Promise thru Paul 319: Meat to discern good and evil

319. Meat to Discern Good and Evil

Hebrews 5:14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

“Strong meat” is the Word of God. The Word of God helps us discern good and evil. The connection between the Word and discernment may not seem obvious at first glance, but a little thought sees the connection. The Word is the revelation of the mind and the will of God. God is perfectly good without taint of anything evil whatsoever. The promise is that we can discern both good and evil better and better with practice and exercise. The inspired Word is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness. This makes sense because the manufacturer of the heaven and the earth, the universe in which we live, wrote an owner’s manual about how it works and how best to live in the Creation; but especially the manual instructs us in how best to know God and live in a pleasant relationship with Him.

“Strong meat” is healthy nourishment for healthy living. When we are young spiritual children we need the milk of the Word and are not yet ready for solid food. But it doesn’t take long to mature into the need for solid food. A Christian grows spiritually by having his senses exercised by the solid food of the Word. The more we go to church, attend Sunday school, and study the Bible in groups or personally the stronger we grow in knowledge of God and discernment in living a good life.

“Discerning good and evil” is an interesting phrase because eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is what got us all into serious trouble in the first place. Now Adam and I know both Good and Evil in a relational way and may choose either way; the problem is that we always choose the Evil if I think I get some personal advantage out of it. I, and all people, do not have the ability to choose God or the good (which I always did before the Fall, before I knew evil instead of just God.) So God sent the Redeemer to bring me back to the true and only God, to know Him alone. 

Many parents say, “I don’t know what happened to my son; he was brought up to know the difference between good and evil.” But “knowing” the difference does not give one the ability to choose God and Good. Repenting and believing in Christ gives one the desire and ability to choose and do the good and to reject and avoid the evil. It is the desire and ability to discern that distinguishes eating of the “Tree” and eating of the “Meat.” The solid food of the Word of God grows and strengthens the discernment, choice, desire, and ability to actually do the good and shun the evil. That is the promise of what solid food, Law and Gospel, does for us.

Promise thru Paul 318: Eternal Salvation

318. Eternal Salvation

Hebrews 5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.

Jesus became the author of eternal salvation for all who believe in him. Jesus wrote the book on eternal salvation. He carried out, began, and finished salvation for all. “Eternal” means salvation is available all the time for all time. Salvation from the Enemies that would destroy us is right now, when we are assailed, and for the eternal future. One Day the enemies of life will be put away forever. Then we shall be free, because Jesus wrote it up for each person. And it is legally valid.

Jesus had to be made perfect in order to author our salvation. Jesus, according to his Divine nature was already perfect, since God is perfectly righteous, pure, and holy. But He still had to be made perfect according to His Human nature. First, He had to be made human by the miraculous virgin birth, and being human he was made subject to the possibility of sin. He was tempted to sin as a human, but He overcame the temptation throughout His life and remained sinless. Second, He had to live a sinless and holy life to be made a perfect human being. And so He was made a perfect Human, born a human and lived fully as a man but without sinning. He was neither born nor lived in sin.

Jesus had to be “made perfect” as a human being so that He could properly and fully take our place as the perfect man. He accomplished that goal, for our sake. Then His innocent suffering and death could be substitutionary. He took our place under Sin and the Wages of Sin, which is death. Since He was perfect as a man in our place, He did not suffer punishment for His sin but for ours. By faith in Christ we have what Christ has, as a man: unassailable perfection that saves us from Death for the eternal kingdom of God. It saves us from a wasted life of sin for good works. This is enough to make life worth living. Jesus Christ authored such an eternal salvation.

Promise thru Paul 317: Throne of Grace

317. Throne of Grace

Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

The throne to which God promises us access is a throne of grace. Jesus has opened the way to that throne so that we may come boldly and confidently before God the Father with our needs, requests, prayers and thanksgivings. It is a throne of grace because we have free access to it, and it is a throne of grace also because we can expect to receive mercy and grace from God Almighty. If we could not confidently expect mercy and grace from the Lord upon the throne we would probably not come to God, or at least we would not come boldly.

But grace is there on the throne, because of Christ, to help us when we need it. God helps and will help all the time, but especially in time of need we must know that grace is there. The earning of the help has already been earned by Jesus, and all that is left for us to do is “come boldly.” The Holy Spirit comes with the Gospel to give us the boldness (faith) to receive mercy and grace. We always need grace to help, but sometimes we feel the need more desperately, as the pressures of life grow heavier. It is then that we need this promise. Just knowing that there is a throne of grace, and the King has already extended the scepter of acceptance into His Presence, is enough to give us boldness to enter.

It is true that w are alive every day we live because of mercy and grace; if God withdrew His mercy for an instant we would cease to exist. It is also true that we have eternal life because of mercy and grace; without mercy and grace we would be eternally dead. It is also true that we have access to God any time because of mercy and grace; without mercy and grace the Lord could not hear our prayers. We may not always sense a need, but we always have grace to help. The throne of grace is eagerly waiting your approach.

Promise thru Paul 316: Great High Priest

316. Great High Priest

Hebrews 4:14, 15 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

God promises a great high priest that is presently in the heavenly realm. He has already made the final and only sacrifice for our sins to open the way into the eternal presence and glory of God. Jesus made the sacrifice and He Himself is the sacrifice. We can be certain beyond a doubt that God the Father has accepted that sacrifice and that He is pleased with Him and His sacrifice forever. For this reason Christ is call “great.” The work is finished, the price is paid in full, and the sacrifice is made once and for all.

The ongoing positive effects of the work of the Priest are also in place. The great high priest continues to plead our case before God, the Almighty Judge. Because of Christ we have 24/7 access to the throne of grace. In His Name we pray and for His sake God hears. The Priest is interceding for us continually. He has each of us individually in mind while He presents our daily needs to God. Our sighs and breathed prayers are presented before the Father as articulate petitions. This is what a High Priest does: He prays for us.

This great high priest is also a man, a complete human being. This priest is touched with the feeling of our weaknesses and infirmities. He knows what it is like to be subject to pain and death, helplessness and powerlessness. He knows what it is like to be tempted as we are. He knows what it is like to entrust oneself into the hands of someone else. He knows how to let go and let God. He knows exactly what we are going through, and He also knows how it will end. Our priest in the heavens is not an angel who cannot sympathize with the human condition. Our priest is not only God who may or may not have mercy. Our priest is a human being like us who knows what we need; and He is also God who is able to meet our human needs. Because of this Priest we know God cares, and we know He hears. And He saves.

Promise thru Paul 315: Word divides and discerns

315. The Word of God Divides and Discerns

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

We have the Word of God that is quick, powerful, and sharp. This is what it is. The promise for us is what it does: the Word divides soul and spirit and it discerns the intents of the heart. Essentially the Word of God tells us the truth, and it reveals to us what is really going on contrary to our flawed perception of things. What we see can be deceiving; what God reveals gives us the truth.

First, we can count on the Word to divide soul and spirit. The soul is sinful, corrupt, deceitful, and fatally flawed. It sees only through the physical eyes of the body and it cannot see God or believe Him. The spirit, on the other hand, is where the Holy Spirit dwells in the believer; it always tells the truth, reveals righteousness and purity, opens the eyes of faith to see the spiritual kingdom where God reigns. The words of Jesus are spirit and truth. And the Spirit, who enters through the Gospel, guides us into all truth, and the truth sets us free. The Spirit uses the Word of God to separate truth from lie, wheat from chaff, kernel from husk. He convinces us of the truth, even truth that at times appears contrary to sight. These are the eternal things of God, like, love, forgiveness, grace, mercy, goodness, kindness, salvation, eternal life, and many other spiritual blessings (which, by the way, we are looking for in this blog post). These truths are separated from the deceptions and lies that come from the soul, originate from Satan, are delivered by the World, and resonate with our sinful flesh. Thank God for the Word that unveils truth to the eyes of faith. By the power of the Word and the Spirit we are enabled to see the difference.

Second, we can count on the Word of God to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart. It reveals the conflict between God’s will and my own will. It discovers selfish and godly motivations. Why do we do what we do? Where do these thoughts come from? Am I motivated by love of self or  love of God and others? I thought I did a good thing, but the Word shows me it was really selfish. The Spirit and the Word show me that, leading me to repent and believe the Gospel. The Gospel empowers me to decide and do the right thing for the right reason. Thank God for the promise of the Word that discerns my own thoughts better than my own sinful human reason. How often my own thoughts and intents lead me astray, while the Word is a light unto my path.

Promise thru Paul 314: Enter into Rest

314. Enter into Rest

Hebrews 4:3 For we which have believed do enter into rest as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall inter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. Hebrews 4:9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.

Believers in Christ enter into rest. Matthew 11:28: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob promised rest to the children of Israel after delivering them from slavery in Egypt; they would enter into His rest in the land flowing with milk and honey. God would give them the land, but they would have to possess it. Possessing = believing; entering = believing; coming to Jesus = believing. Believing in Jesus is resting; or better, it is receiving and enjoying the rest provided by God.

“Resting” is granted to those who labor and are heavily burdened. Resting is granted to those who labored in slavery. Resting is granted to those who struggle against sin, strive to be good, labor to succeed, try hard to do good works. Sin, Death and the Devil are extremely cruel slave masters: they force hard labor upon us, give no rest and comfort, wear us out and wear us down for no reward, and, on top of that, the end result of slave labor is cruel torment and painful death, despair and eternal suffering. Then Jesus comes with Good News: “I will give you rest.” Jesus fulfills the promise given in the “type” of Israel entering the rest of the Promised Land.

God created the universe in six days and rested on the Seventh Day. After God’s work of redeeming people He invites us to enter into rest, His rest. God made the work and God made the rest. He did the work for us and He gives us His earned rest from His work. Life is toil, trouble and hard work because of the curse upon Adam and all descendants. But then God went to work to give us rest. The actual work that we are engaged in is fighting against Sin, Death and Satan. This work is constant and we need a break. Jesus gives us a break. We trust in Christ, and so we rest in Him. “Cease striving, and know that I am God.” It really means relax; God has already done all the hard work, in fact, “the works were finished from the foundation of the world.” God planned it all out and carried it all out unto completion. Then He graces us with rest in the midst of work and struggle, toil and trouble. We take hold of the promise by relaxing in Christ and His finished work. Our rest and salvation was determined in God’s mind at Creation; it was executed in the death and life of Jesus; and it will be forever finished at the Last Day.

Promise thru Paul 313: Partakers of Christ

313. Partakers of Christ

Hebrews 3:14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end.

God promises us that we are made partakers of Christ. The key to the promise is that becoming a partaker is something that God did: “we are made” by the initiative, action and keeping of God; it is not something that we do; partaking of Christ is not something that we do; we do not make it happen; we do not decide to accept Jesus or believe in Him by an effort of our own will; we do not try to be Christ-like or imitate Christ with our own fleshly power; we cannot just ask, “What would Jesus do?” and then go and do it.

Being made partakers of Christ means salvation; we are saved from Sin, Death, and the Devil, and we are saved from the world and the sentence of death placed upon it; and we are saved for God, His eternal kingdom, for life, and for the good works in which we walk. Grace and mercy make it happen: grace means God did it; mercy means we didn’t earn the blessings of God’s life within. We receive salvation by faith, the faith that the Holy Spirit created in us through the Gospel. By faith we identify with Christ. Partaking of Christ means that we livewith Christ, we were crucified, died and buried with Christ, we were raised with Christ from death, we ascended with Christ; we sit with Him and reign with Him in the heavenly places, and we will come with Christ to judge at the end of time. All of this we have done; everything Jesus did we share in by faith. When we confess our faith in the Creed we partake in Christ and His work of salvation; we confess that He did it for me and we believe and confess that I am doing it all with Him.

What Christ did is awesome; that He did it for me is unbelievable; but that He makes be do it all with Him is even more incredible. God, through the Gospel, makes me a partaker. It is God who makes me partake of Christ when I partake of Him in Holy Communion. It is God who makes me partake of Christ when I die to self and rise to fresh life in remembering my Baptism. It is God who makes me partake of Christ when I hear the Gospel. He loves us so much that He lets us partake in the good works that He is doing in us and through us. He get the credit for it and we get the blessing of every good work.  And, finally, it is God who will hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end. And that is another promise. God wills it and God keeps His promise. And we pray it: “Thy will be done.”

Promise thru Paul 312: Help the Tempted

312. Help the Tempted

Hebrews 2:18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.

Jesus is able to help those who are tempted. “The tempted” includes you, me, and everybody else. Jesus Himself was tempted just like all people are, with the difference being that He never gave in to the temptation. No one can say to God, “Yes, but you don’t know what it’s like for me.” Jesus knows. He’s been there. And He can help. He knows how to help, because He knows what it’s like to be tempted and He knows what it’s like to overcome all the temptations that are common to all men. It is one thing to have a fellow human being understand because he or she has been through the same experience, but it is quite another thing to have this human being understand because He, too, has been through the same temptation; but He has defeated the temptation and He is more that willing to help us overcome as well.

He knows we are weak, and He knows we don’t have the strength to resist the temptation on our own; therefore, He is there to help and give succor. We just need to ask: “Lead us not into temptation.” But often we don’t have because we do not ask. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” [James 1:5]. Sometimes we don’t ask because we like the temptation, and we don’t really want help. So we can’t blame God; we can simply repent, believe, and ask for help. He promises to give it; He promises to help those who are tempted, especially if one asks for it. Asking for help simply means admitting that my flesh is weak, no matter how willing my spirit might be. Trust in God: believe Him and confess, “I need help.” You know that Jesus is there, willing and able to help. Use the promise.

Promise thru Paul 311: Faithful High Priest

311. Faithful High Priest

Hebrews 2:17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.

Jesus was made in every way a human being like us so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest to represent us before God. The promise is that He made reconciliation for the sins of the people. The role of the High Priest was to speak to God for the people, to be a mediator between man and God, to pray for the people, and finally, to reconcile the people with God. Jesus was anointed by the Spirit to fulfill all of these roles for our sake.

The High Priest in the OT made sacrifices for the people to bring them to God. In the case of Jesus, however, Jesus is both the priest who makes the sacrifice and the victim who is sacrificed. Jesus, as priest, sacrifices Himself; He is the sacrificial lamb. By His sacrificial death on the cross Christ reconciled all people to God.

Jesus accomplished this completely once, and only once, for all time and for all sins ever for all people. He does not, cannot, and will not make another sacrifice, since the one sacrifice is sufficient for all. Jesus continues as our High Priest today and every day continually reminding us (and reminding the Father, by the way) that He absolutely died for all our sins, and reminding us of our reconciliation with God. He guarantees God’s love for us; it is absolute, unconditional, and forever.

But there is more: on the basis of His once-for-all sacrifice we can pray in Jesus’ name before the Father and we can be sure He hears us. And even more, on the basis of His one time intercession Jesus Himself continually intercedes for us, pleading on our behalf, and overcoming all the Enemies of our souls. These troubles are constant, showing up like little foxes in the garden, and we need a constant High Priest interceding for us on the ground of His eternal Sacrifice. We need it; we have it.

Promise thru Paul 310: Deliverance from Bondage to Death

310. Delivered from Bondage to Death

Hebrews 2:15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

God promises to deliver us from Sin, Death, and the Devil; we pray: “Deliver us from evil.” The great evil that holds us in bondage our whole life long is Fear of Death. The death that is coming in our future has a way of reaching back into our present and keeping us as slaves. Death takes away the full enjoyment of life; and finally, death ends life altogether, except that death has been conquered by the resurrection of Christ, and now death has become the gateway to life that never ends.

Not only have we been delivered from death as a final end, but we have also been delivered from bondage to death. Death is not a cruel master for we are free. “Yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” Death cannot lord it over me and threaten me legitimately. Death has no claim.

But, even more important for daily life, is the promise of deliverance from fear of death. Fear of death is the basic ground of all fears and worries. Pain, sickness and injury are all little bits of death that erupt in regular life. Fear of loss of health is a piece of the fear of death. Fear of loss of money and ability to control life is also a biggie. The fears of broken and bitter relationships among family and friends also intrude on the full life. Worry and anxiety over many things can become all consuming; it consumes life. When we turn to God in trust He promises to deliver us from these “little deaths.” The fear of death and all its little cares and irritations will keep us in bondage until we avail ourselves of the promised deliverance. Trust in Jesus turns into answered prayer that delivers from bondage to death. The Lord commanded us to pray and promised to hear, so we respond in prayer ”that our heavenly Father would save us from every evil to body and soul, and at our last hour would mercifully take us from the troubles of this world to himself in heaven.” (Luther).

Jesus may not always heal us from physical or mental illness miraculously (though He may), but He does promise to deliver us from the evil of it. We can count on this promise because “Jesus Christ is risen today.”