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A Survey of the Situation in Hebrews
The book of Hebrews has more to say about Christian perseverance than any other New Testament book.
It is written specifically for a group of Christians who were about to quit hanging in there.
Let me walk you through this book to show you what the situation was and how this writer responds to it.
Chapter 2 - What we see here is a signal that the church was starting to drift away from the truth
Let's start in chapter 2. What we see here is a signal that the church was starting to drift away from the truth.
Hebrews Verse 1: "We must pay the closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it."
They had started to drift with the current of the world instead of rowing upstream toward holiness.
Verse 1: "We must pay the closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it."
They had started to drift with the current of the world instead of rowing upstream toward holiness.
Hebrews 2:3Verse 3 suggests that they were beginning to neglect the greatness of their salvation.
"How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?"
They were just not paying much attention any more to what it means to be a Christian in the real world.
They were drifting and neglecting.
Verse 3 suggests that they were beginning to neglect the greatness of their salvation.
They were just not paying much attention any more to what it means to be a Christian in the real world.
They were drifting and neglecting.
Chapter 3 - Drifting.
Neglecting.
Letting slip.
Now chapter 3. Verse 6 suggests that they were losing a grip on their confidence about the future.
Verse 6b: "We are his house if we hold fast our confidence and pride in our hope."
"If we hold fast!"
So evidently there was danger they were not holding fast to their confidence and hope.
Now chapter 3. Verse 6 suggests that they were losing a grip on their confidence about the future.
Verse 6b: "We are his house if we hold fast our confidence and pride in our hope."
"If we hold fast!"
So evidently there was danger they were not holding fast to their confidence and hope.
Drifting.
Neglecting.
Letting slip.
This is the opposite of perseverance.
The opposite of hanging in there over the long haul.
Verses 12–14 show us again what the danger is.
"Take care, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God."
Their drifting and neglecting and slipping could result in a falling away from the living God.
They are not "taking care" the way they should.
So he goes on in verse 13 . . .
Verses 12–14 show us again what the danger is.
"Take care, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God."
Their drifting and neglecting and slipping could result in a falling away from the living God.
They are not "taking care" the way they should.
So he goes on in verse 13 . . .
"But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called, 'today,' that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin."
Evidently their conversation was only about the world.
All they talked about was the Twins and the stock market and problems at the office and at home.
They had lost the urgency of exhortation in their daily conversation.
Sin was starting to deceive them.
And this neglect of God's guidelines was causing them drift and slip and lose their hold on joyful vibrant confidence.
And that is terribly dangerous, he says in verse 14 . . .
"Because we share in Christ, if we hold our first confidence firm to the end."
Hanging in there with confidence is utterly crucial if we hope to finish the race.
Chapter 4 - says that some in the church are in danger of not finishing the race
Chapter 4, verse 1,
Hebrewssays that some in the church are in danger of not finishing the race, not getting to heaven.
"While the promise of entering his rest remains, let us fear lest any of you be judged to have failed to reach it."
Some had become so negligent and careless in their spiritual walk that they had no godly fear about what was at stake in their daily lives.
They were just drifting along with the Walkman of the world in their ears feeling secure, while God's messenger was crying out from the shore that the Niagara Falls of judgment were approaching.
Some had become so negligent and careless in their spiritual walk that they had no godly fear about what was at stake in their daily lives.
They were just drifting along with the Ipod of the world in their ears feeling secure, while God's messenger was crying out from the shore that judgment was approaching.
That's what our text suggests in 5:11
In their drifting and neglect and carelessness, their spiritual ears had become dull.
The Bible was becoming uninteresting.
Their desire for the teaching and preaching of God's Word was fading.
The energy to think and ask questions about the most important questions in the world was drifting away.
And in its place was a kind of spiritual sluggishness and insensitivity.
Things of the world were becoming more exciting and attractive than the Word of God the greatness of his salvation.
Chapter 6 - suggests that this church had lost its zeal to press on in the Christian life to maturity.
Chapter 6, verse 1, suggests that this church had lost its zeal to press on in the Christian life to maturity.
The church was beginning to feel that progress to maturity and growth holiness was optional.
It wasn't really necessary in the Christian life.
So they were just drifting along on past attainments.
And all the while becoming dull in hearing, deceived by sin, and hard in heart.
Chapter 10 - reinforces this danger
Chapter 10, verses 23–24, show the same danger.
"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works."
They had the idea that hope was a kind of automatic thing.
It just sort of happened to you, and stayed with you.
But the writer says, on the contrary, hope has wings and will fly away as soon as you let it go.
Keeping hope is a very active thing.
Chapter 10, verses 23–24, show the same danger.
"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works."
They had the idea that hope was a kind of automatic thing.
It just sort of happened to you, and stayed with you.
But the writer says, on the contrary, hope has wings and will fly away as soon as you let it go.
Keeping hope is a very active thing.
And the same with love and good works.
If we drift, we drift away from love.
If we are going to be a loving community, we must stir each other up.
To Love not strife
Drifting and coasting and inactivity in spiritual things is very dangerous.
It wasn't always this way at this church.
Look at 10:32, "But recall the former days when after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings."
In other words you were once so fired up about the value of your salvation and God's purpose in the world that you were willing to suffer for it.
It wasn't always this way at this church.
In other words you were once so fired up about the value of your salvation and God's purpose in the world that you were willing to suffer for it.
But now you are sitting on your easy chair with no zeal for the future and perhaps thinking that those past experiences you had are enough to make you an acceptable Christian.
But security does not come like that.
Look at verse 35 & 36,
"Do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.
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