The Love of Faith, Hebrews 13:1-6

The Love of Faith, Hebrews 13:1-6  

In our last sermon, we said that the primary concern of the author was that we do not fall short of the grace of God.  That is, that considering all that Christ has done for us, considering our position in Christ, let us be sure not to come short of the full purpose of God in saving us.  As it says in the next to last verse of chapter 12, considering what Christ has done for us, and what God’s purpose in saving us is; let us show gratitude, by rendering to God an acceptable service which is to be lived in reverence and awe for Him.

Now if we are to fulfill our purpose for which Christ died, if we are to walk worthy of our calling, then what is this service that is spoken of which we are to live out for God?  The author gives us in this final chapter a list of very practical applications, how we are to live in service to the Lord.  And at the top of the list is that we are to love the brethren. Now I want you to notice something about this word for love. 

As I have pointed out many times in the past, love in Biblical terms is not synonymous with the kind of love which we talk about in our culture.  Love in the culture of this world is a term which more often than not is defined by it’s lowest common denominator.  It’s really not much more than lust, because it is based on physical attraction.  Upon physical desire.  But God has a much higher standard for love.  

In the original Greek language of the New Testament, there are three words which are most often used for love.  The word eros is the word which might be most synonymous with the type of love which is of the world. Eros as the name implies is an erotic love, a fleshly love, a sexual love.  The second kind of love is the one which is most often found in relation to God’s love for us, and that is the word agape.  Agape is a sacrificial love.  Agape does not demand or expect repayment from the love given – it gives because it loves, it does not love in order to receive. Agape love isn’t about feelings; it is about decisions. It’s about commitment.  It is the type of love which we are to have towards our marriage partner, towards God, and towards His church.

There is another word that is sometimes used for love, and that is found here in our text.  When the author says in vs 1 let “brotherly love continue”, he is using just one word for brotherly love and that is the word philadelphia.  It is of course where we get the name of the city in Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, which is known as the city of brotherly love.  It comes from the root word philia. This ancient Greek word spoke of brotherly friendship and affection. It is the love of fraternal kinship and partnership.  It has to do with love of family.  

And so when the author of Hebrews gives us this admonition to let brotherly love continue, he is recognizing first of all that those of us in the body of Christ are made by this new birth into sons and daughters of God, and thus brothers and sisters in Christ.  We are part of the family of God.  And this relationship with Christ is the basis for our relationship with one another.  

That’s why I think that the word chosen here is phileo as opposed to agape. It’s not that we are to love one another with a lower standard of love than we love the Lord.  But it’s saying that the basis for our love for one another is familial.  We are brothers and sisters of Christ.  I  believe that our love for one another should still rise to the standard of agape love.  Proof for that is found in 1Peter 1:22  which says,  “Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren (philadelphia), fervently love (agape) one another from the heart.”  One does not exclude the other, but philadelphia serves as a basis for agape.

So the basis for our love of one another is that we are of the same family, the same Father, the same Spirit. There is no lowering of the standard for love.  We should strive to love one another in agape love.  But the basis of our love is what is spoken of here.  And that is described as brotherly love, or family love.

Jesus said in John 13:35 "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”  Considering the emphasis in Jesus’s ministry on love, and the emphasis of the Bible in general, there really should be no need to give you biblical examples beyond that, but I will do so, just to make sure that we recognize the priority that God has given for loving one another, love for the brethren, in the life of a man or woman of faith.

Of course, one of the most famous examples is when Jesus was asked which is the greatest commandment, and Jesus responded, "YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' 38 "This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”

He was even more direct in John 13:34 saying “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”  Notice, He twice repeats it; love one another with the same sacrificial, agape love which Christ has for us.

Peter said in 1Peter 4:8 “Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.”  The Apostle John says in 1 John 3:14 “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death.”  And Paul said in Ephesians 4:1-3 “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

So brotherly love is something which is to be indicative of the fact that we are Christians, and that we are Christ’s disciples, and it’s to be a testimony to the world as well as a practical help to the church. In light of the gospel we can say that the church is our new family.  And so practicing love for one another is to be a priority, even our responsibility to care for one another.

Now how do we do that, practically speaking?  Well, the author is going to give us some specific examples. The first is to strangers, especially those of the Christian brotherhood.  Vs.2, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.”

Now this word which is translated as strangers has to do particularly with showing hospitality.  Among both Jews and Gentiles in those days hospitality was ranked very high in terms of virtues.  There were very few inns in many of the regions of the early church.  As we have seen in our studies in the Old Testament on Wednesday nights, there was a great danger in staying outdoors or in the city without being in someone’s home.  And what few inns there were had very bad reputations for the most part.  

Today, of course, we have every conceivable convenience or even luxury accommodations in virtually every town, especially in America.  But the principle of hospitality is still in effect in the church.  Hospitality includes much more than just a roof over your head, but perhaps a meal, being a friend in someone visiting a strange area, or befriending someone who has just moved to your community. It covers people experiencing hardship, or grief, or loss.  There are so many ways to show hospitality.  And the point is that we should look for opportunities to serve other members of the body of Christ, even though we may consider them strangers.  

But I would  say that strangers indicates people who are not in your immediate family, or not in your friend clique.  Today in our world there is such a disconnect from one another.  We don’t hardly know our neighbors anymore.  We have no interaction with people living on our street, or in our community.  Social media has made us a society of social pariah’s.` But in God’s family we should not be that way.  We should reach out to one another. Share with one another.  Help one another.  And encourage one another.  And hospitality speaks to all of those things as we seek out what we might do to help and strengthen and encourage one another.  

I would remind you that when you do these things for another brother or sister in the spirit of serving the Lord, you are in effect doing it unto Him.  Jesus said in Matt. 25:35-40  “For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.'  "Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?  'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?  'When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'  "The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.”

And let me say something about the mention of angels here in this verse.  This has caused quite a bit of theological gymnastics over the years as people took this verse and jumped to all kinds of different extrapolations and started seeing angels all over the place.  But I think the best exegesis was given by John MacArthur, I believe, who said the emphasis should be on the phrase, “without knowing it.”  In other words, though someone might have entertained an angel, they were unaware that it was an angel.  The intention is not to get us looking for angels, but to recognize that we have a responsibility to offer hospitality to one another as servant’s of the Lord, to supply for one another’s needs in tangible ways, as we would to our own family members, as we would for the Lord Himself.  And that there is an inherent blessing in doing so.  As Jesus said, “it is better to give than to receive.”  We need to think of hospitality as service to Christ.  Something that we look forward to doing, and look for opportunities to do. 

The next group that we should show brotherly love to is those who are in prison. Vs.3, “Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body.”  In those days, it was not uncommon for Christians to find themselves arrested and imprisoned for the sake of the gospel.  We know of many from the record of the scriptures as well as extra biblical writings.  Historic documents tell us how the early Christians would go to any length in order to try to get the release of their brothers in prison.  In some cases, it is recorded that they actually sold themselves into slavery in order to effect the release of a brother in prison. 

Often it was possible to supply the physical needs of the prisoners which were not even attempted to be met by the prison officials.  Remember how Paul wrote that Timothy should bring his cloak and the parchments when he visited Paul in prison.  And so great concern was given to the needs of the prisoners who were suffering for the sake of Christ. 

Prison ministries are still something today that we can be involved in.  But as a principle  I believe it goes beyond incarceration to include people who are being mistreated in a variety of circumstances.  People who are trapped in some sort of destructive situation.  People who are unable to help themselves for one reason or another.  People that have needs that they cannot meet. People in the hospital, or in an old folks home.  I think all those people fit under the sub title which is those who are ill treated.  

We should treat them this way, it says, because we too are in the body.  He’s not speaking of the body of Christ, but of the body of flesh.  We are able to help those who are suffering in the flesh, because in being of the flesh ourselves, we have compassion. James speaks to that in James 2:15-16 “If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food,  and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?”

Being in the body, we should have compassion on others in the body and help supply that which is necessary for the well being of the body.

The next expression of brotherly love or familial love that he speaks of is the love of marriage. The love of marriage is an ideal of God for which we have been made, as an illustration of the love of God towards us. Notice the text in vs.4, “Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.”

First of all notice that in God’s eyes, marriage is honorable.  Marriage has almost reached the point today where it’s considered  dishonorable in the eyes of the world.  It doesn’t seem like it makes any sense from their point of view. It’s much more practical in many young couple’s minds to test the waters first.  To  just live together.  But in God’s eyes, marriage is honorable.  It is His design for man. It is divinely ordained.  It’s not a civll ordinance, it is a sacred ordinance. It’s not to gain a tax advantage, it’s to gain a spiritual advantage. In Genesis we read that God ordained marriage when He said “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”  And so "For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.”

So God ordained marriage to be between a man and a woman, which then being joined together, shall become one flesh.  Jesus went on to say that what God has joined together, let no man set asunder.  Marriage is a picture, according to Ephesians 6, of Christ’s love for the church, wherein He laid down His life for her.  So marriage is a sacred ordinance, made by a sacred oath to God, to love one another exclusively, until death, as unto the Lord.

Furthermore, it can be extrapolated from this text, that the marriage bed is undefiled. That simply means that sexually, in your bed, between a husband and wife, there is nothing you can do that is wrong. In God’s eyes, everything in the bed is pure if you’re married. That’s a great blessing of God on marriage. You don’t need to be hung up on guilt, because whatever you do is undefiled in the sight of God.  Now that’s not just my interpretation of this verse, but that is a long standing interpretation of many commentators.  

But there is a warning in this verse as well, to abstain from adultery and fornication.  Adultery covers the relationship between a husband and wife, but fornication indicates every kind of sexual sin. Notice that it says God will judge those that indulge in those sins.  So many of us think that because we don’t see the immediate consequences of our sin, that there is no penalty for fornication.  But God sees.  And God will judge.  And furthermore, there are inherent consequences to every sin, especially in the sin of fornication.  I believe that many of the problems that are experienced in our marriages and in our culture at large can find their root sexual promiscuity and immorality.  I can’t begin to quantify the problems in our society due to the explosion of pornography.  I read the other day someone who said that statistics indicate that virtually every teenager by the age of 13 has seen pornography today.  And I can assure you that such things scar your soul. Fornication by the way in the Greek is the word pornea which we get pornography from.  But it includes all sorts of sexual sins outside of marriage, from homosexuality to bestiality. 

Now closely related to unchastity is covetousness. And so we see the author make that connection between the love of what is good, the love of Christ’s body, and the love of the world, or the love of money.  Vs.5, “Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,”

Covetousness in the New Testament can either be a reference to sexual impurity, or it can refer to a love of money.  Jesus Himself warned us that you cannot serve God and mammon, or money.  Paul says that “the love of money is the root of all evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

The opposite of covetousness is contentment. Being satisfied with what God has given you. And we can rest in that contentedness because God is always with us.  He said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.”  God who supplies our needs, who is the source of all wealth, who owns all things, who gives us all good things to enjoy, who has promised to supply our needs according to His riches in glory, will never, never forsake us.  He has married to us for eternity.  No matter if we measure up to all that we should be or not, God will never fail us.  He will always be a ready, present help in time of need.  His love for us endures forever.  

I am told by experts in the Greek language who have studied this text, that in the original language this statement has five negatives.  Literally it reads, “I will by no means leave you and no, by no means will I forsake you.” Five times he uses the negative in order to add every assurance and emphasis on that impossibility. 

Our security is not in our bank account or our possessions. Our security is not in the stock market or in the money markets.  Our security is in the Lord.  In all our needs, He is sufficient.  He can be counted on. And because of that promise we may “confidently say, “THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?”

John said in his epistle of 1 John, that we love because He first loved us.  Because He loves us, and we are secure in that love, we can and should love one another.  I pray that you trust in the love of God, and that you practice the love of God towards one another.  That we all might be joined together as one with Christ Jesus.  This is His plan for us, the purpose of HIs grace, that we should love one another, even as He loved the church and gave up His life for her.

The kingdom of faith, Hebrews 12:18-29

The passage before us today has been interpreted by many great theologians and preachers a great many ways.  But by and large, there is a tendency to make the apparent severity of this passage into a mild warning not to fall from grace into legalism.  That seems to be the majority consensus.   And perhaps there is some truth to that.

But I must confess that I don’t feel quite so secure in that opinion.  I have a certain unease in mitigating the severity of the  warning that is here.  This is the fifth such warning in the book of Hebrews.  The first warning is found in chapter 2 vs 1, “For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.  For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty,  how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?”  

Second warning is in chapter 3:12 “Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.”    The third warning is in chapter 6:4-6 “For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit,  and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,  and [then] have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.”

The fourth warning is in chapter 10vs 26 “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,  but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES.  Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on [the testimony of] two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?  For we know Him who said, "VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY." And again, "THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE." It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

Notice the increasing severity in the progression of the warnings.  The tone of the warnings become more and more dire as you go further in the epistle.  And I would also point out the similarities between chapter 10’s warning and the warning found here in chapter 12.  And I think this is the climatic warning now that he has come to nearly the end of his epistle. 

Notice the similarities in the fourth and the fifth warning.  In chapter 10 he  contrasts the penalty due to the breakers of the law of Moses and says how much more penalty should there be to those who trample underfoot the covenant of grace. In chapter 12 he speaks of the fear and trembling at the giving  of the Law of Moses at Sinai  and the contrasts that to the reverence  that we should have at coming to Mt. Zion.  He speaks as if coming to Mt. Zion is even more awesome than coming to Mt. Sinai.  He speaks of the danger of trampling the blood of the covenant in chapter 10, and again we see the mention of the sprinkled blood of the new covenant in chapter 12.  He speaks of the fire that will consume the adversaries in chapter 10, and he speaks of our God is a consuming fire in chapter 12. He speaks of the Lord who will judge His people in chapter 10 and he speaks of God the judge of all in chapter 12.  I think the similarities between the 4th and 5th warnings are obvious.  And  so I think it’s a mistake to try to mitigate the terrible implications of refusing or rejecting the gospel.  There is a tendency of modern theologians to minimize the ramifications for rejecting the covenant of grace as compared to the punishment for rejecting the covenant of Moses.  But that is not the emphasis that seems to come from this author, but actually a more severe punishment for those who disregard the sacrifice of God’s Son.

I want you to notice two other similarities in chapter 12 that I think will help us better understand the context of the passage.  Notice the first in vs 15, “See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God.”  Then notice vs. 25, “See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking.”  I think that the author uses this construct of this dual imperatives to connect both passages.  

And that bears particularly on the first verse of our text today in vs.18, which starts out with the word  “For”.  The word “for” ties the following statement with what has been said before.  And what comes before vs 18 is the illustration of Esau who came short of the grace of God.  Now we spent some time talking about that in our last message, so I don’t want to cover it again, but suffice it to say that to come short of the grace of God is to fail to grab hold of what God has offered to you.  To come short of the purpose for which God offers grace.   Grace accepted is supposed to produce something.  It’s supposed to produce holiness, righteousness.  It’s supposed to produce gratefulness.  Look at vs 28 as evidence of that; “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.”

So the warning that the author of Hebrews is extending here as he wraps up this epistle is not to diminish the previous warnings in light of the new covenant.  But rather to say in light of the illustration of immoral and godless Esau, in light of the discipline of God that is brought to bear upon his legitimate children,  in light of the importance of the race that we are called to run, to not come short of His grace, to not fall short of His purpose in crucifying Jesus Christ in our place. But to come all the way to the perfection or completion of sanctification.  And so this warning is the most severe of all.  Because the legitimacy and seriousness of our spiritual life is revealed in light of the tremendous sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  The Son of God suffered and died in order to purchase our right to enter the kingdom of God, so we dare not take this privilege lightly or carelessly.  That’s the point he is making.

Now then let’s expound the text more thoroughly along these lines.  Having said all that, having duly noted the severity of those that have come short of the grace of God, he says that further impetus for our running well should come from a comparison between the old covenant and the new covenant.  The old is represented by Mt. Sinai.  And in describing the particulars of Mt. Sinai, he says we have come to something more awesome.  But Mt. Sinai was awesome aplenty. 

At Mt. Sinai God came down to man and rested upon the mountain.  And when He did, He came with blazing fire, and darkness and gloom and whirlwind, and the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words which sound was such that those who heard begged that no further word be spoken to them.  Now that is quite the picture isn’t it?  Can you imagine standing there around the mountain which must have seemed to be about to explode like a volcano, with fire and darkness and a whirlwind and the words of God booming down to the people like thunder and lightning?  It must have been a terrible experience.  He was their God that had brought them out of Egypt, that had brought them through the Red Sea, and yet now they saw Him more fully as they had never seen Him before. Notice vs 21 And so terrible was the sight, [that] Moses said, "I AM FULL OF FEAR and trembling.”

And I would impress on you today that description is still an apt description of God. The holiness and awesomeness of God hasn’t changed on iota. The dreadful God of the Old Testament has not changed into a jolly Santa Claus type of grandfather figure in the New Testament.  God hasn’t changed. No one can look upon God and live.  No one can approach God.  He is still holy, righteous, dwelling in unapproachable light.  God hasn’t changed.  

But as terrible and awesome as the sight of God’s presence was at Mt. Sinai, there remains something even more awesome; and that is the presence of God at Mt. Zion. Moses came to Mt. Sinai, a barren mountain in the wilderness, and God in the cloud and the darkness descended upon the mountain.  But notice that we have not just come to a mountain on earth on which God descended, but we have actually come to the city of God, to the very presence of God in the heavens.

Listen to how he describes this mountain. But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.”

Now let me say a few things about this list by way of explanation.  First Mt. Zion.  Mt. Zion was the mountain which King David made as the dwelling place of the ark of the covenant.  It was the place of the presence of God in the Holy of Holies which was a picture of the reality in the heavens.  And so the author uses this title of Mt. Zion to signify the very presence of God, the dwelling of God in the heavenlies.  If it was a terrible thing to come God’s temporary meeting place at  Mt. Sinai, then how much more so to come to His temple at Mt. Zion?

Furthermore, it is the home of myriads of angels. When men are recorded in the scriptures as seeing an angel in his glory, they are usually struck to the ground.  They are often unable to speak and unable to move.  The writer says we have come into the presence of not one but myriads of angels, millions of angels attending to the Lord. What a tremendous privilege!

He speaks of Mt. Zion as the church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven.  The heavenly Jerusalem is the assembly of the universal church, it is where we that are saved are spiritually seated, according to Ephesians 2:5 “(by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”  Our names are written in the Lambs Book of Life.  Spiritually speaking we have reservations in heaven, privileges in heaven itself as if we were already there.

Then He speaks Mt. Zion as the judgment seat of God, the judge of all.  That pictures the Lord God as upon HIs throne, judging all the earth.  What an awesome thing that is, to stand before the righteous judge of the earth who sees all, and knows all.

Ironically almost, he juxtaposes  the Holy God judging all, with the spirits of righteous men made perfect.  Most commentators see this as the saints of old, characterized by the examples given in chapter 11, who in light of the culmination of Christ’s ministry have now been made complete by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  This is the great cloud of witnesses mentioned in vs.1. 

And to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant. Jesus is of course seated at the right hand of God as described in vs 2. Mt. Zion is His throne, as He is the Son of David, the Messiah promised who would rule the earth and bring peace.   Isaiah9:6 says, “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.  There will be no end to the increase of [His] government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”

And how does the LORD accomplish this? By the sprinkling of the blood of Christ, which speaks better than the blood of Abel. In the old covenant the vessels of the temple were sanctified by the sprinkled blood of the sacrifice.  In the new covenant, we are set apart for holiness and service to God by the sprinkled blood of Jesus.

He speaks of the blood of Abel, which you will remember, was referenced by God in His conversation with Cain after Cain had murdered his brother.  God said his blood cried out from the ground. And the law was God’s answer to the violence and depravity of man.  But the blood of Jesus Christ cries out as well.  But it cries out a better message, a different covenant, based on the better sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  What the blood of bulls and goats could never do, the blood of Jesus Christ  accomplishes.  It accomplishes our  transformation from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God. We are a new creature, a new creation. Old things are passed away, and all things become new.

In light then of the surpassing greatness of this new covenant God offers to man, vs.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, (that is from Mt. Sinai) much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven” (that is from Mt. Zion).

Listen my friends, do not despise the gospel of Jesus Christ. Chapter 10:28 warns “Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on [the testimony of] two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?”

I believe the Bible speaks of degrees of punishment in the judgment.  This is but one reference here of many such indications of greater punishment for some than others.  But rest assured, that the punishment for setting aside the first covenant is nothing to be compared with the setting aside of the second covenant.  And the reason is that the first covenant was ratified by the blood of lambs and goats.  But the second covenant was ratified by the blood of the very Son of God Himself.

And for those who reject His Son, who murder His Son so that they might continue in their sin, God’s judgment rightly falls. Chapter 10:30-31 “For we know Him who said, "VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY." And again, "THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE." It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

From Mt. Sinai, the voice of God shook the earth so that men were terrified and could not bear to hear it.  But how much more in the new covenant will God’s voice shake the earth and the heavens.  Vs. 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."  This [expression,] "Yet once more," denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.

I think this speaks of the culmination of the kingdom, when Christ will come again.  This time when He comes He comes not to offer salvation, but to bring judgment.  When the earth and the heavens will shake at the sound of the trumpet, and the Lord will descend in the clouds, and all the earth will mourn.  It will be the day when the Lord Jesus Christ will make war with the enemies of the gospel and overthrow them.  And there will be found no place for them anymore.  When the heavens and the earth will be destroyed by fire and burned up.  And the only things that will remain are those that are faithful and true, whose names are found written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. 

Rev. 19:11-16 “And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it [is] called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.  His eyes [are] a flame of fire, and on His head [are] many diadems; and He has a name written [on Him] which no one knows except Himself.  [He is] clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.  And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white [and] clean, were following Him on white horses.  From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.  And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

Heb. 12:28-29 “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;  for our God is a consuming fire.”

Therefore, since we are not shaken, if we are those who are not shaken, if we are those who remain stedfast through trials and tribulations and the discipline of the Lord, if we are those who are becoming sanctified like unto Jesus Christ, then let us show gratitude.  Consider Jesus and all that He has given for us, and in gratitude may we give unto Him our lives in return.  Romans 12 says what this gratitude looks like, specifically how we offer to God acceptable service with severance and awe.  Romans 12:1,2; “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”  

This is not just our duty, it should be our joy.  Considering all that our salvation has purchased for us, how can we not give our all for the sake of the kingdom?  To do any less is to do a disservice to our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.  And God will not leave His children untrained or undisciplined, but through His refining fire He will perfect and complete in us that which He has begun through Christ Jesus, that we might not come short in the faith.

As someone has well pointed out, fire will destroy what it cannot purify, but fire purifies what it cannot destroy. That is the whole explanation of life in this present hour. We are passing through the fire which is designed either to destroy that which can be destroyed, or to purify that which can never be destroyed.  I pray that you recognize that the One who walks through the fire with you is none other than the Son of God, that you might have strength to endure and let endurance have it’s perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete. 

I would close by reminding you of a couple of stanzas of the great hymn we sing often; How Firm a Foundation.

When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply.
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.

The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose
I will not, I will not, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake!

We who have come to the kingdom of God through faith in Jesus Christ have been made part of an unshakeable, eternal kingdom.   We who were mortal have been made immortal.  We who were condemned have been justified.  We who were children of wrath have been made children of God.  We who were in captivity to the world have been given an inheritance as rulers with Christ.  What a tremendous heritage we have as children of God.  We have the very Spirit of God living in us.  And at the culmination of this age we will be given new and glorified bodies, heavenly bodies, and will be like Christ, for we shall see Him as He is in all His glory.  Since we have received this incredible inheritance, this eternal, immortal life with God, let us show gratitude and offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe, laying up treasure in heaven which will not be burned up, for our God is a consuming fire.

The Exercise of Faith, Hebrews 12:12-17

We started this chapter by looking at  the Race of faith, then we considered the Discipline of faith, and now today we come to what we might call the Exercise of faith.

We said that the goal of God bringing  discipline into our lives as described in vs 4-11 was  righteousness.   It’s called in vs11, the peaceable fruit of righteousness.  That is the purpose of discipline, to conform us to the image of Jesus Christ as we share in the suffering of Christ. Hebrews 5:8 says that Jesus learned obedience from the things that He suffered.  And we are also told that a servant is not greater than his master.  So God brings discipline into our lives to produce the fruit of righteousness, that we might be more like Jesus.  

Now the author mixes metaphors here somewhat.  He jumps between the metaphor of a race to that of a fight, and then he interjects the metaphors of a plant; either bearing fruit or referring to the root of a plant.  But overall, I think the predominant metaphor here is that of a race or an athletic contest.  And that race, or the goal of our race is what he is referring to in the passage before us today.

If I were to break down this passage into four points, capitalizing on the metaphor of training for the race, I might outline it as three things we are to be, and one thing we are not to be.  In light of that maybe I should have named the message, “To be or not to be, that is the question.”  But that is not the title, nor the point of my message.  It really is about the practical application of the doctrines that we have been learning in the book of Hebrews.  Things that aren’t really an option, but since these doctrines are true, this is what we are to do.

We have already been told in vs1 that we are to lay aside the weights and the sin which so easily beset us as we run the race of faith.  And we have been told that we are to endure discipline so that God may train us to be holy.  Now we are being told that we are to exercise our faith through the process of sanctification that we might lay hold of the prize.

There are four  steps or things we are to be or not to be then in this exercise of faith as elucidated by the writer of Hebrews.  The first I might summarize by “Be strong.”  The second, is “Be healed.”  The third is to “Be sanctified.”  And the fourth is to “Be not defiled.”  I realize that is not the best outline in the world, but perhaps it will serve to give us some pegs to hang onto as we go through this text.

First then, is “Be strong.”  I cannot say that phrase without thinking of a similar exhortation by the Apostle Paul who said in 1Cor. 16:13 “Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.”  There is a problem today in the church, which obviously was also a concern to the church in Paul’s day, of weak kneed Christians.  And men, particularly were guilty of weak kneed Christianity.  

I was thinking, especially in light of our culture today, about what does it mean to be a man? You might say it means you are guilty.  Men, it seems, are the reason behind all of society’s problems, at least according to the PC culture. I happen not to agree with that, though I do think a lot of our problems can be traced back to men. However,  I can assure you that being a man is not found in your ability to legally drink alcohol, or that you have a career, or by some measure of your sexual prowess.  Being a man in the Biblical sense is defined as taking responsibility.  God has given the man the responsibility of leadership in the home and in the church.  But far too many men have relinquished their responsibility in both of those areas to women. It’s not that women can’t do it, but it’s that God has given the responsibility to the man.  So being strong and acting like men doesn’t mean that it’s always your way or the highway, but that you are responsible for the well being of your family. And incidentally, when the Bible says to act like a man, it means to be a man of God.  Not a man of the world.  Not a business man.  Not a man about town.  But a man of God who will lay down his life for the sake of his wife and children.  Too many men use the excuse that they are taking care of their family when in reality they are chasing money and prestige in their career.  But if you are not able to take care of the spiritual needs of your family then you are out of line with the primary responsibility that God has given you.

Now this passage before us is not just about men.  But I think that we needed to say those things to the men first of all.  But the exhortation in Hebrews is to all of the church, men, women and children.  Notice  vs12, “Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble…” All of us have our weaknesses.  But a runner, or a person who is engaged in a contest, if he wants to be successful identifies his weak areas and works on them to make them stronger.  Your strong areas are usually your go to areas.  They are things in which you have confidence.  But the weak areas are the things that will keep you from running well, and ultimately winning.

The devil plays to your weak areas.  He doesn’t waste time going after those areas in which you’re strong.  But he is like the lion that looks for the weak members of the flock.  He goes after those that are struggling, that are falling behind, those that have some weakness which he can use to his advantage in order to take them down.

How do you strengthen those weak areas?  Well first of all, don’t wait until you are in a crisis to realize that you should have done some exercise to strengthen those areas.  The Bible says, “Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.” The point isn’t that God isn’t going to be around when you get into trouble, but rather that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  When you think you stand, take heed lest you fall.  Work on those problem areas before the storm hits, and you won’t have to deal with all the consequences of weakness when you go through those trials which come to us all.  And the most effective way of strengthening those weak areas is through the word of God.  Psalm 119:11 says “your word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against you.” That’s how we are strengthened.  And that’s why we need to be under sound preaching as well.  A God ordained pastor is going to preach the things you need to hear, the whole counsel of the word.  Not just tickle your ears. 

Now there is another way that this verse can be looked at as well.  And that is in regards to your responsibility to the church.  That we are to strengthen the hands and knees that are weak.  All the members of the church are members of the same body.  And all the parts of the body are necessary.  Here in this example he is highlighting the hands and feet, which all Christians are supposed to be. And so another way of looking at this is as a member of this church, we should be strengthening one another, especially those members who are weak.  We should be encouraging them, helping them, sharing with them, to build them up in the faith.  

That goes back to chapter 10:24-25 which says, “and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,  not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”  There is a tendency sometimes on the part of members of the church to say that they don’t really get too much out of a particular service or activity in the church so they don’t think that they need to go.  But when they say that it shows that they are still immature in their faith.  As we mature we should be more focused on encouraging others rather than being encouraged ourselves.  Church is not just about meeting our needs, but meeting the needs of others.  Just a pat on the back or a hug, or even a little bit of conversation after church can do a lot for someone who is weak, whose knees are about to buckle, who might be about to quit the race.

Secondly, we need to “be healed.”  Now I can see a few folks ears prick up when I mention being healed.  We love to focus on the physical healing.  And I will confess that this word is often used in relation to physical healing.  But it also can mean spiritual healing.  Now the metaphor of a race is being referred to in this context, and we should recognize that this race is not an actual, physical race he is talking about, but a spiritual race.  And so if it’s a spiritual race, then we can assume it’s referring to spiritual healing.  

But let’s look at the verse. “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.”  What I think this is talking about is the person who was running, but got off the track.  I think it’s talking about the Christian who is in danger of drifting away.  Of turning off the course. I think it’s speaking about the person who has taken his eyes off Jesus and found himself off the path of righteousness and fallen into sin.  And as a result, God has brought discipline or correction into his life in the way of chastisement, which the author likens here to being lame. 

You know there is well known illustration which has received a lot of notoriety in the past from various preachers, which talks about the shepherd sometimes breaking a lamb’s leg in order to keep it from wandering off.  And the story goes that sometimes when a sheep just won’t stay with the flock, the shepherd might have to break the sheep’s leg, and then he must carry the sheep.  That’s the only way for the shepherd to keep the sheep from straying.  And a lot of preachers have had a hard time with that illustration.  They say such a thing would never happen.  That the story was made up.  But I read once an article from a minister from the  Billy Graham crusades who was responsible for leading certain evangelistic teams into the Middle East.  And this man, I forget his name, one day noticed a shepherd carrying a lamb upon his shoulders which had a bandage around his leg.  And upon asking the guide what had happened to the lamb, the guide told him that it was a common practice for the shepherd to break the leg of the lamb that constantly strayed from the fold, in order to train him to stay with the shepherd.  So in light of this man’s story, I think there is some validity in this illustration.  

Now whether or not that is on the mind of the author here I don’t know.  But he has made it abundantly clear that God does chastise his children.  And here the reference to  being lame and being healed would indicate that when you respond correctly to the chastisement of the Lord, then there is healing that comes from God.  God doesn’t chastise just to punish, but to correct.  He wants a renewed relationship.  He wants you to stay near to Him.  James 4:8-10 says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”  He is speaking of the proper response to chastisement, to cleanse yourself from the sin which has injured you, and God will raise you up again.

And incidentally, James uses this same word as this author for healed in James 5:16, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.”  There are some who infer from that that James is not talking about physical healing, but spiritual healing, because it is in relation to confessing your sins. 

So the same word for healing is found here in Hebrews.  And I can assure you that at least in Hebrews it refers to spiritual healing.  As 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  Let me tell you something, if you’re a Christian, then sin will make you sick.  Your sins will find you out.  I read a sign somewhere the other day that said that sin is like buying on a  credit card. You might enjoy it now, but you will pay dearly later.  There are consequences to sin.  Sin injures you, it makes you lame.  It hinders or even stops altogether your progress in the race.  But you can receive healing, that you might be restored and be able to run again.

So be strong, be healed, and then be sanctified.  Look at vs 14, “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.”  Let me say that another way; be right with men and with God.  Let’s just take the idea of being right with men first.  This is such a major part of our Christianity and yet we make so little of it.  It’s truth is emphasized again and again in the Bible.  For instance, Paul says in Romans 12:18 “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.”  He says again in chapter 14 vs 19, “So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.”  Notice that he uses the same word, pursue peace.  Hebrews says pursue peace.  Run after peace.  In this race which we run, run after peace with your fellow man.  Not the absence of war, but the absence of strife, jealousy, envy, anger.  

Peace is the fruit of the Spirit according to Gal. 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”  Jesus said in Matt. 5:8, the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are the peace makers, for they shall see God.” He goes on to speak of all the ways in which we are to treat one another, that we might have peace.  Jesus is the Prince of Peace, and so if we are to be like Jesus, we should be peaceable, humble, gentle, even as He was.

But tied closely to peace is holiness, or sanctification.  We must not sacrifice holiness for the sake of peace.  We don’t compromise holiness for the sake of just getting along with everyone, for the sake of not offending someone.  But speak the truth in love if that be needed.

So, he says, pursue or run after peace and sanctification.  Sanctification is practical holiness, or even better, practicing holiness.  We practice what Jesus taught.  And as we are obedient to His word, we are sanctified.  Now the origin of the word sanctified means set apart.  Set apart to God, set apart from sin. And it’s illustrated by the temple vessels that we made of gold, or silver or brass and then consecrated for use in the temple.  They were not to be used for other purposes, for carnal purposes, but were sanctified for holy use. And then they were washed, and sprinkled by the blood of the sacrificial lamb.   After all of that was completed, they were then used in service to the Lord.  

That’s the picture of sanctification.  We are set apart at our new birth for service to the Lord.  WE are washed, we are sprinkled with the blood of the Lamb.  And then we are to be used for service to God.  Not just to be set on a shelf.  The church is not a museum. But a place to serve the Lord.  If the home is the hub of the family life, then the church is the hub of spiritual life.  Sanctification is the working out of holiness in the church.  

Phil. 2:12-13 says, “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;  for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for [His] good pleasure.” We are to work out what we have become inwardly.  If Christ is in us, then He is to be exercised through us. 

There is a warning in this verse as well, “the sanctification without which, no one will see the Lord.”  Now we are sanctified in salvation, set apart to God,  but sanctification is also the process by which our righteousness is made manifest to others.  And so perhaps that is what is meant by that phrase; no one will see the Lord.  In other words, if the world doesn’t see Christ in us, then they won’t see Christ at all. It’s not enough to profess Christ, but we must let Christ live through us. We are intended to be lights in the world.

And that brings us to the last thing which is what we are not to be.  Be not defiled. Vs.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.”  I think that to come short of the grace of God means to come short of the purpose of God’s gift of salvation.  I believe it’s possible to fail to come all the way to the goal of sanctification.  It’s possible to come short of maturity as a believer.  It’s possible to fall away or drift away and become un-useful to the kingdom.  To frustrate the grace of God.  I believe it’s possible to presume upon the grace of God and do nothing with the spiritual life that God has given you. Jesus spoke often of that principle of using what God has given you and multiplying it.  So I think that is what is indicated here in falling short.  It’s falling short of what God has purposed for us.

And as the author indicates, one way of doing that is by the root of bitterness causing trouble and defiling many.  I think this is speaking of the life of the church.  Now it may be more individualistic than congregational.  But it’s likely it refers to a person or persons who are embittered over something, and while there may not be much on the surface to indicate that, underneath, inwardly something is eating at the person.  And as such they start to cause trouble.  They murmur or complain.  They start to eat away at the fabric of the church, and as the text says, they cause the defilement of many.  

We see that again and again in the book of Acts and in the writings of Paul to the Gentile churches.  Men from the church in Jerusalem came and started causing dissension.  Or some said I am of Apollos and others I am of Paul.  Or as Jude says  “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

What point this is making is that sin has to be dealt with.  This root of bitterness is sin which is hidden from view on the surface, but exists inwardly.  And eventually it comes out.  The problem with this sort of bitterness is that by leaving it alone it doesn’t go away, but rather the roots go deeper and become more entwined around other living plants.  And so when you finally have a problem and you have to deal with it, to root it out, it often destroys many other good plants in the process.

Now Esau is given as an illustration for all the points above.  He is an illustration of a church member, so to speak, who seems to be part of the family, has all the benefits of the family, the physical requirements for inheritance of the blessings, and yet  spiritually has fallen short of the grace of God.  Such a person looks like a brother in Christ on the outside but spiritually they are embittered in their sin. They have never truly repented, and as such their sin is like a cancer that is eating away from the inside. 

Notice that he calls Esau an immoral and godless person.  This is not how you describe a believer.  Jude in the passage I quoted while ago said that such persons who crept in to the church were ungodly persons.  And he went on to say that they denied our only Master and Lord. That indicates the problem.  It’s not that they don’t believe in the historicity of Jesus.  But that they deny Him Lordship over their life.  They have denied Him the place of Master over their life.  They are willing to presume upon the grace of God, but Jude says that they have turned it into licentiousness. That means that they think they can live their life in sin and do what they want to do with impunity.  God will forgive them, and so they don’t have to worry about sin. 

Well, the writer of Hebrews calls that immorality. It’s loving the world.  It’s immorality against God. He calls Esau a fornicator.  There is no evidence of that in scripture.  He’s saying that spiritually Esau is a fornicator.  He loved his fleshly appetite more than he loved the things of God.  He cared more about the world and the present than he did about the future kingdom of God and the Messiah who would come from the line of Jacob.

And as a such he paints a pretty apt picture of many professing Christians in the church today, who have sold their inheritance in heaven for a paltry meal here on earth.  They have sold their soul for a tryst with the lusts of the world.  Esau disdained his inheritance which had eternal implications, because he had a fleshy desire that he wanted filled immediately.  There was an evangelist that by the name of Bob Jones who said many years ago, “never sacrifice the permanent on the altar of the immediate.”

Finally, let me say this about the repentance of Esau.  Esau cried many tears later when he found that he had lost his blessing to his brother Jacob.  But his tears were not tears of repentance, but tears of rage.  In Genesis we read that Esau swore in his wrath that he would kill Jacob.  Who he wanted to repent was his father Isaac.  He wanted Isaac to repent, to change his mind and take back the blessing that he had given Jacob.  But Isaac could not do it, for it was the blessing of God, and so Isaac himself trembled when he considered how the purpose of God had been fulfilled in spite of his intentions. But the point I want to emphasize is that God did not reject Esau’s repentance, because Esau never did repent.  His tears led to a plot to murder.  But God always accepts the sincere prayer of repentance, the humble in heart. 

The word of God tells us that God is always ready to hear, to forgive, to heal us of our iniquity, when we call upon Him in true repentance. The goal of God is to restore us, and to make us more like Christ.  Christ is the goal, and we who are sanctified will see God. It’s a race that God has called us to run, and Christ is the goal, and we that are sanctified will one day see God face to face, and then we will be glorified.  We will be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.  I urge you to stay the course, to run the race, to strengthen one another, to make straight paths for your feet, and examine yourselves to root out any sin which so easily besets you, and may cause you to fall short of the grace of God.  

Romans 12:1-2 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, [which is] your spiritual service of worship.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”