Month: March 2024

 

The writer of Hebrews implores Jewish Christians to stay faithful, despite mounting pressure to return to Judaism. The same Jesus who died once for our sins will appear a second time to complete the work of salvation he began in all Christians.

Meanwhile, we are to keep the Christian community intact, meet regularly, and remind ourselves that “in a very little while, the Coming One will come and not delay” (Heb. 10:37).

Hebrews 9:27-28 – And just as it is appointed for people to die once ​— ​and after this, judgment ​— ​so also Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

Some Greeks held to Plato’s belief in reincarnation. And some Jewish traditions allowed for temporary punishment in gehenna after death to expiate one’s remaining sins. But the writer of Hebrews affirms the majority first-century Jewish view, and the consensus New Testament teaching, that death ends a person’s opportunity for reconciliation with God. Today is the day to set things right with our creator and judge (Heb. 4:5-7). As Jared Ingle writes, “We are profoundly limited by Today. It is our only opportunity to engage God.”

Equally important, Christ has provided reconciliation through his death, burial, and resurrection. His work to “bear the sins of many” is drawn from Isaiah 53:12. Now seated at the Father’s right hand in heaven, the exalted Jesus will appear “a second time” – in his glorious future return – to finish his work of salvation in us. He is raising us from the dead and giving us glorified bodies, rewarding us for faithful service, and forever banishing death and hades to the lake of fire (Rev. 20:14).

Our role as followers of Jesus is to serve him faithfully in view of his imminent return. As Jesus tells his disciples in the parable of the ten minas, “Engage in business until I come back” (Luke 19:11-27, especially v. 13).

Hebrews 10:24-25 – And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.

Religious associations in the Greco-Roman world were key to a sense of community. Jewish people in the first century gathered weekly at their synagogues. Christians seemed to have gathered at least weekly with an emphasis on Sunday (Acts 20:7).

But persecution may have discouraged some Christians from attending worship, even in relatively private house churches. So, the writer of Hebrews urges them not to neglect vital engagement in Christian community, especially as they see “the day approaching” – that is, the day of Jesus’ return and judgment.

Hebrews 10:37 – For yet in a very little while, the Coming One will come and not delay.

The writer of Hebrews expresses confidence that his readers, having already endured much, will not shrink back and abandon the faith (Heb. 10:32-39). He cheers them on to faithfulness. Drawing from Habakkuk and Isaiah, he seeks to bolster their trust in the return of “the Coming One” (cf. Isa. 26:20; Hab. 2:3-4).

Habakkuk speaks of a revelation that is coming: “For the vision is yet for the appointed time …. Though it delays, wait for it, since it will certainly come and not be late” (Hab. 2:3). The prophet is referring to the looming judgment of Judah and the punishment of Babylon. The writer of Hebrews changes the focus to a person. Since Jesus is the God-Man, as well as God’s last word to man (Heb. 1:1), the adaptation fits perfectly to the return of Christ.

Just as God delays his judgment of Judah and his vengeance on Babylon, he holds the return of Christ in reserve for a future day. Peter tells us this delay is an exercise of God’s patience. Even so, the “day of the Lord” comes certainly and swiftly, punishing the wicked, purging the world of sin, and resulting in new heavens and a new earth (2 Pet. 3:1-13).

As Donald Guthrie notes of Hebrews 10:37, “Here the thought is of the certainty of God’s intervention, which was particularly significant for the church in a time of persecution. The assurance that the coming one would not tarry shows that any delay should be regarded as temporary.”

Thus says the Lord: “Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’”
Jeremiah 6:16

An American Old Testament scholar spent a summer studying in Jerusalem. He once listened to a Jewish rabbi recite the entire book of Psalms in Hebrew from memory. The rabbi didn’t miss a single word. In one sense, the rabbi knew the Bible, but in another sense he didn’t because he couldn’t see the Messiah—Jesus.

Likewise, there is a difference between knowing the way and walking in the way—a common biblical metaphor for the path one chooses to take. Jeremiah encouraged his hearers to seek the old, settled paths and “walk in [them].” And Jesus did the same: “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46) He went on to illustrate: The one who hears God’s words but doesn’t put them into practice is building a life without a foundation—destined to collapse (Luke 6:46-49).

Know the Bible? Yes! But the purpose of knowing is to discover the way in which to walk.

Apply yourself to the whole text, and apply the whole text to yourself.

 

 

Leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity.

–Hebrews 6:1

What causes a Christian to become spiritually stunted, to remain an infant in Christ? In 1 Corinthians 3:2, Paul told us one cause of carnality is a wrong diet. He said, “I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not able.” In the Bible, there are two categories of spiritual food: milk and meat. Now, there is nothing wrong with milk. But if you keep giving a person milk and no meat, they are not going to grow. That is what Paul was saying here–he could give the Corinthian Christians only spiritual milk.

What is spiritual milk? The writer of Hebrews told us in Hebrews 5:12: “Though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for somebody to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.” Then in chapter 6, he continued, “Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment” (vv. 1-2).

Spiritual milk refers to the elementary teachings about Jesus Christ–who He is and what He did for us on the cross. The writer said those teachings about Christ are foundational, but they are also elementary. You will never grow as a Christian as long as you keep going over the basic facts of the gospel. You will never grow as a Christian as long as you depend on Christian music to give you all the food you need. You will never grow as a Christian as long as you keep reading your favorite Scripture passage over and over. You have to change your spiritual diet.

Maybe you are in danger of starving to death spiritually because you have subsisted on spiritual milk for too long. There comes a time when you have to move from milk to meat.

 

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.
–Romans 12:1

You may have a desire that corresponds with Scripture and follows common sense. Yet that desire may not be God’s will for your life. That’s because all our desires are subject to God’s sovereign plan.

Consider the example of David. In 1 Kings 8:17–19, Solomon said, “It was in the heart of my father David to build a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. But the Lord said to my father David, ‘Because it was in your heart to build a house for My name, you did well that it was in your heart. Nevertheless you shall not build the house, but your son who will be born to you, he will build the house for My name.’” David loved God. He was faithful to God except for a few notable lapses. He was a man after God’s own heart. And David had a burning desire to build a temple for the Lord. God said, “David, that’s a great idea. But you’re not the one who’s going to carry it out.” No matter how good our plans are, ultimately God has the final say.

I think about Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. He prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me” (Matthew 26:39). Jesus was saying, “Spare Me, Father, from the physical and spiritual agony of the crucifixion.” Yet He went on to pray, “Not as I will, but as You will” (v. 39). And in some inexplicable way, the Father’s will became the Son’s will. It’s the same way for us. Our desires are superseded by God’s sovereign plan.

There’s only one place in the New Testament where the apostle Paul told us to discover God’s will for our lives, and that’s in Romans 12:2. But before that, in verse 1, he commanded us to subject our will to God’s will: “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.” God doesn’t want you to place a dead animal on the altar; He wants a living sacrifice. He wants you to submit your life and your desires to His will. Paul continued, “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” (v. 2).

Does God speak to us through our desires? Absolutely. But Paul was saying, ultimately, the only desires we can trust are those that have been transformed by the power of God and sacrificed on the altar of God.

 

 

Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart.
–Psalm 37:4

This week, we are learning practical principles for using our desires to determine God’s will. How do we know whether our desires are trustworthy indicators of God’s will? The reliability of our desires is proportionate to our spiritual health.

Let me illustrate that for you. Before I have blood drawn for my annual physical, the nurse asks, “Do you have a fever?” She knows the results may be skewed if I’m sick. It’s the same way in our spiritual lives. Whether our desires are trustworthy indicators of God’s will depends on whether we’re spiritually well or spiritually sick. Godly desires do not flow out of an ungodly heart. Jesus said something similar in Matthew 12:34–35: “The mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil.” An evil heart produces evil words. In the same way, an ungodly heart generates ungodly desires.

Many years ago, my ministry was outwardly successful, but inside I was deteriorating spiritually. My relationship with God was not what it should have been. I wasn’t reading my Bible; I wasn’t praying. During that time, I got a desire to pursue another vocation part-time, and I even began to experience some success in that area. But that desire was flowing out of a spiritually sick heart. When my relationship with the Lord became what it should be, that desire evaporated. Godly desires come from a heart that is spiritually well.

How do we make sure that our hearts are spiritually in tune with God? Philippians 2:13 says, “It is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” The Greek word translated as “at work” is energon, meaning “energize.” It is God who is energizing us, giving us the power and desire to accomplish His purpose.

One of the conduits through which God’s power and desires flow into our lives is God’s Word. Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 2:13, “The word of God . . . also performs its work in you who believe.” When we read the Bible, it does a work in our hearts. Another conduit through which we receive God’s power and desires is prayer. That’s why it’s important to set aside time for praying and reading God’s Word.

As God’s power flows into our lives, His desires become our desires. David wrote, “Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). Love God. Allow Him to transform your heart, and He will make His desires your desires.