A Falling Away

In our country we are seeing a falling away from the church. I mean the things of God and the truths of God have little to no meaning to most people today, even professing Evangelical Christians.

The author of our text, wrote to Jewish Christians who were falling away due to sever persecution, and the fact that they were immature Christians, stuck on the ABC’s of faith. They thought that God was punishing them for turning away from Judaism and to Jesus. But the theme of Hebrews is JESUS IS BETTER!

CPS: So, why is there a falling away, and what is the remedy? That’s what I want to talk about today!

I. The Reason for the falling away.

*In our text there is an contrast between, Infancy and Maturity. An infant is a baby who is unable to walk or talk. In the spiritual world it is the person who is saved yet never progresses beyond the first steps of Christianity. They don’t live/walk by faith.

There is a saying, “You are young only once, but you can stay immature indefinitely.” Unfortunately across the history of the church there has been many gray haired babies! This was the case for the Hebrews.

They were:

A. They were Dull of Hearing. (11)

Dull (nōthros) (adj), lazy, slow to understand, slow to learn. Its the idea of not being able to pay attention. The author desires to tell them great things about Jesus (Great High Priest!) but they couldn't grasp it.

ILL: I can be talking to my boys about something very important, then all of a sudden they look up and notice for the first time that I was talking to them because they were tuned in to their phone.

Likewise, the Hebrews were focused on their situation not the God who rules over all situations.

Let me ask a question… can you tell me what I preached last Sunday? Our attention span is short also and many of us are dull of hearing. Regardless of our situation Jesus is greater!

B. They had digressed (12-13)

Adrian Rogers said, “If you have stopped growing, you have begun decaying. Decay ALWAYS begins when growth ends.

ILL: A Christian is a tree planted not a post set in the ground. Compare tree to mailbox post.

They had been Christians for some time but there trust in Jesus had digressed. Though by this time they should have been able to teach the deeper truths of God, but they needed to be taught the most basic principles again. They were infants and in need of predigested food, they couldn't handle the deep truths that Jesus is sovereign and sufficient. They had been declared righteous but weren't trusting Jesus’ righteousness for every aspect of their life.

C. They were in need of discernment. (14)

Discern (diakrisis) the ability to decide, the ability to distinguish. They couldn't tell the difference between Jesus’ finished work and the shadow that was the Law.

Babies are not the best at discerning, they will put anything in their mouths regardless if its good or bad. Likewise an immature Christian will allow most anything to enter in. Too many times a born Christian returns to his previous life of walking by sight instead of faith.

Today I want you to ask yourself, am I an immature Christian? Am I dull of hearing, have I digressed in faith, and do I lack discernment between good and evil.

II. The Remedy for the falling away.

Heb. 6:1 is the key verse to this book, “Let us go on unto perfection,” Perfection is translated mature or maturity in most translations. Let us go on is the idea of progressively continuing on to maturity.

It means leaving the ABC’s of Christianity and pressing on to the DEFZ’s. The command is stop being babies in Christ and become adults is Christ.

The mark of maturity is Jesus and the only way to grow to His likeness is by trusting Him in every and all aspects of life. TRUST IS THE WHOLE PROBLEM! Why were the Hebrews tempted to return to Judaism, they were not trusting Jesus!

Today, we keep the faith, knowing God is in control and teaching this truth to the next generation. To remedy this great problem our faith must be taught and demonstrated.

ILL: Just before our arrival at C.C.B.C., 2 of our professors lost their wives. One of my friends stated that they got to observe the faithfulness of their professor’s as they dealt with the sickness and death of their wives. What a lesson it was for them to live by faith.

The disciples asked Jesus “Increase or faith. (Luke 17:5)” His reply was to keep growing.

ILL: The 1930’s were a time of hardship in our country. There were severe economic depression and uncertainty, people were anxious and worried. During a revival meeting in Muskogee, OK, the famed hymnist B.B. Mckinney wrote this beloved song. “Have faith in God, He’s on His throne, Have faith in God, He watches over His own; He cannot fail, He must prevail, Have faith in God, Have faith in God.”

Today my family is in the greatest time of trouble we have ever faced, but we must not shrink back but instead trust the Lord!