FINDERS WEEPERS – LOSERS KEEPERS
“It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. But there is a place where someone has testified: ‘What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor and put everything under his feet.’ In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present, we do not see everything subject to him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering." ----- Hebrews 2:5-10 NIV
Following his comments regarding angels and his strong warning that Christians should guard against drifting, the writer of Hebrews turns his attention to the subject of mankind. Man was originally designed and equipped to have dominion over all things in the world, but since his fall, man has not been able to live up to his potential. As G. K. Chesterson says, “Whatever else is or is not, true, this one thing is certain. Man is not what he was meant to be.”
And, along comes Jesus. Coming to our rescue. He gives back to His own (the losers) what we lost in Adam, and yet there are many (the finders) who still claim to have found, all on their own, the answers to greatness. Without Jesus, however, these deluded individuals will finally find themselves without hope, facing the saddest fate one could imagine.
GOD’S WORD AND WARNING – Hebrews 1:1-2; 4
The writer of Hebrews had a two-fold purpose in writing to the struggling and troubled Christians of his day who were living under Roman oppression and abuse. He wrote to let them know that Christ is Superior. And, to convince them that their Superior Savior was worthy of their trust, no matter how painful their circumstances.
He wrote to warn them to guard themselves against drifting and neglecting the salvation plan God has for them.
In addition, the Hebrews writer speaks of MAN’S DOMINION ANDDEVASTATION in Chapter 2, verses 5-8. God never gave angels dominion over the earth and all that is on it and within it. We early on find that truth in Genesis1:27-30. Originally mankind (Adam and Eve), with intelligence not polluted by sin, was given authority over all creatures. Man was capable of governing and ruling.
Psalm 8:3-8 (from which Hebrews 2:6-8 is taken) spells out the scope of that rule: “You put everything under his feet.” Nothing was exempt from his rule.
The animal world was put at man’s disposal; no animal was fierce. Birds and fish were tame and available to man. All of creation responded to the touch of the first human beings – Adam and Eve.
But ---- Destruction occurred. Sin entered the picture, and what was meant to be, came to an end. See Chapter 2:8 again. “In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet as the present we do not see everything subject to him.”
It isn’t that we don’t try to rule over nature. It is that we are now unable to do with any success. We are constantly reminded that we are weak. Dangers are always present. Sin came and conquered.
Man became the loser intellectually, emotionally, physically, and in the areas of creativity, stability, confidence, and perception.
From the time of the fall of man, history has been filled with crises precipitated by mankind’s attempts to exercise dominion. The comforting news, however, is that God did not leave mankind without hope.
CHRIST’S SACRIFICE AND PROVISION – Hebrews 2:9-10
What is the answer? To see Jesus. Losers have to face the fact that they cannot do it on their own power. We must see Jesus, the One who the Hebrews writer says “was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.”
When we pursue dominion, we can accomplish remarkable things, but our impotence is demonstrated by our inability to handle the problem of death.
We might ask the question – was it fitting that Christ should die? The answer, of course, is YES! It was necessary.
Verse 10 says, “It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.
The tragedy in this is that, in spite of Christ’s great provision and sacrifice, there are those who believe they need no help from above.
We call those people “the Finders.” They have found a substitute, temporal way to gain honor, prestige, and power. Humanism is the premier example of this behavior. It asserts the dignity and worth of man and his capacity for self-realization through reason alone.
But, such finders are ultimately going to be weepers, because their way or their reason does not enable them to handle eternity.
So, what is our CHOICE AND HOPE? We choose between two alternatives. First, choosing Christ results in true hope, making the ideal real. Losers actually become keepers in Christ.
Secondly, choosing self results in false hope, emphasizing man’s dignity, and ignoring God’s eternity. Finders, in the long term, and in the end, become weepers.
Gary’s Wednesday Word 01 September 2021 Princeton Christian Church