Enduring Admonitions (Part 2a)

Hebrews chapter 3, which passage
our brother just read, Hebrews chapter 3. And entering chapter
3, our writer enters the third phase of his argument. He has
begun with the point that Christ’s revelation is better than all
previous revelations, that God revealing Christ as His Word
is better. And no sooner does the Holy Spirit
establish that initial and profound thought, He declares that Christ
is better than the angels. The writer takes his time to
build his case, nearly two complete chapters, all of which prove
unquestionably that Jesus Christ is preeminent over the angels. And now, as his argument opens
into chapters three and four, he sustains his argument that
Christ is better, better here than Moses. This is an argument
that the writer knew that because the nation of the Jews, even
those who had placed their faith in Christ, revered Moses like
no other man. Because of that, the writer indeed
knows that he is on delicate ground to be wading into such
an argument, but we must clarify here It isn’t only that Jesus
Christ is better than Moses, better than him as a person,
although that is true as well. The point of his whole argument
is that Jesus Christ’s ministry was better than that of Moses.
Jesus Christ’s liberation was better than that of Moses. Jesus
Christ’s salvation is better than that of Moses. And our faithful
friend, this writer, is more than bold as he not only assesses
Moses’ ministry, but Aaron’s as well, stating that Jesus Christ’s
priesthood is superior to that of his great predecessor, Aaron. But that argument will have to
wait. until the very end of chapter four. For now, Moses is in view,
his ministry and his salvation. But let’s go back to the setting,
to Jerusalem, to its impending destruction, where Roman troops
are mustering just outside the city gate. And to the citizens
of Jerusalem, all was about to change. Everything they knew
was about to be turned upside down. This was no time to scrutinize
what was for them arguably one of the greatest figures of their
history, that of Moses. Or was it? Even to the casual reader of
the Old Testament, Moses quickly emerges, doesn’t he, as nearly
singular in the great panorama of figures in the Old Testament. But to those of the Jewish nation,
Moses was supremely revered. He ascended far above hero status. We might even be tempted to say
that he was in their eyes legendary, except that his service to God
was real. Even if his history was abounding
with miraculous accounts. No wonder even false religions
attempt to build on his foundation. It is appropriate that Moses
garners our quiet and humble consideration. One writer said
of him, whether we attend to his intellectual endowments or
moral excellencies, to the gifts he received from nature or to
the acquirements made by his own exertions, to his personal
virtues or to his public services or to the important revolutions
accomplished through his instrumentality during his life or to the invaluable
legacy which he left behind him in his writings, it will be difficult
to find. In the records, either of profane
or sacred history, an individual whose character is so well fitted
at once to excite attachment and command admiration and whose
story is so replete at once with interest and instruction. That
is Moses. From the moment of his birth,
God had providentially watched over him and cared for him, knowing
alone his sovereign design for this Hebrew. Not even all the
great writers of fiction could have come up with so fantastic
a tale as the actual story of baby Moses. But his story was
just beginning. God’s sovereign plan was only
now just unfolding. Now a member of Pharaoh’s household,
God made him rise to prominence like Joseph before him and like
David after him. And yet even all the wealth and
power of Egypt, one of the greatest earthly powers of the day, None
of those things could entice Moses to forsake his heritage. And as God opened his eyes to
the severity of the oppression under which
his people were suffering, Moses brashly confronted it. Even still,
the Lord would call him to an even greater responsibility,
that of liberating the Jews from Pharaoh’s bondage. Once freed,
he served on their 40-year journey toward the long-promised country,
and it was under his leadership that God instituted both the
law and the priesthood. as one Puritan described it,
by him, under the inspiration of God, was given that system
of religious and political institutions so remarkable in themselves,
so superior to anything which human wisdom has ever devised,
to which the Israelites continued long courses of ages, so favorably
distinguished from the rest of mankind throughout it all. under constant trial and criticism
from that degenerate rank of people that turned into rebellion,
Moses continued to serve his God with faithfulness and wisdom. And so it’s important to note
that the discussion of Christ and Moses, their respective ministries,
their respective means of liberation, the salvation that each of them
offered, begins here in chapter 3, but it extends into chapter
4 all the way to verse 13. It’s in verse 14, as I said,
that our writer takes up the argument of Christ’s superior
priesthood to that of Aaron. Well, in chapter 4, we have an
interesting outline in this chapter. He’s talking about The overarching
theme, if you will, of Hebrews is what we have entitled enduring
admonition. These are for us as well. These
admonitions were not only written to first century Jews living
in Jerusalem, they are for us, they endure. But as the writer
here gets into the discussion of Moses in chapter four, What
he’s going to be discussing is Christ’s superior ministry. His
salvation was superior to that of Moses. And so we will end
up seeing four glorious aspects of salvation brought to us by
Christ. We’ll touch on two of those today. First of all, as we begin to
assess this distinction between Christ
and Moses, Christ’s preeminence over Moses, over his ministry
and his salvation, we begin to see the first of four distinct
portions of this great section, four aspects for consideration
of Christ’s glorious ministry of salvation. First of all, and
we begin to find it in verse one of chapter three, we have
an assessment of salvation in Christ generally. What was salvation
in Christ and why was it better than that of Moses? We find it
in chapter 3 verse 1. Therefore, holy brethren, partakers
of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus the apostle and high priest
of our confession. Note, first of all, that there’s
an important word that initiates this entire chapter, therefore.
It’s not one of the Greek words that is more frequently translated
as therefore. As one writer characterized it,
it is an inference from the grandeur of Christ’s position and the
blessedness of his work set forth in the previous chapters. Here’s
how I would characterize it. It’s as if the writer has taken
us on a bridge, and he glances off to the left at chapters one
and two, and we see the magnificence of Christ in his revelation,
his superiority over the angels, and as we glance off to the right
of the bridge, we see the superiority, the preeminence of Christ over
Moses. And so it is a link pin, this
word, when he points us to a consideration of Moses. We’ve already learned
of the author’s genuine concern for his flock, Jewish converts
to Christianity. They’re living in Jerusalem prior
to that city’s destruction in 70 AD. But as this writer will
do throughout this passionate appeal, he calls these people
with a delicate familiarity. Look at it here. He calls them
his holy brethren. Not just his brethren, but those
who have been called out, sanctified, not unlike how Paul uses the
term saints. They’ve been called out, they’re
separated out unto God, and they are his brethren. He is one of
their number. All of them are a chosen priesthood,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession,
as Peter tells his hearers. But the writer also expresses
this statement, hopefully. He’s calling them in a very real
sense to holiness. He’s reminding them that as brothers
in Christ, their brotherhood is a brotherhood of holiness. It’s a brotherhood of sanctification
unto Christ. But in addition to referring
to these beloved friends as his holy brethren, he carefully identifies
them as, look at the verse, partakers of a heavenly calling. What a
thrilling reminder this little phrase must have been to the
original recipients. They’re about to have their earthly
city destroyed, but they know that they have a heavenly home.
And this writer is going to see fit that they are reminded of
that over and over again. Indeed, this has to be a thrilling
reminder to all believers. Those who have placed their faith
in Jesus Christ, have been granted an incredible blessing. They
are partakers. They share in something with
others. It isn’t theirs alone. They enjoy
rich fellowship in it. This is one of the blessed fruits
of Christianity, that it is enjoyed in concert with other believers,
fellow partakers, fellow sinners who now have a common bond in
Christ. And in what do they partake?
A heavenly calling. These are those who have heard
the call, the gospel call. They have enjoyed the effectual
call to salvation. God moved in them and brought
them to repentance and faith. God called and by God’s grace,
they heeded that call. And having been called, they
are heaven bound. The call came from heaven and
it’s to heaven. that they are called. It’s a
magnificent reminder of what Paul referred to as the upward
call of God in Christ Jesus. And now that the writer has their
attention, he issues one of the very rare commands in this epistle. It’s a divine order. That is
simple as it is profound, consider Jesus. Look at the sweet simplicity
of that command. It isn’t even his full title,
the Lord Jesus Christ, just Jesus. Think of him, ponder him, consider
him. We know who Jesus is, just as
the original readers must have known who Jesus was. But what do we make of this particular
command? What did the original readers
understand of it? The word means to contemplate,
to consider attentively, to fix one’s thoughts upon someone or
something. What he clearly indicates here
is that while they knew who Jesus was, his historical personage,
they had not really begun to consider him fully in his being. in His fullness as Savior and
Lord, to make the profound study of Christ our great desire and
aim, that is the Christian’s goal, to ponder Christ and study
Christ and read of Christ and seek with all our being to know
and esteem Him. One Puritan put it this way regarding
this considering. It is only by considering the
truth about Jesus Christ as the apostle and high priest of our
confession that we can personally enjoy the benefits of his teaching.
and of his expiation and intercession as a high priest. We cannot be
too deeply impressed with a conviction of this, that all superior blessings
come to us through the faith of the truth, respecting Christ. Truth must be understood in order
to be believed, and it must be considered in order to be understood.
This faithful friend immediately begins to nourish his reader’s
mind with thoughts to ponder, thoughts on which to meditate,
elements of Christ’s nature and calling that must be savored
and considered. He is the apostle and high priest
of our confession. Do you know that this is the
only place in the entire New Testament where Jesus is called
an apostle? But it cannot be taken to mean
that he was merely one, even the first of the apostles, as
in the accounts of the Gospels, one of the twelve. The basic
meaning of the word apostle is sent or sent one. referring especially to one sent
by another as a messenger. Christ was an apostle in that
sense. God, the heavenly father, sent
him and he sent him even as the opening sentence of the epistle
declared. He sent him as a divine messenger
of God’s final revelation. He is without a doubt declaring
that Christ is the one promised in Deuteronomy 18, 15. The Lord,
your God, will raise up for you a prophet like me among you from
your countrymen. You shall listen to him. Jesus
Christ is the one that God sent Galatians one for when the fullness
of time came, God sent forth his son, John 13, 16. Truly, truly, I say to you, a
slave is not greater than his master, nor one who is sent greater
than the one who sent him. So Christ says that he is the
one whom God sent. And the writer here says that
Christ is not only the one that God sent, he is an apostle in
that sense, he is also our high priest. And as I said, we’ll
take up this study on its own when we come to the end of chapter
four, that Christ is our high priest. For now it’s enough to
know the forecast. that Jesus Christ is also greater
than Aaron’s priesthood. We’ll come back to that. But
this Jesus, he says, is the subject of our confession. This is the
one in whom we have placed our faith. This confession refers
to that to which we give assent. It is our confidence. It is our
affirmation. It is that which we believe in
the core of our being. And like the martyrs of old,
we would defend to the death. This great confession. is a continued
focus throughout the entire epistle. The writer cares what his readers
believe and that they maintain their confidence in Jesus Christ. Hebrews 4.14, therefore, since
we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens,
Jesus, the son of God, let us hold fast our confession. Hebrews 10, 23, let us hold fast
the confession of our hope without wavering for he who promised
is faithful. Glance at the passage once again
as we come into verse two. He was faithful to him who appointed
him as Moses was in all his house. Here he begins to introduce this
discussion about Christ in his relationship to Moses. His declaration
of Christ’s preeminence over Moses begins here, that he was
every bit as faithful as Moses was, faithful to God the Father
who appointed him, as ever great Moses was in his own calling.
Just as God appointed Moses to his ministry, he appointed Jesus
Christ to his own. Just as Moses was faithful to
God in his calling, Jesus Christ was faithful in his own. Just
as we’ve already seen, the writer of Hebrews is a Jew and one who
knows well his Bible. The Old Testament scriptures.
And so he reaches back into the testimony of God’s word to confirm
this evaluation of Moses. And we find it in Numbers chapter
12, verses one through nine. Listen just briefly. You can
recall that, remember from the Old Testament stories that Miriam
and Aaron are criticizing Moses. And when God hears it, God calls
a meeting on the spot. We pick it up in Numbers, chapter
12, verse 5. Then the Lord came down in a
pillar of cloud, stood at the doorway of the tent. He called
Aaron and Miriam. When they both had come forward,
he said, Hear now my words. If there is a prophet among you,
I, the Lord, I shall make myself known to him in a vision. I shall
speak to him in a dream. In other words, God says, this
is how I typically communicate with prophets, visions and dreams. Not so. with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my household. With him I speak mouth to mouth,
even openly, not in dark sayings. And he beholds the form of the
Lord. Why then were you not afraid
to speak against my servant Moses?” So the anger of the Lord burned
against them and he departed. This is exactly what the writer
of Hebrews is hearkening back to. Moses was faithful. by God’s
own assessment. He was faithful over his household
or simply his house. God obviously had no house. The author isn’t talking about
a building at all, not a temple, not a church, not a house, but
his household refers to the whole of God’s family. Scripture frequently
uses this metaphor, the house of Israel, the house of David,
and so on. Moses, God says, was a faithful
steward over God’s house, over the entire people of God. Moses
told them exactly what God wanted them to hear. No more, no less. Moses was faithful over God’s
house. That was God’s assessment. And
like Christ, Moses was appointed Like Christ, Moses had a ministry. Like Christ, Moses was faithful. But here the similarities end. Look at verse three. For he has
been counted worthy of more glory than Moses by just so much as
the builder of the house has more honor than the house. Every
house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is
God. And so, as God’s assessment of Moses was that he was exceedingly
faithful, faithful over all God’s household, all of Israel, a writer
here moves to show how much more faithful Christ was. It’s unequivocal. to discuss it and there are no
questions about it. Christ has been counted worthy
of more glory than Moses. How so? Because Jesus Christ
was not a servant in the household as was Moses. He is the very
founder. He is the builder himself. Moses
was a member of the household as a Jew, no doubt, and a servant
And a good one, a faithful servant in that same household. But the household was already
in existence when Moses was born. Jesus Christ is the architect
and the builder, the founder and the owner. There is no discrepancy
here to read that Christ is the builder here in verse three and
that God was the builder in verse four. Jesus is God. And God created all things through
his son, John 1 3. All things came into being through
him. And apart from him, nothing came
into being that has come into being. As the creator and founder
and builder of the house, Jesus Christ is worthy, infinitely
worthy, not just of honor, but of the greatest honor. Look at verse five, if you would.
Now, Moses was faithful in all his house as a servant, for a
testimony of those things were to be spoken later. But Christ
was faithful as a son over his house, whose house we are if
we hold fast our confidence and boast of our hope firm until
the end. Here, the writer, having distinguished
the two, Christ and Moses, one lesser, one greater, one a faithful
servant, the other a faithful son and a builder, having made
that clear and a sharp distinction, the writer now calls the question. Right? Have you ever been in
a meeting and you’re discussing all kinds of various options
and the moderator calls the question? It’s time to decide. That’s exactly
what the writer does here if He says, little word, big question,
we are of God’s household, if. It’s an abrupt, even alarming
question. to pose here, perhaps his readers
were still pondering the overall subject, the ardent thoughts
about Moses, the call to consider Christ as even better than Moses,
when suddenly they have to assess their Christian confession. The
writer essentially asks them to ask themselves, do you still
really believe in the one whom you so confidently placed your
faith not so long ago? Has your confidence, your confidence
in him slipped? The word confidence speaks of
a joyful assurance, a settled certainty of trust. And that trust undergirds the
whole person. It is the fruit bearing response
to the gospel. And these Jewish converts had
it. At one point, near the end of
the sentence, the writer speaks of the boast of our hope. This
is no sinful arrogance, this boasting. Jeremiah had commended
it. He who boasts, boasts in the
Lord. Paul himself spoke of believers’
ground of boasting. May it never be that I would
boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ
is, or Christ was at one point at least, the source of these
people’s confidence. He was the source of their boasting. One commentator characterized
it as freedom and boldness of speech, open, unhesitating, fearless
profession of the Christian hope. He was their confidence. They
were not ashamed of him. They were not ashamed to speak
of him. Jesus Christ was their hope in Christ and in Christ
alone was their cause for boasting. And he basically says to them,
are you now hedging? Are you now vacillating? Are
you now doubting? Are you so ready to let go of
that which you once believed? It is not your Judaism, he intimates
here, that will save you. It is your confession in Jesus
Christ alone. And are you considering shifting
your confidence, your allegiance back to Moses, back to the works
of the law, back to ceremonialism? This is what he says. Stated
positively, think of it. He says, if you but firmly hold
to the confession of faith in Jesus Christ, you show yourselves
to be rightfully a part of God’s household. It’s the same, the same is no
longer true of those who turn back to Moses. Moses was a servant and he offered
a salvation, Jesus Christ was the Son. The Savior offered a
salvation that was so far superior to that which Moses offered that
the two cannot be justly compared. One was earthly and temporal,
but Christ brought eternal salvation. And as I said, point one was
really just designed to examine the two different kinds of salvation,
one of Moses and one of Christ, an assessment of salvation in
Christ generally. But now the writer is going to
move in a little closer. Now he wants to examine salvation
in Christ personally. What do each of you individually
think of Christ? And for that, look at the beginning
of verse seven. In verse seven, where we begin
to examine salvation in Christ personally, the writer masterfully
seizes upon one of the great resources open to him. It’s the
Old Testament scriptures, and here particularly Psalm 95. He quotes almost verbatim from
the better part of this psalm. There are a few insertions and
a few gaps. Look, if you will, at verse eight. He says, he adds an insertion
here about these people provoking the Lord that they provoked me,
he says. In verse 8, there’s also no mention,
as it is in the Hebrew, in the Psalm 95, there is no mention
there of a place called Meribah. We’ll come back to that. In verse
8, he translates another word, Masah, which is recorded in the
original Psalm, as he translates it here as trial. But the biggest
difference so far is a clarification provided by the New Testament
writer. Look down at verse 9. Did the
Jews see God’s works for 40 years or was God angry with them for
40 years? It’s completely different in
both translations. According to the Hebrew, the
Old Testament translation, for 40 years I loathed that generation. But here the New Testament clarifies
that it was for 40 years the children of Israel ignored God’s
works. For 40 years they saw his faithfulness
and still their hearts were hardened. Let’s look at this passage briefly.
And I want you to remember all the way along we’re just examining
salvation in Christ personally. And he does so for the purpose
of calling these people to self-examination regarding their standing in Christ. He basically says, where are
you with this whole argument? This is the exhibition of the
heart of this writer. Doctrine, deep theological truth,
interspersed with direct and yet gracious warnings, he cannot
bear the thought that even one of Christ’s sheep might wander
off, and so he is stirred to action by the very thought. And
this exhortation, he takes these converts to Christianity, he
takes them to their own Bible, Psalm 95. If you would turn there
just briefly. This would be a readily familiar
Psalm to a Jew. An exposition of the fearfulness
of turning aside from listening to the Lord. Psalm 95, and in
the first portion of that psalm, it’s essentially a call to worship.
This is really a beautiful psalm. Oh, come, let us sing for joy
to the Lord. Let us shout joyfully to the
rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence
with singing. Let us shout joyfully to him
with psalms. This is a call to worship. This
is what you might say at the very beginning of the worship
service. This is what we’re here to do.
But that leads naturally, in verses six and seven, to a call
to reverence. Now that you’re here, hush. Calm. Let us worship and bow
down. Let us kneel before the Lord,
our God, our maker. He is our God, and we are the
people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. But that gives
way, finally, to the portion of the psalm that is quoted by
the author of Hebrews, and finally there is a call, strangely, to
salvation. You’ve come to worship, you’re
engaged in reverence, you need to be saved. Turn, if you would,
back to Hebrews chapter 3. As I said, for the most part,
it’s quoted almost verbatim from this Psalm. I’ll point out some
of the differences as we go. Look at verse seven. If you would hear his voice,
if you would only listen to him, you will be saved. It’s a plea. Oh, that you would listen to
him, that you would hear his voice above the purposeless din
of the world, above the voice of the world, above the voice
of the devil and all his demons, which constantly scream in your
ears. Above the voice even of your
most trusted friends, above even your own voice, above all, listen
to the voice of God, he says. But note the urgency to the psalmist’s
appeal. Today. Today and not tomorrow. There might not even be tomorrow. Today is the day of salvation. Paul quotes Isaiah 49 in 2 Corinthians
6 at the acceptable time. I listened to you on the day
of salvation. I helped you. Behold, now is
the acceptable time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. Isaiah 55 says it much more succinctly. Seek the Lord while he may be
found. Call upon him while he is near.
Our writer, patterned after the psalmist’s own heart, pleads
for an active, real-time attentiveness to Christ. He says if you have spiritual
work to be done with the Lord, repentance, confession, faith,
a cry for strengthening grace, whatever you do, do not put it
off. Today is the day. Today is always
the day. There is no promise of another. There’s a fascinating word in
that section. Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts. The Greek word there used to
translate that Hebrew word is the word from which we get our
word, sclerosis, arteriosclerosis. That’s right, hardening of the
arteries. Now, typically in scripture,
God is the one who hardens hearts. People begin by dabbling in sin
and it gets easier and easier to go against their conscience
until their heart is hardened and they are given over. It’s
a horrific progression. But here the warning is to his
friends to not harden their hearts. We do this when we refuse to
repent of our sin. When we refuse to take God at
his word, either his promises or his warnings. When we grow
disobedient to his commands, we harden our hearts. And as
the psalmist, and in turn, our friend, this writer likens this
to the nation of Israel in the wilderness, provoking God to
his face, so stubborn and faithless and rebellious that they were,
God himself renames the region. He renames this location Meribah
and Massah. Remember, those were the two
words that were missing from the English translation. They
were metaphors. They were metaphors that God
used to make a point. And these metaphors perpetually
mark the spot of their rebellion. grumbling about their circumstances,
lack of bread, lack of water, idolatry, disobedience, lack
of meat, more water. And all of this after watching
God faithfully provide for 40 years. And so God gave nicknames
to this place, Massa and Meribah. Massa means to test or to try. Meribah means to quarrel or contend. They tested God, they made an
experiment out of God, wondering in real time whether or not he
could live up to their challenge. Is he powerful enough? Is he
really just? Is he indeed holy? Does he really
mean what he says? And the writer of Hebrews tells
his friends, do not be like them. And he includes us. Do not be
stubborn and rebellious. Do not harden your hearts. Don’t
test the Lord. Why? Read on, look at verse 10. Therefore I was angry with this
generation, and I said, they always go astray in their heart.
They do not know my ways. The bottom line here is that
the provocations of the Lord stir the ire of the Lord himself. They provoked him to anger. All
their petty little complaints in the face of his overwhelming
grace and kindness only served to anger God with an entire generation
of people. Psalm 78 records a similar scene,
how often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved
him in the desert. Again and again, they tempted
God and pained the Holy One of Israel. Even still note the patience
of God for 40 years. The word for anger here, used
here for anger is used to describe sea waves crashing upon the rocky
coast. They had finally stirred God
to anger and now they will receive their just reward. Look at verse
11. As I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest. God
had promised, graciously promised His people rest, rest from their
enemies, a safe haven in a land of their own. Their seemingly
perpetual wanderings would come to an end at last. The land of
Canaan, where the tabernacle, God’s presence with them, would
be established, where He would be their God. their provider,
their protector, that ultimately this rest must point to eternity,
to an eternity of peace with God in heaven, a true and lasting
rest. God deemed the vast majority
of these people unworthy of enjoying that rest,
and he allowed them to die and be buried in the wilderness. All of this sordid history is
recorded in Numbers 14. Listen just briefly, two verses.
Surely all the men who have seen my glory and my signs which I
performed in Egypt and in the wilderness yet have put me to
the test these ten times and have not listened to my voice.
These shall surely by no means see the land which I swore to
their fathers, nor shall any of those who spurned me see it. What a sad episode. And so with
this sobering example of their forefathers’ wretched behavior laid solemnly before
them, The writer of the Hebrews turns his attention to his friends.
It’s as if he’s masterfully taking them to the Psalms, doing Bible
study with them, reminding them of the behavior of their forefathers,
and then he turns to them. And not only the Jewish Christians
of his day, but also to us. Take care. Look at verse 12. Take care, brethren. Take care
that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart
that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another
day after day, as it is still cold today, that none of you
will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. He says, take care, literally
watch, see to it. There is an urgency in his voice.
And yes, this is one of the other very relatively few imperatives
in this whole epistle. It is a command. Examine yourselves. Take a deep look at your relationship
with God. He’s pleading with them again
as his dear family members, brethren, any one of you. Perhaps even
knew some from this very tight knit fellowship. who were teetering
on the edge of a doomed eternity. And he wants every single one
of them to examine their standing in Christ, because to fall into
disbelief here, second-guessing their opinion of Christ, their
faith in his salvation, is what he says to fall away from the
living God. Once again, The heart, the seed
of understanding and faith is in view, and he calls it an evil,
unbelieving heart. This is the shepherd’s worst
nightmare. This faithful friend will issue a very similar warning
in Hebrews chapter 12. In Hebrews 12, 15, he says, see
to it that no one comes short of the grace of God. But here he issues a warning
for all time. Remember, we’ve called these
sections of the epistle, the Hebrews, enduring admonitions. They are just as necessary, just
as powerful, just as sobering as the day they were first written.
They’re not only for the Hebrews to consider in first century
Jerusalem, they are for us. And his warning here is that
horrifying word, apostasy. falling away from faith in Christ. Paul warned of it as well. Paul
used the same word in 1 Timothy 4. The Spirit explicitly says
that in later times, some will fall away from the faith, paying
attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. This
is not a dabbling in or a battling with some longstanding or often
reoccurring battle with sin. This is capitulation to unbelief. This is a turning of the back
on Christ himself. No wonder he calls it an evil,
unbelieving heart. The two dreadful thoughts are
intertwined, aren’t they? To disbelieve is to fall away. And to fall away is to disbelieve.
To deny Christ even after claiming to believe in him is a singularly
evil act, but it is invariably tied to the love of some sin,
whether pride or vice. This unbelief is a deadly act
because it is an offense against the living God. I love the way
one Puritan said it, it is quite safe to depart from dead gods.
There’s almost humor in that, isn’t there? If this wasn’t such
a sobering subject, no spiritual advantage can be obtained by
adhering to them. No danger is incurred by abandoning
them. They cannot punish the apostate. There is nothing in regard to
which the professors of Christianity fall into more dangerous practical
mistakes than this. They suspect everything sooner
than the soundness and firmness of their belief. There are many
who are supposing themselves believers who have no true faith
at all. Did you hear what he said? They that is these people who
profess to be believers suspect everything. They suspect everyone
around them. They suspect everything sooner
than the soundness and firmness of their faith. They believe
that they believe. And so this friend cannot leave
them to themselves. He must exhort them. But look
at the passage. There are others who may, and
may I say, must help. Their fellow believers must help.
Encourage one another, he says. This is the very word paraclete,
which is used in direct reference to the Holy Spirit. He is the
called alongside one. He is our comforter. He is our
encourager, but he says here that we are to play the part
of encourager as well. We are to watch over our brother. And if we see them drifting,
we are to go to them and appeal to them. We are to watch for
them. Just as we saw in James 5, 19
and 20. One pastor said, nothing is better
fitted to prevent apostasy than bringing before the mind the
truth. And here, just as there, it is
the avowed duty of every Christian, not just the shepherds. We must
come alongside our brothers and sisters in Christ before they
slip away forever. Every step they take, one pastor
said, in the downward path makes their recovery more difficult.
They will be removed beyond the reach of our exertions, no matter
what you do, he says. How long? As long it is called
today. As long as there is a day, there
is still a hope of repentance. Look, if you would, in closing
at verse 14. For we have become partakers
of Christ. If we hold fast the beginning
of our assurance firm until the end. Remember this thought? It’s an echo of verse one. There
we saw that the writer identified his readers as partakers of a
heavenly calling, that those who had believed on Christ had
been granted an incredible blessing. They are partakers, it’s not
theirs alone, in heaven. And here the writer reminds them
of a glorious aspect of this heavenly calling. They are partakers
of Christ himself. They are partakers in his death,
in his resurrection, in his forgiveness. in eternal life. This is the
only place in the New Testament where the phrase is used, to
be a partaker of Christ. To be a partaker of Christ is
to be so closely bound to him, said one pastor, that God treats
us not as we deserve, but as he deserves to be treated. Well,
that’s the idea of justification by faith, isn’t it? Paul drives this point home hundreds
of times in his letters. He says simply in his letters
that believers are in Christ. But and it is here that the writer
returns to this his use of remember the subjunctive mood. Where there’s
a hint of potential. Possibility. But it’s yet incomplete,
it’s uncertain. And so he adds the little word
if. It isn’t doubt necessarily, but
there is a question here. And the question is, will these
professing believers press on with their commitment to Christ?
He says, if we hold fast, the beginning of our assurance firm
until the end, if we hold fast, there is eternal glory. And the
assurance here is the confidence that he mentions all the way
back in verse six. It is that firm persuasion. Like
in the opening of the description of the hall of faith, remember
Hebrews chapter 11, the assurance of things hoped for. It’s a settled
confidence in the finished work of Christ. It’s faith. And if
you placed your faith in Christ, he says, do not let go. Hold
fast. Firm to the end. And he returns
to that sweet and familiar refrain, quoted already three times in
chapters three and four, today. Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts. It’s a gentle call to Christ.
It’s the gospel call. He says, if your confidence in
Christ is slipping, turn again to Christ. If you can hear his
voice in this call, turn to Christ. If you have a today, turn to
Christ. And in closing, he delicately
reminds. His readers of their forefathers
look at verse 16. For who provoked him when they
heard? They knew. Indeed, did not all those who
came out of Egypt, led by Moses, and with whom he was angry for
40 years, was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell
in the wilderness, and to whom he swore that they would not
enter his rest, to those who were disobedient? So we see they
were not able to enter because of disbelief. One Puritan said it this way,
there is no sin. There is no sin so great that
it cannot be pardoned. Isn’t that a comfort? If the
sinner believes, there is no sinner so guilty but that he
may be saved through faith in the truth. But unbelief prevents salvation. both as it keeps us away from
the Savior and because in direct opposition to the favorite purpose
of God, mercy, it draws down the severest influences of his
righteous indignation. We must believe. We must place
our faith in Christ and in him alone. Let’s pray. O merciful God, we humble ourselves
before your glorious throne, and we are thankful for this
sweet reminder to us that Christ is indeed better,
far better than even the great Moses. His ministry was greater. His salvation was infinitely
greater because it’s eternal. Lord, we thank you for this word. We thank you for this reminder
to turn again to Christ. And we thank you for the reminder
that this was not just written to people waiting for their city
to be destroyed in first century Jerusalem, but it’s written to
us. These things were written for our instruction. God work
in our hearts, make it clear. where our standing in Christ
is. It’s in Jesus’ name that we plead.
Amen.