II Peter part 4

II peter 

part four - add knowledge:

5c) “And in your moral excellence, (supply) knowledge.” 

Like the virtue of moral excellence that we just considered, this virtue, knowledge, which we are to add to our faith, is an attribute that was enjoyed perfectly in the beginning by Adam and Eve before they sinned.
Our progenitors were created with the capacity for perfect knowledge; not infinite knowledge, that is something that only God can ever posses,
but completely correct knowledge.
The Apostle Peter is saying, that by the power of God and through the glorious gifts that He has bestowed upon those who are partakers of the divine nature (born again ones), we can and should now begin to seek to attain a more perfect knowledge of God and of truth.

Adam and Eve shared a common language between themselves and with God.
And so it is with us; we share a common language with God by virtue of the fact that we have the “mind of Christ” and are able to understand God’s truth (I Cor.2:16).

So, what is the beginning of knowledge for the born again believer?

Ps.46:10 – “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth!”
Prov. 1:7 – The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Jn.10:14 – "I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me.”

Jn.17:3 – “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
Jn.20:28-31 – Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”
Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe (know for certain - Heb.11:1) that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God;
And that believing you may have life in His name.

Jn.21:24-25 – This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true.
And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.

Eph.3:14-19 – For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name,
that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,
so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend (know completely) with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
And to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge (worldly and human knowledge), that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

Phil.3:7-11 – But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Col2:1-3 – For I want you to know how great a struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea,
and for all those who have not personally seen my face,
that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love,
and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself,
in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

The knowledge we are to add is godly knowledge found in the Word of God.
It is knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ and if we continue to grow in such knowledge we will certainly grow on our journey toward Christian maturity. (II Pet.1:8)

The third step on our chart, in conjunction with knowledge, following after salvation and separation is submission.
It is a submission to the truth of God’s word; submission to the leading of the Holy Spirit and submission to the will of God as He reveals it to us through His word and by His Spirit.

As I stated before, I believe there is a natural flow to the steps as Pastor Hanson has outlined them on our chart.
The step of submission to God’s word and His will follows naturally after separation to God and from the things that used to keep us from Him.

I cited Ro.12:1+2 previously in the context of our new life in Christ; now I want to emphasize the concept of submitting our minds to God in order for us to receive this most precious knowledge of which we have been speaking.

Ro.12:1-2 – Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

You see, as stated on page 267 of “Eight Steps to Spiritual Maturity”;
Now that our spirits have been regenerated and we are born again as new creations before God, our minds need renewing also.

This is accomplished through study, memorization, and life application of God’s word; and daily seeking and submitting to His will.
This renewal process concerning the mind is not automatic or instantaneous. No, we must seek it, through the power of the Holy Spirit and when we are lead by the Spirit to the place of renewal, we must submit and yield to it and apply it to our lives.

Ro.6:16 – Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?

Ro.6:18-19 – and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.

“If one is serious with God then he has to put himself in a position where God can deal with him. In other words, in a spirit of submission one has to submit to the exposure of God’s light, which is revealed in the person of Jesus Christ and in the Word of God.”
(E S T S M - pg.270)

I Pet.1:13-16 – Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance,
but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”

Eph.4:22-24 – that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,
and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

One very important principle that we should always keep in mind is this;
“The key to future or further knowledge lies in the application of knowledge received.”
It is a matter of good stewardship as with so many of God’s gifts, blessings and answers to prayer.

As we grow in the knowledge of God and of Christ we come to see the greatness of God’s love for us and of Christ’s love for us; as we do we grow in our love for God and for our Savior. Our desire to please God and to be close to Him increases with our knowledge.

Augustine called it irresistible grace and while I do not agree with the concept as he defined it (irresistible on the unwilling), I do believe that the gracious love of God when understood by a willing recipient of that love is indeed irresistible.

An old Jewish proverb says:
“To know God is to love God and to love God is to desire to obey Him.”

And so we see that by adding knowledge to our Christian journey of faith we grow in our ability to submit to God, which will put us in the right place for our next step; service.

II Peter part 3

Comments concerning virtue

II Peter

part three

So, I ended last weeks posting with a question and an invitation to join us in a exercise. (Restated at the end)
The question was; - "I would also like to ask you to think with me about morality in general and about ethics in particular. Do you think there is a difference between morals and ethics? 
Should there be?"

The general consensus among those in attendance last week was that there is really no distinction between ethics and morals in our society today; the lines of distinction have been blurred and all but obliterated.

By definition ethics is a normative science; that is to say it is the standard of "oughtness"; the way things ought to be, concerning behavior.
It is the study of the foundational principles that inform and dictate the moral standards of a person or group.
We in America, traditionally followed the Judeo/ Christian ethic found in the Bible; it was a Theocentric/ Christocentric ethic; even though not all members of our society adhered to said ethical standards. Never the less, that was the basis for what was defined as acceptable and what was unacceptable moral behavior.

Morals, by definition is a descriptive science. It is the description of the current state of behavioral standards of a person or group; that is to say the "isness" of what people consider acceptable behavior.

I am a member of the "Baby Boomer" generation and I was fully engaged in the counter culture revolution of the sixties and seventies. I mention that because; the way I see it ; it is largely a result of what we did back then that has brought about or at the very least, contributed greatly to our current situation concerning the loss of our ethical standards and the degeneration into the reversal of the situation concerning moral standards in our society.

It is now the case that the cart is leading the horse so to speak. The "isness" of our moral (or more to the point, lack there of) activities have become our standard of "oughtness" and so whatever we can get away with in society has become our new ethic and standard of morality.

It saddens me to admit that I and my generation had such a detrimental effect on our national morals.
We thought we were doing great things by promoting things like "free love" and "experimentation" with psychedelic drugs. We were wrong.
A perfect example of how far we have fallen was witnessed at the recent Grammy awards show; the degradation of the female performers, the mockery of traditional marriage along with an open display of satanism on public television prove the point.

So, that was the question.
And the invitation was;
I would like to ask you to help me to make a list of traits that you would consider to be virtuous; things that would reflect moral excellence to you.
Make your list and write out your answers and hold on to them.

Here are some that we came up with at last weeks session.
Honesty, selflessness, accountability, guarded conversation, compassion, humility, generosity, faithfulness, brotherly love, sensitivity, good stewardship, mercy, forgiveness, and civility.

Our next study will be about knowledge, the kind of knowledge that the Apostle is encouraging us to add to our faith and moral excellence.

II Peter part 2

II Peter 

part two

Now that we have taken an overview of the “eight steps” and laid the groundwork for our study, let’s go back and consider these important truths in a more detailed way.

You see, Peter is saying that we are already in a position to grow in the grace and knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ because God has already granted us everything we need in order to do so. And so there should be nothing holding us back from growing to spiritual maturity. Now we must add these other virtues to our faith.
By grace, through faith we are now: (I Jn.3:2 – We are now the children of God.)

4) Partakers of the divine nature: Through the one time event of the new birth we, as believers in Jesus Christ have already become “partakers of the divine nature.”

Jn.3:3,6-7 – Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
“Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

I Pet.1:3-5 – Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead; to receive an inheritance (salvation and sonship) which is imperishable, undefiled, will not fade away, reserved in heaven for us and protected by the power of God; to be revealed in the last time.

Acts 2:38 – Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Ro.8:9-16 – However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.
If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”
The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.

Gal.2:20 – "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

II Cor.5:17 – Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
5) Therefore, for this very reason (that God has done His part fully): Apply all diligence, make every effort, be ever zealous to do your part in exercising your opportunity, privilege and obligation in Christ to grow into the fullness of what God has provided.

Ro.6:1-14 – What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?
May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,
knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

Ro.12:1-2 – Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

The message is clear! What is needed now, once we have been born again, is a change in the way we live. A leaving behind of the old fleshly sinful lifestyle and an embracing of the new godly spiritual life in Christ.
But, it is by no means automatic or without real effort on our part.
We must seek it with all diligence!

The next step on out chart after salvation is separation;
Separation to God and from the lusts of the world, the flesh and the devil.
We are to put our faith into practice; we are to restrict our activities and our thoughts to those things that reflect our new position as born again children of God.
Now that our life is complete in Christ we are to develop a holy lifestyle. (I Pet.1:6)

The biblical term used most frequently for holy separation is sanctification.
There are many aspects to our sanctification;

First of all we are sanctified or set apart from the world and to God by the work of Jesus Christ on our behalf:

Jn.17:14-20 – His prayer for us is that while we are yet in the world, we will not be of the world;
That we would be kept apart from the influence, corruption and control of the evil one;
And that we like Him, would be sanctified unto God in truth; the truth of God’s word.

Heb.2:11 – For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren.

Heb.10:10, 14 – By this will (Jesus will was to do His Fathers will) we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.

Secondly we are to take an active and continual part in our own sanctification:
I Pet.3:15 – But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;
Ps.34:14 – Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it.

Thirdly we are sanctified through the work of the Holy Spirit on our behalf:
I Cor.6:11 – But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

And finally, we are sanctified and set apart in Christ by the will and work of our heavenly Father:
I Cor.1:30 – But by His (God’s) doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption.

This step of separation or sanctification in our quest to move toward spiritual maturity requires us to add moral excellence or virtue, to our faith.
Our position in trespasses and sin (Eph.2:1-3) before regeneration (Titus 3:5) may be understood as lacking virtue or our having less than excellent moral standing before God;
A condition that needs to be corrected not only as pertains to our standing before God regarding our salvation, but also with regards to our actual behavior in our daily life.
While it is true that upon conversion we receive complete justification and we stand positionaly clothed in the righteousness of Christ before God;
Still, a real change experientially needs to take place in our practice and behavior now.

Adam and Eve were created in a virtuous state in the beginning; more than just sinless but also with good moral character having a desire and a capacity to do what was right and pleasing before God.
This virtue was expressed toward each other and toward all of creation; God called them “very good” (Gen.1:31).
But then came the fall and everything changed, they lost their moral perfection and sin and death entered the world and human virtue was forever diminished.
What Peter is calling for (II Pet.1:5) is a reclaiming of that lost virtue; a determined effort on the part of every Christian man and woman to regain moral excellence;
not only to cease from sinning, but a commitment to, with the help of God and by virtue of the fact that we are now partakers of the divine nature; to determine to do the right thing before God, to each other and toward all of creation;
and this not to be a one time thing, but it is to be an ongoing process to strive to increase daily in our virtue through our decisions and our actual activities.
We have been reconciled to the world that we were once estranged to.
Through Christ God has provided reconciliation for us and for the world (II Cor.5:18-19).
Now let’s take full advantage of our reconciliation by living it out on a daily basis.
Gal.6:10 – So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.

The very word virtue seems strange in our modern world; outdated and old fashioned.
In the past virtue was understood as more relevant and more valuable than perhaps it is today. That ought not to be the case.

Masculine virtue at one time was seen as valor, courage or bravery; along with such attributes as courtesy, civility and humility.
Feminine virtue was characterized by such things as chastity, modesty and manners.
Industry and hard work were highly valued characteristics for all people as was honesty.

I would like to pause here and ask you to help me to make a list of traits that you would consider to be virtuous; things that would reflect moral excellence to you.

I would also like to ask you to think with me about morality in general and about ethics in particular. Do you think there is a difference between morals and ethics?
Should there be?

Make your list and write out your answers and hold on to them.
I will post some of what we come up with at the meeting and you can compare.

II Peter part 1

II Peter 

part one

Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ(II Pet.3:18)

“Knowledge is power”

> Knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ is eternal life <      (John 17:3)

Chapter one:

1) Faith – of the same kind as “ours” (the Apostles) = true saving faith, grounded in truth.
“The Faith” – once for all delivered to the saints = the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Jude 3).
Faith is the beginning point of the Christian life, it is the foundation upon which Christianity is built; but faith is not all there is to Christianity, it is where we begin to build towards the fullness of Christian maturity and Christ likeness; faith is the first step.
If we desire to grow up into spiritual maturity, then there are additional steps that we must take in order to achieve that goal.
Peter begins this epistle, his last written words to the Church of Jesus Christ, with a comprehensive, and I believe, chronological list of those steps recorded for us.

To begin with we need to establish the fact that everyone has some capacity for faith;
Faith is a natural component of human nature; all people exercise faith every day all day.
Ro.12:3 – God has allotted to each (man) a measure of faith.

This epistle is written specifically to instruct and enable believers to put their faith in the true things of God as taught by the Apostles and as recorded in the Holy Scriptures;
and to avoid the heresies and false teachings that challenge and distort the pure gospel; particularly the problem of the “secret knowledge” cults like the Gnostics of Peter’s day and in our day groups like the Christian Scientists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons and so on. It is only through the knowledge of the true that we can recognize and avoid the false.

1b) By the righteousness of our God – our faith is to be in the provision of God’s own personal righteousness on our behalf through the person and work of His Son Jesus Christ and by that righteousness alone.
Ro.1:16-17 – In it (the gospel) is the power of salvation to everyone who believes (everyone who puts their own personal faith in it)...for in it (the gospel of God concerning His Son, vs.1) the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written “But the righteous man shall live by faith.”
You see then that life and salvation are to be found only in the true Gospel as presented in the Holy Scriptures (vs.2) and that they must be received through faith.
As stated earlier; this is the necessary and first step that we must take in entering into the Christian life.
Furthermore it is a one time event (Heb.6:6) that results in the new birth (I Pet.1:3-5).
Just as it is in the natural realm; a child cannot begin to grow towards maturity until he is born into this world, so it is also in the realm of spiritual life in the eternal family of God.
It is now that our journey of growth toward spiritual maturity can truly begin!
1c) Our God and Savior Jesus Christ – What better or more important doctrinal statement of truth and clarity could Peter possibly have chosen to begin his last declaration of his own personal faith with, than his firm and unequivocal proclamation of the deity of his friend, his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?

2) Grace precedes peace – the simple fact is that it is only by God’s grace that peace with God is even available to man. As a consequence of Adam’s sin; in addition to expulsion from the garden, no access to the tree of life and death passing on to all of Adam’s descendents; mankind has been at enmity with God ever since; the fleshly desires of unregenerate men and women, untempered by the influence of the Spirit of God, are in conflict with God and His laws (Ro.8:7-8); mankind as a whole is at war with God. God is the offended party. We as individuals and as a race are incapable of bringing reconciliation to the conflict; we cannot undo what has been done; it is not even in our nature to do so. God must intervene and take it upon Himself to reestablish peace with men. He has done so, as we know, in the person of Jesus Christ (II Cor.5:19).
Ro.5:1-2,8-10 – We have peace with God...we have obtained our entrance into this grace (peace with God) by faith; God demonstrates His own love for us...while we were yet sinners Christ died for us...we shall be saved from the wrath of God...while we were enemies (of God) we were reconciled to God...we shall be saved by His (Christ’s) life.
TREMENDOUS TRUTHS !

Eph.2:1-9 – We were dead (under a death sentence from birth with no way out) in trespasses and sins...we all formerly lived in the lusts of the flesh...we were children of wrath (as the offspring of Adam and according to our own choices and behavior)...but God, because of His great love for us...made us alive together with Christ...by grace you have been saved through faith.

2b) Grace and peace be multiplied to you – how can we receive even more of this blessed grace and peace from God?
Through knowledge!
The knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
How marvelous and exciting to think that God desires to not only add to our blessings but He wants to multiply them!
I Cor.2:9 – but just as it is written,
"THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD,
AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN,
ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM."

2c) In the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ – This is such a critical concept and unfortunately, it is one that is often overlooked, ignored and even attacked by some individuals within the nominal Church.
The value of knowledge is often overlooked in the sense that credulity (naive, untested, gullible belief) is often portrayed as superior faith;
And experience (emotional, sentimental, shallow and often fleeting) is often overemphasized at the expense of sound teaching;
Many modern preachers are guilty of sensationalism, exaggeration and of pumping up the crowd by making outright false promises based upon erroneous exegesis and just plain old fashioned eisegesis.
The need for knowledge is ignored by way of under emphasizing the need for continued personal bible reading and study by many in church leadership (particularly in certain denominations); accompanied by a general lack of interest for deeper study by a large segment of church members.
And finally, the very idea that one can even hope to understand the deep things of God and of Christ is very often rejected and even attacked by many; in a spirit of pietistic, skeptical, anti- intellectualism; based upon a puerile understanding of passages such as Is.55:8-9 – “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways.”
(A careful reading of the text in context reveals that the difference in view is specifically regarding compassion, mercy and forgiveness. If in fact the meaning was that there is no similarity between God’s thoughts and ways with man’s thoughts and ways in all categories {no analogy of being whatsoever} then there could not be any communication at all between them; and we know that this is not the case).

But, what does the scripture say concerning the value and necessity for the continual pursuit of godly knowledge?
II Tim.3:15 – Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

3) Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness – please just let that sink in for a while. God has left nothing undone concerning His provision for your eternal life and for your current needs in order to help you to live a godly life here and now.
How has He done that?
By giving you access to His life giving truth through presenting you the opportunity, ability and assistance to know Him and to know Jesus Christ in truth;
By His divine power, calling, glory and excellence.

4) He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises,

In order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature.

5-9) Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence,
In your faith supply moral excellence,
And in your moral excellence, knowledge,
And in your knowledge, self-control,
And in your self-control, perseverance,
And in your perseverance, godliness,
And in your godliness, brotherly kindness,
And in your brotherly kindness, love.
For if these qualities are yours and are increasing,
They render you neither useless nor unfruitful
In the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted,
Having forgotten his purification from his former sins.

These are the eight steps to spiritual maturity.
We will examine them in detail.

Hebrews 13, the final section of our Hebrews study outline

Hebrews 13

1) Brotherly love is of primary concern: For unity within the Church; for witness to the world; for effective ministry. 
Who is my brother? – Gal.6:10 – “Especially those who are of the household of the faith.” 
Eph. 2:18-19 – “You are of God’s household.” I Jn.3:1-2 –“We (believers) are the children of God.” There is to be a special bond of love between the members of the Body of Jesus Christ that goes beyond earthly ties of brotherhood, or love of neighbor and certainly beyond love of enemies. Jn.13:35 – “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
2) Hospitality for its own sake is in view here; the angel thing is secondary but important. Angels are real and they walk among us, period.
3) The prisoners in view here are the ones that have been in view all along (Heb.10:34); Christians who are persecuted and in prison for their faith in Christ. They are members of “the body” as the text states. If you want to visit criminals that are in jail for civil crimes that’s fine, it is just not a biblical mandate as some have interpreted it to be.
4) We live in a strange day when marriage is under attack and is no longer considered to be what it once was. The term marriage has been redefined and is no longer “honorable” as defined here in the bible. Surely this is a sign of the end of the age (II Tim.3:1-5) and of the demise of the Judeo-Christian ethic in America and of the perversion of morality in our modern world.
5) “Let your character be free from love of money.” (Not greedy but liberal and generous). Obviously this is something we can do or it wouldn’t be stated this way.
In other words – don’t be consumed with the pursuit of wealth to the point of losing sight of your dependence upon God’s desire, ability and promise to provide for your daily needs if you will ask Him. Our character is not set in stone. With the help of the Holy Spirit we can develop a more godly one. To lose sight of this is a trap to be avoided and one we can easily fall into. I Tim.6:6 – Godliness with contentment is great gain. II Cor.9:7- God loves a cheerful giver. Phil.4:11-13 - I have learned to be content...I can do all things through Christ (in all circumstances concerning want or in plenty). Phil.4:19 - My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Mt.6:11 – “Give us this day our daily bread.”
Jas.4:2-3 – You have not because you ask not... or you ask with wrong motives.
Mat.6:31-34 – “Do not be anxious then...about food, drink or clothing...God knows that you need these things. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.”
6) “What shall man do to me?” Ultimately, concerning eternal things, man can do nothing to the child of God; but here in this world and for now in this time, unfortunately, man can do much in many ways. We live in a world filled with evil and evil doers. We have God’s promises to sustain us, but do not be deceived by misapplying those promises. Christians are not exempt from the consequences of the actions of evil men in the world. Particularly of such men who may be in positions of worldly power. But remember – “I have overcome the world!” Jn.16:33.
7) Beginning with the Apostles and including evangelist, teachers and pastors. This admonition is predicated upon the fact that God is the one who appoints the proper leaders in the Church. Eph.4:11.

The immutability of Jesus Christ; an attribute of deity only. Heb.1:10-12. Any teaching that would alter or reinterpret the original teachings of Jesus is to be rejected. Gal.1:6-9

9) There seems to be no end to the strange teachings that keep coming around, to challenge our complete salvation and freedom in Christ. A tenacious and persistent strange teaching (the particular one in view here again) is the ever present call to return to the bondage of the Law, including the dietary restrictions.

10) The food that we partake of from our altar; (“our altar” is the cross symbolically, or more literally that which is in heaven – see Heb.9:12; Rev.1:5). Our food is the Bread of Life. Jn.6:35.
Those that find Christ’s sacrifice to be insufficient and desire to be under the Law have disqualified themselves from partaking of the true life giving Bread.

11-12) The historical prophetic parallel between Old Covenant animal sacrifice and the one final New Covenant sacrifice is illuminated. What may have seemed like an insignificant detail is highlighted as a profound foreshadow of the necessity of the separation of the old from the new.

13) Let’s follow Jesus and leave the old behind.

14) Again; this world is about to pass away; God has promised to provide a new and unshakable home for us in the world to come; how foolish to cling to this world and loose the next world, which is far better.

15) Our “sacrifice of praise” includes our personal testimony of faith in Christ, our public praise and thanksgiving to God for His grace and mercy and our sharing of the gospel with others.

16) Do good to all men, as much as lies within your control and share the blessings of God in your life with others. Heb.12:14; Ro.15:19;

17) God has established a hierarchy in the Church; in the home; and in government. Eph.5:23; Ro.13:1.

18-19) A personal request from the author; he obviously believed in the power of prayer and he sought the support of the brethren through prayer on his behalf, so should we.

29-21) The beautiful Hebrews benediction;
Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

22) He is saying “Please take to heart what I have said!” This expresses every teacher’s desire for his students. “I have written to you briefly.” I have kept it short, sweet and to the point. Or perhaps an alternate meaning could be to say “I have written to you with urgency.”

23) We are part of a great community of mutual care and concern. Circumstances are in flux.

24) Personal and corporate greetings from saints to saints.

25) “Grace be with you all.” May I add, Amen.

Hebrews 12:18-24 - chart

As we approach the last chapter of the book of Hebrews the author is focusing on some of the key topics that he has addressed within the letter. He is again emphasising the superiority of the New Covenant that is for the followers of Christ over the Old covenant of the Law. He uses an analogy, found in 12:18-24 to make his strong point. He compares the bondage of Mt. Sinai to the freedom of Mt. Zion.
I have covered this material in the previous outline (found below) but I thought a chart would be helpful to further illustrate the point. I have included a third mountain in my analysis, Mt. Calvary.

Gal.4:21-31 – Tell me, you who want to be under the law, do you not listen to the Law?
The present Jerusalem (slaves under the Law) and the Jerusalem above (free under grace).
Children according to the flesh and children according to promise.
Children of a bond woman and children of the free woman.

Hebrews 12:14-29

Hebrews 12:14-29

14) The hallmarks of a child of God: Peace and Holiness. (At least they should be)

Peacemaker – pursue/ follow peace with all men.
Mt.5:9 – Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.
Ro.14:4-23 – seek peace in relation to the weaker brother, for his sake.
Gal.5:22-23 – the fruit of the Spirit is peace, seek to develop the attitude of a peacemaker. 
Eph.4:1-7 – be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
I Thes.5:14-15 – help the weak, be patient with all men.
II Tim.2:22-26 – pursue peace and don’t be quarrelsome but gentle when correcting.
Jas.3:17-18 – But the wisdom from above is first pure (holy and undefiled), then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.
And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
I Pet.3:8-11 – seek peace and pursue it.

Sanctified life – pursue/ follow holiness; in order to see (know) the Lord.
I Pet.1:16 – “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
Ro.6:22-23 – Having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. (Whereas before you lived under the curse of death as the result of your sinful actions, your wages; now it is God who is at work producing holiness and a sanctified life; eternal life); Christ is our sanctifier – Heb.2:10-11.
II Cor.6:17 – “Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord, “And do not touch what is unclean.”
II Cor.7:1 – let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
Phil.3:7-14 – the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith ... Not that I have already attained it or have already become perfect ... I press onward toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
I Thes.3:12-3 – may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all men ... may He establish your hearts unblamable in holiness.
Heb.12:10 – He disciplines us for our own good that we may share in His holiness.
I Pet.3:10-13 – What kind of people should we be?

Without sanctification and holiness one cannot see the Lord. (Now or in the future).
Mt.5:8 – Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
I Cor.13;12 – Then we shall see face to face.
Eph.5:1-9 – no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
I Jn.3:2-8 – no one who practices sin has seen Him or knows Him.
Rev.22:3-4 – His bond servants shall serve Him; and they shall see His Face.

15) See to it! This is something that we must do ourselves.
Live in the fullness of the grace of God.
Be on the lookout for bitterness in the fellowship because it can defile many.

16) Esau desired the material world with its comforts and appetites over the spiritual realm and the promise of better things to come. Be aware that this same spirit of worldliness is alive and well in the Church today and it is deadly.

17) There is a point of no return and there are consequences to our choices and to our actions.
18-21) The characteristics of the Old Covenant are highlighted to remind those who were desirous of returning to it, of the grave consequences of failing to keep it perfectly.
From the very beginning at Mt. Sinai it was a fearful thing; ominous and threatening- Ex.19:10-25; 20:18-22.
As we have seen throughout this entire epistle, this was a constant issue with these folks (Hebrew believers), they wanted to return to the familiarity of the Law.
Unfortunately, this problem has not gone away; many who declare themselves to be members of the blood bought Church of Jesus Christ are still seeking to be justified or to maintain their justification by keeping the Old Covenant laws, or by following some other set of rules and regulations.
It is the age old question of salvation by Grace alone through Faith in Christ alone versus Salvation through some kind of self performed works (Autosoterism/ self- salvation).
Ro.319-20 – No one will be declared righteous in His sight by keeping the Law.
Ro.6:14 – You are not under the Law.
Gal.2:15-21 – A man is not justified by observing the Law... I do not set aside the Grace of God,
For if righteousness could be gained through the Law, then Christ died for nothing.
Gal.3:6-14 – All who rely on observing the Law are under a curse.
Deut.27:26 – The Law requires complete obedience and conformity to all of its requirements. It is not possible for one to be justified by keeping the Law imperfectly; No man, with the exception of Jesus Christ, ever kept the Law perfectly. Therefore, no man outside of Jesus Christ can ever be justified by keeping the Law. Only cursing can come from trying and failing to keep the Law.
Ro.10:4 – Jesus Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

22-24) For the purpose of contrast; the characteristics of the New Covenant are highlighted.
The differences between the dispensation of the Law and the dispensation of Grace are striking and obvious to see.
We have come to Mt. Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.
Phil.3:20 - Our citizenship is in heaven
Lk.10:20 – “Rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”
Eph.1:4 – He chose us, in Christ, before the foundation of the world.
Rev.13:8 – The names of the saved have been written in the Lambs Book of Life since before the foundation of the world.
(This is the correct understanding of this text. The order of the sentence structure in the Greek has caused some confusion as to the proper translation into English.
A proper smooth translation reads – “And all who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world, in the book of Life of the Lamb who has been slain.”)

25) “Do not refuse Him” (Jesus, the mediator of a New Covenant); “Take heed to the warning.” The implications are obvious; we are required to respond to the call of God and equally obviously we are capable of refusing to do so. “Do not turn away from Him who warns from heaven.”
Gal.4:21-31 – Tell me, you who want to be under the law, do you not listen to the Law?
The present Jerusalem (slaves under the Law) and the Jerusalem above (free under grace).
Children according to the flesh and children according to promise.
Children of a bond woman and children of the free woman.

26) His voice shook the earth then – Ex.19:18.
He has promised – Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens – Hag.2:6.
II Pet.3:10 – The heavens and the earth will pass away with a roar.
27) “Yet once more” – A removing of the old (world) and the replacing with the new (heavens and earth) – Hag.2:1-7 – The new will be far better than the old. (Just like the temple).
Heb.1:10-12 – He created them in the 1st place and He will recreate them. They will be changed.
Is.13:13; 34:4; 65:17; Ezek.38:20; Joel 3:16; Mt.24:35; Rev.21:1-7, 20-22.

28) Therefore; we have reason to rejoice like never before!
Rev.11:15-19 – “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.” This is a prophecy that has yet to be fulfilled.
(The entire 2nd half of the Great Tribulation period is released at the blowing of the 7th trumpet. All of the bowl judgments are “contained”, as it were, in the 7th trumpet. This declaration by the voice and that of the 24 elders are proleptic, they are made in the aeviternal heaven and amount to a declaration of the certainty of the outcome; following the initiation of the events mentioned, by the blowing of the trumpet. The statements are in the aorist tense, indicating a completed action that continues into the future; this is an affirmation that all of this will come to pass without fail.)
Mt.6: 10 – “Thy kingdom come!”
Mt. 25:34 – Come, now, finally, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
It is an eternal, unshakable kingdom – Is.9:7; Dan.2:44; 7:14, 27; Lk.1:33; I Pet.1:4-5.

Let us show gratitude to God, in practical ways.
Ro.12:1-2 – I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship...

With reverence and awe.
Ps.2:11 – Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
Ps.89:7 – God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about Him.
Rev.15:1-4 – Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? (Before the bowls).

29) Our God is a consuming fire! (Deut.4:24).
Ex.24:17 – Like a devouring fire in the eyes of the children of Israel.
Ps.97:1-6 – A fire goes before Him and burns up His enemies.
Is.66:15-16 – For behold, the Lord will come in fire,
The Lord will execute judgment by fire and by His sword on all flesh.

Out with the old and in with the new.
All things that defile God’s good creation will be done away with.

Back to II Pet.3:1-18 – But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.... But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.
All of the biblical writers are emphasizing the same thing; we have tremendous reasons to be grateful to God for our future inheritance of the eternal, unshakable, holy and pure kingdom of God. This should serve to inspire us and cause us to want to offer back to God our very best worship and service. This world is not our final home; there is a better one coming for us, soon!