Remember and Respond

Hebrews chapter 10, reading from verse 32 through to 39, which is the end of the chapter.

Hebrews 10 · chapter mention

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 a 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.

Thanks, Alex.

Let's pray.

Lord, as we consider this passage in Hebrews, help us to hear what you want to say to us through your word.

Help us to see more of Christ, more of your faithfulness, and help us to respond in faith.

Amen.

Well, in the 1930s, the Golden Gate Bridge was one of the most ambitious construction projects that the world had ever seen.

The idea of building a massive steel bridge across the deep waters of the San Francisco Bay seemed almost impossible.

And it was dangerous.

The winds howled, the scaffolding would sway high above the freezing waters.

Because many men were terrified.

Before that time, it was just accepted that for every $1 million spent on a bridge construction, one life would be lost.

Death was part of the job.

But the chief engineer, Joseph Strauss, he cared deeply for the men that were risking their lives to build the bridge.

And he insisted on a new idea that no one had ever used before on that scale.

And that was a giant safety net.

Stretching underneath the entire span of the bridge as it was being built.

It cost a mozza as well.

It was about $130,000.

An enormous amount during the Great Depression.

But Strauss made it clear if there was no net, there'd be no bridge.

At first, the workers were sceptical.

Some joked about the net.

Some said it wouldn't matter.

Some were still frozen in fear as they climbed the beams and the cables hundreds of feet above the water.

And some did slip.

And the net caught them.

And they survived.

But one thing was true.

The men no longer based their confidence on how strong they felt on any given day.

They didn't base their confidence on how well rested they were or how many Weet-Bix they had for breakfast.

Or how steady their hands were.

Their confidence rested on something beneath them.

Something that was strong enough to hold them if they fell.

And this is the kind of confidence that our passage today is calling us to.

Hebrews 10, 32-39.

It's not a call to be brave by sheer willpower.

It's not a pep talk about toughening up.

It's a call to remember and respond.

Remember, God has proven his faithfulness in the person and work of Christ.

Remember how God has helped you endure struggles, suffering, loss.

And you can have confidence.

Not in how unshakable you are.

But confidence in the finished work of Christ.

The solid, unbreakable foundation beneath us.

Some call Hebrews chapter 10 the great pivot point in the book of Hebrews.

Hebrews 10 · chapter mention

Where it moves from explanation to application.

And the author's gone to great detail to explain the superiority of the person and work of Christ.

And he goes on to describe that because of who Christ is and what he did for us on the cross.

We can now have full confidence in our divine and permanent access to God through Christ.

Not only this, but we can also have full confidence in Jesus, our advocate.

There's no longer a need for a high priest to offer sacrifices on our behalf for sin.

As we saw in the Old Testament.

Christ became the ultimate sacrifice.

Once and for all, through his death on the cross.

And Jesus continues to be our advocate.

And he prays to God on our behalf.

Two weeks ago, Martin encouraged us from Hebrews 10, 19 to 31.

Which says that because of our full access to God through Christ our advocate.

We should draw near, hold fast and look outwards as we consider how we spur each other on.

And then the writer gives us one of the most sobering warnings found in all of scripture.

About the folly of rejecting the sacrifice of Christ.

Through unrepentant and deliberate ongoing sin.

And he concludes in verse 31 with,

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

And parents and children among us may be familiar with what comes next.

After you've sat your child down.

And delivered some much needed words of discipline.

Next comes a hug.

It's the reassurance that you love them.

Two weeks ago, Martin gave us the words of discipline.

And now through a fortunate coincidence, I get to give us the hug that comes next.

But we're going to see that both warning and hug are necessary.

And that brings us to today's passage.

So the writer begins to apply what access and advocacy means for a small church.

That's face to face with the great threat of being tossed around by the storms of the world.

In chapter 10, verses 32 to 39.

We're going to be encouraged to remember the past.

Respond in the present.

Remember the past.

Respond in the present.

Let's jump in.

Have a look at verse 32.

Recall the former days when after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings.

We don't know exactly what events the writer was referring to here.

Although some say it was referring to converted Jewish Christians being banished from the synagogue

and abused and publicly humiliated by the Jewish establishment in AD 49 at the instruction of the Roman Emperor Claudius.

But whatever they'd been through, it's clear that it involved intense persecution,

which was likened to being squeezed and pressured for their faith in Christ.

Last week, Dave told us about a Dutch Christian watchmaker, Corrie ten Boom.

Just a quick refresher if you weren't here for the Easter service.

After being set free because of a clerical error from a World War II Nazi concentration camp,

just days before all the women her age were executed,

Dave told us how Corrie was eventually able to meet and forgive one of the guards

who had tormented her and her sister Betsy.

Corrie and her sister were exposed to freezing cold conditions, starvation,

lice-infested bedding, constant cruelty from the prison guards.

But Corrie knew that she had been freely forgiven.

She knew how much she'd been freely forgiven in Christ.

And she had the same compassion that Christ showed her,

which overflowed into compassion for the guard.

She was able to forgive one of the very people who had caused her and her sister

such immense suffering.

While they were prisoners, Corrie managed to smuggle a Bible into the camp

and they would hold secret worship services where they would read scripture

and sing hymns under their breath.

And Corrie's sister Betsy ended up dying in the camp before Corrie was released.

As she grew weaker and before she was passing away,

Betsy would whisper,

there is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still.

Even through some of our deepest sufferings,

Christ proved himself faithful.

Even through some of their deepest sufferings,

Christ proved himself faithful to sustain them and give them joy in Christ.

Corrie reflected on her time in the concentration camp with the words,

when Jesus is all you have, you realise he's all you need.

The kind of suffering that Corrie ten Boom and her sister experienced

can feel pretty distant from us in 2025.

But it may not have felt so distant from the reality

of what these first century Christians endured.

Look at verse 33.

Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution.

I won't pretend to know Greek,

but I'm told that the Greek word for publicly exposed

comes from the word theatron or theatre.

They were taunted and ridiculed.

They were forced to face the humiliation of being put on display

like they were public theatre.

Not only did they endure,

but the verse 34 says,

they joyfully accepted the plundering of their property

since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession,

an abiding one.

I was recently surprised by a statistic

by the State Emergency Service

that only 36% of Lismore residents surveyed

would be likely to evacuate their home in a flood,

during a flood,

if asked directly to do so by authorities.

Only 36% would evacuate during a flood.

Why is that?

I think this speaks of our strong human tendency

to hold on as hard as we can

to what we have,

especially in tough times.

And can you imagine watching on with joy

while your house was being robbed?

Why would anyone do that?

How could anyone be joyful in these circumstances?

Because Christ was at work in them.

And because of this,

they knew they had a better possession,

an abiding possession.

They believed and they trusted in the words of Jesus

from Matthew 6, 19 that says,

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth

where moth and rust destroy

and where thieves break in and steal,

but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.

The gospel had flipped their priorities

for what is important upside down.

They were seeking not the temporary,

but the city that is to come,

the heavenly Jerusalem.

So why would the author be calling on them

to remember these times?

Because these times were evidence

of the work that God had already done in them.

And God hadn't changed.

He was going to continue to sustain

and anchor them through suffering

and through the struggle that was to come.

By looking back,

they're encouraged that even

if they lose earthly possessions again,

even if they're exposed to insult

and persecution

and made to be humiliating public theatre,

they have something that's so much better,

something that can never be taken away.

They have an abiding possession,

the finished work of Christ

giving us salvation,

full access to God,

full advocacy in Christ.

Have a look at verse 33,

the second half.

Sometimes you were partners

with those so treated.

You had compassion on those in prison.

One of the ways that God helped his people

to endure the storm

was through other believers.

They were active in each other's suffering.

Side by side,

arms locked,

they faced persecution together.

If you insult him,

you insult me.

The gospel not only restores

our vertical relationship with God,

but it changes our horizontal relationships

with each other.

The gospel lifts our gaze

upwards to Christ

and his finished work

and then outwards

to have compassion for each other.

We're saved into a people,

into a church,

the body of Christ.

And if there's one guarantee

in this life,

it's that at some point

we all suffer.

We all experience suffering.

And I have no doubt

that there's people

in our congregation

who have walked through

some times

of deep sorrow,

deep suffering

that I couldn't begin to fathom.

And it's interesting

that the same word

for compassion

that the believers in Hebrews

had for each other's suffering

in verse 34

is used earlier

in chapter 4

to describe Christ's

sympathy for us

as our high priest.

It's Christ's compassion

and sympathy for us

that model and motivate

our compassion

and sympathy for each other.

What a beautiful thing

it is to be saved

into the body of Christ

that has the same compassion

and sympathy for each other

that Christ has for us.

And we were reminded

in Dave's talk

on Hebrews 6

Hebrews 6:10

verse 10

that God loves it

when we show compassion

to each other.

For God is not unjust

so as to overlook

your work

and the love

that you've shown

for his name

in serving the saints

as you still do.

And Martin encouraged us

in his sermon

on Hebrews 10

just before Easter

not to give up

meeting together.

We're not meant

to walk alone

as Christians.

A pastor

in response

to the question

can you still be a Christian

and not go to church

once said

of course

in the same way

that you can still be married

and never come home.

You might still be married

but you're missing

a whole lot

and it's not the way

that it's created to be.

It's incredibly hard

to endure suffering

without the support

of other Christians.

We need each other.

And so the writer

of Hebrews

is urging them

remember

here is the evidence

of what God

has already done

in you.

Remember that God

was at work in you

through suffering

bringing endurance

joy

deep compassion

for each other.

And then we come

to the big

therefore

of verse 35.

After remembering

the past

what are we to do next?

Verse 35 to 39

the author gives us

a couple of ways

that we can respond

in the present.

Number one

in perseverance

and number two

in confidence

through faith

in the finished work

of Christ.

Verse 36

For you have need

of endurance

so that when you've

done the will of God

you may receive

what is promised.

If you ever watched

a long distance

running race

or a park run

or maybe a school

cross country

there's a few

people that

at the start

of the race

it looks like

they've got jet packs

on their sneakers

and they'll just

take off.

But then you watch

them and about

halfway into the race

or maybe a couple

of kilometres

depending on the race

they run out of steam.

They tank out.

And then you watch

the more sustainably

paced plotters

overtake them.

Perseverance is key.

And our text

recommends a perseverance

that keeps going

to the end.

A call to not give up

our confidence

in Christ.

And this perseverance

assures us

of what is promised

being full salvation

in Christ.

Perseverance doesn't

earn our salvation

but it's primary

evidence of salvation.

Perseverance doesn't

earn our salvation

it is primary

evidence

of our salvation.

Verse 35

Do not throw away

your confidence

which has great reward.

I think arrogance

and pride

are sometimes

words that

can be associated

with confidence

but these

are so far

from what the writer

is describing

in verse 35

because our confidence

as Christians

doesn't rest on

our own abilities

or our capacity.

It doesn't rest

on how loud

or how well we sing.

It doesn't rest

on how well we play

an instrument

on the music team.

It doesn't rest

on how many

rosters we're on

or how many sermons

we can preach

or how many services

we lead

or how busy we are

or how busy we look

or how we feel

compared to other Christians.

Our confidence

as Christians

rests wholly

and solely

on the person

and the work

of Christ.

Verse 37

to 39

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 are of those

who have faith

and preserve

their souls.

The author's

quoting from Habakkuk

Habakkuk 2:3–4

chapter 2

verses 3 to 4

and it's worth

reading at least

the first 4 or 5

chapters of Habakkuk

to get a full context

for these verses

but in summary

the prophet Habakkuk

repeatedly

cried out to God

complaining about

the injustice

and the suffering

of the righteous

and have a look

at God's response

to Habakkuk.

The righteous

shall live

by faith.

Live by faith

Habakkuk.

The key to perseverance

for Habakkuk

was faith

but what is God

telling Habakkuk

to have faith in?

He's telling him

to have faith

in who God is

who he has proven

himself to be

and the writer

of Hebrews

is encouraging

the reader

to do the same

as Habakkuk.

Later on

in Habakkuk

Habakkuk 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3

after God's words

to him

have sunk in

he sings a beautiful

and well-known song

of faith to God.

Though the fig tree

should not blossom

nor fruit

be on the vines

the produce

of the olive

fail

and the fields

yield no food

the flock

be cut off

from the fold

and there be

no herd

in the stalls

yet I will

rejoice in the Lord

I will take joy

in the God

of my salvation

God the Lord

is my strength

he makes my feet

like the deers

he makes me tread

on high places.

The key to perseverance

for Habakkuk

and the key to perseverance

for the Hebrews

and the key to perseverance

for us

is faith.

It's not faith

in how strong

or brave

we feel

on any given day

or faith

in our inability

it's faith

in the net

underneath us

it's certainty

that the net

will save us

from an otherwise

certain death

in the event

of a strong

gust of wind

or a misplaced step.

Faith

in the net

gives us

confidence

to carry on.

The finished work

of Christ

is our confidence.

So to summarise

verses 37 to 39

Jesus is coming soon.

A reminder

that our current

struggle

and suffering

is temporary

compared to

an eternity

with Christ.

the saved

will persevere

by faith

and the lost

will shrink

back.

So have

confidence

in Christ

through faith

to persevere.

Saint

Chrysostom

showed an

incredible display

of faith

and confidence

in Christ

when he was

brought before

the Roman

Emperor

and the Emperor

threatened him

with banishment

if he remained

a Christian

and Chrysostom

replied

you cannot

banish me

for this world

is my father's

house

but I will

slay you

said the Emperor

no you cannot

said the noble

champion

of the faith

for my life

is hid

with Christ

in God

I'll take away

your treasures

no

you cannot

for my treasure

is in heaven

and my heart

is there

but I will

drive you

away from man

and you

shall have

no friend

left

no

you cannot

for I

have a friend

in heaven

from who

you cannot

separate me

I defy

you

for there

is nothing

you can

do to

hurt me

think back

to the young

and the small

storm-toss

church

that's just

come out

of an

intense

period of

persecution

knowing that

more persecution

was coming

more persecution

was on the

horizon

there was a

reason why

God told the

Israelites to

gather the

stones of

remembrance at

Gilgal

after God

had helped

them cross

the Jordan

into the

promised land

and although

the stones

were much

less impressive

than the

miraculous display

that God

showed them

of his

power

it was a

symbol of

God's

faithfulness

that he

will preserve

and carry

his people

tough times

are still

ahead

look at

these

stones

remember

how I

helped

you

and

respond

in

faith

the

author

of

Hebrews

encourages

us

with

two

things

remember

how

God

has

shown

his

faithfulness

and

helped

you

in the

past

and

respond

in the

present

be

confident

in

Christ's

finished

work

be

confident

that

Christ

is at

work

in

you

look

back

in

faith

look

ahead

but

keep

going

persevere

in

faith

the

fickle

and the

fleeting

are not

worth

your worry

and attention

God

says

my

righteous

one

shall

live

by

faith

George

Matheson

wrote

the hymn

oh love

that will

not let

me

go

in the

midst

of

his

own

suffering

that was

a result

of

him

losing

his

sight

to

a

degenerative

eye

condition

and

there's

much

more

to

the

story

and

it's

worth

looking

up

but

here

are

some

verses

from

his

famous

hymn

to

encourage

us

oh joy

that

seekest

me

through

pain

I

cannot

close

my

heart

to

thee

I

trace

the

rainbow

through

the

rain

and

feel

the

promises

not

in

vain

that

mourn

shall

tearless

be

oh

cross

that

liftest

up

my

head

I

dare

not

ask

to

fly

from

thee

I

lay

in

dust

life's

glory

dead

and

from

the

ground

their

blossoms

red

life

that

shall

endless

be

oh

love

that

will

not

let

me

go

I

rest

my

weary

soul

in

thee

I

give

thee

back

the

life

I

owe

that

in

thine

ocean

depths

its

flow

may

richer

fuller

be

Lord

help

us

be

assured

by

and

rest

in

the

finished

work

of

Christ

help

us

remember

your

faithfulness

to

work

in

us

and

help

us

endure

through

suffering

and

loss

give

us

confidence

in

Christ

faith

to

persevere

and

compassion

for

each

other

Amen