Putting things in perspective!
13 And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account. Heb 4:13 (NRSV)
"One of the most powerful sentences that can be found in the Bible?"
posted by aperitis | 20:47
9 Comments:
October 11, 2004
27 And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
Heb 9:27-28 (NRSV)
Beth October 12, 2004
"I love the Lord because he hears my prayers and answers them. Because He bends down and listens, I will call on Him as long as I live."
Ps. 116:1,2
October 17, 2004 8:47 PM ET
Hello Beth, I hope that all is well with you. I will try to be brief ...if possible. Firstly, let me just say that I was wrong to post that message on the Internet as a "challenge". That, in and of itself, is a sin. Hardly what the Bible teaches us as a way to conduct ourselves. Who am I to claim that I know better than anyone else what the most powerful sentence in the whole Bible is? I regretted doing it almost immediately!!! Secondly, all those that know me, and how I feel about the scriptures, would tell you that had I stopped and thought for a moment, I would've realized that this sentence,
13 And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.
Heb 4:13 (NRSV)
although perceived to be very important by me, did not necessarily reflect how the sentence was viewed by everyone else who reads the Bible. You see, it is my humble opinion that each one of us in reading the scriptures, will come away with his/her own individual interpretation of what is being said and change his/her life accordingly. But it is through our collective reflections that we bring forth the truest picture of what the Bible really says. A collection of small pictures if you may, that result in a much clearer larger picture. This "Big Picture" we can only view through our efforts as a cohesive Christian Community when talking about what each of us believes that the Bible says! When I sent the second email, "I stand corrected", I was trying to show to everyone that I was wrong, and that the first passage was no more important than this one.
27 And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
Heb 9:27-28 (NRSV)
Having said that,
"I love the Lord because he hears my prayers and answers them. Because He bends down and listens, I will call on Him as long as I live."
Ps. 116:1,2 is obviously just as important, just as powerful. I could try and tell you what I was thinking on that morning when I wrote that first email to everyone but it would take far too long. As you may know, I have been reading the Bible from cover to cover for almost a year now. It all started when you gave me, "The Prayer of Jabez". The author suggested that reading the Bible every single morning was a practice that changed his life, so I wanted to see if it could also change mine, it has!!! I should be finished within a few more weeks. I would strongly recommend this practice to anyone who has not done this. In years past, I would jump from passage to passage, book to book, Old Testament to New Testament from ...time to time, if I could ever find the time! For me at least, the whole perspective of the Bible has changed since I began with Genesis back in February, and finding the time every single morning ever since. Nothing seems out of context now, because I am sensitized to the continuity in the scriptures themselves as well as the changing tone with the progression through time. On the morning in question, I started reading Paul's letter to the Hebrews. Having now finished the Book of Hebrews, I do believe that this is by far Paul's most convincing work. I was so moved by the first few chapters, I wanted to share what I had learned or thought that I had learned with everyone. I just chose the wrong words to do it. I should've said, "Paul's Letter to the Hebrews, presents a really powerful argument for Christian living, anyone wish to discuss it?"
JL October 19, 2004
Tony, At the risk of adding to complications - real or perceived - please indulge me in a comment or two? (Hope so 'cause I'm gonna anyway. :o) As far as the original passage, Heb. 4:13 goes - no question that this is a POWERFUL statement - the bible is LOADED with divine wisdom (including this passage) when we just take the time to glean. As far of the "challenge" of how powerful a statement this is though... Well, maybe there could have been a better choice of words initiallly, maybe not. I won't argue that point - but if it provokes others/us to take a closer look at the bible, I for one don't see that as being all that bad. Personally, 2 passages I'd offer here are Job 19:25 & 26 - "I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God;" and Hebrews 13. Job is quoted because: 1) in my interpretation the "all powerful imagery" that God is displayed in this passage/context is incredible and 2) if He is "my" redeemer I don't think he's out to "destroy me"! Hebrews 13 is quoted because (again in my humble opinion) this presents/promotes the core tenant of the Christian faith - salvation not by works, but by FAITH! Compare ANY other religion in the world to "true" Christianity and time and time again the lie that's promoted is that we can get to heaven if we're some how good enough. That way never has worked, never will. If you study God's word enough & truly believe - the only way is (again) by faith. In any event, are interpretations (or challenges!? :o) like this in and of themselves necessarily wrong? Again I don't think so because we are not "the light", God is. Our job is just to "polish the glass" so God can shine through. So if (hopefully) "polishing" like this helps to reflect glimpses of what God is really like through "different colored glass" & in turn draws others - GREAT. Oh - and as far as being judged or having lives laid bare goes, if you're saved you've already been judged & pronounced clean because Jesus paid it all. To try to even think you could add to or take away from that is just plain crazy. Anyway, to make a long story a little less long we could quibble over the minutae, fine points, and/or interpretations of what the bible really says all we want - but it all boils down to this. Either you believe Christ died for you or you don't. The rest is peripheral. (Ok. I'll get off the soapbox now.) Take care. Stay in touch. JL
October 19, 2004 18:59 PM ET
John, I enjoyed your response very much. Well said. It just now dawned on me that in the 35 years that we have been friends, this is really the first discussion that we have had about the Bible. We may have talked about our faith a couple times but never like this. I know that you and Barb are good Christians. You help so many people with what you do. You've lived Christian lives for a long time. The two passages from the Bible that you mentioned, Job 19:25 & 26 - "I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God;" and Hebrews 13 which is a very short chapter titled in my Bible, "Service well pleasing to God", are indeed very powerful. Your brief discussion does in fact capture the essence of what is being said. Thank you. I did go back however, to see if I had underlined the text in my Bible when I read those two passages. The first passage, I had not. I had highlighted the second passage however. This basically reinforces what Sandy, Vicki and I were saying today during our case in the OR. The Bible is scattered with many very powerfull sentences. Some grasp the attention of some, but not necessarily the attention of all. It is through discussion that we enrich both our knowledge and our perception of what is written or what we may think is written. One brief comment about Hebrews 13. It is more pertinent today than ever. Here is an example of what I am saying.
4 Let marriage be held in honor by all
Heb 13:4 (NRSV)
On the local ABC affiliate tonight, the anchor led off the news with a story that "Clergy, are coming out against issue 1". The constitutional ammendment for our state that defines marriage as between a man and a woman, which is on the November ballot. Which Bible did these clergy read???
Dan October 20, 2004
Did your challenge spark some debate? I did not take it in any way but typical of the excited and impassioned debate on scripture I have enjoyed for years. I like John's comments, but I would alter his closing statement slightly: "Either you believe Christ died and rose for you or you don't." Obviously, the Substitution loses its significance without triumph over death to reconcile Man with God. I look forward to talking to you tomorrow.
October 20, 2004 8:59PM ET
Very well said. Again, the power of the collective mind!
VCAMP October 26, 2004 19:17 ET
It is just so wonderful for me to see you get so excited about the scripture. It becomes part of who you are and such a comfort in any occasion (to everything there is a season-Ecclesiastics). Here is one of my favorites:
11 For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.
Jer 29:11 (NRSV)
Dan November 7, 2004 21:29 EST
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in
him shall not perish but have eternal life."
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