Hebrews 2:11 For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, 12 Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. 13 And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me. 14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Verse 11 again refutes the lie of New Evangelicalism. Jesus Christ is the One Who sanctifies. The Greek word translated as “sanctifieth” means to be made holy. It speaks of a continuous process. The thief on the cross died the day he turned to Jesus in repentance and trusted in Him for his salvation. He did not have time to demonstrate the change that God made in his heart. He went to paradise that day and from there his soul went to heaven awaiting the resurrection of the saints. Jesus delivered the saints in Paradise during the three days He was in the tomb. They were there until He shed His blood on the cross. There is no further need for Paradise since that time. The moment a person is saved, they are given eternal life. They have a home in heaven. When a person is saved, their past sins are forgiven. That is why that repentant thief could go to heaven. Those who are saved and then live for a time on earth, will still sin. They cannot live in sin, but they will sin. That is why we need to confess our sin to be forgiven. The longer we live as saved people, the more we should be growing in the Lord. We need to be a light for Him. We receive the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation and He enables us to serve God more faithfully. New Evangelicalism has lied to people since its inception. It has gained a large following due to its lies. Saved people cannot stomach the lies of that movement. They may be involved with that for a time, but the Holy Spirit will work to move them out of there. They will see the fraudulent nature of that movement. The love of God that is in their heart does not allow them to stay there. Back in our text, Jesus Christ sanctifies the saints. He is working in the heart of every true child of God. The Bible tells us that we are one. That does not mean that we become gods. It means that we all are part of God’s family. Jesus Christ is the firstfruit, and we who are saved as those sanctified in Him. The apostle Paul challenged us to let the mind of Christ be in us. Those who are saved need to yield to the will of God. The ‘old man’ is still there and he wants to take us back. However, the ‘new man’ is there and He is under the direction of the Holy Spirit. We need to follow Him. Jesus Christ is not ashamed to call the saints brethren. Jesus works with His own. He does not come alongside and condone sin. He comes alongside and reminds us that we cannot live in sin if we are saved. In John 5, Jesus healed a crippled man and later told him to go and sin no more. In John 8 Jesus told the woman accused of adultery to go and sin no more. That is the command of God for all saints. We will sin, but we cannot live in sin. there will be a difference for those who are truly born again. In verse 12 the writer referred to the Old Testament again.
Psalm 22:22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.
In Hebrews 2:12 we see the word “church” and in Psalm 22 we see the word “congregation”. There was no church in the Old Testament. The meaning is the same here. A congregation is a group of people meeting for the same purpose. A church is also the same. A church can have unsaved people attending, but they are not a part of the church. We sing hymns in the church. Jesus Christ sang a hymn with His disciples before they went out into the Mount of Olives just prior to His arrest, trial, and crucifixion. Most churches today do not sing hymns. Some of the younger people do not even know what a hymn is. The music now is mostly just a noise and it is disgusting at that. It is sensual in nature, and does not please the Lord nor is it uplifting. In verse 13 the writer referred to Isaiah 8:17-18:
Isaiah 8:17 And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him. 18 Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.
The Old Testament prophets were exactly that. They were prophets and as such they were led to prophesy about things that were to come. Again that passage speaks of the advancement of God’s kingdom. It speaks of those who will be saved over time. We are living in a time today when few are being saved. The falling away is for real. It does not mean we can be careless and less involved in seeking to reach the lost. We need to understand that deception is never God’s way of building a church. Truth is always essential. In verse 14 we see that the children are partakers of flesh and blood. Jesus Christ also became a man. God is careful to remind us often of the humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ. He could pay the penalty of our sin because He was a man, yet without sin. The writer reminded us that Jesus Christ died in order to destroy the devil who has the power of death. We are all born dead in sins. We are all headed for hell from our birth. Most people remain in that state. They reject the truth and suffer for it. Those who are saved are saved because Jesus Christ destroyed the power of the devil. He proved the devil to be a defeated foe. No one is trapped in his clutches without hope. There are those who sell their souls to the devil. That is a choice they make. However, they make that choice. They could be saved, but they refuse God’s gift of salvation. In verse 15 we see that those who are saved are delivered from bondage. That bondage is not so severe that we cannot be delivered from it. Man has a natural fear of death. That is why so many people bowed to the lies of the governments over the past couple of years. The politicians are also afraid of death, but they used that common fact to gain control of the majority of the people. The Liberals could only get a little over 30% of the vote in the last election, but they had over 80% of the people in their clutches with the lies and the mandates. Many doctors and nurses, police and soldiers were also afraid of death and they willingly bowed to the wicked governments and were used by them to try to intimidate people into doing as they were told. Fear of death is a real thing. Those who are saved do not need to fear death. We do not step in front of a train or act foolishly, but we know that death is certain. The older we get, the more we come to grips with this reality. Young people can die as well, but young people often assume they have much time to live yet. I spoke briefly with an older man yesterday who stated that he was just thankful for every day he has and that he still has good health. He is not a saved man but he at least talks of being thankful for each day. Hopefully he will listen to the work of the Holy Spirit in his heart and get saved one day soon. Jesus Christ is the only Saviour. The book of Hebrews emphasizes this often. We need to be sure we are saved. If you are not saved, there is no better time than right now to bow your head and be saved. Trust in the true God and believe in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour. You will be eternally grateful for that precious gift. Pastor Bartel
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