Joshua and Judges: Crossing the Jordan - Obeying God's delegated authority, part 19. Jos 1:16-18; survey of Heb.

Title: Joshua and Judges: Crossing the Jordan - Obeying God's delegated authority, part 19. JOS 1:16-18; survey of Heb.   

 

Announcements / opening prayer:

 

 

Amongst the Jewish communities in the first century there were believers and unbelievers. Some of the unbelieving Jews attended the Christian fellowships and learned of Christ, for often the meeting places were in synagogues, but they had not yet put their faith in Him as their Savior. We might label these professing Christians. They had not made up their minds as to the true nature of Jesus of Nazareth. These were in danger of returning to Judaism for good.

 

There were also the Jewish believers who were in danger of returning to the lifestyle of Judaism just to avoid persecution. And then there were the Jewish believers who were completely sold out. These were the ones that the writer speaks of as willingly suffering with the community of Christians, and their danger was falling back because the persecution grew more intense.

 

The letter of Hebrews is addressed to all of them, including the unbelievers in the community who would hear the reading of the letter.

 

HEB 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;

 

HEB 10:24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,

 

HEB 10:25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near.

 

The context of this passage is the community of Jewish Christians who were being persecuted for being Christian and so they were tempted not to gather together with the community of believers for the study of the word of God, celebrating the Lord's supper, and serving the body in the capacity God had granted them. The community tried to make them feel embarrassed or shamed for fellowshipping with the Christian community.

 

Things shouldn't be read into passages that aren't there.

 

The situation of our day, which could not be envisioned in the first century, is the member of a local assembly who lives far away and is an internet listener, or as they were a few decades ago, a taper. They cannot physically attend Bible classes. So do they violate the instruction of this passage?

 

The sin in this passage is attributed to the believer who willingly avoids fellowship with the body of Christ because of persecution. They are embarrassed and shamed into shunning the Christians who publically gather together to worship God.

 

When an internet listener or listeners log on and listen they are in essence attending class with the rest of us. They are not too embarrassed so as to hide this from any inquiry. They are not too embarrassed or shamed to be a witness for Christ to their family, friends. neighbors, co-workers, etc. They support the local church through prayer, giving, and simply, by just listening. Our church could not physically function the way that it does without our internet listeners. That is a fact.

 

So by being unable to gather together physically with the local church, do they violate this passage? Absolutely not, and in fact, I believe that they show their courage to persevere with sound doctrine rather than to compromise the tenacity needed to inculcate truth on a regular basis by forsaking their God called church to physically attend a local building that is offering much less.

 

I have talked to some internet listeners over the years, who attend another church for the purpose of fellowship in addition to listening to classes on line and they attend a physical church because of this verse. This is not the requirement that is addressed in this passage. However, every believer has that right and if they are humbly and truly led to do so then they have every right and cannot be judged for it. If that particular church is teaching falsehood then they must honestly ask themselves if their attendance is lending support to falsehood, but this again is for their own consideration. But doing so does not fulfill the command of this passage once the context is understood.

 

In this way I want to encourage our internet listeners and I want to thank them for their dedication and service to the body of Christ.

 

Our fourth passage:

HEB 10:32 But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings,

 

HEB 10:33 partly, by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated.

 

HEB 10:34 For you showed sympathy to the prisoners, and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and an abiding one.

 

HEB 10:35 Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.

 

HEB 10:36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.

 

HEB 10:37 For yet in a very little while,

He who is coming will come, and will not delay.

 

HEB 10:38 But My righteous one shall live by faith;

And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him.

 

HEB 10:39 But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.

 

Like the warning in chapter 6, so the warning here is followed by words of reassurance and encouragement. Also included as before is the warning that the Lord is coming, and so to shrink back from God's plan or to delay recovery if one had already shrunk back from God's plan, he is risking running out of time before he recovers.

 

Would we want to be found as the one who hid the mina or as the one who was currently investing God's minas?

 

He does not wish to discourage them, but to embolden them as he admonishes them to persevere in the plan of God despite the persecutions.

 

There were bloody persecutions in Jerusalem in 33 when Steven was executed, in 44 when James the son of Zebedee was beheaded, and 62 AD, when James, the Lord's half brother, was stoned to death. Wherever these Jewish believers are they had not been targets in these persecutions or they had been in Jerusalem and then dispersed from Jerusalem to other parts of the empire as so many Christians did. Jerusalem was more of a city state. The decisions of the leadership there did not affect the rest of the empire and so Christians could and did flee to safer places within the empire.

 

The persecution to the church and her leaders began fairly early on.

 

1CO 4:9

For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men.

 

Also, the Jewish people were persecuted in certain areas of the empire at certain times, but not at all times, all over the empire.

When these pockets of persecutions occurred, the Romans did not distinguish between the Jewish unbelievers and the Jewish Christians.

 

If the ones addressed in the book of Hebrews were Jews in Rome it may be that they were a part of the edict of the emperor Claudius who imposed certain restrictions on them and then eight years later they were expelled from the city, AD 49. Evidence points to the reason being riots from conflicts among Jews and Jewish Christians who presided together in that community. Priscilla and Aquila were a part of that expulsion so we know that Christian Jews were a part of it.

 

Suetonius, says that Claudius “expelled the Jews from Rome because they were indulging in constant riots at the instigation of Chrestus.” [Life of Claudius, 23:4]

 

In Alexandria in 38 AD, the Jews of that city were forced to leave their homes in four of its five wards and were herded together in one ward. Their houses were looted and left bare and this was accompanied by public outrage towards the Jews and violence. Some years later this edict was rescinded. We can imagine the angst there was within the Jewish community that was so persecuted between the Jewish Christians and the Jewish unbelievers.

 

During the Jewish revolt against Rome in Jerusalem in AD 66, the Jewish communities of many cities throughout Syria and Palestine were the victims of riot and massacre. The Jewish Christians were in no way exempt from such assaults.

 

[so again]

HEB 10:32 But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings,

 

"Endured" is an athletic term, which shows that at the time they had met the challenge as good athletes of Christ and stood firm.

 

Yet now they are tempted to withdraw from the Christian community because the persecutions have gotten more severe.

 

Those of them who had not been personally exposed to suffering showed their solidarity with those who were directly attacked, and so shared the public scorn.

 

When some of their number were imprisoned, the others did not shrink from visiting them, even though in this way they ran the risk of being imprisoned themselves.

 

MAT 25:36

I was in prison, and you came to Me.'

 

At the time, prisoners who had no means of their own were liable to starve unless their friends brought them food and whatever other form of help they required; throughout the whole age of imperial persecution of the church the visiting of their friends who were in prison was a regular, though dangerous, duty of Christian charity.

 

In fact, they accepted this persecution in a spirit of Christian cheerfulness.

 

LUK 6:20 And turning His gaze on His disciples, He began to say, "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

 

LUK 6:21 "Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

 

LUK 6:22 "Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and cast insults at you, and spurn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man.

 

LUK 6:23 "Be glad in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets.

 

These are the persecuted. We are not to go hungry, take a vow of poverty, seek to be hated, always weep, look for insults, etc. as if we are initiating the undeserved suffering. We are to pick up our crosses and follow and so handle anything that God sees fit to allow.

 

Because of the various persecutions that the church faced, poverty, hunger, weeping, being hated, ostracized, insulted, spurned as evil were the realities of their lives. This is in no way an instruction to bring these things upon ourselves. If we did that we would be taking the reins or the steering wheel of the plan of God ourselves and attempting to create our own plan. When these things come, and they will in varying degrees in the lives of every believer, we are to continue to entrust our lives to a faithful Creator in doing what is right, and amazingly enough, we are to do so while being glad and leaping for joy, for behold, our reward is great in heaven.

 

And now comes a description of the persecutors. The persecutors of the church in the first few centuries were inevitably rich, well fed, jocular people, who were spoken well of in the community.  

 

LUK 6:24 "But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full.

 

LUK 6:25 "Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

 

LUK 6:26 "Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for in the same way their fathers used to treat the false prophets.

 

In the historical context of the persecutions that were to come upon the church, which the Lord the great Prophet knew would come:

 

The context of verse 24-26 refers to those who are the persecutors. At the time, the persecutors were the rich, well fed, laughing people who were spoken well of.

In context it is easy to see that the Lord is not saying that we should all be poor, malnourished, never laughing, and hated by everyone. It is not a sin to be rich or well fed or laughing, but this was the condition of the persecutors at the time, and when they saw the Christians who they persecuted in great hunger, rather than sharing food with them, they went right on gorging themselves. When they saw these Christians in great poverty because no one would buy from them or sell to them, they didn't give to them, but went right on reveling in their personal wealth. Wealth and plenty are not sins in themselves, but greed is. This behavior is the outward display of an unbelieving heart that is self-absorbed, cares for no one but self, spurns truth and instruction, and hates the people of God. During these persecutions, this was the description of the life of a great deal of the persecutors.

 

And now to the persecuted believers, the Lord instructs them just how to behave. And, soon after this, He would display this behavior Himself.

 

As with all things, first He would tell us the truth and then show the truth by example in his own life.

 

Remember, the context is being persecuted for being a witness for Christ or because you are a Christian.

 

Here we have another example of not reading into a passage what is not there.

 

Let's say an organization committed fraud or negligence and it caused a believer financial loss or loss of health. Was he persecuted because he was a Christian or because the company in question was greedy enough to break the law? If it is the latter then that believer, as a  citizen of the US has a right to pursue the proper legal procedures to be compensated for that loss. That is a legit and fair law in the US market based, capitalistic system, and  if we didn't have such laws the economy would break down. If a believer is the recipient of loss from another person or organization for the reason that he is a believer in Jesus Christ then according to Christ he should leave the results solely in the supreme court of heaven. Each believer must make his own decision and is only subject to evaluation by God alone.

 

LUK 6:27 "But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

 

LUK 6:28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

 

LUK 6:29 "Whoever hits you on the cheek [violence in persecution], offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.

 

This does not forbid the questioning of such violence in an appeal for the persecutor to see the wrong in his actions.

 

JOH 18:22-23

And when He had said this, one of the officers standing by gave Jesus a blow, saying, "Is that the way You answer the high priest?" Jesus answered him, "If I have spoken wrongly, bear witness of the wrong; but if rightly, why do you strike Me?"

 

LUK 6:30 "Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.

 

Again, persecution for being a Christian is in view. The Lord is not telling us to stand by idly while some violent criminal tries to murder our family or if a criminal, for the sake of his own greed, is attempting to steal our possessions. That is not a case of Christian persecution.

The Romans attempted to arrest Jesus' disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane. He protected them and did not allow their arrest.

 

What if someone simply asks you for all you possess. If you were to give it you would not be able to provide for your family, which is a sin. This is not a case of Christian persecution.

 

1TI 5:8

But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever.

 

In the early church persecution, some communities would not buy from or sell to Christians, which made them poor and they were powerless to do anything about it. In some cases they were thrown into prison or they were put to death and they were powerless to do anything about it, as in the first persecution of the church by the Sanhedrin, spearheaded by Saul of Tarsus. That is Christian persecution.

 

LUK 6:31 "And just as you want people to treat you, treat them in the same way.

 

This of course applies when they are not treating you properly.

 

LUK 6:32 "And if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.

 

LUK 6:33 "And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.

 

LUK 6:34 "And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, in order to receive back the same amount.

 

This is giving to those believers who are in need. As a believer, if you see a legitimate need in a fellow believer, you should fulfill it without expecting payment or receiving it back.

 

Thus says the Lord, it is more blessed for you to give than it is to receive.

 

LUK 6:35 "But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.

 

So what would lending be if nothing was expected in return? Giving.

 

LUK 6:36 "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

 

LUK 6:37 "And do not judge and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.

 

LUK 6:38 "Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return."

 

Many believers never experience the blessings that run over because they cling tightly to what they have and do not have the attitude of the Father, which is to give graciously to their fellow believers in need.