The Heaton File

Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. (Hebrews 2:17-18)

Jesus Was Incredible Human Being

It is hard to grasp how God can dwell in the flesh. Understanding the divine nature is far beyond the wisdom of men to fully recognize the power of God to send His Son to earth allowing Him to embody the carnal flesh and experience everything of this world. The Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary and she was impregnated with an eternal being that would grow in her womb until the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she gave birth to a little boy who was God yet man. Jesus was wrapped in swaddling clothes like any other Hebrew child. He did not know how to speak or to care for himself dependent upon Joseph and Mary to feed him, wash him and protect him from harm. For a few months he would scoot along the ground learning to crawl and then that day Mary never forgot when little Jesus sat up all by himself. The early life of Jesus was filled with the wonders of Egypt as the family had fled there when Herod tried to kill the infant son. Wise men from the East had brought presents to the family and the little boy who toddled around the house in Bethlehem before word came that Herod wanted to kill him. Joseph and Mary would live in Egypt for a time and then return home to Nazareth where Jesus would experience the world of Galilee and the trade of a carpenter. Joseph must have been excited when Jesus took his first steps and first called him, “Abba.” The hours Mary held her little boy must have been treasured all her life. Jesus would see the birth of four brothers and at least two sisters making a large family complete for the Son of God. It goes without saying Jesus was the perfect child and brother. As the oldest child Jesus would have held a place of honor and respect among his siblings. He wore the clothes of his day, enjoyed the sweetness of figs, took baths, watched the sunrise and set feeling the gentle breeze on hot summer days, helped his siblings as they made provisions for the day, walked with his father around Nazareth and did everything a growing boy in Israel would do. Once a year he would go with the people up to Jerusalem and worship at the Temple. It must have been a beautiful sight to the young man as he first approached the holy city and saw the gleaming Temple standing so regal among the buildings. The trips to Jerusalem were filled with singing, family, people, and worship.

Life for Jesus was filled with the challenge of Satan’s onslaught for the devil knew the child of Mary was the Son of God. At the age of twelve Jesus recognized He had to be about His heavenly Father’s business but his work of ministry would have to wait for eighteen years. During that time he grew into a young man and Satan threw his best efforts toward Jesus with temptation. The brothers of Jesus would face the same assault. James, Joses, Judas, and Simon would find it hard to withstand the temptations of the devil as all men would fall from the grace of God. The sisters of Jesus would fall to the plague of sin. Even Joseph and Mary failed at times as sin encroached on their lives. For Jesus, he remained pure and sinless. It must have grieved his heart to see how sin brought pain and suffering. Jesus knew the pain of weeping as his earthly father died and like many people experienced loved ones and friends who would die. He saw the injustice of the Roman Empire inflict its ruthless rule upon the citizens. There was much in the Roman world of Jesus that was unjust but as a captive nation, citizens of Israel had little to do but to obey. A Roman soldier could compel a person to carry anything they desired with no recourse from the individual. Crucifixion was a common tool of execution and would have been a familiar sight to Jesus. Life for the man from Nazareth was as common as any other man. Jesus would not have stood out in a crowd of people. His appearance was not a stately or imperial stature. No one took notice of Jesus in the town of Nazareth apart from the oldest son of Joseph and Mary, son of a carpenter. Jesus was made like his brethren in every way.

When the Roman soldiers laid the criminal on his back and nailed him to a cross, they pierced the flesh of a man who looked to them as a common rabble accused and convicted of a crime. There was no sympathy or appeal for mercy. They carried out their duty with surgical precision as they had done many times before. Two other men were crucified that day as the accused cursed the soldiers and those who gathered to watch. Completing the crucifixion, the four soldiers sat down and began dividing the earthly possessions of the three men hung before them. While the two men on right and left railed against the world, the man in the middle was remarkably composed. He did not curse, swear or accuse. His voice was quiet and gasping for breath as he asked forgiveness for those who gathered before him. He called out to God seeking comfort. One of the criminals had a change of heart and Jesus told him that he would be gathered to Paradise. The man in the middle cried out in thirst. Beneath the cross in the crowd the mother of one of the condemned stood with some other women and a man. He looked into his mother’s eyes and saw her incredible grief and then turned to the man and petitioned him to care for his mother. Finally, he gasped his final breath and cried out to the Father and died. God died. The Son of God gave up his spirit. He breathed his last. The heart of the man called Jesus stopped, the blood stopped flowing, the eyes closed and the head fell upon the chest as the body relaxed in death. Shortly thereafter a soldier would pierce the right side of Jesus to make certain he was dead. The soldier would see blood and water coming out of the wound confirming the man called Jesus was dead. Darkness had filled the sky as the world created by the hand of God felt the eternal seizures of the death of God who came in the flesh. Jesus was made like all men that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in the service of God bringing the joy of salvation through His death. He was an incredible human being because He was a human being. Everything experienced in the flesh was experienced by Jesus Christ so that He could be the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him. Thank you, Jesus, for your human form and example of godly fear in your suffering, being tempted to become an example of hope for all.

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years. Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart; they have not known my ways.’ As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest.’” (Hebrews 3:7-11)

Israel Put God To The Test

The danger of apostasy is a very real concern that has plagued the people of God from the beginning of time. It did not take long for the world of Adam and Eve to deteriorate to a place where the Lord was sorrowful He had created man and then because of His righteousness destroyed every living being save eight souls. The Bible is the mind of God revealed to men so they can learn His character and examine the history of how merciful and full of grace the Creator has been to His creation. No greater example of this is found than the story of the nation of Israel. Engraved upon the pages of holy writ, the story of Israel is the story of humankind’s struggle with sin. The Holy Spirit preserved the Old Testament as a testimony to the eternal love of a gracious Father against the backdrop of a chosen people who constantly tested the borders of God’s longsuffering and forgiveness. Israel was a nation above all nations granted the immense protection, care, benevolence and promises of God yet more often than not rebelled, refused, rejected and renounced their loyalty to the Lord God who brought them out of Egypt. After the death of Joseph, son of Jacob, a Pharaoh ruled that cared nothing for the Hebrews and enslaved them for centuries. Through the power of God exhibited in ten terrible plagues upon the Egyptians, the Hebrews were set free from the bondage of tyranny. It did not take long before the faith of Israel faltered when standing before the Red Sea and the army of Egypt approaching the hearts of the people cried out to the Lord. God showed His mighty power when He allowed the Hebrews to walk through the sea on dry land and then closed the waters around the pursuing Egyptian army destroying the greatest army on earth. Again, they rejoiced in the power of God and soon afterward began to complain to Moses. They were thirsty, they were hungry, and they were tired. At Sinai, they grew bored and began to fall down and worship the golden calf. The people complained about not having enough water and the Lord gave them more than they could drink. They wanted something more than the loathsome manna provided by God so the Lord sent them quail and they still complained. Standing on the border of the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the heart of the people faltered in disbelief as the ten spies discouraged the nation turning them away from God. Their hearts were hardened in rebellion against God and they wandered in the wilderness for forty years testing God at every turn. Because of this, those of the age of twenty-years and above perished in the wilderness never seeing the land of promise.

Israel saw the works of God for forty years and still did not believe. They tested God and they tried God and were destroyed in the wilderness. When the Lord called Abraham from the land of the Chaldees, He promised the son of Terah the land of Canaan. Isaac and Jacob received the same promise yet never saw the fulfillment in their lifetime. Israel was a chosen people of God that would be called the “apple of His eye” with every heavenly blessing fulfilled through the hand of a gracious provider but Israel tested and tried the Lord in unbelief. They saw the ways of God with Egypt, Ammon, Edom and a host of armies that came against them but they did not know the Lord. Their hearts were turned away from the grace of God serving their carnal flesh and fleshly desires. The deceitfulness of sin hardened their hearts in unbelief because the word which they heard was not mixed with faith. Israel would become a great nation but then fall by its own hand in rejecting the law of God and kill the Son of God outside Jerusalem.

The wrath of God is revealed in the story of Israel. The generations of those who tested and tried the Lord were not granted the land of promise. Canaan had been promised to the nation but that promise was conditional. Because of rebellion, many of the Hebrews never saw the land that flowed with milk and honey. They were the chosen people of God who would not see the promised land. God swore in His wrath they would not enter His rest and they did not. Just because they were Hebrews delivered from Egypt did not qualify them for the rest of the Lord. They were circumcised the eighth day and this did not guarantee the promised rest of God. Without their faith and obedience to the will of the Lord, they would perish in the wilderness and not enter the rest promised by God. The book of Hebrews is a testimony to the grace of God and the wrath of God. Obedience is demanded of the people of God or they will never see the land of promise or the land of rest. God has made every provision to allow man the knowledge of how to save himself from sin. Without mixing the word which they heard with faith, there will be no rest. There is a matter of the wrath of God that clearly shows while the Lord is longsuffering; the days of that longsuffering will end. Receiving the promised rest is conditional upon the faith of the individual to obey the will of the Father. Rest comes to the faithful not the fretful. God swore in His wrath those of Israel would not enter His rest. Let us not be among that number when the final judgment comes.

To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him. (Ephesians 3:8-12)

What Is The New Testament Church?

The letter of Paul to the saints in Ephesus is a foundational study of the first-century church. During the apostle’s first Roman imprisonment he wrote a number of letters including Colossians, Philemon, and Philippians which came to be known as the “Prison Epistles.” The church had been in existence for less than forty years but had multiplied in great numbers with churches spread throughout the Roman Empire. As the early disciples (guided by the Holy Spirit) began formulating the organization, work, and purpose of the church there were many questions and problems to overcome as the infant body of Christ grew in size. Paul’s letter to Ephesus helped to cement the truth the church is the body of Christ, the church of God and the bride of Christ. Understanding the church comes from an examination of the book of Ephesians to see the purpose and design of the New Testament church. The work of the church is clearly defined: preach the unsearchable riches of Christ. In a world given over to entertainment, self-gratification and personal expression as a means of worship, the church of the New Testament needs to be restored in the minds of those who seek to follow the pattern of Bible authority. Two thousand years have passed since the first disciples were baptized into Christ and the church began to grow. The only way to be the New Testament church is to follow the authority of the pattern, organization, purpose, and design of what the early disciples established. Paul’s task was to preach the gospel. He did not use bands, fellowship halls, social promotions or political agendas to teach the gospel but rather opening up the word of God and showing lost souls the saving grace of God. The New Testament church is a place where the word of God is the focus of everything.

Many in the religious world view the church as a secondary part of fellowship with God. They may think of the church as an important part of being a Christian but not necessary or functional to the life of the disciple. Paul reveals the New Testament church as the eternal plan of God to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery hidden from the beginning of the ages. The church was not a mistake. It was not created as a stopgap to fill a void left when the Jews killed Jesus. For the early disciples, the view of the church was never a matter of convenience or something to be lighted treated as if it was a social club. The New Testament church was the fully revealed word of God manifested in the daily lives of those who professed to follow Jesus Christ. They assembled together every first day of the week without exception to honor the death, burial, and resurrection of the Son of God. It was an integral part of their lives to give themselves wholly to the work of the church whether in evangelism or benevolence for the saints. The New Testament church was not a passive movement but one filled with the glory of the Holy Spirit as the word of God turned their hearts toward the coming of Jesus Christ. Before Paul became a Christian, he persecuted all those who were of the Way (the church) with a great fervor making havoc of the church. The persecuted saints were scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria preaching the word because the church was not a noble idea in their minds but the full intent of their hearts, minds, and souls. Why did the early Christians die for Christ? How could a man be willing to die for the church of Christ if the body of Christ had little meaning? The boldness and confidence of the New Testament church filled the lives of the early disciples and they gladly spent their lives to propagate, and purpose and plan the work of God in the church.

The eternal purpose of God is accomplished in Christ Jesus and His church. This is the picture of the New Testament church. Through the unveiling of the pattern of early saints, the church of Christ exalts the manifold wisdom of God revealed to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. Angels look upon the church with eternal awe. Satan fears the church as the bastion of truth that is unmovable, unbreakable and unyielding. As the kingdom of God the New Testament church remains the eternal evidence of grace to undeserving man where men find the blood of Christ that flowed at Calvary to purchase the church. The New Testament church is the body of Jesus Christ where He is the head. If the church is not important then the body of Christ is of no value. Paul describes the church as the bride of Christ and yet men denounce the marriage feast of God’s Son to His eternal bride. As the family of God, the New Testament church fills the void of man who needs the love of the Father and the sharing of brothers and sisters in a familial relationship. There is no greater institution in the world than the church of Christ because it is the New Testament church that has existed for two thousand years unabated and unmoved. The trappings of men who have tried to recreate the church in their own image pale in comparison to the glory of what is found on the pages of the New Testament. There are many churches today but only one New Testament church. That church is found where it was planted: in the New Testament.

Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 10:32-33)

What Will Jesus Tell His Father?

When Jesus called the twelve disciples to Him giving them power over unclean spirits and the power to heal all kinds of sickness and disease, He commanded them to preach the kingdom of heaven to the people of Israel alone. There would be persecutions along the way as they faced resistance to the message of the Lord but they were to stay strong and know that the heavenly Father would give them the courage to stand for truth. Jesus assured them the Father would care for them and provide for them if only they would remain faithful in the work of sharing the good news with the multitudes. His message would bring division among families as a man against his father, a daughter against a mother and a man’s enemies would be those of his own household. This would make the work of teaching the will of the Father challenging to keep the faith in the face of such difficulty. Those who remained faithful would find eternal life in bearing the cross of the message of God. Further, Jesus does not leave the twelve without the confidence that if they would confess the name of Christ before men; He would do the same before His Father who is in heaven. The horizontal and vertical relationship of men and God is sealed in the knowledge that when men profess the name of Christ in the presence of men, the Son of God will personally take the name of the disciple and confess that name before the face of the heavenly Father. It is clear that God knows all men and is aware of the actions of all of humanity but Jesus is taking that knowledge much further. He promises to confess the person before the Father as a person of courage, faith, and fidelity. The Son of God makes a declaration when a servant of God shares the word of truth with others, possibly facing persecution from the world or family and yet remains courageous to speak the truth in love, He will personally speak to the Father the name of that individual as a person of faith. Jesus Christ will confess the name of the one who is faithful. Heaven resounds with the name of the disciple of Christ who proclaims the word of God because Jesus confesses him to the Father.

It is easy for men to drawback in the face of persecution because of fear, embarrassment, shame and a host of reasons that fill the mind for drawing back. The twelve were going to face some harsh conditions when they preached the kingdom of heaven among the Jews. There would be cities that would reject the apostles and cast them out. Councils of men would cast their vote against them delivering up the servants of God for scourging. Families will deliver up their own sons and daughters to be put to death and children against parents. Preaching the gospel of Christ will not be an easy task. Because of the courageous stand for truth in the heart of the disciple of Jesus Christ, he or she will be hated by all. It is not easy to live in a world that hates and despises those who teach the word of God. Enduring to the end is the full reward and the promises of Jesus Christ to confess the name of the faithful before the Father. The truth will not change or diminish if a person fails to defend the cause of Christ but what is lost is the voice of the Son of God declaring that name before the Father. A warning is given by Jesus that if a man draws back in fear denying the word of the Lord, He will also deny that man before the Father. There can be no exception. Either a man will stand for truth or fall for error. Those who are willing to face persecution or ridicule may receive harsh treatment in life but the name of the faithful soldier of Christ will remain on the lips of the Father. Choosing to deny Christ will bring about the wrath of God as the Son denies the name of the individual before the Father. Men should not fear what other men can do to them because all they can do is harm the body. Rather, men must fear the one who has the power to destroy both body and soul for denying the name of Christ.

The world is filled with the smallest of animals and God knows every sparrow that flies in the heavens. He has such knowledge as Creator; the Father literally knows the number of hairs that are on the head of every person on earth and those who have regal heads without. This knowledge is so vast and overwhelming that Jesus reminds the disciples the Father is not unaware of the trials faced by those who have the courage to speak the word of truth. God knows the heart of the disciple who faces trials and temptations. He sees clearly the rejection of family, friends, associates, and other disciples that weigh heavy on the spirit of the child of God. Jesus reassures the disciple that if he will confess His name before men then the Son of God will confess that name before the heavenly Father. It goes without saying the word of Jesus speaking the name of the faithful before the Father carries eternal weight. This world is not a home for the weary traveler as a city without foundation awaits the dwelling of the faithful who will confess the name of Christ before others and hearing the echoes of heaven sound the voice of Jesus confessing that name before the Father. God knows the name of all men but how many of those names pass the lips of the Son of God as He confesses before His Father a name. Is that name your name? What is Jesus telling the Father about you? Eternity depends on it.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass and to stand before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:33-36)

The Greatest Snare Is Being Unaware

Jesus knew what would come of the world and often in His teaching remind the disciples that everything on the earth was temporary with a destiny to come to a final end. It is hard to accept the idea that life is short much less the days are numbered for the universe. Life is so full of vibrancy and activity few men consider the reality of death. It comes suddenly and with the precision of the exact promise that men are born and they die. There is nothing that has changed that and there is nothing within the power of men to alter the course of life and death. Methuselah lived to the incredible age of 969 years but he died. The certainty of life is measured by the certainty of death. What is less accepted is the idea that a day will come when the world will come to a violent end. Death is more easily realized than believing on a clear, sunny, warm day in the middle of the week at an unknown time within a year, month and day a cataclysmic event will destroy the earth, sun, moon and every star in the universe in the twinkling of the eye with an explosion of unmeasured conflagration. Jesus said heaven and earth will pass away. He should know because He created them. There is coming a day when everything understood in the mind of man as a world full of lands, oceans, animals, mountains, trees, and rivers will blow up from an eternal will determined by the mind of God. The earth will not exist in any form and the heavens above will disappear like so much dust. For those who believe in the big bang theory of how the world began there will be such a bang when the world comes to an end all will believe in the Lord God without any reservations. Believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God requires the belief the heavens and the earth will melt with fervent heat and the works and everything within its borders will disintegrate into oblivion of nothing. It will not be brought about by the neglect of man in some nuclear holocaust or failed theology of global warming but the finger of God will touch the universe and it will be no more.

The blessing of reading the Bible is the knowledge gained warning of impending doom that the earth will be destroyed on a day when no one expects it. All of humanity will be surprised by the end of the earth because no one knows when this day will come and no one will be able to figure out when this day comes. God the Father is the only one who will determine when that time is and He has not revealed that to His Son or the angels. When men on earth begin to determine the day the Lord is returning it can be assured they are false teachers because if Jesus does not know it is certain God did not tell mortal man. What the Bible does for man is to warn him and tell him to take heed so the day will not come with dread or fear. It is easy to be lulled into the pleasures of life with carousing, drunkenness and cares of this life forgetting everything man has is but a straw house waiting a fiery end. Self-indulgence is the mantra for the heart of man but this will come to an end when the Lord returns. There will be no need to worry about where the money will come from to pay the mortgage because the house will be gone. The needs of school will no longer be met because the world will no longer exist. Trying to climb the corporate ladder is not going to be the concern on the hearts of all those who hear the voice of God sounding like a loud trumpet. In a moment of the blink of an eye every heart will forget the pleasures of life, the vainglory of fame and the pride of life because they will not be standing on terra firma but on the shores of eternity facing the Almighty God. Life is hard to imagine as coming to an end. What is tragic about the end of the earth is the reality the day of the Lord will not be a good day for most souls. Jesus said in the sermon on the mountain that most people will follow the way of destruction and few find eternal life. One reason is that the majority of people live each day as if life is eternal and the universe will always be where it is and the earth will never come to an end. How shocked, dismayed and troubled they will be when the world suddenly ends and they face God. Like a snare that suddenly comes upon an animal unaware bringing death, so the coming of the Lord will be a snare that without warning springs upon the life of the individual and caught in the final demise of the world has no time for rescue. The seriousness of the snare is there will be no second chances. Once the snare is triggered, all hope is lost. Being unaware of the coming of the Lord will be the eternal snare that condemns many souls. Denying the coming of the Lord does not take away the reality of the day. Believing God to too full of love to punish anyone would suggest Jesus lied about the coming of the Lord. The Son of God taught His disciples the day of the Lord will come without warning and heaven and earth will pass away. For most, the day will come unexpectedly and that will be an eternal mistake. It will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.

There is a way to be prepared for the inevitable day of the Lord. Jesus says to do two things: watch and pray. First, there is the need for vigilance in believing such an event will take place without warning. Watching will not give a warning but the warning helps the soul watch with faith for the great and notable day of the Lord. While the time will be a surprise the watchful soul will not be taken unaware. For them, the day of the Lord will not be a snare but a release. There will be joy when the face of the Lord is seen by those who are watching for His coming. When He comes in that day the saints of God will glory and admire the Son with His holy angels in heavenly splendor as they move towards the eternal home with the Father. This will not be the case of those caught in the snare unaware, unprepared and unbelieving. They were not watching and they were not praying. Jesus tells His disciples to pray to be counted worthy of seeing the Lord face to face and escape the wrath of God. Prayer is the expression of faith where the heart declares the promises of the Lord in faith for all things that are yet to come. Heaven is a place for prepared people who seek the face of God and His coming. The soul is fortified in prayer so when the day of the Lord comes there will be hope and joy standing before the Son of Man. A great day is coming for those who watch and pray. It will be a monumental day for those unprepared as the eternal side will be weeping and gnashing of teeth in a fire that is not quenched and will never cease.

Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. (Hebrews 3:12-13)

John Calvin And Hebrews

One of the greatest influences on the tapestry of religious diversity is found in the teachings of a 16^th Century French theologian named John Calvin. His work revolutionized the movement to reform the Roman Catholic Church laying a foundation that is still a major part of most protestant churches. The tenets of Calvinism are summed up in the acronym TULIP: Total depravity; Unconditional election; Limited atonement; Irresistible grace; and the Perseverance of the saints. It is common to hear the final part of the TULIP doctrine as “once saved always saved” in modern vernacular suggesting the impossibility a child of God could lose their salvation. Baptists largely believe this doctrine accepting the idea that true believers will never fall away from the faith or lose their salvation. Other faiths believe in various forms of this doctrine. This doctrine of ‘once saved always saved’ flies in the face of what the Bible teaches concerning the possibility of the saved being lost and especially the writings to early Jewish Christians who, because of severe persecution, were desiring to return to the Law of Moses and the covenant of animal sacrifices. The book of Hebrews is filled with admonitions for the early Jewish Christian’s to not cast away their confidence and find them drawn back into perdition. They are warned against having a heart of unbelief, hearts hardened through the deceitfulness of sin and because of rebellion not allowed to enter into eternal rest. From the beginning of the book, the author implores the saints of God not to drift away and to neglect so great a salvation. This does not sound like the language of Calvinism suggesting the impossibility of the saints losing their souls. If this were the case there would be no reason to have the book of Hebrews. Clearly, the Jewish disciples faced incredible persecution that was chipping away at their faith and they need to be encouraged to maintain their faith in the better promises of God.

Calvinism is a doctrine of comfort giving the believer a false sense of security that nothing he or she can do will endanger their eternal reward. The Bible teaches the acceptance of eternal promises given to those who remain faithful and the knowledge of eternal life. To suggest that a person can live any way they desire and not lose their soul is a false understanding of God’s word. The Hebrew Christian’s were admonished to keep their hope in Jesus Christ as He was a better Messenger, Apostle, High Priest and example of sacrifice. In the law of Christ there are better promises and better rewards found only in keeping faith in the new covenant. There are warnings against their hearts being hardened and having evil hearts of unbelief. The nation of Israel is used as an example of those whom the Lord destroyed in the wilderness because they did not believe and did not enter Canaan or the land of rest. If Calvinism is true then the Hebrews who died in the wilderness were never Hebrews to begin with and everyone (including those who rebelled at Kadesh-Barnea) would have crossed the River Jordan into the promised land. However, the text is very clear the ten spies who denied the power of God died in the wilderness along with all those above the age of twenty because of their unbelief. Those who died in the wilderness were Hebrews, citizens of the nation formed at Sinai called Israel, children of God. Further warnings from the book of Hebrews exhort the first-century Jews not to come short of the promises of God by ignoring the will of the Lord and going astray. The author specifically warns the Christian’s not to fall away and become sluggish. If they sinned willfully they could trample the Son of God underfoot, count the blood of the covenant a common thing and insult the Holy Spirit. The real message of Hebrews is to tell the saints not to cast away the only hope and confidence of eternal life in Jesus Christ.

Near the end of the book of Hebrews, a final warning is given to not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. John Calvin taught a theology that many have embraced to their eternal destruction. Sadly the plain teaching of the Bible shows the result of those who will fall short of the grace of God as the Hebrew author explains in his book. Only those who keep the faith and trust in the will of the Lord will find the blessings of eternal life. In that great chapter of faith the saints are admonished to have the vibrant faith of the ancients who showed their faith by their works. James will show later Abraham was justified by faith and works. Salvation by faith only cannot save. The book of Hebrews is a firm declaration that Satan is seeking to destroy the lives of God’s people and without a heart resolved on keeping the faith of the gospel the danger becomes very real for the Christian. Salvation is a choice granted by the grace of God where the individual shows his faith by his dedication to the covenant of Jesus’ blood. With the power of God, there is nothing the devil can do but when the word is not mixed with faith the result will be like the judgment against Israel where God did not allow them to enter His rest. There remains a rest for the people of God who are diligent to enter that rest through obedience. Knowing and living the word of God which is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the divisions of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. All things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. Therefore, let us hold fast our confession.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:23-25)

Why Do We Assemble?

Worship has been an integral part of man’s relationship with his Creator from the beginning of time. The first story of Cain and Abel is about two sons of Adam offering sacrifices the Lord. Moses does not tell the background to the plan of worship but does show that God accepted one and rejected the other. This established a principle that remains unchanged that the Lord recognizes worship that is true and does not accept vain worship as in the case of Cain. Abraham worshiped the Lord through his many sacrifices. Melchizedek was a high priest of God signifying a system or priests and law that while unknown in the revelation of God’s word remains an example of how the Lord desired for all men to worship Him. Jesus Christ came into the world to bring a new covenant for all men to approach the Father and through His blood Christ built His church as the agency of salvation. Under the Law of Moses, there were commandments and requirements for the Jews to adhere to in their worship of the Lord. This same principle is repeated in the church of Christ that God expects those who worship Him do so in spirit and truth. The church of the New Testament had an orderly and instructive pattern for the disciples to follow. One of those requirements was for the saints to assemble on a weekly basis to worship the Lord in remembrance of the death of Christ and to exhort one another to greater faith. The early saints met on the first day of each week. They did not gather together on occasion when they felt there was a need or it was a certain time of year. What is found in examining the pattern of the early church is a weekly gathering where they sang together, offered prayers, discussed the scriptures and partook of the supper of Christ. Scriptures abound with exhortations in every area of the collective gathering of the church every first day of the week. Their purpose was not to gather together for a meal or for fun and frolic as a place of entertainment but for the devotion of worship to the Lord God.

The Hebrew Christians in the first-century were having a very hard time in the struggle of their faith. As a result of Judaizing teaching trying to serve the Law of Moses and the covenant of Christ, many of the Jewish Christians were in danger of giving up the law of Christ and returning to the old law. The Hebrew writer admonishes the Christians to remain faithful to their first calling and one of the means he uses to impress upon the minds of the saints was to remember why they came together. If Satan succeeded in clouding the mind of the disciples and keep them from the unity found in assembly, the tempter would be able to destroy the faith of many of God’s people. Gathering with the saints on the first day of the week would serve to help one another hold fast the confession of their faith in remaining united as one in Christ. Satan knows if he can divide he can conquer. The devil understands the power of the assembly and as often as he can keep God’s people from gathering together in the assembly, he knows that he has a greater chance of getting the soul back to his domain of perdition. The unity found in the people of God gathering as one is to band together as one to confess the hope each share in the promise of Jesus Christ. A snowflake by itself is nothing but assembling thousands of snowflakes as one creates an avalanche that is unstoppable. One of the reasons we assemble on a weekly basis is because we help one another hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering. When a child of God forsakes the assembling of the saints he creates a fissure of doubt and faith is weakened by the absence of the child of God. It is impossible to consider one another in order to stir up love and good works sitting at home or off to the beach or participating in our children’s sporting events. Failing to come together with the children of God on the first day of the week is telling the Lord God He is not important and He is not first-place in the life of the Christian.

There are many excuses people use for not assembling with the church. Often the church is viewed as an entity that is practical only if convenient. Myriads of reasons are giving why people neglect the assembling of the saints that would never be considered if applied to their jobs. Bayer aspirin cannot cure a headache on Sunday but has miraculous power Monday morning when it is time to go to work. Imagine the boss learning that his employee did not come into work on Tuesday morning because they decided to take their child to a movie instead. How often would this happen before the person would be fired? The Hebrew Christians were in danger of losing their faith and one of the strongest arguments the writer uses to admonish them is to remind them of the obligation to assemble with fellow saints to hold fast their confession, consider one another in order to stir up love and good works and not forsake the assembly. Ultimately the consideration of the memorial of Christ is considered that when a person does not come together with the disciples of the Lord on the first day of the week they trample the Son of God underfoot, treat the blood Jesus shed on the cross as Kool-Aid and insult the Holy Spirit. The Lord’s Supper is not an option but a command that must be remembered each and every first day of the week. Forsaking the assembling of the saints is the abandonment of love for what Christ has done creating a lack of faith, devotion, and love for God. Hope wavers, love, and good works fail and a soul is lost. Are you in danger?

Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and keep My Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 19:3)

God’s View Of Parenting

Fear, reverence, and respect are words that describe the way the Jews viewed the Sabbaths of the Lord according to the Law of Moses. There was no greater day in the life of the Jewish community than the Sabbath as a day to be kept holy. The Sabbath reminded the people of the power of the Lord to deliver them from bondage as when they came out of Egypt. It would be a day to consider the power of God as He provided all things necessary for life including the protection of His might against the enemies of Israel. As part of the Decalogue given to Moses at Sinai, keeping the Sabbath was a restriction imposed by the word of the Lord as the words of the covenant for the Jews. They were to keep the Ten Commandments as part of the Law of Moses in its completeness with penalties attached for those who disobeyed. The Ten Commandments included a law of respect for parents that followed the keeping of the Sabbath. After the failed invasion of Canaan and the decree of the Lord that Israel would wander in the wilderness for forty years, a man was found picking up sticks on the Sabbath and brought before Moses. Putting him under guard, the people inquired what should be done with him. The Lord spoke to Moses and told him the man must be put to death by the hand of all the congregation as they stoned him with stones. The man who picked up sticks on the Sabbath was taken outside the camp and stoned to death. This impressed upon the mind of all those who were commanded to stone the man to death the reverence given to the word of the Lord concerning His Sabbaths. There would be no question how the Lord felt about the people honoring the Sabbath as a holy day. It is to this significant act of reverence the Lord attaches the regard children should have toward parents.

The Lord instructed Moses in the Law that the people should be holy because the Lord their God was holy. There is no doubt to the significance of holiness attached to the keeping of the Sabbaths and in the same context, the Lord shows His expectation of how the people fear, honor and reverence their mothers and fathers. Contained within the Law of Moses were penalties of death for those who dishonored their parents. If a child strikes their father or mother they were to be put to death. Cursing a parent would bring the penalty of death. Profaning the Sabbath was punished by death showing that God put respect of parents and reverence for the Sabbath on equal with one another. Reverence for the Sabbath was the same reverence expected for parents. There is no question of interpretation in the punitive requirements of the law concerning the Sabbath and respect for parents. God was very clear and the people understood the clarity of the law. The Law of Moses was given to the people who were brought out of Egypt and became a national law to Israel. It was not a law given to the Gentiles or any other nation. Keeping the Sabbath was significant only to the Hebrews and the laws attached to it were in keeping with the history of the nation of Israel. The Jews struggled to keep the law and showed the futility of the Law of Moses when the Lord sent them into the bondage of Babylon. Jesus came and put away the old covenant inscribed to the Jews and opened a pathway for the Gentiles to find salvation in the blood of Christ. The punitive laws of the Sabbath were done away when Christ died on the cross including the laws pertaining to putting to death children who cursed or abused their father or mother. What is learned from the study of the Law of Moses is how God feels about His people being holy and the families regard for parents. This has not changed and will never change.

In the Garden of Eden, the Creator ordained the home in a world of sinless perfection. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God and took of the forbidden fruit, they ushered in the challenges of the home and the need for law. Before the giving of the Law of Moses, the Lord demanded respect for parents as much as He commanded men regarding murder. The Ten Commandments did not establish murder as a sin or disrespect for parents as sinful. This was in the mind of God from the beginning. Using the Law of Moses, the student of scripture can understand the value the Lord places on the home and the expectations of His people to honor the father and the mother. Children should be taught to revere their parents as much as they should be taught to honor the Lord because He is holy. One must be viewed as vital to salvation as the other. The New Testament teaches the principles of respect for parents as children obeying their fathers in the Lord. Revere the Lord and honor parents. This is the will of God.

Come, and let us return to the Lord; for He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight. Let us know, let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, like the latter and former rain to the earth. (Hosea 6:1-3)

The Spirit Of Repentance

It is not in the nature of man to admit wrong. One of the most challenging parts of the human gene is a willingness to change the heart admitting failure and accepting the rule of a higher being. The Lord calls this repentance and without the desire to admit wrong, change the will of a stubborn spirit to allow the law of God to rule the heart, man is doomed. To accept the will of God a man must empty himself of his own will. The Lord requires this of everyone but it is not just because He wills it; rather it manifests the mercy of a loving Father willing to forgive and receive back the lost soul. Hosea pleads with the people to return to the Lord and while there will be severe consequences to those who refuse, the prophet shows how the mercy of a kind and benevolent Father is the motivation behind repentance. With every instance of sin the wrath of God is revealed. He tears, strikes down and destroys the unyielding heart bent on unrighteousness. Returning to the Lord is the message of grace that a man deserves the wrath of the Divine and through that same message of grace He will heal those He has torn away. The character of God is fierce but it is forgiving in ways too great for men to comprehend. Everything man has done from the paradise of Eden to the final day when the particles of the universe are destroyed, exemplify the righteous judgment of God because man is an enemy, sinner, disobedient and rebellious creature deserving of death. And then the word of God responds with the heavenly chorus of grace that seeks for the heart of man to return to the Lord and He will forgive. He has torn, but He will heal; He has stricken but He will bind again. Defining the nature of grace is to see the hand of a compassionate God who is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance so the loving hand of a merciful Father can soothe the troubled spirits of His children. The plea of Hosea is for the people of God to come and return to the Lord.

Repentance will come from a heart willing to submit to the kindness of a wrathful God who will revive, raise up and fill the mind of man with the knowledge of divine grace. It is the full intention of the Father for His children to live in His sight. It is sad to see that God is blamed for the failures of what man has done to himself and to others when the Father has no greater desire than to enjoy the presence of His creation. Grace does not come from the hand of God apart from the knowledge of the Lord. Knowing the word of God is what fills the heart with the comfort of hope, promise of salvation and the joy of forgiveness. Sin brings heartache, misery, and darkness but the grace of God brings the morning of joy and the cleansing of latter and former rains to the earth. There is something soothing in the gentle rains of a summer’s day that bring comfort, coolness, and consolation that all is well. Repentance is the measure of man seeking the joy of love extended by the Father reminding the soul that God still loves and He still forgives and His mercy endures forever. Stubborn pride hinders the joy of salvation. Humility exalts the glory of God. Coming to the Lord revives. Refusing to repent destroys. God will come to His people like the rain cleansing the broken spirits of grief, sorrow, and travail. No greater joy can a man enjoy in life than when he empties himself of his obstinate vanity and embraces the love of the merciful Father.

The measure of forgiveness is found in the mind of God but the action of repentance can only come from the willingness to come to the Lord. It is within the power of God to save all men but that is not the will of the Father to make men do what they do not will to do. Hosea seeks to bring the nation of Israel back to the one true God with promises of healing, binding up again, reviving the broken spirits and living in God’s presence but that is all dependent upon one measure: the people must return to the Lord. The grace of God knocks on the door of each man’s heart but there is only one way to open the door and that is from the inside. Grace, mercy, and love are offered by the Lord. What man does with that grace, mercy, and love is where humility and repentance move him in the direction of forgiveness. A call to repentance always comes with the first word: Come. The invitation of God is afforded to all men. Sadly, as Jesus taught, most will not accept His call taking the wide path to destruction. The Lord says come, take His yoke and learn from Him and He will give rest to the soul. That blessing of rest comes from hearts humbled by the grace of God and His promise of forgiveness.

Even when they made a molded calf for themselves, and said, “This is your god that brought you up out of Egypt,” and worked great provocations, yet in Your manifold mercies You did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day, to lead them on the road; nor the pillar of fire by night, to show them light, and the way they should go. You also gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, and did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, and gave them water for their thirst. Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing; their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell. (Nehemiah 9:18-21)

God’s Mercy On Israel

There is no greater image of the mercy and grace of God than how the Lord dealt with ancient Israel. Born from the seed of Abraham as His own special people, the Lord brought forth a powerful nation from the bondage of Egypt and set them up as the blessed among all nations on earth. He promised the Hebrews that He would save them and He did. Leading them through the Red Sea, the hand of God protected the people, fed the nation and promised them a land that flowed with milk and honey. A second time the hand of the Lord led the people across dry land as the River Jordan was forded and the conquest of Canaan began. A little over three hundred years later the people of God wanted a king and Saul, son of Kish was anointed its first ruler. David became the second king and his son Solomon took the nation to the zenith of its power and glory. Following the death of Solomon, the kingdom divided and a period of great tragedy began. It would only take two hundred years for the northern ten tribes of Israel to be destroyed by the invading army of the Assyrians. One hundred thirty-six years after the fall of Samaria, Jerusalem is destroyed and the temple of the Lord burned. According to the word of the Lord, seven decades would pass before the people return to possess the land. The first group of freed captives returns and twenty years pass when a second Temple is built. Then seventy-one years later a cup-bearer from the king of Persia comes to Jerusalem and under his leadership rebuilds the walls of the desolated city in fifty-two days. As the celebration of the building of the walls is undertaken, the children of Israel assemble on the twenty-fourth day of the month with fasting, in sackcloth, and with dust on their heads to acknowledge their sins and ask the mercy of God to forgive them. The Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah and Pethahiah cried out to the people the dirge of Israel’s rebellion and disregard for the word of God. Beginning with the acknowledgment of the Lord who created the heavens, the song of confession puts forth the constant rebellion of the people in contrast to the continuing mercy of God to forgive them. Sinai with the golden calf is remembered along with the complaints of the people for the manna the Lord gave them. They were a disobedient nation who killed the prophets, cast the law behind their backs and worked great provocations against the Lord God. The Lord punished the people for the rebellion including the captivity in Babylon. In all of this, the mercy of God was shown time and again through the prophets and because God did not utterly destroy the people allowing a remnant to return.

Mercy is an unfathomable gift when it comes from God. Men can show mercy to one another when they believe a fellow man is worthy but when it comes to understanding the mercy of God, nothing humankind has done merits the grace, love, and mercy of the Lord Almighty. The character of the human spirit is the plague of sin that rebels against the hand of a benevolent Creator who never fails His creation, provides unlimited and boundless gifts of love and doing all of this in the face of men who will despise, murmur, complain and dishonor the name of God. Pride fills the heart of human wisdom to believe the creature made a little lower than the angels is a god himself. At the height of mythology the human spirit creates gods who are temperamental, angry, and unforgiving because no man can create a character larger than himself. The Lord God Almighty who is merciful and longsuffering could not have formed in the mind of man because He is so much larger than any pebble of human wisdom could devise. Israel was the chosen apple of God’s eye and they rebelled, murmured, refused to obey and tested God at every corner and yet the Father was merciful in patience, kindness, love, and benevolence. He did not forsake them in the wilderness (although He had cause) and the pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day because the Lord was still leading His people to the land He had promised them. The pillar of fire by night gave them security and comfort to know they were not forsaken. Everything the people needed was provided through the word of the Lord. He gave them food and water to sustain them as forty years unfolded into a new generation of people who would serve Him. They lacked nothing and were ungrateful. God’s love remained constant and His mercy unyielding.

Reading the story of Israel in the Old Testament can cause a man to wonder why the Lord endured the afflictions of a rebellious people. Some might argue God was too patient and should have tried to find other people to lead. The Holy Spirit crafted the story of the Old Testament to show to all men the nature of the nation of Israel is the nature of all men. What is found when looking into the mirror of God’s word is the story of Israel is the story of human failings and God’s mercy. Replace the blessings shown to Israel for the many years of its existence with the incredible blessings of God upon the lives of His people today and what is found is the mirrored image of all that God has done and how often the human frailty of rebellion rears its ugly head. What an honest man sees in Israel is the honest reflection of his own soul. The affliction of the soul is the constant war of righteousness against unrighteousness and how often unrighteousness wins the day. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and the daily battle of sin is a real and constant threat. It is possible to bring sin under control but its impact will continue as long as there is breath in the body. What is greater than the knowledge of sin is the understanding that God will forgive time and again and show His mercy time and again and express His love without merit to a creature that does not deserve such love. No man is worthy of God’s love. There are none that do not hold guilt for the death of Jesus Christ. Every person that dwells upon the face of earth is guilty of the blood of the Son of God and yet the mercy of the Father offers pardon. When a man begins to understand the mercy of God he begins to grow in his personal faith and to see his own failings and cause for grace from a benevolent Father. God is ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abundant in kindness and will never forsake the righteous. Praise God for His mercy.