Our own approach to wielding or handling God\u2019s Word should model the approach taken by the author of Hebrews. The writer includes himself as being subject to assessment. In Hebrews 4:11, he writes \u201cLet us therefore strive to enter that rest.\u201d In Hebrews 4:13, he writes, \u201cwe must give account.\u201d Here is the full context, including verse 12:<\/p>\n
Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so\u00a0that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.\u00a0For\u00a0the word of God is living and\u00a0active,\u00a0sharper than any\u00a0two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and\u00a0discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.\u00a0And\u00a0no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are\u00a0naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:11-13; ESV).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Given that the author is including himself in the exhortation and instruction (i.e., \u201cLet us\u201d; \u201cwe\u201d), I doubt very much that he is seeking to perform open heart surgery on himself, or engage in battle with himself. Rather, he makes clear that the Word performs this action on its own, coming from the very mouth of God. It is the work of the Spirit of God to convict of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8). Our job is simply to share God\u2019s Word and permit God\u2019s Spirit to perform surgery on us using the Word.<\/p>\n
I have a good friend who shares God\u2019s Word well, as if he is using a scalpel. He is not a medical doctor by trade, but he could be an open-heart surgeon the way he asks penetrating, biblical questions. His questions are like laser beams that get right to the heart of an issue, penetrating one\u2019s own thoughts and heart motives. I never feel condemned, but I do feel assessed, even though he includes himself in his exploratory questions. His desire is always pastoral, though he is not a pastor. Actually, he\u2019s a lawyer by trade. Now how many lawyers do you know who are pastoral?! This one certainly is. My friend\u2019s probes as he shares God\u2019s Word are redemptive, as was true for the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews.<\/p>\n
The author of Hebrews desired greatly that his listeners would not be like the people of Israel who wandered aimlessly in the wilderness rather than enter the Promised Land. The writer of this epistle exhorted his people to trust in God\u2019s Word and hold firmly by faith to Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of their salvation. The Israelites had failed to trust and obey God\u2019s Word to take the land.\u00a0They did not enter God\u2019s rest due to unbelief. Adding insult to injury, they later tried to go up to take the land even though Moses warned them that they would not succeed because God had already closed the door due to their unbelief and disobedience. As a result of their presumption, many of them fell by the sword when they went up to try and take the Promised Land (Hebrews 4:1-3; see Numbers 14:41-45).<\/p>\n
In closing, we must not weaponize God\u2019s Word. Rather, we must share it skillfully as if it is a scalpel. We must ask the Spirit of God to assess our hearts well so that we might all trust and obey God\u2019s Word and thereby enter God\u2019s rest.
\n_______________<\/p>\n
[1]<\/a>F. F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Hebrews<\/em>, revised edition, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1990), page 113.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hebrews 4:12 compares God\u2019s Word (logos) favorably to a double or two-edged sword. While God\u2019s Word is not a double-edged sword, it is sharper than such a sword. Now some might take this text as an encouragement to weaponize God\u2019s Word (logos; Hebrews 4:12), or Scripture (graphe; 2 Timothy 3:16). We must never weaponize God\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1284,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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