Hebrews Part 15
Notes
Transcript
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Tonight, we will begin with a quick recap
and then we will resume where we left off two week ago
in Hebrews chapter 12 verse 3.
Don’t forget to keep the overall theme at the front of you mind
To hold fast to the New Covenant
To the Gospel
To the message of Jesus Christ
and do not fall away
Do not shrink back
Don’t turn around
and go back to where you came from
Hold fast, don’t fall away.
Another major theme is about the better things
The main argument through this book
As to why no one should fall away
Is because everything in the New Covenant is better
There’s a better priest
better law, better rest, better sacrifice, better everything.
In chapter 11, we hit the climax of the letter
Where the author gave us the biblical definition of faith
Which is more than just mentally acknowledging that something is true
and actually acting on that truth.
Example after example was provide to prove this
And we were shown that faith is more than just belief
but it is also trust and obedience in God’s word
This concept laid the foundation for the main argument
Which is that holding on and endurance is required for true faith
and that if you fall away,
You will have left the faith
Further proving that faith is not just a single point in time
where someone somewhere believed that something was true
but rather, that the believer endured until the end.
At the start of chapter 12
We see that those Old Testament examaples of faithful saints
Will be surround us as a great cloud of witnesses
and though there are many who believe this means that they will be cheering us on
It appears to me that they will actually be called to a witness stand
to testify against us, should we give up the faith
Because they kept the faith without the Holy Spirit
and what will we say when we give up the faith
When we have something they didn’t have
Which is the promised Holy Spirit.
Finally, last week we look at an even better example of faith
than any of the OT examples in chapter 11
and that is the example of Jesus Christ
Who, endured more than any of us ever will
He endured a cross he didn’t deserve
and he did it for the joy that was set before him.
Now, considering all of this… the author begins in verse 3…
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him.
6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”
Ok, so, back to verse 3 for a minute.
3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
Consider him who endured:
This of course is talking about Jesus.
Jesus is the example we are still be compared to here
based on the previous verse
where the author told us to look unto Jesus
who endured the cross.
Now the author is asking us to consider him
Meaning, he wants us to think carefully
about exactly what Jesus did.
Yes he died, but look closer
He died a death he didn’t deserve
He died a death he could have avoided
He died a death he didn’t have to go through
One word and the cross would have disintegrated
One thought and Pilate would have had a heart attack
He was sentenced to a death that belonged to us
and willingly endured that death until the end.
when you carefully consider this
and think about it for a minute
We should understand that anything we are going through
pales in comparison to what Jesus went through
Because unlike Jesus
We actually deserve everything we have coming to us.
in fact, we deserve more
but by God’s grace we are not getting what we deserve.
So, we must think about this cafefully
if we ever go through a trial
and consider giving up
or throwing in the towel
Remember Jesus
who endured death on our cross until the end.
From Sinners:
The word “from” in verse 3
actually means because of.
Which means that cross Jesus endured was because of sinners.
So, he is essentially saying that it is our fault that Jesus had to endure such hostility against himself.
So that you may not grow weary:
Then it says that the reason Jesus endured this hostility
Was so that we would not fail from weariness.
Because if anyone of us had to go through what Jesus went through.
We would have fainted
We would have failed
I could not do what Jesus did.
I could maybe do it if it was because I deserved it
and someone forced me to do it
but I could not do it willingly
when i didn’t deserve it
knowing I had to power to stop it.
I would have quit
You would have quit
But Jesus didn’t quit.
4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
This verse is pretty self-explainitory
But let me put it in plainer terms
You may have had a hard time overcoming sin
but you did die yet.
Jesus died defeating sin
and the night before he died
he prayed until he started sweating
great drops of blood.
So, the author is getting a little blunt here
and basically saying,
don’t complain until you start bleeding
5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him.
Now verse 5 and 6 seems to indicate that some in his original audience
may have been contemplating giving up the faith
because of the persecution they were enduring
and it is possible that they blamed that persecution on God
Now, it is impossible to know for sure that that is the case
but the conclusion can be drawn by this quotation from Prov 3, verse 11-12
Here the author is reminding them of the biblical principle of disciple
And the principle is that if you truly love your children
you are going to discipline them
Because while it might be painful in the short term
It will be beneficial in the long term
because an undisciplined child
is far more likely to grow up getting into trouble with the law
and will wind up dead or in prison one
and what kind of parent who loves their children wants that future for them?
None, so to avoid that future, a child must be disciplined
God didn’t trust us with kids to be their best friend
and give them whatever they want
and let them do whatever they want to do.
He called us to be parents who train up children to be righteous
to be a net positive contribution to society
and to serve the Lord.
6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”
Verse 6 is a continuation of the quote from proverbs 3.
However, there are many other places that detail this same principle
and it may be possible that the writer had any number of these verses in mind.
17 “Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves; therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty.
12 Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O Lord, and whom you teach out of your law,
67 Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word.
75 I know, O Lord, that your rules are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.
This might be a hard pill to swallow for some
but be sure to understand that this is a good thing.
There are some storms that you will go through that God causes
and you won’t know to thank him for it until you look back one day
and see where it is your have ended up because of that storm.
19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.
The correct response to discipline from the Lord
is not to get mad and leave church
it is not to grow weary and give up
or throw in the towel
and abandon your faith
The correct response is to repent
And turn toward the Lord
and not away from Him.
Because, discipline from a Father is proof that you are number a child of His
and number 2, that you are loved by Him.
7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
Something that may not seem so obvious is
that if you are being disciplined by God
then you are his child
If he left you to your own devices
and let you do whatever you wanted to do
You would not be his child
So, discipline is a good thing.
It is through correction that we become more like Him
and that is a subject that the author is going to transition into shortly.
becoming more like Jesus through holiness
9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?
So, a comparison is made between our biological father
and in the case of anyone raised by a single mother
the same would hold true for them
My father was not around when I was growing up
but my mother knew how to use a hickory
I know there are many today that think a kid can be disciplined by only using positive reinforcement
but what i’ve discovered is that every child is different
some of them will respond to positive reinforcement
but others will manipulate you just enough to get the heat off
and then go on doing whatever it is they want to do
if a child doesn’t learn to be obedient when they are younger
then when they are older, it will take a much greater force to correct them
No adult who was properly discipline as a child
and learned how to do what was right early on
ever looks back and is angry with their parents for correcting them
So why would be angry when God correct us?
10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.
We’re still comparing earthly fathers with our heavenly Father.
Our earthly fathers primary motivation for discipline was for their own good
They may have said it was for our own good
and that is partly true
but there is some pride that motivates a parent to want to raise good children
But when God disciplines us, it has nothing to do with his good
but everything to do with our good
because it allows us to share in His holiness.
11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
This verse is self-explanatory
We’ve all experienced this truth
no pain, no gain
A little pain now will produce a lot of gain later.
I’d much rather have God discipline be a little over on this side of eternity
and for God to have to discipline me for all of eternity in the lake of fire
That makes the temporary discipline well worth it.
12 Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees,
13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.
Here we have a bit of encouragement from the author
Who, after reminding us that discipline is a good thing
goes back to the main them
which is to hold fast and not fall away.
Even when we go through trials or storms
We must hold onto the faith
and no grow weary or faint
We know that the end of the storm is coming
and we will be better when we come out the other side
that when we entered the storm.
14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
First of all, he says strive for peace.
The word strive here means to pursue.
The KJV says to follow peace
but the real meaning of the word is to chase after it
not just follow it, but chase it.
And the word follow may have conveyed that meaning of chase back in 1611
but today, the word follow is a bit more passive
Strive, or pursue is bit more accurate in today’s english
because the picture the author wants us to see
is that peace is something you will need to actively chase after
peace doesn’t come by default
it come by intention.
Chaos and confusion is the default
Stress is the default
Anxiety is the default
If you want peace
you’ve got to pursue it
and you only have to go as far as your knees
because Paul teaches us that prayer brings peace.
6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
If you aren’t praying, you can’t pursue peace
It won’t happen.
You’ll find stress and anxiety at every turn.
And the original readers of Hebrews seemed to be stressed about something
probably persecution
and the author reminds them that they need to strive for peace
and the peace of God will comfort you
even in the middle of a storm
even in the middle of persecution
Because it is the peace that passes all understanding
This is not the kind of peace you understand
For example, if you overburdened at work
and you take a 2 week cruise
and you find peace
that is peace that is understandable
You have removed that which stole your peace
The peace that passes all understanding
is when I’m facing difficulties on all sides
going through a storm
and then i put my mind on Jesus
and his peace surrounds me like a warm blanket
I love it. His peace is the best thing in this world to me.
It makes you want to do whatever you can to stay in that peace
and thats what the author says…
strive for peace
don’t you runway now, because I can tell you what you won’t have if you turn in your faith right now… you won’t have peace.
I can 100% guarantee that.
14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
So, as we mentioned earlier, holiness is the end result of discipline
And we are told here that without holiness we will not see the Lord.
So, we’re striving for peace with everyone
but even if they persecute you
it might be that that persecution is God’s way of disciplining you
and the end result of disciple is holiness according to verse 10.
So, either way, it is a win win to keep the faith.
Because in the end we will have peace and holiness for eternity
and there is nothing worth trading that for.
Now, again, it says that without holiness you cannot see the Lord.
That means, you need holiness to get to heaven..
but pastor, Paul said we are saved by grace
yes, that is 100% true
so then why are you telling me we need holiness…
because, watch this…
15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;
See to it that no one FAILS to obtain the grace of God…
wait a minute…
we’re talking to holy Ghost filled people here in the church…
how can they fail to obtain the grace of God
I thought we just had Grace no matter what
and that we could never lose it, or leave it, or fall from grace..
well.. you thought wrong.
Just like we talked about on Sunday
If we think we can walk in the comfort of the Spirit
and not also walk in the fear of God
then we are in for a rude awakening
Because Paul is talking to some saints
who are in jeopardy of falling out of God’s grace.
This passage reminds us of chapter 6.
Here in verse 14-17, we are talking about the same thing
as we were talking about in chapter 6
the only difference is the motive for falling away
In chapter 6, it appears to be due to pressure to fit in with Jews
since it is likely that Jews were not being persecuted
while Christians were
and Paul says if you fall away after being filled with the Spirit
it is impossible for you to come to repentance.
And, I don’t want to rehash that lesson entirely
but here in chapter 12, there is another motive for leaving the faith
and this time it is holiness, or really, the lack their of.
So, in verse 15, we have this warning not to fall out of God’s grace.
and some ways that might happen is through a root of bitterness
now bitterness can come from many sources
but based on the context, it seems he is talking about bitterness toward God.
Because remember, they were being disciplined by God
and this may have only applied to some of his readers
because, again, chapter 6 seems to be addressing a different motive for falling away.
So, bitterness is a huge issue in the church
One of the primary causes is unforgiveness
You must address unforgiveness quickly
Don’t let it fester
but it will turn into bitterness
and people seldom recover from true bitterness that is left unchecked.
I’m not saying it is impossible
but it is very hard.
So, it must be dealt with early on.
This bitterness, he says, can defile you.
This means to be stained.
It is the opposite of being holy
So, again, without holiness
you cannot see the Lord
It isn’t just a little misdemeanor that God will let slide
This bitterness will defile you
and keep you out of God’s grace.
Don’t let it grow whatever you do.
16 that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal.
First, he addresses bitterness, and then he mentions sexually immorality
This is going to be dealt with more in the next chapter
but it only briefly mentioned here
And then he says don’t be unholy like Esau.
Now, why the reference to Esau
Did you know that in all of the Bible
that only one man is named as being hated by God
Jacob have I love and Esau have I hated.
Why?
We’re still talking about holiness here,
and what Esau did is given as an example of unholiness.
He sold his birthright.
What does that have to do with our context here in Hebrews chapter 12?
Recall that the main point of this book is about holding fast
and not letting go, or falling away.
Well, Esau didn’t hold fast
He gave away his birthright for a bowl
I hope that was come good porridge
because you just lost your inheritance Esau.
And the author is reminding us of what is at stake
if we decide to fall away
Don’t trade your inheritance for fleshly pleasure
It isn’t worth the trade.
You will regret it just like Esau did…
17 For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.
Here again, we see the phrase “no chance to repent”
Which reminds us of the words in Hebrews chapter 6
Where it says that it is impossible for them to repent
if they fall away in to apostasy
and many people get worried about this verse
like they get worried about chapter 6.
but the strong language here is meant to be a warning
What will you do if you chase after unholy things for a few days
and then you hear that trumpet sound..
this verse should draw a picture of what that will be like.
You’ll be running to the church, but the doors will be locked
the saints will be gone
and there will be no chance to repent.
Friend, it isn’t worth it.
Them preachers telling you that you can live in sin and live for God at the same time
they won’t read this verse to you about falling out of God’s grace
don’t fall for it.
hold fast, don’t fall away
strive for peace and holiness
walk in the comfort of the Spirit
and in the fear of the Lord.
If you slip, get up quickly and go boldly before the throne of grace.
Next week we will pick up in verse 18
and talk about the Kingdom that cannot be shaken
It should be an exciting lesson
We’ve only got 1 and half chapters to go
The finish line is in sight
