September
2008 - Vol. 22
Keys to Growth and
Maturity, by Don Schwager, continued
Five Privileges of the Christian
Life
The author of the Letter to the Hebrews mentions five privileges, or
marks of “blessedness” of the Christian life.
First, a Christian has been “enlightened.”
The Gospel tells us that Jesus is “the true light that enlightens every
man (and woman)” (John 1:9). The light of Christ dispels the darkness of
sin and despair and shows us the way of happiness and union with God.
Second, a Christian has “tasted the heavenly
gift.” What is this gift? Certainly peace and friendship
with God, which we can only have through Jesus Christ. His death
on the cross won for us pardon and adoption as sons and daughters of God.
God’s forgiveness is a sheer gift, not something we can obtain on our own.
In fact the only one who could pay the price for our sins was the only
begotten Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. He freely offered himself as
our ransom and he paid the penalty for our sins upon the cross. He is the
mercy of God incarnate.
Third, a Christian is a “partaker of the Holy
Spirit.” God not only redeems us from bondage to sin and death,
he fills us with the Holy Spirit that we may share in his divine life and
power. All that is his, including his glory, he freely shares with us,
his lowly creatures. The gift of the Holy Spirit is the “guarantee”
and “first fruits” of all that he has promised us (2 Corinthians 5:5; 1
Corinthians 15:20).
Fourth, a Christian has “tasted the goodness
of the word of God.” God’s word is life and truth, and it sets
us free from error, deception, and all that would enslave us in sin (John
8:32). God’s word has power to change and transform us into the likeness
of Christ (1 Corinthians1:18).
Fifth, a Christian has tasted the “power of
the age to come.” For both Jew and Christian, time was
divided into two ages: the present age of conflict between the kingdoms
of light and darkness, and the “age to come” when God would establish his
everlasting kingdom in all its fulness. This present age will end and the
new age will begin when the “Day of the Lord” and his final judgment take
place. The Christian here and now is given a foretaste of the life to come.
The Lord puts in our hearts a longing for his final coming and the full
establishment of his reign of peace and righteousness.
How can a Christian “crucify the Son of God on his own account”? The
Letter to the Hebrews was written in an age of persecution. The supreme
sin was “apostasy” – saving one’s life by denying Christ. It’s possible
to love one’s life more than Christ. Sin not only breaks God’s law; it
breaks his heart as well. To disown the Lord Jesus as one’s Master and
Savior is not just a slap in the face of God, it’s literally crucifying
the Lord Jesus again, but in a more personal way by turning back on him
and rejecting his loving and wise rule in our lives.
The martyrs bear testimony to the enduring and transforming power of
God’s love and grace. “They loved not their lives even unto death” (Revelations
12:11). Do you love the Lord more than life itself? And are you willing
to forsake all for him alone?
“Lord Jesus, you became poor for our sake that we might become rich
in you. May we never lose sight of the treasures of heaven and the joy
of living in your presence now and forever.”
Return
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Also
see > Introduction
to the Letter to Hebrews
[Don
Schwager is a member of The
Servants of the Word and the author of the Daily
Scripture Reading and Meditation website.]
