Sermon

Hebrews 13:8

May 1, 2017 IPC Ealing Sermon Podcast

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I just want to speak on that one little verse.
In verse 8.
And it's always dangerous isn't it?
When you take one verse
and you kind of take it out of the context that it's in
and you remove it from that
and you can probably end up preaching heresy
and this verse particularly
you can do that.
Because there is a sense in which it's not true.
There is a sense in which Jesus Christ
is not the same yesterday, today and forever.
In fact our salvation
depends upon Jesus Christ
not being the same today
as he was metaphorically yesterday.
So, do you remember?
The Lord Jesus in his incarnation
when he came to earth
when he took on flesh
he became one of us.
Augustine says without ceasing to be what he eternally was
he became what he eternally was not.
He's become one of us isn't he?
The word that was with God
the word that was face to face with God
the word that was there right at the beginning of creation
that word became flesh
and dwelt amongst us
and we beheld his glory
the glory of the one and only
full of grace, grace and truth.
After
he was raised from the dead
he ascended bodily, didn't he?
into heaven.
And so that now
this lunchtime
there is a man
in heaven.
He didn't discard his humanity.
He didn't discard
like a new set of clothes
when he returned
to his father's presence.
And so
at the Lord's Supper
we remember his death
on the cross
until he comes.
I love the words of Luther
he says something like this
I live as though
Christ died yesterday
rose again today
and is coming back tomorrow.
Christ died yesterday
he bled and died upon a cross
he suffered abject pain
and shame and humiliation
yesterday
he died on the cross
today
he is alive from the dead
and so we proclaim him
in word and in sacrament
and he's coming back tomorrow
with all his holy angels
it's not true to say
that Jesus Christ is the same
yesterday, today
and forever.
So clearly
you can't take
verse 8
and rip it out
of its context
in an unqualified way.
And so what I want to do
this morning
is I want to speak about
the unchangeableness
of Jesus Christ.
What does this verse mean
within Hebrews 13?
And the first thing
I want to say
is that Jesus Christ
is always the same person
yesterday
today
and forever
he is always the same
in his person
in his person.
The context is interesting.
Look at verse 7
Remember your leaders
who spoke to you
the word of God
consider the outcome
of their way of life
and imitate their faith.
And then look at
the other bookend
in verse 17
Obey your leaders
submit to them.
So verse 7
Remember your leaders
who spoke the word
of God to you
And then verse 17
We're told to obey
your leaders
and submit to them
for they will give
an account.
So Hebrews 13
is about leadership
It's about
past leaders
Remember them
And it's about
present leaders
Verse 17
So in verse 7
who are their past leaders?
Well we don't exactly know
We think it may be
Stephen
or the first Christian martyr
or James
the brother of our Lord
the leader of the
Jerusalem church
who was beheaded
Remember those leaders
Remember those
who spoke the word
of God to you
Now whenever there's
a new leader
or a change
in leadership
the tendency
is to compare
isn't it
in church life
One tendency
is to romanticise
the past
and idealise
the heroes
of the faith
to put them
on pedestals
I read this
about the pastor
If he visits
his flock
he's nosy
If he doesn't
he's a snob
If he preaches
longer than 10 minutes
it's too long
If he preaches
less than 10 minutes
he can't have
prepared his sermon
If he runs a car
well he's worldly
If he doesn't
he's always late
If he tells a joke
he's flippant
If he doesn't
he's far too serious
If he starts
the sermon on time
his watch must be fast
If he's a minute late
he's keeping
the congregation waiting
If he takes a holiday
he's never in the parish
If he doesn't
he's a stick in the mud
If he runs a bazaar
or a gala
he's money mad
If he doesn't
there's no social life
in this parish
If he has the church
painted and decorated
he's extravagant
If he doesn't
the church is shabby
If he's young
he's inexperienced
If he's getting old
he ought to retire
But when he dies
Ah there's never been
anyone like him
Now that tendency
is in all of us
We make far too much
of men
and too little of Christ
So look at verse 7 again
Remember your leaders
who spoke the word
of God to you
Consider the outcome
of their way of life
Jesus Christ
is the same yesterday
and today forever
You see who is the leader
that we really look to?
Who is the leader
that we really look to?
The leader we look to
is the one
whose way of life
and whose faith
is in Jesus Christ
the same yesterday
today and forever
True Christian leaders
do not strike out
on their own
They don't build a brand
for themselves
They keep in line
with Jesus Christ
They follow the
well-worn paths
of those that have
gone before
who followed Christ
And so
this verse is telling us
that when you look
for leaders
in your church
when we look for
leaders in our church
we are not looking
for original minds
If you are going to be
a leader in Christ's church
and follow a leader
you need to know
where he is going
and you better make sure
that you know
where he is going
in as much as they
follow Christ
You follow them
imitate their way of life
and their faith
Don't follow blindly leaders
only follow leaders
as they follow Jesus
because in the end
he is the king
he is the only head
and king of the church
he is the only leader
who is safe to follow
He is always himself
You can translate it
you can translate it
verse 8
Jesus Christ
always himself
That can be said
of very few people
As we grow older
we change
We see that
don't we
You see that
in your workplace
new young people
come in full
of zeal
and idealistic
and then
the cynical older folk
who have been through it all
they have been around the block
There are very few of us
who are always the same
Circumstances change us
Life situations change us
We are affected
by all sorts of things
We are affected
by the weather
aren't we
but Jesus Christ
is always himself
always the same
Earth did not change him
Heaven hasn't gone to his head
He is the same yesterday
today and forever
He is unchangeably the same
He is always himself
The best of men
The best of leaders
are men at best
And every single leader
has feet of clay
But Jesus Christ
is always himself
Always the same
He is unchangeably the same
in his own person
But secondly
He is unchangeably the same
in his message
He is unchangeably the same
in his message
Just look at the context
It says
Doesn't it
Verse 7
Remember the leaders
who spoke to you
the word of God
Jesus Christ
is the same
yesterday
today
and forever
Don't be carried away
by all sorts of
strange teachings
You see
Jesus Christ
is not only the leader
they are to follow
He is the message
that is to be preached
The words they spoke to you
Verse 7
is all about him
That message
which you heard
from your leaders
was the same
That message about Jesus
is the same
yesterday
today
and forever
Error changes
Now notice
in verse 9
The truth there
is singular
That is singular
Do not be led away
by strange
and diverse
teachings
That is
plural
But can you notice
verse 7
The word of God
is singular
Just notice that
verse 7
The word of God
is singular
But there are
diverse
and strange
teachings
Because once you
move away
from the faith
once delivered
to the saints
you have to keep
reinventing a new
gospel for every age
One of the hallmarks
of God in the Bible
is that nothing
needs changing
nothing needs revising
or adapted
or rewritten
So take the example
I don't want to enter
into the controversy
about evolution
but take the creation
account of Genesis 1
and 2
The creation account
of Genesis 1
and 2
stands for all time
Genesis 1 and 2
can be understood
in any age
It doesn't have to be
written, rewritten
It doesn't have to be
revised for the 21st century
It can be understood
by a caveman
It can be understood
by an Oxford scientist
It's one of the
hallmarks of God
But error is constantly
being rewritten
and revised
and updated
John Stott
in his book
The Contemporary Christian
He says there have been
13 different
interpretations
of Jesus Christ
13 different attempts
to fashion him
according to the age
So he talks of
Jesus the ascetic
The Pair Galilean
The Cosmic Christ
The Teacher of Common Sense
The Clown of God's Spell
The Star of Jesus Christ
Superstar
The Revolutionary
The Socialist
The Mystic
The Magician
The Carpenter
The Management Consultant
You name it
People are always
trying to reinvent
who Jesus is
But he's not
Jesus is always the same
The message
which you heard
from them
is the message
you need today
It's the same
yesterday
today and forever
and Jesus
never needs updating
or adapting
He is always new
not in the sense
of being novel
but in the sense
of freshness
It's a very privilege
isn't it
to preach Jesus Christ
that's what I've thought
of as I've read
this verse
but I want you to see
that what we do
in the church today
is actually
nearly almost
the opposite
remember your elders
who were these leaders
while they were the
apostles of our Lord
Jesus Christ
remember your leaders
who spoke the word
of God to you
and he says
remember what
they spoke to you
but what we've done
in the church today
is we would reverse
that
so it's not we
who remember
what people like
Paul preached
about Jesus
today
Paul has to remember
what we've discovered
isn't that right
so let's take
women's ordination
let's take
homosexuality
what is that issue
about
is it that Paul
has to remember
how enlightened
we are
no it's an issue
of the authority
of scripture
isn't it
basically it comes
down to this
will we follow
Paul
are we going to
remember what the
Bible spoke to us
and what Paul
wrote
or does he have
to remember
what we think
today
does he have
to have our
view on things
do we follow
Paul
in the first
century AD
or does he have
to fit in with
modern culture
and political
correctness
so that what
he wrote
well actually it
needs to be
reinterpreted for
today
it has to be
contextualised
it has to be
lifted
out of that
first century
setting
and changed
for us today
so that in the
end
Paul
is made
to teach
exactly the
opposite of what
he actually
said
I want to
say to you
that is not
where we stand
as a church
we stand
under the
authority of
the word of
God
and we
remember those
who spoke the
word of God
to us
the authority
of the apostles
of the Lord
Jesus Christ
and they don't
have to remember
what we think
we have to
remember what
they spoke
do you see
that kind of
twisted thinking
is happening
and if you go
down that track
what happens
is the Bible
gets taken
away from
you altogether
so remember
remember the
word that
has been
spoken to
you
we are
Protestants
I used to
think that
word meant
to protest
actually it
doesn't
it means to
confess
it means to
attest
it means to
proclaim
to be
Protestant
is to
proclaim
Jesus Christ
and his
sufficiency
it's the old
story of
Jesus and
his love
it's
unchangeably
the same
in his
person
he's
unchangeably
the same
in his
message
and then
thirdly and
lastly he is
unchangeably
the same
to his
people
it's all
very well
500 years
from the
reformation
500 years
from Martin
Luther this
year
it's all
very well
to look
back and
romanticise
what those
men went
through
we all
have heroes
don't we
we can have
heroes
we can go
back to
hear George
Whitfield
preach in
the 18th
century
we can hear
John Wesley
and his
great sermons
Martin Lloyd
Jones in
the last
century
but we
don't live
then we
live now
and we
live don't
we in a
very different
culture and
in a very
different time
and we
have pursued
Christ here
now in the
21st century
there were
giants in the
land in those
days yes
and we
are a race
of pygmies
by comparison
but don't
forget those
men spoke
the word of
God to you
and sealed
their confession
in their own
blood but they
were just flesh
and blood like
you and I
they were just
men and women
like you and
me times have
changed but
Jesus hasn't
and what he
was to them
he will be to
you
that word that
is used here in
verse 7 is an
interesting word
there's only two
words that
two places where
you find this
word in the
new testament
he talks about
these leaders
these leaders
who spoke the
word of God
consider the
outcome of
their way of
life and that
word is used
it's the same
word that's used
by Paul in
Corinthians
in 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 10:13
10 verse 13
Paul refers to
the wilderness
wanderings and
he reminds the
Corinthians that
it was Christ
who was actually
leading the people
out of Egypt
and the rock
was Christ
who they met
in the wilderness
and he says
in 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 10:13
10 verse 13
he applies it
to them
he says
God is
faithful
and he will
not allow you
to be tempted
more than you
can bear
but when you
are tempted
when you are
tried
when you are
like those
people in
the wilderness
caught between
literally a rock
and a hard
place
as they came
out of Egypt
and the troops
are chasing
them down
with the Red
Sea in front
of them
they're surrounded
by hills
and mountains
it's a trap
there doesn't
seem to be
anywhere
way out
and just
as Jesus
opened up
the waters
of the Red
Sea
and they
crossed
on dry
ground
Paul says
when you're
tempted
when you're
tried like that
what will he do
he will provide
a way out
an exodus
that's the word
verse 7
that's the word
that is used
here in Hebrews
remember what
Jesus was
to those people
at the Red
Sea
when they're
entangled
in the land
and the Egyptians
are in hot
pursuit
and they're
trapped
and there
doesn't seem
to be
any way
forward
now I
frequently
find myself
in those
situations
don't you
I'm sure
we do
what do we
do in those
situations
where we
are trapped
well we
remember that
Jesus Christ
is the sea
yesterday
today
forever
the Jesus
Christ who
opened up
the Red
Sea and
brought his
people safely
through
that Jesus
Christ is
the same
today as
he was
yesterday
and what
he can do
for them
he can do
for you
he can provide
you with a
way through
that challenge
that you're
facing that
you don't know
how you're
going to cope
with
you say I
don't know
if I've got
the resources
to get through
that well he
is the same
he can provide
you with a
way through
how else do
you explain
someone like
Stephen the
martyr
how do you
explain the
way he died
with his face
being smashed
by rocks
a face like
an angel
remember what
we're told in
Acts 7
as the rocks
are raining
down upon him
he fell on
his knees
and he cried
out Lord
do not hold
this sin
against them
and with that
he fell asleep
how do you
explain a man
like Peter
a man denied
his Lord
with oaths
and curses
before a little
servant girl
I don't
know that
so and so
he said
how do you
explain that
man only
weeks later
preaching on
the day of
Pentecost
and 3000
people are
converted
how do you
explain that
how do you
explain Paul
and Silas
singing hymns
in midnight
in prison
in a rat
infested
hole in the
ground
how do you
explain that
how do you
explain the
courage of
Martin Luther
when the
whole world
is against
him who
said here
am I
here I
stand
I can
do no
other
how do you
explain it
well the
only way
you can
explain that
is in
terms of
our text
that Jesus
Christ is
the same
yesterday
today
and forever
what he
was for
Luther
what he
was for
Stephen
what he
was for
Peter
what he
was for
Paul
and
Silas
is what
he is
for you
and I
I don't
know if
you know
the story
of the man
who's
got a job
painting a
stripe
you know
a stripe
down the
centre of
the road
in the middle
of the road
and on
his first
day at
work he
paints two
miles of
a white
straight line
down the
road
everyone's
amazed
boss can't
believe it
no one's
ever painted
so much
before
on the
second day's
production
dropped to
one and a
half miles
which is
still far
above average
on the
third day
and fourth
day it was
only one
mile
and then
half a
mile
and apparently
his boss
went to him
and asked
why is it
that your
production
painting this
line across
the centre
of the road
has fallen
off so
sharply
and he said
well I'm
just getting
so far
from the
bucket
that's the
trouble with
our society
isn't it
we have
drifted far
from our
roots
people want
Christian values
but they do
not want
Jesus Christ
well the
truth is
you can't
have Christian
values without
Jesus Christ
we want a
kind of
Judeo-Christian
ethic
but you
won't have
that
if we just
teach Christian
ethics
all that is
moralism
and it will
just make
little Pharisees
people need
Jesus Christ
that's all
people need
to hear
and the
great truth
for us
is this
isn't it
that Jesus
Christ
does not
pass this
cell by
date
and he
never will
he will
never be
superseded
he will
never be
replaced
kingdoms
will come
kingdoms
will go
empires
will rise
and empires
will fall
whole
civilizations
will disappear
but Jesus
Christ
is the same
yesterday
today
and forever
and I've
told you
the story
of Lord
Reith
the first
managing
director
of the
BBC
he walks
into a
director's
meeting
and they're
all talking
and it
goes
silent
you know
it's
like when
the boss
comes into
the office
it goes
silence
Lord
Reith
was a
huge
man
he said
what were
you talking
about
directors
of the BBC
wouldn't tell
him
so he
thundered
put his
fist on
the desk
what do you
talk about
and they
said we're
planning a
programme for
the funeral
of the church
we want to
plan a programme
on the funeral
of the church
of Jesus
Christ
and Lord
Reith
thunders
the church
of Jesus
Christ
will stand
at the
graveside
of the BBC
because Jesus
Christ is
the same
yesterday
today
and forever
Spurgeon
said there
is the same
water in
the well
still
and if
we've
not drawn
it it's
our own
fault
we've
come away
from the
fire
and that
is why
we're
cold
let's
return
to him
and he
will receive
us
gladly
as gladly
and as
warmly
as he
did when
we first
believe
why are
there so
many ups
and downs
in your
Christian
life
yesterday
you could
pray
but today
you can't
today
you might
know a
measure of
victory over
temptations
but tomorrow
you may be
overwhelmed
with them
because we've
taken our
eyes off
Jesus
we've
turned
away to
men and
movements and
books and
programmes
but it's
Jesus we
need
not another
book about
him but
the living
Christ who's
always the
same
yesterday
today
and forever
and here
is solid
ground
isn't it
when all
around is
sinking sand
on Christ
the solid
rock
I stand
remember your
leaders who
spoke to you
the word of
God
consider the
outcome of
their way of
life and
imitate their
faith
Jesus Christ
is the
same
yesterday
and today
and forever
let's pray