by Jerry Senn
“The word of God is living and active, sharper than a two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning of the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
—Hebrews 4:12
An important aspect of this letter is often missed. The writer is concerned about the deadly tendency of neglecting the message of salvation in Jesus. (2:1-3). His warning involved our hearts and relationship with God.
“Take care, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God” (Hebrews 3:12). He has urged them to “hear the voice” of God, (Hebrews 3:7, 15) regularly (daily) to avoid “slipping away” (drifting) from “the living” God.
“Hardness of heart is intelligent, planned unbelief. It is possible to determine not to believe in God…. Hearing a message…does not in itself assure the reception of what has been promised. What is required is an active pursuit of the promise and its appropriation by faith (4:12). (Wm Lane).
An aged disciple, Samuel Chadwich, once said something about what his bible meant to him.
“I have guided my life by the Bible for more than sixty years and I tell you there is no book like it. It is a miracle of literature, a perennial spring of wisdom, a wonder of surprises, a revelation of mystery, an infallible guide of conduct, and an unspeakable source of comfort. Pay no attention to people who discredit it, for I tell you they speak without knowledge. It is the word of God itself. Study it according to its own direction. Live by its principles. Believe the message. Follow its precepts. No man is uneducated who knows the Bible and no one is wise who is ignorant of its teaching.”
A willful neglect of the “voice of God” will result in an evil, unbelieving heart. Is the Bible a part of your daily life?
This book will keep you from sin—
Only sin will keep you from this book!!!