The conviction of the Word: Hebrews 4:12

Introduction

Context of the passage

We will be looking at Hebrews chapter 4 verse 12 today. I would like with giving some context to what this specific verse is speaking about. And so I would like to read the text and then explain the verse in the wider margin that we have from the passage. 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. If we want to deeply understand this text then we must look to what this is speaking of in its main idea and why this verse is put here on this specific place.

If we look at the verse before verse twelve it says that 11 Let us, then, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall into the same pattern of disobedience, but what disobedience is this referring to? It is the disobedience described in verse 2 For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. What this is saying, is that what they disbelieved was the good news that was preached to them, that the word did not profit them because it did not meet with faith. So this is why in verse 11 the author urges us to not fall into the same type of disbelief that the Israelites fell in, but rather that we would embrace God’s promises and to be diligent in the faith, and In this correlation that we would not fall into the Egypt of sin (disobedience). In other words the rest which the author talks about again and again is heaven that comes from salvation, that we should be diligent to receive the good news by faith and not fall into the trap that the Israelites fell in, disobedience that comes from disbelief. And so what verse 12 is saying here is that the living word of God is able to detect all sorts of unbelief, man cannot hide from the power held in the word of God, that the only thing that can stop us from falling from disbelief is no other than the rock solid ground of the word of God in which our faith is built on.

And so now i would like to talk about this verse deeply on the word of God, and its convicting power, about the depths of it and the scriptures power to detect all disbelief with ease.

Point 1: the word of God is living and active

The first thing we see the author describing the word of God as is that it is living. The word living here is speaking of the intensity of the word of God, it’s strength and its everlasting impact. The word of God is not dead, these are not the mere words of sinful, inconsistent men, who are always changing, but the words of God himself who is Holy and eternal and consistent, who is never changing. All that comes from the Lord is good! all that comes from his mouth does not return void but accomplishes what it is purposed to. Ah and how interesting is it that the first thing that the author describe the word of God to be is living! We know that elsewhere in the scriptures the human condition is described simply as “dead” dead in sins, dead and thoughts and feelings, dead in affections and wants. This is the condition that the human heart is on right now! And o but what else can awaken that which is dead but that which is alive. The word of God is alive it awakens dead men, it awakens corrupted humans from DISBELIEF. And oh! how many examples of testimonies of this truth do we have! perhaps from people we know, perhaps from ourselves, and from important figures in church history. An example of the awakening power of God making dead men come alive Saint Augustin himself. We see in Augustin’s life how he talks about his sinful living, living a scandalous lifestyle chained under sexual sin. And we see how he wrestled under different philosophies and theories about life and how he could just not stay still, but he talks of how when he is walking in a garden some children are playing a game in which they are screaming “tole lege” tole lege” which could quite literally be translated to pick up and read. And so Saint Augustin picks up a new testament and the verses which he sees romans 13:13-14, in which he sees his own sinful lifestyle. And o how interesting it is indeed that Augustin yes saw his sinful lifestyle and a mirror of the way he was living, but when the Holy Spirit convicts He convicts not of any specific sin, you can’t be convicted of sin if if you’re not sealed, what i mean is yes you might feel guilt from your conscience, but you are dead when the Holy Spirit is still not living within you and you cannot be convicted by the Holy Spirit, so when the Holy Spirit first convicts men, He does not merely convict of any specific sin, but against the sin of unbelief. It awakens dead men! It is alive, an interesting image that we can picture is we have all seen some sort of movie in which we see come alive! We can see the scientest pull some kind of handle and he says to himself! “come alive!” And so i am not using this analogy to say that God is some sort of scientest in which he pulls experiments on us and somehow makes us come alive by some science problem, but rather the point is that God in His infinite power, in the definite and incomprehensible power in His word, He makes men come alive! He takes those who are dead in sins and trespasses and rather than a switch making dead men come alive, with His word alone He awakens sinful men slaves to sin, he detects the disbelief and sinfulness of the creature and deeply awakens them through the power of His word. O sinner! Can you not see! Come alive, and you by no means have a part to play in this but rather let the Scriptures pierce and dig deep into your heart! How long will your disbelief keep your dead soul sleeping, but rather long to come alive through His word, for there is no other way.

The word of God is active

By this word active what the author is referring to is that the word of God is effecient, effective, it’s where we get the word energy from. And so what is the word of God efficient in? So as we have been speaking of the word of God and how it is powerful against disbelief, and so here the author is saying the word of The Lord is rapid and quick! It is fast and efficient in detecting disbelief!! The word of God