Jesus: The Believer's Hope, Pt. 3

What is the relationship of the believer’s hope to his faith?

“And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” – Hebrews 7:11-12

Hebrews 6:11-12 shows that the believer has hope enables him to have faith. Faith is placing one’s complete confidence in a object – Jesus Christ our hope. Because of the trustworthiness of this Hope, He is deserving of our absolute confidence in the face of all trials and temptations.

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for…” – Hebrews 11:1

Hebrews 11:1 substantiates this by stating that faith is the assurance of what is being hoped for. In Hebrews 11:13, the author tells us that the Old Testament saints died in faith; they had not seen the promises fulfilled, but they had seen them, were persuaded of them, embraced them, and acted on them (hope). Hebrews 11:39 further records that these faithful people had not received the promise, but they still obtained a good report through faith.

Today, the believer’s hope in Jesus Christ his superior Priest enables the believer to exercise faith in Jesus Christ. Our faith is not an idealistic concept separated from facts or experiences. It is confidence in our Priest who has sensibly and rationally acted in a way that demands our absolute confidence.

Jesus: The Believer's Hope, Pt. 2

Hebrews 6:18-20 showed us that our hope in Jesus, our superior Priest. Throughout Hebrews, this Hope relates to believers in three ways.

“Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.” – Hebrews 3:5-6

Confidence and boasting in our hope of Jesus Christ provides evidence that we are members of God’s house. In Hebrews 3, Christ is being contrasted with Moses in that Moses was a faithful steward in God’s house, but Christ is the faithful Son over God’s house. Those who are in the house of God have hope in Jesus Christ which proves that they are not like the Israelites who hardened their hearts and tested God.

“We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” – Hebrews 6:19

Jesus Christ is “a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul.” Why is Jesus Christ our sure anchor? Because He has gone behind the curtain, into the presence of God as our forerunner and made satisfaction to God for our sin. His work before God as Priest is what gives stability and security to our lives now. No matter what trial or temptation or suffering meets us, Christ has offered one sacrifice for our redemption. When we have been forgiven, nothing in this life has power over us to hurt us. Jesus Christ, our superior Priest who sacrificed Himself on our behalf is the sure and steadfast anchor in whom we place our hope.

“For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.” – Hebrews 7:19

Jesus Christ is the better hope “through which we draw near to God.” Holiness has always been required to see God (12:14), but perfection could never come through the Mosaic Covenant (7:19). The hope of the believer under the Mosaic Covenant was continually in the promise of a Savior who would make ultimate satisfaction to God for their sins. Verses 19 establishes Jesus Christ as the cause by which we draw near to God. Drawing near to God was possible in the Old Testament only by faith in what the Sacrifice would do, but today, the action of the Sacrifice is in the past. We rejoice in experiencing in reality what Old Testament saints rejoiced to experience by faith. Ephesians 2:18 describes this drawing near as having “access by one Spirit unto the Father.” Under the Mosaic Covenant, the ordinary Jewish person did not have direct access to the presence of God – that was reserved for their human mediator the high priest on the Day of Atonement. The Gentile did not even have the human mediator of the high priest – their mediator (the Jewish nation) failed woefully in pointing the Gentiles to God. But Jesus Christ’s sacrifice opened direct access to God for each one of His people. Today we do not need a human mediator (prophet or priest) to talk to God for us or to communicate God’s will to us. Jesus Christ is our superior Priest by which we are continually “drawing near” to God.

Confession and Worship

"I acknowledge and confess that all things come of thee - life, breath, happiness, advancement, sight, touch, hearing, goodness, truth, beauty - all that makes existence amiable.

In the spiritual world also I am dependent entirely upon Thee.

Give me grace to know more of my need of grace; show me my sinfulness that I may willingly confess it; reveal to me my weakness that I may know my strength in Thee.

I thank thee for any sign of penitence; give me more of it; my sins are black and deep, and rise from a stony, proud, self-righteous heart; help me to confess them with mourning , regret, self-loathing, with no pretence to merit or excuse;

I need healing, Good Physician, here is scope for Thee, come and manifest Thy power; I need faith; Thou who hast given it me, maintain, strength, increase it, centre it upon the Saviour's work, upon the majesty of the Father, upon the operations of the Spirit; work it in me now that I may never doubt Thee as the truthful, mighty, faithful God.

Then I can bring my heart to Thee full of love, gratitude, hope, joy.

May I lay at Thy feet these fruits grown in Thy garden, love Thee with a passion that can never cool, believe in Thee with a confidence that never staggers, hope in Thee with an expectation that can never be dim, delight in Thee with a rejoicing that cannot be stifled, glorify Thee with the highest of my powers, burning, blazing, glowing, radiating, as from Thy own glory."

- Valley of Vision

Jesus: The Believer's Hope, Pt. 1

This semester at Bible college, one of my favorite classes was Epistle to the Hebrews. This little series of blog posts is aimed at sharing with you some of the blessings that Hebrews has been to me. My prayer is that it may be as great an encouragement to you as it was to me.

The question we shall explore today is this: What is the believer’s hope according to the book of Hebrews?

So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. – Hebrews 6:18-20

In the context of this passage, there are two hopes being fulfilled, the first illustrative of the second. In verses 13-16, Abraham was promised a son through whom he would be blessed. In confirmation of this promise, God swore an oath by Himself. Similarly, in verse 17, when God showed the unchanging nature of his purposes to the heirs of promise, He confirmed that revelation with an oath also. However, this oath was not that Abraham would have a son, but that Jesus Christ would eternally be the Melchizedekian priest (7:21). The subject of this second oath is the hope of the heirs of promise: Jesus Christ, the superior Melchizedekian Priest. Edward Mote, the author of the hymn "The Solid Rock" summarized the believer's hope in Christ with these words:

"My hope is built on nothing less/Than Jesus' blood and righteousness./I dare not trust the sweetest frame,/but wholly trust in Jesus' Name."

Over this Christmas break, may Jesus continually be my hope. May His central position not be replaced by family, friends, or studies. May I never imagine that anything other than the Person of Jesus can make me happy. May the hope that keeps me keeping on be the sight of Jesus, my superior Priest.

God Moves in a Mysterious Way

I found the words to "God Moves in Mysterious Ways" in the hymn book last Sunday and wanted to share them. The hymn was written by William Cowper, a contemporary of John Newton, and is believed to be his last hymn. The exact details behind its writing are a bit sketchy, but it is said that Cowper penned it after attempting to commit suicide by drowning himself in the Thames. According to the legend, Cowper hired a cabbie to take him to the river and the cabbie got lost, either accidentally or on purpose. When the cabbie dropped Cowper off, it was back in front of his own door.* Even though Cowper faced dark depression during his life and strongly doubted his own salvation, these words reveal his deep trust in God's sovereign providence.

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs
And works His sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.

- William Cowper

If you would like to hear these words put to music, hope on over to YouTube, or your favorite hymnal. The words fit with several different tunes, but two of the best are the tunes to the hymns "O God Our Help in Ages Past," and "In Christ There is No East or West."

*cyberhymnal.org

Messiah

This weekend I had the privilege of singing Handel's Messiah again. Growing up, Messiah was often played in our house, but it has been a special joy to sing it several times during the last years. The message of God's glory revealed through Jesus Christ overflows my heart with awe over His splendor. Listen to its message:

"And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. But who may abide the day of His coming? And who shall stand when He appeareth? For He is a like a refiner's fire. And He shall purify the sons of Levi that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Emmanuel: God with us. The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light. And they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion: behold thy King cometh unto thee; He is the righteous Savior, and He shall speak peace unto the heathen. Come unto Him all ye that labor and are heavy laden and He will give you rest. Take His yoke upon you and learn of Him, for He is meek and lowly of heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Hallelujah. [! ed.] Behold, I tell you a mystery: we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. The trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and hath redeemed us to God by His blood, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. Blessing and honor and glory and power be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever. Amen."

This is part of the score to "And the Glory"

Take some time this Christmas to thank God for His glorious gift of salvation, for His easy yoke, and for His rest for your soul. And, while you're at it, set aside some time to listen to Messiah.

Miss Bekah also enjoyed singing

Is Ministry a Job?

This morning in Biblical Worldview class we were discussing a Biblical view of work. The class motivated me to do a bit of study about what Scripture teaches about a person’s view of ministry. Many of us are either in some type of part-time ministry, looking at full-time vocational ministry, or looking forward to ministering as unto the Lord in a “secular” career, so what God says about minsitry is important to us. After all, all of life is really ministry unto the Lord. Ministry may function as a job, but that should never be the mindset of the person in ministry.

Scripture shows both negative and positive example of people’s attitude towards the ministry. The apostle Peter writes about false teaches who “Have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness.” These false teaches fell into Balaam’s sin – using ministry as a way to get money. He sold his prophetic ministry to a heathen king to curse God’s people to get money. Scripture consistently describes false teachers using the ministry to satisfy their greed for money (Jude 11).

The apostle Paul described the mindset of a person in ministry in I Peter 5:1-4; this passage refers specifically to leaders in the church, but the same mindset is to characterize all of God’s servants. “The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.” God’s servants are to care for His flock willingly and eagerly, not doing it for personal gain, but out of love for God and people. Their job is not a set of tasks lasting from 9-5. It is a mindset of love and service for people flowing from love for God.

John Piper writes in Brothers, We Are Not Professionals, “We are most emphatically not part of a social team sharing goals with other professionals. Our goals are an offense; they are foolishness (I Cor. 1:23). The professionalization of the ministry is a constant threat to the offense of the gospel. It is a threat to the profoundly spiritual nature of our work. I have seen it often: the love of professionalization…kills a man’s belief that he is sent by God to save people from hell and to make them Christ-exalting, spiritual aliens in the world.” (3)

How do I recognize if I’m treating ministry as a job? When the “work” takes priority over the people. When people are an “interruption” to getting the “work” done. (ouch – that one hits close to home) When my motivation in ministry is my own agenda, instead of loving God by loving people. How can I change my attitude towads ministry? By repenting of self-centeredness. By praying that God would give me a love for people. By consciously putting helping people in front of doing jobs.