Tasting, Seeing, Taking

Have you ever heard that expression, "not one iota!"  It is an English expression commonly used to indicate "not even the tiniest bit".  The word, "iota", is a Greek term, which refers to a single Greek letter.  Here is how the expression came to be:1

There was a religious teacher, claiming to be a follower of Jesus Christ, named Arius, who was from Alexandria, Egypt, and lived in the fourth century.  Arius began to teach doctrine which denied the Trinity of God.  In other words, he taught that God manifested himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but that each of these were not distinct Persons.  He also taught that the Father created the Son.  His basis for this hinged on one Greek letter - - - that's right, the iota, in the word homoiousious.  Arius claimed that the "i" was not there and that the more correct word should be homoousious.  The first Greek word, the one with the iota, means "of the same essence"; the second means "of similar essence".  Big difference.  The former is God's truth; the second is apostasy.

Hebrews 6:4-12 is today's text. (ESV)

4For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.7For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. 8But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.

9Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. 10For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. 11And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, 12so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Arius was an apostate.  Apostasy can be defined as this: revolt, abandonment or defection from faith. It generally takes two forms.

1.  The first is an open rejection of Jesus Christ.  This is the person described in today's scriptures, someone who has heard the gospel and perhaps even mimicked the Christian walk for a time.  But, the seed of the gospel, God's truth, never truly took root in their hearts. (We see this described in Mark 4:4-7.)  Instead, the seed died and the person ultimately rejected Christ.  If you talk to people like this they can say all the right things.  They can tell you how to receive Christ, how to live the Christian life, etc.  They KNOW the truth, but they have not received it into their hearts.  And, the dire warning of Hebrews 6 is that, chances are, barring a supernatural intervention from the Holy Spirit, they never will.
This describes SO many Americans and helps to explain why we have not had a major revival in this nation in generations.  Americans have had tremendous exposure to the gospel.... and said, "no, thanks, we prefer other gods".
I think of how many millions around this globe who have NEVER heard the gospel! How they long to hear it!  And, then there are those who have been blessed to hear, but whose response has been a slap in the face of God Almighty.

2.  The second is the person who hears and who then insidiously masquerades as a Christian while convincingly teaching false doctrine, leading people away from the truth, away from true salvation, teaching them to embrace a fake Jesus.  These are difficult to identify, without spiritual discernment.   Arius was one such apostate.

Some use this passage as proof that those who have been transformed by the holy, incomparable power of the Holy Spirit to eternal salvation can somehow walk away from that.  Note that verse 4 says "tasted".  That word (Greek: geusamenous) draws an important distinction.  It only occurs in Scripture in Hebrews 6:4-5.

I think about the first (and only) time I tried a cigarette.  (Don't tell my mama now, lol!)  My daddy was a big smoker, from age 9, and I loved him so!  When I was 13 or so I determined to try to discover what all the fuss was about smoking.  So, I secreted myself in the pink bathroom, after pilfering one of daddy's smokes, lit up, and inhaled.  "GROSS!"  Coughing, gagging, sputtering....I doused that foul thing with water, flushed the evidence and never went near those things again.

I had tasted a cigarette.  I did not become, nor do I have ANY desire to become "a smoker".  I had "tasted" and given that disgusting item a resounding "NO".

By contrast, when I met Jesus, I tasted and the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to see that "the Lord is good"!  I then, "drank Jesus in" (vs. 7).  Now that I think back, the Lord gave me that verse when I awoke this morning, me not consciously aware that I'd be studying this Hebrews passage today....isn't He wonderful!  The verse is from Psalm 34:8.  Here it is in its entirety (ESV).

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

You see?  The believer not only tastes.  He or she then sees.  And, finally, he or she takes.
That's the difference between a believer and an apostate.  The author of Hebrews gives this warning in verses 4-8 because it is impossible in this life to definitively separate the "wheat" from the "tares" (weeds) in any community of believers.  (See Matthew 14:24-30.)  But, God sees and God knows who are His.

Sources:

1     https://www.gotquestions.org/apostasy.html

Wonderful Example? Horrible Warning?

Someone gave me a calendar several years ago.  It was one of those themed items (maybe by Maxine?) that had a saying or an adage for each day.  You could flip from one day to the next and see some humorous bit of wisdom.  Often, as I flipped over the new page, I'd laugh.  But, one day, I flipped the page to see this:

"You can either be a wonderful example, or a horrible warning."

This sobering thought reminds me of Paul's plea in today's text:

17  Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us.  18  For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, 

Other versions translate "following my example" as the word "imitate".  The Greek word is Symmimētai , a word not used elsewhere in Scripture, which actually means "co-imitators".  That's why the NASB translates the thought as "join in following my example".
The other key word here then is "join", which signifies Paul's desire for the Philippians to unite in following the example set forth by him and by others like him, hence the "us" at the end of verse 17.

This reminds me of a time when, as a choral director of high school choirs, I attended a wonderful week-long workshop to learn choreography from a Disney park choreographer.  Fortunately, I was in my 20s at the time and in great physical shape.  The choreographer would stand in front of our group and, in order to learn the moves to each piece of music, the group would imitate him.  If we made missteps (and we made many), he would make us go over the steps again and again, until we "got it".
The end result was a beautiful and powerful synchronized performance where, not everyone looked the same, but we all together made a tremendous impact through both our auditory and visual performances.

So, there is also a call for unity in these verses.  He goes on in the passage to highlight two women who are having some kind of squabble, and to ask the small church to help them work it out.  As believers, we will have disagreements, sometimes serious ones.  Often, the call for unity is proclaimed, to resolve the differences.  But, unity for the sake of appearances or comfort is a false unity.  In other words, unity is great, but only if it is based on truth.  We as Christians are admonished to be unified, but not when error is present.

Paul recognized the power of example, of mentoring, of leadership.  In 1 Cor. 11:1, he "grounds" his admonition by anchoring it into bedrock.

Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.

Furthermore, in the earlier parts of his letter to the Philippians, and in his other letters, he describes the characteristics believers should imitate as well as the ones they should avoid.  What Paul desires they imitate is his distrust of his own abilities to live for Christ under his own power, his clear sense of his own shortcomings, as well as his earnest desire to reach the perfect example Christ Jesus gave.

Some have said that Paul is being arrogant in his request for the Philippian believers to imitate him. What he is asking of the Philippians is that join him single-mindedly in a similar quest  - - - - that being to pursue righteousness by following Christ's example.  Every Christian should be able to say these same words to their brothers and sisters in Christ.  If we can't declare that we are "walking this way" or "walking worthy", then we need to examine our hearts, repent of and confess any hidden sins and perhaps even re-examine our own salvation to see if it is indeed true.

Paul is writing to believers here, about people in the Philippian church.  In verse 18, he writes about church members who break his heart.  Apparently, in addition to believers who are following his and Christ's example, there are those who are living as "enemies of the cross of Christ."  What an indictment!  You might say that these are a "horrible warning"!  It is sad to contemplate that enemies of Christ can infest the church.  But, it happens.  When any believer falls into sin, or worse, practices sin, he or she at that moment is an enemy of the cross of Christ, because that sin is an affront to God. It is like a slap in His face, after all He has done to redeem us.
The people Paul describes here, though, are of the "practicing" kind.  Instead of "walking worthy", they persist in their sin, in order to set up their own power-structures, their little "kingdoms", which stand in opposition to the kingdom of God.  Psalm 55:20-21 (ESV) describes these people perfectly:

My companion stretched out his hand against his friends;

he violated his covenant.

His speech was smooth as butter,

yet war was in his heart.

His words were softer than oil,

yet they were drawn swords.

We are to avoid them...like the plague.

So, today's question for me and for you is this:  which will you choose to be?  A wonderful example? Or, a horrible warning?

Father, may each of us, Your redeemed, blood-bought Bride, make the choice today to join together in imitating Your Son, our Savior.  It is in His glorious name I pray, amen.

A Horrible Exchange

If you were asked to describe the majority of people in this world, those without Jesus Christ, what would you say?  I find it interesting how the apostle Paul characterized them, particularly the first descriptor he used.  Our text this morning is Romans 1:18-25.  (For newcomers to this blog, we are on a journey through the book of Romans.)

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth by their unrighteousness, 19 because what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.20 For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been made. So people are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image resembling mortal human beings or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles.

24 Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity, to dishonor their bodies among themselves. 25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creation rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

(NET)

The number one characteristic of unrighteous, ungodly, lost-without-Christ people is that they suppress the truth.  We see this passage "book-ended" by Paul's statements to that effect, in verses 18 and 25.

This morning, I was watching a news channel which is trying its darnedest to ignore the presidential candidate who won the Iowa caucuses. The network is doing this in an attempt to sway the election, by painting a false picture to their viewers, the electorate.  Campaigns do the same thing.  One of the commentators mentioned how one campaign was doing everything it could to stay alive, while the other candidate's momentum "on the ground" in the current battleground state was impossible to ignore.  Yet, this is not being portrayed in the media.  I'm not saying that this network or that one is ungodly.  I am saying that they bend the truth to suit their own purposes.  It is the way of the world.

Interestingly, Paul asserts in verses 19-20 that godless people, in their heart of hearts, KNOW the truth, one evidence of God's supremacy being His amazing creation all around us.  Unfortunately, rather than bowing their hearts in worship to almighty God, through His Son, Jesus Christ, these people choose to worship created things, most often, themselves or other created beings.  They proclaim themselves to be 'smarter than the average bear' (vs. 22).  They believe themselves to be "enlightened", intellectual, not falling for foolish "Bible stories".  "Who lives his life according to a mere book, after all?!", they condescendingly say.

7But God chose what the world thinks foolish to shame the wise, and God chose what the world thinks weak to shame the strong. 28God chose what is low and despised in the world, what is regarded as nothing, to set aside what is regarded as something, 29so that no one can boast in his presence.

1 Corinthians 1:27-29

(NET)

Paul allows these people, who make this deliberate choice, "no excuse" for their unrighteousness. They are unrighteous because they have made a conscious decision to reject God's plan for mankind's redemption, and more importantly, for their own.

They make a very, very short-sighted, foolish exchange.  They trade, or exchange, the glory of the immortal God for some other "idol".  Be sure you understand --- an "idol" can be any thing and anyone that takes the place of God in our lives.  Some versions of verse 25 say this "they exchanged the truth of God for 'the lie' ".  What is "the lie" referred to here?  It is the assertion that ---
"There is no God; therefore, He cannot be known.  Since He does not exist, I am not accountable to Him. I am my own god."

In verse 21, a dreadful verse, we see the result of such a catastrophic choice.  Because these people chose to be unthankful and ungrateful, because they chose to glorify "the created rather than the Creator", their thoughts became more and more dark, their actions more and more futile, their hearts more and more dark and impure.  In other words, it became more and more difficult for them to see the truth, to see the Light.

And then, the most horrible verse of all - - - verse 24 - - - God gave them over, to wallow in their sin.
Divine abandonment!  I'm going to borrow liberally here from John MacArthur:

"Paradidomi (gave … over) is an intense verb. In the New Testament it is used of giving one’s body to be burned (1 Cor. 13:3) and three times of Christ’s giving Himself up to death (Gal. 2:20; Eph. 5:2, 25). It is used in a judicial sense of men’s being committed to prison (Mark 1:14; Acts 8:3) or to judgment (Matt. 5:25; 10:17, 19, 21; 18:34) and of rebellious angels being delivered to pits of darkness (2 Pet. 2:4). It is also used of Christ’s committing Himself to His Father’s care (1 Pet. 2:23) and of the Father’s delivering His own Son to propitiatory death (Rom. 4:25; 8:32)"1

If that doesn't put a chill in your morning coffee, I don't know what will.  Sounds pretty final, doesn't it?  Does this pronouncement mean that it is impossible for some to come to salvation, after they make an initial, disastrous choice?  The scriptures declare that "Nothing is impossible with God" (Luke 1:37).  It is not up to us to declare someone "hopelessly, irrevocably lost".  As long as there is breath in the body, there is hope of eternal salvation.  However, this passage should sober us Believers for those we know to be lost and on their way to Hell.

Is this passage eerily familiar?  Do you see yourself in these verses?  Have you made the mistake, in your past, of rejecting Jesus Christ's offer of salvation?  Please don't delay!  He is the only Source of Life and Truth.  Surrender your life to Him, today.

Well, Father, this scripture passage just makes me ill.  When I mull it over I think of my loved ones who are living lives of self-worship, openly testifying to their rejection of You.  I'm going to keep living the Truth before them, Lord, loving on them, speaking to them as Your spirit leads and most of all, praying, praying, diligently praying that their eyes and hearts will be opened, that they will reconsider, before it is too late.  Oh Lord, have mercy on them!  Please speak to them in ways that they will best understand, so that they will be spared Hell and can dwell with You forever.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Source:

1  https://www.gty.org/resources/bible-qna/BQ100212/What-Does-Scripture-Mean-When-It-Says-God-Gave-Them-Over