Gary Gleans

Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.     In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.     And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?     “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him.     For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”     It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?     If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.     Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?   ...

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. The review of the history of the faithful men and women in the previous chapter should have an impact on our lives today.  It is vital that we remember the past as we live in the present and prepare for the future.  The goal is that we too can live a life of faith.  There are three faith producing habits all of us should strive to form.   LOOK BACK: The faith of the men and women in the past who accomplished much, sacrificed much, and died without seeing the fullness of their promises come to fruition, should impact us. ...

And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.     Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life.     Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.     They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.     And all these, though commended through their ...

By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned.     By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.     By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies. Judgment is coming to all of mankind.  This has been repeatedly demonstrated throughout the history of the world.  Because of God’s grace, deliverance from judgment is available through faith in Christ.  As Israel leaves Egypt and enters the promised land, there are multiple demonstrations of God’s ability to deliver.  These demonstrations all have one thing in common: God’s grace.  Faith is certainly present, but in every case is imperfect.  Fortunately, God’s grace is greater than our faith.   FAITH DELIVERED ISRAEL FROM EGYPT: In ...

By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.     By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.     He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.     By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.     By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them. True faith will always be demonstrated in our lives in tangible ways.  This is clearly seen in the life of Moses.  From the time he was born, his family demonstrated faith t...

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.”     He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.     By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau.     By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff.     By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones. Faith is demonstrated through the works that we do and the words that we say.  None of us are perfect in our works or words, but there are moments in time where we have an opportunity to exercise faith in decisive moments.  The patriarchs of Israel were all flawed ind...

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.     For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.     If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.     But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. The faith described in this chapter has an eternal outlook.  Too often the struggles and disappointments we face on this fallen planet discourage us and facilitate doubt.  The function of faith in our lives is to help us take our eyes off the temporal and set them on the eternal.  This is what the heroes of faith listed in this chapter were able to do. ...

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.     By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.     For he was looking forward to a city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.     By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.     Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. We often think of faith as being something mystical and all about “spiritual” things.  The reality is that faith is about normal everyday “stuff” like where we live and our family. ...

By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.     By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God.     And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.     By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. The three heroes of the faith highlighted in this passage are all said to have been commended by God.  This must be the true purpos...

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.     For by it the people of old received their commendation.     By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. Faith is the means by which we are saved from our sins.  It is also the way that we are able to walk in our Christian life in a way that is pleasing to God.  This chapter will provide numerous examples of faith along with the challenges and rewards of the faithful.  This introduction to the chapter helps us understand the faith that will be the subject of this chapter.   THE DEFINITION OF FAITH: There are two words here that provide a clear understanding of what faith is: assurance and conviction.  Those who have faith must, by definition also have hope.  God has made many promises about how He is going to redee...

But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated.     For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.     Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.     For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.     For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”     But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. Endurance...

For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.     Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.     How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?     For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.”     It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. This is one of those passages that absolutely MUST be understood in context of the argument of the entire book.  An isolated reading of this passage can cause one to...