Missions Paul

We are moving on from the third warning passage of the letter and the author is setting the context up to declare the promise that the Christ would be a priest in the order of Melchizedek, forever. The importance of this is many, for one thing no one could claim Melchizedek’s origins, just like Christ, who is eternal.

The warning passage was calling them not to fall away but through faith and patience to inherit the promises God had given them.

Is there an example of anyone who has lived their life like this? Yes!

“When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, ¹⁴ saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” ¹⁵ And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.” (Hebrews 6 v 13-15)

That was the promise to Abraham: I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.

When we make a promise we make it to a higher authority than ourselves, to God. “I promise to God” or “I swear by Almighty God that I will tell the truth” all indicating you are making a serious promise. God never does that because there is no one higher than Him. And so they can never fail.

We have a Bible full of them.

We must hold on to what God has said.

Even when it looks impossible and Sarah was barren: I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.

During the day of joy as Sarah gave birth to Isaac: I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.

Especially during the day of the surrender to God of what He has given as Abraham prepares to sacrifice his only son: I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.

God won’t fail you.

His promises will hold for you during the many changing seasons of your life.

So hold on to what has said and what He has given you. Hold on and you will inherit the promises of God.

This is the final two sentences of the third warning in the letter and we discover the purpose of it. The Pastor wants them to survive and get to the end.

“We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realised. ¹² We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” (Hebrews 6 v 11-12)

To the very end.

The end of their life.

The end of their course, their race, all that they have believed has been fully realised and they then step into their inheritance.

Sunday 22^nd January 2017 I stood with a married couple with 2 small children for a photograph. This was their farewell from the church as they were being sent as church planters to an area where there was absolutely no Christian witness. It was for me a most poignant moment for I knew the struggle that they would face. I was in the region of the world where the Church is continually persecuted. Christians carried injuries to their bodies because they were Christ followers. I was told of how their houses got burnt down, their children set upon and their entire family despised as worthless. I asked the question, “What happens when it all gets too much?” The answer that came shocked me. “We stay.”

You may enter your day struggling to get through it. You face internal pressures from external circumstances that are causing you to wonder if you will ever be free. Physical problems, loneliness, financial instability, loss of work and broken relationships are making you feel like you are swimming against the tide. Let the persecuted Christians help you today. They have found something that is priceless. If we do what they do then we will be saved in our circumstance. They have discovered perseverance, endurance and they are diligent.

The Pastor does not want this first century community to turn back to a Jesus-less Judaism. The third warning ends and we need to hear it. Be diligent, keep hoping, don’t be lazy, have faith and have patience.

Radical candor. It’s a book title. But it’s far more than that.

Toxic cultures never experience radical candor.

It is to care deeply of the person you are challenging directly.

“Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are convinced of better things in your case—the things that have to do with salvation. God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.” (Hebrews 6 v 9-10)

Even though we speak like this, meaning v4-6 and the stark warning if they fell away. “Even though we speak like this we are convinced about you.” 

This Pastor knows his people are under incredible pressure to drift away and warns them by an eye-opener. But then the softer approach comes in encouraging them, caring deeply for them, praising them. It’s a beautiful example of a great Pastor who is not afraid to speak the truth but at the same time it is done with deep love.

Radical candor. Extreme fearless honesty. Without deep care all you have is directedness and it hurts. Without honest feedback all you have is care and no discipleship. But with both, with empathy, aiming to understand where the person is in their well-being and with a concise, direct approach focusing on the issue at hand you have radical candor which produces greater effectiveness and brings the best out of people.

The warning of all warnings! It has led to so many debates on whether we can lose our salvation or whether we were ever saved in the first place. It is a shocker. Maybe that was the intent.

“It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, ⁵ who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age ⁶ and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. ⁷ Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. ⁸ But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.” (Hebrews 6 v 4-8)

So who are these people?

They have once been enlightened. They were once in darkness but now have stepped into the light.

They have tasted the heavenly gift. They have experienced and participated in all that God has given, His Son and His Spirit.

They have tasted the goodness of the Word of God. Their leader has so far used various Bible references to support his teaching to them; they are people who hold to their Scriptures and also the gospel that has saved them.

They have tasted the powers of the coming age. They have shared in the Holy Spirit (v4) because they have already entered post-Pentecost and there is more to come.

So these people are true disciples, like you and me. However!

Though ‘it is impossible’ v4 seems actually to be so. These real disciples are at risk of being people ‘who have fallen away’ v6. Of course the book shelves are full of eminent theologians who have answers to this verse. For me, I know pastorally I have at times hung someone over a picture of total destruction if they went ahead with a moment of madness they were pursuing for themselves. I didn’t do that with everyone. But I did do it as a last resort because I loved them enough to try and describe the hell on earth that they would enter in to if they didn’t turn around. Is this what this Pastor is doing? Is this akin to their ancestors who failed to enter into the rest/ the Promised Land?

Where am I today with this? At times in my life I have been really fearful of losing my salvation and so have been at the many church altars getting saved all over again just in case. I think actually God wants me to live with confidence that I am saved even though I sin and come back for forgiveness etc.  There have also been times in my life when I have just coasted along with little passion and drive for God and I needed a powerful sermon or a friend to shake me up to get me back on track again.

The parables of the land are simply to back up the thinking of this leader who loves these believers. He wants the very best of them. They are being tempted to go back to Judaism that is clear in the letter. The persecution is too tough, they need to hang on to Jesus and the faith. This a reminder that if they abandon all that they know and have experienced then who is their Saviour? Who will die on a cross for them? And if they walk away then all that they have testified about the power of the cross then loses its power. The cross of love and beauty becomes what everyone thought as they looked at it, just a public disgrace.

So today. Once again don’t give up. Don’t walk away. If you have to dangle real true Christians who are being cruelly tempted and are in the severest of battles then say what you can to stop them making the worst decision of their life after making the best one.

Are you ready to move on? Without abandoning what you know He has more to show you!
How old are you? How long have you been following Jesus? How have you grown more in knowledge of Him? How have you experienced Him more? In what ways are you now more obedient?
Recently I tried to explain something to a friend and their response was, ‘Oh thank you, now I see, no one has explained it so clearly to me before.’ I thought at last there was a breakthrough. Then a few months later this friend was back struggling with the same issue. It was as if I had never had the breakthrough conversation. It is possible to be locked into a position of thought or a revelation and never be able to move further.
“Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, 2 instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And God permitting, we will do so.” (Hebrews 6 v 1-3)
There is an old joke amongst ministers that when a new Pastor takes over the church from a Pastor who is their friend they might provoke them by saying, ‘I am going to lay a proper foundation’. The writer to this community of believers tells them that there will not be another laying of foundation. What does he mean?
Continuing the warning theme to the community of believers this leader/Pastor is challenging their lack of maturity.
Not that we discard the basic elementary teaching of our faith or we tick it off as something already learnt but it becomes the spring board to move on to further truth. There are elementary truths about Christ that are so important that must not be bypassed or forgotten. However, there is more!
The elementary truths are listed and in pairs:
Repentance and faith; cleansing rites and laying on of hands; and resurrection and judgment.
We understand the first and the third pair; but what is the second pair about?
‘Cleansing rites’ might suggest baptism but it is plural and doesn’t use the right word for baptism alone. It is probably a mixture of Jewish ritual washings and Gentile Christian practice that either symbolised their roots or moved on from them.
The Pastor wants them to move on from these things because whether they are the basic wonderful truths of our faith or some precious practices that are symbols of what we believe, it is possible to get so locked in to a revelation that we shut ourselves off from what God is wanting to say and do.
Are you open for new revelations? Are you open for God to speak to you? He may use Scripture? He may speak through dreams and visions? So many ways. It will happen ‘if God permits’ meaning not that He is reluctant or undecided but that it is in accordance to His will and for His glory. Today ask God for further revelations. There is more.

After each chapter I want to pause and reflect and ask this question. Why?

If you are wondering if your sinful actions have disqualified you in some way then read this chapter.

Jesus is your High Priest who intercedes for you and the reason why He is good at that is because He has walked your life but was without sin, v1-4.

Jesus can see life through your perspective and as He does He understands you.

If you want to know about being called by God then read this chapter.

Jesus did not reach out for this role but it came to Him. A calling is a holy appointment, v5-7.

In the Old Testament there was no individual who was a Priest and at the same time the King. That was always seen as the role of the Messiah symbolised by one figure only, found in Genesis 14, Melchizedek. This individual symbolised the role that Christ would be given. He was chosen for this role. Others had through sheer ignorance tried to take it. For example, King Uzziah decided one day to try and look like a priest by offering incense and he ended the moment with a deadly leprosy. Be careful what you reach for. Let your appointment come to you, don’t grab and don’t be apathetic towards it either.

If you want to know how to survive a crushing period of your life then read this chapter.

Jesus offered up tearful prayers in the Gethsemane but demonstrated how to stay obedient to do the perfect will of God, v7-10.

Jesus’ suffering commenced with his anticipation of his own crucifixion and death and being cursed by His Father. You know the feeling of anticipation very well. It is not always the anticipation of Christmas or a birthday party. It can be a dark shadow experience that you know you have to go through. Perhaps you haven’t gone through this way before and you are afraid but Jesus is praying for you that you will hold on and stay obedient even in the darkest moment. And like Jesus you will be delivered at some point and in some way. There is always a resurrection for those who follow.

If you want to safeguard yourself from slipping away from the faith then read this chapter. 

It’s not only about hearing what the Word says but it is about doing. The community of believers were not growing how they should. Life is about discipleship, v11-14.

Following Jesus is to grow in knowledge and wisdom and that does take time. The time is not age-related but the time you spend in reading the Bible, hearing it being taught, praying and looking at your world through the perspective of your Priest and King.

That’s why Hebrews 5 should be read.

Throughout this letter the Pastor will pause from the main subjects to bring a warning to the people. This is the third time in the letter. This warning passage is again quite long starting here in verse 11 and continuing into chapter 6 v12.

”We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.“ Hebrews 5:11-14 

The section of the letter doesn’t pull any punches:

They had stopped trying to learn – Today is a day to learn. Let Him direct your paths. Grow. Mature. Be self-aware. Be better.

By this time they should be teachers – disciples make disciples and so if no disciples are being made what does that mean?

They needed milk not solid food – they have slipped backwards and become immature.

They do not know the teaching about righteousness – they don’t know how to live the Christian life.

They cannot distinguish good from evil – they don’t know how to make wise decisions. 

Now think for a moment on what has already been told them previously.

Chapter 1: The Son is better, greater, superior and He is supreme than whatever you are hearing or seeing.

Chapter 2: Seeing Jesus is to see how He suffered but won; how His victory is our victory; to live in Him not at the mercy of this world. 

Chapter 3: ‘hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory’

Chapter 4: ‘hold firmly to your faith’

Chapter 5: Psalm 2:7 and 110:4 which are quoted here reveal the status of Jesus and how it came about. He is the Son and the High Priest. This has come about because of the declaration of God. This will never be altered.

They have been told all these things. However look at those 4 verses again. 

They are not where they should be by now. They are in danger of slipping backwards. In fact they seem to have done so. 

It’s a challenge to us all. 

Are we moving forward? Are we growing? Do we know Him more? Asking yourself these 5 questions each day may help to redirect your paths. 

What will you learn today?

Who will you teach today?

How will you grow today?

What acts of righteousness will you do today?

What wise decisions will you make today? 

“I’ll pray for you” is often said and we often say it.  But there are times when behind the scenes where no one is hearing and seeing you feel like you are crying out to God to change your circumstance and to do something so that what looks inevitable doesn’t happen! Do you know those moments? Of course you do and you maybe in one of them right now. That’s what our next verses speak to us about today.

“During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. ⁸ Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered ⁹ and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him ¹⁰ and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.” (Hebrews 5 v 7-10)

He prayed, was heard but was not saved from death but through death.

Perhaps the thought here is Gethsemane and though there are other times we see Jesus praying and there are many occasions we are not privy to, but what is written here would suggest his time in that garden. A place of grief and sorrow. He knows what it is to be hard pressed. Gethsemane means oil press.

He prayed to the Almighty, the all-powerful One. To Him who placed the stars in the sky and created the gardens of Eden and Gethsemane. The Father of Jew and Gentile, of all. He prayed to the Covenant-maker. Jesus was fully aware of the prophecy of Jeremiah in 31:31-33 where God promises a new covenant, for the old was broken. That’s why Jesus personally battles with the cup before him. He has Isaiah also racing through his mind where the prophet is alarmed at Gods people drinking the cup of terror (51:17). He knows he will drink the cup of wrath and judgment in order to create the new covenant made with his shed blood.

He learned obedience not because he was disobedient but because of his submission to what he suffered.

The mark of any disciple is obedience.

“Son though he was” reveals that the One who had it all needed to submit.

There are times for whatever reason that we should not stop and admire the view but submit. We should just go through it as best as we can. This place is not your destination nor is it a resting place. It is a going through place. Do not be distracted or attracted to whatever you see around you, just keep walking through.

He was declared as High Priest.

The ‘Pastor’ will speak more about this in chapter 7 and it seems like we are being simply introduced to this name Melchizedek for that reason, whetting our appetite for more!

But Jesus was called, appointed, designated High Priest not by ambition. This role is as we know from the Old Testament system one of intercession and we have seen this already.

Today Jesus is interceding for you.

Gethsemane and submitting to the destiny on your life will crush you. He hears your cries. He hears and He is praying for you.

To learn obedience is to know we are not first but second. We are not leading everything but following. We are not in charge but conforming ourselves to Him and not to our rights. But in doing so we cry through the battle of that transformation. He hears and He is praying for you.

Finally, this war with your soul is the prayer that brings the eternal part of you, the God-focused, Christ-centred, Spirit-dwelt part of you to the surface and to make this the loudest voice, the clearest vision and the most powerful thought over what your body is experiencing. He knows this, He hears this and He is praying for you.

Thank you Jesus!

In the verses before we see the requirements of the High Priest and one of them being that no one takes the honour themselves, it is given, v4.

“In the same way, Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.” ⁶ And he says in another place, “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” (Hebrews 5 v 5-6)

These 2 verses from the Psalms (Psalm 2:7 and 110:4) reveal the status of Jesus and how it came about. He is the Son and the High Priest. This has come about because of the declaration of God. This will never be altered.

He did not appoint himself.

He had no priestly family connections. He was not in the line of Aaron.

He wasn’t interested in joining a Temple to carry our priestly duties in the way everyone was used to.

He did not enter into political shenanigans like what had been happening in the culture of his day.

He had to die and rise from the dead to become the High Priest (we will read this in verse 9 soon). It showed that he was different to Aaron who also had to have atonement for his own sin before atoning others.

His priestly ministry is forever. Like Melchizedek’s It never fades.

You may in the eyes of some not be good enough. Your family tree may be conspicuous to say the least.

You may be completely different to anyone else.

Your way maybe the sacrificial way.

And what you think disqualifies you may actually be the reason you are qualified.

A message for those in the pulpits (and the pews!)

Over the next few chapters we will be reading beautiful things about Jesus our High Priest but before we get there we are reminded about what the qualifications are for priesthood. So whether we think of the high priest in Jewish history, or the church minister today or wherever you might be serving the Lord in whatever capacity that is, here are the instructions.

“Every high priest is selected from among the people and is appointed to represent the people in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. ² He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. ³ This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people. ⁴ And no one takes this honour on himself, but he receives it when called by God, just as Aaron was.” (Hebrews 5 v 1-4)

It may look like you have gone through a human selection and then appointment process but actually you are called by God, v1 and v4

Do you believe this?

Being appointed by man can be encouraging and even empowering. But that is nothing compared to knowing that the Lord has appointed you, that He has chosen you, that He knows you and wants you.  In the same way even if man rejects you, even if they don’t see the potential in you, even if they say ‘NO!’ as the friends of Jesus did when he tried to share with them his appointment, it matters not. God appoints where man disappoints. It takes courage to hold on to this and to know you are appointed.

Deal gently with people, v2.

Into a context of being interrogated over who he is, where he is from and why he is here, Jesus tells a story. Was it going to be a story showing the power of who he was? A warrior leading the people into battle over the Roman Empire? No! He tells the story of a shepherd (John 10). The story is not of a powerful leader but of a caring and loving shepherd who deals gently. The Bible is full of a God who loves as a shepherd. We need more gentleness in our world.

Don’t let the sins of others become more important than your own sins, v3.

Maybe you wake to the hurt of yesterday. Every day there are wrongs done to people. You may be reading this carrying such a horrible weight of wrong that has been done against you.  There are unbelievable tragedies today. There are many victims. Since the beginning of time God has seen what mankind can to each other. “The LORD said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.” (Genesis 4:10). Today you may be the victim because someone made the wrong choice. When we are the sinner we cry for mercy. But the natural response when we are sinned against is to cry for justice. The blood of Abel in Genesis 4 cried for justice. It was a prayer of ‘Get him God.’ The blood of Jesus is not ‘Father get these murderers’ but “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)

Receive this honour, don’t grab it, v4

Jesus had said he was going to suffer and the disciples wanted to talk about who is the greatest. The whole team were battling over their positions. They were full of ambition. Still today even leaders want to be a higher leader, members want to be pastors, Pastors want to be apostles, apostles want to be bishops, bishops want to be archbishops and archbishops want to be Popes. That’s in the church but it is everywhere. Naked, raw ambition, climb the ladder, get to the top, it is better up there. Ambition is a killer of the church. We need to stop looking in the mirror. We need to find another visual aid other than ourselves. In the incident I mention remember the visual aid Jesus chose? He brought a little child amongst them.