Speaker: Dustin Scott

Passage: Hebrews 10

FAITH THAT DOESN’T QUIT

We’re closing out our miniseries on the Book of Hebrews, and the question that really rested behind this series was if Christ has paid it all for my sins, then why do I have to live a transformed life? 

I don’t want to be unkind to us six months ago, but the feeling in the room this morning is, Yeah, that was kind of a dumb question. The Scriptures say, Peter will say, that the Lord has given us all things necessary to become participants in His Divine nature. 

Paul will tell the Corinthians that we all, with unveiled faces, are seeing the glory of the Lord and are transformed from one degree of glory to another. Why would we exchange the full power, authority, and restoration of the Kingdom for something lesser? 

The disciples were before Jesus, and Jesus would say to them, the prophets of old would have longed to see the things you’re seeing. They would have longed to experience the miraculous, the way that you are. They would have longed to experience the character of God the way you are. They would have longed to experience His transformation the way that you are, and the overwhelming sense in this room this morning is, Lord, more. Give me more. 

The Christian apologist G. K. Chesterton, who is quite an influence on a guy we may know by the name of C. S. Lewis, would say that Christianity is a story, it’s God’s story, and we’re all being invited to become members in that marvelous, transformative story. 

And at the end of Hebrews 11, the writer is going to say something mind-blowing. He’s going to say, “Those who came before.” He’s talking about the patriarchs, Abraham. He’s talking about the prophets like Isaiah. 

He’s saying the ones who came before were greatly commended for their faith, but they did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for them that they, apart from us, would not be made perfect. 

The Lord is saying to His people, each one of you is a part of the story of transformation, because God’s story is that big. And you know what words He uses? He uses the words better and perfect, which means that this story is supposed to be getting brighter, better, bigger, more and more rich. 

And the Lord is so generous that He says, Hey, that story isn’t complete without you. It isn’t complete without me. It isn’t complete without us. Because that’s what happens when we put on the Lord’s nature, the story gets even better.

GOD’S STORY OF TRANSFORMATION

And so, the writer is going to show us how to live out God’s story of transformation here in Hebrews 10, he’s going to give us a tutorial, a road map of sorts, to have a confident faith that never shrinks, never falls back, and never quits. 

And he’s going to do it in three steps. He’s going to say in verse 22, “Let us approach with a true heart and full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” 

We’ve already talked about this. To live out God’s story of transformation, we have to have an ongoing, continuous relationship with God’s voice. We have to live from the Throne Room so that His culture becomes the culture of our life. 

And we’ve already dealt with that exhaustively in our series, but I think there’s something we neglect. The writer says we should approach, that means we have to deal with the separation complex of our old sin nature. 

It’s interesting that Paul says in Ephesians that our old sin nature is a false nature. Why? Because the moment you came to Jesus, He made you a new creation, which means that there is a new way of living that you’re being called into. 

If we go back to Genesis 3, Adam and Eve had just fallen into sin, and the narrative tells us that when they heard the sound of the Lord God moving in the midst of the garden, they hid themselves. How many times in new creation do we run away from the Lord in moments of failure, in moments of weakness, in moments of doubt, instead of running to Him? 

How many of us, in a moment of sin, have ever thought, Man, the Lord doesn’t want to spend time with me. He doesn’t want to restore me right now. I’m going to sit in time out for five days, and maybe next Sunday, I’m going to try again. 

You see, the enemy knows something. He knows that because of the finished work of Christ, he can no longer use our sin against us. Isn’t that good news? So, what does he do? He tries to use separation. He says, If I can isolate them from His voice, then I can discourage them, then I can get them off the path, then I can get them distracted from the Lord’s new nature. 

So, what do we need to do in moments of doubt, uncertainty, and pain? We’re not to run away from Him. We’re to run to Him. And for many of us, religion messed up the way we think about our faith. 

We think that in moments of doubt, moments of mistake, moments of insecurity, the Lord wants us to run, when His answer is, Come to my Throne Room, hear My voice, experience My love, because that’s what gives you confidence. That’s what washes your intentions and your conscience, and that’s what transforms your lifestyle. 

He says, “Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who has promised is faithful.” The word here is homologia. It speaks to the truth of the Gospel in the Scriptures for being invited into God’s story. 

That means God has given us a compass, a guide, intended to carry us through the uncertainties and the troubles of our life. And it’s called the Scriptures. And too often we neglect this compass. We ignore this compass. 

Sometimes in moments of grumpiness and crispiness, we oppose the truth of this compass. And then we wonder why we’re so lost in the story. We wonder why we’re so confused. We wonder why we feel so empty. 

Jude says, “Hold fast to the faith that was once delivered to the saints.” This is our guide in God’s story of transformation. So, if you found yourself in a place where your answer is, I don’t really need the Scriptures, I kind of know what Christianity is about. I can cruise. 

The writer is going to do something interesting. He’s going to call this the confession of our hope. What does he mean by that? I’ve been to a lot of theology classes, and I’ve never connected the idea of doctrine and hope before. 

Well, when we discover who God is, who we are, and where this story is going, we have hope because we know that it’s God’s faithfulness and the certainty of Him delivering His promises that’s going to carry us through the difficulty of the story. 

He’s our anchor, and without this, we don’t understand Him, and we wonder why we’re so confused. So, if you’re not already, get into the Scriptures, because this is where you’ll find hope. 

COMPANIONSHIP IN FAITH

Lastly, he says in verses 24 through 25, “Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another all the more as you see the day approaching.” 

I think the most dangerous idea in modern Christianity is the idea of a lone-wolf Christian. Hey, me and the Lord are good. I’ve got this personal relationship with Him. The church has offended me, God’s people have hurt me, and so Him and I are just going to go it alone and we’ll be okay. I don’t need the Lord’s people. 

Well, guess what the Lord said? You do. If you’re going to go on this adventure of transformation, you need companions. You need brothers and sisters to pick you up when you fall, to encourage you when you don’t have hope, and to pull you back from danger when you get torn away. 

Peter will say that your enemy prowls about like a roaring lion seeking one to devour. I used to be kind of, I don’t know what you’d say, a kid with some pathological issues. I loved watching Discovery Channel and Animal Planet because maybe I liked the violence of the animal kingdom too much as a kid. I’ve since seen a therapist and worked all that out, don’t worry. 

Why do lions roar? To induce panic, chaos. Animals which would normally gather in a herd will freak out, and then one will make a break for it. And when it gets isolated, what do the lions do? Descend upon it and tear it apart. The enemy knows I cannot use their sin against them anymore. So what will I do? I’ll try to isolate them, because if I isolate them, I can take them out. 

This is God’s story. This is our Story. The Book of Titus says He died to purchase for Himself not a bunch of lone-wolf Christians doing their own thing, He died to purchase for Himself a people. We need each other. We cannot go it alone. 

DON’T RESIST HIS VOICE

He ends with a warning: if we willfully persist in sin after having received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins. Everyone knows that in order to have a good story, you need danger along the way, don’t you? You need a dragon. You need a villain. Well, this is the dragon in the story. 

And as Christians, I don’t think we know what to do with these two verses. I’ve been in circles that are like, Hey, let’s just ignore this. It doesn’t apply to us. We’re genuine believers. Just look the other way. And I’ve been in other circles where the answer has been, Hey, be very afraid. You are just one sin away from falling into Hell. You’re probably not going to make it. 

Aren’t both those ideas just ridiculous? I’m going to say a statement that I’ll be very careful, because it could be misunderstood: the Lord’s dealt with our sin. Our sin isn’t the problem, the problem is that a lifestyle of willful sin can turn our heart against Him, and He’s our anchor, He’s our source of life, He’s our assurance of redemption. 

And there’s a dangerous thing that can happen in the life of someone who resists God’s voice, His truth, and doesn’t want to live amongst His people, and that’s that their heart will eventually turn away against their Savior. 

WE ARE GOING TO BE VICTORIOUS

But you know what makes me excited? I learned a bit of Greek exegesis from Schoolhouse Rock when I was a kid. The writer is going to use this first-person plural pronoun hēmeis, and it means we. 

He says we are not among those who shrink back. We are not among those who perish. We’re going to make it if we cling on to Him. Why? Because He’s already given us a new nature.

All we need to do is spend our life and relationship with Him, and as long as we don’t get separated, as long as we hear His voice, as long as we’re growing in His truth, and as long as we’re living amongst His people, we are going to be victorious. 

There is nothing that can separate us from the love of God. So, rather than asking the bare minimum question, Well, how much can I sin before I fall out of the boat? Let’s stay where we are hungry for Him. Let’s see how far this Kingdom goes. Let’s see how big this story gets. Let’s see how much God wants to transform because we won’t find an endpoint. 

I’m so proud to be not just a pastor here, but a part of this church, because I feel that the hunger level is so real, and we’ve seen many revivals, and revivals will come, and they’ll go because there isn’t a hunger for Him to be all in all. 

Let’s see what happens when there is. Let’s see what happens beyond revival. Let’s see what happens when a city in a region is so given over to the transformative life of Jesus that everything changes, that people in Utah are wondering, What is the Lord doing in Colorado? It’s crazy. 

We’re not among those who shrink back. We’re among those who win. Why? Because He’s already won the war. Cling on to Him. This afternoon, if you have a chance, the Scriptures will say, “Don’t grow weary in the midst of well doing.” 

I would invite the Lord to search you, and I would ask Him the question: Lord, am I living from Your voice? Is there more You want to walk in? Do You have a daily schedule or time that You want to meet with me? Do You have questions You want me to bring to You? Do You have answers for particular areas of my life where I’m confused, where I’m frustrated, where I’m lost? 

I would ask Him: Lord, am I living in Your Scriptures? Am I growing in my knowledge of You each day? If not, what would You have me do so that I can live from Your hope? 

And lastly, I would ask Him: Are there any places within me where I’ve become isolated from Your people? That can be outer isolation of just becoming a spiritual introvert that can become inward isolation, where our heart becomes bitter and unforgiving and grumpy even though we’re sitting at Church? 

Invite Him to grow that confident faith within you that never shrinks, never fails, and never stops. Let’s see where this story takes us. 

So, Lord, thank You for the time together. I remember Your words, that no one comes to the Father unless You first draw that person to Himself. So, Lord, thank You for drawing us. Thank You for increasing our spiritual appetite. Thank You for being the agent of our transformation, the One who’s given us a new nature. 

Show us how to walk in You so that the world can be transformed, and as Your Scriptures say, God can become all in all, become everything in our life. Give us grace in our moments of weakness, give us strength in our moments of uncertainty, and give us confidence in our insecurities, so that we can see where the story takes us. We ask this in Your name, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.