Hebrews 10:32-39
Shiloh Bible Church
No Shrinking Violet
Introduction
Jo Frost is a British nanny. And she stars in a reality TV show called Supernanny. Basically, she enters a home where the children are out of control and the parents don’t have a clue. And then she teaches the parents how to discipline their children and how to restore harmony to the home.
I’ve watched the show a few times. And I noticed that one of the principles that Supernanny stresses in child discipline is encouragement. After you discipline a child, you need to encourage him—encourage him with the fact that you love him and believe that he will do better. And that, in essence, is what the writer of Hebrews does in Hebrews chapter 10.
Last Sunday morning we were introduced to the 4th encouragement passage of the book—Hebrews 10:26-39. Now, you’re probably saying to yourself: “Encouragement passage? That passage didn’t sound too encouraging to me!” Well, it is true that the writer of Hebrews introduces the passage with a rather strict warning against apostasy. You’ll remember that we summarized verses 26-31 by this statement: A believer who abandons the faith will face the temporal discipline of God.
But the writer of Hebrews doesn’t stop there. In verses 32-39, he goes on to encourage us. He encourages us by telling us how to avoid apostasy and to end well in the Christian life.
And we accomplish this by looking in 3 directions. First, the writer of Hebrews tells you to …
1. LOOK BACKWARD—AND RECALL YOUR PAST SPIRITUAL JOURNEY
I begin reading in Hebrews 10:32: “Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.”
These Hebrew Christians had suffered past persecution for their faith in Christ. And now they were being threatened again with persecution. This upcoming persecution is probably the one launched by Emperor Nero in Rome in AD 64. It is believed that Nero had a new urban development plan for Rome. So he sent out accomplices to set fire to the city. When fingers began to point toward Nero as the culprit, he needed a scapegoat. And so he blamed the Christians.
Now, the persecution that the writer of Hebrews refers to in this passage was an earlier persecution. Most likely, it was the persecution launched in Rome by Emperor Claudius 15 years earlier in AD 49. Claudius had issued an edict expelling all Jews from the city. Rome considered Christianity a sect of Judaism so these Hebrew Christians suffered persecution as well.
They were publicly humiliated, they identified with fellow believers who were imprisoned, and they were expelled from Rome and had their property and possessions taken from them. But through all of this, they maintained their stand for Christ. They didn’t abandon the faith. As a matter of fact, after Emperor Claudius died five years later in AD 54, they returned to Rome and continued their testimony for Christ in that city.
And so the writer of Hebrews encourages them to look back and recall their past spiritual journey. And we need to do the same. It’s a healthy spiritual practice to take time to look back—to remind yourself of how God has worked in your life.
In Joshua chapter 4, we read of the children of Israel crossing the Jordan River. And God commanded them to take 12 stones from the river and to set them on dry ground. So whenever they saw those stones, it would remind them of God’s faithfulness in parting the waters of the Jordan and bringing them into the Promised Land.
Memorial stones are significant and powerful reminders of God’s faithfulness in our spiritual journey. Do you have any memorial stones? Let me share with you one of mine. [Show New Testament.] You say, “What is that?” It’s a New Testament—a Gideon New Testament. I got it right around the time I got saved—35 years ago. As you can see, it’s old and worn and torn. The cover fell off long ago, pages are missing from it, and you can no longer read the notes I wrote in it. I don’t use this New Testament any more. But I don’t want to throw it away. That’s because I have so many fond memories bound up in this little book. I remember carrying this New Testament with me everywhere I went. I remember the thrill and delight I had reading it as a new believer. I remember learning new spiritual truths from it that are so familiar to me now. I remember using it to memorize Scripture for the first time—I memorized John 3:16 from this New Testament. I remember using it to share the gospel with my friends in high school. And then I remember taking it to Bible college with me and using it until it became dilapidated. I cut my spiritual teeth on this New Testament. And every time I see it, I am reminded of my spiritual past and God’s faithfulness in my life as a new believer.
I encourage you to collect some memorial stones—objects that will remind you of your spiritual past. But regardless as to whether or not you have tangible memorial stones around you, it’s important to look back over your life from time to time and to recall your past spiritual journey with the Lord. It will strengthen you; invigorate you; inspire you. But most of all, it will encourage you. It will encourage you not to abandon the faith. It will encourage you to hang in there and stay true to Christ during the tough times of life.
And so the writer of Hebrews tells you to look back. But he also encourages you to look in another direction. Not only should you look back, but you should also …
2. LOOK FORWARD—AND REFLECT ON YOUR FUTURE REWARDS
At the end of verse 34, the writer of Hebrews says, “… because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.”
The writer of Hebrews wrote to believers who were about to suffer for their faith in Christ. During past persecution, they rejoiced when they were expelled from their homes and their property was confiscated. Why? Because they knew that God would reward them. And they knew that those future rewards would be far greater than the present possessions that were taken from them. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
And what was true of those first-century believers is true of us today as well. Christ promises to reward us for faithfully following Him, especially through the difficult times of life.
Shun Fujimoto was a Japanese gymnast who competed in the 1976 Olympic games in Montreal. Somehow during his floor exercises, he broke his right knee. It seemed obvious to everyone that he would have to withdraw from any further competition. But on the following day, Fujimoto showed up and competed in his strongest event—the rings. His routine was excellent, but then came the critical point—his dismount. Without hesitation, Fujimoto ended his routine with a twisting, triple somersault. He landed with tremendous impact on his broken knee. But he stuck it. He stood his ground. He didn’t move an inch. Then came thundering applause. Later, reporters asked him about that moment. He replied, “The pain shot through me like a knife. It brought tears to my eyes. But my desire to win was greater than my moment of pain. Now I have a gold medal and the pain is gone.”
You know, the Christian life isn’t easy. We do encounter painful experiences as we faithfully follow Christ. But it is worth it. Jesus promises to reward us greatly.
Joseph Kratzle was a service elevator operator at an apartment house in Chicago. Several years ago, a tenant in the building accidentally threw away 2 checks totaling $114,000. Apparently, the checks were in envelopes that had been placed by with a bundle of letters to be discarded. Well, Kratzle searched for 3 hours through 14 trash bags and garbage cans. And he finally found the 2 checks and returned them to the owner. The person gave Kratzle a reward of 15 cents and an offer to put iodine on the cuts that he received on his hands while searching through the trash. Now, this wasn’t Kratzle’s first experience at finding valuables. Years earlier, he had been working in the Federal Reserve Bank as a window washer. During work one day, he found a package in a corner on the floor. He opened it up and discovered $83,000 in cash. Kratzle immediately turned the money over an officer of the bank. For his reward, the president of the bank gave him 25 dollars.
Imagine! Here is a guy that returns $200,000 to its rightful owners and gets $25.15 in return. But God won’t do that to you. God is not stingy with rewards. Jesus promises phenomenal rewards to those who faithfully follow Him.
That’s why the writer of Hebrews encourages you to look forward and reflect on your future rewards. Rewards are a powerful motivation to keep you on the right road for the Lord and to keep you from turning on to the dead end street of spiritual defection. So, keep your eyes on the prize!
The writer of Hebrews goes on to encourage us to look in a third direction—a direction that will encourage us to stay true to Christ and not to abandon the faith. Look backward. Look forward. And now, thirdly …
3. LOOK INWARD—AND RESOLVE TO LIVE FAITHFULLY FOR CHRIST TODAY
In verse 37 we read: “For in just a very little while, ‘He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.’”
In verse 38, the writer of Hebrews quotes Habakkuk 2:4. There God states: “But my righteous one will live by faith.”
That quote is found only two other times in the New Testament—in Romans 1:17 and Galatians 3:11. There Paul uses Habakkuk 2:4 to demonstrate that justification—being declared right in God’s sight—is by faith, not by works. But the writer of Hebrews uses it here to emphasize the life of faith that the believer should practice: “But my righteous one will live by faith.”
It is the life of faith—trusting God and obeying Him—that is pleasing to the Lord. The opposite of living a life of faith is “shrinking back”—deserting the faith—becoming an apostate. And if we do that, God won’t be pleased with us. We won’t lose our eternal salvation, but we will forfeit rewards and waste our lives. And I think that’s what the writer of Hebrews means in verse 39 when he says: “But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.”
That word “destroyed” has the idea of “waste.” The person who deserts the faith wastes his life and will suffer the temporal discipline of God. But those who “believe”—those who remain steadfast in their walk of faith—they will be “saved.” But I don’t think the writer of Hebrews is referring here to eternal salvation. That word “saved” is not the normal Greek word for “saved.” Rather, it is a Greek phrase meaning “preserving the life.” The believer who steadfastly walks by faith will keep his life. He won’t suffer the temporal punishment that God afflicts on the apostate.
And so the writer of Hebrews encourages you to look inward and resolve to live faithfully for Christ today.
Conclusion
You’ll remember last week I shared with you the story of Charles Templeton. Back in the 1940s, Templeton was a good friend of Billy Graham and a fellow evangelist. But Templeton later renounced the faith and became an agnostic. I told you of an interview that author Lee Strobel conducted with Templeton. And how during that interview Templeton told Strobel that Jesus was a great man. And when Templeton admitted that he missed Jesus, he began to weep uncontrollably.
And now, in the words of Paul Harvey, here is “the rest of the story.” Strobel writes this:
“What was going on? Was this an unguarded glimpse into [Templeton’s] soul? I felt drawn to him and wanted to comfort him; at the same time, the journalist in me wanted to dig to the core of what was prompting this reaction. Missed him why? Missed him how?
In a gentle voice, I asked, ‘In what way?’
Templeton fought to compose himself. I could tell it wasn’t like him to lose control in front of a stranger. He sighed deeply and wiped away a tear. After a few more awkward moments, he waved his hand dismissively. Finally, quietly but adamantly, he insisted: ‘Enough of that.’
He leaned forward to pick up his coffee. He took a sip, holding the cup tightly in both hands as if drawing warmth from it. It was obvious that he wanted to pretend this unvarnished look into his soul had never happened.”
Charles Bradley Templeton died on June 7th, 2001. When I read Hebrews 10, I am reminded of Templeton and the terrible cost of abandoning the faith.
In the Christian life, it’s important to start right, but it is imperative to end well.
So, how do you end well? How do you make sure that you don’t travel the same road of apostasy that Charles Templeton followed?
The answer is: By looking in 3 directions:
· Look backward and recall your past spiritual journey
· Look forward and reflect on your future rewards
· Look inward and resolve to live faithfully for Christ today
Let’s pray.
