Message - Holding On But Letting Go
Red Cross Hall 19 July 2014
HOLDING ON . . . BUT LETTING GO – BE STEADFAST IN HOPE AND WAITING
The subject here may seem like an apparent contradiction (an oxymoron); something we hold on to but let go of it. Well, that gets us nowhere, unless there is a reason for both parts of the statement. We will look at both parts.
To start let us read from 1Thessalonians (in this transcription I have capitalized the words I want).
PART A. THE THESSALONIANS PASSAGE
{{1Thessalonians 1:1 “Paul and Silvanus and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.
1Thess 1:2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers,
1Thess 1:3 constantly bearing in mind your work of FAITH and labour of love and STEADFASTNESS of HOPE in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father,
1Thess 1:4 knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you,
1Thess 1:5 for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the HOLY SPIRIT and with FULL CONVICTION, just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.
1Thess 1:6 You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, HAVING RECEIVED THE WORD in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit,
1Thess 1:7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia,
1Thess 1:8 for the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything.
1Thess 1:9 They themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you TURNED to God from idols to serve a living and true God,
1Thess 1:10 and to WAIT for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.”}}
By way of introduction, this part of God’s word is Paul’s review of the Thessalonian church. It is all good, and there are certain aspects, important ones, Paul mentions to this very church where they applied.
In days of difficulty it is necessary to hold on to what is fundamental and good. Things will be eroded away and that is especially so with the Christian faith and we must maintain good teaching and be alert and dependent on the Lord. Christians in 2022 are living in days when the true faith is under attack in ways not conceived of before. We will look at what Paul saw as the essential elements in this church.
FAITH - Faith is the cord that binds us to Christ for it is faith that saved us, and faith that allows us to hold on in service (work of faith). Be careful not to do things in self-will or for self-promotion. Live in faith and work in faith.
STEADFASTNESS of HOPE - Steadfastness is like having a sign nailed to a wall, not with the normal four nails in each corner, but many nails all over the sign. It means it is stuck, not flapping or waving around in uncertainty. That unwavering is to apply to hope. Hope is a certainty in what is unseen but you know it will happen. The Rapture is described as “the blessed hope”. The Thessalonians had that steadfast hope in their lives. Hold on to hope.
HOLY SPIRIT - Well, this is the absolute essential of our faith. The power in conviction of sin, and the drawing to Christ for salvation came from the Holy Spirit. It is His work and Paul recognised that in the salvation of the Thessalonians. It is the Holy Spirit who convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgement, and we must teach and preach in the power of the Holy Spirit, not as some fancy preacher strutting all over the stage as a showman.
FULL CONVICTION - All that Paul did was done in the full conviction of the Holy Spirit. Part conviction is no good. It must be full. So much of what Christians do is of little worth because it is not done in the full conviction of the Spirit, more often the case, in our own conviction. We must hold on to the Spirit’s full leading.
HAVING RECEIVED THE WORD - Going back to the beginning is very important. Let us recall the humility and brokenness we had when we gave our lives to the Lord. How many of us have moved on and have become proud, and self-reliant. That is wrong. Look how we first received the word, think on it, and hold on to that openness and humility we once had. We received the word in faith and contrition; let us continue and hold on to faith and contrition.
TURNED - Paul used “turned to God from idols” which is what repentance is. Repentance means a change in direction; to go in the opposite way, but be very careful, be very aware, that we can equally start turning back again to idols and that old life. We can become conceited and lifted up. In this matter it is SO important that we hold on to humility and faith in God!
WAIT - Paul wrote quite a lot to the Thessalonians about the Rapture and this is what the Rapture is – waiting for the Lord who will descend from heaven with a shout. The Rapture is a huge incentive for holy living and staying close to the Lord and HOLDING ON to Him.
In the introductory chapter to the Thessalonians, Paul raised so many things but in each of them that essential element of HOLDING ON is so important. Is it possible for Christians to become careless about their faith? Sadly, yes, it is. John wrote to the Ephesian church because God knew the people there had left their first love. All these things are written for our instruction.
Part B. THE CERTAINTY OF FAITH
Have we believed a lie? Some live as if they have adopted false notions and thereby have little conviction about anything. That will include certainty of sins forgiven; of power to live a steadfast Christian life; being vibrant for some have no energy in the Spirit; living and working in hope of the Rapture; and in security of salvation.
Some have a very hazy understanding of salvation. They are uncertain souls on unstable ground. Does God want us to be blown around all over the place? He wants stability. He wants us to have security of sins forgiven and our place sealed in heaven. This is where we must hold on to the promise of the bible that says “we HAVE passed from death into life.” Those who are not holding on to that are no better than the ones mentioned here – {{Ephesians 4:13-14 “until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming.”}} At all times we must be found holding on to the great promises of faith. We are going to look into this further:
Part C. IN THE FAITH - and - OR OUT OF IT?
{{John 10:26 “You do not believe because you are not of My sheep.
John 10:27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them and they follow Me,
John 10:28 and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of My hand.
John 10:29 My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”}}
Note the words in the verses “hear, My, follow”, and “never”. All that is certainty. It comes through faith, through hearing. Hearing leads to believing. Believing leads to holding firm. Holding firm leads to settled conviction. Settled conviction leads to expectation. The faith of those Thessalonians was settled that way. Like the Ephesians who left their Diana goddess, these Thessalonians as well, became heirs and joint heirs in Christ.
When you have salvation, when you hold on to salvation, do you let it go? If you have a precious, eternal possession do you let it go because you can’t see the purpose of it? Do you release it because your faith won’t accept it?
Let us see what God would say:-
{{1Corinthians 11:2 “Now I praise you because you remember me in everything, and HOLD FIRMLY to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you,”}}
{{Corinthians 15:2 “by which also you are saved if you HOLD FAST the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.”}}
{{Philippians 2:16 “HOLDING FAST the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may have cause to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.”}}
{{Hebrews 4:14 “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, LET US HOLD FAST our confession,”}}
{{Hebrews 10:23 “LET US HOLD FAST the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful,”}}
But what about those who would seem to be holding on, but let go?
PART D. NOW WHO FITS THIS PICTURE? “LETTING GO”
The next section we will consider is often misunderstood. People promote the wrong idea through misunderstanding the context.
Heb. 6:1 Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
Heb. 6:2 of instruction about washings, and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
Heb. 6:3 This we shall do, if God permits.
Heb. 6:4 In the case of those who have once been ENLIGHTENED and have TASTED of the heavenly gift and have been made PARTAKERS of the Holy Spirit,
Heb. 6:5 and have TASTED the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,
Heb. 6:6 and then have fallen away, it is IMPOSSIBLE TO RENEW them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God, and put Him to open shame.
Heb. 6:7 Ground that drinks the rain which often falls upon it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God,
Heb. 6:8 but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.
Heb. 6:9 Beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way,
Earlier in this letter to the Hebrews, this was said to them – {{Hebrews 3:14 “We have become partakers of Christ if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end.”}} That is a most important verse. It seems to be teaching what is known as the perseverance of the saints (that you must not slip up at all) and is one of the reasons for the evil doctrine that is promoted that if you sin you lose your salvation.
What is the letter to the Hebrews? Paul wrote this as it is possible to prove, and it was in line with the way he would speak to Jews when he went to the synagogues. It must be carefully understood as relating to the Hebrew mind.
Jews had a real problem coming out of Judaism and into a complete commitment to Christ. Many wavered and could not grasp freedom in Christ because of unbelief. They let go and turned back. What this passage best describes is an incident recorded in Numbers. We will consider that –
Numbers 13:1-3 “Then the LORD spoke to Moses saying, “Send out for yourself men so that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give to the sons of Israel. You shall send a man from each of their fathers’ tribes, every one a leader among them,” so Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran at the command of the LORD, all of them men who were heads of the sons of Israel.”}}
Canaan would be spied out before entry and men were selected to do that. They were to bring back a report. Moses wanted a very thorough report indicated by these verses –
{{Numbers 13:17-20 “When Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, he said to them, “Go up there into the Negev, then go up into the hill country and see what the land is like, and whether the people who live in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many, and how is the land in which they live, is it good or bad? and how are the cities in which they live. Are they like open camps or with fortifications? and how is the land, - is it fat or lean? Are there trees in it or not? Make an effort then to get some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the time of the first ripe grapes.”}}
The 12 spies went and saw so much that was surprising. They saw Anak there (strong men, tall and fierce) and also this happened – {{Numbers 13:23 “Then they came to the valley of Eshcol and from there cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes and they carried it on a pole between two men, with some of the pomegranates and the figs.”}} When they eventually returned to the land this longer account is recorded, but not the division of faith and unbelief –
{{Numbers 13:25-32 “When they returned from spying out the land at the end of forty days, they proceeded to come to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Paran at Kadesh, and they brought back word to them and to all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. Thus they told him, and said, “We went in to the land where you sent us and it certainly does flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Nevertheless, the people who live in the land are strong and the cities are fortified and very large, and moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak there. Amalek is living in the land of the Negev and the Hittites and the Jebusites and the Amorites are living in the hill country, and the Canaanites are living by the sea and by the side of the Jordan.” Then Caleb made the people quiet before Moses, and said, “We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we shall surely overcome it,” but the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people for they are too strong for us,” so they gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out saying, “The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size.”}}
There you have it. Please go back to the passage in Hebrews 6:1-9 and see the words capitalised which are “ENLIGHTENED, TASTED, PARTAKERS, IMPOSSIBLE TO RENEW”. Ten men said it was impossible; only Joshua and Caleb had the faith to appropriate the conquest.
*** NOTE: These twelve men actually had their feet in the land; actually held the fruit; actually saw the potential; actually tasted the produce (implied); actually saw what God had promised; actually were enlightened to the truth – BUT THEY LET GO! THEY DID NOT HOLD ON.
There you see the division of faith and unbelief. Faith would go and possess the land. Unbelief says it is too difficult. Unbelief goes part way but refuses to accept.
Faith holds on to the produce of the land and unbelief releases it, lets it go. The Hebrew people had been enlightened – they had seen “on the other side”. Partakers of the Holy Spirit – they were touching the blessing – they held the blessing - they were almost there, but then faith departed. They released the position they were at. THEY WERE NOT HOLDING ON to claim the promise of God for eternal life but went back to their slavery, to a system, and lost eternal life. It was too difficult for them. God does not make it difficult. We do that because we don’t want to accept God’s way and don’t want to lose the old sinful life.
10 of those spies were on the border of transformation but then the giants were too many and too big. THEY LET GO. Only two of them had the faith to claim the promise of God that He would be with them every step they took.
These people Paul refers to here in Hebrews 6, WERE NOT CHRISTIANS WHO STEPPED BACK. THEY DID NOT BACKSLIDE. THEY WERE NOT CHRISTIANS IN THE FIRST PLACE. They (probably Jews) were close to the new life, but did not hold on. THEY LET GO and could not go forward with God. At the border of Canaan God did not give them a second chance. They turned back and wandered for 40 years and never had that chance again. It was impossible to renew them again to repentance. They had despised what God had provided and did not take it by faith.
That Hebrews passage has nothing to do with Christians who might fall into sin or backslide. The error is saying those have lost their salvation. It is NOT referring to Christians at all. It means the Jews who were hearing the gospel and were almost there, right at the border, but they turned away. There was no faith to accept; no faith to appropriate those promises of salvation. It was like the seed falling on the rocky ground.
By the way these referred to, just can not be Christians – {{Hebrews 6:6 “and then have fallen away, it is IMPOSSIBLE TO RENEW them again to repentance,”}} Peter fell away but came back through repentance. 1John 1:9-10 gives the lie to that false teaching that Christians who sin lose salvation.
PART E. THE CONCLUSION
There is a verse in the passage from Numbers we did not read but was in the section considered - {{Numbers 14:18 “The LORD is slow to anger and abundant in loving kindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression, BUT He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations.”}}
The Lord was all that in the first part of that verse to Israel outside Canaan’s border, but when they rejected God’s offer and despised His way, then they were left in their sin until all of them perished. The only ones to enter the land were to be Joshua and Caleb, the two who saw, touched, tasted - and believed, and appropriated God’s promises.
KEEP HOLDING ON – God is faithful.
If God is calling you and you are on the point of decision, DO NOT LET GO.
ronaldf@aapt.net.au
