Hebrews 12:4

Here the apostle presses the exhortation to patience and perseverance by an argument taken from the gentle measure and gracious nature of those sufferings which the believing Hebrews endured in their Christian course.

I. From the gentle and moderate degree and measure of their sufferings: You have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin, Heb 12:4. Observe,

1. He owns that they had suffered much, they had been striving to an agony against sin. Here, (1.) The cause of the conflict was sin, and to be engaged against sin is to fight in a good cause, for sin is the worst enemy both to God and man. Our spiritual warfare is both honourable and necessary; for we are only defending ourselves against that which would destroy us, if it should get the victory over us; we fight for ourselves, for our lives, and therefore ought to be patient and resolute. (2.) Every Christian is enlisted under Christ's banner, to strive against sin, against sinful doctrines, sinful practices, and sinful habits and customs, both in himself and in others.

2. He puts them in mind that they might have suffered more, that they had not suffered as much as others; for they had not yet resisted unto blood, they had not been called to martyrdom as yet, though they knew not how soon they might be. Learn here, (1.) Our Lord Jesus, the captain of our salvation, does not call his people out to the hardest trials at first, but wisely trains them up by less sufferings to be prepared for greater. He will not put new wine into weak vessels, he is the gentle shepherd, who will not overdrive the young ones of the flock. (2.) It becomes Christians to take notice of the gentleness of Christ in accommodating their trial to their strength. They should not magnify their afflictions, but should take notice of the mercy that is mixed with them, and should pity those who are called to the fiery trials to resist to blood; not to shed the blood of their enemies, but to seal their testimony with their own blood. (3.) Christians should be ashamed to faint under less trials, when they see others bear up under greater, and do not know how soon they may meet with greater themselves. If we have run with the footmen and they have wearied us, how shall we contend with horses? If we be wearied in a land of peace, what shall we do in the swellings of Jordan? Jer 12:5.

II. He argues from the peculiar and gracious nature of those sufferings that befall the people of God. Though their enemies and persecutors may be the instruments of inflicting such sufferings on them, yet they are divine chastisements; their heavenly Father has his hand in all, and his wise end to serve by all; of this he has given them due notice, and they should not forget it, Heb 12:5. Observe,

1. Those afflictions which may be truly persecution as far as men are concerned in them are fatherly rebukes and chastisements as far as God is concerned in them. Persecution for religion is sometimes a correction and rebuke for the sins of professors of religion. Men persecute them because they are religious; God chastises them because they are not more so: men persecute them because they will not give up their profession; God chastises them because they have not lived up to their profession.

2. God has directed his people how they ought to behave themselves under all their afflictions; they must avoid the extremes that many run into. (1.) They must not despise the chastening of the Lord; they must not make light of afflictions, and be stupid and insensible under them, for they are the hand and rod of God, and his rebukes for sin. Those who make light of affliction make light of God and make light of sin. (2.) They must not faint when they are rebuked; they must not despond and sink under their trial, nor fret and repine, but bear up with faith and patience. (3.) If they run into either of these extremes, it is a sign they have forgotten their heavenly Father's advice and exhortation, which he has given them in true and tender affection.

3. Afflictions, rightly endured, though they may be the fruits of God's displeasure, are yet proofs of his paternal love to his people and care for them (Heb 12:6, Heb 12:7): Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. Observe, (1.) The best of God's children need chastisement. They have their faults and follies, which need to be corrected. (2.) Though God may let others alone in their sins, he will correct sin in his own children; they are of his family, and shall not escape his rebukes when they want them. (3.) In this he acts as becomes a father, and treats them like children; no wise and good father will wink at faults in his own children as he would in others; his relation and his affections oblige him to take more notice of the faults of his own children than those of others. (4.) To be suffered to go on in sin without a rebuke is a sad sign of alienation from God; such are bastards, not sons. They may call him Father, because born in the pale of the church; but they are the spurious offspring of another father, not of God, Heb 12:7, Heb 12:8.

4. Those that are impatient under the discipline of their heavenly Father behave worse towards him than they would do towards earthly parents, Heb 12:9, Heb 12:10. Here, (1.) The apostle commends a dutiful and submissive behaviour in children towards their earthly parents We gave them reverence, even when they corrected us. It is the duty of children to give the reverence of obedience to the just commands of their parents, and the reverence of submission to their correction when they have been disobedient. Parents have not only authority, but a charge from God, to give their children correction when it is due, and he has commanded children to take such correction well: to be stubborn and discontented under due correction is a double fault; for the correction supposes there has been a fault already committed against the parent's commanding power, and superadds a further fault against his chastening power. Hence, (2.) He recommends humble and submissive behavior towards our heavenly Father, when under his correction; and this he does by an argument from the less to the greater. [1.] Our earthly fathers are but the fathers of our flesh, but God is the Father of our spirits. Our fathers on earth were instrumental in the production of our bodies, which are but flesh, a mean, mortal, vile thing, formed out of the dust of the earth, as the bodies of the beasts are; and yet as they are curiously wrought, and made parts of our persons, a proper tabernacle for the soul to dwell in and an organ for it to act by, we owe reverence and affection to those who were instrumental in their procreation; but then we must own much more to him who is the Father of our spirits. Our souls are not of a material substance, not of the most refined sort; they are not ex traduce - by traduction; to affirm it is bad philosophy, and worse divinity: they are the immediate offspring of God, who, after he had formed the body of man out of the earth, breathed into him a vital spirit, and so he became a living soul. [2.] Our earthly parents chastened us for their own pleasure. Sometimes they did it to gratify their passion rather than to reform our manners. This is a weakness the fathers of our flesh are subject to, and this they should carefully watch against; for hereby they dishonour that parental authority which God has put upon them and very much hinder the efficacy of their chastisements. But the Father of our spirits never grieves willingly, nor afflicts the children of men, much less his own children. It is always for our profit; and the advantage he intends us thereby is no less than our being partakers of his holiness; it is to correct and cure those sinful disorders which make us unlike to God, and to improve and to increase those graces which are the image of God in us, that we may be and act more like our heavenly Father. God loves his children so that he would have them to be as like himself as can be, and for this end he chastises them when they need it. [3.] The fathers of our flesh corrected us for a few days, in our state of childhood, when minors; and, though we were in that weak and peevish state, we owed them reverence, and when we came to maturity we loved and honoured them the more for it. Our whole life here is a state of childhood, minority, and imperfection, and therefore we must submit to the discipline of such a state; when we come to a state of perfection we shall be fully reconciled to all the measures of God's discipline over us now. [4.] God's correction is no condemnation. His children may at first fear lest affliction should come upon that dreadful errand, and we cry, Do not condemn me, but show me wherefore thou contendest with me, Job 10:2. But this is so far from being the design of God to his own people that he therefore chastens them now that they may not be condemned with the world, Co1 11:32. He does it to prevent the death and destruction of their souls, that they may live to God, and be like God, and for ever with him.

5. The children of God, under their afflictions, ought not to judge of his dealings with them by present sense, but by reason, and faith, and experience: No chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous; nevertheless afterwards it yieldeth the peaceable fruits of righteousness, Heb 12:11. Here observe,

(1.) The judgment of sense in this case - Afflictions are not grateful to the sense, but grievous; the flesh will feel them, and be grieved by them, and groan under them.

(2.) The judgment of faith, which corrects that of sense, and declares that a sanctified affliction produces the fruits of righteousness; these fruits are peaceable, and tend to the quieting and comforting of the soul. Affliction produces peace, by producing more righteousness; for the fruit of righteousness is peace. And if the pain of the body contribute thus to the peace of the mind, and short present affliction produce blessed fruits of a long continuance, they have no reason to fret or faint under it; but their great concern is that the chastening they are under may be endured by them with patience, and improved to a greater degree of holiness. [1.] That their affliction may be endured with patience, which is the main drift of the apostle's discourse on this subject; and he again returns to exhort them that for the reason before mentioned they should lift up the hands that hang down and the feeble knees, Heb 12:12. A burden of affliction is apt to make the Christian's hands hang down, and his knees grow feeble, to dispirit him and discourage him; but this he must strive against, and that for two reasons: - First, That he may the better run his spiritual race and course. Faith, and patience, and holy courage and resolution, will make him walk more steadily, keep a straighter path, prevent wavering and wandering. Secondly, That he may encourage and not dispirit others that are in the same way with him. There are many that are in the way to heaven who yet walk but weakly and lamely in it. Such are apt to discourage one another, and hinder one another; but it is their duty to take courage, and act by faith, and so help one another forward in the way to heaven. [2.] That their affliction may be improved to a greater degree of holiness. Since this is God's design, it ought to be the design and concern of his children, that with renewed strength and patience they may follow peace with all men, and holiness, Heb 12:14. If the children of God grow impatient under affliction, they will neither walk so quietly and peaceably towards men, nor so piously towards God, as they should do; but faith and patience will enable them to follow peace and holiness too, as a man follows his calling, constantly, diligently, and with pleasure. Observe, First, It is the duty of Christians, even when in a suffering state, to follow peace with all men, yea, even with those who may be instrumental in their sufferings. This is a hard lesson, and a high attainment, but it is what Christ has called his people to. Sufferings are apt to sour the spirit and sharpen the passions; but the children of God must follow peace with all men. Secondly, Peace and holiness are connected together; there can be no true peace without holiness. There may be prudence and discreet forbearance, and a show of friendship and good-will to all; but this true Christian peaceableness is never found separate from holiness. We must not, under pretence of living peaceably with all men, leave the ways of holiness, but cultivate peace in a way of holiness. Thirdly, Without holiness no man shall see the Lord. The vision of God our Saviour in heaven is reserved as the reward of holiness, and the stress of our salvation is laid upon our holiness, though a placid peaceable disposition contributes much to our meetness for heaven.

6. Where afflictions and sufferings for the sake of Christ are not considered by men as the chastisement of their heavenly Father, and improved as such, they will be a dangerous snare and temptation to apostasy, which every Christian should most carefully watch against (Heb 12:15, Heb 12:16): Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God, etc.

(1.) Here the apostle enters a serious caveat against apostasy, and backs it with an awful example.

[1.] He enters a serious caveat against apostasy, Heb 12:15. Here you may observe, First, The nature of apostasy: it is failing of the grace of God; it is to become bankrupts in religion, for want of a good foundation, and suitable care and diligence; it is failing of the grace of God, coming short of a principle of true grace in the soul, notwithstanding the means of grace and a profession of religion, and so coming short of the love and favour of God here and hereafter. Secondly, The consequences of apostasy: where persons fail of having the true grace of God, a root of bitterness will spring up, corruption will prevail and break forth. A root of bitterness, a bitter root, producing bitter fruits to themselves and others. It produces to themselves corrupt principles, which lead to apostasy and are greatly strengthened and radicated by apostasy - damnable errors (to the corrupting of the doctrine and worship of the Christian church) and corrupt practices. Apostates generally grow worse and worse, and fall into the grossest wickedness, which usually ends either in downright atheism or in despair. It also produces bitter fruits to others, to the churches to which these men belonged; by their corrupt principles and practices many are troubled, the peace of the church is broken, the peace of men's minds is disturbed, and many are defiled, tainted with those bad principles, and drawn into defiling practices; so that the churches suffer both in their purity and peace. But the apostates themselves will be the greatest sufferers at last.

[2.] The apostle backs the caution with an awful example, and that is, that of Esau, who though born within the pale of the church, and having the birthright as the eldest son, and so entitled to the privilege of being prophet, priest, and king, in his family, was so profane as to despise these sacred privileges, and to sell his birthright for a morsel of meat. Where observe, First, Esau's sin. He profanely despised and sold the birthright, and all the advantages attending it. So do apostates, who to avoid persecution, and enjoy sensual ease and pleasure, though they bore the character of the children of God, and had a visible right to the blessing and inheritance, give up all pretensions thereto. Secondly, Esau's punishment, which was suitable to his sin. His conscience was convinced of his sin and folly, when it was too late: He would afterwards have inherited the blessing, etc. His punishment lay in two things: 1. He was condemned by his own conscience; he now saw that the blessing he had made so light of was worth the having, worth the seeking, though with much carefulness and many tears. 2. He was rejected of God: He found no place of repentance in God or in his father; the blessing was given to another, even to him to whom he sold it for a mess of pottage. Esau, in his great wickedness, had made the bargain, and God in his righteous judgment, ratified and confirmed it, and would not suffer Isaac to reverse it.

(2.) We may hence learn, [1.] That apostasy from Christ is the fruit of preferring the gratification of the flesh to the blessing of God and the heavenly inheritance. [2.] Sinners will not always have such mean thoughts of the divine blessing and inheritance as now they have. The time is coming when they will think no pains too great, no cares no tears too much, to obtain the lost blessing. [3.] When the day of grace is over (as sometimes it may be in this life), they will find no place for repentance: they cannot repent aright of their sin; and God will not repent of the sentence he has passed upon them for their sin. And therefore, as the design of all, Christians should never give up their title, and hope of their Father's blessing and inheritance, and expose themselves to his irrevocable wrath and curse, by deserting their holy religion, to avoid suffering, which, though this may be persecution as far as wicked men are concerned in it, is only a rod of correction and chastisement in the hand of their heavenly Father, to bring them near to himself in conformity and communion. This is the force of the apostle's arguing from the nature of the sufferings of the people of God even when they suffer for righteousness' sake; and the reasoning is very strong.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Heb_12:4

Not yet resisted unto blood

The law of Christs service

I.

THE LAW OF CHRISTS SERVICE. Resistance unto blood.

1. This law is not an arbitrary enactment. It is because the strife is against sin, and sin is an evil so terrible and tremendous that we are to resist unto blood.

2. Christianity is distinguished by its estimate of sin: the character it gives to sin. The darkest death man can die is preferable to sins power and penalty.

II. THE MOTIVE TO OBEDIENCE. Christs own example. The argument is, Others before you, and, specifically, Christ Himself, have obeyed this law, fulfilled it in their blood, Ye have not yet.

1. The law of Christs service is a law obeyed in lower spheres of action. Love of freedom, love of country, love of friends, have proved stronger often than love of life. The Roman soldier swore to keep his eagles to the last drop of his blood, and history shows how nobly the oath was kept. Almost every year our hearts are thrilled by the story of men of our own name who have held honour and duty more sacred and precious than life and home.

2. The law of Christs service has been obeyed by the good and noble of all ages.

3. Chief of all, the law of Christs service is a law obeyed by Christ Himself. (W. Perkins.)

Resisting unto blood

I. SIN IS IN THE WORLD AS THE GREAT ANTAGONIST OF MANKIND. It is opposed to intelligence, to freedom, to progress, to peace--personal, domestic, social, national, and universal. It is the inspiration of all our foes, the virus in all our sufferings, the fountain of all our sorrows, the burden of all our oppressions.

II. THIS GREAT ANTAGONIST DEMANDS THE MOST STRENUOUS RESISTANCE OF MANKIND.

1. Because the overcoming of this is the overcoming of all enemies.

2. Because it is only by the most strenuous human effort that it can be overcome.

3. Because our great moral Commander thus strove against sin. How much more should we!

(1) He had done nothing to contribute to the sin of the world: we have.

(2) He could not have been injured by the sin of the world. (Homilist.)

Resisting unto blood

The Tabernacle was covered over with red, to note that we must defend the truth even to the effusion of blood. If we cannot endure martyrdom (if called thereunto) and sweat a bloody sweat for Christs sake, we cannot be comfortably assured that we are of His body. John Leafe, a young man, burnt with Mr. Bradford, hearing his own confession, taken before the bishop, read to him, instead of a pen took a pin, and so pricking his hand, sprinkled the blood upon the said bill of his confession, willing the messenger to show the bishop that he had sealed the same bill with his blood already. (John Trapp.)

Good standard-bearers

God wants standard-bearers who are willing to make a shroud of their colours. (J. Ker, D. D.)

The worst not yet experienced

The figure is changed; the Christian is a wrestler, a pugilist, struggling, fighting against sin; and the Jewish believers are told that up till now no blood has been drawn; that is, the fierce severity of the conflict had yet to come. They had no right, therefore, to give way, and no excuse for exhaustion. (R. W. Dale, LL. D.)

Striving against sin

Striving against sin

I. THE ENEMY AGAINST WHICH BELIEVERS STRIVE--Sin. The name of it is short and easily pronounced, but who shall fully declare its dreadful nature?

1. It is an old enemy. Hence in Scripture it is styled the Old Man. It is old, for it existed in us as soon as we began to exist. But it is much older than we are. It appeared in the world almost as soon as it was created--nearly six thousand years ago. Nay, sin is older even than this, for it appeared even in heaven, and ruined myriads of celestial intelligences. It is no new upstart power, then, that believers have to strive against, but a veteran foe long inured to the warfare, and possessing the accumulated experience of innumerable ages.

2. Sin is an enemy that is always near. When driven, as it is in the case of every believer, from the throne of the heart, it is not entirely dislodged from the soul. It still lives and lurks in the nature of believers.

3. Sin is a crafty and deceitful enemy. Its wiles and cunning devices to seduce men, and lead them to the commission of crimes, are innumerable.

4. Sin is an active enemy. It is unwearied in its exertions to extend its influence. It pollutes all we do, and mingles with all we are. As the heart never ceases from beating, nor the blood from circulating, so sin never ceases from operating. We may sleep, but it never sleeps.

5. Sin is a powerful enemy. We read of the body of sin, which implies its strength and vigour. Its motions do work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. It often bursts through the strongest resolutions set up to restrain it, as a swollen river beats down its banks and sweeps away everything before it. You may see its strength by looking at the conduct of some of those in whom it reigns. Into what awful lengths in wickedness does it carry them!

II. THE NATURE OF THE CONFLICT ON STRIFE AGAINST SIN.

1. It is universal. It is directed against all sin. It is against secret sins as well as against open--against sins of the temper as well as against those of the tongue--against sins of the heart as well as against those of the life--and chiefly against sins of the heart, because from them proceed those of the life.

2. It is often a painful conflict. In piercing sin, the believer often feels a sword pierce his own heart. Sin can never be slain in him without his experiencing to some extent its dying agonies.

3. It is a constant and persevering conflict. There is no discharge in this war. It is a war of extermination.

4. This conflict is carried on in the Saviours strength. In their own strength believers could never carry the strife on.

5. This conflict is maintained by prayer. When I cry unto Thee, said the Psalmist, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know, for God is with me. In the day that I cried unto Thee, Thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.

6. This conflict is to be carried on with constant watchfulness, Prayer without watchfulness is almost a mockery of God, since in it blessings are solicited, for the attainment of which no care is exercised.

III. SOME OF THE MEANS BY WHICH BELIEVERS SHOULD STRIVE AGAINST SIN.

1. Let them seriously think how hateful and abominable sin is to God. Abominable and offensive as outward sins are to Him, indwelling corruption must be even still more so, for it is the source whence all these proceed.

2. They should check the first motions and workings of sin in their souls. They should give no quarter to criminal thoughts, or evil desires, or unholy inclinations, but endeavour, through the strength of grace, to banish and crush them. By such constant endeavours to strike at the root, indwelling sin will be weakened and its power and strength reduced and kept under.

3. They should carefully avoid temptations to sin.

4. They should do all in their power to preserve and promote sanctified frames of mind when these are experienced.

5. They should be often engaged in prayer.

(1) This prayer must be believing prayer. All things, says our Lord, which ye shall ask in prayer, believe that ye shall receive them, and ye shall have them.

(2) Further, it must be prayer offered in the name of Christ. Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, says Christ Jesus, I will do it.

(3) Again, it must be humble prayer. We must feel a deep sense of our own weakness and proneness to sin if left to ourselves, and the absolute necessity of grace and strength to hold us up and keep us from falling.

(4) In a word, it must be fervent and importunate prayer.

6. They must, if they would be successful in striving against sin, strive against Satan. Sin is just the Old Serpents poison.

IV. SOME MOTIVES FOR STRIVING AGAINST SIN.

1. This is a strife or warfare which every Christian must maintain. The most shining saint has sin in him. He is only fair as the moon, and will never find his principles of holiness brightened with a sunlight lustre, until he enters the kingdom of his heavenly Father.

2. In this strife and warfare the Saviours honour is much concerned. Sin disgraces a religious profession.

3. You should strive against sin, for it offends God, and is the object of His infinite abhorrence. It cannot be otherwise, for it is enmity against Him, against His attributes, and against His government. It abuses His goodness, abhors His holiness, despises His love, vilifies His wisdom, denies His justice, defies His power, violates His law, and, if it could, would pluck Him from His throne, and deprive Him of His Being.

4. We should strive against sin, for it is seeking our own ruin. It is a foe, and not a friend. The man who cherishes sin cherishes a viper in his bosom, which will, unless timeously cast from him, turn and sting him to death.

5. Consider the reward they shall receive who truly, and believingly, and preservingly strive against sin. There is a reward for the righteous even now. Their striving against sin tends to their true comfort and enjoyment while here.

V. IMPROVEMENT.

1. Examine yourselves by what you have heard that you may ascertain what is your true state and character. These will turn upon your bearing in relation to sin.

2. While you strive against sin yourselves you should also strive against it in others.

3. Beware of that strife which is sinful. There is such a thing as not only sinful striving, but a sinful striving against sin. O how much of the contention about religious matters, both in doctrine and practice, may be thus characterised! Let, then, all such striving be avoided. The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

4. Strive with God. There is a striving with God which is unlawful and destructive, but there is a striving with Him which is allowable and necessary. It is by prayer and supplication.

5. Strive to enter in at the strait gate; the gate, that is, of conversion, faith, rod repentance. Without engaging in the strife there can be no admission into heaven. (G. Brown.)

Striving against sin

I. How we are to strive against sin.

1. By constantly opposing the power of sin in our own hearts.

2. By a steadfast and constant profession of the Christian faith.

3. By a humble and holy dependence on the atonement of Jesus Christ, and a growing acquaintance with Scripture.

4. By directly and openly condemning it, whenever and by whomsoever it is committed.

II. WHY we should thus strive against sin.

1. Because of its destructive and fatal designs upon our best interests.

2. Because it is the greatest evil that can curse society.

3. Because it will cause us satisfaction in the review when we approach the world of spirits. There is no alternative between striving against and striving for it. Those who are at peace with sin now will find death at war with them. (D. Jones.)

How to strive against sin

1. By prayer. Let us pray against anger, pride, uncleanness, coveteousness, continually.

2. By Scripture.

3. By the subtracting of the nourishment of that sin. Let us strive against lust and uncleanness by a sober and temperate life.

4. By embracing the contrary virtue. Instead of pride let us embrace humility; instead of covetousness, liberality; of uncleanness, chastity, &c. (W. Jones,. D. D.)

Striving against sin:

The Red Indian will stand to have his flesh cut away by the knives of his enemies, and will not utter a sigh or groan--will not sue for mercy. Such is the fortitude of that iron will. If the pride of his heart enables him to bear such tortures without murmuring, surely the power of Christian motive is sufficient to cause us to pluck out the right eye, and cut off the right-hand sin, and cast them away from us, that we may present ourselves a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. In Christ crucified we see the abhorrence with which God regards sin. And when He brings us into communion with Himself in the Cross we shun it, or resist it, as our most deadly foe.

Striving against fierce sin:

Where are the heroes who resist unto blood striving against sin? Should we weep or laugh at the foolishness of mankind, childishly spending their indignation and force against petty evils, and maintaining a friendly peace with the fell and mighty principle of destruction. It is just as if men of professed courage, employed to go and find and destroy a tiger or a crocodile that has spread alarm or havoc, on being asked at their return, Have you done the deed? should reply, We have not indeed destroyed the tiger or crocodile, but yet we have acted heroically; we have achieved something great--we have killed a wasp. Or, like men engaged to exterminate a den of murderers, who being asked at their return, Have you accomplished the vengeance? should say, We have not destroyed any of the murderers; we did not deem it worth while to attempt it; but we have lamed one of their dogs. (J. Foster.)

Not to be discouraged by violent conflict:

Whoever wishes to obtain the victory must not be discouraged by violent opposition. It is reported of Alexander, that when surrounded by his enemies, and sorely wounded, he still maintained his fortitude, and fought upon his knees. Sparticus did the same, covering himself with his buckler in one hand, and using his sword with the other. So the Christian, however wounded, must still persevere, fighting to the end the good tight of faith, that he may lay hold on eternal life.

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

II

Their sufferings are profitable chastisements of the paternal love of God

Heb_12:4-13

4     Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. 5And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children [sons], My son, despise not thou [make not light of] the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou are rebuked [while being probed, corrected, ἐλεγχόμενος] of [by] him; 6For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7If ye endure chastening [It is for chastisement that ye endure],3 God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he [who is a son] whom the father chasteneth not? 8But if ye be [are] without chastisement, whereof all are [have become] partakers, then 9are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore [εἶτα, then, then again], we have had [we had, used to have the] fathers of our flesh which [who] corrected us [as chasteners], and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather4 be in subjection unto the Father of spirits and live? 10For they verily [indeed] for [or, with reference to] a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might [may] be partakers of his holiness. 11Now no chastening for the present [in respect indeed to the present] seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless [but], afterward it yieldeth the peaceable [peaceful] fruit of righteousness unto them which are [which have been] exercised [disciplined] thereby. 12Wherefore lift up [right up again] the hands which hang down, and the feeble [relaxed] knees; 13And make straight paths for your feet, lest [that] that which is lame [may not] be turned out of the way; but let it [may] rather be healed.

[Heb_12:4.—ἀντικατέστητε, ye resisted, Aor.; Words, lays stress on the Aor.=“as ye might have done on several occasions.” Alf., with most, makes it=perfect. With οὔπω the Aor. rendering is harsh, unless we render not in any way, not at all, and take ἀντικατ. of a specific internal conflict with the sin of disobedience and apostasy, as the Saviour’s in Gethsemane; then μέχρις αἵματος, refers to the Saviour’s sweating drops of blood. I incline with Barnes to this interpretation.

Heb_12:5.—ἐκλέλησθε, ye have forgotten, much better than interrog., have ye forgotten? as Bl., De W., Lün., in order to soften what otherwise seems too harsh; but this forgetting is virtually assumed below, and the interrog. would be awkward.—ὀλιγωρεῖν, make little account of, not so strong as despise.—ἐλεγχόμενος, while being probed, sifted, corrected, rather than rebuked.

Heb_12:7.—εἰς παιδείαν ὑπομένετε, so the best authorities; it is for chastening or discipline that ye are enduring. Alf. argues that ὑπομένειν can hardly have the incidental meaning which the ordinary reading requires.—τίς γάρ ἐστιν υἰός,for who is a son?

Heb_12:8.—μέτοχοι γεγοναμεν, we have become partakers.

Heb_12:9.—έἶτα, then, in the next place. Unless we take έἶτα as a particle of indignant emotion, which I think better. This would indeed require, in a regular construction, οὐ πολὺ δὲ μἀλλον (not as Bl. and Alf., καὶ οὐ πολὺ μᾶλλον); but that the author began with this construction in his mind, is shown by the μέν after τούς, which has not its answering δέ.

Heb_12:10.—πρὸς ὀλίγας ἡμέρας, with reference to a few days, or, perhaps, with Moll, etc., during.

Heb_12:11.—τοῖς δἰ ἀυτῆς γεγυμνας, to those that have been trained by means of it.—ἀποδίδωσιν, it renders back, yields.—δικαιοσυνης, emphatically placed.

Heb_12:12.—ἀνορθώσατε, right up, bring back to erectness or straightness.—παρεινένας, slackened, unstrung.—παραλελυμένα, paralyzed, relaxed.

Heb_12:13.—καὶ τροχιὰς ὀρθὰς, etc., is a regular Dactylic Hexameter: ἴνα μὴ τὸ χωλὸν ἐκτραπῆ, part of an Iambic trimeter, as in Heb_12:14, οὗ χωρὶς οὐδεὶς ὄψεται τὸν κύριον, is a perfect Iambic verse.—K.].

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

Heb_12:4. Resisted unto blood.—The expression is hardly a figure drawn from boxing (Beng., Bl., Del.), but denotes a bloody death (Wieseler), with a reference to the death of Jesus, and implies that the readers have indeed already been subjected to acts of violence (Heb_10:32 ff.), but have not as yet, like earlier members of the Church (Heb_13:7), been persecuted unto death, but rather are in their conduct, shielding themselves from such perils, and forget the import of the sufferings which God destines for His children. A moral struggle against their own sin, and one in which they have not put forth their utmost exertions (so recently again Holtzmann in the Stud. und Krit., 1859, II.) is here not intended. [I incline to think it is, and that in this consists the rebuking character of the language.—K.]. Sin appears here as an objective worldly power, as it appears in particular in the enemies of the Gospel, and prepares the same suffering for the disciples, as for the Lord.

Heb_12:5. And ye have forgotten, etc.—If with Calv., Beza, Bl., Lün., etc., we take these words interrogatively, the tone of reproof is softened [and the passage enfeebled]. The citation is from Pro_3:11-12, where in Heb. the concluding clause runs, “and as a father to the son, He is good to him” (or, receives him kindly). instead of וּכְאָב the Sept. read either יְכָאֵב or as Job_5:17, יַכְאִב, he occasions pain. The Cod. A. of the Sept. reads with fifteen other MSS. παιδεύει; the remainder have ἐλέγχει.

Heb_12:7. For chastisement.—The lect. rec. εἰ has the parallels, Heb_12:8, in its favor; still this cannot decide us against the authorities, which by no means present us an unmeaning clerical error, but assign the object of the suffering, which is the first mentioned παιδεία. Εἰς, denoting purpose, is frequent in our Epistle, Heb_4:14; Heb_3:5; Heb_4:16; Heb_6:16; Heb_9:15; Heb_10:19; Heb_11:11. The Indic. construction corresponds better with the connection (Chrys., Del.) than the Imper. (Ebr.), especially considering the pregnant signification of ὑπομένειν and the δέ in Heb_12:8. Again τίς is not to be taken adjectively with υἱός (Bl., De W., Thol., Lün.), nor as predicate=of what sort perchance is the son? (Böhme) but as a substantive, as also υἱός and πατήρ, are without the article. Thus the sense is, according to Del., “where is there one who stands in truth in the relation of son, whom He does not chastise, who stands to Him in truth in (the relation of father?”

Heb_12:9. Again, [in the next place].—εἶτα continues the argumentation.—To take the word as ironical, or as a question of surprise=to ita ne (Valck., Alberti, etc.) is consistent with classical usage, but is here forced, besides which also, the second member of the sentence should have commenced with καί.

Father of spirits.—This is not Christ (Hammond), but God, who, however, receives this designation not as one caring for our souls (Böhm. after Morus, and others), nor as bestower of the gifts of the Spirit (Theodoret), nor in the moral sense, as Father, in respect to the higher spiritual province of life (De W., Ebr., Lün.); but inasmuch as all spirits are derived from Him (Thol., Del., Riehm). We must not, however, refer the “spirits” exclusively to angels (Chrys., Œc., Theoph.); nor find here a one-sided and extreme statement of creatianism (Calv., Beng., Este, Carpz., etc.), but only a moderate and authorized form, as at Heb_7:10, of Traducianism.

Heb_12:10. For a few days.—The πρός stands here, and Heb_12:11; Luk_8:13; 1Co_7:5; 2Co_7:8; 1Th_2:17, of the duration of the chastisement. The majority of expositors, with Calvin, regard the “few days” as the days of our earthly life; and thus find a contrast expressed between the purpose of the chastisement of children by our earthly parents, as being with reference to, or for (πρός), a few days, and the eternity, which is the end and scope of the Divine chastisements. Such an interpretation, however, introduces at once a false statement into the first member of the antithesis—that, viz: which restricts the end of human training in all cases to our earthly life, and creates a contrast for which the original furnishes no basis. But neither, on the other hand, is the πρὸς ὀλίγας ἡμέρας to be attached equally to both members of the antithesis, as stating the common period of time during which, for their respectively different purposes, and in their different ways, the human and the Divine training are carried forward (Bleek, etc.). The few days point to the brief period of minority, during which, as shown by the Imperfect ἐπαίδευον, the readers, as children, were the subjects of parental discipline. But neither again does the author contrast with this limited period of parental training the life-long continuance of the Divine education. Of this the text contains nothing whatever. Its phraseology shows rather that any such special contrast with πρὸς ὀλίγας ἡμέρας is utterly out of the author’s mind; and, in fact, Delitzsch is obliged to extract it artificially and unnaturally from the εἰς τὸ μεταλαβεῖν τῆς ἁγιότητος αὑτοῦ, making πρός unite the ideas of time and purpose, and εἰς those of purpose and result, while the clause with πρός expresses the limit as to time, and that with εἰς that of aim and object. The diversity of the human and the Divine παιδεία is briefly given in their respective characteristic features, and the preëminence of the latter is urged upon the attention of the readers (who have had personal experience of the former), that they may the more willingly submit themselves to it. The abstract ἁγιότης is found elsewhere only at 2Ma_15:2. [In regard to the construction of the vexed passage above, we may, in the first place, set aside at once the idea of Wets., Storr, Kuin., Böhm., and Bleek, that πρὸς ὀλίγας ἡμέρας is to be understood of the second member of the sentence, as implying a restriction in the time of the discipline, alike of the human and the Divine, both being confined to the present life. This, however true, is clearly not expressed in the sentence; πρὸς ὀλίγας ἡμέρας belongs only to the first member. But, so restricted, are we to explain it as “for, i.e., during a few days,” viz: the few days of our minority, in which we were subject to their chastisement, or, as “with reference to a few days,” viz., the days of our earthly life? The objection to this latter, hinted at by Moll, and more fully expressed by Alford, viz., that it is not true that the discipline of earthly parents always “has regard only to the present life,” seems to me without force; inasmuch as the author’s statement is simply a general one, not referring to what may be the possible scope of the training of Christian parents, but what is the natural scope of human and earthly discipline as such. Alford’s next objection (as also Moll’s), viz., that the contrast thus implied between the transitory purpose of human chastisement, and the eternal purpose of the Divine, is superinduced on the passage because “there is not one word in the latter clause expressing the eternal nature of God’s purpose,” he subsequently answers himself by placing the πρὸς ὀλίγας ἡμέρας in contrast with the ἐπὶ τὸ συμφέρον, in which, he says, “we have set over against one another the short time during which, the temporary reference with which their chastisement was inflicted, and the great purpose implied as eternal from its very expression, as τὸ συμφέρον for an immortal being, in which he chastises us.” The question, then, is whether, with Moll, we are to take πρὸς ὀλίγας ἡμέρας as simply like our “for=during a few days,” or, with many others, to take it as= “with reference to a few days.” If the former, then the clause κατὰ τὸ δοκοῦν αὐτοἴς, of the first member is set over against the two clauses in the second. If the latter, then we have a double antithesis, and the question arises, whether we are to take it, with Alford, in the natural order of the clauses (“for a few days” against “for our profit,” and “according to their pleasure” against “in order to participate in his holiness”) or, with Delitzsch, chiastically, the second of the one corresponding to the first of the other, and the first of the one to the second of the other. It does not follow, however, necessarily, that, even if we take πρός, with reference to, there still is any such exact antithesis intended as either of these explanations implies. I incline, on the one hand, to take πρὸς ὀλίγας ἡμέρας as in reference to a few days (which seems to me to have much more point than the other), and, on the other, to doubt even then if the writer intends any exactly balanced antithesis. He puts the two grand points of earthly correction, viz., its being but for and with reference to a few days, and its possessing, even in the best, the character more or less of arbitrariness, against the one grand point of the Divine, viz., its intrinsic and essential profitableness, in which, however, a contrast to both the other characteristics is virtually implied.—K.].

Heb_12:11. Peaceful fruit of righteousness.—As the tree which bears the fruit is the παιδεία, δικαιοσύνης cannot be the Gen. Subj.—as even recently Klee supposes. The Gen. is Gen. of apposition (Jam_3:18). The adj. εἰρηνικός stands in relation to δι’ αὐτῆς γεγυμνασμένοις, so that the παιδεία is regarded under the point of view of γυμνασία=ἀγών (Thol., Del., etc.).

Heb_12:12. Wherefore raise up again, etc.—The first clause borrows both thought and language from Isa_35:3; the other from Pro_4:26. The Pass. Signif. given by many since and with Grot. to ἐκτρέπ., to be dislocated, distorted, is unsustained by usage. The original text, the expression of the Sept. ποίει σοῖς ποσί, and partially the following clause with ἵνα, lead us to take the τοῖς ποσίν ὑμῶν, not as Dat. instrum. (It., Vulg., Luth., Bl., De W., Thol., Lün.), but as Dat. commodi (Böhm., Ebr., Del., Riehm, Alf.). [We may call attention to the lofty and rythmical character of the language here. Καὶ τροχιὰς ὀρθάς, etc., is a perfect Dactylic hexameter; ἵνα μὴ τὸ χωλόν, etc., is a rough and irregular Iambic trimeter, while the general cast of the expression is decidedly poetic. See textual note, and Heb_12:14-15.—K.].

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. Sin which reigns in the world, and is mighty in the children of unbelief, is often also skilful to employ violent measures against the professors of the true faith, and to threaten not merely their property and honor, but their life. In such cases it behooves them to be faithful and obedient even unto death.

2. Yet even where matters do not come to extremities, still there are frequently sorrows and sufferings, painful and heavy. In them we must recognize not mere violent acts of men, not mere undeserved strokes of fortune, but the hand of God, yet still, as of a father who regards our interests, and by his discipline of suffering, is bringing into clear recognition, and stamping with the seal of validity, that filial relation to which he has received us in Christ.

3. There are, thus, sufferings which stand indeed in connection with our own sinfulness, and have the significance of chastisement, yet still are not punitive sufferings, such as would give us to taste the wrath of God, but strokes inflicted by Divine love, as means of paternal chastisement for the purpose of educating us for the heavenly kingdom.

4. If we recognize this Divine purpose, and find in the painful, yet salutary chastisings, a recognition, confirmation, and development of our filial relation to God, then we shall all the more readily submit ourselves, in humility and patience, to these chastisements, which have their ultimate ground in the love of God, and their true end and aim in His desire for our salvation, the more clearly we perceive that this loving chastisement of our heavenly Father immeasurably transcends that of earthly fathers.

5. This submission is entirely authorized, obligatory and salutary: for, while our parents can only endow us with merely natural life, but cannot change our fleshly nature, and during our minority are influenced by personal, and sometimes selfish views, in the application of the means of chastisement, so that the results are often either inconsiderable or uncertain, God, as the Father of spirits, is also the author of our spiritual nature, and by the means of education which He employs, makes us partakers of His holiness, of the Divine nature (2Pe_1:4). Thus life, in its fullest sense, is the consequence of such a subjection to the dispensations and leadings of God; and the end of this discipline of suffering, is a fruit which consists in righteousness, and the taste of which is peace.

6. “The entire falling away of the unconfirmed, wavering members of the Church, can be guarded against, and their recovery be rendered possible, only by the opening of straight paths on the part of the entire body, only by their going forward in a plain, simple, upright course of thought, confession and action, which shall exercise upon the weak such a salutary and restorative influence as straight and even paths upon lame and diseased feet” (Del.).

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

If God comforts us as a father, we must allow ourselves to be chastised as children.—Points of likeness and unlikeness in human and Divine education.—That which pains, comforts, and blesses us in sufferings.—The sweetness, not only of the means, but of the mode of God’s comforting us in suffering.—Our filial relation to God teaches us not lightly to regard afflictions, not to faint in them, but to be improved by them.

Starke:—The thing which is not pleasant to us, we can easily forget (Psa_88:13); but he who often calls to mind the cross, will be less surprised by it when it comes (1Pe_4:12).—To make an honest application to one’s self, is the most important thing in the reading of the Holy Scripture (Rom_4:23-24).—The dearer a child the sharper his discipline under the rod.—The community of sufferings which visits in the world all the brethren, is the consolation of all the children of God.—Do not vex thyself in relation to long continued sufferings; our whole life is but short.—We must regard the cross not in reference to our outward sensibilities, as being painful and afflictive to flesh and blood; but according to the salutary uses which God brings out of it (Rom_8:17).—Every cross has a bitter beginning, but a sweet termination.—In tears lies hidden the seed of all joy and glory.—Hands and feet should, in the spiritual sense, be properly employed; the former for valiant strife, the latter for nimble running.—The stumbler must not be immediately rejected, but restored and raised up with words of comfort and admonition (Psa_73:2; Psa_17:15).

Rieger:—Those are sure steps which are made in accordance with the course and conflict which God has ordained, with our eye on the goal of joy and glory that is set before us, and in confidence in the grace of God, accompanying us at every step.

Heubner:—How much less are our sufferings than the sufferings of the early Christians! Now, those who confess Christ have peace. This should shame, warn, and incite us.

Fricke:—Every chastisement of God is, in His children, a seed, which subsequently produces fruit.

Footnotes:

[3]Heb_12:7.—Instead of εἰ read εἰς, after Sin. A. D. E. K. L., and most minusc. Reiche, however, defends the Rec.

[4]Heb_12:9.—Οὐ πολὺ μᾶλλον, sanctioned by Sin. A. D*., instead of the lect. rec. οὐ πολλῷ μᾶλλον.

[5]Heb_12:15.—Instead of διὰ ταύτης, we should read after A., 17, 67***, 137, 238, δι’ αὐτῆς, and instead of πολλοί, read after Sin. A., 47, οἱ πολλοί.

Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Hebrews

RESISTING UNTO BLOOD

Heb 12:4

‘Ye have not yet resisted’ - then others had done so; and the writer bids his readers contrast their own comparative immunity from persecution from the fate of such, in order that they may the more cheerfully do the easier task devolved upon them. Who were those others?

If the supposition of many is correct that this Epistle was addressed to the Mother Church at Jerusalem, the fate of Stephen the first martyr, and of James the brother of John, who had ‘had the rule over’ that Church, may have been in the writer’s mind. If the date assigned to the letter by some is accepted, the persecution under Nero, which had lighted the gardens of the Capitol with living torches, had already occurred; and the writer may have wished the-Jerusalem Church to Bethink themselves that they had fared better than their brethren in Rome. But whether these conjectures are adopted or no, there is another contrast evidently in the writer’s mind. He has Been speaking of the long series of heroes of the faith, some of whom had been ‘stoned and sawn asunder,’ and he would have the Christians whom he addresses contrast their position with that of these ancient saints and martyrs. And there is another contrast more touching still, more wonderful and impressive, in his mind; for my text follows immediately upon a reference to Jesus Christ, ‘who endured the Cross, despising the shame.’ So Himself ‘had resisted unto blood.’ And thus the writer bids his readers think of the martyrs in the Mother Church; of the blood that had deluged the Church at Rome; of the slaughtered saints in past generations; and, above all, of the great Captain of their salvation; and, animated by the thoughts, manfully to bear and mightily to resist in the conflict that is laid upon them. ‘Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against Sin.’

I. So then, we have here, to begin with, the permanent condition of the Christian life, as one of Warfare and resistance.

The imagery of the whole context is drawn from the arena. A verse or two before the writer was speaking about the race. Now he slightly shifts his point of view, and is speaking rather about the wrestling or the pugilistic encounters that were there waged. And his point is that always, and everywhere, however the forms may vary in which the conflict is carried on, there is inseparable from the Christian life an element of effort, endurance and antagonism. That is worth thinking about for a moment. It is all very Well to sing of green pastures and still waters, and to rejoice in the blessings, the consolations, the tranquillities, the raptures of Christian experience, and to rejoice in the thought of the many mercies for body and soul which come to men through faith. That is all true and all blessed, but it is only one side of the truth. And unless we have apprehended, and have educed to practice and experience the other side of the Christian life, which makes it a toil and a pain to the lower self, and a continual resistance, I venture to say that we have no right to the soothing and sweet and tender side of it; and have need to ask ourselves whether we know anything about Christianity at all. It is not given to us merely - it is not given to us chiefly - to secure those great and precious things which it does secure, but it is given to us in order that, enriched and steadied and strengthened by the possession of them. we should be the better fit for the conflict, just as a wise commander will see that his soldiers are well fed before he flings them into the battle.

But then, passing from that, which is only a side issue, let me remind you of what our antagonist is ‘striving against sin.’

Now some people would take my text to mean solely the conflict which each of us has to wage with our own evils, meannesses and weaknesses. And some, guided by the context, would take the reference to be exclusively to the antagonisms with evils round about us, and with the embodiment of these in men who do not share Christian views of life or conduct. But I think that neither the one nor the other of these two exclusive interpretations can be maintained. For sin is one, whether embodied in ourselves or embodied in men or in institutions. And we have the same conflict to wage against precisely the same antagonist when we are occupied in the task of purging ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, and when we are occupied in the wider task of seeking to bring every man to recognise the power of Christ’s love, and to live in purity by obedience to Him.

And so, the first field on which every Christian is to win his spurs, to prove his prowess, and to exercise his strength is the field within, where the lists are very narrow, and where self wages war against self in daily conflict. Every man of us carries his own worst enemy inside his own waistcoat. We have all lusts, passions, inclinations, desires, faults, vices, meannesses, selfishnesses, indolences, - a whole host of evils lying there like a nest of vipers within us, and our first task and our lifelong task, is to take the sting and the poison out of these, and to throttle them and to east them out.

And then, and only after that, there comes the next thing - viz., the antagonism in which Christian men must permanently stand to a world which does not sympathise with their views, which is strange to the maxims that rule their lives, and which renders no fealty to the King whom they are sworn to obey. And that antagonism runs out into various forms. First of all, it is the solemn duty of every Christian to wage war so as to prevent himself from being caught up in the current of godless living which prevails round him. We have to fight to keep ourselves from being harmed by the world and the worldly communities amidst which we dwell What would become of the captain of a ship who did not take care to have his compass corrected so as to neutralize the effects of all the mass of iron in his vessel? You walk as in the wards of a hospital. If you do not take precautions you will catch the disease that is in the air. It is as certain that careless Christian people who do not ever keep on guard against impending and surrounding evil shall be infected by it, as it is certain that if an Englishman goes out, say to the United States, he will come back with the intonations of our brethren on the other side of the Atlantic slipping unconsciously from his tongue. The first duty, imperative upon Christian people, is to realise that they live in the midst of an order of things that is not in accordance with the Master’s principles, and so to beware that they do not catch the infection.

I do not need to say a word about the other form of antagonism, which is equally imperative, and which will prevent us from caring much about the judgments that may be formed of us by the people round us. ‘With me it is a very small matter that I should be judged of you, or of man’s judgment.’ But the resistance against sin, which is the Christian man’s merciful warfare in the world, is not completed either by his keeping himself from complicity with surrounding evils or by his refusing to let antagonism divert him from his course. There is something more that is plain duty, and that is, that every Christian should be Christ’s soldier in the attempt to get Christ’s commandments recognised, and the principles of His word obeyed, in the world.

Society is not organised on Christian principles. You have only to look around you to see that. I do not need to dwell upon the various discordances between the plain teachings of this Book and every community, and every nation, and every individual; but let me remind you that until the Sermon on the Mount is the law for individuals and communities, the Christian man, if he is loyal to his Lord, must be ‘striving against sin’ in the endeavour to get established Christ’s kingdom, which is the kingdom of righteousness. That sermon does not contain all Christian truth, but it is the Magna Charta of an applied Christianity; the laws of the kingdom from the lips of the King Himself.

So, brethren, I come to you with this for my message, that no Christian man is doing his work as Christ’s soldier, ‘striving against sin,’ until he is seeking, with the best of his strength, to get Christ’s law, which is righteousness, established on the face of the earth.

Talk of dynamiters and explosives, why, there is explosive power enough in Christianity to shatter to pieces the corruptions which make so large a part of modern social life. But, alas! the Christian Church has too long and too generally been employed in damping down the gunpowder instead of firing it, and seeking to explain away the large and plain commandments of the Master, instead of seeking to apply them.

There is a new spirit springing up around us to-day, for which we should be devoutly thankful, whilst at the same time we must forget that, like all new move-merits, it is apt to be one-sided and exaggerated. Much harm is done, I believe, in many directions by Christian teachers seeking to apply the principles of Christ’s commandments to various phases of social iniquity without a clear knowledge of the facts of the case. But that being fully admitted, I still rejoice to believe that Christ’s men round about us are waking up, as they never did before, to the solemn obligation laid upon Christian churches, if they are not to perish of inanition and inactivity, to proclaim and seek to have recognised Christ’s laws for the individual and Christ’s law for the community.

Only remember the limitations and the antecedents about which I have already spoken a word. No man has any business to go crusading among other people until he has cleansed himself. And the first task of the Christian reformer is with his own heart. And again, it is useless to deal with institutions unless you deal with the men who live under them. The main work of the Christian Church must ever be with individuals, and through their improvement the improvement of society will be most fully secured. But the error of many good and earnest men to-day is in thinking that if you set the ‘environment,’ as they call it, right you will get the men right. It is a mistake. Take a pack of drunken wastrels out of the slums and put them into model lodging-houses, and in a fortnight the lodging-houses. will be as dirty, as the sties from which the men were dragged. Mend the men, and then you may hopefully Set them in new environment; mend the men, and society will be mended. And, mend yourselves first, and then you will be able to mend society. Resist your own sin, and then go out to fight with the sin of others.

II. Notice the brunt of the battle which has been borne by others.

I have already said that the immediate context suggests two contrasts between the comparative immunity from persecution of the readers of the letter and certain others.

The first is that suggested by all that glorious muster-roll of heroes and martyrs of the faith which precedes this chapter. And I may say without dealing in rhetoric, or dilating on the subject, that Christian men in this generation may well bethink themselves of what it was that their fathers bore, and did, that has won for them this ease.

I remember an old church, on the slopes of one of the hills of Rome, which is covered over on all its interior walls with a set of the most gruesome pictures of the martyrs. There may be an unwholesome admiration and adoration of these. I think modern Christianity, in its complacency with itself, and this marvellous nineteenth century, of which we are so proud, would be all the better if it went back sometimes to remember that there were times when ‘young men and maidens, and old men and children,’ had to resist to blood; and when they went to their deaths as joyfully as a bride to the altar.

Ah, brethren I you Nonconformists in this generation, who have an easy- going religion, do not always remember how it was worn Think of George Fox and the Friends. Think of the early Nonconformists, hunted and harried, their noses slit and ears cropped off, their pillories and exile, and then be ashamed to talk about the difficulties that you have to meet. ‘Ye have not resisted unto blood.’

There is a far more touching contrast suggested, and apparently mainly in the writer’s mind, because just before he has said, ‘Consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners.’ The word that he employs for ‘consider’ might be rendered ‘compare, weigh in the balance,’ Christ’s sufferings and yours. He has borne the heavy end of the Cross of which He lays the light end upon our shoulders. Of course the more mysterious and profound aspects of Christ’s death, in which He is no pattern for us, but the propitiation for our sins, do not come into view in this contrast. They are abundantly treated in the rest of the letter. But here the writer is thinking of Jesus Christ in His capacity of the Prince of sufferers for righteousness’ sake, who could have escaped His Cross if He had chosen to abandon His warfare and His witness. Jesus Christ is a great deal more than that. And the differentia of His sufferings and death is not touched by such a consideration. But do not let us forget that He is that, and that whatever else His death is, it stands also as being the very climax of all suffering for righteousness. He is the King of the martyrs as well as the Sacrifice for the world’s sin. Let us turn to Him, and mark the heroic strength of character, hidden from hasty observation by the sweet gentleness in which it was enshrined, like the iron hand in a velvet glove.

Let us understand how His pattern is held forth to us, and how the Cross is our example, as well as the ground of all our hope. ‘Ye have not yet resisted ... Consider Him.’

III. And now, lastly, note the lighter warfare incumbent upon us.

The resistance changes its form, but in essence it continues. In old days warfare consisted in men bludgeoning each other, or engaging in hand- grips foot to foot and face to face. Nowadays it is artillery duels - a great deal more scientific, a great deal less coarse; but it is warfare all the same. The world used to burn Christians, to hang them, to stone them. It does not do that now, but it fights them yet. The world has become partially Christianised, and the principles of Christianity have, in a certain imperfect way, infiltrated themselves through the mass, so that the antagonism is not quite as hot as it once was. And the Church has weakened its testimony and largely adopted the maxims of the world. So why should the world persecute a Church which is only a bit of the world under another name? But let any man for himself honestly try to live a life modelled on Christ’s maxims, and let him cast himself against some of the clamant evils round about him, and seek to subdue them, because Christ has bidden him, and he will see whether the old antagonism is not there yet. What a chorus of select epithets will immediately be discharged! ‘Impracticable,’ ‘fanatical,’ ‘one-sided,’ ‘revolutionary,’ ‘sour visaged,’ ‘Pharisee,’ ‘hypocrite.’ These will be the sweet, smelling flowers in the garland that will be woven Depend upon it, a Christian man who is bent on living out Christianity for himself, and on seeking to apply it around him, will have to fight and endure.

But all that is. as nothing - nothing - to what the front rank had to go through, and went through, joyfully. They fell in the trenches and filled them up, that the rear rank might pass across. They bore sword stabs; we have only to bear pin pricks. Stones were flung at them, as at Stephen outside the wall; handfuls of mud are all that we have to be afraid of.

So, brethren, accept thankfully to-day’s form of the permanent conflict, and see that you do unmurmuringly, cheerfully, and thoroughly the task that is laid upon you. And do not think much of the discomforts and annoyances. For us to speak about sacrifices for Christ is as if a bargeman on a canal were to dilate on the perils of his voyage in the hearing of an Arctic explorer; or as if a man that went in a first-class carriage to London were to speak to an African traveller about ‘the perils of the road.’ ‘Ye have not yet resisted unto blood. ‘Consider Him’; and take up your cross, and follow Him.

Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

12:4 not yet given your lives: This community had not yet faced martyrdom for the faith. (This is one reason to date Hebrews prior to Nero’s persecution in the mid-60s AD.) If Jesus could endure a shameful death, the hearers should be able to endure lesser persecution.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Heb 12:4. Οὔπω, not yet) A spirited Asyndeton.—μέχρις αἵματος, even unto blood) unto wounds and death. The writer goes from the race to the pugilistic contest, as Paul does in the passages formerly quoted. You have, says he, spent your wealth, you have not shed your blood: Heb 10:34. Set before your minds more important trials, [namely, such as you have not hitherto experienced; 1Co 10:13.—V. g.]—ἀντικατέστητε, you have resisted) Because contradiction is taken in a bad sense, he uses the word, ἀντικαταστῆναι, to resist, in a good sense. See the LXX. in a passage which is presently to be quoted.—πρὸς) Construed with ἀντικατέστητε. Deu 31:21, καὶ ἀντικαταστήσεται ἡ ᾠδὴ αὓτη ΚΑΤΑ πρόσωπον αὐτῶν μαρτυροῦσα, and this song will answer against them as a witness.—ἀνταγωνιζόμενοι, striving against) Sin excites a strife: it is our duty to strive against it.

Heb 12:4. In the New Testament there is a sprinkling, which is performed by the blood of Christ Jesus; and because this is the only New Testament sprinkling, whereas moreover all the Levitical rites had relation to Christ, all the Levitical sprinklings must have been mere types of this sprinkling; as indeed the blood of Christ is celebrated for its spiritual excellence, not only in opposition to the blood of bulls and of goats, but also in opposition to the ashes of a heifer, in the water of sprinkling, ch. Heb 9:13-14.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Heb_12:4 ff. The sufferings which have come upon the readers are only small, and a salutary chastisement at the hand of God.

Οὔπω μέχρις αἵματος κ.τ.λ.] Not yet unto blood, i.e. to such extent that bloodshed should result, that a martyrs death[115] among you should be a necessity (as such death had but just now been mentioned of the O. T. saints, chap. 11, and of Christ Himself, Heb_12:2), have ye offered resistance in your contest against sin. The author has, as Heb_10:32 ff., only the present generation of Palestinian Christians, to whom he is speaking, before his eyes. It is otherwise at Heb_13:7.

πρὸς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν] belongs to ἈΝΤΑΓΩΝΙΖΌΜΕΝΟΙ (against Bengel, who conjoins it with ἈΝΤΙΚΑΤΈΣΤΗΤΕ), and Ἡ ἉΜΑΡΤΊΑ stands not in the sense of ΟἹ ἉΜΑΡΤΩΛΟΊ, Heb_12:3 (Carpzov, Heinrichs, Stuart, Ebrard, Delitzsch, Maier, Kluge, Grimm in the Ztschr. f. wiss. Theol. 1870, p. 43, al.),for there would exist no reason for the avoiding of this concrete expression,[116]but is the inner sin, conceived of as a hostile power or person, which entices the man (visited with sufferings and persecutions) to an apostasy from Christianity. Comp. ἀπάτῃ τῆς ἁμαρτίας, Heb_3:13.

In ἀντικατέστητε ἀνταγωνιζόμενοιboth verbs in the N. T. only herethe author has, what is wrongly denied by de Wette and Maier (in like manner as Paul, 1Co_9:26), passed over from the figure of the race to the kindred one of the combat with the fists.

[115] Wrongly is it supposed by Holtzmann (Stud. u. Krit. 1859, H. 2, p. 301; Ztschr. f. wiss. Theol. 1867, p. 4) that a reminder of a martyrdom not yet endured is remote from the connection. The discourse is said to be of a resistance πρὸς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν. Sin, in this conflict with the flesh, would not allow it to be continued unto blood. For this very reason it is necessary to resist sin μέχρις αἵματας, ever anew to reanimate the weary limbs for the continuance of the conflict (Heb_12:12). In the same manner, too, does Kurtz find only a proverbial figurative expression for an earnest, decided, and unsparing resistance to the sinful desire in μέχρις αἵματας. But though in German bis aufs Blut (even to blood) has proverbial figurative acceptance in the sense of to the very uttermost, yet assuredly neither αἷμα nor yet sanguis is anywhere else employed in this proverbial sense.

[116] At least no one will recognise as apposite that which Ebrard adduces as such,to wit, that in ver. 3 the whole (!) of mankind as the sinners (the class of sinners) might be opposed to Christ; whereas to the readers of the Epistle to the Hebrews, who were themselves ἁμαρτωλοί, the enemies of Christianity could not be opposed as the sinners.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Heb 12:4 . Οὔπω μέχρις αἵματος .… “Not yet unto blood have ye resisted in your contest with sin.” Bengel says: “a cursu venit ad pugilatum”. Cf. 1Co 9:24-27 . But this is doubtful μέχρις αἵματος [Theoph., ἄχρι θανάτου , cf. Rev 12:11 .] Does this mean, Ye have not yet become a martyr church, suffering death in Christ’s cause; or does it mean, Ye have not yet resisted sin in deadly earnest? The interpretation is determined by the connection. Jesus endured the ἀντιλογία of sinners even to blood, the death of the cross; the Hebrews have not yet been called so to suffer in their conflict, a conflict which every day summons them to fresh resistance against the sin of failure of faith and apostasy. “ ‘Sin’ is not here put for sinners, nor is it sin in their persecutors; it is sin in themselves, the sin of unbelief, which is here regarded as their true antagonist, though of course the excesses of their persecutors gave it its power against them” (Davidson and Weiss).

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He taketh an argument of the profit which cometh to us by God’s chastisements, unless we be in fault. First of all because sin, or that rebellious wickedness of our flesh, is by this means turned.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

not yet resisted unto blood--image from pugilism, as he previously had the image of a race, both being taken from the great national Greek games. Ye have suffered the loss of goods, and been a gazing-stock by reproaches and afflictions; ye have not shed your blood (see on Heb 13:7). "The athlete who hath seen his own blood, and who, though cast down by his opponent, does not let his spirits be cast down, who as often as he hath fallen hath risen the more determined, goes down to the encounter with great hope" [SENECA].

against sin--Sin is personified as an adversary; sin, whether within you, leading you to spare your blood, or in our adversaries, leading them to shed it, if they cannot through your faithfulness even unto blood, induce you to apostatize.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 4. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood] Many of those already mentioned were martyrs for the truth; they persevered unto death, and lost their lives in bearing testimony to the truth. Though you have had opposition and persecution, yet you have not been called, in bearing your testimony against sin and sinners, to seal the truth with your blood.

Striving against sin.] Προς την ἁμαρτιαν ανταγωνι ζομενοι· An allusion to boxing at the Grecian games. In the former passages the apostle principally refers to the foot races.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

4. Ye have not yet, resisted unto blood, etc. He proceeds farther, for he reminds us, that even when the ungodly persecute us for Christ’s sake, we are then contending against sin. Into this contest Christ could not enter, for he was pure and free from all sin; in this respect, however, we are unlike him, for sin always dwells in us, and afflictions serve to subdue and put it to flight.

In the first place we know that all the evils which are in the world, and especially death, proceed from sin; but this is not what the Apostle treats of; he only teaches us, that the persecutions which we endure for the Gospel’s sake, are on another account useful to us, even because they are remedies to destroy sin; for in this way God keeps us under the yoke of his discipline, lest our flesh should become wanton; he sometimes also thus checks the impetuous, and sometimes punishes our sins, that we may in future be more cautious. Whether then he applies remedies to our sins, or anticipates us before we sin, he thus exercises us in the conflict with sin, referred to by the Apostle. With this honor indeed the Son of God favors us, that he by no means regards what we suffer for his Gospel as a punishment for sin. It behooves us still to acknowledge what we hear from the Apostle in this place, that we so plead and defend the cause of Christ against the ungodly, that at the same time we are carrying on war with sin, our intestine enemy. Thus God’s grace towards us is twofold — the remedies he applies to heal our vices, he employs for the purpose of defending his gospel.

But let us bear in mind whom he is here addressing, even those who had joyfully suffered the loss of their goods and had endured many reproaches; and yet he charges them with sloth, because they were fainting half way in the contest, and were not going on strenuously to the end. There is therefore no reason for us to ask a discharge from the Lord, whatever service we may have performed; for Christ will have no discharged soldiers, but those who have conquered death itself.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(4) Ye have not yet resisted unto blood.—Still the general figure is retained, but for the footrace is substituted the contest of the pugilists. In Heb_12:1 sin was the hindrance which must be put aside; here it is the antagonist who must be subdued. It is interesting to note exactly the same transition in 1Co_9:26. (See Note.) The contest has been maintained but feebly, for no blood has flowed in their struggle with temptation and sin; they have not deserted the arena, but have shrunk from the suffering which a determined struggle would have caused. It is possible that the writer goes beyond the figure in these words, and that the price of their resistance might indeed have been their “blood.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4–13. Fatherly chastisements should be cheerfully endured

4. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood] If this be a metaphor drawn from pugilism, as the last is from “running a race,” it means that as yet they have not “had blood drawn.” This would not be impossible, for St Paul adopts pugilistic metaphors (1Co_9:26-27). More probably however the meaning is that, severe as had been the persecutions which they had undergone (Heb_10:32-33), they had not yet—and perhaps a shade of reproach is involved in the expression—resisted up to the point of martyrdom (Rev_12:11). The Church addressed can scarcely therefore have been either the Church of Rome, which had before this time furnished “a great multitude” of martyrs (Tac. Ann. xv. 44; Rev_7:9), or the Church of Jerusalem, in which, beside the martyrdoms of St Stephen, St James the elder, and St James the Lord’s brother, some had certainly been put to death in the persecution of Saul (Act_8:1).

striving against sin] “in your struggles against sin.” Some from this expression give a more general meaning to the clause—“You have not yet put forth your utmost efforts in your moral warfare.”

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ye have not yet resisted unto blood,.... They had resisted sin, and Satan, and the world, the men of it, and the lusts of it, and its frowns and flatteries, and also false teachers, even every adversary of Christ, and their souls; but they had not, as yet, resisted unto blood, or to the shedding of their blood, as some of the Old Testament saints had done; as some in the times of the Maccabees, and as James the apostle of Christ, and as Christ himself: wherefore the apostle suggests, that they ought to consider, that they had been indulged; and what they had been engaged in, were only some light skirmishes; and that they must expect to suffer as long as they were in the world, and had blood in them; and that their blood, when called for, should be spilled for the sake of Christ:

striving against sin; which is the principal antagonist the believer has, and is here particular pointed out: sin is here, by some, thought to be put for sinful men; or it may design the sin of those men, who solicited the saints to a defection from the truth; or the sin of apostasy itself; or that of unbelief; or rather indwelling sin, and the lusts of the flesh, which war against the soul. Now this is said, to sharpen and increase the saints resentment and indignation against it, as being their antagonist, with whom they strive and combat, and which is the cause of all the evils in the world, exposes to wrath to come, and separates from communion with God; and to encourage them to bear their sufferings patiently, since they are not without sin, as Christ was; and since their afflictions and sufferings are for the subduing of sin, and the increase of holiness.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.

Ver. 4. Ye have not yet resisted] q.d. You may do, and must look to do. And if you cannot endure words for Christ, how will you endure wounds? If you have run with the footmen, and they have tired you, how can ye contend with horses? Jer 12:5.

Striving against sin] That is, against sinners that persecute you, or the sin that doth so easily beset you, and solicit you to spare yourself, and rather to yield a little than to suffer so much. The tabernacle was covered over with red (and the purple fathers tell us they take that colour clothes for the same intent), to note that we must defend the truth even to the effusion of blood. If we cannot endure martyrdom (if called thereunto) and sweat a bloody sweat for Christ’s sake, we cannot be comfortably assured that we are of his body. Christo submittemus (said that Dutch martyr) sexcenta si nobis essent colla: We will submit to Christ, though we should suffer never so many deaths for his sake. John Leaf, a young man burnt with Mr Bradford, hearing his own confession, taken before the bishop, read unto him, instead of a pen took a pin, and so pricking his hand, sprinkled the blood upon the said bill of his confession, willing the messenger to show the bishop that he had sealed the same bill with his blood already. See the story of William Pikes, Acts and Men., p. 1853.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin - The general sense of this passage is, “you have not yet been called in your Christian struggles to the highest kind of sufferings and sacrifices. Great as your trials may seem to have been, yet your faith has not yet been put to the severest test. And since this is so, you ought not to yield in the conflict with evil, but manfully resist it.” In the language used here there is undoubtedly a continuance of the allusion to the agonistic games - the strugglings and wrestlings for mastery there. In those games, the boxers were accustomed to arm themselves for the fight with the caestus. This at first consisted of strong leathern thongs wound around the hands, and extending only to the wrist, to give greater solidity to the fist. Afterward these were made to extend to the elbow, and then to the shoulder, and finally, they sewed pieces of lead or iron in them that they might strike a heavier and more destructive blow. The consequence was, that those who were engaged in the fight were often covered with blood, and that resistance “unto blood” showed a determined courage, and a purpose not to yield. But though the language here may be taken from this custom, the fact to which the apostle alludes, it seems to me, is the struggling of the Saviour in the garden of Gethsemane, when his conflict was so severe that, great drops of blood fell down to the ground see the notes on Mat 26:36-44. It is, indeed, commonly understood to mean that they had not yet been called to shed their blood as martyrs in the cause of religion; see Stuart Bloomfield, Doddridge, Clarke, Whitby, Kuinoel, etc. Indeed, I find in none of the commentators what seems to me to be the true sense of this passage, and what gives an exquisite beauty to it, the allusion to the sufferings of the Saviour in the garden. The reasons which lead me to believe that there is such an allusion, are briefly these:

(1) The connection. The apostle is appealing to the example of the Saviour, and urging Christians to persevere amidst their trials by looking to him. Nothing would be more natural in this connection, than to refer to that dark night, when in the severest conflict with temptation which he ever encountered. he so signally showed his own firmness of purpose, and the effects of resistance on his own bleeding body, and his signal victory - in the garden of Gethsemane.

(2) The expression “striving against sin” seems to demand the same interpretation. On the common interpretation, the allusion would be merely to their resisting persecution; but here the allusion is to some struggle in their minds against “committing sin.” The apostle exhorts them to strive manfully and perseveringly against; sin in every form, and especially against the sin of apostasy. To encourage them he refers them to the highest instance on record where there was a “striving against sin” - the struggle of the Redeemer in the garden with the great enemy who there made his most violent assault, and where the resistance of the Redeemer was so great as to force the blood through his pores. What was the exact form of the temptation there, we are not informed. It may have been to induce him to abandon his work even then and to yield, in view of the severe sufferings of his approaching death on the cross.

If there ever was a point where temptation would be powerful, it would be there. When a man is about to be put to death, how strong is the inducement to abandon his purpose, his plans, or his principles, if he may save his life! How many, of feeble virtue, have yielded just there! If to this consideration we add the thought that the Redeemer was engaged in a work never before undertaken; that he designed to make an atonement never before made; that he was about to endure sorrows never before endured; and that on the decision of that moment depended the ascendency of sin or holiness on the earth, the triumph or the fall of Satan’s kingdom, the success or the defeat of all the plans of the great adversary of God and man, and that, on such an occasion as this, the tempter would use all his power to crush the lonely and unprotected man of sorrows in the garden of Gethsemane, it is easy to imagine what may have been the terror of that fearful conflict, and what virtue it would require in him to resist the concentrated energy of Satan’s might to induce him even then to abandon his work. The apostle says of those to whom he wrote, that they had not yet reached that point; compare notes on Heb 5:7.

(3) This view furnishes a proper climax to the argument of the apostle for perseverance. It presents the Redeemer before the mind as the great example; directs the mind to him in various scenes of his life - as looking to the joy before him - disregarding the ignominy of his sufferings - enduring the opposition of sinners - and then in the garden as engaged in a conflict with his great foe, and so resisting sin that rather than yield he endured that fearful mental struggle which was attended with such remarkable consequences. This is the highest consideration which could be presented to the mind of a believer to keep him from yielding in the conflict with evil; and if we could keep him in the eye resisting even unto blood rather than yield in the least degree, it would do more than all other things to restrain us from sin. How different his case from ours! How readily we yield to sin! We offer a faint and feeble resistance, and then surrender. We think it will be unknown: or that others do it; or that we may repent of it; or that we have no power to resist it; or that it is of little consequence, and our resolution gives way. Not so the Redeemer, Rather than yield in any form to sin, he measured strength with the great adversary when alone with him in the darkness of the night, and gloriously triumphed! And so would we always triumph if we had the same settled purpose to resist sin in every form even unto blood.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

You have not yet resisted unto blood. Though you have met with some persecutions, you have not yet shed your blood for his sake who laid down his life, and shed every drop of his blood for you. (Witham)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Ye have suffered ranch for Christ already, but there is more that he requires from you, and is yet behind, Heb 10:32-34; the condition he fixed with you as his disciples, in Luk 14:26, to lay down your life as well as your relations and goods for him. You may yet be called to testify to him, by suffering a violent and bloody death from his and your enemies, as other martyrs had done for him: consider him who hath suffered a worse death for you, to sweeten yours to you, that you do not faint, fail, or turn apostates from him and his truth; resisting with agonies whatsoever men or devils use to entice or force us to apostatize from Christ, since there will be neither arts nor powers wanting to it. Watch you, pray, and strive to the utmost against them, Luk 22:31,32; 1Pe 5:9.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

4. Have not yet resisted—Rather, (Greek aorist,) ye did not resist; spoken as of a particular time. The most obvious recent time is at the persecution under Ananus, and martyrdom of St. James, two years previously. See our Introduction to the Epistle of James.

Unto blood—As Jesus did, and as some of their leaders had, Heb_13:7.

Yet— Though that may yet come. Taunts, exclusions, loss of property, they had endured; but they were still alive. Even in the days of Stephen. Stephen was, perhaps, the only executed martyr. But this was a later generation of Jerusalem Christians, and though they were victimized by the oppressive hierarchy, they were not slain.

Striving—Antagonizing; a palestric term borrowed from the boxing match, as Heb_12:1 borrows from the race course.

If Christians would use the same energy for good as sinners do for the bad, what heroic Christians would they often be!

Against sin—The iniquity of your unbelieving opponents.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ye have net yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. Here (as in 1Co_9:26) there is a transition of thought from a race to a combat. Your trials have not yet reached the point of dying in the good fight of faith, as has been the case with some of your brethren before you, who have followed their Leader to the end. (of Heb_13:7)

Vers. 4-11. Chastisement.

In this passage the writer reminds the Hebrews that although doubtless they had sustained severe trials on account of their devotedness to Christ, none of them had yet been required to seal their faith with their blood (ver. 4). Other children of God had suffered much more than they, (Heb_11:35-38) and had remained faithful. For them to apostatize would, therefore, be very heinous sin. Rather they must learn to view their afflictions as the corrections of God"s fatherly love. Consider

I THE FACT OF CHASTISEMENT.

1. Our afflictions are really such. Sometimes, in forgetfulness of God, the believer may regard his sorrows simply as calamities untoward events which have no particular spiritual meaning. At other times he may receive them merely as trials of his faith, or as sent to strengthen his Christian graces. But this passage reminds us that we greatly err if we do not find in our troubles the clement of chastisement. It is true that Jesus Christ has borne the essential penalty of his people"s sins; but, though he has done so, he has not removed any lesser punishment which we may require in order to the correcting of our faults. God "forgives" us, but he "takes vengeance of our inventions". (Psa_99:8)

2. Chastisement is inevitable. The Lord "scourgeth every son" (ver. 6). "All have been made partakers" of it all the Old Testament saints, and all believers in Christian times. The unchastened man is a bastard.

3. Chastisement is various in kind and in degree. There are, e.g. , disease of body, distress of mind, the loss of property, injury of character, the profligacy of children, the faithlessness of friends, persecution for righteousness" sake.

4. Chastisement is severe. He "scourgeth" (ver. 6). The Lord"s rod draws blood. It checkers the believer"s life with wales. (Isa_1:5, Isa_1:6) The Christian "bears branded on his body the marks of Jesus". (Gal_6:16)

II GOD"S PURPOSE IN CHASTISEMENT. It is a gracious purpose. Divine penalties fall upon the believer as a necessary discipline. The love as well as the righteousness of God prompts to these retributions. Chastisement is sent:

1. To correct our faults. Possibly there are certain sins of ours in regard to which correction is needed, that we may be led to repent of them; and, when affliction overtakes us, we should endeavor to find out what these sins are. Or, perhaps, a life of ease and prosperity may have seduced us into spiritual carelessness, and favored the growth of pride within the soul, In such a case God sends chastisement to convince us of the vanity of the world, and to attract our thoughts towards the things which belong to our peace.

2. To form our spiritual character. Correction is sent as a means of assimilating our moral nature to that of God himself (ver. 10). Sorrow accepted as Divine chastisement refines and sanctifies the soul. It stirs its tenderest emotions, and touches its richest chords. It draws the heart towards God himself, as its only Rest and Strength and Joy. The most beautiful human faces are not those which show merely the most regular features and the purest complexion; they are those saintly faces which have been beautified by chastisement perfect through sufferings.

3. To promote our eternal well being. The ultimate purpose is that we may "live" (ver. 9), spiritually and eternally. To become "partakers of God"s holiness" is to be educated for spending eternity with God. Each believer must pass through, a curriculum of chastisement before he can graduate to glory. Tis sorrow builds the shining ladder up, Whose golden rounds are our calamities, Whereon our firm feet planting, nearer God The spirit climbs, and hath its eyes unsealed. (Lowell.)

III OUR DUTY IN RELATION TO CHASTISEMENT. This the apostle gently censures his readers for having overlooked, as it is exhibited in the Old Testament Scriptures. He quotes Pro_3:11, Pro_3:12, and adds a few sentences of beautiful and suggestive commentary. The quotation (vers. 5, 6) exhibits the duty negatively, and the comment (vers. 7-11) positively.

1. Negatively.

(1) We are not to "despise" chastisement. (Ver. 5) We do so when we proudly strive to feel it as little as possible, treating our troubles in a stoical spirit, as if they were meaningless. We do so, too, when we refuse to see God"s hand in them, or to believe that they are determined in providence by our spiritual condition. We despise chastisement when we insist that we do not deserve any; and when, in haughty insubordination, we allow ourselves to be "made cross by cross providences.

(2) We must not faint" under it. (Ver. 5) This is the other extreme to become depressed, despondent, despairing. We abuse chastisement if we do nothing but bemoan it, as Elijah once did. (1Ki_19:4) We "faint" when we cherish dark and hard and unbelieving thoughts regarding our afflictions forgetting the blessed purpose that is behind them, and the grace which the Sender will supply to enable us to bear them.

2. Positively.

(1) We must be in subjection unto the Father of spirits. " (Ver. 9) This is the opposite of" despising" our troubles. The child of God will school himself into unquestioning submission. He will receive his afflictions as from the Lord, on whose paternal grace he depends for every blessing.

(2) We must be exercised thereby. " (Ver. 11) This is the opposite of "fainting" when God reproves us. Chastisement is intended to brace the believer, not to depress him. Afflictions are the gymnastics of the spiritual life. They are like the exercises of the athlete, who is in training for a contest. We are "exercised thereby" when we accept our troubles as sent by God himself for our correction; and when, recognizing this, we cooperate with him in carrying out their gracious purpose.

IV OUR CONSOLATION UNDER CHASTISEMENT. This passage suggests many comforting thoughts, which should help us submissively to bear it. It is:

1. Appointed by God. (Ver. 5) Afflictions do not come casually. They do not overtake us merely at the pleasure of our enemies, He who chasteneth is "the Lord," the Sovereign of all. Let us, with Job (Job_1:21) and Eli, (1Sa_3:18) realize this: to do so will strengthen our hearts.

2. Sent in fatherly love. This thought runs through the passage like a golden thread (vers. 5-10). God is "the Father of our spirits;" and he cherishes towards us the heart of a Father. His corrections are a token of his loving-kindness. He loves not to smite; but he smites because he loves. He uses the rod only because necessity requires it. And if a dutiful child submits patiently to the chastisements of his earthly parents, although he has derived only his body from them, how much more submissively should we bear the Divine corrections, seeing they proceed from him from whom alone we have received our spiritual and immortal nature!

3. Dealt with unerring wisdom. (Ver. 10) We who are parents often chastise our children wrongly. Sometimes our motives are wrong, as when we punish under the influence of temporary passion or caprice. At other times our measures are wrong, as when we choose an infliction of an unsuitable kind, or make it unduly severe. Parents also are prone to study only the temporal well being of their children, and to chastise them merely with a view to the "few days" of their earthly life. But our heavenly Father makes no mistakes in his chastisements. The pain which he appoints is always wise and right and salutary. He never punishes beyond our deserts, or in excess of what we are able to hear. And he is ever seeking our spiritual and eternal well being.

4. Productive and profitable. (Vers. 10, 11) The "profit" is that we may share the holiness of God. The "fruit" consists in "righteousness," i.e. moral and spiritual excellence the beautiful graces and the holy habits of the Christian life. This blessed fruit is "peaceable," in sweet contrast with the "grievousness" of the affliction considered in itself. It begins to be reaped even here on earth; (Rom_5:3-5) and the full harvest of it will be gathered in heaven. (Rom_8:18 2Co_4:17, 2Co_4:18)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Unto blood - Unto wounds and death.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

sin

Sin. (See Scofield "Rom 3:23").

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The chastening of God to assist us:

v. 4. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.

v. 5. And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him;

v. 6. for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

v. 7. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

v. 8. but if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

The inspired writer here adds another thought to his appeal, namely, that his readers have by no means tasted the worst form of persecution yet: Not yet unto blood have you resisted, striving against sin. The Hebrew Christians of Judea were indeed suffering to some extent, both by reason of their isolation from others and by reason of the scorn which was heaped upon them. The fact that they were striving against sin in every form, especially against that of unbelief in Christ Jesus the Messiah, brought them many enemies. But the persecution had not yet reached the point that a great many of them had suffered death in the cause of Christ, the church in Judea had not yet become a martyr church as such. They might expect still worse conditions for them to endure.

Another thought is here brought in for the consideration of the readers: And you have altogether forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons, My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, nor faint when being corrected by Him; for whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and scourges every son whom He receives. The Christians are here reminded that their sufferings are tokens of God’s fatherly love and care. They must never forget the exhortation and comfort which is contained in the words of the Lord, Pro 3:11-12. These words are addressed to sons, to children, and that in itself is a distinction, to be called sons of God. The believers should not make light of, should not despise, the discipline of the Lord, His entire method of training and educating His children, particularly through the necessary chastising. There must be no fainting, no despondency, no failure of faith when He reproves by word or deed. For it is necessary that all the children of God be subjected to the same discipline; it is a token of God’s love, a treatment which He accords only to such as He receives into His heart and cherishes with all the wonderful love of His fatherly mercy.

The author now presents his conclusion: It is for discipline that you are enduring, as sons God is dealing with you. For what son is there whom the father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then are you bastards and not sons. This is the view which the believers should hold: their sufferings are evidence that God considers them His sons and treats them as such; they need such training in order that their sonship may be maintained. In fact, if there were a child in the house and the father would not take his chastening, disciplining, into his hand, a person might draw the inference that such a child is not a genuine son, but a bastard, one that is not accorded the same treatment as the true sons. In the same way believers, far from resenting the disciplining which God lays upon them, should rather be thankful for this evidence of their heavenly Father’s regard and interest.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Here the apostle subjoins another reason why the Hebrews should be reconciled to a suffering condition; because what they had already suffered was but a fleabite, compared with what Christ and the fore-mentioned cloud of witnesses suffered; he and they resisted unto blood, which you never yet did: Ye have not resisted unto blood, &c.

By blood is meant death and loss of life; though they had resisted bravely, and suffered manfully, yet their lives were safe.

Learn hence, 1. That such as are engaged in the Christian profession have no security, but that they may be called forth to the utmost sufferings, even to the sealing of it with their blood.

Learn, 2. That whatever befalls us on this side, blood is to be looked upon as a fruit of divine tenderness and mercy towards us.

Learn, 3. It is highly dishonourable to faint in the cause of Christ and the gospel, under lesser sufferings, when we know there are greater to be undergone by ourselves and others on the same account.

Learn, 4. That it is a noble struggle to resist even unto blood, in opposing sin, and striving against it; both in striving against the sin which others commit, and in striving against the sin which others by promises or threatenings would tempt us to commit.

O how honourable a warfare is it to be engaged against such an enemy as sin is! Striving against sin.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

ARGUMENT 17

CASTIGATION AND SANCTIFICATION.

When a collegiate student we were frequently made to mourn over the experiences of some of our comrades. Those were memorable occasions when the President of the Faculty at chapel service announced from the rostrum the expulsion of one or more of our school companions. Frequently the college was transformed into a Bochim of weeping on the announcement of the sad news. How striking the contrast with commencement day, when twenty of us young men delivered our orations to an audience of three thousand, and received our diplomas with the blessing of our teachers! This world is a great school in which God is teaching fifteen hundred millions of people, manifesting every conceivable diversity of character. After due and patient toil for their correction and culture, myriads proving utterly incorrigible are expelled from the school of probationary grace and turned over to Satan for an eternity of woe. Meanwhile thousands, having faithfully and courageously graduated amid the congratulatory shouts of the saints and angels, are crowned with diadems in the realms of fadeless glory. Thus the mighty waves of earth’s flooded population are rushing to diametrically opposite directions. All are born with an evil nature, resulting from the Fall, which must be eliminated by castigatory grace, if they ever go up to live in heaven. The ultimatum of these divine castigations is sanctification or damnation.

4. This letter was written just before the great Roman invasion, which desolated Palestine, destroyed Jerusalem and expatriated the Jews to the ends of the earth, inaugurating a great flood-tide of martyrdom.

5. Here we are admonished to be on the outlook for chastisements which must inevitably come to all, testing our stamina to the bottom.

6. “For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth.” This is positive confirmatory proof that all have something in them which must be eliminated by chastisement, of hopeless ruin intervenes.

7. “For what son is there whom the Father chasteneth not?” This positively and unequivocally settles the question in favor of universal chastisement, without a solitary exception.

8. “But if you are without chastisement, of which all are partners, then are you bastards and not sons.” This verse sweeps all controversy forever from the field, settling the castigatory problem unequivocally in case of all of God’s children; irreconcilably demolishing the Zinzendorfian theology, which teaches that we receive complete purification in conversion. This castigatory simile is deduced from domestic government, which is the nucleus of civil society. The delinquency of home government and the relaxation of parental discipline are filling the world with anarchy, misrule, political dissension and commotion, this day. Solomon says, “If you beat a boy with a rod you shall save his soul.” Why do you chastise your children? To get the evil out which was born in them. Here we have a perfect illustrative parallel with God’s family. He says He chastises all of His children, and those who receive no chastisement are not His children, but bastards, i.e., illegitimate claimants, i.e., hypocrites. If you chastise your child when there is no evil in him you are a merciless tyrant and unworthy to be a parent. You would not dare say that God chastises His children unless He sees some evil in them to be eliminated by the castigatory rod. Hence the very fact that He chastises all of His children is incontestable proof that they all have some evil in them which must be eliminated by castigations. Therefore, the dogma that we get it all in conversion, i.e., that all Christians have pure hearts, flatly contradicts these Scriptures, and makes God a merciless tyrant, chastising His children when there is no evil in them to be eliminated.

9. Here we have the beautiful parallelism between domestic and divine government, vividly portrayed, inspiring the fervent exhortation, that we shall all “submit to the Father of spirits and live.”

10. “For they during a few days chastised us according to that which seemed good to them, but He for our profit in order that we partake of His holiness.” Here we have the castigatory problem clearly and forever solved, incontestably setting forth the end in view, i.e., that we become partakers of His holiness. In God, holiness is original; in us, it is imparted. Hence we do not have our own holiness but God’s. This Scripture forever settles the conclusion that the reception of God’s holiness on the part of His children puts an end to all divine chastisements. Hence we see that entire sanctification winds up all chastisements, as it eliminates all the hereditary evil, leaving nothing to be removed by farther chastisement. Are not sanctified people incident to the adversities of this life, like others? Certainly they are. But when we sink into God, adversity and prosperity become synonyms, and disappointments forever take their flight. God’s will never fails with me, if I do not antagonize it. Entire sanctification forever eliminates all antagonisms and puts an end to all disappointments. If I am lost in God’s will I certainly have no disappointments. The insults, rebuffs, criticisms, scandals, persecutions, bankruptcies, empty coffins, and open graves, which sorely chastise the unsanctified, become messengers of love and mercy over which the wholly sanctified can shout victory till Gabriel blows his trumpet. Baalam’s big curses were all turned into blessings before they reached Israel. “God worketh together for good all things to them that love God” (Rom 8:28). Truly God is in everything to His wholly sanctified people, brightening the darkest adversity with the sunshine of prosperity. The very things which chastise God’s unsanctified children are bright with blessing to all those who experience the death of sin and self.

11... “But afterward yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto those who have been exercised by it.” We have here the Greek word gymnasium, so profoundly significant of all possible disciplinary tergiversations, essential to the perfect development of the entire physical organism.

Hence we see the inscrutable mercy of God’s providence and grace, which have placed us in this wonderful spiritual gymnasium, so indispensable to the complete development of our gifts and graces and thorough enduement, not only for the battlefields of probation, hut for the illimitable susceptibilities, capacities and achievements which await immortal intelligences in the illimitable cycles of celestial ages. “Therefore hold up the hands which hang down and the paralyzed knees.” We need our hands to work for God and our knees to worship Him. God says (Php 2:10),

“Every knee shall bow, of things in heaven, in earth and beneath the earth.”

Hence we see there is no defalcation. Those who do not how in this world will all how in hell. The knee is the worshipping joint. Hence it must be free from Satan’s paralysis. O, the magnitude of this awful knee paralysis in the churches In a great church in this city (San Francisco, Cal.) last Sunday morning, the pastor stood and all the people but myself sat during prayer. Nothing but the baptism with fire is competent to burn up this awful knee paralysis and restore the worship of God to our congregations.

13. “Make straight paths for your feet in order that the lame may not be turned out of the way, but rather healed.” In regeneration the omnipotent Christ raises the sinner from the dead. Yet he is affected with multitudinous ailments transmitted from Adam the first. It is the subsequent work of entire sanctification to eliminate all of these ailments and restore perfect soul-health. Since heaven is a perfect world, nothing can enter there having the slightest spiritual ailment. The great panacea, the infallible elixir, the cleansing blood, was not shed in heaven but on earth. Hence it must be applied here or never.

14. “Follow peace with all people and the sanctification without which no one shall see the Lord.” This verse is the grand climax of the wonderful book of Hebrews. Blind preachers have crazed the world on water baptism and other non-essential church rites and human creeds. Suppose they could find in the Bible, “Without water baptism, no one shall see the Lord,” they would vociferate themselves hoarse proclaiming it to the ends of the earth, and you would see the whole country flocking to receive this ordinance. Why do not they ring changes on “Without the sanctification no one shall see the Lord”? Dead men never get high enough to ring the bells of heaven. If these preachers could only get their souls converted to God and the devil’s black hand lifted from their spirits, and the light of the Holy Ghost poured into their minds, they would jump a million of miles beyond the water line and preach holiness to the Lord, like messengers from heaven. They are opposed to holiness because holiness is opposed to them. It means crucifixion, and they are not ready to die. Remember, “peace with all men” is the inseparable concomitant of this holiness, without which “no one shall see the Lord.” No wonder the sectarian churches fight it, as they are full of belligerents to all others. Sanctification always kills Satan’s sectarianism, and floods the soul with peace to all mankind. No one receives this grand sine qua non in conversion. This argument is addressed to none but God’s children, all of whom need castigation till they become partakers of God’s holiness. In our Savior’s prayer for the sanctification of his disciples (John 17), he certifies positively that the world, i.e., the sinners, can not receive it. God has conversion for all sinners and sanctification for all Christians. The opposition to sanctification in the churches is demonstrative proof that they are unconverted; for most assuredly all the children of God desire to be holy and hunger and thirst after righteousness, longing to be filled. What people want with religion is a conundrum, if they do not expect to get to heaven. Then there is no sense in making any profession of religion if you do not intend, by the grace of God, to reach entire sanctification, since failure, collapse and damnation are inevitable if you do not receive the “sanctification without which no one shall see the Lord.”

15. “Watching diligently lest any one may fall from the grace of God, lest some root of bitterness springing up may trouble you and through it many may be defiled.” Here we have a clear corroboration of the warning, ringing from Alpha to Omega, that if we do not nave the bitter roots of inbred sin eradicated by the cleansing blood and consumed by the refining fire of entire sanctification, they will certainly sooner or later spring up and grow a crop of actual transgression, forever choking out the new life imparted by the Holy Ghost in regeneration, thus confirming you in final apostasy and dooming you to damnation.

16. Apollos corroborates this mournful conclusion by the lamentable case of Esau, who sold his birthright. This is the great trouble on sanctification: people are not willing to die to this world, and have their carnal appetites forever eradicated. They want the mess of pottage. The hog-life will not down. Hence the angel of spiritual life must take her everlasting flight.

17. This verse settles the problem of hopeless reprobacy as the inevitable alternative in case of failure to get sanctified. It is pertinent here to observe that while Esau’s reprobacy, as here stated, was absolute and irrecoverable, confirming forever the hopeless doom of the soul rejecting or neglecting sanctification, as, as it says, “he found no place of repentance, though earnestly seeking it with tears.” From your conversion you are in the hands of the Holy Ghost, whose office is your complete sanctification, by the eradication of all the roots sent down into the deep interior of your heart by the old upas tree of sin, which was cut down in regeneration. If you commit the awful sin of grieving away the Holy Ghost because you will not let Him sanctify you wholly, then He leaves you to the devil, sin and damnation. So you have crossed the dead line, committed the unpardonable sin against the Holy Ghost, for which

“there is never forgiveness, neither in this life nor in that which is to come” (Mat 12:32).

This conclusion is here not only corroborated, but indisputably confirmed by the case of Esau, who earnestly sought and wept aloud with flowing tears when it was forever too late, because he was reprobated. While Apollos uses this unanswerable illustration to clinch his climacteric argument on the absolute necessity of sanctification as the condition of seeing God, and thunders the awful anathemas of hopeless apostasy and damnation against the wicked, we must remember that Esau’s reprobation pertained to another line of things altogether. We have no evidence that Jacob was elected to heaven, or Esau reprobated to hell. The simple truth of the inspired records is that Jacob was elected to the progenitorship of Christ, and Esau reprobated from the same. Repentance means a change of mind. In case of the sinner, it means that he must get rid of the carnal mind and receive the mind of Christ. In case of Esau, he did not seek a repentance in his own heart, but that of his father Isaac, that he should change his mind, revoking the patriarchal blessing from Jacob and conferring it on himself. That blessing did not raise a question of salvation, which was always free to all, but simply the privilege of the divine progenitorship. Pursuant to the will of God, Isaac had already conferred that blessing on Jacob, and could not give it to Esau. Hence he sought it in utter desperation, though bathed in tears and vociferous in pleading. Of course, Christ died for Esau as well as for Jacob, hence salvation was free for Esau and all the Edomites, as for Jacob and the Israelites. On the memorable night of Jacob’s sanctification at Peniel, we have prima facie evidence that Esau also received a great spiritual blessing, perhaps regeneration. though he had plotted twenty years to kill his brother, and at that time had brought four hundred fierce Arabic warriors to execute the bloody tragedy. Certainly God alone could work the wonderful changes wrought in this wild man of the desert. When he met Jacob, instead of killing him, he ran to him, embracing, kissing him, wept over him for joy. So the brothers mutually embraced, kissed, congratulated, wept, shouted and blessed each other. We have the record of Jacob’s wonderful Peniel experience, resulting from the night of wrestling prayer spent alone with God on the bank of the Jabbok. Hence we understand why he was not afraid to meet his brother, who had twenty years plotted to kill him. While we are minus the history of Esau, we can only explain the wonderful change manifested on meeting his brother on the hypothesis that he, too, had spent an eventful night with God. The reconciliation of this notable meeting proved genuine, as Jacob and Esau ever afterward remained faithful friends. I fondly hope to meet Esau, the illustrious father of the Arabs, as well as Jacob, the immortal patriarch of Israel, in heaven.

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood. Have not been persecuted unto death.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

Connecting Statement:

The author of Hebrews has been comparing the Christian life to a race.

You have not yet resisted or struggled against sin

Here "sin" is spoken of as if it were a person whom someone fights in a battle. AT: "You have not yet had to endure attacks of sinners" (See: Personification)

to the point of blood

Resisting opposition so much that one dies for it is spoken of as if one reached a certain place where he would die. (See: Metaphor)

of blood

Here "blood" refers to death. AT: "of death" (See: Metonymy)

the encouragement that instructs you

Old Testament scripture is spoken of as if it were a person who could encourage others. AT: "what God has instructed you in the scriptures to encourage you" (See: Personification)

as sons ... My son ... every son

These refer to everyone who belongs to God whether male or female. AT: "as children ... My child ... every child" (See: When Masculine Words Include Women)

My son ... corrected by him

Here the author is quoting from the book of Proverbs in the Old Testament.

do not think lightly of the Lord's discipline, nor grow weary

This can be stated in positive form. AT: "take it very seriously when the Lord disciplines you, and do not grow weary" (See: Litotes)

nor grow weary

"and do not become discouraged"

you are corrected by him

This can be stated in active form. AT: "he corrects you" (See: Active or Passive)

every son whom he receives

"everyone whom he accepts as his child"

translationWords

sin

blood

courage

instruct

son

lord

discipline

love

punish

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

4–13. FATHERLY CHASTISEMENTS SHOULD BE CHEERFULLY ENDURED

4. ἀντικατέστητε. In some MSS. and quotations the word appears naturally with the double augment ἀντεκατέστητε.

4. μέχρις αἵματος. If this be a metaphor drawn from pugilism, as the last is from “running a race,” it means that as yet they have not “had blood drawn.” This would not be impossible, for St Paul adopts pugilistic metaphors (1Co 9:26-27). More probably however the meaning is that, severe as had been the persecutions which they had undergone (Heb 10:32-33), they had not yet—and perhaps a shade of reproach is involved in the expression—resisted up to the point of martyrdom (Rev 12:11). The Church addressed can scarcely therefore have been either the Church of Rome, which had before this time furnished “a great multitude” of martyrs (Tac. Ann. XV. 44; Rev 7:9), or the Church of Jerusalem, in which, beside the martyrdoms of St Stephen, St James the elder, and St James the Lord’s brother, some had certainly been put to death in the persecution of Saul (Act 8:1).

πρὸς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἀνταγωνιζόμενοι, “in your struggles against sin.” Some from this expression give a more general meaning to the clause—“You have not yet put forth your utmost efforts in your moral warfare.”

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4.] Bengel’s remark, which De Wette charges with pedantry, “a cursu venit ad pugilatum, ut Paulus, 1Co 9:26, is nevertheless a just one. Not yet have ye resisted (so ἀντικαθίστασθαι absolutely, Thuc. i. 62, εἶδον τοὺς ἐναντίους παρασκευαζομένους εἰς μάχην, ἀντικαθίσταντο καὶ αὐτοί: and 71, ταύτης μέντοι τοιαύτης ἀντικαθεστηκυίας πόλεως, ὦ Λακεδαιμόνιοι, διαμέλλετε. See below) unto blood (many take this to mean, have not yet sacrificed your lives. So Chrys., ὃ δὲ λέγει, τοῦτό ἐστιν· οὔπω θάνατον ὑπέστητε· μέχρι χρημάτων ὑμῖν ἡ ζημία, μέχρι δόξης, μέχρι τοῦ ἐλαύνεσθαι. And Thl., οὔπω, φησίν, ἄχρι θανάτου ἐφθάσατε, ἀλλὰ ἄχρι διωγμῶν, ἄχρις ἁρπαγῆς· ὁ δὲ χριστὸς ἄχρι θανάτου ἦλθεν. And this may be so: but I would rather abide by the idea of the pugilistic figure being intended, and apply μέχρις αἵματος to the figure, not to the interpretation. Cf. Seneca, Ep. i. 13, “Non potest athleta magnos spiritus ad certamen afferre, qui nunquam suggillatus est. Ille qui vidit sanguinem suum, cujus dentes crepuerunt sub pugno, ille qui supplantatus adversarium toto tulit corpore, nec projecit animum projectus, qui quoties cecidit contumacior resurrexit, cum magna spe descendit ad pugnam.” For the expression, cf. reff., and Niceph. Hist. a. 741, ἐνωμότους αὐτῷ συνθήκας δεδώκεσαν, ὡς μέχρις αἵματος ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ ἀνελέσθαι τὸν κίνδυνον.

On the relation of such passages as this to the date of the Epistle, see in the Prolegomena, § ii. 29 ff.), contending against (πρός, of the direction towards which the athlete’s force was directed: cf. μάχεσθαι πρὸς Τρῶας, Il. ρ. 471: Matthiæ, § 591, and Winer, § 49, h. α.) sin (personified, as an adversary: not to be limited in its meaning to sin in themselves, or to sin in their persecutors, but understood of both. Delitzsch, who would confine it to the latter, says that it was not sin in themselves which would shed their blood, but rather, which would spare its being shed. Yes, and for this very reason the resisting that sin of unfaithfulness which would lead them to spare their blood, would if carried far enough, lead to the shedding of it. Similarly, the sin in their persecutors, which they were to resist, would, if yielded to, spare their blood by seducing them into apostasy. The joining πρὸς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν with ἀνταγωνιζόμενοι is even more certain than the similar connexion in ver. 3, seeing that ἀντικατέστητε has already had its qualifying clause in μέχρις αἵματος. And so almost all Commentators, except Bengel).

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Unto blood [μεχρις αιματος] . Your strife against sin has not entailed the shedding of your blood, as did that of many of the O. T. worthies, and of Jesus himself. See ch. Heb 11:35, 37. Of Jesus it is said, Phi 2:8, " he became obedient to the extent of death [μεχρι θανατου] . Comp. 2 Macc. 13 14.

Striving against sin [προς την αμαρτιαν ανταγωνιζομενοι] . The verb N. T. o. LXX, 4 Macc. 17 14. Sin is personified.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

4. οὕπω.. ἀντικατέστητε...} The sufferings of the Hebrews are contrasted with those of Christ. Their struggle had not yot boon to death. At tho same timo it is implied (οὕπω) that they must be prepared for a deadly encounter.

The statement is in no way opposed to the view that tbe Epistle was addressed to a Palestinian Church out of which St Stephen and St James had suffered martyrdom. The recollection of what these early witnesses had borne would in fact add point to this exhortation to the second generation of the Church.

πρὸς τὴν ἀμ. ἀνταγων.] The conflict of the Hebrews is spoken of as a conflict with sin rather than sinners (». 3), ἰὴ order to emphasise ite essential

character (ovon believers are ‘sinners’) aud to include its various forms. Obristians had to contond primarily with open cnemies whose assaults scom to be contemplated here in μέχρις aiματος. At tho samo timo there is an inward struggle which cannot be wholly overlooked, though this did not involve literally ‘a resistance to blood.’

Thero is no authority for giving a metaphorical sense to μέχρις αἵματος (‘to the uttermost’), and such a sense would bo pointless here. Comp. 2 Mace. xiii. 14. The words of Phil. ii. I μέχρι θανάτου seem to be present to the thoughts of the writor.

Both tho words ἀντικαταστῆναι and ἀνταγωνίζεσθαι are classical, but the latter does not occur elsewhere in the Greok Scriptures. The balance of the sentence requires πρὸς τὴν du. to be taken with ἀνταγωνιζόμενοι. Tho imagory of the arena still floats before tho writer's mind. For the aimplo Jude 5.

The personification of sin (ἀνταγωνιεζ. τέστητε οἷον els παράταξιν, els πόλεμον, os καὶ τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἀνθεστώσης ( (Εcum.). Sin is one whether it shew itself within, in the Ohristian himself (v. 1), or without, as here, in his advorsaries.

For the difference between ἡ ἁμαρτία and iv. 15; ix. 26 note, 28; x. 6, &

Brooke Foss Westcott (1825–1901), The Epistle to the Hebrews (1889) and The Epistles of St John (1883) — public domain (pre-1929). Text recovered from Internet Archive / Google Books OCR scans. Westcott’s Gospel of John commentary is not included (its OCR lost the chapter running-heads required for reliable verse-keying). Some Greek quoted in the Hebrews volume is imperfectly rendered by the OCR.