Grace Flows Down

"Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by ceremonial foods, which are of no value to those who eat them. We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat ... And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased." Hebrews 13:7-10, 15-16

Each of us have precious saints who have preceded us and guided us spiritually and we are commanded to both remember them and to imitate their ways of life. For me it would be my elementary Sunday School teacher, Mrs. Dorothy Strozier, my seventh grade Social Studies teacher, Mr. Jim Goss, my childhood pastor, Rev. William Mason, my senior year Honors English teacher, Mrs. Murrel McDougal [with whom I still keep in contact at least annually], my pastor during my medical school years, Rev. Joel Budd, and my current pastor, Rev. Erik Braun as well as my friends, Tom Argersinger and John Stewart whose passion for God I consider both challenging and exemplary. Why does the Holy Spirit make such a strange demand? Because considering the lives of such people and their outcomes and then humbly attempting to imitate them will encourage me to straighten up and sail right! Their conscious commitments to point their ships into the winds of culture puts steel in my walk. Their sailing styles, the trim of their sails, the tilt of their vessels are all elevating to my soul.

Significantly, this is beautifully consistent with the purpose of Hebrews 13, which is to strengthen the little Hebrew church so that it may ride out the coming storms of persecution. A church that adequately recalls its godly leaders and considers the outcomes of their ways of life and attempts to imitate that way of life will sail well. But above this we should consider the example that Jesus Christ Himself set before us, for only He lived a perfect life. And even better, He is always available to us, for as the writer add in what is perhaps the most famous verse in Hebrews, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" [v. 8].

What a contrast with changeableness of us people and life here on earth. The cycle from birth to death is a testament to our human mutability. The supple, sweet flesh of a newborn prospers like a flower and then fades and wrinkles and is finally cast off in death. Human personality never ceases changing. Some freshen with time, others sour, most do a little of both. Relationships wax and wane. To meet someone twenty years from now may be to meet another person. Forests may rise and stand for a millennium -- and then fade into deserts. Rivers cut canyons and then disappear. Newtonian physics, with its straight lines and right angles, is replaced by Einstein's elegant curves of relativity. The only thing sure is change! We as people appear for a little while to laugh and cry and work and play, and then we are gone. This is a melancholy thought at best and our souls long for something solid and immutable.

But the great truth is, God does not change, and neither does the Holy Spirit or His Son, Jesus Christ. In fact, the very same Old Testament Scriptures and wording that describe God the Father's immutableness are applied directly to Christ [Psalm 102:27, Hebrews 1:12, Isaiah 48:12 and Revelation 1:17]. This means that though the Savior has ascended into Heaven and dwells in the splendor, he has not changed. He is the same in His wrath and His love and mercy and compassion and tenderness as He was here one earth. Yesterday Jesus "offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death" [Hebrews 5:7]. Today He is a high priest before the Father who is able to sympathize with our weakness because He "has been tempted in every way, just as we are -- yet was without sin" [Hebrews 4:15]. And forever this same Jesus "always lives to intercede for us" [Hebrews 7:25]. Our priest is eternally the same and eternally contemporary. We need not fear any changes of opinion or swings in mood with Jesus.

The little Jewish church was not only harried by the imminent threat of persecution, but was also assailed within by a strange teaching that combined esoteric eating practices with their Christian faith [does this not still happen today?!?] that caused at least some within the congregation to be led astray. No one knows exactly what those practices were, though we do know that some in the church believed their sacred menu would make them better Christians. To such the writer warns, "Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by ceremonial foods, which are of no value to those who eat them. We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat" [v. 9, 10]. Those who imagined that spiritual growth came through a special diet had not only become ignorant of the necessity of grace for growth but actually interfered with their reception of that strengthening grace by their proud little rules.

Grace, like earth's water system, operates on gravity -- the spiritual gravity of grace. Just as the waters of Niagara roll on over the falls and plunge down to make a river below, and just as that river flows ever down to the even lower ranges of its course as it heads north toward Lake Ontario, and then glides to still lower lying ground where it brings still more life and growth, so it is with God's grace. The gravity of grace carries it to the lowly in heart, where it brings life and blessing. Grace goes to the humble. This is the spiritual law behind Proverbs 3:34, which James 4:6 quotes: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." The unbowed soul standing proudly before God receives no benefit from God's falling grace. It may flow over him, but it does not penetrate, and drips away like like rain from a statue. But the soul lying prostrate before God is immersed -- and even swims -- in a sea of grace. So while there is always more grace, it is reserved for the lowly and the humble. Legalisms, even "little" ones, such as dietary restrictions, impede grace. Humility, however, invites the elevating weight of grace!

Actually, the grace we imbibe comes directly from the cross of Christ, for in v. 10 the writer adds, "We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat," referring to the cross because in a Christian context the sacrifice must be on the cross -- the sacrificial altar of our faith. Our spiritual food is nothing less than the life of Christ. The force of these thoughts is phenomenal. Jesus Christ is eternally the same and eternally contemporary. Therefore, do not get mixed up with strange teachings such as that leading to spiritual diets. Our nourishment comes from grace, which comes directly from the altar -- the very cross of Christ. And this meal goes only to the humble.

There is one final thing that will sustain us, and that is how we live -- our lifestyle -- specifically, our worship and our work; or to be Mary in the house of God and Martha in our own. We must make worship the first priority of living: "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise -- the fruit of lips that confess His Name" [v. 15]. We all need to be like Mary -- at Jesus' feet looking up so that He fills our entire horizon. She worshipped Him "in spirit" [John 4:23, 24] because her whole being was passionately engaged in giving Him worth. In fact, in a sublime moment she gave her very best for Him as she broke the alabaster flask and poured her fortune onto Jesus. Jesus then said, "She has done a beautiful thing to me" [Mark 14:6]. Here our text is very specific about what He wants. It is a sacrifice -- "a sacrifice of praise -- the fruit of our lips that confess His Name." He wants us to say it. He wants to hear us verbally praise Him. Yet, Mary must be balanced by Martha in our souls: "And do not forget to do good and share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased" [v. 16]. True worship always involves giving ourselves in the service of Christ and others [see Romans 12:1; James 1:27; 1 John 3:17, 18]. We can vigorously participate in worship services as we did at Four Oaks last night to cap off our week of prayer to kick-off 2011, but if we do not do good to others and share what we have, none of it gives pleasure to God. But worship coupled with work -- this brings God's pleasure and the winds of the Holy Spirit to our sails so we can ride the most daunting waves as we weather the storms of life.

Dare We Trust in Riches?

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'" Hebrews 13:5

The writer of Hebrews knew that those who loved the world would never be able to stand firm in the face of a storm -- that those with the greatest affection for wealth would be the first to turn aside when they understood that both losses and crosses would come from walking with Christ.

Covetousness is plainly forbidden in these words and elsewhere in the Scriptures. The Bible is replete with warnings that a desire for wealth presents grave danger for the soul. At the end of Jesus' encounter with the rich young ruler [Luke 18:18-30 and Mark 10:17-27] He "looked at him and said, 'How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to through the eye of a needle than for the rich to enter the kingdom of God.' Those who heard this asked, 'Who then can be saved?' Jesus replied, 'What is impossible with man is possible with God.'"

Jesus' point was that it is impossible for a man who trusts in riches to get into Heaven, because basically a rich man trusts in himself. He does not see his lack. The sinful heart is incredibly prone to accept counterfeit things as being valuable and to consider eternal things as lacking. Jesus offered this man everything yet he could not let go of the false thing; Jesus offered him the eternal for the temporal but his idol was materialism and he could not risk losing it. Yet God will always call us to give up the false thing in order to be given the real thing.

There is no question that wealth has great disadvantages [and, of course, there are many potential advantages for the person whose heart has been transformed by His grace]. It is difficult to have money and not trust in it. Wealth numbs our hearts to what truly satisfies as it provides such a deceitful satisfaction. The poor are typically well aware of their lack. The rich, not so much. Plus material possessions tend to focus our thoughts and interests on the things of this world and thus enslave us ... in many ways, we can become possessed by our possessions, comforts and recreations. It was Jesus who said, "The deceitfulness of wealth and the desire for other things come in and choke the Word" [Mark 4:19]. He also said, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" [Matthew 6:19-21].

It is difficult not to love what you have spent your life collecting! Paul warned Timothy, "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs" [1 Timothy 6:10]. Miserly hoarding casts a metallic, lifeless heart. Jesus concluded his topic of money in His Sermon on the Mount by saying, "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money" [Matthew 6:24].

As my pastor Erik Braun preached to our body last Sunday, it is with this truth that Jesus confronted the rich, young ruler and his sin showing him the idolatry of his heart ... despite the fact that this young man was quite satisfied with his own righteousness. His image of God was too small; he did not appreciate his own sin nor the incredible holiness of God. Yet, Jesus truly loved this man enough to share the gospel with him ... that is to share the truth with him. And the young man went away sad "because he was very wealthy." We, unlike Jesus, don't want people to walk away sad. But the truth is that it is WORSE to let people walk away BLIND to the idolatry of their hearts than it is to let them walk away sad.

Lastly, we must learn to be content. The covetous, those who love money, will never be content. Solomon, the writer of Ecclesiastes, tell us "Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income" [5:10]. We as believers must come to understand that the only real contentment in this life comes from trusting in God's care for us. We must embrace the fact that we have God ... and in Him we ultimately have everything that is ever worth having! The Apostle Paul was content despite being destitute of worldly possessions, Paul spoke of himself as "having nothing, and yet possessing everything" [2 Corinthians 6:10]. "I know what it is to be in need," he told the Philippians, "and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned to the secret of being content in any and every situation" [Philippians 4:12]. And then to Timothy, he gave this jewel: "But Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that" [1 Timothy 6:6-8].

This is such a very subtle thing yet incredibly important. Whatever we treasure more than God will become an idol to us. An our hearts are so prone to wander regarding our desires. It requires a constant vigilance on our part and much grace from the Holy Spirit on God's part to continually show us our hearts. The subtly here is that sin is fundamentally making good things into ultimate things ... career, marriage, children, wealth, prestige, power, relationships, homes, etc. Whatever we build our lives on will drive us and then one day, which too often comes sooner than we might think or care for, we will be face to face with the ultimate thing, the God of the universe, and He will demand an account of our lives. What will we be able to say then? Fortunately, God's grace will be sufficient for His children as He has already established that day in eternity and His Spirit is constantly working to prepare us for it. The good news is it really depends much less on us than we think and a lot more on God than we realize, and we can trust Jesus promise "that what is impossible with man, is possible with God."

Mt. Sinai, Mt. Zion and the Consuming Fire of God

The famous second century heretic, Marcion, taught that the Old and New Testaments were totally incompatible. He believed that there was a radical discontinuity between the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament – between the Creator and the Father of Jesus. So Marcion created a new Bible for his followers that had no Old Testament and a severely redacted New Testament that consisted only of an edited version of Luke and ten select and edited Pauline epistles [excluding the pastorals]. Though he was excommunicated early on, his destructive teaching lived on for nearly two centuries, and one can argue that it has never completely died out. Then in the 19th century with the rise of liberalism, it underwent a revival among those who wished to separate what they considered to be the crude and primitive parts of the Old Testament from the New. Friedrich Schleiermacher, the 18th and 19th century father of liberalism, said the Old Testament has a place in Christian heritage only by virtue of its connections with Christianity, but that is should be no more than an appendix of historical interest. Adolph Harnack argued that the Reformers should have dropped it from the canon of authoritative writings. Likewise, there are thousands today who have rejected the Old Testament either formally or in practice.

Amazingly, it was none other than the liberal Albert Schweitzer who pointed out the error of this kind of approach to Scripture, when he demonstrated that such thinking amounts to choosing aspects of God that fit one’s man-made theology. He claimed that men project their own thoughts about God back up to him and create a god of their own thinking. Anyone who is in touch with our modern culture knows that this kind of reasoning – Marcionism – is very much alive and well in the 21st century.

What does this have to do with us who hold both Testaments to be the inerrant, infallible Word of God? More than we might like to think or admit. We see this in many evangelical’s understanding of God. While it is true that the New Testament gives us a fuller revelation of God and that we no longer live under the Old Covenant, the God we worship is still the same God! But, sadly, many Christians today are so ignorant of their Bibles, especially the Old Testament, that they have a tragically sentimentalized idea of God – one that amounts to little more than a Deity who died to meet their needs – the sin question is either highly minimized or ignored altogether. The result is an incredible paradox of Christians who “know Jesus” but who have no idea who God is – unwitting Marcionites in reality.

The remedy for this travesty is, of course, the Bible, specifically Mt. Sinai in the Old Covenant and Mt. Zion in the New Covenant – each of which presents a vision or an aesthetic for understanding God. From Mt. Sinai we learn, in Moses’ words, that God is a consuming fire – “Be careful not to forget the covenant of the Lord your God … For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God” [Deuteronomy 4:23, 24]. The vision is stupendous – a mountaintop blazing with “fire to the very heavens” [Deuteronomy 4:11] – cloaked with a deep darkness – lightning illuminating golden arteries in the clouds – celestial rams’ horns overlaying the thunder with mournful blasts – the ground shaking as God’s voice intones the Ten Commandments. God is transcendentally “other,” perfectly good and holy. He radiates wrath and judgment against sin. God cannot be approached. This is the vision for the heart of every believer – “the Lord your God is a consuming fire.” It is the corrective so needed in today’s church that has shamefully trivialized worship, turning it too often into a self-assured farce. Here God’s divine intention in creating Sinai is obvious because “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Flaming Mt. Sinai shows us God!

On the other hand, the other mountain, Mt. Zion of the New Testament, completes the picture. There we see God’s love as God the Son takes all of His people’s transgressions on Himself so that He “became sin” [2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:10, 11, 13] – writhing under its load like an impaled serpant [see Numbers 21:4-8]. There on the cross we see God the Son dying for our sins and extending forgiveness to all who will believe in Him, trusting in His work alone for their salvation. What a vision we are given from Calvary: God with His arms nailed wide as if to embrace all those who come to Him, His blood covering the earth, speaking a better word than the blood of Abel [Hebrews 12:24] – the consuming love of God. Mt. Zion, crowned by Golgotha, shows us God!

Both mountains – Sinai and Zion – reveal the one true God. Neither can be separated from the other. God is not the God of one hill but of both. Both visions must be held in blessed tension within our souls – consuming fire and consuming love. It is to this great twin-peaked God we come as we marathon onward to “Mt. Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God” [Hebrews 12:22]. The revelation is, of course, meant to shape our pilgrimage. How then are we to march? What are we to do? Obey and worship.

There are many reasons to obey God’s Word not the least of which is because it is unstoppably effectual: “See to it that you do not refuse Him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused Him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from Him who warns us from heaven?” [Hebrews 12:25]. In the first case, God’s earthly warning at Sinai first suffered subtle refusal by the Israelites when they “begged that no further word be spoken to them” [Hebrews 12:19; Exodus 20:19] – though their refusal there at Sinai was more from fear than it was from outright rejection of God. However, in the years that followed, they explicitly refused God’s Word by by repeated disobedience during the four decades of wandering in the wilderness. So grievous was their disobedience that Numbers 14:29 records that God pronounced judgment in that everyone who was twenty years old and older would die in the desert. And, indeed, none did escape except faithful Caleb and Joshua. More than a million corpses littered the desert.

Considering the inexorable penalty for disobeying God’s earthly message, how much greater the penalty should we disobey His heavenly message given to us through His Son? [see Hebrews 1:2]. Surely no one will escape! This, of course, has been the writer’s message all along. In 2:3, he warned, “How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?” Later in 10:28, 29 he said much the same thing, emphasizing a greater punishment: “… How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that has sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?” The message could not have been said more plainly; we had better obey God’s Word because His threat that no one who disobeys will escape is ineluctably effectual. It is a done deal. No one who refuses the gospel will escape. Our God is a consuming fire!

If this alone is not reason sufficient to obey God’s Word then there is another, and that is His Word is final! “At that time His voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, ‘Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.’ The words ‘once more’ indicate the removal of what can be shaken – that is, created things – so that what cannot be shaken may remain” [Hebrews 12:26, 27]. The initial historical event when God’s voice shook the earth was at Mt. Sinai when He gave the Ten Commandments with a thunderous voice. Imagine how terrifying it must have been at the base of the mountain that day, the ground literally trembling beneath one’s feet in response to God’s audible Word. There certainly were no sleepers in the congregation that day! But there is an infinitely greater shaking coming, an eschatological cosmic shaking of the entire universe, and it too, will be triggered by God’s Word. Here the writer quotes God’s promise via the prophet Haggai – “Once more I will shake the not only the earth but also the heavens” [Hebrews 12:26] – indicating that every created thing will be shaken to utter disintegration. This is in accord with what the Scriptures teach us about the power of God’s Word. Genesis says that He literally spoke the universe into existence and thus a single Word from His mouth can end it.

Isaiah says of the future, “Therefore I will make the heavens tremble; and the earth will shake from its place at the wrath of the Lord Almighty, in the day of His burning anger” [13:13]. And Peter identifies this with the Day of the Lord, “But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare” [2 Peter 3:10]. It is incredible to even consider. All one hundred thousand million galaxies -- each containing at least that many stars – each galaxy at least one hundred light years across – will hear His Word and be snuffed out of existence. All with a single Word.

The reason for this is clearly spelled out, “So that what cannot be shaken may remain” [v. 27]. The people of God, who are a part of the order of those things that are unshakable, will survive. But everything else will be shaken and therefore purged. Everything that is wrong will be eradicated. No sin, no imperfection will remain. Then there will be a blessed reconstruction – “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away” [Revelation 21:1]. To those who are obedient this is good news. And the writer means it to be a powerful encouragement to the beleaguered little church he writes, in which some feel as though their very lives are being shaken to pieces by Rome. On the other hand, to those who are ignoring God’s Word and drifting further away, this was a disquieting revelation and a challenge to obedience. But to all of us, it is a mighty call to obey God’s Word, because it is effectual and final. No Israelite who disobeyed God’s earthly Word survived the desert, and how much more will be the case with those whose disobey the heavenly Word given to us through Christ. God’s Word is effectual – it never fails. God’s Word is also final. It started the universe and it will stop it. So the forceful command to all of us pilgrims in v. 25 still applies, “See to it that you do not refuse Him who speaks.”

Lastly, the other great “to do” is worship: “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverance and awe, for ‘our God is a consuming fire’” [Hebrews 12:28, 29]. It is difficult to see how our society could drift any further from this concept of God than where we are now. The awesome God of the Scriptures – a God who tolerates no other gods before Him, who forbids idolatry and who demands holiness from His people. Note our text well. It says “our God IS a consuming fire.” Not WAS a consuming fire! The God of Mt. Zion is the same God as the God of Mt. Sinai. God has not changed. When we come to worship, we must keep both mountains in view – the approachable Zion with its consuming love, and the unapproachable Sinai with its consuming fire – and then come in reverent boldness.

Finishing Strong

"Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 'Make level paths for your feet,' so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears." Hebrews 12:12-17

According to the Scriptures, the grit, determination and finishing joy of the marathon runner are metaphorical of what we Christians, both ancient and modern, are called to in this life. The spiritual life is a long-distance run [v. 1-3]. Though we will "hit the wall" many times, we are called to "tough it out," realizing that the hardships we endure are disciplines that enable us to share in God's holiness [vv. 4-11]. The writer's transcending desire is that his flock, and indeed the Church universal, will finish strong. So throughout this passage, he expands the metaphor.

The telltale signs of a runner hitting the wall are drooping arms, flopping hands, and wobbling knees that reduce the runner's stride to a mincing gait. These signs were proverbial in Biblical culture for mental and spiritual slowdown. Isaiah encouraged his despairing, stumbling people by saying, "Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, 'Be strong, do not fear; your God will come'" [35:3, 4]. So here the writer/pastor, like an effective coach, exhorts his flock, "Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees" [v. 12]. The command to "strengthen" is derived from the same word that we translate as orthopedic in English. The sense is, "make upright or straight" -- or in modern coaching terminology, "Straighten up! Get those hands and feet up! Suck it up!" Of course he was not promoting a depend solely on yourself, bootstrap Christian life. Yet Christians must will to tough it out by God's grace. Life for the believer is full of repeated hardships that come as divine discipline. And we must have the same determination that is common to the marathoner.

Toughing it out is essential, but there is still more to the idea because this toughness is not meant to be a solo endeavor. In the next verse, he calls his people to corporate toughness in helping one another to run well. The point being that every consideration should be made to help everyone finish the race. The bloodied, blistered Boston Marathoners teaming up to help each other, limping along arm-in-arm, is a vivid metaphor of this idea. But the church should include not only the weak helping the weak, but also the strong assisting the weak in a duty of mutual help. Hebrews is full of this idea of helping each other make it: "But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness" [3:13]. "Therefore, since the promise of entering His rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it" [4:1]. "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another" [10:25]. I am sure the real joy of running a marathon is just finishing -- and I am even more sure that the real joy of the race set before us will be in the finishing. But I also believe there is a double joy -- and that is finishing together! As we run the race, we must exorcise the wretched curse of American individualism that so hinders the church. Yes, we do have to be "tough" and we do have to "gut it out" by the grace of God. But we also have to do this together. The strong among us must hold up the dangling hands and wobbling knees of the weak with our prayers and acts of mercy. We have to run tough but we have to run together.

As we run, we are encouraged on to a dual pursuit -- peace and holiness: "Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord" [v. 14]. Experience shows us that though we may have peace with God, we do not always have peace with everyone else. First of all, commitment to Christ incurs the enmity of the world. "It the world hates you," said Jesus, "keep in mind that it hated me first" [John 15:18]. Thus, if we follow Christ, conflict should be expected and is almost inevitable. However, it is both unexpected and disheartening when it is encountered within the church. Conflict in the church brings glory to Satan and disgraces our God. In fact, few things are more destructive to the body of Christ and bring greater impedance to our great race than conflict in the church. Moreover, it is the most common reason so many runners never finish. So as we run the run we must pursue peace with "all men" -- both Christians and non-believers alike. The word "make every effort" or "pursue" is an uniquely aggressive word. We must chase after peace! The Scriptures are replete with admonitions to this effect: "make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace" [Ephesians 4:3]; "to make every effort to do what leads to peace" [Romans 14:19]; "if it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone" [Romans 12:18]; and most famously by our Lord Himself with His grand dominical beatitude, "blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God" [Matthew 5:9]. Those who pursue peace will to forgive and will to forget and will to be kind and will to be thoughtful and will to help others and will to pray for their enemies!

The writer has linked the pursuit of peace with the pursuit of holiness [purity of soul] because he sees the logical association between them. It is likely significant that Jesus Himself also made the same association between peace and purity by joining them in successive beatitudes. "Blessed are the pure in heart" is followed by "Blessed are the peacemakers" [Matthew 5:8, 9]. Character and peace are woven together as a single garment of the soul. Ultimately, it will be holy people that finish the race, for it is they who "will see God" [Matthew 5:8] at His glorious return or in the glory that come with death.

Next the writer warns of three things to guard our hearts and lives against. The first is gracelessness, "See to it that no one misses the grace of God" [v. 15] with grace being the divine attitude of benevolence that God has toward His children. The image best describing this could be that of an overflowing pitcher in God's hand tilted to pour blessing upon us. The Apostle James concurred with this when he declared, "But He gives more grace" [James 4:6] -- literally, "great grace." Thus we can confidently know that there is always more grace for the believer. Earlier the writer of Hebrews urged us, "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need" [4:16]. The unchanging truth and take home message is that we can have no need that outstrips His grace and we never will! Even if we fall into deep sin, greater grace is available, as Paul wrote, "But where sin increased, grace increased all the more" [Romans 5:20]. "For daily need there is daily grace; for sudden need there is sudden grace; for overwhelming need there is overwhelming grace," wrote John Blanchard.

Because of this, what a tragedy gracelessness is -- and hence the warning, "See to it that no one misses the grace of God" or literally "falls short of the grace of God" -- which according to R. Kent Hughes the idea as being that of "falling behind, not keeping pace with the movement of divine grace which meets and stirs the progress of the Christian."

How does this state of gracelessness come to afflict a child of grace? First and primarily through prayerlessness and lack of confession of sin. Unconfessed sin, in effect, places a hand against the tilted pitcher with a tragic power that omnipotence refuses to overcome. Secondly, one often misses the grace of God by a self-imposed famine from His Word. For millennia God has watered the lives of His people with His Word. Those who do not read and meditate on it are self-condemned to a state of spiritual anorexia. Thirdly, gracelessness occurs when one absents himself from the fellowship of the church, Christ's Body. The movement of divine grace through His Body is meant to be a corporate experience. Paul explained this important truth when he said, it is "together with all the saints" that we "grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ" and, indeed, how we go on to "be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God" [Ephesians 3: 17-19]. Our capacity to understand God's Word and to experience His grace is vitally linked to our participation in church "with all the saints." It is in rich community then that we experience grace upon grace.

Lastly, the writer calls the church to steel itself against idolatry and apostasy if it is to finish strong, warning the believers to beware "that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many" [v. 15]. The phrase depicting the root's apostatizing growth is freighted with insight as it describes a hidden seed that takes root and grows slowly, so that only time will reveal it for what it is. Virtually every church has such bitter roots, and it is the height of arrogance to imagine otherwise. So the call here is for vigilance but not a witch-hunt. The Lord specifically warned against such a response because such actions would tear out real wheat with the weeds [see Matthew 13:24-30]. Nevertheless, we must be alert. If we are to run well, the price is vigilance, especially in the good times.

The next verse relates the two appetites that most often torpedo our races -- the sexual appetite and the physical appetite: "See to it that no one is sexually immoral, or godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son" [v. 16]. Here the writer asserts in the clearest of terms that Esau was sexually immoral, calling him a pornos, from which we get the word pornography. Interestingly, the Old Testament does not say that he was a fornicator unless it is implied in his marrying the two Canaanites daughters of Heth. Hughes, however, asserts that rabbinical tradition paints Esau as a man completely controlled by his libido. Thus he serves as the archetype of the twenty-first century man with controlled by his sensual urges which made God quite unreal to him -- as lust always does. This goes hand in hand with the text's second assertion that he was "godless," bebelos, a man with no regard for God, whose focus was only on physical pleasures. Esau was completely earthbound. All his thoughts were on what he could touch, taste or suck. His was a world of instant gratification and thus he was void of spiritual values. In other words, Godless!

God's message to all of us who are in the race is clear ... sexual and physical appetites, given free rein, will ruin our race. Sure, we can repent of any sin, but Esau-like sins will leave deficiencies that can never be regained.

"Don't Look Back" -- Godly Discipline

“In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: ‘My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes everyone He accepts as a son.’ Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined [and everyone undergoes discipline], then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:4-11

On August 7, 1954, during the British Empire Games in Vancouver, BC, Canada, one of the greatest mile-run races of all time took place. It was touted as the “miracle mile” because Roger Bannister and John Landy were facing off and they had to that point in time been the only two men in history to have run sub-four-minute miles. Bannister strategized that he would relax a little during the third lap and save everything for his kick at the end. But as they began the third lap, Landy poured it on, stretching his already substantial lead. Immediately, Bannister adjusted his strategy, increasing his pace and gaining slowly but surely on Landy. By the end of the third lap, Bannister had drawn even. Landy began running even faster, and Bannister followed suit. It became obvious that Bannister was going to lose if Landy did not slow down. Then came the infamous moment [which has been replayed tens of thousands of time in both print and film] as at the last stride before the home stretch the crowd roared. Landy could no longer hear Bannister’s footfall and thus unconsciously looked back – a fatal lapse of concentration. Bannister launched his now legendary counterattack, and Landy did not see it until he had lost the lead. Roger Bannister won the “miracle mile” that day by five yards.

John Landy’s infamous lapse of concentration serves as a stark metaphor of what the writer of Hebrews implicitly warned against in his earlier charge to “run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” [Hebrews 12:1, 2]. Those who look away from Christ – the end goal of our race – will never finish well. And this is exactly what was happening to some treading the stormy waters mounting around the small Hebrew church. They had begun to take their eyes off Christ and to fix them instead on the hardships challenging them. When these Hebrew Christians first came to Christ, the Savior filled their lives from horizon to horizon. It was a delightful, joyous fixation. But that initial rush of joy began to be assaulted by hardships and difficulties. Some of their lifelong friendships cooled to estrangement. They were no longer welcome in the synagogue. Some lost their jobs as they were squeezed out of the family business. Others were assaulted by domestic stress, as even husband and wife relationships became strained over the matter of Christ. And to boot, their newfound faith did not shield them from the common vicissitudes of life – they suffered reversals, accidents, illness and death just like everyone else.

As a result, not a few were distracted. Those increasingly longer looks away from Christ left some off-stride. Others stumbled here and there, and tragically a few had quit altogether. They were, in fact, a microcosm of many in the modern church who have lost their focus through hardship – who say, “It all began so well. But I didn’t expect this. I had problems before I became a Christian, but nothing like this. Thanks for the offer of the abundant life, but I’ve got an abundance of problems already. You go ahead. I think I’ll take a breather.” It is these that the writer of Hebrews attempts to encourage.

He begins this section with a pair of reproaches. First, he reminds them that life is not as bad as some may suppose. “In your struggle against sin,” he said, “you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood” [v. 4]. Jesus, of course, had suffered death because of His decision to stay on track – all the way to the cross. And many of the heroes of faith so memorably praised at the end of the preceding chapter had paid the ultimate price as well. But though the Hebrew church had experienced severe persecution early on under Emperor Claudius, no one had yet been martyred. The parallels with the modern church in the West are plain to see. The tides of neo-paganism are rising, but none of us have resisted to the point of spilling blood. Then, like now, was no time to be discouraged – especially considering the great examples of those who have remained steadfast amidst far greater hardships.

The writer’s other reproach was that they had failed to recall and reassure themselves with God’s Word – “And you have forgotten that Word of encouragement that addresses you as sons” [v. 5]. Of course, this is an even more common sin of the modern church. We certainly cannot be profoundly influenced by that which we do not know! The comfort and strength that is found in God’s Word is of little benefit to those who have never read it nor seldom hear it. Knowing God’s Word is essential for spiritual survival as the writer had earlier insisted, “We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away” [Hebrews 2:1].

Discipline is the telltale sign of being loved by God and being in a familial relationship with Him – “because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and punishes everyone He accepts as a son” [v. 6]. In other words, if we cop out in respect to the Lord’s discipline by either making light of it or by fainting away from it, we are turning our backs on the personal evidence of His love and relationship with us. In other words, discipline is the divinely ordered path to a deepening relationship with God and a growing love with Him. In fact, it is the only path! Thus to refuse His discipline is to turn our backs on growth and love. It is important to realize that the very word “discipline” comes from a root that generally means, “to teach or instruct as one would a child” [see also Acts 22:3; 1 Timothy 1:20; Titus 2:12]. Often it means “to correct or to punish” – as it means here [see also Luke 23:16, 23]. Broadly, it signifies much of what we would think of as discipline for the purpose of education. We experience God’s education through our hardships and afflictions. And most importantly, we must remember that God’s discipline of His children NEVER involves His wrath. God’s wrath is solely rests on and is reserved for the unbelieving.

The ancient world found it incomprehensible that a father could possibly love his child and NOT punish him. In fact, a real son would draw more discipline, than say, an illegitimate child for the precise reason that greater honor and respect were to be his. The ultimate example of this is, of course, Jesus who as the supreme Son “learned obedience from what He suffered and, once made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him” [Hebrews 5:8, 9]. There is no doubt about it – the hardships and disciplines we endure are signs of our legitimacy and ought to be embraced as the telltale signs of grace that they are. Those who live life to the fullest are those who do not buck God’s discipline but rather knowingly embrace it.

Consider Him

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:1-3

Consider what would happen if you and two of your buddies were playing a round of golf and Jack Nicklaus asked to join your threesome on the first tee. Or perhaps you and the guys are playing a game of pick up basketball and Michael Jordan walked up and asked, “Mind if I join you?” Suddenly, every ounce of “wanna be” in our mortal bodies would be on the court. The presence of Hall of Famers is innately elevating!

On a far more exalted level, the writer of Hebrews paints an awesome picture of one’s spiritual observers in an attempt to motivate and instruct his faltering little church to persevere. The scene is a great coliseum. The occasion is a footrace, a long distance event. The contestants include the writer, members of his flock and, by mutual faith, us! The cloud of witnesses that fills the stadium are the great spiritual athletes of the past. Hall of Fame members – every one a Gold Medal winner. They are not live witnesses of the event, but “witnesses” by the fact that their past lives bear witness to monumental, persevering faith that, like Abel’s faith, “still speaks, even though he is dead” [Hebrews 11:4]. Everywhere one looks in the vast arena, there is a kind face nodding encouragement, saying, “I did it, and so can you. You can do it!” Moses strokes his long beard and smiles. Rahab winks and waves. Our hearts begin to race. We want to run the race and with all our being we want to do well. What are we to do?

The call to divestment is clearly spelled out in the opening line: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles” [v. 1a]. The divestment here, the throwing off of everything, has reference to the radical Greek custom of the day of stripping off one’s clothing before a race. And the writer orders a double divestment – first, of all hindrances, and second, of sin.

The sin we are especially commanded to cast off is described as “the sin that so easily entangles,” which is an apt description of what sin repeatedly does. Consider the sundew plant that lures the fly to land on one of its leaves to taste one of its tempting glands. Instantly, three crimson-tipped, finger-like hairs bend over and trap the fly’s wings, holding it firm in its sticky grasp. The fly struggles mightily for its freedom, but the more it struggles, the more hopelessly it is coated with the plant’s adhesive. Soon enough the fly relaxes, and surprisingly its fly mind takes an “it could be worse” attitude, because it then extends its tongue and feasts on the sundew’s sweetness while it is held even more firmly by still more sticky tentacles. When the captive fly is entirely at the plant’s mercy, the edges of the leaf fold inward, forming a closed fist. Two hours later the fly is an empty sucked shell of its skin, and the hungry fist unfolds its delectable mouth for another easy entanglement. Nature has given us a terrifying allegory.

But the most sobering thing we see here is that “the sin which so easily entangles” us refers to the specific sin(s) each of us, individually, is most likely to commit – a “besetting sin” as the older translations render it or as an “entangling sin” as here in the NIV. We each have characteristic sins that more easily entangle us than others. Some sins that tempt and degrade others hold little appeal for us – and vice versa. Sensuality is no Achilles’ heel for many men, but not all. Another who has gained victory of such sin may still regularly drink jealousy’s deadly nectar, not realizing that it is rotting his soul. Dishonesty may never tempt some souls, for guile simply has no appeal to them, but just cross them and you will feel Satan’s temper. What sin is it that so easily entangles you or me? Covetousness? Envy? Criticism? Laziness? Hatred? Lust? Ingratitude? Pride? Whatever sin it is, it must be stripped off and left behind.

Our divestment must go even further as we “throw off everything that hinders” – literally, “the weight that hinders.” Not all hindrances or weights are sin, however. In fact, what is a hindrance to us may not be a hindrance in any way to someone else. A hindrance is something, otherwise good, that weighs us down spiritually. It could be a friendship, an association, an event, a place, a habit, a pleasure, an entertainment, an honor. But if this otherwise good thing drags us down, then we must strip it away.

I realize that this image is extreme. But if we are to finish well in our faith, we must strip our souls naked of “everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles” us. The benevolent, knowing faces of the witnesses beckon us to do so. We will never run well without doing this. Thus a conscious, systematic divestment of all sins and hindrances is required. Moreover, this divestment must be regularly performed, like a virus-scan on one’s computer.

Properly divested, there remains but one great thing to do – and that is to run: “and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” [v. 1b]. We each have a specific course mapped out for us, and the course for each of us runners is unique. Some are relatively straight, some are all turns, some seem all uphill, some are more like a hiking path. All are long, but some are longer. But the glory is, each of us can finish the race “marked out for us.” I may not be able to run your course, and you may find mine impossible, but I can finish my race and you yours. We can experience the same satisfaction the Apostle Paul did as he neared the finish line: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing” [2 Timothy 4:7, 8].

Now stripped bare of any weights of sin and running with perseverance, we are given the focus that will ensure our finishing well – and that is, of course, Jesus: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” [v. 2a]. By insisting that we focus on Jesus, instead of the name Christ, the writer is calling us to focus on Jesus’ humanity as we saw it here on earth. We are to focus on Him first as “author” [archegos – literally, “pioneer”] of our faith. Jesus is the pioneer and author of all faith in both the Old and New Testaments. He initiates all faith and bestows it [see Ephesians 2:8-10]. But, still more, He is the “perfecter of our faith.” His entire earthly life was the very embodiment of trust in God [Hebrews 2:13]. He perfected living by faith as He lived in absolute dependence upon the Father [Hebrews 10:7-10]. It was His complete faith in God that enabled Him to go through the mocking, crucifixion, rejection and desertion – and left Him perfect in faith. As F. F. Bruce has said, “Had He come down by some gesture of supernatural power, He would never have been hailed as the ‘perfecter of faith’ nor would He have left any practical example for others to follow.” But since He did, in fact, endure everything by faith, He is uniquely qualified to be the “author and perfecter” of the faith of His followers.

Along with this we ought to focus on Jesus’ attitude – “who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame” [v. 2b]. Some people wrongly imagine that because Jesus was a divine man, the physical and spiritual sufferings of the cross were somehow “less” for Him, when in reality, the reverse was true. So we must let the full force of the Hebrews’ text “He endured the cross” – sink deeply into our souls. The physical pain He endured was absolute. But the spiritual pain was even greater because His pure soul, which knew no sin, became sin for us, inducing a heretofore unknown pain. And we must also absorb the fact that He “endured the cross, scorning its shame.” That is, He thought nothing of its shame -- He dismissed it as nothing. How and why could He do this? Because of “the joy set before Him” – which was rooted in His coming super-exaltation when He "sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” [v. 2c]. His exaltation, with all that it means for His people’s shalom and for the triumph of God’s purpose in the universe, was “the joy set before Him.” There was the joy of His reunion, as it were, with the Father. What an exalted thought -- Heaven's homecoming! Imagine the joy! David's words suggest the idea: "You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand" [Psalm 16:11]. Then there was the joy of being crowned with honor and glory and having all things put under His feet [Hebrews 2:6-8]. There was also the joy before Him of bringing many sons to glory -- making us a part of His joy [Hebrews 2:10].

Our blessed and glorious Lord lived His earthly life with the purest of faiths. He fixed His "eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" [2 Corinthians 4:18] -- and thus, His joy was the "eternal weight of glory" [2 Corinthians 4:17]. In capping his famous challenge to finish well, the writer gives the idea of focusing on Jesus a dynamic twist by concluding: "Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart" [v. 3]. The phrase "grow weary and lose heart" was a sports term in the ancient world for a runner's exhausted collapse. Thus, the way for a Christian runner to avoid such a spiritual collapse was to "consider Him" -- that is, to carefully calculate [we derive our word logarithm from the Greek word translated "consider"] Jesus and His endurance of opposition from the likes of Caiaphas, Herod and Pilate. We are to remember His confidence and meekness and steel-like strength in meeting His enemies.

No one can miss the superb wisdom of this passage: we must be totally absorbed with Jesus. This require negation -- a turning away from those things that distract us -- and then the positive act of consciously focusing and meditating on Jesus. This is why we must read and re-read the Gospels. This is why our worship must be Christocentric. This is why He must be the measure of all things. If we are believers, we are in the race, and we are surrounded by a great cloud of lives, whose examples call for our best -- the patriarchs [Abraham, Isaac and Jacob], the prophets [Moses, Elijah, Samuel, Daniel, Jeremiah], the apostles [Peter, John, Paul], the martyrs [Stephen, Polycarp, Elliott, Saint], the preachers [Luther, Calvin, Wesley, Spurgeon], the missionaries [Carey, Taylor, Carmichael], our departed family members, and on and on. Their faces spur us on to finish well.

The Essence of Faith -- Take Two

“When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” -- Jesus, Luke 18:8

I have spent the better part of the past two months meditating on, pondering, considering, reflecting and just about any other verb that could be used for thinking about what exactly faith is at it core, its very essence. It is such an abstract, difficult concept. Yet one that is critically important to grasp and understand because God Himself has said, “without faith it is impossible to please me” [Hebrews 11:6] and “that which is not from faith is sin” [Romans 14:23]. So what exactly is this “faith” that is required to please God and not from which everything else in our lives is sin?

Too often I think we use illustrations and examples to make our points regarding faith because the core is too difficult to comprehend and still even more difficult to explain. Jesus, Himself, did this in the parables He told. See Luke 18:1-17 where He describes faith in three separate illustrations … the unrighteous judge and the persistent widow, the contrasting prayers of the Pharisee and the tax collector, and allowing the children to come unto Him. Luke’s gospel is replete with such examples. When none other than the Lord of the Universe is reduced to example rather than definition perhaps this concept is unknowable in this life.

Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart famously wrote in Jacobellis v. Ohio in 1964, “I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description of hard-core pornography and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it.” That I think is how we have conventionally viewed faith. In fact, I have done this very thing for the past two months in describing the various heroes of faith listed in Faith’s Hall and how true biblical faith was manifested in their lives. Each of these heroes illustrate a specific facet of faith that I think warrants appreciation and understanding, but any list will be by nature incomplete because I think faith is an infinite and eternal reality that does not lend itself to temporal and finite definitions. We are told in Hebrews 12:2 that Jesus Himself is “the author [or “founder” in the ESV] and perfecter of our faith.” So the obvious inference here is that our faith has its origin in the eternal and infinite God of the Universe.

The writer of Hebrews defines faith as “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” [or in the KJV “the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen”]. I think in the abstract this is as good a definition as there is, but at the end of the day, it still leaves me with more questions than answers. What does it really mean anyway? My pastor Erik Braun in his December 19, 2010 sermon on Luke 18:1-17 stated this definition was an “infinite regression.” It’s source and origin is in the ultimate God of the universe and thus beyond human definition. So why really am I even trying? Stubbornness, perhaps? Determination? I don’t know. When the Bible uses terms like “substance” and “evidence” in lieu of “faith” then it seems to just shift the pursuit of understanding further down the track, because we are then left with trying to define in our own minds just exactly what is meant by those terms. And perhaps at some point recognizing the very futility of using finite human language to express infinite and eternal spiritual realities. But then again, human language is all we have to communicate with and really to even think with in this life, apart from that revelation given to us by the Spirit of God.

As I mentioned back on November 16, the apostles’ desperate cry for the Lord to “Increase our faith!” [Luke 17:5] is, ironically, the beginning of faith in its purest sense, as true and pure biblical faith comes only from God, and as such, it cannot be manufactured by the spirit of man. Moreover, not only is God the source of pure faith, but He is also its giver and its object. We, however, tend too often to view faith in light of its possessor rather than its giver. In Hebrews 11:1 faith is defined as “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Erik elaborated on this by saying “faith is the instrumentation given by God to apply Himself to us.” I think that is a practical approach that appropriately recognizes both faith’s source and function.

So where does this faith come from? This question has always been a controversial one, yet this is puzzling considering how plainly the answer to this question is granted to us in the Scriptures. Some modern Evangelicals seem to think that faith is something that arises out of the fallen natures of some persons but not others ... and that this difference in response is not due to grace (for all had grace), but rather, some inherent difference in the persons themselves. But Jesus put this kind of speculation to rest when He declared, "no one can come to Me unless it is granted him by the Father" [John 6:65]. In the same passage Jesus also declared, "all that the Father gives Me will come to Me" [John 6:37]. In both verses the phrase "come to Me" simply means "believe in Me" and so taken together, Jesus is stating that no one can believe in Him unless God grants it, and all to whom God grants it will believe. According to this passage, then, God grants faith, a faith that will infallibly arise in the heart of those He has given His Son.

Moreover, faith is not the product of an unregenerated human nature. If a person becomes humble enough to submit to God, it is because the Holy Spirit has given that person a new, humble nature ... not because some men are more humble than others. It was not by chance that one person believed the gospel and not the other, nor was it because one had some innate virtue that the other lacked. It is grace and grace alone that makes men to differ, not the exertion of men's wills. While God requires faith of all men He promises to give unto all those that are ordained unto eternal life his Holy Spirit [see again John 6:63-65], which quickens and disarms hostility so they are willing and able to believe.

So let’s finish off this look at faith by considering Jesus’ illustrations about its nature in Luke 18:1-17.

And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” And the Lord said, ‘Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to His elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, He will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, robbers, evildoers, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift his eyes up to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Now they were bringing even infants to Him that He might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to Him, saying, ‘Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.’

A widow in the first century A.D. epitomized the powerless. She was a woman who had lost her primary means of support and protection. This is why God had long ago made provision in the Law for the protection and provision of widows and orphans because without this provision they would not make it economically or spiritually in their realm of existence. Thus the widow is a perfect metaphor of the person dependent upon God. This particular widow knew no shame; she doggedly pursued this wicked judge and would not stop until she received the justice she felt due her. In her case, faith is being unashamed to call on God … to admit that without His help she would not make it. And God’s response was that if this judge who neither feared God nor respected man could be made to give this widow what was due her, then how much more will our heavenly Father be pleased to move on behalf of His very elect!?!

Pride, on the other hand, would be demonstrated as opposite the course of action from what this widow took. Pride would deny the very need so evident in her life. So in this parable we see that faith is admitting the truth … each of us lacks the power and authority to make our lives work and we must solely rely on God. Whatever we do from this position, of acknowledgement that we are totally dependent upon God, is faith, and whenever rely on our own skills or take credit for own provision, that is sin, because even our own skills and abilities come from the very hand of God. Whatever it may take and whenever we may go to the lowest places in our lives, there we find total dependence on Him and there the essence of faith forms in our souls. Of course, prideful that we are, we don’t like these places very much, and we generally seek to avoid them at all costs … to the very peril of our souls. And this is sin. In fact, this is the original sin of man, and unfortunately, one from where we’ve never advanced too very far.

Moreover, we think we are better than this! And we tend to show contempt for others that we perceive to be lower than us, and thus by extension, contempt for even God. We are so very much like the Pharisees even as we show contempt for these same Pharisees. The paradox is almost stupefying. Sadly, this is most often manifested by prayerlessness in our lives. And when we do pray, it tends to be more along the lines of the Pharisee in Jesus’ second parable who basically “prayed to himself” thanking God that he was above other men and not one in need of grace and mercy. In fact, God was lucky to have him on His side. If we are prayerless, then we are faithless, because at its very nature prayer is faith. Erik Braun goes so far as to say “they are infinitely co-mingled.” Prayer acknowledges our dependence on God. While we may think there are more important things to do, prayer is NOT DOING … IT IS SURRENDERING our very selves to God. Faith is the opposite of pride, it is praying without ceasing. The irony being that before we can do anything of eternal consequence, we must admit that ultimately we cannot do anything of spiritual consequence in the eternal realm. It is only the Spirit of God that can open the eyes and the hearts of men.

Faith at its core is also incredibly simple. It is only the pride of man that needlessly complicates it. And, in my opinion, I think this is primarily to prevent others from receiving what we ourselves have received. Thus our gift seems more exclusive, perhaps even more “deserved,” when it is by its very nature from grace and thus, by definition, undeserved. Consider the simple prayer of the tax collector who could not even bring himself to look upward to heaven as he prayed. He knew where he stood. There was nothing in his life that merited God’s favor and apart from God’s grace, his soul had no hope of salvation. All he could do was fall on God’s mercy.

Contrast this with the Pharisee who stood by himself, a one-man congregation, totally dependent on himself, the very antithesis of genuine faith. God loves to exalt the humble and He cannot help but humble the self-exalted. It is one of the fundamental laws of the universe. Furthermore, God is not impressed by the quantity of our words but rather the heart behind those words. Thus, the sinner’s prayer is glorious in its simplicity and filled with majesty. Its depths cannot be plumbed, yet it contains a mere seven words! It can and should serve as the entrance to understanding the depths of God. We can hardly find a richer text.

Lastly, consider Jesus’ own apostles who rebuked the crowds for bothering the Master with “infants.” Yet Jesus, Himself, scandalized His own followers by saying that unless “you receive the kingdom of God like a child you shall not enter it.” Little children and infants are receivers, not givers. In other words, they cannot do anything and they cannot give anything, which contributes to their welfare. They are totally dependent upon others for everything. For food and drink; to be changed and clothed; to be bathed and burped. They are at the mercy of others. If they need something they must cry for it or wait for it – they cannot do it for themselves. They are totally helpless.

The message for us is to acknowledge our status as a receiver and not as a giver. In other words, we must realize that we cannot do anything and we cannot give anything which gains us entrance into the kingdom of God. We must realize our total dependence upon Another. We must internalize into the core of our very souls that we cannot enter the kingdom of God by our own merits or on our own terms.

The One we are totally dependent upon, of course, is God in Christ. We depend upon Him for everything. When it comes to entrance into the kingdom of God, there is not one thing we can do for ourselves. Not calling, not regeneration, not conversion, not repentance, not faith, not justification, not sanctification, not perseverance. It is all of grace. It is all of mercy. It is all undeserved, unmerited, and unearned.

Finally, we must appreciate the status of children in the Ancient World. Though they were loved, they were powerless. They were lowly people. They counted for nothing. They were at the bottom rung of society, even below slaves. They had no economic value; no social standing; no physical strength; no political power; no military might. They were the ultimate nobodies in the great scheme of things. Contrary to the kingdoms of His day, Jesus made room in His kingdom for those without status and power. In fact, our status or lack of status, makes no difference in His kingdom. This matter of lowly status started with the King of the kingdom Himself. He was born of a woman pregnant before marriage. At birth He was laid in a manger in the town of Bethlehem. He grew up in Nazareth of Galilee. He was trained as a carpenter. He was a nobody according to the standards of the world.

This matter of lowly status continued with those Jesus associated with. He seemed to go out of His way to reach out to the lowest of the low, to reach out to the outcasts of society: prostitutes, tax collectors, Galilean fishermen, lepers, drunkards, and the like. He welcomed their presence. He ate and drank with them. He talked with them and was interested in them. He touched them and healed them.

"Receive the kingdom of God like a little child." You enter the kingdom of God not because of who you are, not because of who your parents are, not because of your wealth or standing or power or position or status. You come as nothing and you enter with nothing. You come in humility. You come as a nobody. You come only because Jesus calls and accepts you. And to understand this is the very essence of faith!