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Hebrews Series- Fellowship Baptist Church

Passage:           Hebrews 5:11-6:12 (Part 3)

Theme: The State of the Dull and the Diligent

Proposition:      Partial Truth Equals Complete Loss

Introduction:

Overview:

      A Difficulty Identified (5:11-14)

                  teaching spiritual truth to spiritually dull

      A Danger to Avoid (6:1-8)

                  participation without regeneration

      A Solution to Accept (6:9-13)b

                  be diligent about spiritual change

Since we moved to this area in 2002, we have watched the progress made in reconstructing highway 30.  Slowly, the road has expanded from 2 lanes to 4 lanes.  We now enjoy the blessing of not driving that slow, bumpy stretch through the center of LeGrand.  And shortly, hopefully, the bridge near Montour will open and it will be clear sailing from the Casino to Marshalltown.

Because of this construction process, there are multiple warning signs along the way.    They let us know that we were in a construction zone, to slow down, that there were lane changes ahead, and so on.  Some had been in place so long we no longer even noticed them, and some it seemed people just chose to ignore.

One warning sign that most people don’t seem to ignore and will go to great lengths to obey, is the one that says “bridge out.”  Why are we willing to drive miles out of our way to obey this particular sign?  Because we are incapable of crossing the chasm without a bridge.  We know that if we do not heed the sign, we continue at our own peril.

But what about the bridge that isn’t fully out.  What about the bridge that is incomplete but there seems to be some of it still standing?  Do you heed the warning or do you try to go forward anyway?  That is the situation the author of Hebrews is addressing.

No, he’s not dealing with road construction or physical bridges.  But he is dealing with the most important spiritual bridge along the journey of life—the bridge that allows humans to reach God and find peace and forgiveness of sin.

There seems to be those that the writer believes are holding to the wrong beliefs in their efforts to establish and maintain a relationship with God.  They are Jews, who are outwardly identifying with the Christian community, but are trusting in the old system for their spiritual welfare.  They are following a system that was partial, incomplete, and pointed to a future plan that had been fulfilled in Jesus Christ.  But what they didn’t realize was that their bridge was incomplete and could not carry them safely to God.  So the warning is clear:  The Bridge is Out!

At first glance, the issues listed here seem like core teachings of the Christian faith.  But they are not and it is in the similarity that the danger exists.  They are in fact core elements of the Old Covenant, each a shadow of what was to come with the Christ and the New Covenant.  They illustrate for us how close someone can be to the truth, and yet still be so far from salvation. 

1. Repentance from Dead Works and Faith Toward God

The message of the Old Testament was to repent of evil and turn to God.  John the Baptist expanded the message, by pointing his followers toward the Messiah.  But the clear teaching of Jesus and His disciples was that it was not enough to simply stop doing evil and seek God.

"Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6, ESV)

"And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”" (Acts 4:7-12, ESV)

After the death and resurrection of Christ, everything changed.  Today it is not enough to turn from evil and turn to God.  To truly turn to God means that one accepts Jesus Christ and His sacrifice as the only payment for sin.  It is the realization that all of my works are dead and useless to earn any merit with God.

1. Instructions about Washings

Some translations here read “baptisms” but “washings” is a better rendering of the word used.  This is not the word we translate to refer to the ordinance of baptism, but instead is used to refer to Jewish ceremonial washings.  (Structures in back of house to immerse before going to temple, bowls of water by the door to wash hands and feet to remove the “filth” of the world.)  These rituals were symbolic and could never fully cleanse a person from sin.  But in Christ, a person could experience not only outward cleansing, but true inward cleansing from sin.

"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-11, ESV)

"he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit," (Titus 3:5, ESV)

While the physical, ritual washings were temporary and incomplete, the washing in Christ is permanent and complete.

1. The Laying on of Hands

Again, our minds may think here of the New Testament practice of laying on of hands found in Acts, or Titus.  But this is not the picture in the minds of the readers of Hebrews.  Rather, it is referring to an Old Testament practice that took place when a person brought their offering for sin to the priest. 

"He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him." (Leviticus 1:4, ESV)

"lay his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it in front of the tent of meeting; and Aaron’s sons shall throw its blood against the sides of the altar." (Leviticus 3:8, ESV)

"Then he shall offer from it, as his offering for a food offering to the Lord, the fat covering the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails" (Leviticus 3:14, ESV)

This practice was a symbolic transfer of one’s sin to the animal that was to be slaughtered in place of the person who was truly guilty.  Again, this pointed forward to the person and work of Jesus Christ.

"Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth." (Isaiah 53:4-7, ESV)

"In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross." (Colossians 2:11-14, ESV)

The Old Covenant sacrifices are no longer needed because of the New Covenant Savior.  Salvation is no longer based on a transfer of my sin to an animal or even to pay for my sin myself. Rather, it is a personal realization that the sin has been paid for by Christ, the Lamb of God and I rest by faith in His sacrifice alone. 

1. The Resurrection of the Dead and Eternal Judgment

Prior to the teachings of the New Testament, ideas regarding the future of the dead, their bodies, and the afterlife were vague and unclear.

But these two topics form two of the major themes of the New Testament.  Christ proclaimed Himself to be the resurrection and the life.  He spoke often of the afterlife, clarifying the fact that there will be a time of judgment and ultimately eternal punishment for those that rejected His message.  He spoke of a literal hell, worms that eat flesh, flames that burn the body.  All of this the penalty for unforgiven sin. 

But for those who through faith trust alone in the blood payment of Christ for their sin, there is forgiveness.  And with this forgiveness comes a new future—resurrected bodies that are free from the curse of sin and no condemnation or penalty to pay for the act of sin.

"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1, ESV)

"Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies." (Romans 8:33, ESV)

"Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us." (Romans 8:34, ESV)

The message is loud and clear:  The only hope for salvation is found in Jesus Chrsit.  You cannot earn it by keeping the Old Testament law, or even by following the sermon on the mount.  You cannot achieve it through religion, or personal commitment to do what is right.  You cannot impress God with your spirituality.

That bridge is out, and to go any further is to end in ruin and disaster.

There is another bridge and it is the cross.  There the penalty for sin was paid by the blood of Christ.  All that is required of you is to turn from your sin and in simple faith to believe that He is your sacrifice, asking for God’s forgiveness of your sin.  This is the only bridge that is safe to cross.

Are you trusting in Christ today or are you relying on your works for God’s acceptance?

Christian, have you returned to the incomplete and convinced yourself that God doesn’t want you or care for you because you’ve messed up too many times?

It’s the same after salvation as it is before salvation-nothing you can do to impress Him.  He simply desires you to go forward in obedience, realizing that it is because of Christ that you are His child and continue to have access.