Jun 28, 2015
Especially in times of suffering, the church family is
responsible to make sure that no one in the family "fails to obtain
the grace of God" (Heb. 12:15; cf. 4:14-16). For the original
recipients of Hebrews this was particularly acute on account of the
persecution they were suffering. Failure to obtain God's grace
would spiral into bitterness; bitterness into spiritual contempt
and spiritual contempt into defection back into Judaism
(12:15-16).
Esau traded away the covenant and material blessings of his
birthright for a bowl of soup. Consumed by hunger, he made a tragic
decision. He remained Isaac's son, but received far less than what
he might have. Consumed by bitterness, hurting believers are at
risk of making a similarly tragic decision.
The church family needs to do all that it can to help strugglers
obtain the grace of God lest they spiral past the point of no
return as did Esau.