Introduction
I'm sure it I'm not alone in this, but I get a macabre sense of enjoyment, when I hear stories about people who managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Stories about people who seem to have it all laid out in front of them, and yet still stuff it up.
It could have something to do with being a Parramatta supporter, they have an uncanny ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. In fact I am still in need of some sort of therapy after the 2001 grand final, where they put 50 points on every single team that year, and then choked in one game that counts.
In fact an unexpected one I read about recently I happen to be thumbing through a copy of Schindler's list, a famous book by Thomas Keneally.
The book is about Oscar Schindler who managed to save a number of Jewish people from the gas chambers through his manufacturing plant. But it seems that things could have turned out very differently for a number of those people, because when Oscar was a young man, he entered a famous motorcycle race in Europe from which the winner would go on to be a factory sponsored motorcycle rider on the Eurpoean tour. Oscar entered his own motorcycle which is father had paid for and managed to lead the race from the start.
And when the pit board was held out it told him one lap to go, and so he crossed the line the next time, and it seemed a life of wealth and fame was his for the taking. And as he started to take his helmet off, the other bikes sailed by at full speed, and he had the stark realisation, that the pit board was wrong and he literally got on his bike and still wound up finishing fourth. Which was bad for him, because he missed out on the salubrious life of being a factory sponsored motorcycle racer, and instead wound up a manufacturing. A total shocker for him, But it wound up being good for all those Jewish people he would end up saving.
Another personal favourite is the guy called Mick Taylor, who wound up leaving the Rolling Stones in the late 1960s because he thought the band was going nowhere. He was for all intents and purposes never heard from again, and last time I checked the Rolling Stones are still touring 30 years later.
But then there are the more spectacular examples aren't there, like when we see personalities unravel in public. From Marilyn Monroe, to Britney Spears, to Amy Whitehouse, we see people who appear to have it all and then throw it away. People who just seemed to lose control.
But then again there are the more insidious examples, where people have it good, and then get greedy and blow the lot, now historically if you did that they call you a gambler, but in more recent times they call you CEO of the company.
Well, Today's section of Hebrews, is about people who got greedy and arrogant and ungrateful and blew the lot. So it is a good read, but an important warning as well.
Today's section of Hebrews is a warning, about sin, about judgement, and a warning to turn to Christ.
The first section of text we're going to look at today goes from chapter 3 v7 through to the end of chapter 3.
First Point - Do not harden your hearts and turn away from Christ, by putting the Lord your God to the test.
The focus of this section that we are going to look at today is in versus 12-14. In which we read;
12 See to it**, brothers,
that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart
that turns away from the living God.
13 But encourage** one another daily,
as long as it is called Today,
so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.
14 We have come to share in Christ
if we hold firmly till the end the confidence
we had at first.
This whole section of text today forms one of the great warning passaged that we find in the book of Hebrews. The writer (or the preacher) of the book of Hebrews is warning us, in fact he is exhorting us, he is compelling us, he is almost begging us, ‘Do not turn away from Christ!’.
The writer has spent the last couple of chapters telling us how Christ is the supreme son of God, he is the supreme revelation of God, he is the supreme High-priest, he is greater than the angels, and he is greater than Moses. He is the living God's one and only true son. So Do not turn away from Christ!
Now as you may remember about the recipients to the letter to the Hebrews, they were Christian believers who were being tempted to turn back to the old ways of Judaism, and to turn their back on Christ. Judaism was more acceptable to their peers and to their families, and an important way it was more acceptable to the Roman Empire, which tended to lead to a whole lot less persecution and hardship. Christianity, to follow Christ, was a great way to become a social outcast in the first century. Still is today really!
So our preacher to the Hebrews tells us here, if you want to stuff this up, let me tell you two sure-fire ways of doing it;
First, play with Sin.
And secondly, give up on other Christians.
So in the first of these, our preacher warns us about the nature of sin. About how it clouds our hearts and minds, and turns us away from the living God. Sin is deceitful in nature, and it clouds our minds, and our judgements, and makes us hard in our hearts, so that we would not believe or obey the living God.
Sin is deceitful, which is unsurprising considering it comes from the Devil, the father of lies. The Devil's goal is to distract us from following Jesus, to cloud our judgement, obscure our view, with the goal of hardening our hearts.
The deceit of sin is subtle, which is unsurprising given that the devil was described as a snake, the craftiest of all the beasts of the field.
The nature of deceit if that you are not supposed to see it coming!
It works by stealth, and if we entertain sin, if we play with it, well it is better at the game than we are and the only way we discern we have lost is in hindsight.
Sin convinces us that off white is the same as white, then grey is the same as off-white, then black is the same as grey, and before you know it we have gone from seeing white, to not being able to tell the difference anymore between black and white.
Humans are not able to deal was in on their own, the devil is smarter than us. He is craftier than us, and he even knows that the Bible better than us. When Jesus answered the devil's temptations he used the book quotes from the book of Deuteronomy, which is ok because Jesus is obviously smarter than the devil.
Most of us are flat out finding the book of Deuteronomy, much less using it to defeat the deception of the devil.
It seems to me, Sin is a lot like smoking (no really stay with me here!). People start because they choose to, they like the look of it, they like what it does for them, it looks good to the touch and taste, just like the Apple in the Garden of Eden. But like the ad says about smoking, ‘every breath is doing you damage’. It damages the lungs, it hardens the heart and ensures that death has a greater grip on you than it did previously.
And most people when they stop to think about it will own up to that. But that is the thing about smoking, knowing it's a problem and fixing the problem are two different things altogether. Smoking guarantees death, and it takes a profound act of the human will to stop. And even if you are able stop, there is no guarantees that the damage has not already been done.
Sin is worse than smoking. The human will cannot fix the spiritual problems of sin. It's like a carcinogen that seeps through our skin, and into our system and no matter how hard we wash, we cannot even rid of the external marks much less the internal systemic damage. If you want a stuff-up your inheritance in Christ, just keep playing with sin, keep believing sin doesn’t really matter.
Sin has been deceptive since the beginning, with the words "did God really say?". Sins deceptiveness hardens people's hearts, and the impact is that it turns them away from Christ. Sin at its heart, is challenging us to put the Lord our God to the test. Just test the boundaries a little bit, did God really mean what he said.
God feels very distant, does he really care?
Will he really care if you do this?
Sin is deceitful, what is white turns to off-white, turns to grey, and before you know it we are convinced white is the new black.
Do not play with sin, because in this you are putting the Lord your God to test.
And so secondly, how to stuff up what Christ has won for us, give up on meeting with other Christians. This is a theme that will be developed more fully particularly in chapter 10, but our preacher to the Hebrews is telling us that our brothers and sisters are important in our lives, because they encourage us as to the truth of the gospel that we have received in Christ, and they remind us, and warn us, about the damaging effect of sin in our own life.
Other Christian people often see sin in our own lives far more clearly than we do. (Jesus reminds us however, that this is not to be a reason for pride against a brother). But the nature of the deceitfulness of sin, means we often need our brothers and sisters to speak to us reminders of the truth of the gospel, as it should apply to our lives.
Christian people need to meet together to encourage one another to not give in to Sins deceit, and the best context to do this is within real relationship with the Christian Brothers and sisters. And that is why Bible studies during the week are an essential part of the Christian life, and why we don't just meet on Sundays.
We need to be opened with each other, and willing to hear the loving encouragement to follow Christ, and not giving to the deceitfulness of sin, even if that comes for our good in the form of a godly rebuke.
"But maybe I'll get away with it?". I mean how does the preacher to the Hebrews knows that these are the two sure-fire ways of stuffing up?
Well he goes to the back of the cupboard and pulls out one example that God prepared earlier. Like all things, there is nothing new under the sun, and other people have been here before. Like every other generation before or since the recipients of the letter, feel like they're the only ones who truly understand life.
And the writer encourages them, there's nothing new about what you're undergoing, so learn from the example of past generations.
Throughout this section of the text, the writer to the Hebrews grounds his claim is in the old Testament witness from Scripture. And in particular he repeatedly quotes Psalm 95 and reapplies it to his hearers, with the injunction to not harden their hearts also.
Psalm 95 retells the story of the wilderness generation, the generation that God brought out a slavery to Egypt in the spectacular events of the exodus.
God saved his people in spectacular style!
And as a response what did they do, they grumbled against the God.
And God judged them in response, they did not enter his rest of the promised land that would become the nation of Israel.
Now people often look at these incidents in the Bible and the teaching that comes from it, and ask the question,
"does that mean we can fall way from God's promise?".
But when you look at the teaching in this context of Psalm 95, the people do not fall away from God because of some temptation, as much as they are judged by God because they dared to put God to the test.
God had just spectacularly save them from slavery, and they have the arrogance to ask, ‘did you bring us out into the wilderness just to die here instead, were there not enough graves in Egypt!’. Psalm 95 tells us that the wilderness generation did not fall away from God, but they were judged for their spectacularly arrogant sin towards God.
The writer to the Hebrews warns us through the example of this wilderness generation, to not dabble with sin. So can we push God, and put him to the test, and through our sinful disobedience bring his judgement upon us. Absolutely.
But even more importantly, the writer to the Hebrews urges us, well then can we be sure that we will be saved? Absolutely.
We have come to share in Christ v14 reminds us, so we are to hold onto the confidence we had at first - until the end. Which is another way of saying the natural progression for a saved person - is to remain in Christ. God is faithful, he has brought us safe this far, he will see us through to the end. But hear the warning, and to not turn your back on Christ, by entertaining sin and returning to your old way of life.
In the new Testament, faith (or trust) in Christ, must be accompanied by Obedience to Christ. A willingness to live like you have been made, not like used to be. Faith and obedience are matching pair, Obedience is the demonstration of true faith.
In contrast the wilderness generation were judged because of their unbelief, which was demonstrated in their disobedience. In we learned verse 19.
12 See to it**, brothers,
that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart
that turns away from the living God.
13 But encourage** one another daily,
as long as it is called Today,
so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.
14 We have come to share in Christ
if we hold firmly till the end the confidence
we had at first.
So as we move on to the second section of the text today, which goes from 4:1, to 4:11, the writer to the Hebrews continues his warning that we would hear the call to Obedience from God through scripture.
This section is best summarised, by verse 11, where we read;
let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.
So our writer reinforces with urgency and passion, the need for us to combine our faith with Obedience. And he gives us two good reasons as to why he can make these claims;
Firstly, we have a clearer word from God.
Secondly, we have a better hope of a true rest.
You can see the writer trying to encourage these Jewish Christians, ‘why would you want to turn your back on Christ, and be like this generation?’. ‘To start with, this generation didn't have the sure promises you do, and because of their attitude they wound up being judged anyway, so why would you turn your back on Christ and the like them?’.
So firstly, we have a clearer word from God
The warning is that if we have received an even surer and clearer word of the gospel the promises of God that are found in Christ, how will we escape judgement if we do not combine our faith with obedience.
If God judged that generation against a lesser revelation, how will he not also judge our generation if we are disobedient when we have received such a great revelation from him in Christ.
The responsibility is greater, but then the word of assurance is so much greater as well. So the author of imports us to make every effort that none of us would fall by following that generations example of disobedience.
In choosing to put the Lord your God to the test, it seems with great irony, this wilderness generation failed the test.
Do not put the Lord your God to the test, the by testing the boundaries of his patience, through wilful sin.
And secondly we have a better hope of a true rest.
So what’s the big deal about rest all about?
Well in the Bible, rest starts in the very beginning as the book of Genesis, God created the world in six days and on the seventh day he rested. And the rest in this sense seems to be an enjoyment of the fulfilment of things, God made the world very good, and it is all working as it should be.
But then of course Sin enters into the world and disturbs this rest. It seems the world became a place of unrest, where sin and evil abound, and the fear of judgement hung like a cloud over humanity. In Genesis the work of God the creator may have finished in six days, but the work of God the saviour, has only just begun.
Christ the Saviour of the world, God’s son, would usher in the true rest through his death and resurrection, of the new heavens and the new earth.
In the old Testament the downpayment of this new heavens and earth rest that was to be filled in Christ, was seen in the promises Abraham the father of the Jewish nation, that was made by God in Genesis 12.
God promised to make Abraham into a great nation, a nation who would be a blessing to the whole world, but a nation that would have their own promised land. A land of milk and honey.
The shadow, all the downpayment, of the great heavenly rest to come, was the land of Israel being full of Abraham's descendants, who would be a blessing to every nation on earth. To use the words of Graeme Goldsworthy, the down-payment of the kingdom of heaven, was to see God's people in God's place, under God's rule.
So the wilderness generation, though they had experienced the great salvation of their Lord in the events of the exodus, failed to reach the promised land because they put God to the test, through their arrogance, their unbelief, and their disobedience.
The preacher to the Hebrews it is exhorting his hearers, (which is to say he is exhorting us also), make every effort to enter the rest, the true heavenly rest, and learn from the example of the wilderness generation;
Do not follow their ways of disobedience, so that you will not fall.
We have a sure word in Christ, we have a sure hope of our heavenly land;
Do not fall short of our rest through disobedience.
Let us therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.
Now, Hopefully you were sitting there thinking to yourself okay okay I get it. Don't play with sin, because it hardens hearts to the word of Grace in the Gospel, and ultimately leads to people turning their back on Christ and into the inevitable judgement of God that follows from turning your back on Christ.
But how can I avoid sin hardening my heart?
Good question thanks glad you asked it!
And this question leads us on well into the final section of the text for today, where we read in versus 12 and 13;
12 For the word of God is living and active.
Sharper than any double-edged sword,
it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit,
joints and marrow;
it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight.
Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him
to whom we must give account.
God is living an active word to us the Bible, is better than any MRI scan at detecting sin in us, and when combined with the agency of the holy spirit, it is sharper than any surgeon's scalpel in cutting sin out of us.
God has spoken into his world through his word, his word brings a word of judgement to a sinful and stubborn humanity. No sin is hidden from God's site v13 tells us and everything is laid bare before his eyes, and we will need to give an account to God for a life.
But this living and active word of God brings forward this word of judgement to us now! God's kingdom is brought into his creation through his word, in particular his work of the Gospel. The word of God, exposes Sin in our lives.
In a profound and deep way for each of us in judging the thoughts of attitudes of our hearts.
To choose to seek God in his word, is a profound act of obedience and worship, where we open ourselves up to our creator, to hear him speak to us to deal with Sin and bring about forgiveness and obedience.
This word of judgement continually reminds us to turn to Jesus the author and perfect of faith, to receive the comfort and word of grace that only he can bring, and to turn from our old ways of life that are only sinful, and can only result in judgement.
This word of Grace in the Gospel is what teaches us to say ‘no to sin’ in our lives and to live the life of obedience, that true faith demands and compels from us.
To sit under the authority of the Bible is to sit under the authority of God himself, it is the antidote that stops drift, unbelief and disobedience, and it is why the Bible is so central in the Christian life.
This is why God's word the Bible is so central when God's people meet. Whether it is on Sunday or during the week, God continues to speak through the living active word he has spoken.
And to give an example of this from our passage today, did you notice that David used the word of God to Moses generation to address his own generation. Moses was some 500 years before David in 1500 BC. So David in his Psalm 95 in 1000 BC, preached the same living an active word to his own generation knowing it was a word to them also. Then the writer to the Hebrews shows his confidence in God's word being living an active by picking up the same Psalm 95 of David and applying it as a real and living word to the Christian believers some 1000 years later in the first century AD.
And now this living an active word has come to us, to be held up against our life, and to warn us; this living and active word has spoken to us through the holy spirit, as we read in v7 of chapter 3;
so is the holy spirit says;
7 So, as the Holy Spirit says:
"Today, if you hear his voice,
8 do not harden** your hearts
as you did in the rebellion,
during the time of testing in the desert,
9 where your fathers tested and tried me
Brothers and sisters, do not give up on Christ, but expose your heart to his living and active word the Bible, and pray that the holy spirit would work in you that you may live a life of obedience in response, so that all of us would stand until the end and enter his true rest.
A practical idea; http://orders.koorong.com/
Prayer.
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