Hebrews 6: Stanly Community Church

Transcription

1 Faith in Jesus Christ is all that can save you from hell. But what does saving faith look like? It is more than simply claiming Christianity and participating in religious activity, no matter how biblical it may be. True faith in the Christ of Scripture produces a distinct result, and it demonstrates God s salvation to the world. The Jesus of the Bible is God s faithful Son sent from heaven to bring the Father s redeemed children into His presence (3:1). For this reason, the writer of Hebrews presents the Son as the Great High Priest of the saints (4:14-5:10). Being the Captain of their salvation (2:10), Jesus suffered as a sinless man in a sinful world. He was completely obedient to the Father in everything tempted in every way that we are yet without sin (4:15). His truly righteous life provides the righteousness needed for God to justify a sinner. His sinless sacrifice on the cross satisfied God s wrath toward our sin, and His own righteousness is credited to us (2:11-18). So through Christ, we can boldly stand before God s throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to live a godly life here and now (4:16). Therefore, true faith in God s Son saving faith does not allow for a shallow, religious experience that ultimately seeks salvation by human effort (6:1-8). Instead, it produces the true religion of good works, which verifies God s work of salvation. Hebrews 6:9-12 identifies the true believer s good works as an example of saving faith and exhorts everyone to follow it.! 1

2 Saving Faith (6:9-12) An Example (vv. 9-10) Verse nine marks a clear transition by the writer as to whom he is addressing in the letter. In this second appeal to all his hearers about making certain they believe in the Christ of Scripture, he moves from warning those in danger of apostasy (5:11-6:8) to assuring true believers of their salvation. It is a recognition that his audience contained both believers and unbelievers. Some of the unbelieving were professing Christians yet unregenerate, and some were Jews who were considering the gospel but were uncommitted. We see this transition in the use of the word, beloved. It is a term of affection for his Christian brethren, all of whom are loved by the Father and Christ. They are the saints (v. 10) made holy to the Father in Christ. Therefore, they can approach the Father s throne of grace. These the writer wishes to encourage by saying, we are confident of better things concerning you. The we certainly refers to himself, the apostles and other leaders in the early church who brought this congregation the gospel and the New Testament doctrines (1:1-3). After the warnings about insincere faith ( though we speak in this manner ), he needed to address the faithful among them by acknowledging their good works. By this he expressed his confidence that their faith was genuine.! 2

3 It is their good works which define the better things he mentions. They are the things that accompany salvation and provide assurance to the believer. As the Bible clearly teaches, no one is saved by their own merit, since we all fall short of the perfectly righteous standard of God s Law. Righteousness comes only by faith in Christ and not by the Law itself, which we cannot keep perfectly (Rom. 3:21-26; Gal. 3). However, God s Law is still our standard, and only the born again believer truly desires to pursue it in the grace of God. This we do because God is at work in us to produce the desire and ability to do His will from the heart (Phil. 2:12-13; Rom. 12:1-2). A true Christian can sincerely act in accord with God s Law because the Holy Spirit has given them a new heart with a desire for righteousness (Jn. 3:3, 5, 21; 2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 4:23-24). A desire to please God and obey Him is behind every truly good work. The religious but unregenerate person cannot obey in a way that pleases God because their motive is always wrong their sinful nature only produces a sinful intention (Matt. 12:35). But God knows His children (2 Tim. 2:19), and He sees their genuine love for Him, for one another and for their neighbor in general (Matt. 22:37-40; Jn. 13:34-35; Rom. 13:8-10; 1 Pet. 1:22-23). He is the source of that love (Rom. 5:5), and the fruit of it glorifies Him (Jn. 15:8).! 3

4 So when the writer says, God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints and do minister (v. 10), He is affirming the good works of those whose faith was real. He wanted them to know that his letter was not a rebuke of the entire congregation. The evidence of their salvation was their loving ministry and godly attitudes toward other Christians, which ultimately was a labor of love toward God ( His name refers to the holy nature and character of the Trinity). They were genuinely doing God s will, and their properly motivated good works were a confirmation of saving faith. Paul makes it clear in Ephesians 2:10 that we are God s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Christians are the example of what God can do with those whom He saves. We provide a foretaste of the world to come in which only righteousness will exist (2 Peter. 3:13). Everyone who has saving faith, will predominantly and consistently reflect those good works of obedience to God s Word in their life. We are not without sin, but we are clearly led by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:12-17; Gal. 5:16-26). Therefore, as our Lord Jesus commands: Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven (Matt. 5:16).! 4

5 The writer plainly identifies the true believers in this Hebrew congregation. He commends them for their good works, and he encourages them to continue being examples of saving faith. An Exhortation (vv ) The author now addresses the unbelievers once more, but he specifically identifies those who have not yet professed any faith in Christ. When he says, And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence (i.e. eagerness) he is no longer talking to the obvious believers. He is, however, urging the uncommitted in the congregation to look to the ministry of true Christians as a reflection of saving faith. It was his desire (and that of the others who helped him minister to this church; we ) to see those truly good works in all the congregation. Faith in Christ alone brings salvation, but the good works of faith provide the assurance that we are saved. As James emphasizes in his epistle, faith without works is a dead faith. He says, Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works (Jas. 2:18; cf. Rom. 4:1-25; Gal. 3:1-14). Works are the tangible evidence of faith. There is no possible way to know if your faith is real unless you desire to obey and truly do obey the Son of God (Jn. 14:15; 15:10). Yes, faith in Christ saves, but faithfulness to obey Him provides the full assurance of hope until the end. Thus faith and works go hand-in-hand throughout a Christian s life to confirm them as God s children.! 5

6 Unlike the religious but false Christians of 6:1-8, the uncommitted should hear God s Word, trust Christ and obey Him. They needed to follow the example of saving faith. The beginning of verse 12 informs us that those professing faith but not actually possessing it were sluggish (Gr. - nothros). At its root, the word refers to an illegitimate child born out of lawful wedlock. It is the same word translated in 5:11 as dull. There we were told that some in this church were claiming faith but were stubbornly resisting the full truth of God s Word about His Son. As a result, they were near to being cursed as apostates, at which point it would be impossible to renew them again to repentance (6:4-8). They never had true faith to begin with, and they certainly were not an example to follow. They did not listen to God about His Son, and their lack of obedient works betrayed them as illegitimate children of God. The writer urges the admittedly unbelieving person to avoid false professions and truly turn in faith to the Jesus of Scripture who alone can save sinners. They needed to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises of salvation (v. 12). Chapter 11 will also give numerous examples of faithful saints who clearly demonstrated saving faith by obedient works. A real Christian believes God s promise of salvation in Christ and patiently does His will with the full assurance that they will inherit the fullness of eternal life.! 6

7 The means of salvation is not human religion and its supposedly meritorious efforts. But true religion is only and always the result of saving faith in the Son of God who loves us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood (Rev. 1:5). Every real Christian, by a godly life, should strive to be the best example of God s salvation they can be because it bears witness to our Lord and Savior. Knowing that our good works reflect the redeeming work of God in our hearts, we also can urge others to imitate our faith (1 Cor. 4:16; 11:1). Do you have saving faith in Jesus Christ? Is your life a witness to unbelievers of God s salvation an active faith that proclaims the Gospel in works as well as words?! 7