we shall never ‘see the Lord.’
13.4.1.
There are people in our
world today who claim to be Christians and yet they are not willing to live
their life according to the admonitions of scripture, and they think that
everything is fine in their relationship with God and that they will still go
to heaven. This verse states the
opposite. If there isn’t a commitment to
living our life in such a was as pleases the Lord then after this life we
aren’t going to be found in heaven with the Lord, but rather in eternal hell
and torments.
13.5.
If in being "holy"
Christians can live in peace with all men, it is so much the better. However, they can never substitute holiness
for the sake of being a peace with all men.
It is infinitely better to have the whole world as our enemies and God
for our friend, than to have the whole world as our friends and God for our
enemy.
13.6.
We are not to unnecessarily
provoke the resentments of the men of this world, but we must never do this at
the expense of our character or witness.
13.7.
If the world persecutes us
as Christians, we must take care that this persecution has in no degree been
provoked by our improper or imprudent behavior.
14.
VS 12:15-17 - “15 See to it that no one comes
short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble,
and by it many be defiled; 16 that there be no immoral or godless person like
Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. 17 For you know that even
afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he
found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.” - The author warns the reader
to not come short of the grace of God and not to allow a root of bitterness to
spring up in them
14.1.
As a further means of
preventing apostasy, the author exhorts the Christian Hebrews to watch over
each other with a holy jealousy, as He had done earlier when he reminded
them to "Consider how to provoke
one another to love and good deeds."
14.2.
"Falling short of the
grace of God" in verse 15 seems to refer to verse 14 where author mentions
the sanctification "without which no one will see the Lord."
14.3.
This grace of God refers to
that effect of divine favor or kindness mentioned in the preceding verse: seeing the Lord and thus spending eternity
there in fellowship with Him. To fall
short of this grace of God then is to come short of heaven.
14.4.
The Hebrew Christians were
to watch over each other lest any of them should, by not walking in
sanctification, by not cultivating devotedness to God, fail of attaining that
state of perfect holy happiness in the immediate presence of the Lord, which is
the prize of our high calling.
14.5.
They were to watch
particularly ‘that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by
it many be defiled.’ This verse
seems to be copied from Deut. 29:18, "18 so that there
will not be among you a man or woman, or family or tribe, whose heart turns
away today from the Lord our God,
to go and serve the gods of those nations; that there will not be among you a
root bearing poisonous fruit and wormwood."
14.6.
A ‘root bearing poisonous fruit and wormwood’
is just another name for a secret apostate, a false-hearted professor of
Christianity, or as Moses expresses it, " a man or woman, or family or tribe, whose heart turns away today from
the Lord our God."
14.7.
For such a root to
"spring up" is for such individuals to manifest their apostatizing
tendencies by their words or their conduct.
When trying circumstances bring out apostates then such persons trouble
the Church. Their false doctrines and
their irregular conduct trouble their brethren, not only by producing grief and
regret, but also in many cases by introducing strife and enmity, and all the
innumerable evils that rise out of them.
When this occurs "many are defiled."
14.8.
The ‘root of bitterness’
may refer to persons who lead others astray or to the error itself whether a
thought or behavior which causes many to be defiled. This is like a contamination of plants in the
neighborhood in which it puts forth its bitter leaves and brings forth its
poisonous fruits.
14.9.
They are to "look
diligently, lest there be among them any fornicator, or profane person, like
Esau, who for a morsel of bread sold his birthright." Esau is not in the Old Testament represented
as a fornicator, but the Jewish interpreters with one consent accuse him of
fornication, and his marrying two Canaanite wives against the will of his pious
parents, certainly does not speak favorably of his piety or bodily control.
14.10.
The means he recommends them
to use for this purpose is to "look diligently," (‘see to it’) The Greek word translated "See to
it" is the same which in 1 Peter 5:2 which is translated "taking the
oversight," usually the job designated for the elders and overseers in the
church.
14.11.
But it seems plain that the
author is not here addressing the elders among the Hebrew Christians in
particular, but the whole brotherhood.
He does not primarily admonish the leaders but speaks to the common care
and oversight which all the members of a Christian church should exercise in
relation to each other.
14.12.
As Jesus taught, the author
is bringing before the Hebrew Christians the exhortation that "if your
brother sins, go to him and rebuke him" (Matt. 18). This superintendence of the body by all
members is essential to the healthy growth of all. The neglect of this responsibility has led
the church to be in the terrible shape it is now in, with all of the corruption
of Christians leaders at the highest levels.
14.13.
The words in the 17th verse are
obviously intended to strike terror into the minds of those who might be
induced, like Esau, to sacrifice spiritual privileges for worldly
advantages; and the general idea is, “A
time will come when you will bitterly, but in vain, regret your foolish choices
and conduct.” This is what happened to
Esau. When he discovered that the
blessings for the firstborn were given to Jacob, he earnestly sought to
re-inherit the blessing, and when he was told it was impossible, he still
sought, even with tears, to make his father repent, or change his mind. But he did so in vain.
14.14.
Esau despised and sold his
birthright for a meal, and must take the consequences. In like manner, the spurious professor of
Christianity, who for present enjoyment gives up the promised inheritance in
heaven, will one day regret his choice:
Luke 13:25-28. He too will find ‘no
place for repentance’ and no means of altering the divine determination
that when he leaves earth he will go to hell and not to heaven.
14.15.
We Christians all have the
responsibility to keep the church pure, and we do this by keeping watch over
each other. If a brother or sister is in
sin, then each of us has a responsibility to go and confront them in love (see
Matt. 18).
14.16.
This sin of fornication is
one which the church must also be careful to prevent, and thus there are so
many warnings about it in the New Testament.
If people commit that sin and then insist in continuing in that practice
they must not be allowed to remain in fellowship, for like leaven they will leaven
the whole lump of dough.
14.17.
It is interesting that it
was merely desire for eating food that caused Esau to give up his
birthright. Our daily needs and daily
food may even lead us to destruction.
Esau sold his birthright, and Adam and Even fell into sin, just for
eating. And, Christ won the victory of
temptation over Satan by refusing to turn the stones into bread when He was
very hungry.
15.
VS 12:18-21 - “18 For you have not come to a
mountain that may be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom
and whirlwind, 19 and to the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words which
sound was such that those who heard begged that no further word should be
spoken to them. 20 For they could not bear the command, “If even a beast
touches the mountain, it will be stoned.”
21 And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, “I am full of
fear and trembling.”” - The author begins to compare
two mountains (and thus two covenants):
Sinai and Zion
15.1.
The remaining words of this
chapter, 18-28, form the concluding paragraph of the general exhortation, to
hold fast the faith and profession of Christianity, in opposition to all
temptations to return to Judaism. The
argument is grounded on the demonstration of the immeasurable superiority of
the former to the latter, which had been presented to them in the doctrinal
portion of the letter.
15.2.
This section opens with a
very striking comparative view of the two economies, the Mosaic and the
Christian. The general sentiment
conveyed is that from the Sinaitic dispensation which is rigid in its
requisitions, terrible in its sanctions, severe and unbending in its whole
character, it is in vain to look for salvation.
However, the Christian economy is one which is "full of grace and
of truth" and thus reveals a propitiated Divinity, and unites earth with
heaven.
15.3.
How wise is it to seek
security from the terrors of Sinai in the peace and serenity of Zion! The law only works wrath and fear and
death. It comes with demands we cannot
fulfill; with its threats it rouses to
effort and performance, but gives neither the love of God's will nor the power
to do it. It only discovers and condemns
sin; the sense of self-reproach and
self-condemnation is all it can bring.
This experience is detailed in Romans 7, yet in Romans 8 the liberty and
the peace, the life and the love, the joy and the strength which comes with the
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus is described.
How foolish to abandon the perpetual sunshine, the unfading verdure, the
undisturbed tranquility of Zion, for the murky clouds, and lurid lightnings,
and angry thunders, and barren wastes of Sinai!
15.4.
The particle ‘For’
which begins verse 18 does not connect these words with what immediately
precedes, but with the general design of the section. It is equivalent to – “moreover,” or “another
reason for your holding fast your profession is to be found in the contrast
existing between the law and the Gospel.”
The general sentiment is, “you are not under the law, which was a rigid
and severe economy,”
15.5.
To be under the Mosaic
economy is here figuratively represented as being of the congregation of Israel
at Sinai at the giving of the law, and the severe character of that economy is
indicated by a most graphic description of the terrific natural and
supernatural phenomena by which its establishment was accompanied.
15.6.
There can be no doubt that
the mountain here referred to is Mount Sinai in the desert Arabia. It is termed ‘a mountain that might be
touched.’ Some interpreters have
surmised that a negative particle here was omitted, and that it should read
"the mount which might not be touched."
15.7.
Those who had come from
Judaism and become Christians had not come to the "material,"
"tangible" mountain, Sinai, but to the immaterial, spiritual
mountain, Zion.
15.8.
Exodus 19 recalls the story
of Moses ascending and descending Sinai, and God's warning to the people not to
touch the mountain. The people begged
Moses in fear to go alone near the mountain and hear the thunderings, see the lightnings,
hear the trumpet, see the smoking, and be spoken to by God, then come to them
and tell them what God had said. They
thought they would die if God spoke to them again. Even Moses was very fearful as said, "I
exceedingly fear and quake."
15.9.
The material mountain of Sinai
is an emblem of its earthly character:
the clouds and darkness, the rumblings and flaming fire, the fearful
trumpet, the awful voice, the strictness of its precepts, and of the severity
of its sanctions. The holiness and the
justice of Jehovah were plainly revealed in Sinai, while but a very dim and
imperfect manifestation was made of His grace and mercy.
15.10.
The law, or economy of Moses
express externality, obscurity, and severity.
15.11.
We as Christians are not
under the old economy. God's grace is wonderful. Jesus met the claims of Sinai which were
divine and beyond fallen man's ability to meet.
We are accepted by God merely through faith in Jesus and His sacrifice
for us.
15.12.
After we have believed in
Jesus we can be tempted to look to what we can do to satisfy the demands of
God. Yet, we are not called to live
according to the law of Moses and thus satisfy God’s righteousness by our own
effort, which is something we would never be able to do in the first place.
15.13.
"You have not come to
Mount Sinai" is a word the Hebrew Christians, and indeed ever Christian,
needs to hear because it helps us from being discouraged and fainting in our
race.
15.14.
You are not under the
law. Mount Zion speaks of life not by
self-effort or by our own goodness but by God helping us and by God's grace
doing what self cannot do.
15.15.
Mount Sinai speaks of sin
and wrath and condemnation.
16.
VS 12:22-24 - “22 But you have come to Mount
Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads
of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the first-born who are
enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of
righteous men made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant,
and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.” - We who are Christians have
come to Mt. Zion, the Living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and myriads of angels
16.1.
The Zion spoken of here is a
spiritual mountain, as contrasted with Sinai a mountain which could be
touched. Zion is the mountain on which
the Lamb stands with the hundred and forty four thousand who have His Father's
name written in their foreheads. The
emblem of Zion is significant. It marks
the economy to which we as Christians belong as one which brings us into close
fellowship with God. We do not stand at
the foot of the mountain, while Jehovah dwells on its summit amid the thick
darkness and the devouring fire, rather we come even to His seat, dwell in His
presence, and have constant access to Him.
16.2.
Zion speaks also of the
permanence of this new economy. We dwell
not in tents, but in "a city which has foundations, whose builder and
whose maker is God." "You have
come," says the author, ‘to myriads angels.’
16.3.
Note that ‘the general
assembly’ does not refer to the first-born, but to the angels. Vast numbers of these holy beings, seraphim
and cherubim, were on Mount Sinai at the giving of the law, see Deut.
33:2. The law was given by the ministration
of angels. But the Israelites did not
come to the angels. They were at the
bottom of the hill in darkness, while the angels surrounded Jehovah in the
inaccessible light. But, says the
author, you are come ‘to myriads of angels to the general assembly.’
16.4.
The Greek word translated ‘general
assembly’ signifies a solemn festal convocation such as was held by the
Greeks at their public religious games.
By the mediation of Jesus Christ, the Apostle informs us that it is the
purpose of God, "to bring together into one" holy society
"things on earth and things in heaven." On our being reconciled to God, we are
reconciled to all His holy creatures.
They love us-we love them.
16.5.
Angels are not the only
citizens of the New Jerusalem. We also
come to the ‘church of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven.’
16.6.
The word ‘church’
used here designates any assembly, whether sacred or civil. Here, it refers to the whole body of God’s
people, viewed as one great assembly.
16.7.
The people of God are termed
‘the first-born’ in allusion to what is said of Israel: "Israel is My son, My first-born,"
Exod. 4:22. The church is called the
"first-born" here, and Christ is called the “first-born” one in Col.
1:18. Being called ‘first-born’ marks the
people of God as dedicated to the service of God, and the heirs of the
"inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fades not away."
16.8.
Notice that genuine
Christians have their names written in heaven, for they are enrolled there,
their names inscribed in His book of life.
16.9.
But, what is greater and
more glorious still, we have come ‘to God the Judge of all.’ The words ought to be rendered, "to the
Judge the God of all." The
Israelites stood far off, but the Christian draws near with boldness to the
Judge, for he knows that He is "God in Christ, reconciling the world unto
Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them."
16.10.
We come also to ‘the
spirits of righteous men made perfect,’ or the disembodied spirits of
departed holy men, who, having finished their course, have obtained their
reward. They who by the faith of the truth
become the subjects of the new economy, "sit down with Abraham, and Isaac,
and Jacob," and all the prophets, and Apostles, and martyrs, and
confessors, "in the kingdom of their Father." They love us-we love them.
16.11.
Still further, we are come ‘to
Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks
better than the blood of Abel.’ We
come not to the Aaronical priesthood, the mediator of the Old Covenant, but to
‘Jesus the Mediator of a New Covenant,’ who is "such a Mediator and
High Priest as becomes us, one who is holy, blameless, and undefiled, made
higher than the heavens." Jesus is
the one "who being the brightness of the Father's glory, and the express
image of His person, has by Himself purged our sins, and is sat down on the
right hand of the Majesty on high."
16.12.
That blood washes our
consciences white as snow, and thus it ‘speaks better than the blood of Abel,’
a righteous man whose blood spoke from the ground after he was murdered by his
brother. Abel's blood cried for
vengeance for the infliction of punishment on Cain the murderer, but the blood
of Christ proclaims peace and salvation.
The voice of Abel's blood drove Cain away from God, but the voice of
Jesus' blood invites us, and, when sprinkled on the conscience constrains us,
to come near.
17.
VS 12:25 - “25 See to it that you do not
refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him
who warned them on earth, much less shall we escape who turn away from Him who
warns from heaven.” - The author warns us not to ‘refuse Him who is
speaking’
17.1.
In this verse we have the
final warning that the author makes to the Hebrew Christians who have not
continued on to growth, maturity, and service in their Christian walk.
17.2.
The Epistle begins with the
declaration that the Gospel is the completed revelation of the divine will
respecting the salvation of men, He “has spoken to us in these last days
through His Son,” and it closes with a solemn exhortation to beware of treating
such a revelation in a manner unworthy of its character. The gospel is the ultimate manifestation of
the mind of God.
17.3.
When God is here termed ‘Him
who is speaking,’ it is implied is that Christianity has come about because
of divine revelation and inspiration and thus the declarations of the Apostles
are a revelation of the will of God.
17.4.
Jesus said, "The words
which I speak are not mine, but His that sent Me," and in the same manner,
the doctrine of the Apostles was the very voice of God. Jesus Himself even said to the 12, "He
that hears you, hears Me; and he that
hears Me, hears Him that sent Me."
17.5.
To ‘refuse Him who is
speaking’ is just not to attend to, not to believe, not to obey the Christian
revelation, as the voice of God. These
are ways that we might ‘refuse’ ‘Him who is speaking.’
17.6.
The fact is that in the
history of the nation of Israel that "They who refused Him speaking on
earth escaped not." God judged each
and every one who did this and the Old Testament is full of illustrations of
this. The earth swallowed up some, fire
and/or hail descended from heaven upon others, the plague killed many, etc.,
etc. Those who died impenitent are now
suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
17.7.
God “speaking to them on
earth" seems to me nearly equivalent to “God making a revelation of His
will by means of men or God speaking to the fathers by the prophets.”
17.8.
If they who refused Him
“speaking on earth” did not escape, much more we shall not escape if we turn
away from Him “speaking from heaven."
After all, He who is speaking from heaven is the one "seated at the
right hand of the father."
17.9.
That punishment will be more
severe for those who refuse to listen to the gospel of Jesus and the testimony
of the Apostles as contained in our scriptures than for those who refused to
listen to the Lord in the Old Testament times.
This is because of the superior value of the salvation rejected, and the
superior dignity of the Savior despised!
17.10.
Walter Martin said once that
when he first began the ministry that a wise old minister counseled him that,
"if the people would not receive Jesus and the ministry of grace, then
give them Moses." If they will not
be converted by the message of grace, warn them of the judgment coming upon the
world, based upon God’s law.
18.
VS 12:26 - “26 And His voice shook the earth
then, but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I will shake not only the
earth, but also the heaven.”” - The Lord shook the earth in judgment
previously and He will do so once more, shaking heaven also
18.1.
This verse references and
quotes Haggai 2:6-7, “6 “For
thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Once
more in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea
also and the dry land. 7 ‘I will shake all the nations; and they
will come with the wealth of all nations, and I will fill this house with
glory,’ says the Lord of hosts.”
18.2.
With regard to the ‘voice’
of God on earth, it is said that it ‘shook the earth.’
18.3.
This remind us of the fact,
that at the giving of the law the mountain of Sinai and its neighborhood were
shaken by an earthquake. But, the
shaking of the earth is also emblematical of the change which took place in the
establishment of that economy. Shaking
is an emblem of change. A most important
change took place at the giving of the law.
The external state of the Jewish people was materially altered. But, now this voice from heaven from which
God speaks to us today in Christ and the new covenant produces more extensive
and more permanent effects. It shakes both
earth and heaven, effecting both the external and spiritual circumstances of
those who are under it. It effects a
permanent radical change that will last forever.
18.4.
The passage being quoted
from Hag. 2:6-7 is a passage admitted even by the Jews as a prophecy of the
Messiah.
18.5.
Some interpreters consider
these words from Hag. 2:6-7 as referring to events yet future when all that is
material is shaken up and recreated, changes which will usher in the
consummation of all things. However, as was
mentioned the author could be considering the shaking as having occurred in the
past, and as having produced its effect in the establishment of the gospel of
Jesus Christ.
19.
VS 12:27 - “27 And this expression, “Yet
once more,” denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of
created things, in order that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.” - The author clarifies what the
phrase ‘yet once more’ relates to
19.1.
Hag. 2:6-7 not only
indicates the extent but the permanence of the change to occur for, says the
author, this oracle, ‘Yet once more,’ signifies the removing of those
things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that ‘those things which
cannot be shaken may remain.’
19.2.
The language used in Hag.
2:6-7 intimates that this shaking of the heaven and earth is be to the last
shaking because nothing will remain after this that can be shaken, all is
permanent and immovable.
19.3.
The order of things now
introduced is not, like that which preceded it, to give way to another. The things which are shaken are removed. The things shaken are the earth and the
heaven of “the Church,” that is, the external and the spiritual state of things
are to be so shaken as to be removed--a complete change is to take place.
19.4.
The law of Moses was meant
to be a temporary appendage effecting only earth, but the Gospel reaches both
the earth and the heaven of “the Church,” and with the gospel "old things
pass away, and all things become new."
19.5.
When a building is erected
scaffolding is erected during its construction, however the end result is not
to have a beautiful piece of scaffolding standing but rather a beautiful
building that can stand and be used for many years. In the same way the law of Moses was only
meant to be a temporary necessity to aid in the construction of the kingdom of
God which is built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ, the chief
cornerstone.
19.6.
Everything in the new
dispensation is solid. We have not the
emblem of Divinity, but God Himself, not a typical expiation, but a real
atonement, not bodily purifications, but spiritual holiness: all is spiritual, all is real, all is
permanent.
20.
VS 12:28-29 - “28 Therefore, since we receive a
kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to
God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; 29 for our God is a consuming
fire.” - The
author tells us that we ‘receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken’
20.1.
To ‘receive a kingdom’
is to be invested with royalty, to be made a king, and to ‘receive a kingdom
which cannot be shaken’ is to permanently to be invested with royalty, to
be made a king for ever. This is another
way to express the privileges and honors which, under the new economy, men and
women obtain by the faith in the truth as it is in Jesus.
20.2.
Very frequently in the
scriptures we see that the whole of the new economy is represented as a
kingdom, "the kingdom of God," or "the kingdom of
heaven." Of this kingdom Messiah
Jesus is the Prince, and true Christians are the subjects. But at other times the blessings enjoyed by
Christians are represented differently under the figure of a kingdom and in
this case they are represented, not as subjects, but as kings, possessors of
royalty. They are "a royal priesthood.” They "reign in life by Christ
Jesus." They are "kings and
priests."
20.3.
When the author says, ‘We
have received a kingdom,’ he means that we have obtained happiness and
honor in Christ, of which the most dignified and happy state known among men
affords but an imperfect representation.
20.4.
We the church shall reign
with Him, and judge angels, and perform many of the functions of royalty under
our Lord and king. The passage of time
cannot wash away the many blessings which we the church will inherit, and these
blessings death can have no power over.
20.5.
The author calls on the
Hebrew Christians to be thankful, seeing
they have received ‘a kingdom which cannot be shaken.’ He calls upon them to be thankful ‘with
reverence and awe,’ or “godly fear" ( as some translations have it ).
20.6.
When Christians considers
how the blessings which we enjoy were obtained through the suffering and blood
of our precious Lord Jesus Christ and by the mercy and grace of God this
excites in us an overwhelming sense of God’s infinite majesty and purity.
20.7.
‘For our God is a
consuming fire’ speaks much to us, including the fact that our God is
glorious in His holiness, and inflexible in justice. The Lord reveals to us through His word that
He is ‘a consuming fire’ in many ways :
20.7.1.
He will "by no means
clear the guilty," without complete satisfaction to atone for the injured
honors of law and government.
20.7.2.
In not sparing His Son when
He took our place, but wounding and bruising Him even to the death, "the
just One in the room of the unjust."
20.7.3.
In punishing with peculiar severity
those who neglect and despise the revelation of grace.
20.7.4.
The Lord’s holiness is a
fire, which, by the eternal law of His nature, must consume all that is
evil.
20.7.5.
His love is a fire, which
must burn up and destroy all that hinders or refuses the triumph of love.
20.7.5.1. Fire may be either a blessing or a curse. All depends upon my relation to it whether it
meets me as a friend or an enemy. The
fire of God comes to purify, to consume the sacrifice and convert it into its
own heavenly light-nature, to baptize with the Holy Ghost and with fire, to
transform our being into flames of love.
Blessed is the man who knows His God as a consuming fire.
20.7.5.2. Woe to him however on whom the fire of God descends, as on Sodom and
Gomorrah, in wrath and judgment. For, as
good as God is, as great as He is, and as much as it belongs to His Godhead to
be love, so much it belongs to His greatness to be dreaded. Therefore a “reverent dread” is the fairest
worship that is in heaven before God's face.
20.7.6.
In that He is a “jealous
God” and desires to consume us, His people, in love for Himself apart from
which we can have no other gods or idols to take His rightful place in our life
:
20.7.6.1. Exodus 34:14”14 —for
you shall not worship any other god, for the Lord,
whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”
20.7.6.2. Deuteronomy 4:24, “”24
“For the Lord your God is a
consuming fire, a jealous God.”
20.7.6.3. Deuteronomy 32:16, “16
“They made Him jealous with strange gods; With abominations they
provoked Him to anger.”
20.8.
The Lord has revealed that there
are no souls that love Him but those that dread Him, and these shall all be as
trees planted by the water.
20.9.
We Christians must always
realize that we have obtained, through the faith of the truth, privileges and
honors of the very highest kind, and that they are sure and steadfast as is
God’s throne, the One who has promised them.
20.10.
We Christians must realize
that privilege and duty are closely and indissolubly connected. The more valuable the privilege, the stronger
the obligation to gratitude and obedience to Him who has graciously conferred
it. Therefore it says, "since we
receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we
may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe."
20.11.
We Christians, though invested
with royal dignity, must remember that there is a King of Kings, and that our
true honor, as well as duty, consists in serving Him. External acts of duty will serve no good
purpose if they are not acceptable to the One to whom they are performed. The only homage which is acceptable to Him is
the homage of the heart, the heart penetrated with gratitude for His
"unspeakable gift." Truly, it
is to be said of us that, "we love Him because He hath so loved us."
20.12.
Our gratitude and its
expressions are not to be of a light character which the reception of temporal
and temporary blessings elicits, but of that grave, chastened, solemn, sublime
character, which corresponds with the spiritual, heavenly, and eternal benefits
that have been conferred on us. There is
something awful in everything connected with God, and when we Christians
rejoice we should "rejoice with trembling."
20.13.
Let’s do a review of all of
the warnings in the book of Hebrews :
20.13.1.
Pay much closer attention to what we have heard (fear of drifting
away): 2:1.
20.13.2.
We are His house if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our
hope firm until the end: 3:6.
20.13.3.
If you have heard His voice, don’t harden your heart: 3:7-8.
20.13.4.
Beware of an evil unbelieving heart in falling away from the living
God: 3:12.
20.13.5.
We have become partakers of Christ if we hold fast the beginning of our
assurance firm until the end: 3:14.
20.13.6.
Fear while a promise of entering His rest remains (don’t fall
short): 4:1.
20.13.7.
Be diligent to enter His rest, don’t fail through disobedience: 4:11.
20.13.8.
Beware of becoming dull of hearing:
5:11.
20.13.9.
Beware of sloth or standing still instead of progressing: 5:12.
20.13.10.
If we do fall away from Christ it will be impossible to renew us to
repentance: 6:6.
20.13.11.
If our life is yielding thorns and thistles instead of good vegetation
we are close to being cursed: 6:8.
20.13.12.
Do not be sluggish but rather imitate those who through faith and
patience inherit the promises: 6:12.
20.13.13.
If we go on sinning after receiving a knowledge of the truth, there no
longer remains a sacrifice for our sins, but a terrifying expectation of
judgment (the fury of fire which will consume the adversaries): 10:26-27.
20.13.14.
Backsliding is trampling under foot the Son of God, and thus
backsliders will receive a much greater punishment than those who rebelled
against Moses in his day: 10:28-29.
20.13.15.
Vengeance is His, He will repay, and He will judge His people (judgment
will start with the House of God):
10:30.
20.13.16.
It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God: 10:31.
20.13.17.
If we shrink back instead of living by faith, His soul has no pleasure
in us : 10:37-38.
20.13.18.
Don’t refuse or turn away from Him who warns from heaven (you shall not
escape) : 12:25.
20.14.
To summarize the author’s
arguments to, the complacent Hebrew Christians in danger of apostasy, for the
superiority of Christianity to Judaism, lets observe the methods that he sought
to use to illustrate that :
20.14.1.
Jesus is God’s final
revelation of Himself to mankind :
chapter 1.
20.14.2.
Jesus is superior to
angels: 1:4-14; 2:5-8.
20.14.3.
Jesus is superior to
Moses: 3:1-6.
20.14.4.
Jesus is superior to Aaron,
and Jesus’ priesthood according to the order of Melchizidek is superior to the
priesthood of Aaron : chapter 5 and
chapter 8.
20.14.5.
Jesus has a superior ministry
than that of the Aaronic and Levitical priesthoods : chapter 8.
20.14.6.
Jesus has a superior
covenant to the old covenant : chapter
9.
20.14.7.
Jesus’ one sacrifice is
sufficient and better than the many sacrifices of the old covenant: chapter 10.
20.14.8.
The superiority of the new
covenant to the old covenant is illustrated by the difference between Mt. Zion
and Mt. Sinai : 12:18-24.