Hebrews 12:11-29
11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13 “Make level paths for your feet,”[b] so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.
14 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. 16 See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. 17 Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.
18 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; 19 to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, 20 because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.”[c] 21 The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”[d]
22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23 to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
25 See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”[e] 27 The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our “God is a consuming fire.”[f]
First Impression?
Answers I received included instruction, peace and holy, discipline, stunning, and walk carefully. I focused on the contrast between good and bad, and the uncertainty of heavens vs heaven that I felt in the passage.
Righteousness and peace – How do you visualize righteousness and peace after having been disciplined?
The vision I have is like pruning; once the bad has been removed, I am free to do better.
Strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees and make level paths for your feet. – Is this literal? What does it mean to you literally? What else does it mean to you?
I assume since the meaning is positive, there is intent with the literal, but I believe the more important aspect of the verse is that we are supposed to put in the work required and not expect a miracle to get us out of work that we are perfectly capable of. God can give me the perfect body, but I can at least put in the effort to eat right, exercise, and sleep.
Peace with everyone and be holy – Why is this not our goal?
Whenever I think of non-Christ induced worldly peace, I think of all the evil people who will take from others. Its pretty easy to be at peace with your neighbor who takes care of themselves, but its pretty hard to be at peace with someone who keeps stealing your stuff, pushing you around, and calling you names. We can strive to be Holy, but we must remember that until Christ returns, not everyone else is.
See to it that no one falls short – Who is your no one?
I felt this was a call for us to help others and I wanted to show that this has to be active and one person at a time and not just a “I gave at the office” kind of thing.
Bitter root – I do not like this. But how do we decide what is bitter and needs to be removed?
Prayer. We have to ask for the Holy Spirit’s clear guidance.
So that no one is sexually immoral – Is this a mandate to make life difficult for non-believers or is this just focused inward on the church?
The focus is on the church, but we have to walk the line of telling others what is wrong without damaging our chance to teach them about God.
See that no one is godless – Is this just inward or for everyone outside the church too? How do we decide?
This one seems clearly everyone.
Mountain and fear –
This was scary and I did not dwell on it.
City of the Living God – Any thoughts?
I picture this as heaven that we will live in and look forward to figuring it out by experience.
Warns us from heaven – thoughts?
God lives in heaven at the same time as living in our hearts telling us how to love if we will only listen. What a great time to live.
What cannot be shaken – What about you cannot be shaken?
Salvation. Nothing else.
Consuming fire – what does that mean?
The nothing else will all disappear, so do not waste worry on it.
We spent three weeks on these questions. There is a lot of spiritual meat in these verses and great opportunities to learn how we fit into God’s plan, how insignificant things in this world are, and how important relationships to others can be. Seek to grow the family of God. That is the only lasting outcome of our lives after our own salvation.