Words from the Fire

I have just finished reading Albert Mohler's book, Words from the Fire. In this book Dr. Mohler shows how the Ten Commandments are not just a relic from the past but is extremely relevant to us today. As he goes through each of the commandments he shows that they apply to our lives today and our relationship with Christ. He shows that they are not simply rules to obey but shows us the very heart of the Gospel. I found his sermons on the Commandments better but I do recommend this book to all Christians. It is interesting that some want to make the Commandments rules for life as if we come into a saving relationship by obeying the commandments while others write them off as having no relevance for us today. They want to talk about grace but grace is meaningless without judgment and judgement is meaningless without seeing the holiness of God. The Ten Commandments show us that.

Acts 27

There is a very interesting account given to us in Acts 27. Paul is on a ship and they encounter a storm which threatens the safety of everyone on board. Paul says, "But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said, 'Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.' So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me." Acts 27:22 - 25
Paul knows that everyone will be saved but then something else happens. The sailors decide that they will try to get to land on their own and leave everyone else to fend for themselves. Paul finds out and says, "Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved." Acts 27:31
Will these people be saved? Yes. However, there is a condition that is now attached to their safety and that is they must stay with the ship. Will we be saved in the end? Yes. However, like the sailors we must stay with the captain of our salvation to be saved. Is this contradictory? Maybe in our minds but not in Gods. We must persevere to the end to be saved.

Neglect not reject.

Hebrews 2:3 says, "How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?"
This verse speaks volumes and it is important that we look at each word. First, it is addressed to "we" which would include the author and therefore it is addressed to Christians.
Second, we are told that we are to escape. What are we escaping? That will be a subject for another post but it is sufficient to say that it is not addressed to unbelievers as it uses the word "ignore" or "neglect" rather than reject. Therefore, we need to know that if we as believers ignore our salvation then we are in danger of punishment.
So what is the great salvation? Many have addressed this saying it is great in what it cost, what it does, who it does it for, etc. However this salvation is great because it is a person. Salvation is not a plan but a person, Jesus Christ our redeemer. Can Christians ignore Jesus? Yes they do and when they do they are in danger of judgment. We cannot become Christians apart from Jesus Christ and we cannot live as Christians apart from Him. When we do then we are ignoring the great salvation.

Were they Christians?

I know this isn't the right question but it is an important question. Now it is important that we let the Bible answer that question and not our pet doctrines. If they were not Christians then we may be inclined to ignore the warnings. If they were Christians but only in danger of losing their reward then we may not take the warnings as seriously as we should. If they are Christians then how do we explain the teaching of Hebrews 6:9 "Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of better things in your case—things that accompany salvation." The previous verses seem to refer back to the parable of the soils. I will have to return to this later.
It is enough to know that these warnings are to be taken seriously. If they are given to Christians then we must remember that our faith is is something that we need to guard against apostasy. That is only by the power of God that we can live the life of faith but we must always be on guard.

Roger Woodward

THe picture in Hebrews 2 is one of a person in a boat carelessly drifting to disaster. The following story about Roger Woodward illustrates this extremely well. Read his story, it is an amazing story. Click here for the story or click here to listen to Stuart McLean's interview with Roger Woodward on the Vinyl Cafe.

Warning: Danger ahead 2

The warnings that are given to us in the book of Hebrews have been a concern to theologians ever since this book was written. There have generally been four views that have been held by evangelicals over the years. However, there are problems with each of these views.

The first is the loss of salvation view. In this view the recipients were Christians who were being warned about the danger of losing their salvation. The problem with this view is that it contradicts the security of the believer that is taught in the rest of Scripture.

The second is the loss of rewards view. In this view once again the recipients were Christians but there is no danger of losing their salvation but their rewards. The problem with this view is that it minimizes the awfulness of apostasy.

The third view is the test of genuineness view. This view assumes that the recipients were not Christians but this does not fit with the rest of the epistle which assumes that the readers were Christians.

The final view is the hypothetical loss of salvation view. In this view the readers are once again believed to be Christians but the author is putting forward a hypothetical case. The problem with this view is that we would then just ignore the warnings because they really don’t have any meaning for us today.

I believe that we are asking the wrong question. We begin with our belief and then try to interpret the warnings in light of our doctrinal position. We ask the question, “How do these warnings line up with the promises of God?” The question we should be asking is "Why are these warnings in the Bible?"

Warning - Danger Ahead

When you see a sign like the one on the right it doesn't make you a better or worse driver but it warns you of danger that is ahead. It is not saying that rocks will fall but that they may fall.
It is that way with the Christian life. As we see warnings it is to make us aware of the dangers. It doesn't say that these dangers will happen but beware lest they do.