HEBREWS 12:27
The Bible says in Hebrews 12:27 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as
things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. This verse refers to what God is going
to do some day in the future. Verse 26 tells us that God is going to shake the heaven and the earth. The word shake has a symbolic meaning as well as a literal meaning. It refers
to a time when the whole human race will be shaken with fear. That certainly
will happen during the great tribulation. Revelation 6:15-17 says, And the kings of the earth, and the
great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and
every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks
of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us
from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and
from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who
shall be able to stand?
The Bible says in Hebrews 12:28-29, Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which
cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with
reverence and godly fear: for our God is a consuming fire. There are at least two reasons that God
is going to shake the heaven and the earth. One reason is that He must bring
His judgment. His judgment against sin must come. God will
not allow the sins and the crimes and the offenses of man to continue
unpunished forever. The Day of Judgment is coming. The Judge
is coming. Jesus is coming back. Another reason that God will shake the heaven
and the earth is because He is going to replace what currently exists with
something that is far better. Eventually that which is old cannot be patched
any more. In order to fix the problems, the old must be replaced by the new.
God has plans to do that very thing with this world in which we live. This
world is a temporary place that is being corrupted by the sins of man. It will
pass away because God will replace a sinful world with a better one. The
Apostle Peter wrote in Second Peter 3:10-11, But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the
night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the
elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are
therein shall be burned up.
The world and everything in it are
temporary. God is a just Judge who will punish sins. These truths should
motivate us to serve God
acceptably with reverence and godly fear. Any man who thinks that he stands should take heed, lest he
fall. God has no respect of persons. He will punish whomever He deems worthy of
His punishment. For our
God is a consuming fire.
Until the Lord Jesus returns and punishes
sin once for all and does away with sinful human government, there is a manner
of life that every Christian should be living. The next several verses tell us
about that life that we should be living until the Lord comes back. Hebrews
13:1 says, Let brotherly
love continue. It is no
wonder that this is the first commandment given in Hebrews chapter 13. To love
other Christians was one of the most important commandments that Jesus gave to
His disciples. Jesus said, By
this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to
another. The Apostle John
wrote in First John 2:10-11, He
that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and
there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth
his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth
not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath
blinded his eyes.
Hebrews 13:2 says, Be not forgetful to entertain strangers:
for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. The phrase that is translated Be not forgetful to entertain strangers means literally, Do not neglect to show
love for foreigners. In the first century it was common for Christians to
travel as Paul did from one country to another, and they were very dependent
upon the hospitality of other Christians to provide a meal and a place to stay.
Without this Christian hospitality the gospel would not have been spread very
effectively
To love other Christians means to do
things for them when they are in need. It says in Galatians 6:10, As we have therefore opportunity, let us
do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. In addition to doing things for other
believers, we should also understand how close our connection to them really
is. We should suffer when they suffer. We should have a great empathy for those
who are in Christ. They are our closest family members. We should realize that.
It pleases God that the believers in Christ would be united in spirit so that
when one suffers, we all suffer because we care for each other. Hebrews 13:3
says, Remember them that
are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being
yourselves also in the body.
In the first century Christians were often thrown into prison because of their
faith in Christ. The bonds in verse three refer to prison bonds.
Those who suffer adversity refer to those who are being oppressed
by evil. If you live for Christ, there will be times when evil will come
against you. It will be easier for you to withstand the evil if you have those
who stand by you. For those of us who must stand alone, at least we have Christ
and His grace to support us.
The Bible says in Hebrews 13:4, Marriage is honorable in all, and the
bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. Hebrews 13:1-3 tells us about loving
other Christians. Hebrews 13:4 tells us something very important about human
love between a man and a woman. God created marriage between a man and a woman.
A man should leave his
father and mother and cleave to his wife. A human being needs love and affection. The ideal life would be
one in which a child receives that love from his or her parents, and then
receives it from his or her spouse. Some of the greatest ills of society have
come simply because this principle has not been observed by enough people. The bed in marriage is undefiled. God created sexual love, but only for a
man and a woman in the marriage relationship. Sex outside of this one situation
creates many terrible and destructive consequences. Disease, unwanted pregnancy,
abortion, divorce, guilt, and mental anguish are just a few of the consequences
of sexual immorality. Paul wrote to Timothy, Flee youthful lusts.
The Bible says in Hebrews 13:5, Let your conversation be without
covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I
will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. The phrase that is translated without covetousness means literally without love for money. The love of money is the root of all
evil. Hebrews 13:5 is
telling us what we should not love: money. Christians should be content with
what they have and should not have those strong desires for material things that motivate so many people in the world. The reason that we
should be content with what we have is given in this verse also.
A quotation from the Lord is given: I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. How can this promise keep us from
covetousness? Realizing that Jesus is always with us means that He will always
take care of us. We do not have to grab and clasp after things the way that
those of the world do. We have the Lord, and He owns everything. He owns the
cattle on a thousand hills. He owns every home and every plot of land. The
phrase I will never leave
thee, nor forsake thee means
literally, I will never ever leave thee, and never ever abandon thee.
In other words there is no circumstance of any kind where the Lord will not be
with you to help you. No matter how bad anything gets or no matter how bad you
might get, He will still be right there with you to help you. He will never
abandon you to your own devices: never. As the Bible says in Deuteronomy 31:6,
Be strong and of a good
courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that
doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
This truth should keep you from having
covetousness, and it should also keep you from having fear. It says in Hebrews
13:6, So that we may
boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto
me. The saved person who has
faith in the Lord as an ever-present helper will have boldness and no fear of man.
The Lord will protect. The Lord will guide. The Lord will take vengeance when
He sees fit. The Lord will supply. The Lord will give an answer. The Lord will
provide a way out of no way. It is a wonderful thing to have faith in the
ever-present helper. What a source of strength and peace.
The Bible says in Hebrews 13:7, Remember them which have the rule over
you, who have spoken unto you the Word of God: whose faith follow, considering
the end of their conversation.
The phrase that is translated which
have the rule over you means
which lead you. It does not refer to someone having
power over you and giving you orders. It refers to someone who has spiritual
leadership. There are two ways in which this spiritual leadership is exercised.
The first way in which they are leaders is indicated in the phrase, who have spoken unto you the Word of God. The emphasis is on the Word of God,
because God speaks through His Word. Be careful of those who use the Word for
their own purposes. To speak the Word of God implies that the speaker is
allowing the Word to speak through him. Such a speaker would not use the Word
of God for his own purposes to impress his own will on others.
The second way in which you should
remember those who lead you is by following their example. It says in Hebrews
13:7, whose faith follow. Christians should never follow men. We
are followers of Christ and of Christ alone. But when see others living by
faith in Christ, we should follow that example. It says in Hebrews 13:7 that we
should be considering the
end of their manner of life.
The word that is translated considering means to look at intently. If we would
only give more careful thought to the results of our actions, we would more
likely choose the best actions. The best manner of life
is a life of faith because at the end of life we will stand before the Judge. Without faith it is impossible to please
Him.
The Bible says in Hebrews 13:8, Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to
day, and forever. This verse
must have been put in this context by the Holy Spirit in order to go along with
the verse that came before. Those who live a life of faith are putting their
faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is still alive. Jesus has all power in
heaven and in earth. Jesus will always help those who trust in Him. He always
has, and He always will. When Jesus walked the earth in the form of a man, He
was always there to help the disciples. For example, when they were caught in a
storm on the
Jesus is the same yesterday, and today, and forever. He was with the disciples to help them,
and He is with us to help us. Whatever the future may bring: whether
opportunity or sorrow, Jesus will be with us to help us. That is one of the
values of reading the gospels. We read what Jesus did for others, and we know
that He can and will do the same things for us because Jesus is the same yesterday, and today, and
forever. What a wonderful
Savior we have. We can always count on Him to assist us
and to help us in all of our troubles. You need to have this Jesus as your
Savior. If you do not know Christ as Savior, today you can bow before Him and
trust in Him to forgive your sins.
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Copyright; 2007 by Charles
F. (Rick) Creech
All Rights Reserved