See that ye refuse not Him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused Him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from Him that speaketh from Heaven. Hebrews 12:25
One of the students in our class decided to give the supply teacher a rough time. The supply teacher was a stranger; we had never even heard of him before. He simply arrived in the classroom at the start of history class, announced his name, and instructed us to get out our textbooks. For the duration of the class, Gary ignored all of the teacher’s commands, refusing to sit at his desk, strolling about the class and visiting his friends, despite the teacher’s orders to be seated and be quiet. He disrupted the class, and it was to the teacher’s credit that he managed to teach the history lesson regardless of Gary’s antics. When the bell rang to end the history period, the teacher departed and left us in the hands of the English teacher for the next period. Shortly before noon, an announcement was made for all students to assemble in the school auditorium for a special announcement. As we turned our attention to the platform where the vice-principal was making the announcements, he surprised us by declaring that the school had hired a new principal. He pointed to the door at the side of the auditorium, and in walked the new principal. It was our supply teacher! Gary turned white with shock. And well he might. Within a couple of hours, the new principal had dealt severely with Gary for his misbehaviour. I see a similar picture in today’s text, where those who ignored the Lord Jesus when He was here on earth are condemned by His words from Heaven.
Consider the Jewish leaders who had condemned the Lord Jesus to die, who had appealed to Pilate for His execution, who had mocked and slapped Him and spat in His face. They knew of Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God, and they rejected His claim. How their hearts will quake when they encounter that same Jesus when they lift their eyes to behold the Judge seated on the Great White Throne! The same dread will fill the hearts of the religious leaders throughout the centuries who have used their positions to for their own personal glory and advantage. Untold millions of careless and heedless people will realize that the One Whose name they uttered so often in blasphemy has called them to account for every oath and curse. Although the Bible remains by far the world’s most popular book, fewer and fewer people are reading it these days, ignoring the words of Him Who spoke on earth. There will be no ignoring of His words when He speaks from Heaven. And what of Christians who fail to heed His words?
We are thankful today that we were caused to heed the words of the Gospel message. The goodness of God led us to repentance and faith in Christ. We accepted the message of and from the Saviour. And we obeyed His words. Are we still obeying Him? Do we heed His command that we love one another as He loved us? Are we heeding His great commission to take the Gospel message to the world? Do we obey His call for us to be gathered together in His Name? Do we honour His desire for us to be like Him in humility and in service to others?
If we would hear words of commendation from our Lord when we stand at His judgment seat, we must heed His words of instruction to us now. – Jim MacIntosh