Examine Yourself, Part 2

Hebrews

          As I mentioned to you this morning, we're going to take a little break in our study of the Beatitudes because the Lord has really kind of pressed it on my heart to share with you from the book of Hebrews a special message. So if you'll look with me at the book of Hebrews we'll study together.

          Now as you know, some weeks ago now I spoke on the subject examine yourself whether you be in the faith, it was on a Sunday morning prior to when we had our communion time. And I was greatly concerned that there were many people in Grace Church who came and listened and maybe even believed but who had never committed their lives to Christ. And would come up short on the Day of Judgment. And I'm continually faced with that fear. I know that there are in the church wheat and tares. I know that there will always be the false among the true. It's so easy in a church our size with many thousands of people to hide and never really e confronted with the reality of whether you've committed your life to Christ or not. You can just kind of get by with getting in the crowd and moving along with everybody else. And my heart is very deeply concerned over the reality that some of you very precious people for whom Christ died have been coming and you've been coming and you've been listening and you've been hearing the messages and maybe even believing that it is true but you've never really come to Jesus Christ. For some reason or another you're holding back. A lady called me on the telephone and expressed that very thing. She said - I come but I'm not a Christian but I'm interested. And if I've heard that from that lady and received letters to that effect and I had one man who said - I come I don't believe in what you say but I like the way you say it. If that's true, if that's true with the people who talk to me, they're probably even others who feel that way or hear it all and for some reason or another never make a commitment to Christ, they just kind of sit on the edge of the fence. They kind of hang in the balances. And maybe if you've been coming a we've been studying the gospel of Matthew you understand that Jesus set down the standards for being in His kingdom.

          You know by now that He says in order to be in My kingdom you must be poor in spirit and mournful over sin and meek. And you must hunger and thirst for righteousness and be merciful and be pure in heart and be a peacemaker. And you've probably heard that when you fulfill those qualifications and you reach out to God in Christ and you are redeemed you become a possessor of the kingdom, you become a recipient of the blessings of all of God's, all of God's bounty. You become a son of God in the purest sense. But even though you know the qualifications and even though you know the consequences and the blessings of it maybe you still have not committed yourself to Jesus Christ. And I dare say, this is true all over the land and all over the world, there are people who know but they never make the commitment. They never take the step. For one reason or another their moment hasn't come. They just push it off and push it off and push it off.

          Look with me for a minute before we examine the book of Hebrews to John chapter 12 and I want you to see what a dangerous delay this is. In John chapter 12 in verse 32 our Lord said, "And I if I be lifted up from the heart will draw all men unto Me." This He said, signifying what death He should die. The people answered Him, We've heard out of the law that Christ abides forever and how sayest thou the son of man must be lifted up. Who is the son of man? In other words, we've heard that the Messiah will live what are you talking about that He would be crucified? What son of man is this?

          Then Jesus said unto them, and listen, yet a little while is the light with you, walk while you have the light lest darkness come upon you for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not where he goest. While ye have light believe in the light that ye may be the sons of light. These things spoke Jesus and departed and did hide Himself from them." What an illustration. He says, You better believe while you can believe and then to illustrate that he went and hide where they could never find Him so that they might comprehend what it would mean not to have Him around. And verse 37 says, even though He had done so many miracles before them yet they believed not on Him. At the saying of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled which he spoke Lord, who hath believed our report? And to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore, they could not believe because that Isaiah said again, He hath blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts that they should not see with their eyes nor understand with their heart and be converted and I should heal them.

          Now notice, Jesus says - You'd better believe when you can believe. You'd better enter the light while the light is available for the time will come when it isn't around and then He illustrated it that the prophecy of Isaiah came to pass, they wouldn't believe therefore they couldn't believe and God closed out the day of grace. That's what Isaiah is saying. This was Jesus' last appeal, by the way. A one last invitation in the gospel of John The day of grace was passing and in the very next chapter He meets with His disciples the day before His trial and ultimately His death. This is His last invitation. He says - I'm not going to be here very long. You'd better act while you can act before you are confirmed in the sovereignty of God in your unbelief.

          In John chapter 8 and He here says the same thing at leas, three times. In verse - well, look at verse 12, "then spoke Jesus again unto them saying - I am the light of the world, he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life." That's the first invitation. He's saying - If you follow Me you can walk in light. But then He says in verse 21, "1 go My way and ye shall seek Me and s all die in your sins where I go ye cannot come." This is the second invitation, really. Because it's a warning that if they don't accept the light while the light is available there will come a day when the light is not available. And then in verse 24 He repeats the warning a third time, "I said therefore unto you that ye shall die in your sins for if you believe not that I am He ye shall die in your sins."

          You see, Jesus was always extending His love but always telling them there was a limit. Go back to chapter 7 verse 33, "Then said Jesus unto them yet a little while I with you, just a little while, then I go unto Him that sent Me. Ye shall seek Me and shall not find Me and where I am there ye cannot come." That's the same idea. You know, before God sent the flood in Genesis chapter 6 and verse 3 God said, "My spirit will not always strive with m n." In other words, there comes a time when God runs out of patience. And then came the flood and the whole wide world was destroyed. In Isaiah chapter 63 we find it illustrated in verses 7 to 10. The prophet Isaiah said, "I will mention the loving kindness of the Lord and the praises of the Lord according to all that the Lord has bestowed on us and the great goodness toward the house of Israel which He hath bestowed on them according to His mercies and according to the multitude of His loving kindnesses." What a verse. It talks about the loving kindness and the praise and the goodness and the mercy of God, "For God said - Surly they are My people, children that will not lie," so He was their Saviour. What a picture of God. He was so loving, He was so merciful, He as so kind, He was so gracious, He was their Saviour and verse 9, "In 11 their affliction He was afflicted and the angel of His presence saved them." In His love and in His pity He redeemed them and He bore them and He carried them all the days of old.

          Oh, what a picture. What a loving Saviour. But verse 10 comes like a shock. Like a lightning bolt out of the blue to shatter the peace of the scene. But they rebelled and vexed His Holy Spirit, therefore, He was turned to be their enemy and He fought against them." Can you believe that kind of change? In one little three verse section? God is patient, God is kind, God is good, God is gracious, God is merciful, God is long-suffering, God is not willing that any should perish but Go Is mercy has limits. It has limits. And that's why I don't want o leave the Beatitudes quite yet. I just felt that maybe God wan ed me to say one more time but if you haven't committed your life to Christ and you haven't come into the kingdom on His terms you'd better o it while you can, you see. You better come to the light while t e light is available. That's the message.

          Now the book of Hebrews gives us a graphic look at this wonderful truth. This wonderful warning invitation of God and I want you to look at Hebrews an we're going to look at what it has to say. Now the book of Hebrews is basically written to Christians, Jewish Christians. That's why its title is Hebrews. They were Jewish believers but, now listen, interspersed through out the book of Hebrews which is written to Jewish Christians are warnings, warnings, warnings to confront those people, now watch, who know the gospel intellectually, who understand the call of salvation but never make the commitment. Okay? So as the writer goes along writing to the believers every once in a while he'll stop and he'll say -

          Now, I Know that in this congregation some of you know this is the truth but you've never made the commitment and thus there are these warnings. In the case of the readers of this letter to the Hebrews they were Jews. They were intellectually convinced that the gospel was true. They were intellectually convinced that Jesus was the Messiah. But they wouldn't commit their lives to Him. They wouldn't take that simple act of childlike faith and throw themselves on His grace and mercy. They wouldn't come to Christ. They were afraid they would be ostracized from their community. They are afraid they'd be alienated from their families. The price was too high to pay and so they hung on the fence fearing that they would be persecuted or alienated or ostracized or that they would have to give up their current life style.

          Now maybe you fit in there somewhere. You know the truth. You know Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. You know the gospel and you believe it's true but you resist making the personal commitment to Christ because you're afraid of being alienated from your family, afraid of being ostracized from your friends or the people you run around with or work with. Or you're afraid you might get persecuted and the price would be too high or maybe you just don't want to give up your current sinfulness so you hang there knowing it's true but never making the commitment. Well, if that's the case then Hebrews speaks directly to you.

          Let's look at the five warning passages very briefly and see what they say. Chapter 2 verses 1 to 4 is the first one. Chapter 2 verses 1 to 4; "Therefore, "-therefore, what is therefore mean? Takes us back to chapter 1 and that's all about the majesty of Jesus Christ. All about the glory of Jesus Christ, all about the one who is ascended to be the one at the majesty, the one at the right hand of the majesty of God. The one who is better than the angels, Jesus Christ Himself. Because we've learned what we've learned about Jesus Christ, because we now know who He is, because we now know how God has exalted Him, because of who He is in His majesty, therefore, we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard lest at any time we should let them, what? Slip.

          Listen, if you know that He is who He is and if you've heard the message then the writer is saying - You had better give earnest heed to what you have heard lest it slip away. I always think about the man who had reduced his entire fortune into a diamond which he put in his pocket to take to Europe and while he was on board ship he was tossing it in the air and the ship lurched and it went over the edge and into the ea, lest it slip. For, verse 2 says, if the words spoken by the angels was steadfast. Now what was the word spoken by angels? That was the Old Testament law. That was the law of God given by a God at Mount Sinai. That law was ministered by angels. So if the Old Testament law, if the Mosaic law, if the Ten Commandments spoken by angels was steadfast or binding on people and every transgression and disobedience of the Mosaic Law received a just recompense of reward.

          In other words, if God gave the Mosaic Law and demanded absolute obedience and judgment on everybody who disobeyed how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation as that which is in the New Covenant in Jesus Christ. Do you see? If the people under the Mosaic economy never escaped the judgment of God what makes you think you will? If the people who lived in the Old Testament before Christ didn't escape God's judgment and God was more tolerant then what makes you think you'll escape because you reject the great salvation in Jesus Christ? That's what He's saying. And the us here, we ought to give, he uses the word we - and he uses it again in verse 3, How shall we escape if we - the idea, this plurality is Jewish in the context, it's national. If we who are of Israel, who have heard the gospel, if we know that those under the old economy didn't escape when they denied God's word what makes us think we'll get away if we deny God's Word? It's a powerful passage. Certain judgment will result. It says in verse 2, Every transgression and every disobedience received a just recompense of reward. And it's a negative reward. Do you think you can turn your back on Jesus Christ? Do you think you can neglect so great a salvation as He offers and still escape? No. They couldn't even escape under the old covenant let alone under the new.

          Let's look at the second warning in Hebrews chapter 5 and 6. Hebrews chapter 5 and 6. And we don't have time to go into all of this in detail but let me just - let's just look at chapter 6 and we'll skip some of the earlier part. But He's saying to them, verse 12, this is a warning, "For when for the time you ought to be teachers you have need that one teach you the first principles of the oracles of God." By the way, the oracles of God are the Old Testament laws.

          In other words, He says, -You people, you ought to be teachers of the gospel, you have enough information to be teachers of the gospel but instead of that somebody needs to teach you the Old Testament laws again. You are primitive when you should be advanced. You haven't responded to what you've heard. Now go over to verse 4 and He warns them, "It is impossible", do you see that word? It is impossible for those who were once enlightened, have tasted of the heavenly gift, were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come if they shall fall away to renew them again unto repentance. Seeing they crucify to themselves the son of God and put Him to an open shame."

          Now listen, this is a warning again, this is not to Christians and this is not to flagrant, blatant non-Christians, this is to the fence sitter, this is to the person who says - I know it's true but I never have made the commitment. And what he's saying is this, Look if you have been enlightened, in other words, enlightenment is a mental comprehension, mental understanding. you have tasted the heavenly gift and who is the heavenly gift? But the Spirit of God. And how had they tasted the Spirit of God? Because the gospel pr ached to them had been confirmed by signs and wonders and gifts of the Spirit, it says in chapter 2 verse 3 and 4. So they had had the Spirit of God working in their midst, they had tasted of it. They hadn't really eaten and partaken, they had tasted of it. And in a full sense they needed to partake but they were sort of partial partakers and partial tasters. They even tasted the Word of God. They tasted the power of the age to come.

          You see, the miracles that were done in the early church and the miracles that were done in the apostolic time were like a forerunner to the miracles to be done in the kingdom. And the miracles, of course, that Christ will do when He returns. So He says to them, You've had your mind enlightened, you've had a taste and you've been in on what the Spirit has done. And, you know, many Jews had, while the Holy Spirit was the power through Christ that fed the 5,000 and everybody who ate the fish and the bread that day when Jesus fed the was taking in what the Spirit had done. They had partaken of His miracles, they had partaken of His teaching, they had partaken of His word but they never made it their own and what He says if you've had all of this revelation and you've tasted and you've heard and you've seen it, and the power has been displayed and you turn your back on it and you fall away it's impossible to get you saved. The point being this, if you reject when you have full revelation you're hopeless. Because what else can God do? Right?

          By the way, no term in verse 4 or 5, not the term enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, partakers of the Holy Spirit, tasted the good word or the powers of the age to come, none of those terms is ever used anywhere, anytime in the Bible for salvation. They are not salvation terns. They are terms talking about exposure to the gospel and exposure to the power of God and exposure to the life of Christ. And they had seen enough and heard enough and if will all that information they would fall away they could never be saved because listen, beloved, if you don't accept Jesus Christ when you have full light, you'll never accept Him. Because He can't do anymore than that. And so it's a severe warning, certain judgment. Then He gives an illustration in verse 7 & 8, "For the earth," He says, "which drinketh in the rain that cometh often upon it and bringeth forth herbs fit for them by whom it is tilled receives blessing from God."

          Now isn't that a beautiful thing? He says, the earth drinks in the rain that comes off and on up n it and brings forth herbs fit for them by whom it is tilled. In o her words, the crop is produced and it's a blessing from God when the rain falls. And you know what the picture is? It's the picture of a ready heart and the rain of the gospel falls and the ready heart takes in the rain and it brings forth the fruit of salvation. But verse 8 says, "But that which bears thorns and briars is rejected and is near unto curing whose end is to be burned." The rain is spiritual truth. The r in is the gospel. The rain is spiritual enlightenment. One piece of ground produces good herbs; one produces thorns and thorns are the fruit of religious effort.

          You see, it's a works righteousness system. They don't produce nothing, they produce the wrong thing, you see? They're very busy, very productive but it isn't herbs to eat it's thorns and al you want to do with thorns is stay out of their way. They're useless. Religious self-effort is cursed. So He says to these Jews, listen, - You can stay in your Judaism and you can crank out your self-righteousness and when it's all said and done you're going to have thorns. Or you can take in the rain of this enlightenment, you can hear the gospel and you can believe it in your heart and let it go into the soil of your life and let it produce the thing that God wants it to produce the choice is yours. The choice is yours. That's another warning.

          Let me take you to the third warning in the 10th chapter. The third warning is in the tenth chapter and verse 26. And here's the same thought. He's going to hit these fence sitters again. These people who keep coming but never make a commitment. These people who hear it all but never do anything about it. These people who say it's all wonderful and I believe it and I'm going to do it someday, I'm going to do it ... He hits them again. And He says Look, for if we sin willfully. And the sin here is the sin of rejection if you willfully reject after you've received the knowledge of the truth. You haven't received salvation; you've received the knowledge of it. You know what it is. You understand it. And if you willfully reject it then there is no more sacrifice for sin. He's saying to the Jew, you can kill a11 the lambs you want, you can slaughter all the goats you want, you can kill all the bullocks you want, you can slay all the turtledoves you want but there is no more sacrifice for sin if you reject Jesus Christ. There's nothing. If you know the truth and you turn your back on Christ you do nothing about Christ there is no other think you can do, there is no other sacrifice.

          And you see, these Jewish people didn't want to come to Christ they were afraid of being unsynagogued, you know, put out of the synago