Hebrews 12:15-17 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; 16 that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. 17 For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.
The author now lists some results of the holy life. What is the evidence that we are indeed following the promises of God in Jesus Christ and have been made holy by Jesus’ blood? Our response of faith should be evident in how we live. The goal is that everyone obtains the grace of God. That is, everyone is a participant. No one is left behind. No one wanders off the path. No one forsakes Christ. No one stays in sin but walk in holiness. What are some ways to forsake or reject the grace of God? One is to allow bitterness to take root and grow. Bitterness results when we reject the love of God and turn to self promotion. We become angry when we do not get our way or our feelings are hurt. Hurt feelings are 90% selfishness. The other 10% is self-preservation. Hurt feelings are the result of people not getting their way. Basically bitterness is the opposite of humility. Sexual immorality is another way to spurn God’s grace and walk away from holiness. Unholiness is a brought idea and basically denotes anything that is not morally righteous. There are many activities and behaviors that are unholy. Continuing in sexual immorality or unholy activities will not allow us to be in God’s presence and will incur God’s discipline and eventually God’s judgment if a person does not repent. Esau sought the visible and quick sensation of food and forsook the greater blessings of the birthright. We walk by faith and not by sight. We feed the soul and not the lusts of the flesh. The sad part about Esau is that there was no turning back. He could not get back the birth rite. Is the author here saying that there is no returning to Christ when someone turns away? This is a possible interpretation. A person should repent before it is too late. This is a strong message that is hard for many people to accept. Basically, we must take the call to holiness seriously. Our eternal destiny depends on it.
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