IS THERE AN ESCAPE
Monday – July 3, 2017
Praise the Lord, another glorious week to further the Kingdom of God lies before us. Will we redeem the time or squander it? Welcome back to our Bible Study from the Book of Hebrews presented by Dr. Wood and The Three Minute Word publications. Tomorrow is a wonderful day of commemoration in these United States of America when we celebrate our independence from an oppressive power. Of course, each of us who are born again also have that wonderful day in our memories when we declared our independence our deliverance from a killer receiving Jesus as Lord and entered the wonderful Kingdom of God. Now let’s turn our attention to our primary text.
Hebrews 2:1-4 (KJV)
1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.
2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;
3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
4 God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?
The human author of Hebrews led of the Spirit of God has been comparing and contrasting the position of the Son (Jesus, the Word) with angels. In addition, we have understood that the Holy Spirit is not only talking about the Son but those who are in Christ Jesus (the Son) as well. Just as the Father saw to it that the Word was completely restored, so He saw to it that we could be completely restored only better. Our situation is better than that of Adam because we are in Christ Jesus and our righteousness is His righteousness. We are right, justified before God in Him, because of what He did not because of our own efforts. When we are deceived and choose to enter sin our spirit man does not die immediately as did Adams. Adams physical man did not die immediately but he was on the course of death, a dead man walking. Adam and Eve were immediately separated from God, however we are not for we are in Christ Jesus. This layer of protection protects us from spiritual death but not spiritual or physical consequences.
Sin of which we have not repented allows the devil (the curse) entrance, and we will have stealing, killing, and destroying in our lives. Bad things in our lives are not just ‘luck of the draw’ so to speak and we just have to do the best we can and hang on for dear life until the end. The course of our lives is self-determined. God is not a puppet master, He gave us freewill, and clear instructions, we and we alone chose life or chose death. I realize that we do not like to hear that we are responsible for our situations but that is it folks. Now, do not misinterpret what is being said here. We all are presented with opportunities to sin, with opportunities to act on unbelief by the fact that the curse is in the earth and we have demonic enemies who present various types of bait constantly. It is not the will of God that any of us leave here for Heaven disgusted, unsatisfied, sick, and broke. We need to work on getting so close to God, so much like Jesus that the transition to Heaven is not a great change except the attacks of the enemy stop. I realize I have wandered a bit astray from our text but this burns in me. All of us, me included need to have the cause of the blessing and the curse indelibly seared within us. It needs to be so real that we cannot envision an alternative for us in Christ Jesus.
Hebrews 2:3 reaffirms and warns us that if all that God said before through angels and prophets came to pass with every transgression receiving just recompense. If we neglect this great salvation announced by the Lord Jesus (the Son) how can we escape punishment. When it is God speaking I don’t know that it matters if the messenger is the Father thundering from Heaven, the Son speaking in the earth (His ministry) or through the written Word of God, the Holy Spirit speaking through a Prophet and others, or an angel with a message from the Throne, it is all God and His end of the bargain (His Word) in certain. We have been presented with the gift of a most wonderful salvation, the same salvation that Jesus experienced. If we neglect this salvation Jesus says we have confirmed our choice of damnation.
John 3:18 (KJV)
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Mankind has been condemned from the moment Adam partook of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The physical body that God fashioned from the earth became a living soul when God breathed of Himself (not physical) into Adam. With sin, God cannot countenance sin or be in the presence of sin, so there was an immediate separation from the Holy Spirit, the source of life, and Adam and Eve were now dead souls, disconnected from God due to sin but God had a plan. The Jews have known for centuries and God announced in the Garden to all of us that One was coming who would save, The Messiah. Sin brings death of every sort including spiritual and physical. With sin Adam died as a whole person and therefore the coming Messiah who was to pay the price to redeem the whole person. He was to and now has paid the price of sin when He was made sin in our stead returning eternal life and the Blessing to mankind.
The death of Adam started with a corruption of the mind, the same way we neglect so great a salvation, the birth place of all sin. The difference between Adam and Jesus however made all of the difference and that is that Jesus’ mind (part of the soul) was never corrupted (did not sin) and therefore innocent blood was shed. Jesus innocent blood confirmed the Blood Covenant initiated with Abram/Abraham. Jesus innocent Blood and the words of His testimony (Word of God about Him) required that the Father bring a complete restoration, a complete salvation. Jesus is the author, the One who spoke His own salvation into existence and with it our salvation became a reality.
Hebrews 5:8-10 (KJV)
8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
10 Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.
The word ‘author’ in Hebrews 5:8 above means ‘to cause’ and the root word means ‘to ask’. O what a Savior!
Until our next publication, I speak blessing into your life right now, receive it in the name of Jesus, confess it, and walk it out with thanksgiving.
Numbers 6:24-26 (KJV)
24 The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:
25 The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
26 The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
CONTACT E-MAIL: pastordavidwood@gmail.com
MAILING ADDRESS: 3 Rosswood Green Lane, Unit Two, Oakland, Maine 04963
