For The Word Of God Is Living...

Hebrews Chapter 4:12-16

God’s Living Word

¹² For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. ¹³ And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

4:12,13. The reason given for one’s careful scrutiny of his life involves the reality that God is intently scrutinizing it. His word is quick (living). This word is first in the Greek and is the emphasis. God’s word is not old or archaic; it is alive. It is not inept or inactive; it is powerful (active). It reaches into the inner secrets of man’s mind to discern even his thoughts and intents. Likewise, God’s eye sees man as though he were naked, unable to hide behind excuse or pretense. (taken from King James Study Bible) 

Our Compassionate High Priest

¹⁴ Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵ For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶ Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

4:14,15. At this point the author begins his discussion of Christ as high priest. His priestly ministry is far superior to any other priest’s because of the intercession He provides. The earthly high priest, with fear, once a year gained access to the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies; Christ not only has access to but is seated in the very presence of God the Father. Yet prior to this position, He partook of man’s nature and temptations so that He might sympathize, yet without sin. To imagine that since Jesus could not sin He could not suffer, misses the point of the passage. Temptation can be a reality apart from sin. “God cannot be tempted with evil” (James 1:3), yet God is tried or tempted (Gr. Peirazo) by men (3:9; Acts 15:10). Yet, beyond the statements of this passage, He who was God, though made like man, could not sin (being impeccable); and indeed, He need not sin to be human. Before Adam sinned, he was completely human. The glorified saint will never again be able to sin, yet remain human. Temptation is greatest in duration and intensity when one does not accept the “easy” way out by sinning. If man’s temptation is greater when he endures it, surely Christ’s was great since He had no alternative, in His humanity, but to endure it.

4:16. Only Christianity provides such boldness for sinful men before a holy God, and that boldness is possible only because of our High Priest. The figure of a throne suggests a place of authority and provision. It is the place to obtain God’s grace when it is especially needed. (taken from King James Study Bible)         

Does this not cause us to stand in awe?

This all powerful, holy God, who can see in us what we ourselves cannot see, loves us and came to be tempted, to suffer and die in our place that we might have eternal life. I stand amazed in His presence! (my comments here are so inadequate)

What If?

What if you were arrested and put in prison for the rest of your life? What if this life sentence was to be in isolation? No contact with anyone but a guard, and only when he brought your food. No personal items like deodorant, toothpaste, nail clippers, hair brush, and especially no Bible. So here you sit; alone, smelly, itching, cold, damp, and you have nothing to do but sit on a cold, hard floor 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for the rest of your life. Take a moment and let this sink in.  

This scenario plays out everyday in countries like North Korea, China, and Iran, as well as many others. Christians are dragged off to prison, many times the families do not even know where their loved ones are. For the fortunate few who get out, their stories are horrific. The majority of those I have heard say the worst part is the isolation. This in itself is a form of torture. For the believers, they wish for a Bible more than anything. Imagine being stripped of everything you hold dear and you have nothing but time. No doubt you would pray; and pray, and pray. The natural longing following all this prayer would be to desire God’s word.

Would your current knowledge of the Bible be enough to sustain you?

Would remembering the story of Jonah, Job, David, and Jesus be enough?

I believe you would hunger more for God’s word than you would for food. Here in America we take many things for granted; one of those being easy access to God’s word. However, there is coming a day (see Revelation) when those left behind after the rapture who come to saving faith will be hunted, imprisoned, and executed. No doubt they will hunger for God’s word.

But what if you were on vacation, or a business trip overseas and your plane was hi-jacked? What if you were kidnapped at the mall?

What if you were imprisoned as described above? It could happen. 

I remember hearing of a Vietnamese man after the fall of Saigon who was put in a prison camp. His daily job was to scrub the filthy latrine (rest room). He was a Christian, but after being put in this prison camp he began to question God. He prayed that if God really did exist to show him. One day he found some paper fragments in the latrine that the camp commander had used to wipe himself with. He noticed that it was the torn pages out of a Bible. He washed the feces and urine off the ragged pages and smuggled them back to his cell. He was actually excited the next day to clean the latrine in hopes that he would find more pages. He did indeed and over time was able to piece back together the entire Bible.

Years later he got out and made it to America. He told a friend how God had answered his prayer and today is sold out to the Lord.

Can you imagine yourself in this situation? Would you be willing to wash human excrement off the pages just to have a copy of God’s word? This was his most prized possession while in prison.

Why take a chance and wait? Please consider learning God’s word and storing it in your heart. None of us know what tomorrow may bring.

Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You. –Psalm 119:11

As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. -Psalm 42:1 

You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.  Selah -Psalm 32:7

  

Lead me, O LORD, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; make Your way straight before my face. -Psalm 5:8