The Warnings in the Book of Hebrews

 

Hebrews 2:1-4 New Living Translation (NLT)

2 So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it. ² For the message God delivered through angels has always stood firm, and every violation of the law and every act of disobedience was punished. ³ So what makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus himself and then delivered to us by those who heard him speak? ⁴ And God confirmed the message by giving signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever he chose.

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Hebrews 4:12-13 Common English Bible (CEB)

¹² because God’s word is living, active, and sharper than any two-edged sword. It penetrates to the point that it separates the soul from the spirit and the joints from the marrow. It’s able to judge the heart’s thoughts and intentions. ¹³ No creature is hidden from it, but rather everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of the one to whom we have to give an answer.

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Hebrews 6:4-8 Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

⁴ For it is impossible to renew to repentance those who were once enlightened, who tasted the heavenly gift, who shared in the Holy Spirit, ⁵ who tasted God’s good word and the powers of the coming age, ⁶ and who have fallen away. This is because, to their own harm, they are recrucifying the Son of God and holding him up to contempt. ⁷ For the ground that drinks the rain that often falls on it and that produces vegetation useful to those for whom it is cultivated receives a blessing from God. ⁸ But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and about to be cursed, and at the end will be burned.

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Hebrews 10:26-31 New International Version (NIV)

²⁶ If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, ²⁷ but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. ²⁸ Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ 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? ³⁰ For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” ³¹ It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

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Hebrews 12:25-29 New Living Translation (NLT)

²⁵ Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking. For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, we will certainly not escape if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven! ²⁶ When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: “Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also.” ²⁷ This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain.

²⁸ Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. ²⁹ For our God is a devouring fire.

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Space didn’t permit much further discussion of these passages, but after using a different base source, we discovered Michael Battle has an excellent collection of the texts with some short commentary at his site Rooted and Grounded in Christ. To read that in full, click this link. After the fifth warning he notes:

…The fifth warning…sums up all the other warnings – beware of sin and rejection of Jesus.

Many of you recognize the words “our God is a consuming fire” but do you know the context of these words? Many quote this in connection with God’s love, but the scriptures do not use it that way. These words, in both the Old and New Testament, are used in connection with God’s holiness and righteous judgment against sin (i.e. His jealously expressed in anger which results in the punishment of our sins).

Here is how Moses used the words:

But the LORD was angry with me because of you. He vowed that I would not cross the Jordan River into the good land the LORD your God is giving you as your special possession. You will cross the Jordan to occupy the land, but I will not. Instead, I will die here on the east side of the river. So be careful not to break the covenant the LORD your God has made with you. Do not make idols of any shape or form, for the LORD your God has forbidden this. The LORD your God is a DEVORING FIRE; he is a jealous God. “In the future, when you have children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time, do not corrupt yourselves by making idols of any kind. This is evil in the sight of the LORD your God and will arouse his anger. (Deuteronomy 4:21-25 TNLT)

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As I searched online many websites offered teaching on the five warnings in Hebrews, but one stood out offering what the writer called The Seven Alarms of Hebrews. What were the two extra passages, I wondered. Here they are:

Hebrews 3:7-4:2 New Living Translation (NLT)

¹² Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. ¹³ You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. ¹⁴ For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. ¹⁵ Remember what it says:

“Today when you hear his voice,
    don’t harden your hearts
    as Israel did when they rebelled.”

¹⁶ And who was it who rebelled against God, even though they heard his voice? Wasn’t it the people Moses led out of Egypt? ¹⁷ And who made God angry for forty years? Wasn’t it the people who sinned, whose corpses lay in the wilderness? ¹⁸ And to whom was God speaking when he took an oath that they would never enter his rest? Wasn’t it the people who disobeyed him? ¹⁹ So we see that because of their unbelief they were not able to enter his rest.

4 God’s promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it. ² For this good news—that God has prepared this rest—has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn’t share the faith of those who listened to God.

and

Hebrews 5:11-14 Common English Bible (CEB)

¹¹ We have a lot to say about this topic, and it’s difficult to explain, because you have been lazy and you haven’t been listening. ¹² Although you should have been teachers by now, you need someone to teach you an introduction to the basics about God’s message. You have come to the place where you need milk instead of solid food. ¹³ Everyone who lives on milk is not used to the word of righteousness, because they are babies. ¹⁴ But solid food is for the mature, whose senses are trained by practice to distinguish between good and evil.

Seared Conscience | Revealed Truth

Having many years of archives to draw on, we get to know certain authors and offer their latest writing here on a regular basis; but I also like to keep adding new devotional writers as I discover them. Paula Maillet has been blogging at Along Emaus Road since 2005. Her pieces are shorter than some we include here, so I’ve posted two below which couldn’t be more different.

Or are they?

Don’t most of us wrestle with a sinful nature on one hand but also a sincere to see God reveal himself? The dichotomy of being in the world but not of the world? Realizing the weakness of being easily enticed into sinful thought patterns or actions, but at the same time longing for a greater revelation of God? (Maybe it’s just me!)

I placed these in the order I did so we could see our problem, and then its cure.

It Starts With Just Flirting With Sin

“This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord,
that you should no longer walk
as the rest off the Gentiles walk,
in the futility of their mind,
having their understanding darkened,
being alienated from the life of God
because of the ignorance that is in them,
because of the blindness of their heart;
who, being past feeling,
have given themselves over to lewdness,
to work all uncleanness with greediness.”
Ephesians 4:17-19

“who being past feeling…”

I once had a married friend who was beginning an affair with another man, and I spoke to her about it, asking how she could do such a thing. Her response was that she felt a lot of guilt the first time, but that afterwards she felt less and less guilt as time went on and now just didn’t feel guilty at all.

She was “past feeling.” Her conscience became seared. I saw it with my own eyes.

“…having their own conscience seared with a hot iron…”
1 Timothy 4:2

This was an example to me as I watched as she was given over to a debased mind.

“…and even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge,
God gave them over to a debased mind…”
Romans 1:28

Don’t think it can’t happen to you if you’re flirting with sin, any sin. Eventually it won’t hurt your conscience any more – when the Holy Spirit has left you. Don’t try it. Don’t flirt with it.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your Holy Spirit from me.”
Psalm 51:10-11

Take heed that you be not deceived and lured into something you would not have wanted to be attached to.

“Repent therefore and be converted,
that your sins may be blotted out,
so that times of REFRESHING
may come from the presence of the Lord…”
Acts 3:19

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It’s All About Revelation

“…that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of glory,
may give to you the spirit of wisdom
and REVELATION in the knowledge of Him,
the eyes of your understanding being ENLIGHTENED,
that you may know what is the hope of His calling,
what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints…”
Ephesians 1:17-18

It all comes by revelation, and NOT by human reasoning. If you’ve tried to understand God or to understand his Word and find you cannot, there is a reason for that. You are trying to do with your human resources what only the Spirit of God can do.

It’s all about REVELATION.

“Jesus answered and said to him,
‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah,
FOR FLESH AND BLOOD HAS NOT REVEALED THIS TO YOU
but my Father who is in heaven.’”
Matthew 16:17

ASK the Lord to REVEAL his Word to you. What you do not understand, set aside for now. Let him reveal himself and his Word to you as you read it (the Bible) prayerfully. He WILL reveal it, gradually more and more, as you sit before him. Put the time in. It’s worth it. It’s beyond worth it.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ASK of God,
who gives to all liberally and without reproach,
and it WILL be given to him.”
James 1:5

These are great promises in the Word of God. Receive them, meditate on them, believe them, and he will do the rest.

 

Hardened Hearts and God’s Master Plan

I’ve been doing some casual editing for a local writer who is considering the idea of a book which currently has the working title, “Melting a Heart of Stone;” taking a different approach to the idea of predestination.

What follows is a draft version of Chapter two which I thought would be a good fit for readers here. Many of the scripture passages are alluded to, but not typed out, so be sure to keep your Bible software open as you read.

Historical Precedence in the Forming of a Heart of Stone

by Carol McMurray

In the first millennium, from the time of creation, humankind had every opportunity to enjoy creation, to worship God the Creator, and to submit to His will. However, when faced with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life as offered by Satan, (1 John 2:16) almost every individual freely elected to walk away from a loving God.  In exchange they invariably chose to lust after Satan’s enticing secrets, such as the invention of musical instruments, massive construction projects, the establishment of the first cities, the technology of brass and iron smelting, (Genesis 4: 21-22), and sadly, the participation in forbidden and blasphemous sexual liaisons with the fallen immortals. (Genesis 6: 1-4)

These forbidden affairs produced giants called Nephilim, who did great exploits, but also competed viciously for dominance, becoming increasingly wicked, corrupt, and hardened to the point where their hearts were only evil continually and full of violence! (Gen 4:5)

Fortunately, one man, Noah, found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Subsequently, God used this one man to save future humanity from the devastation of a world-wide flood. It is interesting to note, however, that because of the favour shown to Noah, God saved his entire family, though evidence shows that his triplet sons were not as devoted to God as was their father, especially Ham. (Genesis 9) And so, after many generations, we again see evidence of humans hardening their hearts, and spiraling ever downward, particularly Nimrod, who lusted for power and advanced knowledge, planting numerous cities including Babel and Nineveh, and ultimately desiring to usurp God’s throne. (Gen 10:10)

After the destruction of the Tower of Babel, and the subsequent confusion of language, the descendants of Noah scattered to all parts of the known world: Ham (and his son Canaan) to the Middle East, Japheth to Europe and Russia, and Shem to the Fertile Crescent; that is, the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Most of these, however, quickly succumbed to Satanic pagan religions, and vicious competitions for power and selfish gain.

Abram (Abraham) on the other hand, like his predecessor Noah, found grace in the eyes of the Lord. He was willing to leave the home of his ancestors, and by faith, to follow the leading of the Lord, believing that He was the true God who rewarded the faithfulness and obedience of those who deliberately chose to shun evil. God subsequently initiated a covenant with Abraham pledging to bless not only himself, but also his descendants, and to use them to eventually to bless the whole earth.

Indeed, though it took many years of trying faith, God did eventually bless Abraham with a beloved son Isaac, even in his old age, and Isaac, in turn, delighted in the birth of his own twin sons, Jacob and Esau. These two boys, born from the same parents under the same circumstances, surprisingly chose very different paths. Interestingly, Paul argues in Romans 9:10, that even before the boys were born, and before their personalities were developed, God chose to bless Jacob (the younger twin), and to reject Esau, “that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of Him who calls”. (Romans 9:11) Herein lies the dilemma. If God in His sovereignty chose to curse Esau before he was even born, should we assume that Esau had no say in the matter? On the other hand, did God, who existed beyond time and space, know what sort of flawed character Esau would turn out to be? This would suggest that Esau, in fact, freely made his own bad choices (though surely these would have been known by an omniscient and omnipotent God).

It’s rather difficult to come to a definitive conclusion regarding the matter. We see that Jacob, though loved by God, did not always make the wisest decisions himself, nor did his personal relationship with Jehovah reflect positively in the lives of his twelve sons; that is, with the exception of Joseph, first-born of his beloved wife Rachel. Joseph was clearly gifted with a prophetic vision, and a wisdom beyond his years. In fact, in his adult life, Joseph was strategically used to save the entire country of Egypt from a devastating and prolonged drought, and subsequently, to provide a very comfortable home for his family in the preferred neighbourhood of Goshen. This outcome, however, did not come about without a very high personal cost to Joseph, including betrayal, and years of undeserved imprisonment. However, Joseph’s years of suffering resulted, not in bitterness as one might suppose, but rather in the softening of his heart towards his cruel and ruthless brothers, and his false accusers. This positive attitude resulted in Jacob’s family enjoying many fruitful years in Egypt, a situation that lasted throughout Joseph’s lifetime.

Over the course of time, (about 400 years) this entitled situation no longer sat well with the new Pharaohs, who had no loyalty or gratitude towards the family of Joseph.  No longer did these new generations of Egyptians even remember that Joseph had once blessed the entire nation, resulting in Egypt’s prosperity beyond all other nations of this era.

The built-up jealousy and resentment of the Egyptians resulted in a gradual hardening of their hearts toward the children of Israel. Before long the Israelites found themselves living in Egypt, but now, as slaves under cruel bondage. Not only were they subject to forced labour, but they had to endure cruel mandatory infanticide.

Though the children of Israel felt abandoned by God, we must be cognizant of the fact that God was there, if only they could have recognized it. Unknown to them, their cries indeed did rise up and touch the heart of God, and the Lord said “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. So, I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land.” (Exodus 3:7-8)

This leads us to ponder… Is anyone beyond touching the heart of a compassionate God even today? Isaiah replies, “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened that it cannot save, nor His ear heavy that it cannot hear”. (Isaiah 59:1-2) Isaiah reminds us that it is our unrepented sins and iniquities that restrain the hand of God to deliver. We must reap the consequences of our multiple unrepented sins; therefore, “justice is turned back, and righteousness is afar off”. (v 14)

There is hope, however! God himself provided a way for us to escape condemnation. Isaiah describes that plan; that is, God would lay on His own son the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53) We can be restored! In his letter to the Hebrews, Paul describes Christ as our ‘Mediator of a better covenant’, declaring,  “I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people”, (Hebrews 8:10) Titus affirms this, reminding us that God’s kindness and love are always ready to be poured out to us through the Lord Jesus, declaring, … “according to His mercy, He saved us through the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour.” (Titus 3:4-6)

The Conscience: God’s Operative Tool

•••by Russell Young

The Word of God often speaks of the need to be led by the Spirit in order for a person to be eternally saved.  How does the Spirit lead?  The answer is that God uses a person’s conscience to guide him or her.  The conscience is really God consciousness within the believer.  Where the conscious is strong, that person has a strong awareness of the presence of God.  Where it is weak, the bearer has only a weak or limited knowledge of God’s presence.

Following the believer’s confession of faith and of Christ’s lordship, the new believer is given the gift of the Holy Spirit to lead in obedience to the Word and will of God.  Regarding the Spirit Christ said, “But I tell you the truth:  It is for your good that I am going away.  Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you.  When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment.” (Jn 16:7-8, NIV) Conviction takes place through a person’s conscience, and the conviction of the world of sin applies to all sinful activity-its practice in the lost and its practice in God’s children.

A person’s conscience is his moral consciousness. And the writer of Hebrews has recorded that it is the Spirit that cleanses our conscience or moral consciousness from interest in performing those acts which lead to death. (Heb 9:14)  The result should be that a person’s awareness or consciousness of those immoral acts which might tempt him or her should alert them concerning the danger before them.  The Old Covenant Israelites did not enjoy the privilege of the Counselor to guide them but had to rely upon the law and their own sinful nature in order to live righteously.  They could not do it.  The conscience not only alerts the believer of dangerous temptations but also disturbs him or her when sin has occurred so that the sinner, including the believer, might repent and seek forgiveness for cleansing by the blood of Christ. (1 Jn 1:9)

The Holy Spirit uses the conscience to reveal dissonance between God’s Word and will and the believer’s heart and practices.  Paul was able to boast that he kept his conscience clear. “Now this is our boast:  Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, in holiness and sincerity that are from God.  We have done so not according to worldly wisdom but according to God’s grace.” (2 Cor 1:12, NIV) John stated, “If our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God…because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.” (1 Jn 3:21-22, NIV)

The Holy Spirit is active in the lives of believers.  He enlightens them to sin and alarms them when it occurs.  Without his ministry in this regard, transformation into a holy mind and the development of righteous practices could not occur.  When the conscience is troubled a person can know that he or she is acting outside, or about to act outside, the will of God.  The conscience is the warning bell.

The Spirit, or warning bell, can be quenched, however. (1 Thess 5:19) That is, by consciously and repeatedly ignoring the Spirit’s alerts the heart will become hardened to the issue involved and the alert will no longer be heard.  The development of a sensitive Spirit or strong God consciousness is the most important tool the believer has to aid in living a righteous life.

Repeated quenching of the Spirit can lead to the conscience becoming seared; that is, a person’s conscience will no longer work to reveal sin and he or she will a become hypocritical liar.  “The Spirit clearly says that in the later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.  Such teaching comes through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as by a hot iron.” (1 Tim 4:1-2, NIV) A seared conscience leads to powerlessness, and to an unholy walk and possibly to the abandonment of faith. Special care should be taken not to sear the conscience concerning “pet” sins. The sins that a person has a tendency to rationalize or excuse.  The believer is to be careful to follow the Spirit’s leading if he or she is to remain faithful and develop the holiness that leads to eternal salvation. (Heb. 12:14)

In respect to the Spirit’s leading, it must be remembered that each person is God’s masterpiece or workmanship. (Eph 2:10) He is working to make them a sacrifice acceptable for God’s kingdom. (Rom 15:16) Christ said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life and they shall never perish.” (Jn 10:27, NIV) The Lord’s sheep or children will listen to and follow him, and when they do they will be conformed to the likeness of his Son. (Rom 8:29)

The Spirit uses the Word of God to enlighten the believer in regard to sin and righteous living and the Spirit instructs the conscience.  Those who neglect to bathe themselves in God’s Word will be unable to effectively fight the battle against sin and to achieve his or her necessary transformation.  In his study the believer has a responsibility and the privilege of knowing the heart of God on all manner of issues.  The conscience is God’s operative tool consequently, the believer should develop and protect it.