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Hebrews 11:3, Romans 10:10

Jesus is a “heart” matter!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
February 25, 2020

The “origins” of the world is a subject that’s in constant debate in the educated circles. There are so many scientific theories as to how we came to be as we are today that it’s very difficult to keep up. There always seems to be a new one all the time. One headline I read earlier this year was on an asteroid that crashed into the earth billions of years ago and brought with it moisture and some biologic. From that we evolved into what we are today. I couldn’t help but wonder where the asteroid came from? None of that makes sense to me and it didn’t make sense to the writer of Hebrews either. In his discussion on faith in Hebrews 11, he argues that the subject of origins is always a matter of “faith” not of “science.” Hebrews 11:3 says, “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.”

Pfeiffer comments on this verse and says, “The material universe is understandable only on the basis of faith. How did it come into being? By the creative word of God. He said, ‘Let there be light: and there was light’ (Gen. 1:3). Faith sees God as the prime Source and responsible Agent in creation. He brought into being that which previously did not exist: ‘things which are seen were not made of things which do appear’ (11:3). Faith may not understand all of the processes by which the world was brought to its present condition, but it sees God behind them all. Faith may not know how long it took God to create the present world, but it rests in God as Creator.”[1] Long observes in his commentary on this verse, “To the eye of faith, the universe is not simply an aimless swirl of energy and matter but a creation, an expression of the love of God sustained by God’s hidden providence.”[2]

Your existence along with the existence of everything in the universe, including the universe itself, is an expression of God’s love for man. His love found its ultimate expression on Calvary in His only Son.  But as Long goes on to say, “What the naked eye can see, of course, is a world of suffering and setback, violence and hardship. Given the harsh realities of the world, faith is the ability to see with the inner eye, to see what cannot be seen with the natural eye. In Saint-Exupéry’s classic story The Little Prince, a mysterious fox promises to tell a little boy the greatest of life’s secrets. When at long last the secret is told, it is this: ‘It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye’” [3] Love is the subject of the heart. Paul tells us in Romans 10:10, that it’s “with the heart that one believes…” Faith in Jesus is a matter of the heart!

[1] Charles F. Pfeiffer, The Epistle to the Hebrews, Everyman’s Bible Commentary (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1962), 92.

[2] Thomas G. Long, Hebrews, Interpretation, a Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1997), 114.

[3] Thomas G. Long, Hebrews, Interpretation, a Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1997), 114.

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Hebrews 11:2

Getting in Jesus’ Wheelbarrow

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
February 25, 2020

Salvation has always been by faith alone. God spoke to Israel in various ways in the past. Those who trusted God and His revelation, His Word, were proclaimed “righteous.” Not by keeping the laws or by sacrifices or by rituals but by believing God and His promises.  In chapter 11 of Hebrews many of the Old Testament heroes were commended for their faith, not for their works. After explaining that “Faith” is trusting God to be in control and to have our best interest foremost in mind regardless of our life circumstances, the author of Hebrews says in 11:2, “For by it the people of old received their commendation.”  When talking about all the Old Testament characters that are listed in Hebrews chapter 11, one commentary says, “The heroes of faith have one thing in common: they put their undivided confidence in God. In spite of all their trials and difficult circumstances, they triumphed because of their trust in God. For the author, faith is adhering to the promises of God, depending on the Word of God, and remaining faithful to the Son of God.”[1]

Notice that this commentator uses the phrase “undivided confidence.” The Prophets, the Angels, Moses, the Law, the Priesthood, the Tabernacle were all means God used to speak to man in times past as the writer says in Chapter 1. But now, all those things were shown to be just shadows of the redemption that Jesus would bring to earth on God’s behalf.  God speaks to us in these days through His Son! Jesus speaks to us now and deserves, no demands, our undivided attention. The writer has already told his readers to focus their attention on Jesus. He told them to keep looking to Jesus. He told them that “abiding” in Jesus was to give their full confidence to His finished work on their behalf. His many warnings concerned slip-sliding away into a religion of self-effort. Faith is not, and it never has been, part trusting in Jesus and part trusting in one’s own efforts, rituals and sacrifices.  Faith, saving faith, is going all in on Jesus! It’s putting all our eggs in his basket. It’s trusting completely and solely on Christ’s work and having no confidence in the flesh.

Saving faith is often illustrated as the Focus on the Family website does by getting in the wheel barrel. It tells of a man named Calvery who in 1892, “…pushed a wheelbarrow over a tightrope stretched across Niagara Falls. After performing this feat, he turned to his audience and asked, ‘Now that you’ve seen what I can do, do you believe I can do it again?’ ‘Yes!’ replied the crowd. ‘Do you think I can do it with another person in the wheelbarrow?’ said Calverly. ‘Yes!’ was the enthusiastic response. ‘Well, then,’ said Calverly, ‘who wants to climb in?’ Genuine New Testament faith means getting in the wheelbarrow. It’s not just a question of standing on the sidelines and saying, ‘I believe.’” (See https://www.focusonthefamily.com/family-qa/faith-works-and-salvation/.  Faith is getting into Jesus’ wheelbarrow!)

[1] Simon J. Kistemaker and William Hendriksen, Exposition of Hebrews, vol. 15, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953–2001), 310.

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Hebrews 11:1, 1:1

Jesus is the object of our faith!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
February 25, 2020

The theme of Hebrews chapter 10 seemed to be faith and waiting. Believers can “rest” in God’s finished work while they wait for deliverance from the trials and struggles of this life.  It’s often referred to as “patient endurance.” It might be seen as resting or abiding in the promises of God trusting that they will come true even when things in life don’t seem to support that idea. I’ve often argued that faith isn’t just believing that God exists but it’s believing that He is positively disposed towards you and that he has your best interest foremost in mind regardless of the circumstances in which you find yourself.  It’s about accepting God’s unconditional love for us as he demonstrated on the cross of Calvary. Hebrews 11:6 will say that clearly. But the writer opens up Hebrews 11 with a description of faith in general terms. He writes, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

The Handbook for translators says, “A suggested translation would be ‘Those who trust God are sure that he will give them what they hope for; they are certain that things they do not yet see are real.’”[1] Guzik says, “Just as our physical eyesight is the sense that gives us evidence of the material world, faith is the ‘sense’ that gives us evidence of the invisible, spiritual world.” He then goes on to argue that the “sense” of faith can be trusted even more than our sense of sight. He quotes Morris and Bruce to conclude his comments. “Faith has its reasons. The Bible doesn’t recommend a ‘blind leap’ of faith. But the reasons can’t be measured in a laboratory; they have to be understood spiritually. ‘Faith extends beyond what we learn from our senses, and the author is saying that it has its reasons. Its tests are not those of the senses, which yield uncertainty.’” (Morris) ‘Physical eyesight produces a conviction or evidence of visible things; faith is the organ which enables people to see the invisible order.’” (Bruce)[2]

Pfeiffer explains, “The guiding principle of the Christian life is faith. This is not simply a psychological factor, however. To some people faith means believing that you can do a job better than you have done it in the past, or believing that a loved one will rise from his bed of sickness. There may be real value in such ‘positive thinking,’ but this is not the meaning of faith. True Biblical faith has God as its object. We believe God and trust His Word. That Word does not tell us that we have any reason to expect to be the richest merchant on Main Street. It tells us, on the contrary, that we will have tribulations and that as Jesus’ disciples we will have crosses to bear. It assures us, however, of grace to bear them. Faith has a backward look. It declares that God has done mighty acts in days gone by. Faith also has a forward look. It declares that He can be trusted for the future.”[3] We believe that God speaks to us now through his Son as the author asserted in the first verse of the first chapter of Hebrews. God speaks through Jesus and tells us that he loves us and has our best interest foremost in mind regardless of our circumstances. Faith trusts that to be true! Jesus, as God’s revelation to mankind, is the object of our faith.

[1] Paul Ellingworth and Eugene Albert Nida, A Handbook on the Letter to the Hebrews, UBS Handbook Series (New York: United Bible Societies, 1994), 251.

[2] David Guzik, Hebrews, David Guzik’s Commentaries on the Bible (Santa Barbara, CA: David Guzik, 2013), Heb 11:1.

[3] Charles F. Pfeiffer, The Epistle to the Hebrews, Everyman’s Bible Commentary (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1962), 90–91.

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Hebrews 10:34, 39, Matthew 8:36-37, Luke 9:25

No Shrinking Back From Jesus!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
February 19, 2020

Hebrews 10:34 closes by explaining why believers can endure hardships. The reason you endured past trials he says, was because “…you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.” In his commentary on this phrase, Homer Kent argues that the possession you have is “yourselves.” He says, “The reading preferred by most textual experts has ‘yourselves’ as the direct object of the verb ‘have’ (echein heautous). The sense is that by becoming Christians, though they may lose the whole world, they have gained their souls.”[1]  In Luke 9:25 Jesus asks a most profound question. He asks, “What does it profit a person to gain the whole world and yet lose himself?”  In Matthew 8:36-37 he asks a similar question but refers to the “self” as the soul. It says, “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul?” Hebrews 10:39 supports this idea when it says, “But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.”

This verse begins with the clear statements that those who trust in Jesus’ full sufficiency are not among those who “shrink back.” Looking back to Hebrews chapters 3 and 4 we’re reminded of the writer’s referring to the Israelites who “shrunk back” at Kadesh Barnea and were not allowed to enter into the promised land, “God’s Rest.” They did not trust God’s promises to give them the land. Instead they looked at themselves, the giants that inhabited the land and compared the two. “We are like grasshoppers to them” they said. Their current circumstances led them to doubt the goodness of God and His promises. Their destiny therefore was to wander in a wasteland till death.  When trials and struggles and hardships come my way, I find myself drifting into the wasteland of doubt also.  I don’t need to be encouraged that I’m big enough to whip the giants in the land or than I’m much bigger than a grasshopper. I need to be reminded that my champion has already defeated my enemies for me. Jesus’ grace has always been sufficient in the past and is sufficient now and will be sufficient in the future. There’s rest!

“Shrinking back” is not in the experience for those who hold to the full sufficiency of Jesus. That’s why the author finishes chapter ten with verse 39 saying, “we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.” This last verse of Chapter 10, according to Guzik “…is a confident conclusion. We will be those who endure on and gain the promise of God. We will not draw back into old traditions or into an Old Covenant relationship with God—or any other replacement for Jesus.”[2]

[1] Homer A. Kent Jr., The Epistle to the Hebrews: A Commentary (Winona Lake, IN: BMH Books, 1983), 211.

[2] David Guzik, Hebrews, David Guzik’s Commentaries on the Bible (Santa Barbara, CA: David Guzik, 2013), Heb 10:35–39.

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Hebrews 10:37-38, Habakkuk 2:3-4, Isaiah 26:20

Jesus is the “Faith-filled” one!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
February 19, 2020

In his commentary on Hebrews, Long writes, “Every athlete needs to hear shouts of encouragement from the stands, and the Preacher summons cheer leading from no less than the prophets Isaiah and Habakkuk. Blending a loose translation of Habakkuk 2:3–4 with a few words from Isaiah 26:20, the Preacher allows these voices from the Old Testament to spur on the runners on the track. As presented by the Preacher these prophets of old say, in effect, ‘Do not hold back. The time left is very short, so push on, harder, harder.’”[1] He’s commenting on Hebrews 10:37-38 which says, “For, Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”

In a way, Long presents cheerleaders pushing us on to try harder and harder because his analogy sees us as running the race of our salvation. I don’t see it that way. I see Jesus as the “runner” who finished first on our behalf!  The focus on “My righteous one” sounds messianic to me. The only perfectly “faithful” and “faith-filled” one is Jesus. The perseverance is not so much trying harder but resting in God’s promises and waiting it out through dismal times. Just trust God. He’s settled the issue. Don’t revert to self-effort and religious ritual. That’s what shrinking back is all about!  But relax in the hands of the God who loves you and sent His son to die for you. You believe! Kistemaker writes, “The righteous person who perseveres does not receive God’s promise on the basis of keeping the law and doing the will of God. He receives the promise by faith. The object of faith, of course, is understood. The believer places his faith in Jesus Christ. Out of a relationship of trust and confidence, the believer lives.”[2]

Studying Hebrews 10:37-38 opens up a plethora of controversies. It seems there are numerous textual variants from ancient manuscripts. The quotes from Habakkuk and Isaiah come from the Septuagint and not the Hebrew Bible and the words have added pronouns and a reversed order. It would take a doctoral dissertation to sort it all out but one thing we know and which is going to be clearly stated by the author in Hebrews 11:6 is “without faith it is impossible to please God.” Reconciling the various arguments with clearer statements give us the reality that Jesus is the righteous one. He is the “faithful” one in whom we have faith. It’s faith in him and his sacrifice on our behalf that pleases God. Shrinking back is to return to a system of religious observations and ritual instead of confidence in the one who fulfilled them all. This is what the writer will conclude in Hebrews 12:1-2 when he tell us what it means to “run the race.” It’s not trying harder, exerting more effort, being more dedicated. It’s focusing on Jesus. He says, “let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.”

[1] Thomas G. Long, Hebrews, Interpretation, a Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1997), 112.

[2] Simon J. Kistemaker and William Hendriksen, Exposition of Hebrews, vol. 15, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953–2001), 303.

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Hebrews 10:36, isaiah 40:31, John 6:29, Philippians 3:20-21

Just Wait for Jesus!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
February 19, 2020

One of my all-time favorite verses in Isaiah 40:31. It says, “But they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Several times I’ve dreamed about being able to fly! It was like “mounting up on wings like eagles” rather than lifting off of a runway from an airport. It was effortless and majestic! I always like to think about this promise being fulfilled literally. There are several statements that make me think this. When Jesus ascended in Matthew 1:9 it says he “was lifted up” as if it was effortless. We will be like him. Paul tells us in Philippians 3:20-21, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” But we have to wait for it. That’s what the author of the book of Hebrews tells his readers. Hebrews 10:36 says, “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.”

I hate waiting! Doing God’s will has been explained to us by Jesus himself when disciples said that they wanted to do the works of God. Jesus said in John 6:29, “This is the work of God that you believe in the one that He sent.” So we must believe and then wait. It’s something we have not fully received yet. Kent says, “The author looks ahead to the consummation of salvation at the coming of Christ and urges that their patience be increased through their trials so that nothing may hinder the full experiencing of the promise of salvation, a promise described earlier as entering into God’s rest.”[1]

But remember, believing is “assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Through faith in Christ, our high priest, who sits at the right hand of God at this moment making intercession for us, we have a certain future. We long for it! We look ahead to it and we wait patiently for it. But it’s our faith, our certainty, our assurance in the faithfulness of God to do what He has promised that gives us rest now amidst the trials and storms of life. One commentator writes, “The expression promise is a key word in the Epistle to the Hebrews. It stands for forgiveness of sins, in terms of the new covenant, but especially for complete salvation in Jesus Christ. God’s promise to man is unbreakable. What God has promised, the believer will receive.”[2] Perseverance in the conviction of the full sufficiency of Christ guarantees our future inheritance in the coming kingdom. But perseverance in the full sufficiency of Christ brings peace to us even today amidst our trials and hardships. Just wait for Jesus!

[1] Homer A. Kent Jr., The Epistle to the Hebrews: A Commentary (Winona Lake, IN: BMH Books, 1983), 212–213.

[2] Simon J. Kistemaker and William Hendriksen, Exposition of Hebrews, vol. 15, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953–2001), 302.

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Hebrews 10:35, Psalm 20-6-7, 1 Samuel 17:37, 46-47

All In On Jesus!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
February 19, 2020

The writer of Hebrews uses the word “confidence” instead of “faith” in Hebrews 10:35. He encourages his readers to look to the future saying, “Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.” It’s important to note that the “confidence” the writer is referring to is not confidence in one’s self. It’s not self-confidence but God-confidence. God never makes promises he will not keep. David understood this well. In Psalm 20:6-7, he writes, “Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” David once saved his sheep from a bear and then again from a lion.  When he saw Goliath in the Valley of Elah insulting the God of Israel, David told Saul, “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine” (1 Samuel 17:37)

When he faced Goliath he said, “This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you into our hand” (1 Samuel 17:46-47). Like David, the writer of Hebrews is looking ahead with confidence to what God had promised but had not yet been realized. This is called “faith” and will be defined as such in Hebrews 11:1 which says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” So Kent observes, “The author looks ahead to the consummation of salvation at the coming of Christ, and urges that their patience be increased through their trials so that nothing may hinder the full experiencing of the promise of salvation, a promise described earlier as entering into God’s rest (4:1, 9).”[1]

Instead of “confidence” some translations use the word “boldness.” Fruchtenbaum writes, “The boldness in the passage is not just the attitude of boldness. It also includes the basis on which the boldness rested. They had a foundation of boldness, and they acted upon it. The result was assurance of victory. They had confidence because they had access to God’s presence.”[2] Jesus was far superior to the priestly order of Aaron because he brought the once and for all sacrifice of his very own blood into the presence of God on our behalf. When he breached the dimension between heaven and earth he opened the way for us all as the splitting of the veil before the Holy of Holies in the temple illustrated. David, the anointed one, setting his people free by conquering their great enemy is a picture of Jesus, David’s heir and the ultimate anointed one, taking on sin and death and bringing that victory home to us. I have confidence but not in myself; it’s all in Jesus! I am “all in” on Jesus!

[1] Homer A. Kent Jr., The Epistle to the Hebrews: A Commentary (Winona Lake, IN: BMH Books, 1983), 212–213.

[2] Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, The Messianic Jewish Epistles: Hebrews, James, First Peter, Second Peter, Jude, 1st ed. (Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries, 2005), 147.

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Hebrews 10:32-34, Luke 9:25, Matthew 8:36-37

Jesus Saves our Souls!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
February 17, 2020

I’ve often said the most difficult thing to give up for Jesus is one’s religion. Yet that is the only thing he wants us to give up. He wants us to stop trusting in rituals, rules and the sacrifices called for by religion and put our confidence completely and solely in him. But when you’ve lived your whole life in a religious community like the recipients of the letter to the Hebrews there is incredible pressure from those around to return to the religious practices of the group. But to do that, as the writer mentioned in chapter 10, is to trample underfoot the grace of God offered through Jesus Christ. If his work and his sacrifice isn’t enough, there is nothing left except personal failure after failure under any religious system. But deliverance from the condemnation of the law and repetitive religious practices sets the believer in Jesus free. Those left behind in the religious systems will do all they can to get you back. But the glory of freedom is worth the conflict. The author of Hebrews reminds his readers of that in Hebrews 10:32-34. He says, “But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.”

All the way through the first 10 chapters of the letter to the Hebrews the author has insisted on the superiority of Jesus over every and all of the religious rituals, sacrifices, and persons of the systems they lived under. Jesus is better than the prophets because he speaks for God in our day. Jesus is better than Moses because only he can fulfill the law. Jesus is better than the sacrifices offered by the priesthood of Aaron because his is a once and for all sacrifice. Jesus makes better intercession with God on our behalf because he wipes away all our sin once and for all and then deposits in our account his own perfect righteousness.  There is nothing under any religious system that can do that. Having Jesus is far better than all the possessions, positions, and pleasures in the world. Having Jesus is far better than any empty promises of personally earned righteousness by observing ordinances and sacrificial rituals and routines!

Homer Kent argues that the possession you have is “yourselves.” He says, “The reading preferred by most textual experts has ‘yourselves’ as the direct object of the verb ‘have’ (echein heautous). The sense is that by becoming Christians, though they may lose the whole world, they have gained their souls.”[1]  In Luke 9:25 Jesus asks a most profound question. He asks, “what does it profit a person to gain the whole world and yet lose himself?”  In Matthew 8:36-37 he asks a similar question but refers to the “self” as the soul. It says, “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul?” Hebrews 10:39 supports this idea when it says, “But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.”

[1] Homer A. Kent Jr., The Epistle to the Hebrews: A Commentary (Winona Lake, IN: BMH Books, 1983), 211.

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