1 Peter 3:21

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.” (v. 18-22)

To properly study this, we need to look at this verse in context, as presented above. Verse 21 is a tripping point for some, so I want to take a look at the two most common interpretations.

“Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, …”

Does baptism save me?

As a pre-teen and teenager, I was taught that it is baptism that saves me, and I was baptized with that understanding.

The thinking behind this teaching seems to be …

The Bible says that baptism saves us, right here in this verse, so it must be true.
God’s grace is that He allows the act of baptism to save us.
Faith is a requirement, because if we don’t have faith in the power of baptism to save, we won’t do it.

Does that sound logical and reasonable to you? Paul would not have agreed. In chapter 2, verse 8, he wrote to the Ephesians “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”

The second interpretation is based upon my own powerlessness to advance my own salvation. Faith is an internal attribute; it cannot be seen by others. Baptism is an external act which proclaims our inner faith to the world around us.

Going back to Peter’s example of Noah, the same water that “saved” him in the ark would have killed him, had he not had the faith to build and occupy the ark, and had he not acted on that faith and obeyed God’s command to build. God saved Noah by directing him to acts which, when he obeyed, ultimately saved him.

Baptism, likewise, does not save us by a simple act. It is the faith which is demonstrated in obedience to God’s command which saves us. Obedience does not save us; God saves us when our faith moves us to repent and obey.

So, looking at these two interpretations, I would not now teach to others what I was taught as a child. I would now teach that Peter wrote about the difference between “belief” in a set of facts, and “active, saving faith” which moves us to action.

I’m sometimes asked the question “I do believe in Jesus and His power to save; is baptism really necessary?” My answer to that is another question. “If you truly believe, why would you choose to ignore anything God has asked you to do?”

1 Peter 3:1-7

I realize I’ll be skating on thin ice this week, but that’s OK. I’m too old at this point to worry about it.

Why the thin ice? Just take a look at Peter’s first eight words: “Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, …”. The third rail of relational politics!!

Why should this be controversial?

First, modern American society doesn’t easily accept “be subject to”, or as the NIV translates it, “submit”. We fought a war with England rather than submit to it’s king! Our independent spirit is a significant part of our national heritage. That’s just now how we roll.

Second, since we’re talking about wives here, we must be honest and admit that, for the most part, women of our modern society have not been treated with the honor and respect they deserve. To find the real reason many wives resist the idea of “submit”, all we husbands have to do is look in the mirror!

Still, recognizing the thin ice for what it is, we need to consider the full passage. Here it is (ESV).

“Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct. Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear — but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening. Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.”

Let’s take a moment to consider the phrase “be subject to”, or “submit” if you prefer the NIV. Most people read this and interpret it as “meekly allow yourself to be dominated”. I cannot disagree more strongly! To “be subject to” or to “submit” in this context means to recognize and accept the leadership of the husband.

Take a moment to think about what leadership should look like in a Godly home. The husband should be the primary problem solver, the primary care-taker; he should be the first to step up with a sacrifice and the last to keep anything back for himself.

I have the mental image of a war zone, with a family huddled in the trench as the bullets buzz overhead. In God’s ideal family, the husband is the first one over the top of the wall; the first one to face the opposition.

Consider also the context in which this is written. Peter begins with “Likewise”. To see what he means, we need to look back. In the previous chapter he has already called upon heads of households and primary providers, in that society mostly men, to submit to governing authorities, and to employers. As Christians, it is their responsibility before God to live respectfully within the society in which God has placed them; to live above reproach in a pagan world.

Submission within the family is a continuation of the same theme. Live within the family in such a manner as to avoid bringing shame and reproach upon the Christ whom you claim to serve.

Note also that Peter did not in any way let husbands off the hook. Let’s remind ourselves of verse 7: “Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.”

Got that, husbands? Show honor to your wife. Be gentle and understanding. (“Yes, Honey, of course you needed those red shoes! So happy you found them.”) Fail to live gently and honorably with you wife, and when you’re praying to God, you may find there’s a lot of static on the line.

God expects a lot of husbands. Take a moment to check out Ephesians 5:25: “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” How did Christ love the church? By dying for the church! This is the husband’s example for how to treat his wife!

Put that way, giving up Saturday afternoon golf for a shopping trip with the Mrs. isn’t so bad after all.

Back to the wives, for just a moment. If the husband is doing his rock-solid best to live up to what’s expected of him in the scriptures, who wouldn’t want to recognize and honor leadership such as that? Husbands, given that God expects your wife to “submit” by recognizing and honoring your leadership, we need to exercise sacrificial, servant leadership that invites recognition and respect of that role.

Husbands (including myself), what are we going to do about this?

1 Peter 2

In this post, I’ll be taking a look at several verses in this excellent chapter by the apostle Peter; this is in no way an exhaustive study of the chapter. I could, and may, return to this chapter for additional posts.

“Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.” (v. 1)

First, we must ask ourselves, what’s the “therefore” there for? If we return to verse 22 of the previous chapter, we read “Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth …”. OK, we’ve been purified by Christ’s sacrifice for us, so now we’ll talk about how we respond to this purification. Peter begins this chapter by discussing sins we should be leaving behind.

Instead of writing a general examination of the scripture, I’m going to take a very personal look at it. Personally, I don’t have much of a problem with malice. Maybe just a little bit in Charlotte traffic, but that’s a whole different discussion!

I also think I’m not much troubled by slander. I try really hard to be positive and encouraging when talking to people, and when talking about them. That’s a good way to avoid slander. Recommendation: always strive to be the most positive-minded person in the room.

Envy isn’t much of a problem either. Maybe just a bit lately, when I see my friend’s new hairpiece, but I’m getting over that.

But (unfortunately) we cannot leave this verse without talking about deceit and hypocrisy. Am I being deceitful and hypocritical when I act and speak as if I’ve got all sin in my life under control, when the truth is I struggle daily with temptations? (And not just in Charlotte traffic!) The truth is, I haven’t got it all together; I do struggle daily. To avoid adding the sins of deceit and hypocrisy on top of the stack, I must be real and honest with my family and friends.

I’ve found that such honesty opens important doors to my brothers, allowing them to confess their struggles also, to begin (or continue) their own journey toward healing and recovery. “Therefore, confess your sins to each other, and pray for each other, so that you may be healed.” (James 5:16)

I’ll also take a look at verse 4 …

“As you come to Him, the Living Stone — rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to Him …” (v. 4)

Jesus was rejected by most people, notably the religious leadership of His day. Yes, He was accepted by a few disciples, but that wasn’t enough acceptance to keep Him off the cross of execution.

If I am like Jesus, I should expect rejection also. “Wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.” (Matthew 7:13) However, I will experience that rejection only if I’m proclaiming His message. If I “go along to get along”, I won’t be rejected, but neither will I be presenting Jesus’ message of redemption. So, I must ask myself, am I being rejected with sufficient frequency?

“Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority.” (v. 13) This can be very hard. We don’t always agree with the decisions of human authorities. We don’t always respect human authorities. Human authorities don’t always conduct themselves in a manner worthy of respect. We often feel that we know better, or that the rules don’t apply to our unique situation.

Peter doesn’t tell us to submit to human authority for our own sake, to decide when to submit, or which rules to obey, or which rulers to respect. He says “for the Lord’s sake”. Paul clarifies this in Romans 13:1. “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.”

We don’t always know why God allows a particular leader to be given power to rule. We must remember that we don’t need to understand God’s plan to play our part in it. If my part is to submit to a human authority I don’t trust or cannot respect, so be it. Before I characterize any human authority as “evil”, I must ask myself if he/she is really any more evil than I?

Am I grumbling about the leadership to whom I must submit, or am I thankful to God for having leadership to follow, and a mind that can think and consider the merits of leadership decisions? Am I humble enough to admit that God makes better choices than I, and to accept His choices for human authority?

The Heart of Discipleship (James 1:22-27)

In the last six verses of this first chapter, James gets right down into the heart of what it means to be a disciple of Christ. “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, …”. The hearers he’s talking about are the folks we call “cultural Christians”, those whose Christianity is a social identity rather than a true change of heart. They’re the folks who go to chuch on Sunday morning, if it’s convenient and fair weather, walk out saying to each other “Wow, that was a great sermon!”, and forget what it was about by the time they get to lunch.

Hearers of the word generally feel good about themselves, spiritually, because they compare favorably to the world around them (at least in their own eyes). They don’t murder, they don’t steal (tax forms don’t count), they rarely commit adultery, or at least rarely get caught.

Hearers of the word will respond, if you ask them “Do you believe in Jesus?”, “Yes, of course I do!”. They believe in a list of facts about Jesus: he lived, he died on a cross, and he was raised to live on the third day. He claimed to be the son of God, and that resurrection thing may have happened, but it seems a bit far-fetched, so it may have been an invention of his disciples. What they do not believe is that Jesus is relevant in today’s world, or in their own day-to-day lives.

On the other hand, doers of the word are called, in today’s world, radicals, and are often judged as perhaps not playing with quite a full deck. They’re the people that most shy away from. They’re interesting for a moment or two, but not totally safe to stay close to for very long.

Doers of the word are in church whether it’s convenient or not. They also felt it was a great sermon, but they’ll keep thinking it over, and studying the relevant passages of scripture, all week.

Doers of the word feel good about themselves only because the fact that Jesus died to redeem them gives them immeasurable value. They don’t compare themselves to anything or anyone in this world; they compare themselves to Jesus, and remain acutely aware of how much they fall short.

Doers of the word follow Jesus’ commandments, not because it makes them look good to the world around them, but because they love Jesus and don’t wish to do anything to hurt or disappoint him. They don’t just believe a set of facts; they have incorporated Jesus’ commandments and principles for living into their hearts. They are re-making their own hearts to look like the heart of Jesus.

Doers of the word are considered radical because they live out their faith, not just on Sunday morning, but throughout every hour of every day. They approach the trials of life with a calm, God-centered confidence, because they know that “for those who love God all things work together for good” (Romans 8:28).

Hearers of the word think they’re heaven-bound, but they are “deceiving themselves”. They are believers in cheap grace, the kind of grace that gives everything and expects nothing. God’s not like that. He expects us to respond to His infinite and eternal grace. It’s true that we can never respond sufficiently to earn anything in God’s sight, but that’s OK; all He wants is for us to earnestly seek Him.

How can you tell if the person you’re talking to is a hearer or a doer? We’ve just listed numerous attributes of each, which you can observe, but James gives us a quick shortcut: just listen! In verse 26, he writes “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.”

For a genuine doer of the word, a committed disciple of Jesus, one’s whole heart is changed, and the change is frequently reflected in his/her manner of speech. For a hearer of the word, a fake pretender, no change of heart will take place, and there will be no corresponding change in speech.

James sums it all up for the doer of the word in his final verse: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”

There are two qualifications in this verse, and God cares deeply about both. First, God expects disciples of Jesus to care about the welfare of others. In James’ time and place in history, that meant caring for the needs of orphans and widows. That’s still true, but the range of disadvantaged people without hope is much wider in today’s world. What are we doing for the poor? What are we doing for the addicted? What are we doing for the mentally ill?

Don’t miss James’ use of the word “visit”. James doesn’t expect that Christians will solve all the problems, or meet all the needs and desires of orphans and widows. He expects that we will find a way to be God’s blessing to them, and his use of the word “visit” anticipates that we’ll be personally involved! It’s very noble to give to a relief fund, and we should do so as God has blessed us, but James reminds us that disciples of Jesus are motivated to serve the needs of others in hands-on ways, to look them in the eye, to give them our smiles along with our personal words of encouragement and our material blessings.

Second, James reminds us to remain “unstained from the world.” This world of sin is a messy place, and it’s a significant effort to stay clean, to avoid getting some of the mess on us. This world is a bit like my daughter’s spaghetti sauce … when it gets on me, it stains, and it’s hard to get out.

Unstained does not mean that we will never again sin. Jesus knows that we will, and He has already forgiven those sins. What He wants from His disciples is to be consistently looking to Him for guidance and moral strength. We will occasionally trip and fall into the mud, but the important question is, what direction were we looking when we fell? The true disciple, the doer of the Word, never wants to be a disappointment to Jesus; he/she takes sin seriously. The hearer of the Word, the cultural Christian, doesn’t make a big deal about sin. That’s old-fashioned thinking! Sin is considered negative talk, judgemental and overbearing. The hearer wants to hear more about love, peace and joy.

So my application for today is to ask myself, “What am I? Am I a hearer of the Word, or a doer of the word? Should I continue as I am, or should I repent and take my sin more seriously than I have so far? Am I looking at my life through mortal eyes, or through the eyes of Jesus?”

What questions are you asking yourself today?

Hebrews 7

“Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron? For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well.” (Hebrews 7:11-12)

This chapter explains the superiority of Jesus as a high priest to the Levitical priesthood, demonstrating to New-Testament-era Jews that the time for the Jewish faith has passed, and has been replaced by Christianity. Some Jews of the day were clinging to Old Testament laws and practices, quite naturally, because that’s what was familiar and comfortable to them. This is, however, not just a problem to overcome back then, but continues to the present day. As Christians, we need to know how to defend our faith. (2 Timothy 2:15)

The argument is rather simple, actually. Jesus is a superior high priest, as compared to any of the Levitical priests, therefore the “law” of which he is high priest is superior to that of the Levitical priests. Why is Jesus a superior high priest?

Jesus is a high priest according to the pattern set by Melchizedek, because both were appointed by God as high priests. The Levites served as high priests by fortune of geneology; they were descendants of Levi.

Abraham, the forbear of all Israelites, not just the Levites, paid honor and tithes to Melchizedek, demonstrating Melchizedek’s superiority to Abraham, and through him, to all his descendants, including Levi.

Levitical priests are sinful men, and must atone for their own sins before they can offer sacrifices for the people’s sins. Jesus was both the sinless high priest, and the perfect, spotless sacrifice.

There were many generations of Levitical priests, because as mortal men, they grew old and died. Jesus needs no other priest, because He was raised from the dead and lives with God forever. He can therefore serve as a high priest forever.

As we will see a few chapters ahead, Jesus offered a superior sacrifice. The Levitical priesthood offered animal sacrifices, which served as a reminder to the people of the high cost of sin, and a foreshadowing of the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus, but these sacrifices “*can never take away sin”(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%2010&version=ESV). Jesus’ sacrifice was the perfect sacrifice, for He was without sin of His own, and was the only Son of God. His sacrifice atones for all our sin, and therefore need never be repeated.

How do we know that Jesus’ sacrifice takes away all our sin? Consider Jesus’ statement to the Jewish leadership in John 8:58: “Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.’” This is a statement with a double meaning, and I believe Jesus fully intended to convey both meanings.

First, compare his statement to Exodus 3:14. Jesus was clearly confirming that He IS God. Many other scriptures back this up, but for brevity, I’ll move on.

Second, Jesus’ existence, as God, is outside of time. Your sins at age 12, 45, and 78 are all “right now” to Him, and He lovingly paid the penalty for all of them. You may not have gotten there yet, but Jesus is already there.

How shall I respond to what Hebrews 7 is teaching me? First, to be prepared when needed to show from the Bible the superiority of Jesus to the Levitical priesthood, and therefore the superiority of Christianity to Judaism. Second, to find a renewed appreciation for all that Jesus has done and continues daily to do for me in His role as High Priest, “for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

Hebrews 6

“Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God.” (Hebrews 6:1)

Let’s start with an imaginary first day in the office, on a new job. Your supervisor and mentor says “The CEO of our company has asked me to tell you that your primary responsibility in this job is to monitor and record all materials deliveries into our warehouse.” Knowing that this is a well-defined responsibility, and having been informed that it is primary to your job, and that the CEO of your employer is specifically interested in the performance of this responsibility, how much time and attention are you going to focus upon it?

Would you consider it adequate to drop in to the warehouse for an hour every week or two? How about 10 minutes every day? Or would you spend as much time there as you can, every day?

In this chapter, writing as a representative of God, the author is defining a primary responsibility for disciples of Christ Jesus, to know God’s Word in depth. Not just to read it, but to strive and struggle with it so as to fully know God’s heart, to build beyond simple knowledge to a life-changing spiritual maturity.

Many people read the Bible daily, and that’s good … that’s VERY good! They’re building knowledge, perhaps without realizing it. Many more, like me, earnestly desire to be that consistent, but fall short, and continually resolve to do better. The concern, however, is that even in regularly reading the Bible, do we take the time and effort of thought to ask ourselves “What is God telling me here? What does God want me to do with what I’ve read?” This is the beginning of Bible application. Knowing what the Bible says is foundational and necessary, but it is in allowing the Bible to change our minds and hearts that we are led to saving faith.

“It is a moral duty to grow up, and the duty involves an effort.” – James Moffatt

Let’s move on to a specific example of scripture which we must study in depth to understand the author’s meaning …

“For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.” (Hebrews 6:4-6)

The debate over these verses centers on the meaning of “those who have once been enlightened …”. Is the author writing about people who have already been saved? Maybe he’s writing about those who erroneously thought they were saved? Or could it be those who put on a good front for others to impersonate a true Christian?

The meaning is important, because it conflicts with the teaching of many that, once a person has been saved, he/she cannot be un-saved.

My personal take on this passage is that the writer is issuing a stern and vital warning to Jewish converts to Christianity, that to return to Judaism after having been taught and supposedly receiving the gospel of Christ is to abandon their only hope of salvation. Once you’ve turned your back upon Christ Jesus, where else can you go for true salvation from your sins?

“This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:11-12)

What lessons shall we take from this? How will we apply this to our lives? It is simply that Jesus is our only means of salvation, the only way to reconcile with God for all eternity. I might apply that personally, and say that Allah will not save me; Vishnu will not save me; Buddah will not save me. I can go much further than that, however. I can apply this to all my neighbors and friends. Wealth will not save us. Temporal happiness will not save us. Acquisitions (boy’s toys) will not save us. Prestige will not save us. ONLY Jesus can save any of us.

If you’re reading this, you’re most likely depending upon Jesus to save you. Upon whom (or what) is your neighbor depending?

Hebrews 5

Hebrews chapter 5 begins with a review of the role of priests in Jewish worship, and continues to compare and contrast the Levitical priesthood to the priesthood of Christ Jesus. This is critical theology, and should be closely studied and well understood by today’s Christians.

Any other day, I would dive into great detail, as some Christians today (including myself) come from church traditions which do not recognize the role of priest in modern Christianity. Instead, I want today to focus on the writer’s lament in verse 11: “About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.”

He’s not writing about a physical sensory disability. He’s writing about a much more serious disability, the willing refusal to “hear” and delve deeply into the knowledge of God’s ways and God’s will; to re-shape their hearts to more closely align with God’s own heart.

This is not a new problem. Jeremiah wrote of the same approximately 600 years before Jesus was born. “To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? Behold, their ears are uncircumcised, they cannot listen; behold, the word of the Lord is to them an object of scorn; they take no pleasure in it.” (Jeremiah 6:10) Jeremiah was calling his people to repentance, but in chapter 6, specifically warning them of the impending siege of Jerusalem. For both purposes, he laments that most will not “hear”, because they don’t want to listen.

Six hundred years later, Jesus faced the same problem with the Jews of His day. He spoke of this when his disciples asked why he taught in parables, and quoted Isaiah: “This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: ‘You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive. For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’” (Matthew 13:13-15)

We don’t have the same problem … we like to tell ourselves! What lesson shall we take home from these scriptures?

Only the lesson of a stern and critical warning. How many times have we heard a great Bible lesson on Sunday morning, and would have struggled to tell someone about it on Tuesday afternoon? How many times have we been encouraged to make a change for the better in our behavior, our attitudes, or our thought life, only to tell ourselves, “I’ll get around to that later this week.” James wrote about us: “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.” (James 1:23-24)

We study our Bibles at least weekly, hopefully daily, but how many times do we “commit” to turning our hearts closer to God, only to forget the lesson the next day? Are we studying God’s Word to feel better about ourselves, or to truly grow closer to God and to incorporate His will into our own hearts?

What in my life will I change, TODAY, to hide away a bit of His Word within my heart?

Hebrews 4

“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. For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.” (Hebrews 4:1-2)

Once again, we encounter a “therefore”, and need to look back to chapter 3 to determine what it’s there for. “For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient?” (Hebrews 3:16-18)

The writer is drawing a parallel between the Israelites led out of Egypt by Moses and modern-day beleivers in Christ Jesus. I know that some, perhaps many, Christians today believe that the Old Testament is for the Jews, and the New Testament is for the Christians. Such people fail to spend much time studying the Old Testament, believing it no longer relevant. The writer of Hebrews demonstrates how the Old Testament remains quite relevant even today, for our instruction in righteousness. That’s lesson #1 for me today: Keep studying my Old Testament!

Just as the Israelites of old heard God’s message of salvation (from the Egyptians) and as Moses led them to freedom, we today hear an even greater message of salvation, leading us to an even greater freedom … from sin! The Israelites of old demonstrated, however, that hearing and knowing God’s messages wasn’t enough … they had to OBEY! God made this quite clear to them: “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish.” (Deuteronomy 30:15-18)

If you remember your Old Testament history, you’ll remmeber that too many of them did not obey, and fell in the wilderness rather than achieving the blessing God had in store for them.

The Hebrew writer had the same fear for his audience; that they would hear the message of Jesus, and rejoice in their “salvation” without ever achieving that salvation by obedience.

Let’s don’t get confused here. We cannot earn our salvation by obedience to any laws or commands. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8) It is only by God’s grace that we have any hope whatsoever of redemption from our sins. God’s grace alone is enough to save us from our sins, BUT He loves us too much to leave us stuck where we were! That’s why Jesus said “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21) You cannot call upon Jesus for salvation if you’re not willing to submit to His will for your life.

Paul wrote of this in his letter to the Romans: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2) Now that we have been redeemed by Christ Jesus, it should change the way we think and act; it should re-shape our values. If those changes are not present and discernable in our lives, we must examine ourselves and ask whether we are truly saved? Are we disciples, or are we fan-club members?

I think back to a Bible teacher I had when I was in junior high, who asked the question “If being a disciple of Jesus was a crime, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” It’s still a relevant question!

Hebrews 3

This message to the Hebrew believers was not originally written as an evangelistic outreach to unbelievers. The author makes it quite clear who his audience is as he begins this third chapter: “Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling …”. This whole chapter is an urgent warning to Christians!

He continues “… consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, who was faithful to him who appointed him …”. Consider Jesus. Think about Him. Think about his faithfulness to His Father, and to the mission of salvation upon which He was sent from Heaven. The author continues with a comparison of Jesus to Moses. Any faithful Hebrew would have considered Moses to be a giant in the faith, and in Hebrew history. And still, Moses pales in the comparison: “Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses.”

Where do we stand? The author completes his introduction with that thought: “And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.” Note that our inclusion in Jesus’ house is conditional; we must first be saved, but we must then remain faithful, holding fast to what we have been taught.

He begins to make his point with another reference to Hebrew history. “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness.” If you know your Old Testament history, you know that God’s chosen people turned away from Him to idols many, many times in their long and bumpy history. Perhaps the first real rebellion is found in Exodus 32. The Hebrews were always God’s chosen people, but there were many times you’d have been hard-pressed to recognize that by their behavior.

The author applies Hebrew history to the present day as he writes “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.” (verse 12) How can a believer have an unbelieving heart? How can a believer fall away from what he believes? The author answers in the very next verse: “But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”

Note in verse 13 there is both an explicit danger, and a specific solution. The danger is “the deceitfulness of sin”; that we allow our hearts to be hardened by repeated sin; by allowing ourselves to sin and convincing ourselves “it’s no big deal”. Yes, to God, sin IS a big deal! None of us would turn away from God in a moment of temptation, but we too often let ourselves be led away tiny bit by tiny bit, with one “insignificant” sin after another. The solution, given in the same verse, is to “exhort one another”. If I’m in the process of falling away inch by inch, you need to get in my face about it! I need to be watching out for you.

It’s not what we say that we believe that offers proof of our faith. It’s how our belief changes our way of living. If you had asked any one of those Israelites “Do you believe in God?”, I’m sure they would have answered with an emphatic “Yes!”. But if you stood off to the side and watched as they worshipped their golden calf, you would be forced to question their true beliefs.

What about the people around me? Are they questioning what I say that I believe, because they see how I live? Or are they more firmly convinced that I really do believe as I say I do? Will you join me in asking those questions?

Hebrews 2:1-4

“Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.” (Hebrews 2:1)

Sometimes you hear something in a sermon which you will simply never forget. I’ll never forget Pastor Jeff Walling instructing us “When the Bible uses the word ‘therefore’, look back to see what it’s there for.” So let’s do just that.

Chapter 1 reminded us that “God spoke to our fathers by the prophets”, but that now “He has spoken to us by his Son”. Now in chapter 2, the writer admonishes his readers to pay attention to what God is telling us! The danger he seeks to avoid is that we will “drift away” from God’s message of love and salvation.

His argument is twofold: God’s message is reliable (we can trust what God says), and His message is that the debt for our sin has already been paid (we are redeemed). Given those two facts, he reasons, “how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?”

Peter, speaking to the Jewish council in Jerusalem, told them “This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” It’s clear, if we reject Jesus, or if we neglect the salvation offered through His sacrifice, there is no other way in which we might be saved from the judgement of God!

From the context, we can easily discern that the writer of Hebrews was writing to (those whom he thought were) believers. In the first few verses of chapter two, he appears to be speaking to two subsets of those. First, there are those believers who are truly believers in Christ Jesus, but who don’t take it very seriously. We can say that we believe, but the test of true saving faith is the extent to which it has changed our lives.

The second group he may have been addressing is those who count themselves among the believers because they attend worship, and maybe have a Bible collecting dust on their nightstand, but whose lives remain untouched by God’s eternal truths. Some may think they are saved because they attend worship on a regular basis. Some may think they are saved because their mother and fathers professed to be Christians, or maybe it was Grandpa and Grandma.

Believers in Christ Jesus who are truly saved cannot hide the fruits of the Spirit, as Paul wrote in Galatians 5:16-26. They are kind to others, because they cannot be otherwise. Their joy and peace cannot be hidden under the proverbial basket; they are gentle and self-controlled at all times. They share their faith in Jesus, because they cannot abide the thought that someone might miss out on the chance to be with them in Heaven.

So, I’m asking myself today, does that describe me? Does that fully describe me? Where am I coming up short? When I’ve answered those questions, I get to perhaps the most important follow-up: What am I going to do about it?