To Encourage You

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

So, have you ever seen the movie, “A Few Good Men”?  One of the most well-known lines from that movie is the courtroom scene where Colonel Jessup is on the stand and is being interrogated by Lieutenant Junior Grade (LTJG) attorney Kaffee.  As LTJG Kaffee keeps probing to see if Colonel Jessup had ordered a “Code Red,” he baits him with the statement “I want the truth!” And to this Colonel Jessup answers with the well-known line “You can’t handle the truth!”  He goes on to explain how people like LTJG Kaffee don’t really want to know the ugliness that goes on behind the scenes to keep our country safe.   It’s a very memorable scene and statement, and one that came to my mind this morning, for some reason, as I read the verse above.  

You see, one of the words often used in the Bible to describe itself is the “Truth.”  Another phrase that is used, as in the verse above, is “the Word of God.”  Interestingly, that same phrase is used as a name of the Son of God, in John 1:1.  With this we see the very close relationship between the person of Jesus and the things that He has said.  What is true of one is true of the other.  For example, we know that Jesus is alive for He rose from the dead to live forevermore. Likewise, there is a sense in which His words are alive.  Unlike any other book, the Bible is described as a living thing.  It acts.  It impacts. It changes lives.  And it does so in a very powerful way, for its words are the very words of the omnipotent Jesus.  The Bible is described as a two-edged sword.  It is effective in defense against the enemy of our souls, as we are told in its description of one of the parts of the spiritual armor of a Christian in Ephesians 6:17.  It’s a spiritual thing, with spiritual power that is greater than the power of the devil.  As we resist him with God’s Word, the Bible tells us that he will actually flee from us (James 4:7).  You see, the “father of lies” can’t handle the truth! 

But God’s Word also has great spiritual power against us in a sense.  You see, just as the risen Jesus is described in Revelation 19:12 as One Whose “eyes are like a flame of fire,” and in Hebrews 4:13 as one before Whose eyes “all are naked and exposed,” His words have the very same effect of exposing us, i.e., exposing what is inside us.  As we read and study it, t has the effect of “piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and (it) discern(s) the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”  It tells us the truth about ourselves like nothing else can.  It will expose things that are so deep within our hearts that even we wouldn’t know about them if God’s Word didn’t expose them to us.  But the question is, “can we handle the truth?”  Do we really want to know it?  Do we want to know the hidden sins that need exposure before we can be freed from them?  Do we want to know the complete and utter Truth?  Well, that’s exactly what we have in the Word of God if we go to it. 

But, wonderfully, it doesn’t just expose our sin. It also gives us the powerful remedy for that sin.  It is as we read the Bible that we can have our eyes opened not only to what separates us from God, but what can bridge the gulf to Him.  Our dead spiritual heart can be brought to life by its powerful and wonderful message. It’s a message that can both expose our sin and kill it at the same time.  It’s the most powerful thing in the universe, for nothing else can do this.  You see, “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ” (Romans 10:17).  It’s such a wonderful thing that that same Truth that can expose our sin has the power to remedy that sin.  The third verse of the wonderful hymn “And Can it Be,” puts it this way:

“Long my imprisoned spirit lay
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray,
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.”

So, do you want to know the Truth?  Can you handle the Truth, the living and powerful Word of God? The awesome sword of the Spirit: it can kill, but it can also bring to life as you pick it up and peer deep within its pages.