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Hebrews 6:12

Sluggish for Jesus?

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
October 23, 2019

The writer of the letter to the Hebrews was concerned about those who have become “dull of hearing.” In Chapter five he told them he had so much he wanted to tell them about Jesus but they seemed to have heard enough and wanted to slip back into their religion. They could not and would not mature in their understanding of the person and work of Christ and like the Israelites at Kadesh Barnea, were in danger of losing the “rest” God had promised to those who move forward in faith. Jesus calls people to come to Him and He will give them rest for their souls (Matthew 11:28). This is a rest that comes only through faith. It’s not a rest we can earn on our own. It’s not something that comes as a reward for some deed performed. It’s only the product of a growing appreciation of the full sufficiency of Jesus in every area of our lives. Jesus and His grace is more than sufficient for all our needs. When that becomes true, we find rest.

I’ve actually had people tell me to stop telling them about Jesus and to give them something more relevant to their lives. They wanted some rituals to observe, some rules to follow, some practices to rehearse, or something they could do to give them a sense of accomplishment. Some people long to have their failures, sins, and weakness pointed out over and over again so that a sense of guilt might motivate them to better living. But that never works! Rest is only found in Jesus who fulfilled all rituals, rules, and regulations, accomplishing for us what we could never accomplish for ourselves. Jesus is the most relevant message for everyone. If you have become “dull of hearing” about Jesus, you must grow in your understanding of Jesus: His person and His work. God’s rest can only come from the full assurance of the full sufficiency of Jesus.

The Greek word translated “dull of hearing” in Hebrews 5:11 is translated by the English Standard Version in Hebrews 6:12 as “sluggish.” Hebrews 6:12 says, “so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” He wants his readers to be passionate about Jesus. After all, the whole Bible is about Jesus. When people become “sluggish” about Jesus they revert to religion! The Jews were passionate, or zealous, for the law. The author of Hebrews wants his readers zealous for Jesus. He doesn’t exhort his readers to passion for self-righteousness but for a passion for Jesus’ righteousness; a righteousness of God that comes through faith alone. A growing confidence in the full sufficiency of Jesus is only nourished by a mature understanding of Jesus as presented throughout the entire Bible. The writer of Hebrews spends a lot of time showing us Jesus from the Old Testament. By the end of chapter 6, he has only gotten started. There is so much more to come about Jesus in the whole Bible.

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Hebrews 6:11, Romans 10:2-4

Jesus is our only hope!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
October 21, 2019

Understanding God’s love for us as it was demonstrated on Calvary is the central tenant of Biblical Christianity. The author of Hebrews wishes for his readers to mature in their understanding of God’s love and to, as Paul said in Ephesians 3:17, “sink their roots deep into God’s love” which will result in true love motivated service. The fruits of the spirit; love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control draw nutrients from God’s love. That’s what produces mature fruit. The adult food, or meat, of Christianity is the Bible as it unfolds to us God’s love in deeper and more profound ways as we grow to understand more and more about Jesus. The author is about to cut up a thick steak for us when he re-introduces Melchizedek into his discussion in chapter 7. He sees Jesus in Melchizedek and God’s love for sinners described and presented in a new and dynamic way.

The writer of Hebrews is not saying “get to work” for Jesus! He is saying “accept the work that Jesus did for you.” Grow in appreciating God’s love for you, through the revealed truths of the Bible in all its multi-faceted revelation. The Bible often encourages us to be zealous and earnest with God. But too many take this to mean “try harder” or “do more.” It means to focus on our efforts to become more righteous. But that’s a mistake. That’s what the religious leaders did in Jesus’ day and many continue to do in our own days. Larry Richards has it right. He says, “The people of Israel were truly zealous for God. But their zeal had been misdirected. They thought that God would be pleased if they rigorously kept the details of His Law. In their focus on the details, they missed the real meaning and purpose of God’s ancient commands.”[1] The purpose of the law was to convict man of his sinfulness and point him to the Messiah who would fulfill the law for us. Paul writes in Romans 10:2-4, “For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”

The writer of Hebrews tells his readers what he wants for them. In Hebrews 6:11 he  says, “And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness…” He does not wish for them to seek their own righteousness through good works. He wants them to find true righteousness through a maturing faith in Jesus. When I focus on my own righteousness I become frustrated, stressed out and discouraged because I’m a natural born sinner and will always fail. I’ll live my life in fear because I know I have no righteousness of my own. But when we put our faith in Jesus’ righteousness, we find true rest. This is how the author of Hebrews finishes 6:11. He explains why he wants us to be earnest about God’s love for us expressed in Jesus. If we trust in Jesus we can “…have the full assurance of hope until the end…”

[1] Larry Richards and Lawrence O. Richards, The Teacher’s Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1987), 609.

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Hebrews 6:10, John 3:16, Romans 5:8

Jesus is God’s Love Gift

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
October 21, 2019

The author of Hebrews is confident that his readers will enjoy “better things” than the children of Israel who failed to move forward in their faith and trust in God to enter the Promised Land. He is not referring to eternal life because he’s already established the reality of their faith in Jesus. Their eternal destiny is assumed but the experience they have along the way is in question. Will they spend it wandering around in the wilderness in fear and trembling or will they mature in their confidence in the full sufficiency of Jesus and experience God’s rest in the here and now? The author is confident that his readers will not experience the fate of those who turned back at Kadesh Barnea. He’s confident that only good things await them. He writes, in Hebrews 6:10 “For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.”

He commends his readers for their sacrificial service to other believers. But notice that it’s service motivated by love for God. What is not overlooked or what is remembered by God is “love motivated service.” Girdwood points out, “As in so many places in Scripture, work and love are joined together. Paul wrote of a ‘labor prompted by love’ (1 Thess 1:3) and John encouraged Christians to ‘not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth’ (1 John 3:18). Our writer will join these same terms in 10:24 when he exhorts his readers to ‘spur one another on toward love and good deeds.’”[1]

The good deeds that God rewards are those motivated by love. It makes no mention of good deeds motivated by guilt. Too often preachers, me included, will use guilt to move their members to get more involved. Guilt motivated service is noticed but not in a good way. When I’m nice to my wife because I was mean to my wife, she notices it right away. God does too. Good deeds that are motivated by the reward are not appreciated either. That is to pursue the gift rather than the giver! My grandsons know that I’m a good gift giver and I’m well aware of the fact that their kindnesses to me are often motivated by my gifts rather than by their love. I give gifts because I love them. I hope that my expressions of love will be understood as such and as they enjoy the gifts, they will see the love and be moved to return that love.  God demonstrated His love for us by giving the greatest gift imaginable. He “so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.” Jesus is God’s love gift to you and me!

[1] James Girdwood and Peter Verkruyse, Hebrews, The College Press NIV Commentary (Joplin, MO: College Press, 1997), Heb 6:9–12.

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Hebrews 6:9, Matthew 11:28-29

Resting in Jesus’ Sufficiency

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
October 21, 2019

The children of Israel made a decision that sent them into the wilderness to live out their lives. It seems they couldn’t let go of the sense of their own frailty and unworthiness. They looked at the land and longed to enter, but were too afraid to let go of their fears and fully trust God’s promise. They were still God’s chosen people and were cared for their entire lives. Moses was still their leader and manna continued to fall from heaven 6 out of 7 days. But they did not get to enter into the rest that God wanted for them.  Many believers today don’t experience God’s rest either because of too many circumstances and situations that distract their attention from Jesus. True rest for our souls only comes from an assurance of the full sufficiency of Christ. Our default, as it was for the Israelites, is to look at ourselves, see the frailty, weaknesses, and unworthiness and then double our efforts to find that rest on our own. Like Israel, we fail if we try to enter God’s rest on our own. Experiencing God’s rest in the land and eternal salvation are two different things. What the Israelites lost was the experience of the rest in this land and that’s what the writer of Hebrews warned his readers about. One must progress in their faith in the full sufficiency of Jesus. Fruchtenbaum says, “The Exodus Generation made an irrevocable decision and could not progress to the Promised Land. The generation to whom the Book of Hebrews was addressed could also make an irrevocable decision and fail to progress to maturity.”[1]

The writer of Hebrews sees his audience, and us, at Kadesh Barnea. We haven’t made that irrevocable decision yet and he’s confident we won’t. He believes we’ll continue our focus on Jesus. We’ll keep our eyes on him regardless of the giants in the land as well as the wind and the waves of life’s storms, and mature in our full faith and assurance of Jesus’ sufficiency. Hebrews 6:9 says, “Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation.”

He’s not talking about eternal “salvation.” That’s already been established for them and for all of us who believe in Jesus. But the “things belonging to salvation” might become part of our daily experience as we occupy the land that God has given us in this life.  Allen says, “The author does not say the ‘better things’ refer to entrance into salvation, but to that which ‘accompanies’ salvation. The author assumes, and thus implies by his language, that the readers are believers.” [2] The things that accompany salvation are not itemized but I’d argue that according to the context it must include “God’s rest.” We’ll never have a perfect rest from all our trials and struggles in this life, but we can have peace with God and that peace is found only in a full assurance of the sufficiency of Jesus. Jesus calls us to himself so that He may give us rest, rest for our souls (Matthew 11:28-29). Growing up, maturing in our faith, is learning how to rest in the full sufficiency of Jesus regardless of our life situations or circumstances.

[1] Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, The Messianic Jewish Epistles: Hebrews, James, First Peter, Second Peter, Jude, 1st ed. (Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries, 2005), 88.

[2] David L. Allen, Hebrews, The New American Commentary (Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing Group, 2010), 394.

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Hebrews 6:7-8, Matthew 5:45, 11:28, Deuteronomy 32:2-3, Hosea 10:12

Jesus is our Righteousness

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
October 16, 2019

Hebrews 6:7-8 give us an agricultural image that illustrates what the writer has already been talking about. The Israelites coming out of Egypt all experienced the marvelous miracles of deliverance. They all followed the fire and smoke. They all ate the Manna from heaven. They all drank from the bitter waters at Marah that had become sweet. They were all recipients of God’s promises to inherit the land of Canaan, but only a few entered into God’s rest. The majority languished in the wilderness. Why? Because they did not trust God. They did not believe God. Like Peter walking on water, they took their eyes off of God, and put them on themselves and their circumstances and became doubtful and fearful. But the truth is, they all experienced the outpouring of God’s marvelous grace. It wasn’t what God did that made the difference but how it was “perceived.” The rain falls on everyone. Hebrews 6:7-8 says, “For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.”

Jesus taught his disciples to love their enemies. It’s no big deal to love people who love you, but it’s God like to love those who don’t love you. In Matthew 5, He describes God as someone who loves everyone. Jesus says we should learn to be like God in this regard. Then He says in Matthew 5:45, “For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” The universe declares the glory of God! Some see it as chance or coincidence. Other’s see it as a divine hand at work. But it’s easy to become hardened to the miraculous all around us. It’s easy to see that the “survival of the fittest” is what this world is all about and therefore we must compete with everyone to win. The harder we work the more we get. We live in a world of sowing and reaping and there is no escape. Jesus offered us the only true escape when He said in Matthew 11:28, “come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” The ground has been cursed because of sin and we live in a cursed world. Jesus wants to reverse that curse and lead us through faith into the Promised Land of rest. But like the children of Israel at Kadesh Barnea we often harden our hearts to God.

As Moses ends his teachings to Israel in Deuteronomy, he teaches them about sowing and reaping. In the land that God is giving them, they will reap exactly what they sow. God’s steadfast love for mankind moved Him to give His people detailed instructions on how to live a healthy and happy life in this cursed world. If they obey, they will be blessed. If they doubt God’s love for them and disobey, they will feel the curse. Moses wants the best for them so in Deuteronomy 32:2-3 he prays, “May my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, like gentle rain upon the tender grass, and like showers upon the herb. For I will proclaim the name of the LORD.” Hosea uses the agricultural image of sowing and reaping also. The seed is “righteousness” and the crop that will be harvested is “steadfast love.” Hosea 10:12 says, “Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love…” But the righteousness that God wants from us is not our own. It’s already demonstrated that we have none of our own. He’ll take care of the righteousness, we must soften our hearts. Hosea continues his verse and adds, “break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.” Jesus is our righteousness!

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Ephesians 3:17-19, John 15:5, Hebrews 6:7, Matthew 13:23, Romans 5:8

Jesus and Fruit

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
October 16, 2019

Ephesians 3:17-19 connects the love of Christ, Christ’s love for us, not our love for him, as the nutrients which will bring about spiritual maturity. He describes maturity as a progressive understanding and appreciation of God’s love expressed on the Cross. He says it this way, “so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” If we sink our roots into God’s love, the nutrients for true spiritual growth will flow through us and produce fruit. We can’t produce fruit on our own. The children of Israel could not force “rest” in the Promised Land without God. We can’t find “rest” outside of our complete faith and trust in the full sufficiency of Jesus.  Jesus said it this way in John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

The author of the book of Hebrews turns to this agricultural picture to illustrate this truth. He suggests that it takes continual (note the word “often”) Jesus nourishment (abiding in Christ) to produce fruit. This nourishment is abundantly available to all. In Hebrews 6:7 he says, “For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God.” Crops draw their nourishment from the rains and the soil, but Christians draw maturing nourishment from Jesus. He is the only source of “living water” and the only true “bread of life.” The land that continually draws its nutrients from Jesus,  the “Word” of God, will mature and produce fruit. In Matthew 13:23 Jesus said, “As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

This is all leading up to the author’s return to the Genesis account of Melchizedek. There is true Jesus meat in that story and he’ll take some time in cutting up the meat and serving it to his readers. He seems to be setting the table now and in the rest of Hebrews chapter 6. Make no mistake, it’s understanding the depth of God’s love for us as expressed on Calvary through Jesus that nourishes spiritual growth. Romans 8:5 says, “But God demonstrates His love for us in this: while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” The growing appreciation of this is what brings us into God’s rest. Jesus did it for us! Like the children of Israel at Kadesh Barnea, we cannot do it on our own. “Apart from Him, we can do nothing.”

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Hebrews 6:6, Galatians 2:21, Ephesians 3:17-19

Jesus is the only way!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
October 14, 2019

The last part of this passage (Hebrews 6:4-6) says, “… 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.” The connection between this and the actions of the children of Israel at Kadesh Barnea is still in play with this last phrase. They flagrantly and publicly rejected God’s offer of the Promised Land wherein there was rest from all their enemies. Paul said that to add anything to the full sufficiency of Christ is to nullify God’s grace. In Galatians 2:21 he writes, “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.” When good works, sacrifices, rituals, religious practices, and even devotion replace the work of Christ, we disgrace God’s work in Christ and hold Him up to public ridicule. As Paul says, we “nullify” what Christ has done, thus if God would permit your works to replace Christ’s works on the cross it would mean that Christ’s sacrifice wasn’t enough and therefore God would need to offer another sacrifice which He will not do. Thus, to your own harm, through your lack of full, mature faith in Christ, it’s impossible for you to be restored to repentance from dead works.

I believe it’s this understanding that led Girdwood to write, “Those who fall away cannot be restored so long as they persist in their flagrant and public rejection of Christ.”[1] There is only one sufficient sacrifice for our sins! There is only one way to enjoy “rest” with God and rest for our souls. It’s through unwavering and complete confidence in Christ’s work alone, that one can be sure of where they stand with God. No amount of good works or sacrifices or any rituals of any kind can take the place of or add to the fully sufficient work of Christ. When he said “It is finished,” He meant that. Jesus is the one and only way to peace with God.

The difference between Jesus’ milk drinkers and Jesus’ meat eaters is that the meat eaters have their senses trained to see Christ in the entire Bible. They are nourished by God’s Word in everything they read, and grow stronger and stronger with each meal. Paul prayed for the Ephesians when he explained why he wanted them to grow. He said in Ephesians 3:17-19, “so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Let me repeat Guzik’s words. He writes, “The idea is not that ‘if you fall away, you can’t ever come back to Jesus.’ Instead, the idea is ‘if you turn your back on Jesus, don’t expect to find salvation anywhere else, especially in the practice of religion apart from the fullness of Jesus.”[2]

[1] James Girdwood and Peter Verkruyse, Hebrews, The College Press NIV Commentary (Joplin, MO: College Press, 1997), Heb 6:4–8.

[2] David Guzik, Hebrews, David Guzik’s Commentaries on the Bible (Santa Barbara, CA: David Guzik, 2013), Heb 6:4–6.

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Hebrews 6:6a

Jesus said, “It is finished”

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
October 14, 2019

The “impossibility” addressed in Hebrews chapter 6 verses 4-6 is a subject of serious disagreement. The entire passage says, “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…” What does it mean when it says that it’s impossible to restore them again to repentance? If I keep with the idea of “repentance from dead works” as mentioned in an earlier verse, it might become a little clearer. I see it that way. It’s referring to the insistence of some people to make “works” an integral part of their acceptance by God. This fosters a permanent immaturity. There is no rest for them. Their sin nature leads them to failure often, and guilt and regrets dominate. Then they pick themselves up and try again, and again, and again! There is nothing more discouraging than serving a god of another chance, especially when my second, third, fourth, and all my chances, end in failure. We can only experience rest when we trust in what Christ has accomplished for us.

Keeping this in line with the example taken from Numbers regarding the failure of the Israelites to enter into God’s promised rest in the Promised Land, we get the idea that the decision to maintain a focus on my behavior and deeds completely precludes any experience of God’s rest. Jesus said “It is finished” on the cross and to insist on adding my own efforts to His finished work destroys His finished work. Guzik gets that. He writes, “The idea is not that ‘if you fall away, you can’t ever come back to Jesus.’ Instead, the idea is ‘if you turn your back on Jesus, don’t expect to find salvation anywhere else, especially in the practice of religion apart from the fullness of Jesus.’”[1] You see, outside of the finished work of Jesus, there is no rest, only self-effort, sacrifice, daily stress, and eventual failure! It’s totally impossible to experience God’s rest and God’s peace as long as we add anything to the complete sufficiency of Christ’s work on our behalf.

Pentecost explains why the children of Israel were forbidden to enter the land even after repenting. He writes, “Thus God made it impossible for those who had rebelled—even though they repented—to proceed into the land to enjoy its blessings. Their loss of privilege, in other words, was irreversible.”[2] Taking the land on their own was another display that they did not need God. They trusted in their own strength this time even in rebellion against Moses and God’s pronouncement that they cannot enter God’s rest in the Promised Land. They rejected the sufficiency of God’s promise and the veracity of His word and stepped up on their own to make it happen. It failed of course! It always fails! When Jesus said “It is finished,” He meant it.

[1] David Guzik, Hebrews, David Guzik’s Commentaries on the Bible (Santa Barbara, CA: David Guzik, 2013), Heb 6:4–6.

[2] J. Dwight Pentecost and Ken Durham, Faith That Endures : A Practical Commentary on the Book of Hebrews, Rev. ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2000), 106

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