Hebrews 6:9
Persuaded
But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. (Hebrews 6:9)
One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. (Romans 14:5)
When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also. (2 Timothy 1:5)
For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. (2 Timothy 1:12)
These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. (Hebrews 11:13)
And after certain years he went down to Ahab to Samaria. And Ahab killed sheep and oxen for him in abundance, and for the people that he had with him, and persuaded him to go up with him to Ramothgilead. (2 Chronicles 18:2)
By long forbearing is a prince persuaded, and a soft tongue breaketh the bone. (Proverbs 25:15)
But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. (Matthew 27:20)
The Constant Persuasion
Man is being persuaded every day (in this evil world) to run after Cain to seek the riches of the world, to seek power over other men by the political branches of government, or by their man-made religious orders, or by just plain old tyranny from the evil hearts of men. Those of us who love the Lord Jesus Christ have the best persuasion of all: it is the persuasion of the Holy Spirit that comes from above. The Holy Spirit presents the Man, Jesus Christ, as the only Savior of mankind. The Holy Spirit Himself tries the heart, applies conviction, and leads to repentance that He might work the miracle of grace in our hearts.
The Hardest Persuasion
The apostle Paul stood before king Agrippa, and explained through his discourse all that had happened to him on the Damascus road, and how Jesus Christ plucked him out of the darkness. King Agrippa could only reply, Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. (Acts 26:28) The Christian’s persuasion is the hardest of all: for man has been completely separated from his creator by sin. Sin is the indelible print of his nature, it is the signature of who man is, for man not only sins, but is possessed by sin. To persuade anyone from the depth of sin is harder than a camel passing through the eye of a needle. With man the work of salvation, or the persuasion of salvation is totally impossible. Only the God of impossibilities can rectify man unto Himself. The Spirit of God does not call upon a sinner to make his life on earth better for man; the Spirit of God calls a man out of the earth to be with the new Man Jesus Christ in heaven above. This whole thought has been alienated from the preaching of the gospel. For one has to leave all earthly ties behind, one has to seek the heavenly glory of the Person of Christ Jesus. The Lord in His dominion reaches down into the earth, and retrieves His treasure, the pearl of great price.
If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:1-4) The Christianity that was presented to the Colossians has been removed and lost to today’s religious masses. Man wants to hold to all that is of the earth, earthly. It is only the Divine presence and the Divine nature that separates man from this earth. The heavenlies is the new land of the child of God. He is a citizen of this new land that he now possesses, and how does he possess it? by seeking the things above and the glories of his Savior Jesus Christ.
The Seen and Unseen Author
This book of Hebrews is a wonderful book by the Spirit of God. The apostle of Christ to the Hebrews never openly placed his pen to the pages of this book. He signed it by the continued guidance of the Spirit of God to glorify the Person of the Son of God. His name remains silent among men, but his name is seen and heard through the echoes of his other epistles by the Spirit of God. The revelation that he received in the third heaven would be cast into the world as the burning and brightness of Christ. In the book of Hebrews it is not man, but the Holy Spirit who speaks to the hearts of man. He, the Holy Spirit, reveals the treasure chest of jewels found in this letter to the Hebrews. He brings from above the jewels of heaven, and presents them in Christ to the children of God. You will not find in any other book of the holy Scriptures the glory that is presented in the book of Hebrews concerning God’s Son Jesus Christ. Yet, in direct quotes, and similitudes, I suppose it is the most Old Testament friendly book of all the New Testament books (with the book of Matthew closely following). As you have studied this book you have found an elaborate work of the Holy Spirit weaving a seamless garment from top to bottom glorifying the Son of God Jesus Christ. This book in its revelation of Christ shows how difficult it is to persuade mankind for Christ.
Faith presented in a holy and righteous God: it is the Man Christ Jesus who is the full power of salvation and eternity. I find in the sixth Chapter, this important word, ‘persuaded.’ Chapter 6 (the number 6) is the number of man, only twice in this epistle is the word ‘persuaded’ used: in Chapters 6 and 11. In Chapter 6 we have the evidence of salvation in verse 9. But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. In 11:13 we have the results of faith. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. And by the word ‘persuaded’ being mentioned twice we have the fullness of the witness of the Spirit of God. In Romans 14:5, One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. The Spirit of God wants every man to be fully persuaded that mankind must consider himself before God in his fallen condition, and be persuaded in soul, spirit, and heart for the Savior Jesus Christ. In Romans 14:5 we are not dealing with the point or the occurrence of salvation, but what the result of a salvation that has been persuaded in the very heart of man. If we apply the mind set to king Agrippa, he was almost persuaded, almost is a long way from heaven, and a short distance to hell. It is a man who is fully persuaded in the grace of God whom fully possesses faith of the Lord Jesus Christ.
An Example of the Persuasions of Evil Men
As we view some of the men in the Scriptures who were persuaded, we learn valuable lessons concerning the salvation of man, and the walk of the child of God. And after certain years he went down to Ahab to Samaria. And Ahab killed sheep and oxen for him in abundance, and for the people that he had with him, and persuaded him to go up with him to Ramothgilead. (2 Chronicles 18:2) Before us in this verse was the godly king Jehoshaphat. God stated that he walked in the ways of David, but sadly then we find Jehoshaphat in Samaria out of the will of God. He was in the presence of the godless king named Ahab. Ahab is a symbol and type of the ungodly world around us. This ungodly king presented to Jehoshaphat a lavish feast to draw Jehoshaphat’s mind away from God and to place it on the lust of the world. The whole plan of this ungodly king was to persuade Jehoshaphat to go to Ramothgilead with him to war, hand in hand, heart to heart, spirit with spirit, even employing false prophets and their lies to influence and deceive Jehoshaphat, and persuade him to join in this ungodly military adventure. This act of uniting with the ungodly(out of the will of God) almost cost Jehoshaphat’s life. When he returned to Jerusalem, the Lord settled some of the issues against him using His prophet Jehu, the son of Hanani the seer. And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the LORD? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the LORD. (2 Chronicles 19:2) This was a strong rebuke, yet, Jehoshaphat took it humbly and set his heart to follow after God, however, this bypass (out of the will of God) would cost him dearly throughout his entire life, yet, God in His mercy had searched the heart of Jehoshaphat and had found a good part in him. This good part answered to God’s mercy and grace, truly, a prince or a king can be persuaded from his path. By long forbearing is a prince persuaded, and a soft tongue breaketh the bone. (Proverbs 25:15) Through much forbearing and persuasion, the heart of the king, and the heart of the prince can be moved.
The Result of Patient Consistent Persuasion
And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; (Luke 18:1)
And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? (Luke 18:3-7)
Even this unjust judge in this parable in the gospels eventually took the woman’s side, for she continually and through forbearance troubled him with her plight. And then he satisfied her request.
The Result of Evil Persuasion
We also have the diabolical persuasion of the devil, and not only the devil, but also the evil heart of man. We find this evil persuasion at its fullest in Matthew 27:20. But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. Here we have the most wicked persuasion of all, the people were persuaded by the priests (the religious leaders) and by the rulers of the Jews (the political rulers of the nation). They were persuaded to cry for a murderer by the name of Barabbas. This action set in motion the judgment that would fall upon the Jews, upon the nation of Israel, and upon Jerusalem. Their cry for a murderer set the judgment of a Just, of a Holy, and of a Righteous man. It set the judgment upon the Prince of Life to be crucified. They were persuaded by evil, and they swallowed the lies of the liars.
This was a reflection of what took place in the garden long before. Adam and Eve were persuaded by the old Serpent, the Devil. They partook of the tree of good and evil, and their judgment was forever set. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.(Genesis 2:16, 17) And they did — they took — and they died. They were stripped of their glory, and Ichabod was invisibly written across their foreheads. They were spiritually dead to God.
Thus, mankind traveled through time to the fullness of time. Israel had the opportunity to partake of the tree of life that stood before them in the Person of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Mercy was before them, if you will receive it, Christ was there to set up His kingdom, but the Jews refused the kingdom of God, and sealed their fate. They would be driven out of the land like never before, all blessings to the Jews would cease as a nation. They would wander the earth like a vagabond, like Cain, for they had killed the Prince of Life. Israel, as a land, would become a barren land, as a reflection of their spiritual barrenness. Consequently, all the nations of the world would put the Jews to task, for they were persuaded to take a murderer over the Prince of Life. They would rather have the one who takes life then the Holy One of God who gives life. Yes, they were persuaded. Now lets enter into the realm of eternal things.
The Eternal Endless Message of Persuasion
There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. (Luke 16:19-31)
We come to a rich man in eternal torment, and he cries to Abraham that the flames around him torments him. In life he was persuaded by his riches, in this life he decided to cast off God and completely ignore his fellow countryman, Lazarus. His own desires, his own vanity was more important than the sufferings of this poor beggar. As Lazarus suffered, the dogs licked his sores, it was not man but the beasts who had compassion on this poor beggar. The rich man fared sumptuously every day. There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: (Luke 16:19) The riches of this world were more demanding on this rich man than the compassion of God for this poor beggar. The rich man not only had his heart and thoughts on his riches, but the riches made demands and claims upon his heart. It hardened his heart against compassion. It hardened his heart against benevolence. It hardened his heart against his fellow man. The final words of the Spirit to the man in torment are most profound. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. (Luke 16:30, 31)
This is an endless message, it is applied to those who are alive, and it is the answer to those who are in torment, for if they will not believe Moses and the prophets, they will not believe although one rise from the dead. They will not be persuaded, lets give them the whole canon of Scripture, and 2000 plus years to contemplate the truth, and they will still not be persuaded.
The Persuasion of Lies
Now what have we seen thus far? We have seen that man can be persuaded to do much evil, man can be persuaded (by the riches of the world) to act in belief against his eternal destiny all because of sin within man. Evil comes easier for man when man will believe a lie before he will be persuaded of the truth of God. Man believes his own lies, for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves: (Isaiah 28:15b) And they will lie and turn their lies to their own measure of truth. And with their lies they will try to persuade others; for man lives in a world of lies. In fact, man condemns lies by telling bigger lies. He is only a reflection of his father who is the father of lies, that is the Devil. And the Devil has been a liar from the beginning. Why is man so against the truth of God? because his eyes have been blinded by his evil world, by the flesh, and the by the lies of the adversary of the souls of mankind: the Devil.
This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. (2 Timothy 3:1-5)
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; (1Timothy 4:1-2)
Lying is common place in our age, man lies and continues to lie about the very truth of God. I remember the words of Cain as he lied to God, ‘Am I my brother’s keeper? The great antitype and fulfillment of that statement was that Christ laid down His life for His brethren. He is the great example of being His brothers keeper. The reason that man ignores Cain’s statement is because of the enmity in his heart against God and against his fellow man. Taking sin out of the way, there should be no poverty in this world, there should be no injustice, there should not be the deception and wickedness that permeates this world, but when you add sin into the equation and deface the beauty of God’s creation, we have the words of the Almighty to Cain, ‘sin lieth at the door.’
Men will lie about the gift of salvation knowing that in themselves they do not possess it, and lie to deceive others; and in this, they are not ignorant. The religious leaders of the Jews looked straight in the face of eternity and told the Son of God that they had Moses and the prophets. Thus, rejecting Christ they would die in their sins for grace and truth had come in Jesus Christ, but the religious leaders and the rulers of the Jews would rather believe a lie of the Devil, and the lies of their wicked hearts. This is man. We could say, Where art thou? Truth is surrounded by the entire Being of God. Truth was given by God’s word, and truth was manifested in the Living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. He proclaimed of Himself that My word shall not pass away.
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. (Matthew 24:35) Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. (Mark 13:31) Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. (Luke 21:33)
In all three of these verses the Lord Jesus proclaimed God’s word as His own. He is the Possessor and the Author of the word of God. The Living Word embodied by the very power of His word. The Lord Jesus is also the great Possessor of all truth. Truth belongs to the Lord of glory. He told the Jews in Matthew 15:7-9. Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
The hypocrisy of the Jews was based on lies of what they did not possess, yet, they claimed that because of Moses and the prophets that they had a relationship with the Almighty God. They lied to pervert the truth — not to accept it. We have that same heart today: in this world they praise God, a God that they do not know. This is the biggest lie of all. For in this they promote a false gospel: their gospel has no faith, has no conviction, has no repentance, has no grace, and has no Christ. All of these are replaced with the traditions of men.
Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. (Matthew 13:13-15
We live on the same precipice that the Lord was speaking about. It seems as if mankind would rather jump into hell then to love God’s Christ. You say, That’s no so! Then I ask this question, With so many religious people in this world today, why is there so much evil? They cry, Lord, Lord, knowing that they know not God. They cry out, Holy, Holy, knowing that they are not holy. They cry to heaven above knowing that the door is closed to them. And man loves to lay his own personal sin and iniquity on the doorstep of the Devil when God made man a responsible being, and man’s sin has blinded him to that responsibility. Man will not, and cannot, lie his way into heaven. This is one thing that is completely impossible for man to do. In his sin condition, he is locked out of the portals of heaven. Only through the Lord Jesus Christ, only with the mercies of God and the grace of God can man acquire such a high estate, and that estate has to be bought with the blood of Christ. Do you want to live with a gospel of fantasy? if so, you will die in your sins. Do you want to live by the lies of religion? if so, you will die in your sins. Do you want to live by the lies of the world? if so, you will die in your sins. Do you want to live by the lies of the Devil? if so, you will die in your sins.
For the past nine years and especially these past two years (this being 2017) all unimaginable lies have been brought out to the whole world. I have witnessed the greatest lies of my entire lifetime. We have been bombarded with lies from the haters of God, and I will say, they also hate just men who try to better the lives of their brethren. When you examine these liars, their eyes have become hollow and dull with their very lies. The expression ‘Fake News’ should be replaced and titled ‘Lies by Liars.’ This is a world wide tyranny of lies, and Barabbas is traveling around the world spreading his murder and wickedness. All these have become the fodder of the image of Satan. With all deviousness and deception, their hearts have become as stone like Nabal (1 Samuel 25); their lies flow off their tongues like honey delivering the sting of death with their lies.
They know not (and care not) that God has revealed Himself, He manifested Himself in the likeness of sinful flesh so that He might take sin upon Him; and in Jesus Christ He could deliver both grace and truth to mankind. God has given us 66 books to persuade mankind of mans need for a Savior, yet, man will believe a lie before he will believe the truth. Yes, man has to be persuaded, and this is the work of the word of God. This is the work of the Holy Spirit of God. This is the work of the Son of God Jesus Christ. And this the work of God the Father, all persuading men to repent of their sins, and turn, yes, turn to the Savior of man Jesus Christ.
In Hebrews, Chapter 6, we see the result of the true persuasion of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The apostle is recognizing the believing Jews for the evidence of their salvation. Because they were walking with Christ they had compassion for others; they had endured hardships and sufferings because of their faith at the hand of their own countrymen. Many had been driven out of the synagogues, and out of the Temple, they were not welcomed with the truth, sound familiar? Open your eyes, and see what has become of professing (not possessing) Christianity. Even though they were driven out of the synagogue and their names were mocked, they like those in Chapter 11 of Hebrews, were persuaded and were willing to endure the afflictions of Christ from an ungodly world. Yet, they calmly clung to the Christ of God, and were not turned by the meaningless opinions of men. To any who have been given life from the dead, how could man possibly have any truthful opinion of us. We belong to the heavens above, we are merely here to give the world the proof of God. We don’t care what men thinks about us. We don’t care about our state of life. The believing Jews were prepared (like Paul) to become nothing in this world for the love of Christ. They were now a heavenly people (and praise the Lord of glory) they had/have a heavenly Priest, the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Paul could say of these Jews, I am persuaded better things of you. By examining the word ‘persuaded’ we see two elements of the same word: we have those who are persuaded by the world (by their own vanity and by their own sins) and they are persuaded to hell. We see, however, another persuasion, the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ persuading sinful man to repent and lay hold of the glories of Jesus Christ. The eternal door to heaven is the Person of the Son of God. So therefore, can I persuade you to cast yourself on the mercies of God in Jesus Christ, the only God and Savior given to mankind for man’s salvation. Can you say with the apostle Paul, and this writer, the words of 2 Timothy 1:12, For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. Yes, I am fully persuaded there is no other God and Savior, only the Son of God Jesus Christ will do for my soul, and my eternity. Amen, and Amen.
© Copyright 2017, Michael Haigh
Article may be used, but not for gain. Freely ye have received, freely give.
All Scripture references are from the Authorized King James Bible. (KJV)