January 1932
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
18
STUDIES ,n iL EPISTLE iLHEBREWS . . . B y JOHN C. PAGE, Los Angeles, Calif.
the opening verses of Chapter 6 — repentance, faith to ward God, baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. There is nothing here of advanced Christian truth. It can all be accounted for on Jewish ground. Certainly it would have a more conspic uous place under the teaching of John the Baptist than it would under Paul the apostle. The acceptance of Jesus as Messiah and Son of God had not been followed by distinc tive Christian truth, hence the weakness o f their spiritual condition and the need of the appeal and warning found in this chapter. We have already considered the essential matters in the first three verses, the elementary things, the first principles, and the appeal to leave these and go on to the perfection of maturity. Will they do it? If his readers have life, they will respond to the appeal and go on, for the law of life is that it asks-for more; if they have not life, but only a profession of religion, they will not go on, but will go back. In seeking to ascertain the meaning of verses 4 to 6, we must distinguish between stunted growth on the one hand, and the absence of divine life on the other. “ He that hath the Son hath life ; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not the life.”An outward profession o f faith in Jesus as the Messiah and Son o f God would not save. The outward confession, although accompanied by the things mentioned in verses 4 and 5, would fall short of salvation if the Sav iour had not been received in appropriating faith. To “ as many as receive him” spiritual sonship is promised. No substitute for this is provided, nor is any supplement need ed. Ideas and ideals do not save. The Lord Jesus Christ alone is a Saviour. A faith that falls short o f this may lead to a vague religiousness, but it will not produce a vital Christian experience. From such a faith, one may recede under the pressure of events. Many in Jerusalem, where this epistle was probably sent, had professed faith in Jesus of Nazareth as the Jew ish Messiah. They had also received Him as their personal Saviour from sin, and had become united to Him by faith. Under the pressure of adverse events and circumstances such as are recorded in 10:32, 34, their growth may have been stunted, and their spiritual development arrested, but they endured a great fight o f afflictions and did not “ fall away.” They are addressed in verses 9, 10, and 11, and to them these words of confidence and encouragement would find direct application. Others who had made profession Another Trumbull Article! In August, Dr. Charles G. Trumbull, the justly famed editor o f The Sunday School Times, gave to T he K ing ' s B usiness a remarkable article entitled “ Kept Safe in His Life.” Another message from his pen will appear in the February issue. It will probably deal with some phase o f the ministry of the cross—a deep and impor tant subject on which Dr. Trumbull is able to speak with both clarity and tenderness. Whatever the theme, strength and power and blessing are assured. Watch for this special article.
HEBREWS 5 :11 TO 6 :2 0
m HE OUTSTANDING leSSOIl ill this section of the epistle is contained in the words of 6 :1 : “ Let us go on unto perfection.” The perfection mentioned is that of maturity, not sinlessness, but full growth. Ma ture Christians are described in 5 :14 as “ them that are of full age,” whose spiritual faculties are exercised so that they have spiritual discernment. Instead of possessing this quality, these Hebrew Chris tians were suffering from spiritual dullness; they were “ dull of hearing.” Judging from the length of time since they had professed faith in Christ, they ought to have be come teachers, but instead of that, they needed to be taught again the first principles of the oracles of God. They were still in their spiritual childhood, able to take only a milk diet, when they ought to have been feeding on solid food, the meat of the Word of God. A S erious C ondition The greatest peril of the Christian life is the peril of not growing. We enter the new life in Christ by an act of faith. This is followed by a process of growing up into Him in all things, a continuous spiritual experience, most delightful as well as most desirable. There is a great deal of failure at this point, and thou sands of professing Christians fall by the way. They may not fall from Christ in the sense of being eternally lost, but they do fall from the life of joy and power, that abun dant life in Christ to which God in His grace calls all His people. This condition of spiritual stagnation not only unfits the believer for service, but it also incapacitates him for the reception of advanced truth such as the apostle desired to interpret and impart to his hearers. He would present to them the Melchizedek nature of the high priestly work of Christ, but he found his audience unprepared. Such a con dition called for the reproof and rebuke found in the first part o f our Scripture lesson. The unfolding of Christ to the soul is of supreme im portance. It liberates, purifies, and energizes the life. No other benefit or blessing is quite comparable to it. Inability or incapacity to receive this unveiling o f Him who is the way, the truth, and the life, created the serious condition already referred to. The writer brings against his readers an indictment containing several charges expressed or implied. They were dull of hearing, slow to learn, unable to teach, un skillful in the word o f righteousness, babes, lacking in spiritual discernment and in the power to discriminate. Little wonder is it that the apostle was disturbed and dis tressed. True spiritual leaders, men with the shepherd heart, are always deeply concerned when the children of God remain in a condition of prolonged spiritual babyhood. A Christian believer ought to be a channel o f blessing to others, but he may be an obstruction instead of a channel. A S tirring E xhortation These Hebrew Christians were occupied exclusively with primary religious matters. Six items are mentioned in
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