Monday, October 22,
2012, 7:50 a.m. – the Lord Jesus put the song “Have Thine Own Way, Lord” in my mind this morning as I was getting
ready to sit down to write what the Lord was teaching me. Speak, Lord, for your
servant is listening. I read Hebrews 5-6
(quoting selected verses in the NIV 1984):
During the days of
Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and
tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his
reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he
suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for
all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of
Melchizedek.
We have much to say
about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact,
though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the
elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!
Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the
teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant
use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
Therefore let us leave
the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again
the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God,
instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the
dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so.
It is impossible for
those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who
have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God
and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to
repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over
again and subjecting him to public disgrace.
Land that drinks in
the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom
it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and
thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be
burned.
Even though we speak
like this, dear friends, we are confident of better things in your case—things
that accompany salvation. God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and
the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help
them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order
to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those
who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
When God made his
promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he
swore by himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many
descendants.” And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was
promised.
Men swear by someone
greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to
all argument. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose
very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God
did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God
to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly
encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It
enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us,
has entered on our behalf.
During the days of Jesus’ life on
earth, he offered up prayers and petitions…
The implication here,
I believe, is that his petitions and prayers to the Father with loud cries and
tears encompassed much more than what he prayed to the Father on the night he
was betrayed asking, if it were possible, for the Father to let this cup of
death to pass from him, at which time he also willingly submitted to the Father’s
will in this. Jesus prayed to the Father often concerning the lost, regarding those
who were promised to him by the Father, for the will of God to be accomplished
in our lives, for our spiritual growth and maturity, for him to deliver us from
the evil one, for his name to be hallowed and honored among men, and for the
salvation of souls and the opening of deaf ears and blinded eyes (spiritually
speaking), and so, so much more.
Jesus was greatly
troubled over the hypocrisy of Israel’s spiritual leaders, and over those who
would lead others astray to a false hope. He was greatly troubled over the
spiritual blindness of people, and how easily they were led astray by false
teachers and a false gospel. And, he was deeply troubled in his spirit concerning
the turning of his Father’s house of prayer into a marketplace. All these same
things are still happening today, and he is still troubled in his spirit, and
he intercedes for us all the time! He was heard because of his reverent
submission, i.e. because he was willing to go to the cross and to take upon
himself the sins of the entire world so that we could go free. And, the way God
heard and answered was to send Jesus Christ to the cross so that we could be
set free from the bondage of sin and the control of Satan over our lives. Amen!
…He became the source of eternal
salvation for all who obey him…
There are many
professing followers of Christ and preachers of the gospel who still do not get
this, because they are slow to learn. Many have had the knowledge of the truth
for many years, and should by this time be teachers of the meat of the word,
and yet they still require the elementary teachings of scripture to be taught
to them over and over again, because they have remained spiritual infants, and
they are not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness, the scriptures
say.
Jesus Christ died on
the cross not just so we could go to heaven one day, as wonderful as that will
be. He died to free us of the control of Satan and sin and self over our lives
today and every day. Scriptures teach that we must turn from (repent of) our
lives of sin, we must be transformed in heart and mind by the working of the
Holy Spirit within us, as we cooperate fully with that work, and we must put on
our new lives in Christ, “created to be like God in true righteousness and
holiness” (see Ephesians 4:17-24). Jesus said that if anyone would come after
him, he must deny himself (his own selfish will), take up his cross daily (die
daily to sin) and follow (obey) Jesus. He said if we hold on to our old lives
of sin and self, we will lose them for eternity, but if we willingly die to our
lives of sin and self, we will live for eternity (Luke 9:23-24). It can’t get
much plainer than that!
It is impossible for those who have
once been…
This is probably one
of the most troublesome passages of scripture in the New Testament, yet there
are many other similar passages of scripture which
talk about the meaning of what it truly means to believe in Jesus Christ. I
don’t know how one can fall away from something they never had, yet it is
possible this is speaking about those who have been given much knowledge then
turning their backs on what they were taught. Yet, that would not explain the
part about having shared in the Holy Spirit. We cannot share in the Holy Spirit
if we have not made a decision to receive Christ. All through the New Testament
we are warned to not take our salvation for granted, and that only those who
have persevered, who have remained faithful to the end, who have kept the
confidence they had at first, who have obeyed, and who have repented of their
sins, etc. will be saved.
Perhaps this can be best understood in citing
the Parable of the Sower in which the seed of the gospel met with four
different responses. Only one response endured and reproduced. One had the
truth immediately snatched away by the evil one, and the next two had shallow
and superficial responses that did not last and that fell away when things got
tough or when the pleasures of this world began calling out. The land that
drinks in the rain, and which “produces a crop useful to those for whom it is
farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles
is worthless and is in danger of being cursed.” The thorns and thistles can be
hardened and unrepentant hearts who think God’s grace does not require us to
turn from our sins, or they could represent false teachings which lead
unsuspecting and naïve followers astray, and away from their pure devotion to
Christ.
…things
that accompany salvation.
What things accompany salvation? The Bible
teaches many, including godly love, truth, repentance, obedience, humility,
submission to God, doing the will of God, and helping our brothers and sisters
in Christ to mature in Christ, so they can distinguish good from evil, lies
from truth, and deception from reality, and so they can attain to the whole
measure of the fullness of Christ in their lives. The Bible also teaches perseverance,
endurance, continuing in the faith, remaining in Christ and his words remaining
in us, and showing the same diligence in Christ we should have had from the
beginning to the very end, in order to make our hope sure. What? This is not
the only passage of scripture that teaches this. God will remain faithful to
his promises to reward those who diligently seek him, who obey him and who have
chosen to turn from their sins. Through faith and patience we inherit what has
been promised. All through the New Testament I see that the promise of eternal
life is guaranteed to those who have continued in their faith and have endured
to the end.
…we
who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged…
We who have fled to take hold of the hope are
who? We have been learning about that in our study of the book of Hebrews, a
very challenging book. We are the ones who responded to the call of God by
turning from our lives of sin, by being reborn of the Spirit of God by God’s
grace, and who have chosen to walk in faithful obedience to Jesus Christ. Not one
of us will ever do this perfectly while we live on the face of this earth, yet
we should not ever use that as an excuse to continue in willful sin and
rebellion against God. If we have fled, then there is something we fled from,
right? We are to flee (run away from) our lives of living for self and sinful
pleasures. We flee in order to take hold of the hope that we have in Christ. To
take hold of something is not casual acceptance, but it is an embracing of not
only the truth itself but the truth as applied to our daily lives. We are the
ones to whom this promise of eternal life has been given, and we have this
anchor for the soul, firm and secure, yet this hope is conditional on us
remaining diligent in our faith to the very end.
I know these are hard teachings, and I know
they present challenges for all of us and for our theologies, yet we can’t
ignore all the warnings to the church throughout the New Testament with all the
“If” clauses in them letting us know that true faith is repentant, submissive,
obedient, continuous, enduring, persevering and diligent to the end. We can no
longer take a casual approach to our faith thinking that such a lazy approach
to salvation is acceptable to God. We certainly are not saved by works, but our
diligence, endurance, obedience, submissiveness, etc. are all evidence that
genuine faith exists within us. Be sure today that you are not trusting in a
false hope to save you. Repent and obey God today!
Have Thine Own Way, Lord / Adelaide A. Pollard, 1862-1934
George C. Stebbins,
1846-1945 / Tune: ADELAIDE ,
Meter: 54.54 D
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine
own way!
Thou art the potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after Thy will,
While I am waiting, yielded and still.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine
own way!
Search me and try me, Master, today!
Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just
now,
As in Thy presence humbly I bow.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine
own way!
Wounded and weary, help me I pray!
Power, all power, surely is Thine!
Touch me and heal me, Savior divine!
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine
own way!
Hold o'er my being absolute sway.
Fill with Thy Spirit till all shall see
Christ only, always, living in me!
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