Last week, we ended our study in the preceding verses by expounding the text found in vs 16, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”  This is God’s command to the church, as it was His command to the Israelites.  God first said it in Leviticus 11:44.  Then Peter updates it under the new covenant to the church, so that it becomes the commandment for our sanctification.  We are made holy and righteous positionally due to our justification.  But then we are becoming holy practically through the process of sanctification.  Sanctification is the practice of becoming who you are created to be.  It is the process of becoming conformed to the image of Jesus Christ as we walk in His footsteps, according to the pattern which he laid for us.

Peter speaks about this pattern of sanctification in chapter 2:21 saying, “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.” The word in the Greek for example is “hypogrammos”, which means a writing copy, including all the letters of the alphabet, which was given to beginners as an aid in learning to draw them.  We still give school children such things today, letting them trace over the letters so that they may learn to write.  In the same manner,  we are to live in such a way that we follow the example laid down by Jesus, so that we might be conformed to His image.  In this way, as we are obedient to His word, so we become like Him. That is the process of sanctification that Peter is referring to here; that we may become holy in all our behavior, even as He is holy.

So in preparation for the rest of the epistle’s emphasis on holy living, he gives us a staccato-like list of reasons in which we should find motivation to become sanctified. 

Now his whole epistle is really that, teaching us and instructing us how we are to live, how we are to become like Christ. And in these last verses of the first chapter, he is particularly going to present some reasons to us in order to motivate us to be sanctified.  Because the process of sanctification is not all a bed of roses.  Peter has already alluded in vs 6 to the fact that suffering trials is often part and parcel of the process of sanctification.  

It’s kind of like working out.  We all know the benefits of working out.  We know that it’s the means of staying healthy and fit and being energetic and having a productive life.  But we also know it’s something that takes discipline, it’s hard work.  It’s not always fun.  But the end goal makes it worth it.  That same mindset is applicable to our sanctification as well, when we work out our salvation with fear and trembling.  As Paul said in Phil. 2:12-13 “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;  for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for [His] good pleasure.”

I don’t know about you, but I find that I need motivation in order to stick with my work out regime.  I sometimes find that motivation in reading certain books, or watching videos or something on you tube in order to motivate myself to keep going.  And I suppose that Peter adds this list for the same effect; hoping to motivate us in this process of sanctification, and remind us of the benefit in store, that we might not fall short of our calling.

The first motivation for our sanctification he gives is because God is our Father.  He says in vs 17, “If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth.”  Our motivation to become holy should be because we are sons and daughters of God.  God is holy, and as His children our desire should be to please our Father and be like our Father.  And as  our earthly fathers are wont to do, our Heavenly Father will bring discipline to bear in order to correct us when our behavior does not meet His expectations.  

There is a lot of push in evangelical circles today to make the fear of God into something less onerous, something more in the way of awe or respect.  And awe and respect  certainly are a part of the fear of God.  But when you look at the way the word fear is used in the vast majority of cases in the New Testament,  it means more than that.  The Greek word is phobos, which is the word we get phobia from.  And it means terror, dread, reverence.  For instance, when the disciples were on the sea in the storm and the waves terrified them, it is phobos.  So there is a real fear that should come from realizing the holiness of God, and that He is our Father who will discipline us for our good, according to Hebrews 12:10, that we might share in His holiness.

Listen, when I was a kid, nothing struck fear into my heart and kept me in line than my mother saying, “Wait until your father gets home. I’m going to tell him what you’ve been doing.”  I knew that my Dad would discipline me.  But contrary to all the psycho babble that you hear from parenting gurus today, that discipline did not make me love my Dad less. Nor did I ever believe after I had been on the receiving end of discipline that my Dad did not love me. Proper discipline is an expression of love.  In fact, Hebrews tells us that whom God loves He disciplines, and if you are without discipline, you are not really His child.  So a healthy fear of God produces sanctification in His children.

There is another type of fear though that should be mentioned.  And that is a fear of bringing shame upon Him.  If you have a holy reverence for your Father, you would be careful not to ever do anything by which you might bring shame upon the family name.  I remember my Dad telling me when I was a young boy, that the Harrell’s may not have much, but they did have a good name, and I should never do anything to bring shame upon that name. That kind of attitude is the attitude we should have towards our Lord.  So our first motivation for sanctification should be because God is our Father.

Second reason for motivation Peter says is because our citizenship is in heaven.  He says, “conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth.”  What he’s saying, in reality, is that we don’t live here, we are just resident aliens.  Some of the other translations may say it better than the NASB, such as the KJV which says “the time of your sojourning.”  NIV says, “as foreigners.”  The RSV says the “time of your exile.”  

I remember a movie I saw 30 years ago or more, in which the main character was referred to by someone as a “prince in exile.”  That phrase always stuck with me for some reason.   That’s what we are to live like.  Paul said in Phil. 3:20 “For our citizenship is in heaven.”  He expands on that idea in Col. 3:2 “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.”  Because heaven is our home.  We’re just passing through here. We belong to a different kingdom, we live by a superior constitution, a better heritage.

The third reason for our motivation for sanctification Peter gives is because of the price of our redemption.  The priceless cost of our ransom should motivate us to be sanctified.  If you have ever purchased something extremely valuable, or been given something extremely valuable, then you should understand that because of how much it cost you are very careful in the way that you handle it. I used to sometimes have that experience in the antiques realm in which I used to work.  I was notorious for damaging things soon after I got them.  Something could have survived in perfect condition for a hundred years, but an hour after I got it I broke it.  

But if I bought something that was extremely valuable, that had taken all my money and then some, I handled it very carefully.  I would put it where it would not be touched, where it would be safe, because I understood it’s immense value.

In a similar respect, when we come to know the supreme cost which Jesus paid to effect our redemption, the price that He paid to pay our ransom, then how careful should we be to handle our salvation. We certainly would not want it stained and soiled by the world. Paul said in 1Cor. 6:19-20 “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit [who is] in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?  For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 

Notice how Peter describes our redemption as from the futile way of life inherited from our forefathers.  What he is saying there is that our lives before our redemption was empty, it was meaningless.  Like Solomon says in Ecclesiastes, our lives were vanity, chasing after the wind. Our lives were purposeless.  There is nothing more empty than chasing after the lusts of the world.  They never satisfy you.  You never get enough.  Whether it’s money, or sex or alcohol or houses or cars or whatever this world has to offer, it’s never enough.  Only God satisfies.  Only God is able to fill the hole in your soul.  

Notice also the price of our redemption.  You cannot put a price on a life, can you?  When someone is killed in an accident, and it’s someone else’s fault, they may find themselves in front of a court that will determine the monetary compensation for the loss of life.  And usually it is in the millions of dollars when someone has lost a life. 

But the price of our redemption is even harder to fathom.  Peter says it was “with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”  The word precious there was commonly used in reference to precious stones, things of great value.  The price of our redemption required first of all that the substitute would be holy, blameless and spotless.  The price required a human life.  But also it required a Deity.  If there can scarcely be a value determined for a man, how can you put a value on the very God Himself who took on flesh? How can you put a value on the supreme innocence of a Holy God?

Think of it! The only Son of God died for sinners.  The innocent suffered for the guilty. The King of Kings offered His life for peasants.  The perfect for the imperfect.  The spotless for the stained. How can we consider such a cost paid for our penalty and not be motivated to live for Him?

The next motivation for our sanctification is because it is the eternal plan of God. Vs 20, “For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you.”  At some unknown time long before the creation of the universe, the Godhead agreed together as to the plan of salvation.  God did not convene a meeting several hundred years after Noah and say “hey, we need to think of some way to fix this mess.”  But in the omnipotence and sovereignty of God the Trinity designed a plan long before the world was formed.  The word world there is kosmos, which indicates all the stars and planets.  

The idea of foreknowledge there in relation to Christ may be better understood as predestined.  It was determined beforehand which of the Deity would become flesh and offer themselves as a substitional sacrifice for man’s sin.  Jesus Christ volunteered to leave His glory in heaven, and forever become human. 

Notice that Peter says this was done for us.  For you. For your sakes, he says.  God made this grand plan to bring about your salvation, foreknowing and predestining those who would be saved.  And knowing that we are a part and the purpose of this grand design should motivate us to be all that God has designed us to be.

Another reason Peter gives for our sanctification is that we might love one another.  Vs 22, “Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart.”   Jesus said that a new commandment He gave to us, which was to love one another. But our sanctification enables us to love one another as we ought, and that is because sanctification purifies your heart.  

Some of the other versions include the word pure in the last phrase, so that it would read; “love one another fervently with a pure heart.”  See, love that does not come from a pure heart is hypocritical love.  It’s love for show. It’s love for an ulterior motive.  But love from a pure heart is one in which there is no guile.  It’s love in which there is no jealousy.  No anger, strife. 

Paul said this is pure love of the brethren; “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant  or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;  it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never ends. (1 Cor. 13:4)

Only by sanctification can we love like that.  That’s why Peter says in vs 22, that we must in obedience to the truth purify our souls so that we might have a sincere love of the brethren. Sanctification is the sacrifice of self for the sake of Christ.  And only in that way can we be sincere in our love for one another, with a pure heart, without selfish motives.

There is another reason Peter gives that should motivate us in our sanctification, and that is because you have been born again. Vs 23, “for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.”  Born again means that we are a new creation, old things are passed away, and all things have become new.  Born again means we have a new nature, a new spirit, a new hope, a new perspective, a new reason to live, a new life in Christ.

This present body was born of perishable seed.  My father died, as his father died, and his father before him.  This body of mine will die. But when I became born again, I received eternal life and the promise of a new, glorified body some day when Jesus returns.  I received this eternal life by promise.  It is written in the Bible, God’s word.  It was proclaimed by Jesus, that whosoever believes in Me will never die. 

What Peter indicates here is that the word of God is the imperishable seed by which man is born again.  Paul said in 1Cor. 1:21 “For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”  

I’m sure you all are familiar with the parable of the soils that Jesus gave.  He spoke of man sowing seed, and some fell on rocky ground, some fell beside the road and were eaten by the birds, some sprouted up but were choked out by weeds, some fell on good soil.  And when the disciples asked Him to explain the parable He said that the seed was the word of God. Peter must have been thinking of that parable when he wrote this verse.  The imperishable seed is the word of God which endures forever.  

There is another reason for our sanctification that bears mentioning, and that is because this life is soon past.  Peter quoting from Isaiah 40 says, “ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS, AND ALL ITS GLORY LIKE THE FLOWER OF GRASS. THE GRASS WITHERS, AND THE FLOWER FALLS OFF.   James said something similar in James 4:14 “whereas you do not know what [will happen] tomorrow. For what [is] your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”  

There was a saying that I heard my mother repeat many times growing up.  I don’t know who the original author was, but she used to say, “Only one life will soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.”   Why would we waste this life, purchased at such a great cost, chasing after the things of this world which will soon be over.  I’m just amazed at how quickly life is passing by.  Each year goes more swiftly than the last.  Yesterday it seems I just got married.  Now last week I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary.  

Only one life will soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.  I want to use what time I have left to serve the Lord, to do those things which are pleasing to Him. I’m going to see Him one day soon.  I hope that I will be found faithful when that day comes. On that day, my time of sanctification will be complete, and God will complete that which He began in me.  1John 3:2 says, “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”

There is one final motivation for our sanctification, and that is because the word of the Lord endures forever.  The word of God is given to be our rule and guide for this life.  But it will also be the rule and guide for eternity.  How much then should we even now be living in obedience to the word of God?  Remember what Peter said back in vs 22?  In obedience to the truth purify your souls.  Sanctification comes through obedience to the word of God.  It’s not through some sort of ecstatic experience.  It’s not through ritual, or ceremony or keeping the Sabbath or some other religious holiday.  But it’s through obedience to the truth.  Because the truth is the word of God, and it endures forever.  It is the imperishable seed by which we live by faith.   It’s the means by which we walk by faith. 

Listen, sanctification is simply living by faith in the word of God. Day by day, moment by moment.  We are saved by faith, and so we live by faith.  We trust and obey every day, relying on the truth of God’s word for every word and deed.  Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.  His word will not fail you. 

As we began our study of 1 Peter a couple of weeks ago we first looked at the surety  of our salvation in vs1-5, as Peter tells us we are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven, and protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  What a tremendous salvation has been granted to us by faith in Christ, that is promised by the Father, sealed by the Holy Spirit, and signed with the blood of Jesus Christ.   The surety of our salvation.

Then in vs 6-9 we looked at the sanctification of our salvation, brought about by the proving of our faith, even through sufferings, as we are tested by fire, that our faith might come forth like gold.  Now today, we look at the sanctity of our salvation, in which the Spirit of Christ working in us, and through the scriptures, we become holy even as He is Holy.

So Peter continues to by expounding the sanctity of our salvation in vs 10 saying, “As to this salvation…” And though it may seem superfluous when preaching to the choir, I should make sure that everyone understands what salvation is.  The word salvation in both natural and spiritual applications means very simply deliverance from peril.  In human terms, if you were at the beach, and wading in the water and suddenly a great wave came and knocked you off your feet, and then the outflow from that wave caused a rip current to pull you out to sea, and you could not swim, you would be in very grave danger of drowning unless someone came to save you. Someone who was capable of not only out swimming the current, and contending with the waves, but someone who was able to also carry you back to safety.

I’m sure you have heard of people who had some sort of similar escape from death, perhaps they even went so far as to have a near death experience, and afterwards they believed that they had a new purpose in life.  They certainly had a new perspective and from that day on they lived differently.  

I suppose in many respects you could say spiritual salvation is like that.  But in the spiritual realm, the Bible teaches that all men are lost, swept up in the current of the world and held captive by sin, and in real danger of eternal death.  Our salvation comes about by calling upon the name of Jesus, who is able to save, who has overcome the world and sin and death, and so He is able to save us as well.  But His purpose in saving us is not to just deliver us from death, but to give us new life.  And like the person who had the near death experience, our experience of salvation gives us a new perspective on life, which causes us to live differently from that day forward.

Theologians tell us that salvation has a three fold purpose; to deliver us from the penalty of sin, to deliver us from the power of sin, and to deliver us from the presence of sin. And make no mistake, sin is the antithesis of life.  Sin causes death.  Sin destroys life. So salvation delivers us from the penalty, the power and the presence of sin so that we might have life and have it more abundantly. 

 Now those three phases are often spoken of in theological terms as justification, sanctification, and glorification.  In justification, when we by faith believe in Jesus Christ and trust Him as our Savior and Lord, we are delivered from the penalty of sin, and given new life.  In sanctification, we are delivered from the power of sin. Sin no longer has dominion over us, but the Lord is our new master.  Paul speaking of this in Romans 6:18-19 says, “and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.  For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in [further] lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.”

And then the final phase is glorification, when we are delivered at either the resurrection or at Christ’s second coming from the presence of sin.  We will be given a new, glorified body without a sin nature, to live in a new world without sin. That aspect of our salvation is still to come, as Peter mentions in vs 13 saying, “fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”  As you can see, there is a past, present and future tense to grace as well. Grace is God’s gift of salvation in all it’s effects. As the scripture says, He gives us “grace upon grace.”

Now this grace was made manifest by proclamation.  Peter says, it was proclaimed to you by the prophets of old.  “As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.”  He is speaking of the Old Testament prophets.  And he is saying that their proclamation came by inspiration of the Spirit of Christ.   What’s interesting is that Peter says that the Spirit of Christ prophesied of His own sufferings and the glories to follow.  And another point he makes is that they did not fully comprehend all that the Spirit was saying through them, but they came to understand that they were speaking to us in the future who would know.  

It’s almost as if they were adding pieces to a puzzle that they could not see finished.  But generation after generation, the prophets were given inspiration in a continuous progression of truth, so that the picture began to be filled in more and more.  I think he’s indicating that they looked and studied previously written scriptures in order to try to understand what the Spirit was saying. Hebrews says something similar in Hebrews 11:39-40  “And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised,  because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.”

Peter speaks to the same idea in vs 12 saying,  “It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven–things into which angels long to look.”

That last phrase indicates that the angels also are seeking to understand the intricacies of the gospel.  Salvation is not a grace that is given to angels.  And so it speaks of our better position than that of the angels.  Hebrews chapter 2 says we were made lower than the angels for a little while, but at the consummation of all things, Jesus said we will one day judge angels.  And so it would seem that our salvation is of great interest to the angels and they are observing the prophecies come to fulfillment even as we are.

You know, the Apostle Peter said something to Jesus one day in response to His question if they were going to leave Him too, and Peter said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.”  And that understanding is fundamental to our salvation, and to this life we have been given.  That’s why it’s so important to recognize what Peter says about the inspiration of the scriptures, it comes by the Spirit of Christ.  I think he uses that title intentionally to signify the unity of scripture.  That the same Spirit spoke in the Old Testament that spoke in Christ in His ministry, and still speaks to us today through the epistles of the apostles.  

The gospel of salvation was foreordained before creation.  The gospel of salvation was manifested by typology and allegory and metaphor from Adam to Noah, to Abraham to Moses and so on through the prophets.  It’s the same gospel.  And it’s a gospel of salvation from death to life.  The word of Christ is life.  Jesus quoting from Deuteronomy said, “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”  Folks, you want to have the abundant life that Jesus spoke of, then you need to live by the word, you need to obey the word.  That’s the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit which Peter referred to in vs2, when he said, according to the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit that you may obey Jesus Christ.   

This is the Word of Life.  Eat it and live.  Some of us are starving ourselves to death for a lack of spiritual food.  And aren’t you glad that the prophets of old wrote it down?  Aren’t you glad we don’t depend upon oral tradition?  Every word, every syllable has been meted out by the Holy Spirit and tried and tested and is true.  Psalm 12:6, “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.”  Peter is going to say in the beginning of the next chapter, 1Peter 2:2 that we should, “like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation.”  Because the new life of salvation is intended to grow from infancy to maturity, as a continuing process of sanctification.

Now this necessity of our sanctification is what Peter really wants to drive home here.  He has laid down the foundations of our faith, the calling of God, the sanctifying work of the Spirit, that we might obey Jesus Christ who has sprinkled us with His blood.  He has established the authority of scripture as the guiding light of our life.  And now he wants to tell us what our responsibility is as we live this life which has been given to us.  

And he indicates that first of all it starts in our minds.  He says “Gird your minds for action.” The word “gird” references an old phrase which was to gird up your loins.  What that is speaking of is the robes that were worn in those days were very long and somewhat cumbersome.  And so if you were going to work, or going to run, then you would tuck the robe under your belt to free up your legs so you wouldn’t trip or be hampered from moving.  

Now he uses that analogy in regards to our minds.  Our spirit has been born again, but in this new life our minds have to now become subject to the Spirit instead of the flesh.  And that’s why the scripture is so important to us.  It is the means of renewing our minds. It changes the way we think.  By meditating on the word of Christ, we gain the mind of Christ.  

Paul speaks of this need for renewing our minds in Romans 12:1,2, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, [which is] your spiritual service of worship.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

What this indicates is that what we put in our minds has a spiritual impact on our life. It’s actually harmful to feed your mind on a steady diet of the culture of the world.   The movies, the songs, the television shows, the pop stars we follow on social media, all of that leads to a mind fettered by the world.  Peter says we need to clear that out of the way so we won’t be hindered, so we don’t fall, so we don’t get tripped up.   Prov. 23:7 says, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”  If you are constantly putting the world’s perspective and morals and mannerisms in your mind, then it shouldn’t be surprising when your spiritual life is practically nonexistent.  It’s not surprising that you have no appetite for spiritual things.

I would also point out the obvious, that the Christian life requires action.  Faith requires action. The Christian life is not just some sort of intellectual exercise that we do once a week.  But we apply the word of God to our lives. Peter says in chapter 2 vs 2, “We work out our salvation with fear and trembling.”

Then Peter says, we are to keep sober in spirit.  To be sober is not talking about alcohol or drugs necessarily, though it certainly includes that.  But it’s referring to an attitude, a perspective of watchfulness, of seriousness, of carefulness. Peter refers to this again later on in his epistle in chapter 5 vs 8, “Be of sober [spirit,] be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”  

Ah, now we understand perhaps better what he is getting at.  The devil takes opportunity through your mind, especially a mind that is undisciplined.  A mind that is not focused on the task ahead, but is at ease, or more interested in entertainment or amusement. There is nothing wrong with having fun or being entertained.  But we need to gird up our minds, be disciplined, what Paul calls “taking every thought captive to obedience of Christ.” (2Cor. 10:5) The battleground of our souls is in our mind. 

Peter refers to this need for mental focus in the next phrase, “fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”  The past grace was when we first believed and our sins were forgiven.  The present grace is by which we now stand.  But the grace to come is the grace that will be given to us at the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is coming soon.  Or I will be going to Him soon.  But one way or another, there is soon coming a day when we will be face to face with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  We should live our lives in anticipation of that day, looking forward to it, and making each day count for Him until that grace appears.

Next, Peter likens the church to obedient children.  I don’t know if he is being deliberately sarcastic there or not.  I’m not sure I would characterize most Christians today as obedient children.  I think he’s using reverse psychology there.  Kind of the way the Lord named him the Rock.  He wasn’t really a rock, but God wanted him to become one.  Maybe that’s what Peter is trying to do here.  Calling us what he hopes we will be.  

But the point is that if we are saved then we are children of God. And if you are indeed a child of God, then it is expedient that you are an obedient child of God.  If we as imperfect parents discipline our children, then how much more will the perfect Father in Heaven discipline His children so that they may share in His holiness?  Hebrews 12:9-11 says, “Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live?  For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He [disciplines us] for [our] good, so that we may share His holiness.  All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”

That’s why suffering and trials are such an essential part of sanctification.  It’s the way God instructs us and teaches us and produces in us the fruit of holiness.  So Peter says, in obedience to God do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in ignorance. In other words, you should know better than that now.  Don’t go back to the former things.  Remember Romans 12:2 which we quoted a few minutes ago, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” 

We recently got a new puppy as many of you know.  We all should have our heads examined.  One of the many duties we have is to keep the puppy clean. He’s a house dog, and so he needs to smell decent and not bring mud and dirt and who knows what into the house.  So my son has given him a couple of baths.  But he’s a puppy.  He’s a dog.  And it’s a dogs nature to get into every smelly, stinky, dirty thing that they can.  It’s their nature.  

And we have an old nature as well.  When we were saved we got a new nature, but the old nature is still there.  We just aren’t supposed to listen to it anymore.  We are supposed to obey our new nature. And the starvation of the old nature and the obedience to the new nature should cause the old to pass quietly away.  But how sad it is to see a Christian still living in the old nature.  

Peter speaks of this old nature in chapter 4 vs 3, “For the time already past is sufficient [for you] to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries.”  He said, be sober, remember? Don’t go back to that stuff anymore, it only leads to destruction. It’s not the new way of life which we’ve been given.  In fact, he says in the previous verse, “so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.”

So now we know how not to live, how then the logical question is how are we supposed to live?  The answer is in vs15 “but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all [your] behavior;  because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”  

What does holy mean?  I think that’s a reasonable question. The word holy is overused today in contemporary Christian music so much that I think all the meaning is lost.  But holy means consecrated, set apart, righteous, pure, undefiled, perfect.  God is all those things. The hymn we sang earlier, “Holy, Holy, Holy” says the eye of sinful man cannot see God because of His holiness.

Isaiah saw a vision of the Holy God in Isaiah 6 and it says this: In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple.  Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.  And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.”  And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke.  Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”  Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs.  He touched my mouth [with it] and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.”

Listen, a proper view of God’s holiness results in a holy life.  We must be holy because God is holy.  We are in our new creation made holy, set apart, and so we should be holy and live not conformed to this world, but be conformed rather to Jesus Christ.  I’m going to deal with these next verses more next week but in the context of the holiness of God and our responsibility to Him I would read them now:  vs17 “If you address as Father (that is if you are a child of God) the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay [on earth;]  knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers,  but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, [the blood] of Christ.”  

Jesus was holy, blameless, the spotless Lamb of God who died to make you holy and blameless.  Our standard of holiness then is to walk like He walked, talk like He talked, act like He acted.  He was obedient to the Father in all that He did.  And by the Spirit of Christ that lives in us, we can live like Christ.  We are to be like Christ.  Paul said it well in Phil. 2:5, 12-13 “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, … 12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;  for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for [His] good pleasure.”

May God grant you His grace to live by the Spirit and do not conform to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.  Amen.

I have titled today’s message the Proof of Your Faith.  It comes directly from our text today, in vs 7 in the NASB.  Other translations render it “the trial of your faith,” or better, “the genuineness of your faith.”  Others have called it the character of your faith.  I think I could add one more, which is the evidence of your faith.

I have often found myself as a pastor, thinking of an individual who may have given a profession of faith at some point in their life, but yet I find myself wondering if in fact they really are saved. And let me quickly say that I am unable to determine whether or not a person is saved or not.  I can examine their fruit, and make a deduction, but I cannot see their hearts.  Only God can do that.  So I dare not try to usurp God’s omniscience.  

However, I think there is a deadly problem today in evangelicalism to reduce salvation to a formula by which we attempt to get people to agree to, to verbalize by some sort of prayer, and then “presto” they are saved.  They instantly escape hell and are guaranteed salvation.  They are set free from any possible punishment for sin.  And yet, oftentimes when you consider the way their lives are lived, there is very little evidence to support that they have indeed become a new creation in Christ.

And yet, as I alluded to a couple of weeks ago in a previous message, at it’s most simplest, the gospel promises that if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ you shall be saved.  To believe is to have faith in who Christ is and what He has done.  The conundrum is faith is simple enough for a child to do, but complex enough  for an adult to miss it.  I think that the simplest way for me to express salvation is to say, that you have faith as a child, simply believing in what God’s word says, but then a willingness to continue to believe all that God reveals.  Perhaps that’s what is meant by the great number of Biblical references which say “if you continue to the end,” or something to that effect.

I’ll give you a couple of examples; John 8:31 “So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you continue in My word, [then] you are truly disciples of Mine.’”

Rom. 11:22 “Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.”  

Let’s do a couple of more from Hebrews, which should be fresh in your mind; Heb 3:14 “For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end.”

Heb. 10:38 “BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH; AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM.”  There are many more, but that should suffice for now.

Now to be fair, I don’t think that all cases in which we fail to see much evidence of faith is an indication that a person is not saved, but rather an indication that they are unfaithful stewards, or that their love has grown cold, or that they are what we used to call back in the day, just plain old backslidden. 

But nevertheless, Peter has been addressing the reality  of our salvation, and last time we looked at his salutation which was full of affirmation and the promise of a glorious inheritance.  I think it is impossible to read the first 5 verses and not be uplifted and encouraged by the promise of what God has planned for those who have faith in Him. 

But now starting in vs 6, there is introduced a new aspect of our salvation, which while still finding reason to rejoice, is nevertheless one that involves suffering.  Peter indicates that suffering and trials are a part of our journey of faith, and you might even go so far as to say it is a necessary part of our salvation.  Peter says that suffering or trials is the proof, or evidence of our salvation.  It is the fire that results in the purified gold.  And so let’s look at how Peter delineates this evidence of faith.

First note that in vs6, there is a continuation of thought from the previous passage.  He says “In this you greatly rejoice…”  And of course we must ask what is referred to in the phrase, “in this…”  I would suggest that it is our salvation which is stated in vs 5; “you who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”  So “in this” refers to our salvation. 

Peter indicates without a lot of argument, that faith results in salvation.  And as I alluded to earlier,  faith at it’s most basic is simply believing in Jesus Christ.  Believing that He can help you, believing that He was who He said He was, and believing in what He came to do. You may not initially understand all of it, but you believe in Him. You trust in Him. And then you continue to believe and trust as you follow Him and as He reveals truth to you through His word.

So Peter says, in this salvation you greatly rejoice.  I think we have already amply examined the reasons for rejoicing in our salvation most thoroughly in our last study covering vs 1-5; i.e., because we have been elected by God, sanctified by the Spirit, and purified through the blood of Jesus, our inheritance reserved in heaven which cannot decay, or erode, or be taken away, promised the hope of resurrection,  our entry into the kingdom paid for by Christ and secured by the deposit of the Holy Spirit.  That’s something to rejoice about.

But now he introduces another element of our salvation which is usually viewed as antagonistic to rejoicing, and that is suffering.  He says, “In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials.”  There is a great error today in some regions of evangelicalism which want to say that suffering never has to be a part of the Christian experience.  That kind of theology obviously appeals to a lot of people, but that flies in the face of what the Bible says.  Jesus said, “In this world you will have tribulation.” 

In fact, Peter uses this word translated “trials” in two other places in his epistles.  Look at 1Peter 4:12 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing (which is the same word in the Greek as trials) as though some strange thing were happening to you.”

And then the other is 2Peter 2:9, which says, “ [then] the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, (that’s the same word rendered trials elsewhere) and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment.”

So just from Peter’s writings, we can learn that trials can be interpreted as  suffering, or  temptations, or  testing. All types of trials are permitted by God, though not all trials are produced by God. Notice Peter describes them as various trials.  Some trials may come from Satan, some may come from just the cares of this world, some may come from the weakness of our flesh. They may  cover a wide range of difficulties.  But God superintends all of our troubles and uses them for His glory. Rom. 8:28 says, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to [His] purpose.”  And it goes on to say in the next verse that His purpose is to conform us to the image of Jesus Christ.  So all things, all trials, are used to make us like Jesus Christ. 

And He has another purpose in our trials.  And that purpose is to reveal our faith.  Now God knows the extent of our faith, so it’s not that He allows trials to reveal our faith to Him, but to reveal our faith to ourselves and to others.  Peter says He allows trials in our lives “so that the proof, or evidence, or character, or genuineness of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”  

In other words, our trials reveal the nature of our faith to us and to others.  You may have heard the expression, the test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is looking.  Well, perhaps you could add to that, the test of a man’s faith reveals what he is to himself and to those who are watching. 

So suffering in trials through faith that doesn’t waver, that doesn’t buckle, that doesn’t give in, that doesn’t give way, that doesn’t give up trusting in Jesus, is evidence of saving faith.  It’s indicative that your salvation is genuine.  And it’s proof to yourself, and proof to a watching world.  And it’s a testimony that results in praise and glory to God.  We make much of praise in the church nowadays.  But all too often it is only the empty praise of the lips.  It’s praise that costs us nothing, that’s offered without sacrifice.  But to be steadfast in faith in the midst of suffering or trials will bring praise to God from others who see your steadfastness.  And it will produce praise in your own life as you see the faithfulness of God in your trials.

Peter also makes the point that trials are the refining fire that purifies your faith.  In the hymn, How Firm a Foundation, the writer says “the flames shall not hurt thee, I only design, thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.”  I’m sure he was thinking of this very text when he wrote that line. 

Peter says that this proof or evidence of your faith is more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire.  This tested faith has more value than gold.  I would suggest that faith through the fire is a means of laying up treasure in heaven. Our steadfast faith in the midst of trials  will result in eternal rewards in heaven.  And just as fire refines gold by burning out the impurities, so does testing refine our faith by revealing that which is true and burning up that which is impure.

Now regardless of what type of trial we go through, the evidence of our faith will be seen in three ways.  Peter says, 1, you will love Him who is unseen, 2, you believe in Him who is not seen now, and 3, you greatly rejoice.  Now let’s look at each of those evidences briefly.

First, the evidence of your faith is that you love Him who is unseen.  What does it mean to love Jesus? Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”  Now that’s a Biblical definition of love.  Obedience is a manifestation of love.  Love isn’t just an emotion, or a sentiment, but a commitment.  In fact, to love God is a commandment, which Jesus said is the foremost commandment.  Furthermore, Jesus said in Luke 6:46  “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” 

I will tell you this.  When the Devil comes to tempt you, to try your faith, the area in which he will most likely tempt you is in the area of loving God.  He will try to get you to love the world more, to love money more, to love your family more, to love your grandchildren more, to love your freedom more.  And I’m sure all of us, even if caught in the act of putting others before Christ, would still protest, even as Peter protested, “Oh Lord, you know that I love you.”  

But the Lord knows the hearts.  And if you love Him, then you will obey Him and put Him first in your life.  Three times when Peter protested to Jesus “I love you,”  Jesus responded with “Then feed My sheep.”  The church is His sheep.  And I think Jesus was saying that one way our faith is evidenced is by our love for Christ’s church.

Even more to the point though our love for Christ is evidenced by obedience.  When temptations seem to offer a better, more natural, more rational option, but it’s not in accordance to God’s word, then I must choose obedience.  When it would be easier to fold to the world’s expectations than to remain faithful to God, I must choose obedience.  Obedience is the evidence that I love the Lord.  Not by my singing, not even my praises, but my obedience. 

In this verse, Peter gives us such a great description of what faith is.  He says, “and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him.”  That really hits the same notes as Hebrews 11:1, which says, “Now faith is the evidence of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”  

Listen, the problem with the word of faith movement is that they are attempting to make faith the evidence of things seen.  They proclaim that if you just have enough faith, you can see God evidenced in your life by giving your what you want; the so called blessings of God, such as health and prosperity.  But it’s evident in these verses that the faith that God desires is a faith in Him despite the fact that we don’t see what we want to see.  It’s a faith that is obedient despite the fact that it might even include suffering through trials.  

The second evidence of faith, Peter says, is you believe in Christ, even though you don’t see Him now.  I think the idea of believing here is speaking of trusting God in the midst of trials.  When grief strikes, when calamity comes, when the prognosis of the doctor is exactly what you didn’t want to hear, when your spouse leaves you, when your children desert the faith, whatever happens, you still trust the Lord. That’s the hardest part of trials, is believing that God sees, when we can’t see God.  Believing that God cares, when circumstances would seem to indicate the opposite.  But faith endures to the end.  Faith keeps on believing, keeps on trusting our souls to a faithful creator.

And the third evidence of faith, Peter says,  is to greatly rejoice in spite of trials.  Notice how twice in this passage he uses the phrase, “greatly rejoice.”   The first is in vs 6, and now again in vs 8; “you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory.”  To be honest, I don’t think I often do that.  I think it must be a supernatural gift of God that comes to us in our trials.  Maybe it comes in the midst of trials, maybe it comes after the outcome of our trials, I don’t know. I would imagine that it varies, just as the trials are varied.  But Peter is emphatic about the idea that we can rejoice in trials.

In chapter 4 which is another text which Peter talks about these fiery trials, he has some things to say which may help us know more precisely what he’s talking about.  1Peter 4:12 says “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you;  but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.”

First he says, to the degree that you are sharing in the sufferings of Christ.  That qualifies our suffering.  Not all suffering may be joyful. Heb 12:11 says “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” 

But it is possible to have joy when you share in the sufferings of Christ.  How?  I think it’s because as we come to suffer with Him, we come to know Him and have fellowship with Him in a more intimate way.  Paul spoke of this in Phil. 3:10 “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.” 

Listen, to know Him is to love Him.  And to love Him is to come to know the kind of joy that is inexpressible.  And we come to know Him most intimately when we are conformed to His sufferings, and conformed to His death, when we die to sin and die to the world.  In that way, we become conformed to His image. In other words, we live for what He lived for.  We die for what He died for.  We suffer for what He suffered for.  And when we do those things,  we will we also share in His glory.

Now these proofs of our faith, Peter says, results in “obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.”  I think that when he says this, he is referring to more than just the moment that you are born again.  Salvation speaks of more than that.  In fact, I think vs 8 is speaking of this, there are three phases of our salvation.  There is the point at which you believe, which is justification. Then there is the process by which you are sanctified, or  being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, that is called sanctification.  And then there is the final stage of salvation which is when we are translated into glory, what is called glorification. And all three phases can be referred to as salvation.  But I think that the Bible teaches that all three are essential components of salvation.

We are justified by faith as indicated in vs 3.  We are sanctified by obedience through the Holy Spirit according to vs 2. And we are glorified to our inheritance according to vs 5.  And all of this results in the outcome; the salvation of our souls as promised in vs 9.  That is indeed something to rejoice in.  No matter the depth of the trial, or the heat of the refiner’s fire, it will be worth it all in the end. 

It is said about Jesus in Hebrews 12:2 who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. The suffering of the cross may not have been something at that moment of crucifixion to rejoice about, but He considered the joy set before Him, and willingly went through it knowing what was in store on the other side.  The same promise is for us as well who endure to the end, who endure the suffering, who persevere through the trials of life, who are not ashamed of Him, but willing to forsake all to be with Him.  There is laid up for us a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge will award to us on that day. 

I don’t want in any way to trivialize whatever suffering or trial you may be going through today.  But I do want to assure you that God sees your trials, and He has promised to be with you to the end. I want to encourage you to be faithful, to trust Him, to obey Him, to love Him, and I can assure you that in that process, you will find His presence and power to be with you in an intimate way that is able to sustain you and give you strength to endure.  May you be found faithful when He comes.  God’s purpose in all of our trials is multifaceted beyond our comprehension sometimes.  But though we can’t see His purposes, we love Him and believe in Him. And one thing is clear from this scripture; God uses such trials to refine our faith, so that we may come forth like gold.  But this gold is not just precious to man, but also to God. And He will be faithful to perform His promises to you as well, when He comes to receive His own.

As we begin this new study in the epistle of 1st Peter, I want to forego a lot of the preliminary background information that might be customary when beginning a new book.  Peter is a very practical book, and though there is a tremendous amount of important doctrine contained in it, it is not presented as was Hebrews, for instance, with chapter after chapter of doctrine and then a small amount of application at the end.  Peter’s epistle presents doctrine and immediately application, which is kind of a reflection on his personality.  Peter was a man of action.  And there are problems which he wants to address and to help the early church to overcome.  So his style is more direct, addressing the issues, and then presenting the remedy.  

And so I want to reflect his style in my address as well, and as I said, forego a lot of background information. I”m sure you all know who Peter is.  He needs little introduction. He was an apostle of Jesus Christ. He was the chief elder of the church in Jerusalem. He was a man filled with the Spirit, and yet often weak in the flesh.  And in that regard he is very much like most of us.  He’s probably writing just a few years before his martyrdom, before the fall of Israel and the destruction of the temple, but during a time of increasing persecution of Christians.  He addresses the church which he says is scattered abroad in what was known as Asia Minor, which was under Roman occupation.  Today that area is known as Turkey.  [And so I hope that his message resonates with many of you here, seeing that there are a number of turkeys in attendance today.]

Now he is writing to the church to fulfill his apostolic commission to strengthen the church and to tend and feed the flock.  They are undergoing or about to undergo trials and tribulations which would seem to include persecution.  And so it was important to get to the point and offer them help.  

So even in his greeting he is beginning to lay a foundation to that effect.  Notice that as he identifies who he’s writing to, he also lays down a series of facts which are intended to shore up their faith, to assure them of the outcome of their faith, and their security in Christ.  And that confidence is essential as a Christian encounters trials in their lives.  The first question when you are faced with trials is why would God allow this to happen? To ask, where is God?  Does God really care?  Has God forsaken me? And the devil is right beside you in those times to try to push you into despair, to tempt you to think that God doesn’t care what you’re going through, and that He has abandoned you.

So look what Peter does. As he addresses the church, he lays down a series of facts, or doctrines, which are intended to offer the church hope and assure them of their security in the Lord.  First he says he is addressing  those who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.  Included in this statement are the doctrines of election and foreknowledge.  These are doctrines that far too often cause confusion, discouragement and fear in the church because it is something that our finite minds cannot comprehend.  But that is not the intent of Peter.  He’s stating these doctrines to show that God has chosen according to His foreknowledge who  will be saved. The emphasis on these doctrines is not intended to be exclusionary but to show the unchangeable purpose of God to include in the kingdom those who believe in Him. And so the fact that we are saved is not according to our abilities but according to God’s ability.  God is able to bring us to salvation according to His divine sovereign will.  As Jonah prayed, “Salvation is from the Lord.”  Hebrews 12:2 says He is the author and finisher of our faith.  And because of that principle, we can rest assured despite whatever circumstances the devil may use to try to make us think otherwise.  The election and foreknowledge of God should be a great encouragement to us.

Notice also Peter says that our election is of God the Father.  In fact, we see here that the entire trinity is involved in our salvation.  We are chosen by the Father, sanctified by the Spirit, and cleansed by the blood of Christ.  All three members of the trinity are at work in our salvation.  The sanctifying work of the Spirit means to be set apart by the Spirit, to be brought under conviction, to be led by the Spirit through the word of God and to be holy through the Spirit.  Our sanctification is brought about it says through the Spirit.  It’s not through self effort, through ritual, through ceremony.  It’s a work of the Spirit in us.  

And then the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus speaks to the work of the Son in His crucifixion.  He is the better sacrifice spoken of in Hebrews, the all sufficient sacrifice through which the payment for the penalty of our sin was made.  And by whose stripes we are healed of the disease of sin.  And this work of all three of the members of the trinity provides us with a three fold assurance of our salvation that secures us through the trials and tribulations of life.

Peter concludes his address by saying that through this three fold assurance we are given grace and peace to the fullest measure.  Grace is not given stingily.  Grace is not measured by the drop.  But it is poured out, mashed down, running over. John 1:16 “For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.”  He has lavished grace upon us.  And because we have received the grace of God, we have peace.  Both peace with God, and peace by God.  We have peace with God because we are made citizens of His kingdom, made members of His family, transferred out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light by the grace of God. And we have peace within because we have no fear of death and we have the forgiveness of sins.  

Notice how this unlearned, rough and tumble fisherman who has been transformed by the power of God, who has been filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, is moved further to praise the Lord even further for His salvation, which should also serve to move us to praise God as we consider the wonders of His mercy towards us.  He says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”  

The word blessed when used in regards to God means to praise God. Peter praises God the Father and Jesus Christ, for causing us to be born again.  This hope of our salvation, which is being born again, is founded upon the fact that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died on the cross, and was resurrected by the power of God.  Remember that Peter personally knew Jesus as a man of Galilee.  He knew Jesus in all His humanity.  And in that human form, Jesus was completely a man.  He wasn’t a superman.  He had no stately form or majesty.  He had no angels attending his every move.  He had no outward signs like a halo to indicate His being deity. So for Peter especially, it was a life changing truth to recognize that Jesus was the Son of God.  

Remember when Jesus asked the disciples who do men say that I am?  And Peter responded, “You are the Christ, the Son of God.”  That was the moment of believing in Jesus which resulted in His salvation. In being born again, not of a corruptible seed, but an incorruptible seed, which is the word of God. Down in vs23 Peter says,  “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God.” But there was another moment when Peter’s faith was made more sure, and that was at the resurrection.  That’s when his joy was complete.  That’s when God confirmed the gospel message. That’s when God made public that Christ’s sacrifice was complete and sufficient for all men.  Christ’s resurrection by God was proof that our salvation is guaranteed.  The resurrection proved that God found Christ’s atonement satisfactory.  And by that atonement, we are saved and assured of our salvation.  That is worthy of our praise.  

I want to make sure that you don’t miss the phrase “has caused us to be born again.”  To be born again is to be given new life.  I was discussing this question the other day when my wife and I were driving back from the airport in DC; what constitutes salvation?  And I was addressing that on the basis of what is the very least that must happen to ensure salvation.  At what point is there a new birth?  What must be done in order for that to begin?  Because there must be a starting point to birth, to new life.  

And yet I was aware as I was discussing this, that the question is not the best question because it’s based on determining this new life by it’s lowest denominator.  It’s like planting a seed in a jar of earth and setting it on the windowsill, and watering it and making sure it gets sunshine.  And waiting to see when it starts to grow.  There must be four factors involved simultaneously.  There must be a good seed.  There must be good ground.  There must be water.  There must be sunshine.  And if those four things are there, then you can count on the seed to metamorphosis into a plant, to begin new life. Now that is just for life to begin.  In order for the life of the plant to reach fulfillment, to reach maturity, and to bear fruit, there often needs to be many other factors as well in addition to those needed at the beginning.

And I suppose that can be an analogy of salvation.  There must be certain things which happen in order to for there to be new birth.  We’ve already seen in salvation the choosing of God, the sanctifying work of the Spirit, and the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.  The only ingredient that is left is faith on the part of the believer.  The jailer asked Paul and Silas, “What must I do to be saved?”  And the answer was, ““Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”  And Acts says they spoke the word of God to them. 

Now there is more to salvation, but it is the maturing, or growth that happens as a result of the new birth.  But there must be a new birth.  Being spiritually born again. And that happens simply by believing that Jesus has died for your sins and receiving forgiveness.  There doesn’t have to be a full theological understanding of all the doctrines and theology.  Just call upon the Lord to save you.  Coming to the end of yourself and calling on God to have mercy on you and save you.  And if you do that, He will do it. 1 John 1:9 says when we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  That’s when we are born again, we receive a new nature.

And because we are born again Peter says we now have a living hope.  What does that mean?  It means that we have a living faith.  We have a new life by faith.  It’s a live faith.  It’s a living faith. It’s faith by which we live. Faith is hoping for, believing in what we cannot see.  Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

This faith is not just in the past work of Christ on the cross, but the present work of Christ in heaven and the future work of Christ when He comes for His own.  That’s why it’s a living hope.  It’s a faith that trusts in what Christ did at the cross, confirmed by the resurrection, but it’s also faith in this new life we now live by faith.  As it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”  It’s a faith that can endure trials and tribulations now because we believe in the power of God to raise the dead and give life to the dead.  And so our faith is that God will one day resurrect us, and this new life will be joined to a new body, and a new realm and dimension that cannot now be understood or even conceived of.

That inability to be able to comprehend what Peter calls our inheritance is because “heaven” is indescribable.  And so Peter, as well as many of the other gospel writers, doesn’t try to describe this inheritance, other than to say what it is not.  Notice what he says it is not.  It is not perishable.  This eternal life will never die. We will never die.  Jesus said, “He who believes in Me will never die, do you believe this?”  Our inheritance is imperishable. Because we will never die we ought not to ever be afraid.  “What can man do to me?”  What can Satan do to me?  I am a child of God and I am immortal.  This body will pass away, but my soul and spirit will live forever and I will receive a new immortal body as part of that inheritance.

Secondly, our inheritance is undefiled. I have been credited with the righteousness of Jesus Christ.  I did not receive a little bit of righteousness.  I received an eternal measure of righteousness.  1 Cor. 5:21, “God made Jesus, who knew no sin, to become sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” We have the undefiled righteousness of God abiding in us, forever.  Our penalty has been paid in full, forever.

Thirdly, our inheritance will not fade away.  Have you ever hoped for something and you waited a long, long time for it?  And the longer you waited and hoped for it, the more unlikely it became that you would ever get it.  Your hopes start to fade, and then one day you realize that there is no more hope.  Well, Peter is saying that our inheritance is not like that.  It is guaranteed and promised by God, ratified by the blood of Jesus, and secured by the Holy Spirit.  As Hebrews told us, God has made a unilateral covenant with Himself.  Heb. 6:17-18  “In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath,  so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.”

This inheritance which has been defined by three things it is not, is reserved in heaven for us.  God has made a reservation for us.  It is guaranteed by the Father. It has been paid for by the Son.  And it has been secured by the Holy Spirit. And it has been reserved for us, who Peter says, are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation to be revealed in the last time. So not only do we have a reservation in heaven, but that reservation is protected by the power of God.  There is no power in heaven or on earth that can affect our reservation. Jesus said nothing can snatch you out of My Father’s hand.  Sin cannot defeat me.  The devil cannot stop me.  The world cannot overcome me. No person can discourage me.  Nothing can take away my inheritance.  Jesus died on the cross, and written in God’s will by the blood of Jesus Christ  I have been bequeathed His inheritance, and it is more secure than if I had the last will and testament drawn up and deposited in Fort Knox. Fort Knox might be secure, but it pales in comparison to being kept in heaven under the watchful, powerful eye of God Almighty.  

Then Peter says in vs 5 that this inheritance will be revealed at the culmination or the consummation of our salvation in the last time. He’s going to go on to speak of those last days as we go further along in the book.  He says in chapter 4 vs 7 “The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober [spirit] for the purpose of prayer.”  If it was near in the days of Peter, how much more in our day?  

He goes on to say in his second epistle, 2Peter 3:8 “But do not let this one [fact] escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.  The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.”

Ladies and gentlemen, I am convinced that we are living in those last days, like the days before the flood, like the days before the fire and brimstone fell upon Sodom and Gomorrah.  I believe the most significant and telling mark of the end of the age is not the world market’s financial meltdown, nor widespread plagues or diseases, nor natural catastrophes such as earthquakes and hurricanes, nor wars and rumors of war.  The most significant indication that the end of the ages is near is the degradation of morality.  This was the telling sign of Sodom and Gomorra’s impending doom.  It was the telling sign of the days before the flood. It was the condition in the land of Israel before it was taken into captivity.  It was the predominant condition of the Greek and  Roman Empire before their fall. And though the world has seen all sorts of tribulation in the last 2000 years, the present degradation of morality as evidenced in the western world is  to my mind the most telling that the time is at hand.  Paul said in 2Tim. 3:1-5 “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.  For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,  unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,  treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.”

Peter said in as a follow up to 2 Peter 3:8, speaking about the way the earth and it’s works will be burned up in the last days, he said in chapter 3 vs.11 “Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,  looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!  But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.  Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless,  and regard the patience of our Lord [as] salvation.” 

Listen, do you have that peace with God?  Do you believe in Jesus Christ and His atonement for your sins?  Have you been born again into this righteousness which will live eternally with God?  God is calling you today.  The Holy Spirit is convicting you.  The Lord Jesus has shed His blood for you that you might be spotless and blameless before God, and inherit all the things which are promised to those who are born again. The only thing preventing you today from being born again is your reluctance to call upon Him to save you.  I pray you repent of that unbelief today, and call upon the Lord in the day that He may be found.  Jesus said, all who come to Me I will never cast out.  Come to Jesus today.  Call upon Jesus in faith today. 

Today’s message is the last in our study of Hebrews.  It’s been about 7 months since we began the study of this tremendous book which is so rich in doctrine, and in some ways, I feel that today’s message is sort of anti-climatic.  It’s sort of ironic that it took us 7 months to exegete this epistle, and yet if you sat down and read it in one sitting, you could read it in an hour.  The author, who we have not tried to conclusively identify, says in vs 22, that we should bear with this exhortation, because he had written to you briefly.  Exhortation is another word for preaching.  So, as I’ve said before, this book was really a written sermon, which was intended to be read to the churches. 

I must say that the audiences of yore had a much longer attention span than audiences today.  Today we live in the age of twitter, where if you don’t get it said in 240 characters, which I believe is the limit, (though I don’t tweet) then the implication is that it doesn’t need to be said. Well, though I don’t twitter, though I do however exhort, and my messages tend to be around 40 minutes long.  I don’t think that God twitters either, so I believe I’m in good company on that score. 

It’s also interesting that at the conclusion of this book, we finally see the author mention himself.  For thirteen chapters he has not mentioned himself that I am aware of, but now he refers to himself in the plural in vs 18. And he mentions himself in regards to asking the readers to pray for him.  That’s a very telling indication of his humility, something that is sorely lacking in a lot of preaching today.  Far too often in the church today we end up with a personality cult, of which the pastor is the star, and much which is said on his part is intended to glorify himself in that regard.  It’s a seductive thing that all pastors need to be on guard against. Preaching should always glorify Christ.

So though we are starting at vs 18, we must remember that this is a continuation of a sermon, and even more to the point, it’s part of a greater context which includes vs 17.  And if you notice in vs17 the idea he was expressing was that you should obey and submit to your leaders, that is your leaders in the church.  And I believe that context of leadership is important in understanding this desire he has for the readers to pray for him.  He was a leader, an elder, a pastor who had written to this church over which he had oversight. 

And my take on this verse is that in some way or another he had suffered some sort of extradition  or even incarceration on behalf of the gospel and had been taken away from them.  There is no indication that he was now incarcerated, as he later says that they had heard that Timothy had been released, probably from prison.  And if he comes soon, then he would come to see them with Timothy.  That would indicate that he was not incarcerated at that point.  But he obviously was estranged from them, and it seems to be against his wishes as he indicates as the reason for asking them to pray for him.  He wants them to pray that he might be restored to them the sooner. And I think that the word restored there indicates that his former position was at this church and he was hopeful that he would be restored there soon.

I think there is another point that needs to be emphasized here about not only the humility of the author but the humanity of the author as well.  We sometimes idealize the apostles and early church fathers and envision them as some sort of pious super saints who were above the trials and tribulations of normal people.  Perhaps we might even imagine some church leaders today in the same degree. What comes across in this last couple of paragraphs in this text is the humanity of the author, the pathos of his situation, his yearning for his Christian family.  

And it’s a reminder that the great men of the Bible were all men of like passions as we are.  Even Jesus became a man, suffering in all points as we do, yet without sin.  Men like Peter, or Paul, got sick, fell into depression, were lonely, afflicted, persecuted.  Paul said in  2Cor. 11:24-28 “Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine [lashes.] Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep.  [I have been] on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from [my] countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren;  [I have been] in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.  Apart from [such] external things, there is the daily pressure on me [of] concern for all the churches.” 

I guess we can all appreciate the fact that Paul and the other apostles suffered persecution, but the part which we tend to gloss over is when he said,  “[I have been] in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.” Those are things that are common to many of us, aren’t they?  And church leaders, especially this author, suffer such things as well. 

I appreciate the fact that God uses common men for uncommon purposes.  Not many noble, not many mighty are called.  But God calls men who are beset with weaknesses, that the glory might go to God and not to men.  And because they are weak, they are in need of prayer support from the saints.  I know I need prayer, because I know I am weak, and the devil knows my weaknesses. 

Prayer is such an important aspect of the Christian life. I could have said such an important doctrine.  And yes it is.  But it is also so important for our spiritual survival.  It’s essential to our spiritual life. Did you know that the spiritual aspect is just as important to the body as food, water and shelter?  I used to have a series of handbooks when I was a young boy on wilderness camping.  I was really into hunting and camping from a very early age. And in this one series of booklets on surviving in the wilderness it identified the essential things that you needed to survive in the wild.  And in addition to listing food, water and shelter was spiritual.  There is a need in the human soul for a spiritual connection to God which is essential for well being.  And I think one of the reasons that society today is so despondent  is that society has tried to tell them that God isn’t important.  That life can be perfectly fulfilling without God.  Well, every society that has removed religion has not fared so well in the long run.  I think history proves that the societies which held to religion and particularly to Christianity have made more progress in regards to the advancement of civilization than those cultures which have been agnostic or  pagan.

So why pray?  That’s the question I found myself asking God the other day.  Ironically, I had to pray to ask Him that question.  But the point I was inferring was why pray if we don’t or can’t expect an answer?  Why pray if we shouldn’t expect help? Psalm  46:1 tells us that “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.” In the scriptures we are told to pray at all times, to pray without ceasing, to be devoted to prayer.  To seek the Lord while  He may be found and call upon Him while He is near.  And we are promised that He hears our prayers.  That our Great High Priest stands at the throne of God interceding for us, and that the Holy Spirit within us prays for us with groanings to deep for words. We should pray, expecting help, because God has promised to hear us, and to help us in time of need.

This author says in Heb. 4:16 “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”  The unqualified assurance he gives is that we may receive mercy and grace to help in time of need.  It is a benefit of being a child of God that our heavenly Father is interested and wants to help us.  In fact, the Lord desires that we live in a dependent mode, always looking to Him to supply every need.  

So the author is asking the church to pray for him, and he indicates that there is some difficulty which has prevented him from being with them.  But as to this difficulty, he professes his innocence.  Notice, “for we are sure that we have a good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things.”  That doesn’t mean that he has never done anything wrong, but that in regards to what he has been accused of, he is confident that he has a good conscience.  

I suspect his situation is similar to what Peter referred to in 1Peter 3:16-17 saying “and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.  For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.”

Well, whatever the author of Hebrews was suffering for, he is saying that his conscience is clear and that he has acted honorably in all things. That should be the confession of all who claim Christ.  Our conscience is clear because we act honorably in all things.  There is a standard of conduct that is to be expected of a Christian.  Just ask your unsaved friends.  Unfortunately, we tend to judge others more strictly than we judge ourselves.  We tend to presume too much upon the grace and mercy of God and act more like the devil than we act like Christ. But being a Christian we should imitate Christ in our behavior.  We should be holy because He is holy.

But notice that he fully expects God to answer  their prayers saying in vs19 “And I urge [you] all the more to do this, so that I may be restored to you the sooner.”  We can expect a result to prayer.  Prayer changes things.  We may not understand how, and we may not dictate to God the terms or the timing, but the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much as James assures us in his epistle.  And this author fully expects God to respond to their prayers and speed his return the sooner.

So having asked for prayer for himself, the author in turn then prays for the church starting in vs 20.  He is actually giving a blessing, or a benediction to the church through this prayer.  I was telling someone just last night that sometimes in the Bible we learn more by examples than by commandment. In other words, God doesn’t always speak explicitly concerning every thing, but offers through the scripture examples which we are to follow.  And I think that this prayer offered by this writer is a worthy example that we can learn from and imitate.  

Notice that there are several things that are stated here before he gets to his petitions.  He starts off, as would be expected, by addressing the Lord.  And his address is a little different than we hear today.  He invokes God as the God of peace. Particularly at Christmas we hear the term peace being frequently used.  It was used in the address of the angels to the shepherds.  They said “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”  

What is this peace that is being spoken of?  I think most people in the world today when hearing this phrase would associate it with the absence of war.  Or the hope that everyone would just get along.  But I would suggest that is not the type of peace which the angels spoke of, nor is it what this author is speaking of either in addressing God as the God of peace.    The angels and the author are both speaking of the same thing, incidentally.  And that is the peace which is offered to man through the good will of God by the redemption  purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ.

In other words, man is by nature in rebellion against God, even, the Bible says, at enmity with God.  Man was created to live in righteous fellowship with God, but instead he choses to live in the rebellion of sin.  That rebellion has caused a breach with God, resulting in enmity with God.  But God so loved the world, that He sent His Son to die on the cross and pay the penalty for our sins, that we might be redeemed, so that we might be reconciled to God.  That’s the good will towards men the angels spoke of.  We who were far off, have been brought near.  Eph. 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”

So the origin of this peace  comes from God and is offered to man.  God has sent His Son, the Prince of Peace to offer peace to those who will believe in Him and receive Him, so that we are no longer estranged from God, but we have peace with God, and may be transferred into His kingdom.

Notice also how this peace was procured. “Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord.”  This peace comes through the blood of our Great Shepherd Jesus Christ as He died on the cross for the lost sheep, was buried and resurrected to the right hand of the Father.

The author of Hebrews said back in chapter 9:22 “And according to the Law, [one may] almost [say,] all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”  Now that may offend 21st century sensibilities to say that there must be a shedding of blood, that someone must die for the penalty of sin.  But that is the law of God.  That was established at creation, that if they ate of the fruit of the tree they would surely die.  Romans tells us in the New Covenant that the wages of sin is death.  This is God’s law, irregardless of man’s sensibilities.

It’s essential that we are unequivocal in our explanation of the gospel.  There is no gospel without the blood.  And there is no need for the cross if there is no sinner to be saved.  The gospel is not negotiable, or redefinable.  It is a declaration from God.  It’s not a social gospel.  It’s the gospel of salvation from sin which has condemned men to death.  

There is an attempt in liberal Christianity to redefine the gospel.  To take away the blood.  To not speak of sin or judgment.  The co founder of Westminster Theological Seminary, a man named J. Gresham Machen wrote a book called Christianity and Liberalism back in the 1920’s.  And he had this to say: “Here is found the most fundamental difference between liberalism and Christianity–liberalism is altogether in the imperative mood, while Christianity begins with a triumphant indicative; liberalism appeals to man’s will, while Christianity announces, first, a gracious act of God. It is no wonder, then, that liberalism is totally different from Christianity, for the foundation is different. Christianity is founded upon the Bible. It bases upon the Bible both its thinking and its life. Liberalism on the other hand is founded upon the shifting emotions of sinful men.”  

You might say to that, well I’m not a liberal.  Well, I would say a liberal is someone who defines reality according to his own opinions. That fits our modern culture pretty well.  We want to define God, define sexuality, define morality according to what we think.  And as a result we end up worshipping a god made in our image. The problem of course is that sinful men don’t want to think of themselves as sinful, and so they use religion to try to make themselves seem good enough or better than others. But the fact is that the Bible says “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”  And the only way sinners are reconciled to God is through the blood of Jesus Christ. 

I find another interesting title in the author’s prayer, and that is that he calls Jesus the Great Shepherd of the sheep. Psalm 23 says the Lord is my Shepherd.  And then goes on to give a long list of the blessings that come upon his life because of that relationship. A shepherd in the Near East was responsible for watching out for enemies trying to attack the sheep, protecting the sheep from attackers, caring for the wounded and sick sheep, finding and saving lost or trapped sheep, loving them, tending the sheep and feeding the sheep.

 It’s an amazing thing that the Great Shepherd laid down his life for his sheep. Jesus said concerning Himself in John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”

Shepherd is the word we get the title pastor from.  I referred last week to pastors as being under shepherds.  Now we see that the Great Shepherd is Jesus our Lord.  To be an under shepherd then is to take your orders and relay the will of the Great Shepherd.  That’s the job of the pastor, to faithfully explain and convey the word of the Great Shepherd.  And then the congregation may submit to the word of the pastor, knowing that it is the word of Christ.

Just a word about the eternal covenant which he mentions in his prayer.  A covenant is a binding agreement.  And so he is speaking of the binding agreement between the members of the trinity.  It is a unilateral agreement that God has made.  The promise of God is not contingent upon man, but it is contingent upon God to fulfill it.  And so we take comfort in that, knowing that God is the author and finisher of our faith. What he has begun, he will bring to completion.  And He will complete His covenant concerning our redemption because He cannot deny Himself.  So the author in His prayer calls upon that covenant as the basis for his petition.

Now as to the petition; vs21, “[may He] equip you in every good thing to do His will…” The word that is translated equip is used in the original language to speak of mending nets.  God is not only able to use that which is perfect, but He is able to fix that which is broken.  That’s really the good news.  He is able to take this sinner, saved by grace, this selfish, weak, sometimes mean spirited person and equip me to do His will.  

And even more good news, He will give you what is necessary so that you can do His will.  God will provide what we need to do His will. There is no excuse for not doing the will of God.  God has promised to provide all our needs according to His riches in glory.  He has given us the Spirit of God to empower us to do His will.  He has given us a new heart that we might desire to do His will.  In Ezekiel 36:26-27 God says, ”Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”  God equips us to do His will.

So when we have this new heart, and a new spirit within us, then according to his prayer, God is able to work in us His will which is that which is pleasing in His sight. His will is not necessarily that we be happy, but to be holy.  Notice that working in us comes through Jesus Christ.  How?  Through the Spirit of Christ and through His word He leads us and guides us into righteousness.  Thinking again about Psalm 23 we read “He leads us in paths of righteousness  for His name’s sake.”   To follow Him, to be like Him, to please Him, to serve Him and live for His glory.  That is how he concludes his prayer; “to Him be the glory for ever and ever.” 

It’s practically counter intuitive to think that I can be happiest, I can be most fulfilled, I can be most blessed, I can find my best possible life, not in living out my dreams, or in fulfilling my ambitions, not in doing my will, but in living my life for the glory of my King.   In living for the glory of God I will find my the greatest expression of my life, I will gain the greatest use of my life.  But that’s the opposite of what the world is seeking.  It goes against the grain of what psychologists and therapists will tell you.  But the source of all truth, the eternal word of God declares that in dying to yourself and living for God you gain the greatest blessing possible in this life.  You gain nothing less than life with God, both now and forever.  

I hope and pray like this author prayed, that our Great God and Lord Jesus Christ, would equip you to walk in such a way as to be pleasing to God.  And if you are here today and you have never accepted Jesus as your redeemer, for forgiveness of your sins, then I pray that today is the day of your salvation.  Jesus has purchased your redemption that you might have peace with God and receive the life of Christ and the Spirit of Christ in you.  I pray that you do not reject so great a gift and believe in Him as your Savior and Lord today. 

I don’t apologize for not giving a typical Christmas message today as is the custom in many churches. Though I fully embrace the holiday and plan on celebrating the birth of Christ with my family, we are never told in scripture to celebrate the birth of Jesus. We are however, told to celebrate the Lord’s death until He comes again. And we will do that today, particularly in observing the Lord’s supper. But I hope that our continuing study in Hebrews will inform us as to why Jesus came to earth, and what He came to accomplish. Simply to celebrate His physical birth may have sentimental value, but to understand what He accomplished as our Savior through His death has eternal value.

Last week in our study we established that the church is the visible manifestation of the kingdom of God on earth. To say it another way, the kingdom of God and the church are synonymous. Thus the writer of Hebrews says to the church in chapter 12 vs 28 “Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe.”

Now the church’s service to God is what the author has been speaking so far in chapter 13. But in order to really grasp the full significance of this service, it’s necessary to understand our position in the kingdom. In the old covenant, with Israel, God initially ruled the kingdom through the priesthood as a theocracy. That was the divine plan for the government of Israel. In the new covenant, God rules the kingdom as a theocracy as well which is carried out by a new priesthood. And in that regard, the author has previously spent a great deal of time establishing that a new high priest after the order of Melchizedek has become the Great High Priest, who has offered a better sacrifice, once for all, and now sits at the right hand of God in the Holy of Holies as our Intercessor.

Now in our text we read that Jesus is our Great High Priest, who has offered Himself as the ultimate, once for all sacrifice, at an altar which was outside of Jerusalem, outside of the temple, outside of the Judaistic system. And as the eklesia, the church, the called out ones, we are to go to Him outside the camp, and like Him bear the reproach that He received, and offer to God acceptable services and sacrifices as priests to God. Not only did Christ offer a sacrifice, but we are to offer sacrifices as well. But it is within the context of a new covenant, which is not governed under the old laws and regulations of the temple which were merely a type, but we serve in a better covenant, by which we may offer up sacrifices to the Lord.

Peter spoke of this new position as the priesthood of believers in 1Peter 2:4-5 saying, “And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” Peter continues in vs 9, “But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR [God’s] OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

In that last verse, notice that there is a dual position that is assigned to us, we are a royal priesthood. That speaks of a different priesthood than the priesthood of Aaron. We are given the responsibility to rule and to reign with Christ and to serve as a priesthood unto God. So the plan of God in the new covenant is to establish the called out ones, this chosen race as Peter describes us, as priests and princes with God. We that have become saved have already been anointed to this royal priesthood. We are now receiving this kingdom, but we do not yet see it come into it’s fulfillment. The fulfillment will happen completely when we are caught up to be with the Lord at the coming of His consummation. But it is something that we already are to be in possession of, and already be serving in.

Three times this promise of our position in Christ’s kingdom has been reiterated in the book of Revelation. Listen to how John speaks of this; Rev. 1:6 “and He has made us [to be] a kingdom, priests to His God and Father–to Him [be] the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” Rev. 5:10 “You have made them [to be] a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.” Rev. 20:6 “Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.”

Now this position is our inheritance, but it is also ours now. And the Lord has given the responsibility to us to serve Him now as priests unto God and to offer sacrifices. However, there is no further need for penal sacrifices for sin. That sacrifice of full atonement has been completed once for all in Christ. But there is a responsibility to offer up sacrifices which serve the kingdom of God as it is carried out on earth. However, the service we offer is not like the service of the priests in the temple. Notice in vs.10 he says, “We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.”

What he means by that is the priests who were serving the temple under the old covenant were not qualified to serve in the new covenant. They were once useful in picturing a typology of the kingdom to come through Christ. But now there is a new administration of the kingdom of God. We have a new altar, and they serve the old altar. The new altar is the altar of the cross, whereupon Jesus offered the perfect sacrifice. There is no more need for sacrifices for sin, which were done morning and evening, day after day under the old covenant. We have no requirement, because the perfect sacrifice has been given once for all at Calvary. So consequently, there is a new priesthood, which offer different sacrifices and services in the church, which has replaced the tabernacle of the old administration.

I would just add a note here, that those who insist that the sacrifices must begin again and the temple of Jerusalem must be rebuilt in order for Christ to appear at His second coming are trusting in a flawed theology. God destroyed the temple and removed the sacrifices in 70AD as prophesied by Jesus. And if Jesus has perfected for all time the sacrifice for sin, then why would God need to resurrect the temple and sacrifices again? The whole point of the new covenant is that God has done away with the old covenantal system. To reestablish it would indicate that there was something lacking in Christ’s atonement. That cannot be.

The same principle applies to the injunctions of Jewish dietary restrictions, feast days, sabbath days, circumcision, etc. The author made the point in vs 9 that the dietary laws did not give any spiritual advantage to the Jews. Paul said if you eat meat, or if you don’t eat meat, neither will commend you to God. False teachers and especially cults always seem to want to take the church back to Jewish laws and ceremonies and rituals. But as Paul said to the Colossians in chapter 2 vs 16 “Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day– things which are a [mere] shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.”

So there was an old altar, an old temple, an old priesthood, and they served as a type of better things to come in Christ. But in this new covenant, we are a royal priesthood, serving a new altar which is the cross, in the new temple in which our bodies make up the greater body of Christ, which is the church, of which Christ is the head. Someone well said, “God’s head of the church is at his right hand, but His hands and feet are down here.”

Now speaking of the old altar under the old covenant, the blood of the atonement was sprinkled on the altar and the mercy seat, but the bodies of the animals were taken outside the camp and burned. Under the Jewish law, no part of the sin-offering was to be eaten, but all must be burned outside the camp. So according to that typology, the author says if they are still subject to that law, serving the old tabernacle, they cannot eat at the gospel altar; for that which is eaten there is furnished from Christ, who is the great sin offering. The Lord’s supper is not our altar, but it is furnished with provision from the altar. Christ our passover is sacrificed for us (1 Co. 5:7). The Lord’s supper is the feast of the gospel passover. The error of the Catholics and other so called orthodoxy, is that they crucify Christ again and again in taking the mass, thinking that eating His physical blood and flesh sanctify their bodies. But Hebrews tells us that Christ died once for all, as a final sacrifice for sin. In the Passover feast, they did not experience deliverance from death year after year, but they remembered the single event in yearly commemoration.

So the author says that Jesus in His atonement suffered outside the camp, that is outside of Jerusalem, outside of the temple, taken out of Jerusalem to the mount Golgatha. And He did so, in order to sanctify His people from their sins. And in light of our observance of Christmas, even his birth illustrated that we must go to Him outside the camp. Jesus was born not in Jerusalem, in the capital of Israel, where the leaders and the priests and the temple were, but He was born in the tiny village of Bethlehem, not in a royal palace, but in a barn, not in a crib, but in a manger. His whole life was marked by reproach, as He was contemptuously referred to as a Galilean. His life was marked by being an outsider.

So in like manner, as His select priesthood, let us go outside the camp, identifying with Him, bearing the same reproach as He bore. In other words, especially to the Hebrew audience, he was saying we must abandon the temple and the rituals and ceremonies of the old covenant and go out to the place of crucifixion, where we take up our cross and follow Him. Though we cannot offer sacrifices for sin, yet we still can offer sacrifices which are pleasing to God.

In thinking of the crucifixion and the sense of abandonment that accompanied Jesus, I am reminded of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus who were described as secret disciples. I’m afraid that there are more than a few secret disciples of Christ in the church today as well. We are afraid to let people know that we identify with Christ. It may be socially acceptable to let people know that we are religious, to claim some measure of faith, but to actually identify with Christ and share in His reproach is something that we dare not do. And so we come short of the grace that was given to us. We come short of the purpose God has in making us a part of the royal priesthood which Peter said was given “so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

Instead of the church being the called out ones, the eklesia, we are too often trying to reap the benefits of this world, while claiming the benefits of the next. Like those secret disciples of Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimatha, we want to hold onto to the security and the prosperity and the pleasures of the world we live in and yet still inherit the treasures of heaven. But as Peter says, the earth is destined for destruction, and all it’s works will be burned up. 2 Peter 3:10-13 “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.”

This new heaven and new earth is no less than what John calls the New Jerusalem which comes down out of heaven. The present Jerusalem, Hebrews says in vs14, is not a lasting city. In fact, just a few years after this letter Jerusalem and the temple as they knew it would be destroyed and the priesthood killed or scattered with the rest of the population. But we are looking for a new Jerusalem, a lasting city in which we shall be forever with the Lord. How foolish then it is to serve the present city, this present world, which has no lasting value. Let us go outside to join with Christ, which may cause temporary suffering, but which will result in an eternal weight of glory.

Though Him then, vs 15 says, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God. In the old covenant, thanksgiving was a form of peace offering. And in the new covenant, we may still offer a sacrifice of praise. Not by offering an animal, but by the fruit of our lips. I believe this indicates much more than offering up hymns or songs of praise, though that certainly plays a part. But I think it indicates proclaiming the wonders of His love and grace to a world in darkness. We offer praise to God to the nations of the great work of Christ in salvation. This praise is what Peter called the proclamation of the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness and into His marvelous light. The testimony which we offer to the world of God’s salvation to us is the sacrifice of praise which we offer to God. It’s the acceptable service which we render to God because He has transferred us into the kingdom of God.

To the sacrifice of praise the priests of God in the new covenant must also add the offering of works of righteousness, that which the author calls doing good. And closely aligned with that is what he calls sharing. This is the working out of brotherly love which we talked about in our earlier study. Good works do not earn our entry into the kingdom of God, but as priests of God we serve the body of God through good works. Paul said in Eph. 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” So we were created in righteousness so that we might walk in good works, even as Christ did on earth.

So also Paul said to Timothy to instruct the church to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share.” [1Tim. 6:18] Sharing is a part of good works, and when it is offered up in the name of the Lord, it is a sacrifice with which God is well pleased. Sharing is speaking of those who according to Paul are rich in this world’s goods, that they should share with those in need. James says the same thing, James 2:14-17 “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for [their] body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, [being] by itself.”

And Paul, speaking to the Philippians is even more explicit saying that the financial gifts and offerings he received from them was “an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God”, using almost identical language to our text in vs 16.

This sacrifice of sharing in financial means brings the author back to the subject of leaders in the church, who are worthy not only of support, but a certain measure of honor, requiring the sacrifice of our submission. Vs. 17, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.”

Now he has already clarified the fact that worthy leaders are those who preach the word to you, back in vs.7. “Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.” Now to the injunction to remember them, and to imitate them, comes even more explicit commands to submit to them, and obey them, being understood that is contingent upon their faithfulness to the word of God.

In the story of Christ’s birth, the gospel of Luke records that there were shepherd in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And that same word picture is used here to describe the under shepherds who keep watch over the souls of the flock in their charge. It indicates a sleepless state of watching, or more expressly, that of being on the alert on behalf of their flock. Pastors, or shepherds, are responsible for the souls of their sheep, to guard them against the schemes and deceit of the devil, the false teachings, wolves in sheep’s clothing.

And the author encourages us to follow their guidance, so that the pastor may not suffer that stricter judgement that will come to teachers of the gospel, and that you may not live an unprofitable life.

There is a profit to living godly. Paul said in 1Tim. 6:6 that “godliness [actually] is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.” And contentment is found in submission to the authority that God has established for our benefit. Contentment is also found in doing the will of God, doing the things which are pleasing to God. Contentment is found in performing our service to God in the role that He has prepared us for. And God has prepared us to be a royal priesthood, proclaiming the excellencies of Him who has called us out of the kingdom of darkness into His marvelous light. Let us do so with praise, with service, and through sharing, being subject to the authority of the church of God and His shepherds, that we may fulfill the measure of grace that was given to us.

I think in Christianity today we tend to have too low of a view of the church. The church is the visible, physical manifestation of the spiritual kingdom of God.  The kingdom of God is the church. There are those who are looking for the kingdom of God to appear some day in the future.  But Jesus said, the kingdom of God is near you, it is in your midst.  Jesus came preaching and teaching the kingdom of God.  He referred to the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven dozens and dozens of times.  He spoke of the church only rarely.  The church is eklesia, the called out ones.  We have been called out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God. 

Now that’s important to understand.  Because Christianity has evolved and formulated many various traditions and ideas of what we think constitutes a church.  And yet very few of those traditions and ceremonies and procedures really characterize the church according to the Bible. Jesus could say the kingdom of God was at hand because He was the King of the kingdom.  And so where He is, the kingdom is.  And by the same standard, Jesus is the head of the church.  And so where Jesus is, the church exists.  We need only to study the ministry of Jesus to understand the ministry of the church.  If our church today looks different from the church of Jesus Christ then we have added superfluous and potentially detrimental ceremonies and rituals and traditions of men, rather than of God.

Some time ago I ended up in a debate with some pastors in our area concerning church membership.  They believed that in order to have a Biblical church you had to have church membership which involved all sorts of procedures and checks and classes and so forth in order  to make sure we don’t have people in the church who are not believers, or who do not practice church doctrine. I was told by one sanctimonious pastor that if there is no church membership, then there is no church. 

However, my view is that church membership as practiced in most churches today is a man made invention.  And while it may arguably be useful to some degree from a managerial aspect, it can be harmful in others.  Furthermore, I don’t believe anyone can enter into the spiritual kingdom by earthly means.  Membership in the church is the same as citizenship in the kingdom of heaven.  You have to be born into it.  You have to be born again and that enrolls you into the family of God, the kingdom of God, the church of God. So God does it, not man.  And that’s why we don’t practice church membership in this church.  Only God knows if you are HIs child or not and whether or not you are a part of His kingdom. 

Now understanding this doctrine of the kingdom of God is important because chapter 13 is primarily practical application of the doctrine of the church.  At the end of chapter 12 vs 28 the author says, “Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe.” And so from that point on, chapter 13 tells us how we as the church can render acceptable service. And in vs1, we are told that this acceptable service to God in the church starts with brotherly love for one another.  And flowing from that brotherly love is a series of injunctions which we are to take note of as we live out our duty and responsibilities as members of His kingdom.

Now the most important aspect of being in the kingdom of God is that we recognize the nature and character of our King and our responsibilities to Him.  And so in that respect, in order to be sure that we are submissive to our King and doing the things that are pleasing to Him, God has set up under shepherds, or pastors, leaders of the church to be our guides. 

Notice how he speaks of them in vs7; “Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.” Now the way the NASB which I just read from translates this verse, it sort of diminishes the position to some degree.  The King James Version renders it “Remember your rulers…”  Most of the modern translations say “Remember your leaders…”  

The consensus of most theologians is that this is speaking of church leadership.  And we can differentiate between church leadership and political or civil leadership because it says “who spoke the word of God to you.”  It’s hardly likely that civil leaders are speaking the word of God, or that we would be told to imitate their way of life.  Our political leaders seem to advocate the “do as I say, and not as I do” theology.  They make rules, but they don’t live by them themselves.  God’s rulers or leaders, are supposed to be examples to the flock.

Four aspects of the church’s responsibility in the realm of church leadership are mentioned here at the end of this epistle.  It’s obviously of some concern and importance to the kingdom of God. He says again in vs 17, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.”  So first remember them, and then imitate them.  Then obey them, and submit to them.  

One commentator expanded on this verse by saying it this way; “Christ’s church is a kingdom, and he is King in it; pastors of churches are subordinate governors; who rule well when they rule not in an arbitrary way, according to their own wills, but according to the laws of Christ, with all faithfulness, prudence, and diligence. The word may be rendered “guides” or “leaders”; for such point out the way of peace, life, and salvation to men, and direct them to Christ; and guide them into the understanding of the Scriptures, and the truths of the Gospel; and lead them in the paths of faith and holiness, and are examples to them.”

Now there are many examples in the past of pastors and leaders that have abused the leadership and authority that God has given to them.  And so Peter warns pastors in 1Peter 5:1-4 “Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as [your] fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed,  shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to [the will of] God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.  And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”  So Christ is the Chief Shepherd, who has appointed under shepherds or pastors, who are to exercise oversight over the flock, and be an example to them, but not lording it over those who are allotted to our charge.  That is written to pastors.

But in the Hebrew text before us today the author is speaking to the church, to remember their leaders, and all that entails, which would include providing for them.  Paul says in 1Cor. 9:14 “So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel.” And then the responsibility of the church is to imitate their leaders, or to follow them as their guides, then to obey your leaders, and them submit to them.  

Now there are two very important caveats that are included here.  First he says follow or submit to leaders who spoke the word of God to you.  The faithfulness of the preacher to speak the word of God accurately and truthfully is paramount.  Because the pastor is the under shepherd.  He is the governor, whereas the Lord Jesus is King.  The pastor simply conveys the Chief Shepherds word, faithfully and accurately.  What it’s saying is that the pastor’s leadership is shown to be legitimate by his faithfulness to the word of God. 

Secondly, it says, considering the outcome of their life, or considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.  You know, there are a lot of pastors or preachers out there who are just in it for the money or who are on some sort of power trip. And they are clever enough to speak enough of the word of God to sound legitimate, but their lifestyle, if you scrutinize it, reveals that they don’t live by the word. A good example is these faith healers that fly around the country in their private jets preying on vulnerable people.  There was a pastor of a church in South Carolina who made the news yesterday who bought his wife a new $200,000 Lamborghini.  And he was getting some flack for it.  Well deserved I would think.  A lavish, worldly lifestyle is hardly compatible with the example of Jesus.

So considering their conduct, their faithfulness to the word, then imitate or follow their example. How are they running the race,  or in the case of those who have passed, how did they finish the race?  I have a Bible at home which was my main Bible for many years but it’s now falling apart.  But in the margin of this verse I have a question mark. And I remember writing that in my Bible many years ago, maybe 30 years ago as I thought about my dad’s life and particularly how it ended.  My dad had a church which he started, and he helped to start many more in that area of North Carolina.  But the end of his life his health failed. And along with that my mother left my father and eventually divorced him.  She took all his money out of the bank while he was away at a series of meetings.  She sold all the furniture at a yard sale. When my dad came home, at a time when he was in very bad health, he came home to an empty house, no wife, no car, no money, nothing.  And I remember reading this verse and wondering about my dad’s life and whether or not that was ever something that I wanted to imitate, or follow in, considering the outcome.  So many preachers I have known have had some sort of similar misfortunes at the end of their life.  So I don’t think we can look at a pastor’s life from a human standpoint and judge whether or not things worked out as we think they should have or whatever.  But in that he was faithful to be obedient to the calling of God, he was faithful to preach the word accurately, and he lived according to how God tells us to live.  And in those respects, we then can imitate them.  Just like we would imitate the faith of Job.  None of us would want to partake in the circumstances of Job’s life, but we should imitate his faith.

This passage in Hebrews then is speaking of our responsibility to the leaders of the church, and their responsibility to the Lord Jesus Christ to be faithful to His word and His design for the church.  Then in vs.9 we see a contrast to the faithful leader.  And that contrast is those leaders who distort and misrepresent the gospel. Listen to vs 9, “Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited.” 

I’ve already said some things about those pastors or preachers that use the gospel for the sake of personal gain.  And we are to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves in that regard.  We need to be as the Bereans and study the scriptures to see if those things are so which they are teaching.  Particularly as it pertains to false teaching.  Here false teaching is described as varied and strange teachings. As far as the enemy of the church is concerned, I believe Satan’s intent is to subtly distort the word of God.  It is much more palatable to swallow a half truth than a whole lie.  And I believe the Devil is adept at scheming up doctrines which consist of partial truths. As I have said many times before, only a one degree error in your compass when setting on a trans Atlantic ocean voyage will end up taking you hundreds of miles off course before you complete your journey. 

 I am constantly amazed at how a lot of Christians start off hot, and end up cold.  And unfortunately I think it’s due to believing faulty theology most of the time.  The problem in the church today is that a lot of people are getting their doctrine from the wrong sources.  They neglect the God appointed and ordained pastor and his teaching, because they think they like better the sermons on television, or online.  They eschew the leadership of a Bible teaching preacher because they prefer the stirring melodies of a so called worship music and contemporary musicians. They disregard the daily study of the Bible in their quiet times in exchange for the latest Christian self help books found in the bookstores.  And as a result, their theology gets subtly distorted.  They end up believing strange teaching.  They start off thinking they are hot, but instead they are getting colder and colder because they are drifting further and further away from the refining fire of God’s word.

So it is incumbent upon the church to avoid such leaders as that.  In the case of the Hebrews, one of the characteristics of these deceitful leaders was that they were trying to enforce the Jewish diet rituals on the new Christians. And so that’s the emphasis that the author puts on this warning, to beware of those who were trying to reinstate the dietary laws of the old covenant when we have this new covenant of grace.  The ceremonial laws were done away with at the cross, because Jesus fulfilled all the types which those laws were supposed to be teaching.  And he says, those who practiced such laws were not benefitted by them.  The cermemonial laws were supposed to separate the Jews from the world, so that they might be a light to the Gentiles.  But because their hearts were not sanctified, the outward ceremonial laws that they practiced did not help them in that regard whatsoever.  And it’s interesting that today in many evangelical circles there is a desire to go back to traditions, to ceremonies, to rituals, to candles and incense and liturgies which have the appearance of spirituality, but have no spiritual value.

The heart, the author tells us, is better strengthened by grace. What is grace?  Grace is the gift of God, sending Jesus Christ to be our Savior.  Grace is the repentance and faith that comes from the conviction and quickening of the Holy Spirit.  Grace is the forgiveness of our sins, and the Spirit of God who is given to us as an inward witness and help. These aspects of grace strengthen the heart, the soul, that we might have a change of heart, new desires, and find strength to carry out the desires of God.

This grace is the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.  And that grace is still available today for those who believe in Him.  And so we focus our attention on the One who is unchangeable, immutable, Jesus Christ the Lord.  Vs. 8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”  Though earthy leaders may come and go, though denominations rise and fall, though some stay faithful and some fall away into apostasy, the Lord Jesus Christ remains the same.

Let’s notice first the preeminence of His name.  Jesus is HIs given name. It means Jehovah saves.  No Hebrew could say the name of Jesus without realizing the significance of that name.  When the angel spoke to Joseph he said, “And you shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.”  He came to earth to be our Savior.  He came to seek and  to save those that are lost.

Are you lost today?  Have you come to that conclusion?  It’s necessary to recognize that you are lost before you can be saved.  Recognizing you are lost is coming to the point of confessing you are a sinner, you are hopeless, that you are helpless, coming to the end of yourself.  Recognizing that all your efforts at directing your life has been faulty, and coming to the point of believing that Jesus Christ is your only hope.  He will save you, if you will recognize that you are lost and  believe that He is your Savior.

Notice also the word Christ.  Christ is not His surname.  Christ is His title.  It is the Greek word for Messiah which means anointed one. Kings were anointed. Priests were anointed. Prophets were anointed, all three. And our Lord holds all three of those offices. And, particularly, as we have been alluding to, the office of King. So He is the Anointed One and that suggests his office of kingship.  

The author of this epistle has referenced that kingship in chapter 1 in verse 8, where he says these words, citing from Psalm 45. “But to the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness above Your companions.’” So he is the Anointed King.

Well, if God has anointed Him and appointed Him to be the Savior of sinners,  why is it that people object to having Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior? If God has anointed him to be the Anointed King and Savior of sinners, it seems to me that the right response of human beings is to bow down before him and acknowledge him as their Lord.  And that of course is the reason that they refuse Him.  Because they do not want to surrender to Him as Lord.  I would suspect that it’s possible some would even be wiling to have Him as their Savior, but not their Lord.  They are willing to let Him  pay for their sin, but not to have Him as Lord over their lives.  But both are necessary.  He must be both Savior and Lord.

And then the author speaks to the immutability of Jesus Christ.  He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is unchanging.  In the first chapter again, vs.10 he says, “ And, “YOU, LORD, IN THE BEGINNING LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH, AND THE HEAVENS ARE THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS;  THEY WILL PERISH, BUT YOU REMAIN; AND THEY ALL WILL BECOME OLD LIKE A GARMENT, AND LIKE A MANTLE YOU WILL ROLL THEM UP; LIKE A GARMENT THEY WILL ALSO BE CHANGED. BUT YOU ARE THE SAME, AND YOUR YEARS WILL NOT COME TO AN END.”

Our faith is founded on the unchanging, immutable Word of God, who became flesh and dwelt among us, and who has ascended to the right hand of the Father where He ever lives to make intercession for us.  Our citizenship in the kingdom of God is not dependent on denominations or creeds or people or rituals or ceremonies of religion, but our security is in the eternal, unchanging,  immortal God, Jesus Christ the Lord. 

As I was working on preparing for the Christmas party this year, I think it’s about 14 years now that we have had it.  And thinking of the years we have had the Luau, and all the people over the years who we have ministered to.  Some who are still with us and many more who are no longer here.  It makes me realize the changeableness of our church.  People come and go.  The congregation changes.  People get hot and cold. The church changes.  I have changed. I’ve gotten older.   But Jesus Christ remains unchanged.  He is the same, forever. His word, His person, His gospel, His salvation endures forever.

And I will say one more thing about His unchangeableness in regards to doctrine.  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.  That means if we want to know what the church of Jesus Christ is supposed to look like today, then we look at what the church of Jesus Christ was like when He was on earth.  When you want to know what the life of the Christian is supposed to look like today, then look at the life of the Chief Shepherd whom we are to imitate.

His unchanging nature provides the standard for all Christian conduct, particularly in the preaching of the word and in worship. Just because we live in a modern society we should not expect something completely “new” as if there is an Old Covenant God and a  New Covenant Jesus.” The nature of God as it is manifested by Jesus is the same in the old as in the new. And the nature of Christian conduct that we see in the Bible  should be the same which is seen in the church today.

And let me add that the nature of the Holy Spirit is no different than the nature of Jesus Christ.  As Jesus Christ is the exact representation of the nature of the Father according to chapter one vs.3 which says, “And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature.”  Jesus said of the Spirit in John 16:13-14  “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose [it] to you.”

So, that’s the Oneness of God, the unity of the Trinity.  Jesus is the exact representation of the Father.  And the Spirit is the exact representation of Jesus.  So in the church we have unity in the truth, first and foremost.  The Holy Spirit is not going to be glorifying Himself.  He is not going to be acting in a way that is incompatible with the way Jesus acted when He was on earth.  And the leadership of the church is to be exact in it’s representation of Christ as well.  We must be careful to study the scriptures and teach faithfully and handle accurately the word of God, so that the church may be built up and do the work of service in ministry.

That’s quite a responsibility for the pastor, but it’s also quite a responsibility for the congregation, to be imitators of Christ in the world. To be discerning, and to be steadfast, persevering to the end.  I pray that we may be found faithful.

If you’re here today and you have come to the conclusion that you have never been born again by the Spirit of Christ, then I invite you to accept the gift of God through faith in Christ Jesus.  If you will confess your sins and repent of your sins, and ask Jesus to save you, to remake you, and surrender to Him as Lord and King, then He will forgive your sins, and cleanse you from all unrighteousness, and give you His Spirit to empower you.  I pray that no one here today is foolish enough to reject the grace of God. The Bible says it is appointed unto man once to die and after that the judgment.  When that day comes, your faith in Jesus Christ is the only way of escape.  I pray that you do not presume upon the grace of God, but surrender to Him today.

In our last sermon, we said that the primary concern of the author was that we do not fall short of the grace of God.  That is, that considering all that Christ has done for us, considering our position in Christ, let us be sure not to come short of the full purpose of God in saving us.  As it says in the next to last verse of chapter 12, considering what Christ has done for us, and what God’s purpose in saving us is; let us show gratitude, by rendering to God an acceptable service which is to be lived in reverence and awe for Him.

Now if we are to fulfill our purpose for which Christ died, if we are to walk worthy of our calling, then what is this service that is spoken of which we are to live out for God?  The author gives us in this final chapter a list of very practical applications, how we are to live in service to the Lord.  And at the top of the list is that we are to love the brethren. Now I want you to notice something about this word for love. 

As I have pointed out many times in the past, love in Biblical terms is not synonymous with the kind of love which we talk about in our culture.  Love in the culture of this world is a term which more often than not is defined by it’s lowest common denominator.  It’s really not much more than lust, because it is based on physical attraction.  Upon physical desire.  But God has a much higher standard for love.  

In the original Greek language of the New Testament, there are three words which are most often used for love.  The word eros is the word which might be most synonymous with the type of love which is of the world. Eros as the name implies is an erotic love, a fleshly love, a sexual love.  The second kind of love is the one which is most often found in relation to God’s love for us, and that is the word agape.  Agape is a sacrificial love.  Agape does not demand or expect repayment from the love given – it gives because it loves, it does not love in order to receive. Agape love isn’t about feelings; it is about decisions. It’s about commitment.  It is the type of love which we are to have towards our marriage partner, towards God, and towards His church.

There is another word that is sometimes used for love, and that is found here in our text.  When the author says in vs 1 let “brotherly love continue”, he is using just one word for brotherly love and that is the word philadelphia.  It is of course where we get the name of the city in Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, which is known as the city of brotherly love.  It comes from the root word philia. This ancient Greek word spoke of brotherly friendship and affection. It is the love of fraternal kinship and partnership.  It has to do with love of family.  

And so when the author of Hebrews gives us this admonition to let brotherly love continue, he is recognizing first of all that those of us in the body of Christ are made by this new birth into sons and daughters of God, and thus brothers and sisters in Christ.  We are part of the family of God.  And this relationship with Christ is the basis for our relationship with one another.  

That’s why I think that the word chosen here is phileo as opposed to agape. It’s not that we are to love one another with a lower standard of love than we love the Lord.  But it’s saying that the basis for our love for one another is familial.  We are brothers and sisters of Christ.  I  believe that our love for one another should still rise to the standard of agape love.  Proof for that is found in 1Peter 1:22  which says,  “Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren (philadelphia), fervently love (agape) one another from the heart.”  One does not exclude the other, but philadelphia serves as a basis for agape.

So the basis for our love of one another is that we are of the same family, the same Father, the same Spirit. There is no lowering of the standard for love.  We should strive to love one another in agape love.  But the basis of our love is what is spoken of here.  And that is described as brotherly love, or family love.

Jesus said in John 13:35 “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”  Considering the emphasis in Jesus’s ministry on love, and the emphasis of the Bible in general, there really should be no need to give you biblical examples beyond that, but I will do so, just to make sure that we recognize the priority that God has given for loving one another, love for the brethren, in the life of a man or woman of faith.

Of course, one of the most famous examples is when Jesus was asked which is the greatest commandment, and Jesus responded, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ 38 “This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”

He was even more direct in John 13:34 saying “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”  Notice, He twice repeats it; love one another with the same sacrificial, agape love which Christ has for us.

Peter said in 1Peter 4:8 “Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.”  The Apostle John says in 1 John 3:14 “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death.”  And Paul said in Ephesians 4:1-3 “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

So brotherly love is something which is to be indicative of the fact that we are Christians, and that we are Christ’s disciples, and it’s to be a testimony to the world as well as a practical help to the church. In light of the gospel we can say that the church is our new family.  And so practicing love for one another is to be a priority, even our responsibility to care for one another.

Now how do we do that, practically speaking?  Well, the author is going to give us some specific examples. The first is to strangers, especially those of the Christian brotherhood.  Vs.2, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.”

Now this word which is translated as strangers has to do particularly with showing hospitality.  Among both Jews and Gentiles in those days hospitality was ranked very high in terms of virtues.  There were very few inns in many of the regions of the early church.  As we have seen in our studies in the Old Testament on Wednesday nights, there was a great danger in staying outdoors or in the city without being in someone’s home.  And what few inns there were had very bad reputations for the most part.  

Today, of course, we have every conceivable convenience or even luxury accommodations in virtually every town, especially in America.  But the principle of hospitality is still in effect in the church.  Hospitality includes much more than just a roof over your head, but perhaps a meal, being a friend in someone visiting a strange area, or befriending someone who has just moved to your community. It covers people experiencing hardship, or grief, or loss.  There are so many ways to show hospitality.  And the point is that we should look for opportunities to serve other members of the body of Christ, even though we may consider them strangers.  

But I would  say that strangers indicates people who are not in your immediate family, or not in your friend clique.  Today in our world there is such a disconnect from one another.  We don’t hardly know our neighbors anymore.  We have no interaction with people living on our street, or in our community.  Social media has made us a society of social pariah’s.` But in God’s family we should not be that way.  We should reach out to one another. Share with one another.  Help one another.  And encourage one another.  And hospitality speaks to all of those things as we seek out what we might do to help and strengthen and encourage one another.  

I would remind you that when you do these things for another brother or sister in the spirit of serving the Lord, you are in effect doing it unto Him.  Jesus said in Matt. 25:35-40  “For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’  “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?  ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?  ‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’  “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.”

And let me say something about the mention of angels here in this verse.  This has caused quite a bit of theological gymnastics over the years as people took this verse and jumped to all kinds of different extrapolations and started seeing angels all over the place.  But I think the best exegesis was given by John MacArthur, I believe, who said the emphasis should be on the phrase, “without knowing it.”  In other words, though someone might have entertained an angel, they were unaware that it was an angel.  The intention is not to get us looking for angels, but to recognize that we have a responsibility to offer hospitality to one another as servant’s of the Lord, to supply for one another’s needs in tangible ways, as we would to our own family members, as we would for the Lord Himself.  And that there is an inherent blessing in doing so.  As Jesus said, “it is better to give than to receive.”  We need to think of hospitality as service to Christ.  Something that we look forward to doing, and look for opportunities to do. 

The next group that we should show brotherly love to is those who are in prison. Vs.3, “Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body.”  In those days, it was not uncommon for Christians to find themselves arrested and imprisoned for the sake of the gospel.  We know of many from the record of the scriptures as well as extra biblical writings.  Historic documents tell us how the early Christians would go to any length in order to try to get the release of their brothers in prison.  In some cases, it is recorded that they actually sold themselves into slavery in order to effect the release of a brother in prison. 

Often it was possible to supply the physical needs of the prisoners which were not even attempted to be met by the prison officials.  Remember how Paul wrote that Timothy should bring his cloak and the parchments when he visited Paul in prison.  And so great concern was given to the needs of the prisoners who were suffering for the sake of Christ. 

Prison ministries are still something today that we can be involved in.  But as a principle  I believe it goes beyond incarceration to include people who are being mistreated in a variety of circumstances.  People who are trapped in some sort of destructive situation.  People who are unable to help themselves for one reason or another.  People that have needs that they cannot meet. People in the hospital, or in an old folks home.  I think all those people fit under the sub title which is those who are ill treated.  

We should treat them this way, it says, because we too are in the body.  He’s not speaking of the body of Christ, but of the body of flesh.  We are able to help those who are suffering in the flesh, because in being of the flesh ourselves, we have compassion. James speaks to that in James 2:15-16 “If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food,  and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?”

Being in the body, we should have compassion on others in the body and help supply that which is necessary for the well being of the body.

The next expression of brotherly love or familial love that he speaks of is the love of marriage. The love of marriage is an ideal of God for which we have been made, as an illustration of the love of God towards us. Notice the text in vs.4, “Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.”

First of all notice that in God’s eyes, marriage is honorable.  Marriage has almost reached the point today where it’s considered  dishonorable in the eyes of the world.  It doesn’t seem like it makes any sense from their point of view. It’s much more practical in many young couple’s minds to test the waters first.  To  just live together.  But in God’s eyes, marriage is honorable.  It is His design for man. It is divinely ordained.  It’s not a civll ordinance, it is a sacred ordinance. It’s not to gain a tax advantage, it’s to gain a spiritual advantage. In Genesis we read that God ordained marriage when He said “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”  And so “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.”

So God ordained marriage to be between a man and a woman, which then being joined together, shall become one flesh.  Jesus went on to say that what God has joined together, let no man set asunder.  Marriage is a picture, according to Ephesians 6, of Christ’s love for the church, wherein He laid down His life for her.  So marriage is a sacred ordinance, made by a sacred oath to God, to love one another exclusively, until death, as unto the Lord.

Furthermore, it can be extrapolated from this text, that the marriage bed is undefiled. That simply means that sexually, in your bed, between a husband and wife, there is nothing you can do that is wrong. In God’s eyes, everything in the bed is pure if you’re married. That’s a great blessing of God on marriage. You don’t need to be hung up on guilt, because whatever you do is undefiled in the sight of God.  Now that’s not just my interpretation of this verse, but that is a long standing interpretation of many commentators.  

But there is a warning in this verse as well, to abstain from adultery and fornication.  Adultery covers the relationship between a husband and wife, but fornication indicates every kind of sexual sin. Notice that it says God will judge those that indulge in those sins.  So many of us think that because we don’t see the immediate consequences of our sin, that there is no penalty for fornication.  But God sees.  And God will judge.  And furthermore, there are inherent consequences to every sin, especially in the sin of fornication.  I believe that many of the problems that are experienced in our marriages and in our culture at large can find their root sexual promiscuity and immorality.  I can’t begin to quantify the problems in our society due to the explosion of pornography.  I read the other day someone who said that statistics indicate that virtually every teenager by the age of 13 has seen pornography today.  And I can assure you that such things scar your soul. Fornication by the way in the Greek is the word pornea which we get pornography from.  But it includes all sorts of sexual sins outside of marriage, from homosexuality to bestiality. 

Now closely related to unchastity is covetousness. And so we see the author make that connection between the love of what is good, the love of Christ’s body, and the love of the world, or the love of money.  Vs.5, “Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,”

Covetousness in the New Testament can either be a reference to sexual impurity, or it can refer to a love of money.  Jesus Himself warned us that you cannot serve God and mammon, or money.  Paul says that “the love of money is the root of all evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

The opposite of covetousness is contentment. Being satisfied with what God has given you. And we can rest in that contentedness because God is always with us.  He said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.”  God who supplies our needs, who is the source of all wealth, who owns all things, who gives us all good things to enjoy, who has promised to supply our needs according to His riches in glory, will never, never forsake us.  He has married to us for eternity.  No matter if we measure up to all that we should be or not, God will never fail us.  He will always be a ready, present help in time of need.  His love for us endures forever.  

I am told by experts in the Greek language who have studied this text, that in the original language this statement has five negatives.  Literally it reads, “I will by no means leave you and no, by no means will I forsake you.” Five times he uses the negative in order to add every assurance and emphasis on that impossibility. 

Our security is not in our bank account or our possessions. Our security is not in the stock market or in the money markets.  Our security is in the Lord.  In all our needs, He is sufficient.  He can be counted on. And because of that promise we may “confidently say, “THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?”

John said in his epistle of 1 John, that we love because He first loved us.  Because He loves us, and we are secure in that love, we can and should love one another.  I pray that you trust in the love of God, and that you practice the love of God towards one another.  That we all might be joined together as one with Christ Jesus.  This is His plan for us, the purpose of HIs grace, that we should love one another, even as He loved the church and gave up His life for her.

The passage before us today has been interpreted by many great theologians and preachers a great many ways.  But by and large, there is a tendency to make the apparent severity of this passage into a mild warning not to fall from grace into legalism.  That seems to be the majority consensus.   And perhaps there is some truth to that.

But I must confess that I don’t feel quite so secure in that opinion.  I have a certain unease in mitigating the severity of the  warning that is here.  This is the fifth such warning in the book of Hebrews.  The first warning is found in chapter 2 vs 1, “For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.  For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty,  how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?”  

Second warning is in chapter 3:12 “Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.”    The third warning is in chapter 6:4-6 “For 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,  and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,  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.”

The fourth warning is in chapter 10vs 26 “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,  but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES.  Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on [the testimony of] two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?  For we know Him who said, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.” And again, “THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

Notice the increasing severity in the progression of the warnings.  The tone of the warnings become more and more dire as you go further in the epistle.  And I would also point out the similarities between chapter 10’s warning and the warning found here in chapter 12.  And I think this is the climatic warning now that he has come to nearly the end of his epistle. 

Notice the similarities in the fourth and the fifth warning.  In chapter 10 he  contrasts the penalty due to the breakers of the law of Moses and says how much more penalty should there be to those who trample underfoot the covenant of grace. In chapter 12 he speaks of the fear and trembling at the giving  of the Law of Moses at Sinai  and the contrasts that to the reverence  that we should have at coming to Mt. Zion.  He speaks as if coming to Mt. Zion is even more awesome than coming to Mt. Sinai.  He speaks of the danger of trampling the blood of the covenant in chapter 10, and again we see the mention of the sprinkled blood of the new covenant in chapter 12.  He speaks of the fire that will consume the adversaries in chapter 10, and he speaks of our God is a consuming fire in chapter 12. He speaks of the Lord who will judge His people in chapter 10 and he speaks of God the judge of all in chapter 12.  I think the similarities between the 4th and 5th warnings are obvious.  And  so I think it’s a mistake to try to mitigate the terrible implications of refusing or rejecting the gospel.  There is a tendency of modern theologians to minimize the ramifications for rejecting the covenant of grace as compared to the punishment for rejecting the covenant of Moses.  But that is not the emphasis that seems to come from this author, but actually a more severe punishment for those who disregard the sacrifice of God’s Son.

I want you to notice two other similarities in chapter 12 that I think will help us better understand the context of the passage.  Notice the first in vs 15, “See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God.”  Then notice vs. 25, “See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking.”  I think that the author uses this construct of this dual imperatives to connect both passages.  

And that bears particularly on the first verse of our text today in vs.18, which starts out with the word  “For”.  The word “for” ties the following statement with what has been said before.  And what comes before vs 18 is the illustration of Esau who came short of the grace of God.  Now we spent some time talking about that in our last message, so I don’t want to cover it again, but suffice it to say that to come short of the grace of God is to fail to grab hold of what God has offered to you.  To come short of the purpose for which God offers grace.   Grace accepted is supposed to produce something.  It’s supposed to produce holiness, righteousness.  It’s supposed to produce gratefulness.  Look at vs 28 as evidence of that; “Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe.”

So the warning that the author of Hebrews is extending here as he wraps up this epistle is not to diminish the previous warnings in light of the new covenant.  But rather to say in light of the illustration of immoral and godless Esau, in light of the discipline of God that is brought to bear upon his legitimate children,  in light of the importance of the race that we are called to run, to not come short of His grace, to not fall short of His purpose in crucifying Jesus Christ in our place. But to come all the way to the perfection or completion of sanctification.  And so this warning is the most severe of all.  Because the legitimacy and seriousness of our spiritual life is revealed in light of the tremendous sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  The Son of God suffered and died in order to purchase our right to enter the kingdom of God, so we dare not take this privilege lightly or carelessly.  That’s the point he is making.

Now then let’s expound the text more thoroughly along these lines.  Having said all that, having duly noted the severity of those that have come short of the grace of God, he says that further impetus for our running well should come from a comparison between the old covenant and the new covenant.  The old is represented by Mt. Sinai.  And in describing the particulars of Mt. Sinai, he says we have come to something more awesome.  But Mt. Sinai was awesome aplenty. 

At Mt. Sinai God came down to man and rested upon the mountain.  And when He did, He came with blazing fire, and darkness and gloom and whirlwind, and the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words which sound was such that those who heard begged that no further word be spoken to them.  Now that is quite the picture isn’t it?  Can you imagine standing there around the mountain which must have seemed to be about to explode like a volcano, with fire and darkness and a whirlwind and the words of God booming down to the people like thunder and lightning?  It must have been a terrible experience.  He was their God that had brought them out of Egypt, that had brought them through the Red Sea, and yet now they saw Him more fully as they had never seen Him before. Notice vs 21 And so terrible was the sight, [that] Moses said, “I AM FULL OF FEAR and trembling.”

And I would impress on you today that description is still an apt description of God. The holiness and awesomeness of God hasn’t changed on iota. The dreadful God of the Old Testament has not changed into a jolly Santa Claus type of grandfather figure in the New Testament.  God hasn’t changed. No one can look upon God and live.  No one can approach God.  He is still holy, righteous, dwelling in unapproachable light.  God hasn’t changed.  

But as terrible and awesome as the sight of God’s presence was at Mt. Sinai, there remains something even more awesome; and that is the presence of God at Mt. Zion. Moses came to Mt. Sinai, a barren mountain in the wilderness, and God in the cloud and the darkness descended upon the mountain.  But notice that we have not just come to a mountain on earth on which God descended, but we have actually come to the city of God, to the very presence of God in the heavens.

Listen to how he describes this mountain. But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.”

Now let me say a few things about this list by way of explanation.  First Mt. Zion.  Mt. Zion was the mountain which King David made as the dwelling place of the ark of the covenant.  It was the place of the presence of God in the Holy of Holies which was a picture of the reality in the heavens.  And so the author uses this title of Mt. Zion to signify the very presence of God, the dwelling of God in the heavenlies.  If it was a terrible thing to come God’s temporary meeting place at  Mt. Sinai, then how much more so to come to His temple at Mt. Zion?

Furthermore, it is the home of myriads of angels. When men are recorded in the scriptures as seeing an angel in his glory, they are usually struck to the ground.  They are often unable to speak and unable to move.  The writer says we have come into the presence of not one but myriads of angels, millions of angels attending to the Lord. What a tremendous privilege!

He speaks of Mt. Zion as the church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven.  The heavenly Jerusalem is the assembly of the universal church, it is where we that are saved are spiritually seated, according to Ephesians 2:5 “(by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”  Our names are written in the Lambs Book of Life.  Spiritually speaking we have reservations in heaven, privileges in heaven itself as if we were already there.

Then He speaks Mt. Zion as the judgment seat of God, the judge of all.  That pictures the Lord God as upon HIs throne, judging all the earth.  What an awesome thing that is, to stand before the righteous judge of the earth who sees all, and knows all.

Ironically almost, he juxtaposes  the Holy God judging all, with the spirits of righteous men made perfect.  Most commentators see this as the saints of old, characterized by the examples given in chapter 11, who in light of the culmination of Christ’s ministry have now been made complete by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  This is the great cloud of witnesses mentioned in vs.1. 

And to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant. Jesus is of course seated at the right hand of God as described in vs 2. Mt. Zion is His throne, as He is the Son of David, the Messiah promised who would rule the earth and bring peace.   Isaiah9:6 says, “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.  There will be no end to the increase of [His] government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”

And how does the LORD accomplish this? By the sprinkling of the blood of Christ, which speaks better than the blood of Abel. In the old covenant the vessels of the temple were sanctified by the sprinkled blood of the sacrifice.  In the new covenant, we are set apart for holiness and service to God by the sprinkled blood of Jesus.

He speaks of the blood of Abel, which you will remember, was referenced by God in His conversation with Cain after Cain had murdered his brother.  God said his blood cried out from the ground. And the law was God’s answer to the violence and depravity of man.  But the blood of Jesus Christ cries out as well.  But it cries out a better message, a different covenant, based on the better sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  What the blood of bulls and goats could never do, the blood of Jesus Christ  accomplishes.  It accomplishes our  transformation from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God. We are a new creature, a new creation. Old things are passed away, and all things become new.

In light then of the surpassing greatness of this new covenant God offers to man, vs.25, “See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking.  For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, (that is from Mt. Sinai) much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven” (that is from Mt. Zion).

Listen my friends, do not despise the gospel of Jesus Christ. Chapter 10:28 warns “Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on [the testimony of] two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?”

I believe the Bible speaks of degrees of punishment in the judgment.  This is but one reference here of many such indications of greater punishment for some than others.  But rest assured, that the punishment for setting aside the first covenant is nothing to be compared with the setting aside of the second covenant.  And the reason is that the first covenant was ratified by the blood of lambs and goats.  But the second covenant was ratified by the blood of the very Son of God Himself.

And for those who reject His Son, who murder His Son so that they might continue in their sin, God’s judgment rightly falls. Chapter 10:30-31 “For we know Him who said, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.” And again, “THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

From Mt. Sinai, the voice of God shook the earth so that men were terrified and could not bear to hear it.  But how much more in the new covenant will God’s voice shake the earth and the heavens.  Vs. 26 And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, “YET ONCE MORE I WILL SHAKE NOT ONLY THE EARTH, BUT ALSO THE HEAVEN.”  This [expression,] “Yet once more,” denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.

I think this speaks of the culmination of the kingdom, when Christ will come again.  This time when He comes He comes not to offer salvation, but to bring judgment.  When the earth and the heavens will shake at the sound of the trumpet, and the Lord will descend in the clouds, and all the earth will mourn.  It will be the day when the Lord Jesus Christ will make war with the enemies of the gospel and overthrow them.  And there will be found no place for them anymore.  When the heavens and the earth will be destroyed by fire and burned up.  And the only things that will remain are those that are faithful and true, whose names are found written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. 

Rev. 19:11-16 “And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it [is] called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.  His eyes [are] a flame of fire, and on His head [are] many diadems; and He has a name written [on Him] which no one knows except Himself.  [He is] clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.  And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white [and] clean, were following Him on white horses.  From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.  And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

Heb. 12:28-29 “Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe;  for our God is a consuming fire.”

Therefore, since we are not shaken, if we are those who are not shaken, if we are those who remain stedfast through trials and tribulations and the discipline of the Lord, if we are those who are becoming sanctified like unto Jesus Christ, then let us show gratitude.  Consider Jesus and all that He has given for us, and in gratitude may we give unto Him our lives in return.  Romans 12 says what this gratitude looks like, specifically how we offer to God acceptable service with severance and awe.  Romans 12:1,2; “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”  

This is not just our duty, it should be our joy.  Considering all that our salvation has purchased for us, how can we not give our all for the sake of the kingdom?  To do any less is to do a disservice to our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.  And God will not leave His children untrained or undisciplined, but through His refining fire He will perfect and complete in us that which He has begun through Christ Jesus, that we might not come short in the faith.

As someone has well pointed out, fire will destroy what it cannot purify, but fire purifies what it cannot destroy. That is the whole explanation of life in this present hour. We are passing through the fire which is designed either to destroy that which can be destroyed, or to purify that which can never be destroyed.  I pray that you recognize that the One who walks through the fire with you is none other than the Son of God, that you might have strength to endure and let endurance have it’s perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete. 

I would close by reminding you of a couple of stanzas of the great hymn we sing often; How Firm a Foundation.

When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply.
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.

The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose
I will not, I will not, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake!

We who have come to the kingdom of God through faith in Jesus Christ have been made part of an unshakeable, eternal kingdom.   We who were mortal have been made immortal.  We who were condemned have been justified.  We who were children of wrath have been made children of God.  We who were in captivity to the world have been given an inheritance as rulers with Christ.  What a tremendous heritage we have as children of God.  We have the very Spirit of God living in us.  And at the culmination of this age we will be given new and glorified bodies, heavenly bodies, and will be like Christ, for we shall see Him as He is in all His glory.  Since we have received this incredible inheritance, this eternal, immortal life with God, let us show gratitude and offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe, laying up treasure in heaven which will not be burned up, for our God is a consuming fire.

We started this chapter by looking at  the Race of faith, then we considered the Discipline of faith, and now today we come to what we might call the Exercise of faith.

We said that the goal of God bringing  discipline into our lives as described in vs 4-11 was  righteousness.   It’s called in vs11, the peaceable fruit of righteousness.  That is the purpose of discipline, to conform us to the image of Jesus Christ as we share in the suffering of Christ. Hebrews 5:8 says that Jesus learned obedience from the things that He suffered.  And we are also told that a servant is not greater than his master.  So God brings discipline into our lives to produce the fruit of righteousness, that we might be more like Jesus.  

Now the author mixes metaphors here somewhat.  He jumps between the metaphor of a race to that of a fight, and then he interjects the metaphors of a plant; either bearing fruit or referring to the root of a plant.  But overall, I think the predominant metaphor here is that of a race or an athletic contest.  And that race, or the goal of our race is what he is referring to in the passage before us today.

If I were to break down this passage into four points, capitalizing on the metaphor of training for the race, I might outline it as three things we are to be, and one thing we are not to be.  In light of that maybe I should have named the message, “To be or not to be, that is the question.”  But that is not the title, nor the point of my message.  It really is about the practical application of the doctrines that we have been learning in the book of Hebrews.  Things that aren’t really an option, but since these doctrines are true, this is what we are to do.

We have already been told in vs1 that we are to lay aside the weights and the sin which so easily beset us as we run the race of faith.  And we have been told that we are to endure discipline so that God may train us to be holy.  Now we are being told that we are to exercise our faith through the process of sanctification that we might lay hold of the prize.

There are four  steps or things we are to be or not to be then in this exercise of faith as elucidated by the writer of Hebrews.  The first I might summarize by “Be strong.”  The second, is “Be healed.”  The third is to “Be sanctified.”  And the fourth is to “Be not defiled.”  I realize that is not the best outline in the world, but perhaps it will serve to give us some pegs to hang onto as we go through this text.

First then, is “Be strong.”  I cannot say that phrase without thinking of a similar exhortation by the Apostle Paul who said in 1Cor. 16:13 “Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.”  There is a problem today in the church, which obviously was also a concern to the church in Paul’s day, of weak kneed Christians.  And men, particularly were guilty of weak kneed Christianity.  

I was thinking, especially in light of our culture today, about what does it mean to be a man? You might say it means you are guilty.  Men, it seems, are the reason behind all of society’s problems, at least according to the PC culture. I happen not to agree with that, though I do think a lot of our problems can be traced back to men. However,  I can assure you that being a man is not found in your ability to legally drink alcohol, or that you have a career, or by some measure of your sexual prowess.  Being a man in the Biblical sense is defined as taking responsibility.  God has given the man the responsibility of leadership in the home and in the church.  But far too many men have relinquished their responsibility in both of those areas to women. It’s not that women can’t do it, but it’s that God has given the responsibility to the man.  So being strong and acting like men doesn’t mean that it’s always your way or the highway, but that you are responsible for the well being of your family. And incidentally, when the Bible says to act like a man, it means to be a man of God.  Not a man of the world.  Not a business man.  Not a man about town.  But a man of God who will lay down his life for the sake of his wife and children.  Too many men use the excuse that they are taking care of their family when in reality they are chasing money and prestige in their career.  But if you are not able to take care of the spiritual needs of your family then you are out of line with the primary responsibility that God has given you.

Now this passage before us is not just about men.  But I think that we needed to say those things to the men first of all.  But the exhortation in Hebrews is to all of the church, men, women and children.  Notice  vs12, “Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble…” All of us have our weaknesses.  But a runner, or a person who is engaged in a contest, if he wants to be successful identifies his weak areas and works on them to make them stronger.  Your strong areas are usually your go to areas.  They are things in which you have confidence.  But the weak areas are the things that will keep you from running well, and ultimately winning.

The devil plays to your weak areas.  He doesn’t waste time going after those areas in which you’re strong.  But he is like the lion that looks for the weak members of the flock.  He goes after those that are struggling, that are falling behind, those that have some weakness which he can use to his advantage in order to take them down.

How do you strengthen those weak areas?  Well first of all, don’t wait until you are in a crisis to realize that you should have done some exercise to strengthen those areas.  The Bible says, “Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.” The point isn’t that God isn’t going to be around when you get into trouble, but rather that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  When you think you stand, take heed lest you fall.  Work on those problem areas before the storm hits, and you won’t have to deal with all the consequences of weakness when you go through those trials which come to us all.  And the most effective way of strengthening those weak areas is through the word of God.  Psalm 119:11 says “your word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against you.” That’s how we are strengthened.  And that’s why we need to be under sound preaching as well.  A God ordained pastor is going to preach the things you need to hear, the whole counsel of the word.  Not just tickle your ears. 

Now there is another way that this verse can be looked at as well.  And that is in regards to your responsibility to the church.  That we are to strengthen the hands and knees that are weak.  All the members of the church are members of the same body.  And all the parts of the body are necessary.  Here in this example he is highlighting the hands and feet, which all Christians are supposed to be. And so another way of looking at this is as a member of this church, we should be strengthening one another, especially those members who are weak.  We should be encouraging them, helping them, sharing with them, to build them up in the faith.  

That goes back to chapter 10:24-25 which says, “and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,  not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”  There is a tendency sometimes on the part of members of the church to say that they don’t really get too much out of a particular service or activity in the church so they don’t think that they need to go.  But when they say that it shows that they are still immature in their faith.  As we mature we should be more focused on encouraging others rather than being encouraged ourselves.  Church is not just about meeting our needs, but meeting the needs of others.  Just a pat on the back or a hug, or even a little bit of conversation after church can do a lot for someone who is weak, whose knees are about to buckle, who might be about to quit the race.

Secondly, we need to “be healed.”  Now I can see a few folks ears prick up when I mention being healed.  We love to focus on the physical healing.  And I will confess that this word is often used in relation to physical healing.  But it also can mean spiritual healing.  Now the metaphor of a race is being referred to in this context, and we should recognize that this race is not an actual, physical race he is talking about, but a spiritual race.  And so if it’s a spiritual race, then we can assume it’s referring to spiritual healing.  

But let’s look at the verse. “and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.”  What I think this is talking about is the person who was running, but got off the track.  I think it’s talking about the Christian who is in danger of drifting away.  Of turning off the course. I think it’s speaking about the person who has taken his eyes off Jesus and found himself off the path of righteousness and fallen into sin.  And as a result, God has brought discipline or correction into his life in the way of chastisement, which the author likens here to being lame. 

You know there is well known illustration which has received a lot of notoriety in the past from various preachers, which talks about the shepherd sometimes breaking a lamb’s leg in order to keep it from wandering off.  And the story goes that sometimes when a sheep just won’t stay with the flock, the shepherd might have to break the sheep’s leg, and then he must carry the sheep.  That’s the only way for the shepherd to keep the sheep from straying.  And a lot of preachers have had a hard time with that illustration.  They say such a thing would never happen.  That the story was made up.  But I read once an article from a minister from the  Billy Graham crusades who was responsible for leading certain evangelistic teams into the Middle East.  And this man, I forget his name, one day noticed a shepherd carrying a lamb upon his shoulders which had a bandage around his leg.  And upon asking the guide what had happened to the lamb, the guide told him that it was a common practice for the shepherd to break the leg of the lamb that constantly strayed from the fold, in order to train him to stay with the shepherd.  So in light of this man’s story, I think there is some validity in this illustration.  

Now whether or not that is on the mind of the author here I don’t know.  But he has made it abundantly clear that God does chastise his children.  And here the reference to  being lame and being healed would indicate that when you respond correctly to the chastisement of the Lord, then there is healing that comes from God.  God doesn’t chastise just to punish, but to correct.  He wants a renewed relationship.  He wants you to stay near to Him.  James 4:8-10 says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”  He is speaking of the proper response to chastisement, to cleanse yourself from the sin which has injured you, and God will raise you up again.

And incidentally, James uses this same word as this author for healed in James 5:16, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.”  There are some who infer from that that James is not talking about physical healing, but spiritual healing, because it is in relation to confessing your sins. 

So the same word for healing is found here in Hebrews.  And I can assure you that at least in Hebrews it refers to spiritual healing.  As 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  Let me tell you something, if you’re a Christian, then sin will make you sick.  Your sins will find you out.  I read a sign somewhere the other day that said that sin is like buying on a  credit card. You might enjoy it now, but you will pay dearly later.  There are consequences to sin.  Sin injures you, it makes you lame.  It hinders or even stops altogether your progress in the race.  But you can receive healing, that you might be restored and be able to run again.

So be strong, be healed, and then be sanctified.  Look at vs 14, “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.”  Let me say that another way; be right with men and with God.  Let’s just take the idea of being right with men first.  This is such a major part of our Christianity and yet we make so little of it.  It’s truth is emphasized again and again in the Bible.  For instance, Paul says in Romans 12:18 “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.”  He says again in chapter 14 vs 19, “So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.”  Notice that he uses the same word, pursue peace.  Hebrews says pursue peace.  Run after peace.  In this race which we run, run after peace with your fellow man.  Not the absence of war, but the absence of strife, jealousy, envy, anger.  

Peace is the fruit of the Spirit according to Gal. 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”  Jesus said in Matt. 5:8, the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are the peace makers, for they shall see God.” He goes on to speak of all the ways in which we are to treat one another, that we might have peace.  Jesus is the Prince of Peace, and so if we are to be like Jesus, we should be peaceable, humble, gentle, even as He was.

But tied closely to peace is holiness, or sanctification.  We must not sacrifice holiness for the sake of peace.  We don’t compromise holiness for the sake of just getting along with everyone, for the sake of not offending someone.  But speak the truth in love if that be needed.

So, he says, pursue or run after peace and sanctification.  Sanctification is practical holiness, or even better, practicing holiness.  We practice what Jesus taught.  And as we are obedient to His word, we are sanctified.  Now the origin of the word sanctified means set apart.  Set apart to God, set apart from sin. And it’s illustrated by the temple vessels that we made of gold, or silver or brass and then consecrated for use in the temple.  They were not to be used for other purposes, for carnal purposes, but were sanctified for holy use. And then they were washed, and sprinkled by the blood of the sacrificial lamb.   After all of that was completed, they were then used in service to the Lord.  

That’s the picture of sanctification.  We are set apart at our new birth for service to the Lord.  WE are washed, we are sprinkled with the blood of the Lamb.  And then we are to be used for service to God.  Not just to be set on a shelf.  The church is not a museum. But a place to serve the Lord.  If the home is the hub of the family life, then the church is the hub of spiritual life.  Sanctification is the working out of holiness in the church.  

Phil. 2:12-13 says, “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;  for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for [His] good pleasure.” We are to work out what we have become inwardly.  If Christ is in us, then He is to be exercised through us. 

There is a warning in this verse as well, “the sanctification without which, no one will see the Lord.”  Now we are sanctified in salvation, set apart to God,  but sanctification is also the process by which our righteousness is made manifest to others.  And so perhaps that is what is meant by that phrase; no one will see the Lord.  In other words, if the world doesn’t see Christ in us, then they won’t see Christ at all. It’s not enough to profess Christ, but we must let Christ live through us. We are intended to be lights in the world.

And that brings us to the last thing which is what we are not to be.  Be not defiled. Vs.15, “See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled.”  I think that to come short of the grace of God means to come short of the purpose of God’s gift of salvation.  I believe it’s possible to fail to come all the way to the goal of sanctification.  It’s possible to come short of maturity as a believer.  It’s possible to fall away or drift away and become un-useful to the kingdom.  To frustrate the grace of God.  I believe it’s possible to presume upon the grace of God and do nothing with the spiritual life that God has given you. Jesus spoke often of that principle of using what God has given you and multiplying it.  So I think that is what is indicated here in falling short.  It’s falling short of what God has purposed for us.

And as the author indicates, one way of doing that is by the root of bitterness causing trouble and defiling many.  I think this is speaking of the life of the church.  Now it may be more individualistic than congregational.  But it’s likely it refers to a person or persons who are embittered over something, and while there may not be much on the surface to indicate that, underneath, inwardly something is eating at the person.  And as such they start to cause trouble.  They murmur or complain.  They start to eat away at the fabric of the church, and as the text says, they cause the defilement of many.  

We see that again and again in the book of Acts and in the writings of Paul to the Gentile churches.  Men from the church in Jerusalem came and started causing dissension.  Or some said I am of Apollos and others I am of Paul.  Or as Jude says  “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

What point this is making is that sin has to be dealt with.  This root of bitterness is sin which is hidden from view on the surface, but exists inwardly.  And eventually it comes out.  The problem with this sort of bitterness is that by leaving it alone it doesn’t go away, but rather the roots go deeper and become more entwined around other living plants.  And so when you finally have a problem and you have to deal with it, to root it out, it often destroys many other good plants in the process.

Now Esau is given as an illustration for all the points above.  He is an illustration of a church member, so to speak, who seems to be part of the family, has all the benefits of the family, the physical requirements for inheritance of the blessings, and yet  spiritually has fallen short of the grace of God.  Such a person looks like a brother in Christ on the outside but spiritually they are embittered in their sin. They have never truly repented, and as such their sin is like a cancer that is eating away from the inside. 

Notice that he calls Esau an immoral and godless person.  This is not how you describe a believer.  Jude in the passage I quoted while ago said that such persons who crept in to the church were ungodly persons.  And he went on to say that they denied our only Master and Lord. That indicates the problem.  It’s not that they don’t believe in the historicity of Jesus.  But that they deny Him Lordship over their life.  They have denied Him the place of Master over their life.  They are willing to presume upon the grace of God, but Jude says that they have turned it into licentiousness. That means that they think they can live their life in sin and do what they want to do with impunity.  God will forgive them, and so they don’t have to worry about sin. 

Well, the writer of Hebrews calls that immorality. It’s loving the world.  It’s immorality against God. He calls Esau a fornicator.  There is no evidence of that in scripture.  He’s saying that spiritually Esau is a fornicator.  He loved his fleshly appetite more than he loved the things of God.  He cared more about the world and the present than he did about the future kingdom of God and the Messiah who would come from the line of Jacob.

And as a such he paints a pretty apt picture of many professing Christians in the church today, who have sold their inheritance in heaven for a paltry meal here on earth.  They have sold their soul for a tryst with the lusts of the world.  Esau disdained his inheritance which had eternal implications, because he had a fleshy desire that he wanted filled immediately.  There was an evangelist that by the name of Bob Jones who said many years ago, “never sacrifice the permanent on the altar of the immediate.”

Finally, let me say this about the repentance of Esau.  Esau cried many tears later when he found that he had lost his blessing to his brother Jacob.  But his tears were not tears of repentance, but tears of rage.  In Genesis we read that Esau swore in his wrath that he would kill Jacob.  Who he wanted to repent was his father Isaac.  He wanted Isaac to repent, to change his mind and take back the blessing that he had given Jacob.  But Isaac could not do it, for it was the blessing of God, and so Isaac himself trembled when he considered how the purpose of God had been fulfilled in spite of his intentions. But the point I want to emphasize is that God did not reject Esau’s repentance, because Esau never did repent.  His tears led to a plot to murder.  But God always accepts the sincere prayer of repentance, the humble in heart. 

The word of God tells us that God is always ready to hear, to forgive, to heal us of our iniquity, when we call upon Him in true repentance. The goal of God is to restore us, and to make us more like Christ.  Christ is the goal, and we who are sanctified will see God. It’s a race that God has called us to run, and Christ is the goal, and we that are sanctified will one day see God face to face, and then we will be glorified.  We will be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.  I urge you to stay the course, to run the race, to strengthen one another, to make straight paths for your feet, and examine yourselves to root out any sin which so easily besets you, and may cause you to fall short of the grace of God.  

Romans 12:1-2 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, [which is] your spiritual service of worship.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”