for wilma

I know a great lady in this little town. I saw her a few weeks ago and promised her a post. So, Wilma, this one's for you.

I thought a small update was in order.

First, I am seriously considering applying for a small pastor's college in Bloomington, IN. (Thanks to Alex for telling me about it.) I visited this last weekend and am nearly positive that I'll be throwing my hat into the pool of applicants. Lord willing, I'll get some much needed discipleship and training.

Second, I'm loving my new church, CCC. So are my parents. It's fantastic. Christ-exalting fellowship is always a good thing.

Third, I'll be back to regular blogging next Monday. I've been slowly working on some posts for the last month, hoping to get enough ready that I won't have to physically think of and write something every day. With that will come, sporadically, the rest of my series on Grounding Election.

And now, on to more excellent matters.

I've been reading and studying Hebrews for years now. I love that book. And, I think it has officially passed Ephesians as my favorite. That's saying a lot. Ephesians held that place for over 6 years.

Here's a taste (from chapter 2):

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.

Jesus HAD to be made like us. Had to. Think about that. It was a necessary part of the Gospel. God could not save us without this. Jesus had to become a man. He had to have bones and blood. He had to experience pain. Physical and emotional. He had to know what it meant to cry. He had to feel the tempting spirit of Satan. He had to get calluses and skin his knees. He had to grow up from an infant, needing his mother to feed him and change him. He had to.

What else though? Just before that portion we read:

For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.

It fits that Jesus, FOR whom and BY whom all things exist, should have to do those things. It makes sense that the God of the universe had to humble himself to the point of death, even death on a cross, for his creation. The majestic Word of God that spoke into creation all things and that still holds them together. That God. The one that is eternal. All-powerful. All-wise. All-knowing. All-loving. Perfectly Holy. That Lord.

Meditate on that for awhile today.

How good is our Heavenly Father?

So good that He sent his Son.

Amen.

-joe

consider Jesus

Hebrews chapter 3 starts with a very simple directive: Consider Jesus.

He is:
The Apostle and High Priest of our confession
He was faithful to the Father
Worthy of more glory than Moses
He is the great builder (and therefore, God)
He is God's Son

What are we to do with this information?

We are to exhort one another with it everyday. All the time. Without fail.

Jesus is supreme in every way and unique in every way. Consider Him. He is worthy of all glory.

I tell you this for a purpose, so that you will not be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. So that you will not have a hard, unbelieving heart. So that you won't rebel like the Israelites.

Consider Jesus, friends. He was sent by the Father on a mission (apostle) to become the mediator between God and man (high priest). He was faithful in this purpose and is worthy of more glory than any faithful man who ever lived because He is God's Son. Since God is the builder of all things and Jesus is also the builder, that means He is God.

God came to save sinners. Give him glory.

Consider Jesus.

-joe

a briefing on Jesus and the hypostatic union

Hebrews 2 makes clear two things: Jesus is God and Jesus is man. He is both. And he must be both.

The hypostatic union is a fancy way of declaring those truths. The term, taken from Greek, means "personal" and the phrase means the combination of the two natures of Christ in his person.

The writer of Hebrews, in the midst of declaring the human nature of Jesus, keeps pounding home his divine nature, as well. Below I've copied the text of most of the second chapter and I've bolded the phrases that declare his divinity and italicized his humanity. Behold, the God-man:

Now it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. It has been testified somewhere,

"What is man, that you are mindful of him,
or the son of man, that you care for him?
You made him for a little while lower than the angels;
you have crowned him with glory and honor,
putting everything in subjection under his feet."

Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying,

"I will tell of your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise."

And again,

"I will put my trust in him."

And again,

"Behold, I and the children God has given me."

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. 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.


This is our God. This is our brother. Hallelujah.

-joe

pay attention

Remember how Jesus is greater than angels? Well, according to Hebrews 2, we should probably pay really close attention to this thing called the "Gospel" because if the message declared by angels (the Old Testament law) had severe punishment (death) then certainly ignoring the commands of Jesus would bring even greater punishment (eternal death.)

How can we pay close attention?

First, by reading, studying, meditating and memorizing the Scriptures, which are the verbal testimony of Jesus, the Lord, and the folks who saw him. If we want to pay close attention to something, who better than the source himself and those closest to him?

Second, you should try to love the church which is where God displays himself via supernatural means and the Spiritual Gifts. The writer of Hebrews hits that idea again in chapter 10, but for now let's just realize that the church is the living testimony of the truth of the Gospel. We should be trying to make her as true to that calling as she can be.

So, go read your Bible and serve the church. And pay attention because this Gospel is the most important thing that has ever been told.

-joe

eternal security

After reading and commenting on a couple of Alex's posts, I've attempted to explain a tough idea with a word picture.

I'll start out with telling you that this idea has been bumping around in my head frequently as I prepare to lead my Senior Highers through the book of Hebrews over the next year. Hebrews is full of all these "warning passages" which seem, at times, to say that our faith to persevere is based on obedience and/or our growth in Christ.

I don't believe this to be the case and here is how I explain it.

I think the warning passage in Hebrews are meant to continually remind us that our faith is not based on us, our obedience or our growth in Christ. Those warning passages are there to let us know that it's all about Jesus.

Think of it like this:
Eternal security is like this giant mountain that you are climbing throughout your Christian life and all along the way we get this sense that we are perfectly safe.

We grab a climbing harness, like the defeat of a certain sin, and strap ourselves in. We cling to this evidence of faith and depend on it to continue to bring us to the top.

And then, higher up we run into a good friend and they become our climbing partner for awhile. They are great. They bear a lot of burdens for us because we are tired and lonely. They grab our 50-lb pack with ease (for a time) and we chalk this up as evidence that we are on track.

Later on we get to a large ravine and we cross it with a ladder, like consistent prayer, and we are confident of the strength of that ladder. We see it as a strong piece of wood that is virtually indestructible.

The problem that Hebrews makes clear is none of those things are what secures us. Hebrews shouts out: "Wake up!! You're near the edge! Cling to the rock! Let Christ's hand reach down to sustain you! Look out!! That ravine is deep and your ladder is full of holes!!"

And the point? The point of those warning passages is summed up in Hebrews 2:1, "Therefore, we must pay much closer to the things we have heard, lest we drift away from it."

What is the it? It's Jesus. It's the Gospel. He's the harness, the friend and the ladder.

The warning passage are meant to take our eyes from ourselves and the things around us and put them onto Christ. They are not meant to scare us with doubts and fear of falling, but to redirect our gaze to the One who holds and sustains us.

And so, I warn you, don't neglect this "great salvation" and keep your eyes on Christ. He will make sure that you are eternally secure in His arms.

-joe

how about some scripture

There's nothing like a good chunk of Scripture. Here is one of my favorites from the past few months.

Hebrews 1:1-, 2:1-4, 10-13
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying,

"I will tell of your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise."

And again,

"I will put my trust in him."

And again,

"Behold, I and the children God has given me."

-joe

lest we drift away

"Therefore, we must pay much closer to the things we have heard, lest we drift away from it." - Hebrews 2:1

More than any verse in the last year, this one has been burned into my mind. In recent months I have been caught repeating it over and over again. I have prayed over it, meditated over it and been confronted with the enormity of my sin of complacency.

And I'm not talking about my inaction within the church or in life (although a good case could be made for that), I'm talking about my apathy towards this "great salvation" that Hebrews speaks of so highly.

The first chapter of Hebrews is a Christ exalting hymn of praise. God spoke to us by His Son, the heir of all things, creator and sustainer of the world, God made visible and mightier than angels. Therefore, we should pay attention to it. Because it is a great and awesome thing that God has come down to save us. PAY ATTENTION because it is worthy of all attention.

And then the sober warning, "lest you drift away from it." What a terrible thing, to drift. So subtle. So easy. So deadly. It takes no energy to drift away from something. It's not like taking an oar and working to pull yourself away from Christ. It's not doing all the impure things of this world. It's simply refusing to pay attention. That's easy. And I do it all the time.

And the scarier part is that you can be drifting and still doing things that look good. You can still be evangelizing, helping the poor, teaching in the church, and faithfully tithing. You can be the first to volunteer for every event and the last to leave. You can be, outwardly, a great Christian and still be drifting away from Christ.

So, I encourage you with the writer of Hebrews, to "take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin." (Hebrews 3:12-13)

-joe

hebrews 1

Here is my sermon from this past Sunday. It is on the first 3 1/2 verses of Hebrews.

These verses continually push me towards worship. I hope they do the same for you.

(You can also click here for a downloadable version.)

May God be gracious and keep us from drifting.

-joe