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The following upload is anonymous but one I found on a British blog.
It gives an accurate picture of what growing up in the UK — and, in some respects, the Republic of Ireland — was like in the 1970s.
The over-50s knew what it was like to grow up without central heating. They drank soft drinks out of glass bottles. They knew how to cope with extended power cuts, which occurred under an inept Labour government. (Reading the following helps explain why Margaret Thatcher was viewed so positively. She put a stop to the lunacy.) They understood what living with the minimum of creature comforts was like. Therefore, today’s climate change brigade should not be criticising them:
There were also a lot of outdoor loos then, too, often shared by more than one household. They were located in the back gardens of old terraced houses.
Kids, please stop lecturing your elders.
The three-year Lectionary that many Catholics and Protestants hear in public worship gives us a great variety of Holy Scripture.
Yet, it doesn’t tell the whole story.
My series Forbidden Bible Verses — ones the Lectionary editors and their clergy omit — examines the passages we do not hear in church. These missing verses are also Essential Bible Verses, ones we should study with care and attention. Often, we find that they carry difficult messages and warnings.
Today’s reading is from the English Standard Version with commentary by Matthew Henry and John MacArthur.
9 Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. 10 For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. 11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
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Last week’s entry was about the author’s warning to the Hebrews of figuratively crucifying Christ all over again through apostasy. A chilling statement, to be sure, but one that puts our modern day relaxed attitude towards Christianity into sharp relief.
While the Book of Hebrews was written to Jewish believers who began to have doubts as to whether they should have converted to belief in Christ as well as to those who intellectually but not spiritually accepted the promises of the New Covenant, there is much we can learn from this book today.
After the warnings about apostasy, covered last week (emphases mine) …
4 For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. 7 For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. 8 But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.
… the author offers reassurance and encouragement to the ‘beloved’, saying that s/he hopes for better from and for them (verse 9). Those hopes involve that which relates to salvation.
The words ‘Though we speak in this way’ following the crucifixion warning is a manner of saying that it does not pertain to all those hearing the author’s letter to them.
Both of our commentators, Matthew Henry and John MacArthur, point out that a preacher must address everyone present in the congregation, even though some of his statements are intended for certain people there present, not all of them.
MacArthur explains:
And so, whenever the Holy Spirit is writing to the congregation, he says, “I’m saying it to you all,” because the writer, in his own mind, wouldn’t pick them out by name not knowing them. He sets a pattern for all of us. I preached these messages for the last several weeks on this particular theme. And I say it to all of you, and yet I know that it doesn’t apply to all of you. But I’m not sure to whom it does apply. Therefore, I preach it as the whole counsel of God and let the Spirit of God do the applying. And that’s all he’s saying, “Beloved, I’ve said it, not because it applies to you directly, but because it applies to all of your congregation; and so, I speak to you all.”
The author addresses the believers in verse 10: God will not forget the fruits of faith they were displaying by serving others in His Name.
Then in verses 11 and 12 the author turns to the unbelievers, those who have not yet committed themselves to Christ. The author hopes that they, too, will come to that same faith, displaying those same fruits, by turning away from sluggishness — dullness of hearing.
John MacArthur sums up these verses with the following explanation, which also pertains to us:
And so, we come to the close of this warning. It’s a simple warning. It doesn’t have to be confusing. It’s a warning that we can give to every person who is here tonight, either for his own life or to pass on to someone else, because of its urgency.
If you’ve come all the way to the edge of decision to receive Jesus Christ, and you’re standing on the edge, and you’ve never made that decision, you’re going to find the longer you reject, the longer you neglect, the harder your heart becomes, and you’re in danger, as He said in an earlier warning of falling away, having an evil heart of unbelief and departing from the living God. You’re in danger, as He said here, of becoming spiritually stupid and then not understanding anything. And then finding that you’ve lost a grip on the basics, and you can’t handle any of the truths that the Spirit of God would want to teach you to bring you to Christ. And then you’re in danger of falling away and never being able to be redeemed again because you rejected against full light, and God can’t give you any more revelation.
But in a compassionate appeal at the end, He says, “Oh, to you Christians, don’t you fear. God won’t forget you.” And then to the rest, “Look at those true ones. Pattern your life after them. Be mimics. Follow them. Beloved it, that lays it at our feet, doesn’t it? If you’re a Christian here tonight, are you the kind of a Christian of whom the Holy Spirit could say, “I want to set you up as an example for others to mimic”? If you’re not a Christian, I pray God that somehow tonight the Spirit of God will bring conviction on your heart, and you’ll not reject the Lord Jesus Christ a moment longer.
Verses 11 and 12 send powerful spiritual messages about perseverance — ‘patience’ — as well as assurance and hope. Matthew Henry offers this:
Full assurance is attainable by great diligence and perseverance to the end.
The road is not always easy. These Jews were being shunned by their friends and family. They were being urged to go back to Judaism. The author of Hebrews was advising them to move on from the Old Covenant to the promises of the New Covenant, from milk to meat. They had heard all the explanations previously, now they had to move on from preparation to maturity in the promises of that truth, in the same way a child moves on from the parental home and schooling to creating his own family and building a career.
This is the spiritual move that the author deeply hopes the noncommittal will make, before it is too late.
Henry gives us this analysis:
He proceeds to set before them caution and counsel how to attain this full assurance of hope to the end. 1. That they should not be slothful. Slothfulness will clothe a man with rags: they must not love their ease, nor lose their opportunities. 2. That they would follow the good examples of those who had gone before, Hebrews 6:12. Here learn, (1.) There are some who from assurance have gone to inherit the promises. They believed them before, now they inherit them; they have got safely to heaven. (2.) The way by which they came to the inheritance was that of faith and patience. These graces were implanted in their souls, and drawn forth into act and exercise in their lives. If we ever expect to inherit as they do, we must follow them in the way of faith and patience; and those who do thus follow them in the way shall overtake them at the end, and be partakers of the same blessedness.
I daresay that faith and patience are in short supply these days, which makes the Book of Hebrews all that more pertinent in the 21st century.
Faith has become an offensive word, one that ‘triggers’, so to speak.
Patience went by the wayside several years ago with seemingly instantaneous delivery of everything from food to other consumables. You want it now? You can have it now — or so we are told.
We have so little faith.
We have so little patience.
I hope that sorry state of affairs changes in the years to come.
Returning to the Book of Hebrews, the author, divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit, goes on to review the revelations that God gave to Abraham and the order of the priesthood he gave to Melchizedek. These are the meatier subjects he wanted to delve into earlier but saw a correction needed to be made first about the dullness of hearing among some Hebrews.
For those who attend churches with liturgical prayers, phrases such as ‘Abraham, our father in faith’ and ‘the priesthood, according to the order of Melchizedek’ will become clearer as we study more of Hebrews.
Next time — Hebrews 6:13-19
What follows are the readings for the Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity — the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost — October 13, 2019.
These are for Year C in the three-year Lectionary used in public worship.
There are two choices for the First Reading and Psalm. I have differentiated these by using blue in the headings for the alternative option.
Emphases below are mine.
First reading
Readings from Jeremiah continue. False teachers who had denounced the prophet had been taken into exile in Babylon. Jeremiah was still in Jerusalem. Others had also been taken captive, including the rulers, carpenters and blacksmiths. Jeremiah sends them a message from the Lord, advising them to make the best of a very bad situation, which would last 70 years.
Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7
29:1 These are the words of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the remaining elders among the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.
29:4 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:
29:5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce.
29:6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease.
29:7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
Psalm
This is a general Psalm of thanksgiving. We have much for which to be grateful in this life, therefore, God deserves our praise.
Psalm 66:1-12
66:1 Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth;
66:2 sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise.
66:3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! Because of your great power, your enemies cringe before you.
66:4 All the earth worships you; they sing praises to you, sing praises to your name.” Selah
66:5 Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds among mortals.
66:6 He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the river on foot. There we rejoiced in him,
66:7 who rules by his might forever, whose eyes keep watch on the nations– let the rebellious not exalt themselves. Selah
66:8 Bless our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard,
66:9 who has kept us among the living, and has not let our feet slip.
66:10 For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried.
66:11 You brought us into the net; you laid burdens on our backs;
66:12 you let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a spacious place.
First reading – alternate
Reluctantly following Elisha’s instructions, the mighty warrior Naaman is cured of leprosy. God’s ways are not always our ways. We had this reading previously on the Third Sunday after Trinity this year.
2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15c
5:1 Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favor with his master, because by him the LORD had given victory to Aram. The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy.
5:2 Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife.
5:3 She said to her mistress, “If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”
5:7 When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to give death or life, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Just look and see how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me.”
5:8 But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me, that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel.”
5:9 So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and halted at the entrance of Elisha’s house.
5:10 Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean.”
5:11 But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, “I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy!
5:12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean?” He turned and went away in a rage.
5:13 But his servants approached and said to him, “Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, ‘Wash, and be clean’?”
5:14 So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean.
5:15c Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company; he came and stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel.”
Psalm – alternate
This Psalm, which David wrote, is another that is full of praise for the Lord, to whom we owe our obedience and thanksgiving.
Psalm 111
111:1 Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
111:2 Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them.
111:3 Full of honor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures forever.
111:4 He has gained renown by his wonderful deeds; the LORD is gracious and merciful.
111:5 He provides food for those who fear him; he is ever mindful of his covenant.
111:6 He has shown his people the power of his works, in giving them the heritage of the nations.
111:7 The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy.
111:8 They are established forever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
111:9 He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant forever. Holy and awesome is his name.
111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever.
Epistle
Readings from Paul’s letter to Timothy continue. The Apostle advises him to focus on endurance in the faith and to quell petty quarrels among the believers.
2 Timothy 2:8-15
2:8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David–that is my gospel,
2:9 for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained.
2:10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
2:11 The saying is sure: If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
2:12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us;
2:13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful– for he cannot deny himself.
2:14 Remind them of this, and warn them before God that they are to avoid wrangling over words, which does no good but only ruins those who are listening.
2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth.
Gospel
Luke tells us of another time when Jesus encountered a grateful Gentile, signalling that He also came to save those who were not Jewish.
Luke 17:11-19
17:11 On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee.
17:12 As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance,
17:13 they called out, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
17:14 When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were made clean.
17:15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice.
17:16 He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan.
17:17 Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they?
17:18 Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”
17:19 Then he said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.”
That Gospel story always amazes me. Lepers were the ultimate outcasts. Our Lord healed ten of them, fully and instantly. Yet, only one returned to give Him thanks.
The Psalms tie in particularly well with this reading. May we always remember to thank the Triune God — Father, Son and Holy Spirit — for our many blessings, great and small.
The following graphic comes from elsewhere on WordPress, but it is a timely reminder from the Book of Revelation about those headed for damnation.
‘Who’s Who in Hell’ comes courtesy of K B McGee, and posted elsewhere:
Our first death is our departure from this mortal coil.
The second death is eternal death.
I pray we all avoid it.
At the end of September, Jon Voight issued the following short video about the attacks on President Trump from the American Left.
He issued this after the House filed impeachment proceedings against the president. He makes a calm yet impassioned speech about the Left’s hate of anything that is good and true, especially President Trump’s accomplishments to date for the United States:
Most of the comments following the video are pathologically anti-Voight and anti-Trump. I am glad to see that Alana Stewart showed her support.
As Jon Voight says, we will need to stand together and stay strong in these troubled times of lies and other evil being perpetrated on a great president who is working non-stop to restore the United States to greatness.
On September 28, 2019, President Trump discussed the ‘single greatest scam’ going on in politics today — the Left’s relentless attacks on him and the American people.
Please watch this short video:
How true.
The comments in response to that tweet are hideous, to put it mildly.
Here in the UK, our Left is conducting similar co-ordinated attacks on Prime Minister Boris Johnson. I notice that they did not do this to Theresa May, possibly because they knew she would delay Brexit, which she effectively did.
Now we have a PM who wants us to exit by October 31.
Here is one American citizen pundit’s view:
People aren’t stupid. They see and understand what is going on.
DB Daily Update has a great article on the current parallels between the United States and Great Britain. It does seem as if there is a cold civil war going on in both our nations. Emphases mine below:
When this latest coup/impeachment effort crashes and burns in spectacular fashion, we can expect the forces aligned against Trump and his supporters to simply make up another false narrative and keep the coup going.
The same thing is happening right now in Britain, where Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister elected to complete the Brexit effort the voters approved three long years ago, is under a similar relentless assault by that country’s deep state, disloyal lawmakers and fake news media. As I wrote in one of the earliest Campaign Updates way back in 2016, Brexit and Trump are essentially the same political movement, a movement that pits those who love their country and want it to remain a strong, independent nation against the forces of globalism and one-world-government.
The Brits who support Brexit have held firm through all that time and grown stronger. Trump’s base of support has also held firm and grown larger. That base has remained unshakable not because they necessarily approve of every aspect of Trump’s personal behavior, but because they understand what is at stake here, and whose side Trump is on.
Because at the end of the day in this tiresome Civil War, Trump is on the side of Americans and America. I don’t know about the rest of you, but they won’t ever wear me down.
That is all.
I’ll close with comments from the aforementioned Praying Medic tweet that help explain why the British wanted a referendum on EU membership. These also indicate why Theresa May was never viciously attacked politically whilst she was PM:
As for Boris, only a couple of weeks ago the Shadow (Labour) Chancellor, the former Conservative Chancellor (under May) and Boris’s own sister (!) claimed that No Deal backers stood to make financial gains.
At least one Government minister subsequently denounced this last week from the despatch box in Parliament.
Here is the report on the allegations from The Guardian dated Saturday, September 28:
The UK’s most senior civil servant is under pressure to investigate Boris Johnson’s financial backers following cross-party claims that unnamed individuals stand to benefit from the prime minister’s willingness to pursue a no-deal Brexit.
John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, has written to the cabinet secretary, Sir Mark Sedwill, asking if there may be a conflict of interest in Johnson’s acceptance of support from hedge funds that could gain from an economic shock.
Earlier on Saturday, Philip Hammond, the former chancellor, suggested Johnson was pursuing the interests of financial backers set to gain from a no-deal Brexit, in a major escalation of tensions in the prime minister’s own party.
Hammond said he was repeating a comment made last week by Rachel Johnson, the prime minister’s sister.
The former chancellor was accused by senior Tories of attempting a “smear” without evidence. However, Hammond was supported on Saturday by a series of MPs from across the Commons.
“Johnson is backed by speculators who have bet billions on a hard Brexit – and there is only one option that works for them: a crash-out no-deal that sends the currency tumbling and inflation soaring,” Hammond wrote in the Times.
Downing Street has refused to comment on the claim.
On October 1, Treasury Minister Simon Clarke accused John McDonnell of ‘outlandish speculation’ when the latter brought up the issue that day in Parliament:
Guido Fawkes has more (emphases in the original):
Making his debut at the dispatch box, the new Treasury Minister Simon Clarke confidently tore down McDonnell’s absurd urgent question on short positions taken against the pound in the lead up to a possible no-deal Brexit. Something Guido and many others have comprehensively debunked before…
Clarke blasted the question as the shadow chancellor propagating myths and smears and claiming the conspiracy does little to cool tensions in Westminster at the moment. Playing Labour at their own game…
On a related note, at the weekend, it was rumoured in the media and by other Remainers that Boris could go to jail for pursuing a No Deal Brexit in violation of the recent Benn-Burt Act, a.k.a. the Surrender Bill, which stipulates that he must ask for an extension to the current Brexit deadline.
This is straight out of the Get Trump playbook.
More to follow anon.
A 100-year-old RAF veteran died in Salford last week.
Oswald ‘Ossie’ Dixon has no family in England. It’s probable that he outlived his friends, too.
Therefore, an appeal has been sent for people living in the Salford/Manchester area to attend his funeral on Wednesday, October 9:
Originally from Jamaica, Ossie Dixon fought in the Second World War.
The Manchester Evening News — a great newspaper, by the way — featured an excellent and moving article on his life last week along with an appeal to attend his funeral:
An RAF veteran with no family has died at the age of 100.
Now the public are being asked to turn out to salute his life and sacrifice at his funeral.
Oswald Dixon – known as ‘Ossie’ – made Manchester his home after leaving Jamaica to serve during the Second World War.
He was the oldest resident at Broughton House care home for veterans in Salford and passed away peacefully at the home on September 25.
Mr Dixon turned 100 in April.
Known for his wicked sense of humour, he joined the RAF in Kingston, Jamaica, in November, 1944, as a flight mechanic then moved to Britain to serve before the conflict ended.
He became a leading aircraftman and remained in the service teaching new recruits until he retired.
Mr Dixon, who was registered blind, was living alone in Salford until he moved to Broughton House in 2015.
He received greetings from the Queen, the Government and the Jamaican High Commissioner on his milestone birthday earlier this year, which was celebrated at the care home with a huge party.
Co-op Funeral Care in Salford has arranged his funeral for Agecroft Cemetery and Crematorium in Salford on Wednesday, October 9.
The service is due to start at 2.20pm.
Read more here and see photos of this generous veteran who made it his life’s mission to help other people and bring joy into their lives.
I was particularly impressed by the photo of him on his 100th birthday in his dress uniform. He looked very smart, indeed.
May God bless Oswald Dixon with eternal rest in Heaven.
UPDATE — October 9:
I am pleased to report that many people turned out for Oswald Dixon’s funeral:
Johnny Mercer MP is our minister for veterans.
The three-year Lectionary that many Catholics and Protestants hear in public worship gives us a great variety of Holy Scripture.
Yet, it doesn’t tell the whole story.
My series Forbidden Bible Verses — ones the Lectionary editors and their clergy omit — examines the passages we do not hear in church. These missing verses are also Essential Bible Verses, ones we should study with care and attention. Often, we find that they carry difficult messages and warnings.
Today’s reading is from the English Standard Version with commentary by Matthew Henry and John MacArthur.
6 Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 and of instruction about washings,[a] the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do if God permits. 4 For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. 7 For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. 8 But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.
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Last week’s entry discussed the author’s warning against apostasy (Hebrews 5:11-14), in which s/he chided those who were still on the spiritual milk of Christianity when they should have been partaking of meat in their religious journey.
John MacArthur rightly termed such stasis as ‘spiritual stupidity’.
To put it another way, imagine a youngster still being in primary school at the age of 17, when he should be ready to graduate and enter university. What a waste of so many years of education.
Yet, that is what is going on here with Hebrews a) who have converted but are still stuck in the rituals of Mosaic law and b) who have heard the Good News but cannot commit to living a life in Christ.
Our commentators Matthew Henry and John MacArthur differ in their interpretations as to the identity of the target audience in this passage. Henry says the audience is those who have matured spiritually. MacArthur says these verses are intended for those who have not committed their hearts and minds to Christ.
Both are sound interpretations, but I lean towards Henry’s perspective, as the first clause of verse 1 says that the author will now progress to the subject of maturity in Christ.
Henry’s commentary explains (emphases mine):
Why did the apostle resolve to set strong meat before the Hebrews, when he knew they were but babes? Answer. 1. Though some of them were but weak, yet others of them had gained more strength; and they must be provided for suitably. And, as those who are grown Christians must be willing to hear the plainest truths preached for the sake of the weak, so the weak must be willing to hear the more difficult and mysterious truths preached for the sake of those who are strong. 2. He hoped they would be growing in their spiritual strength and stature, and so be able to digest stronger meat.
Henry says that the author did not intend to go through basic Christian doctrine once more, as that should be well established already in both the babes as well as the more mature among them:
neither his time nor theirs must be spent in laying these foundations over and over again.
Henry says the following six principles are essential to Christian doctrine:
These are the great foundation-principles which ministers should clearly and convincingly unfold, and closely apply. In these the people should be well instructed and established, and from these they must never depart; without these, the other parts of religion have no foundation to support them.
1/ Repentance from ‘dead works’ towards works based in faith towards God (verse 1):
Observe here, (1.) The sins of persons unconverted are dead works; they proceed from persons spiritually dead, and they tend to death eternal. (2.) Repentance for dead works, if it be right, is repentance from dead works, a universal change of heart and life. (3.) Repentance for and from dead works is a foundation-principle, which must not be laid again, though we must renew our repentance daily.
2/ Faith towards God — and the works that emanate from it — involves a belief in Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. We must actively believe in the nature of the Holy Trinity — the Triune God — as well as what Holy Scripture teaches us:
Observe, (1.) Repentance from dead works, and faith towards God, are connected, and always go together; they are inseparable twins, the one cannot live without the other. (2.) Both of these are foundation-principles, which should be once well laid, but never pulled up, so as to need to be laid over again; we must not relapse into infidelity.
3/ The washings of the Christian are different to those mandated in Mosaic law, which were ritual cleansings (verse 2). We have the sacrament of Baptism, which operates both outwardly and inwardly and is received only once:
The doctrine of baptisms, that is, of being baptized by a minister of Christ with water, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, as the initiating sign or seal of the covenant of grace, strongly engaging the person so baptized to get acquainted with the new covenant, to adhere to it, and prepare to renew it at the table of the Lord and sincerely to regulate himself according to it, relying upon the truth and faithfulness of God for the blessings contained in it. And the doctrine of an inward baptism, that of the Spirit sprinkling the blood of Christ upon the soul, for justification, and the graces of the Spirit for sanctification. This ordinance of baptism is a foundation to be rightly laid, and daily remembered, but not repeated.
4/ The Christian laying on of hands is no longer that of the Old Testament Jew touching his sacrifice in order to make himself one with it (verse 2), but a renewing gesture used in Ordination and Confirmation so that the Holy Spirit and His many divine gifts would come upon that person. In the case of Confirmation, said gesture signifies full membership in the Church. Again, whether Ordination or Confirmation, this is done only once:
This passing from incomplete to complete church membership was performed by laying on of hands, which was extraordinary conveyance of the gift of the Holy Ghost continued. This, once done, all are obliged to abide by, and not to need another solemn admission, as at first, but to go on, and grow up, in Christ. Or by this may be meant ordination of persons to the ministerial office, who are duly qualified for it and inclined to it; and this by fasting and prayer, with laying on of the hands of the presbytery: and this is to be done but once.
5/ The resurrection of the dead (verse 2), meaning the eventual reunification of body and soul in the afterlife, whether rewarded or punished:
The resurrection of the dead, that is, of dead bodies; and their re-union with their souls, to be eternal companions together in weal or woe, according as their state was towards God when they died, and the course of life they led in this world.
This, as Paul’s testimony indicated during his trials at the end of the Book of Acts, was a belief that ran through the Old Testament and was held to by the Pharisees. Only the Sadducees disregarded it.
6/ Our final reward or punishment is for eternity (verse 2):
Eternal judgment, determining the soul of every one, when it leaves the body at death, and both soul and body at the last day, to their eternal state, every one to his proper society and employment to which they were entitled and fitted here on earth; the wicked to everlasting punishment, the righteous to life eternal.
I daresay we do not hear much about the last two principles, which is why it is important to read and study Scripture independently. Some might be able to find a (dreaded) ‘small group’ to do this, but such a group often requires subscribing to a hive-mind of thought, which might go against what the Bible teaches. This is why I advocate that people do it themselves with good commentaries on hand to illuminate and explain difficult truths.
Verse 3 is interesting. Is the author being self-referential or speaking of the audience? John MacArthur rightly asks us to consider both possibilities:
… interpreting verse 3 is very difficult, even though it’s very brief. Well, let’s just look at it from two angles. The power in verse 3, “And this will we do if God permits.” Now, some people say this refers to the writer of Hebrews. The idea is that the Spirit is saying one – possibly this, that the writer of Hebrews is saying, “I will go on and teach you what I want you to know if God permits Me.” The other interpretation is that He’s saying, “You will go on to maturity if God permits you.”
Now, since there’s no way to be sure which, let’s just take both. For whether you’re talking about salvation or service, it’s all energized by the Holy Spirit. And the writer can say, “I want to go on and say more about this if the Spirit wills, or if God permits, and I want you to come to Jesus Christ, all the way to maturity if God permits.”
You see, really everything revolves around the permission of God. Divine enablement is the issue in every case, and the writer acknowledges that.
In verses 4 through 6, the author gives the Hebrews — and us — another warning about apostasy. If we have heard the Gospel, experienced (‘tasted’) the holy gift that comes from hearing it and have shared in the Holy Spirit, then fall away, God will not restore us to the state where we want to repent.
That is very serious. We know from the Bible that all things are possible with God, yet, God will withdraw His infinite mercy if we persist against Him. This goes back to the discourse by the author of Hebrews about Psalm 95, namely verses 7 and 8:
Today, if you hear his voice,
8 do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
Henry explains that any ability to repent from apostasy must come from God — and that very rarely happens:
The great misery of apostates. [1.] It is impossible to renew them again unto repentance. It is extremely hazardous. Very few instances can be given of those who have gone so far and fallen away, and yet ever have been brought to true repentance, such a repentance as is indeed a renovation of the soul. Some have thought this is the sin against the Holy Ghost, but without ground. The sin here mentioned is plainly apostasy both from the truth and the ways of Christ. God can renew them to repentance, but he seldom does it; and with men themselves it is impossible.
The author of Hebrews then makes a chilling statement: apostasy is akin to crucifying Christ all over again (verse 6). Our commentators differ somewhat on the meaning of ‘once again’ in that verse. It is ‘afresh’ in older translations. Henry takes it as figuratively re-committing the act, whereas MacArthur says:
… the word “afresh” is not best there. It’s really put in there because of a preposition that’s connected to the word “crucify,” but it means to crucify up, not afresh. And that simply means to lift up in crucifixion.
However, both men agree that the ultimate meaning is that those who fall away from Christianity, having experienced it, are denying Christ and are no different to those who shouted out for His death and those who crucified Him.
Of apostates, Henry says:
They declare that they approve of what the Jews did in crucifying Christ, and that they would be glad to do the same thing again if it were in their power. They pour the greatest contempt upon the Son of God, and therefore upon God himself, who expects all should reverence his Son, and honour him as they honour the Father. They do what in them lies to represent Christ and Christianity as a shameful thing, and would have him to be a public shame and reproach. This is the nature of apostasy.
MacArthur examines the issue from the perspective of the Hebrews who had converted but were backsliding or those who had heard the Good News but refused to commit to a belief in Christ as the Messiah. Both were spiritually dangerous places to be:
As far as they’re concerned, the Son of God deserves to be crucified. That’s what it’s all about.
In other words, here’s the point: they came all the way up to the edge of faith. They heard it all; they got all the revelation; they turned, went back to Judaism, which had been guilty of killing Jesus Christ. They took their stand with the crucifiers. They said, “That’s the same verdict that we give.”
And consequently, according to them, Jesus should be crucified. Do you see? They are declaring that they have made a trial of Jesus Christ with all the evidence possible and found Him no true Messiah, turned around, gone back to Judaism. Said, “Jesus is an imposter and deceiver, and He got exactly what was coming.” That’s what that means. They agree with those who killed Jesus, that He was a fake. And they put Him to an open guilt. The word “shame” means guilt. They declare openly that Jesus is guilty.
Now, you can imagine what would happen. Take a Jew that came all the way up here. His friends were persecuting him, really rapping him for this. He turns around, forsakes Christ, goes right back to Judaism. He has declared for all time and for everybody around, “With all the evidence in, friends, Jesus is a fake; I’m going back to Judaism.”
As for Christians in that same dire spiritual state, MacArthur says to those who might have been in his church:
If you come to this place tonight, and you hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and you turn your back on Christ, and you walk away, you have done exactly that. You have said, “I’ve heard the evidence. My verdict is the crowd that killed Him was right. I stand with the crucifiers.”
Jesus said, “A man is either for Me, or he’s” – what? – “against Me.” Salvation to that apostate then becomes impossible, for he rejects against full light, and that is incurable. And reserved for such a one is the hottest hell. Everything in this passage could be said of Judas, and his hell must be the hottest of all.
Hebrews 10:29, “Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden underfoot the Son of God, and counted the blood of the covenant, with which he was sanctified, an unholy thing?”
And that’s what an apostate does, comes all the way up and says, “It’s a lot of baloney. Jesus was a fake, and His blood isn’t holy,” turn around and walk back.
You say, “I’d never do that. I’m tolerant. I’ll just kind of stay on the edge for a while.” My friend, if you don’t come to Jesus Christ, eventually you’ll go away from Him. And when you go away from Him in full light, you step into the possibility of impossibility.
In verse 7, the author of Hebrews describes the state of spiritual maturity, as if one’s soul were a field of crops continually refreshed by blessed rain, growing and becoming fruitful in the Lord.
Then he describes the opposite state: the field that is filled with thorns and thistles, fit only for burning (verse 8).
Henry tells us:
God will concern himself no more about such wicked apostates; he will let them alone, and cast them out of his care; he will command the clouds that they rain no more upon them. Divine influences shall be restrained; and that is not all, but such ground is nigh unto cursing; so far is it from receiving the blessing, that a dreadful curse hangs over it, though as yet, through the patience of God, the curse is not fully executed. Lastly, Its end is to be burned. Apostasy will be punished with everlasting burnings, the fire that shall never be quenched. This is the sad end to which apostasy leads, and therefore Christians should go on and grow in grace, lest, if they do not go forward, they should go backward, till they bring matters to this woeful extremity of sin and misery.
MacArthur’s sermon ends with this:
You see, God’s grace falls, but some men bring forth fruit. Others bring forth thorns. I pray God that when the rain of the Gospel of Jesus Christ falls on you, that you’ll issue forth in herbs fit for use.
That, too, is my prayer for all of us.
The exhortation to active faith continues next week.
Next time — Hebrews 6:9-12
What follows are the readings for the Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity — the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost — October 6, 2019.
These are for Year C in the three-year Lectionary used in public worship.
There are two choices for the First Reading and Psalm. I have differentiated these by using blue in the headings for the alternative option.
Emphases below are mine.
First reading
One of the following readings from Lamentations may be read.
Jeremiah wrote Lamentations as a poetic description of what happened during the Chaldeans’ destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC. The Babylonian exile followed. Jeremiah, in the eponymous book, prophesied this. Lamentations lays out what happened, as Jeremiah and his fellow Jews experienced it. The prophet intended for this five-chapter book to be memorised, and it is still read today during the Jewish Festivals of the Lord.
In the first selection, Jeremiah’s description of an empty Jerusalem shows that what God increases, He can also devastate.
Lamentations 1:1-6
1:1 How lonely sits the city that once was full of people! How like a widow she has become, she that was great among the nations! She that was a princess among the provinces has become a vassal.
1:2 She weeps bitterly in the night, with tears on her cheeks; among all her lovers she has no one to comfort her; all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they have become her enemies.
1:3 Judah has gone into exile with suffering and hard servitude; she lives now among the nations, and finds no resting place; her pursuers have all overtaken her in the midst of her distress.
1:4 The roads to Zion mourn, for no one comes to the festivals; all her gates are desolate, her priests groan; her young girls grieve, and her lot is bitter.
1:5 Her foes have become the masters, her enemies prosper, because the LORD has made her suffer for the multitude of her transgressions; her children have gone away, captives before the foe.
1:6 From daughter Zion has departed all her majesty. Her princes have become like stags that find no pasture; they fled without strength before the pursuer.
By the third chapter, Jeremiah has hope that the Lord will show mercy to His people. This passage can also be seen as analogous to Christ weeping over Jerusalem.
Lamentations 3:19-26
3:19 The thought of my affliction and my homelessness is wormwood and gall!
3:20 My soul continually thinks of it and is bowed down within me.
3:21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:
3:22 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end;
3:23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
3:24 “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”
3:25 The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him.
3:26 It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
Psalm
Jeremiah wrote this Psalm, one of the ones written near the end of the days of the Old Covenant, recalling Babylonian captivity. It, too, is a lamentation. Matthew Henry’s commentary says that this Psalm is also suitable for the Church in times of persecution. Verse 1 is very familiar to us, recalling a famous 1970s Jamaican song.
Psalm 137
137:1 By the rivers of Babylon– there we sat down and there we wept when we remembered Zion.
137:2 On the willows there we hung up our harps.
137:3 For there our captors asked us for songs, and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
137:4 How could we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?
137:5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither!
137:6 Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy.
137:7 Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites the day of Jerusalem’s fall, how they said, “Tear it down! Tear it down! Down to its foundations!”
137:8 O daughter Babylon, you devastator! Happy shall they be who pay you back what you have done to us!
137:9 Happy shall they be who take your little ones and dash them against the rock!
First reading – alternate
Habakkuk was a contemporary of Jeremiah’s. He, too, warned that the Chaldeans, God’s chosen instruments of judgement, would conquer Jerusalem. Habakkuk’s prophecy dates from 600 BC. In the first part of today’s reading, the prophet laments what he sees as evil winning over good, but, in the second half, the Lord answers Habakkuk by saying that He ends trials at the appointed time, therefore, we are not to lose heart in our suffering.
Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4
1:1 The oracle that the prophet Habakkuk saw.
1:2 O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save?
1:3 Why do you make me see wrong-doing and look at trouble? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise.
1:4 So the law becomes slack and justice never prevails. The wicked surround the righteous– therefore judgment comes forth perverted.
2:1 I will stand at my watchpost, and station myself on the rampart; I will keep watch to see what he will say to me, and what he will answer concerning my complaint.
2:2 Then the LORD answered me and said: Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it.
2:3 For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay.
2:4 Look at the proud! Their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by their faith.
Psalm – alternate
This Psalm of David’s — a maschil, or teaching Psalm — tells us we must learn the ways of Providence and be patient in waiting for the end of our trials and tribulations.
Psalm 37:1-9
37:1 Do not fret because of the wicked; do not be envious of wrongdoers,
37:2 for they will soon fade like the grass, and wither like the green herb.
37:3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so you will live in the land, and enjoy security.
37:4 Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
37:5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.
37:6 He will make your vindication shine like the light, and the justice of your cause like the noonday.
37:7 Be still before the LORD, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices.
37:8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret–it leads only to evil.
37:9 For the wicked shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land.
Epistle
Paul advises young Timothy, the son of Eunice and grandson of Lois (Acts 16), on his ministry by describing his own.
2 Timothy 1:1-14
1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, for the sake of the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,
1:2 To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
1:3 I am grateful to God–whom I worship with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did–when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day.
1:4 Recalling your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy.
1:5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you.
1:6 For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands;
1:7 for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.
1:8 Do not be ashamed, then, of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God,
1:9 who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace. This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,
1:10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
1:11 For this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher,
1:12 and for this reason I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know the one in whom I have put my trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard until that day what I have entrusted to him.
1:13 Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
1:14 Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.
Gospel
Another famous saying of Jesus follows (verse 6). May we pray for divine grace that increases our faith.
Luke 17:5-10
17:5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
17:6 The Lord replied, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.
17:7 “Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here at once and take your place at the table’?
17:8 Would you not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink’?
17:9 Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded?
17:10 So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!'”
What an excellent lesson in humility. As Matthew Henry’s commentary points out:
God is happy without us, but we are undone without him.
Something to ponder in the week ahead, unpopular though it might be in our egotistical world.
