Hebrews 10:32-39
Having Confidence Always
Scripture Readings:-
1 Peter 4:12-19
Hebrews 10:32-39
Congregation in the Lord Jesus Christ,
Have you ever been involved in a “remember the good old days” discussion? That is one of those discussions where you sit with your parents or grandparents and talk about how everything was so much better in the past. In the good-old-days life was so not complicated. In the good-old-days families would be together and do things together. In the good-old-day the church was the centre of the village and everyone went there. Everyone was nicer, and more patient, and a better neighbour in the good-old-days. Sure life was hard – but people were tough and they did what needed to be done.
In our text the author of Hebrews is also having a good-old-days discussion. But he is not focussing on how great the good-old-days were; he is focussing on how hard the good-old-days were. When the people to whom this letter was written first came to faith they were facing tough times.
• public exposure to insult and persecution.
• sympathising with those who were in prison.
• watching your property being confiscated.
It was all part of their daily lives. And the author of Hebrews wants them to remember those days because something has changed. And it is a change for the worse.
Have a look at verse 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”.
“Those were the good-old-days. The days when you really knew your hope was in Jesus. The days when your relationship to God was precious and above all else. The days when you trusted only in the power of God and not in your own strength. Do you remember those days? Well you need to because your faith is starting to get a little soft. And you are becoming spiritually weak. And you are lacking confidence”.
There is a saying which talks about the fact that people can be so heavenly minded that they are of no earthly value. The opposite is happening here. These people are so earthly minded they are putting their own faith into dangerous waters. We can become so earthly minded that we can fall into the danger of neglecting the grace of Jesus and, as a result, not have confidence to move forward with Christian enthusiasm. That is the danger and it is a danger we must avoid. The question is, “How do we do it?”.
The answer can be found in our text. The answer starts in verses 32-34 where the author shows us how those with Christian enthusiasm live.
Those with Christian enthusiasm stand their ground when it comes to facing suffering. Those with Christian enthusiasm are like the WW1 infantry men who stood unflinching, and who went forward bravely, as they made their way towards the enemy lines. Christian enthusiasm causes people to have endurance – spiritual endurance – as we run the race marked out for us by Jesus. That is a great picture of a Christian, isn’t it? We are able to stand in the face of opposition. We go headlong into adversity trusting in the training and support we have been given. We carry our cross, just as Christ carried His cross. When it comes to suffering Christian enthusiasm gives us the extra ability to stand tall.
Those with Christian enthusiasm do not hide from public exposure to insult and persecution. The early Christians were often very much misunderstood. They were described as people who were against Rome. Their ideas and teachings were often falsely portrayed. For example when celebrating the Lord’s Supper they would repeat the words of Jesus, “Take and eat, this is my body”. These words were turned around to the point where Christians were accused of cannibalism. Yet, despite these false accusations - silly as they were - the early believers held their tongue and were willing to accept the ridicule for the sake of Christ. Side by side they endured this sort of nonsense as they stuck together when all was going well. And they stuck together when all looked like it was falling apart at the seams.
Those with Christian enthusiasm joyfully accept the confiscation of their property. In the past the readers of the Hebrew letter had willingly allowed this to occur. Many times the Romans and the Jews evicted the Christians from their homes. It would happen illegally. The illegalities were overlooked by the authorities. There was no real justice. But they would just walk away, with the clothes on their back and a few things hastily packed in a bag. For the eviction also meant leaving most of their possessions behind as well.
They stood their ground. They did not hide from public insult. They joyfully accepted the confiscation of their property. Isn’t that a powerful picture of Christianity in action?
• To never be afraid to say we are Christians and make our lives a 100% example of Christianity in full flight.
• To be willing to face insult and persecution because we care more for name of Jesus than we do about our own reputation.
• To be able to say with all honesty, “If my house, car, money and job were taken away I would still feel secure”.
Indeed it is a powerful picture of Christianity in action. But it is one which, for the Hebrews at least, was in danger of disappearing. The believers in the church used to act this way – but it was a life-style which was fast disappearing. And I don’t think they are on their own.
Our Christian enthusiasm can easily fall into a hole if we are not continually willing to count the cost of living faithfully for Jesus. The life which the Hebrews once had is a perfect example of what it means to be a people who are counting the cost of discipleship. That is the cost which comes because we are not prepared to stay in our comfort zones. The cost of discipleship is our willingness to put our desires and agendas second and allow Jesus to direct all that we do and say. It is the cost associated with prioritising our life as we seek to function as those who will always give glory and honour to God. Discipleship doesn’t encourage indifference – instead discipleship calls us to make a difference, and be different in this world.
That is the aim and, sometimes, like the Hebrews, we can take our eyes off the target. Sometimes we need a bit of encouragement to fix our eyes back onto our primary task. That encouragement is found in our text.
“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. 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. For in just a very little while, ‘He who is coming will come and will not delay’.” (Hebrews 10:34-37).
What is the writer to the Hebrews saying here? We maintain our Christian enthusiasm by continually keeping an eye on the future. There is a day when Jesus will return as judge. In light of that future we are given encouragement to live a certain way. But there is much more to the return of Jesus than the judgement. Beyond the judgement there is security and hope. Let’s read a few verses from Revelation 22:3-5. They give us a little insight into the sort of situation we will face when Jesus returns and what happens to believers after the judgement day:-
“No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and His servants will serve Him. They will see His face, and His Name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever”.
When Jesus returns all that we have know which caused us to have agony, pain, suffering and anxiety will be taken away.
• We will see Jesus – radiant, shining in holiness, laughing at death.
• We will see the angels – hundreds, thousands, millions. Constantly there is this joyful, worshipful buzz in the air as they celebrate the ultimate victory.
• We will experience the glories of heaven – no death, no mourning, no pain.
Seeing God in all His glory and being named personally by Him.
In all of life that is the greater reality. We maintain our Christian enthusiasm by continually keeping an eye on the future. Since we know that our victory is certain we can have continued vigour and enthusiasm each and every day.
During the recent National Rugby League semi finals the North Queensland Cowboys were beating the Parramatta Eels by 29 points to zero. Now let’s imagine that there was 10 minutes left in the game and all of the North Queensland players decided to stop playing because they were tired and had enough. We would have thought they were fools wouldn’t we.
Congregation 2000 years ago our Lord Jesus Christ gave His life for us and secured a victory which would guarantee us a place in eternity with God forever. And to make it very clear that the victory was secure He rose from the grave and defied Satan’s feeble attempts to keep Him locked in death. Did Jesus do that because He wanted us to stop halfway through the game and sit on the sidelines? I don’t think so. Faith dies when it sits on the sidelines. Faith dies when we take our eyes off Jesus. Faith dies when we let the temporary nature of this world blind us to our eternal victory. If we are finding the troubles and difficulties of life overwhelming we need to sit back and look at it all with a different perspective. We read about that perspective in 1 Peter 4:12-13:-
“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed”.
There is a reason - sometimes the reason is not always easy to see - but there is a reason for everything that happens in life. And the over arching reason is that Jesus is continually preparing us for eternity.
• All the difficulties and the smooth paths.
• All the insults and the words of praise.
• All the times of persecution and the times of peace.
• All the frustrations and the easy days.
• All the setbacks and unexpected bonuses.
• All the disappointments and all the blessings.
In all those times the Lord is chipping away at us as He moulds us and shapes us to be prepared for the eternal victory.
“I will come back and take you to be with Me”, says Jesus. And what a day that will be. We will be standing in the crowd with all these other people from every nation, tribe, language, race and historical era. And the time of judgement has come and gone and Jesus has come forward and claimed us as His own precious child. And comfort will be in His eyes. And a cheer of joy and celebration will arise in the heavens. Nothing will beat that moment. Nothing.
In light of that truth let us understand what is really happening. Our world is being choked by the need to have immediate answers.
• “I want to know now”.
• “I want it organised now”.
• “I want my way now”.
In contrast we believe in a Saviour who refuses to be stifled by such a futureless outlook. Instead we have a Saviour who calls us to look beyond the moment to that which is eternal. To that which will really last. And by doing that Jesus gets us out of the habit of indifference and He calls us to a mindset where we can make a difference.
We can become so earthly minded that we can fall into the danger of neglecting the grace of Jesus and, as a result, not have confidence to move forward with Christian enthusiasm. This passage before us is a call to do the opposite. Let’s read Hebrews 10 verses 35 and 38.
“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded … My righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.”
In the call for Christian enthusiasm words are cheap.
• Hard times will not be endured by those who are self willed who are using the church for business, or social, or personal reasons.
• Hard times will not be endured by those who come to church out of habit, but who never let the truths of what is being taught there hit home.
• Hard times are not be endured by those who only think about the now moment and who forget about the eternal victory to come.
Congregation when we have come to faith in Christ we can’t be people who just give up and shrink back. There is always a bigger picture in view and it is a picture which enables us to have a faith which reaches to the heavens.
As we go through life seeking to be those who have Christian enthusiasm we can only do so by keeping our eyes constantly fixed on the ultimate victory which will be given to us through Jesus. Life may be hard and testing at times, but Jesus is on the throne and, when we trust in Him, He is going to take us to be with Himself. In view of that truth may it be said of us that we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.
Amen.
