Wednesday: Better Things
After the strong and sincere warning of Hebrews 6:4-8, Paul expresses confidence that the readers have neither fallen away from the Son, nor will they in the future. He believes that his audience will receive the warning and produce the appropriate fruits. They are like the “earth,” which is cultivated by God and produces the fruits He expects. These people will receive the blessing from God (Hebrews 6:7), which is “salvation” (Hebrews 6:9).
Read Hebrews 6:9-12. List the good things that the audience has done and continues to do and explain what they mean.
Image © Steve Creitz from GoodSalt.com
Believers show their love toward God’s “name,” that is, toward God Himself, by their service to the saints. These were not isolated actions in the past, but sustained actions that have extended into the present. Exceptional acts do not reveal the true character of a person. The weightiest evidence of love toward God is not “religious” acts per say, but acts of love toward fellow human beings, especially those who are disadvantaged (Matthew 10:42, Matthew 25:31-46). Thus, Paul exhorts believers not to “forget” to do good (Hebrews 13:2, Hebrews 13:16).
Look at Hebrews 6:12. It warns against their becoming “dull” or “sluggish” (ESV), which characterizes those who fail to mature and who are in danger of falling away (Hebrews 5:11, Hebrews 6:12). Hope is not kept alive by intellectual exercises of faith, but by faith expressed in acts of love (Romans 13:8-10).
Paul wants the readers to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. He has already presented the wilderness generation as a negative example of those who, through lack of faith and perseverance, failed to inherit what was promised. He then presents Abraham (Hebrews 6:13-15) as an example of one who through “faith and patience” inherited the promises. The list of positive exemplars is lengthened with the people of faith in Hebrews 11, and it climaxes with Jesus in Hebrews 12 as the greatest example of faith and patience (Hebrews 12:1-4). In Revelation 14:12, faith, patience, and commandment keeping are characteristics of the saints in the last days.
| Sometimes we have to give words of warning to those people whom we love. What can we learn from the apostle regarding warning and encouraging others? |
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In spite of growing up on a farm, I have had very little to do with ploughing (plowing, for those who don't know the true and meaningful spelling of the word). We had a small two furrow plough that attached to the little Fergie tractor and that was sufficient to plow up some small plots fro growing potatoes. But my father did not trust a teenager with the job of ploughing. We never bought potatoes in those days. My one experience at ploughing came when I visited an Australian relative whose farm was devoted to cropping. His plough was a huge disk plough, capable of doing 20 furrows at a time, and his paddocks were half a mile long. My relative asked me if I would like to do the ploughing. Of course I agreed. I looked at the paddock he had just finished and all the furrows were straight and even. This looked easy. His instructions were, "Don't look back at the plough! Just fix your eyes on a fence post and steer towards it!"
Away I went, and of course I sneaked a look back to see if the plough was on course. Then I looked back at the fence post. It had shifted 10 degrees to the left and I had to steer back towards it. Twice more, I looked back, and twice more I had to do a correction. When I turned at the end of the paddock to do the second run, I could see my original furrow set with three distinct kinks in it. I learned quickly that the plough did not need watching - it simply followed; and my mentor was right. Fix your eyes on the target and you will plough straight furrows.
I am not surprised about the number of comments this last week about the "unpardonable sin". It can be a disturbing and somewhat unsettling topic, particularly if we carry a lot of baggage with us about it. However, as in my illustration, focusing on the unpardonable sin is like looking back to see what the plough is doing. We have better things to focus on.
Spoiler alert: Sorry for jumping ahead - the book of Hebrews has the answer:
What Maurice has outlined was considered by Paul to be a "mature" point of view that will serve us well if adopted.
And I encourage each and everyone of us to Heb 11:11,12 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 that you do not become 5sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
May we all reach the end of the spiritual race victoriously. Amen.
“After the strong and sincere warning of Heb.6:4-8, … . “Sometimes we have to give words of warning to those people whom we love.” I am glad to find that the lesson writer came to this conclusion. Once safely in the hands of God, nothing can take us out of them. Rom.8:35-39NKJV clearly speaks to that fact!
Heb.6:10 paraphrased - ‘Labor of Love toward His Name as we minister to each other”.
Eph.2:10WE - ”God has made us. In Jesus Christ God made us so that we can do good things. He planned that we should live that way.
Eph.1:4WEB - ”For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before that we would walk in them..
‘Doing good’ is not done in any particular act, but is embodied in the motivation and intent of one’s actions toward the fellow man - our new Way of Life. Our whole life therefore would be an ongoing expression of ‘acts of loving kindness’, truly living, expressing the Father’s Love/Name/Image which is in us.
I do not understand what the writer means by – “Paul wants the readers to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” I do not consider believers 'imitating' each other, because all who believe have received equal power to love from the one and only source which can and did bring us from death to life – the Love of the Father in whose Image we now have our being - Acts 17:28NKJV.
Hi Brigitte
You are correct that genuinely 'doing good' is, and can only be, the outcome of authentically embracing the Father's transforming love/name/image - as per (Luke 6:43-45). As you are aware, it is the underpinning heart motivation that determines whether any given behaviour is good or not good, not merely the behaviour itself (1 Samuel 16:7). The exact same behaviour can be done for other-benefiting motives or self-seeking ones.
Paul desires that others 'imitate' (ie, likewise) authentically embracing God's initiative/s to be ongoingly connected to Him (God) and actually renewed in that ongoing connectedness. So you are correct that 'imitation' is not at a behavioural level, but at the deeper Source-connection level with the only Source that can and does bring us from death to abundant life (John 10:10).
Phil – I appreciate you clarifying the word ‘imitating’. I do not speak English as my first language, maybe this is why I pay close attention to the *meaning* of words in addition to knowing that God’s language is ultimately to be understood spiritually.
Thanks brightte for your comment
Cosmas - thank you for your kind affirmation. The Savior's Love is the universal language that can be understood by all. No matter the country we are born in, our race or ethnicity, nor our status in life, God's spiritual language of His Love is spoken and understood by the hearts of all who love Him!
Hi,may I take this opportunity to express my deep appreciation for today's message.Hebrews6:4-6 vividly elucidates the state of the modern man. We seem to forget what Jesus Christ has already done in our behalf.Let us touch humanity at their point of need(Matthew 25:31_46),Luke 15:11_33.May God be with us