Valuing Our Birthright
When you call a Christian, “Man of God,” most men will look away. When you ask them why, they will say, “Because I feel unworthy.” Hebrews 12:12-17 is the antidote to feeling unworthy. “Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; 13. And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed. 14. Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
15. Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; 16. Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
17. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.”
God has set us in the body of Christ so that we can lift each other up. The devil will whisper in our ear, “you’re not worthy. You’re a sinner and deserving of condemnation. You’re guilty as charged.” Sometimes men are rejected by their churches, their wives, and their own children. The world does not call us to grace and mercy but unto condemnation because in our flesh dwelleth no good thing.
However, God calls us unto grace through His Son’s perfect payment for sin on our behalf. For Jesus Christ who knew no sin, was made the perfect sacrifice for sin on our behalf, that we may be made the righteousness of God in him. In our own power we’re worthy of death because of our sin nature. When we approach God’s throne of grace with a broken and a contrite heart, he will save us by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
In our flesh, the sin nature that we inherited from Adam, we’re unworthy. However, where sin abounded, grace through Jesus Christ did much more abound.
To strengthen hands that hang down and feet that are feeble, follow peace with all men and the sanctification without which no one shall see the Lord. Peace is the result of reconciliation with God through the full payment of Jesus Christ on our behalf. Sanctification means that we have been set apart according to the purpose God intended. When we sanctify our hearts, we prove our hearts according to the works which he’s prepared for us in our obedience to his will for our lives. The purpose is to please him and to know him according to the power of his resurrection. The purpose is that we will be his living epistles known and read of all men.
The purpose is to seek the Blessor and not the blessing. To know peace means to pursue peace. There is no peace without the Prince of Peace. We’re called to pursue our Lord Jesus Christ. Peace is in our proximity with him. How do we pursue him? One way is by journaling our conversations with him. Another is meditating on his word. To pursue the Lord, choke in the dust of those who are chasing after Him. To pursue peace, we must “reckon the old man dead.” For I was crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ liveth in me and the life that I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
In the midst of the storm, we can have peace when we’re with the Prince of Peace.
Esau sold his birthright inheritance for a bowl of stew. He was hungry to fill his own belly but he was not hungry for what really mattered. According to the beatitudes, treasure not treasures upon earth. Instead treasure treasures in heaven. Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Esau, when he realized what he had done, wept because he had devalued what really mattered. Jesus said, blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled.
There’s a book entitled, “Voices from the edge of Eternity.” This is about the last words of people before they died. Some cry out, “too late, too late, too late!” This was the cry of Esau who sold his birthright because like the prodigal son, “he feign did fill his belly with the pods which the swine did eat.”
When the devil tempts us into sin, the result is that he will shut our mouth. Our responsibility is our response to God’s ability. According to verse 15, “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled…” We need to ask both our wives and our Lord Jesus Christ, “if there’s anything that you would change about me, what would it be?” The second question is, “what do you need me to do that I’m not doing?” When we’re open to reproof and correction, this will cut down the root of bitterness. As Jesus said, “if you’re bringing an offering to God and have a disagreement with your brother, first reconcile your heart with your brother and then you can bring your offering to God with a clean heart.”
Many people are defiled when they see Christians sinning. However, the love of God covers a multitude of sins. The moral of this story is to value what God says is valuable. The most valuable thing is our birthright…that we are his and he is ours. We hold on to our birthright when we’re committed unto him for the sake of the gospel. Therefore, sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and be ready always to give an answer to any man that asketh thee a reason for the hope that is within you with meekness and fear (awe, respect, reverence and love.)
The greatest blessing is to bless the Blessor… And I so doing, that we may be to the praise of the glory of His grace!
Your brother in Christ, Michael