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

A Study on the Book of Hebrews

“If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?  For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Hebrews 10:26-31

“This was meant to be a frightening verse to those readers who were being tempted to commit apostasy. The writer is trying to get their attention before it is too late and they make the fateful, fearful choice of rejecting the only refuge of escape from the hands of the Living God. Believers should apply the truth of this passage to their life! There is a tendency to think “Sure, I’ve sinned, but I can just confess it.” We can just confess it. This is true, but we need to ask the Spirit to help our heart develop a proper balance between holy fear of offending God and God’s holy mercy when we do offend Him. And inherent in confession is repentance from that sin” (Precept Austin, Commentary on Hebrews 10:31)

“We can just confess it. This is true, but we need to ask the Spirit to help our heart develop a proper balance between holy fear of offending God and God’s holy mercy when we do offend Him.” Paul will pick up this idea in his Romans letter: “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.” (Romans 6:1-5)

These very words are used in our rite for burial in the Lutheran liturgy. Christ died for our sins so that we will not have to pay the same penalty that Christ paid for sin. That alone should help us to not only celebrate Grace, but to pursue a life of righteousness.

Pastor Dave