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The Book of Hebrews: Message
Sixteen
By Dr. Michael
Guido, D.D.
The Bible is a
God-inspired book about man. When it speaks of the
soul, it means the soul of man. When it speaks of
sin, it means the sin of man. When God came into this
world, He came in the form of man. When the Gospel is
preached, it's preached to man. What concerns man
concerns God. It's no wonder, then, that the question
is asked, "What is man?"
"Man's a
sick fly," said a cynic, "taking a dizzy
ride on a dying planet." But Seneca said,
"Man's a social animal." Homer added,
"Man's an animal that writes." But
Nathaniel Hawthorne described him as "an earthen
jug with a spirit." Plato saw him as "a
two-legged animal without feathers," but to
Oppenheim "man's the best child of the
universe." A modern writer defined him as
"a tired creature. He takes a pill to put
himself to sleep at night and another pill to wake up
in the morning and another pill to get himself
through the day." But none of these answers are
adequate. For one that is let's go to the Bible.
Mark man's
dignity. It's written in Hebrews 2:7, "Thou
madest him a little lower than angels; Thou crownedst
him with glory and honor, and didst set him over the
works of Thy hands." Man came into being by
God's direct act of creation. The Bible says,
"The Lord God formed man out of the dust of the
ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of
life; and man became a living soul." Man didn't
evolve from the brute, he was created after the
divine type. The Bible says, "God created man in
his own image." This wasn't said of herbs or
animals, only of man. And the first man wasn't
ignorant. He was intelligent. He gave names to the
birds and the beasts. But there wasn't found a helper
suitable for him. Why? There's no connecting link
between man and beast. They have different natures.
There's nothing in common. So the Lord caused a deep
sleep to fall upon Adam, and while he slept He took
one of his ribs. And the rib which He took He made
into a woman and brought her to Adam. Then Adam said,
"This creature is now bone of my bones and flesh
of my flesh."
But mark man's
downfall. Man was created a "little lower than
God." But he wasn't satisfied
He wanted to
be as God. For he yielded to the temptation when
Satan said, "Ye shall be as God." And
doesn't man yield to that temptation today? He denies
the word of God. Then he despises the will of God.
Then he deserts the way of God. By so doing he
becomes self-centered. Now when your thinking, your
feeling and your will become self-centered, you've
made yourself God. Every man and woman has a god.
Your God is either self or the Savior - which?
Mark the
dominion. It's written in Hebrews 2:7, "Thou
didst set him over the works of Thy hands." For
the Lord said to man in Genesis 2:7, "Be
fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and
subdue it and have dominion." Man was meant to
be free, gloriously and gladly free, the servant of
God. Whenever man is mastered by God, man masters
himself, his surroundings and his circumstances. But
if man is mastered by someone or something less than
God, he's a slave to sin. Look at Adam. He sinned,
and when he sinned he lost the dominion he once
delighted in. He no longer mastered himself. He
became enslaved by evil. Oh, the animal kingdom was
submissive to him. However it wasn't because of
affection, but fear. And what of the ground? Instead
of yielding only good things, it produced thorns and
thistles, weeds and wicked things. Extremes of cold
and heat, earthquakes and eruptions, typhoons and
tornadoes, joined together to make his life a
constant battle to survive. He lost his dominion over
all these things because of his disobedience.
But mark the
destiny. The Bible asks, "What is man, that Thou
art mindful of him? Or the son of man, that Thou
visitest him?" The word "visitest"
means "to look upon in order to help or to
benefit, to look after, to have a care for." Man
is frustrated by fear, tied by his transgressions. He
should be a king, but he's a slave. And the Lord
looks upon him in order to help him and set him free
and give him the dominion he ought to have. My
friend, you were made for God. You were made to be a
victor, not a victim! "For 18 years I tried to
overcome sin," said a young man, "but I was
overcome. It was like quicksand: the more I
struggled, the deeper I sank helplessly into it. Then
I called on Christ. He saved me, and He set me
free!" Don't you want to be free, wonderfully
free? Then call on Christ - now!
copyright 2000 Guido Evangelistic
Association
All Scripture verses are
quoted from the New King James Version.
Click here to go
to the next message in this Sower Scripture Study on
the book of Hebrews.
This series of messages on the
books of the Bible were originally written for
broadcast on Dr. Guido's radio program, "The
Sower." They are collected and reprinted here
for your enjoyment and spiritual edification.
