Monthly Archives: November 2009

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

The Bible is not just a Book and those who revere it are not worshipping a Book. When someone in authority sends us a memo and we obey what they say in it we can hardly say that we are honouring the memo more than the person who sent it. The memo reflects his wishes and to disregard it is to disregard the person himself.

The Bible is the record of God’s communication to us. We hold it dear because it is an accurate account of God’s desires for the world. God is speaking to us and He does it through the Bible primarily. When we disobey what it says we are disobeying God. When we ignore it or change it we are ignoring Him and altering His words.

Hebrews 4:12 is not talking about Jesus as the Word. It is talking about the written record of God to us as preserved in the Bible as the Word of God. The fact that God speaks to us through the Bible should stun us. It is a marvelous truth and it is a great encouragement to the Christian.

Providentially, God orders things in such a way that we find a text that speaks to our situation. He orchestrates events so that we read in the Word the very thing we need for the situation we are in. We memorize it and imbibe its principles and find that it feed our souls even when we cannot open it up and read it. Its own testimony is that it equips us for every good work (II Timothy 3:16-17), strengthens the one who meditates upon it (Psalm 1), keeps us from error (Matthew 22:29), sanctifies (John 17:17), lead us to the truth about salvation in Christ (John 20:31), give us examples as a warning (Romans 15:4), is a more sure testimony than even the transfiguration (II Peter 1:19) and much more.

Psalm 119 is a treasure chest full of the benefits and delights of the Word of God. If the Old Testament Scriptures were such a blessing to the saints of old how much more are the completed Scriptures to us who have the whole completed record of God to us? God uses means and what He uses to save us and correct the saved and sanctify them and direct them and comfort them and rebuke them and help them, is the Word of God. It truly is a treasure of the will and word of God to us. What a work God has done in giving it and preserving it for the faithful and all those who will hear it and be saved.

What a fool a person is who has access to it and yet will not avail himself of the opportunities to read and study what God is saying to him through it. Don’t be such a fool.

Psalm 10:1-12 (ESV)

Why, O Lord, do you stand afar off?

Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

[2] In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;

let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.

[3] For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul,

and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord.

[4] In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him;

all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”

[5] His ways prosper at all times;

your judgments are on high, out of his sight;

as for all his foes, he puffs at them.

[6] He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved;

throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.”

[7] His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;

under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.

[8] He sits in ambush in the villages;

in hiding places he murders the innocent.

His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;

[9] he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket;

he lurks that he may seize the poor;

he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.

[10] The helpless are crushed, sink down,

and fall by his might.

[11] He says in his heart, “God has forgotten,

he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”

[12] Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand;

forget not the afflicted.

The wicked prosper and the poor are abused by them. They live as if God is asleep or doesn’t care or cannot do anything to change his ways. They are arrogant and self righteous and confident of their future. They thrive in their evil ways and the more evil they do the more they thrive and prosper. The Psalmist sees this and questions God about it. “Why do you stand afar off? Why do you hide yourself?”(verse 1).

This was written about 1000 years before the birth of Christ. People are still asking the same questions today. At least part of the answer to such dilemmas is that God put such things in the Scriptures for us to read and know that the Bible was not written with rose coloured glasses. Life stunk and God put it there for us to see.

Life still stinks. The poor are still abused; the rich still accumulate riches on the backs of the poor; there is still self righteous arrogance and self confidence and the temerity to challenge the Almighty.

When we look around us and see all the horrors that make up life on this planet we should not conclude that the Bible is somehow wrong. The Bible talks about these very things. The Bible has the writings of men who complained to God about the way things were heading. If the message of the Bible is “come to Jesus and be prosperous, or trouble free” then people might have a complaint to make against God for the way their lives turn out.

But the Bible is abundantly clear that sin has messed up life royally and God has a plan to eradicate sin from off the planet. Until then sin will continue to wreak its horrible consequences. The point is that none of the troubles of life mean that God does not know, is not there, does not care, or is powerless to do something about it.

He has. It is called the Gospel of Jesus Christ. People need to hide their lives in Christ and know that the hope the Gospel gives them is not some pipe dream. It is a truth that gives forgiveness and fellowship with God and strength and hope and help and meaning and purpose. Don’t buy the lie that coming to Jesus ends life’s troubles. But also don’t forget that having Christ is having the One who is going to bring all things right – even if we don’t always see it.

Hebrews 4:11-13 (ESV)

Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. [12] For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. [13] And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

We should strive to enter the rest that God provides, which is Christ Himself, so that we will not fall like the children of Israel fell in their disobedience. That is verse 11. Then the author says, “for the Word of God is living and active…”. In other words, the reason we should strive to enter God’s rest and not fall like the Israelites did is because the Word of God is powerful.

What’s the connection? How do the qualities of the Word of God enable us to strive to enter the rest of God? The Bible is about Jesus Christ. If we are to enter into the rest of Christ then it will be because we heeded the message of the Word of God. It is through the Word that we will not fall into apostasy. If we ignore the Scriptures we ignore what God has given us to prevent us from falling into sin. If we take our salvation and obedience seriously then we will be careful to have our lives changed by the powerful living soul piercing Word of God.

Ignorance and avoidance of the Scriptures are testimony that we are not really serious about our walk with God and it is a serious testimony that our hearts are not right with Him. The people of Israel who died in the wilderness were sure they were the people of God. They would not listen to the Words of God and they perished. People fool themselves if they think they are believers but will not avail themselves of what God has provided for them to keep them from falling.

Strive to enter the rest of God – pay attention to the Scriptures. God has given the Bible. You need it. It will not fail you. You can fail it and if you do it is because you are like those who fell in the wilderness.

Hebrews 4:5-8 (ESV)

And again in this passage he said,

“They shall not enter my rest.”

[6] Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, [7] again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted,

“Today, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts.”

[8] For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on.

The passage of Scripture that the writer to the Hebrews quotes in Hebrews 4:3, 5 and 7 is from Psalm 95. In that Psalm an invitation to enter God’s rest is given. There is a sense of urgency in the Psalm for it says “Today, do not harden your hearts…”

The point Hebrews 4 makes here is that the rest the Psalmist is talking about cannot be the Promised Land because the Promised Land has been inhabited by Israel for about 400 years by the time the Psalm is written. The rest the Psalmist refers to is something other than the rest Joshua got after he conquered the land. What is it?

It is Christ.

If God’s rest on the seventh day points to the eternal rest we get in Christ; and if the rest that Joshua got when he conquered the land is not the rest that God has promised us but points to Christ; and if the Psalmist wanted his readers to receive something better than what they were chasing after and that was Christ; then we should know that what we need more than anything else is Christ.

People get tired and cranky and are always looking for something that will better them. They chase after religion, sex, education, power, money. They want peace and security and happiness and contentment.

And they want rest.

But they seek in all the wrong places for it and get frustrated in their searching. One of the ironies of this is that they never seem to equate their frustration with the search. It never seems to occur to them that the problem might be that they are chasing the wrong things.

A man chased after a million dollars. When it did not make him happy he chased after two million and then three and a billion. His faithfulness to his god would be laudable if not so ridiculous. But we see this kind of thing all the time. The drug addict who knows that what he really needs is more of the same. The young man chasing women seeks more and more perverse thrills. The religious person makes greater and greater demands on himself in the hopes that this will bring him the peace with his god that he is seeking.

The Jews sought land, a king, a political messiah. Some turned to Christ and now that life has turned hard they are considering turning back to Judaism. “Why?” asks the author of this letter. “You have the One that all the old covenant points to. The Psalmist tells you to find your rest in Christ.”

Dear Christian, rest comes from Christ. It comes to those who trust in Him. He gives rest from the work of seeking to find oneself acceptable to God. You are already as acceptable to God as you can be because of Christ. If you lack peace be like the greedy millionaire who thinks that he just needs more money. Except with you, you know that the problem is not Jesus. The problem is you. You need to grow closer to Christ. You need to understand the Gospel better than you do. You need to walk with Him in faithfulness. You need to hear Him. He is the Creator of all that exists. There is nowhere else to look than Him. Today, do not harden your heart. He is here and He grants rest.

Psalm 15:1-5 (ESV) A Psalm of David.

O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent?

Who shall dwell on your holy hill?

[2] He who walks blamelessly and does what is right

and speaks truth in his heart;

[3] who does not slander with his tongue

and does no evil to his neighbor,

nor takes up a reproach against his friend;

[4] in whose eyes a vile person is despised,

but who honors those who fear the Lord;

who swears to his own hurt and does not change;

[5] who does not put out his money at interest

and does not take a bribe against the innocent.

He who does these things shall never be moved.

All the qualities listed in verses 2-5 are the result of grace lavished out on those who believe. We are completely unable to live consistently like this.

The qualities listed here take us to Christ. He is the only One who can do these things perfectly. And He did. And all those who trust Him are counted as if they had lived that way too. That is the stunning miracle of grace.

But the grace of God at work in the hearts of the faithful will enable a person to exhibit these qualities in greater and greater measure. A person comes to Christ by faith. By the power of God he now lives a righteous, honest, upright life. Such a life mean that he will never be moved.

Holiness leads to fearlessness. It produces strength and perseverance and tenacity. The last phrase of this Psalm also tells us that there are going to be things that will try to move us. The person who lives half a Christian life will not be able to stand against them. They will make him crumble. But God gives power to the faithful. He gives ability to endure to those who will put righteousness ahead of convenience, holiness ahead of popularity. The person who lives right, guards his tongue, loves his neighbour, is loyal to his friends, fears the Lord, keeps his word even if it means suffering to do so, does not lend money with interest, and will not take money at the expense of innocent people will not be moved.

God will honour such faithfulness. The reason He will honour it is so that such behaviour can continue. He will enable you to stand so that you can continue to be the person of integrity that such behaviour indicates you to be. It is not always easy to live like verses 2-5. But it is always worth it. There is going to be adversity in life. Who will be able to stand in the face of it? Those who care more about pleasing God than anything else.

Hebrews 4:1 (ESV) – Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it.

The promise of God to His people that they will enter into His rest is a promise that still stands. The promise was made to the Old Testament Jews but the land looks forward to something better. Joshua 23:1 tells us that God gave the people rest after their conquests in the Promised land. But this is not the final rest that the land and the Gospel look forward to. The Gospel looks forward to a rest that the battles for the land were simply foreshadowing.

The eternal rest is from struggling against sin and despair and fear and failure. It will all end. But it hasn’t ended yet. The time is not to rest yet. We have a promise of entering rest. The proof that we have heard the promise and believed it is that we enter the warfare that the Christian life is. The person who claims to be in Christ and yet does not fight against sin is either lying or self deceived.

The Christian life is warfare. Warfare is for those who have signed up. All Christians have enlisted in a fierce spiritual war. It is unrelenting. It is personal. It is not against politicians or terrorists or cultural trends. It is against sin in our own hearts. Giving the Gospel to non believers is part of the battle.

We will not put our weapons down until the war is over and it will not be over until we enter glory or Jesus returns. Those who rest now are not those who look forward to rest later. They are resting now and they are not believers. We wrestle now with all the strength that God provides.

There is an irony about this. Jesus has done all that can be done to enable us to enter into glory when this life is over. We rest in Him. But the evidence of resting in Christ is that we will not rest against sin until the final day. He has promised us rest, because of faith in Him. Since we rest in Him and have the promise we will not rest.

This is crucial to understand. If you fight against sin in order to be qualified for an eternity with Christ then you will not spend eternity with Him. But if you fight against sin because you have been freely granted eternal life then you will win and hear a welcome from God. Presumption is a sin that prevents eternal life. Guard your heart. If you don’t you will fall and sin and be judged as one who never knew Christ. But if you truly guard your heart out of a Spirit given fear of God that He holds guilty all who will not turn away from sin, you will live.

Hebrews 3:16-19 (ESV)

For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? [17] And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? [18] And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? [19] So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

A very large crowd of Israelites left Egypt with Moses and crossed the Red Sea and saw the miracles in the wilderness and ate manna and quail, and so much more. Only two of them made it into the Promised Land. The reason they did not enter the land was because they were disobedient. The rebelled against God. All the blessings they received from God did not mean that they were the people of God in any spiritual sense.

The people of God are those who believe and obey. We see this in verses 18 and 19. God swore that the disobedient would not enter the rest that awaited those who would enter the land. So why did they not enter? Verse 19 tells us. Because they did not believe. They did not believe the threat that God had made. They didn’t believe the promises that God made to them. The proof that they did not believe? They went right ahead and disobeyed the commandments.

Real belief will produce obedience. Their lack of belief however was more than just not believing the threats and promises that God made. It was a matter of not entrusting themselves to God. They did not have faith in God. They knew better then God. They had a better idea. The believed the lie that God’s way was not best.

This is very relevant for us today. The writer to the Hebrews is using the people of the Exodus to warn the people that he is writing. If you are not careful you will have happen to you what happened to them. The church is full of people who say they believe but who do not live in obedience to the commands of God. They live in security thinking that God will never refuse them entrance into eternal life because they made some profession of faith or “believe” in Jesus. But belief that does not translate into godliness is not faith in Christ. A faith that does not believe that God’s way is always best and that He knows what He is doing is not faith at all.

People with such “faith” will not enter God’s rest because they do not believe. They will not enter God’s rest because they are disobedient. This is not two things. It is one thing. Faith in Christ is marked by obedience. Obedience is the proof of faith. If we say that people are saved by obeying the commands of God we risk falling into the Gospel denying doctrine of salvation by works. We must always get the order right. Faith produces obedience. Faith in God that is not accompanied by works is an impossibility. Works without faith is every religion in the world except the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 3:7 (ESV)

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,

“Today, if you hear his voice,

Hebrews 3:15 (ESV)

As it is said,

“Today, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

Hebrews 4:7 (ESV)

again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted,

“Today, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts.”

Four times in a short space the author, in encouraging the Hebrew believers not to surrender up the faith quotes Scripture that says “Today” do not harden your hearts. God only gives us one day at a time. If we do not want to fall into sin we need to keep ourselves faithful today.

The prayer of the believer when he gets up in the morning is that God keep him today, that he would not fall today, that he give himself wholly to God today, that he be a witness of the Gospel today. We have a great hope and we demonstrate our faithfulness to Christ by not giving up in the face of much that tempts us.

The hope of eternity is something that every believer should have his sights set on. The Christian hope of reward is a powerful incentive to holy living. But we must not be so set on the distant future that we forget the present. The future hope that the Lord tells us about is meant to fuel us for righteousness today.

Some do not see the temptations that are staring them in the face while they are working to do great things later on. The war will not be won later on if the battle is not won today. Long term planning is an essential part of living. We will never accomplish anything if we do not have an idea of where we are going and how we are to get there. Putting away money for retirement is something we all ought to try to do. But we cannot sock resources away for some future date in order to win the battle for our souls. We must fight today. We must use all the resources that God gives us so that we are equipped for the struggle that we will be involved in today. And make no mistake – we will be involved in spiritual warfare today.

Do not hide your armour in the closet for some other time. You must have it on right now. Devote yourself to the Word of God, to the church, to prayer and the table of Christ so that every day you will be properly equipped to fight and witness and know the joy of walking with your Saviour. The ammunition you use today must be replenished when you get up tomorrow. Do not neglect to do so. The battle is too serious and your soul is too valuable to enter into the day unarmed and unprepared. Today, hear His voice.