(Hebrews 5:11-14)
There is something wrong with many Christians today, and it is something that has plagued the Christian church from its inception. Not that there is anything wrong with Christianity, or Christ, but with people failing to mature and also others who ought to know better falling prey to deception so easily. It is amazing to me that some people never seem to change and obvious poison is swallowed up like candy.
Of course, this has happened to me in the past, and sometimes deception can be well disguised, but we are supposed to become more discerning as we grow in Christ, and if we are not, then it is a sign that we are not as mature as we may think we are, and are therefore ripe for even more deception, distraction, and a growing lack of discernment. The truth is that we will either push forward in the truth or we will be pulled back from it. Those that think they can get away with standing still are falling back and don’t even know it. You will either be increasing in your concentration on Christ, or the world. You either move on to maturity or you stay in perpetual adolescence at best, wasting years of time.
The background to this text is that we are looking at two sets of people: one who had fallen away, and another who were looking back. The writer to the Hebrews was warning the others that they needed to move on, and that they must break away from those who were wavering and wandering if they did not come with them. It was decision time, and time to look and live forward and stop looking back, and those who were looking forward were being told that they must eventually separate from those who won’t separate from the apostates.
So we have three camps forming: one who had definitely fallen away, and weren’t coming back, one who were moving forward, being told not to look back, and the third, in the middle, standing still. This third camp is the people who were not getting it; they had become dull of hearing, not with their ears, but with their heart, and they were in danger. You will wind up in one camp or another and the problem is many think they don’t have to make a choice. In their minds, they are already saved and have made the choice, but when the tests come to see if they are truly believers, they will eventually fall back into the camp they never really came out of in the first place. They were like Lot’s wife; her heart never really left Sodom and Gomorrah.
This applies very easily to us today.
They had been suffering under persecution and some had departed and went back to Judaism, because it was easier. Now these others were being warned that they should not even be considering going back, that they needed to separate from those who had because they weren’t coming back to Christ again, and that these that had remained but who were wavering had better get on the ball and get learning and discerning and stop thinking that Christianity was the way out of suffering but instead learning that it was the way to see through it. Were they going to have faith and move on into Christ or fall back into their old, more comfortable position? This was the question, and the way to do it right was to keep growing, forward.
The reason some never move forward is that they keep looking back. "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God"(Luke 9:62).
7 comments:
Maybe it is because I am just deep in this frame of mind but I believe alot of it comes back to refusal to look at the law and at sin. The more comfortable position being that "now I am saved so I never have to look at my sin again" or we create a god to suit our liking and needed level of comfort. The other is moving forward, ever loving God's law because it is perfect, converting the soul. We love God's law, not because we have some power to keep it, but because we know we don't. Rather we move forward in our faith of our savior Jesus Christ.
Without God's law, we don't need to move forward.
Then again, I may have no idea what I'm talking about. :)
Comfort. Something we all enjoy and rightly so. I mean, who would willingly desire discomfort? And what kind of comfort is important to us?
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort. 2 Cor 1:3-7
Now, this is the comfort we should be striving for! Lead on oh King Eternal!
Lord lead us out of our comfort zone and into Yours forever and ever, Amen.
Chris,
Personally I think it's more about laziness. I was comfortable with going to church and bible studies and letting others that I believed to be more "spiritual" than myself do all the work. When you only pick up your Bible occasionally and depend on everything you are taught to be truth you are open for deception. You should be able to trust your pastor and teachers but if you don't know what you believe and why you believe it how will you know if they are out of line?
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. James 3:1
This does not relieve the rest of us from the responsibility of learning the scriptures. It is vital to our growth to understand the scope and sweep of scripture which shows us God's character. This is much more important than being able to play "Bible ping pong".
and now I am rattling and I also may have no idea what I'm talking about. ;)
You guys are doing great...
Okay you are both on a roll here...preach on.
Tie your points together and you have the average American apathetic "Christian." One who is comfortable with how they feel because they go to church and Bible study every week. The "so why should you do more" attitude.
But that laziness is the precise reason why so many are decieved by false prophets. If you never dig into the scriptures one can be easily deceived.
Learning the Word not only protects from deception but it is how you learn to love God and His law. Yes, we need to have a "relationship" with Jesus but if you dont know Him how can you love Him...and if you dont study His Word how can you know Him?
I guess this is the blog for rambling comments :-)
That is the good sort of rambling...
Post a Comment