Enough

Heb 13:1 Let brotherly love continue. 2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. 3 Remember the prisoners as if chained with them--those who are mistreated--since you yourselves are in the body also. 4 Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. 5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." 6 So we may boldly say: "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?" 7 Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 9 Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them. 10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. 11 For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp. 12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. 13 Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach. 14 For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. 15 Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. 16 But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. 17 Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you. 18 Pray for us; for we are confident that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably. 19 But I especially urge you to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner.  

The author of Hebrews concludes with a strong admonition that the doctrine shared would be completely, satisfyingly, and perfectly enough because it is all there is.

There is no need to continue looking when you have arrived at the truth. The truth is all there is, and to look for more than the truth, once you know the truth, is to perhaps stumble on a lie that is less than the truth – not more.

How vulnerable our culture has become in this area. We value knowledge to such a great extent that essential truths are done away with in order to pursue philosophical insights. We have even arrived at the place of saying, “there is no absolute truth.”

How absolutely foolish that is. Of course there is absolute truth, in moral and theological and Spiritual arenas just as certainly as there is in mathematics and navigation. It is the simple truths which will endure to eternity, and the fanciful imaginings of foolish man will be cast away in the same way they always have been.

It is enough to let this doctrine we have been taught continue, because it is eternal doctrine.

-Pastor Bill

A Bloodless Coup

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. 4 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. 5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: "My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6 For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives." 7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. 12 Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. 14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: 15 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; 16 lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright.

The great question about the doctrine of grace is: Can grace change or even modify behavior? Since there is so much uncertainty on that score, most – if not all – churches add behavioral directives to their doctrine because you cannot implicitly trust grace alone to do the job of reforming man.

After all, it is the flesh that longs for “no rules.” The reason the flesh desires “no rules” is because the flesh longs to satisfy lust, and lust is, “against the rules.”

This was the great strength of the sacrificial system. It not only had rules against sin, it also had sacrifices for sin that were visible. There was a lot of blood in the sanctuary, (which may seem an odd place to find blood.) But since remission of sin ONLY took place by the shedding of blood, and those in the sanctuary were dealing with sin, there was a lot of blood there. It was a powerful reminder of sin and for sin.

What happens when you take that away and move to the bloodless system of grace? You know – the once-for-all sacrifice? Can you still trust in God’s direction even without a visible correction? The answer is: YES!

Pastor Bill