Forgiveness, Peace, Newness and Hope

It is with great hope we begin this new year. We know that Jesus has been born, lived a perfect life, died on our behalf, rose from the dead, ascended up into Heaven and is ruling Heaven and Earth until all of His enemies are subdued beneath His feet. That is glory enough for great rejoicing.

But He has done even more than this. He has sent His Holy Spirit to dwell with us and to assure us of His love. His Spirit convicts us of sins so that we turn to Him for grace and His grace is always sufficient so that wherever sin abounds grace doth much more abound. He also teaches us and nurtures us so that we grow up in wisdom and in favor with God and men. We see real progress because God’s Spirit gives us real victory through Jesus Christ. We have forgiveness and peace and we have newness and hope.

Naked Souls

We are all naked souls before our Father in Heaven. This image seems scary to us. Who wants to be fully exposed to God? Our God is a consuming fire and so standing in His presence on our own, in our own skin, is frightful.

          

But being a naked soul before God does not have to strike fear in us if we are clothed in Christ. If we have put on Christ, then it is not our own sinful inclinations or even actions that the Lord sees. Rather, He sees us covered in the image of His own Son. He sees us as we shall be when we have fully put away sin and death and have no reason for our fears. 

But this is not merely something that is future. There will be a day when we will sin no more, when our bodies and spirits are in perfect harmony. But even then, it will be because we are clothed in Christ. We will still be living by grace. But the reality will have arrived. 

For now, we do this by faith. We believe God’s declaration of love for us because we know that Jesus is our Savior. So, there is no hiding from God. But we don’t have to hide like Adam and Eve. We are covered with Jesus. He bids us to come to Him, to sit and eat and drink and be comforted in His presence.

Sweet Doctrines of Grace

One of the fundamentals of Reformed Theology is God's absolute sovereignty over all things. This truth produces peace in the faithful as they face life's various uncertainties. Uncertain to us, at least. My wife and I planned on going to Monroe, Louisiana today to the Auburn Avenue Pastor's Conference. We had hoped to learn much at the conference, visit some dear friends and even head over and see the Duck Dynasty folks. Alas, it shall not be. Our flight to Atlanta was delayed which meant we would miss the next flight to Monroe. There are no alternate flights today and we would arrive too late tomorrow to take in much of the conference. So, we had a nice breakfast and headed back to Lynchburg. In God's wisdom, Lynchburg is the place for the Hurts this week.

Shorter Catechism
Q. 7. What are the decrees of God?
A. The decrees of God are his eternal purpose, according to the counsel of his will, whereby, for his own glory, he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass.

Now that our trip has come and passed, we know the decree of God, one of His eternal purposes, according to the counsel of His will that this was foreordained for His own glory.

That is a sweet doctrine, and peaceful.

Immortals Do Not Fear

Dear Saints, Jesus is victorious. He was victorious. He is victorious. He will be victorious. Nothing can change that. He is God in the flesh. He is our God in the flesh. And we are now seated with Him at the right hand of the Father, ruling with Him until all of His enemies are subdued beneath His feet. We still battle, not all enemies are yet subdued. But the outcome is certain. The victory is secure. Satan is defeated and all of his minions will be reigned in, judged and put away forever. And we will always remain with Jesus forever.

         This is as certain as the sunrise, the changing of the seasons, the birth of the Christ by a Virgin, the death of Jesus on the cross, the Resurrection of our Lord from the dead, Jesus’s Ascension into the Glory Cloud, the seating of Jesus, in power, at the right hand of the Father, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to dwell with us always, and the Final Consummation of all things in the General Resurrection at the Last Day. We are immortals with Christ. Whom shall we fear?

The Vanity of Rivalry

As we start this New Year, we often make new resolutions about ourselves. We want to eat better, exercise more, read the Bible more consistently. This is good but it sometimes leads to increased guilt and shame because we set ourselves up for failure. But we are made to imitate and the Bible even calls us to imitation. Imitate me, Paul said, as I imitate Christ. So, it is good to find a model and seek to improve, physically, sure, but much more importantly, learning to be like Jesus.

         What is the essence of Christlikeness? Service. The Lord was a servant. We talk a lot about this but sometimes struggle to convey what we really mean. I want to suggest that the heart of all antichrist behavior is some level of rivalry. The devil was a rival of God and set this satanic theme in motion in the world. Cain killed Abel and the wicked have mocked the faithful ever since. But even brothers rival brothers. Jesus brothers mocked Him. The apostles jostled for position against one another. Peter even had the audacity to seek to put Jesus in His place and Jesus called him Satan.

         So, imitate the righteous but do not allow yourself to compete with the righteous for gain, recognition, power, prestige, perceived spiritual maturity, authority in God’s Kingdom, or influence in the world. Jesus served, even unto death and the Lord highly exalted Him. That should be our goal, exaltation from the Father. But in order to get that, we must humble ourselves before Him and His Saints. Rivalries are futile because they are satanic. They birth bitterness, revenge, spite, strife, division, and murder. Let us choose rather to serve.

The Certain Victory of Jesus

Our Hope is in The Certain Victory of Jesus

Psalm 2- Psa. 2:1   Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?  2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,  3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. 

Folks, does this not sound like modern liberals? Like postmoderns? Like libertarians? Like sodomites? Like Ayn Randian Capitalists? No constraints, we will do what we want because we can! Who can stop us?

Saints, do not be discouraged by this. It is the way of the devil and until Jesus subdues all of His enemies, Satan will act like Satan.

4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.  5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.  6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.

What is God’s response? He laughs. He laughs because they are trying to prevent the Kingship of Jesus but God has already established Him King. There is nothing they can do about it, no matter how much they rage. They try to discourage us that our resistance is futile but God, in His ironic way, laughs because He knows that their resistance is futile.

Psa. 2:7   I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.  8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.  9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

Jesus will rule. His Father gave Him ALL of the nations. Jesus always does His Father’s will and that will is to break them with a rod of iron. That rod is the Word of God, the Bible, the Gospel. It breaks some by breaking their hearts and making them servants. It breaks others by crushing them to pieces under the load of their rebellion.

Psa. 2:10   Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.  11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.  12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

The Gospel- Be wise. Serve the Lord with fear. Rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry and ye perish in the way. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.

He Who Laughs Last

As we face a new year, we face uncertainty. The future is always like that. We know it is coming, we just do not know what it involves. Like the old joke, the light at the end of the tunnel just might be a train. Or, as any minister can tell you, things are never so bad that they can’t get worse.

         Cheering words to start the year, eh? Especially after we got all geared up with new resolutions, rejoiced with hope, grasping the future with ever fleeting waves of faith. We try to bolster ourselves up with a positive mental attitude. I am all for a positive mental attitude and waves of hope but unless they are rightly placed, they come and go like the waves on the sea. We have it then we don’t. We are sure then we are not. We are solid until we sink.

         As we look at the society around us, at least in its public form; film, music, entertainment, sports, politics and even the church, there is plenty we can be disheartened about. We hope these things will get better but the message being pounded into our heads is that they really won’t, so we may as well embrace the chaos, the futility, the absurdity, the meaninglessness.

         I think we are often sold a bill of goods. Satan is a good showman. He can elicit despair by the mere show of the futility of resistance. The show says resistance is futile and therefore we wrongly assume that victory or even resistance is impossible. Satan’s ploy is to get us to give in, to give up and to become insignificant. By Satan, I do not mean the Devil, per se. I do not think the devil, as a person, is organized enough for such haughty and deliberate opposition. There is a real devil, the one that tempted Eve in the garden. But he has been judged by Jesus and will be tossed into the lake of fire. But there is a satanic influence in our culture, the culture that embraces death, the abortion mills, the sodomite agenda, those that legislate away our freedoms, and the prosper at any cost capitalists. We live in era in which we see every day, displayed by a media that has succumbed to these influences, that resistance is futile. The wave has rolled over us.

         To some degree, this satanic method is successful. Christians act defenseless, are frustrated and seem resigned to the downward spiral. This ought not to be the case. Professing Christians make up 75 % of the American culture. That is a high number. I am not saying that these are all faithful evangelical Christians. But 75% of Americans in a recent poll identified belief in God and associated that belief with Christianity. Only 17% consider themselves unbelievers. 5% are adherents of other religions. That leaves 3% in some other category.

         When we consider how successful the immoral minority has been in controlling most of the media outlets in our country, it is truly astounding. The abortion mills and the sodomites have nearly silenced a nation that ought to overwhelmingly defeat their antichrist agenda. What has happened to us?

         In the recent flap with Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty, the contrast has become stark. A man speaks and presumably 75% of Americans agree with him at some level. The extreme leftist minority chimes in, with the megaphone of mainstream media and 200 million Christians cower in fear or start making qualifying statements. Folks, find a voice. Do not fear the devil, no matter what sort of clothes he dresses in. He can dress like your nightly news anchor, a homosexual Episcopal priest, a professional basketball player, Miley Cyrus. The devil creates the chaos, so that the crowd can affix its gaze at its victim. In the latest case, the victim was Phil Robertson. But what happens if the victim will not be victimized? What happens when the victim refuses to be sacrificed?

         Folks, we have to stop being the victims. This does not mean that we return evil for evil. We do not lash out with the same sort of violence that verbally attacks and is willing for more murderous rage. But we do not cave into the demands of the devil. We do not agree with him. The bible says to resist the devil and he will flee from you.

         Is this a surprise to you? Christians have been led to believe that if we resist the devil, he will run right over us. But the devil is a bully and bullies cannot defeat Jesus. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

         Folks, the devil is running a show with smoke and mirrors. The reality is that Jesus is the victor. Time to stand up to him, like Jesus, making a show of him openly, triumphing over him, in the cross.

         Why is sodomy bad? Because Jesus died to save such sinners. Why are the abortion mills bad? Because Jesus died for the innocent, including the unborn. Why is seeking profits at any cost wicked? Because Jesus took the side of the widow and orphan. Why is seizing political power not the way to win the world to Christ? Because Jesus washed the disciples feet and served though He was the creator of all.

         We have the answer to these questions and the answer is not traditional marriage, or the Judeo Christian ethic, or conservative politics. We have been fighting those losing battles far too long. The answer is that Jesus came into the world to save sinners and He is doing just that.

         Phil Robertson had the gall to call men sinners. This was their only hope in being saved, to recognize their sin and turn from it and to Christ. Instead, they tried to laugh Phil into scorn. But the scornful do not get the last laugh. Our Lord watches this all from heaven. He holds them in derision and laughs.

Old Fashioned god

In a recent post, I confessed that I had not realized how much I thought of God as American. I know, theologically, that is silly. But practically, we are Americans and think like Americans, and make the mistake of thinking that others think like we do. Our greatest other is God but we are to think like Him and not make the mistake of thinking that He thinks like us.

Today, as I was musing about this once again, and also thinking about some of our modern foibles, entertainment, internet, technology, I realized that I often think back with nostalgia and the good ole days. That is not all bad if we are trying to reform where we have gone astray from God so we can get back on track. But it is a great mistake if we think God was the God of the 1950s, or the 1517's, or the early Christian era, or New Testament times. God is not Father Knows Best.

God is not looking at the modern world and wishing it were the 1950s again. He is not lamenting the advent of technology, the television, the computer, the internet, or cell phones. This is His world and it is developing in the way that advances the Kingdom of Christ to the very ends of the Earth. God is not likely to move out to a little plot of land far away from the city, grow some organic food and remain off the grid. That is a god we have made in our fear laden image.

The world is His and all the fulness thereof.

It's All In Girard, Man

I am rereading I See Satan Fall Like Lightning. I have heard the phrase somewhere in the past, "It's all in Girard, man," and now have used it many times myself. Its true. Girard captures the heart of conflict. Understanding this is very helpful for a pastor, particularly, but would be equally helpful in every area of Christian endeavor; marriage, family, vocation, church relationships. I highly recommend this book and suggest you do a quick read through of the general concepts every few years.

On New Year's Eve, each member of our family answered the question, "Other than the Bible, what is the most influential book you have read?" Different members of the family answered the question for different reasons.

My answers were two.

1. The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien, which I read as a senior in college. I was a philosophy major but not really a reader. I read what I had to read when I had to read it. The Hobbit was one of the first fiction books I remember reading that I really, really enjoyed. After that, the Trilogy and a march through all the classics of Western literature. It was the beginning of my education.

2. I See Satan Fall Like Lightning, Rene Girard. I first read the book four or five years ago. His explanation of mimesis and then mimetic rivalry will answer many questions you have about why people act the way that they do. Instead of being constantly puzzled and frustrated by the behavior of folks, you will gain a grounded understanding in the meaning of fallen man. What's more, Girard points to the answer of fallen man, the man Jesus, in whom Satan, the accuser of the brethren, is toppled and the end of mimetic rivalry becomes a reality. I have got a few of my friends to read the book and some have said that it is tough sledding. I think it is worth your while. At the very least, get the book and read the excellent summary and introduction by James G. Williams.

Strong Meat Hebrews 5 Part 3

Hebrews 5:1 For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins:  2 Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.  3 And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.  4 And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.  5 So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee.  6 As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. 

This Melchisedec is the meat. This has to do with an eternal High Priest, pointing to Jesus Christ. This eternal priesthood points us to settled truth, that Jesus is and always will be our high priest. This points to the fact that old age is passing away and that the time for all other earthly priests was ending.

7 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;  8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;  9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

He learned obedience by the things which He suffered is meat. Since Jesus is the perfect perpetual priest, He is the author of eternal salvation unto those who obey Him.

Heb. 5:10   Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.  11 Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.  12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.

EXHORDIUM

13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.  14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

He is exhorting them to teach rather than needing taught. Of course, you need a teacher. Our teacher is the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself. He has appointed teachers in the church.  Paul stirred up the faithful with continual reminders. He wanted them to press on into the deep things of God but was unembarrassed to remind them again and again of the foundation that is Christ.

As Paul pushes his argument about the priesthood of Melchizedek we see that he is talking about Christ. Christ had no beginning and He has no end. He is the new order of priesthood and now the only priest, the perpetual priest. All the speculation about the Christ, who He is, what He means, what that means to those who have faith in Him and those who reject Him, is all settled. We do not need to continually lay that foundation. Instead, we look forward to that which God will do to us, for us and with us, in Christ. We press on to the higher calling. We expect God to fulfill His promises to us in Jesus.

         These deep things have to do with God’s purpose in history. It is just as certain as the foundations that God has laid down in Christ. But unless our foundations are sure, we have no faith in the security of the rest of the building.

         Chapter 6 says if you have been enlightened in Christ and have tasted of Him but turn back, then it is hard to revive you again to faithfulness. So, don’t do that, press on. We believe better things for you.

         Minister to the saints. This gives you assurance of God’s working in your lives. Assurance is one of the deeper things of God. Stop doubting God’s goodness and rest in it. Do you love the saints? This is a testimony of God’s active work in your life. Endure that you might inherit the promises of God in Christ.

         As we look forward, we see Jesus in heaven at the right hand of the Father, our high priest, in the Holy of Holies for us, taking away sin, praying for us. This is the anchor of the soul.

         Jesus is the High Priest on the power of an indestructible life. That ought to give us great hope.

         Heb. 8:1   Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a ahigh priest, who has taken His seat at bthe right hand of the throne of the bMajesty in the heavens,  2 a aminister 1in the sanctuary, and 1in the btrue 2tabernacle, which the Lord cpitched, not man.

         Heb. 8:10    “aFOR THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL

         AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD:

         I WILL PUT MY LAWS INTO THEIR MINDS,

         AND I WILL WRITE THEM bUPON THEIR HEARTS.

         AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD,

         AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.

11      “aAND THEY SHALL NOT TEACH EVERYONE HIS FELLOW CITIZEN,

         AND EVERYONE HIS BROTHER, SAYING, ‘KNOW THE LORD,’

         FOR bALL SHALL KNOW ME,

         FROM THE LEAST TO THE GREATEST OF THEM.

12      “aFOR I WILL BE MERCIFUL TO THEIR INIQUITIES,

         bAND I WILL REMEMBER THEIR SINS NO MORE.”

13 1When He said, “aA new covenant,”He has made the first obsolete. bBut whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is 2ready to disappear.

         The message here is clear. The New Covenant is a greater covenant based on better promises. The Old Covenant is old and about to disappear. This will usher in an era where the people of God stream into His Kingdom in unprecedented numbers.

        

         Heb. 10:11 11 And every priest stands daily ministering and aoffering time after time the same sacrifices, which bcan never take away sins;  12 but He, having offered one sacrifice afor 1sins bfor all time, cSAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD,  13 waiting from that time onward aUNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET.

         Heb. 10: 18 Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.

         Jesus has perfected those who have faith in Him, once for all. This has to do with our eternal rest in Christ. This is the full assurance he is speaking of. As long as we look to Jesus as our High Priest, our eternal salvation is absolutely secure.

         Heb. 10:19   Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,  20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;  21 And having an high priest over the house of God;  22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.  23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)  24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:  25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

         I am glad we say this each Lord’s Day. We are assuring ourselves that we can draw near to God because we are in Christ and Christ is at the right hand of the Father.

         It is still possible to trample under foot the blood of the covenant but we believe better things for you.

Heb. 10:35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.  36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.  37 For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.  38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.  39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

So, let us continue on in faith, believing God. We get the great faith chapter 11, of all those who believed God but never fully saw the promise. Nevertheless, they have received it now. We are to have faith like them as we look and walk forward. God is not slow about His promises, so have faith, Heb. 11:1  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Heb. 12:1   Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,  2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.  3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

Chapter 12 speaks of discipline. The Lord chastens those He loves. This is so that we can grow up, eat strong meat and stay faithful. This, too, is the deep things of God, and ought to give us assurance of His care for us.

Heb. 12:28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:  29 For our God is a consuming fire.13:1   Let brotherly love continue.

Having said all this, what does he then tell us to do? It sounds like the basics but it is built upon the foundation and the deep things of God, the enduring priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Chapter 13 says,

1.    Love the brothers.

2.    Entertain strangers

3.    Remember those in bonds and those that suffer adversity

4.    Be faithful in your marriages and no fornication or adultery

5.    Don’t covet and be content

6.    Take the Lord as your helper and do not fear man

7.    Remember your elders and imitate them as they imitate Christ

8.    Don’t follow strange doctrines and food fads

9.    Continue to offer the sacrifice of praise in thanksgiving

10. Obey your elders so they can watch over you with joy instead of grief

Finally, he bestows a blessing on them and we will end with the blessing. Because Jesus is our eternal High Priest, we look to Him in faith as the author and finisher of our faith.  We can rest assured and we can live out our days doing that which He has called us to, mainly, love God, love the brothers. So, we know that if we look to Jesus, our works are indeed well pleasing in His sight.

Heb. 13:20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,  21 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Strong Meat Hebrews 5 Part 2

These things seem both foundational and worth revisiting. What is the apostle getting at? How is it that we should desire meat and not merely milk? What is it to move on to the deep things of God, not spending our time on the foundational principles?

Paul is not telling us to look lightly on these things, as if they are no longer important to us. A baby could never take strong meat without first being fed milk. The milk is necessary but it is for the purpose of growing up and eating meat.

These first principles are meant for us to establish a foundation that can never be moved. He is not saying that we should stop teaching these things. Because they are foundations, they are fundamental. They are necessary to the superstructure. But once the house is built, we stop thinking about how it got so tall, how much it weighs, whether it will fall down. If we laid a good foundation, then we do not have to worry about the superstructure. It is firm. But a house that has fine a foundation only needs one. It would be an odd house if it were sitting on twenty feet of concrete.

The author of Hebrews mentions that these saints ought to be teachers but they are still babies needing milk. He then goes on to give them strong meat. He mentions that Jesus is in the order of Melchizedek and then pushes this theme for the next several chapters.

What is he getting at?

         First of all, although the Apostle gives a small remonstrance to the Hebrews, it is not a strong rebuke. He says in Philippians that it is no problem for him to repeat the same things and it is a safeguard for them. So, for a preacher to often repeat the foundational truths is not a problem. We should often remind ourselves of our foundational truths. But we don’t stop there. We don’t simply continue to lay the foundation. We need to move on to higher things. What are they?

Stong Meat Hebrews 5 Part 1

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As we end the year of 2013, it is fitting for us to look back to see where we have been. It is also fitting for us to look forward, as best we can, to see where we are going.

         In looking back, we do not always see things clearly or accurately. How much more is this the case when looking forward? We cannot see far into the future, maybe only a few steps at a time. We tend to think that we see a great distance but we find that we often have to meander to get to things that seem so close. The meandering is what we call life. But our lives are not impersonal. The meandering is meaningful and in the course of our staggering too and fro, the Lord directs our paths. This ought to be a great comfort for us.

         As we look back, we ought not to simply chronicle what has happened. Sometimes we can do that with some level of consistency. But get two people to tell the story and you will always have two stories. The final story is not necessarily what happened, it is just your agreement on what happened.

         But we are Christians and our desire is to please the Lord in all that we do. This, too, is sometimes hard to ascertain. Did we please the Lord this year? Were our decisions attempts to do what is right in the Lord’s eyes? We justify ourselves in many ways and so we cannot even accurately assess our own past. And to try to do so too closely is a great lesson in futility. So, what ought we to do? How can we know where we have come from and to some degree, determine where we are going?

In some cases, you know you have made headway in your meandering as a Christian, growing in sanctification. You do know where you have come from and are simply desperately trying not to ever go back there again.

         Our lesson today is titled Strong Meat. As Christians, we ought to be moving forward seeking the strong meat of the Lord, attempting to move into the deep things of God. We call this growth in grace, or sanctification. We sometimes cannot see this ourselves and may even feel as if we are going backwards rather than forwards. But if you continue to choose Christ daily, then rest assured you are moving forwards.

In the following lesson, here are some things that the writer says are not strong meat.

Heb.6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,  2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

         I don’t know about you but it seems to me that the things he mentions are more like solid food than milk.  Here they are.

1.    The first principles of the doctrine of Christ- I suppose this would be who is the Christ. He is the Son of God, God in the flesh.

2.    Foundation of Repentance from dead works -That we repent from our dead works. We must have a sense that they are useless to save us.

3.    Faith toward God- We understand that to repent of dead works leaves a void and we must look to God to fill us up. This can only be done by looking to the Lord Christ in faith.

4.    Resurrection of the dead- We will be raised and have everlasting life with God.

5.    Eternal judgment- Those who will not repent and be saved will be judged by God and damned to hell forever.

These things seem both foundational and worth revisiting. What is the apostle getting at? How is it that we should desire meat and not merely milk? What is it to move on to the deep things of God, not spending our time on the foundational principles?

High Priest Forever

Our High Priest is at the right hand of the Father. He prays for us. His Spirit is here with us now. As we look to Him, we should feel a flood of peace. This peace is for several reasons. 

One, our past sins are forgiven us. Two, the Lord has promised never to leave or forsake us. Three, He told us not to sin but He also says that if we do sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, who remains our perpetual priest. 

He was once offered for us and remains for us forever. 

As we come to God at His table, we should have this great sense of peace of what the Lord has done for us and what the Lord will continue to do for us. We come to this table and are regularly assured of God’s love for us in Christ. Christ abides so we abide. Our only response is one of Thanksgiving.