Archive for June, 2015
Good News of Hebrews 4…
Living a life based on constant belief in God means going from strength to strength (Psalm 85:7). Understanding this can create a very stark comprehension of how Christians are to live. The focus, instead of being on what we are to do or not do, is on believing God. Since this is the starting point, I firmly believe that we will live a life that stems from that believing. This is not to say that we do not need to learn what God’s Word says. Clearly, we do need to study to know whether or not we are believing God at every turn and whether or not our life measures up to His standard.
Is Salvation a Sure Thing or Dependent Upon Us? Part 9
Moses chose through unbelief to strike the rock twice. Had he been tempted to do that, but instead did what God told him to do, Moses would not have sinned. He was angry with the Israelites and rather than controlling his anger, he allowed his anger to control him and he sinned because of it. His anger clouded his thinking and instead of doing things God’s way, Moses thought he had a better way. Ultimately, he came to believe that God’s way was not the best and his way was. Proverbs 14:12 certainly applies here.
Is Salvation a Sure Thing or Dependent Upon Us? Part 8
What did this believing in God cause these individuals to do? They walked in righteousness. Their actions proved their belief in God. Noah believed God and…built the Ark. Lot believed God and…left Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham believed God and…left Ur to go the Land of Promise. But some of these same people also had times in their lives where, through unbelief, they parted ways with God. In the case of Ananias and Sapphira, they did not get the opportunity to come back from their path of unbelief. Neither did Moses. We haven’t even talked about David, have we? He was a believer, a man after God’s own heart, yet, through unbelief, he sinned, first through lust, which gave birth to adultery, which then gave birth to murder. Even though David repented, things were not the same. God was not happy that David had chosen to go off the path of righteousness and down the trail of unbelief leading to death.
Is Salvation a Sure Thing or Dependent Upon Us? Part 7
What? Moses was accused of God as not believing Him! Moses? Yes, Moses, the man who walked with God and spoke with Him as one man speaks to another. Moses spent years learning from God, trusting Him, and being obedient to Him. Yet, here, just prior to the end of Israel’s journey to the Promised Land, Moses makes a terrible mistake and that mistake was the result of the fact that Moses chose not believe God. Wow. Stop and consider that for a moment, will you?
Is Salvation a Sure Thing or Dependent Upon Us? Part 6
So what exactly does it mean to depart from God? The writer of Hebrews is connecting this action with the actions of those from the Old Testament, those of Israel who left Egypt and hardened their hearts against God. What did they do to cause their hearts to harden? Quite simply, they chose to disbelieve Him. Because they refused to believe that God would overcome their enemies in the Promised Land of Canaan, they were not allowed to enter into that land, or “rest.” God made them wander in the wilderness until that generation of men aged 18 and up were dead.
Is Salvation a Sure Thing or Dependent Upon Us? Part 5
If we were to simply leave it there, we would be very tempted to think that the writer of Hebrews is referring to salvation and if we are not careful, we will lose that salvation through an “unbelieving heart.” In fact, this verse (among others) is often used as a proof-text to show that salvation can be lost. I do not believe this is the case and if we take the time to strongly consider the context, which we must do, then we will all arrive to that very same conclusion. The question to ask is whether or not the writer of Hebrews is speaking of our salvation beginning with Hebrews 3:12 or something else entirely?
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