Hebrews 10 36 - 11 1 Duty vs Delight
Hebrews 10:36-11:1
36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. 37 For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; 38 but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” 39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. 1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
We have come to the threshold of what has been called by some the Hall of Faith.
It is a list, preserved for all eternity, of certain individuals
who have been singled out by God for their faith in Him.
Many read this list and marvel at the faith demonstrated by these people.
They place these individuals on a pedestal, as if they were superhuman, comic book type super-heroes.
Many see them as special people, super-saints who should be revered by all.
But to view them in this way is to miss the point of Hebrews 11.
This list is not intended to create in us a reverence for these people,
but rather to create in us a reverence for the grace and power of God.
You see, each of these individuals were flawed, sinful people—just like you and me.
They battled fear, anxiety, pride, lust, covetousness, anger, and at times even had weak faith.
Yet God, through His grace empowered them and used them in ways they could never have imagined.
They were not unusual people, but they worshipped an amazing God.
A second mistake that many make is that they incorrectly identify the motivation for their lives.
They often see them as sullen, sour people,
grimly going about their lives with their teeth clenched and their jaws set.
But I don’t think that this picture is quite right.
I think that their motive was such that it would not produce this type of life.
So the question is: What did motivate these people to live the life they did?
As I thought about this question, it occurred to me that there are at least 4 motivations people have as they pursue a religious life or experience.
Three of them are the most common reasons, yet none of three will produce the lasting, enduring faithfulness that God desires.
There is a fourth motivation however, that Scripture presents to us and that will produce the kind of lifestyle that God desires in His children.
So what are they? The first three:
Discipline – the idea that I will become godly if I deprive myself or discipline myself.
Self control and religious discipline are the end all.
If I enjoy it, there is probably something wrong with it.
Duty – I have a duty to fulfill.
Again, it will most likely be something that I won’t enjoy, but I will fulfill my duty.
As a matter of fact, God will make sure that I don’t enjoy it.
Debt – Gratitude gone bad. I am so overwhelmed by the magnitude of the gift, that I decide I must repay the debt I owe Him.
After all He’s done for me, how can I do less than give Him my best and live for Him completely?
I owe Him. It’s payback time.
There is one thing that each of these have in common,
and it is the reason that ultimately I will fail in my Christian life if I allow them to be the motivation.
But I will wait to reveal the root problem.
So if none of these is correct, what is the right motivation?
Delight – a heart and mind that find their ultimate satisfaction and pleasure in the person of God.
Let’s look at some Old Testament passages that express this concept.
Psalm 1:2
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
Psalm 16:11
You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Psalm 111:2
Great are the works of the Lord,
studied by all who delight in them.
Psalm 119:16
I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.
Psalm 119:24
Your testimonies are my delight;
they are my counselors.
Psalm 119:35
Lead me in the path of your commandments,
for I delight in it.
Psalm 119:47
for I find my delight in your commandments,
which I love.
Psalm 119:70
their heart is unfeeling like fat,
but I delight in your law.
Psalm 119:77
Let your mercy come to me, that I may live;
for your law is my delight.
Psalm 119:92
If your law had not been my delight,
I would have perished in my affliction.
Psalm 119:174
I long for your salvation, O Lord,
and your law is my delight.
This motivation is also found in the New Testament.
There is also something that we will see in several passages that clue us in as to how our motivation becomes one of delight in God instead of discipline, duty, or debt.
John 17:13 (ESV)
But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
Romans 7:22
For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being,
Romans 15:13 (ESV)
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
2 Corinthians 7:2-4 (ESV)
Make room in your hearts for us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one. 3 I do not say this to condemn you, for I said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. 4 I am acting with great boldness toward you; I have great pride in you; I am filled with comfort. In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy.
2 Corinthians 1:23-24 (ESV)
But I call God to witness against me—it was to spare you that I refrained from coming again to Corinth. 24 Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm in your faith.
2 Corinthians 8:1-7 (ESV)
We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own free will, 4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— 5 and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. 6 Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. 7 But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also.
2 Corinthians 9:7
Each one must give as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
Philippians 1:3-7 (ESV)
I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.
Colossians 1:9-14 (ESV)
And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. 11 May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
1 Thessalonians 1:2-7 (ESV)
We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.
James 1:2-4 (ESV)
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
1 Peter 1:3-9 (ESV)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Where does joy come from? Is it something I produce?
Galatians 5:22-23 (ESV)
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
This is the foundational difference between the first three motivations we looked at and this one.
The first three are motivations that I work at maintaining.
This is why in the end they don’t work—I will ultimately get tired of it and quit.
Delight is the product of God’s work in me.
Joy was the example of Christ
Hebrews 12:1-2 (ESV)
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 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.
Where are you today? What motivates you?
Discipline?
Duty?
Debt?
Delight?