The book of Hebrews is not just about Jewish history, for as we peruse this great letter we listen to timely words of warning and wonderful, ageless, words of exhortation. Many of the sharpest words of God’s counsel come to us through this book.
The writer first reminds us of the great privilege we have, of not just being in His house, but of being His house:
“Christ was faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house (present tense) if we hold fast our confidence and pride in our hope.” He continues with the warning: “Take care, brethren, lest there be in you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” (3:6,12,13 RSV).
Hebrews 6:1 exhorts us to move on in our understanding, and stresses this kind of growth depends on the will of God, who alone can bring us to spiritual maturity “,..this we will do if God permits” (6:3). Paul, in Philippians 2:12,13 also informs us to “…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for God is at work in you,
both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”
Sinning voluntarily
Hebrews 10:26 in the RSV speaks of “sinning deliberately.” The AV says “sinning willfully,” but the Diaglott more correctly calls it “sinning voluntarily.” Combining the two words used here: “sin and voluntarily” we have: “To miss the mark, to be mistaken, or to wander from the path of uprightness — voluntarily.
As we struggle with this idea it may not be easy for us to admit that we “sin voluntarily.” We cannot, in any case, plead ignorance of God’s principles for the verse reads, “For if we sin deliberately…after receiving the knowledge of the truth.” So already having a knowledge of the truth means that we know, deep in our heart, what we should, or should not do. Yet how often we endure the weight of sin which clings so closely. It’s like a wart we can’t brush off.
We all know we must ask for the forgiveness of sins — which means confessing that we have sinned -that’s the hard part. We also know that irrespective of how loathsome they are, God will forgive our sins.
But that happens only if we forgive others their sins against us. Now, God was exceedingly wise in this, for here we have one of the few times in our ecclesial life where we actually experience a common involvement in the process of divine litigation. That is: When we forgive, He forgives.
Steering clear of sin
There are times when, to avoid entrapment, we must turn away from things which would draw us from God, for we are quite adept at “sinning voluntarily.” Someone said “sin is the harboring of evil thought,” and since we have been given the ability to deal with sin and to overcome its temptations, sinful thoughts must be rooted out. We thank God for the strength to overcome.
We are exhorted further about the honing away of our evil desires, and counselled to develop godly attitudes: “See to it that no one fail to obtain the grace of God; that no ‘root of bitterness’ spring up and cause trouble, and by it the many become defiled; that no one be immoral or irreligious like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears” (Heb. 12:15,16).
Sin is
Sin is a fundamental component of life, the overwhelming principle by which God declares the difference between Himself and us. Whether we like it or not, we must deal with our sins as children of God, and it is often this concern which keeps us off balance in our relationship with each other, and with God. We tend to deal with the acts of sin rather than the principles of sin.
In the Bible we find two kinds of sin: sins of commission, and sins of omission. First, there are clear statements from God about the things we must not do. Of the Ten Commandments, for instance, nine of the ten are of this first kind (Exodus 20) — 1) You shall have no other gods besides Me. 2) You shall not make for yourselves any graven image, etc.
When we break any of God’s laws we commit sin. These are called “sins of commission:” the “you shall not” sins.
Sins of omission
The other kind, “sins of omission,” are those in which we offend God by simply doing nothing. If this sounds strange, let’s look at some examples. The first is found in Genesis where Abraham, fearing for his life, twice said that Sarah was his sister. He escaped death, but in doing so illustrated that he omitted to trust God to deliver him. Later, Isaac did exactly the same thing. Even though God proclaimed clearly that it would be through them His purpose would be fulfilled, they took it into their own hands — out of fear — to take care of themselves, omitting to trust God.
Eli’s house was eliminated because even though he was aware that his sons were sinning in their priestly service, he omitted restraining them (I Samuel 3:13).
Moses lost his inheritance in the promised land because, in striking the rock instead of speaking to it, he omitted to sanctify God. No small thing, this! As a consequence of his anger and what he did not do, Moses was forbidden to cross the Jordan with Israel (Num. 20:8-12).
David, it appears, was not always the father he should have been. Absalom, his third-born, usurped his father’s authority as king, and David instead of rebuking him, gave him a kiss of approval. Absalom later revolted and David had to flee for his life (H Sam. 14:33). Neglecting responsibility toward one’s children is clearly a sin of omission.
Peter on that dark night in the courtyard out of fear rejected Jesus. Even as he heard the rooster crow he cried in denial, “I don’t know the man!” Jesus turned and looked at Peter, who went out weeping bitterly, knowing he had omitted to acknowledge that Jesus was his Lord!
Love for the lowliest
The classic illustration of sins of omission is given by Jesus in Matthew 25. He is telling the people about when he will sit on his glorious throne judging between the sheep and the goats. The real lesson of the parable is found, of course, in the ones on the left. The rejected ones, the goats, were shocked, and asked the question: When had they omitted to do these acts of kindness to him? His answer was concise, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me” (NIV). They will go away into eternal punishment, Jesus said.
When he addressed the sheep he welcomed them into the kingdom of God. They had attended to his needs, he said, and fed him when he was hungry, gave him drink, welcomed him as a stranger, clothed him when he was naked and visited him when he was in prison. The righteous sheep, in surprise, asked him when they had done all these things to him. We all know his answer! “I tell you the truth,” he said, “whatever you did for the least of these brothers (and sisters) of mine, you did it for me!” The righteous, said Jesus, shall receive eternal life.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One