The Word of God discovering, the great High Priest delivering from, the apostate's sin.
This completes the argument in this section (Hebrews 3:1-19. and 4) on the sin of apostasy. Having brought his readers face to face with the awful peril of departure from the Son of God, we might suppose the writer had reached the limit of the subject. But not so; he goes on to say that this sin and doom may be true of some whose defection is hidden in the heart. But he cannot relinquish the subject there. This searching admonition closes with the revelation of the great High Priest, who will deliver those who come to him from the guilt of apostasy. Subject—The Word of God discovering, the great High -Priest delivering from, the apostate's sin.
I. THE WORD OF GOD DETECTS AND JUDGES THE SIN OF APOSTASY. "The Word of God" here probably alludes to that particular word in the ninety-fifth psalm, on which, in both these chapters, the writer has built his argument.
1. This Word is permanent. "Quick," i.e. not dead. The Word of threatening to Israel lives still. It has not to do only with a former generation. Time makes no difference to what God has said. His Word never dies; it is as true now as when it was uttered. The principles which underlie the Divine sayings are everlasting.
2. This Word is efficient. "Powerful," or active. Its utterances are always followed by corresponding results. Laws in an earthly statute-book may not be executed; he who made them may not have intended to enforce them, or has changed his mind about them, or has lost the power to carry them into effect. It can never be so with the Divine laws. God "is not man, that he should lie, nor the son," etc "hath he spoken, and shall he not do it?" He is always in one mind, and nothing can change him. Men forget that because of his long-suffering; but it is true.
3. This Word is destructive. "Sharper than," etc. To divide the soul from the spirit is equal to the parting of the body from the spirit; it is another expression for "to produce death." And this is said to be in the most painful way. Nothing could produce intenser pain or more certain death than the "dividing asunder of the joints and marrow." The figure declares that the threatenings of God will be executed with an awful intensity of suffering and completeness of destruction.
4. This Word is penetrating. "Quick to discern," etc. (the sudden transition from the penetrating power of the Word to that of God is natural. The habitual thought of Scripture in this Epistle is that of a direct Divine utterance; God and his Word are one). "Naked, and laid open," paraphrased by "turned inside out." Its demands have as much to do with heart as life, with principles as doings. There may be no outward departure, but inner backsliding; and if so, the Word discovers and judges it.
II. FROM THE SIN OF APOSTASY OUR HIGH PRIEST IS ABLE TO DELIVER US. How delightful to be able to turn from the preceding to this: "Having a great, etc."! From the fears excited we are bidden to look up to our Priest-King in the heavens.
1. The guilt of apostasy needs atonement. That need is met in the vision of Jesus as High Priest passed within the veil, to present on our behalf the blood of sprinkling, which cries for and secures mercy. "The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth," etc.
2. The temptation to apostasy needs help. That need, also, is met in the vision of Jesus as High Priest, Intercessor. He bears no jeweled names on his breast, but his people's names are graven on those hands ever stretched toward the throne in prayer. "Simon, Simon, Satan hath," etc. Therefore "let us hold fast."
3. The resistance of apostasy needs sympathy. To refuse to be unfaithful often brings suffering. To cleave to Christ meant to these Hebrews the spoiling of their goods, etc. The need that brings solace and help is also met in the vision of Christ as High Priest. The "yet without sin" draws him nearer; for, to maintain a sinless heart and character, he must have experienced the keenest pains of self-crucifixion and temptation, and therefore knows this suffering at its greatest, and "is able to succor those," etc.
III. TO OBTAIN OUR HIGH PRIEST'S DELIVERING HELP WE MUST DRAW NEAR TO THE THRONE OF GRACE.
1. He who has apostatized is invited, for Christ is the sinner's High Priest. "We have a High Priest." Who? "Jesus belongs to the sinner." He is given to save; then he belongs to the man who needs saving. Have we part in his sacrifice? is answered by another question—Do you need it? Let such draw near.
2. He who has suffered in resisting apostasy is invited, for we may come "saying all." "Let us draw near with boldness;" literally, "saying all." We cannot tell our fears, sufferings, temptations, victories, to any creature, and our hearts get full for want of one to understand our deepest experience. Then we may go to Christ, and at his feet make a clean breast of everything, "saying all." "Pour out your hearts before him," etc. Let such draw near.
3. He who is tempted to apostasy is invited, for here "mercy and grace" are given. Mercy and grace are free—free to the undo-serving. Mercy for the past, grace for the future. Let those whose sin and infirmity and circumstances need these draw near, for such are welcome.—C.N.
HOMILIES BY J.S. BRIGHT
Believers in Israel and in Christ.
I. THE RESEMBLANCE BETWEEN THE PROMISE AND PROSPECT OF ANCIENT ISRAEL AND BELIEVERS IN CHRIST, The Hebrew people had a promise which was given to Abraham as trustee for his descendants, which was that after many years of suffering in Egypt they should be released from slavery and oppression, and. be led to the rest and enjoyment of Canaan. It was a promise which signifies the spontaneous declaration of the kindness and mercy of Jehovah, and flowed from his love toward Israel. It is a beam from the "Father of lights," who prevents us with the blessings of goodness, and meets us with the offers of grace and loving-kindness. This thought pervades the gospel, which is the free and unsolicited gift of God to the world; for there was no cry of spiritual distress and no agony of remorse which prompted men to desire salvation. The whole of the Christian system is suffused with the light and beauty of the "promises of him who cannot lie." This required on the part of Israel suitable and becoming exertion. They were to set forth from Egypt, and then listen to his Law at Sinai, and march under the Divine guidance, that God might bring upon them all that he had spoken. Similarly believers in our Lord are to "work out their salvation with fear and trembling," and are to leave the things that are behind and reach forth to those that are before. Israel had one thing to do; and those who believe in Christ are to seek the end of their faith in their admittance into the Father's house, where, instead of perishable tent and frequent change, there are many mansions of stability and eternal peace. It is a promise of rest. The Hebrews felt that in Egypt they did not belong to the nation in whose country they dwelt. They had no thought of permanence, no civil freedom, no security of person, and no fruit from their exacted labors. It may be believed that the promise and prospect of Canaan silently influenced their hearts and quickened desires for emancipation. The prospect of rest began to be very precious as suffering abounded; and at the appointed time they rose to commence the journey to the Promised Land. Those who believe in the Captain of salvation have a Diviner hope, and are taught to look for a Divine and eternal rest, which shall embrace more blessedness than we can at present imagine. It stands in happy contrast to the toil of daily life and the sight of imperfection in ourselves and others. It signifies rest from the stern duties of the mortification and crucifixion of the flesh. It is freedom from the changeableness of our present life, in which there is nothing stable in our emotions, our relationships, and the society of which we form a part. It is a blessed contrast to the mixed condition of the present state in which there are evil men and frequent doubts. Believers often look towards this divinely promised rest to encourage patience amidst the pressure of sickness and the force and frequency of temptation. It is, therefore, no wonder that Richard Baxter, who was burdened with frequent sickness, and tried by the controversies and troubles of his day, should find relief in writing his 'Saint's Rest,' which was at once the fruit of his painful experience and his spiritual desire for the rest of heaven.
II. THE CAUTION GIVEN TO CHRISTIANS LEST THEY RESEMBLE ANCIENT ISRAEL IN THEIR FAILURE TO GAIN THEIR REST. The prospect of Canaan was a gospel, or good tidings, to the Hebrews, since it assured them of a happy change in their condition. It brought before them the hope of freedom and the possession of a land, which had a fertile soil and a genial climate. It promised them the blessing of the Divine protection, ordinances of worship, and life closed in peace and hope of the future. This was good tidings to them. Good tidings of great joy are made known to us. They were announced by our Lord, who came to seek and save that which was lost, and to offer the blessings of salvation from sin now, and the perfection of our nature in the life and immortality which he has brought to light. He offers us pardon, justification, and the indwelling of the Spirit, who becomes the earnest of the purchased possession. Many of the people who started from Egypt never reached Canaan; and Moses saw that many year after year died and were buried in the wilderness, and exclaimed, "We are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled." They failed in faith, and doubted the promises of the God of their fathers. Had they believed their faith would have been turned into sight, and their hope into happy fruition. The Word did not profit them, for they came short of the rest and blessedness of Canaan. The warning which was given to Jewish believers, and is conveyed through them to others of succeeding ages, reminds us of the vast and fatal effects of unbelief. The truth which they heard was not felt and held as a Divine utterance. It teaches us that the gospel should be so admitted to influence and govern us, that it should be a part of our nature, as food received and digested becomes a part of our living structure. It is faith which gives it a presence and power in the vital forces of our souls. It unites the truth to our spiritual nature with a close and blessed association; and verifies the word of St. James, who describes it as "the engrafted Word, which is able to save our souls." The importance of faith is to be seen in our Lord's constant requirement of its presence for the attainment of salvation. The apostles follow in his hallowed footsteps, and urge believers to cherish this Divine grace lest their career should end in disappointment and failure. To come short of Canaan was a calamity, because there was a loss of good, and life was closed under the gloomy sense of transgression; but to lose the glorious inheritance of eternal life is more affecting as the awful future outweighs the small and fading interests of the life that now is. The possibility of such a loss is sufficient to awaken fear.—B.