Click here for the Hebrews 10:32-35
32 Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. 33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. 34 You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. 35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. ~ Hebrews 10:32-35
Today, we continue our study of Hebrews 10 which is relevant to all believers because who has not at one point or another considered going back to our old way of living because the Christian life is racked with difficulties?
In today's text the writer of Hebrews clearly believed those to whom he wrote this letter were believers. The evidence came from the fact that their early Christian years were marked by their love and joy and hope, despite their hardships and persecutions. They clearly were being defined by the Lord Jesus. They clearly had entered into a personal relationship with Him wherein they were being defined by Him. They cheerfully accepted persecutions, trials, and hardships that came their way. They were living by faith in the One who gave His life for them.
In v.32 of today's text we read, "Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering."
The writer of Hebrews was trying to persuade these young Hebrew Christians from throwing in the towel of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He reminded them of their early days with the Lord Jesus. The only way the believer in Christ can endure this type of suffering these endured is by having received and by being led by the light. The "light" is analogous of the Lord Himself. In fact, He once said, "I am the Light of the world."
These young Hebrew Christians had invited the Lord Jesus to not only be their Savior but also their Lord. It is only after we have entered into a personal relationship with God as evidenced by being born again of His Spirit that we can endure the pain that these young Hebrew Cristians had endured. They had been driven from their homes, separated from their families and had been kicked out of their culture.
The word the writer of Hebrews used here for "conflict" is the word from which we get our English word athletics. Their lives were likened to an epic contest between two powerful forces wherein the battle was defined by whether to maintain their confidence in Christ or let the opposing forces prevail. While God’s grace had genuinely worked in their hearts, they were at a point of exiting the battle.
This type of temptation obviously does not come from God. Even the Lord Jesus underwent this type of temptation. We are told in Matthew 4:1 that He was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. In James 1:13 we read, "When tempted, no one should say, 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone." We must recognize these are the tactics of the one who wants to steal, to kill and to destroy us. To stop following the Lord Jesus is to give to win to the enemy of our souls.
In v.33 of today's text we read, "Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated."
Many point to the first recipients of this letter as cowards. I beg to differ when I consider what they went through due to their faith in the Lord Jesus. The words translated "publicly exposed" come from the Greek word that means "theater." They endured public humiliation while on the stage of life for their faith in the Lord Jesus. This humiliation was actually a blessing from God for "God opposes the proud but gives great to the humble." God did not cause it but He allowed it. Early on these young Hebrew believers had evaluated their lives through the lens of the truth of God, and now, they are being tempted to allow the lesser to define them.
In v.34 of today's text we read, "You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions."
These to whom the writer of Hebrews wrote were losing sight of the fact that according to God's economy adversity is not our most vicious enemy; it is often a very valuable ally. This kind of adversity or persecution reminds us that the perishable things of this world matter little. It is when we invest in the imperishable that matters most. But, if we evaluate worth according to this world's temporal way of thinking, we will invest in the lesser because it is easier to do so.
In v.35 of today's text we read, "So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded."
Every day we all are tempted to look to the wrong things to define us. It is also easy to be captivated by the negative and the unwanted things of life that bring us pain and trouble. We must be wise to look at the negatives as means to the end that the Lord has in store for us. There have been many times in my life where I had to remind myself to quit looking at my problems. There are times when looking at our troubling persecutions just is a win for the enemy, for in doing so we lose our focus on what is really real. The focusing of the lens of our faith is what is needed in these situations. But, integral to the development of our faith or our hearts ability to see God are trials. Tune in tomorrow for more on this most fascinating subject in our walk with the Eternal One.
