Maintaining Strength Until the End

A question has long existed in the church about the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man. Today, we are discussing that very topic here in Hebrews chapter 10.

Good morning! Would you stand with me and open your Bibles to the book of Hebrews in the New Testament? If you don't have a Bible, you can raise your hand, and one of our ushers will bring you one. Hebrews is near the end of your Bible. Open to the very last book, Revelation, and turn to the left; you will find the 13 chapters of Hebrews. We are in Hebrews chapter 10, and we are going to begin today about halfway through the chapter, starting at verse 26.

There, the author writes, "For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries." Anyone who has rejected Moses's law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment do you suppose will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of His covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?

For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay," says the Lord. And again, "The Lord will judge His people." It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings, partly while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated. For you had compassion on them in their chains and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and enduring possession for yourselves in heaven.

Therefore, do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not delay.

Tarry now. The just shall live by faith, but if anyone draws back, my soul has no pleasure in him. We are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.

Father, would you direct our understanding of this passage? Lord, in the same way that you inspired the writing of it, we believe that your word is God-breathed and it is useful for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, so that we would be equipped and ready for every good work. In the same way that you inspired this to be written, would you, Lord, give us a clear understanding and interpretation of what is said here by the work of your Spirit? We trust, Holy Spirit, you are here in this place. You promise that wherever two or more are gathered in your name, there you are in their midst.

We pray that you would teach us, that you would give us insight and understanding as we look at this text, so that we would be able to apply it to our lives. We pray this in Jesus' name, and all those that agreed said, "Amen." You can be seated.

For the last 500 years, there has been an ongoing debate within the Christian community surrounding the doctrine of salvation. The debate hasn't so much been over who gives salvation; most Christians understand that salvation is of God. It's not a debate over who gives salvation as much as it is over how it is received and how salvation is maintained, or if maintenance is even needed.

In this debate, there are basically two groups. If you've been around the church for any length of time, you may have come in contact with one of these two groups or both. These groups identify themselves by the names of the primary teachers that started these different views about 500 years ago during the Protestant Reformation.

One group refers to themselves as Calvinists, being followers of John Calvin and his teaching. The other group goes under the name Arminians, following the teachings of Jacobus Arminius. They have different views about how salvation is received. The Calvinists believe that God elects, choosing individuals for salvation by His own will. Once elected or chosen, those individuals will persevere in their faith until the end. The other group...

Refer to themselves as Arminians, they believe that we must, by our own choosing and by our own will, receive Christ and His salvation. Once we have received Christ and His salvation, we need to maintain it; we need to hold on to it lest we lose it by our own action of sin or inaction.

You have these clear differences: one group, the Calvinists, holds to the sovereignty of God in salvation, and they believe in what is commonly referred to as eternal security, or under the phrase "once saved, always saved." The other group, the Arminians, holds to man's responsibility in salvation, and they would phrase that a little differently. They might say "once saved, always saved, if you don't fall away."

There is clearly a debate between these two groups, and each of them has their favorite ammunition, their favorite Bible passages to defend their view. They have their proof texts that they like to argue. Maybe you have found yourself in discussions and arguments about these sorts of things. There are certain texts that a Calvinist will often default to, or certain texts that an Arminian will often default to, to prove their point and hold their position.

As we come to Hebrews chapter 10, verses 26 through 39, the text that we just read a moment ago, we happen to come to one of the favorite proof texts for the Arminian camp. Many of their favorite passages are actually found in Hebrews: Hebrews chapter 3, Hebrews chapter 4, Hebrews chapter 6, and now Hebrews chapter 10. We have talked about this a little bit as we have been going through our study over the last 16 sessions in the book of Hebrews.

All of this to say that those of you who might lean towards the sovereignty of God in salvation, the idea of eternal security, this is one of those texts that might make you uncomfortable. Conversely, those of you who lean towards the responsibility of man in your view of salvation might find yourselves encouraged by this; this is one of your favorite passages.

I want to begin by saying that I believe in the sovereignty of God in salvation, and I believe in the responsibility of man in salvation. Knowing that, I acknowledge that I have had some interesting conversations with friends over the years. I count them as friends, and I have many good friends.

That line up in the Calvinist camp and many good friends who line up in the Arminian camp. It's really important to know that within this church, we have people who lean more towards the sovereignty of God and those who lean more towards the responsibility of man. We seek to maintain a balanced position because both of these views are taught in the Bible.

The fact that both groups can have proof texts from the Bible to support their positions shows us that both of these perspectives are indeed taught in Scripture. Not only are both of these positions taught in the Bible, but sometimes they are taught in the same chapter or even in the same sentence. For example, in Philippians chapter 2, one of my favorite passages, verses 12 and 13 illustrate this well. Chapter 2, verse 12 says, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." That sounds like the responsibility of man.

In the very next breath, Paul says, "For it is God who works in you to will and to do His good pleasure." That is clearly God's sovereignty. We have these two concepts that seem to be in competition, yet they are brought together as one. There may be a paradox there.

Over the years, I've said, "Listen, I'm not a Calvinist, and I'm not an Arminian; I'm a Christian." This really infuriates my Calvinist and Arminian friends; they just don't like that one bit. When I teach through Romans chapters 8, 9, 10, and 11, those who lean towards the sovereignty of God in our church come up feeling so happy because their pastor is a Calvinist. Then, when we come to Hebrews chapters 3, 4, 6, and 10, my Arminian friends within the church will come and say, "Oh, I'm so happy you hold the same position."

I just had someone after the last service say, "I'm so happy that you hold an Arminian position." We are just teaching the Bible here at Cross Connection, and we want to be faithful to teaching the Scriptures. This means we have to go to those passages that emphasize both the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man as we go through the Scriptures.

Understanding that, while it may be a paradox or a mystery to us, it is not to God. He knows exactly how it all works out—His choosing and our responsibility. He understands it, and we see it revealed in the Scriptures. We have to do our best to faithfully go through the Scriptures. Even though I say, "I'm not a Calvinist, I'm not an Arminian, I'm a Christian," that does not exempt me from going through hard passages like this.

For example, Hebrews chapter 10, verse 26 states, "For if we sin wilfully after we have received the...".

Knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins. The big important word that we need to focus on first here in Hebrews chapter 10, verse 26, is the little word "if." You might want to circle that, underline it, or highlight it in your Bible. If we sin willfully—now again, as I said, this is one of the favorite proof texts of those who lean towards the responsibility of man in salvation.

When a person who leans toward the sovereignty of God in salvation, such as a Calvinist, comes to this text, they have to find a way to explain it. They generally explain this "if" and this warning in one of two ways. One way is to say that this is a warning to a person who is not yet a Christian. This warning is directed at someone who has been intellectually convinced that the Christian faith is true but has not yet put their trust and confidence in Jesus for their salvation. They have yet to put their faith in Jesus, so they are almost a Christian, but not fully baked, if you will.

At that stage, there are some Calvinists, including one of the most prominent Calvinist Bible teachers of our day, a man by the name of John MacArthur, who hold this view. They say this is a warning to almost but not yet Christians. They are kind of stillborn; they haven't been born again. They haven't fully put their faith in Jesus, and at some point along their journey of moving towards faith in Jesus, they are led to turn away. If we sin willfully, if we return back to the practice of sin—that's what it literally means to sin willfully—there's no other sacrifice for sin. Jesus is the only way, and so in rejecting that salvation, there is no other salvation.

That is the view of someone like John MacArthur and many other Calvinists like him. However, I find it to be a huge stretch to say that the warnings, like this one in Hebrews chapter 10 and the others in Hebrews 6 and 4 and 3, are directed at individuals who are not yet believers. The Great Prince of Preachers, who happened to be a Calvinist, Charles Spurgeon, may have a different perspective. Perhaps you've heard of C.H. Spurgeon before. He was one of the most well-known Bible preachers of all time, preaching in London, England, back in the 1800s. He was an amazing Bible teacher, and in one of his messages on this very section of Scripture...

Scripture states that if you read the works of Dr. John and almost all the eminent Calvinistic writers, they assert that these persons are not Christians. This is one of the common views held by Calvinists to interpret a passage like this, claiming that these individuals simply weren't Christians and that the text is not addressing Christians.

Charles Spurgeon notes that most eminent Calvinistic writers will say these are not Christians. He argues that they would not have made this assertion if they did not have some doctrine to uphold, suggesting they come from a biased position. Spurgeon points out that a child reading this passage would conclude that the individuals intended by it must be Christians. If the Holy Spirit intended to describe Christians, he believes there could not have been more explicit terms used than those present in the text.

With all due respect to these learned doctors, whom I admire and love, I humbly conceive that they have allowed their judgments to be somewhat warped when they claim that only true believers are described here. I would agree with Charles Spurgeon on that point. The individuals spoken of in these passages—Hebrews 10, Hebrews 6, and Hebrews 4—are Christians. Therefore, the position that these are almost but not yet Christians does not hold up against what the Scriptures say.

The second way that a Calvinist will generally try to navigate this issue is by claiming that the author of the book of Hebrews is presenting a hypothetical scenario of a Christian willfully committing apostasy, departing from their trust in Jesus and leaving Christ and His salvation by their own choice. They argue that the author is describing a hypothetical situation that cannot actually happen, providing a warning of something that is not possible.

This perspective is also absurd. There are some pretty severe warnings in the text. In fact, John MacArthur, in his message on this very warning in Hebrews chapter 10, states that this is by far the most terrifying and serious of the five warnings in the book of Hebrews. He suggests it may be the most serious warning in all of Scripture. Notably, John MacArthur emphasizes that this is the most serious warning in the entire Bible. However, many of his colleagues who hold the same position argue that it is merely a warning about something that cannot actually happen—a hypothetical scenario.

I could never come to pass. Now listen, I have a daughter, Evangeline, who loves what-if questions. They are the most absurd what-if questions. They generally go like this: we'll be driving down the street, and Evangeline will say, "Dad, what if a giant pink bird came flying out of the sky, ripped open the car, and grabbed me, stealing me away? What would you do?" Or, "What if huge green spiders crawled out of that tree and came over and stole me? What would you do?" They are always these totally absurd what-if questions, and I love her what-if questions. My wife and I joke about them all the time.

Now, what-if questions can be interesting, but this is not just a what-if hypothetical scenario. Point number one: the "if" of Hebrews 10:26 is a conditional statement and not a hypothetical scenario. The "if" of Hebrews 10:26 is a conditional statement and not a hypothetical scenario. So let's break it down. He says, "For if we sin willfully." Again, context is really important. Sometimes the way that we study through the Bible here at Cross-Connection causes us to cut a thought in half. We're teaching through a paragraph; last week we cut it off, and we come to it this week. It can seem like two totally separate things are going on, but there are not two separate things happening here in Hebrews chapter 10.

Look at Hebrews chapter 10, verse 25. The author of the book of Hebrews is telling Christians who came out of Judaism to be followers of Jesus to not forsake the gathering of the church, to not leave the body of Christ. That's what the church is referred to often in the Scriptures. He says in verse 25, "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much more as you see the Day approaching."

What day is he talking about? Well, we're going to address that in the last verses of chapter 10—the day when the Lord returns. So, as you see the day of the Lord coming, when He returns for His church, don't leave the church. That's the word that Timothy gives to these Christians: don't depart from the safety of the body of Christ. Within the body of Christ, there is safety, where we are challenging one another, exhorting one another, and stirring one another up, provoking one another—literally inciting one another.

To love and good deeds, we are promoting that we live a life of fidelity and faithfulness to God within the church. He says not to leave the shelter, the safety of that covering within the body of Christ. Why? Because if we sin willfully, if we depart from the synagogue—what the assembly literally is in the original language, the assembly of the body—if we leave that safety of the body, where we have insight into love and good deeds, there is no safety and no sacrifice beyond the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins.

He says that if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, this is speaking to a person who knows the truth of God, who has had an experiential knowledge of who Jesus is, and who has entered into a relationship with God. They have received the gospel, and if you depart from that covering that is in Jesus Christ and His sacrifice, Christians are said to be in Christ. If you leave that covering, there is no safety, and there is no sacrifice for sins. There is no other alternative.

Now, again, the original letter was written to Christians who had left the Old Covenant system. You read Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy—the first five books of the Bible. They establish the Jewish religion and all the sacrifices that were given at the Jewish temple in Jerusalem, which still existed when this letter was written. Although it was just a few years after this letter was written that the temple would be destroyed in the year 70 AD, they had left the Jewish worship of the temple. They had left the sacrificial system, where they were offering sacrifices for their own sins at the temple, and they had put their faith in Jesus, the better sacrifice and the better high priest.

Now, by some means, they are being tempted to leave the sacrifice of Jesus and go back to Judaism. He says, "Listen, if you leave the covering that is in Jesus and go back to Judaism, there’s no alternative. There’s no way to deal with your sin. There is no other sacrifice for sin." Then comes the warning, the severe and serious warning in verse 27: What do you have to look forward to if you leave Jesus? What else is there? All you have is a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation.

That will devour the adversaries. What do you think? Either we maintain faith in Jesus, evidenced by faithfulness to Him, or we abandon and reject our faith in Jesus and the promises associated with that faith.

What's the promise associated with faith in Jesus? Believe in Christ Jesus and receive the promise of eternal salvation. So, if you abandon your faith in Jesus and the associated promise of salvation, all you have to look forward to at that point is a certain and fearful expectation of the coming judgment that God will pour out on those who are His adversaries.

Point number two on your outline: the choice set before us is completely binary. What does that mean? Binary means it's either/or—either salvation in Christ or damnation apart from Him. There is no option C, D, E, F, or G. Our culture, 21st-century American culture, hates this concept.

In fact, do you realize that the number one objection to the Christian gospel today is the exclusivity claims of Jesus in the Gospels? The narrow claims of Jesus and His followers, when Jesus says things like, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me."

We live in a pluralistic culture, a culture that has many different ideas and philosophies all melded together. People come up with their own ideas and philosophies, taking from this and that, and they build their own construct. Pretty much every single person you will meet has a different view on the approach to God.

In our culture, there are a million different options. It's a choose-your-own-adventure story on how to get to God. We are told that we shouldn't tell anybody else that their way is not acceptable, except that the Bible says there is one way to God, and every other way leads to damnation. Our culture hates that, and so Christians are more and more set aside in our culture.

Being intolerant and being narrow-minded, and even sometimes the word "bigoted," is applied to us because we have this view that is given to us by the Scriptures, by Jesus in the Gospels. There is only one narrow way. Jesus said, "Narrow is the way that leads to life; wide is the path to destruction." So we have either/or here: either salvation in Christ or damnation apart from Him. That's it. That's all there is. That's what we're presented with in the Scriptures. It's just one or the other; it's life or death, blessing or cursing, past or failed.

We have a hard time with that because maybe you were the type that liked to go to the teacher and try to bargain for a better grade. You just didn't get that pass/fail; you wanted to bargain for something better. There is no bargaining with God. It's either in Christ or apart from Him.

Now, it's very interesting that research over the last 20 years is proving more and more that having many options is not always best. In fact, when presented with many options, people tend to descend into what researchers refer to as decision paralysis. They don't know what to decide. Research is proving time and time again that having one or two options is generally best. The Bible often presents this either/or scenario.

Back in the book of Deuteronomy, the great lawgiver Moses, as he read the law to the children of Israel one last time before his death, said this: "I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day. I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Choose life that you might live." He set life and blessing, death and cursing before them. What's your choice? That's it; it's either/or.

Just about fifty years after that, Moses' successor, Joshua, did the same thing. He stood before the people, and it's recorded in Joshua 24. He said, "Now therefore fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth. Put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the river and in Egypt. Serve the Lord." Then he said, "Choose for yourself this day whom you will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Moses said, "Listen, you have two options."

You can serve and follow God and experience life and blessing, or you can go after the other philosophies, ways, paths, and gods of this world, and it reaps the consequence. Joshua said, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." You can choose to serve these other gods, but as for me and my house, we're going to serve the Lord.

Fast forward a little bit beyond that, there is a great prophet by the name of Elijah in First Kings chapter 18. He had to stand before the people of his day and say, "If God be God, serve Him. If Baal, another way, another God, be God, serve him." But you've got to choose who you're going to serve because you have to serve someone. A great philosopher of the 20th century tells us that, right? You have to serve somebody.

This decision has eternal and potentially severe consequences. You may ask, is it really that cut and dry? Would God really judge a person who rejects Jesus? That is one of the questions we receive today. Maybe you've had a conversation about the things of God with a co-worker or a family member, and they said, "Well, listen, I’ll submit to you that I even believe in God, but I believe in a God of love. He would never send anybody to hell." Has anybody ever had that conversation? Raise your hand high if you have.

I know I have. People say, "I believe in a God of love; He'd never send anybody to hell." They really have this narrow view. Is it really that cut and dry? Remember again, Timothy's first readers were Christians who had come out of Judaism. Throughout this book, to answer the anticipated questions, Timothy always takes them back to their understanding of the Jewish religion. He takes them back to the Old Covenant, which is what he does here in verse 28 of Hebrews 10:28.

"Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses." Listen, guys, you understand this; you know this. You came out of Judaism. Under Judaism, if you transgressed, if you rejected God's law given through Moses, you were subject to punishment. The earthly punishment could be capital punishment in this life. Your life could be taken by the testimony of two or three witnesses. If you rejected God's law under the Old Covenant and were brought to trial before a judge, and there were two or three witnesses corroborating evidence, then you could be put to death.

And that was just under Jewish law, and that was only an earthly death. Then he says, "Of how much worse punishment, I mean, that's bad to be put to death. Do you suppose he will be thought worthy of who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the Covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?"

Speaking to a Jewish audience who knew the Old Testament, he says, "For we know Him who said, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay,' says the Lord." Again, the Lord will judge His people. Quoting from the Old Covenant, he emphasizes that we know God is the one who will bring vengeance, wrath, and judgment upon those who reject Him. If you could be put to death under the Old Covenant, from Genesis to Malachi, for transgressing the law given by Moses from God, then how much worse of a punishment is it if you completely spit in the face of Jesus and reject Him, insulting the Spirit of grace?

He mentions that over the years, he has had various people from the church come to talk with him, often with a grave look on their faces. They say, "Listen, I was reading through the Gospels, and I came upon this verse that was troubling me. I need some explanation." They refer to Matthew 12:31, which states, "Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven men."

Others mention Mark 3:28, where Jesus says, "Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness but is subject to eternal condemnation."

He has had people come with that grave look and express their fear that they may have committed this sin. They ask, "What is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit?" Most times, he assures them, saying, "Listen, I don't think that you've blasphemed the Holy Spirit because if you did, I don't think you'd be concerned about it. You'd probably be indifferent to it. The very fact that you're concerned is evidence that you have the conviction of the Holy Spirit within you. He convicts us of sin, of righteousness, and of coming judgment. It is good to be convicted by the Spirit of God; His conviction should draw us to Him."

The grace of Christ is essential for salvation. If there is concern or conviction, you probably have not committed the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. The follow-up question is: What is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit? I suggest to you that the rejection of the salvation of Jesus and the sacrifice of Jesus, as described in Hebrews chapter 10, verses 28 through 31, constitutes the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.

In the English Standard Version, the words at the end of verse 29 state that the one who has insulted the Spirit of grace has outraged the Spirit of grace. The New Living Translation puts it this way: "Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God and have treated the blood of the Covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God's mercy to us."

Do you want to outrage the Spirit of grace? I don't think you do. However, if you wish to outrage the Spirit of grace, then reject the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross 2,000 years ago. Count His death as unexceptional, just like any other death of any other person at any other time. His death was not unexceptional, and this will outrage the Spirit of grace.

As Timothy reminds us, we know Him who says, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay," and the Lord will judge His people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Point number four on your outline: A knowledge of God's true nature should produce a proper reverence for Him. Do you know God? Do you know that He is gracious, good, compassionate, loving, merciful, and forgiving? This is the God that generally people want to know more about—gracious, good, forgiving, and all those wonderful things. But do you also know that God is...

He is the perfectly righteous God, revealed in the Bible as love. God is love. He reveals Himself as merciful. The Lord, the Lord God, is merciful, compassionate, and forgiving. All those things are true of God, but if you only focus on that, then you have a very narrow view of who God is and how He has revealed Himself in the Bible.

The same God who reveals Himself as merciful, gracious, compassionate, forgiving, and loving is also the God who says, "I am just, and I am holy." A holy and just God cannot overlook sin; there must be a punishment, and there must be a judgment upon sin. The only way to deal with that judgment, so that it does not come upon us, is if that judgment goes upon another—a substitutionary sacrifice. Jesus on the cross stood in my place and in your place as the substitutionary sacrifice. There is no other covering; there is no other way. Apart from Christ, there is no mercy, there is no grace, there is no compassion from God. But in Christ, He is the Father of mercies, the God of all grace.

So why would anyone ever consider departing from Christ? Timothy is writing to a group of Christians who apparently were being tempted to depart from Him. He alone is our refuge; He alone is our ever-present help in time of trouble. He alone is our advocate with the Father, our mediator between God and man. Why would you ever consider departing from His mercy and grace to go back to the old system, which is insufficient and cannot cover or deal with your sin?

Why go back—not only to the old system, but also to those who ridiculed you, those who excommunicated you, those who disavowed and disowned you, those who kicked you out of the gathering when you put your faith in Jesus? This is exactly what he says in verse 32 of Hebrews 10: "But recall, my brothers and sisters, the former days in which, after you were illuminated, after you put your faith in Jesus, you endured."

Great struggle with sufferings partly while you were made a spectacle, both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly because you became companions of those who are so treated. You had compassion on me; some translations say you have compassion on the prisoners in their chains. You joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and enduring possession for yourselves in heaven.

Why is it that we sometimes are so quick to forget the bad things of our old life and only remember the good things? When the children of Israel were brought out of Egypt, the Book of Exodus tells us the story of how they had been in bondage as slaves under severe taskmasters who beat them. They were forced at certain times to kill their own children. Now they were taken out of that slavery, and it wasn't but a couple of months later that they were crying out, saying, "Take us back to Egypt! We had food in Egypt; everything was so good in Egypt." How quickly we forget the negatives of the old life and can emphasize only the positive.

Here, these Christians that Timothy was writing to, when they put their faith in Jesus, were disowned from their Jewish families. They were excommunicated from the Jewish synagogue and disavowed by the Jewish community. In some cases, they were beaten; in other cases, they were imprisoned. They had their goods taken from them, stolen by their Jewish countrymen, and some were even killed. The author of the Book of Hebrews says, "Hey, do you remember what you endured to put your faith in Jesus?"

We experience incredible grace in this country; we don't really have to endure that. However, there are still places in the world today where putting your faith in Jesus means that you are completely ousted from the community. Many of those places are in the predominantly Muslim world today. Not only are you ousted from the community, but you could also be put to death for your faith in Jesus. The decision is a little bit more difficult when that is the pressure put upon you.

These people had already endured that, and now they were tempted to go back. Therefore, the author says in verse 35, "Do not cast away your confidence; don't let go of your hope in Christ," which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.

Receive the promise. What promise? The promise of the saving of the soul—eternal salvation. For yet a little while, quoting the Old Testament again, he says, "For yet a little while, and he who is coming will come, and he will not tarry." At some point, the Lord is going to return. Yes, the church has been saying this for 2,000 years, and yes, the Lord has not returned yet. Still, we believe that He is coming, and we believe that He hasn't yet because He is still gracious. But He says, "Yet a little while, and He who is coming will come, and He will not tarry."

Now, the just shall live by faith. Today is the time when we live by faith. If anyone draws back, my soul has no pleasure in him, God says. But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul. Timothy says to his first readers, "You know the greatness of Christ." I have proven from the Scriptures, from Hebrews 1 through Hebrews 10:18, the betterness of Jesus. You have endured suffering for the cause of Christ; don't throw away all of that now and lose your faith, your hope, and your confidence. Your faith, hope, and confidence have a great reward.

Point number five on your outline: there is an eternal and abundant reward for those who live by faith until the end. Someone may say, "Well, does that mean that I have to hold on tight and maintain faithfulness and fidelity until the end?" Yes, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. But I thought God was going to enable me and help me to live out my faith. Yes, for it is God who works in you both to will and to do His good pleasure. They go hand in hand, and we should rejoice in that. We have a responsibility, and we can know that He is faithful, but we need to press on until the end.

This isn't new in the book of Hebrews. We saw previously back in Hebrews chapter 3, verse 4, where the author said, "For every house is built by someone; every covenant is established by someone. But he who built all things is God." Moses indeed was faithful in all his house as a servant.

The testimony of those things which would be spoken of afterward is about Christ as a Son over His house, whose house we are. If there’s that word again, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm until the end.

In verse 12 of the same chapter, Hebrews 3, it says, "Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God." We are encouraged to exhort one another daily while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. We have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.

In verse 25 of chapter 10, it says, "Do not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, as you see the Day approaching." There is coming a day when Jesus will return, whether He returns for all of us at the great day of the Lord or individually when we die. Therefore, we need to be stirred up within the body of Christ to continue to press on, to run this race with endurance, looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith.

For the joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of God. We need to lay aside every weight and sin that so easily ensnares us, just like those great men and women of faith of old, whom we will study about next week when we get into Hebrews chapter 11, the Hall of Faith.

What does it look like to remain faithful under persecution, with all the reasons in this earthly world to turn back? We will explore this as we read about Abraham, Moses, Abel, and all these different people who followed God by faith and obtained a good testimony both here and in eternity. May it be that our names, as we continue to run this race with endurance, are also written down as an addendum and appendix to Hebrews chapter 11.

So read ahead; next week we will be in Hebrews chapter 11. We will look at all those great men and women of faith that came before us. Be encouraged to run this race. Amen.

Would you stand with me as we close in prayer? Jesus, thank You for Your grace towards us.

In You, in Christ, Your grace is unfathomable. It's immeasurable; it's great and could never be depleted. Lord, we are told that we can come boldly before Your throne of grace to obtain mercy and grace in our time of need. Though we should have a reverence for You, may it never be a cowering in fear because of You. You have given us Your righteousness, and we can come before the presence of the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

God, would You pour out Your grace upon Your church in abundance, so much so that that grace would overflow from us to other people this week? Give us the boldness not only to come and receive more grace from You but also the boldness to share that good news of grace with others that we come in contact with. This world’s greatest need is the good grace that You have given. We praise You, Jesus. It's in Your name that we pray.