Hebrews 10:32-39

Please take your copy of God's Word and join me in Hebrews chapter 10.

Hebrews 10 · chapter mention

!

Our study of Hebrews.

In our study of Hebrews so far, we have seen that the theme of Hebrews is the supremacy and finality of Jesus Christ.

That is, Christ is greater than fill in the blank for our age.

In this letter, the author makes the case that Christ is greater than angels.

Christ is greater than priests.

That Levitical, Aaronic priesthood they were familiar with in their day.

And that Christ is greater than the old covenant redemptive economy.

He has brought a new covenant.

And it is a superior covenant.

And we have seen the theme that Christ is the final Word.

We need no new revelation.

God has revealed Himself fully in the person and the work of Jesus Christ.

Now, the temptation that faced the believers, this letter was originally intended for, was the abandonment of their faith.

And its author is concerned that they persevere to the end.

We have seen in chapter 6 that this beleaguered church had experienced apostasy in their ranks.

They had experienced persecution.

And if the dating is correct, which I believe that it is on this letter,

this has been going on now for some decade and a half.

Many years of persecution.

And in this time, some who had once claimed faith in Jesus Christ had abandoned said faith.

And so the author of Hebrews is seeking to press them on.

To encourage them to hang on and to hold up.

To encourage them to do this even in the face of great adversity.

And we decided to study this text because as followers of Christ, we will experience trials.

And we must prepare ourselves to persevere.

Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 12.

2 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

And that persecution takes many shapes, right?

In many places and across the ages.

The truth is, if we are walking righteously in this world,

the world will hate us as it hated Christ.

This is not the abnormal thing for the faithful follower of Jesus.

This is the normal thing.

Now, I am not an alarmist.

But brothers and sisters, we need to be mindful of the day in which we live.

We need to be found persevering now.

And we need to prepare ourselves to persevere to the end.

Now, to be abundantly clear, we do not save ourselves by our perseverance.

But rather, because we have been saved, we persevere.

It is of highest importance that we understand that God's loving kindness toward us in Jesus Christ.

The salvation of our souls, right?

Grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone is the cause.

Perseverance is the effect.

Not the other way around.

The author of Hebrews speaks to this once again in the last half of chapter 10.

This is a repetitive theme throughout this book.

Last week, Clay preached on verses 26 through 31 of chapter 10,

which contains within it the sternest warning against apostasy in this book.

It is a stark and trembly passage.

Today, we're going to look at verses 32 through 39,

which is this pastor's following encouragement.

In order to gain perspective and grasp the flow of the chapter,

we're going to begin reading in verse 19 of chapter 10.

Before I lead us in reading this together,

we remind you, beloved, that this is God's word to us.

It was written for his glory and our good.

And we would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises

and to obey its commands.

Hebrews chapter 10, verse 19 and following.

Hebrews 10:19

Therefore, brothers,

since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus,

by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain,

that is, through his flesh,

and since we have a great priest over the house of God,

let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith,

with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience

and our bodies washed with pure water.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering,

for he who promised is faithful.

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,

not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some,

but encouraging one another,

and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth,

there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,

but a fearful expectation of judgment

and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.

Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses

dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.

How much worse punishment do you think

will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God

and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified

and has outraged the Spirit of grace.

For we know him who said,

Vengeance is mine, I will repay.

And again the Lord will judge his people.

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

I believe that Clay helped us to see

that the person that our author is speaking of

in verses 26 through 31

is the person who made a profession of faith in Jesus,

but whose life was not altered.

The effect was never shown,

meaning the cause never happened.

They showed themselves to not be regenerate,

but apostate.

And that's something we need to hear in our day.

In a day that being Christian means that

grandma and grandpa are Christian.

They help put the parking lot in at the church building.

In a day that being Christian means that

I occasionally pop into church

or that I vote Republican.

We need to hear this.

The cause produces something in us.

There's an evidence of who we are in Christ.

A good tree bears good fruit.

And if we find that our lives are only bearing bad fruit,

then we must question the state of our souls.

So after this strong warning

that the author of Hebrew gives,

listen now to his pastoral kindness.

Remember, this church is tired.

Any of you feel tired this morning?

You feel like following Christ is exhausting?

That we have picked up trouble in the world

because we are faithful Christ followers?

Listen to the kindness of this pastor.

But recall the former days

when after you were enlightened,

you endured a hard struggle with sufferings.

Sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction

and sometimes being partners with those so treated.

For you had compassion on those in prison

and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property

since you knew that you yourselves

had a better possession and an abiding one.

Therefore, do not throw away your confidence,

which has a great reward.

For you have need of endurance

so that when you have done the will of God,

you may receive what is promised.

For yet a little while

and the coming one will come

and will not delay.

But my righteous one shall live by faith.

And if he shrinks back,

my soul has no pleasure in him.

But we are not of those who shrink back

and are destroyed,

but of those who have faith

and preserve their souls.

The author of Hebrews

begins instructing his readers

how to persevere in the present

by reminding them

how they persevered in the past.

He says to them,

you will have the grace necessary to persevere now

because look at the evidence

that you have the grace necessary

to persevere then.

He exhorts them to recall

the beginning of verse 32.

But recall.

He's making this case.

We're not those people.

We're not those who are going to abandon the faith

even in the face of difficulty

and struggle and persecution.

We're those who are going to persevere

to the end.

So he reminds them

of something that happened in their lives.

And this happens again

and again and again

in the Scripture.

We're over and over again

instructed and commanded,

exhorted,

encouraged

to remember.

And this is massively important

because we are such forgetful people.

Let me give you an example

from the Old Testament.

In Joshua chapter 3,

Joshua 3 · chapter mention

we can read of Israel

after sojourning in the wilderness

for 40 years,

crossing over the Jordan River.

If you're familiar with the story,

you'll recall that the priests

held the Ark of the Covenant

and the waters split.

Right?

Just like they had happened

so many years

and to a generation

that had passed previously.

Once again,

God works this miracle

and they walk across

on dry ground.

They walk into the place,

the land of Gilgal.

And in that place,

we can read Joshua chapter 4,

Joshua 4:19

verse 19 and following.

The people came up

out of the Jordan

on the tenth day

of the first month

and they camped at Gilgal

on the east border

of Jericho.

And those twelve stones

which they took out of the Jordan

as they were crossing it

on dry ground,

Joshua set up at Gilgal.

And he said to the people of Israel,

when your children ask their fathers

in times to come,

what do these stones mean?

This wouldn't have been

twelve stones.

Significant.

It pictured something.

But they carried them.

I can't imagine

they were too large.

There's a pile of twelve stones.

This doesn't happen naturally.

So, in times to come,

children are going to ask fathers,

what do these stones mean?

And here's the real significance of them.

Verse 22,

Then you shall let your children know.

Israel passed over this Jordan

on dry ground.

For the Lord your God

dried up the waters of the Jordan for you

until you passed over,

as the Lord your God did

to the Red Sea,

which He dried up for us

until we passed over.

So that all the peoples of the earth

may know that the hand of the Lord

is mighty,

that you may fear

the Lord your God

forever.

So they set up

an altar of sorts,

a memoriam,

that when they saw it,

they would remember

the mighty things

God had done.

Not only had they passed

over the Jordan

into the promised land,

but prior to that,

they had passed out of slavery.

It's meant to bring their minds back

to the whole Exodus story.

And notice that the emphasis

is on,

Joshua says,

what God has done.

We're to be reminded

about what God

has done.

If you go on to read

in the book of Joshua,

Joshua many times

retreats back to Gilgal.

He goes back to this place

to reunify forces

as their conquest is going about

in the promised land.

He goes there to strategize.

And I have to think,

my theological imagination

causes me to think

that he was going back

to a place

that helped him remember

the mighty hand of God.

What God had done

and that he was sure

to keep the promises

he had made.

There is great power

in remembering

who God is

and what God

has done.

Beloved,

this book

serves us so well

in this way.

We would take up

these accounts

and see who our Lord

is.

Remembering

grants us

the confidence

we need

to persevere.

So,

our outline for today

is simply this.

Preserving in the past

and preserving

in the present.

And I want to show you

how the one

serves the other

according to the author

of Hebrews.

So,

let's look first

persevering in

the past.

Verse 32

through 34.

We see a picture

of a strange

group of people.

I hope in some measure

we identify

with these people

that we would say

rejoice with them

and say yes,

amen

to the way

that they lived

their lives.

That wouldn't seem

so far off

and obscure

that our lives

would look something,

some semblance

of this.

He says,

recall the former days

when after

you were enlightened.

He's talking about them

coming to faith

in Christ.

When the gospel

of Jesus Christ

was preached to them

and embraced

by them.

What happened?

A hard

struggle

with sufferings.

And the author

of Hebrews

uses the word

endured.

It doesn't seem

that this was a

brief and passing

thing,

but an ongoing

thing.

And history

shows us

that there was

a great deal

of persecution

in Rome

in their day.

And he gives us

some detail of that

going on in

verse 33.

Sometimes being

publicly exposed

to reproach

and affliction

and sometimes

being partners

with those

so treated.

So they were

drug out

into public

places

and mocked,

ridiculed,

and in some

cases

given physical

injury.

They were hurt

as well.

Beaten.

Spat upon.

Things thrown

at them.

And we find out

in the next verse,

verse 34,

some of them

were imprisoned.

So,

these people

had suffered

and they had

endured

a hard

struggle.

How did they

partner with those

being treated?

They had compassion

on them,

those that were

thrown in prison.

In this day,

if you didn't

have family

or friends

that brought you

provision in prison,

you would die there.

Your jailers

did not take care

of your physical need.

You relied on

those outside

to do so.

And this

precious little

church

bore one

another's burdens,

took up that

task,

and in doing so,

they proclaimed

themselves to be

Christians.

They made it

known to others,

those in

prison

are church,

they belong to

Christ,

and so

do I.

And what

happened to them

in their going

to do this

service to those

is they had

their property

plundered.

As they're

going to serve

their brothers

and their sisters

in prison,

people came

and stole

their property,

ransacked

their homes.

And here's the

peculiar thing

about this

people,

they did it

joyfully.

They joyfully

accepted

the plundering

of their property.

what an odd

bunch.

Why were they

able to do

this?

How was it

that they were

able to endure

hard struggle

with sufferings,

to be partnered

with those

that were

enduring?

It's because

they knew

that they had

a better

possession

and an abiding

one.

They knew

that the things

of this world

are fleeting,

falling away,

someday turning

to dust.

And they

held loosely

to those

things in

order that

they might

hold tightly

to Christ.

They knew

that they

had a better

possession,

Jesus himself,

and an abiding

one,

the gift of

the Spirit,

the Spirit of

Christ in

them,

one that could

not be

taken away.

They understood

that a student

is not greater

than his

teacher.

Christ

suffered.

Christ

was

persecuted.

Why would

we ever

think that

we wouldn't

receive the

same thing

at the hands

of the world?

Paul wrote

in Colossians

Colossians 1:24

1,

verse 24,

Now I

rejoice in

my sufferings

for your

sake,

and in

my flesh

I am

filling up

what is

lacking

in Christ's

afflictions

for the

sake of

his body,

that is,

the church.

Now is Paul

there suggesting

that Jesus'

suffering was

not sufficient

for the

salvation of

his church?

Absolutely

not.

What does

he mean by

lacking in

that text?

I think he

means simply

this.

As we

behold the

suffering of

Jesus Christ,

this is part of

our understanding

of the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

And this is

part of the

way that God

carries the

gospel of

Jesus Christ

into the

world.

Is that

Christians

also

suffer

as

Christ

suffered?

We're

a peculiar

people.

People say,

who are

these people

that joyfully

accept

suffering

and hardship?

What is it

about them

that makes

them so

strange?

And we're

to give

them an

answer.

We have

a better

possession

and an

abiding

one.

We

ought not

think that

we are

greater

than our

master.

They

understood

that

persecution

identified

them

with

Jesus

Christ.

In Acts

Acts 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5

and verse

41,

we see

the

apostles

before the

Sanhedrin

and they

are beaten

and charged

to not

speak anymore

in the

name of

Christ.

Verse

41 says,

then they

left the

presence of

the council

rejoicing

that they

were

counted

worthy

to

suffer

dishonor

for the

name.

They

found

great

joy

because

this

beating

was

evidence

that they

were rightly

preaching

the gospel

of Jesus

Christ.

And praise

God,

they weren't

silenced

by their

suffering.

They

went forth

and boldly

proclaimed

the gospel.

Beloved,

we look at

the text,

and the text

is primary,

and it is

of such

great importance,

but this

is also

why I like

to bring

church history

into the

life of

our

fellowship

and how

it helps

to serve

us as

we see

generations

of

Christians

who have

walked

faithfully

and suffered

for it.

On your

bulletin,

there's a

John Bunyan

quote,

and I tried

to find the

exact circumstance

that he wrote

this in response

to,

and I

couldn't,

but Bunyan

was highly

persecuted.

Bunyan

wasn't given

an approval

of the state

to preach,

but he

did anyway,

and he

was thrown

in prison

a number

of times,

and he

would preach

from inside

the courtyard,

and people

would gather

outside the

prison walls,

so he was

thrown into

a dark dungeon

of the prison.

He suffered

much,

and he wrote

this,

Therefore,

I bind

these lies

and slanderous

accusations

to my person

as an ornament.

He decorated

himself with

them.

It belongs

to my

Christian

profession

to be

vilified,

slandered,

reproached,

and reviled.

And since

all this

is nothing

but that,

as God

and my

conscience

testify,

I rejoice

in being

reproached

for Christ's

sake.

He saw it

as part of

the uniform

that you put

on when

you profess

faith in

Jesus Christ.

Do we

understand

that?

Do we

count the

cost of

following

Jesus?

Do we

treasure

Him in

a way

that nothing

else matters

in comparison?

They

understood

that suffering

was for

their good.

God

uses

suffering

as a

kind

Father

to bring

about

maturity

in our

lives.

James

wrote in

James 1,

James 1:2

verse 2

and following,

Count it

all joy,

my brothers,

when you

meet trials

of various

kinds.

For you

know that

the testing

of your

faith

produces

steadfastness

and that

steadfastness

have its

full effect

that you

may be

perfect

and

complete,

lacking

in nothing.

Do we

take on

suffering

in that

way?

Do we

view it

as a

great

evil

and a

thing

that

just

is

unjust

and

should

never

happen?

Or do

we

embrace

it

as

part

of

God's

sovereign

plan

for

our

good?

They

understood

the

concept

of

heavenly

reward.

They

got,

they have

a better

possession

and an

abiding

one.

They

embraced

the

teaching

of

Jesus.

Matthew

Matthew 6:19

chapter 6

verse 19

and 20.

Do not lay

up for

yourselves

treasures

on earth

where

moth

and rust

destroy

and where

thieves

break in

and steal.

They had

actually

experienced

that.

Thieves

broke in

and stole

their

earthly

possessions.

But lay

up for

yourselves

treasures

in heaven

where

neither

moth

nor rust

destroys

and where

thieves

do not

break in

and steal.

Eternal

heavenly

reward.

The

things of

this earth

and our

very lives

themselves

are fleeting.

They are

passing by

and I

know

beloved

that

every

day

does

not

feel

that

way.

Some

days

feel

like

an

eternity.

Press

on

as we

suffer

and it

just

seems

like

it

will

never

end.

One

glorious

day

we're

going to

put

back

on

this

life

and

go

truly

it

was

a

hand

breath.

Truly

I

was

a

vapor

in

the

wind.

Why

did

I

not

heed

this

caution

and

this

teaching?

We

should

have

our

minds

aimed

eternally.

The rest

of that

expanse,

that

massive

amount

of

time

cannot

be

measured

because

it

has

no

measure.

They

understood

but do

we

that we

should be

investing

there

and not

here?

How much

of our

lives

are aimed

at

our

comfort

and

our

leisure

our

temporal

enjoyment

and

how

little

of our

lives

are

aimed

like

that?

These

Christians

were

faithful

in this

way.

I hope

that we

have

been

too.

I

could

think

of

some

examples

of how

we

have

been

as

well.

How

would

we

endure

a

hard

struggle

with

sufferings?

I

hope

we

would

bear

up

by

the

grace

of

God

in

the

same

way.

These

were

Christians

that

had

been

beaten

down.

This

is

why

this

letter

is

being

written

to

them.

It's

trying

to

give

them

courage

to

press

on.

To

persevere

in

the

present.

So

he

goes

on

in

verse

35

and

on

through

the

end

of

our

text

in

verse

39.

Because

of

this

past

persevering

and

persevere

in

the

present.

He

says

in

verse

35,

therefore

do

not

throw

away

your

confidence

which

has

a

great

reward.

Now

as I

said

earlier

their

confidence

is

not

found

in

the

activity

of

enduring

hard

struggles

with

sufferings.

Look

at

us.

We're

endures.

Right?

We're

fantastic

faithful

Christians.

Surely

we

can

press

on.

And

for

them

to

look

and

see

the

great

work

that

God

had

done

in

their

lives.

The

affection

that

God

had

given

them

for

Christ.

That

they

would

treasure

Christ

as a

greater

possession

and an

abiding

one

as a

gift

of

the

Spirit.

That

they

would

joyfully

accept

the

plundering

of

their

property

as

a

gift

of

the

Spirit.

That

they

would

want

to

join

in

and

partner

that

confidence

that

the

author

is

referring

to.

This

confidence

in

their

confession

of

Jesus

as

the

Christ

and

the

evidence

that

they

truly

believe

that.

The

way

that

he's

working

in

and

through

them.

Cause

and

effect.

Remember

the

effect

so that

you'll

remember

the

cause.

You

have

need

of

this.

Do

not

throw

away

your

confidence

because

it

has

a

great

reward.

Another

example

from

church

history.

Hugh

Latimer

who's

one of

the

Oxford

martyrs

if you'd

like to

look

those

guys up

at some

point.

He once

was invited

to preach

before

King

Henry

VIII

and

in

his

sermon

he so

offended

King

Henry

that he

was

ordered

to preach

again

the

following

Sunday

and

to

supply

an

apology

as

part

of

that

sermon.

Can you

imagine

what that

must have

felt

like?

He

so

boldly

proclaimed

the

gospel

that

the

king

was

offended

and

the

king

said

you'll

come

back

and

you'll

apologize.

What a

week

that

would

have

been.

And

Hugh

Latimer

in the

beginning

of this

like the

introduction

to his

sermon

out

loud

in front

of the

king

addresses

himself.

He

speaks

to

himself

and

this

is

that

and

it's

got

words

in it

that we

don't

usually

use.

So hang

with me

as he

does

this.

He's

speaking

to

himself

out loud

in front

of the

king

in his

court.

He said

Hugh

Latimer

does

thou

know

before

whom

thou

art

this

day

to

speak

to

the

high

and

mighty

monarch

the

king's

most

excellent

majesty

who

can

take

away

thy

life

if

thou

offendest

therefore

take

heed

that

thou

speak

is

not

a

word

that

may

displease

!

message

thou

art

sent

even

by the

great

and mighty

God

who

is

all

present

and

who

beholdeth

all

thy

ways

and

who

was

able

to

cast

thy

soul

into

hell

therefore

take

care

that

thou

deliverest

thy

message

faithfully

he

said

to

himself

at

this

dialogue

in

front

of

the

king

that

he

feared

God

more

than

the

king

and

then

he

proceeded

to

preach

the

exact

same

sermon

he

had

preached

the

week

before

and

the

historians

say

but

with

much

more

energy

and

I

don't

know

that

King

Henry

VIII

became

a

believer

but

it

was

received

favorably

he

had

a

council

with

him

and

he

applauded

him

for

his

boldness

to

preach

in

such

a

way

before

the

king

later

as

I

mentioned

Hugh

Latimer

was

one

of

the

Oxford

martyrs

he

was

martyred

not

by

King

Henry

VIII

but

by

Queen

Mary

who

we

know

as

Bloody

Mary

who

wreaked

havoc

against

the

Protestant

church

and

he

was

ordered

to

be

!

at

the

stake

and

he

is

quoted

as

having

said

to

Ridley

play

the

man

Master

Ridley

we

shall

this

day

light

such

a

candle

by

God's

grace

in

England

as

I

trust

shall

never

be

put

out

do

and

the

Oxford

martyrs

these

men

in

addition

to

Ridley

and

Latimer

Cranmer

Thomas

Cranmer

were

burned

in

this

place

there's

a

monument

to

them

there

now

but

was

the

very

beginning

of

the

English

Reformation

and

certainly

by

God's

grace

that is

a

candle

that

has

not

been

put

out

do

not

throw

away

your

confidence

which

has

such

a

great

reward

verse

36

he

goes

on

for

you

have

need

of

endurance

so

that

when

you

have

done

the

will

of

God

you

may

receive

what

is

promised

this

idea

of

endurance

could

be

thought

of

as

perseverance

or

steadfastness

God

is

steadfast

toward

us

and

we

in

return

by

his

grace

are

meant

to

be

steadfast

toward

him

the

Christian

life

is

more

of

a

marathon

than

a

sprint

we

are

meant

to

put

our

head

down

and

run

many

of

us

have

probably

seen

some

sporting

event

where

somebody

just

goes

too

hard

at

the

beginning

they

just

press

and

press

and

press

so

hard

and

they

run

out

of

steam

we

are

not

meant

to

be

those

people

we

are

meant

to

!

the

Puritans

often

called

this

plotting

this

is not