Image: Detail of Scone Abbey, located at Scone Palace, Scotland, UK. Probably the Earl of Mansfield at prayers.
Faith of our fathers, living still, in spite of dungeon, fire and sword.... Hymn, "Faith of our Fathers"
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Heb 11:6)
I think it impossible that any person, upon reading chapter 11 of Hebrews, could still assert that in the OT people believed they were "saved by works." Over and over again the author states "by faith.... etc" when recounting the great deeds and examples that "our fathers" did and set before us. Along the way, I think, he teaches us something essential about the nature of "faith" itself. "Faith" is efficient to the task of moving us to do stuff. We don't trust in "dead works" in order to find hope in God... but we are shown that "faith alone" which does give us hope in God is never "faith alone" in that it does not engender good works.
The commendations we read in this chapter point us to men and women who actively trusted God when it came to putting themselves at risk... trusting God to reward, encourage and strengthen them as they go about doing His will. Abraham leaves the peace and security of his home and relatives to go journey in a land where he was not the least bit secure. Joshua enters into a land inhabited by fierce warriors with walled cities at the head of his army. But it was not the army that brought down Jericho... it was "by faith." What can we say about Abraham offering up Isaac or Moses leading Israel through the walls of water in the Red Sea.
It comes down to this: "Faith means trusting God in the face of risk and in submission to His will and living accordingly." It is not the relative quality of the life we live in faith that God accepts. We know that sometimes our faith is weak... sometimes we don't trust as we ought... and often we do not live according to His will, but the great Good News is that we live by grace and God works in and through us to get us back on track. But whether our faith is strong or weak, a grain of mustard seed or like that of Abraham, yet its essence is the same. Faith is active not passive. It moves us to God and to His will and that brings us into conflict with the world... as it did with our fathers.
One specific continuous thread throughout the Scriptures is that of the spiritual battle around us. Faith means that we have been conscripted, given our weapons and sent of a mission. All these great examples of faith trusted God in the face of great difficulties and scary circumstances. That's when it counts and that's what we should expect. Life is not just the drudgery of trench warfare... God gives us hills and valleys in our walk before him. But life in this fallen world is not just a bed of roses... faith calls us to duty with the sincere, earnest and hope-filled expectation that our reward far outweighs any risk that we face.
Heb 12:1-29 You Have Come to Mt. Zion
Image: View from Loch Lomond, Scotland, UK 2016
22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. (Heb 12:22–24)
This chapter is so full that it is almost painful to reflect on just a sub-set. The reading schedule necessarily requires fairly large chunks of scripture if one desires to read through the entire bible in only two years. It's important to keep the discipline of reading the whole word of God though and some sacrifices have to be made in morning devotionals.
The writer exhorts the Hebrews to persistent loyalty and faithfulness to Christ. He shows us that our Christian life is like a foot race run in front of a stadium full of witnesses (vs. 1). These witnesses are the saints who have gone before us and, in my mind, all the holy angels. Each of us in particular and the entire church of Jesus Christ in general, is the subject of the ages, the drama that commands the attention of countless millions of spiritual eyes. Everything that has been created and all things that happen contribute to the developing story. We are to run with endurance... keeping our eyes on our Christ... who ran His race and won His victory and is there, ahead of us, urging us onward in our own run.
I remember intramural sports during my officer training days. I was OK on the cross country run but I was rotten at the obstacle course. My long legs and height helped with one and hindered the other. A buddy of mine was just the opposite. He was short, built like a fire plug and the cross country race just about killed him, but he scampered through the obstacle course. We helped each other.... I would go ahead in the cross country, finish the race and then come back and run with him to the finish. He would do the same for me in the obstacle course. Together we got through it and our company team did pretty well. That tough old drill sergeant was pleased.
Here we have a far more important race to run and a far more wonderful Savior to please. The writer reminds us that we have not resisted to bloodshed yet (vs. 4). We need perspective on our lives... it can be hard but for the most part we can say it could be a lot worse and has been a lot worse for others. After all it was our Christ Himself who suffered so much more than we and prevailed. And He will be with us in our striving also. Yes the Lord chastens us in the process (vs 6-10) but it is the "chastening" of training, the discipline of exercise that one endures to prepare for a sports event... or a battle. It's because He loves us that we undergo such things. It is certainly not a sign of His ultimate disapproval of us but rather a sign of His entire commitment to our well being and ultimate victory.
His goal (vs. 10), amazingly enough is that we be "partakers of His holiness." Imagine that! Let it sink in, oh my soul! One day, in some ineffable way, I shall be "one" with the Trinity (see John 17). Not, of course, in essence for I will never be God... but there is a Divine Fellowship ahead of us that is beyond our comprehension at present... it will have to be experienced to be known but that is exactly what lies ahead.
Therefore, I, we, have to strengthen our hanging hands and feeble knees (vs. 12). We have to remember that we have not come to a mountain that can be touched, no matter how beautiful it is or how imposing a sight it presents. We have come (vs. 18-24) to Mt. Zion, the city of the Living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. We have come to a new society, a new culture, a new nation, a new army, a new assembly which is the church of the first born who are registered in heaven. What a glorious assembly it is. Revelation gives us hints of the brightness of its glory. But the author here simply presents it as a kingdom which cannot be shaken (vs. 28). This is our home... this is our future... this is our reason for living and our reason for enduring.
At the center of this assembly is our God, the consuming fire, Who is to be worshiped with reverence and godly fear. It is He that we are to serve "acceptably" which is the least we can do for such a great God and in response to such a great grace as He has shown. This is our encouragement... now to rededicate ourselves to running the race set before us with endurance and hope!
Posted by Gadfly on March 30, 2019 at 09:27 AM in Church, Commentary, Devotional Meditation, Discipleship | Permalink | Comments (0)
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