 |  |
lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of
man shall come in the glory of the Father with His angels: and then He shall reward
every man according to his works" (Matt. 16: 24-27).
The man who denies himself, and takes up his cross, loses his souls in this life. If he
turns back to the good things that he has relinquished, making his belly his god, and
finding his glory in his shame, he saves his soul in this life, but becomes an enemy of the
cross, for he will not bear it. The one who is willing to lose his soul for Christ's sake
finds it when the Lord gives reward at His coming. All this is meant in the words of
Heb. 10: 39. Here, as in Heb. 6:, hope is the anchor of the soul, is connected with the
obtaining of the promises, enters within the vail, and belongs to those once "enlightened".
Heb. 11: which immediately follows contains a list of O.T. saints who lost their souls for
Christ's sake, to find them in the resurrection.
As this chapter is so important, and we have one special feature to make clear, we
conclude this paper at this point. We trust that the close parallel that is observable
between Philippians and Hebrews (a parallel insisted on many times in the articles
entitled "The Hope and the Prize") will not be without salutary effect upon us all. Let us
go on unto perfection, let us remember the awful waste of precious opportunities that will
be ours if we "neglect so great salvation", if we neglect to "work out our own salvation".
The body of our humiliation is soon to be fashioned like unto the body of His glory. A
little while and the time will come, "the appointed time" for which we wait. Let us then
take heart. We have need of patience. Let patience have her perfect work, that ye may
be perfect and entire, lacking nothing.
#45.
"Let us draw near . . . . . not draw back" (10: 19-39).
pp. 161 - 167
The whole of the epistle to the Hebrews may be summed up under two phrases:--
1. Let us go on unto perfection, or
2. Draw back unto perdition.
How it is possible for believers to draw back to "perdition" will be manifest when we
have enquired into the meaning of the word used at the close of the chapter 10:
Everything in this epistle contributes its quota to this dual theme. Christ is set forth as
better than angels, Moses, Joshua, Aaron, and all typical sacrifices, in order that the
Hebrew believer, in pressing on to perfection, may have no qualms in leaving behind the
types and shadows that never made those under them "perfect as pertaining to the
conscience". The land of Canaan is shown to be but a shadow of the heavenly city and
true rest that remaineth unto the people of God. Joshua never led into that rest. In fact
there is a series of contrasts in this epistle, all put forward with the one object of
rendering "perfection" a desirable goal, and "perdition" one to be shunned.