Hebrews 12:14-17: Holiness, Without Which No Man Shall See the Lord
2023-12-16
Hebrews 12:14
Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14)
Previously, we saw how we need to make our paths straight. Part of this is following peace with everybody. We saw how we need to pray for everyone so that we might live a peaceable life and that some will be saved. “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:1-4). If we pursue peace with everyone, we reflect the Savior to them.
Since we have peace, we must be about peace. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). And again, “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace” (James 3:17-18).
It is not always possible. “Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men” (Romans 12:17-18). We do the best we can, since we reflect Jesus, the prince of peace. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).
For those who do not want peace that the Lord Jesus brings, irreconcilable division occurs. Consider Luke 12:51-53. When the Lord Jesus crucified is proclaimed, it naturally causes division. Quoting Micah 7:6, the Lord says that faith in Him will naturally cause division. Not everyone who hears about the peace in Christ will accept it, and as a result, will not accept you. We do the best we can in every situation to produce peace as we sojourn here.
We also follow holiness. It only follows that, if Christ is peace and we should follow peace, that we should also follow holiness because Christ is holy. Pursuing peace with your enemies and those contrary to you makes you different from the world. To be holy means to be set apart for God’s purposes. Holiness can only be derived from God Himself. Pursuing Christ is leaving behind the weight and sin we spoke of in the early verses of this chapter.
Consider Acts 4:23-31. Twice, Jesus is called the holy child of God. We see that to be on Christ’s side is to be holy, and the contrary part were those who killed Him. It is also by the holy name of Jesus, i.e., His authority, where God’s wondrous acts of convincing hearts happen. Concerning Jesus, we read, “Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption” (Acts 2:27). He is the Holy One.
Consider Psalm 24:3-5. The one who can see God in His holy place is pure and clean and not deceitful. At the first reading, we all fail this, and it demonstrates the need for the Savior. We receive the position of peace and holiness by faith. However, this is not the focus. The position of peace and holiness, received when we are born again, does not necessarily make you peaceable and holy in experience. We must appropriate what we have in Christ, and intentionally be peaceable and holy in this life on earth. If position sufficed, there would be no need of this command in Hebrews by the apostle Paul. If we want to see the Lord at work now, we need to be holy in the here and now.
Hebrews 12:15
Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; (Hebrews 12:15)
What are we “Looking diligently” for? Well, these other examples may help:
Most recently, we saw this: “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). He is the high prize that we seek.
“And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!” (John 1:36). John looked at Jesus and recognized Him as He truly is.
“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). We look for His return.
“Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?” (2 Peter 3:12). Again, we are looking for His return, which is salvation for the believer and destruction for the unbeliever.
“Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life” (Jude 1:21). We look forward to His eternal life by His grace.
“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure” (1 John 3:2-3). Because we look for His return, we sanctify ourselves now. If we don’t look for His return, we are looking on the affairs of this life, where there is no hope.
If we do not look diligently for Jesus Christ and His return, what is there left? Here we see three “lests” in this verse and in the next:
- ...lest any man fail of the grace of God
- ...lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled
- Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
What does it mean to “fail of the grace of God”? Elsewhere, “fail” is translated “lack,” “want,” or “come short.” If you fail the grace of God, you do not have it. Consider what else we can know: “For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace” (Galatians 5:3-4). What were the Galatians known for, but after hearing of Christ, they sought the righteousness of the Law of Moses. If you are not looking for Christ, you are looking in yourself for righteousness, or an “experience” that shows you are righteous and acceptable, which is impossible to find.
Self-centeredness will leave one disappointed and unthankful, leading to the “root of bitterness,” our second “lest.” This was Simon the Sorcerer’s problem. He was the town shaman, and when the town flocked to the preaching of Christ, he also became a believer, but at the same time, he missed being called “the great power of God” (Acts 8:10). When Simon saw the real power of God, he coveted it. Consider Acts 8:17-24. Simon was “in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.” He missed the old days, but his prior religion was in stark contrast to Jesus Christ. Greatness is not being the center of attention and deceiving; it comes in service. He was disappointed at his loss of esteem in the community. He was saved but came with a lot of baggage that needed to be sorted out. He needed this advice: “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:31-32). Loving others, not controlling others, was part of what he had to learn, and being ready to not be the leader anymore.
Such bitterness surely gave Simon trouble, but what else? Like many, he was defiled. The pure love of Christ in such a one is tarnished. What do we do when we get that bitterness? “Repent therefore of this thy wickedness” and return to Christ.
Hebrews 12:16
Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. (Hebrews 12:16)
This is the third “lest.” When the eyes stop looking for Jesus and begin looking inward, this leads to bitterness. From there, the lust of the flesh has taken over. This third “lest” is manifested in one of two examples, the fornicator or the profane person.
Fornication is sex with someone you’re not married to. Fornication is different from adultery, though adultery could possibly also be assumed here as well. When you try to live by your own standards without the grace of Christ, you fail and give up. Why bother? You can’t keep any law, so just dive into any sin.
More time is spent on this profane person, citing Esau as an example. This word for “profane person” is only elsewhere in the pastoral epistles. There, we said:
“Profane” has the connotations of being heathen-like. Strong’s numbering related it to “crossing a doorway,” which tells me these people are crossing a line, a phrase we use commonly. These are things that go beyond what is appropriate.
If you will not walk with God, you walk like a heathen. Esau is given as an example. We already discussed him in detail here and here. His appetite and felt needs were more important than the things of God. When it is all about you, you will do whatever to fulfill what you want. “Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things” (Philippians 3:19).
Hebrews 12:17
For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears. (Hebrews 12:17)
What is worse with Esau is that he did not learn from the selling of his birthright. It was the one event that changed the course of his life. All his rights as firstborn were forfeited. He still had a chance to get the blessing. Of course, Jacob’s deception was the way he took the blessing away. However, God used Jacob’s evil for good. God could have ensured that Esau received that blessing. However, Esau never found a place to turn to God at any point in his life.
When we do get to this point of these three warnings, where we fail to abide in God’s grace and fall into sin, we need to recognize the blunder and turn around then. Esau kept walking away. We need to repent, or turn to God from our dark way before we lose everything, like Esau did.
In the case we do not return, if we follow the example of Esau, there is nothing but regret in the end. He was rejected. Here are the other two usages of “rejected”:
“Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?” (Matthew 21:42). In the parable of the wicked tenants, the people rejected Jesus. He was dismissed after many forerunners (prophets), but they rejected Him in a final way when He came Himself. They found themselves rejected.
In Jesus’ passion predictions, He used the term of being rejected Himself, just like in the parable. “And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again” (Mark 8:31).
In both types of usages, it is people rejecting Jesus. Here is the one time where God is doing the rejecting. Esau was given a chance to turn, he didn’t, so he could never recover and get that blessing. And this is where consequences come for any believer: Loss of reward, and possibly your life cut short because of fruitlessness.