Pay Careful Attention
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Hebrews 10:26-31
Hebrews 10:26-31
Pray
Summarize last time
We talked about false authority.
No rules, Just right.
Meaning that we are actively rejecting God’s Word as authoratative.
NO expectations
No external source of authority.
Rejection of the soverign authority of God.
No expectations or standards in faith.
Just accomodations for what the individual wants.
Just accomodations to make sin tolerable.
Accomodations to diminish the consequences of sin.
Accomodations to allow the sinner to continue to live under the authority of sin in rejction to the transformative power of the Gospel.
We are turning to thoughts and ideas of humanity to address issues we perceive to be beyond the scope of the Bible.
We talked about the perspective of a self-defined “Christian” psychologist who suggests that the church must avoid looking to the Bible for answers to the issues people face in our day becaue the Bible is not adequate to answer these issues.
Saying these words outloud do not even lake sense.
It does not sound real, but unfortuantely it is.
I talked about a few movements in the church who proclaims such things.
They teach that the church must adapt to the demands of modern culture.
The church must abandon the standard of faith built upon the Bible.
Remember all the way back when we started this series on Walking in Authority.
I began by looking at a few verses in 2 Thessalonians.
In those verses Paul warns of apostacy.
Rebellion
ABANDONMENT OF THE WORD OF GOD.
Rejection of the authority of God.
Rejection of the authority of our Savior.
Rejection of the Holy Spirit in exchange for a lie.
In exchange for comfort in this world.
We are going to look at what God thinks about such practices this morning.
We are going to look at God’s response to a church who is intentionallly turning away from submission to His authority.
Start with verses 19-22
Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
These verses address salvation.
Why can we have confidence?
Because of the sacrifice of Jesus.
Because of His blood.
Because we are covered by His authority in our faith.
Jesus has made a way for us through the curtain to be reconciled to God.
This statement is alluding to the Temple.
Remember when Jesus was crucified, the earth shoot and the curtain in the Temple was torn in two. Form top to bottom.
This curtain separated the Holy of Holies from the other parts of the Temple.
The Holy of Holies was an inner room within the Temple.
It housed the Ark of the Covenant.
It was considered the Throne room of the Lord on earth.
The High Priest could only enter this room once a year to make temporary atonement for the sin of the nation.
The writer of Hebrews is declaring that Jesus has mae a way for us to be reconciled to God.
No more separation.
No more curtain to shield us from the glory of the Lord.
We can be assured
He is our Great High Priest who has the authority to save.
He is the one who has all authority to save us perpetually.
Because of who Jesus is.
Because of the authority He has, we can have the full assurance to draw near to God.
In faith, Jesus cleanses us from sin.
He washes us with pure water so that we no longer need to bear the guilt of our sin.
In faith, He reconciles us to a Holy God.
This can only be accomplished by grace.
This can only be accomplished by the grace of God making a way for redemtipon through Jesus.
This is the only way to be reconciled.
Apart form the saving power of Jesus, we are desperately lost.
We have no hope in salvation.
We have no confidence in faith, if we reject the authority of Jesus in our lives.
Thinking back to the topic over the last few weeks, people have dreampt us all sorts of compromises in an effort to reject the authoity of Jesus.
None, not one of these ideas will ever satisfy the penalty of sin.
Not even close.
Not even in the same universe.
Yet we pridefully place hope in human deception.
Turn back of you would to chapter 2.
I know I am going out of order, but I want you to see something.
We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
Pay careful attention to what you have heard.
Pay careful attention to the promises of God.
Pay careful attention to the truth of His Word.
Pay careful attention to the grace of the Gospel.
Pay careful attention to your Savior, Jesus.
This is the source of Salvation.
God gave us opportunity to be saved as a gift of His grace.
Pay attention.
Pay attention so that you do not drift away.
Verse 3- This message was announced by the Lord Himself.
And He Himself confirmed the message through signs, wonders and various miracles.
Salvation has been declared by God.
Salvation in the name and the authority of Jesus.
How then will we escape if we deny such a great salvation?
Think back to the last few sermons.
With all of the deception and confusion.
There are movements in the church that deliberately deny Biblical authority.
This is happening now, in the church.
People are turning away form the authority of God to embrace the frail authority of the human.
Paul says they will reject the truth in exchange for a lie.
Worshipping the creature rather than the Creator Romans 1
What will be the result?
What is the judgement against a church that chooses to worship itself rather than God.
No Escape.
If we twist the Word of God to conform to sin, there is no escape.
Turn back to chapter 10
If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.
This is exactly what is happening in the church.
There are people who claim to know the truth.
Yet they deliberately twist the Word of God to conform to make the sins of man acceptable.
They dismiss the authority of God to transform and deliver form sin in order to make a way for people to continue to live in sin.
If we deliberately keep on sinning.
If we deliberately alter, twist change the Word of God after we have recieved the truth in order to allow people to live in sin there is no sacrifice left.
There is no sacrifice left for those who alter the truth of Gods’Word leading people to continue to live in sin.
There is no sacrifice, but a fearful expectation of judgement and the raging fire that will destroy the enemies of God.
Woe to the church who turns from the authority of God.
Woe to church who alter the Truth.
Woe to the apostate church.
They willfully choose to stand in judgement.
The apostate church proclaims to be functioning according to the truth, but underneath it is a lie.
This is the danger.
The promotion of a lie presented as truth.
Look at verse 29
How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?
How much more server punishment do you think the apostate church deserves?
How much more sever punishment for those who intentionally trample underfoot the Son of God?
What hope do those who regard as unclean the blood of the covenant?
What hope is there for those who deny the sacrifice that was made for the Redemption of our very souls?
Think back to what we have been talking about.
To those who twist the Word to conform to the culture.
How vile this is.
How vile it is to trample underfoot Jesus our Savior.
Or to regard the sacrifice that He has made for us as meaningless.
Those who make accomodations in the church to allow people to dwell in sin make the blood of Christ meaningless.
How vile this is.
I say again, woe to the church.
Woe to those who cast pearls before the swine.
Verses 30-31
Woe to the apostate church because they choose to stand in conflict with a God who will avenge and judge humanity.
For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
The words of the Lord spoken against those who work deception.
The words for the Lord against those who speak lies to His people leading them astray.
The words of the Lord spoken against those who call themselves the church but preach the deception.
This is the consequence awaiting the church who turns from God.
This is the penalty awaiting the apostate church.
This is the judgement coming against false shepherds who speak lies.
The Lord will avenge.
The Lord will pass judgement upon those who reject the truth.
It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God.
Woe to the apostate church who conforms to sin and denies the power of the Living God.
The God who offers deliverance and freedom from sin.
Woe to the church who preaches slavery to sin and bondage to death.
This is a sobering message.
But we must choose to stand firm upon the Word of God.
This is the slogan that directs the vision of MZR.
Standing firm upon His Word to discern the times we live in
Benediction: