Crucifying The Son Once Again
Notes
Transcript
Welcome
Announcements
Prayer on Tuesday
†CALL TO WORSHIP based on Psalm 115
Pastor Austin Prince
Minister: The Lord has remembered us; he will bless us, he will bless those who fear the Lord, both the small and the great.
Congregation: Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory. For the sake of your steadfast love and faithfulness! You are our help and our shield!
Minister: You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!
Congregation: We will bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the Lord!
†PRAYER OF ADORATION AND INVOCATION
O Lord our God, Creator of all that is visible and invisible–the earth and all that dwells in it is for your honor. The earth declares it and we your people declare that you are the Lord. Receive our worship this morning as a testament to your glory. Perfect our worship by the blood and intercession of Christ, and send us the Helper, the divine Spirit that our words and actions could be pleasing to you. Receive our prayer offered in the name of Jesus.
†OPENING HYMN OF PRAISE #212
“Come, Thou Almighty King”
†CONFESSION OF SIN AND ASSURANCE OF PARDON
based on Psalm 5
“O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.” (Psalm 139:1–4, ESV)
In the light of God’s complete knowledge of our thoughts and actions, we don’t shrink back but come to Him to confess and for help in our need:
Minister: Hear our words and our groanings, O Lord. Give attention to our cry for mercy. You are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you.
Congregation: The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. You destroy those who speak lies; you abhor the bloodthirsty and deceitful. But, O Lord, we are evildoers. We are boastful, deceitful, and bloodthirsty.
Minister: By your mercy alone, by the abundance of your steadfast love, may we enter your house.
Congregation: Because of your son, O Lord, we find refuge in you. You have taken away our sin and let us sing for joy. For the sake of our savior, you have covered us with your favor as a shield. We rejoice in our forgiveness! Amen.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON
“The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” (Psalm 103:8, ESV) “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:10–12, ESV)
CONTINUAL READING OF SCRIPTURE Numbers 21:1-20
Steven Hoffer, Elder
THE OFFERING OF TITHES AND OUR GIFTS
CONGREGATIONAL PRAYERS
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.
†PSALM OF PREPARATION #119N
“Your Word Sheds Light Upon My Path”
SERMON Hebrews 6:4-12 // Crucifying the Son Once Again
PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION
Lord, thou hast given us thy Word for a light to shine upon our path; grant us so to meditate on that word, and to follow its teaching. That we may find in it the light that shines more and more until the perfect day through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
TEXT HEBREWS 6:4-12
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. 7 For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. 8 But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned. 9 Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. 10 For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. 11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
AFTER SCRIPTURE
Every word of God is perfect, let his people bless his Holy name.
Intro:
Last week we noted that the writer of Hebrews paused His preaching about Jesus as the High Priest to make a brief side comment. He was frustrated that this doctrine was difficult to teach them. Not because he didn’t know the right words to say or that they were too simple to understand it, but because they had become slow of hearing — “sluggish” is the word used.
One of the reasons that this sluggishness was a problem was because the Hebrews were failing to grow. That’s what last week was all about — they had a foundation of truth, but they never built upon it or developed it, and it left them underdeveloped, malnourished, and ill-equipped/unable to learn anything new.
This week, we are still in the pause of the argument. He’s still going on about the Hebrews’ slowness to listen. But now he elaborates further. There are is a warning here, not merely about being slow to learn, but about that slowness proving something else. Proving something severe and of the utmost urgency — their sluggishness proves to be more than laziness, it proves unfaithfulness. It could be proof that they aren’t Christians.
He’s diving deeper into why they are so slow to listen. What’s the reason?
You remember last week I mentioned “selective hearing’” where you only hear the things that interest you. But there is another dynamic to that as well — one that I think gets to the matter of this text.
Sometimes you hear someone calling your name from another room, and you think to yourself, maybe I should not respond. If I respond, they are going to require something of me…
You’re a child and you hear your parent calling from the other room. You are playing video games or watching a movie — you know if you respond they are going to want you to put that down and help out with something.
Maybe you hear your wife call from a back room. You can pretend not to hear because you know if you answer she is calling you to help. If I acknowledge that I hear this, I’m going to have to get out of my chair. I’m going to have to respond, so I’ll just ignore it.
This sluggishness to hear more than just failing to grow. This type of sluggishness to hear is a conscious choice to avoid obedience.
In other words, if I really heard this and paid attention to it, it would change some things in my life and I don’t want that.
If I hear this, really hear it, I’m going to have to face up to the implications.
Here’s what that looked like for the Hebrews:
If I hear about Jesus as our High Priest, If I really pay attention to it and take it to heart, I’m going to have to cut ties with the temple and all of the system of sacrifice.
If I really hear this message about Jesus as High Priest, I can no longer purchase any lambs for the slaughter. I have to stop that.
If I stop that, I’m going to signal to my whole community and family that I am no longer adhering to their rituals and practices.
If I do that, I’ll be ostracized — maybe kicked out of groups, possibly derided and persecuted.
If they were to really hear about Jesus, then they were going to have to face up to the implications, and there are always very real and challenging implications.
But what is called for is more than hearing. It’s hearing and then following through with what you learned. It’s obeying it and believing it and seizing upon it in faith. Their problem is more than being slow to grow — this is outright ignoring what they hear.
There are many things to like in the Christian faith — having Jesus as Savior is amazing and generally welcomed. But having Him as Lord changes things. It means a real allegiance to His ways.
Think of ways that we might do this:
We may learn of Jesus’ forgiveness to us for our sins. We may hear of His teaching to forgive as we have been forgiven. But if we were to take that to heart, then it means that we would have to forgive those who wronged us. It means that we would have to burry the bitterness that we have towards our spouse. It means that strained relationship with your brother or your mother would need to be given the grace of Christ. That’s the call, but if you act like you don’t hear it maybe it will go away.
We can learn about the Helper, the Holy Spirit. We can learn about the fruits of the Spirit and self control, to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice that is holy. But if we really lean into that, it would mean giving up on some of the lust and indulgences that I am enjoying. It would mean acknowledging that Christ has power of this and will help me through it. But if I don’t pay too close attention to that, I can be a Christian who is just “struggling” from time to time.
If I took my faith seriously, I would have to start obeying my parents, stop dressing so provocatively, hold my tongue, give generously, etc., etc., etc.
Now, we don’t do these things perfectly. Not at all — we are walking with Christ and growing. But there is a real danger when we start plugging our fingers in our ears.
The warnings from Hebrews that we have already seen are really coming to a fine point now in this passage – the things that we are saying to you are not being heard or not taking affect. They are having no effect on you when they are spoken to you because of this sluggishness of hearing. But take warning, no one goes to hell for being dumb, they go because of rejection. And that’s what seems to be happening.
It’s a warning and reminder to the church:
Good soil does not produce the fruit of complacency. You can’t just ignore God’s word. And you can’t just plateau and think that you can stay still a while.
It’s like when you are in a river or in the tide at the beach. You go out thinking that you are sill in front of your beach chairs and towels, but after just a few minutes you realize that you have been drifting and now you are far away from where you were.
The Christian life also can’t remain stagnant like this. The truth is, you won’t just remain still — you’ll get pulled backwards by the current. Like the dad in the easy chair ignoring the call from his wife, you can feel like you can ignore that call to obedience, you can just stay where you are a while and you’ll still be good, enjoying what you have before you.
You can feel that you have arrived at a place in your Christian life where you are done growing, at least for a little while (you tell yourself subconsciously).
To grow any further would be hard, it would require more of me, so I’m sort of content and a bit complacent in this place right now. I’m going to church. I pray. I am around Christians. I read devotional stuff. I homeschool with Christian curriculum. That’s all wonderful and good, but it can’t be an excuse for disobedience. It can’t be the grounds for you to say “no” to God in other areas.
The scriptures would say you can’t just float. It will take you backwards. You have to keep going.
You can begin to think that surely my Christian life would get easier the more that I grow, and to some degree many things do get easier, but there also come new challenges and new difficulties, and it’s a bit of a surprise to think that after I have gotten past the basics of repentance and prayer and Bible reading that I would be faced with new challenges. But that’s what the Christian life is like, and that’s not a mistake — that doesn’t mean that something bad has happened. It’s a design feature, not a bug.
It feels like you can wake up every morning and find that someone has slipped another weight in your backpack that you now have to carry around, and you can think, Hey, did you put something else in my backpack? Why is this more difficult? But that’s because God loves you. He’s growing you. He is nourishing you.
Why won’t you leave me alone? Well, you would just lie down here in the wilderness, and you would not strive to enter that rest. You would stop on your journey, but the lie is that you really can’t stop. It would pull you back.
Walk through the text with me — look at what else it is saying and how it is saying it:
Start with the main image given at vv.7-8:
Sobering Warning & Exegesis
“For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.” (Hebrews 6:7–8, ESV)
This is the illustration that the text gives for stubborn hearers. They are like land that is expected to produce fruit. The rain keeps coming year after year, but nothing happens. It’s dry, only producing a little bit of thorns and thistles. It’s being no use to anyone. It’s nourishing and serving no one. Christ isn’t in that land — that’s not the fruit that He produces. That land is a cursed land, and its end is to be burned.
This is no slight admonition. This is a stark warning. Is this you? Are you this type of field?
Look at vv.4-6:
“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, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 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.” (Hebrews 6:4–6, ESV)
These are some of the sharpest and hardest verses in the NT.
There is a kind of fellowship that can take you a long way, but it is counterfeit. They have experienced the spirit. They are attached to the covenant community, but they will not grow or advance - they will not obey. Think of Judas.
Why is it impossible to restore them to repentance? What does that mean?
Well, a few things from the text.
It’s impossible for the writer of Hebrews, the teacher, to restore them. These people have become hard of hearing. They don’t need more rain. That field has had it for years, they need repentance and faith. They need the grace of God, not more rain.
It’s impossible in the sense of what the Hebrews were trying to do. Think about it. They were tempted to go back to the temple system of sacrifices and the use of a High Priest. They were in danger of rejecting Jesus as their once and for all time High Priest and all the implications of that teaching. But what would they be saying with their life and faith if they were to go back to using the old Levitical system? They would be saying that Jesus wasn’t enough. That’s like asking Jesus to be sacrificed again because the first time was insufficient. They can’t remain in the Jewish basics once Christ is on the scene — the implications demands new allegiance. That’s what it means to truly hear that.
The theme of Hebrews shines again here — Christ is supreme; will you follow Him?
The test for any of us would be this: — are you willing to go on?
Look over the past years at your life and evidence of growth in grace (reference last week)
Questions of the text
Are they really saved?
Can salvation be lost? No. God holds us — Christ loses none whom he saves. The doctrine should be called the perseverance of God instead of the perseverance of the saints
Is the falling away actual or theoretical?
It’s an actual falling away. But it is by those who were never truly saved. See rain and field metaphor — they keep drinking the rain (remember last weeks sermon on hearing the word but never maturing, never applying it) but they bear no fruit.
Why can’t they return?
You can’t go back to the levitical system (with its priests and sacrifices) and expect to have a covering for your sin. Jesus’ sacrifice was once for all. You can’t say with your actions and belief that Jesus wasn’t enough, that you still need more.
Challenge to us:
There are ways to live as if Christ’s work wasn’t enough. There are ways to ignore what we hear in the gospel because they demand a lot on us, but that also means trying to settle for less that what Christ has accomplished.
An example of that would be that to ignore Christ’s demands for forgiveness and to continue to bear your grudges. What atonement do you need? Whose blood do you need? Is the work of Christ insufficient to settle scores in your heart? Does that field bear no good fruit, only thistles and briars?
We’ve seen what to look out for as a warning, this text also show us what to look as an encouragement.
Encouragement and The Hebrews’ Case
“Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.” (Hebrews 6:9–10, ESV)
A description of a warning rather than a prescription.
To these people, he is giving a real warning, but also encouraging them that he doesn’t think that this is where their hearts are.
And he tells them why, giving them a good test to see the good fruit in their field. He says that they have a genuine love for God and the serving of the saints.
One of the clearest signs that you are not hard of hearing and hard of heart is your genuine love for the people of God - your labor to do them good and to serve them. This is fruit that is cultivated for the good of others.
Do you ever act like you don’t hear because it would require you to get up and help someone? Do you ever try to duck out of that?
Do you avoid hospitality, get togethers, conversations, or time with one another? Lean into it.
How to grow?
Assurance and Imitation
“And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” (Hebrews 6:11–12, ESV)
One of the best ways to learn to be a better listener is to imitate those who are. If you feel like your Christian life has slowed a bit. If you feel like you are at a plateau and maybe you are comfortable there, if you are drinking milk but see the nourishment of someone else eating meat, imitate their faith.
That might seem like an odd statement, but its how we learn. Children mimic sounds until it becomes speech. Artists mimic other painters or writers until they have a technique of their own. Imitation isn’t fake; it’s learning.
Look around in our congregation: Maybe someone has a marriage that is an encouragement to you. Maybe you could ask them to help you understand why that is the case. Maybe they are way more intentional than you have been and try things you have never thought about. Instead of hearing that call from across the room and avoiding it, stand up and get to work.
Maybe you are challenged by someone’s contentment and their joy in their circumstances. What are they doing that you might imitate? I’m betting it’s not just that they have a better disposition than you. What is their prayer life like? Where is it that they are perhaps obeying what they hear and see how that can help you.
A Few Charges From The Text:
Be an engaged listener: Working through our Sundays at lunch or at home with kids in the car. What might it mean in our lives? What are the implications?
Watch out for the plateau —
Imitate others
Warning/Conclusion:
Could you hear a sermon like this and still think yourself I get it and I understand and I would even like that, but I really am not planning at this moment to do anything differently or do anything about it. If that is the case, then acknowledge it on it and take it to heart. That’s exactly the spirit that this is pushing against.
Don’t be discouraged by the call to obedience — the call to growth and maturity. My children need not be discouraged when I call them to put on their shoes and get dressed and get in the car. That’s often a challenging time. But we are going out for ice cream.
God loves you and the call may feel difficult, but He is the Good Shepherd leading you further up and further in to rest and joy and life.
†HYMN OF RESPONSE #436
“My Faith Has Found a Resting Place”
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
Apostles’ Creed p. 851
Congregation is seated.
INVITATION TO THE LORD’S TABLE
The Israelites in the Passover ate the unblemished, firstborn, male lamb with wine and unleavened bread. By this they were not only celebrating how God delivered them from the 10th plague in Egypt, they were having held out to them the greater substitution that was yet to come. Instead of sacrificing a lamb and putting its blood on the doorposts, God himself would offer up the blood of his own son to save them.
That meal provided the pattern for the one between Jesus and his disciples.
All of this is the background for the meal set before us this morning. At the table our Lord sets we are united by faith with him by the Holy Spirit. In this mysterious working we receive, by faith, the same body that was born of Mary. The real Spiritual presence of Christ is present in the sacrament inasmuch as the Holy Spirit is able to unite us to Christ. It is therefore not a mere memorial or a pledge of our fidelity but is first and foremost a means of grace and a pledge of God’s faithfulness.
Here, at this table, the holy one, whose mere voice sent terror into Israel’s bones, clothes himself in humility and gives himself to us.
This supper’s benefits are in substance the same as those communicated through preaching and baptism: Christ and all his benefits by faith. This means that the supper is itself a means of persevering grace. It does not give us an additional ingredient or a power not present in preaching, but supports those means as a perpetual ratification of God’s peace treaty with his people. Faith is created by the preached gospel and confirmed and strengthened by the sacraments. God works supernaturally through natural, created things.
Scripture teaches that such a supernatural supper is a thing that cannot be taken lightly. We are commanded to examine ourselves, individually and corporately, and to be certain that we believe and that we have discerned the body of our Lord rightly. This examination is good and right so long as we do not make the requirements for admission to this table any more stringent than did our Lord. Some have used Scripture’s exhortation to self-examination in a manner that actually undermines the very point of the sacrament, as if communion were a reward, and withholding a punishment, rather than each a means of grace.
This cup that we receive is a cup of forgiveness. In it we find the blood of Christ, which was shed for the remission of sins. By definition therefore it cannot be for anyone but sinners. “Jesus said that those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.” The forgiveness of God is the medicine for poor, sick souls.
DISTRIBUTION OF THE ELEMENTS
//once all elements are received//
The Lord has prepared this table for all who love him and trust in him alone for their salvation. It is for those who belong to Christ through repentance, faith, baptism, and continuing union with his Church.
“O taste and see that the LORD is good; happy are those who take refuge in him.”
[motion to partake]
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, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” This cup is the new covenant in the blood of Christ, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. Drink of it, all who believe.
PRAYER
†OUR RESPONSE #248
Let all things their Creator bless,
and worship him in humbleness,
O praise him, alleluia!
Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,
and praise the Spirit, three in one,
O praise him, O praise him,
alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
†BENEDICTION: GOD’S BLESSING FOR HIS PEOPLE
The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord makes His face to shine upon you and is gracious to you. The Lord lifts up His countenance upon you and gives you peace. Amen.
Grace Notes Reflection
Reflection: Hearing That Leads to Obedience
Reflection: Hearing That Leads to Obedience
Hebrews 6:4–12 offers one of the most sobering warnings in all of Scripture. Like children ignoring a parent’s call from the next room, some of the Hebrews pretend not to hear, because they suspect that listening will require something of them—something hard.
This isn’t about ignorance. It’s about resistance. The danger is not that we don’t understand, but that we won’t respond. And that unwillingness may be a sign that our faith is counterfeit.
True hearing in the Christian life leads to transformation. It bears fruit. But when God’s Word falls again and again on a life that never yields fruit, the warning is dire: that land is near to being cursed.
Applications
Applications
Listen with Intent to Obey
Don’t treat sermons, Scripture, or godly counsel like background noise. When you hear God’s Word, ask: What is this calling me to do?
Watch for the Drift
Examine where your spiritual life may have plateaued. The Christian life cannot stay still—you are either growing or drifting.
Beware of Excuses for Disobedience
Good religious habits (church attendance, Christian education, Christian reading) are no substitute for obedience in hard areas like forgiveness, purity, generosity, or humility.
Examine the Fruit
Is your life bearing the kind of fruit that blesses others? Are you serving the saints, loving your neighbor, imitating Christ?
Imitate the Faithful
Look for mature believers in your church whose lives reflect joy, obedience, and spiritual strength. Ask questions. Learn from them. Imitation is not inauthentic—it’s how we grow. It’s not “fake it ‘till you make it”, it’s “try it until you learn it”.
Encourage One Another Toward Maturity
As a family or among friends, ask one another: What did we hear this week from God’s Word? And how can we respond to it together?
Don’t Fear the Call to Obedience
God’s commands are not burdens; they are invitations to joy. When He calls you, even when it costs something, He is leading you further up and further in to life with Him.
