By Faith, from the Flood to the Law - Hebrews 11:8-22

We began a three part study of Hebrews 11 – “The Faith Chapter” – in the last section. In it, we considered the stories of creation, Abel, Enoch, and Noah. The stories all testified to the importance of our first key point… Faith is the reality of our hope even when it’s unseen.

In this section, we’ll study the lives of five more people. Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph all lived in the time period between the flood and the giving of the Law. Even more, these five heroes of the faith teach us our second key point on faith… Faith is the reality of the promise in a future promised land.

I encourage you to start by reading Hebrews 11:8-22.

Click picture for a printable handout for this section

Faith is the Reality of the Promise (11:13-16)

I’ve often wondered about the encounter between God and Abraham that prompted Abraham to live such an outstanding life of faith. Yes, he blew it sometimes, but overall, he was faithful at an incredible level. Regarding that encounter, was it a burning bush like Moses? Or was it a dream like Joseph? Did they wrestle as God did with Jacob? We don’t know the details but something significant must have happened because Abraham’s encounters with God transformed him for life.

The reality of a future city
Regardless of how the encounters between God and Abraham played out, Abraham knew that the promised land for which he waited wasn’t of this world. I believe he could have conquered the land and established a kingdom; we studied that here and here. But, Abraham wasn’t content with a kingdom of this world. He “was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:10).

The reality of a future homeland
A friend of mine is from Togo, Africa but he lives here in the United States. He may have a place to stay here but Togo is his homeland. Togo is his culture, his heritage, his family, and his language. Our homeland is where we come from. Remember, however, that faith sees things differently. Faith sees with spiritual eyes rather than physical ones; usually, the results are opposite of each other. For us, our homeland is where we come from. When we see with spiritual eyes of faith, however, our homeland is where we’re going. It’s the reality of a promised eternity in heaven. Our future home defines our culture, our heritage, our family, and our language. Think about that. “Those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a homeland” (Hebrews 11:14).

The reality of a future promise
All of these people died without having seen the future promise – not just Abraham, but all of them (Hebrews 11:13). Faith faces death knowing the Promised Land which awaits is our reality. The author of Hebrews has taught us about this promise for several chapters now. We’ve learned the promise is…

• To enter His rest. Even more, it remains open to us even after we've wandered in our desert (4:1).
• For “those who inherit the promises through faith and perseverance” (6:12).
• Confirmed with an oath by an unchangeable God (6:17).
• Passed down through Abraham (7:6).
• That on which Jesus Christ founded and mediated a new covenant (8:6).
• An eternal inheritance made possible by Jesus’ spilled blood and sacrificial death (9:15).
• For those who persevere in doing the will of God until the end (10:36-37).
• Passed down through Isaac and Jacob (11:9).
• Of a city built by God, of a country in heaven (11:10, 13-16).
• Of countless descendants through a sacrificed son (11:17).
• Not yet received by anyone. All recipients await the future inheritance (11:39-40).

Click here to read even more about that foundational promise made to Abraham.

By Faith, from the Flood to the Law

By Faith, Abraham (11:8-10, 17-19)
We’ve already discussed Abraham so much in this section. The section I referenced in the last paragraph goes into even more detail about his faith in the promise. He is the one who “believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness” (Romans 4:3). Let’s consider a few more details here, though.

Because of faith, Abraham was able to go when God said go and wait when God said wait. God told him “Go out from your land… to the land I will show you” (Genesis 12:1). Like I said, that encounter must have been pretty significant because it was enough to prompt Abraham to go. How confusing… difficult… frustrating… it might have been, then, when Abraham got there and God said “Wait.” He didn’t give the Promised Land into Abraham’s hands; he allowed Abraham to die as a foreigner in the land (Genesis 23:4).

Faith helped Abraham to find victory in the hardest test of his life – God’s call to sacrifice the son of promise, Isaac. Again, I don’t know how Abraham knew what he knew, but he had some pretty difficult concepts figured out. In this case, he knew Isaac was the son of promise but he also knew that if God asked him to take Isaac’s life, then God would make a way for the promise to still be fulfilled. He realized, by faith, God had the power to give Isaac back to him again by raising him from the dead.

By Faith, Sarah (11:11-12)
By faith, Sarah conceived and gave birth to Isaac even though she had been barren for decades and was long past the age to bear children. In their story, we see a reminder of our first key point – faith is the reality of our hope even when it is unseen. In a moment of intimacy between Abraham and Sarah – a man almost dead and a barren woman – God took what had been unseen until that moment and created something seen. He created the child of the future promise – Isaac.

By Faith, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph (11:20-22)
Joel Rosenberg is one of my favorite authors. On September 11, 2001 – as Islamic radicals attacked our nation – he was already completing his first fictional novel which included an attack on our nation by Islamic radicals who flew an airplane into a building. He wrote in his subsequent books about America’s invasion of Iraq and the death of PLO Leader Yasser Arafat; in both cases, he predicted the events before they happened. This string of events led people to call him a prophet or a modern-day Nostradamus. In actuality though, Joel’s stories weren’t due to some type of prophetic vision. He looked at the geopolitical state of affairs prophesied by Scripture and compared it to the current geopolitical situation at the turn of the millennium. By faith, Joel knew the end events would occur; all he had to do was analyze what events would be required to bring the world from it’s then current situation to the situation necessary to usher in the end times. We were in point A; what would it take to get to point B? Faith helped him connect the dots.

I tell you this story because Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph’s faith stories are a similar situation. All three of them gave blessings over their children by faith in future events. They knew the words God had spoken and the promises God had made. They lived by faith that those words would come to pass. They were all in their own respective point A and they figured out how to get to point B.

By Faith, for Us

God gave us the stories of these five people to inspire us to live a life by faith as well. Our circumstances may look different but we can still learn from them what it means to live by faith.

By faith, we can go when God says go, even if He wants us to wait once we get there. We want to believe that a call to go somewhere means that grand and glorious work awaits us. Sometimes, however, the grand and glorious outcome isn’t seen on this side of eternity.

By faith, we follow when God calls us out of the place we've been and asks us to live set apart as a stranger in a hostile world. We follow because He's transformed us; we realize our new home is an eternal one in heaven - not that from which we came.

By faith, we find victory in the most difficult of tests. We realize we are totally dependent upon God, muster all of our courage because of His work in us, and struggle through the test. In the end, we look back and realize victory came because of our faith.

By faith, we realize God will make a way to accomplish His plan even when the way seems impossible to us. We don’t have to know all the details; He doesn’t have to follow our logic and work the way we think is right. We can let go of our urge to control and trust Him for the results.

By faith, we recognize God can take what we can’t see and create what we can see. I don’t know how it works – it’s beyond me. But that’s part of living by faith, as well.

By faith, we know the future God has prophesied and discern how we should live until we get there. The Promised Land isn’t here and now; faith realizes it’s then and there. It’s a future reality that will become sight when Christ returns. We’re in our point A; faith guides us until we reach our future point B.

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By Faith, from Creation to the Flood - Hebrews 11:1-7

With this section we begin a three part look at a well-known chapter in the Bible. We could probably spend months here but three weeks will have to suffice for us. Christians often refer to Hebrews 11 as "The Faith Chapter" as it recaps the stories of 12 Old Testament heroes of the faith. The author even tells us he would like to tell us more stories but he knew himself that his room was limited. Maybe someday we’ll all sit down together in heaven, grab a cup of coffee, and laugh together as we celebrate everyone’s individual stories of what they accomplished by faith. By then, we won’t be limited by time; we’ll have all of eternity to celebrate the outcome of our faith.




Click picture for a printable handout for this section

The author of Hebrews uses the expression “by faith” 21 times in this chapter. The math is pretty simple to know that 3x7=21. In Scripture, three represents divine perfection as seen in the Triune God. Seven represents spiritual perfection or that which God has made complete or perfect. Faith, therefore, is the combination of God’s divine perfection working in us to make us spiritually complete or perfect. That’s already an amazing thought!

I encourage you to start by reading Hebrews 11:1-7.

Faith is the Reality of our Hope

“Faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

I wrote one time, “Hope isn’t a distant, vague dream; through Jesus, hope is realized - completed - finished - fulfilled.” Faith realizes our hope isn’t some wishful possibility; hope is the reality in which we live. Hope is to see God glorified, to be set free from death and decay, to experience eternity in heaven, to live in the freedom of salvation, and more. Click here to read about the full picture of biblical hope along with Scripture references to support each aspect. Check it out – couldn’t we all live with a little more assurance of hope?

His Pleasure; Our Approval

“Our ancestors won God’s approval by it. … Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:2, 6).

Pleasing God begins when we come to Him by faith. We please God when we let go of our own desires, opinions, and self-interests and allow a radical transformation to occur in our minds. “Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:1-2, emphasis mine). Remember when we looked at this verse a few sections ago? We learned our spiritual worship is our latreia service as priests in the true temple of God. I encourage you to go back and read it; it’s too much to recap here. We also learn from these verses in Romans that pleasing God requires a renewing of our mind. We no longer think like the world thinks; we no longer prioritize like the world prioritizes. We no longer strive as the world strives. Instead, we come to Him by faith as we realize that the hope we have in Him is reality. Eternity is the reality – not the struggles, goals, priorities, and philosophies of this world.

Faith transforms our thinking to focus on the reality before the throne of God. Faith builds a foundation for pleasing God. Finally, faith allows God to look down upon us and say, “Yes, she is approved.” Faith allows God to bear witness to the fact that ours was a life transformed by Him and for Him.

On God's Side

“The one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

The last two sections compared two different reactions to Jesus sacrificial death. In the first one, those who believe He died as the Messiah draw near to Him, hold on to the confession of their hope, and are concerned for one another. In the second one, those who reject Him as the Messiah arrogantly decide His death was no more than a premeditated murder as they reject Him as the Word made Flesh. They trample on Him, consider Him ordinary, and insult the grace He offers. Their outcome is fire and judgment.

Those who live by faith have picked on which side of this comparison they want to be. Faith is the side of the one who draws near to God and finds rest in the hope of the unseen. God says, “My righteous one will live by faith” (Hebrews 10:38).

By Faith, from Creation to the Flood

Hebrews has helped us understand and visualize God’s plan for all of creation – from beginning until the end. God’s plan since the beginning has been for us to come to Him by faith regardless of the time era in which we live. That’s why the list in this chapter of those who live by faith begins at creation and ends, well, at the end when He brings us all together in one eternal kingdom.

Creation (11:3)
Read the story of creation in Genesis 1.

I don’t think we’ll ever scientifically prove the processes of creation. Scientists and theologians argue back and forth relentlessly. The final argument, however, comes down to an acceptance of God’s creation by faith. Notice this interesting correlation within these verses… Faith is “the proof of what is not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Faith is required to understand that God took what was unseen and with it, created what we now see. With the power of His spoken word, “what is seen has been made from things that are not visible” (Hebrews 11:3). Faith realizes the reality of the spiritual, heavenly, unseen world. Faith then goes one step further and recognizes that God used what is unseen to create the universe.

Abel (11:4)
Read the story of Abel in Genesis 4:1-12.

God’s acceptance of Abel’s sacrifice and rejection of Cain’s had anything to do with what they brought. He based His response on the hearts of those who brought the sacrifice. Abel came before God by faith. This pleased God and God accepted Abel’s sacrifice. We don’t know Cain’s motive but it’s a safe implication that Cain didn’t come before God by faith.

Abel was the first person to die in faith of the coming Messiah. He was the first murdered, the first persecuted for obedience to God, and the first to die with hope in an unseen eternity. As the first murdered among men, his blood still cries out to us by faith today waiting for redemption and resurrection.

Enoch (11:5)
Read the story of Enoch in Genesis 5:18-24.

We don’t know much about Enoch. We do know, however, that he walked with God in a special understanding and relationship. Jude 14-15 refers to him as a prophet who knew judgment would come upon the earth because of man’s wickedness. Indeed, he named his son Methuselah which means “when he is dead, it shall come.” Methuselah lived longer than any other man in history because of God’s grace but when he eventually died, the flood came upon the earth. God brought judgment for man’s wickedness.

We know that Enoch lived by faith. By faith, He looked at the sin of the world and knew that God couldn’t allow it to continue that way unchecked. A righteous God would require judgment. The same faith that knew God would judge also motivated Enoch to walk closely with God. Enoch walked with God on this earth until one day when God said, “Yes, you are approved. Come walk with Me in heaven.” God took Enoch - who was seen - and suddenly "he was not there because God took him" (Genesis 5:24). Or, as another translation says, "one day he disappeared" (NLT).

Noah (11:7)
Read the story of Noah in Genesis 5:28-9:29.

Almost 700 years after God took Enoch into heaven, in the year of the death of his son Methuselah, God sent judgment upon the earth in the form of a worldwide flood. God warned Noah about the judgment to come; by faith in the surety of God’s warning, Noah was motivated to prepare. Noah had never seen rain because it had never fallen upon the earth at that point in history. Even though he'd never seen rain, Noah had faith in the unseen. He built an ark to save his family and the entire animal kingdom.

By Faith, for Us

These stories aren’t our stories but I still see points to inspire us as we walk with God by faith.

By faith, we understand that more exists than what we see with our physical eyes. Faith is living in the reality of that spiritual, eternal kingdom.

By faith, we understand God used what we can’t see to create what we do see. Science can’t prove it; we must humbly accept it as part of God’s plan.

By faith, God is pleased with us and approves us for entry into His kingdom.

By faith, we realize that death here isn’t the end. It’s only a pause until the end of the plan when God brings resurrection to all who follow Him.

By faith, we can be part of those who draw near to Him and not part of those who face judgment.

By faith, God can protect us from coming judgment.

By faith, we recognize a righteous God requires judgment for sin and this should motivate us to walk with Him.

By faith, we recognize that judgment will come and we give our lives to preparing ourselves and those we love for that judgment.

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The Other Option on that Day - Hebrews 10:26-39

The curtain of Jesus’ body was torn that we might enter in to the Most Holy Place in the true sanctuary of heaven before the throne of God.

He is the High Priest we need to permanently and sufficiently atone for our sin.

I had no sooner finished typing those words when my husband laid his hand on my shoulder to tell me a friend of ours passed away. A young wife and mother of six succumbed to leukemia. After a moment of reflection, I looked back at my screen and heard the words, “She has passed through the curtain.” My friend knew Jesus’ sacrifice covered her sin. She was a testament to His grace and the power of a relationship with Him up until the end.

The author of Hebrews began last week’s section with those two opening statements. We considered a possible response to Jesus’ sacrifice… to draw near to Him, to hold on to the confession of our hope, and to be concerned about one another. That's the life my friend lived.

Another response exists, as well. It’s, well, let’s just say that God didn’t sugar coat the message on this one. To begin, I encourage you to read Hebrews 10:26-39.

Click picture for a printable handout for this section

Deliberate Sin (10:26)

If a person hears the message of Jesus’ sacrifice, they may choose a different response than the one we considered in the last section. They may choose to reject it. The author of Hebrews classifies this response as a deliberate sin.

The Law classifies two other sins as deliberate sins – premeditated murder (Exodus 21:14) and rejection of the Word of God (Numbers 15:30). If we deliberately reject Jesus’ message of truth, then we likewise reject the Word of God as He is the Word made Flesh. Our rejection arrogantly declares that Jesus’ death wasn’t an atoning sacrifice but was only another premeditated murder; a murder for which the guilt lies upon us because it was for our sin that He died. If we hear and reject Jesus’ gospel message, then we are guilty of both of these deliberate sins and Scripture guarantees the outcome.

Guaranteed Outcome (10:27-31)

During the era of the Old Testament and the Law, if someone heard the message of the Law and disregarded it, then the punishment was death without mercy. The gospel message is superior to the Law. How much worse, then, is it to disregard the gospel message of Jesus?

If we disregard His message, we don’t only turn His sacrifice of love into a barbaric, premeditated murder. We also…

• Trample upon Him. Jesus will make a footstool of His enemies of sin and death but when we reject Him, we conceitedly try to make a footstool of Him. Pride didn’t work out too well for Satan and it won’t for us either.
• Regard Jesus’ blood as common, profane, or ordinary. Remembering the first century Jewish context of this book, our rejection of Jesus’ sacrifice arrogantly declares the blood of bulls and goats to be more precious than the blood of Jesus sprinkled before the throne of Holy God in the true sanctuary.
• Insult the spirit of grace. We insolently decide the Law was a superior message than the message of grace we have available to us through Jesus.

Yet, God guarantees the outcome for those who choose this option over the option to draw near to Him as we considered in the last section. The outcome for those who choose to reject Jesus’ sacrifice is vengeance and judgment at the hands of the Living God. Like I said, no sugar coating on this message.

When Times get Hard (10:32-34)

Difficult times will come as a follower of Christ. We all experience times of doubt as we wonder if the struggles are worth it. We all question if the foundation of our faith is secure. In His Word, God often asks us to remember how He worked in the past – to pause and reflect on where we have been in our journey – in order to find comfort and encouragement to continue.

He does so here; “Remember the earlier days when…” (Hebrews 10:32). Remember how your friends and family persecuted you because you accepted Jesus’ message. They rejected you because you accepted Him. Remember the time you were willing to go to prison rather than deny your faith. Not just you, but you saw your loved ones suffer in their prison cells, as well. Remember the time when the government took away all your stuff. Even then, you knew it was ok because your treasures are in heaven, not here on earth. Those were rough times and yet, Jesus sustained you through them. You were so confident in your faith that no persecution of this earth could stop you. You clung so tightly to the hope before you that the cares of this world drifted far beneath you. Remember those days now.

Why? (10:35-39)

No one ever promised this journey is going to be easy. Leukemia takes young moms away from their children. Governments confiscate the belongings of those who follow Jesus; they imprison those who preach His Name. Loved ones abandon, ridicule, and harass us for believing the truth of God’s Word. Any of these – and more – can happen to any of us. Even here in America.

We can’t give up now. We can’t throw away our confidence. We must endure. Jesus is coming and we want to be found faithful.

Don’t throw away the confidence and boldness we have because Jesus made a way through the curtain. Our confidence comes with a great reward – restored access to the Father. “Hold on to the courage and the confidence of our hope” (Hebrews 3:6).

God created us for a purpose – His will for us to accomplish in our time on earth. Strong’s describes it as a “deliberate purpose” which I find interesting because we began this section by considering “deliberate sin.” We see our choice here once again; we either deliberately sin by rejecting Jesus and His message or we choose a deliberate purpose for which God created us. As we follow through in that purpose, we have to endure. The battle is long, the persecution intense. The journey isn’t easy. We won’t be able to make it until the end unless we develop the ability to endure through the struggle. Then, in the end, when the purpose is done, we’ll receive the promise.

Jesus is coming and we aren’t quitters! It’s been a long wait from our human perspective but each day brings us that much closer to His imminent arrival. Until that moment, our call is to endure and persevere by faith. God says of those who won’t step forward in faith, “If he draws back, I have no pleasure in him” (Hebrews 10:38). Those who draw back are destroyed but that’s not us. We are the ones called to move forward in faith – despite the struggle – and find the life which God intended for us.

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As the Day Draws Near - Hebrews 10:19-25

I taught through today’s section the first time about five years ago. It created a desire in me to study the entire book of Hebrews in-depth but I didn't know it would be years before the opportunity presented itself. In those intervening years, I would occasionally read through the book knowing that treasures hid within its words. This study has not only encouraged me but I’ve also connected with it on a deep level. I’ve been thrilled to have this new method of sharing it with you as we progress through the chapters.

Click picture for a printable handout for this section.

I encourage you to start this section by reading Hebrews 10:19-25.

Therefore

We don’t use the word “therefore” in common language very much anymore. In the Bible, though, it’s such an important word. Never skip over it! When we see it, we need to back up because we’ll never fully understand what we’re about to read if we don’t first understand the previous section on which it’s based.

The book of Hebrews uses “therefore” more than any other New Testament book. The entire argument which the author presents builds upon itself throughout its chapters. The one that begins today’s section may be the most important of them all. It begins a conclusion of how we – you and I even today – are called to live and what we can expect in these last days.

Because of These…

The author is about to call us to action in three different areas. Before he does, however, he’ll give us two reasons why we need to step up in these three areas. He has explained these two cause statements throughout the last several chapters so watch for the links to take you to articles where we discussed them. I won’t go into much detail here.

Since We have Boldness (10:19-20)
We aren’t bold on our own – we have boldness. God has given it to us. We have confidence to enter the most holy sanctuary before God’s throne knowing the blood of Jesus atones for our sin permanently.

God split the curtain in the Jewish temple at the time of Jesus’ death. That's the parable. The power of His blood sprinkled on the mercy seat in the true heavenly sanctuary opened a new curtain for us. Through this new curtain – His body – we may enter the heavenly sanctuary in full boldness and confidence. This is our hope. This is reality.

Since We have a Great High Priest (10:21)
Every day the priests offered sacrifices and burned incense in the temple. Every year on the Day of Atonement they sacrificed for their sins and those of the people. They entered the Most Holy Place with burning incense and blood to sprinkle on the mercy seat. But it was never enough.

Jesus is a different kind of high priest from the order of Melchizedek. With Jesus’ final sacrifice, it was enough. The price was paid, sin atoned for, and Jesus sat down at the right hand of God as His work was finished. A new covenant was established. No other priest in the history of the Jewish people could say the work of atonement was done; only Jesus finished the job.

Let’s Do These…

We should live a certain way because Jesus opened the way for us to enter in and because He atoned for our sin once and for all. Our lives should be different as the reality of our position before God transforms us.

Let Us Draw Near (10:22)
Do you realize the significance of all Jesus did to make it possible for you to enter God’s presence? He has sprinkled His blood on our heart to purify the wickedness of our seared consciences. He has given us pure and living water to wash away our filth. All He asks in response is we accept it by faith. Jesus’ sacrifice was absolute; our faith should be so as well. The greatest step of faith is the one that takes you away from the call of the world and toward the presence of Holy God.

Fake faith isn’t going to cut it. A cheap knock-off of the real thing won’t enter God’s holy presence. Those who enter with a true and sincere heart can stand boldly in His presence.

What does it mean to draw near to God? I see two possibilities – a here and now and a then and there.

Here and now we can enter God’s presence spiritually through prayer. We can come before Him in devotion and reverence as we would before no other. We can make requests to help us as we strive to serve and love Him. We can intercede on behalf of those who struggle and despair. Finally, we can praise Him and offer up thanksgiving for the abundance of blessings He pours into our lives.

Then and there we can literally and physically enter into God’s presence after our time on earth is done. Some day we will each cease to breathe on this planet and we’ll take our first full breath of eternal life. Perhaps then we will finally start to comprehend the gravity of Jesus’ sacrifice as we literally and truly enter into God’s presence through the curtain of Jesus’ body and stand where Jesus’ sprinkled His own blood on the true mercy seat.

Let Us Hold On (10:23)
We don’t want to lose hope; it’s a desperate place in which to exist. Yet we have to make a conscience decision to hold on to it. We have to restrain it so we don’t lose it. We have to “hold on to the courage and the confidence of our hope” (Hebrews 3:6). We have to “hold firmly until the end the reality that we had at the start” (Hebrews 3:14). And here we read, we have to “hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering” (Hebrews 10:23).

Culture will continue to decline – both in America and around the world. In all honesty, we can’t stop it. The decline will leave us discouraged, despondent, and worn out. At times it seems tempting to just lay down and stop the fight; to give up on hope. God calls us to something different, though. We do all that we can to hold on to our hope without wavering. The idea here is to not lay down or recline. Don’t lean back and don’t give up. Hold on to that hope with which you first confessed your sin and faith in Jesus because that is what you’ll need to stand tall until the end.

Let Us Be Concerned (10:24-25)
Sometimes it’s easier to just not care; to lay back and decide it all doesn’t matter. Let whatever happens happen because people get what they deserve. That’s not the attitude for which Christ died, however. What if He had said that of us instead of leaving the glory of heaven to come to earth and offer Himself as the final sufficient sacrifice? Since He didn’t choose that attitude, we shouldn’t either.

We need to be concerned about one another. We need to think about others; doing so should elicit a three part response in us. None of those responses allow us to leave people to their own devices and not care what happens to them.

Considering one another should provoke us to love and good works. The author of Hebrews threw in a little sarcasm here, I think. I can appreciate that. He wrote that when we think about others, it should provoke us. The word means “an incitement or irritation.” We can relate to that, can’t we? After all, we all know people who the thought of them is a source of irritation in our lives. Here’s the twist, though. That irritation should prompt us to love and good works. It doesn’t lead to griping, complaining, backstabbing, or ignoring. When we think of others and the thought irritates us – God calls us to respond with love and good works. After all, that’s what He did for us even though our sin was more than just a little irritating to Him.

Considering one another should bring us together in worship. My pastor makes the same comment almost every Sunday, “I can think of no other reason except worshipping God that would bring together such a diverse group of people this morning.” And that’s a good thing. When we think about others, we should want to come together with them in the common cause of worshipping our mutual Savior. Jesus died for them as much as He died for you. They love Jesus as much as you do. Come together and celebrate those things.

Unfortunately, this is a primary area of attack for Satan. He loves it when he can regularly pull us away – to the lake, sleeping in, preparing lunch, getting ready for an upcoming week. Any excuse will do as long as it keeps us out of the church building and away from worshipping with like-minded believers. He has another source of victory when he uses pettiness and dissension to make our togetherness a time of griping rather than a time of worship. We complain about the color of the carpet, the number of songs, the time of the service, and any other little tidbit that makes no eternal difference. Thinking about one another should be an irresistible pull to come together in worship.

Jesus is an example to us of someone who understood this. He said during the Last Supper with His disciples, “I have fervently desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer” (Luke 22:15). I don’t know if you’ve ever had a chance to celebrate a Messianic Passover but I guarantee it is a worship service. How much more would the Passover with the Messiah have been one? Jesus longed for it; He “fervently desired” it. In Hebrews, He asks us to feel the same way.

Considering one another should be a call to encourage. To encourage someone means to fill them with courage. Similarly, to discourage means to take away their courage. Your words and actions have the power to do either. You can either fill someone with the courage they need to face life’s battles, serve as God calls, and live a life honoring to Him. Or, your words and actions can take every bit of their courage to do those things and throw it in the trash. It’s up to you which way you choose.

As the day draws near

One day Jesus will return. Whereas He came as a baby in a humble manger the first time, the second time will be one of great power and authority as every eye will see Him and behold Him as King of all. That day is near. I don’t know when it will be; neither does anyone else. However, Jesus told us some things to watch for and those things are lining up in a way unparalleled in human history.

Life will be hard until that day. We may think it’s hard now but it’s going to get worse. That’s why these kind of passages are so important. Right here we have three simple reactions we should have to Jesus’ sacrifice. These reactions are the way God calls us to live as we see the day of His return approaching. He asks us, quite simply, to draw near to Him, not waver in the hope we possess, and consider one another in a way that leads to love and good works, worship, and encouragement.

I don’t think that’s too much to ask in a world gone crazy.

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