Sharper than Any Sword (2)

Big Idea:

Tension: Why must a Christian persevere by paying attention to God’s Word?

Resolution: Because we will all have to give account to God who sees all.

Exegetical Idea: Christians must persevere by paying attention to God’s Word because we will all have to give account to God who sees all.

Theological Idea: God’s Word is sufficient to help Christians persevere until the day they will give an account to God who sees al.

Homiletical Idea: We listen to God’s Word because it prepares us to meet Jesus.

Outline

Introduction

Background

Jesus is a better Mediator (Hebrews 2:17-18)

But we must also persevere (Hebrews 3:6, 12-14, 4:1, 11).

We are saved by faith alone

But true faith lasts, it endures, it perseveres, it is preserved.

Why? Why does it matter? Who cares?

We will all meet Jesus face to face

“For” - We first have to see that this is concluding the previous vs. 1-11.

No creature is hidden from his sight - none of us can escape, if he is our creator, we are his creation. And the Creator has an unparalleled and infinite knowledge of his creation.

We are all naked and exposed to the eyes of him - Like Adam and Eve, our sins are blatant, conspicuous, ubiqitous, obvious to him.

To the eyes of him to whom we must give account - You and I will all stand before God and have to give him an account. (luke 8:17; Revelation 20:11-15)

Hebrews 12:14

Objection 1: Well it sounds like you’re saying we’re saved by our works. - Not at all. We are saved by faith alone in Christ alone. But true faith lasts. True faith endures. You can tell if you have this true faith by seeing if it is faithful.

Objection 2: Well, I’ll just do outward, external works. I’ll just be a nice person. That will do absolutely nothing. God is after your heart (3:10, 15, 4:7). (Matthew 7:21-23) If you have Christ, you will not only have his righteousness, but his resurrection. YOu’ll not only have his redemption, but his regeneration. You will not only be counted as a child of God, but you will be a new creation. You will change. Listen to me, if there is no heart change in your life, if you examine yourself and all you see are dead, external actions but inside you are full of bitterness, of hate, of revenge, of self-pity, of self-righteousness, I don’t care how many pats you give yourself on the back, you are not saved. Faith saves.

Notice how often the author has referenced having faith in the last two chapters (3:12, 19, 4:2, 3). In other words, if you and I want to be ready to enter into the rest, if we want to be ready for that day, we have to listen with the ears of faith.

Objection 3: Well, I’ll just take care of that when I get older. Now, I praise God for death bed confessions. Think of the thief on the cross. As the song says, “The vilest offender who truly believes, That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.” Nevertheless, you and I don’t know when that will be. Remember the parable of the rich man, who decided he was just going to spend the rest of his life storing stuff up and partying. And what does God say to him in Luke 12:20.

The time to prepare for that day when we will see him is this day. We prepare for eternity now. We prepare for his coming now.

Transition: How?

By listening to God’s Word

Listen - Notice how many times that the apostle has said “hear” or “listen”. If you and I want to be ready, we have to listen to what God has to say. (3:7, 15, 4:2, 7).

What do we listen to?

The Word of God - What is he talking about? He’s talking about the Scriptures. The Old and New Testament. The law and the gospel. All 66 Books of the Old and New Testament. It is God’s Word for us. It is the norm. It is God’s very Word.

Living and active - It is living and active. Don’t ever listen to that garbage that says that the Word was given in a cultural mileau. That maybe that was God’s word then, but we have to find a new word now. No this is God’s Word, ever living, ever active. It is no less relevant today than it was two thousand years ago. And if Christ tarries another two thousand years, it will never stop being relevant.

Gives Life: Further by this I think it means that it gives life. It waters the fruit of faith in me. It raises me up. It makes me, as 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, a “new creation.”

Sharper than any two edged sword - Yet, it also cuts. It is sharp. It not only gives life, but it kills me. It crucifies me. It raises me. It convicts me, but it also comforts me. It condemns me, but it justifies. It reveals the darkest depths of my soul, but it redeems them. It takes what is dead and gives it life. it takes what is old and makes it new. It takes what is darkness and makes it light. It hacks away at me, but then it raises me up and gives me life.

discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart - ANd the only way it can do this is if it sees to the heart. WE know that God looks at the heart. And he has given his verdict in Scriptures. He has told us that the “heart is wicked and deceitful above all things.” (Jer 17:9).

The reality is that the Word of God can change my heart - But here is the good news, God’s Word can change your heart. It can renew you. It can restroe you. By listening to God’s voice in his Scriptures, you and I can be changed.

The author of Hebrews believes that God’s Word is sufficient to prepare us to meet Jesus - Which means that the author is assuming that God’s Word is sufficient to prepare you to meet Jesus. That the way, perhaps the only way you and I, can be ready to meet Christ, is through his Word.

Why is that?

Because the author knows that at the center of the Bible is Jesus himself. The WOrd of God is sufficient to prepare us to meet Jesus because in it we get Jesus. After all, didn’t he open up his letter in Heb 1:1-2, by saying…

Application

If I want to be ready to meet Jesus, I need to let the Word of God read me. In other words, I need to elt it expose me. I need to hear its verdict about my sin, about my selfishness, about my deceit. I need to let it call me out. because when I do that, when I see my sin, when I see my brokenness, when I see that every attempt that I make to make myself righteous is a failure, I will reach out and grab hold of Jesus.

If I want to be ready to meet Jesus, I need to read the Word of God. But by contrast, there is no version of the Chrsitian life which makes sense apart from God’s Word. I need to let it guide my life. I need to read the Bible every day.