Two Ways to Live • 05.14.23
Nick Lees   -   May 14, 2023

Two Ways to Live
Hebrews 10:26-39

Living in light of Christ’s finished work

  1. Way #1 – Deliberately rejecting truth to pursue sin
  2. Way #2 – Suffering for Christ because of your confident hope

Good morning church family! It is so good to be back with you and to have the privilege of opening up God’s Word with you again this morning. For those who are new to our church, my name is Nick Lees and I serve as the senior pastor here. For the past month I’ve been gone on a sabbatical for rest, time with my family, and time with the Lord. (Photo slideshow) We did some traveling, spent time at the beach, napped a lot (me, not the kids), visited friends from seminary, and Micaela and I were even able to get away for a pastor and wife retreat. This trip was an opportunity to take time to intentionally rest and recuperate and to process lessons God has been teaching us, especially me over the past several years. It has been good for myself, my wife, and my kids. I came into the church last week feeling light on my feet with my soul at rest. I look forward to sharing more of the blessings and lessons learned with you in the days/weeks ahead.

Dismiss 4th + 5th graders

Before we dive into our study of Hebrews 10 today, I just want to say how thankful I am for all of you and how loved our family feels by being able to get away like this. I’m also very thankful for the way our local church spent countless hours cleaning and organizing our home. I am so appreciative of our local church. Our church family as I often say. It is such a joy to hear and see how much Harvest reflects the ideals we see in God’s Word. Every person is important to the health of this church, and I am thankful for each of you in carrying on the mission while we were gone. This church certainly isn’t about any one person or family, but I’m thankful that our family gets to be a part of it!

This is an opportune time for me to put in a plug for our Next Steps process. If you’re looking for a church home, a family of Christ-followers to be a part of, please consider staying for our 30-minute Step 1 class at 10:30am today. It’s a great introduction to the church and an opportunity to meet one of our pastors and ask any questions you might have. If you’ve already done that, then I’d encourage you to sign up for Step 2, which happens next Sunday during our 11am service. This 1-hour class will take you on a deeper dive into our mission and how we seek to accomplish it.

Alright, with that all being said, let’s get back into our study of the book of Hebrews.

Ushers + Bibles (Hebrews 10, page 1193)

Since you’ve been in Titus with Pastor Jack the past four weeks, I thought I’d do a little review to get our minds back into Hebrews today. Rather than recapping the entire book, I’m simply going to revisit our last sermon in this series, as it directly ties into what we’ll be studying today. If you’ve not been present for any of the other sermons in Hebrews, I would suggest going to our website and listening to the overview of Hebrews sermon from January 15th. That will give you a high level flyover of the entire book.

Back on April 2nd, we studied Hebrews 10:1-25 and talked about living in light of Christ’s finished work…

This stemmed from the author’s reflection on the beauty of what Jesus had done in his death, burial, and resurrection as our perfect High Priest. If you recall, verses 1-9 spoke about how…

  1. Jesus perfectly obeyed in our place

Throughout this letter, we’ve heard about how sinful the people were. Under the Old Covenant in the Old Testament that meant a lot of blood was shed. There were incredible amounts of animal sacrifices that served as a constant reminder of the sinfulness of sin! And the fact that we are not made perfect apart from the perfect sacrifice!

In verses 5-10, we were told that God really wanted obedience, not sacrifices. Sacrifices were not the point. Holiness and righteousness were! Jesus came to fulfill what was required – perfection in obedience to God – something we could not do.

  1. Jesus accomplished the will of God

Jesus finished the work. (vv11-18)

  • Singular sacrifice.
    • Once for all.
    • One for many.
  • Sat down. It is finished.
  • Currently waiting for the remainder of God’s plan to come to fruition – his conquering of their enemies.
  • His work = our eternal perfection
    • Being revealed day-by-day in our ongoing sanctification
    • Culminating in our glorification at his return
  • God’s forgiveness of our sins is proven by Jesus’ once-for-all sacrifice.

Then the author challenged us to allow these truths to inform how we live in verses 19-25…

  1. Our new spiritual realities must inform how we live

Jesus’ finished work necessitates a response!

  • Spiritual realities
    • We have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus
    • We have a great priest over the house of God
  • How we live
    • Let us draw near [to God]
      • With a true heart
      • In full assurance of faith
      • With our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience (internal)
        • And our bodies washed with pure water (external)
      • Let us hold fast the confession of our hope
        • Without wavering
        • For who he promised is faithful (Reason to hold fast = Jesus’ character)
      • Let us consider how to stir up one another
        • To love and good works
        • Not neglecting to meet together
          • As is the habit of some
        • But encouraging one another
          • And all the more as you see the Day drawing near (increased urgency as eternity draws closer!!)

I love how these challenges are corporate in nature. The expectation is that we would get after these things together, as the church! Yes, individually we must obey, but this obedience is lived out in relationship with one another and, as we’ve heard in Hebrews, we need one another to protect each other from the deceitfulness of sin!

Are you thankful for the God’s plan for the church!? Do you value being a part of Christ’s bride? I certainly am thankful and value this incredible blessing/privilege. Let’s turn our attention now to the current text at hand, the remainder of chapter 10, verses 26-39. After exhorting his audience to action, he now provides another powerful warning with an encouragement to follow it.

If you were with us on February 26th, we covered the first of these warning passages of Hebrews in chapter 6. They are not easy to read. They are meant to shock us into action. They are provided as a means of protection against the deceitfulness of sin. I pray that it will have its intended effect on all of us today. May we all take our sin seriously! Let’s read our text.

Hebrews 10:26–39 (ESV)

26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

32 But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, 33 sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. 34 For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. 35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. 37 For,

       “Yet a little while,

and the coming one will come and will not delay;

38    but my righteous one shall live by faith,

and if he shrinks back,

       my soul has no pleasure in him.”

39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

(repeat verse 39) – Don’t you want that to be true of you? Why would any of us want to knowingly and willingly invite God’s wrath into our lives? Far better to live by faith in light of Christ’s finished work and enjoy the eternal life that follows!

In the time we have remaining today, we’re going to continue our discussion from April 2nd on…

Living in light of Christ’s finished work

You see this text cannot be disconnected from what came before or what comes after! The letter of Hebrews is a sermon, and the author is making a cohesive argument throughout it. Jesus is better and we must pay much closer attention to his message of salvation! This is a matter of eternal life or eternal death.

If you took a bulletin and pay attention to the outline on the back, you’ll notice that today’s sermon is titled “Two Ways to Live”. The author of Hebrews has laid out two alternatives in this text.

Verses 26-31 reveal…

  1. Way #1 – Deliberately rejecting truth to pursue sin

Whereas verses 32-39 reveal…

  1. Way #2 – Suffering for Christ because of your confident hope

Let’s discuss the two options before us, starting with…

  1. Way #1 – Deliberately rejecting truth to pursue sin

In the Greek, the first word of verse 26 is DELIBERATE. The author fronts this word to draw attention to it. This is a warning about a willful, deliberate way of life that chooses to pursue sin over believing the truth about Jesus. This is not a warning that any and all sin will receive what comes next, rather it is drawing attention to someone who has given thought and consideration to their choice/way of life. They deliberately reject the truth to pursue sin. It was an intentional decision.

This is speaking to a person who has spent time around the Bible or the church and has heard and understood to some degree the claims of Christ. This person has received or taken in the truth, meaning they’ve been able to hear it and consider it, yet they then choose to reject it. They have decided, “I don’t need Christ to save me. I am happy as I am. I want to live however I want. No one is going to tell me what to do. I don’t need a Savior.”

This is an incredibly dangerous position to be in, because by rejecting Christ, you have rejected the ONLY way of salvation. Think about it this way – the argument of the book of Hebrews has been for the superiority of Christ. He is our better high priest who mediates a better covenant and has served as a better sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins and purification of our soul. He alone could accomplish our rescue and redemption from being dead in our sin!

So, if you deliberately reject him to pursue sin, you are effectively sealing your fate. You are choosing the path that leads to judgment and God’s wrath. As the author says, “there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.” Is that what you want? To be an adversary of God who is consumed by his wrath?

This is no laughing matter today. The author makes his argument in verses 28-30. The argument goes like this:

  • God gave his holy law in the Old Testament
  • God judged those who rejected the law through death
  • God gave his own Son, who is greater than the law, in the New Testament
  • Therefore, rejecting the Son will result in greater judgment

The language used in Hebrews is far stronger than my summary here. Let me share verse 29 again, “How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he (or “a person”) was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?” There are three different aspects by which a person has rejected truth – they despise God’s Son by walking all over him as if he were dirt, they profane or treat as of little value the very blood of Christ that was shed for the purification of sins, and they outrage the Holy Spirit by their rejection of truth. This person, by their deliberate rejection of Jesus Christ and all that he has done, has offended the entire Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Such a person has looked upon the sacrificial death of Christ and deemed it unworthy of their attention or allegiance. Do you realize how serious this is?!

The author seeks to drive home how serious person’s situation is in verses 30-31 as he quotes from Deuteronomy 32 when God speaks of his judgment upon the nation of Israel for abandoning him. Yet again, he appeals to Scripture for his proof. You cannot ignore the character of God. He is a holy and just God who must respond to sin and rebellion. Where there is no faith that leads to repentance, there is judgment!

Earlier in the very same chapter of Deuteronomy, Moses had declared one of my favorite summaries of God’s character.

Deuteronomy 32:4 (ESV)

  4    “The Rock, his work is perfect,

for all his ways are justice.

       A God of faithfulness and without iniquity,

just and upright is he.

And would you look at that… what does it emphasize about God’s character? His work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. That means even when hard things are happening, they are within the perfect work of God, because he is acting out of his just nature. He is a God of faithfulness and without sin/fault. HE DOES NO WRONG. WE DO WRONG, NOT GOD. HE IS JUST TO HOLD US ACCOUNTABLE FOR OUR REBELLION. We can get mad about it all we want, but it doesn’t change the facts. We are the ones who need to change, not God.

To be fair, God has consistently told people what he expects of them. God had told the people of Israel the expectations of the Law. If they chose to go astray and reject him, he told them, ahead of time, that he would judge them for it. And that’s exactly what he did. He was faithful to his word. He held them accountable for their unbelief. And, as the unchanging, faithful God, he continues to do the same for us today according to the New Covenant brought in by Jesus Christ.

God is a just God who will either judge or vindicate you based on your response to Jesus Christ. And, lest we miss this point, these are not temporary outcomes. We’re talking about eternal matters here. The choice is between living in a way that leads to eternal judgment or living in a way that leads to eternal vindication/life. Which way will you live? By the very nature of being here this morning to hear this message, you are being given an opportunity to respond to God through his Word with faith.

I hope that you will not deliberately reject the truth in pursuit of sin. I do not want God’s wrath for you. If you’re here and you think this is all a big joke or perhaps that following Christ is not for you would you please at least sit down and discuss it with me? Or with another one of our pastors? We’d love to hear your objections or questions to the Christian faith and discuss them together.

Or perhaps you are here, and you outwardly act like a Christian. But in your heart, in the part of you that you keep hidden from others, you don’t really desire to live for God. Perhaps you are a teen just biding your time until you graduate and can move out of your home to make your own life decisions. Maybe you’re an adult who has always gone to church, but you don’t understand the point of it all nor think you should have to change your life to worship/obey God. Perhaps your spouse really wants to be here and you’re just along for the ride. Please take notice that these are dangerous positions to be in. You need to heed this warning from Hebrews 10. Do not hear truth yet continue to reject it. This is not a game you want to play with your Creator. If this is you, I would also plead with you to sit down and talk to someone about your concerns or hesitations/doubts. We would love the opportunity to do so.

As I was considering this part of our text, I couldn’t help but think of the conclusion of the book of Ecclesiastes. Are you familiar with it? Listen to the final two verses:

Ecclesiastes 12:13–14 (ESV)

13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

This is our calling as humans. Fear God – reverence and awe – and keep his commandments (obey him)! This is our whole duty. Again, we are reminded that God is a just judge and he will hold us accountable for EVERYTHING, even the things we think are locked up secretly in our hearts. God knows. He is not fooled by any of us. This same concept resonates in the New Testament in 2 Corinthians 5:9-10:

2 Corinthians 5:9–10 (ESV)

9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

Whether I’m here on earth or in heaven, my aim/goal/purpose is the same – to please God. I will give an account for how I’ve lived in this life. Finally, the concept is seen in the book of Revelation:

Revelation 20:11–15 (ESV)

11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.

13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

What a sobering passage and concept. God is a just judge and we will all stand before him one day. This is not an isolated concept in the pages of Scripture. From Old to New Testament, from Genesis to Revelation, we are called to worship and obey God. This can only occur through faith in Jesus Christ. This is the only way to live that ends well.

Let’s return to our primary text for today, this time looking more closely at verses 32-39:

Hebrews 10:32–39 (ESV)

32 But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, 33 sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. 34 For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. 35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. 37 For,

       “Yet a little while,

and the coming one will come and will not delay;

38    but my righteous one shall live by faith,

and if he shrinks back,

       my soul has no pleasure in him.”

39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

You see, after the hard words of warning, intended to drive the complacent in their midst to repentance and active faith, the author now writes words of encouragement to the rest of the body. He wants them to remember the way their walk with Christ began. The passion and zeal they had for the Lord and his will/ways. Evidenced by their willingness to endure sufferings and reproach for the sake of Christ. They were compassionate on their fellow Christians who were in prison, and they responded with joy to those who persecuted them by taking their property. This leads me to our second way to live in light of Christ’s finished work:

  1. Way #2 – Suffering for Christ because of your confident hope

This is the only right way to live. This is the way of authentic faith in light of the hope of eternal life.

You must remember the cultural context of the original audience. This letter was written, likely to Christians in Rome. In 49 AD the Jews were evicted from Rome, and it is entirely possible that this is one of the scenarios in mind as he writes to them. It would have been very likely that those who evicted them would have plundered their property as they went. There were multiple times in the first century where the Jews were publicly abused as a group in such ways.

And yet, we are told they suffered such things with JOY! How could that be? Why would they respond with joy? Because their hope was not in their current possessions in this life but in the better possession of eternal life with God in heaven. They had a confident hope that could not be taken from them, no matter how much they suffered in this life. Jesus had died to save them from their sins, and he had risen from the dead as the first fruits of eternal life. They knew that by faith in him their suffering would not be the final word in their story.

After all, this kind of suffering was what Jesus had told them to expect. Jesus did not hide the fact that all who follow him would suffer.

Matthew 5:10–12 (ESV)

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Jesus actually said it would be a blessing to be persecuted for his sake. That persecution and suffering would result in heavenly reward.

Matthew 10:21–22, 24-25 (ESV)

21 Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, 22 and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

 

24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.

Later he would say:

Matthew 19:29 (ESV)

29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.

Jesus was very clear that his people would face suffering in this life, that it would cost them everything to follow him, yet it would produce blessing and eternal reward. People throughout history have counted the cost of following Christ and endured incredible hardships for his name’s sake. If you’ve never read a Christian biography or autobiography of someone like Richard Wurmbrand or Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, I would highly recommend them. They will challenge and inspire you with incredible examples of faithfulness in God’s people.

The author’s point is found in verses 35-36, they are to keep their confidence because there is great reward in heaven. They must learn to endure so that they will accomplish God’s will for their lives and receive the promise, eternal life! They can suffer for Christ because of their confident hope!

The more I’ve read the Bible, the more I realize that suffering is present in every book of the Bible. Years ago, I was struck by an author’s observation about the Bible. Perhaps it will be helpful for you today. He said that apart from the first two and last two chapters of the Bible, all the rest of deals with a world broken by sin and suffering. Only Genesis 1-2 and Revelation 21-22 address a reality without sin and suffering.

This means that we ought not be surprised by suffering. The expectation for Christians in this life is suffering for the sake of righteousness and the glory of God. The question is – how will you respond to suffering? Will you throw in the towel of faith and walk away as some of the Hebrews were tempted to do? Or will you persevere to the end?

Endurance and perseverance are necessary to live a lifetime of obedience to God’s will. This letter tells us that joyfully enduring suffering is possible. It is possible because we have a confident hope in Christ. There is a great reward awaiting us. And the outcome of such a life is the promise of God – the hope of heaven.

Revelation 21:1–8 (ESV)

21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

 

“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.

8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

This hope of heaven is tangible and must be cultivated day by day. Jesus is coming back! I will live by faith today. Jesus is coming back! I will respond to suffering with confident hope today. Jesus is coming back! I will endure faithfully to the end. Jesus is coming back! I will _____________ (you fill in the blank of what obedience looks like for you today.)

This isn’t the requirement of perfection, but the ongoing endurance and growth in holiness/obedience to which God calls us. And as we see, the author was confident that his audience would be such a people. He believed they would finish the race and receive the prize.

Isn’t it ironic that we live in a day and age that is obsessed with the idea of time travel and alternate timelines? Whether it’s the iconic 80s series Back to the Future or the modern Marvel universe, we enjoy the concept of being able to go back and change things, usually to make things better or “right”. Now consider what Hebrews 10 is revealing to us… Our past can change our future. Not by going back in time to change things, but by remembering and learning from what has come before. Recalling the zeal of your faith when you first trusted Christ can invigorate you today. Hearing a testimony of God’s work in a person’s life or reading a biography of a faithful saint can drive us to praise and worship God. And this is true whether as individuals or corporately as the church. Something that I learned during my time away is that it is far too easy to make our faith journey incredibly individualistic. By doing this we neglect the fact that these letters were written to bodies of believers. Our faith is a corporate journey. We do this together, in relationship with one another. As we heard in Hebrews 3:

Hebrews 3:12–14 (ESV)

12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.

We need one another. We are in this together. It is a joy and a privilege to be a part of the body of Christ, the church. Notice that when the author writes his sermonic letter to the Hebrews, he addresses them in the plural. “Brothers” “we” “us” “you” (plural!).

So, as we wrap up our time together today, I can do no better than to exhort us with the same words of the author of Hebrews from 10:19-25:

  • Let us continue in confidence to draw near to God
    1. Encourage one another to be drawing near to God in the Word & prayer
  • Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering
    1. Earlier this year I encouraged you to develop a personal growth plan. How’s that going? Have you invited anyone to review it and hold you accountable to it? If you want to hold fast, it’s good to have plan for how you’re going to do so!
  • Let us consider how to stir one another up to love and good works
    1. Look for opportunities to bless others. This can be done in small group, in your neighborhood, in one-on-one meetings. How will you be a gospel light in this community?
  • Let us not neglect to meet together, for we need to be actively encouraging one another
    1. Prioritize weekly gatherings of the church for the sake of spiritual encouragement and fighting against spiritual apathy. If you notice someone is missing, follow up with them in a loving and kind manner. If you have a SG member who is struggling in their walk offer to come alongside of them. Don’t let them stay isolated in sin!

It is an incredible privilege to be the church. I’m thankful for all of you and I know I desire to faithfully endure to the end with you. I desire for each one of us to hear “well done, good and faithful servant” from our Lord when he returns. Let’s commit ourselves to zealously pursuing him together.

Prayer

I Will Follow

Happy Mother’s Day (books in the foyer) + You are Loved

Prayer Team + Visitor Gifts