The eleventh chapter of Hebrews has been appropriately labeled as the “Hall of Faith.” It speaks of the great feats of faith of some Old Testament Bible characters like Noah, Abraham, Joseph and Moses. In the midst of this faith chronicle, the Lord reveals a great truth concerning faith itself. Without faith, no one can please God. In addition to this, the Lord indicates that an important aspect of faith is to “diligently seek him.” God promises to reward all those who continually and carefully seek for Him. He is not pleased when Christians fail to pray or read His word regularly. Instead, He wants men to seek Him with diligence!
A godly mother and grandmother helped raise Timothy by teaching him the truths of God’s word (2 Timothy 1:5; 2 Timothy 3:15). Paul wrote to Timothy specifically warning him in 1 Timothy chapter 4 concerning the dangers of the last days (i.e., the doctrines of devils, fables, and unedifying quarrels). In the midst of these warnings, Paul reminded Timothy to take heed unto himself. Timothy needed to guard against troubles from without while diligently taking care of his own walk with Christ. The Old Testament further reinforces these truths. The children of Israel were told to keep their souls diligently (Deuteronomy 4:9) and Solomon instructed his son to keep his heart “with all diligence” (Proverbs 4:23). Every Christian should carefully and zealously guard his walk with the Lord.
The world’s perfect example of dependability is the Lord Jesus Christ. The New Testament records many instances of His faithfulness, but none more expressive than the faithful manner in which He performs His duties as the believer’s high priest. According to today’s passage, Christ faithfully sanctifies believers. Through His death, He destroys the Devil and the power he exerts over death. The Christian’s high priest also remains faithful to deliver and reconcile all who come to Him in faith. Most importantly, Christ is a “merciful and faithful high priest” making reconciliation for sin. A high priest goes to God on behalf of the people. As the believer’s high priest, the Lord Jesus faithfully hears the believer’s prayers and presents them to the Father in His own Name. Never has there been someone so faithful as our high priest!
Paul and Barnabas functioned similar to pioneer church planters who travel into unreached areas with the gospel. As they traveled, they faithfully preached the gospel and started churches with the goal of returning later to strengthen the believers. As Paul and Barnabas were planning their return to these areas, a conflict arose between them concerning who would accompany them on their journey. Barnabas desired to take a young man named John Mark, but Paul adamantly refused. Mark had accompanied them on the first trip, but departed from them and “went not with them to the work.” Paul felt as though he could no longer depend upon John Mark because of his earlier failure. The contention was so strong that Paul and Barnabas parted company and went their own separate ways. This is a sad narrative should it end here; however, there is much more to the story. Praise God that Paul later remarked of John Mark that “he is profitable to me for the ministry” (2 Timothy 4:11).
As Moses recounted Israel’s time in the wilderness, he reminded God’s people of the reasons for their failure to enter into the land of promise. He rehearsed how it was the people who approached him requesting that spies first be sent into the land to explore it. If the people had trusted God, surveying the land would have been unnecessary. Yet, the people doubted God’s provisions so Moses sent in the spies. When they returned, they expressed stories of giants and walled cities that made the people fear to carry out God’s will. The spies’ report '"discouraged” (Deuteronomy 1:28) the hearts of the people. This loss of courage yielded an unbelief in the people (Deuteronomy 1:32), greatly displeasing the Lord (Hebrews 3:17-19).
Fear and discouragement are effective weapons in Satan’s arsenal which he uses to discourage the people of God from fulfilling the will of God for their lives. Fear is not all bad. The fear of God is good and holy, but the fear of the world withstands faith and brings the believer into bondage (Proverbs 29:25). Fear and faith are foes as are fear and courage. In 2 Timothy 1:6-8, the Bible points out that the Lord is not the instigator of fear in the life of the believer. In the place of fear, God gives men power, love, and a sound mind. God wants men to be courageous and full of faith. Yet, the fear of man exhibits a lack of courage. It frequently hinders believers from doing the Lord’s work and gives the impression that believers are ashamed of the Lord and His people.
As we have seen, courage comes from a strength of heart. On the contrary, the Bible likens discouragement (the opposite of courage) to a melted heart (Joshua 2:11). In other words, discouragement takes place when a man’s heart loses strength. The Bible reveals that discouragement comes through various avenues of life. Men become discouraged because of “the way” (i.e., the circumstances of life) (Numbers 21:4). Discouragement also results from fear and unbelief (Deuteronomy 1:28) and the magnitude of a task (1 Chronicles 28:20). Ultimately, discouragement rears its ugly head as a result of a lack of faith in God and His word. Since discouragement and a lack of faith go hand in hand, a discouraged man cannot please God (Hebrews 11:6).
A man’s conversation should consistently exhibit a high level of individual contentment. Defining conversation and covetousness will help to better understand Hebrews 13:5. A man’s conversation in the Bible sometimes refers to more than the words he speaks. It frequently refers to his entire way of life. One who lives covetously desires things not belonging to him. The Bible stresses the seriousness of covetousness by connecting it to the sin of idolatry. Combining these two simple truths shows that man should never live his life chasing after things not belonging to him. Why is it so important for a Christian to live a life of contentment? Since God promises to never leave or forsake His own, a discontented Christian lacks a trust in His Creator. Understanding these simple truths should bring great contentment to the believer.
The words content and contentment infer that one is satisfied with life's present conditions (Genesis 37:27; Exodus 2:21). Living contently is the opposite of wanting (Philippians 4:11) and covetousness (Hebrews 13:5) and is strongly associated with godliness (1 Timothy 6:6). Interestingly, contentment is a learned behaviour that believers must put into practice on a consistent basis throughout life. No one is born into the world content. Yet, once learned and practiced consistently, Christians will experience contentment in spite of any circumstance faced. Unfortunately, far too often, Christians exhibit no more contentment than non-Christians. In fact, believers seem to desire and covet the things of the world more and more with each passing year. This covetousness combined with a lack of contentment amongst Christians results in less godliness and a closer association with worldly pleasures.
The scripture plainly declares that God was compassionate prior tothe coming of Christ. Hiscoming to earth in a body of flesh simply confirmed that He is a compassionate Saviour. The coming of Christ, in the likeness of sinful flesh, enabled God the Son to experience the temptations and struggles of mankind (Romans 8:3, Hebrews 5:8). His compassion on earth reveals that He suffered with man, but more importantly, He suffered for man. He took the sins of the world upon Himself (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24), and gave man His own righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). One of the greatest demonstrationsof His compassion is the fact that God Himself loved us enough to be housed in a body of flesh (Hebrews 10:5).
