FOUNDATIONAL FAITH-I—Hebrews 10:39-11:3
Attention:
As a kid, I lived in a newly developing neighborhood. There were new houses being built all the time. I spent a good deal of time searching thru newly framed houses pretending they were forts or some such. But every house was built with a particularly strong foundation. The foundations were all of differing configurations but each of them were a minimum depth & width. The mold/hole/trench was leveled & then plumbed at 90˚ angles from the bottom in order for the cement to harden with the greatest downward strength to support the house above. They would pour the cement, set the anchor bolts, & wait a certain number of days before attaching the base of the frame.
I used to try to envision what the house might look like which would sit on such a foundation.
The foundation enabled some very foundational things to take place above it regarding the house’s integrity.
In like manner, the foundation of your faith enables foundational spiritual realities to occur in your life in Christ.
Need:
The writer’s audience was told of the substance/nature of biblical saving faith.
Christians must be reminded of the foundational nature of biblical saving faith.
Why is such faith foundational/essential?
4 abilities/acquisitions making faith foundational.
1—Foundational Faith enables...
A Foundational DISTINCTION(:39)
Explanation:(10:39)
10:39—“But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.”
“But”(rather)=In contrast to previous statement(:38) of those who draw back.
“We”= The writer includes himself with his readers.
The writer ensures his audience that he & they are “of those” who do not “draw”/shrink back. To “draw back” now is to undergo certain “perdition”/destruction eternally.
The “faith”(:1) which the writer is concerned with is a particular “faith.” It is a faith which is accountable for preserving/possessing/saving the very “soul” of a person. How then can a person be certain of the state of his/her “soul”?...By the state of their faith!
The writer(at least) is of the same ilk as those who have a peculiar quality to their faith which results in the preservation of the “soul” instead of its destruction.
*A sharp contrast is drawn here between “Drawing back” & “Believing.”
This tells us that there exists a faith which does NOT have the same result! It instead brings one to “perdition/destruction.”
*Thus there are two kinds of faith which have very different results!
1)There is saving faith in Christ alone for salvation.
2)There is a non-saving faith which causes one to “draw back” from Christ...so that ‘salvation’ is found in any & everything else.
The “soul” is the very essence of who I am. This is why my soul can be separated from my flesh(clothing) at death, yet I am still me in heaven even aside from my flesh! This is also why I can be ‘clothed’ in heavenly garments as it were.
Heb. 4:12—“For the word of God is living & powerful, & sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul & spirit, & of joints & marrow, & is a discerner of the thoughts & intents of the heart.”
2Cor. 5:1-9—“For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body & to be present with the Lord. Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.”
1Cor. 15:42-44, 50-54—“So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, & there is a spiritual body.”.....“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh & blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed-- in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, & the dead will be raised incorruptible, & we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, & this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, & this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.””
We are to love on another but in order to do this biblically in Christ, we must be discriminate.
There is a difference between socially-driven behavior & God-driven behavior, which must be maintained. Both behaviors may intersect but only on a cultural behavioral plane. They are arrived at by very different means.
1)Socially-driven behavior is anthropocentric(man centered).
2)God-driven behavior is theocentric(God centered) with God first & man secondarily.
“Draw back”—upostolh—N. f.—1) The timidity of one stealthily retreating. Strong—Shrinkage (timidity), i.e. (by implication) Apostasy. Used 1X.
“Perdition”—apwleia—N. f.—1) Destroying, utter destruction—1a) Of vessels; 2) A perishing, ruin, destruction. Strong—from a presumed derivative of apollumi(to destroy fully (reflexively, to perish, or lose)); Ruin or loss (physical, spiritual or eternal).
“Believe” (See :38—“Faith”)—pistiv—N. f.—BAGD—1)As a characteristic or quality—Faithfulness, reliability, loyalty or commitment; 2)That which evokes confidence—Solemn promise, oath, proof, pledge; 3) Trust, confidence, faith in the active sense= ‘believing’; 4) That which is believed, body of faith or belief, doctrine. Thayer—1) Conviction of the truth of anything, belief; in the NT of a conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God & divine things, generally with the included idea of trust & holy fervor born of faith & joined with it; 2) Fidelity, faithfulness. Strong—Persuasion, i.e. Credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly, Constancy in such profession; by extension, The system of religious (Gospel) truth itself.
“Saving”—peripoihsiv—N. f.—1) A preserving, a preservation; 2) Possession, one’s own property; 3) An obtaining. Strong—Acquisition (the act or the thing); by extension, Preservation. used 5X.
“Soul”(See :39)—quch—1) Breath—1a) The breath of life—1a1) The vital force which animates the body & shows itself in breathing—1a1a) Of animals, 1a1b) Of men, 1b) Life, 1c) That in which there is life—1c1) A living being, a living soul; 2) The soul—2a) the seat of the feelings, desires, affections, aversions (our heart, soul etc.), 2b) The (human) soul in so far as it is constituted that by the right use of the aids offered it by God it can attain its highest end & secure eternal blessedness, the soul regarded as a moral being designed for everlasting life, 2c) The soul as an essence which differs from the body (distinguished from other parts of the body). Strong— Breath, i.e. (by implication) spirit, abstractly or concretely (the animal sentient principle only; thus distinguished on the one hand from pneuma, which is the rational & immortal soul; & on the other from zwh, which is mere vitality, even of plants: these terms thus exactly correspond respectively to the Hebrew vpn neh’-fesh, xwr roo’-akh & yx khah’-ee).
Argumentation:
Rom. 4:1-12—“What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, & it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered; Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin.” Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness. How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised. And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also, & the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised.”
Mat. 13:3-9; 18-23—“Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; & the birds came & devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; & they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, & because they had no root they withered away. And some fell among thorns, & the thorns sprang up & choked them. But others fell on good ground & yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!””.....““Therefore hear the parable of the sower: “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, & does not understand it, then the wicked one comes & snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. “But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word & immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, & the cares of this world & the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, & he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word & understands it, who indeed bears fruit & produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.””
Rom. 11:25-33—“For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.” Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts & the calling of God are irrevocable. For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy. For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all. Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom & knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments & His ways past finding out!”
1Tim. 6:6 -12—“Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, & it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food & clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation & a snare, & into many foolish & harmful lusts which drown men in destruction & perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, & pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But you, O man of God, flee these things & pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called & have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”
Illustration:
Islam vs. Christianity/Islam is organized around the idea that their world on earth must be physically conformed to Islam by other Muslims/Everyone who does not comply is either killed, enslaved, or forced to pay tribute by the Muslim state/A Foundational DISTINCTION
Christianity recognizes the need for their world(individuals) to accept their personal sinfulness as fact/If they do not comply with God’s plan in Christ, there is an eternal price to pay but no one is forced to comply in this earthly life/Christians know that Christ’s kingdom is not of this world/We cannot force anyone to comply with the Good News of salvation in Christ/We cannot round-up people & declare them Christian!/It is only offered in an ambassadorial fashion/A Foundational DISTINCTION
Animals/Cannot naturally cross a turtle with a zebra/There are differences so vast that cross-fertilization is impossible!/A Foundational DISTINCTION
Application:
?Your Faith enable a Foundational DISTINCTION among people?
?You have a Foundational Faith?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Action:
Foundational Faith enables a Foundational...
1. DISTINCTION(:39)
Presented 04/15/2012am to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf, NC 27054
