THE GOODNESS AND SEVERITY OF GOD
[p. 171] THE GOODNESS AND SEVERITY OF GOD
Hebrews 2:1 - 4; Hebrews 3:7,8; Hebrews 6:4 - 6; Hebrews 9:6 - 8; Hebrews 10:14 - 22
I have in mind, dear brethren, to speak about the Holy Spirit as seen in the epistle to the Hebrews.
The passages I have read all refer directly to the Holy Spirit and we shall see that they all treat of the goodness and severity of God. The three passages read first treat mainly of the severity of God: they treat also of the apostate tendencies of the people of Israel, and the Jewish christians in the early days. Those in chapters 9 and 10, afford opportunity to consider the grace of the activities of the Holy Spirit in Hebrews. First I would allude to chapter 1 of the epistle as affording a beautiful presentation of the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ. The whole chapter is taken up with a presentation of Himself. Moreover, the quotations given in the chapter, which is almost entirely made up from the old testament scriptures, are quotations generally from the words of the saints, as if God would associate His people with the glory of His Son; a happy employment indeed, and one that shall not be denied to us eternally. The Psalms yield, I may say, nearly all the quotations in the first chapter, and we are thus reminded of how God regards the productions of His people, and what they say; especially what they say poetically; for, of course, the Psalms are poetry.
So we are thus brought into relation with God regarding His Son, in eulogising His Son. He is worthy of it, and any tendency to cast a stain, or discredit on His name is resented in heaven, resented by the Father and by the Holy Spirit. So it is happy that the saints are brought in, in this wonderful chapter, relative to the glory of the Lord Jesus; His glory as Man, but His glory as God too, for He is “over all, God blessed for ever”, Romans 9:5.
[p. 172] It seems to me that any examination of the epistle can but fail save as we bear in mind the glory of the first chapter, derived from the sayings, as under the power of the Holy Spirit, of the saints of God, holy men of old speaking as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
Well now, chapter 2, as I said, is severe, but I bring it forward, especially because of the young people; most here are in that class, and it is important that they should be encouraged, and, perhaps, admonished, for the days are short. We read in Luke 9 of the days of the Lord’s receiving up, but now the days of the saints’ receiving up have come, and the young people need to be ready. They are exposed to the influences of the world, and this epistle is intended to help them, as I shall seek to show, by presenting the goodness of God, but the severity of God too. If we enjoy the goodness, we must not shrink, if needed, from having to bear the severity of God. The apostle says, “Behold then the goodness and severity of God: upon them who have fallen, severity”; Romans 11:22; meaning the Jewish nation. They were held in the mercy of God at first, as we learn from the epistle of James and other scriptures: they were held through the patience of God who regarded them as His people. God would go to the full length of regarding them as His people until apostasy sets in. God is similarly patiently waiting on christendom, for the apostasy has already come: already there are many antichrists, and the apostasy has begun; but nevertheless God is waiting till the last moment in patience. He waited on the Jews, so James addresses them as God’s people, as “the twelve tribes”, James 1:1. A critical analysis humanly would not admit of it, but God knows better than the severest critic; and so He retained His people to the last, until all became hopeless. So the Lord says, “But when ye see Jerusalem encompassed with armies, then know that its desolation is drawn nigh”, Luke 21:20; and the Jews were to be scattered among all [p. 173] nations. That was the divine decree, and it has taken place in this very dispensation in which we are, it is the severity of God, even to the extent of scattering the Jews and exposing them to the cruellest treatment at the hands of the gentiles. God would have us to pay attention to these things, because He says, “upon thee goodness of God, if thou shalt abide in goodness”; Romans 11:22, that is the principle of the passage; goodness will fail and severity will come in immediately, severity on the gentiles, and on ourselves.
So, as I said, the young need to be warned, because our God is said in this epistle to be a “consuming fire”; not simply God as such, but “our God”; that is, the believers’ God. “Our God is a consuming fire”, Hebrews 12:29, and hence the warning for the young, and the danger anticipated lest we should “fall away”, as it says: “For it is impossible to renew again to repentance [p. 178] those once enlightened, and who have tasted of the heavenly gift, and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God, and the works of power of the age to come, and have fallen away”. Hebrews 6:4 - 6 Now some of you may be questioning in your minds as to how a person could be so described. I shall come to that presently. I mention it now for the young, so that we may awake to the danger of falling away. As the writer again says in chapter 10: “if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him”. Hebrews 10:38. It is a remarkable expression. The speaker refers to his soul, not simply to his mind, but his soul, the most feeling part of a person; “my soul shall have no pleasure in him”. Hebrews 10:38. So God is warning us. He is willing to go to the very extremity, as I said, in goodness and patience, but at the same time, the time comes when there is no pleasure, and a person drawing back is left to the deserts of his apostasy.
Well now, we have in chapter 2 the first passage that treats of the Holy Spirit; in chapter 3 there is a similar passage, and in chapter 6 a further passage, and one [p. 174] more severe than any. I intend briefly to run over those three passages so that we may see how the goodness of God and the severity of God are combined in the exhortation. First as to what had been heard, the writer says, “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”, Hebrews 2:1, or “we should slip away”, as it reads in the New Translation. “For if the word which was spoken by angels was firm and every transgression and disobedience received just retribution; how shall we escape if we have been negligent of so great salvation; which having had its commencement in being spoken of by the Lord, and has been confirmed to us by those who have heard him”? Hebrews 2:2,3 Now, you will observe, that the speaking here is by the Lord, not by the apostles. Indeed the epistle opens in this way: “God, having spoken in many parts and in many ways formerly to the fathers in the prophets, at the end of these days has spoken to us in the person of the Son”; Hebrews 1:1,2, that is to say, God has approached us in the most tender and compassionate way, in that the gospel has come through the Son, not simply through the apostles, but the Son. He hath “spoken to us in the person of his Son”. Hebrews 1:1,2.
If any confirmation were needed to help individuals as to doctrine, the apostles were employed, of course, because we are told that the converts persevered in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles, but the speaking according to this epistle is by the Son; and one would appeal to all, especially the young people, as to the tender sympathies of the Son of God. The apostle Paul said, “God”, “was pleased to reveal his Son in me”, Galatians 1:15,16. That is, not to me, but “in me”: the inwardness of it is indicated, and the love of God, so beautifully expressed to Paul, is to be seen and admired in his gospel. But then it is not even Paul here, although he is the writer of this epistle, undoubtedly, but he is not the speaker; the Lord is the Speaker, the Son of God is the Speaker; and hence the terribleness of the judgment [p. 175] falling upon anyone turning away from the Son of God that Person so delineated in chapter 1, as I said, from the speakings of the saints. His glory shines there, but the speaking that the Hebrews heard first was from the Lord Jesus Christ, from His own lips, confirmed of course, by the twelve apostles, but the Lord Jesus Himself was the Speaker.
I turn to this passage, because I wanted to say something about the coming in of the Holy Spirit, how He comes in in these last days; how, as it were, He stresses Himself, so that the Spirit, as I said, is mentioned in these five passages, the first three dealing severely, the second two dealing in grace. Now this passage says that the Lord Jesus was the Speaker, so that all who heard the gospel heard the Lord Jesus. He says Himself that He had not gone over the cities of Israel; that was, at that particular time. He said, “I must needs announce the glad tidings of the kingdom of God to the other cities also”, Luke 4:43, as if it must come to them in the grace of the Son, the affections of the Son. Then, if any confirmation was necessary, well, there are the apostles; for the Lord was armed with the apostles. You will understand the word armed: I am not using it as a military word, but in the sense of having them by Him in His ministry. You will find, for instance, in coming to inaugurate His supper, “the twelve” were with Him; and then again, “the apostles” were with Him. He Himself distinguishes between “the apostle” and “the twelve”, “the apostles” referring to authority and “the twelve” to administration. He was therefore armed, so to speak, with the twelve, and so here. What He said was confirmed by them, but the things that were preached to the Jews were from the Lord’s own lips. Hence, “how shall we escape, if we have been negligent of so great salvation; which having had its commencement in being spoken of by the Lord, and has been confirmed to us by those who have heard; God bearing besides, witness with them to it both by signs and wonders, and various acts of power, and distributions of the Holy Spirit, according to his will”? Hebrews 2:3,4. The distributions of the Holy Spirit are contemplated here, and the twelve were those that are alluded to. The distributions of the Spirit go on; they are going on now. One continually thanks God for the number that one observes who are able to minister to the saints. It is a question of the distributions of the Spirit. And so the importance of making way for the Spirit, because although the Spirit does not mention the word apostles here, He mentions those that have heard the Lord, and that they had confirmed what He said, and that they were partakers of the Spirit.
The Spirit is coming into peculiar prominence at the present time, since as far back as forty years I would say. Those of us who have been here all these years will observe how the Spirit of God has been acquiring a place, and how mere officialism, involving tides, is either disappearing or receding. The Spirit of God is to have the place, it is His dispensation; it is the day of the Spirit. John said of the Lord, “the Spirit was not yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified”, John 7:39. But now He is glorified, and this epistle makes much of the Spirit, not mentioning apostolic names at all, but mentioning persons as receiving various distributions of the Spirit. It is important for us to make way for them, and to pray for them, so that we may get the good of the Spirit through those whom He has constituted ministers — ministers of the truth. Here they confirm the Lord Jesus; that is the point, that all ministry must be confirmed either by the Lord’s own words, or by the Scriptures; but they confirm what the Lord said, not adding more. The Lord’s words were confirmed by those who heard Him, and then those who had received the various distributions of the Spirit.
What I am stressing is the importance of recognising those who are gifted by the Spirit, able to minister the truth, able to confirm what the Lord said, and in a [p. 177] secondary sense, able to confirm the whole of Scripture; because all Scripture is inspired of God, and “profitable for teaching, for conviction, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”, 2 Timothy 3:16. The ministry of the Spirit is of the last importance to us, but as I said, as confirming what the Lord said. What the Lord said must be the last word. Paul is taken up to complete the word of God; that is another matter, but that does not mean that the Lord did not have to say to him too, because he was taken up by the Lord as “an elect vessel”, the Lord says, “to me”, Acts 9:15. So that confirmation of what the Lord said is furnished in this way, and then the distributions of the Spirit in these persons; and then the warnings, the warnings as to what we have heard, dear brethren, what we are hearing; and let us be sure, that what we are hearing is the truth, that it is simply confirmation of what the Lord said, or of what the Spirit has inspired in the Scriptures. These are clear tests, and we must abide by them, or we shall go wrong. Hence, as the word says, How shall we escape, unless we take hold of or recognise, what we have heard?
Now I go on to the third chapter, because of the danger of hardening our hearts; “harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness”, Hebrews 3:8. That is another matter, hardening our hearts. We have already had it today. It is a question now of the heart, not the soul. I have been speaking of the soul, but now it is the heart, hardening it against the truth. The warning here is, “Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness”. Hebrews 3:8. That is the second point, the importance of hearkening to the ministry, the importance of hearing, and then keeping our hearts soft instead of hardening them against the ministry. “Even as says the Holy Spirit”, “Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation”. Hebrews 3:7,8.
And then we come to the sixth chapter, which is the most serious of all. The word is: “For it is impossible to renew again to repentance those once enlightened, and who have tasted of the heavenly gift, and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God, and the works of power of the age to come, and have fallen away, crucifying for themselves as they do the Son of God, and making a show of him”, Hebrews 6:4 - 6. Now this is clear apostasy. We are told that the persons alluded to have been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God. Well, you say, what more? Well, that is the most serious matter, that they are apostate in spite of all that, and it is impossible to renew them to repentance. You may say, Are there such people? There certainly are such people. It is not for anyone of us to pick them out and name them; the point is that they exist; that is to say, persons who have been enlightened. I suppose everyone here has been enlightened; and then has tasted of the heavenly gift. Think of the preciousness of what is spoken of here, being enlightened and tasting of the heavenly gift, and then of the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come! Who here can claim exemption from these privileges, or who can hide behind them, if he is not true to what they mean, or if he is not sincere in what they mean? If such persons fall away, it is impossible to renew them to repentance. How serious all this is! Speaking of oneself, one wonders whether one conceives the seriousness of this, of the apostasy that has set in. The things stated here are what every one of us would testify to, if we spoke sincerely; they all refer to every one of us, I would say. We are enlightened by the gospel, tasting the good word of God, partaking of the heavenly gift, and of the powers of the world to come. I am seeking to point out the seriousness of the matters mentioned by the Spirit of God in this remarkable epistle to the Hebrews; how the apostasy has set in, and actually exists at the present time.
You may say, ‘How can this be designated of persons who are really christians?’ It is designated of persons who are nominally christians; they are not really christians. You may say, ‘How can they taste of the heavenly gift and be made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and taste the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come? how can they be enlightened?’ Well, let each one of us examine himself. We are being tested now as to the reality of our christianity, because we have come to the parting of the ways in the days of apostasy that have set in, and let each examine himself as to where he is in all these matters, being enlightened. Who can say here that he is not enlightened, enlightened by the gospel; the blessed Spirit of God has been operating all these years since we have been on the earth. And then partakers of the heavenly gift, namely the Spirit of God. You say, ‘Well, how can that be?’ Is He not here tonight? May not one be in this audience tonight, and partake of the blessed activities of the Spirit of God in this hall? He is here; He has been here all day, and anyone here, if he is at all sincere, or in his right mind, is partaking of the heavenly gift. It is all around you: you are breathing it. The reality of the presence of the Spirit of God is here: you are breathing it, as it were, and yet you may fall away: there may not be a spark of life in you. “The good word of God”, Hebrews 6:5, too. You may say, ‘I was converted’, and so forth, and yet it may turn out that you were not genuine, because the good word of God was preached in your ears, and possibly you made confession of it, but you may turn away: you may not be sincere: you may turn out to be unreal, and eventually you may become apostate. Hence the writer says, “it is impossible to renew again to repentance those once enlightened”, “and have fallen away”. Hebrews 6:4,6. Hence I would say to the young here to be on your guard, because the same thing may happen. I hear almost every day of young people turning away, and giving no real excuse for it at all. And yet they [p. 180] cannot deny that they have heard the word, the real preaching of the word of God, and have tasted of the heavenly gift; have tasted the liberty that belongs to the children of God; and the powers of the world to come, too, the powers by which people are converted; you have tasted of that, too. You can tell, perhaps, of someone who was converted, and speak well of him, and yet your own state is that you are not converted at all; you are not real. Therefore the seriousness of the word here: “it is impossible to renew again to repentance”; Hebrews 6:4, that is to say, your day is finished, your time is over.
You will understand that I am not endeavouring to be unduly severe, but I am speaking of the truth. I am speaking of the passages in the epistle to the Hebrews that speak of the activities of the Holy Spirit. I am speaking of the Holy Spirit, and I am speaking, too, of persons who have been enlightened by the gospel, and have tasted the good word of God, and have been made partakers of such things in a meeting like this, in which the Spirit of God is, and of the powers of the world to come; and yet it may have to be said of you, that “he which is filthy, let him be filthy still”, Revelation 22:11. Now that is a most solemn thing, and I mention it, because there are so many young people here, that they may be warned as to these things, which can be truthfully said of persons who are now in the world enjoying themselves in the pleasures of sin for a season. It may be that once they enjoyed the meetings, the fellowship of saints, the reading of the Scriptures, the preaching of the gospel, and were conscious of real power in the meetings, and yet they have turned away; alas, turned away from the saints, turned away from the Lord, turned away from the Spirit, turned away from God; in a word, become apostate! These are things that are current. It is not a question of prophetic things; they are current at the present time. The devil has a great hold over people, over young people, and they are slipping away, and this scripture has [p. 181] come to my mind as a necessity to present to you today so that you may be saved from such a case. “It is impossible”, it says, “to renew again to repentance”. Hebrews 6:4. As I was already saying, quoting Revelation 22:11, “he which is filthy, let him be filthy still”. That is an ironical statement, as if God would say, ‘You have chosen filth, and the time is past for you: there is no hope for you!’ I could not pick out persons and say that what I am saying is true of them. I am just speaking of the facts mentioned here, and I know these conditions exist, and with many, who were once walking in the truth. God is saying to us, that He is not to be mocked, and that He is a consuming fire.
At the same time, real christians can say, He is our God, and He is waiting upon you. I am not contradicting what I said a moment ago. Your day may not have come. I could not pick out the persons and mention them: I could not do that. I am speaking of what the scripture says, that there is such a thing as a person giving himself over to filth, and God says, ‘If you are one of them, remain in it;’. “Let him be filthy still”. Revelation 22:11. Someone here, perhaps, has not gone so far, and what I am saying is to save you, because you may go that length, if you continue on the present line. Well, I am saying that God is gracious nevertheless, and the next two chapters, Hebrews 9 and Hebrews 10, are to encourage our hearts, and build us up in the truth. The Spirit of God is here, and remains here, and remains as the Spirit of God. He is not here for judgment, nor is the Father set for judgment; all judgment belongs to the Son, and the Son is not on the judgment throne yet. So all is well in that sense. There is hope for everybody, save those to whom I have already alluded, and I cannot name them. But God is God as revealed in Jesus; and Jesus is Jesus, as revealed by Himself; and the Spirit is the Spirit, as revealed, too, by Himself. So it is all grace for the moment, provided that the work of God is with you. The Spirit is here and ready to help.
[p. 182] The first word I would say as to chapter 9 is: “Now these things being thus ordered, into the first tabernacle the priests enter at all times, accomplishing the services; but into the second the high priest only, once a year, not without blood, which he offers for himself and for the errors of the people: the Holy Spirit showing this, that the way of the holy of holies has not yet been made manifest, while as yet the first tabernacle has its standing”. Hebrews 9:6 - 8. That means, that there had been a time of prohibition; the door into the holiest was shut. That is spoken of here, and the Holy Spirit is signifying that, in what He says. So we have the types brought before us, and the types are part of the subject of ministry at the present time. We who are engaged in the ministry would be in a very poor way if we did not have the types to minister from; the books of Moses; and then if we did not have the prophetic word to minister from, the prophets; and then if we did not have the Psalms, the books of Psalms; but we have them all; therefore the richness of the ministry. The difference between the present time and the past time is, that the past time was marked by prohibition, when the way into the Holiest was not made manifest; whereas now it is, and that leads me to Hebrews 10:14: “For by one offering he has perfected in perpetuity the sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also bears us witness of it for after what was said: This is the covenant which I will establish towards them after those days, saith the Lord: Giving my laws into their hearts, I will write them also in their understandings; and their sins and their lawlessnesses I will never remember any more”. You may say, ‘That is not the same as you have said already’. It is not, because I was speaking of the severity of God, a point that is stressed in this epistle, but now I am speaking of the goodness of God, and “the goodness of God leads thee to repentance”, Romans 2:4. Whoever you may be, even though you may not have gone all the way, but you are [p. 183] inclined to go the way of the world, or to give up the truth, inclined in that direction; you are thinking it over, may be, and the goodness of God is here tonight to stay you, to block your way, so that you may remain with the Lord, so that you may remain with the brethren, remain in the good things of God, remain in the enjoyment of the goodness of God. It is blocking your way. God is God, as I said, and these verses were written by the Spirit of God, as well as chapter 6, in which there is no hope at all; it is one of the most solemn scriptures that I know of. There is no hope for “it is impossible to renew again to repentance those once enlightened, and who”, “have fallen away”; Hebrews 6:4 - 6, they are absolutely without hope, and that in this very dispensation in which we are.
Now in chapter 9, the Holy Spirit is showing things, meaning, that He is not hiding them from us. He is showing them to us, and the showing comes out through the ministry; through our Bible readings, and our addresses, and so forth, by men who are fitted to serve in this way. It is the time of showing things; that is chapter 9; “the Holy Spirit shewing this, that the way of the holy of holies has not yet been made manifest”. Hebrews 9:8. That was shown, but now we have the fact that it is made manifest, and chapter 10 says, that if we have any sins and we are believers, God does not remember them any more. It is marvellous as over against chapter 6, but, you see, we have to do with God, and He is still God, and the Spirit is still the Spirit, and Jesus is still Jesus, and forgiveness is still forgiveness. So that if there is a spark of life in you, a spark of the work of God in you, there is hope for you. If you are at all minded to give up, listen to the words in these remarkable chapters, firstly in this ninth chapter, in which things are shown to you. Turn round and look at the things that the Spirit is showing to you. He is showing them through the gifts. He is here to do that, to guide us into all the truth.
[p. 184] Secondly, in chapter 10 the Holy Spirit is speaking; “For by one offering he has perfected in perpetuity the sanctified. And the Holy Spirit bears us witness of it for after what was said: This is the covenant which I will establish towards them after those days, saith the Lord: Giving my laws into their hearts, I will write them also in their understandings; and their sins and their lawlessnesses I will never remember any more”. Hebrews 10:14 - 17. The Spirit of God is saying that, saying it now: it is in the present tense.
If there is anyone here in any way discouraged, or minded to give up, turn round and look at this scripture. It is for you. The Holy Spirit shows things in chapter 9; the holiest was not open there, but it is now in chapter 10, and there is forgiveness of sins. The Spirit of God is saying at this very minute, ‘Your sins and iniquities God will remember no more!’ I think that is grace. If I were asked to spell the word grace in the types, I would say this is it. God says, the Holy Spirit says, “and their sins and their lawlessnesses I will never remember any more”. Hebrews 10:17. Then why should I be carrying them, allowing them to discourage me, to divert me from the truth? Why should I not be rejoicing in the great facts of all that the Holy Spirit is saying? It is what He is saying this very minute in this hall, and it is to anyone who is a subject of the work of God in any sense. But to any one who is an apostate, who has deliberately made up his mind to give up the truth, chapter 6 says “it is impossible to renew again to repentance”; Hebrews 6:4, but in chapter 10 the Holy Spirit is saying a very different thing, because He is speaking to persons in whom God is working. God is working, I am sure, in most of us here tonight, and the Spirit of God is saying to us that if it is a question of sins in your experience causing you any trouble or discouragement, they are all forgiven. ‘Well’, you may say, ‘it is too good to believe!’ And I would quote the word, “if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart and knows all things”, 1 John 3:20.
[p. 185] So stay with the brethren, stay with the truth, stay with the Lord, stay with the Holy Spirit, stay with the blessed God Himself. It is your portion and privilege. Why give it up?
I go on for a moment to speak of the holiest; Hebrews 10:18: “But where there is remission of these, there is no longer a sacrifice for sin”; that means, there is no need of it. Hebrews 10:19 - 22 says, “Having therefore, brethren, boldness for entering into the holy of holies by the blood of Jesus, the new and living way which he has dedicated for us through the veil, that is, his flesh, and having a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, sprinkled as to our hearts from a wicked conscience, and washed as to our body with pure water”. That is grace. The water is there, the High Priest is there; everything is there. It is divine provision, all in pure grace for those who are subjects of the work of God; not for the apostates, there is no open door for them at all. Let no one think I am saying too much, because what I am saying is the truth: apostasy has set in, but the work of God is here yet, and God is here, and to anyone who is the subject of the work of God, I would say to you, ‘Your sins are forgiven: they are not remembered at all by God’, He says, “I will remember them no more”; and as forgiven, the holiest is not barred to you. It was only into the first part, the holy place, that the priests went to carry on the service of God; but only once in the year the high priest entered into the holiest; but now our High Priest is there all the time. Our High Priest is in heaven and the Holy Spirit is here below; all for us; so that, it is nothing but privilege, nothing but grace; first, as I said, in chapter 9, but the privileges that are open to us in chapter 10 are marvellous, and they are to be set over against the severity of the passages read from chapters 2, 3 and 6. I leave the word spoken that God may use it, especially to the young here.