Sermons

8 ¹Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven.  ⁸ But God found fault with the people and said: “The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.  ⁹It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord.  ¹⁰ This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

Many Christians are ignorant…not knowing…of the great benefits that are available to them as a Christian…goes back to getting past the elementary teaching about Christ. “Ignorance of the scripture is ignorance of Christ.”

You ought to know more about God’s character than when you first became a Christian…you ought to know more than you did a few years ago…we are urged to move on from the initial salvation message and grow spiritually in our Christian faith…to advance to spiritual adulthood instead of remaining in spiritual childhood.

When we fail to mature spiritually the enemy takes advantage of us…to keep us depressed and prevent us from realizing God’s promises.

…when plagued by guilt Jesus says: ‘I will remember their sins no more’ [Heb.8:12] …stop harboring old sins.

…when feeling alienated God says: ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’. [Heb 13:5]

…when we allow ourselves to be put under manmade rules God says: ‘I will put My laws into their minds.’ [Heb. 8:10]

Hence the importance of pressing on to maturity…as we grow spiritually it is the knowledge of those verses that helps us keep Satan out of our lives.

Let me share with you how you accomplish that…it’s not if you read your Bible…but if you let your Bible read you.

Is God’s word alive and actively working in your life…is He talking to you… OR…is it dead on a shelf at home?

Don’t know if you have paid particular attention or not…but as we’ve been going through Hebrews, we’ve been looking at the different parts of the Jewish religion and the importance of knowing why Jesus is superior to every one of them.

If you have grown up your entire life trusting in something…holding a particular idea above everything else…then to turn away or rethink how you feel about that idea, it is going to take some serious convincing.

That is exactly what the author is attempting to accomplish…revealing why Jesus is superior to Judaism and every other cult or religion…in the first four chapters of Hebrews the writer states the reason why:

…Jesus is better than the prophets…in chapter 1 the writer says: in previous times God spoke through the prophets but in these last days has spoken to us through His Son [1:2] …there is no further need of prophets.

…Jesus is better than the angels because He is the creator of the angels…the creator is always greater than the created…therefore “let all the angels worship Him”. [1:6]                                                                                                                                

…In chapter 3 he emphasizes Jesus is superior to Moses…like any prophet Moses repeatedly said ‘thus says the LORD’…but Jesus never used that phrase because He is the LORD.

Moses was a faithful servant in God’s house [3:5] …Jesus is the Son in God’s house [3:6] therefore“He has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses” 3:3.

…He is greater than Aaron because as our High Priest he can sympathize with our weaknesses because He has endured the same suffering…trials…and temptations as we have…yet without sinning.

Now…you’re saying…how is this relevant to me…what you’re sharing with me is something I completely agree with…how does this apply to me?…here’s how…

Today just like in any other time in history there are those out there who are just like the people we’re reading about…people who are unwilling…or for lack of knowledge…are clinging to an outdated…misguided…or manmade religion.

I will not bash other Christian denominations…I might point out discrepancies in our beliefs but I’m not going to badmouth other Christian denominations… however…I will single out those groups who grossly misrepresent the Bible and preach a theology that is blatantly opposed to Scripture.  

Case in point…for the Mormons, Jesus lived with God as His spirit child before His life on earth…He led a perfect mortal life as the example for us to follow and then became the Messiah.

Jehovah Witnesses believe that Jesus was God’s first creation…neither Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses believe in the Trinity.

When we fail to know what the Bible says about who Jesus is we are just like those early Christians who were running the risk of failing to come to the knowledge of what God had provided for them through His Son Jesus.

That’s why he writes in [3:1] to ‘consider Jesus’…he’s saying I’ve given you a few reasons why you should consider Jesus over Judaism or any other religion.

A few weeks back I preached a whole sermon just on that phrase… ‘consider Jesus’ …not going to preach it again…but it’s important to remember the highlights of what the author is stressing when he makes the earnest appeal to consider Jesus:

—Who is the author of our salvation through suffering [2:10]

—Who rendered powerless him (Satan) who had the power of death [2:14]

—Who made propitiation for the sins of people [2:17]

—Who comes to the aid of those who are tempted [2:18]

—Who is the High Priest of our confession [3:1]

—Whose once-and-for all sacrifice of taking away the sins of the world is superior to any Old Testament ritual

As a result of His superiority Jesus is:

better than the prophets (Heb. 1:1–2),

better than the angels (1:5–14),

better than Moses (3:1–19),

better than all the priests that were before Him (4:14–5:10; 7:23–28),

better than all previous sacrifices (9:11–14; 10:19).

The writer spends over half of the book describing the primary elements of the Jewish religion to emphasize why every one of those elements are nothing next to Jesus…Jesus is better…is greater…and superior to all of them.

The writer now turns to the one part of the Jewish religion he has not yet mentioned…he focuses on the most important part of the Jewish religion…the covenant.

That is why he starts off chapter 8 with…the main point of what we are saying is this…in other words…I’ve said all that so I can say this:

Everything that he has mentioned so far in Judaism is secondary to the covenant …at the center of the Jewish religion lies the covenant relationship with God.

The Jews took pride in the covenant…and even in the midst of their disobedience and punishment, they drew comfort and strength from the covenant.

In essence the writer is saying…if you liked the old one you’re going to love the new one…the new covenant mediated by Jesus is superior to the old one and is founded on better promises.

This is the third time [Gen. 14 / Psalm 110] the writer of Hebrews uses Old Testament verses to support his claim that God promised a ‘better’ or a ‘new’ covenant between Himself and His people.

He quotes from Jeremiah 32…the longest Old Testament quote in the New Testament…to emphasize the importance of the ‘new’ covenant over the old… he uses the Greek word (καινήν) that refers to something that is fresh…unused… is superior to what it succeeds…not a reproduction of something old.

He now makes a comparison between the Old and New Covenant…under the old covenant the priest entered the holy of holies in the temple…God’s dwelling place and presented animal sacrifices over and over for the sins of the people:

every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again, he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.¹² But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God, [Hebrews 10:11-12]

Things to note in making a comparison between the priests and Jesus:

…ONE…when the priest offered sacrifices, they stood up…there were no chairs. Jesus however is seated at the right hand of God.

…TWO…priests offered animal sacrifices…Jesus offered Himself.

…THREE…the priest offered sacrifices again and again…the work of the priest was never finished…Jesus was a one-time sacrifice. No further sacrifice needed.  

…FOUR…all priests were of the tribe of Levi…Jesus was of the tribe of Judah.

In Hebrews 8:8-12 the author is quoting from Jeremiah [31:31-34] to reiterate the promise made hundreds of years earlier…God explicitly says He will one day ‘effect a new covenant’ to replace the Levitical priesthood with something superior.

So why was it necessary to make a new Covenant…what was wrong with the old one?…the reason the Old Covenant didn’t “work” was not because of God.

Reasons for a new Covenant were:

God found fault with the people…they failed to comply with the conditions on which God promised to bestow blessings upon them.

In Deuteronomy 28 and Leviticus 27 God tells the people if you do all I have required of you I will set you above all the nations of the earth and blessing will come upon you…know something…God is saying the same thing to us today.

Something of the nature of God…obedience always brings blessing…God can’t help Himself…He always blesses obedience…here’s what God told them:

1. They would receive seasonal rains that would cause their crops to grow.

2. They would dwell in the land in peace and without fear.

3. God would rid the wild beasts out of the land.

4. They would have victory over their enemies.

5. They would be fruitful and multiply.

6. He would walk among them and be their God and they would be His people.

BUT…the covenant was conditional on their obedience to His law…God prefaced all of these promises with the words “If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments and do them.” [Lev. 26:3] …99% of all of God’s covenants and promises are conditional…There are 6 major covenants in Scripture and all but one is conditional:

The Adamic (or Edenic) Covenant

The Noahic Covenant

The Abrahamic Covenant

The Mosaic (or Priestly) Covenant

The Davidic Covenant

The New Covenant

In all but one God requires something from mankind…the only covenant that doesn’t is the covenant made with Noah that didn’t require anything from him.

God promised Israel all those things I mentioned…BUT He also tells them if you do not obey, curses will come upon you.

People thought because they were the descendants of Abraham, they were safe because they were part of the Covenant…because human nature is what it is…they didn’t stay faithful.

they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them

That’s not what you want to hear from God… I turned away from them…

but it happened because the people failed to keep their end of the bargain.

Judges 2:11 – the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD

Judges 2:13 – they forsook the LORD

Judges 3:7 – the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgot the LORD their God

Judges 10:6 -the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD.

So…does God turn away from us…people have the idea that because I’m a Christian God will never leave me nor forsake me…that is true…BUT…there are times when God does withdraw His presence from us.

The reality is God at times does leave us alone…He doesn’t stop us…He does allow us to go our own way…even when we’re headed for disaster.

BUT…He will never withdraw his covenant commitment to us…His sustaining grace from us…or His indwelling Holy Spirit from us…what He withdraws is His fellowship from us.

God is always ready to forgive us and save us, no matter how far we’ve drifted away from Him…but because God allows us free will we often times are the one initiating the break in fellowship.

Second reason for a new Covenant…it was always God’s intent for salvation to come through Jesus…not through the sacrifices of animals or through O. T. Law…so as a result:

⁹ It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors

Here’s the contrast between the Old Covenant…the Law…and the New Covenant with Jesus:

Under the law, righteousness was based on good works
Under grace, righteousness is given through faith

Under the law, people were powerless to become righteous
Under grace, Jesus’ death makes sinners righteous before God

Under the law, blessings accompanied obedience
Under grace, God bestows his blessings as a free gift

Under the Law, there were over 600 laws to keep
Under grace, God writes them in our heart

¹⁰ This is the covenant I will establish with the people.

God never intended the old covenant to be permanent…it was given for Israel’s benefit but it failed to produce the promised blessings because the people failed to obey its conditions.

The new covenant cannot fail because it depends not on people’s obedience to a set of laws but on God’s unchanging grace in how He works with people from within…He gives them inner spiritual life that makes them loyal to him.

Jeremiah is revealing a new Covenant between God and man which is describing the ministry of Jesus…600 years before Jesus is even born…don’t think the Bible isn’t inspired…you can’t make this stuff up.

This is the ultimate distinction between the old and new Covenants…the old Covenant required a reliance on laws…obedience…rituals…animal sacrifices …doing things…people were relying on their own efforts.

That is exactly why we have so much conflict within the Church… so much denominational in-fighting…let me just speak to how the Southern Baptist Convention looks at how we believe God speaks to us.

We believe that God speaks directly to individuals…not verbally…but through the Bible and the Holy Spirit…that each person can read the Bible and interpret it themselves…there’s some danger in that…because Scripture must be interpreted in a way that is consistent with its context.

God’s decision was to remove all these man-made requirements and instead:

I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

At least 33 times in Scripture God makes that promise…I will be their God and they will be my people…in one form or another.  

Jesus is the New Covenant who offers a personal…internal…eternal… relationship…that includes the complete forgiveness for sins…whose ‘laws’ are now written on the inside of us.

They are a part of our new nature…in the New Covenant we live by the Spirit of God who is our Counselor…Jesus describes the work of the Holy Spirit; when He comes…He will guide you into all truth.

That promise came with a price…the sacrificial death of Jesus…and it comes with a condition…you need to make the decision to believe in and trust Him as your Savior.

Jesus has already taken the first step…He has already given you the faith to seek Him and find him…but He’s not going to force you to seek him…if you follow Him He promises He will give you the power to become His child (John 1:12-13) …and He will give you all the blessing of being His child.

¹³ When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, ¹⁴ saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” ¹⁵ And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised. ¹⁶ People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the  oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. ¹⁷ Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath.  ¹⁸ God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.  [6:13-18]

How far a person is willing to go to keep their word defines that person’s moral character…a lot of times people give you their word as a promise they’ll do something…problem is people are natural liars…so it’s the natural human tendency to be suspicious of another person’s word.

The Bible says because of that the concept of making oaths came about to confirm what was agreed upon and to end arguments [6:16]:

 the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument

When people enter into discussions, especially dealing with matters of importance, people swear oaths to confirm the truthfulness of their statements.

It’s what insecure people expect from people they don’t have trust in… especially if there’s some suspicion about that person not keeping their promise…oaths are the extra layer of reassurance that they’re telling the truth.

In ancient Hebrew culture swearing by God’s name helped assure the truth…it was natural to swear by something greater than oneself…therefore, to swear by God served to close a deal or an argument.

The third commandment forbids making empty or false oaths: “You shall not swear by my name falsely” (Lev. 19:12).

When you swear by God’s name, it must not be a false promise or one you don’t intend to keep.

In today’s culture not much has changed…but swearing using God’s name has taken on a whole new level of absurdity…actually it’s become worse because at least the Jews knew the seriousness of the Third commandment and the danger of misusing the name of God.

One of the gravest misuses of God’s name in America is the widespread habit of using God’s name to express a commitment to something…to stress a person’s anger about something…or as a meaningless exclamation.

Hear it all the time… ‘by God this and by God that’…then of course there’s the always blasphemous word people use to stress their anger about something… don’t need to say it, you’ve all heard it before…or…people using the expression ‘Oh my God!’… these are actually an indication of a lack of love, devotion, and reverence for God.

Starting in verse 13 of chapter 6 to emphasize the seriousness of making and keeping oaths and promises the author goes into a detailed explanation using God’s promises to Abraham as the example of faithfulness in keeping them.

There are times when the Bible uses human physiological characteristics to better demonstrate how God deals with us…we see this throughout the Bible… referring to God in human terms called anthropomorphism…a way of helping us better understand the nature of God… anthropomorphic language is when God is described as being human-like in appearance…assigning God human characteristics.

In the Bible, God is described as having human qualities:  

He makes “His face” to shine on you (Numbers 6:25).
He “stretched out his hand” (Exodus 7:5; Isaiah 23:11).
e scattered enemies with His strong arm (Psalm 89:10).
He “stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth” (Psalm 113:6).

In the same way…in order to stress God’s integrity, writers chose to use something man could relate to…using the concept of making oaths and promises between Himself and man and then to validate those He swore by His own name…swearing by the highest reality in the universe, Himself.

¹⁷ Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear This is a very important statement…validating God unchanging nature.

There are Christian denominations today that believe God has become more flexible in His old age…that His attitude on sin isn’t as harsh…becoming more in line with the legal guidelines of the U.S. Supreme Court regarding same-sex marriage and abortion…maybe.

I don’t preach on that…but then again…there’s a lot of things I don’t preach on …smoking…drinking…tithing…if you want to know my position on those, I can show you what Scripture says…they’re pretty much in line with the Bible.

Maybe the thought process is if the Supreme Court has changed their position on same-sex marriage and abortion…possibly God will soften His position on it too not realizing that those decisions apply only to civil, not religious services… God does not change His mind to accommodate human sin.

After stating God’s unchanging nature that is not determined by any religious organization or government, he returns to emphasize God’s position on oaths and promises.

to the heirs of what was promised He guaranteed it with an oath.

And just so there would be no doubt as the sincerity of the promise…He “guaranteed it by an oath” [17] …in the Greek the word we translate as guaranteed (ἐμεσιτεύσεν) is ‘interposed’ used only one time in the N. T.

More correctly translated it means to intercede…to place or insert between one thing and another…in this case it is the guaranteed oath between the weakness of man and the greatness of God’s promises.

¹⁸ God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie,

A little confusion here…based on the wording you would think that if the writer mentions the two unchangeable things about God he would identify them…he doesn’t…instead he gives you one of God’s attributes… it is impossible for God to lie.

So what are the two unchangeable things? …the Bible says …1) His promise and…2) His oath…I like to think based on verse [18] …He has three unchangeable things… 3) it’s impossible for God to lie [18].

To validate the two unchangeable things about God the author of Hebrews uses the example every Jewish person would have known…His promise to Abraham.

When God first promised Abraham he would have a son he was 85 years old… at that age Abraham wasn’t sure he could count on that happening…so he and Sarah had a work around…the result is what has led to some of the problems in the Middle East.

Abraham’s relations with Sarah’s maid Hagar produced a son…then at age 100 Abraham had a son with Sarah…the issue is which son of Abraham was truly the son of promise?

Hebrew Scriptures say it was Isaac…the Qur’an says it’s Ishmael…the Qur’an teaches that it was Ishmael whom Abraham almost sacrificed to the Lord, not Isaac…obviously in contradiction to Genesis 22…the debate of who the son of promise is further contributes to today’s hostility.

Scripture clearly details who the son of promise is…that through Abraham and Isaac the whole world would be blessed. [Gen. 22:17-18].

What God promised to do, history proves He did …when God gives His word, you can count on it…how far did God go to keep His Word? …the author notes the promises made to Abraham…would come through Isaac and through him the whole world would be blessed.

That was fulfilled some 1800 years later when Jesus was born into the human race to become the sacrifice for sin…the Savior of mankind.

The third unchangeable thing about God is it’s impossible for God to lie (Num.  23:19) …it’s one of His attributes…therefore, whatever He promises is absolutely certain to happen…as a result:

we who have taken refuge might have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.

Hold it…what does… ‘we who have taken refuge’ mean or suggest? …it is referring to those 1) who have fled from the irreligious mass of mankind…and 2) from the progressive wing of Christianity who believes God has softened His position on sin…on what has been traditionally forbidden in Christianity…as a result; we have fled to God for refuge.

we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.  

Therefore, because God cannot lie the writer of Hebrews is encouraging us:

to take hold of the hope set before us.

Talked about it before, I’m going to talk about it again…two things:

As Christians you are to hold on to the assurance you had when you first trusted Jesus as your Savior.

With respect to hope…Biblical hope is the confident expectation of what God has promised He will do…in Scripture it’s an absolute certainty.

It’s anencouragement and assurance that all God’s promises will come true… that our future is firmly in God’s hand…hence the importance of take(ing) hold of the hope set before us.

This is exactly why God chooses, at times, to use the concept of an oath when dealing with humanity…humans making oaths know the importance of swearing on or swearing on something greater than themselves to validate what they’ve said…in God’s case, there can be nothing higher to swear on than Himself.

And in the case of his oath to Abraham shows that His oaths are always reliable.

This is the theme starting in [13] until the end of the chapter…confidence leads to obedience, maturity, and growth…when life is less than desirous…during times of turmoil we might doubt God and lack the drive to grow in our faith.

This, in turn, makes us all the more vulnerable to Satan’s attacks, and the more likely to “fall away.”

Instead, we should recognize the absolute sincerity of God’s promises…this is where God’s promise to ‘never leave you nor forsake you’ is relevant.

All believers are spiritual heirs of the promises made to Abraham (Gal. 3:29) …we are not all physical heirs…I have no Jewish descendants…nor am I a part of the literal nation of Israel…but…as Christians we are all part of the promises God made to Abraham…we are his spiritual descendants.

As believers we are encouraged to seek a full mature purposeful life in Christ…with perseverance being the necessary characteristic.

After exhorting his readers to continue in their faith he encourages them to show the same diligence as those who went before them;

¹² We do not want you to become lazy,

He wanted them to remain faithful to God while waiting patiently for Him to fulfill His promises to them regarding their future inheritance…why in [11] we are told:

to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit(ed) what has been promised. [6:12]

We are to show the same diligence to the very end …to imitate those who through faith and patience inherited what has been promised (Hebrews 6:11-12).

So, who are these people…who through faith and patience inherited what had been promised…Hebrews the 11^th chapter gives the names of those who were examples of faith:  

By faith Abel [11:4]
By faith Enoch [11:5]
By faith Noah [11:7]
By faith Abraham [11:8]
By faith Sarah [11:11]
By faith Isaac [11:20]
By faith Jacob [11:21]
By faith Joseph [11:22]
By faith Moses [11:23]
By faith Rahab [11:31]

what more shall I say? time would fail me to tell of the other heroes of faith [11:32] …but he does…not by mentioning their names but their deeds.

• Verse 33: “They shut the mouth of lions …” – Daniel.
• Verse 34: “… quenched the flames of fire …” –  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
• Verse 34: “… weakness was turned to strength …” – Hezekiah.
• Verse 35: “Women received their loved ones back again from death …” Zarephath (1 Kings 17)the Shunammite woman (2 Kings 4) received sons raised back to life
• Verse 35-36: ” … others had their backs cut open with whips.” –  Jeremiah.
• Verse 37: “Some died by stoning …” – Zechariah.
• Verse 37: “… some were sawed in half …” – Isaiah.

They all had one other thing in common…They all died in faith [11:13].

Oswald Chambers puts an interesting twist on faith…something we don’t often think about but something that happens to every person in this room if you’re a Christian [Aug 29].

Every time you step out in your life of faith, you will find something in your circumstances that, from a commonsense standpoint, will flatly contradict your faith…think how absurd some of the promises in the Bible are.

Something from strictly a common-sense standpoint says… ‘that’s a lie.’ Example… ‘God will supply all your needs according to His riches’ …as soon as you say that…believe that…the testing of your faith begins.

EXPLANATION: This is not a promise of wealth, or even an easy life…the concept of “need” has to be considered according to God’s will. What we “need” and what we “want” are not always the same thing. That being said, God tends to bless those who will use the resources they have according to His purposes.

It’s easy to say, “Oh yes, I believe God can do it,” …but when the situation seems to say “NO” …when your strength runs dry and your vision is impaired …will you continue to believe that?

There is continual testing of faith up to the point of our physical death…which is the ultimate and last great test of faith…the complete confidence in Jesus.

¹⁹ We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.

“We have this hope…”
Hope is the certainty of the promises of God…I’m standing on the promises of God…His promise is that we will receive our inheritance…we have this hope because he declares that we have it, and He has secured it by way of the blood of Jesus his Son.

“As an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”

Having hope—the confident expectation of what God has promised He will do–as an anchor for the soul is knowing we are secure and grounded in the righteousness of Christ…that we are sanctified…while we patiently wait for the return of Christ.

For the past couple weeks, we have been looking at some troubling and difficult verses in the book of Hebrews which seem to indicate a concept that is not consistent with biblical doctrine…primarily the loss of salvation.

I hope that what I have shared with you from the Greek text has confirmed that for true believers salvation cannot be lost…it’s permanent…the difficulty in reading these verses is the somewhat misleading English translations…however the (Greek) aorist tense is defining what will continue as the result of being saved:

…you will continue to be a partaker of the Holy Spirit;

…you will continue to taste the good word of God;

…and you will forever experience the powers of the age to come.

There are numerous Bible passages that affirm the preservation of the saints…  that teach true believers cannot lose their salvation [Jn 6:39 / Rom 8:28 / Eph 4:30 / Phil 1:6 / 1 Pet 1:3].

Notice the phrase in both 3:6 and 3:14… “If we hold fast!” we’ve talked about it before…I’m going to mention it again…it’s important…If we hold fast is conditional.

See this phrase used in the Old Testament…God told Moses to hold fast [Deut. 11:22] …He told Israel to hold fast…He told Joshua to hold fast [Jos. 22:5] …in numerous places throughout the Bible we are told to ‘hold fast’.

hold fast what you have till I come (Rev. 2:25).

I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have (Rev.  3:11).

hold fast that which is good (1 Thess.5:21)

hold fast the form of sound words (2 Timothy 1:13).

Holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching (Titus 1:9).

Here in Hebrews the writer is telling us as Christians we are to hold fast to the assurance you had when you first came to Jesus and trusted Him as your Savior.

Despite those who would have you believe differently regarding your salvation the Greek wording validates that these people were genuine believers who will forever always be saved.

To emphasize the importance of remaining focused on God’s individual purpose for our lives the writer gives the analogy of two different kinds of fields:

…One is a field that is fruitful and blessed

…The other is a field that is barren and cursed

representing two kinds of Christians…one fruitful…the other fruitless.

The analogy is what God does to us…for us…when we ‘hold fast’ to the word of God He shapes our lives. We are like a field bringing forth useful vegetation …being a blessing to others.  

BUT…when we are fruitless and produce no vegetation, we are like a field that is useless producing thorns and thistles…God scolds us…symbolically cursing the ground and burning the field referring to God’s chastisement…symbolic of how God deals with Christians.

Believers all produce the same kind of spiritual fruit…but not the same quality of spiritual fruit.

This passage is referring to the discipline God gives to Christians who are unfruitful…those who are experiencing a season where they have fallen out of fellowship with God.

A warning to us…because human judgment is flawed, we need to be careful to not make any judgments about someone’s salvation…Christians struggling in their spiritual walk are not necessarily showing signs of being lost.

When you look at verses [1-8] and [9-12] in chapter 6 they are explaining God’s restorative work in helping unfruitful Christians to become fruitful again…it’s like a football coach at half-time when you’re on the losing end of the score.

He systematically goes down and singles out everything done wrong by…those who missed blocks…who dropped passes…who tried to arm tackle…those who lacked hustle…effectively reprimanding the entire team for a lack of performance.

That’s what the writer of Hebrews is doing…the early parts of chapter 6 he was warning them that spiritual immaturity leads to God’s judgement… making reference to Christians who are lax in their Christian conduct calling them fields that yield thorns and thistles.

Then when he gets to verse 9, he switches from the ominous warning in verses 6-8 to a more reassuring tone…beginning the verse with the conjunction ‘but’ to counter what he previously mentioned.

Here he is saying…God has better things for you:

⁹ But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you

the things that accompany salvation. ¹⁰ God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. ¹¹ And we desire each of you to show this same diligence so to realize the full assurance of hope to the very end.  

It’s like that football coach who after he scolds his team now tells them he expects better things from them…he’s seen how they play in practice…he knows they have the potential to play better…now get out there and show me.

The writer further addresses his readers calling them “beloved.” …in many ways the tenderest description possible of a believer…can almost hear the collective sigh of relief breathed by the readers as they hear this contrast.

The writer in essence is saying…I’m persuaded of better things concerning you. God does not overlook the good work you do in ministering to others…nor will He overlook the work you are still engaged in.

When we are like a field bringing forth useful vegetation…doing those things that accompany salvation [6:9] …doing good accompany salvation…it is not a requirement for salvation…being a blessing to others…being blessed by God.

What an assurance to be told that the eyes of the Lord will never miss any good deed we do for His glory…He is aware of any labor of love that is directed towards His people.

This should be an encouragement to those who are involved in doing good… knowing that the Lord is aware of the thoughts of our hearts…the words we speak…and the actions that we carry out…He is offering encouragement to us to not waver.  

The Christian life is a test of endurance…humanly speaking…doing good is hard work…on the surface it doesn’t seem to be that hard… anyone who thinks living a Christian life is easy 1) hasn’t tried it 2) isn’t aware what’s involved.

Then to complicate that…it’s especially hard if you begin to doubt whether it matters…I’m not seeing any earthly benefit.

See people every day who aren’t living a Christian lifestyle…things seem to be going good for them…why do I want to continue in doing good…it’s hard work…that’s why for people who are Christians life is more difficult.

In Two Ways:

Paul’s life reflects how hard it is being a Christian.  

…five times received 39 lashes

…three times was beaten with rods

…once stoned and left for dead

…was imprisoned numerous times

…and was always in danger of being killed.

Here’s how Paul described these…as light and momentary troubles [2 Cor.4:17]

and what he has to say about continuing to do good.

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time
we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. [Gal. 6:9]

Here’s a guy who had every reason to be weary in doing good…but instead says: ‘we will reap a harvest if we do not give up’ the writer of Hebrews is saying, ‘that what you hope for may be fully realized.’

What is it we’re hoping for? …if someone asked you what is the hope you’re hoping for in regard to your Christian faith…what would you tell them?

To the average person the word ‘hope’ is commonly used to mean a wish… “it’s cloudy today…I hope it rains”.

Biblical hope is the confident expectation of what God has promised He will do.

Abraham’s the example of hope…God promised him a son…he’s a hundred years old…still waiting…things aren’t looking real promising at this point… Sarah his wife isn’t faring much better, she’s 90.

In Scripture hope is an absolute certainty…Abraham grew strong in faith being fully assured that what God had promised He was able to perform…as a result… Abraham did not waver in his hope that God would do as He promised.   

Let me share with you how this works in salvation: [Rom 8:24-25]

²⁴ For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope:

for what a man sees, why does he yet hope for? ²⁵ But if we

hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it

In the passage…what you hope for may be fully realized’ …is the hope believers have in being saved… when we see the word “saved” we should ask “being saved from…or being delivered from what” here it means being spiritually delivered from the corruption of sin.

The second reason why people who are Christian’s lives are more difficult goes back to the two-field analogy…when we are fruitless and produce no vegetation, we are like a field that is useless producing thorns and thistles…God will not allow us to remain in that condition…He scolds us…referring to the discipline God gives to Christians who are unfruitful.

For people who are not Christians…they receive no scolding…they do as they please…but because as a Christian God owns you, He does not permit you to do as you please.

You will experience the chastisement of God when you fall out of fellowship—again…God does not punish people…He will send trials in your life as a way to bring you back into obedience or often times use difficulties to open doors of opportunities for us…for Him.

That’s why becoming a Christian is not something to be taken lightly…God is at work in you—using you to carry out His plans [Philippians 2:13].

That’s what separates Christianity from every other cult or religion…the Bible presents Jesus as greater than all who ever lived before Him…Buddha lived 600 years before Jesus (623 B.C) …or will come after Him…Mohammad (570 AD) lived 600 years after Jesus.

Buddha…Gandhi…Mohammad…Jesus…Moses…could all be considered equally significant in what they offered…teachers who taught roughly the same thing…NO they didn’t.

Why do we consider Jesus to be above the others…in our pluralistic society where groups co-exist side by side with one another…not rejecting one another but showing tolerance for one another…accepting each other…why can’t we

just accept them all as having some importance?

Doesn’t sound all that bad…in other words why can’t we just coexist?

How should Christians, who worship only Jesus, respond to the pervasive notion that…Jesus…Buddha…Mohammad…and Moses…who were all enlightened people…who were all great spiritual masters…not all be on the same spiritual plane?

Honestly…isn’t that just a little arrogant of Christians to shut out other religions.

…what makes Jesus so special?

You come here every Sunday looking to me to give you reasons why you should continue to come here…to give of your hard-earned money.

Not understanding what made Jesus so special was the issue for those who had dabbled in Christianity and then decided to reject it…this goes back to those who tasted the good word of God and then fell away…people doing the same thing today…who are these people?

1) Those who had an intellectual knowledge of the facts of Christ…they had an awareness of who Jesus was…like people today…maybe not having all the intimate theological details of His birth, life, death and resurrection…but they have at least some awareness of what Christmas and Easter is…their understanding of Jesus consists in having some knowledge of a person in history named Jesus.

2) Then there’s a second category of people…those who also had a knowledge of Christ but flat out reject Him and any claims to His deity…in reality…there is no difference between either group.

Each group has an intellectual acceptance of who Jesus is…having a historical knowledge of who Jesus is but not a willingness to accept Him as their Savior.

That’s why the author of Hebrews…not wanting his listeners to be included in either group, sets out to show Jesus’ superiority over those who would equate themselves as being equal with Jesus.

BUT…to remove the idea that having a mere acknowledgement of who Jesus is…or that just doing good is salvation…he refers to the things that have to do with salvation… people then… people today often unaware of what is required:

1) You have to have faith that God exists:

Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone

who comes to Him must believe that He exists [Hebrews 11:6]

2) You must ask for forgiveness…two reasons people don’t ask forgiveness of sin…1) I haven’t done anything wrong…you have…Bible says so…all have sinned [Rom. 3:23].

Repentance is not being sorry for what we’ve done…or being sorry for fear of punishment…repentance is a hatred of sin because I know it grieves God and I don’t want to do that any more.  

The only way to remove sin from God’s mind is to confess it [1 John 1:9] and ask for God’s forgiveness…when we do that God promises to remember them no more…not hoping He doesn’t remember them…it’s a done deal.  

That’s why the author of Hebrews…not wanting his listeners to be included in either group, sets out in the first four chapters of Hebrews emphasizing Jesus’ superiority over any person or religion.

–FIRST…as a human Jesus understands our human weaknesses because He has been tempted in all things just as every person who has ever lived has been (4:15).

–SECOND … is the statement that is the sole reason why Christianity is superior over every other religion or cult…what makes Jesus so special…as God’s high priest Jesus makes atonement for the sins of the people because He is sinless…no claim anywhere of…Buddha…Gandhi…Mohammad…or Moses being sinless.

No other person in the history of the world can make that claim…the reason why Christianity is superior and cannot coexist.

While different religions may offer similar positive benefits to society…only Christianity addresses the basic universal issue that dwells in every person living —sin.

On a personal level sin is the single reason for…death…sickness…and sorrow …sin is the result of killing, theft, and murders…the reason jails are filled.

On a worldwide level sin didn’t just affect humans…every part of God’s creation has been affected…it is because of sin that…trees…plants…flowers… animals…humans…every living thing dies…sin is the reason creation has been in “bondage to decay” [Rom. 8:21].

Only Christianity addresses the issue of sin…the reason why Christianity is superior to every other religion is because no other human in history can do or will ever be able to do what Jesus did…take away the sins of the world because He is the only person who is able to forgive sins.

In making these assertions the author of Hebrews affirms the dual reality of Jesus…that He is both 100% divine and 100% human…theological term…it’s called the hypostatic union…Jesus is the only person who is both man and God…the combination of having a divine nature and human nature in a single person.

The superiority of Jesus is why we can’t coexist:

…not because we’re arrogant…we shouldn’t be

…not because we’re unwilling to get along with others…because we should

…not that we’re better than them…because we’re not

It’s because no other person who has ever lived possesses the qualities of Jesus.

That is the reason hopefully you come here every Sunday morning…why you continue to support this church financially…because of your hope—the confident expectation that God will do as He has promised He will do.

That…he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him…and on that day you will receive the inheritance God has prepared for you before the foundations of the world. 

6:7-8

There are five warning passages in the book of Hebrews (Heb 2:1-4 / 3:7-19 / 5:11–6:12 / 10:19-39 / 12:14-29) …the warning in Hebrews 6:4-6 which I talked about last week is both the most severely worded and also most widely misunderstood.

It’s not my intention to re-preach that sermon…But the importance of those verses cannot be overlooked…as we move on in chapter 6 and in order to fully understand today’s message it’s imperative to see how these verses tie together so it’s necessary to reiterate the meaning of [vs.  4-5] …that as Christians we:

⁴ have been enlightened…having experienced the heavenly gift …having been made partakers of the Holy Spirit…⁵having tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, are all ongoing blessings that continue throughout our lifetime.

In the Greek all the phrases in [4,5] …having been enlightened…having tasted …having become…are all indicating past tense…BUT in the Greek the aorist tense indicates it’s more defined than that.

The aorist tense indicates completed action…BUT… here’s where things become truly meaningful…here’s where the promise of these phrases gets lost in the English translation…in the Greek the aorist tense indicates not only what happened in the past…BUT…has continuing results in the present…it doesn’t stop…as a Christian you will experience them throughout your life.  

The difficulty in reading this verse and the somewhat misleading meaning is because of the second part of verse 6:

Then having fallen away it is impossible to renew them again to repentance

The confusion is…it’s assumed that the author is referring to Christians because of the description of the blessing that immediately precedes it:

…being partakers of the Holy Spirit

…tasted the good word of God

…who will forever experience the powers of the age to come

The immediate transition into those who have fallen away and the impossibility in renewing them causes an interpretation that is baseless.  

The aorist tense is defining what will continue as the result of being a Christian:

…you will continue to be a partaker of the Holy Spirit;

…you will continue to taste the good word of God;

…and you will forever experience the powers of the age to come.

Two things…First…the Bible was written for Christians…not unbelievers… there are verses that apply to unbelievers but Scripture indicates everything in the Bible is foolishness to them so any warnings go unheeded.

Second…the argument that a true Christian can fall from grace as verse six suggests is based on a false premise…the Greek aorist tense in [v 4-5] gives clarification and is actually affirming our eternal security.

So, who are those who have tasted the good word of God and then fell away never to be renewed again to repentance if they aren’t Christians? …Who are these people described in vs 6?

He’s identifying the apostate unbeliever…false believers who were associated with God’s people and the blessings of salvation [4-5] but who were not truly saved.

…people who recanted their commitment to Jesus;

…people who had no intent or desire to return to Christianity;

…people who may have identified themselves as Christians…but weren’t;

…people who have a conscious, unrepentant denial of Christ;

…people who have no desire for the things of God;

…people whose hearts have become so hardened that it is beyond any help;

For people who were exposed to the blessing of God and fall away through deliberate unbelief and denial of Christ…repentance is impossible.

But wait…Scripture says they did experience the blessing of God…is it possible for non-believers to experience God’s blessing if they aren’t Christians?

The answer is YES…it is possible for people who have no remote thought of being or of ever becoming a Christian to experience God’s blessing.

Scripture speaks of God’s care for believers and unbelievers alike…at times they share the same blessing from God…for the unbeliever they experience something of God’s benevolence…what is called His ‘common grace’, His grace that sustains the universe.

He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. [Matt. 5:45]

To emphasize this the writer gives the analogy of two different kinds of fields

…one is a field that is fruitful and blessed

…the other is a field that is barren and cursed

This is where we come to today’s message…the analogy that the writer uses in 6:7-8 to explain 6:4-6 is a major key to interpreting this text:

⁷ For land that drinks in the rain…falling on it and…produces a crop useful to those for whom it is tended receives the blessing of God. ⁸But if a field bears thorns and thistles, it is useless. The farmer will soon condemn that field and burn it.

This verse is evidence that the author is writing to Christians…the analogy of two fields [6:7-8] represents two kinds of Christians…one fruitful…the other fruitless.

It’s a passage about the discipline that God gives to Christians who are unfruitful…explaining the restorative work of God in helping unfruitful Christians…not unbelievers…but Christians to become fruitful again.

The ground that drinks the rain which falls upon it is a reference to all the blessings of [vs 4–5] …having been enlightened…having experienced heavenly gifts…having been made partakers of the Holy Spirit…having experienced the word of God and the powers of the age to come.

It’s the combination of all of the blessings from God that should in turn bring forth vegetation useful to those to whom it was given…when we live as God wants and desires…we are a blessing to others…being blessed by God.

BUT…when we are fruitless and produce no life then we are like a field without vegetation…the result is we become useless producing thorns and thistles…God chastens us…symbolically cursing the ground and burning the field referring to God’s chastisement…symbolic of how God deals with Christians.

If you have ever been in the Flint Hills in the spring you’ve noticed farmers burning their fields to remove unwanted plants that compete with the grass…to help the grass that is about to come up.

This analogy is what God does to us…for us…when we experience the word of God coming to us to shape our lives, but fall out of fellowship with God…it’s reflecting a life that has become stagnate…there’s no spiritual growth…we become that field that has no vegetation in our lives resulting in:

Loss of intimacy with God…an interruption in our spiritual growth…a prayer life diminished of any power…a lack of ability to understand and apply God’s Word.

There are three key words in this verse that define the way God works in the life of a believer and the way God works in the life of an unbeliever.

Three key words in this verse: ‘worthless’… ‘cursed’ …and ‘burned.’

The word “worthless” (ἀδόκιμος)

The word worthless is used 8 times in the New Testament…it is a strong word of rejection…the word was originally used of metals that were rejected by refiners because of impurities…the word came to include the ideas of being disapproved or disqualified.

With respect to God…this is the rejecting mind of the unbeliever [Rom 1:28] who is spiritually depraved…worthless and useless…as opposed to the Christian who occasionally falls out of fellowship with God…but in the case of the Christian, God sets out to rescue them.

The word “cursed” (κατάρα)

The word cursedis similar…the word does not refer to an action, but to someone wishing evil on someone…in this context it implies God’s righteous judgment on that which is unfruitful.

A warning to Christians who are disobedient…not that they are at risk in losing their salvation but they do risk bringing the curse of God on them…in this text it is a warning to those Christians who have drunk the rain of God’s goodness year after year but have not brought forth any fruit.

The word “Burned” (καῦσις)

The third key term ‘burned’ is not the normal word for fire…this word is a noun that is only used one time in Scripture…not referring to hell…on the contrary.

Two Things

ONE…as a Christian, if you allow yourself to continue to drift into sin with no zealous pursuit of holiness with little desire to return to Jesus…you face the possibility of remaining in that condition…there will come a time when the hardness of your heart will not be able to repent.

TWO…on that day when God passes out rewards their rewards will be burned up…that person will be found to be wanting…and will suffer loss of rewards. [1 Cor. 3:15] …the warning is to professing Christians whose lives produce only the equivalent of weeds.

Putting the three terms together:

When the meaning and significance of these three words are considered together, we learn that Hebrews 6:7-8 is not saying anything about God sending people to hell…no shortage of people wanting to make this the meaning of this verse.

Goes back to the difference between the believer and the non-believer…when a Christian fails to live as God desires, the result is they become useless…God will figuratively…curse the ground and burn over the field of their life so that the field can be properly plowed and planted in the future.

On the surface this sounds a little harsh but the author of Hebrews states elsewhere that the Lord disciplines those He loves (Hebrews 12:6), this is another reference to His Godly judgement.

Here’s the mistake…heard it before with the pretend Christian living a carnal lifestyle…heard it from the unbeliever who thinks they can change…they think that they will clean things up in their old age…TWO THINGS:

ONE…no guarantee you will ever see ‘old age.’ [James 4:14] you do not know what will happen tomorrow…your life…is like a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.

TWO…they have the mistaken idea that ‘I can abandon my worldly lusts and pursue holiness anytime I want to’ …NO you can’t…here’s the fallacy with that type of thinking that I can become a Christian any time I want to…NO you can’t.

1) You have to have faith that God exists:

Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists [Hebrews 11:6]

Where does faith come from?  Faith is a gift from God. That is why you can’t take credit for your salvation…or make the determination that you’re going to save yourself.

2) You must ask for forgiveness…two reasons people don’t ask for forgiveness of sin…1) I haven’t done anything wrong…you have…Bible says so…all have sinned [Rom. 3:23] …2) no one is going to repent if he isn’t sorry for his sins.

Here’s what unbelievers don’t understand…repentance is not being sorry for what we’ve done…or being sorry for fear of punishment…repentance is a hatred of sin because I know it grieves God and I don’t want to do that any more.  

The only way to remove sin from God’s mind is to confess it [1 John 1:9] and ask for God’s forgiveness.  

The day will come when people may try to repent but will not be able to…goes back to the idea I can become a Christian whenever I want…NO you can’t… that’s the result of becoming ‘dull of hearing’ [5:11]. They have become so hardened and addicted to the world, they can’t feel God’s spiritual conviction.

You will become deceived by the hardness of sin and will forever remain outside of God’s presence…no longer being in a state of obedience…not having the ability to recognize the Holy Spirit’s voice…it is only through God’s convicting and convincing that you can truly repent.

Here’s how God does this…God doesn’t use guilt…He uses conviction…a side-by-side comparison between guilt and conviction reveals the difference.

1. How long does guilt last: forever

How long does conviction last: until we take care of the sin in our life.

2. What steps can we take to rid ourselves of guilt: Who knows?

What steps to rid ourselves of conviction: confess our sins and repent.

3. What is the result of guilt: makes us miserable

What are the results of conviction: restores us into a right relationship with God.

Side note…Christians should never use guilt to motivate others…God doesn’t… neither should we…but…for the pretend Christian living a carnal lifestyle…and the unbeliever who thinks they can change when they want…NO you can’t.

That is why this verse is so graphic in describing how God deals with believers when we backslide…he is stressing the importance of not falling away from our conviction…said all that so I can say this…here’s the intent of today’s verses:

—This passage is explaining the disciplinary and restorative work of God in helping unfruitful Christians to become fruitful again.

—This passage is not talking about Christians losing their salvation.

—This passage is a warning for us to realize the enormity of our commitment and responsibility to remain faithful.

—This passage is a warning that Christians are subject to a particularly harsh chastisement from God…for those who have drunk the rain of God’s goodness year after year but have no fruit so show for it.   

—That not all who say, ‘Lord, Lord’ are God’s people…many people who display Christ-like lifestyles and profess His name will be cast out for Jesus never knew them.

Perseverance in faith proves that you are a partaker in Christ…language that cannot be applied to someone who has no remorse or regret for their sins…

who doesn’t relish the truth of God…sees no beauty in it…derives no comfort

from it.

It is only the true Christian who will experience the benefits of verses 4-5 …throughout not only their earthly life but in the life to come.

As Christians we can choose to live a spiritual, godly life, where we mature in the faith fulfilling God’s purpose in our lives by becoming a field that yields vegetation…OR…we can live a worldly lifestyle that is fruitless becoming a field without vegetation.

Hebrews 6:4–6 is one of the most misunderstood and probably one of the most troubling and confusing passages in the entire New Testament…without a clear grasp of the context these verses seem to counter the doctrine of eternal security.

^6:4 For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and ⁵have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, ⁶ and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put him to open shame. [Hebrews 6:4-6]

As Baptists…we are convinced that the Bible teaches that once a person is saved, they are always saved…far too many verses confirm that…once a person has believed in Jesus for eternal life, they are safe and secure in the arms of Jesus forever…nothing can take them out of God’s hand…Scripture confirms this in more than one place.

In fact…as we progress through our study of the book of Hebrews…we are going to discover that the book of Hebrews teaches the doctrine of eternal security more than many other books in the New Testament.

But when we encounter verses such as the ones we’re looking at today it’s easy to get confused because it does seem to teach that a person can lose their salvation as [6] suggests…it is impossible to renew them again to repentance…sounds pretty definite.

References to falling away, and a lack of restoration, are easily misconstrued to imply a loss of salvation…but when you understand what the author is saying… this passage is actually teaching the opposite.

Again, the importance of interpreting Scripture…any verse when taken out of context and viewed alone and apart from the rest of God’s word may seem to be saying something that it is not truly saying.

When reading and understanding Scripture it is not subject to our own personal opinions…each word…each verse…and every phrase needs to be considered as part of a whole…when looking at these words, from that perspective it greatly changes how they are interpreted.

Problem is at times certain biased beliefs are read into verses in an attempt to support an incorrect…errant…or preconceived belief rather than allowing scriptures to tell us what it truly means in light of the whole word of God.

When taken to extremes this practice can lead, for example, to what we see in the snake-handling denominations of Appalachia…through a literalistic interpretation of Mark 16:17-18, these churches took two verses out of context and built an entire system of faith around an ill-advised practice that seems crazy even to Christians.

There are rules for correctly interpreting scripture:

FIRST…keep the verse in question in the context of where it is found…any verse when taken out of context and viewed alone and apart from the rest of God’s Word may seem to say something it is not truly saying.

SECOND…it may be necessary to read the verses before and after the verse in question to get a proper understanding of what that verse truly means.

THIRD…in order to correctly interpret Scriptures it may be necessary to compare scripture with scripture…to read what other similar verses say that are clearer in their meaning…this is what is known as allowing scripture to speak for itself or let scripture interpret scripture.

FINALLY, …compare your interpretation with what others may be saying about that same verse…and against the whole word of God…if the interpretation or the conclusion that you draw contradicts any other portions of Scripture then you’re the one that doesn’t have the correct interpretation of what that verse means in light of the whole word of God.

Taking all this into consideration is imperative if we are to come away with an accurate interpretation of what this verse is saying to us…which is actually a warning that encompasses two areas:

These verses are confirming our security in Christ…we’re going to see that… but at the same time it is also a warning about what some mistakenly believe is an errant conformation of their security.

It’s possible to go from one extreme to the other…from knowing our salvation is secure to not being saved but assuming we are saved because:

ONE…you had some religious experience or had a feeling that evidenced you’re saved:

A religious experience can be the result of the participation in the rituals of religion…healing services…or Christian concerts…where people get caught up in a spiritual high…they enter into some type of hypnotic state that’s really

an emotional manipulation resembling more of a pep rally atmosphere.

This forced emotionalism results in a deeply felt acceptance of salvation… because faith is based on feeling rather than on your fellowship with God.

Here’s the added danger…there’s the desire to recreate or reproduce those emotions…to regain that “mountain top experience” …it’s like an addiction…  feeling of faith must continue to increase in order to produce the same effects.

There’s a significant risk of becoming so absorbed by experiences that one’s life revolves around replicating the initial spiritual passion than focusing on God.

Experiences or feelings should never be the basis of our faith…they can be outward expressions of our faith and of what we believe…but the key is not to pursue experiences or feelings…it is faith that gives birth to feeling… (John Bradford), “Faith must first go before, and then feeling will follow.”

Additional false assumptions people use to feel secure in their salvation:

…because you were baptized;      …because you’re basically a good person;

…because you go to church          …because of a perversion of grace

What is a perversion of grace…teachers and preachers who are saying that “God loves you unconditionally” and “God loves you just as you are” in an attempt to convince you that God is accepting of how you’re living your life…two things I want to mention:

Two misunderstood statements:

God so loved the world means God loves every individual in the world.

God loves you just as you are.

FIRST

In John 3:16 the word ‘world’ translated from the Greek “kosmos” can mean the universe, the earth as well as the entire human family…goes back to Genesis 1 when God described the creation of the universe including man. He described it as ‘good’…which is repeated six times…that all things God created were good.

God is referring to our orderly, harmonious, systematic universe, including man that was good at creation but is now fractured by sin.  

With respect to salvation…it does not mean that God loves all men without exception …the world in John 3:16 does not mean the whole human race…the word ‘world’ is used in a general way…God does have a purpose of grace toward Gentiles as well as Jews…His love is international in its scope.

SECOND

The idea that ‘God loves you just as you are’ is a lie…NO He doesn’t…God does not love you just the way you are.

That is why, since the second chapter of Hebrews, the author has been encouraging his readers to grow in their knowledge of Jesus as both Lord and Savior…to press on to spiritual maturity because God does not love you just the way you are.

He wants you to mature…to grow in your knowledge of who He is and His purpose for your life…which is what’s known as bearing fruit.  

The Bible has some really cruel things to say about Christians who bear no fruit. [Matt. 3:10 / John 15:1-2].

BACK to the warning against assuming we are secure in our salvation.

Let’s examine the flow of thought in this verse by looking at the verses immediately preceding…goes back to last week’s message where we are encouraged to “press on to maturity” [6:1] that’s the true test of salvation… goes back to God doesn’t love you the way you are.

There’s a condition… “This we will do, if God permits” [3]

Strange thing to say…this we will do, if God permits…surely God wants us all to grow in our Christianity maturity…right?

But because the word ‘if’ is introducing a conditional clause…is it implying

that God will not allow us to grow spiritually even if we make an honest effort to do so?…OR…only under certain circumstances is it liable to happen?

NO that’s not what it’s saying…and YES that is what that is saying…it’s not because God doesn’t want us to… Here’s the KEY…it’s dependent on us…the ‘if’ is a reflection back on us…in other words:

…if we neglect to pursue the process of sanctification

…if we neglect the confession of sin

…if we fail to overcome our pride…rebellion…and unbelief…then there is no guarantee that the Lord will continue to direct us in our Christian walk.

This is KEY…there are conditional requirements that we are expected to meet… God does not permit every church member to grow and develop in the faith…it depends on us.

Overcoming pride…rebellion…sin…and unbelief is something we must strive to do…but it cannot be fully accomplished on our own…and since it is impossible for us to achieve that we should see how utterly dependent we are on God.

SO, it does require some effort on our part and when we are joined by God in that effort He then ‘permits’ us to grow spiritually.

There is a situation where repentance and pressing on to maturity is impossible without us being dependent on God…that will happen only if we are willing to submit to Him.

Now the question regarding the person who having once been enlightened…having experienced the heavenly gift…having been made partakers of the Holy Spirit…⁵having tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, then falls away…were they ever truly saved…or did they lose their salvation?

Stay with me…this verse has far too many people having fears that are unwarranted because this text is far too often misunderstood.

Can you lose your standing as a true saved person and be lost again?…NO…in fact…this verse actually validates that Christians cannot lose their salvation.

Here’s where the confusion comes in…you have to break this down into two separate sections:

FIRST…English translations somewhat define this…notice in your Bible… the wording: ‘having been’ or ‘having once been’ all describe what has occurred in the past…implying past action.

In the Greek all the phrases in [3,4] …having been enlightened…having tasted…having become…are all also indicating past tense…BUT…in the Greek it is more defined…the wording is evidence that you cannot lose your salvation.  

The aorist tense indicates completed action just like in the English…BUT… here’s where things become truly meaningful …in the Greek it means… something that happened in the past with continuing results in the present…it doesn’t stop.

Further proof of eternal security…Hebrews 3:14 and 3:6 ‘for we have become partakers of Christ’ …the key point here is the tense of the verb, “we have become partakers of Christ.” …not we will become…not we are now partakers…but we have become partakers of Christ…the verbiage is clear…you cannot be in Christ and then be out again.

SECOND…we’re reading something written 2000 years ago to people we can’t possible identify with in their suffering…the author of Hebrews knew that under the threat of extreme suffering some of the Jewish Christians would leave Jesus and return to Judaism.

This is what verse six is referring to…to those who fell away from the faith… and (who) have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance…

TWO INTERPRETATIONS…First of all these people were never Christians.  

It’s a condition that is the result of a less than accurate translation that is found in the KJV and a few others, in which Hebrews 6:6 begins with the phrase ‘if’ they fall away, with the key word being ‘if.’

The insertion of the word ‘if’ sets up a hypothetical statement: “IF a Christian were to fall away” …the point being made is that it would be impossible to fall away and then come back because Christ died once for sin (Hebrews 9:28), and if His sacrifice is insufficient, then there’s no hope at all.

This argument is based on a false premise that a true Christian can fall away… and follows it to its senseless conclusion that Jesus would have to be sacrificed again…which is not going to happen…so for them there is…No repentance and No forgiveness.

The absurdity of the conclusion points to the impossibility of the original assumption that a true Christian can fall away.

There are numerous Bible passages that affirm the preservation of the saints… there are numerous Bible passages that teach true believers cannot lose their salvation (Jn 6:39; Rom 8:28; Eph 4:30; Phil 1:6; 1 Pet 1:3).

BUT hold it…isn’t what we’re talking about exactly what Peter did on the night Jesus was crucified?

Both he and Judas denied Jesus…need to consider and contrast between Peter and Judas…both men sinned and publicly denied Jesus…looks the same. So how can we tell the difference?

Peter repented…he pledged his love and chose to follow Christ…he found restoration…Judas simply felt remorseful and hung himself.

In Greek there are two words meaning repent… μεταμέλομαι, μετανοέω: but they don’t mean the same thing.

In Judas’s case the word used in Matthew 27:3 describes Judas as being remorseful (μεταμέλομαι) indicating sorrow.

Of the twenty or so translations I looked at almost everyone described Judas as being regretful…or remorseful…those are the Greek words to describe him.

In Peter’s case his willingness to seek out Jesus and his response of …Lord you know I love you…signifies a heartfelt repentance that is more in line with (μετανοέω) meaning a change of mind or purpose…that’s the difference between Peter’s repentance and Judas’ remorse.

Christianity is full of Judas’s …that’s who this verse is speaking to…there’s a theological word for these people… ‘apostasy’ …what is apostasy? It’s the sin of having a conscious, unrepentant denial of Christ…when apostasy happens there is no repentance…and there can be no repentance.

Judas was apostate…here’s how to recognize apostasy…look for flagrant and unrepentant sin…for a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God (Heb 3:12) a failure to see the “things that accompany salvation” (Heb 6:9) like the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-24).

Judas’s remorse was not repentance as the KJV suggests…his remorse was not prompted by God to lead to repentance…the difference between Peter and Judas.

Peter experienced conviction as a result of backsliding…backsliding is different than apostasy…backsliding is moving away from Jesus after being near Him… to use the words of [v 12] it’s becoming lazy…not holding firmly to the faith (Heb 4:14).

It’s not a determined decision to abandon Jesus…instead it’s the separation of fellowship with God…usually the result of making unrighteous choices.

As a result, we fall out of fellowship with God…we do not lose our relationship with God as sons and daughters…backsliding is not making the conscious decision to separate ourselves from God.

Some counseling…for Christians who think they have committed the sin of apostasy and are concerned that they have lost their salvation…you haven’t… someone who is apostate doesn’t care about falling away…they’re not concerned …the very fact that you worry about it shows that the Spirit is working in your hearts to bring you to repentance and faith.

Something to consider…is it possible for these people to experience God’s blessing if they aren’t Christians?

Everybody…the answer is YES…it is possible for people who have no remote thought of being or becoming a Christian to experience God’s blessing.

Scripture speaks of God’s care for believers and unbelievers alike…the way God loves and shows his care towards each is different.

To the believer, all of God’s promises, all of God’s grace, all of his mercy and love is given to us in Christ Jesus so that all of his promises are “yes and amen.” …we have his Spirit…we have the gift of adoption…we are justified… all of the working of salvation…all of that is God’s love towards us as his people.

BUT for the unbeliever they also experience something of God’s benevolence and care only they’re not experiencing it in the way of salvation…they are experiencing what we call His ‘common grace’, His grace that sustains the universe.

Goes all the way back to the covenant with Noah where God promised that the giving of food…the giving of rain…the giving of care to them is displayed abundantly in preserving God’s creation…all this shows God’s care towards both believer and unbeliever alike.

For the unbeliever they causally go through life not realizing they are benefiting from the care and love God has for His children…one day that will all come to an end…and the realizing that there is a God will come too late.

So I’ve said all that so I can say this…here’s the question…it’s two-fold…is this verse teaching:

You can lose your salvation as a true saved person and be lost again?…I hope I have answered that…the answer is NO…these words are intended for saved believers—those who have “shared the Holy Spirit” (Heb.6:4; Gal.3:2), you don’t share the Holy Spirit if you’re not saved…signifying you can never lose your salvation (John 10:28–30).

And at the same time these verses are a warning for those who regard them without much seriousness…apostasy is a real sin and it’s something to fear.

Because someone appears to be apostate does not mean they are…not even horrible, terrible sins are proof of apostasy…remember, it often looks the same as backsliding…why we need to be vigilant and avoid the pit falls of not falling out of fellowship with God by not pressing on to maturity.

^5:11 Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to  explain, since you have become dull of hearing. ¹² For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary   principles of the oracles of God ^6:1 Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, ² of instruction about baptisms—washings—and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.

Today, in our study of Hebrews you’re going to hear something about The Branches church and our philosophy of ministry that you may never have seriously considered before.

Something about me, although I trust those who’ve been here for a while are already aware of what I’m going to say…simply put:

you will learn something about what drives me and the drive for what I do on Sunday morning…what we believe about the Bible…and how it governs all we do at The Branches.

In Hebrews the author repeatedly demonstrates Jesus as being superior over the Judaic system…in the first four chapters the writer reveals the supremacy of Jesus over the angels…Moses…and the priests.   

So far, the writer of Hebrews has shown that the promised Messiah meets the requirements of both King and High Priest…listing many of the reasons why that is… but suddenly in verse 11 of chapter 5 that train of thought stops…and he begins to express some frustration with those to whom he is writing.

BUT really, it’s something he’s been implying since the second chapter in an effort to encourage the Hebrews to pay closer attention to:

2:1:   the message you’ve heard lest you drift away.

3:1:   Considering Jesus.

3:8:   Don’t harden your hearts.

3:12: Take care, lest you have an evil heart of unbelief.

4:1:    Fear, lest you fail to enter God’s rest.

4:11:  Be diligent to enter God’s rest lest you fall by disobedience.

4:14:  Hold fast to your confession.

What has caused the author to believe that his readers are less than serious about what he’s been sharing with them… what’s behind all those exhortations: Pay attention! … Consider! …Don’t harden your heart…be fearful! … Be diligent! …Hold fast!

Until now he has only given the cure of what he sees as their ailment…not the diagnosis…now he tells us what’s wrong…he refers to his readers as being ‘dull of hearing’ [11] …probably not something your congregation wants to hear.

What is the disease of dullness of hearing? …what’s that mean…the Greek word (νωθρό) translated as sluggish—or dull of hearing—refers to someone who is slow-moving or lazy…the Jewish Christians had lost their enthusiasm in their

spiritual growth.  

Dull hearing doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with your physical ears…it means there is something wrong with your heart.

Goes back to something I said last week regarding the four types of soil that is representative of the heart…there are times when the heart is not eager to embrace the promises of the Word…and turn them into faith.

So, to be dull of hearing implies the Word comes into the ears, goes down to the heart and because the heart has only a thin layer of soil on it the seed can’t take hold…as a result it lasts only a short time.

There’s no passion for it…it’s not embraced…it’s not cherished or treasured… here’s what’s particularly disturbing …if things don’t change—there’s no inheritance of eternal life…dullness of hearing is a dangerous disease because it has the potential to segue into a hardened heart.

That’s why I preach…I don’t preach to condemn…criticize…or to make people feel uncomfortable…or necessarily to make people feel comfortable…and the issue of no-pay is not even a consideration…why I preach is a question I never ask myself…I preach because it’s just the natural thing to do.

I preach because there is nothing more important than delivering God’s Word …I preach because, in my experience, the message is not being delivered often enough or strongly enough in the Church today.

I’m not that vain to imply that I’m the only person preaching the Word correctly, but the Church has evolved over the years…and it’s not been necessarily for the better…something I’ve personally watched in the over 50 years I’ve been in Church…and it’s disturbing.  

That was the issue just a few years ago with what was known as the seeker churches…the idea was…as a pastor…you sell them on Christianity Lite… that means you’re not preaching the hard stuff…you’re preaching the light weight stuff that has little application.

Problem was people were never given anything stronger…they never elevated in in spiritual knowledge…so you have to continue to offer Christianity Lite… never feeding them enough meat to transition into more substantial things.

Most of those churches have disappeared…but were followed closely by the introduction of the small group church.

The theory was that this would counter the seeker church by getting people more into the meat of the Bible by meeting in small groups…leaving Sunday church for visitors and to focus more on the elementary teachings of the Bible.

Most small groups followed the same basic pattern…getting together every once in a while…spend the first 15-20 minutes chatting and eating cookies…the “study” would then consist of a leader who would read a selected passage from Scripture and then ask the question: “So what do you guys think about that?”

Here’s the problems with that type of question.

FIRST…inevitably it would transition into the needs of one of the people in the group who insisted on turning every Small Group gathering into a personal therapy session that focused on their individual issues.

SECOND…it provided people the opportunity to tell what they think a portion of Scripture means to them and their particular situation…bad idea.

THIRD…the emphasis becomes more on people having a self-satisfying personal experience that was completely non-judgmental rather than spiritual.

FOURTH…here’s the danger…there’s the potential to become a church within a church with the members feeling no interest or concern to the larger church’s mission.

When the church loses its mission to reach lost people…when the church becomes inwardly focused on itself…the result is a serious state of decline.

As church membership begins to decline…EVERYBODY…church attendance in America has been declining for years…as that occurs churches circled the wagons and started to focus inwardly…all the efforts and energy of the church is shifted from outreach and evangelism inward to life support to try to keep the church alive.

At one time this church had a consistent church attendance of around 200…as attendance began to decline the tendency was on the immediate needs of the church …focusing inwardly on what was best for the inside of the church rather than the needs of those outside the church…jeopardizing our commitment to carry out the mission of the church which is evangelism.

Without evangelism, the church enters into a downward spiral…it becomes lost and purposeless…as the church continues to lose its effectiveness which is evangelism…as a result God will not allow that church to continue to exist as a witness for Jesus…He will remove its lampstand of effectiveness [Rev. 2:5].

More than a few churches have closed their doors because they abandoned their concern for the lost…they compromised their mission as a Church…and lost their first love.

Said it before…at The Branches church we will not compromise the Bible…we will stay focused on missions…I’m not arrogant enough to believe I’m the only person preaching God’s Word…because I’m not…BUT…

as I read the Bible it is the single church service where the Word of God is preached with particular emphasis on the life and ministry of Jesus that meets the needs of both the saved and the unsaved.

There are only two types of people in the world: Those who need to hear the Gospel and be saved…and those who need to hear the gospel to advance in their spiritual maturity.

The Scripture says that believers and unbelievers need precisely the same thing …they need the life changing Word from God! …they need to be taught who God is…how God has saved them through the person and work of Christ. The more they hear about that, the more they grow.

I don’t think any pastor wants to pastor a church that’s dull of hearing…any more than they want to pastor a church where the people have hardened their hearts…so it’s important to emphasize learning…and knowing God’s Word.

When we fail to accomplish that…by not teaching others…then you have need for someone to teach you again…the elementary principles of the oracles of God. [5:12]

Thinking about your own conversion…consider the time that has elapsed since you were converted…do you know and understand the elementary principles of the oracles of God…are you knowledgeable enough to share those?

He’s not saying you ought to become preachers…or teachers…but you ought to be able to explain the elementary truths of the Christian religion.

As parents you ought to be able to explain them to your children…as neighbors, to your neighbors…BUT…as a people…or a church…they had shown they were less than knowledgeable about the elementary principles of Christ.

So, he lists six elementary teachings in the opening verses of chapter 6:

Repentance from dead works v. 1

Faith toward God v.1

Teaching of baptism v.2 –not washings

Laying on of hands v.2

Resurrection from the dead v.2

Eternal judgment v2

It is these elementary teachings that had been made known to the Christian Jews when they converted as a way of helping them understand the work of Christ…

they knew these truths intellectually but gave little indication in their behavior that they had combined them with personal faith…moving on to a more perfect knowledge of Gospel truths.

Let me share with you some additional elements of the Gospel that are not mentioned:

—We are urged to move on from the initial salvation message and grow spiritually in our Christian faith…to advance to spiritual adulthood instead of remaining in spiritual childhood…for some people Jesus never leaves the manger.

—We are to move on from the belief that good works can save us.

—We are to progress into a deeper relationship with the Lord.

—We are NOT to constantly revisit the sins that have already been forgiven.

—We are to wrestle with the tougher aspects of our Christian faith, where we learn obedience by the things that we suffer…a process of ongoing sanctification.

—We are urged to grow in a knowledge of Jesus as both Lord and Savior as we press on to spiritual maturity.

Accepting Jesus as Savior means acknowledging that Jesus came from the Father…was born of a virgin…lived a sinless life…was crucified for our sins… was resurrected…and now sits at the right hand of God.

But just as important…but less emphasized, is accepting Jesus as Lord…when Jesus is Lord of a person’s life, they willingly…faithfully…and joyfully fulfill God’s purpose in their life.

For a Christian, declaring Jesus as Lord is the challenge to bring every area of our life under His sovereign rule…in our lives there should be no rivalry for His authority…He is the one and only ruler in your life…He is in total control.

I think the big takeaway when I read these verses is that the Christian life is not described as coasting down a hill with the wind in your hair kind of experience or…that I’m going to slide into heaven without challenges or trials in my life.

Our inability to grow spiritually leaves us like little children…not realizing that Christianity involves knowing more about Jesus other than a baby in a feeding trough.

It’s leaving the elementary teaching about Christ and pressing on toward maturity…And here’s the key:

Vs1 — let us press on to maturity

Vs3 — this we will do, if God permits

Look at what the author does here…he bookends these two phrases between knowing what are the elementary teachings about Christ with the encouragement to move on to maturity…if God permits.

‘If’ – is a 3rd class condition; conditional particle…meaning something that may or may not be true…under certain circumstances it’s liable to happen.

Strange thing to say…this we will do, if God permits…not implying it’s going to happen…growth is something all Christians are commanded to do… surely God will permit all of us to go on to maturity in the Christian life if we wish to do so!

Or would he? Goes back to that 3^rd class conditional sentence… if God permits…this is not to be interpreted as if God is “unwilling” or that God would not allow it if we make an honest effort to do so…it’s suggesting there’s no guarantee that will happen…but not because God doesn’t want it to.

The phrase is used to denote our dependency on God…the writer simply acknowledges that if we neglect to pursue the process of sanctification…if we neglect the confession of sin then there is no guarantee that the Lord will continue to guide…to direct us in our Christian walk should we neglect the elementary principles of God’s grace.

The Bible describes faith as a battle…a battle that is fought everyday…requiring perseverance and diligence…there is an adversary out there who doesn’t want us to trust in God…who doesn’t want us to walk with God…who doesn’t want us to experience the fullness of God’s blessing in our lives.

The writer is encouraging his readers and us to not let your guard down…that God promises grace for the fight…the key is to not only remember the elementary principles of God…but…at the same time with diligence to move beyond the state of spiritual infancy to spiritual maturity.

Hence the importance of declaring Jesus as both Lord and Savior…when we do, we begin to grow into becoming mature believers by developing an abiding fellowship with the Father as we live out our Christian lives in Him.

3:1-4:13

When reading Hebrews, it’s important to realize there is a kind of story line that goes along with this book…so before I jump into this morning’s message, I need to set the context so that you can see how it relates to what has been previously said.

Something I have mentioned extensively the past three weeks and is key to understanding today’s message…it is the warning in Hebrews 4:11 when the author is urging us to “strive to enter” in God’s rest, “so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience” as those in the Exodus generation did.

The people of Israel…the Exodus generation simply refused to trust God…they refused to believe God’s promises…they hardened their hearts and mocked him and murmured when He promised that He would provide for them.

Couple things that shouldn’t be done…1) to blame God and 2) harden your heart towards God…the consequences are devastating…this is why the author of Hebrews wrote (Hebrews 3:15):

Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts

As a pastor or anyone for that matter…trying to counsel someone spiritually… it’s important to know some information about the person you’re counseling.   

FIRST…where are they in their relationship with God…how they’re responding to Him…how much do they know about Jesus…these are crucial things to know in order to have an effective counseling ministry.

But at the same time, we need to be cautious when making any assessments with respect to their relationship with God because it is possible to incorrectly judge a person because of a lack of Christian love and shortsighted biblical discernment on our part…goes back to what I said last week.

I don’t believe it’s ever acceptable to conclude that someone is not saved…I can look at their lifestyle and assess that their living is less than Christlike…but I cannot make a judgement regarding their salvation.

The Bible puts emphasis on a person’s spiritual state. That’s why it’s important to understand the seriousness of this hardened heart situation that’s referred to extensively throughout Scripture.

The first time Scripture speaks of hardening someone’s heart is in Exodus in reference to Pharaoh.  

Anyone’s heart can harden…not something that only occurs in unbelievers… even faithful Christians can harden their hearts [Mark 6:52 / 8:4].

Characteristics of a Hardened Heart using Pharaoh as the example.

A Hardened Heart Does Not Obey God (Ex. 7:13, 22).  The first and most obvious characteristic… a hardened heart does not obey God…whether it’s a believer or an unbeliever…Christians can harden their hearts.

A Hardened Heart Does Not Recognize the “Finger of God” (Ex. 8:19).  A person with a hardened heart does not recognize the spiritual realities around him…they cannot see the way God is working in their situation… even though family, relatives, and friends may be telling them, so they refuse to see the providence of God in their situation.

A Hardened Heart Wants Something from God but Does Not Hear God. (Ex. 8:28) At the end of the fourth plague Pharaoh is wanting something from God… “Plead for me” while he might want something from God…relief…his persistent denial of letting the people go reveals that …he is not willing to hear God…the people you counsel…might be looking for something from God…but not willing to hear the whole counsel of God.

A Hardened Heart Expects the Word of God to Fail (Ex. 9:7).   Counselees despises the warnings of Scripture…they expect the Word of God to fail believing it not to be true. Pharaoh did not believe the livestock of Israel would not die from the plague…he sent people to check in anticipation of seeing the Word of God failing.

A Hardened Heart Remains Hardened Even under Severe Pain (Ex. 9:8-12).  Halfway through the plagues, Pharaoh is miserable and yet is still hardened…wanting relief but not willing to soften his heart despite severe pain… they’re not looking for an inner change, but outer relief…expect to see those you counsel under severe pain to still be stubborn in sin.

A Hardened Heart May Even Say the Right Words (Ex. 9:27)  A word of caution…they might say the right words…but with no true intention to change… both Saul (1 Sam. 15:24, 30) and Pharaoh said the right words: “I have sinned” but there was no sincerity in their words.

A Hardened Heart is Blind to Its Chaos (Ex. 10:7).   It’s interesting that Pharaoh’s servants were ready to let the people of Israel go. They recognize that Egypt is ruined, but Pharaoh does not.

A Hardened Heart Blames the Messenger Instead of Recognizing Its Condition (Ex. 10:28)  Pharaoh gets angry…not with his sin, but with Moses and with God. A hardened heart blames the messenger and God instead of recognizing its own condition.

A Hardened Heart may be beyond Healing (Prov. 29:11).    How long will the hard-hearted person continue in their sin? …don’t know…the patience of God has a limit…many times judgment is not immediate because God is merciful and gracious…however, judgment will come because God is holy and righteous. Judgment came for Pharaoh and will come to that hard-hearted person you’re counselling.

It’s been suggested that having a hardened heart is a condition that only people on the other side of God develop…that’s not true.

Beginning in Hebrews 3:1 up to Hebrews 4:13 is a long section where the writer explains why the Word of God should be a warning against a hardened heart… using the Exodus generation as the example of those who refused to trust God …they refused to believe Him when He made promises…they mocked Him and murmured when He promised that He would provide for them.

Jesus likened the Word of God to a seed in the Parable of the sower [Matt. 13] using an unplanted seed to represent the Bible…noting that the seed of the gospel falls on four kinds of soils representing people’s hearts:

1) the seed that falls on the hard road…as soon as they hear it…Satan… represented by birds comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.

2) the hard rocky road with a thin layer of soil over it symbolizing those who hear the word and receive it with joy…but since there is little soil on the hard road the seed can’t take hold and it lasts only a short time.

3) the soil infested with thorns…they hear the word but the worries of life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things choke the word making it unfruitful.

Having a hardened heart is similar to three of the kinds of soil Jesus is referring to in the Parable of the Sower…I originally said there are four types of soil.

4) The fourth kind of soil is the goodsoil that falls on a receptive heart and is accepted…see how small the chance is of receiving God’s word.

If you’ve been a Christian for very long, you’ve probably watched someone make a profession of faith followed by dramatic change in their life…then suddenly or gradually they stop coming to church…they begin to avoid other Christians…soon they’re back to their old ways…and you wonder what happened? …was their conversion genuine?

In the scenario I described is the condition of the Christian who’s suffering from a hardened heart…how does a person get a hardened heart?

A number of reasons can result in people having a hardened heart…could be because of something that has happened somewhere in their past…possibly a loss of trust in a relationship and they were hurt, betrayed, or rejected. 

For the Christian, the conditions likely to cause hard-heartedness:

—the inability to see…understand…hear…and remember…like the Israelites in the wilderness too often we forget how God has blessed us in the past.

—Sin can cause hearts to grow hard, especially continual and unrepentant sin.

—It can be the result of failing to listen to the Word of God and to receive what God is attempting to teach you.

You decide how you’re going to receive the message…some listen with an open heart, wanting to do what God says while others listen to the same message and say, “I’ve heard that before…that’s old hat…you’re not telling me anything new.” And their hearts will get harder.

The problem is…the same message that impacts one person can actually cause another person to have a hardened heart…they become hardened by the very truth that should have softened them.

The author of Hebrews is concerned that his readers may be the rocky soil that withers under affliction or persecution…that there was a danger of them going back to a more comfortable lifestyle in their old Jewish religion to avoid the trials of being a Christian.

Failure to heed the warnings of the Word of God has eternal implications… hence the importance in reading…memorizing…and knowing the Word of God.  

¹² For the word of God is living and active…discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Regarding the Bible as the written word of God…it is unlike any other book… it’s not intended to produce an emotional or social effect in a person…the Bible brings about lasting changes in a person because the Bible is a living document.

But how can this be? …if the primary expression the “Word of God” is meant to be the Bible, how can we say this book is living? …it’s just paper and ink bound together by imitation leather.

It doesn’t move under its own power…it doesn’t think or feel or make choices… so how can we speak of the Bible…just a book…as the living Word of God?

It is living because the God whose word it is, lives…the Bible is not a dead letter…it’s not like the newspaper that you read today and then discover tomorrow that it is outdated…riddled with errors…and of no further benefit.

It is living because it is the instrument God uses to impart life to us…the Bible is the living Word of God because of what it does…(1 Peter 1:23-25).

you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God

James 1:18 echoes Peter’s sentiment: ‘He brought us forth by the word of truth’

But for the serious Christians who see the word of God as living and active, verse 12 and 13 amplify the importance of not hardening your hearts…and

why the Word of God should be a warning to those who fail to receive it by faith and fail to live according to the guiding precepts of Scripture.

¹² For the word of God is living…able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

¹³ And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare

The description of God’s word being ‘living’ means that it has a power inherent to itself…that the written word of God accomplishes God’s purposes…bringing about God’s desired effects…all God has to do is just speak it.  

Example…Peter preached the Word of God at Pentecost…3000 people were saved…later the apostles preached the Word and the church grew to 5000… God’s word is living and active…it always fulfills its intended purpose…it will never return to God void.

The important thing for us is…it’s not if you read your Bible…but if you let your Bible read you…is God’s word alive and actively working in your life (OR) is it dead on a shelf at home?

The believer has good reason to give special attention to their spiritual condition because the Word judges the thoughts and intentions of our heart whereby two things happen 1) we become convicted of sin…or… 2) we justify our actions.  

Nothing is hidden from God…everything is ‘open’ and ‘laid bare’ (τετραχηλισμένα) to the eyes of God…this is a pretty graphic word in the Greek.

The idea is to bend a person’s neck back to slit their throat…hence to lay open …to expose and uncover the inner most secrets of the heart. 

The Word of God compels us to see ourselves as we really are because we are laid bare before God…nothing can be concealed from His presence…the metaphor of the throat being open and laid bare is a powerful image of the total exposure of the human heart to the all-seeing eyes of a holy God.

It is impossible to hide sinful thoughts and attitudes from God…we cannot hide our motives from Him…He knows what we’re thinking before we open our mouths…even if we don’t verbalize them.

He already knows our thoughts and motives…there is nothing and will be nothing in the universe that is unexposed to God.

Hebrews 4:13 concludes the first major section of the book…the book starts out in the prologue with God speaking to us in these last days by His Son [1:1] … presenting Christ as God’s fulfilled and final revelation…surpassing the revelations given in the O. T. and concluding that God is speaking to us through His ‘word’ [4:12].

Because the theological arguments in Hebrews are more complex than many of those found in the rest of the New Testament…it questions God’s inspiration of the Bible…the argument is:

…what does the author’s repeated use of the word ‘today’ mean…does the word ‘today’ indicate that God who spoke to the father by the prophets 4000 years ago is still speaking today?

…what does the author mean in his repeated use of the word ‘rest’ …is it a theological metaphor for the temple…is it still available 4000 years later…or is it referring to heaven?

…when the author writes about the word of God is he referring to Jesus who is the Word of God…who is still speaking to us…or…2) that God is speaking to us through Scripture? Both are true.

There are countless articles that support all those views…as well as disagreeing …the discussion goes on and on…even down to the minute details that most people care less about.

That’s the kind of information you want when writing a thesis…it’s called filler … fluff…your filling space…but what does it do for me sitting here in church this morning wanting to hear how God is working in my life?

The language of the Scriptures is human…however, the message these men wrote down came from God…God is the true author of the Scriptures…that is why the Bible is the Word of God.

Here’s what’s important…said all that so I can say this…why not say it in the first place…because I want you to know how God’s word is living and active in your life.

The practical applications of this theme are given throughout the book

…readers are told that there can be no turning back to the old way of life

…as hearers of the word…do not harden your hearts

…nothing is hidden from God…everything is ‘open’ and ‘laid bare’

…as God’s people we must now look only to him, whose atoning death and

 resurrection have opened the way into the sanctuary of God’s presence.

The word is received with attention to faith and prayer where it is kept in the heart as soft soil receives the seed…no birds can pick it up…no underlying rockhindering its root from growing…no thorns being allowed to spring up to choke out the seed…thus only the seed of the word has opportunity to grow.

The heavenly teachings that are received into the heart—reappear in our character…in our conduct…in our disposition…in how we act…and in our service to God…it settles down deep into the life or every Christian…but ONLY if we allow it to.

The writer of Hebrews spends an extensive amount of effort focusing on his ancestors and how God dealt with them during their 40 years in the wilderness …a reminder that God will deal with them and us in the same way today because He hasn’t changed.

Many Jewish believers who stepped out of Judaism into Christianity were wanting to revert back to Judaism…see this same thing in the Church today… I’ve talked about it before…apostasy.

Apostasyis the rejection of Christianity by someone who was a Christian and has voluntarily and consciously abandoned their faith in God.  

There are the warning passages that describe at least three dangers which could lead a Christian to apostatize:

Temptations: to return to the vices that were a part of their lives before they became Christians (idolatry, sexual immorality, covetousness, etc.).

Deceptions: by false teachings that threat to seduce them away from their devotion to Christ.

Persecutions: for their allegiance to Christ. Many Christians are threatened with death if they do not deny Christ.

The writer of Hebrews is exhorting them and us to “press on” to maturity in Christ (Heb. 6:1).

What does that look like…to be mature in Christ…isn’t going to church…being baptized…taking communion…it’s possessing and reflecting in our lives those qualities that reveal our inner being: Love – Joy – Peace – Patience – Kindness – Goodness – Faithfulness – Gentleness – Self-control. [Galatians 5:22-23]

Jesus says you will know them by their fruits [Matt. 7:20] …we call this … ‘fruit inspecting’ meaning making an assessment of people’s commitment as a Christian by how they live their lives.

When you see someone who doesn’t exhibit those qualities in their life…who possess little or no spiritual fruit, then we conclude that the person is 1) an immature Christian…2) lacking in their Christian commitment…2) not saved …3) or living in apostasy.

I don’t believe it’s ever acceptable to conclude that someone is not saved…I can however…look at their lifestyle and assess that their living is less than Christlike.

I can even exclude them from Christian service in the church…but I cannot make an assessment regarding their salvation.

People tell me ‘oh, I’m a Christian…I pray every day…but does your lifestyle reflect the qualities that describe a Christian…living a life that is well-developed in:

Obedient faith – One that doesn’t question or argue.

Working faith – One that is active and dynamic.

Stable faith – One that is not easily shaken by trial or opposition.

Perfected faith – One where actions are consistent with what is professed.

The author is encouraging them to press on to maturity in order to enter into rest.

The writer of Hebrews is emphatic on the idea of God’s ‘rest’ …Hebrews 4 speaks about the various forms of rest and how it applies in each instance.

Rest, in this scripture, means many different things depending on the reference and the translation.…here we see the problem with chapter divisions…3:18 ought to run as a continuation into chapter four…that division break causes a loss of continuity in what the writer is attempting to share.

^3:18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? ¹⁹ So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

Note that in 3:18 disobedience is equated with unbelief in 3:19. 

^4:1 Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. ² For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. ³ For we who have believed do enter that rest

When you look at what the writer is referring to there is the primary meaning of what is written then there is the application:

The application is found in the example of the Israelites who were not trusting in God’s promises…God said He would go before them and remove all opposition allowing them to live securely in the land free from hostilities…whereby they would live in rest.

All they needed to do was have faith that God would do as He promised…BUT instead…they relied on their own ability rather than having faith that God would do what He promised…hence they were denied God’s rest.

The application for us requires the same degree of faith God expected of the Jews…for us enter into God’s rest requires a faith that demands we stop relying on our own abilities and trust in God’s promises…biblical faith involves our submissiveness to God.   

The application is closely associated with the primary meaning…the rest that was available to the Hebrews was denied them…and is denied to people today because they professed Jesus…but did not truly possess Jesus.

It’s one thing to be present in Christ’s church this morning – it’s quite another thing to have Christ present in you…. it’s one thing to have information in your mind about Christ, it’s quite another thing to have the mind of Christ in you.

This morning’s verses are emphasizing us to hear the good news and then unite our hearing with belief…whereby we are then allowed to enter into spiritual rest.

There can be three types of ‘rest’ symbolized here:

ONE…The rest that Adam and Eve experienced before they were expelled from the Garden.

TWO…The rest that awaited the Israelites in the Promised Land but was denied them because of their lack of faith.

THREE…The eternal rest of the new heaven and the new earth (Rev.2:6; 22:1).

BUT…in each one of these cases it was the people’s own unbelief which rendered them unable to enjoy God’s rest…they disqualified themselves…it was self-induced.

There’s a timeless theological principal in these verses…it’s a warning that can be applied to us today…because like Israel we too have dumbed down the Bible.

…by not preaching on what God says about living a Christian lifestyle.

…by accepting what is popular rather than what is Scriptural.  

…by preaching and accepting what is preferred rather than what is truthful.

…by preaching to fill churches rather than preaching God’s Word.

…by replacing the true God with false religions.

…by accepting what I believe to be true.

…by what the media says is right.

…by what is politically correct.

…by what society says over ‘thus says the Lord’.

This has really been the problem since the Fall…that’s really the meaning of the Hebrew word Sabbath…most people identify the Sabbath as just a time to cease from work…but to the observant Jew…God’s Sabbath is for two reasons:

1) A day of rest to cease from work but also

2) A time of refreshing in the Lord…a time to concentrate on the spiritual aspects of life.

How many people realize that work is a blessing from God…work is man’s original vocation…those who consider it a punishment are sadly mistaken…God placed the first man in Paradise so that he would work.

People have the misplaced idea that the reason we work is because it’s a curse from the Fall…that God ran Adam and Eve out of the Garden and told them to get to work…working has nothing to do with the Fall.

Now…things certainly did change drastically as a result of the Fall:

Physical Death

Through the sin of one man, sin spread to all men, and all men died [Rom. 5:12].

Changed our relationship with God

After the Fall neither Adam or Eve took responsibility for their action…Adam blamed Eve and God for his sin…Eve was a little smarter…she blamed Satan (Gen. 3:8). No one ever blames Satan.

At that instant man’s relationship with God was shattered…we were declared enemies of God…man would not only die physically but would also be spiritually separated from God…the only way to reconcile was for something to be sacrificed …God’s Son was the only acceptable sacrifice to satisfy God’s wrath.

Changed relationships

It changed man’s relationship with himself…with other people…and even with nature.

With respect to ourselves…all of us struggle to some degree with self-worth because of our sin…one of our greatest needs as individuals is to regain a sense of our value and worth…Christianity gives that sense of value and worth back to us…because we are no longer just occupying space and time…we belong to God.

Sin also damaged man’s other people…immediately after the Fall, Adam and Eve’s relationship with each other was affected…how they dealt with each other…one that took a turn for the worse.

The Fall ruined the mutual understanding of submission between a woman and her husband…it was literally the birth of feminism and male chauvinism.

When God told Eve that she would desire her husband [Gen 3:16] He was not referring to sex…that’s not what that means…God was saying two things are going to happen as a result of your sin.

FIRST…the woman would seek a role reversal by not being submissive to Adam…she would covet his control…his position of authority…and dominance

…she would desire to have the authority in their relationship…that’s what ‘she would desire her husband’ means.

SECOND…man’s rule over women would no longer be one of benevolence … men would no longer see women as an equal and as a help mate…but would begin to be suppressive in their relationship to women and seek a more dominant role.

Here’s some Christian counselling regarding this…for Christians marriage is the union of a man and women…OK…I have obviously crossed a line…when you make a statement like that you represent everything that’s bad.

You’re politically incorrect…a sexist…narrow minded…a bigot…a Christian pinhead…homophobic…and probably a Nazi…obviously I’m not being progressive enough…being too Southern Baptist.

…I will not compromise the Bible for the sake of political correctness.

…I will not compromise the Bible for the sake of a larger congregation.

…I will not compromise the Bible to smooth over any conviction of sin brought about by a disobedient lifestyle.

I don’t preach to ‘bash’ …condemn…or criticize anyone’s lifestyle…that’s the job of the Holy Spirit…as a pastor it’s been said…I’m not called to give my opinion…I don’t get to say what I think…I get to say what the Bible says.

Going back to the marriage issues that were caused by the Fall…here’s what Scripture says regarding marriage…women serve God by willingly being submissive to their husbands…men ‘be good husbands to your wives. Honor them, delight in them’ [1 Peter 3:7] and willingly submit to God.

BUT…because the Fall changed all of what God expects in marriage… Scripture has to remind us of what a marriage relationship should be.

Changed our relationship with nature

The world itself was altered…originally the earth produced all kinds of fruit but the Fall changed all that…God cursed the ground and caused thorns and thistles to grow to crowd out the crops.

This is where the work thing comes in…after man was expelled from the Garden he would have to work to survive in this new world [Gen. 3:17-19].

SO, …having to work is not a result of the Fall…work is not a penalty…or a curse…or a punishment…those who speak of it that way have a mis-understanding of Scripture…the ‘rest’ referred to here has nothing do with work.

Work is a blessing in that as participants we find a purpose in the creative work of God by joining in and subduing the earth and exercising dominion over it… exactly what God told Adam and Eve to do.

The LORD…took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. [Gen 2:15]

To rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth [Gen 1:26].

People mistakenly believe that when I get to heaven, I’m just gonna sit around and eat from the tree of life while I dangle my feet in the river of life and relax …others say that in eternity we will do nothing except worship God forever.

Here’s a spoiler alert…neither one is totally correct…nowhere in Scripture does it refer to us sitting around doing nothing…and while worship will be a primary activity in heaven, it will not be our only activity…the Bible says in heaven we will not only worship but we will also work.

A perfect illustration of that is in the Garden of Eden…God didn’t tell Adam and Eve to just hang out in the Garden and do nothing…He put them as caretakers over His creation…nothing’s changed.

Worship manifests itself in work…serving God is worship, and Scripture is clear that we will serve God in heaven.

This is where the importance is of understanding the phrase ‘promise remains of entering His rest’.

We believe that heaven will be very much like the Garden of Eden…but in reality, not even a comparison…because Heaven will be so much more enjoyable…but just as God instructed Adam to work…we will also work.

Here’s the difference…In Heaven we’ll serve God doing enjoyable work… doing what we want to do but doing it in a manner that will always bring joy to God and to us…is that not the perfect job?

We will not be under the curse of sin any longer, so everything we do will be worship in heaven. (Revelation 22:3).

We will never be motivated by anything other than our love for God… everything we do will be out of love for God.

The close connection between worship and service will continue in heaven in ways we will not fully understand until that time.

The importance of God’s ‘rest’ is seen in the author using most of chapter 3 and 4 to expound on it…the significance of Israel’s rest in Canaan has nothing to do with salvation…here’s the salient point…God’s rest is available right now.

Hebrews 4 is an interesting chapter which speaks in length about rest…the ‘rest’ scripture is referring to is the peace that comes with being assured of our salvation.

The ‘rest’ that comes is by giving believers confidence in their relationship with Christ…it’s knowing that God is in control of all things and all times…it’s the ‘rest’ that is the assurance that God gives us an inheritance…and rewards to those who ‘hold fast’ to their faith.

Here’s the importance in that… knowing that as Christians we have a fellowship with God whereby we can approach the throne of grace confidently…because we are assured of our victory over sin and death…having the promise of eternal security in Christ…and the promise of rewards.

⁸  “Don’t harden your hearts the way they did at Meribah
    or like that day they complained in the wilderness of Massah.
⁹ Your ancestors tested Me, wanted Me to prove Myself though they had seen that nothing was too great for Me.
¹⁰ For 40 years I despised that grumbling generation and said, ‘Their hearts are unfaithful; they no longer walk in My ways; though I call, they do not listen to My voice.’
¹¹ That is why in My anger I swore, ‘They will never enter into My rest.’”  [Psalm 95:7-11 / Hebrews 3:7b-11]

Something that’s heard a lot is the idea that God has changed from what He was in the Old Testament…He’s not as angry…He’s more loving…more considerate …more accommodating…more understanding …more forgiving…NO! He’s not…He’s exactly the same.

The writer of Hebrews quotes extensively from the Old Testament…wanting his readers to think about what their ancestors went through and how God dealt with them during their 40 years in the wilderness…and that He’s prepared to deal with us in the same way today because He hasn’t changed.

Verses 8-9 of chapter 3 records some of the historical events of Israel during those forty years in the wilderness…listing the times they tested God…BUT… noting that during all that time they didn’t learn from their mistakes and sins against God.

Here’s the danger…people have no idea how tragic it is to reject God’s way and hold to their own way…they have no idea in doing so results in the loss of God’s purpose for them in their life.

That’s what hardening of the heart does…it dulls the senses such that people can no longer recognize spiritual truth and reality…and the longer the hardening persists the more difficult it is for the Holy Spirit to awaken our conscience.

The writer is including this as a reminder that God has not changed and He will deal with them in the same manner…AGAIN…the idea that God no longer deals with people like He did in the Old Testament is incorrect.

How do I know if something from the O. T. is still applicable today…if it’s repeated in the New Testament. Ten Commandments are not out of date.

In [v.11] the writer reminds his listeners of the consequences that await anyone who thinks they can trifle with God’s patience:

I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’

That’s some pretty stern talk…reading this verse should make us shudder because God had pronounced this on His rebellious people…He’s not talking to unbelievers…there will be a time when God’s long-suffering patience runs out.

Just thinking about this in human terms…how many of us would be as patient as God was knowing that the miracles He performed for Israel He did for no other people on earth…and yet they still disobeyed Him:

…He rescued them from 400 years of slavery in Egypt

…no other people on earth crossed the Red Sea on dry land

…no other people were fed personally by God for forty years

…no other people were given water from a rock

What more could God do? …He wanted to give them rest…but now He swore they wouldn’t enter His rest…some people mistakenly assume that this faithless generation who died in the wilderness were denied entrance into the Promised Land because they lost their salvation.

One of the first principles of sound biblical interpretation is that scripture is its own interpreter…the Bible is not subject to our own personal opinions or private interpretations.

Before we can assign a meaning to any passage, we must search both the context of the passage as well as surrounding verses…the chapter…the book…and possibly the whole Bible itself, to see how the words are used throughout scripture.

This goes back to last week’s message and the phrase ‘if we hold fast’ used in both [3:6 &14] which implies the same result…the loss of salvation.

The conjunction “if” in… “If we hold fast!” …appears to suggest that our eternal salvation depends on ‘us’ holding fast because the statement is a Greek third-class conditional sentence implying what may or may not be true based on what we do…so the natural interpretation is that salvation depends on us.

So the natural conclusion is that both statements… “If we hold fast” [6] and they will never enter into My rest [11] … both seem to suggest the same thing…the loss of salvation…that is completely untrue.

With respect to “If we hold fast!” the meaning is possibly you never were a Christian in the first place…hence the conditional sentence implying what may or may not be true…the idea is not that their salvation was lost…it was that their conversion may or may not have been real in the first place.  

In the statement…They will never enter into My rest.’…He was referring to the rest that awaited them in the promised land of Canaan after their trip from Egypt…but instead of days…it took years to accomplish.

Because of the unbelief of 10 men…an entire generation of more than a million people died and were buried in the wilderness. [Num. 14:29] …it was not salvation that was lost.

One of the biggest mistakes we make in life is forgetting how much our actions affect the people around us.

Never forget that your decisions affect the lives of other people.

The unbelief of just 10 men resulted in the death of a whole generation of Israelites who didn’t inherit what God had promised…they spent the next forty years wandering in the desert never having enjoyed the ‘rest’ the Lord had promised them…that’s why the author emphasizes the importance in remembering God’s warning from the Old Testament.

Here’s what’s so amazing about this period in Israel’s history…in all of this… they didn’t learn from their past mistakes so as not to repeat them again.

We can document the history of Israel and note not only the times during their forty years in the desert…but throughout their entire history how often they tested and tried God.

Because of unbelief they forfeited the right to live a victorious life…they chose independence over dependence on God…that all started in the Garden and is still continuing today…they lost the joy of what ‘resting’ in the Lord meant.

As we continue in our earthly struggle, we have the same choice every day on whether to rely on God…or trust in ourselves to get us by the best we can.

So what does “resting in God” look like?

Because it’s possible to enjoy Godly rest now…Godly rest comes when we spend our time being in the presence of God.

Sometimes we get so focused on what we’re accomplishing in life that we don’t think about resting and can therefore miss the signs that are telling us to slow down and reconnect with God.

Here are 3 signs that indicate we’re not resting in the presence of God:

1) Your advice doesn’t match your actions.

No matter what stage of life you’re at, someone in or out of the church is going to ask you for advice on how to live and be in a relationship with God.

If you start giving them advice that you know is right and good that you yourself are not following, that’s a sign that you need to reconnect with God.

2) You know a lot but feel far from God.

Maybe you have lots of answers about Christian life and faith and can tell people a lot about who God is.

KEY…we can have all the answers, but if we don’t have love – which comes from being in relationship with God…spending time with Him…and learning who He is…then we are nothing.

3) You feel a prodding.

God wants to be in relationship with us, and we need to respond to that nudging that calls us back. How does God do that?

First…He uses knowledge. Cut yourself off from God’s Word and you’ve cut yourself off from any hope of spiritual growth.

Second…God’s goodness is for the purpose of changing our minds about Him. It is the goodness of God that leads to repentance [Rom. 2:4].  

Third…God uses our sorrow for sin as a means to prod us…have you ever done something wrong and then felt bad? …that’s a good thing because guilt …or what we refer to as our conscience…is the gift God has given each person to steer them back into fellowship.

The KEY to this whole discourse between vs. 7 through 11 is in [v. 7]

Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, today if you hear His voice

These words were originally written by David and attributed to the Holy Spirit…the reference to the Holy Spirit is not the major point of this passage but it is important…here’s the significance…the writer of Hebrews sees the Scripture of the Old Testament as being inspired by the Holy Spirit.

These texts are not simply being quoted because they are familiar to the letter’s readers…they are being quoted as the very words of God…because there is an urgency in what he’s saying.

The phrase Today, if ye shall hear his voice…has multiple suggestions.   

FIRST… “Today” is the time between yesterday and tomorrow…yesterday God sent His Son into the world to pay the price for our sins…yesterday God’s plan of salvation was made known…tomorrow is when He will make His triumphant return to earth…when all of creation will be remade complete and whole.

We live in ‘today’, the time between the act of salvation yesterday…and Jesus’ return tomorrow.

SECOND…God speaks to us every day…He speaks to every person in the world every day…the question is not, is God still speaking? …the question is, are we listening, because He’s still speaking:

(1) Through His written word;

(2) Through the preached gospel;

(3) Through our consciences;

(4) Through the events of his Providence;

(5) Through nature;

(6) Through our relatives and friends.

God speaks to us “every day” in these ways…that’s why all of these may be regarded as ‘His voice’ speaking to us.

The consequences of not listening are tragic, and because the tendency to procrastinate is universal…that action is demanded now, today.

THIRD… ‘Today’ is an appeal for action NOW

Paul emphasizes this idea in his letter to the Corinthians… [2 Cor. 6:2]

Behold now is the acceptable time; behold now is the day of salvation.

Why today?

(1) There may never be a tomorrow.

(2) God has commanded obedience NOW.

(3) The impulse to respond or obey may diminish or disappear.

(4) Subsequent obedience (even if it comes) may not be as effectual and fruitful. (5) There is no better time than NOW.

This statement underlines the fact that life does not come to people a day at a time…but a moment at a time…and it demands a response today— not tomorrow but today …this is how faith works…it demands a response now.

When faith is postponed, it is no longer faith. It becomes disobedience!

King David wrote these word centuries ago when the Holy Spirit spoke to the people of his time…the author of Hebrews repeats these same words to the people of his time…as you and I read them they are being spoken to us as well

FOURTH…we are to encourage each other …as long as it is still called ‘Today’ [13]

This is the second time the author uses the word ‘today’ …here’s what’s interesting… there is no specific length of time suggested here…again… ‘today’ is the time between yesterday and tomorrow…understood to be more than a single day…right up until the second coming of Christ.

The sense of urgency is twofold…ONE…that ‘today’ will not last indefinitely …it will one day come to an end…and TWO…listen while there is still opportunity to hear God speaking…because one day you may not be able to hear His voice…that’s why the urgency on hearing today [15].

There are some intense concepts presented in Hebrews third chapter…I’ve preached two sermons on just this one chapter…the first one was about the supremacy of Jesus over Moses…and today the importance of understanding what ‘today’ involves…and really could preach a third sermon on this chapter.

In quoting this passage from the psalm, the author is saying these people forfeited the opportunity of God’s rest and unless we hold firmly to our faith in Christ, the only course in life left for us to take is the same course these people took, and that wasn’t very promising.

Today’s message is not about the loss of salvation…but rather a loss of fellowship…rewards…and our ‘spiritual inheritance’ which is the result of not trusting God…not being in fellowship…not being obedient or doubting His Word.

Through this passage we learn that because unbelief is such a strong obstacle, we see the need to encourage one another daily [13] …encourage means to inspire, to give hope, to lift up, to help strengthen one another in our faith.

All of us become discouraged in unbelief at one point or another…all of us need to encourage one another in our shared faith through words, through actions, and by our attitude…when we do…then we can rest in the Lord.

The book of Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians who were being pressured to abandon their faith in Jesus as the Messiah and to turn back to Judaism – back to the Law of Moses – back to the ceremonies – back to rituals—back to the priests…they were even considering the worship of angels. 

The author of Hebrews says effectively:  “Are you insane? Are you turning away from the One and Only Savior that God will ever send – to return to ceremonies and sacrifices that can never save – and to the worship of idols?”

Paul advises the Galatians [1:9] and Colossians [2:18] of the same things…

Jewish holy days were meant to honor the Law of the Old Testament…but at the same time…they were a shadow of what was to come.

Some evangelicals are preaching a return to observe Jewish festivals…as Christians, we believe that Christ came to fulfill the Law and because of our belief that Jesus is the Son of God, we no longer follow the Old Law…nor are we obligated to observe their feasts.

BUT…should a Christian congregation reenact aspects of an Old Testament feast for the sake of better understanding them it should be done with a conscious awareness that they are not required of Christians…they convey no special spiritual benefits… and are strictly of educational value.

This is Paul’s argument in Galatians…for those who have accepted Christ, no additional custom…or rituals…or doing things is necessary….and to reject any notion that you are required to participate in outdated Jewish holidays.

Here’s what this comes down to…it’s called Legalism…it’s works-based… where a person’s merit supersedes the grace of God…stressing the adherence to imposed rules…rituals and regulations.

Paul gives a serious warning to any minister that is teaching that there are extra things that need to be done for salvation:

if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what

you received he is to be accursed [Gal 1:9]

If you’re preaching something other than Jesus Christ and Him crucified…you’re preaching another gospel…let me share with you the consequences of those who preach another gospel and those who adhere to it…here’s the danger:

1.  (Gal. 1:6) desertingHimandturning to a different Gospel.
2.  (Gal. 1:7) perverting and distorting the Gospel.
3.  (Gal. 1:8-9) those who pervert Gospel, be accursed.  

In this morning’s message the emphasis in on persevering and persistence…which are equally crucial in the Christian’s life…collectively the top priority in the Christian life is learning to battle unbelief and fight the fight of faith together.

It was never intended that Christians should go independently through life.

Do you have to go to Church to be a Cristian? Well, NO…because there is a danger in saying ‘yes’ to that question…soon as you say you “have to do something” to be a Christian you are in danger of getting the gospel message wrong…because there is nothing you can do to become a Christian…it’s a gift.

BUT…the Bible has no concept of individual spirituality…the Christian life was never meant to be lived solo…NOW…I realize people work on Sundays… people are ill and unable to attend church…that in today’s sports craved world games are scheduled on Sundays…but here’s what “you don’t have to go to Church to be a Cristian” means for most people.

They’re really just trying to justify a decision they’ve made to not gather each week with other believers.

Many people mistakenly treat worship as if it were a passive experience…I came… I sit…I listened…I left…thinking of “church” as something done by someone else: the pastor, the musicians, whoever.

Oh, maybe you sing some hymns or drop money in the collection box but for the most part church is something you passively watch as it is done by other people.

So, why go to church when I can watch it from the comfort of my own home? What’s the difference?

This fosters the mistaken belief that now that I’m a Christian I can relax in the battle of temptation and sin because the battle is over…I’m a believer. I have won the battle. That’s a wrong notion.

That type of thinking leaves you vulnerable to failure…in Hebrews 3 the author is warning about losing a grip on their confidence about the future…he starts off the chapter with the word ‘therefore’ desiring to make a summary conclusion from the preceding two chapters to what is about to be said.

This is the reason for the difficulty in understanding the opening verses in Hebrews third chapter.

I want us to focus on a verse from that chapter today because the author chooses each word intentionally to tie back to the previous two chapters which are essentially a warning regarding the worship of angels or placing Moses on equal footing with Jesus.

So he offers some encouragement in the form of a warning:

We are his house if we hold fast our confidence… firm until the end. [3:6]

Evidently despite being Christians…there was the danger they were not holding fast to their convictions… they were not persevering…they were drifting away and neglecting what they had been taught…the opposite of perseverance…not hanging in there over the long haul…de-emphasizing the necessity of “If we hold fast!”

In this verse we are directed from the natural to the spiritual and are also reminded that as God’s spiritual children WE are the house of God implying the corporate nature of the people of God.

Again, the greatest characteristics of serving God are to persevere and persist.

We are the living stones who are being built up, day by day, into the spiritual Temple of God…that’s the meaning of sanctification– we are the Body of Christ …we are his household…we are His people…we are His possession and inheritance…all this is true…but there is a condition.

Notice in verse 6…the writer puts in the conjunction “if” … “If we hold fast!” …this “if” presents a tremendously serious suggestion…this is so serious and so important that the rest of chapter 3 is a support and explanation of it…in fact much of the rest of this book is meant to make this “if” plain.

There is an unwarranted danger this verse presents…this verse along with some others appears to suggest that our eternal salvation depends on ‘us’ holding fast to the end…and that occurs only ‘if’ we hold fast…Paul’s letter to the Corinthians uses the exact same wording [1 Cor. 15:1-2]

Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you…by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you.

The mistaken view is this verse is referring to losing your salvation…Hebrews 3:1 seems to negate this idea where the readers of Hebrews are referred to as “holy brethren” and “partakers of the heavenly calling” …this can apply only to true believers in Christ.

The phrase in both Hebrews and in Corinthians ‘if you hold fast’ reveals three truths:

…First…holding fast is a nautical term…meaning to steer toward…Luke uses this when referring to a ship heading for the beach [Acts 27:40].

As Christians we are reminded to persevere…keep our faces fixed towards God’s Eternal Kingdom…to hold fast…to stay the course…that is the evidence that we are truly a part of God’s household…the idea because I occasionally read the Bible and pray is what qualifies me as a Christian is poor theology.

If you’re counting on that to be enough evidence to prove that you’re a Christian …think about what you just said…because the answer to that question is NO.

AGAIN…holding fast to the end is evidenced in the outward, verifiable way in which you live your life…does your life reflect the teaching of the Bible…does your life reflect a life that exhibits the fruit of the Spirit?

That’s why Scripture tells us to give ourselves a periodical self-examination, because by nature we prefer self-deception…believing ourselves to be better and more ethical than we really are.

…Secondly…there’s a warning associated with this verse…the conjunction “if” in this verse introduces a third-class conditional sentence…it is setting forth a condition of uncertainty. (A first-class conditional statement assumes a statement to be true, for example changing “if” to “since”.)

A third-class conditional sentence means that it may or may not be true… nowhere in the New Testament more than here do we find the repeated insistence on persistence in the Christian life is the test of reality.

Earlier I said Hebrews 3:1 seems to confirm the idea that the readers of Hebrews are Christians based on the author referring to them as “holy brethren” and ‘partakers of the heavenly calling’ …this can apply only to true believers in Christ.

However, this third-class sentence seems to indicate that might not be the case because it’s referring to something that may or may not be true.

This verse is suggesting that those who fail to continue to hold fast means there was no perseverance…no sincerity in their decision in the first place…hence the idea is that their conversion may or may not be true.

Our Christian commitment is evidenced in the outward, verifiable way in which we live our life…that proves our salvation is true…that’s why as a third-class conditional statement it means that something may or may not be true.

That’s why this ‘if’ statement is suggesting a person’s salvation may or may not be true…depending on the person’s commitment or lack of one…NOT TALKING ABOUT LOSING YOUR SALVATION…BUT…  perseverance is outward evidence of salvation…proof that a person is truly saved.

Faith does not come and go…it stays firmly fixed on Christ…those who persevere in their Christian life know that they have come to share in the inheritance with Christ.

…Thirdly…this is the idea that the ‘if’ in this verse indicates there’s a condition that we are saved only ‘if we hold fast’ hinting that salvation is achieved by what we do…rather than by Jesus’ finished work of the Cross…and that salvation can be lost.

Both are false concepts…you don’t earn your salvation and you can’t lose it.

But it is possible for believers to not hold fast to their belief…the Bible gives numerous instances where believers did not persevere or hold fast to the truth (1 Tim. 5:14-15; 6:20-21; 2 Tim. 1:5; 2:17-18, 24-26; 4:9-10, 14-16).

This is what’s known as apostasy…there are plenty of examples in the Bible of people who appeared to be saved who eventually walked away from the faith.

Brings up the question about belief versus saving belief? …even the demons believe, but that does not save them (James 2:19) …theologians point out differences in head knowledge versus a belief in the heart…indicating just a cognitive belief in Jesus isn’t enough, it requires a deeper kind of belief.

Hence the importance of being around other believers…of going to Church… being in a Bible study…the Bible teaches that surviving and thriving in a life of faith and love depends on Christians intentionally building up each other in faith and love.

Without intentional faith-building togetherness we lose our zeal…we drift from God…we become hardened in the deceitfulness of sin…as Christians…we are united by common beliefs…purposes…and goals…sharing in each other’s trials while also rejoicing in God’s blessings.

This verse is designed NOT to prevent the believer from suffering…nor hardships… nor persecution…nor the loss of salvation…but suffering the loss of rewards, by reverting into carnal Christianity or legalistic practices.

Rewards…honor…and glory come only to those who “hold fast” to the teachings of Jesus…holding fast does not imply anything about our ability…we hold fast by holding fast to the confidence in Christ’s suffering for us on the Cross for our salvation.

This goes back to sanctification…if you’re a Christian you have been set apart for use by God to fulfill an intended purpose…you have been sanctified.

BUT there’s more…the Greek word translated “sanctification” means “to make holy.” …in one sense only God is holy…no person shares the holiness of God… yet God calls on us to be holy as He is holy [1 Peter 1:16] …how do I do that?

You don’t because it’s impossible…when the writer of Hebrews and Paul uses the verb for “hold fast” (κατέχω) it is in relation to the Christian’s sanctification experience.

That word is not just a causal reference to how I might conduct my life…it means ‘I take possession.’

Here’s something about Christianity that most people fail to take notice of… being a Christian doesn’t mean just lackadaisically sitting back and doing nothing.

Sanctification is the ongoing transformation into Christlikeness…it never stops.

Sanctification is about persistence…AGAIN…sanctification is not a condition of salvation…it’s the result.

Sanctification begins at the moment of conversion and lasts throughout your life. It’s an on-going lifelong endeavor of becoming more like Christ…

I began this message by stating…the emphasis on persevering together as Christians…top priority in the Christian life is learning to battle unbelief and fight the fight of faith together.

It was never intended that Christians should go independently through life.

As a pastor…I survive and thrive in the ministry because God has surrounded me with people who pray for me. 

As Christians we are called to preserve…we are in it for the long haul…when you commit to Christ it is a lifetime commitment…as a Christian you are called to set your face toward the goal…to hold fast…to never look back.

The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints is founded in the promise that ‘He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion.’ [Phil. 1:6]

Here’s the warning to all Christians…perseverance in godly living and believing the truth always accompanies genuine conversion [John 8:31 / Romans 2:7].