Daily Writing

Tuesday, 30 October 2018

For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. Hebrews 6:10

The author now turns onto the works-highway for the next three verses. But, it is a “works of faith after salvation,” not a “works for salvation” that he will speak of. His thoughts are in line with all of Scripture which speak of salvation as being by grace through faith. As Paul said –

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8, 9

With this understanding, he begins with, “For.” This is based on the words of verse 9 which spoke of those things “which accompany salvation.” Their deeds, done in Christ, are deeds which are acceptable to God, and for which they will receive their just reward. As he says, “for God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love.” Some manuscripts leave out the word “labor.” Regardless as to whether it belongs there or not, the labor cannot be that of looking “for salvation,” but rather that which is considered acceptable “in salvation.” As noted in the previous verse, the author’s words clearly speak of those who are saved believers in Christ.

They have produced fruit in their salvation, and God will remember what they have done. One of God’s attributes is that He is just. In His justice, He will not fail to remember what His people have done as deeds of righteousness while in Christ and for the sake of God’s glory. These things are as a “work and a labor of love” worthy of God’s attention because of the love they have, as the author says, “shown toward His name.”

The verb for “have shown” is one which indicates “proof which demonstrates something which is undeniable” (HELPS Word Studies). It is a verb which always occurs in the middle voice in the Greek, and thus it underlines the “high level of personal interest shown by the one making something very evident” (HELPS Word Studies). The work so spoken of here is “toward His name.” In other words, it is undeniable that these are saved believers who have demonstrated faith by displaying works which glorify God. As no works are acceptable before God without the covering of Christ, these are saved believers who are working out their salvation through demonstrations of it.

The author then finishes with, “in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.” Their labors involved a careful attention to the needs of the other believers. The types of ministering are not named, but they could be helping financially, hiding believers during times of persecution, feeding them as they passed through on journeys, or whatever other way their needs were evident. These believers who are being addressed extended their faith to helping the other saints and to the glory of God.

Life application: There is no thing that we can do to earn God’s favor leading to salvation except to receive Jesus’ work which was accomplished by Him on our behalf. This is because we are, by nature, unholy. Nothing unclean can enter God’s presence. By receiving Christ, we are covered by His blood and are declared righteous in the presence of God. This is in no way intended to mean that we should sit idly by and not accomplish righteous works for His glory. We were bought at a high price – the price of the cross – and therefore should naturally desire to glorify God by helping his people.

What works are acceptable then? Other than a few instances in the New Testament, nothing specific is given, but we can be inventive in our desire to bring glory to God. Ultimately, any deed which will lead sinners to repentance should be considered first. To feed the hungry without introducing the gospel is pointless. The “social gospel” is no gospel at all. When venturing out to do good deeds, the glory of Jesus needs to be included or nothing of lasting value has been accomplished.

Help us, O Lord, to accomplish those deeds which will lead others to know You and to see Your glory. Let our actions never be for our own glory or to exalt a particular ministry. Rather, may our hearts and souls be filled with longing to lead others to the salvation provided by the cross of Jesus. Amen.

Monday, 29 October 2018

But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. Hebrews 6:9

The word, “But,” is given to contrast the unhappy end of things mentioned in verse 6:8. There he spoke of the land which bears thorns and briers as being rejected, near to being cursed, and whose end is to be burned. As explained, that was speaking of those who hear the word but are not productive in it. As was seen, it has been speaking about the Hebrew people and their fate as they apply or reject the word of God. He will explain the contrast that he expects in his audience, but first, he begins with “beloved.”

In saying beloved, he is speaking now of those who are believers in Christ. He understands that they have professed faith in Him, and the fate of the nation may be one end, but the fate of those who have found faith in Christ may be different. Even if the whole nation walks away and is destroyed, for those in Christ, he says, “we are confident of better things.” In the Greek, there is an article before “better things.” It says, “the better things.” This is then referring to what was said in verse 7 about the land which drinks in water and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, and which receives a blessing. As he says, “the better things concerning you.”

They have come to Christ, and he knows that their end is one of blessing. This is so certain that he continues, “yes, things that accompany salvation.” He is writing to a Hebrew audience, he has addressed them as “beloved,” and he understands that they have faith in the Messiah. Again, the fate of Israel may be that of a curse, and indeed it turned out to be so. However, for those who received the word and applied it to their lives in faith concerning Messiah, the better things which accompany salvation are their happy lot. The things they do, in Christ, are considered acceptable works because of Christ. Thus, those things “accompany salvation.” To show that he understands this, and that he wants them to see the difference between the two, he finishes with, “though we speak in this manner.”

He has told of a scary fate that may lay ahead for the collective whole, but for those who have come to Jesus in faith, his words about the curse and destruction do not apply. In Jesus, there is the surety of salvation.

The words here are not at all speaking of these people turning away in apostasy and losing their salvation. Rather, they are showing a distinction between two categories of people, within the greater body of Israel, who have chosen (or who will choose) one of two different paths. For those who choose the good path, there is assurance. These very verses, which people confuse with a possible loss of salvation, when looked at properly actually speak of the impossibility of it. By simply hearing the word which tells of Jesus, and then in accepting it, salvation is granted. Paul couldn’t be any clearer on this issue –

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.” Ephesians 1:13, 14

Isn’t it wonderful to know that our salvation, after coming to Christ, isn’t up to us! When one hears the word of truth and believes (that’s it!) he is marked with a seal – the promised Holy Spirit. After that, salvation is no longer up to the individual maintaining a perfect testimony. If it were, every single person – EVER – would be lost again. We all fall, we all sin, and we all fail our Lord. O! But He is ever faithful to keep us from ourselves. Hallelujah and Amen!

Life application: Each individual must decide what they will do with Christ. There may be a congregation that comes together which has heard the word and completely misused it, not coming to Christ in their hearts. But even within such a group, there may be some that choose another path. This then would be similar to what is said in Revelation 3:4, where the congregation at Sardis is said to have some who were worthy, and who would walk with Christ in white – meaning they were saved. Be sure to come to Christ. No matter what church or denomination you belong to, don’t follow the crowd if the crowd is heading in the wrong direction.

Glory to God in the highest for His ever-faithful and ever-strong hand of salvation! Lord, we look to You in awe for Your ability to keep us, even from ourselves. Thank You Lord Jesus for the work You accomplished and for the eternal security You provide! Again, glory to God in the highest! Amen.

Sunday, 28 October 2018

…but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned. Hebrews 6:8

This verse is set as a contrast to what was said in the previous verse. That said, “Land that drinks in the rain…”

The rain was likened to the word of God. Although not evident in some translations, which incorrectly show a distinction between the land in the two clauses, the land in this clause drinks in the same rain as in the first clause. This is evident by the words, “but if it.” The subject “land” hasn’t changed. Despite this, the soil is bad – whether rocky, full of clay, full of sand, etc. – it simply doesn’t absorb it. And so it is with people who hear the same word and yet the yield is completely different. This group hears the word and simply rejects it. Like the good land which receives the rain, this land is also explained in the same general manner by Jesus in the parable of the sower in Matthew 13:4-23. In this case, the land bears “thorns and briers.”

The terminology goes all the way back to Genesis 3. There we read in the curse upon Adam, “Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you” (Genesis 3:18). This land has received the same rain as the previous land. It has received the same care of cultivation as well. And yet it only produces that which came from the curse, thorns and briers. The result of the curse, which came upon man at the very beginning for his disobedience, is produced in the unproductive land and thus it is “rejected and near to being cursed.”

What more can be done to such an unproductive piece of land? To spend time on it would be futile. To invest more money and resources on it would be a waste. The result would be a piece of land which is not only unproductive concerning a good harvest, but which would actually be counter-productive by sending forth a bad harvest. There would be just one remedy: Its “end is to be burned.” The symbolism of the burned land is found in the words used by Moses in Deuteronomy 29 –

“The whole land is brimstone, salt, and burning; it is not sown, nor does it bear, nor does any grass grow there, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in His anger and His wrath.” Deuteronomy 29:23

The context of this verse from Deuteronomy is the curse of the Lord upon Israel. This is explicit before the verse, and it is repeated again after it with these words –

“Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against this land, to bring on it every curse that is written in this book. ²⁸ And the Lord uprooted them from their land in anger, in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.” Deuteronomy 29:27, 28

Understanding this, it is the same audience that Moses was speaking to in Deuteronomy that the author of Hebrews is again speaking to, meaning the Hebrew people. Though any such example is given for the Gentile-led church to learn from, it is the Hebrew people who are the subject of the matter. The people are being warned that they have been given abundant rain, and they have been carefully cultivated, but what they produce will result in what happens to them?

Unfortunately, they produced (as a collective whole) thorns and briers. Because of this, the curses of the covenant did fall on them. They were scattered and destroyed for two thousand years. However, the words of the covenant also promise restoration at some point. That time has begun. The prophets foretold of the time when they would again be in the land and they would be given the chance to produce a proper harvest. This is why Hebrews is placed after the Gentile-led church age epistles. Though written to the first-century Jews, God knew that they would produce a bad harvest, and be cursed. However, after the church is taken out at the rapture, things will change. The tribulation period will refine them, and they will come out at the end of it by calling on Jesus and acknowledging His New Covenant.

Life application: Though this is addressed to the Hebrew people as a collective whole, those in the Gentile-led church age can learn the same lesson concerning individual salvation. For those who receive the word and produce a good harvest, they will receive their just reward. For those who reject it, a great Day of Judgment is coming. It says in Revelation 20:15, “If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” Make the right choice today, while you still can. Drink in the water, cultivate your soil properly, and receive blessing from God.

Thank you Jesus that you have given us the chance to bear fruit for You. What we deserve is destruction, but you graciously took our sin and nailed it to the cross, if we will only believe. Help us to make that choice and then to glorify you through changed lives throughout all our days. Amen.

Saturday, 27 October 2018

For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; Hebrews 6:7

The author now adds in a thought to complement what he said in verses 6:4-6 by beginning with, “For.” From there he says, “the earth which drinks in the rain.” The word “land” instead of “earth” carries the idea more fully. It is probably Deuteronomy 11 that the author was thinking of when he said this –

“…but the land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water from the rain of heaven, ¹² a land for which the Lord your God cares; the eyes of the Lord your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year.”

What the author is doing here is using an agricultural term to make a spiritual application. This is something that occurs at other times in the Bible. He is equating people who hear the word with the land which “drinks in” the rain. When it hasn’t rained in a long time, the ground gets hard and dry. It forms such a crust that heavy rains wash over it as if it is concrete. However, a little bit will be absorbed. As the rains continue to come, the land will drink in the water, just as someone who hears the word of God will drink it in, absorbing it and making it useful. This is why he says, “that often comes upon it.”

The more the word is heard, the more it will be accepted into the mind of the hearer, just as the rains are more accepted as the grounds become slowly saturated with the waters. If a few Jews receive the water, they cannot be fully productive. As the word continues to come, more and more will receive it until they, as a people, are productive in the way that is being spoken of here. As with the previous verses, the author is speaking to the collective group of people. And so here we see a contrast to the words of verse 6:4 concerning those who were “once” enlightened. The waters may have come once, but they washed away, never sinking into the land and allowing it to become productive. This is what the author is warning against. Israel has received the water once in Christ’s coming, but will they allow the water of the gospel, His New Covenant, to sink in?

Understanding his thoughts concerning this, he next says, “and bears herbs.” The word is unique in the Bible, botané. One can see where our term “botany” come from. It signifies any vegetation which rises out of the earth, including grass, grains, fodder, and the like. It is this vegetation, which springs forth from the well-watered soil, that is “useful for those by whom it is cultivated.” These words show that, in the reception of the abundant rain, there is nothing lacking on the part of those who work the land. Everything is provided by God.

The author is asking the people to consider his words. They are the land. They are being equated to the land in the same type of manner as Jesus did in Matthew 13:4-23. If they will allow the word to come upon them, they will be brought to a state where it will sink into them and make them productive. In them will be a harvest. In the same manner as the productive land, it will be they who receives “blessing from God.”

Again, the terminology goes back to the Old Testament. God promised to bless the land for the sake of the people in Deuteronomy 7:13 (and elsewhere) when they were right with Him. He is again asking, through the author of Hebrews, that they be right with Him, receive His word, and become useful and productive in His New Covenant. Paul uses this same idea in 1 Corinthians concerning those in the church –

“For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building.” 1 Corinthians 3:9

As the Gentiles are “God’s field,” so the author here is now asking the Hebrew people, who are also “God’s field,” to receive His word and become useful again. There is a great danger in not doing so, and which will be explained in the words to come.

Life application: It is those who hear the word, apply it to their lives, and bear fruit for the kingdom that will receive “the blessing of God.” If you go to church, read daily devotionals, or feel “religious” in some sense, and yet have never accepted God’s word as authoritative in your life, you will be unable to produce a crop which is useful. All of our actions in life are meant to bring glory to God. It is only by living in this manner that you can expect to receive His blessings. Think on this and apply the teachings of Scripture, that you receive, to your life.

Lord God, may we gratefully receive the life-giving waters you provide. We ask that they produce a rich and abundant crop in our lives, a crop which will be useful to You and which will bring the honor and glory to You that You alone are due. This we pray in the name of Jesus our Lord. Amen!

Friday, 26 October 2018

…if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame. Hebrews 6:6

This verse concludes the lengthy thought that began in verse 6:4. The author now begins with, “if they fall away.” There is no “if” in the Greek. This insert is based on a presupposition that the entire thought is hypothetical, but one which could not be expected to occur in reality. The words say, “and (then, or having) fallen away.” The verb is in the aorist tense. However, though “if” is not included in the thought, it is still, in a sense, a hypothetical postulation.

From verse 6:4 until this point, the author has not said that such a thing has occurred, but he is proposing that it could and then stating what the results would be. In this case, and understanding that, at a specific time, there was a falling away in this proposal being submitted. Despite having tasted and participated in what was offered through the Holy Spirit (through gift and word – the word of God comes through the Holy Spirit as well, just as 2 Peter 1:21 notes), they fell away. However, though the wording is not hypothetical in the sense that there is no “if,” Albert Barnes insightfully notes –

“The word rendered ‘fall away’ means properly ‘to fall near by anyone;’ ‘to fall in with or meet;’ and thus to fall aside from, to swerve or deviate from; and here means undoubtedly to ‘apostatize from,’ and implies an entire renunciation of Christianity, or a going back to a state of Judaism, paganism, or sin. The Greek word occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It is material to remark here that the apostle does not say that any true Christian ever had fallen away. He makes a statement of what would occur on the supposition that such a thing should happen – but a statement may be made of what would occur on the supposition that a certain thing should take place, and yet it be morally certain that the event never would happen. It would be easy to suppose what would happen if the ocean should overflow a continent, or if the sun should cease to rise, and still there be entire certainty that such an event never would occur.”

And so, if this were speaking of an individual, it does not necessarily indicate that the person had somehow lost his salvation. However, as noted in 6:4, the entire set of verses is referred to in the plural. This is not speaking of individuals, but of the collective group; the Hebrew people. It is a warning that in the rejection of the Lord, after they had tasted the heavenly gift, and after they had tasted the good word of God, they would be considered as having fallen away. It is the same collective type of thought which occurred earlier in Hebrews where the people failed to believe, and they collectively did not enter into God’s rest.

If it were to occur that this group of people fell away, it would be impossible “to renew them again to repentance.” The “repentance” speaks of turning the mind of the people once again to what they had already turned their minds to. Many in the collective had believed, but eventually, the people as a whole turned from this belief in (or about) Christ. They had been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, etc. To be renewed, in fact, implies that they had once been endowed with this tasting of Christ; some were followers of the Messiah. The verb here for renew is now in the active voice. What this is telling us is that it is impossible for men. However, as seen from Jesus’ words of Matthew 19:26, what is impossible with men is not impossible for God. There can be no contradiction in Scripture, and so this must be considered. Nothing that a man does to renew this group will be possible. But the truth is that nothing any person does can bring a person to salvation in the first place. Apart from God’s specific revelation of Himself, salvation is not possible. God has brought man to salvation through Christ. A man cannot save himself. The same is true with this verse here concerning Israel. As Vincent’s Word Studies notes –

“He merely puts his own hypothetical case, and says that, in the nature of such a case, the ordinary considerations and means which are applied to induce men to embrace the gospel no longer appeal to the subjects supposed. He contemplates nothing beyond such agencies, and asserts that these are powerless because the man has brought himself into a condition where they can no longer exert any power. Whether God will ever reclaim by ways of his own is a point which is not even touched. Destruction of the faculty of spiritual discernment is the natural outcome of deliberate and persistent sin, and the instrument of its punishment.”

It should be noted that Scripture never shuts the door on forgiveness to anyone who repents, nor does it shut the door on Israel as a collective (see Romans 9-11). Therefore, when such a falling away occurs, as long as the condition lasts, a renewal is impossible. The words in no way mean that such a renewal is impossible, but that it cannot occur while the person (or the group) is living under an old economy which has found its fulfillment in Christ (through the New Covenant). As Cambridge notes, “There can, he implies, be no second ‘Second Birth.’ The sternness of the passage is in exact accordance with Hebrews 10:26-29 (comp. 2 Peter 2:20-21); but ‘the impossibility lies merely within the limits of the hypothesis itself.’”

“…since they crucify again.” The Greek, as is translated by the Berean Study Bible, more closely reads, “and then having fallen away– to restore them again to repentance, crucifying in themselves the Son of God and subjecting Him to open shame.” It does not say, “again,” twice. Rather, it is only used once in relation to “repentance.” As far as the word, “crucify,” the verb is a present participle; and thus the Berean Study Bible is correct in saying “crucifying.” It has the intent of “crucifying as they are doing.” It does not imply an absolute apostasy, but one which is continuous. The tense of the verbs went from past to present. Such is the case with Israel today. They are “crucifying” the Lord through their rejection of Him.

The temple was standing; a future temple will stand. To observe temple rites, and then to come to Jesus who is the fulfillment of all of those types and shadows; and then to return to the same temple rites which only prefigured Him, would be to reject what God has done in Christ. He died for the sins of the world. Therefore, the cross of Christ is no longer available to them because it no longer has the meaning they once assigned to it.

The author then continues with, “…for themselves.” This is a reflexive pronoun, dative, third person, plural. The term should read, “in themselves,” or, “to themselves.” As Cambridge notes, “This is what is called ‘the dative of disadvantage’ – ‘to their own destruction.’” There is no human remedy for sin forgiveness, and the temple rites which looked forward to Christ are, in fact, a human remedy to this person. Only God can forgive, and that through Christ, who is “… the Son of God.” To take this course of action would then lead to the final words of the verses, “…and put Him to open shame.” What is the purpose of Christ’s cross if one retreats to what only looked forward to that cross? It is a shameful act which would, in turn, bring discredit upon the Lord who voluntarily took on the very sin which the temple rites could not expiate. This is what Israel did. After tasting His goodness, they shunned Him and returned fully to temple worship. To this day, they are looking to re-establish that temple worship once again.

What is seen here is a merely theoretical possibility within the teaching of the church – both of individual salvation, and of the salvation of God’s people, Israel, collectively. It is not speaking of God’s omnipotence which saved and sealed a person in the first place, and who redeemed Israel and promised that He would never forsake them. God does not make mistakes. It is a lesson of warning. As Cambridge states –

“In the face of sin—above all of deliberate wretchlessness—we must remember that ‘God is not mocked’ (Galatians 6:7), and that our human remedies are then exhausted. On the other hand to close the gate of repentance against any contrite sinner is to contradict all the Gospels and all the Epistles alike, as well as the Law and the Prophets.”

In other words, there is no finality revealed in these three verses. Everything in Scripture testifies to the forgiveness of God in Jesus Christ which is by grace through faith. The author’s warning is that for one to assume that going back to the temple rites will make that person holy (or more holy), or bring them nearer to God, is completely contradictory to the work of Christ itself. Further, the words of the author in verse 9 actually presuppose that this is, in fact, a hypothetical situation which is being spoken of, and thus it is a doctrinal treatise for the church to read and learn from, and for the nation of Israel, as a whole, to do the same. Until they, as a collective whole, come to Christ, they can find no way of being restored to God. Those things of the Old merely looked forward to the New.

Life application: Hebrews 6:4-6 are speaking first and foremost about Israel collectively. It is a statement that they cannot be saved by going to God through temple rites and services. The point of Daniel 9:24-27 (and all prophecy concerning this issue – even from the mouth of the Lord Jesus) is that Israel would try to do this and fail; but in the end, they will realize who Jesus is, they will call out to Him, and they will find collective salvation at that time. And you… have you believed in Jesus but let your heart go astray since then? Return to the Lord, knowing that He will receive you because He has already received you.

O Lord, may those around us who have heard about the glory of Your cross never attempt to replace it with something inferior. Rather, instill in them the knowledge that Calvary is all-sufficient for the atonement of every sin ever committed and that nothing else will do. Amen.