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The
Reason to be Faithful
INTRODUCTION
The Book of Hebrews is
unique in that it alone deals fully and at great length with the greatness
of Jesus, which flows into his present position as man’s great High
Priest. The One whom they can call confidently for help, when the daily
pressures and trials of life confront them.
The book deals fully with the priesthood of Jesus, comparing and
contrasting the Melchizedek priesthood with the Levitical priesthood. Ephesians details several
critical things about Jesus and his position but Hebrews deals with this
matter at greater length than anywhere else. Ephesians 1: 20-22 informs
us; that God the Father had …“ set him at his own right hand in the
heavenly places Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all
things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the
church” The
book of Hebrews developed this theme at great length, and along with the
book of Revelation, gives us a complete and masterful presentation of the
exaltation of Christ, showing that Jesus alone occupies the place of
ultimate authority in the entire universe. Everything about Jesus
declare that he has this ultimate authority by right, as well as because
of his conquests. It also points to the
most precious promise that the city of God, made by God, would come to
earth, and that all the men who sought for this city and risked their
lives seeking for this city would rule with Jesus on the earth. One writer discusses the importance of this book and asks believers some pointed questions. He says: “ Without this
epistle in our Bibles today, the people of God would be greatly
impoverished. Modern readers may lack the Jewish background, which the
original recipients possessed, yet the letter forces all Christians of any
age to face certain issues. Do we believe that
Jesus is God the Son, infinitely higher than any angel, who is both the
creator of all things and the final arbiter of all human events? Are you trusting in
his death on the Cross and his subsequent bodily resurrection as the full
and complete ground of our salvation, or are we still looking to some act
by us or some ritual or sacrament performed for us to bring us safely to
heaven? Do you habitually turn
to Jesus as our great high priest, to find inner strengthening to face
pressures, resist temptation, conquer guilt, or achieve self-control in
daily situations? Are you permitting our
cultural context to lure us into practices or deeds that are inconsistent
with the new life we have been given in Christ? Do we count it a
privilege to take up our cross daily and glory in bearing his reproach in
the midst of a confused and immoral world? Is the expectation of
the return of Jesus as King over the whole Earth a bright and shining
reality to us, frequently renewing our vision and outlook? Do we recognize the
loving hand of God upon us in the midst of hardships, disappointments and
trials, as strengthening us and also giving us opportunity to display his
character to those who are near us? These are the concerns
of the writer of Hebrews. These
are the “things that accompany salvation” to which he refers in
Hebrews 6:9. They must all become our daily concern as we are to lay full
hold of the “better things” which Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem Manger
introduced.” It
is strongly felt by most commentators that this book has the greatest
relevance to believers today, as they like the first recipients of the
letter, struggle to maintain their faith amidst all the chaos and ungodly
cultural pressures that are steadily increasing, and succeeding in pulling
many away from Scripture truths. Who
wrote this Book? There
has for a long time been controversy over who wrote the book.
It is clear that the book was not an anonymous one, for those who
originally got the book clearly knew the writer, even though he did not
state his name. The book
however was used quite often and writers from the end of the first century
quoted from it. Clement
of Rome, who lived at the end of the first century used it though he did
not apparently put it on par with the Old Testament Scriptures. He did not
identify who wrote it, but within the first century he used it extensively
in writing to the Corinthian church. Some believe that it was originally
written to Jewish believers in Rome, and he and other believers there for
easy access to the original. Clement
of Alexandria, in the middle of the second century, felt that Paul wrote
it in Hebrew and Luke translated it into Greek. He based his position on
the authority of the chief of the School for Christian leaders in
Alexandria. The
Eastern churches readily accepted this book is of Pauline authorship. The
western churches were somewhat slower to accept it, but by the fourth
century it was generally accepted.
Another Tertullian, lived in the early third century felt that it
was written by Barnabas, but he did not offer any proof other than saying
that because the book spoke much about the levitical priesthood, and that
since Barnabas was a Levite and an encourager he was the likely writer. Luther
felt that Apollos wrote it, because he was an eloquent speaker, was quite
educated, and had a good command of Old Testament Scriptures. One modern
theologian has speculated that Priscilla (with Aquila) wrote it, and the
church did not credit her with it since she was a woman. But of course the
masculine gender used of the writer in chapter 11:32 argues against that
theory. Many
of the people in the early church thought that Paul was the writer, and by
the end of the third century, and especially from the fourth, Paul’s
name was attached by almost all to this book.
The fifth council of Carthage in AD 419 formally placed it among
Paul’s other Epistles. Some
still think Paul’s authorship is unlikely for the reasons that this
writer lists : “The writer cites
differently from St. Paul; he writes differently; he argues differently;
he declaims differently: he constructs and connects his sentences
differently; he builds up his paragraphs on a wholly different model…His
style is the style of a man who think as well as writes in Greek; whereas
St. Paul wrote in Greek but thought in Syriac.” But
others think that Paul given his Hebrew-Hellenistic education at Jerusalem
and Tarsus, would enable him to write in the eloquent and rhetorical
style of this book, using the quotations from the Old Testament Greek
Septuagint translation, writing in Greek and laying aside is normally
unadorned style. It is felt
that the internal evidence, the topics handled and the interpretations
given were so close to the Pauline views, that it must have been written
by Paul or translated by his scribe under his direction. It bears an
extremely close link with Paul’s letter to the Colossians. The
book was obviously written to reach Jewish Christian, who were well
acquainted with Old Testament Scripture, but the material is dealt with in
a way which suggest that it was written to people with a Greek frame of
mind. The location of these
people was not disclosed, and there is some controversy about that matter. There
is some evidence that the book was written at a quite early date. It
refers to Timothy in 13:23. Though it deals with the Levitical priesthood
at length it does not refer at all to the destruction of the Temple and
that system. The temple was obviously still standing and sacrificial and
other rituals were still continuing.
It doesn’t even speak much about physical persecution.
All these seem to indicate an early date of writing, before the end
of the sixties. This
book however is very different for it has eighty two Old Testament
references, twenty nine of which are direct quotations, with fifty three
being allusions. Interestingly,
there is no quotation from the Apocrypha. It
is to these people therefore, these early Jewish Christians, steeped in
Old Testament teachings, strong believers that Jesus of Nazareth was the
long awaited Jewish Messiah that Hebrews first spoke. Some
people still have difficulties with Hebrews because of its many Old
Testament references and its firm grounding of Christianity in the faith
of Judaism, as well as its strong insistence on faultless behavior. It
has been very difficult for those who have difficulty in understanding
that Christianity is a Jewish faith, and that Jesus and the Apostles are
Jews too, who properly appropriate Hebrews to themselves, to separate
liberty from license, and to easily accept the book’s insistence on
divine authority, and the necessity to adhere to and persevere in the
Christian life of holiness. The Book of Hebrews has a most important theme for all believers of all ages. It exhorts us to recognize that Jesus is completely superior to all things, and that behooves us to continue strong in holding to him. THE TEXT Verse 1.
It is most interesting to note
that this book begins dramatically and immediately launches into Old
Testament prophetic writings, which the writer states have now been
fulfilled in Jesus. There are no greetings, disclosure of the writer’s
name, and no initial benedictions. It
focuses on dealing with the solutions to the ancient and frequent
stumbling around that humans did and do to find God, and how men have
strenuously sought to hear what God was saying to them. The
emphasis was immediately placed on the fact that God existed, that he is
there, and that God has spoken to us.
In other words, God has not left man alone, but has revealed
himself to man. He knew our incapabilities and he sought us out. God
did not reveal everything about himself in one fell swoop, but at
different times and in different ways gave each one of his prophets or
messengers additional information and points of emphasis as were required. Sometimes the prophets or messengers spoke through parables,
sometimes they use psalms, sometimes proverbs, sometimes dramatic
presentations, sometimes direct, frank, in your face prophetic
confrontations, and sometimes they wrote down historical events, so that
the people of God could learn many lessons. It
must be made clear that God taught the intellectually superior Adam and
Eve tremendous things about themselves.
It is hardly likely, since they talked with God face to face in the
Garden of Eden, that our knowledge about God is superior in many ways to
theirs. But we also know that tremendous degeneration occurred, and God
had to teach Adam’s descendants all over again in many ways and at
different times. Of
course not all of these men after Adam were ignorant of God. Men such as
Enoch stand out, and their lives and devotion to God put us to shame. The
messengers of God, God’s ancient spokesmen, therefore spoke to our
Jewish fathers or predecessors in various ways. They did this after God
spoke to them in various ways, such as how he spoke to Moses in the
burning Bush, to Elijah in a still small voice, to Isaiah in heavenly
visions, to Amos in a basket of fruit, and so on.
The accumulation of these revelations continued steadily, and as
the Apostle Paul stated, all of these things happened to Israel to teach
us some critical truths. All
these revelations ceased for four hundred years after the last Old
Testament prophet Malachi. It
is important to note several things about these prophets of God.
They were chosen by God, qualified by God specifically for the
office of revealing the will of God to men. They were always one hundred
percent accurate, never making a mistake in their pronouncements, and
never at any time contradicting previous revelations of God.
The
test of a true prophet of God was quite strict.
We do not need an exhaustive look at those today that claim to be
prophets to realize that they definitely do not conform to the
requirements of a prophet of God. They simply want the aura,
respectability, authority, and power that they think goes with being a
prophet of God, but they simply do not fit.
The ancient prophets where the guardians of God’s truths, and they zealously guarded the purity of the people of God. Our modern claimants just are not that way. Verse 2.
Great were the work of these
prophets, and they were highly regarded by God. Hebrews
proclaims, God has made his final and complete statement of revelation in
Jesus. This revelation is superior to those of the prophets. Why?
because Jesus himself is the message from the Father. He has brought
himself, the message from God the Father. Everything about him reveals
God. This
message of God has come in the last days. The Jewish Rabbins (plural of
Rabbi) divided the entire time into “this age”, or “world”, and
“the age to come”. Neither they nor Jesus knew about any transition
period. Jesus
was superior to the prophets and had primacy for several reasons. First,
God has spoken by or in his Son. This
person, because he is in the relationship of a son, has complete authority
as a spokesman. Note
that in this book it is the Father who was speaking, and he speaks about
the Son, about whom he is and what he is coming for. Notice that three things show up the uniqueness of the Son initially. The contrast in revelation stands out because previously God had spoken in various ways or methods, (the first point of contrast), at various times (the second point of contrast), and now in only one Son, (a contrast of agency). The relative inferiority of the previous revelation as contrasted or compared to that of the Son stands out, for as one writer points out: “What is
communicated in parts, sections, fragments, must of necessity be
imperfect: and so also a representation which is made in many modes cannot
be other than provisional”. God’s
word through his Son is therefore complete.
The Apostles are there only to communicate his words, not to add
any new teachings or insights. For this they were especially blessed as
Jesus indicated in Matthew 13:16-17. Let
us understand one thing though and it is namely that the Old Testament is
the Word of God. From Genesis on down it is the word of God. But
it is clear that the voice of the Son spells out in detail the Word of
God, and his word clarifies, includes, and surpasses all the previous
revelations. It is equally true that one has to read and understand the
revelations before Jesus, in order to understand properly what he is
talking about. One cannot
easily understand the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles without
understanding their context. History
has shown us that when men try to do that, namely, interpret Jesus and his
teachings without any context, they invariably makes serious mistakes, and
generally end up being against the law and commandments of God, and being
anti-Semitic to varying degrees. One writer comments: “Though Jesus is
clearly superior to the prophets, he does not replace their revelation.
The Old Testament remains as valid Scripture for the followers of
Jesus, as the author will bring out many times. God used the prophets as
spokesmen, but the Son, by contrast, “stands “ (appointed) as heir
of all things. Those all things refer to the material universe
and all forces within it, seated by the Son in partnership with the Father
and the Spirit.” The
Son is glorious and this is indicated by seven descriptions.
His
Son is “heir to all things”, for being a son is logically an
heir, and is in a position of power and ability to make the universe. Because
he is The Son, he stands appointed to the office of heir off all creation,
all things in the material universe and everything in it, so that he has
everything by right of inheritance. This
is of course quite appropriate, for because of the eternal councils of God
he is the one who made the worlds. He made and he inherits. Note that the prophets knew and taught that the Messiah would be the one in whom all things would climax. Verse 3.
Next we are told that the Son is the radiance of God glory. ‘Brightness’
is ‘apaugasma’ which “denotes the radiance shining forth from the
source of light” and so Jesus is the outpouring of the inherent
brightness of God. This is
Light from Light, or “effulgence”. When
Jesus was transfigured his glory or radiance was seen.
When John saw him and described him in Revelation, there was this
radiance of God. To
even more strongly affirm the nature of the Son, he is now described as the
express image of God’s person, thus as in Colossians 1:15 and
Philippians 2:6, the Son fully shares in the divine nature. This
unmistakably asserts his deity. “Person”
in Greek means “of His substantial essence” or “hypostasis”. When
Jesus was on earth this “express image” was veiled in the flesh.
It
is therefore translated that Jesus is the exact representation of his
(God’s) being. The word
used conveys the idea of an exact likeness, as made by a stamp or die, so
as the coin is the exact image of the die, so the Son reproduces the
precise character (Greek charakter—used only here) of the Father. Jesus
therefore could tell Philip that anyone that had seen him had seen the
Father. (John
14:9). We
are next told that the Son has his work as the master of the universe, for
he sustains all things by his powerful word. Jesus
therefore not only is the creator or originator of the universe, but he is
also its sustainer, and finally is its destination. Jesus still sustained
the universe by his inherent power when he was on earth. One writer points out that the word; ‘Upholding’ is better thought of as ‘maintaining’; the word does not have the idea of passively holding something up (like the mythical Atlas held the earth) but of actively sustaining. In his earthly
ministry, Jesus constantly demonstrated the power of his word-He would
heal, forgive, cast out demons, calm nature’s fury all with the
expression of one word”. This
of course shows that the Son of God is a person, for he has a word. He has
power in his word, and he has utterance and expresses his word and power.
The
further work of Jesus as the one who made purification of sins, in other
words, His atonement, shows his gracious covering of our guilt and
uncleanness, by his tremendous agony and shedding of his blood on the
Cross. His
sufferings were honorable and provided full satisfaction for the sins of
his people. His suffering and death was of infinite meritorious value, and
was sufficient to satisfy. Note
that this brought to mind what had been happening for years on earth and
finally was centralized in the Temple. One writer states: “The mediation
between man and God, who was present in the Most Holy Place, was
revealed in three forms: (1) in sacrifices (typical propitiations
for guilt); (2) in the priesthood (the agents of those sacrifices); (3) in
the Levitical laws of purity (levitical purity being attained by sacrifice
positively, by avoidance of levitical pollution negatively, the people
being thus enabled to come into the presence of God without dying, (Deut
5:26; Leviticus 16:1-34).” Jesus’
sufferings had such value, that from this great humiliation, he was
exalted and sat down at God’s right hand.
This act was an act of the Father, for Hebrews 8:1 and Ephesians
1:20 tells us that this was something done by the Father, it was the
Father’s action that exalted him, as the Son of man after his suffering,
because he was now to be Mediator for man in the presence of God.
Jesus
is therefore now Redeemer, and Mediator, given the highest of honors,
activity, and authority. Everything
is done through him. He has
finished all the battles, and all opposition is really already conquered.
There is no doubt now what the end of history will be, we only have to
wait and be faithful to enjoy all the promised blessings of the new heaven
and new earth. The Jesus the Hebrews worship and who we worship, who has saved us, has this excellency, honor, power, and authority. See Psalm 110 for this lesson. Verse 4.
We should now note that in this
world there are many rivals for the attention of men, and that men are
constantly being drawn away from the only true source of power and
salvation. Hebrews
now begins a series of arguments to show that Christ is superior to every
single rival, whoever they might be.
This of course would ensure that the Christian readers would not be
drawn away by foolish alternatives. Attention
is therefore drawn to the angels, and the fact that even though they were
glorious beings, and excellent, Jesus was superior in name and nature. This
was an important matter, for Jews and Gentiles in the first century were
thoroughly acquainted with the theology of angels. Jews
believed that the Law was mediated from God through angels, and they knew
that these invisible beings were powerful, there being some that served
God and others that had rebelled against God. There
was a dangerous tendency among some Jews to worship angels as was often
demonstrated in the Old Testament when people came in contact with angels. Even John the apostle had to be corrected on this matter by
an angel. See Revelation 19:10 and 22:8-9. Of course, the Gentiles had no
inhibitions about worshiping these other beings. We
remember that Paul had to write to the Colossians in 2:16-18, condemning
those who delighted in a false humility and worship of angels.
This was therefore a serious problem with both Jew and Gentile, for
to Jews when angels spoke they listened, and with Gentiles when demons
spoke they listened and worshipped. When
the Jewish Christians therefore had ideas that angels were to be exalted,
this was intolerable. Angels were never to be placed in any position where
they were honored above Christ or to be as highly regarded as he was. This
is also a modern practice, for they are many in churches who worship
angels, consult horoscopes, participate in “channeling”, experiment
with Ouija boards to get guidance, consult mediums, and might even join
with the New Age Movement adherents in calling on fallen angels or
avatars, and spirit guides to awaken hidden powers in them. The
pagans in those days were afflicted with this error, and the pagans in our
days are similarly afflicted. Even
many who profess to be believers have been ensnared. The occult is
certainly growing in influence, as demonstrated by the print media and the
entertainment media. The
old things are new again. The
Father had set Jesus at his right hand, the place of ultimate power, and
it was clear that Jesus, who had been ‘made lower than the angels’
was now exalted to be better, marked out after his humiliation and
appointed to a manifested position of absolute superiority. He had humbled
himself, laid aside his power and position, had redeemed and had
conquered, and now was exalted.
He
had worked, and had been invested with the highest honor, after God had
bruised him. He had never
been a mere creature as the angels were, but had now obtained by
inheritance, as promised by the Father, a more excellent designation than
the angels. They could not do what he did, and not of his rivals can do
what he did. Any idea therefore that Jesus himself was an angel, or was even Michael the archangel is a heretical concept, which degrades the glory and majesty of Jesus. Verse 5. One writer sums this up: “It is true that angels are called “sons of God” in the book of Job (1:6; 2:1; 38:7) because, like Adam, they are direct creations from God’s hand. This fact may seem to mark angels as equal with Jesus and therefore proper objects of worship. But Jesus is God’s Son from all eternity- the uncreated Son. Furthermore, the quotation from Psalm 2 highlights Jesus’ status as the exalted Son of Man, as Paul declared at Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:33) referring to his resurrection from the dead. Thus he was both the eternal Son and the glorified human Son (Son of God and Son of Man). The writer here especially claims they see the superiority of Jesus over the angels as the Son of Man. No angel could claim either eternity or resurrection as the basis of his sonship, but Jesus had both. Though the angels collectively were called sons of God, no individual angel ever is given that title, or singled out as having a unique status before God. So the writer demands rhetorically, “ To which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.” Psalm
2, the coronation Psalm is therefore fully applied to Jesus, referring to
the time when Jesus, after suffering and dying, is resurrected and is
exalted. Paul in Acts 13
certainly understood it that way. Hebrews
also draws on 2 Samuel 7:14 for the words “I will be his father, and
he will be my son” initially spoken to David about Solomon, but now
indicating a final fulfillment of the promises to David of an eternal
reign, when David’s House would be restored and exalted. Verse 6.
Both Deuteronomy 32:43 and Psalm
97:7 spoke of angels worshiping Christ the Son. When the Son was born in
Bethlehem the angels were commanded to and did worship him. While he was
on earth even the demonic angels fell down before him addressing him as
the Son of God. When
he was by resurrection ‘the first to begotten of the dead’ and
ascended, he became manifestly the heir. Begotten
speaks of the quality of substance and essential nature between the Father
and the Son. Note
also that firstborn is as much a concept as it also stated who was born
first. We know this because
many who were not born first in the Bible, are like David in Psalm 89:27,
given the title “firstborn”. In Jeremiah 31:9 Ephraim is also given
that title when he was not born first. We
also know that the ancient rabbis called Yahweh himself “Firstborn of
the World”. Rabbi Bechai in Lighfoot) One writer also adds: “The rabbis used
Firstborn as a messianic title: “God said, As I made Jacob a first-born
(Exodus 4:22), so also will I make King Messiah a first-born (Psalm
89:28)”. Jesus
then is clearly superior, for God designed the angels to worship him.
Jesus has a superior name, and a superior relationship. Verse 7.
The rhetorical questions continue,
for Jesus’ name is Son, while the angels are servants. They are indeed
powerful, likened to flames of fire. This is taken from Psalm 104:4. But
they, like the natural lightning and wind, are messengers and servants of
God, being able to be powerful and destructive. But they are always under
God’s control and serve him. Verse 8.
In comparison to the servants, the Son is very different.
We have here a quotation from Psalm 45:6-7, where one person calls
another person God, the article used in the Greek to mark emphasis. Psalm
45 is a wedding song, believed by Rabbis to be messianic. Here
everlasting duration and righteousness are joined together. God
says this of Christ, and shows Jesus’ true nature and divinity. Note
now additional sharp contrast between Jesus and the angels.
One writer puts it this way: “This King is addressed twice as God; possesses a throne, a scepter, and a kingdom; loves righteousness and hates wickedness, has a special anointing of joy; and continues as king forever and ever. No angel could claim these attributes. The cause of the king’s joy is traced to his love of righteousness and hatred of wickedness. Here by contrast, may be a hint of the moral defection of the host of angels who fell with Satan. Angels could and did sin, but the Son’s love of righteousness kept him safe through the most severe temptations. Even those unfallen angels who also, presumably, love righteousness do so on the basis of choice, while the Son’s love of righteousness is inherent in his very nature. For this reason (therefore) God has set him above his companions.” The
scepter of righteousness
means literally a “rod of rectitude” or “straightforwardness”. “Iniquity”
means “lawlessness”. After
he had completed his work and was raised in triumph, demonstrating his
love of righteousness, he was anointed, solemnly entering into his
position and ministry. As
one writer states “He is now the true royal Head of the theocracy”. Several
proofs are then presented in verses 10-14 to show the absolute superiority
of the nature of the Son over that of angels. The rhetorical questions
continue in verse 13 and in verse 14 as Isaiah 46:4, Malachi 3:6, Isaiah
51:6, Psalm 102:26, Psalm 110:1 are called on to buttress this
overwhelmingly powerful argument, that the Son is magnificent and in
control. The
Old Testament Scriptures and the New Testament Scriptures are as one in
this indispensable teaching about the nature and work of the Son. The Son has an unchangeable, forever destiny, and he will be the same forever and ever as ruler. CHAPTER 2 Logically
therefore the warning follows. Therefore
is put on the table. There
are five major warning passages in Hebrew aimed at preventing a specific
kind of unbelief. Verse 1.
There is danger in slipping or
drifting away, slowly moving in the wrong direction by not giving careful
attention to the words of Jesus. Obviously
then mature believers, who have a long professed faith in Christ can
drift, sleeping without probably recognizing this and the real serious
state in which they are. When one drifts from the pre-eminent message of
Christ it’s really a bad bad situation. Therefore
pay attention! Verse 2.
It has always been held that Moses had been given much of his
instruction by angels during the time that he was on the Mount away from
his people. See Deuteronomy
33:2; Psalm 68:17; Acts 7:53; Galatians 3:19. This is not to say that
Moses did not have an encounter with God himself, that is, with Jesus, but
it does indicate that the angels of God were actively involved with him.
The
people were required to totally obey the Law strictly, for the Law was
made steadfast, confirmed, or enforced by penalties for violating it.
The people were not allowed to violate it, or literally, overstep
its bounds. There could be no disobedience to the Law. Reaction was always
swift. It was taken
seriously, even though it represented a partial revelation. God would not
be mocked. It is clear that there is a fixed point of safety beyond which we should not drift. No circumstance can be tolerated which will weaken our hold on the hope of salvation, for that would bring instant catastrophe. Verse 3.
This word from Jesus is a greater
word brought by a much greater person. He brings greater promises, but
rejecting him would logically bring greater condemnation.
Simply neglecting it is impossible if one wanted any meaningful
salvation. The
punishment to neglect this infinitely greater offer from the infinitely
greater person of Jesus, would be obviously much more dreadful than the
punishment that fell on those who disobeyed that law, which was mediated
by angels, a law which was steadfast. Note
that the punishment God brings on sinners is really no more than what they
deserve. It is a just
recompense. This
gospel of Jesus is described as a great salvation, a salvation with which
nothing can compare. It speaks of a great new covenant and brings rewards,
which the human mind can hardly even understand.
To sin against this gospel means showing contempt for the grace of
God in Christ, and counting his sacrifice as nothing. The
misery of these people who neglected the gospel cannot be avoided. They are condemned already, and await the justice of the
great white throne judgment. See
John 3:18. None of these who reject or neglect this great salvation will
escape the condemnation. Note
that this is an appeal to reason and to the conscience of sinners. It is
telling them to act in their own interest, and to seize the established
and prepared way to escape the wrath and judgment of God, and to seek
refuge in his mercy. If they do not they will be speechless on the Day of
Judgment. The
appeal is also made on the basis of the dignity and excellent of Jesus. He first spoke this gospel, promising life and goodness.
It was plainly spoken when men sinned, and many types and shadows
were used to explain what was to come. Those
that heard him knew what was to come.
The prophets had spoken about him, and now those that had been with
him, seen him, touched him, handled him, had testified that the one with
life had come and lived among them. Verse 4.
There were many eyewitnesses,
people of sterling character, who heard him and who bore witness to him. The proclamation begun by Jesus himself had continued. Jesus
had done many signs and wonders to attest to who he was.
The apostles had also done many miracles, for Jesus had given them
miraculous powers. Any court of law would therefore accept this testimony
of confirmation. The Holy Spirit had given the promised great gifts to the followers of Christ, and everyone could see that. CONCLUSION WHAT
KIND OF PEOPLE ARE WE TO REJECT OR EVEN NEGLECT THE NEW GOVERNMENT? DO
WE REALLY UNDERSTAND WHO JESUS IS? OR DO WE HAVE DOUBTS ABOUT HIM, DOUBTS
THAT WE DO NOT WANT TO ADMIT? IT
REALLY MAKES NO SENSE DRIFTING FOR WE WOULD NEVER ESCAPE THE CONSEQUENT
WRATH OF GOD AND THE JUDGMENT OF HELL. THERE
IS NO OTHER OFFER ON THE TABLE. CARELESS
INATTENTION TO THE GOSPEL AND TO CAREFUL PRACTICE OF THE COMMANDMENTS OF
GOD IS NOT ADVISABLE. REMEMBER
THAT THERE ARE PERSONALITIES OUT THERE THAT ARE POWERFUL, AND THAT ARE NOT
SO NICE. THEY DESERVE RESPECT. KEEP AWAY FROM THEM. THEY CANNOT HELP YOU,
FOR THEY THEMSELVES ARE SLATED FOR ETERNAL PUNISHMENT.
DO NOT PLAY WITH THEM. DO NOT GIVE THEM MORE ATTENTION THAN THEY
DESERVE. FOCUS ON CHRIST. HE IS THE ONLY IMPORTANT ONE! HE
IS ON THE THRONE!
.
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