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 aithfulness!
This is a characteristic I want in my life. It is true of
Jesus. The scriptures tell us that Jesus was faithful in all
that He has done for us - His birth, ministry, death and being
our High Priest in heaven. He is faithful to the Father and
to us! Have you ever wondered if Jesus would really save you
and forgive you, even when you were unfaithful? 2 Tim. 2:13
encourages us with, “If we are faithless, He remains
faithful; for He cannot deny Himself” (NASB). He is faithful
because He promised to be faithful (Hebrews 10:23). He is
faithful to limit our temptations to something we can handle
(1 Cor. 10:13), and when we do sin, He is faithful to forgive
us (1 John 1:9). He has promised to protect us from the evil
one (2 Thess. 3:3), and He is faithful to guarantee our salvation
(1 Thess 5:24). He is faithful!
Faithfulness.
The faithfulness of Jesus is the next picture the Holy Spirit
paints in Hebrews. But first, we must remember that the readers
to whom Hebrews was written have been warned that they may
not be real Christians. The Holy Spirit has had to remind
them as to who Jesus really is. He has compared Jesus to the
angels and showed them that Jesus was superior. This was important
because it appears they highly respected the angels as authoritative
and in control. But He showed them that Jesus was greater
than the angels, since He was God - He was the final authority.
So the Holy Spirit warned them to “pay much closer attention”
to Jesus and encouraged them to come to Jesus, to someone
who cared for them and was trustworthy because He was a merciful
and faithful high priest. They needed to hear that Jesus cared
for them and was dependable.
Now
the Holy Spirit calls them to respond to Jesus and at the
same time shows them why they can trust Jesus.
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Therefore,
holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider
Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession.
He was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses
also was in all His house. (NASB) Heb. 3:1-2 |
Notice
that He calls them “holy brethren” and says they
are “partakers of a heavenly calling.” Does it sound
like they are Christians? Paul the apostle called the Corinthians
“saints”- holy ones - in 2 Corinthians 1:1. Then
at the end of the book he encouraged them to examine themselves
to see if they were really Christians.
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Test
yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine
yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves,
that Jesus Christ is in you--unless indeed you fail
the test? (NASB) 2 Cor. 13:5 |
Most
of these folks were Christians; but as we will see later,
there are reasons to wonder about them.
Looking Closely.
The Holy Spirit is urging them to “consider” Jesus.
The root Greek word, KATANOEO, has the idea of “looking
more closely.” These folks must have been really surprised
to hear the words, “Look more closely.” They might
have been insulted, even offended. I have discovered that
when I have challenged people with “Are you really a
Christian?” some people are offended. It does not matter
if I am counseling someone, teaching or preaching, there are
those who are offended by the question. So it is possible
that some of these Jewish people responded with, “I am
a Christian, what do you mean that I should consider Jesus?” |
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