January 29, 2023
Evening Service

Jesus, Founder and Perfecter of Our Faith

 

Hebrews 12:1  Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 

Hebrews 12:2  looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

 

Do Not Grow Weary

 

Hebrews 12:3  For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. 

Hebrews 12:4  You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. 

Hebrews 12:5  And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: "MY SON, DO NOT DESPISE THE CHASTENING OF THE LORD, NOR BE DISCOURAGED WHEN YOU ARE REBUKED BY HIM; 

Hebrews 12:6  FOR WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE CHASTENS, AND SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES." 

Hebrews 12:7  If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 

Hebrews 12:8  But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 

Hebrews 12:9  Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 

Hebrews 12:10  For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 

Hebrews 12:11  Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. 

 

We are to persevere with obedience and faith in Christ! This was the race described to the Hebrews, resulting in either winning the crown of glory, or be subject to everlasting misery for their lack of running the good race and this race is one we must all run. Sin in our lives will easily plague us and this is something inherent to our natures. Most people grow deeper in sinfulness by things we are exposed to, or from our habits that are lacking in holiness, or even by age if never coming to repentance, or like so many of us, the circumstances of this life that harden our hearts. This is a very important warning; because if our sin, whatever the sin may be remains out of control, it will prevent us from running the Christian race. Living in sin, without any effort to stop will devour all reasons for running the race and it grants power to every obstacle in our way. This in turn will make us become pessimistic and weak in our minds, in order to change this we need to recall how Jesus suffered to secure our souls from eternal misery. When we remain focused on Christ and the great work He did for us sinners, we can gain strength in His holiness and let His love for us stamp out our wicked desires. Our race will be honorable if we forget ourselves and look to Jesus for our hope and strength. After all, when we truly examine our trials and difficulties we must bear, they are very pale in comparison to what our Lord suffered in our place to redeem our souls! For that matter, just look around on this earth at others who have much more suffering to deal with than we experience. We as believers are inclined to grow exhausted, and to become unsteady under trials and afflictions; this is caused by the limitations of our naturalness and the remnants of sinful corruptions. We as Christians should not become off-balance under our trials. God may use others to inflict sufferings upon us as chastisements when He feels they are necessary, these chastisements are Divine and our Heavenly Father has His hand in all and His wisdom in them is the manner of His choice. We are not to make light of them when they occur and dismiss them without feelings, these chastisements are the hand and of God and are His rebukes for sin. We must not become depressed and unhappy when rebuked, our state of being should not be to falter under the trials, nor to worry and become discontent, but to bear up the chastisement with faith and patience. Our Lord may leave non-believers alone in their sins and do nothing about their behaviors, but He will correct sin in His children. So when we are being rebuked and or chastened in this life, God is acting as our father in the way we understand our earthly father would do when desiring correction for his children. Our earthly parents may sometimes chasten us, to pacify their fury rather than to reform our manners. However, the Father of our souls never willingly grieves nor afflicts His children, it is always for our benefit in respect to our walk with Him. Our lives in this world is a state of childhood, and not perfected as to spiritual things; therefore we must be in submission to the discipline of the spiritual state. When the day comes and we have been perfected to the spiritual state, we will be fully reconciled to all God's chastisements of us now. When God chastens us, it is not condemning us; the chastening we bear with patience and faith will nurture holiness. Knowing this about our burdens in this life, we should consider the afflictions brought on us by the malice of men, as corrections sent by our wise and gracious Father, for our spiritual betterment.

 

Hebrews 12:12  Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 

Hebrews 12:13  and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. 

Hebrews 12:14  Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: 

Hebrews 12:15  looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; 

Hebrews 12:16  lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. 

Hebrews 12:17  For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.

           

A burden of affliction is likely to make the Christian's hands hang down rather than held high in praise of the Lord. Also, the knees grow weak, the spirit within is brought low, and they become discouraged. The Christian must then call upon their faith in Christ to battle through, therefore he will be equipped to run the spiritual race and course. Faith together with patience will enable believers to follow their race to peace and holiness. We are meant to follow our calling constantly, diligently, and with pleasure. Maintaining peace with all God’s children, with all groups will be beneficial to our striving for holiness. True peace and holiness go together; there cannot be true peace without holiness. When people fail in obtaining the true grace of God, sin will win out and become prevalent. So, we need to guard against any and all lusts in our heart, although these things in the heart may seem to be dormant, they can spring up to trouble and disturb the whole body. Falling away from Christ is due to desiring the things of the flesh over the blessings of God and the inheritance promised by having faith. When the Day of Judgment comes, sinners will not have the mediocre thoughts of God’s blessing and inheritance as they now have. Most humans will desire to have these Divine blessings, but they will despise the means in which the blessing is acquired. God will not do away with the ways to obtain the blessing, but He will not join the blessing with the satisfaction of man’s lusts. But God will neither sever the means from the blessing, nor join the blessing with the satisfying of man's lusts. God's way for man to obtain mercy and blessing is to repent of our sins, believe in our hearts, and confess Jesus as Lord with our mouths, this must be done honestly and reverently.

 

A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken

 

Hebrews 12:18  For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, 

Hebrews 12:19  and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. 

Hebrews 12:20  (For they could not endure what was commanded: "AND IF SO MUCH AS A BEAST TOUCHES THE MOUNTAIN, IT SHALL BE STONED OR SHOT WITH AN ARROW." 

Hebrews 12:21  And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, "I AM EXCEEDINGLY AFRAID AND TREMBLING.") 

Hebrews 12:22  But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 

Hebrews 12:23  to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, 

Hebrews 12:24  to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. 

Hebrews 12:25  See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, 

Hebrews 12:26  whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, "YET ONCE MORE I SHAKE NOT ONLY THE EARTH, BUT ALSO HEAVEN." 

Hebrews 12:27  Now this, "YET ONCE MORE," indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. 

Hebrews 12:28  Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 

Hebrews 12:29  For our God is a consuming fire.

 

The days of being under the Mosaic Law were concerned with outward and earthly things. For example, Mount Sinai on which the Jewish church state was formed, was a mountain that could be touched, although it was forbidden to do this, it was a place that could be felt. The gospel state is kind and lordly as we worship our Lord as far superior to ourselves in all manners of speaking and it is appropriate for our weak frame. In our current covenant, all may come with boldness to God's presence. However, even the most holy must be without any hope, if judged by the holy law without a Savior. The gospel church is group of believers that consider the Word of God to be pure and infallible, these members refer to themselves as the Body of Christ. With this belief and reverence for the word of God and Jesus as our Redeemer, we have a more focused sight on Heaven as our home, and this in turn levels the temperament of our souls. All children of God are heirs, and all who believe in Christ as our Savior has the privileges of the first-born. If someone claims to be a believer, yet is still not acquainted with God by faith in Jesus, they fool themselves. It is not enough to merely believe that Jesus is who He is, but to repent of our sins and to ask His forgiveness through His blood shed on our behalf. Christ is the Mediator of this new covenant between God and man, Jesus pleads to God for us and we plead with Jesus to God to bring togetherness in this covenant. Christ as Mediator brings God and His people together in Heaven. This covenant is made complete by the blood of Christ sprinkled upon our consciences, as the blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled upon the altar and the victim in the old covenant. The blood of Jesus speaks in behalf of sinners; it pleads not for vengeance, but for mercy. We need to witness to others about not refusing Him who calls from heaven, with infinite love. If they refuse the call of Christ, how can they escape the judgment when they turn from God in unbelief, when He by grace asked them to be reconciled and receive His favor? When God deals with men under the gospel through grace, we can be assured he will deal with the despisers of the gospel, in a way of judgment. God is the same just and righteous God under the gospel as He was when under the law. The inheritance of believers is affirmed and all things pertaining to salvation are freely given in answer to prayer. Help us Lord through grace, to serve God with reverence and godly fear.