Search
Scripture Reading: Heb. 10:32-39; 11:1—12:3
Hebrews 10:38-39 says, “‘My righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back, My soul does not delight in him.’ But we are not of those who shrink back to ruin but of those who have faith to the gaining of the soul.” Chapter 11 speaks of what faith is and the history of faith, showing that many people in the Old Testament lived and walked by faith.
Verses 1 and 2 of chapter 12 say, “Therefore let us also, having so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, put away every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us and run with endurance the race which is set before us, looking away unto Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith.” In the Chinese Union Version the phrase looking away unto is translated as “looking to”; however, looking to is inadequate. The phrase looking away unto means to look at what is ahead with undivided attention so that one is separated from all objects that surround him. By looking away unto the Lord Jesus with undivided attention, we are separated from everything in our present and in our past.
The second half of verse 2 and verse 3 say, “Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down on the right hand of the throne of God. For compare Him who has endured such contradiction by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary, fainting in your souls.” The word fainting literally means “becoming loosened.” Both “fainting in your souls” and “who have faith to the gaining of the soul” in 10:39 are related to the soul.
The Epistle to the Hebrews is probably the only book in the New Testament that speaks of how we follow the Lord on His pathway. Although 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Philippians 3:13-14, and 2 Timothy 4:7-8 cover the matter of running the course, they stress being regulated, being faithful, and running for the prize. They do not speak concerning the source of our motivation in following the Lord or of our pathway before the Lord. Only Hebrews shows the pathway and the source of our motivation in following the Lord.
The root of the word Hebrew means “to pass over,” specifically to pass over a river; that is, to pass over from one side of a river to the other side. After traveling on a long journey, a person passes from one side to another. This is the meaning of the word Hebrew. Hence, in the book of Hebrews all those who have been called by God to follow the Lord are to take the way of river crossing. They are to cross from one side to another. We need to cross over from earthly things to the heavenly things, from the temporal to the eternal, from the Old Testament to the New Testament, and from the things outside of the Son of God to the things in the Son of God. Furthermore, we need to cross over from ourselves to God. These items are included in Hebrews.
This book focuses on our crossing over from the things of the present to the things in the future. Hence, the way of river crossing is the way of faith. Whenever there is a problem with our faith, we immediately encounter difficulties. This way of faith is not referred to in 1 Corinthians, Philippians, or 2 Timothy, even though they speak of running the race. Only Hebrews speaks of the way of faith. Furthermore, according to Hebrews, the motivating power for Christians to take the way of faith lies in the Lord Jesus Christ. The motivating power for us to take the way of faith lies in our knowledge of Him.
Hebrews first presents the superiority of Christ, the Son of God. Then in chapter 11 it presents the way of faith. The first part of the Epistle gives us the knowledge of the Son of God, and the second part, the way of faith. The way that we take is the way of faith, and the motivating power for us to take this way is our knowledge of the Son of God. The extent to which we know the Lord is the extent to which we will be motivated. Our motivating power depends entirely on our knowledge of the Lord.
Therefore, at the end of Hebrews the author connects our faith to our knowledge of the Son of God. On the one hand, our way is the way of faith; on the other hand, the motivation for us to take this way depends on our knowledge and revelation of the Son of God. Hence, the Son of God should always be set before us. Our mind and our emotion should be occupied with Him, and what we gaze at, observe, and look away to should be the Lord. He is the attraction and the motivation. He attracts us to walk the way that is set before us, and He motivates us to walk this way.
The Lord tries the faith of those who serve Him. In the future we will be placed into periods of longer and more difficult trials. In the days to come there will be many such trials.
There will be many aspects to these trials. Some trials will affect our feelings. They will cause us to lose our interest in serving the Lord, to lose our sense of the sweetness in taking this way, and to even lose our sense of encouragement from the Lord. Some trials will be problems in our family or problems related to our health. Some trials may be related to material things and financial matters. We may experience poverty and hardships. Some trials may be related to our work for the Lord. We may lack power and light, be unclear, and lack the Lord’s leading. Our present situation will change, and we will not be able to touch the Lord’s heart or know what to do. Many of us may become unclear and uncertain about the Lord’s way and the Lord’s heart. Some trials may be related to the result of our work. We may labor and work without seeing any results. Some trials may be related to our co-workers. They may neither understand us, sympathize with us, nor open to us. These are all trials.
The Lord’s trials in me have not decreased; rather, they have increased in number and in depth. The desire in the Lord’s heart is for us to mature, to do His work, and to gain spiritual weight. To this end He is determined to bring us into trials. We will be unable to follow the Lord as we did in the past, when we followed the Lord according to our feelings of excitement, prosperity, and blessings and according to the evident results of our work. If we consider the past ten years, we will see that the Lord has been gradually bringing us into trials and decreasing our excitement and the sense of sweetness that we once experienced. The Lord is bringing us into a situation in which we cannot follow our feelings.
It may not be possible for us to give up this way; however, if we continue, we will not see the results of the past, and we will be unable to sense any sweetness. When this happens, we can be assured that the Lord has brought us into trials. When the Lord brings us into trials, He will place us on the pathway of faith. In the initial stages of the work we were excited and had results; however, we were not on the pathway of faith. It is not until we enter into trials that we will walk on the pathway of faith.
The Lord brought the Hebrew believers into trials by which all that they had regarded as precious gradually disappeared. Therefore, they became confused and grew weary and fainted in their souls. It was against such a background that the apostle wrote this book to show the Hebrew believers who the Son of God is and how the Lord took the pathway of faith. The Lord, whom they followed, went outside the camp in order to enter within the veil (Heb. 13:12; 10:19-20). After speaking concerning the Lord, the apostle tells the believers to have the endurance that is produced from their knowledge of the Lord — their faith. Once we lose our faith, we also lose endurance. Toward God we need to have endurance and faith. Paul gives the history of the witnesses of faith, beginning with the first witness of faith in the Old Testament — Abel. The apostle lists the witnesses in order to show that those in the Old Testament who followed God took the way of faith. They lived a life of faith.
Romans 1:17 says, “The righteous shall have life and live by faith.” The phrase shall have life is related to salvation. In Hebrews 10:38, however, the same phrase is rendered as, “My righteous one shall live by faith.” The emphasis in Hebrews is living. Paul seems to be saying, “Daily you are being put into trials so that you learn to live by faith.” When there is no excitement, no encouragement, no attraction, and no power to go on, we need faith, not sight. We need to live by faith.
This is the principle of faith. The saints in the Old Testament took the pathway of faith. For example, Abraham left Ur of Chaldea and went to Canaan by faith. In the land of Canaan it did not seem that he was walking by faith, but he was still walking with God. Even though he could not see God, Abraham walked with God his whole life. Abraham did not gain anything, yet he took the way by faith. When he finished his journey and departed from the world, he had not gained an inheritance, nor had he seen anything. Abraham had lived by faith (Heb. 11:8-10).
Sooner or later the Lord will bring us to a situation in which faith is the only way to follow Him. The day will come when the encouragement we received and the things we relied on in the past will vanish. Even the support from the church, the encouragement from the brothers and sisters, the fellowship of the co-workers, and the mutual care will vanish. We may pursue them, but they will vanish. We may seek them for encouragement, but they will be against us. Perhaps we will feel that the church no longer supplies us and has become a problem to us. We may also feel that the brothers and sisters do not support us; on the contrary, they are problems. We may also feel that instead of having fellowship with the co-workers, they have become a trial to us. Sooner or later the Lord will put us in such situations.
I am concerned that some of us may not be able to take this way to the end. Perhaps some will fall, and others will turn back. They will “shrink back” (10:39). To shrink back does not refer to eternal perdition; it refers to destruction or ruin. Whenever we shrink back, all our previous efforts are nullified. We have consecrated ourselves, given up the world, followed the Lord, forsaken certain things for His sake, and worked for Him. We have learned many lessons before the Lord and have walked with Him. However, if we shrink back, everything will be nullified. The result of our previous efforts will be lost.
Paul says that we are those “who have faith to the gaining of the soul” (v. 39). The saving, or gaining, of our soul does not refer to eternal salvation. The saving of our spirit is related to eternal salvation. The saving of our body will take place at the Lord’s return, when our body will be redeemed and transfigured. Between our spirit and our body is our soul. Those who are redeemed by the Lord’s precious blood and are regenerated have received the salvation of their spirit and are saved eternally. One day their bodies will also be redeemed and saved. However, in the eyes of the Lord, if they do not walk the way of the Lord, or if they shrink back, they are not saved in their souls. This will be a problem to them in the future.
I am burdened that we would know the situation that the Lord has brought us into. Some of us may feel that our life is depressing and boring, and we may also feel that we are burdened and in a difficult situation. This is the result of not understanding that we are on a spiritual journey. The Lord has placed us on this pathway. Hence, we should not expect these trials to end. Our life is the way of trials. With respect to the environment, this pathway is full of trials. With respect to ourselves, it is the way of faith. Outwardly, it is the way of trials; inwardly, it is the way of faith. From now until we meet the Lord, we should not expect to be delivered from trials.
Although other people may not have problems and may do things without difficulty, nothing seems to be easy for us. The Lord will not withhold food from us, but while others eat their food with delight, we do not. It is not that the Lord does not provide for us, but He provides for us according to His assessment of our need. Consequently, while others are enjoying their provisions peacefully, we go through many difficulties. Even though the Lord will bring us through, we will experience thorns and thistles. Outwardly, we may appear to be doing well, but we know the stripping and the torment we have experienced. These are part of the trials.
Since the Lord is bringing us to the pathway of trials, we must learn the lesson of faith. It is better to have what is unseen than what is seen. It is better to choose what is bitter than what is sweet. It is better to choose people’s opposition than welcome their sympathy. It is better to be in poverty than to be in wealth and abundance. This requires faith. If instead of learning the lesson of faith, we yearn for the past experiences, some of us will either fall or shrink back.
As the night becomes darker, we must be prepared to live by faith. However, when the night is at its darkest hour, the dawn will come. If we do not wait for the dawn, we will either fall or shrink back. We must exercise our faith and remember that the saints in the Old Testament were all witnesses of faith. They were not authors of faith or perfecters of faith. The Lord is the unique Author and Perfecter of our faith. Therefore, we must strive to know Him. This is the purpose of Hebrews.
The first few chapters of Hebrews speak of what the Lord is. The revelation of the Lord Jesus in Hebrews is different from the revelation of the Lord in Revelation. Revelation shows the position and glory of the Lord Jesus in God’s plan, whereas Hebrews shows who the Lord Jesus is in the believers’ life of faith. Revelation speaks of the Christ in God’s plan; Hebrews speaks of the Christ in the believers’ living — His person and position in the believers’ living. Therefore, when reading Hebrews, we must see that Christ is the object of our faith in our living. Christ will become the motivating power in our living and the object of our faith. For this reason Hebrews speaks of the Lord’s human living.
Hebrews says that the Lord is able to sympathize with and help those who are being tempted, because in His human living He passed through trials and temptations (2:18; 4:15). If we read the first few chapters of Hebrews with this in mind, we will see that the Lord Jesus desires to come into our life to be our motivating power and the object of our faith. The more we know the Lord in this way, the more we will consider Him and look away unto Him.
Chapter 12 does not speak concerning knowing Christ. This chapter speaks of looking away and comparing. Verse 3 says, “Compare Him who has endured such contradiction by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary, fainting in your souls.” Compare Him means to consider the Lord to see what kind of person He is. We should consider how He lived as a man on the earth, how He conducted His human living, how He walked, where He is today, what He is doing, and what He is to us. These are the things we should consider. The result of our considering the Lord in this way is that we will look away unto Him.
Verse 2 says, “Looking away unto Jesus.” This means that our looking away unto Jesus cuts us off from everything in our background and environment. Casting ourselves upon the Lord is the motivating power of our walk. On the one hand, we must learn to exercise our faith in all kinds of situations. On the other hand, we must learn to know the Lord in every situation. Furthermore, we should consider the Lord always so that we can look away unto Him. As we look away unto Him, we are separated from our situations of the present and the past. May we cast ourselves completely on Him and look only unto Him. This is our strength. May the Lord lead us to learn these lessons.
