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This evening we are talking about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. And to start off I want you to think about this question: What would it take to convince you to follow and obey God? I am talking about conviction such that you would be willing to give up your life for him. What would it take? Maybe a voice from heaven? You think to yourself: “If only God spoke to me, I would be convinced…” Maybe an answered prayer? That might do it. Maybe if you saw a miracle with your own eyes. And so what if God talked to you. And what if, in order to talk to you, He chose to become a human. And what if God, in human form, told you he would show you a miracle in order to convince you. But not a small miracle like healing pain in the toe or curing a supposed back pain. What if he told you he would die and then three days later he would come back to life? Source

The doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints is a misunderstood doctrine, but is central to the book of Hebrews. When many hear that Reformed folk believe that a true believer cannot lose his salvation but will persevere to the end, they miss what is being emphasized. Many wrongly conclude that we are promoting a ‘once saved always saved’ notion. That you pray the sinners prayer, get your ticket to heaven, now no matter how you live, even if you backslide and live in sin until you die, you will still go to heaven. No, that is not what we believe, the bible clearly promises judgement and death for those who sow to the flesh. No the perseverance of the saints has an important emphasis found in that word perseverance. We do believe that God saves you when He justifies you; your judgement day verdict is brought forward, there is no more judgement day wrath to be dealt out to your sins, past, present or future because Jesus has paid it all. Many wrongly conclude from this that this gives us a license to sin, and that holiness does not matter. Wrong. Source

Have you ever been terrified while you help your mum weed her garden? There is the garden bed it is full of plants. You know most of the plants are weeds and must be pulled out. But some of them are your mum’s precious flowers. And those must not be pulled out. You uproot them at your peril. To your untrained eye, the weeds and the flowers look the same, and so weeding becomes a terrifying job… But once you know what must be killed and what must be kept, you can work without fear and you become productive, and weeding becomes a joy. Sometimes you can have that same terror as you look at your life as a Christian. You know there are many weeds, many sins, in your life that must be killed, but you also have a sense there are good plants that must be nurtured and kept. Source

Last week we examined the carrot, Why should you hold fast to Christ? Well, based on the amazing results of His sacrifice and priesthood we should draw near in faith because of the access He has made; hold fast to the hope which is guaranteed; and stir one another up in love by meeting together. Today we examine the stick, What will happen to those who forsake Christ, rejecting the gospel for something else? The answer is judgement! Our verses are the 4th of five warning passages in Hebrews, 2:1-4; 3:7-14; 6:4-8; 10:26-31, and 12:25-29. If Hebrews 6 are the most worrying because they talk about not being renewed to repentance, apostasy being a sin that some wont come back from; then these in 10:26-31 are the most terrifying for their clear promises that God will judge those who despise the gospel of His Son. This is a message that every Christian must take to heart. God has given His best in His Son, and to pour scorn on His best guarantees final judgement. There are many positive incentives in the Christian life. There is more grace and beauty in God to satisfy our sinful heart and even our glorified hearts for all eternity. But at times we don’t guard our hearts; we don’t turn them to the ravishing glories and beauties of the gospel. So, if the sweet honey of the goodness of God in the gospel does not catch your attention God in His kindness has firmer methods to bring you to your senses. Sometimes the Lord disciplines us. Or as here in these warning passages we hear the Lord’s parental warnings underscored with the power of His promises. We have three points as we look into these warnings of judgement for those who despise the gospel by... Read More Source

There is a story of a man who had an only son, he loved his son dearly, but his son was in very poor health. The father was a rich man and had a faithful butler look after his son. The father was also a collector of rare and expensive works of art. His son died and not to long after he died too. And he wrote in his will that all the family should get together and hear the reading of the will and to see who will get the rare and expensive works of art he had collected. But he had written in his will that before any of the major art works were sold, there was a sketch of his son, on a piece of paper that was to be the first item to given away was a picture of his beloved son. So the lawyer asked if anyone would like to have this rough sketch of the son. There was no one in the family that was interested in that little sketch except one man, the faithful butler who had tended to the son as if he were his own. The family despised and rejected that little sketch but to him it was precious, and he asked for it. It was then that the proceedings was brought to an end to the surprise of all the family, and the lawyer revealed that it was written in the will that whoever took the little rejected picture of the son, who was so loved by the father, that that person would get everything. Source

There are two types of motivation in the Christian life, the carrot and the stick. Today as we enter the section of Hebrews that has done with doctrine and moves to doing; moves from creed to conduct, we come first to the carrot in v19-25; and the stick in 10:26-31. Before the author launches into the warnings about what a dangerous thing it is to abandon the truth after having come to know it—the stick. He first quickly summarizes the work of Christ for us, and encourages us to three important activities. The portion before us is very important because after several chapters of doctrinal explanation in the face of terrible persecutions, and you finally come to the point of telling people how to live in light of these truths, what do we need to do in light of such profound truth? What would you say? Each of the three things stated here have already been stated, but here we have a concentrated action plan for what to do when we face life and death issues like this church. As you look down you will see that the author uses the words ‘let us’ three times; v22,23,24. These alert us to the important actions we must be taking during difficult times. We should draw near to God; hold fast to our confession; and stir one another up. You will notice that the triumvirate of faith, hope and love are present, we are to draw near in faith; hold fast in faith; and stir up in love. Source

If you could bottle the secret to growing love you’d be a millionaire, given the endless shelf of books promising to revive love between husband and wife. Consider Peter’s actual prescription: a love purified by obedience to the truth and nourished by the pure milk of the word. Source

This reaches the end of the doctrinal section of Hebrews, the long argument for Jesus as a greater high priest offering a greater sacrifice under a greater covenant. Consider the crescendo of that argument before the book turns to its final section of exhortation. Source

Consider Peter’s call to conduct ourselves with reverent fear during our time as exiles here, grounded not in terror but in the reality of what it cost to ransom us. Source

What do we actually need that Christ’s sacrifice provides? Picking up Hebrews’ long list of benefits flowing from a better covenant and better promises, consider what a once-for-all sacrifice secures that the old repeated sacrifices never could. Source

Working out the right reasons for obeying God takes real thought, since motives matter as much as actions. Consider Peter’s call to holiness, grounded not in fear or duty but in the grace we’ve already received. Source

Imagine being told you’re in for a huge inheritance, lawyers specializing in unclaimed estates tracking you down, with over a billion pounds sitting unclaimed in Britain. Consider Hebrews’ teaching on the blood that actually secures our inheritance, sealed by a death that makes the will valid. Source

Have you ever played the game where you consider which time in history you would most like to live in? I know a few people who would live back in the Victorian era just for the fashion style. For others it would be the Middle Ages with knights, castles and Princesses to rescue. I mean I know some people who do full on enactments, with chainmail, medieval weapons and medieval attire. For others, they would go all the way back to the early Greeks and the age of the ancient philosophers. But maybe when you play this game, you throw a curveball and say you would want to live in the future. In the age of flying cars. Or in the age of space habitation, or whatever else you can imagine. In this passage, we learn that the prophets of the Old Testament played this game in a way, and they longed for the future. They knew God was undertaking a work of salvation. They were writing about it, and other prophets had written about it too, but this work salvation was not clear and they longed for that clarity. If you asked them which time in history they would want to live, they would have said: When this salvation is made clear. They knew God would save, and they even hoped in that salvation, but salvation was not clear. Today we are in the future they hoped to see. We are in an incredibly privileged position. A position of clearly knowing Salvation God orchestrated. Source

Do you think Christians are strange? Plenty about the faith looks absurd if Jesus didn’t actually rise from the dead. Consider James 4 as part of a short apologetics series, showing how suffering has a way of revealing what someone actually believes. Source

One of the greatest arguments for Christianity is the Bible itself, as Immanuel Kant, no friend to Christianity, once called the Bible’s existence among ordinary people the greatest benefit the world has ever known. Consider why the Bible’s own authority still stands regardless of who’s citing it. Source