Encouragement To Endure - Hebrews 10:32-39

Our section of Scripture, verses 32 through 39,

has a different feel than our Scripture in the

section last week. Last week, if you recall,

there was a very strong and a very stern warning

regarding forsaking the gospel. regarding forsaking

Christ and what ought to be expected for those

who do forsake the gospel and those who do forsake

Christ. This week, notice that the author begins

by saying, but remember, and he's signaling a

change in the mood, a change in the tone of the

text. The author now comes to this scripture

in this section seeking to encourage and strengthen

the people of God to encourage them in faith

and endurance and perseverance to encourage them

in the midst of their suffering. And it's always

helpful to remember why the author is writing

this letter. The Hebrew Christians are suffering

because of their Christian faith and confession.

They are suffering at the hands of the Jews most

likely because they have professed Christ as

the Messiah and they embrace new covenant truths

and realities. So most likely the... recipients

of this letter are in the midst of suffering,

hardship, and trial. And he's writing to encourage

them and to spur them along in their faith to

endure with patience and not to forsake, but

to press on. That's exactly why he writes this

section. To encourage suffering Christians In

this life. We're going to consider three things

today. The reality that suffering Christians

must remember their past. We see this in verses

32 through 34. But we're also going to consider

the fact that suffering Christians must continue

to endure in the present. No matter the situation

or the circumstance, the author encourages them.

He says there's a need for endurance, for perseverance

in the life. And there's always going to be a

need for perseverance in life. But we see thirdly,

the third thing that we'll consider, that suffering

Christians must firmly fix their faith on future

promised realities. And we'll see this really

in verses 36 through 39 at the end of this section.

Beginning with the first, suffering Christians

must remember their past. Specifically, they

must remember the time near and following their

conversion or when they came to Christ. Notice

in verse 32, but remember the former days. When

after being enlightened, so immediately the author

is turning the hearts and the minds of his recipients

to look back in time. And to look back in time

and to remember the work that God has done in

their lives. He starts. with the gospel and their

conversion. He starts with the reality that God

has, in fact, changed them. That he has given

sinners repentance and faith. That God has made

men to be new creatures in Christ. That God has

done a work to transform undeserving sinners.

And he wants... the recipients to turn back and

look at that time when God had done that work

in their life early on, the time when they were

full of zeal and passion for the Lord, the time

when it seemed like they could conquer any opponent,

when they could climb any mountain, not in their

own strength, but in the strength of the Lord.

He wants them to remember back in time and see

the work of God in their life. But more in particular

than that even, he wants them to look back and

see how God sustained them and worked in them

and through them in the midst of prior suffering

in their life. The author says, You endured a

great conflict of suffering. And then listen

to what he says. He describes the suffering in

verse 33. Partly by being made a public spectacle

through reproaches and tribulations. So that's

one part of their suffering. And partly by becoming

sharers with those who were so treated. So this

is the other part. of the suffering that the

author wants them to recall and remember. So

he doesn't want just to look back and see the

work of God in their life. He wants them to look

back and see the reality that even early on in

their faith, they endured suffering. That even

early on in their Christian life, they were dealing

with difficult and hard things in their life.

And it wasn't just some little thing. He says

a great conflict of sufferings. When he says

partly by being made a public spectacle, what

this is referring to is public persecution, public

abuse, public humiliation. In the Greek, it's

the word where we get the word theater. There's

a public element involved in it. publicly humiliated

because of their Christian faith. And what accompanied

the public humiliation? Reproaches and tribulations.

So it wasn't just public, but it was verbal abuse

and slander on the Christian church, on the people

of God. And it was followed by physical tribulations

and trials. Now, we don't know a lot about this

persecution, the nature of it, the character

of it. Who was the primary leader in it that

was bringing it about? We don't know a lot of

those things, but we do know that it was most

likely state -authorized or government -authorized

persecution in the life of the church at this

time. How do we know that? Because a little bit

later, he says that... their properties were

seized. Their properties and their belongings

were taken away. So it was persecution and opposition

that was aimed, that was focused on the church.

Most likely, it was involving the Jews in some

way, as it does now in the life of the recipients.

It was a very difficult time in the life of these

Christians that the writer is directing his letter

to. He wants them to remember that it was difficult,

it was hard, and it was trying for them early

on in their faith. And it wasn't just that they

were made a public spectacle. That's not all

that was involved. Some of these believers that

the author is writing to willingly, volitionally,

chose to endure persecution and suffering and

hardship in their lives. How do we know that?

Because, he says, partly by becoming sharers

with those who were so treated. He's referring

to the reality that in the first century, jails

were jails. They were not places that were pleasant.

They were not places that were encouraging. They

were not places where comfort was given and comfort

was aided. Brothers and sisters, first century

prisons and jails were terrible places to exist.

Terrible. If you were to eat, if you were to

survive, if you were to have belongings, if you

were to have clothes on your back, It would be

because friends, family, or your fellow believers

gave them to you. This is what the Lord Jesus

talks about in Matthew 25, where he says that

if you've done it to the least of them, you've

done it to me. He's talking about caring for

persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ. So

he's saying that some of his readers, willingly

identified with the people of God by caring for

them in prison and thus bringing upon themselves

the persecution, the suffering, the hardship.

When if they would have just simply overlooked

the prisoners, overlooked their fellow brothers

and sisters in Christ, They could have avoided

the public identification and affiliation with

the church, potentially. But they didn't. They

chose to care for their brothers and sisters

in Christ who were suffering. And the result

was the seizure of their property. They were

persecuted. intensely and severely in their lives.

How were they able to endure this and continue

this? And how did they suffer? Were they suffering

with anger in their heart? How was this suffering

in their life received? How did they endure the

persecution? What was the character of their

sufferings? Well, the author says this. He says,

accepted joyfully the seizure of your property.

Somehow, these early Christians, somehow these

early believers were able to suffer in such a

way that the trials and tribulations and the

difficulties did not squash out their joy, their

peace, their hope, their satisfaction in life.

Somehow, they were able to say, you want my property?

Take it. And to keep a semblance of happiness

and joy and peace and contentment in their hearts.

They were men. They were men. They were not robots.

So they had feelings, brothers and sisters. They

struggled with these things as we would struggle

with these things. But they were able to do it

with joy in their hearts. So that leads us to

the question of how in the world were they able

to do such a thing? How were they able to suffer

joyfully? In their lives. Where the text tells

us this. Also. Knowing. That you have for yourselves.

A better possession. And a lasting one. The way

that they were enabled. To suffer joyfully in

their lives. And to give up their belongings.

And to let their belongings be taken. And to

suffer humiliation and shame at the hands of

sinful men and opponents and the hands of those

who hated Christ in the church and the persecuting

Jews. The way they were able to do that was because

of what they knew about the gospel. Because of

what they knew about the promises of God in the

gospel in Christ. Because they knew the reality

that the possessions of this world are not it.

They knew the nature and character of earthly

possessions. They are fleeting. They knew the

reality that they have in their grasp, in their

possession, because of Christ and his gospel,

because of his life, his death. and his resurrection,

because of redemption which God himself has accomplished,

they have an eternal possession which no man

can take from them. They have an eternal possession

which no man can lay their filthy, grabby hands

on and steal and rip away from them. And they

had a confidence built on that. Their faith rested

on the reality that there are eternal truths,

that there are eternal realities which are unchanging

and that are only given by God himself and they

are irrevocable. That's how they were able to

endure suffering joyfully. Now, in the midst

of suffering, Things get difficult and hard.

Things get weighty and burdensome. In the midst

of suffering, oftentimes things seem bigger,

scarier, more severe than they are in reality

at times. Now, think about the author. Why is

he... turning the minds of his readers back in

time. Why does he want them to look back at the

sufferings they've already endured because of

the gospel? Because he wants them to see that

those were terrible times. He wants them to understand

that that was a great conflict of sufferings.

And he wants them to consider the reality that

they have, in fact, endured hard things in their

lives. He wants them to compare the sufferings

of the past and their faithfulness in those sufferings

with their current situation and the sufferings

of the present and their current faithfulness

in those situations. For Christians, There's

always going to be an aversion to suffering and

hardship. There's always going to be that, brothers

and sisters. That's natural. It's going to be

with us. We don't want to suffer. We don't want

to go through hardship and trials. Nobody in

their right mind wants to suffer. Nobody in their

right mind, brothers and sisters, goes out looking

for persecution and opposition in life. But for

the Christian brothers and sisters, though there

is going to be an aversion in our life, there

must also be a willingness to suffer in this

life. There must be. For the believer in Jesus

Christ, there must be. A willingness to submit

ourselves to trials and difficulties in this

life. Do you know why? Because it's part of being

in God's blessed, eternal, spiritual kingdom.

In Matthew chapter 5, remember the Beatitudes,

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

the blessings that the Lord Jesus pronounces,

where He describes His kingdom. And he describes

those people who are a part of his kingdom. You

remember he says, blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. You remember

how he says, blessed are those who mourn. Blessed

are those who are gentle. Blessed are those who

are hunger and thirst after righteousness. He's

characterizing and he's describing those who

are in his kingdom. Those who love him. Those

whom he has saved. But what happens at the end

of the Beatitudes? What does the Lord Jesus Christ

also include? Blessed are those who have been

persecuted for the sake of righteousness. For

theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are

you when people insult you and persecute you.

and falsely say all kinds of evil against you

because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your

reward in heaven is great. For in the same way

they persecuted the prophets who were before

you. Part of being a member of Christ's kingdom

is suffering in this life, brothers and sisters.

It is an essential element. to being a faithful

believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. There must

be a willingness to suffer as our Lord did. Christ,

the perfect God -man, the one who never sinned

and had perfect, sinless integrity, the one who

always obeyed the law of God perfectly to the

T, and he always wanted to. The one who went

to the cross on behalf of sinners who don't deserve

it. The one who died in the place of those who

are rebellious sinners and enemies of God. The

one who rose from the grave in the flesh in a

glorified body. The one who sits at the throne

in heaven right now and the one who will return

one day. That one suffered. That one He endured

great conflicts of suffering in his life, did

he not, brothers and sisters? Did he deserve

any of it? Did he deserve one ounce of it? Did

he deserve one second of the pain which he was

inflicted? No. But he endured it faithfully.

It was necessary for the completion, the fulfillment,

and the accomplishment of the gospel of Jesus

Christ. The reason that Christians must be willing

to suffer in this life at times is because faithfulness

often requires it, brothers and sisters. Faithfulness

necessitates hardship in this life. We're going

upstream in this life, brothers and sisters.

We are anti -worldly culture. We are counter

-cultural individuals because of the gospel and

its work in our lives. We are opposed to the

flesh and carnality and the lust of the flesh

and the pride of life and the devil. We have

enemies. We have opposition in this world, brothers

and sisters. At times, we must suffer in order

to be faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

At times, we must gird up our loins and say,

do your worst. Lord, help me stand. Lord, be

with me. Lord, have your hand upon me. Lord,

sustain me. Lord, preserve me. But do your worst,

I will not compromise. the gospel, or the truth

of the scriptures. And it's possible, brothers

and sisters, in that suffering, to be joyful.

It is possible to suffer with joy in our hearts

and joy in our life, even at the darkest, most

difficult moment in all of the suffering. But

the only way that's possible Is through knowledge

of the superior. Knowledge of the superior. Nature

and excellence. Of the Christians eternal possessions

in Christ. The only way. Brothers and sisters.

That you can suffer well. The only way that you

can suffer with joy in your heart. Is by understanding

that there are eternal realities that are true

in Christ. And that they are unchanging. And

that God has made promises that are yet to be

fulfilled and find their realization in this

life. That there are certain things that are

true of you as a believer in Jesus Christ that

cannot be changed. That cannot be destroyed.

That cannot be crushed. That cannot be taken

away. And it's only by clinging to those realities

by faith that we will be enabled to faithfully

suffer with joy and peace in our hearts. So we

see that suffering Christians must remember their

past. But we also see that suffering Christians

must continue To endure in the present. The author

turns their mind to the past. He turns it back

to God and his work and back to their prior sufferings.

But he also wants them to firmly plant their

feet in the present. And to be faithful in the

here and now. And he wants them to endure in

their current circumstances. He encourages endurance

in their present situations and present circumstances.

Now, there's a variety of circumstances and life

situations that are present here and now in this

building, in this congregation, in this gathering.

But I dare say, friends, that every single person

in this room needs to be reminded that they need

to persevere and endure in their current situation.

That there's something in your life that you're

struggling with. That there is something in your

life that you're wrestling with. That there is

something in your life that is weighing upon

you. And I'm here to tell you, with the author

of Hebrews, press on and endure here and now.

Take your stand now in this life. Don't wait

until ten years from now. Don't wait two weeks

from now. Do it now. Determine in your heart

to be faithful in your present circumstances

whether or not they change or not. Resolve in

your soul that you will be faithful to the living

God regardless of how difficult and hard your

life might get here and now. The author encourages

them to endure in two ways in particular. He

does this first by encouraging them not to throw

away their confidence. He says this in verse

35, Therefore do not throw away your confidence.

But he's also saying, conversely, on the other

end of that, don't throw it away, implying it's

in your possession, implying you have confidence.

You have boldness in your faith. He's conversely

saying, retain your confidence. Maintain your

boldness. Maintain the confidence you have in

Christ. Now this is a really unique word. And

it's really unique how the author is using it

in this context. It's the same word that's used

throughout the New Testament for boldness or

freedom, openness, plainness in speech, or confidence

in general. And it's interesting that the author

uses this word in this context because... He's

referencing these public scenarios. He's referencing

these public and corporate realities throughout

this section. He's referenced earlier on the

need for these believers to not forsake their

own assembling. He references the fact that they

were made public spectacles in the past, previously,

in their Christian lives. And so he's saying,

don't give that up. Don't throw it away. Don't

forsake it. And it's interesting that he uses

the word confidence in the context of persecution

and opposition. Why do you think, brothers and

sisters, it's interesting that the author would

say, stay confident in your current situation.

In the midst of persecution, opposition, and

turbulent times. It's because suffering, persecution,

and opposition in particular, they have a unique

and a distinct way of stripping man of their

confidence. Troubling times, hard times in life,

opposition, persecution, and directed suffering

has a way of making good in godly men who are

once strong in the things of God and strong and

bold in their convictions for the truth of the

Scripture. It has a way, brothers and sisters,

of causing them to cower under the forces that

might be. It has a way of making men crumble

with regards to the truth of the gospel. It has

a way of making good and godly men, should we

say, cowards with the truth of God. Suffering

and persecution have a way. Of making men lose

their grip and have second guesses with regards

to the authority of God's inerrant word. That's

what suffering and persecution and opposition

do. So now we know, now we understand, now we

can see why the author says don't throw it away.

Keep it up. Maintain it. Preserve it. But we

have to understand, this is not talking about

self -confidence, brothers and sisters. This

is not talking about confidence in one's own

ability. This is not talking about confidence

in one's own righteousness, as Pastor Dustin

mentioned earlier. This is not talking about...

one's confidence in their own intellect, their

own mind, their own wisdom, their own wit, or

anything else. This is talking about confidence

in the truth of Holy Scripture. This is talking

about confidence with regards to the things of

the living God and the people of God. This is

talking about one's relationship to the truth

of the Gospel and one's confession or profession

of faith. He's saying stay confident in those

realities. Stay confident in the truth. Stay

confident in what you have believed for so long

and you have professed for so long. Stay confident

in the people of God and the truth of the Scripture.

Hold fast the confession of your hope. Consider

how to stimulate one another to love and good

deeds. Draw near with a sincere heart and full

assurance of faith. That's what he's saying,

brothers and sisters. He's encouraging them not

to throw away their confidence, but to retain

it, maintain it, and even strengthen it in the

midst of persecution, opposition, and trials

in their lives. But he also does this by reminding

them of the need for endurance. There is an ever

-present, always -present need in the life of

the believer. The author says, for you have need

of endurance. Why does the author say that? Why

does the believer always need to be patient?

Why does the believer always need to persevere

in life and endure and press on? Because there's

an ever -present supply of difficulty and hardship

that they will always be encountering and experiencing

in their lives. The only way the believer will

ever make progress and grow in grace, the only

way the believer will ever work and find success

in their Christian life and progress and progressive

renewal in their life, the only way they will

make their way near to glory is if they endure

through the trials. And they press on. And we'll

see a little bit later. This is not some fleshly

or carnal endurance. This is an endurance that

is born in faith. This is an endurance that is

motivated and driven and compelled by faith.

It's faith which preserves our souls. There's

always a need for endurance in our lives. Some

might be bigger needs. Some might be more insignificant

or lesser or less severe. But every believer

in Jesus Christ has the need to press on and

to persevere unto the end toward glory. Somehow,

As we grow and mature and as we progress in the

Christian life, oftentimes I feel, and I think

we see, that we tend to grow a little bit more

lax in things. Oftentimes we don't think as sharply

or clearly about truths and realities as we once

did. We can easily just get into a pattern. In

our lives. We can even, as we progress in life,

start to think things like this. Why is this

happening to me? I don't deserve these things

in my life. This isn't fair. This shouldn't be

happening to me. This shouldn't be happening

to my church. This shouldn't be happening to

my family or my soul. This shouldn't be my experience

in life. I deserve better. That's erroneous,

false, sinful thinking, brothers and sisters.

Do you know what we deserve? You know what every

single one of us deserve? Every single one of

us deserves the wrath of God. Every single one

of us deserves to suffer under the wrath of God

for our rebellion against His holy character

and transgressing His law. When you start to

think, I don't deserve my sufferings and my hardships,

start to remember, brothers and sisters, that

you are loved unfairly. God does not owe you

love or grace. That's the nature of grace. That's

the nature of mercy. His love ought not to be

on us in Christ. What is fair and equitable is

punishment and wrath. We want grace and mercy.

And because of that grace and mercy, we must

suffer in this life. But we can do it by God's

grace with joy in our hearts, brothers and sisters.

We can endure by faith. We can endure in this

life. We need to think rightly about suffering

and about our lives. The Bible presents the picture

that suffering is actually not an exception,

but it is the normative experience and reality

of the Christian life. That we shouldn't be surprised

when hardship and fiery trials come upon us.

But we do get surprised. Because we're forgetful

people because of the dullness of our hearts,

brothers and sisters. But remember, there's grace.

There's the grace of God which forgives you of

your sin and your dullness of heart and your

forgetfulness of the truth and the reality of

the Scriptures. There's always forgiveness in

Christ for His people. We have need to endure.

This means for us, when we go through difficulties

in our lives, we must maintain our confidence

in the Lord and in His Word. In particular, that

necessitates and that requires that we don't

shy away from the Word of God or neglect the

Word of God, but it means that we read and we

give ourselves to the Word of God. Not just in

the normal way. But when trials and difficulties

and hardships come upon us, we ought to give

ourselves to the Word of God more. We ought to

lean into the Scriptures more. We must maintain

our confidence. It also means that we must give

ourselves to prayer. I do not... that there's

any better way of finding relief from burdens,

struggles, difficulties in life, anxieties and

stress, concerns. I do not believe that there's

any better way than striving with the Lord in

prayer. And brothers and sisters, I don't just

mean a 15 second or 30 second prayer. I mean

that you seek God's face and you strive in prayer

with Him until He takes your burden. Until you

find relief from the things in your soul. Cast

your cares at His feet, brothers and sisters.

He cares for you greatly. He's evidenced this

in Christ. If God sent his son to die for sinners

who don't deserve it, will he not aid them in

their times of difficulty? Will he not be present

for those same sinners that he's given his blessed

son to? Will he not lift their burdens? Will

he not lift their struggles? Will he not take

their anxieties? Freely and willingly. But the

problem is we so often don't try to give them

to the Lord. We don't go to the throne of grace

to find help. We must seek Him out in prayer.

It's the best means, brothers and sisters, that

God has ordained to take away the burdens and

struggles in their lives. And don't underestimate.

The importance and the significance of spiritual

grit in this life. Sometimes we need to remember,

I just have to get up another day. I have to

press on one more day and trust the Lord. There

are times when it's difficult to pray. That's

just the nature of it. There are times, brothers

and sisters, when it is difficult and it is hard

to read and study the Bible. There are times

it's hard and difficult to focus the mind. But

listen, even in those times, you can trust Him

day by day. You can trust His providence. You

can trust His sovereignty. You can trust His

purposes and His plans in your life. You can

trust. Even when you can't pray, you can trust.

Even when you're struggling to read, you can

trust, brothers and sisters, in the Lord Jesus

Christ and the reality that God says He will

work everything for the good of His people and

for the glory of His name. Don't underestimate

spiritual grit and fortitude and resilience in

this life. Press on. and resolve in your hearts

that no matter how difficult or hard life gets,

you will not cower under the pressure to wiggle

out from under the authority of God's Word. Life

is full of opportunities to create wiggle room

with regards to the Scriptures. Life is full

of opportunities to give you just the right moment,

just the right time to wiggle out from under

what God has really said on this issue. I think

there's an enemy in the world that hates God's

people that loves to provide opportunities such

as that. Isn't that how the fall really came

about? The devil comes to Eve and he provides

her with this opportunity to wiggle out from

under the authority of God's word. No matter

how difficult or hard or trying, no matter what

sacrifice may be required of you, no matter what

persecution or suffering comes upon you, don't

give way to the truth of God's word. Don't cave,

don't crumble, and don't cower. Maintain your

confidence. So the author wants them to remember

the past. But he also reminds them and encourages

them to press on in the future. And we also see

that suffering Christians must firmly fix their

faith on future promised realities. As we've

mentioned already, in trials and hardships, it

is often difficult to focus our thoughts. It

seems as though everything's pulling at us. It's

hard to focus everything in and put the blinders

on, and it's hard and difficult to sustain that.

The temptation... is to be consumed with everything

else. The temptation is to be consumed with the

problems, the persecution, the burdens, the sufferings,

the issues at hand. But listen, brothers and

sisters, that does nothing at all to contribute

to your endurance in this life. Don't give yourself

to everything just to free yourself from having

to think about the hard thing. Fixating ourselves

on the suffering only contributes to despair

and hopelessness and the flesh and carnality.

So what ought we to think about in trials? What

ought we to think about in sufferings? What ought

we to place our mind firmly upon in the midst

of opposition and trials and difficulty like

the readers were going through? The author tells

us that we ought to fix and set our minds upon

The better and lasting possessions that we have

in Christ. The eternal realities as a result

of salvation. The eternal realities as a result

of the gospel. He tells us that we ought to fix

our minds on the future reception of the promised

great reward. We see that. In verse 35, which

has great reward. We also see him referring to

that which is promised in verse 36. These unseen

future realities that God has promised to his

people. These are the things that we ought to

be placing our minds on in the midst of tumultuous

times. We have to rein in our thoughts, focus

our minds, and think about the things of God,

and think about eternal realities, and think

about the blessings in Jesus Christ, and the

grace of God that has been abundantly bestowed

on us as undeserving sinners. We have to focus

our hearts and our minds on the reality that

a good, faithful God oversees, superintends,

and works our lives for our good and for His

glory. That all that we have and all that we

are is His. We are in His hands. He is good and

He is faithful. His Son came into the world to

die for us, for sinners. And we can entrust ourselves

to Him over and over and over. This is the only

way that we will ever persevere in this life.

If we, by faith, set our minds on these realities

and what is to come. Those who refuse to do such

a thing, and they fail to do so, and they reject

those realities and those promises. are described

in this text. But we are not of those who shrink

back to destruction. Born -again believers are

those with faith. Born -again believers are those

that God has given faith to. And they will put

their faith on these promises and these realities.

Those without faith will shrink back to destruction.

They will prove themselves to be the enemies

and the opposers of the living God, and they

will receive the fury and the wrath that we spoke

about last week. But the people of God, those

with faith, are those who move forward toward

glory in spite of trials and sufferings. And

they will find great pleasure at the reception

of the Lord Jesus Christ when he returns. Brothers

and sisters, press on and endure. Put your mind

and your heart on the things of God. Remember

that life is hard and difficult. But this is

the road. to glory. This is the road to eternity

and the fullness of Christ and the fullness of

His grace, the new heavens and the new earth.

So what ought suffering Christians to do? They

must remember their past, they must continue

to endure in the present, and they must firmly

fix their faith on future promised realities.