Fear or Faith?

 

For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. (Hebrews 12:18–24 ESV)/

 

Yesterday we looked at the manner that we approach living “in Christ.” We are called to be models and encouragers for others. If I would have used verses 12-17 for a devotional we could have seen that the writer is encouraging us to be strong (v. 12), run a straight race (v.13), and pursue peace and holiness (v. 14) and by all means not to be like Esau, who looked at his birthright and gave it up for a single meal (vv. 16-17). These verses also convey the difference between living in fear of God and faith in God. The writer mentions the “discipline of the Lord” not as something to be feared as a punishment for wrong-doing, but to be welcomed as instruction to equip us to be all God has designed us to be. Charles Spurgeon wrote:

 

“No stars gleam as brightly as those which glisten in the polar sky. No water tastes so sweet as that which springs amid the desert sand. And no faith is so precious as that which lives and triumphs through adversity. Tested faith brings experience. You would never have believed your own weakness had you not needed to pass through trials. And you would never have known God’s strength had His strength not been needed to carry you through.”

 

So, the exhortations are not ways of getting God to act, but ways you act when you trust that God is already acting for you. This is so important for our everyday life. It means that the Biblical way to be stirred up to do what we ought to do is to think or consider things about God and his action for us - past, present and especially future. This entire book of Hebrews is written to give the readers truth about God to think about so that we will not be like Esau who failed to persevere, and did not obtain the grace of God, but was lured into the death trap of short term pleasure - a single meal.

 

Few things could make it clearer that right-knowing is a key to right-doing. And the relationship between the two is that right-knowing is the basis of right-doing. Jesus is indeed greater in every way than all that has come before or may come after!