Welcome,
welcome! How very thankful we are that we can worship God together in
peace in a free land! We welcome you to another family church service.
We are thankful that you can be with us this morning for our Bible-based
sermon.
We have been
studying in the book of Hebrews, and this week we shall consider
chapters three and four. The two go together.
Turn with me to
Hebrews 3, verse 1.
Hebrews 3:1
"Wherefore,
holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle
and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus."
"Wherefore,
holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling." What does it
mean to be holy, and what is this heavenly calling that we are said to
be partakers of?
Actually, the
two go together.
The word,
"holy," comes from a Greek word meaning "dedicated."
We are to be dedicated, totally dedicated; and to what? To the
"heavenly calling."
The Apostle
Paul, the author of Hebrews, explains the meaning of a
"calling" in 1 Corinthians 7:20. In a secular sense, it is
your business, profession, or means of employment. But in nine other
places, Paul talks about our spiritual calling. Here is one of them:
2 Timothy 1:9
"Who
hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to
our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given
us in Christ Jesus before the world began."
God has called
you and me to a special work, and we must maintain a continued
dedication to it. God calls us to accept Christ as our Saviour, by faith
in Christ to obey His Ten Commandment law and to minister to those
around us. This is our calling.
1
Thessalonians 4:7 "God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but
unto holiness."
It is our daily
decisions, to remain close to Christ, which renders it an ongoing,
established calling.
2 Peter
1:10-11 "Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make
your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall
never fall. For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly
into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ."
Before us is
the prize of eternal life and even wider service in heaven. Surely,
such a future is worth our best efforts down here.
Philippians
3:13-14 "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but
this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and
reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the
mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."
In order to
make our calling and election sure, we must, every day,
behold Christ,
obey Him, and seek to be like Him. And that brings us back to the
first verse of our chapter.
Hebrews 3:1
"Wherefore,
holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle
and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus."
We are to walk
in Christ's steps and enter into His calling. He was sent to earth to
save the lost, and we are to do the same.
John 20:21
"As
My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you."
In carrying on
His mission for humanity, Christ was obedient as we should be.
Hebrews 3:2
"Who
was faithful to Him that appointed Him, as also Moses was faithful in
all his house."
Christ always
did those things which would please His Father (John 8:29), and we
should do likewise.
John 17:4
"I
have glorified Thee on the earth; I have finished the work which Thou
gavest Me to do."
But now, as we
turn our attention to the second half of Hebrews 3:2, we find Paul
making a comparison. The Apostle was writing to people who were not
certain about Jesus Christ. That is why Paul spoke about Christ's
divinity, and how He is superior to angels, in Hebrews 1. In Hebrews 2,
we are told of Christ's full humanity. That is important, for Christ's
perfect priesthood is based on the fact that He has both a full divinity
and full humanity. Those who claim that Christ was not fully like us,
yet without sin, would destroy His qualifications to be our great High
Priest.
So we can
understand when, here in chapter 3, the Jewish readers,
the
"Hebrews", are told that Christ is superior to Moses.
"Something greater" is a continued theme of the book, and that
"something" is Christ.
Hebrews 3:2
"Who
was faithful to Him that appointed Him, as also Moses was faithful in
all His house."
Paul is here
referring to a statement by the Lord in Numbers 12:7:
"My
servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all Mine house."
How was Moses
faithful in Gods house?
Exodus 40:16
"Thus
did Moses: according to all that the LORD commanded him, so did
he."
Moses was
accounted faithful in Gods house, because he obeyed Him! You and I
can be faithful in Gods house also!
Paul presses
his point still further: Christ, He says, is greater than Moses for a
very special reason:
Hebrews 3:3-4
"For
this Man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he
who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house. For every
house is builded by some man; but He that built all things is
God."
Those two
verses are a very clear statement that Christ, the builder of the house
,is
God!
You and I can
be faithful workers in the house, also, but the builder of the house is
the one we must constantly look to as we carry on that work.
Christ is not
only the Builder of the house ,but the Foundation the house is built
on!
Matthew 16:18
"Upon
this Rock I will build My church."
Now Paul
switches the metaphor, from builder of the house to its occupants.
Hebrews 3:5-6
"And
Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a
testimony of those things which were to be spoken after.
"But
Christ as a son over His own house; whose house are we, if we hold
fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the
end."
Moses was,
indeed, a faithful servant in the house, just as you and I can be. But
Christ owns the house. He is the Son, the inheritor of all things.
Elsewhere in
Paul's writings, the metaphor is changed once again
,and we
become the glorious house itself which Christ is building, as He
prepares us for a place in heaven. Another sweet promise to rejoice at!
Ephesians
2:19-22 "Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners,
but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
"And are
built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ
Himself being the chief corner stone;
"In whom
all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in
the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of
God through the Spirit."
What a glorious
objective our God has in mind! We help in building the house, by working
closely with Christ, in ministering to the needs of others and helping
to draw them closer to God.
1 Peter 2:4-5
"To
whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but
chosen of God, and precious. Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a
spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices,
acceptable to God by Jesus Christ."
We are Gods
temple. He made us; and, by caring for our body temple, we honor our
Creator.
2 Corinthians
6:16 "And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for
ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in
them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My
people."
But a warning
accompanies the promise: The last part of Hebrews 3, verse 6:
"If
we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm
unto the end."
The blessing
only comes through continued obedience. It was continued obedience that
kept the angels in heaven from falling. It will only be obedience,
through the enabling grace of Christ, that will enable us today to take
the place of the angels which fell.
By clinging
resolutely to Christ, and to Him alone, will we endure and be saved.
Matthew 10:22
"He
that endureth to the end shall be saved."
Hebrews
10:35-36 "Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath
great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after
ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise."
So far in
Hebrews 3, the Apostle has shown us that Christ is greater than Moses
and that we are His house, or temple. But now Paul switches to another
point: the promised rest. Moses led them out of Egypt so they could
enter the rest of the promised land, but, Paul says, there is a greater
rest which Moses could not give them.
Hebrews 3:7-9
"Wherefore
as the Holy Ghost saith, Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not
your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the
wilderness. When your fathers tempted Me, proved Me, and saw My works
forty years."
Because they
rebelled against God and sinned in the wilderness, most of the
generation of Israelites which entered the wilderness did not enter the
promised land, which was the rest Moses had promised them.
Deuteronomy
9:7 "Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the Lord thy
God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou didst depart
out of the land of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, ye have been
rebellious against the Lord."
1 Corinthians
10:9 "Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also
tempted, and were destroyed of serpents."
Because of
their rebellion, God was grieved in His heart.
Hebrews 3:10
"Wherefore
I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in
their heart; and they have not known My ways."
Oh, how it hurt
Him! It was because He loved the people that He brought them out of
Egypt. But they rejected His rule, so He had to withdraw from them. How
very important it is that we, today, forsake not the One who called us
out of darkness into His marvelous light!
Never can the
human heart know happiness until it is submitted to be controlled by the
Spirit of God. Because the Israelites refused to obey Gods law, they
were rejected.
Hebrews 3:11
"So
I sware in My wrath, They shall not enter into My rest."
Only a few who
had remained obedient were permitted to enter the earthly Canaan.
Numbers
14:28-30 "Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the Lord, as
ye have spoken in Mine ears, so will I do to you: Your carcases shall
fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according
to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have
murmured against Me. Doubtless ye shall not come into the land,
concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son
of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun."
Numbers 32:13
"And
the Lords anger was kindled against Israel, and He made them wander
in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done
evil in the sight of the Lord, was consumed."
Oh, my friends,
this could happen to us today! God will not tolerate sin,
regardless
of who it is found in. Only those of us who are faithful to the end will
enter the heavenly Canaan.
Hebrews 3:12
"Take
heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief,
in departing from the living God."
We must
individually search our hearts, and encourage one another in right
living, right doingwhile it is today. None can know what tomorrow
will bring.
Hebrews 3:13
"But
exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be
hardened through the deceitfulness of sin."
We must pay
close attention to that which led to the downfall of the Israelites in
the wilderness. We dare not follow in their track.
Psalm
78:56-57 "Yet they tempted and provoked the most high God, and
kept not His testimonies: But turned back, and dealt unfaithfully like
their fathers: they were turned aside like a deceitful bow."
Jeremiah 2:13
"For
My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken Me the fountain
of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that
can hold no water."
Fortunately,
Hebrews 3:14 has the answer!
Hebrews 3:14
"For
we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our
confidence stedfast unto the end."
Just now,
today, make
sure you are right with God! Know of a certainty that there is nothing
standing between you and Him! No idols, no little pleasures of which
Heaven cannot approve.
Hebrews 3:15
"While
it is said, Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts,
as in the provocation."
The remainder
of the chapter is well worth remembering:
Hebrews
3:16-19 "For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit
not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was He grieved
forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell
in the wilderness? And to whom sware He that they should not enter
into His rest, but to them that believed not?
"So we
see that they could not enter in because of unbelief."
And now, let us
pass directly to Hebrews 4, for that is where Paul wants to immediately
take us. It is actually an extension of chapter 3.
Hebrews 4:1-2
"Let
us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into His
rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the
gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the Word preached did not
profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it."
Not everyone
who professes faith in Christ will go to heaven. Church membership will
not save anyone. It is obedience to the Ten Commandments, by the
enabling grace of Jesus Christ, which counts in the eyes of God.
Matthew
7:21-23 "Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall
enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My
Father which is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord,
Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast
out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I
profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work
iniquity."
What is this
promised rest which Paul talks about in Hebrews 3 and 4? For the
Israelites, it was the land of Canaan. There they would be able to
receive their promised rest: a land which belonged to them, which they
could occupy in peace, as long as they obeyed God.
But the
antitype, the broader application, is to the heavenly rest. God intends
to save His obedient children, and give them the earth made new as
their promised rest! And what a glorious promise that is! A rest which
will never be disturbed.
Next Paul
presents us with something special: the symbol of the promised rest.
Hebrews 4:3-6
"For
we which have believed do enter into rest, as He said, As I have sworn
in My wrath, if they shall enter into My rest: although the works were
finished from the foundation of the world.
"For He
spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did
rest the seventh day from all His works.
"And in
this place again, If they shall enter into My rest. Seeing therefore
it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was
first preached entered not in because of unbelief."
In verse 3,
Paul is referring to Genesis 2:2-3, where the Sabbath was instituted. In
verse 4, he mentions the Fourth Commandment. In verse 5, the Apostle is
noting the fact that, even though the Israelites eventually entered the
promised land, their sins kept them from obtaining the promised rest.
Rebellion and warfare was their continual lot.
But, Paul says,
there is a more complete rest which we can enter today.
Hebrews 4:7-9
"Again,
He limiteth a certain day, saying in David, Today, after so long a
time; as it is said, Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your
hearts. For if Jesus had given them rest, then would He not afterward
have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the
people of God."
What is this
special rest? It is twofold. First, it is the rest of acceptance by God
and oneness with Him, as we become His humble, believing, obeying
children. This experience is spoken of as "righteousness by
faith." No longer are we doing our own works of self-pleasing and
sin; henceforth we are kept by Gods power as His little children.
Hebrews
4:10-11 "For he that is entered into His rest, he also hath
ceased from his own works, as God did from His. Let us labour
therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same
example of unbelief."
But, second,
this rest is symbolized by the observance of the Bible Sabbath, the
seventh-day Sabbath. The Sabbath is not only a memorial of Creation, a
reminder of our redemption, but it is a symbol of our rest in Christ.
Keeping the
Sabbath deepens the rest! Not keeping it is transgression of Gods
law, and there is no rest for those who do that (Isaiah 57:20-21). The
Sabbath and the promised rest go together. Both help lead us to the
heavenly Canaan, that final promised rest.
And now, Paul
directs us to the Bible, our instruction book to help us along the
pathway to our final home.
Hebrews
4:12-13"For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and
sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder
of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner
of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
"Neither
is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight: but all
things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to
do."
The Word of God
is powerful. It searches out the sins in our heart; and, if we are
willing, it leads us into repentance and a new birth in Christ.
Jeremiah
17:10 "I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to
give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of
his doings."
1 Peter 1:23
"Being
born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word
of God, which liveth and abideth for ever."
1
Thessalonians 2:13"For this cause also thank we God without
ceasing, because, when ye received the Word of God which ye heard of
us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the
Word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe."
The "sword
of the Spirit . . is the Word of God" (Ephesians 6:17). God knows
every thought of our hearts; and, if we will let Him, He will transform
us into His own image.
Psalm
139:23-24"Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and
know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead
me in the way everlasting."
As if all that
we have been taught in this chapter is not glorious enough, the Apostle
concludes by leading us to the very throne of God!
Hebrews
4:14-16 "Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is
passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our
profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched
with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted
like as we are, yet without sin.
"Let us
therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain
mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."
What a
wonderful promise is this! Memorize those three verses, and make them
your own, while it is today,
so that you can be assured of the
promised rest.
Hebrews 9:24
"For
Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are
the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the
presence of God for us."
Hebrews 10:23
"Let
us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for He is
faithful that promised)."
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