THREE GREAT CORRUPTIONS

HEBREWS 12:12–17

Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord

(Hebrews 12:14).

Once again the author of Hebrews exhorts us to persevere. This time he mentions three great corruptions that can undermine and destroy the walk of the Christian. The first is a belligerent spirit. The work of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life is to make him or her into a peace-loving person. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God” (Matt. 5:9).

Some people have a contentious spirit. They wind up in one conflict after another. Some Christians have this problem as a besetting sin. The author of Hebrews warns that if we don’t mortify a belligerent nature by pursuing peace as much as possible, we will wind up drifting away from the kingdom.

The second great sin is bitterness. Verse 15 says that bitterness will cause us to miss the grace of God. Bitterness comes from anger that has not been dealt with. When God takes us through rough times, we may begin to resent Him and harbor anger toward Him. Then we become bitter. A bitter person causes trouble and defiles the people around him, killing their joy and leading them away from trust in God’s good intentions.

The third great sin is sexual immorality (v. 16). Our minds are tricky, and when we go through hard times we may begin to think we have earned the right to sin. “I’m suffering anyway, so I might as well sin.” Sexual temptation is one of the most profound human temptations. The example the author uses is Esau, who married several Canaanite women instead of seeking out one godly wife. In Esau’s case, sexual immorality seems to have played a part in reinforcing his general godlessness and violence.

The great warning comes in verse 17. One day Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of lentils. He did not care about God, and he did not think that he would have to honor his deal with Jacob. He expected to inherit anyway. But God heard Esau’s word and honored it. Esau lost the birthright. Afterwards he was bitterly grieved, but not truly repentant. So he decided to kill his brother. It was too late for Esau, and he was rejected. The author of Hebrews warns us that a violent spirit, a bitter heart, and sexual immorality can and often do lead people out of the kingdom of God.

CORAM DEO

Psalm 91–93

Those who are God’s elect cannot lose their salvation. But we must live faithfully and cling to Him, even in the midst of trial. Examine your life in terms of these three great sins. Are you even slightly on the slide toward apostasy? If so, run back to Him and beg His mercy now, before it is too late.

For further study: Rom. 14:19–23 • Deut. 29:16–21 • 1 Cor. 6:12–20

thursday

september