September 14, 2008

Teaching # 14 Hebrews 3:7-19
Getting Connected

In the late 80s a UPI report out of San Antonio Texas told of a hospital in that city where it was discovered that the fire suppression system, the one they relied on for 35 years for the safety of patients and staff, had never been connected to the city’s water main.

The pipe that led from the system extended 4 feet underground and just stopped. Has a fire broken out the hospital might well have been destroyed because, though the mechanics were in place to fight the fire, it was not connected to the water source.

Just as this whole mechanism for extinguishing fire was useless, even though it seemed correct, some of the Hebrews in this particular setting had religious ritual in place, but weren’t connected to the water supply. The had built the mechanics of Christianity in, but had not gone all the way to salvation. The warning to them is to GET CONNECTED, do not harden your hearts.

To prove his point once again the ever wise spirit of God takes these Hebrew readers back to the Older Testament to enforce the strength and point out the superiority of the NEW COVENANT.

Here in verses 7-11 he quotes Psalm 95:7-11 and uses that to build his case.

Recall we have said that Hebrews is written by an unknown human author but the Holy Spirit is the real Author. The theme is simply this: “Jesus Christ as mediator of the new covenant is greater than everything connected with the old.”

At the end of verse 6 last time we saw that a true Christian as Christ is faithful. STAYS, remains faithful. Now in verse 7 we see a change in audience from “Holy Brethren”, saved ones to in v: 12 “just brethren, Jewish , but not yet saved.

Remember that some were churched, were even convinced that the message was true but because of fear of persecution or wanting to hang on to their own sin or some kind of pride, they hadn’t committed to Christ for salvation. They had the fire sprinkler system in place, but the lines weren’t connected. They constantly heard the message but put it off and put it off and were in danger of hardening their hearts to Christ’s gospel. So the Spirit sends this warning: Get connected, don’t harden your heart, Enter God’s rest.

The writer uses Psalm 95 to prove his point about the necissity of obedient faith or productive faith. The example he gives these Jews is their own nation.

In verses 7-11 we will see

1.THE PAST FAILURE (Ps. 95 quoted)

in 12-15 we will see 2. THE PRESENT DANGER (Psalm 95 Applied)

in 16-19 e will see THE PROOF OF DANGER (Psalm 95 interpreted)

look AT 7-11 AS HE QUOTES Ps. 95 AND SHOWS THE PAST FAILURE. < 7-11>

The point here is this: To know the truth and not respond to it brings sorer punishment. Verse 7: “Wherefore” Because those who are truly born anew STICK,, because just knowing about Christ isn’t enough, wherefore harden not your hearts.”

To know the truth, to be convicted that it is true to have tasted his drawing and to turn away, that is apostasy. If one makes a full and final rejection based on full knowledge, there is no repentance. And his warning to those not accepting is DO NOT DO IT. DO NOT REJECT HIM.

Psalm 95 is David talking about Moses. But the writer is careful to point out that it is the Holy Spirit who says this, it is God breathed.

Psalm 95 refers to Israel as they wandered in the desert. They had come out of Egypt and seen God part the red sea and many miracles. They had overwhelming physical evidence but they would not commit themselves to God by faith. They saw but the really didn’t believe, didn’t really trust God because real belief is trust and that involves a commitment.

So the upshot of that is those who didn’t trust God never entered the land of Canaan. and verses 7-11 say “Do not do what your forefathers did, don’t do what David was telling HIS people not to do in Psalm 95.

Things really haven’t changed. YOU guys are in the same boat. Don’t harden your hearts, Hear, obey now don’t put it off.

The issue here is salvation. Verse 6 “You are in the house if you hold fast.” Only 2 men in the desert had faith, Caleb and Joshua, those 2 entered in to God’s rest. They had real trust that God would do it for them and faith that made them do for God.

And in verse 8 God says “you present day Hebrews have come all the way to the edge of faith, don’t do as your ancestors did.”

Verse 9: Just like you the forefathers saw my works, knew I was acting in the midst of them. for 40 years they wandered in a fog, testing me to the max, but never committed to trust me.

SO (v:10) Because they didn’t believe, trust. I was grieved with that generation of sinners. Now some say this section is speaking of sloppy saints, but look at the terms God uses here.

They always err

They are continually in sin.

They don’t continue faithful.

They haven’t known my ways.

These guys were lost, not saved, did not enter God’s rest in Canaan land.

Verse 11: Because of their unbelief God swore in his wrath they will not enter in to my rest. They weren’t backsliding, they had never trusted, never been “saved.” The language is too strong for saints because saints have a better station. “NOT CONDEMNED” These guys were condemned.

A Christian is not under God’s wrath, these guys were. So the question is not “How are you doing in the house?” but “Are you in the house?” Have you committed to follow Christ? Is the water turned on?

Now secondly we see this example of past failures applied to the Hebrews to show then their present danger.

A. T. Pierson tells of a man who was convicted about his soul. His pastor and many others came and begged him to repent and accept Christ. This man was a legislator and said to his wife, “ I have a scheme to put through in the legislature, it would not do for me to carry that scheme through if I were a Christian man. I will see it through and then accept Christ.

The scheme went through but from that day on he never again felt drawn to God or had any desire to trust Christ. The warning is real, don’t harden your heart.

In verse 12 he says: “Pay attention to yourself that you aren’t playing church. Don’t fall back but come all the way to saving faith.

He exhorts these unsaved fence sitters to enter God's rest and in verse 13 he exhorts the saved to exhort the fence sitters lest they have their hearts hardened. Before God’s call is silenced in their souls we must exhort people that “today is the day of salvation.” (D. L. Moody/ On Sunday night, October 8, 1871, while preaching at Farwell Hall, which was now being used because of the increased crowds, Moody asked his congregation to evaluate their relationships to Christ and return next week to make their decisions for Him. That crowd never regathered. While Sankey was singing a closing song, the din of fire trucks and church bells scattered them forever, for Chicago was on fire)

Dear ones, as the writer of Hebrews begs his readers then not to put it off, not to become hardened, so the warning is for us today.

Is your life committed to faith in Christ? Or are you a self governed individual. The Bible says you can’t serve two masters. Who or whatever you serve, who or whatever you commit yourself to, that is your true master. Who is your master?

In verse 14 we have a positional truth. We have been made partakers of Christ if we hold on firmly to the original faith, faith in Jesus Christ, the superior Son of God, the work of Christ on Calvary. And if we are partakers we will continue, and we will not yield our members to serve sin (Rom. 6). IN verse 15 he presses on them the urgency of response NOW. And the urgency of exhorting others NOW.

He wraps this section up by interpreting Psalm 95 and correlating his illustration as we close with the Proof of Danger.

Here it is in a nutshell. You know that some of them were intellectually convinced about God but didn’t commit to trust in him. They didn’t trust God to bring them into Canaan land so they didn’t make it. They didn’t have faith that made them trust in God enough to do as he said.

Is that like any of you? do you sit here today knowing that your life is not the life that God shows as a Christian in His word? Perhaps you never have trusted Christ for salvation and therefore have not committed your life to do as he asks.

Don’t listen to sins lies. Hebrews 10:32 says you either believe to the saving of your soul, or you fall back to the damnation. You may be deceived by sin into thinking that falling back isn’t as bad as you think, that the price is too high to be a Christian, that you have to do all those tedious things Christians do, that you have to give up all the good times in life.

You might not think you need Christ, you are self sufficient, you can hack it on your own. You may think that people will persecute you and you don’t need that. You might think you are good enough. Is so those are sins lies to you.

Some people say “ I believe all that Messiah stuff, I know that this is all true.” But that isn’t enough. If you really do trust Christ then you are saved and when all is said and done you’ll be there.

YOU may ask: “How about so and so, he was here but now he has walked away from Christ.

The Bible teaches that is firm evidence he was never saved because the Bible say “if you are real, you stick.”

I urge you to examine yourselves, don’t let yourself be hardened by continually hearing...but not accepting. If you don’t pray, never share your faith, don’t read the Bible, if your life is just like the rest of the world and God isn’t given any space then you ought to examine your faith...is it active? Producing fruit? Or just an intellectual assent.

DON’T Harden your heart.