Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Hebrews 12:14

Follow peace with all [men,] and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

14 17. Need of earnest watchfulness

14. Follow peace with all men ] The word “men” is better omitted, for doubtless the writer is thinking mainly of peace in the bosom of the little Christian community a peace which, even in these early days, was often disturbed by rival egotisms (Rom 14:19; 2Ti 2:22).

and holiness ] Rather, “and the sanctification” (Heb 9:13, Heb 10:10; Heb 10:29, Heb 13:12).

without which ] We have here in succession two iambics:

.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Follow peace with all men – Do not give indulgence to those passions which lead to litigations, strifes, wars; see the notes on Rom 14:19. The connection here requires us to understand this mainly of persecutors. The apostle is referring to the trials which those whom he addressed were experiencing. Those trials seem to have arisen mainly from persecution, and he exhorts them to manifest a spirit of kindness toward all – even though they were engaged in persecuting them. This is the temper of the gospel. We are to make war with sin, but not with people; with bad passions and corrupt desires, but not with our fellow-worms.

And holiness – Instead of yielding to contending passions and to a spirit of war; instead of seeking revenge on your persecutors and foes, make it rather your aim to be holy. Let that be the object of your pursuit; the great purpose of your life. Men might in such cases counsel them to seek revenge; the spirit of religion would counsel them to strive to be holy. In such times they were in great danger of giving indulgence to evil passions, and hence, the special propriety of the exhortation to endeavor to be holy.

Without which no man shall see the Lord – That is, shall see him in peace; or shall so see him as to dwell with him. All will see him in the day of judgment, but to see one is often used in the sense of being with one; dwelling with one; enjoying one; see the notes on Mat 5:8. The principle here stated is one which is never departed from; Rev 21:27; Isa 35:8; Isa 52:1; Isa 60:21; Joe 3:17; Mat 13:41; 1Co 6:9-10. No one has ever been admitted to heaven in his sins; nor is it desirable that anyone ever should be. Desirable as it is that lost people should be happy, yet it is benevolence which excludes the profane, the impious, and the unbelieving from heaven – just as it is benevolence to a family to exclude profligates and seducers, and as it is benevolence to a community to confine thieves and robbers in prison. This great principle in the divine administration will always be adhered to; and hence, they who are expecting to be saved without holiness or religion, are destined to certain disappointment.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but God will not admit one unrepenting and unpardoned sinner to heaven. It was the importance and the certainty of this principle which made the apostle insist on it here with so much earnestness. Amidst all their trials; when exposed to persecution; and when everything might tempt them to the indulgence of feelings which were the opposite of holiness, they were to make it their great object to be like God. For this they were to seek, to strive. to labor, to pray. This with us in all our trials should also be the great aim of life. How deeply affecting then is the inquiry whether we have that holiness which is indispensable to salvation! Let us not deceive ourselves. We may have many things else – many things which are in themselves desirable, but without this one thing we shall never see the Lord in peace. We may have wealth, genius, learning, beauty, accomplishments, houses, lands, books, friends – but without religion they will be all in vain. Never can we see God in peace without a holy heart; never can we be admitted into heaven without that religion which will identify us with the angels around the throne!

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Heb 12:14

Follow peace.

., and holiness

The winnowing fan

I. TWO THINGS TO BE FOLLOWED. We are to follow peace and holiness; the two are consistent with each other and may be followed together. Peace is to be studied, but not such a peace as would lead us to violate holiness by conforming to the ways of unregenerate and impure men. We are only so far to yield for peace sake as never to yield a principle; we are to be so far peaceful as never to be at peace with sin: peaceful with men, but contending earnestly against evil principles. Courtesy is not inconsistent with faithfulness. It is not needful to be savage in order to be sanctified. Follow holiness, but do not needlessly endanger peace. Having thus hinted at the connection between the two, and how the two together make up a complete character, let us now take them one by one.

I. Follow PEACE, peace with all says the text–an amplification of the expression. Follow peace with all the Church. Hold what you believe with firmness, for you are not to trifle with Gods truth; but wherever you see anything of Christ, there confess relationship, and act as a brother towards your brother in Christ. Follow peace with all, especially with all your own relatives and friends at home. Call we that man a Christian who will not speak with his own brother? Follow peace with all your neighbours. & Christian man should not make himself hated by all around him, yet there are some who seem to fancy that they are true to their religion in proportion as they make themselves disagreeable. Win your neighbours by your willingness to oblige; disarm their opposition, if possible, by courtesy, by charitableness, by kindness. Follow peace with all–even with persecutors. The anvil after all breaks the hammer, because it bears every stroke and returns none; so be it with the Christian. The text says

II. FOLLOW peace, and the word follow indicates a hunter in pursuit of his game. He tracks the footsteps of his prey, he follows it over hill and dale, by the edge of the precipice, over the dangerous ridge, across the brook and along the river, through the wood and down the glen. Follow peace in this way; that is, do not merely be peaceful if nobody irritates you, but go out of your way to be peaceful; give up many things that you have a right to enjoy; the respect that is due to you be willing to forego; in fine, yield all but truth for peace sake. Charity suffereth long, and is kind. Charity beareth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Often the Alpine hunter, when pursuing the chamois, will leap from crag to crag, will wear out the live-long day, will spend the night upon the mountains cold brow, and then descend to the valleys, and up again to the hills, as though he could never tire, and could never rest until he has found his prey. So perseveringly, with strong resolve to imitate your Lord and Master, follow peace with all. The next object of pursuit is a still higher attainment–would God we had reached it.

III. Follow peace with all men, and HOLINESS. The amplification of the term holiness is the solemn declaration, without which no man shall see the Lord. I understand by this sentence, in the first place, that no person who is unholy can see or understand Christ the Lord, or God His Father; that is to say, he does not know who Christ is so as to have any real fellowship with Him. He may know His name and know His history, and have some theoretical ideas of what the Redeemer did and is, but he cannot discern the spiritual character and teaching of the Lord. But perhaps the great meaning lies in this–without holiness no man can see the Lord in heaven at last. He will see Him on the throne of judgment, but he cannot see Him as his Friend, he cannot see Him in that beatific vision which is appointed for the sanctified, he cannot see Him so as to find joy and delight in the sight of Him. Now, see, the text says, Follow holiness; follow it, that is to say, you will not gain it by standing still. Nobody ever grew holy without consenting, desiring, and agonising to be holy. Sin will grow without sowing, but holiness needs cultivation. You must pursue it with determination, with eagerness, with long-continued perseverance, as a hunter pursues his prey.

II. Two THINGS TO BE AVOIDED. Looking diligently, lest any man fail of the grace of God. The first thing to be avoided is failure. There are some persons who for a time exhibit many outward evidences of being Christians, but at last the temptation comes most suitable to their depraved tastes, and they are carried away with it. They fail of the grace of God. Like a man in business who makes money for a time, but fails in the end. Some have maintained an admirable character to all appearance all their lives, and yet have failed of the grace of God because of some secret sin. It says, Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God. The word is episcopountes, a word which signifies overseeing, being true bishops, looking diligently as a man on the watchtower watches for the coming foe. See the sentry pace the rampart, he looks in one direction and he sees the brushwood stirred, he half thinks it is the foe, and suspects an ambush there; he looks to the front, across the sea, does he not discern a sail in the distance? The attack may be from the seaboard; he looks to the right, across the plain, and if even a little dust should move he watches lest the foe should be on foot. So in the Church of God each one should be on his watchtower for himself and for others, watching diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God. The second thing to be avoided is uprising evil: Lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled. In the centre of my lawn horse-radish will sprout up; after the smallest shower of rain it rises above the grass and proclaims its vitality. There was a garden there once, and this root maintains its old position. When the gardener cuts it down, it resolves to rise again. Now, if the gardener cannot get it quite out of the ground, it is his business constantly to cut it down. We are but men, and even when associated in church-fellowship, each one brings his own particular poisonous root, and there are sure to be bad roots in the ground. We are to watch diligently lest any of these poisonous roots spring up, for if they do they will trouble us. Sill and error always bring sorrow and division, and thereby many are defiled. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

The ideal life:

How beautiful and solemn are these words, like the swelling cadence of heavens own music. Evidently they do not emanate from this sorrow-stricken and warring world; they are one of the laws of the kingdom of heaven, intended to fashion our life on earth.

I. THERE IS OUR ATTITUDE TOWARDS GOD. Follow after holiness. In

R.V. this is rendered sanctification. And this in turn is only a Latinequivalent for setting apart, as Sinai among mountains, the Sabbath among the days of the week, the Levites among the Jews, and the Jews among the nations of the earth. But after all there is a deeper thought. Wily were people, places, and things, set apart? Was it not because God was there. We can never be holy apart from God, but when God enters the spirit of man, He brings holiness with Him. Nay, the presence of God in mall is holiness. He is the holy man in whom God dwells. He is the holier, in whom God dwells more fully. He is the holiest, who, however poor his intellect and mean his earthly lot, is most possessed and filled by the presence of God through the Holy Ghost (1Co 1:2; 1Co 6:19). Why then does the sacred writer bid us follow after holiness, as though it were an acquisition? Because, though holiness is the in-filling of mans spirit by the Spirit of God, yet there are certain very important conditions to be observed by us, if we would secure and enjoy that blessed gift.

1. Give self no quarter. It is always asserting itself in one or other of its Protean shapes. It may show itself in religious pride, in the satisfaction with which we hear ourselves remarked for our humility. It will need incessant watchfulness, because where self is there God cannot come. He will not share His glory with another.

2. Yield to God. He is ever seeking the point of least resistance in our natures. Help Him to find it, and when found, be sure to let Him have His blessed way.

3. Take time to it. This is not natural, but it may become as second nature by habitual diligence.

II. THERE IS OUR ATTITUDE TOWARDS MEN. Follow after peace. The effect of righteousness is always peace. If you are holy, you will be at peace. Peace is broken by temptation, but the holy soul has learnt to put Christ between itself and the first breath of the tempter. Peace is broken by care, dissatisfaction, and unrest, but the Lord stands round the holy soul, as do the mountains round Jerusalem, which shield off the cruel winds, and collect the rain which streams down their broad sides to make the dwellers in the valleys rejoice and sing. Others may be fretful and feverish, the subjects of wild alarms, but there is perfect peace to the soul which has God, and is satisfied. But there must be a definite following after peace. The temperaments of some are so trying. Hence the need of endeavour and patience and watchfulness, that we may exercise a wholesome influence as peacemakers.

1. Avoid becoming a party to a quarrel. It takes two to make a quarrel: never be one.

2. If opposed to the malice of men, do not avenge yourselves. Our cause is more Gods than it is our own. It is for Him to vindicate us, and He will.

3. Do not give cause of offence. If you are aware of certain susceptibilities on the part of others, where they may be easily irritated, avoid touching them, if you can do so without being a traitor to Gods holy truth.

III. THERE IS OUR ATTITUDE TOWARDS OUR FELLOW CHRISTIANS. Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God. It is a beautiful provision that love to a common Lord attracts us into the fellowship of His disciples, and as no individual life truly develops in solitariness, so no Christian is right or healthy who isolates himself from the communion of saints. But we go not there only for selfish gratification, but that we may look after one another, not leaving it to the officers of the host; but each doing our own share. There are three dangers.

1. The laggards. This is the meaning of fail. The idea is borrowed from a party of travellers, some of whom lag behind, as in the retreat from

Moscow, to fall a prey to Cossacks, wolves, or the awful sleep. Let us who are in the front ranks, strong and healthy, go back to look after the weaklings, who loiter to their peril.

2. The root of bitterness. There may be some evil root lurking in some heart, hidden now, but which will bear a terrible harvest of misery to many. So was it in Israel once, when Achan conceived thoughts of covetousness, and brought evil on himself, and mourning on the host whose defeat he had brought about. If we can discover the presence of such roots of bitterness, let us, with much searching of our own souls, humility, and prayer, root them out, ere they can spring up to cause trouble.

3. The profane and earthly minded. Of these Esau is the type, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. Alas! are there not many such? For one momentary gratification of the flesh, they forfeit not their salvation perhaps (we are not told that even Esau forfeited that), but their power to lead, to teach, to receive and hand on blessing to the Church. (F. B. Meyer, B. A.)

Follow peace

I. THE NATURE OF THE DUTY REQUIRED: Follow peace. The word follow is full of meaning. It implies strong desire, and vigorous endeavour; both the inward and outward man are to be engaged in this necessary and delightful service. It is also implied that we shall meet with many obstacles and difficulties in the way, both from the corruptions of our own hearts, and the perverse disposition of others: so that we shall need invincible perseverance.

1. In following after peace, we must pray that our own hearts and the hearts of others may be inclined to peace; we to propose, and they to accept it, and both to maintain it when once it has been established.

2. It becomes us to avoid whatever might become an obstacle to peace. Pride must be mortified; the pride of riches, of talents, and of reputation. Let us also beware of covetousness; for the love of money has separated those who would otherwise have been happily united. In order to preserve peace it is necessary also to discountenance slander and reproach, and to guard against ill-grounded jealousies and evil surmisings. Nothing can prosper where these propensities are indulged; they are the bane of confidence, and the rottenness of friendship.

3. We must endeavour to exercise those graces which have a pacific and uniting tendency. Of this description are humility, meekness, and love. Of the exercise of such virtues it may be said, as Tertullus did of the actions of Felix, by them we enjoy much quietness.

4. As the desire of peace should excite to the exercise of grace, so also to the faithful discharge of duty. We should do unto others, as we would have others in like circumstances do unto us. It becomes us to be courteous in our deportment, neither envious of those in superior circumstances, nor haughty towards others whom providence has placed beneath us. Let us also forget ill services, and requite good ones. Above all, let us mark those who would sow the seeds of strife, and avoid them, as we would a rock or quicksand, or a house infected with the plague.

5. Let us remember that a mild and peaceable disposition is one of the greatest ornaments to the Christian character. In this we shall resemble the ever blessed God, who is emphatically styled the God of peace. Jesus is also called the Prince of Peace, and His gospel is the gospel of peace; His followers therefore ought to be men of peace.

II. THE EXTENT OF THE DUTY: FOLLOW peace with all men.

1. We must follow after peace with men of all ranks and conditions in life. We should behave with reverence towards those above us, and with courtesy towards those below us; avoiding on the one hand a proud spirit, and on the other, whatever is mean and grovelling.

2. With men of various tempers and dispositions. If masters are froward, servants should he submissive. If neighbours are unkind, ye must be patient towards them, and towards all men. Virtue of every kind shines the brighter, when contrasted with its opposite, and gains a victory over it.

3. We must follow peace with men of every character and description, let their principles be what they may; with the righteous and the unrighteous, with both saints and sinners, in (he Church and in the world.

4. Christians of other denominations, and of different religious sentiments, are entitled to our attention and benevolent regard.

5. We must follow peace, even with our enemies. We must do good, where nothing but evil is to be expected in return. (B. Beddome, M. A.)

The duty of following peace with all men

I. Attend to THE EXPLANATION OF THE TEXT, Follow peace with all men.

1. Consider, in the first place, the object which you must follow–peace with all men. All believers in Christ are the children of peace, and therefore, as far as is possible, they must live peaceably with all men. What is it that constitutes the happiness of heaven? It is the perfect and everlasting reign of peace.

2. That peace which we ought to cultivate sometimes flies away. That peace often departs from nations cannot be denied; that it often flies away front families is equally evident; and that it is not always found in the Church is a matter of deep and bitter lamentation.

3. When peace has departed it must be followed: follow peace. Some imagine that if they had no hand in driving peace away, nothing is required from them to bring it back again. But though the driving away of peace from a congregation may have been the work of a few, it is the duty of all to endeavour to bring it back again. Others, again, say, We will not prevent the return of peace, we wilt sit still and wait for its return, and when it comes we will give it a most hearty welcome. This is well so far as it goes, but it is not enough. In the pursuit of peace there must be mutual forgiveness. Have you obtained forgiveness of God? then you will reckon it both your duty and your privilege to forgive others. And be it remarked farther, that this forgiveness must be frank, and hearty, and open. In the pursuit of peace you must sacrifice your feelings, your prejudices, your angry passions, and even your interests. Blessed are the peace-makers; and blessed especially are those who make the greatest sacrifices to maintain, or to restore peace. In the pursuit of peace everything must be avoided which has a tendency to prevent the return of peace. The grounds of difference should be buried in perpetual oblivion. Even angry, discontented, suspicious looks must be avoided. A man can fight with his eyes, as well as with his tongue, or with his hands; as, therefore, there must be hearts of love, and actions of love, there must be also looks of love. In the pursuit of peace you must abound in prayer.

II. THE GREAT DUTY OF FOLLOWING PEACE MIGHT BE ENFORCED BY MANY CONSIDERATIONS.

1. The authority of God enjoins this duty. God hath called us to peace. The fruit of the Spirit is peace. If, therefore, you desire to enjoy the favour of God, which is life; or if you dread the anger of God, which is perdition, follow peace with all men.

2. Consider the Master whom you profess to serve. Is He not the Prince of Peace? Has He not made peace by the blood of His Cross? Is not His gospel, which you all profess to believe, the gospel of peace?

3. Consider the injury which you do to the Church by these unseemly contentions.

4. Consider that the hour of death is coming. You cannot die comfortably if you are not at peace with all mankind. Hasten, then, in pursuit of peace, and give yourself no rest until you have overtaken it and brought it back. (W. Smart.)

The peaceful temper:

There are many particular duties in which Christianity and worldly wisdom meet, both recommending the same course. One of these is the duty mentioned in the text, viz., that of being at peace with others. A wise adviser of this world tells any one who consults him as to his conduct in life, to beware especially of getting into quarrels with people. He tells him not only to avoid actual quarrels, but to cultivate a peaceful temper. The gospel tells us to do the same. The reason which worldly prudence suggests is the quiet and happiness of life, which are interfered with by relations of enmity to others. The reason which religion gives is the duty of brotherly-love, of which the peaceful disposition is a part. But the frequency of the advice, under either aspect, is remarkable, and shows that there is some strong prevailing tendency in human nature to which it is opposed. When we examine, then, the tempers of men, to see what there is in them which is so strongly opposed to this precept of following peace, the first thing we observe is, that people rush into quarrels from simple violence and impetuosity of temper, which prevents them from waiting a single minute to examine the merits of the case, and the facts of the case, but carries them forward possessed with a blind partiality in their own favour, and seeing nothing but what favours their own side. Again, there is the malignant temper, which fastens vindictively upon particular persons, who have been either the real or supposed authors of some disadvantage. Men of this character pursue a grudge unceasingly, and never forget or forgive. But impetuosity and malignity are not the only tempers which are opposed to the law of peace, and to the peaceful disposition. There are some very common habits of mind, which, without being so conspicuous in their manifestations, lead to a great deal of enmity of a certain kind–sometimes open enmity, sometimes, when this is avoided, still to bad relations towards others. There are many persons who can never be neutral or support a middle state of mind. If they do not positively like others, they will see some reason for disliking them; they will be irritable if they are not pleased; they will be enemies if they are not friends. They cannot bear to be in an attitude of mind which does not give active employment to the feelings on one side or the other. On this principle many of their neighbours are eyesores to them and the very sight of them interrupts their repose, when there is no real occasion for any such feelings; inasmuch as if they have furnished no cause for pleasure, they have not furnished any cause for pain either. And now, what I want to observe is, how completely this rule is opposed to the law which the apostle lays down, of following peace with all men. When we examine what the relation of peace is, we find that it is exactly that relation towards others which the temper I have described has such a difficulty in adopting, and which is so repugnant to its taste. It is not a state of active love and affection, for these we do not call being at peace, but something more: nor is it a state which admits of any ill-feeling; but it lies between the two, comprehending all kindly intentions, forbidding the least wish for anothers injury, avoiding, as much as possible, dispute and occasion of offence; consulting order, quiet, and contentment, but not arriving at more than this. Peace implies the entire absence of positive ill-will. The apostle then says that this is our proper relation toward all men. More than this applies to some, but as much as this applies to all. He would have us embrace all men within our love, so far as to be in concord with them, not to be separated from them. Be in fellowship, he says, with all men, so far as to have nothing wrong in your relation to them, nothing to disunite: follow peace with all men. Is any other principle of conduct and kind of temper indeed fit for this world in which we live? The great mass of those even whom we know and meet with in the intercourse and business of life must be comparatively nothing to us. More than this, they must be often persons who are not made after a model that we like, persons who do not sympathise with us or elicit sympathy from us. True and genuine intercourse and communication between minds, if it could be obtained, might clear up a good deal of this cloud, and remove the barrier which separates one man from another: but this is not given, and if it were, there still remains dissimilarity of tempers, gifts, and tastes, The apostle then lays down a plain rule with respect to the whole of this large section–viz., to be at peace with them. I have shown that there is a kind of temper and disposition which, without impetuosity, and without malignity, is still in opposition to the law of peace, and does in fact produce a great deal of latent, if not open enmity, in the world. I will now mention one or two reasons which have a great deal to do in promoting this temper. In the first place, it is very irksome to keep watch over ourselves, and to repel the intrusion of hostile thoughts by the simple resistance of conscience, when we are not assisted by any strong current of natural feeling in doing so. This is a difficult duty. But those who say that they either like or dislike, avoid and evade this duty. Another reason which tends to keep up the disposition which I have been describing is, that the hostile class of relations are evidently accompanied by their own pleasures in many temperaments. They furnish an excitement to them; and, at the bottom, they prefer it to a state of peace on this account, because there is agitation and a flutter of spirits in this relation; whereas peace is repose, and does not offer this play to the mind and temper. They would rather a great deal be in a state of irritation with any person for any reason than feel at all dull. To be dull is the greatest trial to them. They will stir up the scene at any rate, even at the cost of renewing vexatious subjects. It breaks the level of life; it varies the flatness of it. It is a stimulant; it keeps the spirits in motion. So, too, is the justification of dislike; the explanation how it arose and was called for. All this is much more to the taste of many than being at peace. They are not conscious of any deep malignity, but they derive a pleasure still from the disturbance of the ground, the agitation of the elements of life, which they take care shall not subside into complete repose. It was with the entire knowledge of these weaknesses and frailties of human nature, and these elements of disturbance, even in minds of average goodness, that St. Paul said–Follow peace with all men. You must not, he says, be at peace only with those to whom you are partial; that is easy enough; you must be at peace with those toward whom you entertain no partiality, who do not perhaps please you, or suit you. That is the rule of peace which the gospel lays down, and it must be fulfilled by standing guard at the entrance of our hearts, and keeping off intruding thoughts. And he says again that we must not seek excitement from the petty quarrels and discords of life, from prejudice and antipathies, and the commotion which is bred out of them. This is a poor and morbid pleasure which impoverishes and lowers every mind that indulges in it. Let us follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord. It is not without design that these two were connected together by the apostle–following peace and holiness. A life of enmities is greatly in opposition to growth in holiness. All that commotion of petty animosity in which some people live, is very lowering, it dwarfs the spiritual growth of persons. In a state of peace the soul lives as in a watered garden, where, under the watchful eye of the Divine Source, the plant grows and strengthens. All religious habits and duties–prayer, charity, and mercy, are formed and matured when the man is in a state of peace with others–with all men; when he is not agitated by small selfish excitements and interests which divert him from himself and his own path of duty, but can think of himself, what he ought to do, and where he is going. (J. B.Mozley, D. D.)

A patterer of peace

I. WHAT IS THIS PEACE? Peace is threefold.

1. Above us: namely, reconciliation with God.

2. Within us: namely, an inward conformity of sanctified faculties, of mind, will, and affections.

3. Without us: with the creatures, especially with man, which our text speaketh of. And this external peace of man with man is nothing else but an holy agreement and consent of minds, speeches, and carriage in all good things.

II. WHAT IT IS TO FOLLOW PEACE.

1. Seek it out, and beat it out, as dogs at a loss: if we cannot find the track in one place, seek it in another.

2. Follow it with earnestness, as hunters follow their game earnestly, with strong intention, not as on a cold scent.

3. With desire to take it; for so do they.

4. With pleasure and delight in taking it. Our souls must delight in the purchase of peace. Thus Abraham hunted after peace with Lot, and obtained.

III. WITH WHOM MUST WE FOLLOW PEACE? With all men. To embrace peace with good men is not hard for a good man; for they will hardly be put out of the way, and are soon led in again; but to hold peace with evil men is praiseworthy. But with some men we must not have peace, and with many men we cannot have peace. For the former: Israel must never seek the peace of Moabites and Ammonites (Deu 23:6), and the same of the Canaanites (Ezr 9:11). If it be so by special revelation, which is no rule for the common course. But peace cannot be had with all men; some will not be at peace: wicked men will have no peace with godly men. As soon shall you reconcile darkness to light, fire and water, heaven and hell, as Cain and Abel, Isaac and Ishmael, Jews and Samaritans.

1. Though we cannot have it with all men, we must follow it with all men. If thou seekest it though thou canst not find it, it is enough for thee. First, so far as is possible (Rom 12:18). If it be not possible to recover peace but upon bad conditions, let it go; we must prefer many things before peace, as

(1) We must prefer peace with God before peace with men.

(2) We must prefer piety, and purity of religion before peace.

(3) We must prefer grace before peace: so the apostles everywhere, grace and peace. I must walk in the way of grace whether I meet with peace or not.

(4) We must prefer peace of conscience before peace with men. Secondly, there is another rule of limitation (Rom 12:18), so far as lieth in us. For it lieth not in us often to obtain peace. It may be our lot to deal with contentious, envious, proud, quarrelsome persons, that Scorn to capitulate with us, and defy peace with us, as they do our persons. Or we may have to deal with devouring men that will have no peace, unless they may swallow our names, and estates, and carry all afore them with horrible lies and suggestions. What can we do, where is so little hope of peace? Only thus: thou must have peace so far as is in thee. Motives to be considered thereunto. Christ hath died to bequeath peace. Peace with holiness makes up a full harmony in heaven and in earth. Holiness joins us with God, peace with men. Take harmony and peace out of the world, it is dissolved, heaven and earth must fall asunder. Take harmony and consent out of the body, the members are at war, and the whole tends to dissolution. Take peace from men, it is all one as to take the breath from the body, the sun out of the world. Heaven is a place of peace, and the blessedness of it belongeth only to them that make peace, and keep peace (Mat 5:9). (T. Taylor, D. D.)

A life of peace and kindness:

Dean Stanley said to the crowd of children at Westminster Abbey, on Innocents Day, December 28th: I knew once a very famous man, who lived to be very old–who lived to be eighty-eight. He was always the delight of those about him. He always stood up for what was right. His eye was like an eagles when it flashed fire at what was wrong. And how early do you think he began to do this? I have an old grammar which belonged to him, all tattered and torn, which he had when a little boy at school; and what do you think I found written, in his own hand, in the very first page? Why, these words: Still in thy right hand carry gentle peace, to silence vicious tongues–be just, and fear not. That was his rule all through life, and he was loved and honoured down to the day when he was carried to his grave. Peaceable holiness:–It was a saying of the pious Richard Baxter, recorded by himself in the History of his own Times: While we wrangle here in the dark we are dying, and passing to that world which will decide all our controversies: and the safest passage thither is by peaceable holiness.

Gods love of peace:

Of all the birds the dove is the most easily alarmed and put to flight at hearing a shot fired. Remember that the Holy Ghost is compared to a dove; and if you begin to shoot at each other, the Heavenly Dove will take wing and instantly leave you. The Holy Spirit is one of love and peace, not of tumult and confusion. He cannot live among the smoke and noise of fired shots: if you would grieve the Holy Spirit and compel Him to retire, you have only to commence firing at one another, and He will instantly depart. (Williams of Wern.)

The evil of disunion:

When the troops of Monmouth were sweeping the bridge (at the battle of Bothwell Brig), and Claverhouse, with his dragoons, was swimming the Clyde, the Covenanters, instead of closing their ranks against their common foe, were wrangling about points of doctrine and differences of opinion. In consequence, they were scattered by enemies whom, if united, they might have withstood and conquered. (T. Guthrie.)

Christianity and war:

Dr. Gutzlaff, who spent three years as a missionary in Siam, said: The Siamese looked with great anxiety upon the part which the English would take in the war between Quedah and themselves. When the king first heard of their neutrality, he exclaimed: I beheld, finally, that there is some truth in Christianity, which formerly I considered very doubtful. This favourable opinion influenced the people to become friendly with us. The consequence was that we gained access to persons of all ranks and of both sexes. (Tinlings Illustrations.)

Holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord

The highest end of being, and the only way to reach it

I. THE HIGHEST END OF BEING. TO see the Lord means to have loving fellowship with Him who is infinite Love.

II. THE ONLY WAY TO REACH IT. Holiness.

1. God cannot be so seen as to be admired through the medium of a corrupt heart.

2. God cannot be so seen as to be admired, through the medium of a guilty conscience.

CONCLUSION:

1. This subject serves to expose some popular religious errors.

(1) That the grand end of human existence is to get to heaven as a place. No; the true heaven of humanity is a loving vision of a loving God.

(2) That future happiness is to be obtained by the adoption of certain creeds, attendance to certain rites and ceremonies, and a punctual observance of all the ordinances of religion. No; holiness is wanted, nothing else.

2. This subject serves to show the infinite value of the work of Christ.

3. This subject serves to reveal wherein true wisdom consists.

(1) The choice of the highest end.

(2) The employment of the best means to attain the end.

(3) The application of the best time for the employment of the means. Now. (Homilist.)

Holiness

I. THE BLESSINGS OF HOLINESS.

II. THE WAY TO HOLINESS.

1. Grace is the source of it.

2. Constant progress is necessary to it.

3. Diligence is a requisite in it.

III. THE MOTIVES TO HOLINESS,

1. Troublers are destroyed by it.

2. Backsliding is prevented by it.

3. Influence for good is increased by it.

4. There is no heaven without it. (Homilist.)

Holiness demanded

I. First, then, YE ARE ANXIOUS TO KNOW WHETHER YE HAVE HOLINESS OR NOT. NOW, if our text said that without perfection of holiness no man could have any communion with Christ, it would shut every one of us out, for no one, who knows his own heart, ever pretends to be perfectly conformed to Gods will. It does not say, Perfection of holiness, mark; but holiness. This holiness is a thing of growth. As the Spirit of God waters it, it will grow till the mustard-seed shall become a tree. Well, now, let us note four sorts of people who try to get on without holiness.

1. First, there is the Pharisee. The Pharisee goes to work with outward ceremonies.

2. Then there is the moralist. He has never done anything wrong in his life. Ah, but this is not holiness before God.

3. Another individual who thinks to get on without holiness, and who does win a fair reputation in certain circles, is the experimentalist. You must be aware that there are some professed followers of Christ whose whole religious life is inward; to tell you the truth, there is no life at all; but their own profession is that it is all inward. You may say what you will about what you dream you have felt, you may write what you please about what yon fancy you have experienced; but if your own outward life be unjust, unholy, ungenerous, and unloving, you shall find no credit among us as to your being in Christ. Without holiness no man shall see the Lord.

4. There is another class of persons, happily fewer than they once were, but still there are some among us still–opinionists, who think they can do without holiness. They have learned a sound creed, or perhaps an unsound one; they think they have got hold of the truth, that they are the men, and that when they die the faithful will fail from among men. They understand theology very accurately. They are wiser than their teachers. Down with thy hopes! Heart-work, carried out afterwards into life-work, this is what the Lord wants, You may perish as well with true doctrines as with false, if you pervert the true doctrine into licentiousness.

5. But to help you still further, brethren, that man is destitute of true holiness who can look back upon his own past sin without sorrow.

6. And I am quite sure that you know nothing of true holiness if you can look forward to any future indulgence of sensual appetites with a certain degree of delightful anticipation.

7. Again, methinks you have great cause for questioning, unless your holiness is uniform. Some farmers I know in the country maintain a creditable profession in the village where they live; they go to a place of worship, and very good people they are: but there is a farmers dinner once a year; it is only once a year–we will not say anything about how they get home–the less that is said the better for their reputation. It is only once a year, they tell us; but holiness does not allow of dissipation even once a year. And we know some who, when they go on the Continent, for instance, say, Well, we need not be quite so exact there; and therefore the Sabbath is utterly disregarded, and the sanctities of daily life are neglected, so reckless are they in their recreations. Well, if your religion is not warranted to keep in any climate it is good for nothing.

8. Then, let me further remark, that those who can look with delight or any degree of pleasure upon the sins of others are not holy.

II. Now, then, for the second point: WITHOUT HOLINESS NO MAN SHALL SEE THE LORD; that is to say, no man can have communion with God in this life, and no man can have enjoyment with God in the life to come without holiness. Can two walk together except they be agreed? If thou goest with Belial dost thou think Christ will go with thee?

III. I come to my last point, which is PLEADING WITH YOU. What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Without holiness no man shall see the Lord. But I hear one say, It is impossible; I have tried it and I have broken down: I did try to get better, but I did not succeed; it is of no use, it cannot be done. You are right, my dear friend, and you are wrong. You are right, it is of no use going about it as you did; if you went in your own strength, holiness is a thing you cannot get; it is beyond you. But you are wrong to despair, for Christ can do it; He can do it for you, and He can begin it now. Believe on Him and He will begin with you; in fact, that believing will be the fruit of His having begun with you. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Holiness alone fits for heaven

I. HOLINESS MAY BE CONSIDERED AS OBEDIENCE TO THE LAW OF GOD, OR AS CONFORMITY TO HIS MORAL CHARACTER. It is, however, quite immaterial which definition we adopt. As love is the fulfilling of the law, and as God is love, to obey the law, is to be like God in moral character.

II. HOLINESS IS THIS WORLD IS INDISPENSABLE TO OUR HAPPINESS IN ANOTHER,

1. It is so by the unalterable appointment of God.

2. It appears from the character of God.

3. From the fact that none of the sources or means of happiness, which the wicked possess in this world, will exist in heaven.

4. From the fact that the character of man becomes unchangeable at death.

5. From the nature of the soul.

6. If we consider what heaven is. Every being there reflects the image of God. Everything we hear in that world is the voice of praise and thanksgiving–the universal burst of gratitude, and wonder, and love, in songs of joy and transport, filling all its arches, and making all its pillars tremble.

Remarks:

1. Every impenitent sinner may be convinced, from his own experience, of the necessity of a new heart to fit him for heaven.

2. Christian brethren, what manner of persons ought ye to he in all holy conversation and godliness? (N. W. Taylor, D. D.)

Holiness

Valuable as peace is, we are not to sacrifice truth or righteousness in order to obtain it.

I. EXPLAIN THE EXHORTATION: Follow after holiness. Men in general make no pretension to holiness; and some who do, know not what it is. Many imagine that it consists merely in chastity, or putting a restraint upon the sensual appetite, which is only a particular branch of that purity to which we are here exhorted. Others suppose that it extends no farther than to outward decency of conduct, or general regularity of behaviour. Though these things do not constitute real holiness, but fall very far short of it; neither does it imply an absolute freedom from all imperfections as some have vainly imagined. Sorrow for sin, and a hatred of it, take place in every renewed heart, but not an entire exemption from its being. Holiness, however, though it is not in the present life what some make it to be, nor what the saints wish it to be, yet it is the beauty and ornament of the soul. All moral excellences are included in it; and all spiritual consolation, which is the most satisfying, is derived from it. It is our brightest resemblance to God; our principal glory in this world, and our highest happiness in the next.

1. Holiness is the fruit of sovereign and effectual grace (Eze 36:25-26).

2. True holiness is seated in the heart. It is not an outward name, but an inward nature; a Divine principle implanted.

3. Holiness is not a single grace, but an assemblage of all the graces, and extends to all the duties of the Christian life. It is not like a single luminary, but a constellation, where numerous planets intermingle their lustre and their beauty, and give additional brightness to the whole. It is not meekness, humility, faith, hope, or charity; but all these united. Thus the Church, the spouse of Christ, is described as coming up out of the wilderness, perfumed with myrrh, and frankincense, and all powders of the merchant.

4. All true holiness in man is through the mediation of Christ, and is derived from Him as the Head of His mystical body. In Him it is concentrated, like light in the sun; in us it is as light in the air, emanating from His fulness. We begin to be holy when we begin to know Christ; and we grow in holiness as we increase in the knowledge of Him. Real saints are a living image of the invisible Saviour.

5. True holiness is an abiding principle, consisting in the habitual rectitude of all the powers and faculties of the soul. It is a well of water springing up, amidst innumerable obstructions, to eternal life; a light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. Those who seek after holiness, shall always find it; and those who love it shall never lose it.

6. We are to follow after holiness, so as to make it the object of intense and continual pursuit; to leave no duty unperformed, no means untried, in order to obtain it in a still higher degree. For this purpose let us search the Holy Scriptures, attend upon holy ordinances, keep company with holy men, and be daily conversant with holy things. Above all, let us earnestly implore the powerful influences of the Holy Spirit.

II. CONSIDER THE MOTIVE by which the exhortation is enforced: without holiness no man shall see the Lord.

1. Observe, no man, no individual, not one of all the human race, whatever be his expectations or attainments, whatever opinion he may have of himself, or whatever opinion others may entertain concerning him.

2. He shall not see the Lord. It is as it were written over the gate of heaven, Nothing enters here that defileth. The wicked shall indeed have a sight of God, in some respects; but it shall be to their everlasting sorrow and confusion. They shall behold Him as Balaam did, but not nigh; at an awful unapproachable distance they shall see Him, but not for themselves; as a Judge and Avenger, but not as a Friend or a Father.

3. Without holiness no man shall see the Lord. Not that holiness is the meritorious or procuring cause of salvation; for when we have done all that we can do, even through Divine assistance, we are unprofitable servants. Holiness accompanies salvation, and prepares for it, but not in a way of desert. Nevertheless, holiness is absolutely necessary to eternal life

(1) By a Divine and unalterable constitution.

(2) Holiness is necessary as a preparative for heaven. It is both our evidence and meetness, not in form or shadow, but in substance and reality. (B. Beddome, M. A.)

Holiness essential to a sight of Christ:

There are, unhappily, many who will talk of the everlasting covenant, and of the inscription of their own names on its pages, with as much assurance as though God had made them a special revelation; and it were at least to be expected, that with all this assumption of superior revelation there should keep pace a striving after superior holiness. It were, at least, to be hoped, that they who pronounce themselves sure of heaven, would put forth more than ordinary tokens of an increasing fitness for heaven; for it is indeed a strange anomaly if, knowing as we do, that there shall enter into the New Jerusalem nothing that defileth, and nothing that worketh abomination, men who have a title of admission, chartered and signed, may go on in recklessness and unrighteousness of living; and too commonly they who are fondest of solving all doubts by an appeal to Gods covenant, are just those who could obtain no satisfactory verdict from their own life and conversation. Our business is not so much the depending on our election as the ascertaining our election; and it is, therefore, to use the mildest language, a beginning at the wrong end, when men assume that they are elected, and then go on to be confident. The safe and the direct course is to observe whether they are changed men, and renewed men, and God-fearing men, and then to infer, though with the very deepest humility, that they are elected men. We have no such text in the Bible as this–Election, without which no man shall see the Lord; but we have this–Holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord. We go on to observe that there is a peculiarity in the expression, no man shall see the Lord, which marks a reference to the present life yet more than to the future. Every eye shall see Him, is St. Johns declaration, when looking on to the Second Advent of Christ. We know that without a single exception the descendants of Adam shall stand face to face with the anointed Judge of human kind, so that the holy and the unholy shall alike behold Him, though the one rejoicingly, while the other shall shrink from His presence; and therefore we cannot uphold it as literally true, that without holiness no man shall see the Lord, if it be on the future that we mainly fix our contemplations. But a most extensive, and at the same time a most interesting field of inquiry will open before you, if we consider the words as applicable to the present life, though, of course, without excluding a reference to the next life. The passage would seem decidedly to announce, that holiness, in some degree or other, is indispensable to the obtaining any knowledge whatever of Christ. We admit, indeed, that a thorough historical acquaintance may be obtained, whilst there is a bold persisting in a course of iniquity. But our text shows, that to whatever extent this scholastic knowledge of the scheme and nature of Christianity can be ascribed, there can be gained no sight of Christ Jesus Himself until some inroads be made on the sinfulness of our nature. And when a man is converted, and therefore renewed in the spirit of his mind–that is, the organ is obtained through which the Lord is beheld–the strength and clearness of his looking upon Christ will ever after be exactly proportioned to the advance of sanctification. If the Christian fall into gross sin, or if he conform himself to the passions and prejudices of the world, or if he encumber himself unnecessarily with cares and anxieties, the retardation in holiness will tell on the strength of the newly-acquired vision, and the view of Christ will become so obscure, that fresh witness will be given to the fact of holiness being indispensable to seeing the Lord. And, on the other hand, let the Christian be prosecuting an uncompromising warfare with corruption–let him be proceeding daily with a dominant step towards higher attainments in practical piety, and you will find that his sight of the Redeemer is continually improving. The mysteries of Christs person, the loveliness of His character, the might of His attributes, these open increasingly and shine out more vividly; and thus there is gathered an accession of proof that holiness is indissolubly connected with seeing the Lord. We would never give up that grand fundamental principle that faith is the gift of God, and that, consequently, no man can see the Lord, according to the definition we have sought to establish, unless a telescope, so to speak, be put into his hands by the Holy Ghost, and directed towards that illustrious Being in whom the natural eye discerns nothing of comeliness or form. But at the same time we are to the full as anxious to withstand the unwarranted opinion, that there can be no preparation made by the man himself; that because faith must be strictly the gift of God, all we have to do is to wait for its reception. We are assured from the Bible that it is very possible to resist the Holy Ghost, and to grieve the Holy Ghost, and that, consequently, the case is of common occurrence in which this Divine agent comes unto men, bringing with him the telescope, or the organ of vision, and then opposed by their passions and lusts, departs without bestowing the precious donation. And hence we set it forth as an indisputable position that it lies in mans power, and is manifestly mans business to remove impediments to the operations of Gods Spirit, and that though he cannot give himself the Spirit, he may throw off very much that may withstand the approaches of that Spirit. Let us go on to endeavour to show you how holiness would affect the clearness of all future contemplations of Christ. There remains nothing to be added to the work of the Saviour, in order that it may be available to the complete justification of the sinner. But, then, does imputed righteousness at all interfere with personal holiness? Not one jot. There is to be wrought in us a righteousness which is quite independent of that perfect righteousness which has been wrought out for us by Christ. The righteousness of Christ is that meritorious righteousness which deserves for us heaven; the righteousness which is wrought in our spirits is that qualifying righteousness which prepares us for heaven. And if it be thus certain that holiness, personal, inwrought holiness, is essential to that sight of the Lord which shall constitute the great bliss of heaven, we may justly argue that it is essential to those contemplations of the Saviour which are our foretastes of that bliss whilst we sojourn upon earth. And this, in other words, is the proposition laid down in our text, though the proof of that proposition may be thrown into easier and yet more popular shape. How can the man who is falling back into sin have his eye upon Christ, who condemned sin in the flesh? How can the individual who, after professedly renouncing the world, suffers himself to be entangled in its follies and allured by its flatteries, be looking fixedly towards Christ–Christ who said, Marvel not if the world hate you; ye know that it hated Me before it hated you? How can that disciple have a comforting assurance of the sacrifice of Christ in his own stead and in his own behalf, who by his lax and inconsistent conversation would falsify the account of Holy Writ, that the grace of God which bringeth salvation teaches us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present world? Whenever you find that you have no clear evidence of an interest in Jesus–that there is a sensible interruption of the hope and assurance which have been wont to flow ill and gladden the soul-then let a recurrence to the sentiment of our text bring to your notice the reason, which in all likelihood best accounts for the change. Christ cannot be seen without holiness. Therefore search ye and determine whether the luminary be not riding as high and as bright as before in the firmament, and whether the sole cause why the murkiness is around you, and deep gloom seems wrought into the overhead canopy, be not in the passions which have been gratified, the concessions made, and the resolutions relaxed, so that from the witherings of a once flourishing holiness have gone up vapour and mist, which have darkened the sun, and intercepted the rich light which fell around your path. It is not that Christ withdraws His lustre; it is only that men, through carelessness, or lukewarmness, or conformity to the world, destroy the keenness of the spiritual vision. We reject, therefore, as presumptuous and insulting to God, all pretensions to privileges and rights which are independent on holiness, in thought, word, and deed; we refuse to take our test from what men style their experience; but we go alone, without hesitancy, to their practice. (H. Melvill, B. D.)

The connection between holiness and felicity

I. THE NATURE OF HOLINESS. The most intelligible description of holiness as it is inherent in us, may be this, It is a conformity in heart and practice to the revealed will of God. Now His revealed will comprises both the law and the gospel: the law informs us of the duty which we as creatures owe to God; and the gospel of the duty which, as sinners, we owe to God as reconcilable through a Mediator. Our obedience to the former implies the whole of morality, and to the latter the whole of evangelical graces, as faith in a Mediator, repentance, &c. From this definition of holiness it appears that it is absolutely necessary to see the Lord; for unless our dispositions are conformed to Him, we cannot be happy in the enjoyment of Him. I shall expatiate upon the dispositions and practices in which holiness consists, or which naturally result from it; and they are such as follow:

1. A delight in God for His holiness. Self-love may prompt us to love Him for His goodness to us; and so many unregenerate men may have a selfish love to God on this account. But to love God because He is infinitely holy, is a disposition natural to a renewed soul only, and argues a conformity to His image.

2. Holiness consists in a hearty complacence in the law of God, because of its purity. The law is the transcript of the moral perfections of God; and if we love the original we shall love the copy.

3. Holiness consists in a hearty complacence in the gospel method of salvation, because it tends to illustrate the moral perfections of the Deity, and to discover the beauties of holiness. The gospel informs us of two grand pre-requisites to the salvation of the fallen sons of men, namely, the satisfaction of Divine justice by the obedience and passion of Christ, that God might be reconciled to them consistently with His perfections; and the sanctification of sinners by the efficacy of the Holy Ghost that they might be capable of enjoying God, and that He might maintain intimate communion with them without any stain to His holiness.

4. Holiness consists in an habitual delight in all the duties of holiness towards God and man, and an earnest desire for communion with God in them. This is the natural result of all the foregoing particulars. If we love God for His holiness, we shall delight in that service in which our conformity to Him consists; if we love His law, we shall delight in that obedience which it enjoins; and if we take complacence in the evangelical method of salvation, we shall take delight in that holiness without which we cannot enjoy it.

5. To constitute us saints indeed, there must be universal holiness in practice. This naturally follows from the last, for as the body obeys the stronger volitions of the will, so when the heart is prevailingly disposed to the service of God, the man will habitually practise it.

II. THE ENDEAVOURS WE SHOULD USE TO OBTAIN THIS HOLINESS.

1. Endeavour to know whether you are holy or not by close examination.

2. Awake, arise, and betake yourselves in earnest to all the means of grace.

III. THE ABSOLUTE NECESSITY OF HOLINESS TO THE ENJOYMENT OF HEAVENLY HAPPINESS.

1. The unchangeable appointment of God excludes all the unholy from the kingdom of heaven; (see 1Co 9:6; Rev 21:27; Psa 5:4-5; 2Co 5:17; Gal 6:15).

2. The very nature of things excludes sinners from heaven; that is, it is impossible in the nature of things, that, while they are unholy, they could receive happiness from the employments and entertainments of the heavenly world. (Pres. Davies.)

Follow holiness:

This being the larger idea, explains and covers the lesser one of peace with all. As when the tide recedes, the waters fret and raise angry surfs upon the sunken rocks, but when it has advanced in full flow these rocks are submerged, and there is deep stillness over them, so in the full tide of consecration unto God all causes of disquietude are swallowed up and covered. (A. B. Davidson, LL. D.)

Heaven–none admitted but those like Jesus

At heavens gate there stands an angel with charge to admit none but those who in their countenances bear the same features as the Lord of the place. Here comes a monarch with a crown upon his head. The angel pays him no respect, but reminds him that the diadems of earth have no value in heaven. A company of eminent men advance dressed in robes of state, and others adorned with the gowns of learning, but to these no deference is rendered, for their faces are very unlike the Crucified. A maiden comes forward, fair and comely, but the celestial watcher sees not in that sparkling eye and ruddy cheek the beauty for which he is looking. A man of renown cometh up heralded by fame, and preceded by the admiring clamour of mankind; but the angel saith, Such applause may please the sons of men, but thou hast no right to enter here. But free admittance is always given to those who in holiness are made like their Lord. Poor they may have been; illiterate they may have been; but the angel as he looks at them smiles a welcome as he says, It is Christ again; a transcript of the holy child Jesus. Come in, come in; eternal glory thou shalt win. Thou shalt sit in heaven with Christ, for thou art like Him. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

No sin in heaven:

There shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth. Heaven is not like Noahs ark, that received clean and unclean. A sinner is compared to swine (2Pe 2:22), and shall a swinish creature tread upon the golden pavement of heaven? Indeed the frogs came into king Pharaohs court, but in heaven there is no entertainment for such vermin. (T. Watson.)

Admittance to heaven

Governor Corwin says that some church members will have to make a great many explanations, before St. Peter, the reported keeper of the gate of heaven, will let them in. The character of others is so unequivocal that none will be required: the gate will fly wide open before them.

Holiness a generic disposition:

When we speak of holiness in man, we speak of that positive character which reveals itself by the exercises or manifestations of a high moral character, which repeatedly shows itself in some men as the occasion may call forth. It is not a separate and distinct grace like humility, truth, temperance, or meekness, neither is it a union of all the graces in such a way as light is the union of the primary rays of the sun. It is not an amalgamation of all the graces, but they are the means by which it shows itself in different directions and situations. There is a decided distinction between it and justice and meekness. The possession of one or other of these virtues does not imply holiness, but where holiness is, each of these graces will duly appear, h man may be temperate or just without being holy; but if he be holy all the graces will display themselves in him as a matter of course. Each of the graces will appear in him in their own proper occasions. Holiness is not one good quality, but the hand that moves beneath and around all of them. It is not one good action, but the principle that inspires all good actions; I might almost say it is like some essence we can hardly get at. It is not itself so much as the goodness of everything good in us; it is the virtue of virtues; or, in the words of an American theologian, it is not a head or part, but a complete whole, and by that we are to understand not a collection of properties, but a generic disposition which regulates all the movement of a Christians existence. Holiness, therefore, is the moral nature or character of God; and in man it is his moral nature, so that he who possesses it is a partaker of Gods nature. Thus we come back to the definition from which we set out. Holiness is Gods likeness, and when a man is disposed to think as God thinks, act as God acts, and seeks to live in unison with God and His character, then we have real and true holiness. (W. M. Taylor, D. D.)

Sight of God:

I cannot love God, said a thoughtless man, for I have never seen Him. Canst thou not? responded his companion; then thou canst do less than the little blind child who sits under the shade of the chestnut tree on the village green. She can love her father and mother, though she has never seen them, and will never see them to the latest hour of her life. There is truth here. It requires a special faculty to see God. And it is a terrible fact that this sense, the power of God-consciousness, is often all but entirely destroyed by sin.

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 14. Follow peace with all men] Cultivate, as far as you possibly can, a good understanding, both with Jews and Gentiles. , pursue peace with the same care, attention, and diligence, as beasts do their game; follow it through all places; trace it through all winding circumstances; and have it with all men, if you can with a safe conscience.

And holiness] . That state of continual sanctification, that life of purity and detachment from the world and all its lusts, without which detachment and sanctity no man shall see the Lord-shall never enjoy his presence in the world of blessedness. To see God, in the Hebrew phrase, is to enjoy him; and without holiness of heart and life this is impossible. No soul can be fit for heaven that has not suitable dispositions for the place.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Here begins the second head of counsel in this chapter. That seeing the gospel church Officer, the great Reconciler of sinners to, and Sanctifier of them for, God, was fully revealed to them, it did now concern them to promote peace with men, and perfect holiness towards God: this is pursued to the end of the chapter.

Follow peace with all men: imports such a fierce, unwearied, unsatisfied pursuit, as persecutors make after the innocent servants of Christ, till they have their purposes on them; and so sets out the real, earnest, violent, unwearied, constant pursuit and labour after peace, i.e. concord, unanimity, and comfortable consociation in all things, good and lawful, to all sorts of persons, in thought, word, and deed, as far as it is possible for us, Psa 34:14; 1Co 10:32; 1Co 13:4,5,7; 1Pe 3:10,11.

And holiness: is all that habit and frame of heart, which becometh souls to have towards God, enjoying all purity from spiritual uncleanness, and a conformity to the holiness peculiar to God, Eph 4:24. The result and quintessence of all the graces of the Spirit, is holiness, 1Pe 1:15,16; 1Jo 3:2,3; labouring to the perfection of this within our kind, Psa 110:3; 2Co 7:1.

Without which no man shall see the Lord: a soul destitute of holiness is in no capacity, either of faith or sight, to

see the Lord; they can have no union to, communion with, or fruition of, God in Christ, neither in grace nor glory; implying and assuring them, that with holiness they may see and enjoy him, Mat 5:8; 1Co 6:9,10; 1Co 12:13; Gal 5:21; 1Jo 3:2,3.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

14. follow peace with all menwiththe brethren especially (Ro14:19), that so the “lame” among them be not “turnedout of the way” (Heb 12:13),and that no one of them “fail of the grace of God” (Heb12:15).

holinessa distinctGreek word from God’s “holiness” (Heb12:10). Translate here “sanctification.” His isabsolute holiness: our part is to put on His holiness,becoming “holy as He is holy,” by sanctification.While “following peace with all men,” we are not so to seekto please them, as to make God’s will and our sanctification asecondary object; this latter must be our first aim. (Ga1:10).

without whichGreek,“apart from which.”

no man shall see the Lordnoman as a son; in heavenly glory (Rev 22:3;Rev 22:4). In the East, none butthe greatest favorites are admitted to the honor of seeing the king(compare 2Sa 14:24). The Lordbeing pure and holy, none but the pure and holy shall see Him (Mt5:8). Without holiness in them, they could not enjoy Him who isholiness itself (Zec 14:20).The connection of purity with seeing the Lord, appearsin 1Jn 3:2; 1Jn 3:3;Eph 5:5. Contrast Heb12:16 (compare 1Th 4:3). InMat 24:30; Rev 1:7,it is said that all shall see the Lord; but, that shall be as aJudge, not as their lasting portion and God, which is meanthere. The Greek verb does not denote the mere action ofseeing, but the seer’s state of mind to which the object ispresented: so in Mt 5:8 theyshall truly comprehend God [TITTMANN].None but the holy could appreciate the holy God, none elsetherefore shall abide in His presence. “The bad shall only seeHim in His form as Son of man [compare Rev 1:13;Rev 1:7; Mat 24:30;Act 1:11; Act 17:31];still it will be in the glory in which He shall judge, not in thelowliness in which He was judged. His form as God, wherein Heis equal to the Father, without doubt the ungodly shall not see; forit is only ‘the pure in heart who shall see God'” [AUGUSTINE].”He shall come to judge, who stood before a judge. He shall comein the form in which He was judged, that they may see Him whom theypierced: He who was before hidden shall come manifested in power: He,as Judge, shall condemn the real culprits, who was Himself falselymade a culprit.”

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Follow peace with all men,…. That are in a natural and domestic relation to one another, being of the same family; and that are in a civil and political one, being of the same nation, city, or society; and that are in a spiritual one, being members of the same church; or, if not, yet being saints, and though in some things different in judgment; yea, even peace is to be followed with enemies, as much as in us lies: and perhaps by “all men”, the Gentiles may be more especially designed, whose peace the Hebrews thought they were not to seek, De 23:6 mistaking the sense of the text, by applying it to the Gentiles in general: to “follow peace”, signifies an eager pursuit after it, in the use of proper means; exerting the utmost of a man’s power to attain it, in all things possible: many things serve to enforce this upon the saints; this is most agreeable to all the three divine Persons; to God, who is the God of peace; to Christ, the Prince of peace; and to the Spirit, one of whose fruits is peace; and to the characters of the saints, who are sons of peace, and who are called to peace, and who make a profession of the Gospel of peace; and to the privileges they enjoy, being interested in the covenant of peace, partaking of spiritual peace now, and being entitled to eternal peace hereafter: and this agrees with the sayings and counsels of the ancient Jews. It was a saying of Hillell r, who lived about the times of Christ;

“be thou one of the disciples of Aaron, who loved peace,

, “and followed peace”.”

This is said of Aaron in the Talmud s, that

“he loved peace, and followed peace, and made peace between a man and his neighbour, as is said, Mal 2:6.”

They recommend peace on many accounts, and say, great is peace, and among the rest, because it is one of the names of God t:

and holiness: this being added to peace, shows that peace is no further to be followed than is consistent with holiness; and holiness here does not design any particular branch of holiness, as chastity of the body and mind, but the whole of holiness, inward and outward; and intends true holiness, in opposition to ceremonial holiness, which the Hebrews were fond of, and pursued after: it means even perfect holiness; for though holiness is not perfect in this life, yet it will be in heaven; and there is a perfection of it in Christ; and it is to be followed after, by going to Christ for more grace, and exercising faith upon him, as our sanctification; and by eager desires that the Spirit of God would sanctify us more and more, and enable us, by his grace and strength, to walk in the way of holiness, till we get safe to heaven:

without which no man shall see the Lord; or “God”, as the Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions read; that is, with the beatific vision in heaven: or the Lord Jesus Christ, “our Lord”, as the Syriac version reads; even in this life, so as to have communion with him; and hereafter, so as to behold his glory, both intellectually and corporeally: to such a sight holiness is necessary; for God is holy, and Christ is holy, and so is heaven, and so are the angels, and the souls of men in it.

r Pirke Abot, c. 1. sect. 12. s T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 6. 2. & Gloss. in T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 71. 2. t Vajikra Rabba, sect. 9. fol. 153. 1, 2.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Follow after peace ( ). Give peace a chase as if in a hunt.

With all men ( ). Like Paul’s use of with in Ro 14:19 and his to (so far as proceeds from you) in 12:18. This lesson the whole world needs including Christians.

Sanctification (). Consecration as in 1Thess 4:7; Rom 6:19, etc.

Without which ( ). Ablative case of the relative with (post positive here). About seeing God compare Mt 5:8 where we have .

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

Follow peace [ ] . Comp. LXX, Psa 23:14, and Rom 14:19; 1Pe 3:11. The verb is used of the pursuit of moral and spiritual ends, Rom 9:30, 31; Rom 12:13; 1Co 14:1; Phi 3:12, 14; 1Th 5:15; 1Ti 6:11; 2Ti 2:22. Holiness [] . See on Rom 6:19.

Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament

1) “Follow peace with all men,” (eirenen diokete meta panton) “Pursue and keep on pursuing peace with all men,” This refers to the matter of attempting to pursue or be at peace or in harmony of general good will with neighbors and in the community, as opposed to rivals and the spirit of egotism; Such is admonished, Rom 12:18; Rom 14:19; David called for this, Psa 34:14.

2) “And holiness,” (kai ton hagiasmon) “And (at the same time) sanctification,” separation from evil to righteousness; Rom 12:1-2. The fruit of an holy or Divine nature; Without this new or Divine nature no one can see God or enter into heaven. An holy life should be the prominent fruit of an holy nature, 2Ti 2:22; Rev 21:27; Joh 3:3; Joh 3:5.

3) “Without which no man can see the Lord: (ou choris oudeis opsetai ton kurion) “apart from or without which-not even one will see the Lord,” 1Co 1:30; 2Co 5:21.

It is the pure in heart and peacemakers who shall see God and be called the children of God, Mat 5:8-9; Mat 5:48; Rev 21:27; 2Co 7:1; Eph 5:5; Joh 3:3. This purity of heart and soul is imputed thru faith in Jesus Christ to every one who believes, Act 15:9; Rom 4:5-8. The purity of heart should be reflected in constructive righteous living. This is the writer’s application, Mat 5:13-16; Eph 2:10; Eph 5:15-18.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

14. Follow peace, etc. Men are so born that they all seem to shun peace; for all study their own interest, seek their own ways, and care not to accommodate themselves to the ways of others. Unless then we strenuously labor to follow peace, we shall never retain it; for many things will happen daily affording occasion for discords. This is the reason why the Apostle bids us to follow peace, as though he had said, that it ought not only to be cultivated as far as it may be convenient to us, but that we ought to strive with all care to keep it among us. And this cannot be done unless we forget many offenses and exercise mutual forbearance. (255)

As however peace cannot be maintained with the ungodly except on the condition of approving of their vices and wickedness, the Apostle immediately adds, that holiness is to be followed together with peace; as though he commended peace to us with this exception, that the friendship of the wicked is not to be allowed to defile or pollute us; for holiness has an especial regard to God. Though then the whole world were roused to a blazing war, yet holiness is not to be forsaken, for it is the bond of our union with God. In short, let us quietly cherish concord with men, but only, according to the proverb, as far as conscience allows.

He declares, that without holiness no man shall see the Lord; for with no other eyes shall we see God than those which have been renewed after his image.

(255) It has been justly observed that διώκω is to follow or pursue one fleeing away from us. It means not only to seek peace but strive to maintain it. Psa 34:14, we have pursuing after seeking, “Seek peace and pursue it,” i.e., strive earnestly to secure and retain it. Rom 12:18, is an explanation.

But this strenuous effort as to peace is to be extended to holiness; not chastity, as Chrysostom and some other fathers have imagined, but holiness in its widest sense, purity of heart and life, universal holiness. The word ἁγιασμὸς is indeed taken in a limited sense, and rendered “sanctification” 1Th 4:3, and it may be so rendered here as it is in those places where it evidently means holiness universally, 1Co 1:30; 2Th 2:13, 1Pe 1:2. The article is put before it in order to show its connection with what follows, “and the (or that) holiness, without which no one shall see the Lord.” — Ed

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

2.

Falling short of the grace of God. Heb. 12:14-17

Text

Heb. 12:14-17

Heb. 12:14 Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no man shall see the Lord: Heb. 12:15 looking carefully lest there be any man that falleth short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby the many be defiled; Heb. 12:16 lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one mess of meat sold his own birthright. Heb. 12:17 For ye know that even when he afterward desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected; for he found no place for a change of mind in his father, though he sought it diligently with tears.

Paraphrase

Heb. 12:14 Earnestly cultivate peace with all men, with the Gentiles as well as with the Jews, and even with your enemies: But at the same time maintain holiness, without which no one shall see the Lord;

Heb. 12:15 Carefully observing your own behaviour, and that of your brethren, lest any one, through gross sins continued in, come short of the reward God has graciously promised to the faithful, lest some apostate rising trouble you, and, by his errors and bad example, many of you be corrupted;

Heb. 12:16 Also, lest there be among you any fornicatorany one addicted to his appetites; or any profane person, who, despising spiritual blessings, renounces them for the sake of present pleasures, as Esau did, who for one meat gave away his birthrights.

Heb. 12:17 And his folly ye know from the scripture by this, that although afterwards he wished to inherit the blessing, he was reprobated by his father, who durst not retract words which he felt himself moved by inspiration to utter; for he found no place of repentance in his father, though he earnestly sought the blessing with tears. Instead of repenting, his father confirmed the blessing to Jacob, Gen. 27:33.

Comment

Follow after peace with all men

Christ set the example.

a.

He taught turning the other cheek. Mat. 5:39.

b.

He refused to let Peter defend him. Mat. 26:52.

c.

He came as a lamb to the slaughter. Isaiah 53.

The word follow is a strong word.

a.

In Greek it is to pursue, as in a chase or battle.

b.

It is something to work at, for a warring world will do all it can to keep us from peace.

We are exhorted to strive for peace.

a.

Rom. 12:18 : As much as in you lieth be at peace.

b.

Col. 3:15 : Let the peace of God rule.

c.

1Th. 5:13 : Be at peace.

d.

Rom. 14:19 : Follow after the things which make for peace.

It is a qualification for elders and deacons.

a.

1Ti. 3:3 : No brawler.

and the sanctification

This is the experience of all. It does not encourage camp-meetings, emotionalism, where second blessings are sought.

a.

All in Christ are sanctified. 1Co. 1:2.

b.

In Hebrews, sanctified means separated unto God.

1.

It does not refer to feelings, but to Christs blood.

Heb. 10:10 : We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus once for all.

2.

When we become Christians we are then sanctified.

Sanctification is obtained by yielding once for all to God. It is not a second filling. The word sanctification is also translated holiness.

without which no man shall see the Lord

There then is no salvation for any except by the blood. The moral man had better come under the blood if he would see God.
The denominationalist had better be sure of Christs own Ways, for it is the Way of sanctification. This sanctified being of ours has many responsibilities, and these must be

pursued if we would see the Lord.

looking carefully

Four kinds of troubles should be looked for.

a.

Those who fall short.

b.

Bitterness springing up.

c.

Fornication.

d.

Profane person.

This is not gossip-hunting, but a carefulness on the part of those who watch in behalf of souls.

lest there be any man that falleth

Observe the repeated warnings that show the possibility: 2Co. 6:1; Luk. 8:18; Heb. 3:12; Heb. 4:1; Heb. 6:6; Heb. 10:31. Sometimes the least likely ones fall, so it requires a careful watch.

short of the grace of God

One so great as Paul was afraid of this happening to himself, for he says, 1Co. 9:26 : So fight I.

Compare 1Ti. 4:1; Gal. 5:4; Rev. 2:5.

If we fall short of Gods grace, then we have missed everything, This the Christian can do.

lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you

Most every church has a few devilish members who set the tone for bitterness and strife. Calvin feels this alludes to Deu. 29:18.

a.

Moses warned the people to beware lest any root of germination should bear gall and wormwood among them.

b.

If we allow a wicked person to grow in the church, it will corrupt and defile many.

and thereby the many be defiled

A few trouble-makers can bring reproach upon all. One bad apple soon causes the bushel of apples to be rotten. Israel allowed a few people to turn to idolatry, and soon ten tribes were carried away with it.

lest there be any fornicator

This is an awful sin, for it undermines the home.

a.

1Co. 5:9-13 says to put him out of the fellowship.

b.

Heb. 13:4 says God will judge him.

c.

Compare also 1Co. 6:9.

This was a warning made by the Jerusalem counsel in Acts 15.

or profane person

The Greek word is bebelas. It doesnt necessarily mean to blaspheme or do violence, evil.

a.

It refers literally to a threshold that anyone and everyone may trample over.

b.

It refers to something in which there is no special consciousness. Compare 1Ti. 1:9; 1Ti. 4:7; 1Ti. 6:20; 2Ti. 2:16.

A profane man is one who has not thought of God.

as Esau who for one mess of meat sold his own birthright

Sin can destroy ones birthright, Esau found it out.

a.

Milligan says the tradition of the Jews is that Esau was also a fornicator.

b.

His profanity is seen in Gen. 25:34 where we read, despised his birthright.

Sin is a selling out to the devil.

for ye know that even when he afterward desired to inherit the blessing he was rejected

A moment of pleasure may cause us to think that we shall never be disappointed, but we will be.

a.

In a time of soberness a person comes to desire all that he has lost.

b.

The prodigal son, when he came to himself, remembered his home and blessings.

Esau finally sought his birthright, but then it was too late.

for he found no place for a change of mind in his father

The father could not be wishy-washy because of the weakness of others. Why should a father undo all that was done for a careless son who had no respect for sacredness in a moment of hunger? Does this mean that man can repent to no avail, that God will never change?

a.

This section is a warning with Esau as an example, and that is as far as it should be pressed.

b.

We have no way of knowing whether Esau made a genuine repentance, so the illustration cannot be pressed.

though he sought it diligently with tears.

Stupid, ungodly persons, burning with lusts, plunge themselves into sins which bring tears, but often tears are too late. Tears are shed many times, not in repentance for sin, but in sorrow for what is lost.

Study Questions

2568.

What is the significance of the word follow?

2569.

Are we exhorted to follow a person in this verse?

2570.

Is the world conducive to peace?

2571.

Tell how Christ followed after peace.

2572.

Can the Christian always be at peace?

2573.

Was Jesus always at peace?

2574.

What other verses of the Bible have a similar exhortation as Heb. 12:14? Cf. Rom. 12:18; Rom. 14:19.

2575.

Is this virtue important in the life of an elder? Cf. 1Ti. 3:3.

2576.

What does sanctification mean in the Bible?

2577.

What does it mean to the denominationalist?

2578.

Is it a matter of feeling or a matter of fact?

2579.

Are we sanctified after we are Christians by growth?

2580.

Can spiritual growth enable us to be more sanctified?

2581.

What does Heb. 10:10 say sanctifies?

2582.

Is sanctification a second blessing, or a state of the Christian?

2583.

How important is sanctification to eternal life?

2584.

Can the good moral man expect salvation without sanctification?

2585.

If blood sanctifies, can we expect salvation without it?

2586.

What is meant by looking carefully? Heb. 12:15

2587.

What four things are we to look for?

2588.

Does this encourage looking, like a gossip-hunter does?

2589.

Is this an exhortation to an individual person or to the elders of the flock?

2590.

Does this verse indicate that a person may fall?

2591.

Why should we look carefully?

2592.

Compare other verses on the subject of falling.

2593.

According to this verse, can we fall from grace?

2594.

Was Paul ever afraid it might happen to him? Cf. 1Ti. 1:9; 1Ti. 4:7; 1Ti. 6:20; 2Ti. 2:16.

2595.

What is the grace of God?

2596.

Does verse sixteen or verse seventeen tell us what would destroy Gods grace toward us?

2597.

What is the figure of speech used in Heb. 12:15?

2598.

Could this be an allusion to Deu. 29:18?

2599.

Is a bitter person dangerous to the flock?

2600.

What could be back of bitterness? Could it be disappointment jealousy?

2601.

How extensive may the influence of the root of bitterness be?

2602.

How extensively could the root do damage?

2603.

Give illustrations in Israels history.

2604.

How are we to treat the fornicator in the church, according to 1Co. 5:9-13?

2605.

What will God do with him? Cf. Heb. 13:4.

2606.

What is meant by a profane person? Is it one who swears?

2607.

What person is illustrative of profanity? How? Cf. Gen. 25:34.

2608.

What is the significance of the expression, profane person in application to us?

2609.

Compare 1Ti. 1:9; 1Ti. 4:7; 1Ti. 6:20; 2Ti. 2:16.

2610.

How could Esau be an example of a profane person?

2611.

Whom would we sell out in order to be profane?

2612.

Is a person who curses unthoughtful of God?

2613.

How permanent was Esaus profanity?

2614.

Is there danger in bad mistakes as seen in the life of Esau?

2615.

Can a moment of pleasure ruin our life?

2616.

Name persons of the Bible whose life was ruined or blighted by selling out to the devil.

2617.

Is repentance ever too late?

2618.

Was Esaus father hard-hearted?

2619.

Can God be wishy-washy because people are?

2620.

Is law good when it does not have good enforcement?

2621.

Does this verse mean that God cannot always be touched by our repentance?

2622.

How true was Esaus repentance?

2623.

Are tears always a sign of repentance?

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

(14) Follow peace.More clearly (as our word follow is somewhat ambiguous), follow after peace. There is a manifest allusion to Psa. 34:14 (quoted also in 1Pe. 3:11). This charge is general (Rom. 12:18), and must not be limited to peace with fellow Christians (Rom. 14:19). The two admonitions of this verse were admirably suited to a period of persecution. Let all make peace their aim, yet not so as to sacrifice purity. (Comp. Jas. 3:17.)

And holiness.Better, and the sanctification without which no man shall see the Lord. In Heb. 9:28 we have the promise that Christ . . . shall be seen by them that wait for Him: hence it might be supposed (especially as in the next verse we read of the grace of God) that the Lord is here, as in Heb. 2:3, a designation of our Saviour. As, however, this Epistle especially brings Him before us as the Sanctifier (Heb. 2:11; Heb. 13:12), who leads us into the presence of God (Heb. 10:19), we must rather look on these words as akin to Mat. 5:8, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Rev. 22:4).

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

14. Follow peace The thought of peace, continued from Heb 12:11, where see note. In spite of persecution, aim at peace with all, not only in the Church, but without.

Holiness The sanctified Christian life, the likeness to the Lord, without which none shall see him. It is queried by Delitzsch and Alford whether God or Christ is designated here, and Lunemann thinks it cannot be decided. But when the word see is used, as see God, (Mat 5:8, where see note,) or, “see the kingdom of heaven,” it is not a transient sight, nor, indeed, a sight solely at all that is meant, but a permanent acquaintance and fruition. In this true sense, though the wicked may see Christ in judgment, yet the holy will alone see the Lord.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘Follow after (‘pursue’) peace with all, and the sanctification without which no man shall see the Lord.’

Some see this as meaning ‘all men’ as in Rom 12:18, but the context rather suggests it means all their fellow Christians with whom at present they are not perhaps fully at peace because of their Judaistic tendencies. They should seek to be aligned with them in their beliefs and hopes. But whichever way it is, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers for the they will be called the children of God’ (Mat 5:9). Those who are His seek peace with all, and peace between all, for that is how God’s children should be. And this should be accompanied by following ardently after ‘sanctification’, that sanctifying process whereby they are being conformed into the image of Jesus Christ (Rom 8:29), for in this they will have peace with God. It is peace to be achieved within sanctification. We must never seek a false peace which is not accompanied by sanctification. Oneness is important, but never at the cost of holiness or truth.

‘Without which no man shall see the Lord.’ ‘The Lord’ here probably means ‘Jesus Christ’ rather than ‘God’, for outside of quotations this is how the writer usually uses the title (Heb 2:3; Heb 7:14). Thus ‘seeing the Lord’ here probably refers primarily to His second coming (Heb 9:28; 1Jn 3:2-3). It is a reminder that if we are to see Him we will at present be experiencing His sanctifying work (Heb 2:10-11).

However, as Jesus Himself said, ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God’ (Mat 5:5) and there He was surely including the experience of this ‘seeing God’ as being available at the present time, in the new age of the Kingly Rule of God which had come in Him. He is saying that it is only if our hearts true that we will see Him. For it is only if we are at peace with one another, and experiencing constant sanctification, if we are genuinely pure in heart, that we can see Him (compare Heb 12:2). Then we can experience the vision of God now in our hearts and spirits. Yet glorious though such a thought is, it is a but foretaste of what will be ours in fullness when we see Him face to face. We may see Him now in our hearts, and His beauty may shine on us, a beauty of which we can only have a relatively minimal idea, but then we shall see Him in His fullness, we shall see Him as He is (1Jn 3:2). We shall see the King in His beauty (Isa 33:17). We may be being conformed to His image now, but then the process will be complete. Then we will be made like Him, for we will see Him in all that He is (1Jn 3:2-3).

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Pursue Holiness (Spiritual Perseverance) – We are then exhorted to pursue holiness as a measure our spiritual perseverance. With this exhortation the author gives us another sobering example in the life of Esau, who failed to receive his promise after having been given the blessing (Heb 12:16-17).

Heb 12:14  Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

Heb 12:14 “Follow peace with all men” – Word Study on “follow” Strong says the Greek word “follow” ( ) (G1377) means, “to pursue.” The Enhanced Strong says it is used 44 times in the New Testament, being translated in the KJV as, “persecute 28, follow after 6, follow 4, suffer persecution 3, misc 3.”

Heb 12:14 “and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” Comments Frances J. Roberts writes, “Without holiness, no man shall see God. This could be as truly stated, ‘Without a tender heart and sensitive, attentive spirit, none shall see God’, for without these, no true holiness will ever be attained.” [267]

[267] Frances J. Roberts, Come Away My Beloved (Ojai, California: King’s Farspan, Inc., 1973), 15.

Scripture Reference – Note a similar verse:

Mat 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”

Heb 12:14 Comments The Greek grammar in Heb 12:14 makes it evident that the phrase, “without which not man shall see the Lord” modifies the word “holiness” (masculine), and not “peace” (feminine). So, if we work towards peace, but others do not allow it, this will not separate us from God. Holiness is our responsibility, regardless of the actions of others.

These Hebrews were being persecuted. They needed to strive to live peacefully, yet maintain holiness in a perverse generation (1Ti 4:10).

1Ti 4:10, “For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.”

We are to make great efforts to live at peace with others and not indulge in sin. This often means walking away from strife and arguments. It means holding our tongues when we want to speak out impulsively. It means forgiving when we do not feel like forgiving. We are to show mercy, whether or not we have been shown mercy. We are to walk in humility and submission even though it means shame and persecution from others. This pursuit means crucifying the flesh on a daily basis. It is not an easy pursuit, and we are not successful all of the time. Therefore, it is something that we must keep before our eyes and always endeavor to achieve.

Heb 12:15  Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

Heb 12:15 “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God” Comments – The same Greek word (G5302), translated “fail” in Heb 12:15, is used in Rom 3:23. We find a similar statement in Gal 5:4, “ye are fallen from grace.” We have fallen short of God’s glory. Let us not fall short of God’s grace

Rom 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”

Gal 5:4, “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.”

Heb 12:15 “and thereby many be defiled” Comments – The tongue of bitterness can corrupt many hearts and plant seeds of sin in other lives. However, a righteous man, using God’s wisdom, does not have to be embittered because of what others say. Note Pro 11:9.

Pro 11:9, “An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour: but through knowledge shall the just be delivered.”

Illustration:

Deu 29:18, “Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood ;”

Heb 12:15 Comments – We must understand Heb 12:15 to be a similar statement to the ones made in Heb 3:13; Heb 6:4-6; Heb 10:28-29; Heb 12:25. In all of these passages, the author warns his readers against falling away from God and losing their salvation.

Heb 12:16  Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.

Heb 12:16 Word Study on “profane” – Strong says the Greek word “profane” ( ) (G952) means, “heathenish, wicked.”

Heb 12:17  For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

Heb 12:17 Comments – Esau could not get back his birthrights. Many people today are selling their privilege to eternal life for a “morsel of meat” in this lifetime.

Heb 12:16-17 Comments – The Example of Esau – Note that Heb 6:4-6 does not describe the only person that will go to hell after backsliding, because all backsliders will go to hell. This passage describes the only type of backslider who cannot repent and be restored back to God. It is a person who backslides willfully and knowingly after rising to maturity in the faith. The author has given us the example of the children of Israel in the wilderness whom God destroyed (Heb 3:7-19), and he will later give us the example of Esau who found no repentance, though it sought it with tears (Heb 12:16-17).

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

A Warning against Apostasy on the Basis of the excellency of the New Covenant.

The warning example of Esau:

v. 14. Follow peace with all men and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord,

v. 15. looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God: lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

v. 16. lest there be any fornicator or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.

v. 17. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected; for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

From the passage in Proverbs, to which the author has just referred, Pro 4:26-27, the author now takes another thought, namely, that of maintaining peaceful relations with others: Follow peace with all and holiness, without which no one shall see the Lord. It seems that the characteristics of the Hebrews made them impatient of weakness, a feeling which might easily bring on alienation and lead to quarrels. But God wants His Church to be built up in peace, Rom 12:18; 2Ti 2:22, a peace based upon the unity of faith and making for holiness in general, for true consecration to the Lord and His cause, Eph 5:5; Mat 5:8. Sanctification grows out of faith from the same seed, the Word of God, and without this holiness it is impossible to see the Lord, to be accepted by Him as His child. Only he that has accepted the vicarious sacrifice of Christ in such a spirit as to make him a partaker of the mind which lived in Christ will finally stand in the presence of the Lord and see Him face to face.

This is not a matter to be taken lightly, for the author continues: Watching lest any man fall short of the grace of God, lest some root of bitterness growing anew trouble you and thereby many be defiled. Christians must ever be on the alert, always watch carefully, lest one of their number fall away from the grace of God. The danger is always there that the one or the other may turn aside to some sin. But the believers should always be a closed company, held closely together by their faith and fellowship in Christ. That one of their number should turn aside, should miss the grace of God, must be a matter of grave concern to them all. And as they thus keep to the path together, they also guard against such pollution, such defilement, as follows the springing up in their midst of roots of bitterness. The words at this place are borrowed from Deu 29:18. The introduction of evil, sinful practices in their midst would be much like that of a poisonous root and plant, through whose pollution they would not only be troubled, but through which they would also be rendered unfit to approach to God and to enter into fellowship with Him. See Gal 5:9.

In just what way this might happen the author now states: Lest there be any fornicator or a profane person, like Esau, who for a single meal sold his birthright; for you know that afterward, though he wished to inherit the blessing, he was repudiated, for he found no room for a change of mind (in his father), although he sought it earnestly with tears. Here are examples of the bitter roots, of the poisonous plants of sin and evil, as they may spring up in a Christian congregation. There may be someone that will be overcome and stricken down by the sin of fornication, against the Sixth Commandment. Or some person may be tempted and fall into the sin of profaning such things as are sacred in the eyes of God. When the rich feast of God’s grace and mercy is spread in the same congregation for one or two generations, there is always danger that someone may become surfeited and barter away his salvation for the enjoyment of sin for a season. That was the sin of Esau, who considered the right of the first-born, though it included the fact that the first-born was also the bearer of the Messianic blessing, so lightly that he sold his birthright for a single meal, for a mess of pottage, Gen 25:29-34. His case illustrates the danger of missed or rejected opportunities. For when Esau afterwards made an attempt to get the blessing of the first-born for himself, he did not succeed, Gen 27:30-40. He made a very serious effort to get the blessing which had been given to Jacob for himself, beseeching his father with tears to change his mind. But Isaac remained firm; he realized that it was the will of God that Jacob should have the blessing of the first-born and the Messianic promise and therefore refused to change his decision. “I do not say that he was not saved, but that he could not obtain the blessing which he had once lost, in spite of all tears.”

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

Heb 12:14. The sacred writer now proceeds to exhort the Hebrew Christians to the exerciseofuniversalpeacewith believing Gentiles, as well as with the believing Jews, and to the practice of holiness, that so they might not fail of that glorious reward which was purchased and provided for them by the atonement of the blood of the covenant. He sets home this exhortation, by observing, that they were not now called to the profession and privileges of Judaism, but of Christianity; and that therefore they ought to live in peace with all Christians, and to receive the uncircumcised believers into their communion in a peaceable manner, and to keep themselves interested in the favour of God, by the experience and practice of sincere and universal holiness.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Heb 12:14 . ] with all , even the non-Christians. Comp. Rom 12:18 . For limiting the , with Michaelis, Zachariae, Storr, Bleek, Stein, de Wette, Tholuck, Ebrard, Delitzsch, Alford, Maier, to the members of the Christian community , there exists no reason; and it has against it the mode of expression, since we should then have expected .

] the general virtue, of which the endeavour after concord is only a particular outflow. , namely, is here sanctification or moral purification in general; too restricted is the reference of Chrysostom, Theodoret, Oecumenius, Theophylact, Jac. Cappellus, Bengel, Bloomfield, and others, who explain it as what at 1Th 4:3 (see at that place) is certainly the correct explanation the virtue of chastity .

] By this expression some understand God (comp. Mat 5:8 ), others Christ (comp. Heb 9:28 ). A certain decision is impossible. The beholding represents in an emblematic manner the idea of innermost union, and the whole is a designation of the Messianic blessedness in the consummated kingdom of God.

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

Heb 12:14-17 . Exhortation to concord and to growth in holiness .

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

III
Incipient apostasy must be counteracted by striving after union and sanctification

Heb 12:14-17

14Follow peace with all men [om. men], and holiness, without which no man [none] shall see the Lord. 15Looking diligently lest any man fail of [fall short of] the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up, trouble you, and thereby5 [the] many 16be defiled; Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat [one meal] sold his birthright.6 17For ye know how that [that also] afterward, when he would have inherited [though wishing to inherit] the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully [earnestly] with tears.

[Heb 12:14. with all, not man; the reference is doubtless to the brethrenany further reference would here be irrelevant.

.

Two strictly metrical lines of Iamb. Trimeter; poetic also in diction, as for or .

Heb 12:15.With either is understood or (with De W., Ln., Del., Alf., we must regard it as subject of , and in the resumption of the sentence , is put in its place. In favor, however, of the other construction is that of , which also requires . The passage is imitated from Deu 29:18, where the Sept. , would almost seem, and is deemed by Del., to have originated the similarly sounding . Still this is, on the whole, improbable, especially as the Alexandrine copy of the Sept., which our author constantly used, has (Alf.). , is evidently to be taken of persons, and persons inclined and tempting to apostasy. , not many; but the many, the mass.

Heb 12:16. , in exchange for one meal.

Heb 12:17., I should put this in parenthesis in entire accordance with the usage of the author. also with Del., Alf., etc. (against Moll, who, however, seems undecided), I would refer to Esau, not to Isaac, and the following to , Alfords objection to the latter, that immediately takes up , is by no means decisive. is the natural word, without any reference to the preceding and the exactly describes Esaus endeavors after the blessing, as recorded in Gen.K.].

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

Heb 12:15. Fall short of the grace, etc. expresses the idea of free agency and of guilt (Bhme, etc.). With the participle either is to be supplied as frequently in the classics after (Bhm., Thol., etc., after the ancients), or the construction is broken, and subsequently so resumed, and completed with words from Deu 29:18 after the Cod. Alex. in the Sept., that while would be properly the subject of , yet in place of it, on the resumption of the sentence, stands (Bl., Ln., Del.). Antioch. Epiph. is called, 1Ma 1:19, .

Heb 12:17. For ye know, etc.Luth. erroneously after the Vulg. takes imperatively, and is seriously stumbled at the general thought of the passage, inasmuch as he refers to (with Chrys., c., Primas., Grot., etc.), and refers to the change in the mind of Esau. Hence sprang grave psychological difficulties, and a seeming antagonism, with the general teachings of Scripture. To take the clause with De W. objectively, would require that , sc. , should have been written. If we adhere to the certainly natural reference of to , we must (with most intpp. since Zwingle, Bez., among them Thol., Ebr., Bisp., Ln.) understand the change of mind as applying to Jacob, not to Esau. We might, however, be tempted, on account of the special sense of in the N. Test., and inasmuch as Isaac has not been previously named, to refer (with Theophyl., Calv., Beng., Bl., Hofm., Del., Riehm) to . This yields also the unobjectionable idea that the tears shed on account of the loss of the blessing remained ineffectual, inasmuch as he found in himself no place for repentance. But in that case we must, on the one hand, take this explanatory clause, for he found, etc., as parenthetical, which is entirely foreign to the style of the author (for Heb 7:11 and Heb 12:20, are by no means parallel;) and on the other hand, the sentiment which thus arises is, to be sure, in accordance with Heb 6:4-6; Heb 10:29, but not with the record of the life of Esau. The opinion of Del. that Esau is here presented as a type of that unpardonable sin of apostasy, which draws after it inevitable damnation, finds no support in the text itself. But the seeking with tears for the change of mind in his father, and the fathers repelling of his entreaties, are recorded Gen 27:34-38.

[To me Molls objections to the view which he rejects seem by no means conclusive. That the parenthesis is not opposed to the genius of our authors style, can be shown by several examples, as Heb 7:11; Heb 7:19; Heb 7:20-21; Heb 10:7; Heb 10:23, in all of which a parenthesis is most naturally assumed. In the second place it seems by no means necessary to assume here that the personal character of Esau is in question, at least as to his ultimate repentance and individual salvation. But he held a position and enjoyed a prerogative of inestimable importance. As Isaacs first-born he was his natural heir, and thus naturally the inheritor of the blessings covenanted to Abraham; naturally, in the line of Theocratic descent. That prerogative he recklessly threw away. He valued so little the privilege connected with the promise and covenant of God, that he forfeited it for the single gratification of his sensual appetite. The forfeiture was fixed and fatal. When he would have recovered it he was rejected, discarded, reprobated (), and no repentance was of any avail to secure the recovery of the once discarded and abandoned blessing. Thus his example is a most happy and forcible one for the author. He stands, as suggested by Del., as the type of him who wantonly turns away and rejects with carnal and sensual mind the blessings of Gods spiritual covenant. In his case, indeed, there is perhaps no necessity of supposing that the rejection was such as to shut him out from the kingdom of heaven. But he was inexorably excluded from the high position which he would have held as one of the line of Gods covenant people, and one of the ancestors of the Messiah, and his example is a most striking and pertinent one for the purpose of our author. I believe, therefore, that refers to , that the clause for he found, etc., is parenthetical, and that refers to the change in Esaus own mind: repentance was impossible, i.e., any such repentance as could restore to him the once forfeited theocratic blessing, and that thus the doctrine is strikingly parallel and analogous to (though not precisely identical with) the authors elsewhere repeatedly expressed doctrine of the hopelessness of the condition of the apostate.K.].

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. With a steadfast constancy in our Christian profession, there must be associated a corresponding walk, an advancement in holiness. Great hinderances to this arise when, along with outward afflictions, there spring up internal divisions, and a spirit of contention becomes prevalent in the Church. This is all the more in opposition to the Lords will, by as much as we are not merely to seek to come into relations of peace with all the brethren, even with those of different views from our own, and to preserve and cherish these relations, but also, so far as in us lies, to live in peace with all men (Rom 12:18).

2. Fellowship with the Lord, and the certainty by means of this, of yet beholding God, should not be made dependent on external things, but we should ever bear in mind that with unspiritual modes of feeling, and with a failure in sanctification, the possession of salvation is impossible, and our claim to the inheritance is lost. To our seeing of God a fulfilment of the required conditions is indispensable, Psa 17:15; Psa 42:3; Mat 5:8; 1Jn 3:2; Rev 22:3-4.

3. The Divine fulness of peace and holiness may and should serve as an example to the Church; but the appropriation of these, and reproduction in our own life, demands a zealous and continued endeavor, and a mutual brotherly, coperation, in order that none may so withdraw himself from grace that it can no longer influence him, or be beyond his reach.

4. The roots of bitterness, those poisonous plants which, springing up, disquiet and molest a Church, as the field and vineyard of God, and bring contagion and ruin to the individuals who come in contact with them, and of whom there are but too many, are of various kinds; but preminently dangerous is that impure and worldly feeling which, for the sake of fleeting charms of sense, and momentary enjoyments, half recklessly, half thoughtlessly, sacrifices the blessing of the promise, and a title to an inheritance in the kingdom of God.

5. As there are fruitless tears, which have no influence on the improvement and purifying of our own heart, because they stand in no connection with actual repentance, so there are also tears shed too late, and therefore in vain, which are of no avail to change the purposes of others, and have no power to modify the lot which a person has previously chosen for himself. A repentance, however, sought sincerely and earnestly, and yet in vain, is, according to the tenor of Scripture, as completely unsupposable as is a truly penitent and yet ineffectual seeking of the grace of God for the forgiveness of sin within the limits of our temporal life.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

Better seasonably preserve a good than mourn for it when too late.They who most zealously strive for their own sanctification, care most earnestly for the salvation of others.He who is intent on seeing God must be in earnest in securing sanctification.From what source the pursuit of peace derives its power, and wherein it finds its limits.

Starke:It is lovely and beautiful to live in peace with all men, so far as it can be done with a good conscience. Yet if we cannot always be at peace, still we must never give occasion for quarrelling and strife (Psa 133:1; 1Co 11:16).Great wisdom and careful keeping of our conscience are required, that we may neither from fear of men omit in our works or suppress in our words any thing which ought to be done and spoken, and that in neither do we say any thing which may breed dissension, and which either had better been entirely omitted, or might have been done or uttered in a better manner (Pro 13:10).He who will not be born anew with Christ, to him His birth is of no avail. He who will not die to sin with Christ, to him His death is of no avail. He who will not rise from sin in Christ, His resurrection is of no avail (Act 3:26; Col 3:1; Joh 3:3; Joh 3:5; 1Pe 2:24).If hatred has sprung from wrath, and the hatred continues until the sun has repeatedly set upon it, the seated hatred roots itself in the heart, and becomes a noxious plant not easily eradicated.A Christian should be watchful over his fellow, that he may exhort him to that which is good.There are in the Holy Scripture bad and good examples, which prove that the devil has for a long time carried on his wickedness, and that we must not indiscriminately appeal to ancient examples (1Co 11:1).Oh, how many brethren of Esau are abroad in the world, who sell for temporal pleasures the prerogative of their birth-right, the kingdom of heaven! Woe to those who follow after them (2Ti 3:4).

Rieger:We think that we are in the right, and that we are seeking nothing but the right; but we seek it in such a way that love, peace, compassion, are sacrificed in the pursuit, and we defile our spirits with many a stain, in which we also involve many others. He who cannot be induced to carefulness in regard to apparently small matters, will never be in genuine earnest. A mess of pottage could do Esau so much harm!A cup of cold water may receive a reward.To will while God wills, and awakens our own will, this effects good. To will, when grace and the season of grace have been neglected, and the door has been shut, will be in vain, and will prove no small part of ones eternal shame and suffering (Mat 7:22-23; Luk 13:25).

Hahn:A single act can work great ruin. Much is often lost in a brief space; for the sake of a small thing we often surrender that which is great. The false hope of its recovery we see in the example of Esau.

Heubner:Peace would seem not to be sinful neglect, but connected with a strict adherence to the will of God.The reward of Christian sanctification is glorious. It is the necessary condition of blessedness.By deferring our reformation, Divine grace is often trifled away.It is a duty to keep the Church pure, and to guard against the influence of seducers; the whole Church is defiled, dishonored and poisoned.How miserable is the reward bestowed by sin, and how infinitely great the loss of the sinner.Though those who come to late repentance may obtain indeed a Seir, yet it is not Canaan.

Ahlfeld:In sanctification the Holy Spirit transforms us into the image of Christ: 1. Why should we be in earnest in regard to this sanctification? 2. Whence do we acquire the power to attain it? 3. Wherein do we perceive that we grow in it? 4. What is its goal and termination?

Menken:The grace of God and the sanctification of our own nature, peace with God and with ourselves, and the love of peace, and a peaceful tone of feeling and of conduct in our relation with others, stand in indissoluble connection, and in the degree in which we are participant in the first, will the other also be found with us.

Footnotes:

[6]Heb 12:16.Instead of is found in A. C., the form , which is not an error of the copyist, but frequently occurs in the New Testament, as a specimen of forms of the later vulgar idiom. See Alex. Buttmanns Gramm. of the New Test. Idiom, p. 41.

[7]Heb 12:18.Even Tisch. has (in Edd. 11, IV., VII.) replaced in the text the indispensable after ., following D. K. L. and nearly all the minusc., although it is wanting in Sin. A.C., 14, 17, and many ancient translations, and hence is suspected by Mill as a gloss, and rejected by Lachm., Tisch. I., and Alford. [With Tisch., Moll, etc., I should retain it, regarding this as a case (like , Rom 5:1) in which the internal evidence overbalances stronger external testimony on the other side.K.].

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange

DISCOURSE: 2337
THE NECESSITY OF HOLINESS

Heb 12:14. Follow.holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.

THE Gospel, while it brings us into a state of reconciliation with God, enjoins us to maintain peace with man. This is rendered difficult, not only by the evil dispositions that are exercised on account of daily occurrences, but more especially by the enmity which subsists in the hearts of the generality with respect to religion; in reference to which our Lord himself said, I come not to send peace on earth, but a sword. Much however may be done by means of patience, meekness, and forbearance; and it is our duty to sacrifice any thing, except a good conscience, for the sake of peace. But our duty to God is paramount to every other consideration: therefore the Apostle, exhorting the Hebrews to follow peace with all men, adds immediately, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: the import of which is, that we may fail in obtaining peace, however earnestly we may seek it; but holiness we may, and must, attain at the peril of our souls; for without it no man shall see the Lord.

We shall,

I.

Ascertain the nature of holiness

Holiness is a conformity of heart and life to the revealed will of God
But, to enter more fully into the subject, it implies,

1.

That we love the whole will of God

[There is not any thing that more truly characterizes a Christian than this: it draws a line of distinction between him and all other persons upon earth. The self-righteous Pharisee, and the most refined hypocrite, have secret objections against the law of God; they think its precepts too strict, and its sanctions too severe. They would be glad if it left them somewhat greater latitude. They would be content that it should forbid gross outward sins, and insist on the performance of outward duties: but that it should call for continual self-denial, that it should require brokenness of heart and contrition for the most secret offences, and demand the utmost exertion of all our faculties in the service of our God, this appears too much; they would wish for an easier way to heaven.

But a person that possesses the smallest measure of true holiness, is the very reverse of this. He lothes himself for not complying more perfectly with the demands of the law; but he never condemns the law as too strict; he would not have it require one jot or tittle less than it does. He even admires and loves it for its purity; he says with David, The commandment of the Lord is pure, therefore thy servant loveth it. He acknowledges it to be not only holy, and just, but good also, and calculated to make every one happy that obeys it. And though he cannot obey it perfectly, he can truly say, I delight in the law of God after my inward man: yea, the language of his heart is, O that my ways were made so direct, that I might keep thy statutes.]

2.

That we live in no allowed deviation from it

[We mean not to say, that a Christian experiences no deviations from the law of God; (for, alas! he is conscious of many) but he does not allow them. Others will obey the will of God as far as will consist with their interests and reputation; or with the exception of some bosom sin; but there will always be found, in insincere persons, some secret lust for which they plead, and in reference to which they say, Pardon thy servant in this thing.

But true holiness admits of no reserves, no limitations, no exceptions: and he who possesses it will stop short of nothing that God has commanded. He may do what is wrong, either through ignorance or temptation; but he will not persist in it: he will endeavour to mortify the whole body of sin. He will no more allow himself in secret sins, whether of omission or of commission, than he will commit the greatest enormities. Like David he says, I esteem thy commandments concerning all things to be right; therefore I hate every false way; that is, I love the ways of duty, so that I would walk in them even if there were no reward; and I hate the ways of sin, so that I would shun them, though I were sure never to incur punishment.]

3.

That we actually grow in a conformity to it

[Sanctification is a progressive work. A child of God arrives not at full stature but by degrees: he is constantly growing in grace: the vernal bloom gradually advances to the autumnal fruit. There may indeed be seasons wherein he may appear to decline, or may really suffer a declension: but if he have the grace of God in his heart, he will revive, and return to God with more fervour and steadfastness. Nor will he ever think he has already attained, or is already perfect; but forgetting the things that are behind, he will reach forward unto that which is before.
This is in no respect the case with others. They are satisfied with their present state: they are not conscious of their defects; and therefore they feel no longings for higher attainments. They are like a painted sun upon the canvass, while the true Christian grows up into Christ in all things as his living head, and, like the sun in the firmament, shines brighter and brighter unto the perfect day.]
Having in this description of holiness, marked the lowest degree of it that exists in a true Christian, we proceed to,

II.

Shew the grounds, on which it is necessary in order to salvation

If we were not able to assign any reason for Gods determination, it would be quite sufficient for us to know, that he has issued his decree. It is not for us to dispute, but to submit, saying,
Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
But there is one obvious ground on which the necessity of holiness is indisputable, namely, that in the very nature of things it is impossible without it to enjoy the Divine presence

[If heaven were a place suited to a carnal mind, and afforded the gratifications which unregenerate men affect, then indeed unholy men might find such happiness there, as in their state they are capable of receiving. But heaven is a holy place; the habitation of a holy God: it is filled with myriads of holy men and angels, who are exercising themselves incessantly in the holy employments of praise and adoration. What then would there be in that place suited to the taste of an unholy man? Could those whose spirits were defiled with sin, and who had never been purged from its guilt by the atoning blood of Christ, find pleasure in the presence of God, who, being omniscient, could not but discern their state, and, being holy, could not but regard them with abhorrence? Would not a consciousness of his power terrify them, and a recollection that he had once cast innumerable angels out of heaven, appal them? Could they delight in the society of the glorified saints whom they so little resemble, or find communion with them in exercises, which were here their burthen and aversion? We are fully assured, that as the tree falleth, so it lieth; that he who is unjust, will be unjust still, and he who is filthy, will be filthy still. If it has not been the one desire of our hearts to honour and enjoy God; if secret intercourse with him in our chambers, and social fellowship with him in the public assembly, have been a mere task, and not the delight of our souls, how can we suppose that we should instantly find a delight in these things in heaven? How could we endure to spend an eternity there in employments, for which we had no taste? We are told, that there is a meetness for the inheritance of the saints [Note: Col 1:12.]: and that we must have that meetness before we could enjoy the Divine presence, even if we were admitted into it. Christ must be precious to us now, if we would find him so in the eternal world: and we must account it our supreme felicity to enjoy him now, if we would hereafter join the chorus of saints and angels, in ascribing Salvation to God and to the Lamb for ever. In short, holiness, real holiness of heart, is as necessary to the enjoyment of the Divine presence, as a taste for music, or literature, is for the company and employments of musical or literary men. As we soon grow weary of things which we do not affect, and prefer any other employment that is more suited to our inclination and capacity, so most assuredly must it be even in heaven, if our natures be not changed: we shall remain for ever destitute of those qualities which constitute our meetness for the heavenly inheritance, and consequently be for ever incapable of participating the joys of heaven.

This may at least be sufficient to illustrate the declaration in the text; perhaps we may add also, to vindicate it. Not that any declaration of God is to be judged of by the reasons which fallible men may assign in vindication of it: his word is the same, whether we believe it or not; nor shall one jot or tittle of it ever fail.]

This subject cannot but suggest to our minds the following reflections:
1.

How few are there that will eventually be saved!

[Take the foregoing explanation of holiness, and compare it with the state of all around us; how awful the contrast! But God is true; and his word respecting the unholy shall surely stand Let us seek then, yea, strive to enter in at the strait gate, and to walk in the narrow path Let us follow holiness with all our might Whatever we may think, it is in that way alone that we can behold the face of God in peace.]

2.

How needful is it that we should seek holiness in a right way!

[The generality are extremely ignorant respecting the manner in which holiness is to be obtained: they have an idea that they must acquire it by some exertions of their own: whereas they should seek it from Christ, through the operation of his Spirit in their hearts. They should first seek to be united to him by faith, as scions to the stock of a tree, or as a wife to her husband [Note: These are the very means prescribed by our Lord, Joh 15:4-5 and by St. Paul, Rom 7:4.]: then, by virtue derived from him, they will be made fruitful in good works, and be changed into his image in righteousness, and true holiness.]

Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

I wish the Reader to look at this verse by itself, as so much perversion hath been made of it, that it demands this attention. Follow peace with all men. What peace? If it be supposed to mean the peace of God in Christ, or Christ himself, who is our Peace; this cannot be a mere precept directed to all men; for all men have not faith; neither do all men follow peace, or Christ: neither is this scripture addressed to all men; but to the Church, who are supposed to be following Christ in the regeneration. And holiness. What holiness? Not, as some have supposed, holiness in the creature, for there is none holy, no, not one. And moreover, it would be in this sense, a precept to follow it, and not as if possessing it. The latter part of the verse, in my view, explains the whole, when it is said, without which, no man shall see the Lord. Now, the uniform language of scripture is, that without Christ, there can be no peace with God; neither any approach to God, but in the holiness of Jesus. No man, saith Christ, cometh to the Father but by me, Joh 14:6 . And our entrance into the holiest is by the blood of Jesus; and in him we have boldness to enter, Heb 10:19 etc. Christ, therefore, is our peace, by the blood of his cross; and through him we have access by one Spirit unto the Father, Col 1:20 ; Eph 2:18 . Hence, the Church, (and it is the Church all along in this Epistle which is spoken to,) is called in one whole body to follow Christ, who is both the peace, and the holiness of his people; and without which, no man shall see the Lord, 1Co 1:30 ; Heb 7:26 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

14 Follow peace with all men , and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

Ver. 14. Follow peace ] Gr. pursue it, though it flee from you. I am for peace (saith David), but when I speak of it, they are for war, Psa 120:7 .

And holiness ] Or chastity, 1Th 4:4 ; such a holiness as is opposed to fornication and profaneness, Heb 12:16 .

Without which ] The article may be neuter; and then the sense is, without which following peace and holiness, or a holy peaceableness, none shall see God to their comfort.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

14 .] Follow peace with all ( belongs to , not to the verb. Some have understood to refer not only to the brethren, but to unbelievers also. So c. ( ), Thl. ( , ), Jac. Cappell., Grot., Calov., al., and Bhme, Lnem., al. But thus taken the exhortation would lose much of its proper force here. For it is introduced by a caution that the lame be not turned out of the way, and followed by taking heed that none fail of the grace of God: and between these two an exhortation to follow peace with all mankind would come in very flat and disjointed. It is clearly the brethren who are here meant by : and this is further shewn by the collocation of the words, which on the other view would more naturally be . The sentiment thus is the same as in Rom 14:19 , , ), and sanctification (“The connexion of is much as in Heb 12:1 ; ch. Heb 11:38 ; the Writer uses the art., when he appends the particular to the general.” Delitzsch. is not = , but is the putting on of it and becoming . Many Commentators, misled by the peculiar contextual reference of the word in 1Th 4:3 , have restricted the meaning here to chastity . So Chrys. ( ; ), Thdrt., c., Thl., Jer [73] , Aug [74] , and Jac. Cappell., Bengel, al. But the wider meaning, as a rule, must always be kept where the context does not require a narrower. And thus understood, the reference of it is well given by Limborch: “ne, dum paci studeat, nimis aliis obsequendi studio quidquam contra sanctimouiam Christianam delinquat”), without (apart from) which ( seems to be put after its case for rhythm’s sake. In Palm and Rost’s art. on , this arrangement is quoted frequently from the poets and tragedians, but does not seem to occur often in prose) none shall see the Lord (whether is to be applied to Christ, or to the Father, is uncertain. The article determines nothing. is clearly the Father in ch. Heb 8:2 ; as clearly the Son in ch. Heb 2:3 . But here it would seem that the Father is intended. For we know, Mat 24:30 ; Rev 1:7 , that every eye shall see the Son, even in His glory: whereas we have our Lord using, in an ethical sentence not much unlike this one, the expression ):

[73] Jerome , fl. 378 420

[74] Augustine, Bp. of Hippo , 395 430

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Heb 12:14-17

14Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. 15See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; 16that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. 17For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.

Heb 12:14-17 this is the lasts warning (cf. Heb 2:1-4; Heb 3:7 to Heb 4:11; Heb 5:11 to Heb 6:12; Heb 10:19-39; Heb 12:14-17).

Heb 12:14 “Pursue peace” This is a present active imperative. In the context of

1. persecution from without

2. unbelief among friends (Jewish unbelievers with whom the believing Jews were still worshiping)

3. doubt within (the danger of “shrinking back” (cf. Heb 10:38) this discussion of peace is very important.

There are several related passages about “peace.”

1. Psa 34:14, “seek peace, pursue it”

2. Mar 9:50, “be at peace with one another”

3. Rom 12:18, “If possible, so as it depends on you, be at peace with all men”

4. 1Co 7:15, “Yet if the unbelieving one leaves, let him leave. . .but God has called us to peace”

5. 2Ti 2:22, “pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart”

“and the sanctification” This term “sanctification” must relate to Heb 12:10 and is connected to “discipline.” God disciplines believers for holiness. The goal of salvation is Christlikeness.

This is not positional (instantaneous) sanctification, but experiential (progressive) sanctification. The gospel presents salvation and the Christian life in two tension-filled ways. In one sense it is a finished, free, once-for-all gift from God (indicative), but it is also a life of faith, obedience, service, and worship (imperative). Many believers emphasize one aspect to the exclusion of the other (Augustine vs. Pelagius; Calvin vs. Arminius). Believers’ relationship with God begins at a point in time, a point of conviction, culminating in repentance and faith, but it must also move through time to a culmination at death or the Second Coming; faithfulness, righteousness, perseverance are important, crucial evidences of a true salvation.

Compare the following texts on sanctification.

Positional (indicative)Progressive (imperative)

Act 26:18 Rom 15:16 1Co 1:2-3; 1Co 6:11 2Th 2:13 Heb 2:11; Heb 10:10; Heb 10:14; Heb 13:12 1Pe 1:2Rom 6:19 2Co 7:1 Eph 1:4; Eph 2:10 1Th 3:13; 1Th 4:3-4; 1Th 4:7; 1Th 5:2 1Ti 2:15 2Ti 2:21 Heb 12:14 1Pe 1:15-16

“without which no one will see the Lord” This is paradoxical: (1) believers will see the Lord one day (cf. Job 19:25-27; Psa 17:15; Mat 5:8; 1Jn 3:2; Rev 22:4) and (2) believers cannot see the Lord now (cf. Exo 33:20; Joh 1:18; 1Ti 6:16; 1Jn 4:12).

This may refer to one’s spiritual eyes, in the sense of responding to the gospel. In this context it may be metaphorical of “understanding.”

Heb 12:15 “See to it” Literally “observing” (episkopountes) is a present active participle used in an imperatival sense. This term is built on a form of one of the terms for pastor (literally bishop, episkopos, cf. Php 1:1; 1Ti 3:2; Tit 1:7 and of Jesus in 1Pe 2:25). Here it can refer to church leaders or to mature believers who should care for others. Apostasy should be confronted by maturity. This group of believers desperately needed to act in a mature way (cf. Heb 5:11-14).

No Christian is an island (cf. 1Co 12:7). Christianity is a team sport! The term “saint” is always plural (except one time in Php 4:21, where it is used in a corporate sense). We are our brother’s keeper. We must spare no effort to encourage one another. We are given and gifted for the health of the whole.

“that no one comes short of the grace of God” This is a present active participle used in an imperatival sense meaning “falling short of the grace of God.” This word is used in Heb 4:1 in the sense of “fail to attain,” but in this verse the preposition “away” (apo) forms a prepositional phrase implying “a falling away from something previously possessed” (cf. Heb 6:4-6; Heb 10:23; Heb 10:38-39; Heb 12:25). Apostasy was a real possibility in this cultural situation. See SPECIAL TOPIC: APOSTASY (APHISTMI) at Heb 3:12.

Or, as I have maintained, there are two groups being addressed: (1) believing Jews in danger of “shrinking back” (Heb 12:15) and (2) unbelieving Jews having clearly understood the gospel in the lives and testimonies of their believing synagogue companions, rejecting Jesus (Heb 12:25). Whichever theory is correct, the truth remains that salvation is not a product, but a relationship. It is more than an initial response. The warnings are serious, challenging, and real. In this context it is a call to help believers in danger of “shrinking back” (cf. Heb 10:38).

“no root of bitterness” This may be an allusion to Deu 29:18 in the Septuagint, which warned the people of God about the dangers of idolatry, both individually and corporately. All of Israel was never right with God, but only a believing faithful remnant. The phrase “a root of bitterness” in Deuteronomy is parallel to “whose heart turns away today from the Lord our God.”

“and by it many be defiled” The presence of one disgruntled person affects the whole group. Our beliefs, actions, and attitudes do influence others. What an awesome responsibility!

Heb 12:16 “Esau” He becomes a very evil person in rabbinical Judaism’s traditions (cf. Jubilees 25:1,8 and Genesis Rabba 70d,72a). This context, however, uses him because he knew God’s promises but did not act on them.

Heb 12:17 “the blessing” The patriarchal blessing could not be recalled. This involves the Hebrew concept of the power of the spoken word (cf. Genesis 1 and Isa 55:10-12).

“for he found no place for repentance” In its OT context this refers to his sorrow after Isaac, his father, blessed his younger brother, Jacob, and the blessing could not be recalled. The author uses this as a warning to the recipients of the letter. He wants them to make a decision for Christ now while there is time and then to persevere in that new relationship with Christ because there is no second chance (cf. Heb 6:6; Heb 10:26).

SPECIAL TOPIC: REPENTANCE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

“with tears” This is from Gen 27:34; Gen 27:38.

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

Follow = Pursue. The force of the Greek dioko is seen in Php 1:3, Php 1:14 (press toward).

with. Greek. meta. App-104.

holiness. Greek. hagiasmos. See Rom 6:19.

no man = no one. Greek. oudeis.

shall see. Greek. opsomai. App-133. (a.)

the Lord. App-98.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

14.] Follow peace with all ( belongs to , not to the verb. Some have understood to refer not only to the brethren, but to unbelievers also. So c. ( ), Thl. ( , ), Jac. Cappell., Grot., Calov., al., and Bhme, Lnem., al. But thus taken the exhortation would lose much of its proper force here. For it is introduced by a caution that the lame be not turned out of the way, and followed by taking heed that none fail of the grace of God: and between these two an exhortation to follow peace with all mankind would come in very flat and disjointed. It is clearly the brethren who are here meant by : and this is further shewn by the collocation of the words, which on the other view would more naturally be . The sentiment thus is the same as in Rom 14:19, , ), and sanctification (The connexion of is much as in Heb 12:1; ch. Heb 11:38; the Writer uses the art., when he appends the particular to the general. Delitzsch. is not = , but is the putting on of it and becoming . Many Commentators, misled by the peculiar contextual reference of the word in 1Th 4:3, have restricted the meaning here to chastity. So Chrys. ( ; ), Thdrt., c., Thl., Jer[73], Aug[74], and Jac. Cappell., Bengel, al. But the wider meaning, as a rule, must always be kept where the context does not require a narrower. And thus understood, the reference of it is well given by Limborch: ne, dum paci studeat, nimis aliis obsequendi studio quidquam contra sanctimouiam Christianam delinquat), without (apart from) which ( seems to be put after its case for rhythms sake. In Palm and Rosts art. on , this arrangement is quoted frequently from the poets and tragedians, but does not seem to occur often in prose) none shall see the Lord (whether is to be applied to Christ, or to the Father, is uncertain. The article determines nothing. is clearly the Father in ch. Heb 8:2; as clearly the Son in ch. Heb 2:3. But here it would seem that the Father is intended. For we know, Mat 24:30; Rev 1:7, that every eye shall see the Son, even in His glory: whereas we have our Lord using, in an ethical sentence not much unlike this one, the expression ):

[73] Jerome, fl. 378-420

[74] Augustine, Bp. of Hippo, 395-430

Fuente: The Greek Testament

Heb 12:14. , with) Construed with , peace; comp. , many, Heb 12:15.- ) The article makes an emphatic addition (Epitasis), ch. Heb 11:38.-, sanctification) of which the principal parts are chastity and sobriety: comp. Heb 12:16.- , no one shall see) as a priest; Rev 22:3-4, or as a son; comp. 2Sa 14:24.- , the Lord) Who is holy, pure.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

From his exhortation unto patient perseverance in the profession of the gospel, under sufferings and afflictions, the apostle proceeds unto a prescription of practical duties; and although they are such as are absolutely necessary in themselves at all times, yet they are here peculiarly enjoined with respect unto the same end, or our constancy in professing the gospel For no light, no knowledge of the truth, no resolution or courage, will preserve any man in his pro-fcssion, especially in times of trial, without a diligent attendance unto the duties of holiness and gospel obedience. And he begins with a precept general and comprehensive of all others.

Heb 12:14 , , .

. Vulg., sequimini; others, sectamini, which comes nearer the original, and denotes a vehement pursuit. Syr., , run after peace. We elsewhere translate the same word in the same duty, by pursue and ensue;Psa 34:14; 1Pe 3:11.

Heb 12:14. Earnestly follow peace with all [men], and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.

The direction here given is general, consisting of two parts; the first whereof contains our duty towards men; and the other our duty towards God, whereby the former is to be regulated.

In the first we have,

1. The duty prescribed; which is peace.

2. The manner of the attaining it, or the way of the performance of the duty enjoined; which is earnestly to follow it.

3. Those with whom we are to seek peace; which are all men.

1. The substance of our duty towards all men as men, in all circumstances and relations, is to seek peace with them. And that we may have peace with all men, at least that we may do our duty to attain it, three things are required:

(1.) righteousness. The fruit of righteousness is peace. To wrong no man, to give everyone his due, to do unto all men as we would have them do unto us, are required hereunto. The want hereof is the cause of all want of peace, of all confusions, disorders, troubles, and wars in the world.

(2.) Usefulness. That we may have peace in a due manner, it is not enough that we hurt no man, defraud no man, injure no man; but it is moreover required of us, that in our station and calling, according unto our circumstances and abilities, we be useful unto all men, in all duties of piety, charity, and beneficence. Gal 6:10, As we have opportunity, let us be useful, profitable, beneficial, working that which is good, unto all men. This is required of us in that divine law of human society under which we are stated.

(3.) Avoiding of just offense. Give none offense, neither to the Jews nor to the Gentiles, 1Co 10:32.

These are the ways and means whereby we must earnestly follow peace with all men. We are not to do it by a compliance with them in any evil; not by a neglect of any duty; not by any thing that intrencheth on holiness towards God. Peace with men is not to be followed nor practiced at any such rate. We must eternally bid defiance unto that peace with men which is inconsistent with peace with God.

These ways of following peace with all men are such as carry along with them their own satisfaction and reward, although the end be not attained. For this ofttimes depends on the minds of other men, even such as are like the troubled sea, whose waters cast up mire and dirt, who have no peace in themselves, nor will let others be at peace, Psa 120:6-7. Hence the apostle gives that limitation unto our endeavors for peace: If it be possible, and, what lieth in you, live peaceably with all men, Rom 12:18.

2. From these difficulties ariseth the injunction of the especial way and manner of seeking it: Earnestly follow. We render the same word by pursue, Psa 34:14; and ensue, 1Pe 3:11. And it is in both places spoken of as that which exceeds in earnestness and diligence in the seeking of it. It is that which will fly from us, and which we must with all earnestness pursue, or we shall not overtake it. Both the words, in the Hebrew and Greek, do signify to persecute; which we know is the fiercest of prosecution. And this is so expressed, because of the many ways and pretences which most men use to avoid peace with those who profess the gospel. All these, as much as in us lieth, we are to overcome in the pursuit of peace, never giving it over whilst we are in this world.

3. And this we are to do with all men; that is, all sorts of men, according as we stand in relation unto them, or have occasion of converse with them. The worst of men are not excepted out of this rule; not our enemies, not our persecutors; we are still, by all the ways mentioned, to follow peace with them all. Let this alone be fixed, that we are not obliged unto any thing that is inconsistent with holiness, that is contrary to the word of God, that is adverse to the principles and light of our own minds and consciences, for the obtaining of peace with any or all the men in the world, and this rule is absolute and universal. Wherefore,

Obs. 1. A frame and disposition of seeking peace with all men, by the means before laid down, is eminently suited unto the doctrine and grace of the gospel. A froward spirit, apt and ready for strife and contention, to give and receive provocations, to retain a sense of injuries, to be satisfied with uselessness whilst it is supposed they do no wrong, is quite contrary to what the gospel requireth of us. The glory of the kingdom of Christ therein is frequently promised under the name of peace, with a cessation of wars and contentions among men. And an evidence this is how little of the power of the gospel remains at present in the minds of men in the world, when all things amongst those who are called Christians are filled with hatred, strife, persecutions, and savage warn But this frame is,

1. A great ornament to our profession. A man cannot, in the eyes of men not utterly flagitious and hardened in sin, more adorn the gospel, than by evidencing that in his whole course he doth what in him lies to follow after peace with all men.

2. A great comfort and supportment unto ourselves in our sufferings. For when we have the testimony of our consciences that we have sincerely sought peace with all men, it will not only make us rest satisfied in what they unjustly do unto us, but give us a triumph over them in our minds, in that we have attained a compliance with the will of God above them herein.

The second thing enjoined respects our duty towards God. And there are two things in the words: 1. The duty itself enjoined; and that is holiness. 2. The enforcement of it from its absolute necessity in order unto our eternal blessedness; for without it, destitute of it, we shall never see the Lord.

1. It refers to the same way of seeking it, namely, to follow it earnestly, to pursue it by all ways and means appointed unto that end.

Some by holiness here understand peculiarly the holiness or purity of chastity; for so is the word used, 1Th 4:3, For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication. There is a peculiar defilement in the sins that are against the body, as the apostle declares, 1Co 6:18-19. Wherefore the sanctification of the body (1Th 5:23) by this grace may be peculiarly called our holiness. Besides, the seeing of God here referred unto, is peculiarly promised unto the pure in heart, Mat 5:8; because the mind is thereby peculiarly prepared for the divine vision.

But there is no cogent reason why we should restrain the signification of the word. It is universal holiness which is here prescribed unto us. This we are in all things always to follow after. What this evangelical holiness is, what is its nature, wherein it doth consist, what is required unto it, by what means it may be attained and preserved, how it differs from morality, or the virtues of the best of unbelievers; I have declared at large in another[4] discourse, and shall not here again insist upon it.

[4] See miscellaneous works, vol. 1:242, 288 ED.

2. The enforcement of this duty is in these words, Without which no man shall see the Lord. It is all one whether we understand God absolutely, or the Lord Christ in an especial manner, by the name Lord; for we shall never see the one without the other. Christ prays for us, that we may be where he is, to behold his glory, Joh 17:24. This we cannot do but when we see God also, or the eternal glory of God in him. This sight of God in Christ, which is intellectual, not corporeal; finite, not absolutely comprehensive of the divine essence; is the sum of our future blessedness.[4] The nature of it I have elsewhere explained.

[3] In treatise on the Holy Spirit, vol. 3 of miscellaneous works. ED.

Now this future sight of the Lord doth depend peremptorily on our present holiness. It doth not do so as the meritorious cause of it; for be we never so holy, yet in respect of God we are unprofitable servants, and eternal life is the gift of God by Jesus Christ. But it doth so on a double account: (1.) Of an eternal, unchangeable, divine constitution. God hath enacted it, as an eternal law, that holiness shall be the way of our attaining and coming to blessedness.

(2.) As it is a due preparation for it, the soul being by holiness made meet and fit to come to the sight of the Lord, Colossians l:12,13. And therefore is well rendered, qua destitutus, whereof whoever is destitute, in whom this holiness is not, he shall never see the Lord. And,

Obs. 2. They are much mistaken in the Lord Christ, who hope to see him hereafter in glory, and live and die here in an unholy state. It is not privileges, nor gifts, nor church office or power, that will give an admission to this state.

Obs. 3. If this doctrine be true, that without holiness no man shall see the Lord, the case will be hard at last with a multitude of popes, cardinals, and prelates, who pretend that they have the opening of the door into his presence committed unto them.

Obs. 4. We may follow peace with men, and not attain it; but if we follow holiness, we shall as assuredly see the Lord, as we shall come short of this without it.

Obs. 5. The same means is to be used for the securing of our present perseverance and of our future blessedness, namely, holiness.

Fuente: An Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews

Peace and Holiness

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord. If we would serve the souls of men, if we would do one another good and serve the interests of our own souls, we must set our hearts continually upon Christ. We must earnestly and continually pursue peace and holiness.

Peace with All

The Spirit of God here tells us ever to follow the path of peace with all men. As much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. We cannot make all men peaceable, or make all men peaceable toward us. Yet, we must seek, as much as possible, to live peaceably with all. In society, in our homes, and especially in the church of God, we should always endeavor to maintain and promote peace.

Follow peace be in eager pursuit of peace. Use every means God gives you to live in peace. Spare no energy, no sacrifice, no cost to promote peace. Our God is the God of peace. Our Savior is the Prince of peace. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of peace. The Gospel we profess to believe is the gospel of peace. Let us, therefore, follow peace with all men, believers and unbelievers.

Promoting Peace

Let us therefore follow after the things which promote peace, and things wherewith one may edify another (Rom 14:19). Bro. Henry Mahan once gave nine, very helpful comments on this text. They are

Be careful to love one another with a true heart. Love covers a multitude of failures.

Avoid a spirit of argument and debate. One may win an argument and lose a friend.

Beware of jealousy. Jealousy destroys happiness and builds suspicion.

Beware of envy. Let us learn to rejoice in another’s gifts, blessings, and happiness. God gives as he will!

Do not meddle in the private lives and domestic affairs of others.

Guard against a touchy temper. For every trifling thing to take offense shows either great pride or little sense.

Learn to keep a confidence. He that repeateth a matter separateth very friends.

Strive to heal differences. Blessed are the peacemakers.

Be always ready to forgive anything. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.

Pursue Holiness

If we would serve the souls of men and serve our own souls, if we would help the fallen and heal the broken, we must incessantly pursue that holiness without which no man shall see the Lord.

Let us ever seek to live in all holiness and godliness; but that is not the holiness here spoken of. Let us constantly observe and faithfully keep the holy ordinances of divine worship; but that is not the holiness here spoken of. That holiness without which no man shall ever see God is the holiness that is found only in Christ. The only way we shall ever see God and live, and the only way we can help one another along the way, is to set our hearts upon the pursuit of Christ and constantly urge one another to do the same (Php 3:1-21).

Lest Any Man Fail

There can be no doubt that the holiness spoken of in Heb 12:14, that holiness we must constantly pursue, is Christ. Not only is that the only interpretation consistent with the message of Holy Scripture, the illustration used in Heb 12:15-17 is given to verify it.

Here we are warned that the turning of our hearts away from Christ and the gospel of the grace of God is sure to end in our everlasting ruin. Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled (Heb 12:15). The grace of God cannot and shall not fail; but multitudes fail of the grace of God, multitudes are turned from the gospel of the grace of God (Gal 5:1-4).

Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright (v.16). Those who fail of the grace of God are those who, like Esau, sell Christ for the world.

For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears (Heb 12:17). Esau is in hell today because he sold Christ for the gratification of his lusts, because he sold Christ for the world. Let us not be so foolish!

We have entered a race that must be run to the end (Mat 10:20). The prize goes to those who finish the race (Heb 10:35-39). There are hills of difficulty to climb, troubled seas to cross, and heavy trials to be endured along the way. Many tempting pastures of pleasure, appealing to the flesh, will allure us, and our flesh will oppose us every step of the way. We must go on, ever looking to Christ. Those who, like Esau, give up Christ for something else will some day, like Esau, weep with bitter tears, when it is beyond their power to recover what they have lost

Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible

Follow: Gen 13:7-9, Psa 34:14, Psa 38:20, Psa 120:6, Psa 133:1, Pro 15:1, Pro 16:7, Pro 17:14, Isa 11:6-9, Mat 5:9, Mar 9:50, Rom 12:18, Rom 14:19, 1Co 1:10, Gal 5:22, Gal 5:23, Eph 4:1-8, 1Th 5:15, 1Ti 6:11, 2Ti 2:22, Jam 3:17, Jam 3:18, 1Pe 3:11

and holiness: Heb 12:10, Psa 94:15, Isa 51:1, Luk 1:75, Rom 6:22, 2Co 6:17, 2Co 7:1, Phi 3:12, 1Th 3:13, 1Th 4:7, 1Pe 1:15, 1Pe 1:16, 1Pe 3:13, 2Pe 3:11, 2Pe 3:18, 3Jo 1:11

no man: Gen 32:30, Job 19:26, Job 33:26, Mat 5:8, 1Co 13:12, 2Co 7:1, Eph 5:5, Gal 3:21, 1Jo 3:2, 1Jo 3:3, Rev 21:24-27, Rev 22:3, Rev 22:4, Rev 22:11-15

Reciprocal: Gen 13:8 – Let Gen 13:9 – if thou wilt Gen 23:7 – General Gen 26:30 – General Exo 28:36 – HOLINESS Lev 15:31 – Thus shall Lev 20:7 – General Num 16:5 – will cause Deu 13:5 – put the evil away from the midst Jdg 11:14 – again unto Psa 5:4 – evil Psa 25:10 – keep Psa 93:5 – holiness Psa 119:131 – I longed Psa 120:7 – for peace Pro 12:20 – but Pro 21:21 – that Isa 4:3 – shall be Isa 35:8 – The way Isa 59:20 – unto Mat 5:20 – ye Joh 3:7 – Ye Rom 12:9 – cleave 1Co 6:9 – fornicators 1Co 7:15 – but 1Co 14:1 – Follow 2Co 13:11 – live Eph 4:3 – General Eph 4:24 – righteousness Phi 2:14 – disputings Phi 4:2 – that 1Th 5:13 – and be 1Ti 2:2 – that Rev 21:27 – there

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

HOLINESS OF LIFE

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.

Heb 12:14

Our subject is holiness; personal holiness which shows itself in the daily life; that personal possession of something which leads us day by day to live according to Gods laws.

I. A life of holiness is a life not ruled by the body but by the spirit.

II. How shall we obtain this holiness?The right holiness of life is shown in the life of Christ. We are the possessors of the life of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we have received not only forgiveness of the past but cleansing. So the life of Christ is in our lives. We become partakers with Him and His Spirit dwelleth in us.

III. Our bounden duty.It is bound upon us to aim at holiness and to possess it because we are not our own. Many so-called Christians are leading a sham life so far as their religion is concerned. Their religion lacks sincerity. We ought to be very circumspect in our daily lives, and to be regular attendants at the house of God and take careful observance of the Holy Sacrament.

IV. Yet it is not in externals that holiness lies.There must be form, but we must never leave out the inward and spiritual grace. Jesus Christ defined His Church in these words: the Kingdom of God is within you. Such is holiness. It is something within.

Rev. H. Lionel James.

Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary

Heb 12:14. Follow peace should be on the basis of Jas 3:17 which requires the peace to be in harmony with the pure wisdom from above. Paul recognizes the necessity of this proviso in Rom 12:18 whore he says “if it be possible.” Holiness is the same as righteousness and without it no man shall sec the Lord which means to enjoy Him.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

Heb 12:14. Follow peace with all (believers, the true parallel being Rom 14:19), and holiness (the appropriation by us of the Divine holiness of Heb 12:10; there it is the Divine attribute, here it is the process whereby the quality is made our own); without which (apart from which) no man shall see the Lordshall not enter His presence, and share His blessedness. The reference is to God the Father. Only the holy rise to the sight of Him. The word Lord is applied to Christ in chap. Heb 2:3, and to God in chap. Heb 8:2. When, however, Scripture speaks of seeing as a future reward, it is seeing God that is meant (Mat 5:8; 1Jn 3:2); and yet as the throne of God is also the throne of the Lamb, to see one is really to see both.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

Our apostle having now finished his exhortation unto patient perseverance in the profession of the gospel under all sufferings and afflictions, he now proceeds to a prescription of practical duties incumbent upon Christians at all times in the daily course of their conversation, two of which are contained in this verse, namely to follow peace and holiness; the former contains our duty to man, the latter, our duty to God.

Here observe, that both duties are enjoined in one and the same precept, and also with one and the same penalty: Without which, that is, without following of both which without pursuing and endeavouring after both, no man shall see the Lord.

Indeed, if a person follows holiness, though he cannot obtain peace, he may see God provided he pursues peace, and the fault is none of his that he doth not find it; but if he does not pursue peace, though he pretends never so much to holiness, he cannot be happy, for a Christian must be of a peaceable as well as of a pious, conversation; peace and holiness, peacableness and purity, are here joined together, and he neither can be happy in this or the next world, that puts them asunder.

Observe farther, The manner how peace and holiness must be followed, namely, with intense endeavours: The original word imports a vehement pursuit, a metaphor taken from huntsmen, who follow the chase, and pursue their game though it flies before them; if peace be had, though it be upon hard terms, we must endeavour to secure it, for it can never be bought too dear, if it be not purchased by sin and baseness.

A frame and disposition of seeking peace with all, is eminently suited unto the doctrine and grace of the gospel. A forward spirit, ready for strife and contention, easily provoked, and retaining long a sense of injuries, is directly contrary to the spirit and temper of the gospel.

Observe likewise, How that holiness towards God must be accompanied with peaceableness towards man. It is evangelical holiness which is here required; which must be an inward holiness, an universal holiness, a sincere and real holiness, an humble and self-denying holiness, a growing and progressive holiness, and such a holiness towards God as is always accompanied with righteousness towards men.

Observe lastly, The absolute necessity of holiness in order to eternal blessedness, Without it no man shall see the Lord. The future sight of God in glory depends peremptorily on our present holiness, not as the meritorious cause of it, but as a necessary qualification and preparation for it, and as it is the indispensable condition of our obtaining of it. The soul is by holiness made meet and fit for the enjoyment of God in happiness, Col 1:12.

Lord! How miserably mistaken will they be, who expect to see God to their comfort hereafter, who have lived and died in an unholy state here!

Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament

Heb 12:14-17. As the community is to bear up bravely under persecution, so it is to watch carefully over the purity of its own life. There must be no strife or dissension; above all, there must be moral consecration, for without this it is impossible to hold fellowship with Christ (Heb 12:14). The church must therefore keep anxious guard over its members, and make sure that each one of them lives up to his Christian profession. Even a single unworthy member may be like a poisonous weed, tainting the whole atmosphere round about (Heb 12:15). The Church must be specially watchful against men who indulge in sensual sins, or who live solely for worldly and material interests, careless, like Esau, of that higher destiny to which God has called them. Esaus later repentance did not avail him, and when he would fain have received the blessing he found that it was gone from him for ever. [Note that it was not the place of repentance, but the blessing, which Esau sought diligently with tears and failed to secure.A. J. G.] It may be, however, that the writer is also reverting to the idea of Heb 6:4 ff. For those who have fallen into grave sin after their conversion there can be no repentance, and they must be excluded from the Christian community.

Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible

12:14 {9} Follow peace with all [men], and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

(9) We must live in peace and holiness with all men.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

A. The Danger of Unresponsiveness (the Fifth Warning) 12:14-29

The writer now turned from the hearers’ responsibility as they experienced suffering (Heb 12:1-13) to the peril of rejecting God who continues to speak to us through His Son using the Scriptures. As the preceding pericope (Heb 12:1-13), this one is also a chiasm.

A    Exhortation (Heb 12:14-17)

    B    Exposition (Heb 12:18-24)

A’    Exhortation (Heb 12:25-29)

"The synthesis of so many significant themes and motifs within a single section identifies Heb 12:14-29 as the pastoral and theological climax of the sermon . . ." [Note: Lane, Hebrews 9-13, p. 448.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

V. LIFE IN A HOSTILE WORLD 12:14-13:25

This final major section of the book perhaps grew out of the writer’s reflection on the Greek text of Pro 4:26-27. He specified how his readers could "make straight paths for your feet" (Heb 12:13).

"In the final division of the homily the writer provides the members of the house church with a fresh orientation for life as Christians in a hostile society. The new people of God are engaged in pilgrimage to the city of God. This world is not their home; their goal is ’a kingdom that cannot be shaken’ (Heb 12:28) or ’the city that is to come’ (Heb 13:14). The metaphor of the journey to the city of God characterizes men and women of committed faith as pilgrims and implies an understanding of Christian life as commitment to pilgrimage. It also implies fidelity to the covenant." [Note: Ibid., pp. 433-34.]

The sections of this final division all contain these themes of pilgrimage and covenant privilege and obligation. As in the first division (Heb 1:1 to Heb 2:18), there is much emphasis on God speaking and the importance of listening to His voice.

"The writer offers his readers advice on how to live as a community of faith, between well-founded hope and the dangers which surround them." [Note: Ellingworth, p. 661.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

1. The goal of peace 12:14-17

These verses summarize what the writer said previously about irrevocable loss through disobedience, unbelief, apostasy, and contempt for New Covenant privileges (cf. Heb 6:4-8). The fearful warning about Esau brings these earlier warnings to an awesome head.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

We need to live peaceably with all people as much as we can (cf. Mat 5:9; Mar 9:50; Rom 12:18; Rom 14:19) because peaceful interpersonal relationships foster godliness (Jas 3:18). However this writer’s emphasis was more on the objective reality that results from Christ’s death than on our subjective enjoyment of peace. Since we will one day see the Lord, and since no sin can abide in His presence (1Jn 3:2), we must pursue holiness in our lives now. A better translation than "sanctification" here is "holiness" (Gr. hagiasmos; cf. hagiatetos in Heb 12:10, and hagiasomenoi in Heb 10:10). In Koine Greek, nouns ending in mos in the nominative case describe action. As with peace, holiness is our present state, and we need to continue to manifest it by remaining faithful when tempted to depart from the Lord.

This statement may seem at first to contradict the fact that Satan saw God and appeared in His presence in Job 1, 2. While Satan did and probably still does have access to God’s presence, that will not be his permanent privilege. The writer of Hebrews spoke here of the permanent privilege of human beings.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)