Hebrews 4:12-13
“THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD”
By: Reverend Kenneth Emerson Sauer, Pastor of Parkview United Methodist Church,
Newport News, VA
A day or two before I
was to leave for college, my pastor came to my door with a gift.
It was a small--pocket-sized Bible with a nice leather cover.
I was a little surprised by this gift, but at the same time, I was very grateful....it made me
feel special....that he would go to all the trouble of buying this beautiful book just for me--and
then delivering it to my house personally.
I took this Bible to college with me....and after a few months....when I began to become
convicted by the Holy Spirit....and was struggling with the decision whether or not to give my
life completely over to Christ....I opened up this Bible that my pastor had given me.
The Words made sense....I think that the first thing I read were the Proverbs....and I
remember thinking to myself, “Yes, this is wisdom....yes this is the way the world works.....”
The words in that Bible helped me to discern the difference between light and darkness,
truth from error, and right from wrong.
After a period of time, I did indeed give my life to Christ, and the Words of this book
literally jumped off the pages as I read them.....
I had seen the light....I had come to know the truth.....and the truth could be found within
the pages of this Book!
It was “living and active”....speaking to my eighteen year-old mind, soul, and Spirit.
I couldn’t get enough.
I read it night and day, and carried it wherever I went.
Even though the words contained within this Book were written thousands of years
ago....they were still completely applicable to my life in this modern world.
Within this Book was written the truth...the truth about life...the truth about God, and the
truth about me.
This Book changed my life, and my life has not even been close to the same since!
I don’t have that little leather-bound Bible anymore....because one evening when I was
waiting for a bus, I got into a conversation with a man about God.....he was a homeless man, and
he didn’t own a Bible....so I gave him mine.
As the hymn says, “That’s how it is with God’s love...once you’ve experienced it...You
want to pass it on.”
The next day, I went straight to a Christian bookstore, and bought a new Bible.....which I
learned to love and cherish as much as I did the other.
Yes, as our Scripture says in verse 12, “The Word of God is living and active.
It’s not a lifeless letter,
It’s not just paper and ink....
Within the pages of the Bible are God’s Words and God’s promises---and they are a
living reality.
The Word of God is alive and active within those of us who believe...as Paul declares in
1st Thessalonians, “And we also thank God continually because, when you recieved the word of
God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the
word of God, which is at work in you who believe.”
As we read and injest, and interpret the Word of God for our lives the Word actually is
at work within us....convicting us, and changing us day by day to become more and more
like Christ.
My friends, is the Word of God at work in you?
When the Word of God is at work within us, we continually grow in our knowledge of
God through every experience....good or bad....through every relationship....through every
conversation...through every encounter.
We learn how to peaceably interact with other human beings, we come to better
understand the meaning of life, and how to cope with life, and we learn what God’s will is for
our own lives.
So that we are not wondering hopelessly always searching, but never finding.....as Jesus
declares in John chapter 8, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
The truth contained within the Bible sets us free to be ourselves, to be the people God
created us to be.....it gives us a confidence that we could never have had before.....because
when we are living for God....we no longer have to worry about ourselves, and how others will
percieve us, and how others will judge us, and whether or not we are being cool or “in vogue”.
And my friends, this is true freedom indeed!
Our Scripture lesson goes on to say that the Word of God is “Sharper than any
double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges
the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
The Word of God penetrates a person’s innermost being....soul and spirit....joints and
marrow....the totality and depth of one’s being.
The Word of God is truth, and sometimes truth hurts.
The Word of God is a reflecting mirror.....it reflects and exposes the kind of people we
really are.
And sometimes that doesn’t feel too good.
And that’s the reason that so many people reject the Word of God.
It’s just too painful to face the truth.
It calls upon us to change, and many of us don’t want to change....
We are comfortable in our sinfulness....we like our bad habits.....we enjoy the lusts of the
flesh.....
As the Bbile says in John chapter 3, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world,
but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil
hates the light, and will not come to the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.”
And the Word of God is this light!
The first apartment I lived in after graduating from college was pretty run-down to say
the least. It had just one bedroom...and that was it.....no kitchen....just one little bedroom, and of
course a bathroom.
And I slept on my boss’s military cot in the middle of this room.
One night, after I had turned out the light and gotten into bed, I remembered that I had
forgotten to do something, so I got up, and flicked on the light....what I saw startled me....the
walls were literally covered with cock-roaches that were quickly scrambling back up the
walls in order to hide from the light.
That’s what I always think about when I read that passage in John. I envision those
cock-roaches that hated the light....and ran for cover as soon as the light came on.
And this is what many people do when the light of the gospel is turned on in this dark
world.
They run back into the darkness.....because they hate the light.
And this is the verdict...the choice has been made.
Tell me who do you love?
Think of it this way, when our eyes are only accustomed to darkness, and then someone
turns on a bright light....what does that do to our eyes?
It hurts.....and we also are able to see the mess that is our lives.
So we either decide to leave the light on, and let our eyes adjust, and then begin to pick
up the broken pieces of our lives....or we shut the light back off! Deciding to remain in the
darkness....lest our deeds be exposed for what they are.
Have you come to the light, or have you turned the light off?
And this light is our lantern or flashlight....so that we won’t trip, stumble, and fall over
every obstacle that gets in our way.
As the Bible says in Psalm 119, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”
Think about it this way, say you are in the woods late at night....everything is
dark.....you’re trying to walk down the path that leads home.....but you can’t see that path.....and
not only can you not see the path, you also can’t see every root that sticks up out of the ground,
every rock that is in your way....so you trip, stumble, and fall over every root, rock, and stick.
And you can’t follow the path...because you can’t see it....so you ultimately get
lost.....and over time you become thirsty, and you become hungry....and you are never able to
find your way home....so you eventually die.....a lost, broken, and hurt soul....
This is how we are without the light of Christ leading us through the obstacles of this
dark world....whenever I have wondered away from the Word of God, I have tripped, stumbled
and fallen over every temptation, and sin that has gotten in my way.
It’s no fun to be lost....it’s no fun to try to live without the light of God....which is His
Word.
And the Word of God is how we come to the knowledge of the saving grace of Jesus
Christ.
As the Bible says in 1st Peter, “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but
of imperishable, through the living and enduring Word of God....and in Romans 10:17, “Faith
comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word of Christ.”
Have you heard the Word?
Have you been born of God through accepting His Word for yourselves?
And once we have been born of God....we need to be fed by God....and the way we are
fed by God is through reading and digesting His Word.
As the Bible says in 1st Peter, “Like newborn babies, crave spiritual milk, so that by it
you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
The Word of God is our meat and our food, and through studying it, reading it, and living
it, our spiritual muscles are formed, and grow....our spiritual minds are enlightened...and great
wisdom comes into our lives....our eyes become strong so that we are able to see and understand
the difference between sin and deception....and therefore we are able to step around the snares of
the Devil.
And the longer we feed on God’s Word, the stronger we become...the better our lives
become....the less we stumble, and the less we fall.
And as our journey of faith continues, our spiritual bodies mature....and we are no longer
like newborn babies.....that have to be fed only milk......no, the Word of God is so deep.....the
truths so multi-layered that the more we study, the more we grow, the more we want.....as the
Bible says in Hebrews, “Solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained
themselves to distinguish good from evil.”
We are called to be as “shrewd as snakes, and as innocent as doves”....and this wisdom
comes from the Word of God....this innocence comes from the Word of God......
And isn’t this what we want? Isn’t this what we desire?
As our Scripture lesson tells us in verse13: Ultimately, “Nothing in all creation is
hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom
we must give account.”
God sees all things....God knows whether we believe in Him and His Word or not, God
knows if we are making a false profession or if we are truly following Christ.
Most of us have Bibles, when they lay around they are nothing more than paper, pen, and
ink....
But when they are opened they become “living and active. Sharper than any
double-edged sword”....penetrating “even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and
marrow”.....judging “the thoughts and attitudes of” our hearts.
Thanks be to God!
