James 2:1-13 - Mercy Triumphs over Judgment

James 2:1-13

Beware of Personal Favoritism

1 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. 2 For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, 3 and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” 4 have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

5 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? 7 Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?

8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; 9 but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. 11 For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

James tells us not to be proud in knowing Christ while looking down on others who have less than us.  We are to consider we have nothing apart from Christ and His grace that saves us from our due wrath to come on the day of judgment (Acts 17:31, Romans 2:16, 2 Timothy 4:8) for all we have done and whether we know Him.  If we then have the unthankful attitude devoid of true humility up in having been granted eternal forgiveness to life by our treatment of those we think we are better than, then we are judges who are ourselves facing accountability for such lack of love and mercy shown us.  We do well to take these words to heart as we consider that being poor financially and lower on the social ladder is nothing compared to the true kingdom riches in Christ.  Those He chooses are often poor in spirit as well as in possessions that they may be examples of grace to us all who He has given much.  Are we rich in faith?  Then let us lavish love and care on those lacking other things in this life in true thankful humility and not consider ourselves better than anyone.  The example here reminds us how the rich get richer through lawsuits and oppression as they blaspheme the name of Christ, so why be like them in favoritism and prejudice?  We have been called to love our neighbors in active faith that meets needs with equality and empathy, not with haughtiness or pride.  We do not just give charity to “those people,” but exercise genuine care for those in need as the Lord cares for us in our deepest need of Him and His merciful grace.  We are to keep all the moral Law in doing this to find mercy for ourselves in the freedom we have been given as an eternal inheritance.  Yes, showing true heartfelt mercy triumphs over harsh judgment when we consider our own undeserved mercy from the Lord!  May we therefore have grace and compassion in true love as good neighbors to those in need.

James 1:19-27 - God’s Righteousness in Action

James 1:19-27

Qualities Needed in Trials

19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

Doers—Not Hearers Only

21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

26 If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. 27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

God’s righteousness is seen in action when we hear all He tells us in His word and listen to others before speaking back or allowing our anger to race past our ears and end up soiling our tongues.  What are we to do instead?  We begin by putting off the things that are not of God’s character, those things that are driven by ill-will, a desire to injure others, and depravity of thought put into action.  We then are instructed to put on meekness through application of the scriptures that saved our souls into our hearts and minds that the results may drive our feet and lips.  To be a doer (ποιητής poiētēs) of the word and not just a deceived hearer means we seek to initiate and create goodness in our speech and actions by reflection in the mirror of the Bible and of ourselves to align the two images into a cohesive and coherent whole as the image of God by removing the tarnish of sin’s stains from our souls.  If we do not consider and continually assess our sanctification, we end up fooling ourselves of faux righteousness like a mask we wear while leaving the underlying face unchanged.  That is not our calling!  We never want to forget who we were and who we are becoming in Christ.  No, we should be looking intently into this law of liberty and not outward keeping of rules for their own sake, listening with understanding and the life-transforming work of God’s grace in us day by day (2 Corinthians 3:18).  Blessings only follow through obedience to the word of God applied liberally across our lives that we might like what we see reflected in the mirror of the scriptures.  This religion we profess works to keep the tongue in check with full spiritual disclosure to God and self in a clear view according to the word of God.  We should see fruit in willful application such as caring for others in need and keeping ourselves (2 Timothy 2:19) in moral and inner righteousness reflecting that of Christ in whose we stand.  In all our trials and temptations we are to stay the course of conformity to Jesus Christ and others who have gone before us in imitating (1 Corinthians 11:1) Him.  This is putting God’s righteousness into daily action by putting off the unrighteous and putting on that which honors Him. 

James 1:1-18 - Trials and Temptation

James 1:1-18

Greeting to the Twelve Tribes

1 James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad:
Greetings.

Profiting from Trials

2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

The Perspective of Rich and Poor

9 Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, 10 but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away. 11 For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.

Loving God Under Trials

12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. 18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

James began his letter with his authority as one who is God’s willing servant to address the believers in the Lord Jesus Christ of the twelve tribes of Israel dispersed abroad with a greeting.  He then jumps right into the call to find joy in trials instead of defeat or despair as if they should experience the health and wealth falsely offered in modern times with a prosperity-only gospel.  He made it clear that such trials are meant to build our patient reliance upon our Lord in all circumstances to mature our faith and conform us to the image of Christ in this often painful process of our sanctification.  We are after all called to work out our salvation (Philippians 2:12-13) in this manner with reverence and fear of the holy Lord who has called us and who has suffered to purchase us at the highest price of His own death on the cross of sin’s curse (Deuteronomy 21:22, Galatians 3:13) to save us from God’s wrath on our sin (Romans 6:23).  Our patient endurance in trials is to have a perfect work in us so we have no further needs but Christ alone and His grace to sustain and grow us.  If we need further wisdom to go through the trials of life, we have the confidence to ask for such understanding to receive it liberally in that grace in which we have been called and stand firm (Hebrews 3:6) in our position in Christ to the end.  However, if we begin to doubt such grace and goodwill to us (Luke 2:14), then we will falter in the stormy waves of doubt and fear like Peter on the lake (Matthew 14:30-31) and miss all God has for us.  We are to be fully convinced by the sovereignty of faith in God’s promises and not ruled by doubt with unstable double-mindedness.  This means we learn humility in our calling and circumstances as we pursue what lasts beyond the grave and does not wither away like the race for riches and fame and power all do.  Instead, we are called to adopt the mindset of endurance in temptation to gain all in this world in the circumstances we encounter and not expect a false prosperity gospel to give us temporal satisfaction.  Only those who pursue the Lord by faith wear the crown of victory (1 Corinthians 15:57) because we truly love Him more than ourselves.  When we are tempted for personal gain or pleasure we can turn in faith to trust and willingly obey God’s word and reject our own desires in opposition to that word.  If we give in to our own desires after facing these temptations, then we are drawn away, enticed by the empty gain, and end up sinning against our Lord which only brings the consequence of death in the end.  We are to choose life in Christ through obedience to His word and rejection of our own contrary desires which keep us from our journey of sanctification in grace that trusts and obeys all He had told us as His disciples (Matthew 28:20).  Trials and temptations are part of our life as His followers, but our response to these determines our growth in conformity to Christ as we gaze into His word to see His face (2 Corinthians 3:18) and please Him by our willingness to humbly trust and obey. 

Hebrews 13:18-25 - Prayerful Benediction

Hebrews 13:18-25

Prayer Requested

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.

Benediction, Final Exhortation, Farewell

20 Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

22 And I appeal to you, brethren, bear with the word of exhortation, for I have written to you in few words. 23 Know that our brother Timothy has been set free, with whom I shall see you if he comes shortly.

24 Greet all those who rule over you, and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you.

25 Grace be with you all. Amen.

The end of this letter to the believing Hebrews is a prayerful benediction by the writer we presume is Paul but who does not choose to identify himself.  He entreats prayer from the hearers as our spiritual shepherd leaders ask of us and indeed among one another as well.  We are implored to live honorably with a good conscience towards God and men as Acts 24:16 reminds us to pursue by example.  We also yearn to meet in person to encourage one another (Hebrews 10:24-25) and not just at a distance with other means of communication that is so prevalent in this century.  This is the prayerful desire especially of those who minister the gospel to us that we be made complete in our sanctification as we pursue the knowledge of scripture to know the Lord of the word more intimately in the inner man that we may imitate Him more as we gaze into His face (2 Corinthians 3:18) each passing day until He returns.  Jesus is our great  Passover Lamb whose lifeblood covers our sins forever in the eternal covenant agreement made by Him with us which we cannot break and He promises never to annul for any reason.  It is this Lord of us who promises to complete His work in us (Philippians 1:6) as we work out our salvation’s change in our spirit (Philippians 2:12-13) that we might do all His will from willing hearts of gratitude for this saving and reconciling grace.  We pray for one another to therefore do what pleases the Lord in union with Him as we glorify and love with thankful words of praise as our own life’s benediction.  We are given these examples to be exhorted with words that encourage and remind us of our calling in Jesus Christ our Lord and live in obedience to all authorities put over us in the world and the church of the saints and to then greet one another in like manner as these ministers of the gospel have done for our example.  Amen and amen!

Hebrews 13:1-17 - Laws of Godly Conduct

Hebrews 13:1-17

Concluding Moral Directions

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?”

Concluding Religious Directions

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.

These summary verses are concluding conduct directives for the Jewish believers addressed in Hebrews as well as for all believers of both called Jew and those called out of all nations since this book is God’s word for us all to live by.  These ten commandments begin with the second greatest one to love our neighbors as ourselves (Mark 12:31) and not to give up doing so.  This first of all means showing hospitality to meet the needs of people we do not know that heaven’s inhabitants may glorify God as they witness us do so just as they have seen the wisdom of God in the gospel (Ephesians 3:10) in and through us.  We likewise are to consider those in prison as a second command to minister to their physical and spiritual needs in demonstrating His love; we are called to put ourselves in their place as fellow mortals to empathize and be motivated to help them.  Thirdly, we must value the sacredness of marriage by keeping morally pure in body and soul with commitment kept in sexual purity just as we do not have other gods besides the true God whose bride we now are.  Fourthly, we are to remember the original commandment to not desire what another possesses and let our desire to have the same divert us from being content in our godliness (1 Timothy 6:6) while considering all we have is from God and He always supplies every need we have.  We realize how His provision extends to eternal life which no man can take from us and which is utterly sufficient for true contentment.  Fifth, we are to submit under spiritual authority given by the Lord and not by man alone as we function in the body which is God’s local church.  We are called to follow their biblical teachings and guidance as evidenced by their conduct in their own walk of faith.  Sixth, we are to keep to sound doctrine and not seek new and exciting teachings that contradict the Bible or twist the context to change what God is telling us.  We live by the grace of Christ in His person and His work and not by following extra biblical requirements as of the old ceremonial law of acceptable foods.  Our altar of grace has mad all foods accepted (1 Timothy 4:3-4) and we are to be grateful for them all.  Seventh, we are to hear the reproach of Christ and the gospel of this grace in the face of opposition as we look toward the Celestial City which we await (Revelation 21:2) in eagerness.  Eight, we are to daily sacrifice our lives with praise to Him for all these things as we do good as a result of our salvation and never to vainly attempt to earn this grace in which we stand.  Nine, we are called to share all we have been given as stewards which is a sacrifice of gratitude.  Finally, the tenth command is to submit to worldly authorities placed over us by God (Romans 13:1-2, 3-4, 5-7) with the attitude of God’s providence given us to live in the nations we are part of His grace.  This gives the Lord joy as we submit to these as we also do within the church that the profit of godly lives reflect the Lord and not earthly pursuits or causes.  The gospel is our cause and the Lord is sovereign over all.  May we submit first to Him, then these others according to His word.  These are our concluding laws of godly conduct that guide our moral obligations to the Lord. 

Hebrews 12:18-29 - From Judgment to Safety from Sin

Hebrews 12:18-29

The Glorious Company

18 For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, 19 and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. 20 (For they could not endure what was commanded: “And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow.” 21 And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.”)

22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.

Hear the Heavenly Voice

25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, 26 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” 27 Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.

28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 29 For our God is a consuming fire.

We who have come to be in Christ do not come for judgment, but knowing we are born under judgment on our sin inherited from Adam and daily exercised in willing disregard of disobedience, knowing this we come to find forgiveness and reconciliation through repentance and faith to the redemption of our sentence being commuted by Him.  Unlike God’s people quivering in fear at the door of the mountain of Sinai where the moral Law of the Ten Commandments was written by the finger of the Almighty Himself amidst a fearful display of lightning and thundering of His holy voice from above, we have heard from the suffering and death of His sacrifice for us on the tree of our curse (Colossians 2:14) as the requirement to earn salvation by keeping the Law was nailed to that curse with Him who atoned for our sin once and for all time if we believe and receive Him and His work there for us.  Moses himself was protected but still admitted that he was “exceedingly afraid and trembling.”  We, however, accepted Him who spoke to us from the place of suffering on that cross and have escaped the wrath of God who shook the earth at Sinai and at the death of Jesus Christ (Matthew 27:50-51) on that smaller but more significant hill of Golgotha (John 19:17-18).  He here promises to yet once more shake the entire earth (Haggai 2:6, Isaiah 34:4) along with heaven above when all this sin stained corrupted creation has the sin taken away from our presence to leave only what He makes new along with us in Him with incorruptible bodies guaranteed by His own resurrection preceding ours to come.  Since we know and are assured that we are to receive this unshakable kingdom, we can have and show grace to serve our God in a way that is acceptable to Him in our godly fear with divine shock and awe at His mighty hand in action for all creatures and creation.  Truly our God is a consuming fire (Exodus 24:17, 2 Peter 3:10, 12) who will make all things new!  Trust Him.  Follow Him in willing obedience while standing firm on grace worked by Him alone for our sakes in His righteousness alone.  We have been called out of the darkness (1 Peter 2:9-10) of sin to safety from judgment in Him and His work on the cross to guarantee the promises to make us His people, redeemed and made new.  We did not refuse when He spoke the gospel of deliverance from His wrath on our sin and are rewarded with knowing Him and our assured standing promised by unmerited grace of His good favor to buy us back from our hopeless state.  Trust Him alone! 

Hebrews 12:12-17 - Find Faith’s Strength for Peace

Hebrews 12:12-17

Renew Your Spiritual Vitality (Genesis 25:29–34; 27:30–40)

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. 17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.

We are told after running life’s race with diligence and discipline to then find strength in our faith based on Christ and His finished work for us to live at peace with God and man.  When we feel downtrodden and weary in following Christ due to opposition and our own failures, then we need to remind ourselves to keep on the narrow road towards the goal of Jesus Christ Himself (Philippians 3:14).  This means trusting Him to give us of His strength to pick ourselves up and press on to that heavenward beckoning of the Lord as we run after peace with others as much as is in our responsibility (Romans 12:18, 14:19) and peace with God in striving against sin and for godliness with holiness of thought and action.  If we allow bitterness in our dealings against sin or others in their treatment of us, then we miss the mark and need to repent to follow God’s word (2 Timothy 3:16) to restoration in grace.  We are called to avoid being defiled by putting sin in all forms to death, mortifying it as it arises to not lessen the effects of the goodness of God’s grace in Christ who calls us to be conformed to His image as we imitate Him through meditation on the word of God with the examples and teaching of others who are following Him to shepherd and teach us.  We remember Esau who did not value the gift and inheritance of God and the result, and therefore keep our eyes forward as we press on to know our Lord more and make Him known in our lives and speech that reflect and honor the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We find Faith’s strength drives our peace with our fellow man and God when put into daily actions. 

Hebrews 12:1-11 - Running with Discipline

Hebrews 12:1-11

The Race of Faith

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.

The Discipline of God (Prov. 3:11, 12)

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.

We understand that to run the race (1 Corinthians 9:24-25, 26-27) of faith requires personal spiritual discipline and commitment in the fearful awe of the living God who saved us forever by His immeasurable (Ephesians 3:8) grace.  We see how those faithful and frail men who have gone before us ran toward the goal of Christ (Philippians 3:12-13, 14) at the finish line of life.  They also faced the temptation of sin that weighs men down and trips them up all too easily by the allure of self-gratification in these passing pleasures (Hebrews 11:25) that catch the eye as in Eden’s Garden with the lie of knowing good and evil apart from God’s word.  When we face sin we must remind ourselves that God indeed said how to live and not doubt with the lie (Genesis 3:1), “has God indeed said…?” and then sin against Him by the snare set to entrap us in our flesh’s desires for fleeting pleasure.  Yes, we are called to better things, that we may run this long distance race of faith with endurance against sin for Him and His glory as we have been called (Ephesians 2:10) to do.  How can we do this?  By keeping our eyes upon Jesus as we look into His wonderful face as the old hymn reminds us.  He authored our faith and finished it on the cross and out of the grave to transport us from spiritual death to life (John 5:24) and will finish that work in us (Philippians 1:6) as certainly promised.  He humbled His divine self to suffer in our place and die to cover our sins while hating the shame He endured because He knows we are born to endure it out of the lie from original sin in Adam and Eve,which we inherit.  He is also God and sits as the Son in power on the throne of grace to help (Hebrews 5:14) when we need Him and so we are encouraged not to give up as we falter and get back up to finish the race as Eric Liddell did in track meets and in the China mission field.  We may never resist temptation to our deaths as some have done, yet we press on as we fail and receive His corrective discipline (2 Timothy 3:16-17) according to the Bible, knowing our loving Father knows what is best to bring out the best in us to finish well.  God’s corrective discipline is required to shape us into the image of His Son because we have been called and chosen to be His sons and daughters!  We therefore subject ourselves to His discipline with humble joy in the midst of pain and loss that we live better for Him in holiness being formed in us by His mighty (1 Peter 5:6-7) hand of loving grace.  None of us enjoy the discipline but we do revel in the results of it given by the Father’s loving hands.  Our joy comes in realizing the resulting fruit of righteousness in peace with Him.  Let us run the race with joy in godly discipline of grace therefore. 

Hebrews 11:30-40 - Overcomers by Faith

Hebrews 11:30-40

30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. 31 By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.

32 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: 33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35 Women received their dead raised to life again.

Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— 38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.

39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.

These of old overcame all by faith.  They pursued victories by the hand of God working for them to see unfold as they acted in obedience to His word of promise as at Jericho.  Like faithful Rahab, they were delivered from certain destruction by trusting the word of God given through others (Joshua 2:9, 6:25, James 2:25).  Many took the Lord at His word and were given the triumph of success that filled the air they breathed like Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah, along with King David, Samuel and the other prophets.  Their faith in God’s enabling power and grace brought victory as we now have in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57-58) to bring kingdoms to defeat as the adversary’s will be completely in the final judgment.  These faithful men did works of righteousness because they stood in the righteousness of God as we now do with full knowledge in Christ, they inherited promises as we do in Him forever, they were kept safe from death at times while suffering for His sake to death on other occasions as we likewise face in Christ for the gospel’s sake.  In weakness they were made strong (2 Corinthians 12:10) and were made valiant in the fight for God’s kingdom.  Some even had their dead returned alive (1 Kings 17:22, 2 Kings 4:35-37) to them as Lazarus was later raised from the grave and Christ likewise raised Himself as a promise of our own resurrection to come in the last day.  Some were faithful to death or endured terrible torture as they suffered for the Lord with eyes on an eternal prize, though they did not comprehend it as we do now that Jesus Christ has come and the apostles afterwards revealed the mystery (Ephesians 3:5, 9) fully to us to marvel at now.  There will still be mocking responses to the gospel we proclaim and sometimes physical violence or even death for His name’s sake.  We may end up destitute, afflicted, or tormented, but we hold to the faith of these gone before us in faith who counted (James 1:2) the sufferings as proof the world was not worthy of them or Him.  All these had obtained a good testimony through faith in God and His word according to the promises given them; do we do likewise?  We must remember that they had to wait until Christ came and will come again to be together made perfect in the resurrection of the just (Luke 14:14, Acts 24:15) at the final judgment.  All God’s chosen who came to Him by faith in Christ, before and after He walked on earth, all these will revel in His presence as more than conquerors as overcomers through faith (Romans 8:37) in Him!  When the books are opened, we all shall see and hear tales like those of old like these examples which we have our own names add to.  Praise and give thanks to Him for the glory given us to see and trust which we live by in faithfulness to follow. 

Hebrews 11:17-29 - Is Our Faith on Display?

Hebrews 11:17-29

The Faith of the Patriarchs (Gen. 22:1–14; 48:8–16; 50:22–25)

17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” 19 concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.

20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.

21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.

22 By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones.

The Faith of Moses (Ex. 2:1–10; 12:31–51)

23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s command.

24 By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26 esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.

27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them.

29 By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned.

Faith is on display for us to see throughout the Bible.  We see it in Abraham who trusted that God to obey when commanded to offer his only son on the altar to the Lord, knowing that he could never physically have another son yet still believed it was true that the promise to bring the Seed of the Messiah and have many nations come through him.  It says here that this meant Abraham believed if it was necessary that God could resurrect his only son Isaac from death to life in order to fulfill the promise.  We of course see later that through this Seed Jesus Christ the only Son (John 3:16, 1 John 4:9) of God was Himself offered and brought from the grave of death to resurrected life as an answer to this faith (Romans 9:7-8, Galatians 3:6-7, 8-9) which we who trust in Christ share with Abraham.  He then had faith to bless Jacob (Israel) and Esau, particularly Jacob who would in turn bless his own prodigy’s sons while worshiping God in faith for the future of the promise.  Then we see the son Joseph who was shown the future rescue of his descendants from famine in Egypt and their time there in bondage ending in their entrance into the promised land as was told to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob before him.  God’s promises happen in His time, not ours, and we do well to learn that faith trusts over much longer times that our expectations of His answers.  We do not give up if we do not see the fulfillment of them right away (2 Peter 3:8-9) in our limited view of God’s time and predetermined plan.  Faith is that certain assured substance and proof based on God’s word made clear to us, not with immediate satisfaction according to our wishes.  We see Moses whose parents defied the decree to have their son killed by the Egyptian king who feared God’s people and who later turned from being called the Pharaoh’s son to one of God’s people instead, leaving fame and fortune by faith for what mattered most even if he suffered for that choice.  This is a clear example of the Old Testament faithful who looked for Christ to come and were saved by the same faith that we are now,after His coming to walk among us.  Like Moses, they esteemed “the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.”  They understood enough to trust the promise of a deliverer, a savior, even though they dod not see everything about Him.  This is how people were saved by faith before Christ because they still believed in Him to come.  This same Moses endured by the unseen proof of the faith (Hebrews 11:1) that took God at His word even when it seemed impossible or beyond understanding.  He even trusted that the blood of a sacrificial lamb on their doorposts would avert the judgment of God’s destruction on their firstborn as Egypt suffered, and celebrated this as the passing over of God by grace which we now see was a foreshadowing picture of the Passover Lamb of God slain for us (1 Corinthians 5:7) on their doorposts cross covering the doors of our hearts from sin’s bondage and penalty.  By this same trusting faith Moses led the people through the Red Sea safely and covered the pursuing enemy with destruction just as the Lord will see us safely through to eternal life with Him while the destruction of judgment covers those who disbelieve and disobey the gospel (2 Thessalonians 1:8-10) which trusts in Christ alone for deliverance from sin and its everlasting penalty of suffering judgment.  These examples of faith on display are a warning of rejection and an encouragement to trust God with a certain hope of salvation that does not fade (1 Peter 1:3-5) away.  Is your faith on display?  Trust Him, only trust Him! 

Hebrews 11:8-16 - Faith’s Substance by Example

Hebrews 11:8-16

Faithful Abraham (Genesis 15:1–6; 21:1–7)

8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; 10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

11 By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.

The Heavenly Hope

13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. 15 And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

Faith’s substance by example is described in the rest of this chapter to encourage us to press towards the goal (Philippians 3:12, 14) with our eyes on the Lord Christ who has now come to us.  These looked forward to the Messiah’s coming from far off and by faith appropriated salvation.  They believed what told told them and acted on that conviction in their souls with every step they took on their journeys through life.  Abraham who was the father by faith of us all (Romans 4:16-17) got up from where he was and journeyed far to a promised land to be given as an inheritance much later, but he went at God’s word without doubt or argument.  Do we follow where He leads us, even when uncomfortable or when it goes against our reasoning?  Abraham went out of his comfort to follow an unknown path put before him even though he did not know where he was going because God called him to go.  He then lived in a foreign land in temporary accommodations while waiting for the promise (Hebrews 6:17-18) of the city founded by and on God Himself, just as we now do in Christ who has come and given us the fuller explanation of understanding of just what that kingdom to come (Hebrews 13:14, 2 Timothy 4:18, Revelation 21:10-11) is and our inheritance (Ephesians 1:1, 14, 1 Peter 1:3-4) in it.  Our foundation is Christ Himself as faith builds upon Him and His promises.  Then we see Abraham’s wife Sarah who was given the strength and grace to have a child in her old age as she trusted the promise of the Lord to do this miracle.  She counted Him faithful and therefore took God at His word to give her an heir of that promise made to Abraham and her in spite of the impossibility.  This promise filled the earth like the stars in heaven and grains of sand on the earth as their descendants multiplied in fulfillment of that promise and the original command given to Adam and Eve (Genesis 1:28) and repeated to their offspring (Genesis 9:1, 28:3, 35:11) afterwards.  We are encouraged to hear their examples where God’s faithfulness fulfilled their trust in Him and we do the same now in knowing Christ and His promised land in heaven and on earth.  Those died without seeing this promise come to pass in Him, yet trusted in the Christ to come for that fulfillment of the promises with the certain assurance of faith because they trusted Him who is faithful (1 Thessalonians 5:24, Hebrews 10:23, Revelation 17:14) to the end.  We are also pilgrims wandering this world and strangers among those who do not know or trust Him, yet we also press on (Philippians 3:12) to that day when we meet face to face at last!  We seek the same homeland as these great people of old because we also look forward to that better heavenly country and the Celestial City which God has prepared for us all who trust His word of the gospel preached from the beginning in Genesis to all those whom He calls.  We also are not ashamed to call Him our God!