Wrestling Through Unbelief: Hebrews 12
THREE KEY ISSUES THAT TEMPT US TO DRAW BACK IN UNBELIEF: SIN, CHASTISEMENT, AND BITTERNESS (HEBREWS 12)
Hebrews 12:1-2 – Overcoming Sin that Ensnares and Weight: the first issue that is addressed that causes us to draw back from our promises and our future in Christ is the issue of finding ourselves stuck in sinful behaviors that are robbing us of our spiritual vitality, our strength via the Spirit, or simply causing us to “renegotiate the terms” of grace and holiness to fit our life situation that we feel we cannot or do not want to change. Sin working within us that is fed via our desires and enticed is conceived, born, and grows over time in a manner that leads to spiritual death (Jas. 1:12-15). It is not possible to run the race of faith towards the promises of God with the entanglements of sin wrapped around our lives.
The writer also encourages us to not be weighed down – Jesus, in the parable of the four soils, spoke of the “cares of this world” and the “deceitfulness of riches” that can work to weigh us down and choke our spiritual lives, leading to unfruitfulness as it relates to the Word bearing its fruit in our lives (Matt. 13:22). Luke speaks of “bringing no fruit to maturity” (Lk. 8:14).
One of the most powerful ways that we can lay hold of real power and grace to “run with endurance” is to look to Jesus, the author and finisher of the promises set before us; the best manner to behold Him is to see Him fixing eyes on the joy set before Him, which gave Jesus the power and courage to endure the Cross and despise the shame, or the stigma of His scandalous death and the accusation that His faith was meaningless and empty.
Jesus is vindicated in His faith and the choices that He made according to please and obey His Father by being set at the Father’s right hand. The Father sets the promise of great joy and great reward in front of us, along with great promises, to encourage us to keep waging war against sin and not surrender to desire and enticement that come through temptation.
The joy, reward, and promises to come – along with the beauty of Jesus on the Cross and what He endured for love – also fuel our ability to break free of the cares and worry that fuels unbelief and the “deceitfulness of riches” that shifts our heart off course from steadfast, faithful love and obedience without (seemingly) an immediate “payoff”.
Hebrews 12:3-11 – Enduring Necessary Chastening Without Discouragement: Here the writer is speaking right to the discouragement and weariness that can overwhelm us in the fight to love Jesus and believe His promises (Heb. 12:3). At times it is the dealings of the Lord in our life – divine activity designed to bring us forth into our calling and future, into greater entrustment from the Father – that causes us to doubt, question, and wonder what this life and pursuit is all about.
We are forced in seasons of chastisement to receive the divine correction – though difficult to endure at times – as the actions of a loving Father who seeks to break us out of what is hindering us from our future promises. The chastening is for our profit that we might ultimately be partakers in His holiness, which is speaking in part about being able to walk in deeper unity and partnership with Jesus.
The chastisement is an answer to our prayer and necessary preparation to receive our promises.
It is not joyful presently, and is often painful; yet it yields the “peaceable fruit of righteousness” (i.e. meekness and a merciful heart) to those who have been trained (or tempered) by it (Heb. 12:11). I highly recommend Bob Sorge’s book The Chastening of the Lord: the Forgotten Doctrine for much more excellent teaching on this subject.
Hebrews 12:12-17 – Overcoming Bitterness that Defiles: in the context of “straight paths for our feet”, or making the race we are running easier where possible, the writer urges us to pursue peace with all people, and holiness…lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble (Heb. 12:14-15). This is an urgent call to recognize how easy it is for bitterness to cause us to draw back from our calling and our future in Christ, as well as the promises that are set before us. Peace and holiness in our relationships is the fight to keep our hearts clean, free of offense, tender and merciful towards others, fighting for their good rather than fighting for self and our own good.
The writer draws a connection between bitterness and defilement through fornication as well as the profane (settling for much less because of unfulfillment or disappointment). Bitterness causes us to turn inward seeing ourselves as the righteous victim in the face of unjustified mistreatment; the defilement begins when we train our hearts towards self via self-pity and self-seeking that we now justify in self-righteousness and pride.
The defilement leads to fornication because of the manner in which we justify self-satisfaction related to the demand for justice and recompense burning within our offended soul. We begin to live according to what we feel we deserve, therefore we eventually take what we want or feel we need. I have seen this pattern over and over again over many years of ministry – the way of bitterness has dangerous and unforeseen consequences, if not properly dealt with. I highly recommend Tracey Bickle’s excellent book Chaos Beneath the Shade for much more on the critical subject of freedom from bitterness.
Hebrews 12:18-28 – Glorious Perspective and Our Righteous Response