Judgment Day

May 21, 2011 was supposed to usher in the end of the world according to Harold Camping and his followers, who deduced through clever math and off-base interpretation of scripture that this would be the day that Christ would return and rapture his church.

Of course, as well all know, that wasn’t how it happened, as even Camping himself is still here, double-checking his figures. And while Camping’s interpretation of scripture seems laughable, it now becomes easy to fall into the trap of believing judgment will never come, certainly not in this lifetime at least. To believe so would be a mistake as scripture clearly teaches that a day is coming when Christ will return to earth to complete the redemption of the children of God and pour out judgment on those who have harbored rebellion in their hearts toward Him:

Scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. ⁴They will say, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation." ⁵For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, ⁶and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. ⁷But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
- 2 Peter 3:3b-7

I recently watched the documentary Inside Job, which breaks down how the 2008 economic crisis, which we still are experiencing the repercussions of, came about. It becomes apparent pretty quickly in the film that there is no particular person or organization to blame for the meltdown. The collapse was built on a mountain of indiscretion, lies, and greed. What I found particularly interesting in the film, however, was how many people there were who apparently saw what the repercussions could be, but did nothing about it. Everyone was getting rich with the system as it was and in the face of the bubble which would soon be popped, these financial geniuses chose denial. Surely everything will continue as it is, they must have thought. Surely nothing will happen.

Of course, almost three years later, we clearly know that something did happen. Millions of Americans lost jobs and homes, not to mention the global effect that the meltdown had. Of course, many of the companies who got rich off of other people’s money received bailouts and the people who brought about the economic crisis didn’t end up feeling its repercussions the same way that average Americans did. Justice wasn’t served.

What this all points to is the sinfulness of the human heart. How we will justify whatever we believe is to our gain and in the face of impending judgment we will turn to denial. Surely judgment won’t come to us, we say. I’m reminded of how Jesus used the judgment in Noah’s day as an analogy for the judgment that is to come:

³⁶"But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. ³⁷For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, ³⁹and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. ⁴¹Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. ⁴²Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.
- Matthew 24:36-42

The message of Christ is clear: as in Noah’s day our sinful inclination will be to live life as normal and deny that judgment could ever come to us, but a deluge is coming that will sweep us away unless somehow we are saved. Noah had faith in God, that He would do what He claimed and flood the earth, so Noah built the boat as God told him to build it. The only hope we have in the face of God’s judgment is faith as well. And not just faith for the sake of faith, for that accomplishes nothing. We must have faith in Jesus Christ, who almost 2,000 years ago stepped into the deluge of God’s judgment so that we don’t have to be swept away. Instead he gives this promise to all who trust in Christ:

³²He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? ³³Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
- Romans 8:32-34

Harold Camping was wrong. Judgment did not on come on May 21, 2011. But it is coming. We do not know when but we know it is coming in God’s perfect time and our only hope is faith in God’s own Son Jesus Christ.

The Birth of Jesus and Our Identity in Christ

²⁶In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, ²⁷to a virgin betrothed^£ to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”^{£ 29}But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. ³²He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, ³³and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

³⁴And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”^£

³⁵And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born^£ will be called holy—the Son of God.

- Luke 1:26-35

This is an amazing passage. God sends an angel to a young woman (who had no idea what was going on) to tell her that she will bear the “Son of the Most High” and “of his kingdom there will be no end.” I imagine that Mary was in complete shock and awe. The promise was amazing – she would be the mother of the King of Kings, a king in the line of David except unlike David (and the other kings in that line) the kingship of Jesus would endure forever. Surely Mary was amazed and taken aback, but she managed to ask the question that we would all want the answer to:

“How will this be?” You see, Mary was betrothed to marry Joseph of Nazareth, but they had certainly not been involved in any baby-making activities (that would call for a stoning in those days). It’s significant the way that Mary asks this question. Earlier in Luke 1 when Zechariah is told that he and his wife Elizabeth will have a son in their old age he asks “how shall I know this?” He asks the question out of disbelief (how can you prove that this will happen). Mary’s response is different: “how will this be?” In other words, she believes it will happen she just doesn’t yet understand how.

And it’s the how that I specifically want to address here because this is one of the truly amazing things about the way in which Jesus Christ took on flesh and in turn these truths shed light on our identity in Christ.

1. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit

The angel Gabriel proceeds to tell Mary how this will be: “the Holy Spirit will come upon you.” Jesus was like unlike all babies ever born due to this huge truth regarding his beginning as a man: he was not conceived by man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Jesus was born with the Holy Spirit in Him, which is an amazing thought.

And notice what the angel says to Mary. Because this baby will be born of the Spirit “therefore the child to be born will be called holy – the Son of God.” This conception of the Holy Spirit brings holiness which leads to the simple conclusion that this is the Son of God. The Holy Spirit leads to holiness which leads to identity as the Son of God.

This is especially amazing when we realize that when we are “born again” this rebirth is conceived by the Holy Spirit. This is what Jesus explains to Nicodemus in John 3 – salvation is a re-conception by the Holy Spirit:

³Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again^£ he cannot see the kingdom of God.” ⁴Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” ⁵Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁶That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

- John 3:3-6

We only come into our new identity as sons of God by being born again and this only happens by the work of the Holy Spirit. And so we see that the way in which Jesus was conceived is a picture of the way that we experience spiritual birth.

But that’s not all.

2. Jesus was adopted

How can I say this? Well, it’s true that Mary gave birth to Jesus. But Jesus had no blood relationship to Joseph, who became Mary’s husband. Joseph acted on obedience to God, proceeding in marrying Mary (knowing that she carried a child who was not biologically his). But Jesus’ identity as the son of Joseph of Nazareth is crucial. Do you see why?

Verse 32 says, “the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David.” In other words, Jesus’ genealogy can be traced back to David. There are two records of his genealogy in the gospels. Matthew 1 traces Jesus through David back to Abraham and Luke 3 traces Jesus through David all the way back to Adam. However, in both of these genealogical records Jesus is named as the son of Joseph. It was only by Joseph taking on the responsibility of fatherhood to a child that he did not personally sire (which I am referring to as adoption) that prophecy was fulfilled. Can you imagine? The validity of the Old Testament scriptures was hanging on the matter of whether or not Joseph would adopt this baby as his own. Without Joseph’s adoption of Jesus, there would be no lineage to David.

Of course, God had a plan since the beginning of time for how this would unfold and adoption was part of that plan, even for Jesus. In this God fulfilled the promise that He had made long ago to David:

¹⁶And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me.^£ Your throne shall be established forever.’”

- 2 Samuel 7:16

God knew even then that his plan to fulfill this promise was through adoption.

What is the impact of this upon us? When we are in Christ, we are called Sons of God and this identity does not happen biologically for us – it happens through adoption. God’s adoption of us into His family. So I believe it’s very significant that God chose to use adoption in the life of Jesus as a picture for us.

¹⁵For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” ¹⁶The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

- Romans 8:15-16

Here we see how these two concepts of conception by the Holy Spirit and adoption fit together: we have received the Spirit of adoption. The Holy Spirit who has spiritually conceived us confirms that we have been adopted as sons of God. The Spirit bears witness and testifies to us that we are children of God! Unbelievable!

But let’s not forget the way that was made for us to become children of God: the baby that was born to Mary and Joseph grew up, lived a sinless life, speaking the truth in love everywhere he went. Then he was crucified on the cross, paying the debt (death) for our sin. He rose three days later from the grave as testament that He defeated death once and for all. He ascended to heaven where He sits at the right hand of the throne of God. And what is Jesus Christ doing right now?

²⁵Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost^£ those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

- Hebrews 7:25

Jesus Christ, king forever, is interceding, praying for us right now – he made the way for us to be called sons of God and he is constantly praying for us to make it home. He has placed His Holy Spirit inside us to guarantee that this happens. The cute baby in the manger is so much more than that – he is our Savior who has made the way to bring many sons to glory.

Amen.

* Quick Note: I use the term “Sons of God” throughout this post and not “Daughters of God.” This is not because I’m sexist but because the Bible uses the language “Sons of God” intentionally throughout. This is because in those times it was the sons who were heirs in the family (daughters had no such rights). The Bible uses the term “Sons of God” for both men and women to show that regardless of sex we share equally in our identity as children of God.

Where Security and Joy Come From

‎"I have set the LORD always before me;
because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure."
- Psalm 16:8-9

David, the writer of Psalm 16, is telling us the secret to living a life of joy and security. He makes it plain for us:

1. I have set the LORD always before me.

We must look straight at Christ and fix our gaze and our direction toward Him. Notice this is not setting who we believe the Lord to be in front of us. No, the Lord God is active and living and reveals Himself through the Word of God. We cannot set our perception of who we believe the Lord to be in front of us, because then it is moving as we move. There is no direction.

Instead, we set the Lord God as revealed through scripture in front of us in all we do so that He is the desire of our life and the object of our affection. Hebrews 12 paints a beautiful picture of this:

“Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.”
- Hebrews 12:2-3

Look to Jesus Christ and walk as He walked, follow the narrow way that He has made.

2. Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

Not only should our gaze be constantly fixed on Jesus, at the same time He is right beside us. If we have been granted life-altering belief in Christ as our Lord and Savior, He is right there beside us! He sends His Holy Spirit to dwell within us and promises that He will never leave us or forsake us. This leads the psalmist to say, “I shall not be shaken.”

This reminds me also of Hebrews 12 and the analogy that the author there uses of God shaking the earth and only those who cannot be shaken shall remain. If your gaze is fixed on Christ, He is at your right hand – He is right there with you – and you will not be shaken! Hallelujah.

You could end the psalm there and it would be amazing, but it gets even better.

3. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices.

With the direction, fellowship, and security that come through knowing and following Christ, there flows another wonderful thing: joy. When we look to Christ and realize He is with us, our fear is gone, our hearts fill with joy because if God is for us, who can be against us? With Christ before us and beside us, we cannot help but overflow with joy.

I love that David says “my whole being rejoices.” Everything in me shouts for joy to God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – For the saving work and fellowship with Jesus Christ. Body, mind, and soul – all rejoice!

So if we do not feel secure or joyful in life, the message is clear: look straight ahead to Christ in full belief, enjoy the security of knowing He is with you, and let Him overflow you with joy unspeakable.

Hebrews: What It Taught Me About Studying the Word

Here it is, the last of the Hebrews posts, although there’s no doubt that many posts in the future will have some relationship to Hebrews. I spent over a month in the book of Hebrews, reading each chapter several times, taking notes, listening to sermons on the passages. I even checked out a Bible commentary on Hebrews from the library but honestly had no idea what I was looking at so that didn’t last long.

Believe me, I’m not sharing this to say “oh, I’ve got it figured out.” I had it all wrong for a good long while and it was only by God’s grace that he led me to Hebrews and opened my eyes to His Word. It’s all God. I’m just hopeful that what I’m sharing here may offer you some encouragement. I’m sure there are plenty of people who could tell you more about studying the Bible than I could. I’ve barely even begun. But I do think I may have a unique perspective since I’ve never even considered seminary or preaching or anything like that. I’m pretty much an everyday normal guy who’s a Christian and is learning what that means and trying to be pliable and let the Word of God mold him. That’s me.

But somehow when I dug into Hebrews, God used that to make me fall head over heels in love with His Word and now I just can’t get enough of it. So I’m hopeful to discuss here what changed and what practical things we can we do when we open our  Bibles to see more than just old words on a page.

First some background: I grew up in the church and ever since I could read I was encouraged to read the Bible every day. Eventually, at some point several years ago, it started to feel pointless. I would trudge through a chapter each day with my mind a million miles away on what I would be doing that day or whatever. So for awhile, I stopped reading my Bible on any sort of regular basis. I sometimes wondered why I got nothing when I read the Bible.

This past fall God seriously got my attention and made me see my need for Him and His forgiveness. I knew that I needed to be reading the Bible so I picked it up and started trying again. And there definitely was a difference between then and my previous experience. I still struggled with my mind drifting, but the fact that I actually wanted to hear what God had to say generally meant that something would stick out each time I read that provided food for thought.

Then my friend David and I decided that we would read a book of the Bible and discuss it together a few weeks later. He picked Hebrews (which I had just read a few weeks prior and had almost the entire thing fly right over my head). David’s been through seminary and will soon be the associate pastor at our church so I figured he definitely had a big head start on me in understanding Hebrews, so I tried to just jump in and learn as much as I could.

And so off I went and I was in the book for more than a month, reading pretty much every night. I normally approached it something like this:

• Read the next chapter straight through without worrying about taking notes, just trying to get a feel for it.
• Read the chapter again trying to understand somewhat the overall theme.
• Read the chapters from the Old Testament that are referenced in the chapter. There are lots of references in Hebrews so I found myself in everything from Deuteronomy to Psalms to Jeremiah to Exodus as I tried to gain some context for what the author was saying.
• Read the chapter slowly, paragraph by paragraph and underline any thoughts or phrases that strike me.
• Read through the chapter slowly again, perhaps underlining more things. But at the end of the paragraph write a summation in the margin of the key things that God is showing me in that paragraph.
• After pretty much marking up the whole chapter, I read through it one final time, reading my notes alongside it.

Of course, this is a lot more work than just breezing through a chapter and moving on with your day. So how did I get so much out of Hebrews? Here are some things that I think made the difference:

1. Confession. I could not truly want to hear from God or be able to hear from God with sin in the way between us. There were times when I came to Hebrews and started to read and just wasn’t feeling it and pretty much every time it was because there was something I needed to confess to God and make right with someone – spouse, child, friend, whomever. Sin stands between our minds and God’s Word and we needed to confess our need for God before we can expect to be able to understand anything that He says in an applicable way.
2. Prayer. I prayed before reading that the Holy Spirit would speak to my heart through the Word of God. I believe if that if we desire to hear from God, He absolutely honors that request.
3. Desire. I wanted to understand what God was saying in what I was reading. I’d go further than that to say I desperately wanted to  understand. And when you want it really bad, you search hard, you look at phrases to try to soak every last drop out of the Word of God. You read a chapter as many times as needed until the meaning starts to come out and soak into you.
4. Saturation. Reading nightly was great and thoughts of what I read often went through my mind during the day. But I also found that memorization was a huge help in meditating on the Word. So I found verses that seemed to be a bit more than I could grasp and I memorized them, then thought about them during the day as I drove to work or heated up my lunch. The more that those words ran through my mind, I found the Holy Spirit revealing meaning that I did not understand when I read them before. I also listened to a sermon series on Hebrews by John Piper which helped bring outside perspective. Really, I found that the more ways that I could get into Hebrews and have it in my mind the more that I was able to understand – the more it became a part of me.
5. Sharing. As I saw and was convicted of truth, it was hard not to want to share – and that’s because God’s Word is meant to be shared! So I often found myself bubbling over to the point where I had to let Tiffany know what I just saw or incorporating the lessons of Hebrews into Ian’s bedtime Bible story. And of course this blog came about because I wanted to have somewhere else to share. God’s Word when it is alive and active in us is designed to be spread.

At the end of reading Hebrews, I felt compelled to write a letter to God at the end of the book (the last page was mostly whitespace so it worked out well). I want to share that with you just so you can see what this Word can do:

Heavenly Father,

Thank you beyond all words for the truth You reveal of Your Self in this book and for the warnings, exhortation, and encouragement that You give. Through this book I see:

1. You will shake the heavens and earth in final judgment (chapter 12), leaving only those who cannot be shaken.
2. Jesus Christ, forever priest (chapters 7 and 8) is the only unshakeable foundation. Only those who enter through His priesthood remain.
3. To enter through Christ’s priesthood into the unshakeable Kingdom of God we must draw near to God (else we shrink back and are destroyed).
4. The sacrifice of Christ provides forgiveness of sin and cleansing of conscience so that we may have confidence to draw near to God.
5. It is only through faith that the sacrifice is applied to us, forgiving our sin, cleaning our conscience, and giving us trust in the everlasting city that is to come.

Now we are sojourners on this earth. Soon we will reach the everlasting city. We must persevere and run to win, believing that soon we will obtain it.

Shaken or Standing Firm?

I wrote this post a few weeks ago, but waited until now to publish it. I believe this is the next-to-last post I will do from Hebrews.

I'm convinced that God works in amazing, mysterious ways and it seems that one of those ways is quite often timing. I've been trying to study through Hebrews at night and hoped to really dig into chapter 12 last night, but was way too tired so I only made it through a couple paragraphs. In my morning quiet time I've been reading through the Bible chronologically and today's reading started with Exodus 19 which turned out to be exactly what the seemingly cryptic words toward the end of Hebrews 12 were drawn from. Between those two passages we get a fear-inducing, awe-inspiring picture of God and great appreciation for His work in our lives. The picture makes it clear why the message in the book of Hebrews is so important: so that we will hold fast to Jesus Christ, our strong foundation.

Let's look at Exodus 19 first. Some back-story to begin: God has redeemed His people from slavery in Egypt, destroyed the Egyptian army as the Hebrews crossed the Red Sea on dry land, and provided food and water despite constant grumbling from the Hebrews. Now The Lord is going to give the people His Law (the 10 commandments). But first we have a chapter of vivid description about the setting:

⁹And the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever." When Moses told the words of the people to the LORD, ¹⁰the LORD said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments ¹¹and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. ¹²And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, 'Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. ¹³No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; whether beast or man, he shall not live.' When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain." ¹⁴So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people; and they washed their garments. ¹⁵And he said to the people, "Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman."
Exodus 19:9-15

So we have some very clear specifics from God here for what the people should do and what will happen if they disobey. The Lord is going to reveal Himself on Mt. Sinai - the particulars here are important. He does not want the people to perish. He wants them to receive His law, but He is a holy, righteous God. They are a sinful people. If they come near Him, they will surely die. But the point of all this is in verse 9: "that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever." This is a day that is intended to stick in the minds of the Hebrews for the rest of their lives. They will see God descend on the mountain and speak.

¹⁶On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. ¹⁷Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain.¹⁸Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. ¹⁹And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. ²⁰The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
Exodus 19:16-20

Can you imagine how terrifying this must have been for the people? They know that God is powerful - they've seen what He has done to the Egyptians. But now He is demonstrating Himself to the Hebrews for the purpose of filling them with fear and awe. If I close my eyes and picture the scene - the thunder and lightning, the earth shaking, and fire descending on the mountain it certainly brings the conclusion: this the living, all-powerful God.

Surely this passage had a great effect on the author of Hebrews because it's the image that he reaches for as he crescendos toward the end of Hebrews to show why everything he has written up to this point is so important.

¹⁸For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest ¹⁹and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them.²⁰For they could not endure the order that was given, "If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned." ²¹Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, "I tremble with fear." ²²But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, ²³and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, ²⁴and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
Hebrews 12:18-24

^{Wow. The picture in Exodus 19 is a shadow of the heavenly reality. The Hebrews who were led out of Egypt saw an all-powerful, all-loving, all-judging God descend to the mountain. We will see that same God some day. But we see more! We see "Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant" (verse 24) who makes it possible (as we've discussed prior) for us to draw near to God, to actually be in His presence and live. And not just live as we are accustomed to living on this earth, but to truly live in the city of the living God!}

^{I don't know about you, but that is what I want! The book of Hebrews with it's glorious depiction of Christ and of our struggles makes me more than ever cling to Christ because He is the only way to live in the city who builder is the living God. But we continue...}

²⁵See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. ²⁶At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." ²⁷This phrase, "Yet once more," indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. ²⁸Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, ²⁹for our God is a consuming fire.
Hebrews 12:25-29

This is what Hebrews is about: preparing us for what is going to happen. The same God that brought (and still brings) the thunder and lightning and shook the ground at the mountain in Exodus is going to shake the whole earth and the heavens. The judgment that came on those who disobeyed God and touched the mountain is small in comparison to those who "reject Him who warns from heaven" (verse 25).

In verse 27 we see that when God shakes this world those who can be shaken will be removed. They will be gone. All that will last is what cannot be shaken. And there is only one thing in this world that cannot be shaken: the kingdom of God. If we are truly a part of that kingdom, we cannot be shaken (verse 28). Hebrews is about ensuring that we are actively living in that kingdom! If we aren't living in it, we aren't in it.

We see how important a strong foundation is. So how do we hold on to this strong foundation?

¹⁸God 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. ¹⁹We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, ²⁰where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews 6:18-20

Jesus Christ is the answer (isn't He always?). We look to Jesus. A great place to start is this book of Hebrews to read about the amazing thing that Christ has done in sacrificing Himself and becoming our high priest to make the way for us to draw near to God. And as you look to Jesus, pray that the Holy Spirit would draw you close to God, to give you confidence in the unshakable, firm and secure anchor for your soul: Jesus Christ.

Faith Part 2: Endurance

This is part 2 of my posts about faith. Previously we looked at Faith and Belief.

In looking at the tremendous examples of faith in Hebrews 11, one of the characteristics that clearly sticks out is that the faith that these men (and women) had was an ongoing, difficult challenge. Their faith was not true without endurance.

⁷By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
- Hebrews 11:7

No doubt, constructing an ark was not a quick, easy thing. We don't know exactly how long it took Noah, but it likely took from 90-100 years. Can you imagine the ridicule and doubt that Noah must have endured during that time? To spend every day building a gigantic boat when there was no water around for miles? Noah's faith was so grounded in God's word, that it stood the test of time. He kept on building and endured. And then one day God's promise came true and the floods came. The thing that Noah had worked on for almost a century was proven to be worthwhile and because of Noah's faith humanity was saved. Amazing.

¹¹By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. ¹²Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.
- Hebrews 11:11-12

Here's another story of faith in the face of a long, seemingly impossible wait. God promised Abraham and Sarah a son. He did not promise them how long it would take. Can you imagine the conversations Abraham and Sarah must have had during the time between God's promise and its fulfillment. No doubt they each had days where it felt like they would never have a son - surely it seemed impossible. But together they held tight and clung to God's promise because it was all they had. Together their faith endured. And one day it happened. Isaac was born and through his lineage God blessed the entire world.

I have recently been learning of this kind of faith of necessity. Near the beginning of this year God called Tiffany and I to adopt a child. We have no doubt that God placed the desire in our hearts and confirmed it in many ways. We worked hard and did all the paperwork, interviews, etc. God provided (amazingly) all of the money needed for the adoption. Everything that we can do has been done. And yet there is no baby yet. We wait, knowing that any day we could get the phone call announcing that there is a baby for us to bring home or an expectant mother to meet. That call could come tomorrow or next week or next month or next year. We don't know. We just have to wait.

And as we all know waiting is hard. But it doesn't mean that God isn't coming through on His promise. It means that He is coming through in His time for His glory and our good. Honestly, this time has made me dig deeper into God's word, seeking out His will and His promises. And the one thing that the Holy Spirit has consistently been reminding me of through God's word is the importance of endurance. Endurance is the shoe leather side of faith.

³⁴For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. ³⁵Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. ³⁶For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.
- Hebrews 10:34-36

We have need of endurance, which comes only through confidence in Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith. We need endurance in times of waiting, in times of difficulty, in times of suffering to know that through Christ we have a better, abiding possession and a great reward. But notice what verse 36 says: we have need of endurance so that when we have done the will of God we may receive what is promised. I believe it means that enduring in faith in God's promise is the will of God. Yet at the same time it takes endurance to carry out what God desires, whether that is adoption or building an ark.

But notice the sequence of thought in verse 36: we need endurance to do the will of God to receive what is promised. Through enduring faith we do what God desires. As we do what God desires (in obedience) we receive what is promised. And based on all that we have looked at my conclusion is that faith works like this:

1. God makes a promise.
2. We believe the promise and live for that promise.
3. We endure, believing that promise through whatever difficulty may arise.
4. God's will is done in our life for it is His will that we endure in faith.
5. God's promise is carried out.

Honestly, in looking at it in that sequence the fulfillment of God's promise is amazing, but is it any less amazing that He grants us to endure in faith and carries out His will in our lives making it possible?

So we see the importance of endurance and the role of endurance in faith. Also (thank God) Hebrews 12 shows us how to endure:

¹Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ²looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. ³Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
- Hebrews 12:1-3

There are two key points that I gather from this passage that show how to endure to the end:

1. Get rid of everything that holds you back from living (running for) the reward. It's important to notice the wording "let us lay aside every weight and sin" meaning that there may be things in our lives that are not sin per se, but are weighing us down and keeping us from wholeheartedly following God. The things that come to mind for me (your list may be different) are entertainment - television, sports, video games, etc. It could be things like worry or arrogance. Or it could be sin. There could be idols with deep footholds in our lives that are keeping us from running with endurance. These must be thrown off so that we can have enduring faith.
2. Look to Jesus. Three simple, but all-important words. Pick up God's word and look how Jesus endured the cross and endured hostility from sinful men. He endured to do the will of God to secure for us what is promised! If Hebrews 10:34 looks distant and impossible from where you stand, look to Jesus. He made the way! He endured through faith to become the founder and perfecter of our faith. When in doubt look to Jesus, look to Jesus, look to Jesus, and when you finish doing that look to Jesus!

We can, no we must, trust God that He is faithful in what He has promised. That happens through faith, believing and enduring so that we may see God's will done in our lives and His promise fulfilled.

Faith: True, Unshakeable Belief

I originally wrote this post about faith a couple weeks ago and forgot to post it. Since then there is another aspect of faith that I see in these verses that I would like to discuss in an upcoming post. So consider this post to be part 1…

In the last post we looked at the fact that what we truly need is to draw near to God and how Christ makes that possible, not just by providing forgiveness for our sin, but by cleansing our conscience so that instead of being ashamed and hiding from God we will desire God.

Many may think “that all sounds great, but my conscience still doesn’t feel clean. I feel guilty. The idea of drawing near to God is frightening.” That is where faith comes in. Faith is what makes belief in Christ’s sacrifice and the promises of God possible. Because if we don’t believe how can we lay hold of the promises? We cannot see the promises of God fulfilled in us unless we believe in God and trust that He will deliver on what He promises.

Why is it so important that we have faith? The last verse of Hebrews makes it clear:

³⁹But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.
Hebrews 10:39

Without faith in God we will not have a clean conscience, thus we will shrink back from God and be destroyed. This is serious.

Thank God we have Hebrews 11, a chapter filled not just with an explanation of what faith is but many examples of faith in action. The chapter begins with a simple, but profound description of what faith is:

¹Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1

Faith is complete conviction of what we hope for, knowing that someday we will see what for now we have to trust. It is complete, unrelenting belief that God will follow through on His promises. But it’s much easier to claim that we have faith than it is to live it out. Faith in our minds might mean that we go to church every Sunday and read our Bible every day knowing that there is a God out there who has something to say to us. And it is that, but if that is all that faith is to us then we are missing the boat.

What does faith look like in someone’s life? Let’s look at a couple examples from Hebrews 11. I discussed the faith of Abraham in an earlier post (which also has roots in Hebrews 11) as he obeyed God to the point of willingness to sacrifice his only son, but this time I particularly want to look at his faith as a sojourner, believing God’s promise:

⁸By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. ⁹By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.¹⁰For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.
Hebrews 11:8-10

Consider that Abraham never had a house. His entire life he lived in tents, packing up and moving on as God led, onward to the promised land. This is weird to our 21st century American minds. Abraham never settled down? He never had a home? By faith Abraham was confident that he did have a home: the city built by God. And though he did not see that home while he was on earth, he had complete confidence that one day he would see it. The faith of Abraham completely changed the way he lived. He did not live the good life on earth. He lived as someone who was looking forward to something far better.

I fear that thought is so foreign to us. It is such a temptation to try to create a comfortable life for ourselves with a comfortable home and live like the here and now is all that matters. But it’s a huge mistake. We can look to Abraham as an example of someone who realized that and lived for a city built by God.

I love the verses that follow explaining the importance of Abraham and other heroes of the faith living as sojourners:

¹³These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. ¹⁴For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. ¹⁵If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.
Hebrews 11:13-16

So one practical application of what faith looks like in our lives is that faith leads us to live for what is to come, not for the here and now. The second example that we see with Moses is an extension of this thought:

²⁴By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, ²⁵choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. ²⁶He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.
Hebrews 11:24-26

Moses had a sweet life as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He had everything a person on earth could want. But in faith he decided to identify with the Hebrews and take on the resulting punishment instead of identifying with the sinful Egyptian culture which had subjected the Hebrews to slavery. Can you imagine how difficult this was for Moses? Moses was a prince in Egypt, yet gave that completely up to follow God. “He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt.” He was “looking to the reward.”

So what are we looking to? Financial security? Wealth? A happy family? Those things pale in comparison to what we would be looking to if we lived by faith: we would be looking to the reward that God gives those who draw near to him. This challenges me to the core.

This faith that Abraham and Moses and the other people discussed in Hebrews 11 had was not just a belief. It resulted in endurance through all challenges because they had full conviction that what was to come was far greater than their “light and momentary afflictions.”

But the ultimate hero of faith is Jesus Christ:

¹Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,²looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:1-2

Jesus is the founder and perfecter of our faith. He is the only thing that makes it possible for us to have faith. The heroes of faith in Hebrews 11 endured much but Jesus endured the cross. Without that truth, faith is meaningless. Faith always comes back to Jesus Christ. We must believe with all our hearts that Christ’s work has made the way to God, giving us a true eternal home in the city that God has built. If we truly believe that, it will change our lives both now and forever.