Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. (Heb 3:12-13)What a powerful text, especially in our day. It is defense against evil, a protection against an unbelieving heart, a redirection from falling away from the living God. It is a commanded way in which we avoid becoming hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Good stuff. "And?"
The text tells us that some of us have within ourselves "an evil, unbelieving heart." Now, our world tells us that people are basically good, while the Scriptures tell us that there is none who does good; no, not one (Jer 17:9; Rom 3:12). That is, while our world holds that the natural human default is "good," God's Word says our default is "not good." Evil resides in every one of us. It is the product, according to this text, of an "unbelieving heart." Because each of us doubts, each of us wavers, each of us questions -- "Can God be trusted?" I think our default there is, "I'm pretty sure I know what's best for me" with the implied, "not God." And that evil in each of us that is produced by unbelief in each of us leads us away from the living God.
We need to act. We need to respond. And we don't need to only look out for ourselves. This problem is bigger than that. We need to "exhort one another every day." Okay, now, that's going too far. We don't like "exhort." Isn't that meddling? Isn't that judgmental? Isn't that self-righteous? The word is literally "to call near" and carries the imagery of walking alongside another. "I'm here. Let's get through this together." It is, indeed, urging another to go the right way, do the right thing, be the right person, but it's not from a position of superiority. It's from "We're in this together." So, from both directions, we don't like it. We don't like to meddle in the affairs and sins of others. We don't like to admit we're suffering the same things. Because sin is deceitful and we seem to forget that. But it isn't a suggestion; it's a command. And what would it look like if Christ's Body was fundamentally a "Let's work together to support one another toward erasing sin in our lives and becoming more Christlike" body? One can only imagine, but one thing I know for sure. It would be a more obedient and loving body. And I'm pretty sure that's what we Christ-followers ought to want to be, right?
3 comments:
I know that this is something I'm missing in my life in both the doing and receiving. We need to surround ourselves with people that are going to help us in the right direction, otherwise we'll begin to sway in the wrong direction.
The verse you highlighted today is an interesting one to me (and not only because the phrase “as long as it is called ‘today’” always strikes me as odd wording); the author of Hebrews warns of “evil, unbelieving hearts”--in the brethren. Yikes! Yes, exhortation can be hard both to extend to others and to accept ourselves, but it is needful for growing in Christlikeness, as you say. “Iron sharpens iron.” That mutual support in shared struggles that you mention is a key factor. My Bible has the translation note “encourage” printed to clarify “exhort” here; I am encouraged that when God shows me something that needs correcting, He also enables me to do it. I for one appreciate the exhortation and encouragement the Lord has granted me, including through this blog. Thank you, Stan, for the efforts you expend on behalf of your readers. I hope and pray that God will enable and lead you to continue writing and posting in the New Year!
Interesting fact about "Iron sharpens iron." In order for iron to sharpen iron, both have to be hard. We wouldn't for instance, suggest that iron sharpens Jello. The phrase does not suggest weakness on the part of either party.
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