Hebrews 4
April 6, 2008
“We also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith” (Hebrews 4:2). These words are a warning to us. “It is not the hearing of the gospel by itself that brings final salvation, but its appropriation by faith; and if that faith is genuine faith, it will be a persistent faith” (The New International Commentary on the New Testament, The Epistle to the Hebrews, F.F. Bruce, Eerdmans, 1964, p.73).
If it is true that God requires us to complete our faith walk here on earth before we reach our eternal destiny, it is fair for us to ask God some hard, but honest questions such as: “How can we really live the life of faith You require of us? How can we overcome the daily temptations we face if we are so bent toward sin? How can we become all that You want us to be?”
We can be thankful that this same chapter, Hebrews 4, which demands so much of us also provides us with many of these answers. Please pray that God will help us work along together this morning as we talk about how we can remain faithful and complete our faith walk.
The first secret to completing our faith journeys on this earth is found in the power of the Scriptures. (1) We must lay open our hearts and minds to the Word of God. “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:12-13).
These verses vividly communicate the power that is unleashed when we open our hearts and minds to the truths of Scripture. As we have grown up in America, each generation has had their way of looking at and interpreting this world shaped by many forces. Family structures, educational practices and important teachers, major national and international events, civic “religious” training, and prevailing morals and philosophies communicated by the various forms of media have given us many “facts” and the corresponding “tools” by which we have come to make our decisions. We call this our “worldview.” Growing up in the technologically empowered west, we view life in vastly different ways that the Middle Eastern cultures of 2-4000 years ago in which the Bible was first written.
The author of Hebrews tells us when we honestly read the Scriptures and work to understand what they are saying to us that our lives will be changed. The truths of Scriptures are not just words on a piece of paper; they are living words of a living God. These words, when read and listened to, initiate a change process in our lives. These words (a) diagnose the condition of our hearts and (b) provide the diagnosis that leads to our cure. As the sword lays us open, thoroughly and completely exposed, it shows us truths about ourselves that we may not want to see. But being the perfect medical diagnosis of the perfect physician, if accept these truths and follow their recommendations, our illnesses disappear and we are made whole. The secret lies in not fighting the “Good Doctor,” but in following His prescription. The act of accepting His diagnosis is the act of faith that activates our new life. But just as we need follow up visits with our earthly doctors, we need to remain in His Word. Each time we listen to God from His Word, He gives us an update, tells us what we are doing right and where we need to improve, which then allows us to follow in faith His diagnosis. If we refuse to listen to His directions, just as if we fail to heed the warnings of earthly doctors, the inevitable consequences of our rebellious actions will lead to further illnesses rather than to restored health. While earthly doctors are subject to error or may not be able to fully diagnose our illnesses, the Holy Scriptures do not have that problem.
The “active” nature of Scripture speeds us forward, dealing with the largest problems first but ultimately leading us to a complete healing. Listen to the promise of Isaiah 55:10-11:
“As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
Scripture itself promises us reading these living words of our living God will show us where we stand before Him, what we need to change in our lives, and then giving us the power to change the things we must change. We do not read His Words simply to gain knowledge, we read His Words to become more like Him. His living Words change the way we think, the way we interpret our world, the way we respond to this world, and ultimately who we are. His living Words will accomplish in our lives everything they were written to accomplish if we receive them by faith and follow His diagnosis.
This leads us to next problem so many of us face. Many of us want to follow our doctor’s orders, but we yield to various temptations along the way. Hebrews 4:14-16 tell us we have the help we need. “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
The second secret to completing our faith journeys on this earth is found in the power behind the Scriptures. (2) We must lay open our hearts and minds to the intercessions of our Savior. Meditate on these verses sometime after you get home today. Let them sink in very deeply. Jesus understands. Jesus sympathizes with our weaknesses. Jesus offers us mercy and grace. Jesus offers us the help we need when we are in trouble. Think about that some more with me.
When we were young and got in trouble, we immediately wanted to run to our parents or to a brother or sister or friend for the help we needed. The only thing that kept us from running for the help we needed was that terrible thought: “What will they think of me when they realize what I did to get in this trouble?” Sometimes the thought of how that one we loved so much would think of us was so great, we refused to ask for the help we needed. The pain of the trouble we were in, no matter how bad, was less than the pain we feared could happen if the love of the one we needed so badly was withheld from us.
These verses in Hebrews 4 tell us God already knows the trouble we are in. Listen to this truth from Romans 5:7-8: “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” These words mean that even if we refuse His help today, even if everyone who ever walked on this earth refuses to acknowledge what Jesus did for us, Jesus still died for us. He made a choice on His own to die for the sins and the sinners of the world regardless of what I, you, or anyone would ever do for Him. It was no quid pro quo deal. We didn’t have to make Him any promises first. He took the first step: He willingly laid down His life for us. All He asks of us is to let Him love us in our weakness. He doesn’t even ask us to get strong first. He says he sympathizes with us in our weakness. He takes our weaknesses to the Father in prayer as our great intercessor and asks His Father to give us the strength we need through the Holy Spirit to overcome the temptation we face.
Through our reading of His living Words He shows us plainly the troubles we are in, how we got into trouble, and what we need to do to get out of trouble. Then, without our ever asking for His help or His prayers, He faithfully prays for us in our weakness. His prayers are answered and His living Words dispatch the Holy Spirit with the help we need—His mercy, His grace, and His power—to faithfully carry out His prescription for our wholeness. All He asks of us is to trust His diagnosis, follow His prescription, and let His medicine make us whole.