Our enemies, continued.

Self-will. Self-will is one of the most subtle of the Christian enemies. It is impossible for us to enter our inheritance as sons of God as long as we are obedient to our self-will. Self-will is man's attempt to gain his desires apart from God's will and timing. Self-will makes little gods of us and introduces chaos into the Divine order.

We see, therefore, that we have been called to an exceedingly great inheritance in Christ, and also that we have powerful and skilled enemies whose objective is to keep us from attaining our inheritance.

The spiritual currents are swift, and that is why there are many warnings in the Book of Hebrews concerning our tendency to become careless after we have made a profession of Christ, not pursuing our inheritance with the fullness of vigor and determination that is required. It is impossible to attain our inheritance in Christ unless we fight the good fight of faith all the days of our life. The moment we "retire" we begin to lose ground with God.

God will accept nothing less than the best effort of which we are capable. He stands ready to assist all who call on Him in sincerity.

We always must be fiercely determined to do the will of God.

To those who may insist we will receive our inheritance whether or not we press into the rest of God, whether or not we serve Christ with all sincerity, who claim salvation is not based upon our response of daily faith and perseverance, let us point out that to take this attitude is to walk on slippery ground as far as the Book of Hebrews is concerned. Since one's eternal salvation is at stake it seems wiser to see what is to be gained by seeking Christ with total diligence rather than to wait to discover the end of those who neglect their salvation.

The writer of the Book of Hebrews exhorts us to move past the rudiments of the Christian Gospel and to press into the rest of God. The rest of God is our inheritance in Christ. It is that place of attainment where we are abiding in trust in Christ, and by the power of the Word and Spirit of God are proceeding steadily forward toward the fullness of what God has marked out for us as an individual.

We are to learn how to cease from our own works, our own strivings, and to rest with God as His work (already completed in God's mind) is wrought out in the spiritual and material realms.

In his epistle the writer of Hebrews warns the believers of the consequences of falling back, of not bearing the fruit of Christ's moral image. Christ's moral image always comes forth in those who truly are abiding in Him. Righteousness and holiness of behavior must accompany salvation (Hebrews 6:9). If the fruit for which God is looking does not come forth, the believer is near to rejection and burning (Hebrews 6:8).

In the beginning of his exhortation to perseverance and faithfulness the writer of Hebrews first points out the inconceivable majesty of the inheritance of Christ, and then the fact that we too are sons who are being brought to glory and rulership.

After this he warns us we will partake of this great inheritance only on the condition that we "hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end" (Hebrews 3:14).

To be continued.