Sermon: Lessons From First-Century Christianity

#1696
David C. Grabbe
Given 04-Mar-23; 68 minutes

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We will begin today by taking a mental trip. We will set aside the present and the circumstances of our lives, with all the pressures and things that we juggle. Letting go of those things for the moment, we are going to focus on the first century instead. But not just anywhere in the first century. We will zero in on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Think about the holy land, and Syria to the north of it. In your minds, keep moving up into what is now Turkey, and west into Greece, and finally Italy. This was the time and place where Jesus preached and ministered and was crucified. This was when and where the apostles traveled, and the realm of the raising up of the early church.

The early church practiced what is known as apostolic Christianity, when those personally trained by Christ—the apostles—carried on teaching what He had taught them, and raised up congregations of believers. This time really gets its start with the events in Acts 2, with the powerful outpouring of God’s Spirit, and the baptism of thousands of people in a very short period of time. This is the time of the evangelistic campaigns, as many of the apostles traveled out from Jerusalem, taking with them the gospel of the Kingdom of God that had been entrusted to them. That fundamental message has always stirred opposition, and so this time includes the persecution of believers by both Jews and Gentiles. It includes the migration of most of the church away from Jerusalem because of how inhospitable the city became, followed by the eventual destruction of the Temple.

The destruction of the Temple was the end of an age for those of Jewish descent. It was a calamity for those who had put their trust in it, but those who believed and responded to the gospel had something infinitely better. They had heard the good news of God’s Kingdom, and those who were baptized received a portion of God’s own Spirit—that animating essence that helped them to understand God’s word, and to grasp what God was doing in their lives, at least in general. It gave them a rock-solid foundation, even as their physical lives may have turned upside down. God and His truth gave them a hope, a confidence, and an elation as they experienced the Creator’s personal involvement in their lives, while their unconverted family and neighbors could only stumble along in darkness.

The apostolic Christians were involved in a cause, and willing to take up their metaphorical crosses and sacrifice for the sake of the One who had delivered them from the futility of life without God. And there were sacrifices, even to the point of martyrdom. But God’s revelation meant more to them than what the world had to offer. They wanted to live the truth, even though it came at a cost. Yet it was worth it because of what God’s calling and intervention in their lives meant to them—because of what God Himself meant to them. This was a time of boldness and conviction, but we know from history that the second century was quite different from the first. Apostolic Christianity was nearly extinguished.

We will be going through a handful of passages that give us a glimpse into a proclivity, even among those closest to the beginning of Christianity. It pulled at those present in Jerusalem, those who witnessed the outpouring of God’s Spirit, who saw healings, and who heard the gospel preached with God-given power—things I am sure they never forgot. Yet even with being at the epicenter of this religious earthquake, these believers still had to fight against spiritual entropy. They still had to struggle against letting down, against growing weary, against letting their calling drift out of focus. And so, we will consider some of what happened to believers in the first century to gain perspective on our own lives, especially regarding the proclivity to let down.

The author of Hebrews brings up this proclivity early on, so please start turning to Hebrews 2. We will be spending most of our time today in Hebrews because it is a rich case study. It describes both the tremendous difference that God’s calling makes, as well as what can lead to letting it slip from one’s grasp. Hebrews was written approximately 35 years after the Crucifixion, and just a handful of years before the destruction of Jerusalem. For some of you, 35 years is longer than you have been alive, so it may seem like a really long time. For those older in the faith, 35 years ago puts us in the late 1980s, and you remember well the events that were beginning in the church at that time. But just keep that time span in mind as a comparison.

Hebrews 2:1-4 Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?

Christ spoke of an incredible salvation, which goes beyond the forgiveness of sins. Many heard Him speak personally, and then the Father added His unassailable witness with signs, wonders, miracles, and gifts of His Spirit. All these supernatural works indicated to that something astounding had begun.

Let’s reflect on the way the world changed in the first century, and the effect it had on believers. There are significant events when major things change, such as with 9/11 or COVID-19, and people say, “We are living through history.” Well, with Christ’s first coming and what it set into motion, first-century believers lived through history unlike any generation.

As the apostle John relates, the Word became flesh and dwelt among His creation—among His own people. That unique event has reverberated down through the ages, but the powerful effect was most acute as it was happening and shortly after. Because of Christ’s mighty works, Mark says His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee (Mark 1:28). Matthew says His fame went throughout all Syria (Matthew 4:24), and this was quite early in His ministry. He was certainly well-known in the city He had chosen, Jerusalem. But we should remember that fame back then is not like the instant digital fame of today. There was significantly less news each day, and what people heard stuck with them for much longer. What they heard was not chased out of their minds the next instant by a text or a notification. News of what Christ did was talked about. It was not forgotten almost as soon as it happened as something else grabbed the attention.

For us, with the entertainment industry, and especially with the advanced special effects, we’ve seen it all. It is getting harder to impress us with special effects, or even to come up with unique plot lines. But in the first century, news of a Carpenter who healed people, raised people from the dead, fed thousands with a boy’s lunch—that news remained with people.

Even though the miracles were what really grabbed the attention, His preaching was not an afterthought. Remember Who it was that was speaking, and Who was speaking through Him. When His words go forth, they do not return to Him empty. When He preached the gospel of the Kingdom, it may not have been well-received by all, but we can be sure it was received. He spoke with authority yet graciousness, unlike anything they had heard (Matthew 7:29; Mark 1:22; Luke 4:22). What the people did with His words is another matter, but the witness was made.

And then came the end of Christ’s ministry, and His crucifixion, which some thought would be the end of the whole matter. And yet at His death, the veil of the Temple was torn, starting at the top where no human was (Mark 15:38). There was an earthquake, and the graves were opened, and many of the saints were resurrected (Matthew 27:52). Now, perhaps some of Christ’s works could have been written off as tricks of some sort, but when a family member who died walks through the door, even a skeptic is forced to admit that something extraordinary is going on.

The religious leaders wanted to assassinate Lazarus because his resurrection was painful proof of God’s work through Christ (John 12:10-11). But now there were many saints raised back to life. It would be difficult to kill them all, plus the witnesses. And to add to the conundrum, Jesus was dead, meaning He couldn’t have been involved in what happened. Then, to cap it off, the One publicly put to death in front of the whole Passover throng was resurrected, and He was later seen by hundreds of witnesses (I Corinthians 15:6). These events simply could not be contained.

Fifty days later came the events in Acts 2, with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The mighty demonstration of divine power was made before representatives from all over the Roman Empire and even beyond (Acts 2:9-11). There were people from Parthia and Media, in what is now Iran. There were Elamites from even farther outside the Empire. There were those from Mesopotamia, and Cappadocia, which is in modern-day Turkey. There were people from Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and Libya in north Africa. There were visitors from Rome, from the island of Crete, and there were Arabs. The events and the sermon of the day were indelibly impressed on all these people, and they at least took the news back with them, if not the Holy Spirit, if they were among those baptized at that time.

After Christ’s death, His words continued to be preached through the apostles as they travelled. In Colossians 1:23, Paul says that the gospel was preached to every creature under heaven. Some translations say, “in all creation” instead of, “to every creature. Regardless, when Paul and his companions preached in Thessalonica, the men of the city called them the ones “who have turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6). Of course, it was God who was doing it. But it shows that news of the gospel, and the miracles God added to underscore the message, had already confounded people all the way up in Macedonia, far from Jerusalem. Most didn’t like it, but they also could not pass it off, because when something comes from God, it will accomplish what He pleases, and it will prosper in the thing for which He sent it (Isaiah 55:11).

When Paul made his defense before Festus and Agrippa, he said, “. . . for I am convinced that none of these things escapes [King Agrippa’s] attention, since this thing was not done in a corner” (Acts 26:26). News of Christ, of His preaching, His crucifixion and His resurrection, expanded like shockwaves, and the world changed. For those whom God called, and who joined His cause, these were exhilarating events that happened in their lifetimes. The evidence of God’s work could not be denied, because there were eyewitnesses everywhere who could retell the stories to their children, their grandchildren, their neighbors, and anyone else.

And yet, even with these remarkable happenings, and the eyewitnesses of the powerful outworking of the Father through His Son and the apostles, the blinding light from these explosions faded. The shockwaves dissipated. Being close to even these events, whether in terms of time or location, was not enough to sustain zeal because of the law of entropy, which shows up in the human proclivity to move on with life, and to let down.

Remember, Hebrews was written around 35 years after the crucifixion and the world starting to turn upside down by God’s arresting power. And yet, in that short amount of time, there are indicators of neglect, and apostolic warnings against falling away. Now, if those within the first century—those with the best vantage point and personal experiences or connections—were letting down, consider the danger to us in this time. Not only are we far removed from those events, but we have some additional challenges.

For example, at the time of the end, knowledge will be increased (Daniel 12:4). We are experiencing the effect that has on our attention span, our ability to focus, and even our mental health. The Information Age is a major challenge to our focus and priorities. In a parable, Jesus asks the troubling question as to whether He will really find faith when He returns (Luke 18:8). He tells one of His end-time congregations that He is standing at the door, knocking, and there is an unstated question as to whether He will get a response, and an invitation for Him to join them. It may be that this group is satisfied with their riches and goods, such that they cannot see their own condition, or that they desperately need what only He can give (Revelation 3:14-22).

Jesus foretells that at the time of the end, there will be an environment of such lawlessness that His love in many of His people will grow cold (Matthew 24:12). This shows that the pressure of the people and circumstances that surround us can drastically affect our response to God. Along these lines, Proverbs 13:20 says, “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.” Paul says in I Corinthians 15:33, “Do not be deceived: 'Evil company corrupts good habits.'”

Today, our personal environment and company extend far beyond our household, our co-workers, and our neighbors. We are part of a global village, as it has been called, and our companions include all those we subscribe to and follow—those we read, those we listen to, those we watch. Their words—good or bad—start running through our minds. Their attitudes, responses, and values are planted into our thought processes, becoming available for thought patterns, then for choices, then for habits, and then character.

The more that our chosen companions follow the course of this world, the more we are continually exposed to that same spirit that now works in the sons of disobedience (Ephesians 2:2). Certainly, not every companion—real or digital—is evil, but each one influences us to some degree. If nothing else, each one fights for attention in our finite minds, potentially affecting our ability to hear and to respond to what God has given and is giving.

And lest we be tempted to think that we are immune to these effects, remember that Paul begins his statement about the company we keep with the warning, “Do not be deceived.” There are laws at work, whether we believe in them or not.

Here’s a little exercise you can do on your own to get an idea of the effect of your chosen companions on your mind. Start observing how often lines from songs, from movies, or from commercials spring into your mind relative to how often God’s word comes up.

Now, I am not suggesting that we shouldn’t quote movies, so please put down your Rotten Tomatoes™. This is simply an illustration we can all relate to of how the mind works, so we can evaluate whether our companions are helpful. What comes to our minds first is what has been rehearsed the most often, or what we have connected with because it speaks to where we are.

This matters, because these verses in Hebrews 2 ask how we can expect to escape if we neglect or ignore such a great salvation as is now offered to us, letting it drift past us, because there are other things that we would rather pay attention to.

Now, God hasn’t called us to be monks or monkettes. Christ did not ask the Father to take the disciples out of the world, but instead to keep them from the evil one. We must still earn a living, and manage a household, and so forth. He has given us lives to live, and to live with wisdom. But He has called us to glorify Him with our lives, yet we can’t do that if He isn’t first and foremost in our lives.

We who have received so much from Him are obligated to pay even greater attention to what we have heard. This is our present struggle—to keep from drifting away like a boat that has become untied or has lost its anchor.

Please turn to Hebrews 6, as we continue to consider the plight of believers in every time:

Hebrews 6:4-12 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame. For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned. But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Within this warning against falling away are descriptions of some of the spiritual riches and blessings that God gives to those whom He calls. The elements mentioned here—which we will go through—separated first-century Christians from their unconverted neighbors and family. These spiritual factors likewise make us distinct from those not-yet converted around us. These are things that we need to review from time to time to remind us of how priceless this calling is, so we don’t allow it to drift away. These elements should prompt humble gratitude in us because we didn’t do anything to deserve them.

First, verse 4, mentions being enlightened. It means to be illuminated spiritually, or to be given spiritual understanding. Those of us who are not first-generation Christians don’t experience the same turning on of the light. We don’t have the same stark contrast between our understanding before and after God opened our minds, because we heard these things growing up. Even so, we are aware that we have a much different perspective on life, and its purpose, and what constitutes godly behavior than the unconverted. We can begin to see things as God sees them. We can start to grasp the truths within His Word and be changed by them. We have the light of God’s truth by which to walk, so we stumble less.

At times, this enlightenment also brings sorrow, because we have eyes to see that the choices of those close to us, and those around us—including the whole nation—cannot lead to a good end. While we are unable to open their eyes for them, we still wish things could be different for them, and that they could see that there is a better way. This enlightenment—this revelation of God and life—is rare, and thus extremely valuable.

Now, an aspect of the carnality that remains within us is that we don’t always give spiritual things a proper valuation, even though we do know how valuable they are. Because of this, it is possible for our understanding—our light—to be darkened through a focus on lesser things, which is what was happening to these Hebrews. They were slipping back into a value-system that obscured their view of their Messiah. The same thing can happen to us if our focus turns to the ideas of men, to the excitement the world has to offer, or anything which, though it may not be sin, cannot compare to the light of God’s truth.

Now, getting back to verse 4 here, the next element is tasting the heavenly gift. This is a curious one because the New Testament describes or alludes to many gifts from heaven, and the author does not specify which one he has in mind. However, he may not have just one in mind. He may be referring to the totality of what is given from heaven as a single, overarching gift. It would include forgiveness, and the gift of God’s Spirit, and all the fruits that God’s Spirit produces in our lives, as well as the covenants, and salvation, and access to God, and the indwelling of the Father and the Son, and so on. “The heavenly gift” can encompass everything that God gives to His people that He is not under obligation to give.

Notice that the heavenly gift is “tasted.” This implies experiencing it in a way that is real and personal. It is something that we know has come from God, and thus we have experienced God’s activity in our lives. The taste has left an impression and created a memory. We have tasted God’s intervention, His protection, His deliverance. We know these things are real because we have experienced them. We are convicted of God’s activity and not just His existence. And yet that conviction can soften if we don’t remind ourselves that what we have tasted could only come from God, and that we are under obligation.

Getting back to verse 4 again, next in the list is a specific gift of God, which is to partake of the Holy Spirit. This overlaps the first two factors, because the Holy Spirit is both a heavenly gift and it is also the means of enlightenment. God’s Spirit is the essence of His incredible mind. It is the new, motivating principle that God’s children receive. It includes His attitude, principles, thoughts, feelings, temperament, character, disposition, and will.

We receive His Spirit when we are baptized and have hands laid on us. As a result, we can begin to understand the things of God, and this really separates us from the unconverted. Without God’s intervention, mankind only has the spirit in man, but he is also influenced by the spirit of the world, which has its source in the prince of the power of the air.

In I Corinthians 2:10-16, Paul equates the Spirit of God with the mind of Christ. The essence of His mind enhances our minds, giving us spiritual understanding. It is the mind of Christ that we have received that allows us to know the things of God, to know what God has prepared for us, and to know the things that have been given to us.

As we know, mankind is always looking to upgrade his capabilities. This is not always wrong, but who determines what is truly an upgrade and will not be bittersweet in time? We see this today with the pursuit of artificial intelligence, and in transhumanism, with the melding of man and machine. We also see it with the experimentation with mind-enhancing (or at least mind-altering) drugs. Others, both in ancient and modern times, have pursued enhanced capabilities and knowledge through the spirit world.

Yet we have the mind of Christ—the mind of the Creator, the source of all true knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. We have tasted His instruction, His inspiration, His opening of our minds so we can begin to understand as He does. What a difference that makes in life, especially compared to those who only have the human spirit. The spirit in man is impressive in its own right, and yet the record of history is clear that it is insufficient for solving the fundamental problems that mankind faces. Our technology continues to increase, and yet with each increase, it sows seeds of misery and destruction. Mankind needs something more, something that the converted have been blessed with.

First-century believers were not faced with the double-edged sword of technology as we are, but they faced entrenched philosophies and cultural influences, such Judaism, Greek and Roman religions, and later, Gnosticism. The believers faced the same inability of the human spirit to come up with real answers or solutions. They faced persecution for their beliefs on a level few of us have to this point. But they also experienced the difference in their lives that came with God giving them His Spirit to guide them in their understanding, in their responses, and to transform them into His image. They must have truly stood out as lights in a darkened world because of how different their lives were.

Now, getting back to verse 5, there is more tasting, this time tasting the good word of God, or it could be translated, “the goodness of the word of God.” In Psalm 119:103, the psalmist writes, “How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” He esteemed and savored God’s words because He recognized their worth.

The world has its best-sellers, which can be exciting. They can engage the mind, and some of them can be helpful in areas of life. But they are limited because, at best, they are simply the products of the human mind. At worst, they contain Satan’s seeds, which will germinate in just about any environment except the mind of Christ. But God’s word forms the foundation of our faith. His word is true, and it cleanses us, and changes our lives.

Amos 8:11-14 speaks of a dreadful curse, that of a famine of hearing God’s word. The result of that curse is absolute calamity because the people have nothing but their own minds for guidance, and the fruit that is produced by that limited knowledge is utter ruin. We are seeing this play out today as the good word of God is less of a force in society each year. The nation has rejected the good word of God, and He has given her over to madness.

When the word of God is used with the other gifts, such as enlightenment and God’s Spirit, we find that it is indeed good. It is beautiful, desirable, noble. Psalm 12:6 says that God’s words are pure, like silver that has been purified seven times. Jesus says that His words are spirit, and they are life. They are living and powerful, and God has given us the ability to at least begin to understand them, and how they fit together, and how to use them.

Jesus reiterated that we live by every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). Everything that He says works together, and so we must take great care with how we handle His word. We don’t have to be a chef or professional foodie to know that if you use only the main ingredients, and leave out the lesser ones, the result will not be the same as if you used all the ingredients the recipe calls for. Each ingredient is included for a reason, and the same principle applies to the spiritual food that God says we live by. He warns us about dropping ingredients from His recipe because that will change what is produced.

Finally, verse 5 also mentions tasting the powers of the age to come. We have a living hope for the future, and we get samples of what lies ahead after we are fully redeemed from this flesh, and we live in incorruption. The powers mentioned are not our own, but capabilities that come from God—another aspect of the heavenly gift. Jesus said multiple times that He could do nothing by Himself, and the same goes for us. We are simply conduits of God’s outworking, but as He works with and through us, we get a taste of the spiritual reality. We come to learn by experience that with God, all things really are possible.

So, we pray for inspiration, and we are given words that we couldn’t come up with on our own. We pray for protection, and we see God’s shielding. We pray for healing, and we see God intervening for people we may not even know. We pray for His will to be done in our lives, and there is no telling how He may respond. But each time, we receive a confirmation that is electrifying at times that the Creator is working. We have a taste of the powers of the age to come. However, we must also remember that these tastes make us accountable for more, because to whom much is given, from him much will be required.

Now, we’ve spent a good amount of time in considering these elements that make a profound difference in the lives of the converted. These outstanding spiritual factors set apart the Jews and Gentiles in the first century, even as they do today.

They are overwhelming advantages, though not in any competitive sense at all. These are blessings that make for fundamentally better lives, as long as we can get it out of our minds that a better life means physical prosperity. The abundant life that Christ came to give is not dependent on physical wealth at all.

Consider the case of the late J. Paul Getty. He was one of the first billionaires in modern times, and when he died in 1976, he was the richest man in the world. You might think such a man had a good life. Yet J. Paul Getty was married five times. He is quoted as saying, “I would gladly give all my millions for just one lasting marital success.” He couldn’t buy real love, or true joy, internal peace, or other things that make life worthwhile, like genuine friendship. All he had was cold money, and he realized it wasn’t worth all that much.

The rich and famous have riches and fame, but hardly any—if any—of those at the top have good marriages or healthy relationships, especially with their children because their value systems undermine their relationships. They cannot rest because they are constantly expanding or defending their interests. They never have enough. While they believe they are masters of their fate, they cannot see that they are actually slaves—slaves to covetousness, to competition, to maintaining an image. They set their minds on material things because that’s all they have—the things of this life. They have jets and yachts and decadent vacations, but no concept of how their Creator intends His creation to live, or what lies ahead. God inspired Solomon to write, “Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud” (Proverbs 16:19). In fact, there are almost a dozen Proverbs in which wise Solomon proclaims that a life is better that is simpler, even if it is basic, where there is peace, contentment, and the fear of God (Proverbs 3:14; 8:19; 15:16-17; 16:8; 17:1; 28:6; see Psalm 37:16; 119:72; Ecclesiastes 4:6).

In this regard, God calls the weak and the base and the foolish, those whom society does not look up to. However, through the presence and outworking of God, the converted take on the character image of the very Creator, the One who knows how to truly live. Those who have been enlightened, as this verse says, believe the lessons of the book of Ecclesiastes. We believe that God gave Solomon the right conclusions as he conducted his experiments, so we don’t feel the need to replicate them, because we already know the result. The good word of God saves us from pursing the wrong things.

Again, all these advantages here are mentioned here in the context of falling away in verse 6. The author is basically saying that if one has received these things, but they aren’t enough and one still wants the things of the flesh or the world, he has spurned the most valuable and rare gifts available to a human being. And so, there is a warning here. There is an even stronger one in chapter 10 concerning willful sin after receiving the knowledge of the truth and after partaking of the blood of the covenant. These warnings are given because it is quite possible for a believer to make that choice. The choice probably won’t come in the form of a single act, but through a series of foolish prioritizations over time that produce spiritual weakness.

God ensures that there is ample time for Him to make us complete, but that time can also be a snare, because as our time goes on, we also have ample opportunity to make poor choices that become habits, which then become our character.

Thus, a man may find after a period of time that all the spiritual gifts the Father poured out don’t mean all that much to him. That would indicate that they didn’t mean all that much on a continual basis. He undoubtedly valued them to a degree, but he also wanted life on our own terms, and made choices accordingly, one day at a time. To tie this possibility to a parable, we don’t want to be the one standing before the Judge, scraping the dirt off the treasure we buried and handing it back to Him, with nothing to show for having received it (Matthew 25:24-30).

And so, in verses 11 and 12 here, the author urges the Hebrews—and us—to show the same diligence that was present at the beginning of conversion, and to maintain that diligence until the end. As Jesus says in the Olivet Prophecy, it is those who endure to the end who are ultimately saved (Matthew 24:13).

Also in verse 12, the author brings up the ever-present danger of sluggishness. The word can indicate laziness or apathy or “just barely responsive.” Yet we need to understand the sluggishness, not in human terms, but in terms of our response to God. We can be active and busy—even overly so, as most of us are today—and yet be sluggish, or tending toward unresponsiveness, when it comes to God. Our days can be filled with profitable things, and yet there may be hardly any energy expended toward making use of the factors that God has given to us that He has not given to the unconverted.

It takes determined effort to make use of our enlightenment, and to keep tasting of the heavenly gift and all it encompasses, and to walk in the Spirit, and to consume and appreciate the goodness of the word of God, and to have God work through us as a taste of the coming age. We can be energetic in material concerns and apathetic in spiritual ones, and this is what puts us on the path of falling away.

The same Greek word translated as “sluggish” is used in the previous chapter, if you would turn there. In verses 11-12, in the discussion of Melchizedek, the author says,

Hebrews 5:11-12 of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food

The word translated “sluggish” in chapter 6 is translated as “dull” in the phrase, “dull of hearing.” The author isn’t really talking about their ears, but about their minds. He is saying he is having a difficult time getting through to them, not because they don’t have information, but because they are unresponsive to it, particularly compared to a previous time. The implication is that their spiritual hearing was acute at one time, but now, spiritual truth was just barely penetrating. As a result, the author essentially says he’s not going to go any further in explaining Melchizedek because they wouldn’t get it anyway. Their minds had become tuned to other things, and he was having to remind them of foundational ones.

We can relate to this. Think about your time in college or high school. Think about the classes that required you to really stay on top of the material—maybe math or one of the sciences. Now, if you did stay on top of the material, and you studied, and you stayed current with what the teacher was covering, then the concepts stayed fresh and could serve as a foundation for more advanced concepts.

On the other hand, if you played video games every moment possible, or you texted throughout class, or you spaced out and could only think about homecoming for weeks on end, one day you would walk into class, and it would dawn on you that you had no idea what the teacher was talking about. It might as well be a foreign language. Maybe it was. The information had been available the whole time, but you had become dull of hearing. So, if you wanted to pass the class, you would have to go back to what you did know and figure out what you had missed in order to catch up to where the teacher was.

For those of us who have been out of formal education for a while, if we were asked to solve a geometry problem, or maybe calculate the products of a chemical reaction, we might have to do a lot of brushing up on the material to get back to where we once were because our comprehension fades when it is not used.

In essence, this is what was happening to the Hebrews. They were losing their responsiveness to the heavenly reality, and they had regressed. Their ears and eyes and minds were attuned to other things, things that weren’t necessarily sinful, but that were just far less important than the rare gifts that God had made available to them.

Our minds are finite. They have limits, and they will prioritize what we focus on, and deprioritize what we don’t. This is where choices become habits, and habits become a way of life. What we focus on becomes ingrained as thought patterns. But this is also how understanding can be lost, because if we don’t value it enough to keep it in mind, we start to become sluggish toward it. If we don’t reinforce it, eventually it fades away.

This is a natural law. Just as we remember that gravity is always acting on us, so we must take this principle of focus and prioritization into account. Pretending that it doesn’t exist, or that it won’t affect us, is like believing we have advanced beyond gravity. Please don’t test it.

We will continue our examination of Hebrews, this time in chapter 10. We will be reading just after the warning about willful sin.

Hebrews 10:32-39 But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings: partly while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated; for you had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven. Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:

“For yet a little while,
And He who is coming will come and will not tarry.
Now the just shall live by faith;
But if anyone draws back,
My soul has no pleasure in him.”

But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.

Notice that early on, after these Hebrews had been illuminated—after God had given them understanding—they were put to the test, and they had to endure some significant sufferings. According to the world, they were guilty by association with the apostles and this unorthodox movement, and this made them targets for abuse and persecution. The author reminds them that, in their early zeal, they joyfully accepted the loss of their possessions. Whatever the exact circumstances, they bore the loss with equanimity because that wasn’t what they really valued. They knew that they had an enduring inheritance, so their spiritual priorities kept them from stumbling over having their goods taken.

They kept a good attitude, which must have been quite a witness of the power of God in itself. That is what is possible when one is led by God’s Spirit. And yet in the present, back in chapters 3 and 4, the author warns them about allowing their hearts to be hardened. The purity of their spiritual youth was in danger of turning sour. Today, the culture emphasizes aging well. Similarly, we might say they weren’t aging well, spiritually. The author reminds them of their former mindset and approach that they seemed to have lost, which is another indicator of spiritual regression.

Because of their current spiritual state, the author urges them toward endurance, to living by faith, and not drawing back. There is a highly relevant parallel for us, but it will take some explaining. In one of His parables, Jesus prophesied that armies would destroy His murderers and burn up their city, meaning Jerusalem (Matthew 22:6-7; see Matthew 21:33-44). That happened, roughly 40 years after Christ gave the parable.

Now, we don’t know whether the author of Hebrews had pieced together what was just about to happen to Jerusalem, the Temple, and the Levitical priesthood. What we do know is that a great deal of the book is dedicated to showing how much better Christ is than everything else, including the Old Covenant system that was about to lose its base of operations.

Whether the author was conscious of this, or it was fully God’s inspiration, this book was prescient. It was a perfect message to reorient them back to Christ, so they could have the right footing for what lay just ahead. Even though they were under the New Covenant, the removal of those institutions, not to mention the scattering (if they were in Judea), would come as a great shock for those with a Jewish heritage if they had not let go of their attachments. To whatever degree they were holding onto the Temple system and the city of Jerusalem, they were about to undergo a massive readjustment when it was removed.

Thus, the audience of the book was approaching the end of an age, and we are as well. The nations of Israel are living on borrowed time. We have witnessed the rejection of God in the public square. The cultural tide is ever more hostile to biblical truth, even to the point that it is demanded that we break the Ninth Commandment and bear false witness in the use of preferred pronouns. How much is truth worth to us?

This nation endured 9/11, with its uncanny echo of the prophecy in Isaiah 9:10, but there were no calls for repentance by political leaders. There were only speeches of defiance, and empty mantras of “God bless America.” The remarkably few religious leaders who suggested that God was responding to our immorality were subjected to foul abuse and condemnation by those advocating ‘tolerance,’ and even some nominal Christians. And as we know well, the immorality has only spread and worsened in the decades since.

Now we have endured a pandemic, a pestilence involving fever, inflammation, and weakness (Deuteronomy 28:21-22; Leviticus 26:16, 25). These are curses God promised to bring. In addition, there are biblical examples of God using the wicked to chasten His own people, so the origins of the pandemic matter very little. It is indicative, though, of the state of the union that the national argument about the pandemic seems to have consumed more energy than the pandemic itself. But amidst all the words, still there were no national leaders, whether political or religious, who have suggested that God might be trying to get our attention.

In terms of the state and responses of the nation, it is like we are living through a chapter in Kings or Chronicles that has been updated to modern times. Truly, we are living through history, but we are also repeating it. The nation has regressed past “dull of hearing” and is stone deaf—it doesn’t believe Kings or Chronicles. As with the Hebrews, we are rapidly approaching an inflection point. We just don’t know how far off or how severe it will be.

In this environment, it is worth considering where our security truly is, and what we will have a difficult time letting go of if we experience something of the magnitude of the destruction of the Temple or a national dispersion. The nations of Israel are daring God to respond to their rebellion. We know that God’s response to His wayward children cannot be much longer in coming, and thus, there is a massive readjustment somewhere ahead.

We, too, will have great need of endurance and faith not to draw back when we see God act in unsettling ways. We, too, will need to have our focus on the spiritual reality so that we don’t flounder over the loss of something material.

But we also need to understand that spiritual preparation takes time. As in the parable of the ten virgins, the oil that we will need to keep our lamps burning through the coming night cannot be borrowed, nor will there be time to acquire it when it is needed most. That preparation must be complete before night falls. We get a strong hint of what that oil entails because the Bridegroom tells those knocking to get in, “Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you” (Matthew 25:12). Spiritual preparation is a product of the relationship—of knowing Him. It accumulates over time. There are no shortcuts or substitutes. We must put in the effort.

Please turn with me to chapter 12:

Hebrews 12:12-13 Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.

As we would say today, they were dragging. The author suggests that the Hebrews were restricted in their forward progress—they were lame, he says. That fits with the mirror he has given them throughout the book. He describes something like a muscle cramp or maybe a strain, and the person needs to take care so the condition doesn’t turn into something worse, like a dislocation. But notice that he doesn’t say to stop. He says to strengthen, and to make straight paths, so that they could keep going.

We will get back to the “strengthening,” but first we will consider the “straight paths for your feet.” It is talking about a smooth and level path, one that won’t further damage the one using it, but instead can help to work out the lameness. He is saying to carefully choose our path so that we are not making our spiritual race more difficult than it already is.

We need to combine this metaphor with what it says in verse 1 about laying aside every weight, as well as the sins that ensnare us so easily. We each have a course to complete, and it will require endurance. The lesson here is to keep things simple rather than involving ourselves with things that will slow us down. It could be a hobby or pursuit. It could be an unnecessary responsibility. It could be a relationship. The weights are those factors that will complicate our responding to God and following Him, and they are in addition to the sin that we also must lay aside. The weights are simply the choices or circumstances that tend to make us sluggish, so our course becomes harder by our choosing. If we are unresponsive to the things of God, our course becomes more difficult because He is the one who has the solutions, and He can give faith and peace and patience, but it depends on the relationship.

Now, the strengthening in verse 12 is interesting because it is written in a way that puts the responsibility on us. And that is indeed true, but it may not be in the way we are thinking. There is a reference to strengthening at the end of the previous chapter, the Faith Chapter, where it says in verse 34 that the heroes listed there were made strong out of weakness through faith. So, faith strengthens. In a larger sense, the whole book of Hebrews is about spiritual strengthening. But there is a clearer answer in the book of Daniel:

Daniel 11:32 Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.

Our concern is not the specifics of this prophecy, but rather the principle it contains. The ones who will have strength at that terrible time are the people who know their God. That’s where their strength comes from. It does not come from within. It is not innate skill or will-power. It comes from the conviction that is built through repeated experiences with God. He’s not a stranger to them, nor are they strangers to Him, unlike the foolish virgins. As a result, while they may have nothing in the way of personal strength, they are on good terms with the Source of all strength, and He is willing to abundantly supply what is needed.

The strong ones have sought out, and have tasted of, the powers of the coming age. They have not sought those things for the sake of power, as carnal man does, but for the sake of experiencing God—seeking Him over and over, and seeing Him respond, over and over. And because of that, they know that when there is a need, their God will take care of it. They have seen it happen repeatedly. It is knowing God that makes the difference, because He is the one who opens doors, and shuts the mouths of lions, and overthrows empires.

So, when the author of Hebrews says to strengthen the hands that hang down, and the feeble knees, he’s not telling them to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, or to somehow find it within themselves. Instead, he has spent much of the book reminding them of what they already have, and what more was available to them if they would reorient themselves to God and make use of the incredible advantages. Their strengthening could not come from within, but rather from the relationship, but it required shaking off the ideas, the habits, the distractions, the misplaced priorities that were hindering their connection and growth.

We already know the basics of coming to know Him, and the fundamentals of that relationship. But here is something you can test yourself on, if you are inclined. This is another exercise in self-observation. That is, observe your own immediate response to mentions of prayer, Bible study, fasting, mediation—whether there is resistance. Maybe we do those things because we know we should, not because our hearts are really in them. That isn’t ideal, but it is still better than putting God on a shelf in our minds. But it is worth considering whether these are practices that we prioritize and jealously guard, or if we are OK with skipping them. These practices do not earn us salvation. Rather, they strengthen us for salvation, and they help us to make the best use of what God has already given to us.

I have a good friend who used to really struggle with Bible study. For whatever reason, his mind just was not geared toward it. But he prayed and asked God to help him with this, and God changed his heart so that now he can hardly get enough. His tastes have changed, and now God’s word is sweet to him. This is what is possible if we are willing to seek it.

The strength, the wisdom, the wherewithal—whatever is needed for us to endure is available. But it begins with recognizing the Source, and continually going back to Him. It means seeking Him for who and what He is, not because of what we are trying to get from Him for our own purposes. He cannot be manipulated, like we might try to do with others. He is immune to charm. He is unmoved by pouting, foot-stomping, or screaming. He hates bribery and flattery. He knows exactly what we are doing and why. Any pretense is a wasted effort with Him. The Word of God is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of our heart.

Psalm 138:6 says that God “regards the lowly; but the proud He knows from afar.” In the vernacular, we would say that God can see the proud coming a mile away, and they won’t get anywhere with Him. But He allows the lowly to approach, and He pays attention to them.

Once you start looking for them, you will see the indicators or warnings of spiritual regression in many places—not just in Hebrews, but in other writings as well. We’ve just scratched the surface in finding evidence of the proclivity to let down and wrongly prioritize. The incredible purpose of life that has been opened to us can be overshadowed, even with the overwhelming gifts and advantages that God has given.

As mentioned, the challenges we face today are significant, but they can be overcome because of what we have been given and Who we have access to. Even though we are far removed from Christianity’s burst into the world, we still have more than enough to finish our course and glorify God, which is a great exploit. None of the challenges we face are greater than He is. But it all comes down to what we are willing to do if we find that we are sluggish, and what weight we are willing to lay aside so we are not hindered. As I believe you have seen today, the critical factor is not what we can do with what we have been given, but what we are doing with what we have been given. It starts with little choices, better valuations, and wiser priorities each day to make use of the factors that will strengthen us and help us along the path to the Kingdom of God.

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