WEDNESDAY MARCH 24, 2009

WISDOM FOR WEDNESDAYS # 10
.....not my wisdom....

Hebrews Chapter 5: 8-14 & Ch. 6:1-3

There are three main lessons for us in this passage today.

1. The words in v. 8 "He learned obedience by the things which He suffered" can be confusing. Jesus didn't have to learn to be obedient, He was already obedient because He was sinless. Yet He learned how hard it was to be obedient when He had the sins of us all placed upon Him.We know only too well what obedience and disobedience are and what they can result in. Jesus was faced with the strongest of temptations to be disobedient when He was in the Garden of Gethsemane. He did not want to go through what lay in store for Him -- the humiliation, the anguish, the pain -- and being separated from God. But His response to this immense temptation was "nevertheless, not my will but your will be done". So in that sense, Jesus learned about obedience. (Note: It is not sin to be tempted. It is sin to FALL into temptation.)

In the next verse the writer uses the phrase "having been perfected". Again as we have seen in previous verses these words do not mean he was imperfect before and is now perfected. They mean that Jesus, by becoming a man, going through temptation, suffering as mankind suffers, is now the perfect One for the position of High Priest AND the perfect sacrifice which would forever be acceptable to God.

2. In verses 11-14 the writer to the Hebrews rebukes the Christian Jews for not having grown in their knowledge of God. They should have been ready to be teachers and leaders but they were not. They still needed to be retaught the fundamentals of being a Christian.

I love the way the writer puts his finger right on the problem: it is by using and exercising their knowledge of God that they grow and mature. These Christians were not mature enough to discern good and evil because they hadn't used and learned the knowledge God has placed before them. They were lazy Christians!

3.From verses 1-3 0f chapter 6 it would seem that these Christians had returned to the Jewish (and Greek) cultural love of debate and discussion - chewing over and over again what what they already knew. Like a dog with an old bone they tried to get every last scrap out of the basic things that they had been taught, instead of looking for fresh meat. These wranglings were over repentance, faith and works. Issues to do with the basics of salvation. Then there was the discussions of the various 'washings' or baptisms that the Jews and Pharisees still held to; the laying on of hands and various rituals that were so much a part of the Jewish culture. In addition there was the endless speculation of the resurrection of the dead, an issue which had divided the Pharisees and Sadducees for decades. Finally the events at the end of the world was fodder for more speculation and debate.

The writer wants these Christian Hebrews to move on from those somewhat divisive or elementary issues and " go on to perfection" or maturity in Christ. There is nothing wrong with learning about these topics, but when they become the overwhelming preoccupation of Christians, the things which really matter, (the things which are edifying), are neglected.

Satan rejoices when he can get us side-tracked into arguments and debates. He is defeated when we exercise spiritual muscle that builds a mature, healthy Christian. We can do that by knowing God, not just knowing ABOUT God. We know God by knowing Jesus Christ. We know Jesus Christ through the power and revelation of the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures.