OF FALLING SHOUT OF THE GRACE OF GOD.
Hebrews 12:15-17 Looking carefully lest there be any man that falls short of the Grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby the many be denied; Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his own birthright. For you know that even when he afterward desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected (for he found no place for repentance), though he sought it diligently with tears.
Continuing in the SECOND HALF- PRACTICAL.
Hebrews Chapters 10:19 - 13:25
Of a Life in the Power of the Great Salvation.
Now in THE FIFTH WARNING
Hebrews 12:14-29
To beware of Sin and rejection of Jesus.
BY THE REV. ANDREW MURRAY
Take heed, lest there be in anyone of you an evil heart of unbelief, was the Warning in chapter 3. And in chapter 4, Let us fear lest anyone come short of the Rest. And in chapter 10, Let us consider one another, Exhorting one another. Here it is the same thought--- Looking carefully--- the word really means taking oversight--- lest there be any man: each is not only to care for himself, but for his brother too; lest there be any man--- there must not, through our lack of faithfulness, be one--- that falls short of the Grace of God. Here we have again the great danger against which this Epistle Warns us earnestly. It is the terrible complaint from which every congregation suffers. There are so many who, just as the Hebrews left Egypt, but came short of the promised Rest, for a time make an earnest Christian profession, and yet come short of the Grace of God--- receive the Grace of God in its beginnings in vain: never truly become possessed of it and by it. As it was true of the Galatians, with all their zeal for religion and its forms, so of these too: You are fallen away from Grace (Galatians 5:4). The running of the race with patience; holiness, or even the earnest pursuit of it; the joy and the power and the fruit of the Christ-like life--- all are wanting as many remain content to remain but babes. Let us look carefully lest anyone fall short of the Grace of God.
Three things are mentioned as causes and marks of this falling short of Grace. Lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby the many be defiled. The root of bitterness may refer to a person, who by wrong conduct or doctrine causes trouble, and leads others astray. Or it may refer to the error itself, some mode of thought or behavior by which the many are defiled. The spirit of the world; too great interest in temporal things; bitterness in religious differences; being led by the carnal reason more than by God's word or Spirit; giving way to sin; any of these things may be the root of bitterness, in regard to which the call sounds: Be careful, look around, and watch, come out from among them and be holy as "I AM Holy".
Lest there be any fornicator. Here a special sin is mentioned. Each church as a whole must watch against this sin, not waiting till it is found, but looking carefully, and doing everything to prevent, lest there be any. Christians must maintain in society the high moral tone which refuses to condone sin in either high or low. In all its members, and among its young people, it must be a witness for purity of life and lips and heart. And to all who are fallen it must seek, in the power of the Gospel, to offer the helping hand of love. Lest there be any fornicator.
Or profane person, as Esau, who for one mess of meat, sold his own birthright. We have seen that faith is ever the separation from the visible. Abraham and Isaac and Jacob sacrificed all to become heirs of the Heavenly city of the future, and the Heavenly Blessing. Esau lived in the present: for a momentary (worldly lust, appetite of the flesh, them realm ruled by sin emphasis added) satisfaction he parted with his blessing, the promise of God, and his inheritance in the future. And even so there are multiple numbers who are called Christians, and yet are profane. There is nothing sacred or holy in their spirit or life. They are absorbed in the present of the possessions and pleasures of the world (the footstool under the foot of the Lord, which man is to subdue emphasis added). To speak of their pursuit of holiness would be a mockery. Let us think of such, and mourn and pray and labor for them. Looking carefully lest there be any one of you a profane person, like Esau.
For you know when he afterward desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected (for he found no place for repentance), though he sought it diligently with tears. We remember the yet afterward of faith. What a contrast here, the afterward of the worldling. For the present with its pleasures, the Divine birthright, the promise of God, and the future inheritance is neglected (the better thing that Adam forsook by eating of the fruit emphasis added). And when it is too late, when the heart is shriveled up, and the power of the Will and the power of faith is lost, the thought of something better is awakened--- but, alas, it is found to be too late! Many shall seek to enter in, and shall not be able, when once the Master of the house is risen up, and has shut the door! He afterward desired to inherit, but was rejected!
Looking carefully, lest any man fall short of the Grace of God. What a solemn thing the Christian life is, the race for life we have to run! With what dangers we are surrounded! Our daily needs and our daily food may be our destruction. It was eating that lost for Esau his birthright. It was eating that lost Adam and his seed the Kingdom of God. It was in refusing to eat, when Satan tempted Him in the wilderness, that Jesus won back Heaven for us. In our home, in our body, in our daily need, the temptations to ease and enjoyment, to sloth and standing still are ever around us and in us; let us take heed lest we fall short. Let us look carefully, and see if there are not others around us who are fainting and turning back, and let us count it our duty and privilege to care for them. Let us beseech the Grace of God to give us power in faith and love to be the deliverer of our people and our brethren. If we feel powerless to speak to others or to influence them, let us lay ourselves before God with the cry that He would use us to save some: He can fill us with His Spirit and His Love, He can infuse us with His very nature as our restored Father.
1. Looking carefully--- the word is the same as bishop, overseer. Lest any man. We are all to watch over each other. Do we really take the state of Christians to heart? Do we indeed look around carefully and lovingly, to consider what can be done? Consider Jesus! consider one another!--- the two commands are inseparable.
2. Afterward, he was rejected! My brother, if you have escaped this danger, I beseech you, by the mercy of God, think of those who are in It, and say to God that you will do anything He wishes you to save them from that terrible fats.
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