Good morning, Saints.
Good morning.
That is a tough song to follow. But I wanted to set the stage. We are coming to the last warning in the book of Hebrews, and I have been in much prayer over this. My desire is just for this fifth warning to set forth a very simple message.
May the Lord be glorified. Let us begin by reading a couple of verses.
I am reading out of the NASB, for those who may wonder.
But I urge you, brethren, bear with this word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly.
And also turn over to Hebrews 12. Go back a little bit. We are going to read the latter part of verse 25.
See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking.
See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. There is our title there, Jack, in case you want one.
Lord, we do declare that You alone are holy. Who is capable, Lord, to stand in Your presence? Lord, You have sent Your Son, who bore that penalty of our sin upon that cross, that we could become the righteousness of God, that we could be ushered into the very presence of God. And Lord, we are very thankful for that.
And Lord, what man is able to truly handle Your word? Lord, You seem pleased to use man to bring about Your will. So, Lord, we just want to commit this time into Your hands—Lord, for the speaking and the hearing.
Lord, we confess that apart from You, we can do nothing. And Lord, we do not want to waste their time. We want something of value to come out of this time. So we just trust You, Lord, now, and pray in the precious name of Jesus. Amen.
Relatively quickly, I want to review. Our burden for this time has been around this matter of having ears to hear. And we have said every time that this matter of having ears to hear, in the biblical sense, goes beyond just hearing audibly. It also brings in the fact of a response.
Because our God is a God who speaks. And He does not speak simply so that we can accumulate knowledge. He is not satisfied in that alone. He speaks to us that we would respond, and that we would respond in faith.
How many times have we seen in Scripture those that have not heeded the word of God? We do not need to look too far into the book. We can turn to the very beginning, and we see how man failed to heed the word of God. We see the tragic consequences of that brought forth into humanity.
Now, we said that we wanted to look in this book of Hebrews. In the book of Hebrews, we find five major exhortations. We mentioned that the word exhortation mainly has two meanings to it: number one, to encourage; and it also means to warn. Just like a coin, two sides.
We said we wanted to mainly focus on the warning side of these exhortations in these times together, though we have also looked at the encouraging side. Because our God is a God of balance. Unlike us, we tend to go here or there; we swing to one pendulum or the other. But our God is a God of balance, thankfully.
The first one is in Hebrews 2:1-4, and it is called the warning of drifting.
The second one is in Hebrews 3, mainly verse 12. It is the warning of an evil, unbelieving heart.
The third one is in Hebrews 5:11-6:20. It is the warning of not pressing on to maturity.
Number four is in Hebrews 10, mainly verses 26-39. It is the warning of shrinking back—shrinking back. I have a hard time with that with my Vermont accent.
And number five, the last one, is in Hebrews 12, mainly verses 14-29. It is the warning of refusing Him who speaks. Or you could also say the warning of turning away.
These warnings are interrelated, and they are progressive in nature.
We have already looked at the first four warnings. We have made it that far, and we are coming to the last one.
In the first warning, just for a quick review, we mentioned that we were to pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. It is the Son who has spoken to us, and He has spoken to us of so great a salvation.
Now, as this book is addressed to believers, the salvation referred to here in particular is the salvation of the soul. All believers have entered into the salvation of the spirit, which the Scripture calls being born again.
But the book of Hebrews concerns itself mainly with the salvation of the soul. The salvation of the soul consists of the bringing of your faculties—that is, your mind, your will, and your emotions—under the government of the Lord Jesus. Or you can say it another way: under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
This outworking is done as we present ourselves as a living sacrifice to the Lord, allowing Him to do that work of conforming us to His image. Why? Because this is to prepare us to be companions, or joint heirs, with Him in His kingdom in the age to come.
That was the first warning.
Then we looked at the second warning. We mentioned how the children of Israel had been called out of Egypt to go into the promised land. Likewise, all believers in Christ have been called. But we have been called with what? We have been called with a heavenly calling.
We have been called to be the house of God and companions with Christ, and thus enter into His rest. We said that this calling is not automatic, but that we need to enter into it in reality and experience.
We saw how the children of Israel had failed in their calling because of unbelief. One verse stated that it was because of disobedience that they failed to enter. That is because unbelief and disobedience are two different sides of the same coin.
We have also been warned against having an unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God—a heart that is nonresponsive to Him, a heart that is hardened instead of humbled—which hinders us from truly entering into the heavenly calling.
Three times the writer quoted:
Today, if you hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts.
We also mentioned in that second time that we are to encourage one another daily in this matter of going on with the Lord, and to be diligent in presenting ourselves to our great High Priest, who by His word through the Holy Spirit will do that great work of salvation, of dividing soul from spirit, so that we can enter into the heavenly calling in reality.
We said this work of the dividing of soul and spirit will be done in our lives. Underline that: it will be done in your life. The question is, when will it be done? Will we allow it to be done now, or will it have to take place in the age to come? Much is at stake in the timing of this work in our lives.
Then we came to the third warning, the warning of not pressing on to maturity. We saw how the writer had much he wanted to share of the Lord Jesus as the priest after the order of Melchizedek. But it was hard to explain because these believers had become what? They had become dull—dull of hearing.
Though by that time they ought to have been teachers, they had need again to be taught the elementary things of the teachings of Christ. They had become this way due to their being sluggish, careless, and lazy in regard to spiritual exercise. There was little to no response to the Lord in His word.
The writer exhorted them to press on because, if they do not do so—if you do not press on—you will actually go backwards. Did you know that? You do not stay where you think you are. You are going to go back if you do not press on.
They were exhorted to go on, but first they needed to be grounded again in foundational truth. But then the writer exhorted them to press on to maturity.
Then the writer warned them in the matter of falling away from pressing on. He said, if you do this, the resulting fruit of not pressing on would be to bring forth thorns and thistles, which can only be burned on that day.
The writer then encouraged them concerning the previous evidence of salvation in their lives. He exhorted them to be diligent as they once were, for it is only through faith and patience that we inherit the promises.
They had been given God’s oath, backing up His promises, which double-secures His word, as God cannot lie. In addition, we have the example of One who has gone before them to the throne, who is there interceding for them. Through His intercession, the Holy Spirit will work to bring them into the inheritance.
Thus, we can have strong encouragement and confident expectation in Him who is our refuge and hope.
Then lastly, we shared around the fourth warning, the warning against shrinking back. We saw that we, as believers, have access into the Holy of Holies—the very presence of God. And that is totally contingent on the blood of Jesus.
We thus are exhorted to draw near. How? It says in Hebrews, with a sincere heart, always availing ourselves of the efficacy of the precious blood, knowing that our High Priest is continually presenting the value of the blood before the Father for us. Did you know that? He is continually presenting that value of the blood.
We were also exhorted to hold fast the confession of our hope, which is Christ in us, the hope of glory; and to consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, and not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together, but encourage one another all the more as we see the day drawing near.
And what is that day? That is that day when we will all be gathered before the Lord. We will be gathered together at His judgment seat. For He has promised that He will come back, and He will not delay.
Whether it will be on October 21st or December 25th, we do not know. No man knows the hour. We cannot be foolish about that. But the Lord said to be wise as serpents. We can look about, and we can see: the time is close.
So we who have received great privileges from the Lord should take that privilege as a responsibility and not shrink back, but come into His presence.
We should heed the call to draw near and not shrink back. Those who have come into a full knowledge of the truth and continue to sin willfully in departing from the living God will come into a terrifying expectation of judgment.
We have mentioned that this judgment has nothing to do with the issue of heaven or hell, but it has to do with the loss of reward. We have been called to partake in the glories of the Son in the age to come, but we must endure in the will of God today, in this age.
So now we come to the fifth warning: the warning of refusing Him who speaks. This warning is found in the midst of Hebrews 11-13, but we in particular want to focus on a few verses in Hebrews 12.
Pursue peace with all men,
And the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.
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;
That there be no immoral or godless person like Esau,
Who sold his own birthright for a single meal.
You know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected;
For he found no place for repentance though he sought it with tears.
For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire,
And to darkness and gloom and whirlwind,
And to 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.
For they could not bear the command, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it will be stoned.”
And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, “I am full of fear and trembling.”
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.
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,
Much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven.
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.
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.
We would just like to peruse through a few of these verses and point out a few things.
We will start with verse 14, where it says:
Pursue peace with all men,
And the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.
This word pursue means to run swiftly in order to catch a person or thing. And does this not remind you of Hebrews 12:1-2, where the author likens the Christian life to a race?
Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith.
We are to run this race to catch the Lord Jesus, as it were. He is that prize that is set before us.
You remember Paul in Philippians 3:14. It is interesting: we find the Greek word translated pursue there as press on.
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Here in verse 14, we are exhorted to pursue, to press on. And how focused and engaged should we be in this matter of pursuing?
It is interesting that this Greek word translated pursue here is also translated persecute elsewhere. For example, in Acts 22:4, Paul was speaking and he said:
I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and putting both men and women into prisons.
And also in Acts 9:4-5, very familiar verses:
And he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”
And he said, “Who are You, Lord?”
And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.”
Paul had a single-eyed intensity in persecuting, or pursuing, the church. It was the sole reason and driving force in his life at that time. We likewise, by His grace, should pursue after the Lord with the same intensity. We need that single eye that only sees Him.
As we have already quoted in Hebrews 12:1-2, the writer likens the Christian walk, or pilgrimage, to a race. Here he sets forth two specific necessary things in this race to pursue: peace and sanctification.
Now note that peace is primarily manward, and sanctification is toward the Lord. Needless to say, if we do not pursue these, we are going to be hindered in this race. For how can you go on in this race if you have enmity with man or with God? If there is something there, a blockage with your fellow man or with the Lord, how can you run this race?
So, if we are not at peace with somebody, or if we stop presenting ourselves to the Lord for Him to work out His purpose in our lives, we cannot press on in this race.
It says, “Pursue peace with all men.” Does that cut you down the middle? Does it sound impossible? It is for us. Sure, there are some people naturally you get along with a lot easier, but there are always people that seem to rub you wrong from the beginning. You cannot seem to agree with them, cannot see eye to eye with them.
It is only as we take up the cross and follow the Lord, being filled with the Spirit, that it can be done. But even then, we are going to find that there will be some who will not be at peace with us, though we are at peace with them.
That is why it says in Romans 12:18:
If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.
What are some of the things that hinder us in having peace with men? Can we not find that envy, jealousy, a competitive spirit, selfish ambition, and pride can bring about discord? But we are called to pursue peace with all men.
And this, we will find, will lead to the laying down of our lives. Are you willing to do that for the Lord’s sake?
Our Lord said in Matthew 5:9:
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.
Peace is the fruit of the Spirit. And if we are led by the Spirit, we will find peace is a characteristic in our lives. Our Lord Jesus is called what? The Prince of Peace. Also, the word says He Himself is our peace. Have we learned Him in this way?
We are also exhorted to pursue the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. The Greek word translated sanctification here is found ten times in the New Testament. Sanctification in this verse is not referring to the positional sanctification all believers enter into when you are born again, but to practical or experiential sanctification.
Let us read a couple of verses on this. First, 1 Thessalonians 4, beginning with verse 3. We are going to read through verse 7.
For this is the will of God, your sanctification;
That is, that you abstain from sexual immorality;
That each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,
Not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God;
And that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you.
For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification.
Very practical. And look also in Romans 6:19.
I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. 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 Romans 6:22:
But now, having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome