Hebrews Chapter 12

• Hebrews 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.

Enduring to the end should be our goal. There is joy set before each one of us to look forward to as we make our choice to walk in the spirit and be true to our faith. The Holy Spirit will abide with us to bring us comfort and joy also here in this life. Yet we know that there are trials to go through. Some may suffer persecution but that will only strengthen, not weaken. Avoid the teaching that promises Christians great prosperity and riches in this life for that is the opposite teaching to the gospel. Our treasure is in heaven. Some of us may prosper materially but all of us will not and that doesn't mean those who do not get rich are out of the will of God or not living by faith. The very opposite is true. In the letters to the churches in Revelation we see that the poor where actually rich in the eyes of God and those that thought they were rich, were in reality, poor, blind and naked in the eyes of God. The prosperity doctrine is false.

The joys that await the faithful are not worthy to compare to the temporary things of this life anyway. The previous chapter talked of Moses choosing to identify with his people instead of choosing to identify with the household of Pharaoh. He could have been rich.

Moses has an eternal place in heaven now that he abided faithful. So will we if we abide in Christ and do not fall away from the truth.

• Hebrews 12:3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

Jesus was followed everyday with those who wanted to catch Him at His words in order to condemn Him. He had followers who loved Him but the fault finders were always present to wear down His patience. Yet He didn't call fire down from heaven to destroy them but just continued faithfully on doing the will of God. We must follow this example.

• Hebrews 12:4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.

Many of them had not yet been killed for the gospel's sake. Their war in the flesh and resisting sin, had not yet caused their blood to be shed. They had not also labored in agony and prayer for souls as Jesus did. Jesus prayed so hard his sweat became blood.

• Hebrews 12:5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:

Some troubles come for the gospel's sake but others may come to slow us down and cause us to be corrected by the Lord when we may be about to fall into error or sin. When bad happens, we should examine ourselves. So much teaching today caters to the flesh and encourages us to feel good about ourselves and not feel guilty. Yet if we never felt guilty, how could the Lord bring us to repentance and change? Do we desire to go on into error, false doctrine and even into sin? Some things happen to make us stop and search our hearts. We get too busy sometimes for God to speak to us.

This doesn't mean all troubles are because of our own mistakes. Let us not go to the opposite extreme. Some things happen because of the world we live in that continues to resist the truth.

• Hebrews 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

We must listen to the Lord through the study of the word, preaching of faithful pastors, seeking Him in prayer and being willing to repent if we are convicted of any sin or error. If we have the attitude that we are saved by grace and it doesn't matter what we do in the flesh, we are going to harm the cause of Christ by our continual mistakes and even sins.

So many times we are admonished to walk in the spirit, walk in love, pray without ceasing, and to put on the whole armor of God.

The Roman church during the middle ages thought they were the original church appointed by God and that there was no salvation outside of their church. They did all kinds of sins even charging sums of money to get departed relatives out of purgatory. They did this thinking they were appointed of God and could do not wrong. It was full of error because they forsook the scriptures and added their own doctrine. When one tried to point out the errors, they were burned at the stake.

Our local churches do not have to become apostate and full of error if we stay humble before God and search ourselves daily to make sure we are abiding in the doctrine of Christ. We are never to lord over others and exalt ourselves to the point where we can't receive correction. Church leaders are not infallible. The pope is not infallible. Pastors are not infallible. They sin, they make mistakes and they many times need correction.

• Hebrews 12:7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

To receive correction and repent is a blessing, not a curse. If we go through life and never have to repent for a mistake, then we are not being honest before God. No one but Jesus Christ has ever lived perfect. That is not to excuse our sin for we must repent and be delivered from errors before they turn into open sin which can bring reproach upon the gospel.

• Hebrews 12:8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
• 9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

We must be subject to God our Father in order to not only obtain eternal life but influence others to obtain eternal life also. When I think of the mess the church has made over the years of the gospel, it makes me cringe. We've had enough time to spread this gospel all over the world. Repentance as the Lord encouraged the churches of Revelation 2nd and 3rd chapters, would be the cure for all that has hindered us. Departing from the authority of the scriptures is the first step toward apostasy. Substituting our own church doctrine in place of the sound doctrine of the bible will lead to apostasy and oppression of people rather than leading people into truth.

• Hebrews 12:10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.

To receive correction by the word and by the spirit is to be partakers of the holiness of God. To resist the truth and fail to repent leads to apostasy.

• Hebrews 12:11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

No one is more miserable than either a sinner under conviction by the Holy Spirit but unwilling to repent or a believer who is in error but resists the Holy Spirit's call to repent. It is miserable at first but when we yield to the Holy Spirit and are willing to change or repent, it brings joy to the heart.

• Hebrews 12:12 Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;
• 13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.

Again the word is here to help us walk in the right path and seek the good way.

• Jeremiah 6:16 Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.

The above scripture in Jeremiah is one of my favorites. It shows a loving God pleading for the wayward to return to the right path.

• Hebrews 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

Follow peace as much as possible. Don't purposely provoke someone to anger by arguing over trivial nonsense. Don't be quarrelsome and a busybody. Being considerate of the feelings of others preferring their comfort to our own, would help in this area. This never means compromising true doctrine or pleasing men by neglecting the word of truth.

Follow holiness. We have forsaken the teaching of holiness because many fear legalism. However, we need to understand that legalism is not teaching sound doctrine in keeping with the word of God. Legalism is adding to the word of God or trying to force people to keep the ordinances and rituals of the law in order to perfect their faith.

We are to live holy and not copy after the world.

• Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
• 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Those verses in Romans is a good guideline for holy living.

• Hebrews 12:15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

Here is a hint to real holiness. Avoiding the root of bitterness. It is not a dress code or an outward form but holiness is from the inner person. Bitterness is one of the biggest enemies of the church. It is said that Martin Luther started out good but in his later years he became anti-Semitic. I don't know if this was true but let's suppose it is. What could cause this?

We start out by preaching the gospel and get many converts. Suddenly we see a group or an individual who rejects the gospel or rejects whatever message we try to preach. Satan comes along and tempts us to react in anger rather than love. Now we have the root cause of anti-Semitism. The Jews reject the gospel and instead of loving them, they began to hate them. This is a root of bitterness that will destroy what was once a good church.

Jesus said, bless them that curse you and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you. We are not to curse our enemies and hope for their downfall. This thing has been a great enemy to the cause of Jesus Christ. We are all tempted with it but we don't have to give into this temptation. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE is the key. Love one another and love our enemies.

• Hebrews 12:16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.

Another enemy is compromise. Esau was very hungry and thought very lightly of his birthright and yielded to the temptation to trade it for temporary relief for his hunger.

Fornication is not just the fleshly fornication of sexual immorality but spiritual fornication of compromising the word of God to avoid discomfort or to please the crowds.

Spiritual fornication can come by the love of money, lust of the flesh, desiring the approval of men, idolatry, covetousness, and love for power. Seeking popularity and fame over pleasing God is fornication.

• Hebrews 12:17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.
• 18 For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,
• 19 And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard entreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more:
• 20 (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart:
• 21 And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:)
• 22 But ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
• 23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,

Through Christ a better way was made and we don't have to fear coming into His presence like they did in the days of Moses. They could not even approach the mountain where God was present. Through Christ this barrier is removed. We can have access to God. The way to remove the barrier is to repent of sin and believe in the Son of God.

After all the effort that God did and the suffering that Jesus did to give us this wonderful gift of eternal life, how much more should we endeavor to stay faithful to Him and have no desire to return to the ugly sin that we were delivered from? It's just not worth it.

• Hebrews 12:24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
• 25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
• 26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
• 27 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
• 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.

God gave His all, we must not take it lightly or ignore this good way. If they were judged severely that rebelled in the wilderness in the days of Moses, how much more severe our judgment will be if we neglect so great a salvation that was paid for by the suffering and death of the Son of God, Jesus Christ?  DC