A Question of Judgment

What is the day mentioned in Hebrews 10:25?

Is this mention of the day referring to Worship on the first day of the week or some other time? Some say that this the Lord’s day. Some say that it is the fall of Jerusalem Some say that it is the day of judgment.

Now, if this “day” is meant to be Sunday, then we are ordered to obey the command to exhort another and increase the exhortation as the weekend nears. But the statement of the verse shows that the exhortations were done in the assemblies so the day approaching must be some other day.

Some Bible students make the case for the “day” being the day of Judgment. However, we have no open or observable way of seeing this day approaching. There is to be no sign in nature indicating Christ’s second coming (Matt. 24:35-39; Mk. 13:32-33). There is no way for us to know when the judgment day will occur. We only know that with each passing day, the end of time is one day nearer. So, if the judgment is the “day” mentioned by the Hebrew writer, with each passing day, we are to increase our exhorting, but again, the exhorting’s are done in the assemblies.

Some Bible students make a case for the “day” as being the day of our death. Although we all know that we shall die, we do not know what day that will be. We can only know that with each passing day, we are one day closer to our departure from the earth and with the coming of each new day, our current sojourn is that much shorter. In the light of this verse, we are to increase our exhortations, however, there is a limit to the amount of exhorting we can do.

However, there is a strong case that can be made for the “day approaching” as being the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. We can read from Matt. 24:3-34 and Lk. 21:20-22 and see that the Lord had predicted the destruction of Jerusalem even to the point of giving many signs of that day. This event would be of great interest to the Hebrew Christians because it would be a time they could identify that this destruction was drawing near because the descriptions given by the Lord were becoming true. Also, ancient records show that no Christian died in the destruction of Jerusalem, because of the warning signs Christ provided. Thus it is recorded in historical books that, “When the whole congregation of the Church in Jerusalem, according to an oracle given by revelation to approved persons among them before the war, were commanded to depart from the city and inhabit a city which they call Pella, beyond the Jordan, to which when all those who believed in Christ had removed from Jerusalem, and when the saints had totally abandoned the royal city which is the metropolis of the Jews, then the Divine vengeance seized them who had dealt so wickedly with Christ and his Apostles, and utterly destroyed that wicked and abominable generation” (Eusebius).

Now, Hebrews was written between A.D. 63-65 just 5 or so years before the destruction and during a time of persecution in Jerusalem and Palestine. The Hebrew writer mentioned that all their goods would be spoiled and should rely upon a better enduring substance in heaven (Heb. 10:34). The thing is: many were discouraged and some had quit assembling with the church because of what was about to take place. This was wrong because it: Set at naught God’s ordinance to assemble (Acts 2:42; 20:7; John 20:20-22); It deprives the absent member of many spiritual blessings. It sets the wrong example (Matt. 5:12-16; 1 Tim. 4:12).

Now, there are several statements in the New Testament which seem to refer to the day of Jerusalem’s overthrow, which lends acceptance to the “day approaching” of the text being that occasion. These verses may indeed have the fall of Jerusalem in mind. Romans 16:20: “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.” Philippians 4:5: “Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.” James 5:8: “Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.” 1 Peter 4:7: “But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.”

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Not Every Seed Falls on Good Soil

In Luke 8:4-8 (Matt 13:1-9; Mark 4:1-9) Jesus tells the parable of the four different types of soil. The farmers of the day did not have the precision seeding equipment that we see used today. Instead the common practice was that of hand seeding. As the sower went through the field he would broadcast handfuls of seed in an attempt to get as much seed as possible to take root. This inevitably led to some waste as some of the seed would fall into unproductive areas (the road, rocks, and thorns).

For you and I there are some very important lessons to be learned here and some things we should take some time to reflect upon.

1.     What kind of soil am I? Most people think that they are good soil. The truth however is that the Bible and our lives do not support such an assumption. This parable makes it clear that ¾ of the soils are not receptive. Jesus said, “…narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matt 7:14). Week in and week out preachers of the gospel stand before half filled auditoriums and preach the gospel to half an audience. Many in attendance are so disengaged and unreceptive we are left to wonder why they are even there. The preacher is sowing the seed of God and most have impermeable hearts. Why? They don’t like the messenger, they don’t like the message, or they simply wish to be somewhere else: doing anything else. It is high time we stop judging the hearts of others (and making excuses) and do some serious reflection upon our own attitudes and conditions.

2.     How much of the seed are we spreading? As Christians today it is natural for us to pick and choose individual precise locations to put down a seed. We prejudge the condition of the soil. The problem is we are not soil experts, God is! We focus on the people who look like us, talk like us, and think like us. But our responsibility is to spread as much seed as possible (Acts 8:4) and let God give the increase (1 Cor 3:6-7). We need to focus our lives on the purpose God has given us: To fear Him and keep His commandments (Eccl 12:13), to make disciples and teach them (Matt 28:18-20), and to bring glory and honor to God through our lives of holiness and faithfulness (Matt 5:13-16).

3.     Am I actively bringing in the sheaves? Some are planting and others are watering and indeed God does give increase when we do (1 Cor 3:6). But our work is not over, we need to be in the field at the end of the day bringing in the harvest. Jesus pointed toward the fields and said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Luke 10:2). How much harvest has I brought in for the Lord?

In our story it is important for us to remember the fact that although some areas did not produce any fruit it was not the famer’s fault, nor was it a defective seed. The produce depended on the state of the soil upon which the seed had fallen. It is eternally imperative that we do whatever we need to fertilize and cultivate within us a receptive heart lest we hear the same inspired condemnation that Simon heard, “…your heart is not right in the sight of God” (Acts 8:21). Simon repented, will you?

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In the Spirit and Not in the Letter

In Romans 2, Paul concludes the chapter with these words, “For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God” (2:28-29). From this passage, some try to make a distinction between the letter and the spirit of the law.

Denominationalists claim that if we carefully adhere to the commandments of God, we are only emphasizing the letter of the law, and not the spirit of the law. No, this is not what Paul is discussing. Paul is not here saying that obedience is not necessary, but that the inward attitudes must accompany their obedience.

Going all the way back to at least Martin Luther, many in the religious world confuse what Paul writes in this epistle and what James writes in James 2:14-26. Nevertheless, because we have only one author in the grand scheme of things (2 Tim. 3:16-17), we must view these as harmonious in teaching and understanding. Paul is not teaching some “faith only” doctrine with this peculiar language, but he is only addressing the problem in the attitudes of the Jews. Please look at the context, specifically in Romans 2:17-29.

He begins, “Behold, thou art called Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God” (2:17). In other words, they had the idea that because they had the Law of Moses, then everything was satisfactory. They thought that they knew God exclusively and that the Gentiles did not. Here is the problem—though they pretended to believe the Law of Moses, they did not allow it to affect their lives (2:18-21). On a side note, do we boast today in the gospel of Christ in the same way? Therefore, the same application is true of us. We have the Bible and say that we can properly interpret it. We try to teach others how to divide the scriptures properly concerning the plan of salvation, the church and such like, but do we really teach ourselves how it is to affect our lives?

Therefore, they boasted in the fact that they had the Law of Moses (2:23). They read it every Sabbath Day in their synagogues. Yet, they continually broke the Law (i.e., Matt. 23:14-23). As long as they went through the ritual of the Law of Moses, they thought that they were all right (cf. Isa. 1:2-20). In the time of Paul, national or fleshly Israel is living this same way as during the days of Isaiah. We need to remember to make a distinction between fleshly Israel and the Israel of God! No wonder they were unable to influence the Gentile world (2:24)! By the Gentiles seeing how they lived, they blasphemed the name of God!

Thus, when he brings in the subject of circumcision (a mark of distinction from Jews and Gentiles), Paul instructs them that the emphasis of circumcision in the Old Testament was to remind them of the importance of the circumcision of the heart (2:25); that is, they were to live as a separated people who belonged to God and were to abide in His covenant. When they failed to live the proper life, although they were circumcised, it did not make any difference as far as receiving the blessings of God. One Jewish rabbi once said, “A circumcised Jew could not go to hell!” That is what they thought here, and Paul is showing them that this is not true. Even the Old Testament showed that this was not to be the case. Now, by faith, here is a Gentile who lived in harmony with what the Law of Moses taught (2:26); thus, God accepted him based upon his faith. The “righteousness of the law” was righteousness by faith—there is no other kind of righteousness that is acceptable to God. By faith, whenever a Gentile lived by the principles of the covenant, he was acceptable to God, as he will even discuss later in this epistle to the Romans (cf. 9:30). Thus, we need to recognize the difference between one who followed the law “by the letter” and the Gentile who could fulfill the law (2:27)—he fulfilled it in the sense that he could do so by faith, which had to do with the inward attitude, as the next verse says.

Therefore, whenever a Jew under the law did not allow the law to affect his heart and cause him to live a righteous life by faith, he was not accepted of God. It did not matter if he was a descendant of Abraham (cf. Gen. 18:18-19). The real children of Abraham were those who lived by faith as Abraham did, and their lives demonstrated that they had a faith as Abraham did (i.e., Joshua and Caleb versus the rest of the nation). They were those who understood the significance of the circumcision and were Jews inwardly. The Old Testament emphasized that circumcision was always to signify a distinction of the heart (Deut. 30:1-6). Therefore, their captivity would cause them to return to God in faith, penitence and prayer (cf. Lev. 26:40-46), and then their hearts were circumcised. In other words, their service and obedience was from the heart, which is how God accepted it. That is the only kind of service that God has accepted.
Therefore, under the Old Testament, the Jews misinterpreted the Law of Moses—they thought that as long as they kept the rituals of worship, feast days and sacrifices, it would not matter how they lived. We must understand this to understand the references from Paul in the book of Romans to the law and those who were trying to find justification by it. I pray that this may help avoid confusion in misrepresenting and misunderstanding what Paul teaches in this wonderful epistle about redemption!

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Our Influence in the Parking Lot of Life

Have you ever driven around a parking lot looking for a place to park your car, only to find that the one spot available has another vehicle crowding it, in being parked over the line? That happens to me every time, it seems! It is just an annoying fact of living in this crowded world of ours. It is very easy to get annoyed and take it out on the person who “overparked”, isn’t it? I once took a piece of paper and wrote an angry note on it and stuck it under such a person’s windshield wiper. Of course, after I walked down the aisle of parking spots I began to feel bad about the note, after noticing that the five cars parked to his left had also “overparked”. I went back and removed the note from his windshield and was tempted to put it in the windshield of the first “overparked” car, but thought better of it. What had happened, of course, was that the first car parked too far to his right – causing the next car to do the same, and the next car, and the next car – all the way down to me. I am sure that the person who was already parked to my right was annoyed when he came back because my car was “overparked” and now crowding him.

What lesson can we learn from this about the influence we have on others? With regard to our personal influence, it is easy to see from this illustration that our actions cause others to have a reaction. You have heard the statement, “No man is an island.” What does that mean? It is a metaphor. You have two islands in the midst of the sea, there is no contact between them, and so what happens on one island has little or no effect on the other. With regard to man’s relationship to his fellow man, everything we do has an effect upon our environment and upon others. The Bible affirms this same principle, “For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself.” (Romans 14:7 NKJV). The context here deals with violating the conscience of one who is weaker in the faith by eating meat in their presence. To many Christians in Rome and also Corinth, the eating of meat that had previously been offered to idols and later sold in the common marketplace was too closely connected with idolatry for their conscience. Paul was concerned that eating in the presence of those who so conscientiously objected was the same as, “to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.” (Romans 14:13 NKJV). God calls such as a violation of the law of love, “Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died.” (Romans 14:15 NKJV).

We must never forget how we can negatively influence others, even when we have the best of intentions in mind. This can be seen even in our “parking lot” illustration; perhaps the first “overparker” had intended to give the person in the handicap parking spot next to him a little extra room to get in and out of their vehicle. It could be the case that his best of intentions toward the handicapped person negatively affected the next six or seven vehicles in the row.

We must be careful and sensitive toward others; but also we must not let these things keep us from doing what is right. That is where “political correctness” has harmed our society, because in order to soothe the sensibilities of the few, we done harm to the many. Such as the “politically correct” view that we must go out of our way to not violate the rights or conscience of atheists or people of “non-Christian” religions, but in doing so we violate the rights or conscience of those in “Christian” religions. Therefore we must always strive to strike a balance between doing what is right and negatively influencing other by doing what is wrong. Paul also said, “Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil…” (Romans 14:16 NKJV).

In our illustration, why was I angry with the owner of the “overparked” vehicle next to me? I think it was do to a lack of communication. I did not know why he took up part of my parking spot so I just assumed he was a rude or careless individual. When the reason why he was “overparked” was “communicated” to me (i.e. I noticed the other “overparked” cars) I understood where he was coming from and was no longer annoyed with him. Likewise, when we do something, which causes our brother or sister in Christ to stumble, there needs to be some line of communication between us and the one we have “offended.” Jesus taught, “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother…” (Matthew 18:15). Here He is talking about actual sin, but the same application is valid with regard to other transgressions or perceived transgressions. Communication is vital in our natural families – between husbands and wives, parents and children. Communication is also vitally important between member of our church family. Communication makes peace between brethren; it heals rifts between elders, deacons or preachers and the congregations they serve. We must strive to, in all things, demonstrate our love for each other by effectively communicating with one another. The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to say, “Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.” (Romans 14:19 NKJV) Communication and consideration of others will go along way toward this end.

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Commitment

Make Your Commitment As Sure as Possible!

2 Peter 1:10b, “… give the more diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never stumble” ASV:

Before making a commitment to some religious movement, make sure that they are teaching from the Bible [i.e. the 66 Books of the Old and New Testament].

Make sure the teaching you are called on to believe is correctly interpreted.

Make sure the teaching or passage of Scripture is not contradicted in some other Bible passage.

Make sure the Bible translation you are using is a good translation, some Bible translations are more a commentary than a translation.

Make sure that you are not under duress, but feel free to question your teacher and his philosophy.

Feel free to ask your teacher to show you the passage in the Bible that teaches his/her convictions about each point discussed.

Make sure that your previous exposure to false religious concepts are not influencing your perception of the present truth – Matthew 15:12-14, 12 Then came the disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, when they heard this saying? 13 But he answered and said, Every plant which my heavenly Father planted not, shall be rooted up. 14 Let them alone: they are blind guides. And if the blind guide the blind, both shall fall into a pit” ASV.

Make sure that your fleshly relationships are not interfering with your ability to reason correctly about the truth – Matthew 10:34-38, “34 Think not that I came to send peace on the earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. 35 For I came to set a man at variance against his father , and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law: 36 and a man’s foes (shall be) they of his own household. 37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And he that doth not take his cross and follow after me, is not worthy of me”

REMEMBER THIS:

No question is out of order when a person is seeking truth, ask of your teacher whatever question about his/her teaching that puzzles you or that you do not fully understand – if the teacher is honest and sincere about their conviction, they will be happy to explain – Colossians 4:6, “6 Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer each one” ASV.

1 Peter 3:15, “15 but sanctify in your hearts Christ as Lord: (being) ready always to give answer to every man that asketh you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, yet with meekness and fear” ASV.

CONCLUSION: Since we are created beings, we are to respond to our Creator as He wills. Since our Creator is God, we will want to respond to His instruction because of our knowledge that without His action we could not exist. You see God is the sustainer of our environment, and everything that pertains to our existence. To understand this fact is important to our understanding of our place in the scheme of things visible and invisible. Since God did create our parents {i.e., Adam and Eve} and made it possible for them to multiply, we understand that our presence here on the earth is controlled by God. Therefore, God is in charge of everything that pertains to our existence, our destiny is predicated upon our understanding and response to this knowledge. As we acquire knowledge of God’s goodness toward us, we naturally want to respond to please and glorify Him. If we know that God loves us and cares for us, surely we will want to obey his wishes regardless of whatever those wishes are. Today is a good time to reexamine ourselves so that we can honestly determine what we want to be in the coming years, do we want to be right with God or do we want to be something less that right in our relationship to God and to others?

REMEMBER THIS – our time here is growing shorter with each passing day, now is the time to get right with God and with our family, friends, and neighbors.

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