SERIES: The Careful Considerations of Our Christian Confession
Hebrews 3:1-6; 7-17; 3:18--4:11; 4:11-13; 4:14---5:11
Previously in Hebrews, we have looked at...
A. The Challenge of Choosing the Greater STEWARDSHIP—Hebrews 3:1-6
Today we will look at the 2nd installment of...
B— A challenge traditionists face in their Christian confession is acceptance of an...UNDIVIDED / DIVIDED HEART—II(3:7-19)
The writer to the Hebrews set before his audience a deeper/further consideration of an Undivided Heart.
’Christians,’ tempted by tradition, are encouraged toward a deeper/further consideration of an Undivided Heart.
What challenges do ’Christians,’ tempted toward tradition(traditionists), face in the consideration of an Undivided Heart?
6 Challenges traditionists must face in their confession of an Undivided Heart.
The challenge of choosing an Undivided Heart is accepting the Voice of...
1. OPPORTUNITY(:7)
2. COMPARISON(:8-9)
3. CHOICE(:10-11)
We looked at the Parable of the Soils & how it is an apt description of the varying degrees to which the heart is divided, regarding Christ & the state within which people live their lives.
Mat. 13:3-9, 18-23
4—The challenge of choosing an Undivided HEART is accepting the Voice of...
WARNING(:12)
Explanation:(:12)
:12—“Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God;”
The writer’s “brethren”(spiritual brethren) are warned to take care. They are warned because there is a distinct possibility that even one ‘of them’ may have an evil heart.
The presence of an evil heart is to be avoided.
An evil heart is an unbelieving heart. We follow our hearts & a heart given to unbelief in one dimension will naturally be drawn to another dimension. In this case, an unbelieving heart causes one to fall away from the living God & thereby to trust in other ‘gods.’
Unbelief is the enemy of the “living God.”
Mr 9:23 -24—“Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out & said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!””
These people are those who are currently recognized as being with the “living God.” An “evil heart” will cause this person to “depart” from Him.
There must be personal Doubt/Questions/Concerns regarding various aspects of their Christianity....
....Possibility of Martyrdom, Oppression—Political, cultural & social. Buying power ruined—Pushed to poverty. Your children outcasts—Marked for disdain/disrespect/contempt, educational inferiority, career limitation.
Easy-believism is a threat to Christianity. The Truth & Good news(Gospel) must be presented in the fullness of its exclusivity to Christ & its subsequent targeting by those who hate. This must be presented even in societies favorable to evangelical Christianity...who do not face active persecution. We do not want to produce a culture of particularly ‘Stony ground’ or even ‘Thorns & Thistles’ nominal Christians.
“Beware/Take heed/Take care/See to it”—blepw—1) To see, discern, of the bodily eye; 2)metaph. To see with the mind’s eye; 3)In a geographical sense of places, mountains, buildings, etc. turning towards any quarter, as it were, facing it. Strong—To look at (literally or figuratively):-- Behold, beware, lie, look (on, to), perceive, regard, see, sight, take heed.
“Evil”—ponhrov—1) Full of labors, annoyances, hardships; 2) Bad, of a bad nature or condition. It means mischief-making, delighting in injury, doing evil to others, dangerous, destructive. Strong—Hurtful, i.e. evil (properly, in effect or influence, Figuratively—Calamitous; also (passively) ill, i.e. diseased; but especially (morally) culpable, i.e. Derelict, vicious; neuter (singular) mischief, malice, or (plural) guilt; masculine (singular) the devil, or (plural) sinners:-- Bad, evil, grievous, harm, lewd, malicious, wicked(-ness).
“Unbelieving/Unbelief”(See :19)—apistia—1) Unfaithfulness, faithless; 2) Want of faith, unbelief; 3) Weakness of faith. Strong— Faithlessness, i.e. (negatively) Disbelief (lack of Christian faith), or (positively) Unfaithfulness (disobedience):-- Unbelief.
“Falling away/Departing/Falling away/Turns away”—afisthmi—1) To make stand off, cause to withdraw, to remove; 2) To stand off, to stand aloof. Strong—To remove, i.e. (actively) instigate to revolt; usually (reflexively) to desist, desert, etc.:-- Depart, draw (fall) away, refrain, withdraw self.
Argumentation:
Mat. 10:16-24—““Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents & harmless as doves. But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils & scourge you in their synagogues. You will be brought before governors & kings for My sake, as a testimony to them & to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; “for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. Now brother will deliver up brother to death, & a father his child; & children will rise up against parents & cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes. A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.”
Illustration:
Persecuted Christians in any country: WARNING your faith will be tested!
Yemeni Christians/Yemen adheres to Shari’a law, which forbids conversions from Islam on pain of death/In 2002, Islamic Jihad, confessed to having shot American Drs. employed at Jibla Baptist hospital, "because they were preaching Christianity in a Muslim country"/WARNING your faith will be tested!
Softness , sympathy & leniency by our govt. toward Islam means Christians may one day become those persecuted under Islamic Sharia Law.
*There are chasmic differences between living in a society whose moral underpinnings for law are built upon Christian principle, rather than being built upon Islamic law!
—Most who are lost do not grasp this!
—Many govt. officials do not grasp this!
—Many Christians(lovey-dovey doctrinal ecumenicalists) do not grasp this!
Application:
?You chosen the Voice of WARNING?
? Your choices reveal an Undivided Heart?
5—The challenge of choosing an Undivided HEART is accepting the Voice of...
FELLOWSHIP / Mutual Encouragement(:13-15)
Explanation:(:13-15)
:13—“but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”
“But exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,”
*In order to avoid the presence of evil hearts within the body of Christ, we must be encouragers of the body. The encouragement process is a continual process.
We only have as long as God has ordained this age of salvation for all by grace thru faith. We do not know when our time (Today) & thus our ability to respond(Today) will cease.
We must be continual encouragers to prevent personal hardening. Hardened hearts are caused by sin’s deceitfulness. Sin will fool us, even the holy brethren.
“Exhort/Encourage”—parakalew—1) To call to one’s side, call for, summon; 2) To address, speak to, (call to, call upon), which may be done in the way of exhortation, entreaty, comfort, instruction, etc.
“Lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”
“Lest”— ‘For fear that...’
“Hardened”—sklhrunw—1) To make hard, harden;2) metaph.—2a) To render obstinate, stubborn, 2b) To be hardened, 2c) To become obstinate or stubborn. Strong—to Indurate, i.e. (figuratively) render stubborn:-- harden.
“Deceitfulness”—apath—N.—Deceit, deceitfulness. From—apataw—V.—To cheat, i.e. delude:-- Deceive. ‘Continually & intentionally mislead.’
Jer. 17:9-10—“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.”
“Sin”(See :17)—amartia—N.—Meant originally the missing of a mark. When applied to moral things the idea is similar, it is missing the true end of life, & so it is used as a general term for sin. It means both the act of sinning & the result, the sin itself. 1a) To be without a share in, 1b) To miss the mark, 1c) To err, be mistaken, 1d) To miss or wander from the path of uprightness & honor, to do or go wrong, 1e) To wander from the law of God, violate God’s law, sin; 2) That which is done wrong, sin, an offense, a violation of the divine law in thought or in act; 3) Collectively, the complex or aggregate of sins committed either by a single person or by many.
:14—“For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end,”
We are only “partakers of Christ” at a cost.
The cost of discipleship is that we must hold fast our original confidence/assurance of trust in Christ(salvation) for the entirety of our allotted time( ‘Today’).
*Exhortation(:13) helps us to “hold our confidence” in Christ! Small group contacts are absolutely essential to the strength of any church!
—An SBC poll has revealed that Only 20% of the people who join our church, without regular small group(Sunday School) encouragement (commitments/associations/contacts), will still be in this church in 5 years! That means 80% will be gone from our church within that same period!
“Partakers/Share”—metocov—1) Sharing in, partaking; 2) A partner (in a work, office, dignity).
“Hold Fast/Hold”—katecw—1) To hold back, detain, retain; 2) To get possession of, take.
“Beginning/First”—arch—1) Beginning, origin; 2) The person or thing that commences, the first person or thing in a series, the leader; 3) That by which anything begins to be, the origin, the active cause;4) The extremity of a thing—4a) of the corners of a sail; 5) The first place, principality, rule, magistracy—5a) Of angels & demons.
“Confidence/Assurance”—upostasiv—1) A setting or placing under—1a) Thing put under, substructure, foundation; 2) That which has foundation, is firm.
“Steadfast /Firm”—bebaiov—1) Stable, fast, firm; 2) metaph. Sure, trusty. (CONT.)—5—FELLOWSHIP / Mutual Encouragement(:13-15)
“End”—telov—Strong—properly, The point aimed at as a limit, i.e. (by implication) The conclusion of an act or state (termination [literally, figuratively or indefinitely], result [immediate, ultimate or prophetic], purpose); specifically, an impost or levy (as paid):-- + continual, custom, end(-ing), finally, uttermost.
:15—“while it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.””
To press the point & reiterate :7-8, from Ps. 95:7-8...
“While it is said” ensures that the message concerning “today,” is for the current audience.
It also ensures us that there will be a time when it will NOT apply.
Personally:—Your tolerance for accepting God’s truth to yourself.
Universally:—Things will one day be vastly different than they are currently.
“Rebellion/Provocation/Provoked”(See :8, 16)—parapikrasmov—N.—Provocation. Strong—Irritation, provocation.
Argumentation:
Heb. 10:23-25—“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love & good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, & so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Illustration:
The old, ‘I’m done with organized religion’ attitude/If you’re done with church & the FELLOWSHIP of fellow believers then you’re done with Jesus & His ability to overpower sin in others(as well as yourself) & to transform them(yourself).
Cement/Requires stirring up in the presence of water to prevent hardening/At the plant, dry cement has water added/Cement truck drum rotates as it travels to the site where its needed/Continually rotating in a sealed chamber with water/If the water evaporates the cement is ruined/FELLOWSHIP
Withhold the Living Water from a Christian’s life thru FELLOWSHIP & they will harden to God’s truth. We must instead allow the Living Water of Christ to mold us into His intention.
Epoxy/Two elements combined an effectively hardened substance/Like sin added to the Christian—It slows him down & eventually stops his progress/Within the tube of FELLOWSHIP is help to shun sin & remain pure.
Application:
?You chosen the Voice of FELLOWSHIP?
? Your choices reveal an Undivided Heart?
6—The challenge of choosing an Undivided HEART is accepting the Voice of...
CONSEQUENCE(:16-19)
Explanation:(:16-19)
:16—“For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses?”
“All” of the called of God “heard” the voice of God BUT these, having heard, “rebelled.”
—Practically speaking—the nation of Israel who left Egypt, having been led by Moses, rebelled.
—Technically—Moses, Joshua, & Caleb did not(Num. 14:5-6, 22-24, 29-30).
“Rebelled/Provoked”(See, 8, 15)—parapikrainw—V.—1) To provoke, exasperate; 2) To rouse to indignation.
:17—“Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness?”
This provocation was “sin” on their part against God.
Those of Israel who rebelled/sinned, pushing/provoking God to anger.
God was thereby pushed to chastize them for a full forty years(1yr. for every day of the spy’s fact-finding mission—(Num. 14:34)).
Those who had sinned, were the very ones whose corpses fell in the wilderness. They lost their sure & promised reward of entering the Promised Land.
—Satisfied, settled & thus rebellious Christians also forfeit their rewards both here & in heaven.
Mt 24:23-27—““Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false christs & false prophets will rise & show great signs & wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east & flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”
“Angry”—prosocyizw—1) To be wroth or displeased with; 2) To loathe; 3) To spew out; 4) To be disgusted with. From pros & a form of ocyew (to be vexed with something irksome); To feel indignant at:-- be grieved at. Used 2X.
“Sinned”(See :13)—amartanw—V.—1) To be without a share in; 2) To miss the mark; 3) To err, be mistaken; 4) To miss or wander from the path of uprightness & honor, to do or go wrong; 5) To wander from the law of God, violate God’s law, sin.
“Corpses”—kwlon—1) A member of a body, particularly the more external & prominent members esp. the feet; 2) A dead body, corpse, inasmuch as the members of a corpse are loose & fall apart. Strong—A limb of the body (as if lopped):-- Carcass. Used 1X.
:18—“And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey?”
These same ones who sinned in being disobedient, were the very ones God swore would not experience His “rest.” The rest which His promised land offered them by removing their homelessness, no country, a lifetime of being an alien & misfit. Something we, in America, don’t experience.
“Not Obey/Believed not/Disobedient”—apeiyew—1) Not to allow one’s self to be persuaded—1a) To refuse or withhold belief, 1b) To refuse belief & obedience; 2) Not to comply with.
:19—“So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.”
The fact remains that a persons’ “unbelief” is the determining factor keeping them from entering any rest that God promises.
“Unbelief”(See :12)—apistia—1) Unfaithfulness, faithless; 2) Want of faith, unbelief; 3) Weakness of faith. Strong— Faithlessness, i.e. (negatively)Disbelief (lack of Christian faith), or (positively) Unfaithfulness (disobedience):-- Unbelief.
Heb 11:6—“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, & that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
Argumentation:
Rom. 5:18—“Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.”
Col. 3:23-25—“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord & not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, & there is no partiality.”
Rev. 22:14—“Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, & may enter through the gates into the city.”
Rev. 21:7-8—““He who overcomes shall inherit all things, & I will be his God & he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, & all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire & brimstone, which is the second death.”” Illustration:
Driving/Soberly decide to drive on the Wrong side of road/Thinking you are in the right/Kill yourself & others/CONSEQUENCE
Terrorist suicide bombers/In seeking to destroy defenseless civilians, they lose their own life/CONSEQUENCE
Application:
?You chosen the Voice of CONSEQUENCE?
?Your choices reveal an Undivided Heart?
CONCLUSION:
SERIES: The Careful Considerations of Our Christian Confession
Action:
The challenge of choosing an Undivided Heart is accepting the Voice of...
4—WARNING(:12)
5—FELLOWSHIP / Mutual Encouragement(:13-15)
6—CONSEQUENCE(:16-19)
1—OPPORTUNITY(:7)
2—COMPARISON(:8-9)
3—CHOICE(:10-11)
Presented 07/18/2010pm to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf, NC 27054
