"Since all this is true,we ought to pay much closer attention
than ever to the truths we have heard, lest in any way we
drift past them and slip away" (HEBREWS 2:1).
"..I found it necessary and was impelled to write to you and
urgently appeal to you exhort you to contend for the faith.."
(JUDE v. 3)
These are the last days!! We are in a time of perilous seduction and
rampant heresy. Far too many have abandoned "the Way, the Truth, the
Life", exchanging it for destruction, lies, and death. The Church Jesus
endured such great agony to birth, has fled the shores of His Truth,
jettisoning any of it which would hinder their own Babylonian pursuits.
"Certain men have crept in stealthily...persons who pervert the grace of
our God into lawlessness, wantonness, and immorality, and disown and
deny our sole Master and Lord, Jesus Christ, the Messiah" (Jude v.4).
Where, how, when did this happen. How did we not see it? Why didn't we
cut it off at the roots? Good question. The writer of Hebrews tells us
how. We did NOT pay attention. We were not diligent in contending for
the truth. We allowed tiny, almost imperceptible mistruths to filter
themselves in with the Truth. We compromised the Gospel for the sake of
convenience. We did not cherish it properly, defend it vigilantly, nor
"love not our own lives even unto death" for His sake. Succinctly, we
let it "slip away". The law of erosion degraded the purity of our Lord's
Gospel until it became inoffensive, thus without value.
The Hebrew
saints, addressed in this letter had earlier endured their sufferings
and losses, but were now finding it all too much to bear. As a result,
they were finding it easier to cave, relent, compromise, than to
continue thus. The author, inspired by the Holy Spirit, reminds them
continuously of the greater glory of Jesus than the old way they served
prior to Him. The angels, the Law, Moses, the priesthood..all paled in
comparison to the Messiah Jesus. Those things were mere shadows, while
He Himself was pure Light and Reality. He exhorted them to "hold fast
your confidence" and to not "shrink back". We, today, are very much like
them. Enough difficulties and distractions beset us and we, too, slip
away. We muddle the path until it becomes impossible to navigate
properly.
I am here to exhort you, like Jude, to "contend for the
faith". Anchor the ship of your soul in the harbor of truth and
righteousness. DO NOT let the truth drift away from you. This is where
the importance of FIXING your eyes upon Jesus comes in (Heb. 12:2). Look
AWAY from the distractions. CAST OFF all which hinders and besets.
Refocus!! We cannot any longer endure the heresies men have introduced
as gospel. Oppose the perversions. If we don't, we and others with us,
will fall prey to the philosophies of serpents and adhere to doctrines
of demons ( I Timothy 4:1-2; Colossians 2:8).
I exhort you now to
"have the roots of your being firmly and deeply planted in Him (fixed
and founded in Him), being continually built up in Him, becoming
increasingly more confirmed and established in the faith" (Colossians
2:7..see also Jude 20-23). In short, be anchored. Don't be moved away
from the truth. "Look to yourselves that you may not lose (throw away or
destroy) all that we and you have labored for, but that you may
(persevere until you) win and receive back a perfect reward (in full).
II John, v. .
Beloved, as I began this note, it's the last days. Contend or surrender. You decide!!
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