1 John 3:16


"By this we perceive the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren."

Tuesday 23 February 2010

The Bastard

But the bastard does not respond. He that is not a child of God does not receive correction and does not hear it and has no faith to accept it. The book of Hebrews was written to two types of people:

1. Those who were God’s children who would give heed to the things spoken.
2. Those who would draw back to perdition.

We get both types of people in any congregation. The child of God will “look diligently lest any should fail of the grace of God” and keep himself in the love of God and in the gospel, because of the new birth (Heb 12:15).

If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chastens not? But if you are without chastisement, wherewith all are partakers, then are you bastards and not sons. (Heb 12:7-8).

See that you refuse not Him that speaks. For if they escaped not who refused him that spoke on earth (Moses), much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from Him that speaks from heaven. (Heb 12:25).

This was written to the Hebrews, some of whom were in danger of going back to the Old Covenant and forsaking the gospel. They were in danger of refusing to hear the gospel. They were in danger of rejecting the gospel. But the children of God would not reject it and turn away. They are sons, not bastards.

People appear to be born again and yet go away from God. Jesus said, “I never knew you”, not, “I knew you, but you left Me.” (Matt 7:23). They go away because the work of God in them was not complete. Some people are swept up in the current of revival, but it is not really inside them. They can manifest all sorts of gifts and “taste of the powers of God”. (Heb 6:5). Saul did this among those called the prophets in 1st Samuel.

This is part of God’s glory. In His house there are all kinds of vessels and He can fulfil His purposes through any person or situation, even if the person is not His child. This means we can never boast in a gift, but only in the Lord. Jesus told His disciples not to rejoice because the demons were subject to them, but because their names were written in heaven.

People can be enlightened to know the gospel to the point that they appear like other believers. Jesus said they are like tares compared to wheat. Tares and wheat look the same, until harvest time when the wheat bears grain. We cannot tell their nature by their look, their confession, by miracles, or by anything but the fruit they bear in the long run. “You know them by their fruit.”

They went out from us (from Christ), but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. (1 John 2:19).

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