The Sword of the Lord

THE SWORD OF THE LORD Spring Valley Mennonite; October 20, 2019; Hebrews 4:11-13 I don’t think we—including me—fully appreciate the blessing of having the Word of God so available. In thinking of how God has revealed Himself to man, for thousands of years the only way most people received God’s word was through hearing it recited or read by a priest or Levite or perhaps by someone so wealthy that he could have paid to have scripture hand-copied. Because of the pains-taking process of copying scripture, and the great care and skill required to do so, the availability of Word was very limited. The copies of the Bible were limited to a very few languages, Hebrew, Greek, later Latin. Often it wasn’t available in the language of the common people. This changed in the years leading up to the Reformation but translating the Bible from the Latin was discouraged by the Catholic Church, as was the reading of scripture by other than the priests. Often those attempting to translate scripture met with persecution. Martin Luther completed a German translation of the New Testament in 1521 as he was hiding from the authorities and he completed his Old Testament translation in 1534. William Tyndale was the first to complete an English translation of the New Testament around 1526, adding several Old Testament books until 1536, when he was found guilty of heresy and was executed on October 6 of that year. His assistant, Miles Coverdale, took over the work and completed the first complete English translation in 1535. Several revisions were made of Tyndale and Coverdale’s translations leading to the King James Bible in 1611. Probably the foremost group translating the Bible today is Wycliff Bible translators who have developed computer tools which have increased the speed with which tribal language translations of the Bible can be made. But these tools need native speakers to aid the translators, and often these helpers do so at great risk. I found a recent article which states: “Four Bible translators were murdered recently by militants in an unidentified location in the Middle East, Wycliffe Associates reports. According to Wycliffe, a Bible translation ministry, the raid took place on the translators’ office. Two of the translators were shot and killed, while another two died of wounds from being beaten. These last two managed to protect and save the lead translator by lying on top of him while the militants beat them with their weapons, which had run out of ammunition. The militants also destroyed translating equipment, including Print on Demand equipment, books, and translation materials. However, Wycliffe says the militants did not destroy the “computer hard drives containing translation work for eight language projects.” Like in earlier centuries, people are willing to risk their lives to have the Bible in their heart language. In case one might doubt the accuracy of the Bible through the many translations, a careful comparison with the original manuscripts find that God has preserved His Word so we can be confident in the Bibles we have today. As we think of the hundreds of different English translations available today, and the easy availability of the Bible for us, we should be truly thankful. But, are we reading God’s Word which is so available and of which most of us have multiple copies? This thought introduces our passage today which begins with the words, “Let us be diligent.” Read Hebrews 4:11. I. WE ARE TO BE DILIGENTLY OBEDIENT TO THE WORD To enter God’s salvation rest, which we have defined as beginning at conversion but fully realized in heaven, we need to be diligent in following the truth about salvation. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” The Old and New Testaments provide the pathway of salvation. The Bible is God’s instruction book for life. If we follow the instructions about responding to Jesus Christ’s sacrifice for our sins, we will be given eternal life, a life that begins right here and now. We then enter into a restful existence of faithful dependence, indwelt by the Holy Spirit. As we consider the words “Let us therefore be diligent”, the realization comes that a choice must be made; we must decide to follow. The group of people to which the author is writing is mixed, containing those who had definitely decided to trust Christ but also containing those still trying to make up their minds. They needed to make their choice between their former life and belief system of Judaism and wholeheartedly believing and following Christ. For those who had completed that transaction with God there is the encouragement to be diligent in our walk with Jesus. We are in a life-long battle and we must not let down our guard to the enemy of our souls. His battleground is primarily in our minds. As we read God’s Word, we must have decided that we will follow it as God gives us strength to obey, for there is no way we can disguise our true inner feelings and motivations from God. Read verse 12. Let’s examine… II. HOW THE SPIRIT USES THE WORD—HOW IT WORKS God’s Word reveals the formula on how to enter the Rest of God or Salvation. I would remind you that salvation has three aspects, past, present and future: first, we have been saved from the penalty of sin. Jesus paid the penalty; He died so I can live. Secondly, we are being saved from the power of sin. It takes diligence to trust what Jesus tells us about ourselves: we are a new creation. We have the indwelling Holy Spirit. Romans 6:14: “Sin shall not reign over you!” We no longer are compelled to listen and follow our old nature. We have been given victory over sin, although it seems to take a lifetime to realize and apply that truth. And finally, we will be saved from the presence of sin; heaven is the residence of our Holy God. No sin, nor its effects, are to be found there. The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God in the present aspect of salvation over the power of sin. The Word is here described with several words: the first is LIVING. This means that although the truth of the Bible does not change, the application of that Word adapts to any situation in which we find ourselves. We can read the same passage on different days, and the Holy Spirit enlightens us to different applications suitable for our need. This is why the insights presented by multiple people in a Bible Study can vary, as the Holy Spirit works in our unique situations and personalities. We can be encouraged by what God tells another believer. The Word is living. The Word of God is also active: it is powerfully able to produce change in us. Here again, we realize that we will never change if we are resistant to that change. Our heart attitude must be one of humility, willing to repent of wrongdoing and willing to make changes. It seems as if many people approach the Word of God as if they were in a cafeteria or buffet line: “I’ll take a bit of this and a bit of that; no thanks, I don’t care for that particular command. I’ll take that sweet love, and even some of that “serving my fellow man”, but I’ll pass on the issue of discipleship and forgiving those who have done me wrong. I don’t particularly care for the dish of humility and considering others as more important than myself. Sacrificial living doesn’t agree with my system.” Part of growing in the Lord is following the Word of God and to actively make changes in response. The Word of God is like the sharpest sword or dagger ever made. I had to laugh with Nick as he told of visiting a gun and knife show and stopping by a booth that sold custom knives. The seller had a big bandage on his thumb, supposedly from testing one of his knives! The two-edged sword was a weapon used by a Roman soldier, called the “gladius”. I found the following description on its use: “(The) design aided the Roman legionary’s battlefield tactics. First, it was much shorter than what we’ve come to know as a sword. The blade was usually only 19-20″ long. Second, it was double edged, able to cut savagely both ways — a huge improvement. Third, its design went away from the oft used leaf shape, to a simple, straight blade. While holding his shield with one hand, he held the gladius in the other, like most soldiers of the time. However, his sword sported a much shorter blade, which helped him get inside his opponent. Also, if his first downward slanting-cutting motion missed his target, it wasn’t necessary to raise his sword arm to try again. He simply reversed the motion, essentially a backhand, and saved precious time, (if not his life) by wounding or killing his opponent that much more quickly. Also, because he was working with the relatively shorter blade, and was therefore more easily able to get inside his enemy’s kill zone, it was far easier for him to thrust into the abdomen, an almost guaranteed kill shot. It was a truly effective (read: nasty) weapon, made possible by its planning, vision, knowledge of the enemy, and ultimately, design. But the sharpest sword ever made can only roughly illustrate the cutting power of God’s Word. The Word is like a two-edged dagger or sword that not only can separate the toughest joints but can penetrate even hard bone to the marrow! God’s Word can penetrate even to the inner being of man. It has been said that the two-edged sword of God’s Word cuts two ways: one way convicts and converts; the other way condemns and destroys. The Word separates even between our soul and spirit. As one reads or hears God’s Word, the Word penetrates beyond the soul, the part of us which includes our intellect, emotions and will, even to our spirit, that part of us which is able to respond to God’s Spirit. If we do in fact respond to the truth of the Gospel with genuine belief, we are converted to newness of life. We are born of the Spirit. But if we resist the truth and turn away, we face condemnation and eternal destruction. The Word of God reveals our inner motivations and intentions. It slashes right through any hypocrisy and pretense, any empty profession, any selfish motives. The Word cuts right through any superficial surface spirituality and reveals what one truly is. For the believer, the Word of God performs divine heart surgery, cutting away any false pretense in our lives, any mixed motives. Any type of surgery that involves cutting is painful, but the pain is necessary for healing to take place. It often is painful when we allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us in the Word, but the pain has a wonderful benefit. But there also can be a very negative result for those who resist the truth of the Word: Read verse 13. III. (For) ALL THINGS WILL BE REVEALED IN THE END God is the final judge of our lives. For the believer, the final evaluation is not to decide heaven or hell, eternal rest or eternal torment. But it will be an evaluation of our lives and how we lived to glorify self or Christ. This will take place in heaven and determines rewards and (I believe) our level of service and responsibility in the heavenly kingdom. It will judge how we responded to the call to serve others and live for Christ. But for those who reject Christ, the books of deeds will be opened and each one will be judged unrighteous. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of an angry God! The question that will be asked is “What have you done with My Son?” “How did you respond to the sacrifice made for your sins?” And the judgment will be pronounced: “Since you rejected the payment made by Jesus for your sin, you must pay the price yourself; depart now into eternal punishment.” The truth of God’s Word reveals even the thoughts and intentions of the heart. The Word explains the truth about God’s Son. We must believe the Christ of the Bible, not a false Christ that we manufacture according to our own standards. Beware of a false Christ that ignores sin, that looks the other way at our impurity and lack of morals. Beware a false Christ that would never condemn someone to hell, a false Christ that is not totally holy. Yes, God is compassionate, merciful and loving, but He is also holy and righteous and just. Jesus came to pay for our sins. Unless we allow Him to pay for our sin, we will be paying for them eternally. All will stand before God, either clothed with the imputed righteousness of Christ or in the terrible disfigurement of sin, headed for eternal separation from all that is good and beautiful and righteous. Mankind will be judged only by the truth revealed in scripture. There is no other standard. But for those of us who are saved, we must allow the holy sword of the Lord to carve away anything that would not bring glory to the Lord Jesus. May God give us willing and humble hearts. Let us be diligent to study and follow God’s Word.