A Great Salvation
Notes
Transcript
Welcome:
Announcements:
†CALL TO WORSHIP Based on Hebrews 4:14-16
Paul Mulner, Elder
Minister: We have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens: Jesus, the Son of God.
Congregation: We will hold fast our confession.
Minister: For he is not unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, he, in every respect, has been tempted as we are. Yet he lived without sin.
Congregation: Let us then, with confidence, draw near to the throne of grace! Here we will receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
†PRAYER OF ADORATION AND INVOCATION
O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. You are the Lord; Creator, Sustainer, and the Ruler of all things. You are our Lord, the God who gave His own Son for our salvation; who has called us out f darkness and into your marvelous light. Come, O God, inhabit the praises of your people. Send the Spirit that we may worship you in spirit and in truth. Receive our worship, as you receive our prayer.
†OPENING HYMN OF PRAISE #248
“All Creatures of Our God and King”
†CONFESSION OF SIN & ASSURANCE OF PARDON
based on 1 John 1:8; Isa. 1:18
Craig Hoffer, Elder
Minister: If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. Let us confess our sins to the Lord our God.
Congregation: Almighty and most merciful Father; we have strayed from your ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against your holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and we have done those things which we ought not to have done. There is no health in us.
Have mercy upon us, miserable offenders. Spare those, O God, who confess their faults. Restore those who are penitent, according to your promises, which were declared unto us in Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant, O merciful Father, for his sake, that we may live a godly, righteous, and sober life; to the glory of your holy name. Amen.
Minister: Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.
Congregation: Thanks be to God! Amen.
CONTINUAL READING OF SCRIPTURE 2 Thess. 2:1-16
1 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 13 But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. 14 To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter. 16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace,
THE OFFERING OF TITHES AND OUR GIFTS
CONGREGATIONAL PRAYERS Paul or Austin
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
†HYMN OF PREPARATION #172
“Speak, O Lord”
SERMON Hebrews 2:1-4 // Neglect of A Great Salvation
PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION
O Lord, as we open now your word, we pray that the eyes of our heart may be enlightened, so that we may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that we may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
Text Hebrews 2:1-4
1 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. 2 For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, 4 while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
AFTER SCRIPTURE
Praise be to you, O Lord; teach me your decrees. I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches.
Intro
Towards the end of the Sermon on The Mount, Jesus tells a story about two men: the wise man was the one who built his house upon a rock, but the fool built his upon the sand. When the fain fell and the floods came and the winds blew, only the wise man’s house was still standing. But great was the fall of the fool. Jesus says that this wise man is the one who hears his words and does them.
In context, Jesus is speaking about false prophets. So, the fool isn’t just someone who, because he doesn’t build his house on God’s word, it is like he is building on sand. Not quite. God’s word is involved with both men. The difference between the wise and the fool, just as between the false and the true prophet, is that one believed and trusted and obeyed the word of God while the other didn’t. Jesus is saying something like this: it’s possible to think that you are building yourself a stable life just like everyone else, but when the trials come, whose house falls apart? The one whose house stands is the one who is abiding with me.
And just before this story, to add to the impact of this statement, Jesus also issues some warnings about what following Him looks like to the same effect:
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. (Matthew 7:13, ESV) (Many people who think they are one the same path who aren’t)
18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. (Matthew 7:18–20, ESV) (Look like just another tree in the vineyard, but they aren’t)
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (Matthew 7:21–23, ESV) (They call on the name of Jesus, too. They look like disciples, but they aren’t)
What’s the difference? (add additional question here?)
Hebrews 2:1-5 fleshes out an answer to this question.
Drif (v.2)
“Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.” (Hebrews 2:1, ESV)
Anytime you see the word therefore, you should ask what it is there for. Coming on the heels of a grand account of who Christ is in chapter 1. Jesus has been exalted on grand display—upholder of the universe, greater than the angels, the exact imprint of God’s nature and the radiance of his glory (1:1-3). And in chapter one, we aren’t asked to do anything but marvel — to step back and look at who He is. But in chapter two, we are asked to do something, right out of the gate.
Therefore, we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.
Remember that Hebrews is often pushing us to look at how Christ is better. As it has done this in chapter one, that not only is Christ better but Christ is supreme. We are called to pay attention to that. To really lean in and study the supremacy of Christ. Because there still remains the temptation to drift away. To the Hebrews, this drift is likely a fallback on their old ways, taking security in worship at the temple, offerings, washings, rituals, etc.
This is a dangerous drift. Hebrews describes it like a boat that isn’t tied to the anchor (an image used later in Hebrews 6:19-20) and now they are drifting out to sea, or drifting off the cliff edge of a waterfall.
There was an initial sight of Christ, there was an initial joy of salvation, but as life moves on that begins to fade away. A drift occurs, and that drift is propelled by what we truly believe.
The Hebrews were presented with Christ and they were glad of it, but as life continued to be hard, and as it says later in this chapter, the didn’t see Christ among them since he had ascended. But they could see the temple. They could see what looked like stability in the old ways. They began to drift back towards that.
And one of the reasons that they get this letter is because it’s not that they had switched their title from Christian to non-Christian, but they had in their beliefs — their beliefs were becoming non-christian under the title of Christian. They are claiming to be Christians, but they are in danger of not living like Christians.
This is an easy drift to make. Like all drifting, what do you have to do to drift? Nothing!
If you take your eyes off of the Christ of Hebrews 1. If you don’t see Him rightly for who He truly is, then drift is the natural thing.
We will drift towards works to prove our salvation. “Lord, Lord, didn’t I do many great things in your name?” We will drift towards self-assurance instead of the assurance of the cross. We will measure stability by our own strength and accomplishments. We will be pulled and compelled and driven by ambitions and idols — things we think we must have to be satisfied. We will cower under the fragility of life — one day seems stable and the next things seem to fall apart; there is not sovereign God who is upholding the universe by His word. We will walk in fear, not knowing the kindness of the cross. We will writhe and crawl under the weight of our guilt and sin.
And you can tell when this drift has happened by the choppiness of the waters. Away from the anchor, life becomes filled with rough seas. Tossed to and fro on every doctrine, looking for stability. You may have that in your life. You may ask yourself “why are things getting worse?” Perhaps, it’s because drift has occurred.
Isn’t being a Christian merely belief in Christ? No, it’s not a one-time thing. Belief is ongoing belief. It’s the different between the man who build on the sand or the stone. The difference is what they believed. The stone foundation that upholds life through all trials is the man who holds on to Christ and believes.
Drifting has small beginnings. We stop praying. Are you saying that salvation is by works, that it’s in our actions? No, I am saying that we stop believing in prayer and so we don’t do it. Maybe before we stop praying we simply stop believing our prayers — they are empty words thrown out to a God we don’t trust. Maybe we stop reading the word. It’s merely a matter of study and analyzing the data. That’s not what the word is. The word is food, not data. The words are words of life, but maybe we’ve stopped seeing them that way. Maybe there is the drift of small beginnings with church attendance. We don’t believe that it makes any difference whether we are here or not. It doesn’t make a difference to the congregation if I”m not here and it doesn’t make a difference to me if I miss them for a while, either.
Danger (vv.2-3)
“For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?…” (Hebrews 2:2–3a, ESV)
Like neglecting gold or rest or other stupendous joys — why would we neglect?
Illustration of carelessly losing something precious
Unbelief Where and why?
Neglecting the son and judgement — see parable of managers
“Beware lest there be among you a man or woman or clan or tribe whose heart is turning away today from the Lord our God to go and serve the gods of those nations. Beware lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit, one who, when he hears the words of this sworn covenant, blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall be safe, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart.’ This will lead to the sweeping away of moist and dry alike. The Lord will not be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the Lord and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and the curses written in this book will settle upon him, and the Lord will blot out his name from under heaven.” (Deuteronomy 29:18–20, ESV) — How much greater is the judgement in light of Christ? Neglecting this salvation? “God has decided to do the grace thing, and so there are no covenantal sanctions.” (Wilson)
Message of Salvation (vv.3-4)
“It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.” (Hebrews 2:3b–4, ESV)
Don’t labor for me, look to me - Piper
A life of contemplation
A life that enjoys and increasingly enjoys listening to Jesu
Conclusion
†PSALM OF RESPONSE #51C
“God, Be Merciful to Me”
THE MINISTRY OF THE LORD’S SUPPER
Minister: Lift up your hearts!
Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord.
Minister: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
Congregation: It is right for us to give thanks and praise!
CONFESSION OF FAITH* Based on Matt 16:16; Mk. 16:9; Jn. 20:28; I Cor. 15:1-6; Rev. 22:13
Minister: Christian, what do you believe?
Congregation: This is the good news that we have received, in which we stand, and by which we are saved, if we hold it fast: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day, and that He appeared first to the women, then to Peter, and to the Twelve, and then to many faithful witnesses. We believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus Christ is the first and the last, the beginning and the end; he is our Lord and our God.
THE INVITATION TO THE LORD’S TABLE
The Lord invites you to this table if you love him and trust in him alone for salvation. It is for those who belong to Christ through repentance, faith, baptism, and continuing union with his church. If you are truly sorry for your sins, sincerely believe in Jesus as your Savior, and desire to live in obedience to him as Lord, you are invited to come with gladness to the table of the Lord. “O taste and see that the LORD is good; happy are those who take refuge in him.”
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
Congregation is seated.
DISTRIBUTION OF THE ELEMENTS
THE WORDS OF INSTITUTION AND THE SHARING OF THE SUPPER
Minister: Our Lord Jesus Christ said, “Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you.”
Congregation: By your divine presence, by the holy sacraments, by all the merits of your life, sufferings, death, and resurrection, bless and comfort us, gracious Lord and God. Amen.
Minister: Our Lord Jesus Christ said, “Drink from this, all of you. Do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
Congregation: Whenever we eat this bread and drink this cup together, we proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
Minister: Christ, the Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world;
Congregation: Grant to us your peace. Amen.
[motion to eat and drink]
†OUR RESPONSE #567
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise him, all creatures here below;
Praise him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
†BENEDICTION: GOD’S BLESSING FOR HIS PEOPLE
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
