Habakkuk 2

Then the Lord replied: "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."

Wednesday, March 29, 2023

Have You Become Dull of Hearing?

Hebrews 5:8-9,11-14; Hebrews 6:1-3 ESV

 

“Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him.”

 

“About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

 

“Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits.”

 

If we are true followers of Jesus Christ, we, like Jesus, will learn obedience to our Lord through the things which we suffer. And so we will walk in obedience to our Lord and no longer in sin, in practice. This is not saying that we will be absolutely perfect in every way, for we won’t reach perfection until we go to be with Jesus for eternity. But it does mean that we will now no longer be enslaved to sin but to God and to his righteousness, and now we will walk (in conduct) according to the Spirit, not according to the flesh.

 

Nonetheless, as it was when this was written, so it is today. For many professers of faith in Jesus Christ have become dull of hearing and they are closing their ears to the hard truths of the Scriptures. And they are going after people who will tickle their itching ears with smooth talking and easy listening messages that make them feel good about themselves and which do not confront them in their mediocrity and in their rebellion and in their sins. For they do not want to move on to maturity in Christ.

 

Now this is speaking to people who have known the Scriptures well enough by now that they could be teachers of the Word, but instead they remain spiritual infants and/or they pretend, in many cases, that they don’t know better when they do know better. And so they keep going back to the elementary truths of the gospel and they refuse to move on to maturity in Christ. But even those elementary truths are hard lessons if we understand them correctly, and if we don’t just gloss over them, i.e. to treat something which is serious as if it is unimportant, i.e. to devalue and to disregard it.

 

Now this brings to mind the popular teaching of today of a diluted and altered gospel which allows people to remain living in ignorance of the hard truths of the Scriptures. For they are teaching them that they can “believe” (usually not biblically defined) in Jesus Christ, have all their sins forgiven (past, present, and future), and have heaven secured for them when they die, regardless of how they live their lives on this earth. And they are telling them that nothing can take that away from them, not even their own sins.

 

And many who are buying into this lie are those who know better, who ought to be teachers of the Scriptures by now. And some of them were teachers or they are teachers of the Scriptures. And some of them are pastors of churches, but they are not teaching the deep things of God, but they are giving people the light and fluffy stuff of a diluted and altered gospel which appeals to and which appeases human flesh. So they are teaching others the same lies which they have adopted for themselves to follow.

 

But as followers of Jesus Christ we are to walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands (New Covenant), and we are to walk (in conduct, in practice) in holiness and in righteousness, and no longer in sin. We are to be people of spiritual discernment who are trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil so that we follow after the good and so we deny and reject the evil. For if sin is what we practice, and if righteousness, holiness, and obedience to our Lord are not what we practice, then we will not inherit eternal life, and we will not enter God’s heavenly kingdom.

 

So, we are to reject that gospel message which tells us that a one-time belief in Jesus Christ is enough to secure us forgiveness of all sins, and a guarantee of heaven as our eternal destiny, regardless of how we live on this earth. For the Scriptures do not teach that. They refute that gospel message. For the Scriptures teach that we must walk (in conduct, in practice) according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh or else we will not inherit eternal life with God, and our sins will not be forgiven us (see Romans 8:1-14; Galatians 5:16-21; Hebrews 6:4-6).

 

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

 

For Our Nation  

 

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

 

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Trust Him with your life today.

Make Him your Lord and your Savior.

Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.

He will forgive you of your sin;

Cleanse your heart, made new within.

 

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.

On our knees to God we’re praying,

Seeking God to give us answers

That are only found in Him.

God is sovereign over all things.

Nothing from His mind escaping.

He has all things under His command,

And will work all for good.

 

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

 

Men deceiving: We’re believing

In our Lord, and interceding

For our nation and its people

To obey their God today.

He is our hope for our future.

For our wounds He offers suture.

He is all we need for this life.

Trust Him with your life today.

 

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