Those Who Shrink Back

Scripture Reading

Hebrews 10:26–39 ESV

26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. 32 But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, 33 sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. 34 For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. 35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. 37 For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; 38 but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” 39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

Thank you, Nathan. Good morning everyone. Would you pray with me?

Pray

Father, our mission team has been preparing to witness to those you’ve prepared in Catania, Italy. Please give them health and right provision as they evangelize to Refugees. Please give some extra encouragement to the spouses and kids who are at home. Thank you for Ryan Hale and his family. I pray that our team would be an encouragement to their ministry. Help us to see this as an example to follow when we consider our discipleship.

Father give me wisdom this morning. Please let the time and preparation in Your Word bear fruit. I’ve been avoiding these hard conversations about hell for a long time, so please give me balanced words this morning. Your grace is sufficient, Lord, but your judgment is no less true! Use fear in our lives to steer us away from hell. Help us to remember your faithfulness in our struggles. Help all of us to hear Your Word preached, and examine our lives in light of the wondrous work of Christ. May we turn to Him every moment. May He find us faithful.

Amen.

Introduction

My mentor in Colorado told me a story about what it was like living next to a busy street in Texas. It’s not like it’s something that uncommon, there are lots of busy streets everywhere, but when you have children, especially younger children, you look at traffic a little differently. When his youngest was I think between 2-4 years old he wanted to play in the front yard which was right next to the busy street. It was the bigger yard so its more fun to play in. The problem was that he would go out in the front yard by himself and play next to the street with no fence in-between. Craig or his wife would run after their Son and bring him inside and scold him, but it never stopped him going out the door again hours later or minutes later.

Parents, don’t take this next part as advice. It’s just what happened. Craig, out of desperation to stop his son from going out by the street heard a semi-truck driving coming so he grabbed his son, and brought him next to the curb, holding him tightly just in time for the semi to scream past them. Guess what. His son never went out the front yard without permission again. He brought him close enough to death, to scare him from doing that ever again.

Again, don’t hear that as parental advice. It’s just how the story was told to me. But do you see the point? We forget the value of fear. Fear can be used to keep us from something worse. It’s far worse to lose a son because you never cultivated the fear of the street than to bring him to the edge of the street with you by his side and show him the danger. The author of Hebrews is doing something similar here.

The fear of God and judgment of hell keeps us from straying off course. The Hebrews are tempted to return to their old ways of worship. They are dismissive of the gathering so they can do what they want or worship how they want. They have no sense of fear of what will happen if they deviate away from the Lord. Theirs senses are dull. They have no fear of hell.

To reflect on this passage without thinking about hell is like walking across a busy highway with a blindfold on. You’re going to get hit whether you like it or not. So I’m asking you to keep hell at the front of your minds this morning. Pray that God would use that fear not to shame you, but to disciple you from something far worse.

But, later on, this passage also reassures us about our confidence in Christ. He reminds us how He has come alongside us in difficult times, and strengthened and encouraged us as believers. So, I’m also asking you to remember that we aren’t people who run from the suffering, trials, and afflictions of this world. Pray that God would use your struggles to remind you of His faithfulness when we are tempted to turn away from the faith.

Encompassing all of this, our text this morning is driving us to endure. To persevere in our faith! The fear of God is an underused tool in our discipleship. But as we’ll see later, even Jesus, who is the lover of our souls, uses fear to keep those he loves from shrinking back from the faith.

“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God… But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. (Hebrews 10:31 and Hebrews 10:39).”

Recap

To get what the author of Hebrews is doing, we need to start by looking at the sermon text from last week’s sermon. There were three admonitions that the writer was trying to get through:

1. Draw Near to God

Hebrews 10:22 ESV

22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

2. Hold Fast to Christ

Hebrews 10:23 ESV

23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.

3. Help others hold fast to the faith

Hebrews 10:24–25 ESV

24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

We need to stay on these last verses for a minute. Church encouragement and love and good works can’t occur if believers stop meeting with one another. Why aren’t they gathering together? These believers are tempted to return to the old ways. To the temple system before Christ’s final sacrifice. They are either dismissive of the gathering because they don’t see the Day of judgment drawing near or because they fear persecution.

For these Christians to forsake the gathering, because of persecution, is to say to those persecuting you, “who me? no I’m not like those Christians. I don’t gather with them. I’m not one of them. They get what they deserve!” They say all of this after being integrated into the fellowship. They are saying, “I’m not a Christian.” They have tasted the knowledge of the truth, and reject the fellowship that grows them. The writer of Hebrews doesn’t treat this lightly. You see at the end of the verse when the word “Day” is capitalized? Neither should we. The writer is implying the Day of the Lord here. A day for judgment. Those who abandon and reject the fellowship of the Christian church are in danger of the final judgment. They are in danger of hell.

Believers should instead encourage one another and stir one another to good works.

Keep one another from abandoning the fellowship!

Propositional Outline

This morning we’ll look at

What happens to those who Shrink back from their faith

How our past struggles and suffering reinforce our confidence in Christ

Responding in the present to our faith

Those Who Shrink Back from their Faith

Let’s turn to our passage this morning.

Deliberate Sin and Apostasy Hebrews 10:26-27

Hebrews 10:26–27 ESV

26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.

A couple of things.

Notice how the writer of Hebrews includes himself here? “If WE go on sinning deliberately?” He includes himself in this group.

I think the “sinning deliberately” is what he’s talking about in the previous section. It is turning away from God, Not holding fast to Christ, and dismissing the gathering of believers, the church.

Let’s be real clear about what he isn’t saying and what he is saying.

He is NOT saying that there is a point where the salvation of Christ’s sacrifice runs out. Christ’s sacrifice will never run out. If you are a believer in Christ, Christ’s sacrifice is fully sufficient for your salvation.

John 10:28–29 ESV

28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

Romans 8:38–39 ESV

38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

You cannot lose your salvation. He IS continuing his argument that began all the way back in Hebrews 6:4-6.

Hebrews 6:4–6 ESV

4 For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.

He IS showing us the terror of what will happen to one who persists in open rebellion against God and His Word. This person knows what God has done in Christ, and he understands it. This is a sin that only “church people” can commit. The writer of Hebrews is writing to people who are tempted to turn away from Christ as the final sacrifice and go back to their temple sacrifices. But the blood of bulls and goats cannot remove sin. He is writing these words to bring believers to the edge of the street so they know not to cross it.

There is no other sacrifice that can remove our sin except for the blood of Christ. To know this, and to turn away from it invites God’s judgment.

Lesser and Greater Punishment Hebrews 10:28-29

Hebrews 10:28–29 ESV

28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?

This is also meant to scare us. Throughout Hebrews, the author has been comparing how much better or greater Christ is than Angels, Moses and the temple. Now, the same thing is true with God’s judgment. Look at Deuteronomy 17:2-7 with me.

Deuteronomy 17:2–7 ESV

2 “If there is found among you, within any of your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, a man or woman who does what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, in transgressing his covenant, 3 and has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, or the sun or the moon or any of the host of heaven, which I have forbidden, 4 and it is told you and you hear of it, then you shall inquire diligently, and if it is true and certain that such an abomination has been done in Israel, 5 then you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has done this evil thing, and you shall stone that man or woman to death with stones. 6 On the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses the one who is to die shall be put to death; a person shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness. 7 The hand of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

The testimony of these witnesses must be airtight. So airtight that the witnesses are required to be the first to put someone to death. Then all of the people are to contribute to their deaths. This is to set the example for all people not to stray from God’s commands.

Hebrews 10:29 ESV

29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?

This kind of death of stoning is nothing compared to what will happen to those who shrink back from the faith. They trample over the Son of God. They attack or bear false witness against the person of Christ.

They profane the blood of the covenant. They attack the work of Christ. “He never did anything for me! I don’t need His blood! I can fix myself on my own! I can buy my salvation! I will improve myself and I don’t need Christ to do so!” There is no other sacrifice!!!!

They don’t only profane the person and work of Christ, but outrage the Spirit of grace. The Spirit witnessed to them, revealing the person and work of Christ through God’s Word and God’s community the church. They arrogantly close their eyes to the light of the Spirit, and attribute His work to themselves or false gods. They blaspheme the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 12:31–32 ESV

31 Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

The Holy Spirit indwells those who believe in Jesus Christ. There is no other sacrifice by which one may be saved. To reject the work of the “Spirit of grace” renders one utterly lost.

1 John 2:19 ESV

19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

Judgment

The writers of Hebrews continues.

Hebrews 10:30–31 ESV

30 For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Jesus took little children in His arms, healed the deaf, and wept over Jerusalem. His yoke is easy and his burden is light. But the same one who is the Lamb of God will also come in wrath and judgment. Just look at some of these passages with me:

Revelation 6:16 ESV

16 calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb,

Matthew 13:49–50 ESV

49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 25:46 ESV

46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Mark 9:43 ESV

43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.

That unquenchable fire is what Christ came to redeem you from! If we think lightly about the punishment of hell, then we will think little about the what Christ did to save you from it!

Application

We need to sit here for a minute. Fear is a good tool when it prevents something worse from happening. When a child wanders near the edge of a cliff, a parent doesn’t just say “oh billy/Timmy/Suzie come here now.” They scream and run after their child!

We are a people called to endure. Americans don’t have a sacrificial system to turn to like the Israelites did. I used to turn to other things when faith was hard. Some of you are familiar with escapism. It’s a way of running from your circumstances, relationships, hard decisions, or sorrows in life. Sometimes we’re so comfortable with escaping our problems that we don’t realize how they shape or form us. When the rough gets going, the going gets rough. When archaeologists and historians dig up our bodies I imagine they’ll see the smiles on our faces as we’re plugged into our hubs, or sitting in front of our computer screens or television sets. I don’t want that. I don’t want to be known as a man who constantly fled from hard things because I chose to be run from the fear of how they might change me. I need that fear to remind me that there are people who never hear the name of Christ and will perish in eternal condemnation. I need fear to invoke action in my life.

Church, the fear of God isn’t our enemy. It is our friend. A God who doesn’t show you the dangers of hell doesn’t care about you. We should fear hell. We should fear the judgment of God.

How our past struggles and suffering reinforce our confidence in Christ

Who was this written for? Remember, the writer starts this whole section saying “we.” He is writing a warning to the church to not forsake the gathering. “Don’t turn away from us and go back to temple worship! Don’t fear persecution! Don’t turn away from Christ, you know His sacrifice is the only one that matters!” This passage we just looked at is one of the most chastening passages in Scripture. He brings his readers to the edge of the street so they know not to cross it.

But, like a good parent, he doesn’t stay there. He is about to bring us back inside. Instead of turning away from God and back to the way we used to worship, we need to remember the past.

Hebrews 10:32–34 ESV

32 But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, 33 sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. 34 For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.

Fear is not our only motivation for enduring in our faith. Remembering God’s sustaining grace from our past reminds us of hope of our lasting inheritance in the future. We look to our past struggles to find our confidence in Christ’s promises.

This word, “struggle” is the same word used for athletics. It’s an active, practiced, disciplined, hard-fought action. It’s being watched by others. They don’t struggle passively, but with force and intent.

I’ve had this story on my mind for a while so I want to share it with you all this morning.

Perpetua and Felicitas

In the North African church in the early 3rd century, there was a woman in her late teens/early twenties named Perpetua. Perpetua wrote a pretty intimate diary. She was charged with a capital crime, namely, her profession of faith in Christ. Her father, a pagan, came to her and wanted her to recant her confession of faith so she could go home and be with her family. She stood her ground and refused to repent. Her father left angrily. Several days later, Perpetua had a hearing to determine her sentence. Her father was there, pleaded with her as “daughter.” He said:

“Have pity on my grey head—have pity on me your father, if I deserve to be called your father, if I have favored you above all your brothers, if I have raised you to reach this prime of your life. Do not abandon me to be the reproach of men. Think of your brothers, think of your mother and your aunt, think of your child, who will not be able to live once you are gone. Give up your pride! You will destroy all of us! None of us will ever be able to speak freely again if anything happens to you.”

Perpetua never recanted. Her father no longer referred to her as his daughter, but as “a woman.” Her father allowed the deacons of Perpetua’s church to come to her daily with her baby so she could nurse her son. Near the end of the story, her father no longer allowed her baby to come back to her. The family was destroyed.

Perpetua wasn’t alone in prison. Her slave, from her natural family, was also a Christian awaiting martyrdom. Her name was Felicitas. She was nine-months pregnant while in prison and gave birth to her daughter in prison. Perpetua acquired Felicitas before Perpetua was married. Therefore she technically belonged to Perpetua’s father. This would make Felicitas’s daughter the property of Perpetua’s father. He wanted nothing to do with her either.

What’s incredible though is that “one of the Christian sisters brought Felictas’ newborn child up as her own daughter.”

They never recanted their faith.

They were when placed in the ring with wild bulls only for the crowd to call out that they had seen “enough.”

They were then thrown back into the arena with gladiators. Perpetua’s last recorded words were “You must all stand fast in the faith and love one another, and do not be weakened by what we have gone through.” Perpetua and Felicitas died side by side in the arena as faithful martyrs.

Do you see the struggles in this story? The athleticism? Perpetua isn’t passive in her affliction and reproach. Her child is taken from her. Her family has deserted her. But she accepted her life being plundered since she knew that she had a “better possession and an abiding one.”

Responding in the present to our faith

Hebrews 10:35–36 ESV

35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.

The writer of Hebrews is contrasting here. “Don’t throw away your confidence…you need endurance.” Faith needs endurance! Faith isn’t merely intellectual assent to trust God. It is forward focused. We believe in what we are promised because we believe in Christ. Believers in Christ know that this world isn’t as it should be, which means it isn’t the end yet. We eagerly wait for Christ’s return and the fullness of our salvation to be realized.

Hebrews 10:37–38 ESV

37 For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; 38 but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”

He quotes Habakkuk 2:3-4 and a little bit from Isaiah 26:20-21 here. Both of these passages tell sufferers to wait patiently for God’s arrival to deliver them from their enemies. They emphasize the mysteriousness of God’s timing.

Habakkuk 2:3–4 ESV

3 For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. 4 “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.

We need to end here. Remember, we’ve been brought to the edge of the street. We see the fear of crossing over. We’re reminded of the sweetness of being at our home, the church. We see how important the “struggle” really is. Now the writer reminds us of who we are.

Hebrews 10:39 ESV

39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

This is our commission. We aren’t those who shrink back from the faith. From struggling and striving to endure to the end. We know the dangers of hell. We know the dangers of turning away from Christ as the redeemer of our souls. We are those who are of faith in Christ for our salvation. Our task is to preserve our souls through the struggle. We are of a fellowship that is united under the banner that we will endure in the faith of Jesus Christ.

Turning to Communion

› As the ushers come forward, let’s turn to the table before us.

An ordinace of our gathering is the taking of communion. This is a meal celebrated by those who have placed their trust in Christ and do not shrink back from the faith.

If you have received Christ as your Lord and Savior from sin and expressed that faith in Him through baptism, then this is for you. This is an opportunity to fellowship with one another as sons and daughters of God to remember Christ’s sacrifice. His body broken for us. His blood shed for us. That our sin would be covered by the mercy and grace of God.

If you have not received Christ as your Lord and savior and expressed that through baptism I would ask you to refrain from communion. Instead, pray that God would make known the truth of His Son known to you and to teach you true obedience.

Pray

Communion

› Be sure to give elements to the ushers and music team.

1 Corinthians 11:23–24 ESV

23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

› Eat the bread.

1 Corinthians 11:25–26 ESV

25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

› Drink the cup

Pray

Benediction

In our elder meeting earlier this week we were reflecting on the letter of Jude. I want to end our time together this morning reading the last couple of sections.

Jude 17–25 ESV

17 But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” 19 It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. 24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

Endure. Keep the faith. Fellowship with the saints. You are dismissed.