The One Year Bible Club with Teaching
Commentary by Nick Boork
November 15
Commentary by Nick Boork
November 15
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November 15 – Hebrews 12:14-29
Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: 15 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; 16 lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. 17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears. 18 For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, 19 and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. 20 (For they could not endure what was commanded: “And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow.”21 And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.”)
22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. 25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, 26 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” 27 Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 29 For our God is a consuming fire.
OKAY, HERE’S MY TEACHING COMMENTARY
This portion of Scripture begins by instructing us to follow peace with all men and holiness without which no one will see the Lord. Remember that Jesus taught in his famous sermon on the mount blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called the children of God. A good mental illustration to remember when you are tempted to enter into contention with someone is you always have a choice. If someone is trying to provoke you to get into strife or react in anger it’s like you’re standing in front of that person that is on fire and in one hand you have a bucket of water and in the other hand a bucket of gasoline. Which one are you going to throw on the fire? Be wise and throw the bucket of water on the fire to put it out. You do this by lowering your voice and deescalating a potential conflict. If you throw the bucket of gasoline on the fire you will create an explosion which can become very distractive, hurtful and end relationships, don’t be that person, follow peace and chose to be a peacemaker not a peace taker.
Jesus also taught in His sermon on the mount blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. After receiving Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we are born again into the family of God. All of our sins are washed away through the precious blood of Jesus but then every day is a new challenge to live right according to the word of God. Holiness becomes our new standard and it is something that we need to work on every day. Holiness is an ongoing process for each of us. That’s why the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 7:1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
Falling short of the grace of God means that we do not appropriate the grace of God in different areas of our lives. The Scriptures give two examples here as a warning.
The first warning is for people living in bitterness:
This is so important because Jesus said that if we do not forgive others their trespasses and offensives, neither will our heavenly Father forgive us. Once we have received the grace of God and have been forgiven of all of our sins the Lord expects us as his followers to also forgive people that have hurt us. If we don’t forgive, we become bitter on the inside and the Bible warns that a bitter person is like someone that has a root growing on the inside of them that will spring up and contaminate many other people. Bitter people are very touchy and easily offended because they have never dealt with the hurt, pain and unforgiveness in their hearts. Bitter people contaminate others through gossip and criticism pointing the finger. They influence people to pick up the offense they are carrying. This can cause breakdowns in relationships in the home, work and church. Bitter people can even cause churches to be divided. This is why the Bible says here we are to watch out for anyone that is bitter and do not pick up their offense and become contaminated by their negative hurtful spirit.
The second warning is for people living in sexual immorality and any fleshly sin:
The Scriptures warn; Lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. We know that fornication means having sex before marriage which God prohibits. For the Christian, there is only one place for sex and that’s between a man and woman in the covenant of marriage. A profane person like Esau sold his birthright to his brother Jacob for a single bowl of stew means that we need to beware of yielding to our flesh and sinful desires. Esau satisfied his flesh and sold his birth right!
So don’t give yourself to fleshly desires but let the grace of God by the Holy Spirit help you to repent and be delivered from sinful ways. This is a good place to understand the work of the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:12-14 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit
you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
Next the Scriptures teach our relationship with God by comparing two mountains. The first is Mount Sinai where Moses received the law. The point to understand here is that God was speaking as he met with Moses and the people of God on Mount Sinai. It was so awesome that the Bible says Moses was literally shaking and all the people where in total awe of the sight of God coming down and lighting the mountain of fire! The voice of God was like a trumpet so powerful that it went right through every person. It’s like God was communicating that he is all powerful and that the ten commandments and the law he gave Moses was to be taken seriously.
The second mountain is Mount Zion where Jesus brought us the grace of God for salvation through his blood shed on the cross. Again the point is that God is continually speaking to us even today and that’s why it says in verse 25 “See that you do not refuse Him who speaks.” How is God speaking to us today? Through the Word of God and the preaching of the gospel telling people that they need to be saved through the grace of God by receiving Jesus Christ as their Savior. Mount Zion represents salvation by grace through faith in Christ. However, multitudes of people refuse to listen. For us that have heard the voice of God and responded to receive his grace and salvation we have the promise of receiving and eternal kingdom that will last forever. The Scriptures conclude encouraging us to continually receive grace for our every day life to be able to worship and serve God with reverence knowing that he is all powerful and worthy of glory and praise!
WHAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE?
PRAYER TO APPLY THE WORD OF GOD TO OUR LIVES
ORDINATION
We provide Ministry Credentials and Ordination through Diamond Ministerial Association. Click to learn more and apply! http://www.diamondinstitute.org/ordination
ONLINE COURSES
For Bible courses and ministry resources see our online school Diamond Institute. Enroll free today! http://www.diamondinstitute.org/enroll
Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: 15 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; 16 lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. 17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears. 18 For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, 19 and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. 20 (For they could not endure what was commanded: “And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow.”21 And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.”)
22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. 25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, 26 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” 27 Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 29 For our God is a consuming fire.
OKAY, HERE’S MY TEACHING COMMENTARY
This portion of Scripture begins by instructing us to follow peace with all men and holiness without which no one will see the Lord. Remember that Jesus taught in his famous sermon on the mount blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called the children of God. A good mental illustration to remember when you are tempted to enter into contention with someone is you always have a choice. If someone is trying to provoke you to get into strife or react in anger it’s like you’re standing in front of that person that is on fire and in one hand you have a bucket of water and in the other hand a bucket of gasoline. Which one are you going to throw on the fire? Be wise and throw the bucket of water on the fire to put it out. You do this by lowering your voice and deescalating a potential conflict. If you throw the bucket of gasoline on the fire you will create an explosion which can become very distractive, hurtful and end relationships, don’t be that person, follow peace and chose to be a peacemaker not a peace taker.
Jesus also taught in His sermon on the mount blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. After receiving Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we are born again into the family of God. All of our sins are washed away through the precious blood of Jesus but then every day is a new challenge to live right according to the word of God. Holiness becomes our new standard and it is something that we need to work on every day. Holiness is an ongoing process for each of us. That’s why the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 7:1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
Falling short of the grace of God means that we do not appropriate the grace of God in different areas of our lives. The Scriptures give two examples here as a warning.
The first warning is for people living in bitterness:
This is so important because Jesus said that if we do not forgive others their trespasses and offensives, neither will our heavenly Father forgive us. Once we have received the grace of God and have been forgiven of all of our sins the Lord expects us as his followers to also forgive people that have hurt us. If we don’t forgive, we become bitter on the inside and the Bible warns that a bitter person is like someone that has a root growing on the inside of them that will spring up and contaminate many other people. Bitter people are very touchy and easily offended because they have never dealt with the hurt, pain and unforgiveness in their hearts. Bitter people contaminate others through gossip and criticism pointing the finger. They influence people to pick up the offense they are carrying. This can cause breakdowns in relationships in the home, work and church. Bitter people can even cause churches to be divided. This is why the Bible says here we are to watch out for anyone that is bitter and do not pick up their offense and become contaminated by their negative hurtful spirit.
The second warning is for people living in sexual immorality and any fleshly sin:
The Scriptures warn; Lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. We know that fornication means having sex before marriage which God prohibits. For the Christian, there is only one place for sex and that’s between a man and woman in the covenant of marriage. A profane person like Esau sold his birthright to his brother Jacob for a single bowl of stew means that we need to beware of yielding to our flesh and sinful desires. Esau satisfied his flesh and sold his birth right!
So don’t give yourself to fleshly desires but let the grace of God by the Holy Spirit help you to repent and be delivered from sinful ways. This is a good place to understand the work of the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:12-14 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit
you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
Next the Scriptures teach our relationship with God by comparing two mountains. The first is Mount Sinai where Moses received the law. The point to understand here is that God was speaking as he met with Moses and the people of God on Mount Sinai. It was so awesome that the Bible says Moses was literally shaking and all the people where in total awe of the sight of God coming down and lighting the mountain of fire! The voice of God was like a trumpet so powerful that it went right through every person. It’s like God was communicating that he is all powerful and that the ten commandments and the law he gave Moses was to be taken seriously.
The second mountain is Mount Zion where Jesus brought us the grace of God for salvation through his blood shed on the cross. Again the point is that God is continually speaking to us even today and that’s why it says in verse 25 “See that you do not refuse Him who speaks.” How is God speaking to us today? Through the Word of God and the preaching of the gospel telling people that they need to be saved through the grace of God by receiving Jesus Christ as their Savior. Mount Zion represents salvation by grace through faith in Christ. However, multitudes of people refuse to listen. For us that have heard the voice of God and responded to receive his grace and salvation we have the promise of receiving and eternal kingdom that will last forever. The Scriptures conclude encouraging us to continually receive grace for our every day life to be able to worship and serve God with reverence knowing that he is all powerful and worthy of glory and praise!
WHAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE?
- As Believers we are to walk in peace with everyone and commit to holy living.
- Be careful not to become defiled by bitter people.
- Don’t be deceived into thinking you can live in sexual immorality and be saved.
- Choose to agree with the Holy Spirit and overcome sinful temptations.
- God spoke from Mount Saini and gave the law to Moses.
- He continues to speak from Mount Zion the grace available to be saved through faith in Christ.
- Receive grace from God today to live for Him.
- God will shake the world once more and bring His final judgment but for the Believer, we have the hope of an eternal kingdom and everlasting life at the return of Christ.
PRAYER TO APPLY THE WORD OF GOD TO OUR LIVES
ORDINATION
We provide Ministry Credentials and Ordination through Diamond Ministerial Association. Click to learn more and apply! http://www.diamondinstitute.org/ordination
ONLINE COURSES
For Bible courses and ministry resources see our online school Diamond Institute. Enroll free today! http://www.diamondinstitute.org/enroll