A Study on the Book of Hebrews

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.

By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith. By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised landlike a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.” Hebrews 11:1-12

“The guiding principle of the Christian life is faith. This is not simply a psychological factor, however. To some people faith means believing that you can do a job better than you have done it in the past, or believing that a loved one will rise from his bed of sickness. There may be real value in such “positive thinking,” but this is not the meaning of faith. True Biblical faith has God as its object. We believe God and trust His Word. That Word does not tell us that we have any reason to expect to be the richest merchant on Main Street. It tells us, on the contrary, that we will have tribulations and that as Jesus’ disciples we will have crosses to bear. It assures us, however, of grace to bear them. Faith has a backward look. It declares that God has done mighty acts in days gone by. Faith also has a forward look. It declares that He can be trusted for the future… Faith is the firm assurance, the conviction, that God will do what He has promised to do. It would, of course, be presumption to insist that He must do what we want done. Many Christians grow disillusioned in their Christian lives because God does not conform to their wills. Faith takes God at His word; faith does not insist that He conform to our ideas. (Pfeiffer, C. F. The Epistle to the Hebrews. Chicago, IL: Moody Press)

“Many Christians grow disillusioned in their Christian lives because God does not conform to their wills.” It is hard to understand that faith in Christ, belief in G-d does not mean that we get what we want. Yes we have faith that Christ died for my sins, and raised Lazarus to life after having been in the tomb for four days. We believe that Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life. But this does not mean that having strong faith will keep our loved ones from dying in tragic ways – even in mundane ways. Some experience miracles, some do not – the why’s and the how’s and the where’s will be known when we die.

But because some experience divine intervention and others do not in no way makes any inference to stronger faith. We trust that G-d hears our prayers, and we believe that Jesus loves us beyond all measure. Perhaps it is not that we have not experienced divine intervention; perhaps we have not discerned it for what it was – placed it on the plate of fate or happen-stance rather than on G-d’s direct mercy.

We are to conform our wills to G-d’s, our lives to Christ – and to trust that G-d is with us always.

Pastor Dave

A Study on the Book of Hebrews

“Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For, “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.” And, “But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.” But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.” Hebrews 10:32-39

Spurgeon offers these words: – The early Christians had to suffer for their faith. They were exposed to great ridicule and enmity: they were, indeed, the byword, the laughingstock, and the derision of all mankind. Nor did it end in ridicule: they were deprived of their goods. Ruinous fines were exacted from them. They were driven from city to city, and not thought worthy to dwell among the sons of men. They were made a spectacle to all men, both in their lives and deaths. Very frequently they were not put to death as other condemned persons were, but their execution was attended with circumstances of cruelty and scorn, which made it still harder to bear: they were daubed with pitch and set up in the gardens of Nero to be burned alive to light that tyrant’s debaucheries, or taken to the Amphitheater, there to fight with beasts and to be torn in pieces. Everything that could be invented that was at once degrading and cruel their persecutors devised for them: malice exhausted its ingenuity upon believers in Christ.   (Precept Austin, Commentary on Hebrews 10, Charles Spurgeon comments)

In a while, Christ will come. We do not know when, but Christ will come again. Until then, we continue in the journey – living the Christ-like life. It is not an easy life, if we are truly living the life of a disciple. There are so many temptations – so many voices that want us to follow a different path. We will be made fun of by some, and will be considered an oddity by others. We may not be thrown to the lions, literally, but we know what it is like to hear the biting comments of non-believers. As such, we continue knowing that when Christ comes, then comes our victory. It is the love, mercy and Grace of Christ that keeps us on the path – to the end.

Pastor Dave