Keep the Faith (Part 1)

 

Lesson Four

Keep the Faith

Hebrews 3:1-6

 

Theme: Christ Jesus, the Son of God, is our Model of fidelity and is infinitely Superior to Moses. Therefore, hold firmly to your faith in Christ, God’s faithful Apostle and High Priest.

 

Reflection

Begin your study by sharing thoughts on this question.

1.  Think of a time when a Christian friend encouraged your faith. What did this person do to help you?

I, like you, have had several Christian friends challenge and share with me the varied examples of our Lord Jesus and several verses of Scripture to encourage me to continue trust, look to, depend on, to grow in, and serve the Lord and God faithfully…without letting up. 

 

Bible Reading

Read carefully and thoughtfully Hebrews 3:1–19.

The Letter of Hebrews is about Christ in His glory. The many Old Testament quotations and arguments portray Jesus as the Son greater than Moses, the conqueror greater than Joshua, and the priest greater than Aaron. In all respects, Christ supersedes all! Jesus can be trusted in His current ministry in glory; He can help us because He intimately knows our human frailties, yet is not ashamed to call us His brothers (Heb. 2:11)! His present ministry as intercessor for believers assures us that we shall persevere until we fully receive the “kingdom which cannot be moved” (Heb. 12:28).

Pastor Smith looked across his desk at Mrs. Jones and wondered what to do next. Several weeks had gone by in this pastoral counseling situation and they were at an impasse. This poor woman had come to him depressed and exhausted from trying to cope with an impossible burden of bitterness and anger. Now it seemed that she couldn't let go of this burden. The resentment was destroying her, but it was a familiar companion of many years.

Mrs. Jones had wept to tell of the betrayal she had experienced as a child at the hand of her parents, as a young woman at the hand of her husband, and as a middle-aged adult at the hands of her grown children. Everybody owed her an emotional debt. She seemed to have a library of videotaped scenes from her past in which people important to her wounded her. Life was too much for her because of the burden of her memories.

Pastor Smith had talked with Mrs. Jones about Jesus Christ and forgiveness, and she professed to trust Christ as her Savior. When he talked with her about the need to forgive others as Christ forgave her, she reluctantly agreed. When they discussed the relationship between granting forgiveness to others and enjoying the forgiveness provided in Christ, Mrs. Jones grew uncomfortable.

For two weeks Pastor Smith had realized that they had been marking time. He said to her, “We aren't making much progress these days.”

“No,” she replied, “you keep giving me these dumb little Bible verses to look at that don't have anything to do with my situation.”

“Why do you think they don't have anything to do with you?”

“You act like God wants me to let everyone hurt me, and I won't do it. They've hurt me, and I'm not going to let them get away with it.”

And Mrs. Jones left without any of the peace she had said earlier that she wanted.

 

The Best Personal Savior

 

Mrs. Jones wanted peace as a result of the humiliation of all of her perceived enemies. The writer of Hebrews envisioned peace, or “rest,” as a matter of relationship with God. He reasoned with his Hebrew Christian readers that Christ Jesus was the key to peace with God. Hebrews 2 concluded with reference to Jesus as the perfect Priest for fallen people because of the temptations and sufferings He experienced in His incarnate state. Chapter 3 picks up right at that idea.

 

Outline

             I.                 Jesus, the Son, is Faithful to God, and Superior to Moses in His Person and Performance (Heb. 3:1-6).

a.      A Description of the Saints (3:1-2).

                                          i.     The Believers are Describe (3:1-2)

                                        ii.     The Lord Jesus is Described (3:1)

                                       iii.     The Believers are Directed (3:1-2)

1.      To Fix our Faith on Christ

2.      Stop Focusing on Moses

b.      A Description of the Son.

                                          i.     The Superiority of His Person Makes Jesus Worthy of Greater Honor (3:3-6).

                                        ii.     The Superiority of His Performance Makes Jesus Worthy of Greater Honor (3:3-5).

            II.               Israel’s Failure in the Wilderness Impress us with the Need to be Faithful to God (Heb. 3:7-11).

a.      The Spirit’s Warning Issues a Command (3:7-8a).

b.      The Spirit’s Warning Illustrates a Calamity (3:8b-9).

c.      The Spirit’s Warning Illuminates a Condition (3:10).

d.      The Spirit’s Warning Issues a Condemnation (3:11).

III.             Christians Must not Forsake the Living God Because of Hardness, Sin, and Unbelief (Heb. 3:12-19). 

a.      Some Turn Away from God.  Why? (3:13)

                                          i.     Worldliness.

                                        ii.     Unsaved.

                                       iii.     Tragedy is also a reason people turn away from God. 

                                       iv.     Emotional Pain. 

b.      Advice for Remaining Faithful (3:13-19).

                                          i.     Warn and admonish one another to keep their hope and confidence in Christ (v. 13).  

                                        ii.     Encourage one another’s faith and obedience to prove you are indeed partakers of Christ in the blessings of the promised rest (v. 14).

                                       iii.     Continue as long as it is called “Today” (v. 15).   

                                       iv.     Do not fail to enter into God’s rest; believe God (v. 19).     

 

 

Discovery

Explore the Bible reading by discussing these questions.

 

2.  What has been said about Jesus in Hebrews 1–2 that would justify calling His followers by the unusual names “holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling”? (Heb. 3:1)

 

I.                 The Believers are Describe (3:1-2).

a.      This form of address gathered up the strands of truth dealt with in chapter 2.

b.      They were indeed “brethren” (Heb. 3:12; 10:19), not only with one another but with their Captain (2:11-12). The readers clearly were converted people, not merely Jews.

c.      They were “holy” because Christ had made them so—He sanctified them to God (2:11).

                                                    i.     “Holy brethren” could only be applied to people in the family of God, set apart by the grace of God.

                                                  ii.     All true believers are holy as to our position, and we should be holy as to our practice. In Christ we are holy; in ourselves we ought to be holy.

d.      They did share in “the heavenly calling” because God was “bringing” them “to glory” (2:10).

                                                    i.     The word “partakers” meaning ‘sharer’ is “fellows” in 1:9, and means ‘companions’ (3:14; 6:4; 12:8). The word “partakers” is translated “partners” in Luke 5:7, where it describes the relationship of four men in the fishing business: they were in it together.

                                                  ii.     This is referring to saved people because they are “partakers of the heavenly calling.” No unconverted Jew or Gentile could ever claim that blessing! The focus is on our high privilege of being invited to participate in the future dominion and joy of God’s King-Son.

                                                 iii.     Their heavenly calling is in contrast to the earthly call of Israel. Old Testament saints were called to material blessings in the land of promise (though they did have a heavenly hope as well). In the Church Age, believers are called to spiritual blessings in the heavenlies now and to a heavenly inheritance in the future. –William MacDonald

                                                 iv.     True Christians not only share in a heavenly calling, but they also share in Jesus Christ (Heb. 3:14). Through the Holy Spirit, we are “members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones” (Eph. 5:30). True believers are also “partakers of the Holy Spirit” (Heb. 6:4). “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His” (Rom. 8:9). Because we are God’s children, we also partake in God’s loving chastening (Heb. 12:8). Not to be chastened is evidence that a person is not one of God’s children. –W. W. Wiersbe

e.      Because these people were holy brothers and sisters, and partakers of a heavenly calling, they were able to give a “profession” or ‘confession’ of their faith in Jesus Christ. The word simply means “to say the same thing” or to agree with the faith.  All true Christians “say the same thing” when it comes to their experience of salvation. Twice the readers are exhorted to ‘hold fast to this profession’ (Heb. 4:14; 10:23). It was this same confession that they were “strangers and pilgrims” on the earth that characterized men and women of faith in the ages past (Heb. 11:13).

 

II.               The Lord Jesus is Describe (3:1).

a.      As such people we are to focus our thinking on the Jesus who is both the Apostle and High Priest of our Christian profession.

b.      Apostle points to the Lord Jesus as the One sent forth by God as the supreme Revealer of the Father (Heb. 1:1-2).

                                                    i.     That Christ is superior to Moses in His person is an obvious fact. Moses was a mere man, called to be a prophet and leader, while Jesus Christ is the Son of God sent by the Father into the world.

                                                  ii.     The title apostle means “one sent with a commission.” Moses was called and commissioned by God, but Jesus Christ was sent as God’s “last Word” to sinful man.

                                                 iii.     Read some of the verses in the Gospel of John where Jesus is referred to as “sent from God” (John 3:17, 34; 5:36, 38; 6:29, 57; 7:29; 8:42; 10:36; 11:42; 17:3; and note also 13:3).—The Bible Expositors Commentary

c.      High Priest picks up the role just mentioned in Heb. 2:17-18.

                                                    i.     Jesus Christ is not only the Apostle, but He is also the High Priest. Moses was a prophet who on occasion served as a priest (see Ps. 99:6), but he was never a high priest. That title belonged to his brother Aaron. In fact, Jesus Christ has the title “great High Priest” (Heb. 4:14).

                                                  ii.     As the Apostle, Jesus Christ represented God to men; and as the High Priest, He now represents men to God in heaven. Moses, of course, fulfilled similar ministries, for he taught Israel God’s truth and he prayed for Israel when he met God on the mount (see Ex. 32:30–32). Moses was primarily the prophet of Law, while Jesus Christ is the Messenger of God’s grace (see John 1:17). Moses helped prepare the way for the coming of the Savior to the earth.

d.      Faithfulness to God.

                                                    i.     Both Christ and Moses are portrayed as faithful, but Christ’s faithfulness is superior as the Son and Creator as oppose to being a servant and mere member of the house like Moses. So faithfulness to the Lord who commissions and sends out his apostles is the highlighted quality.  The Lord Jesus was utterly faithful to the Father in a supreme manner (John. 7:18; 8:29; 10:37; 17:4-5; Matt. 26:42).  The Lord Jesus always did the Father’s will; it is this fact that the believer is to “consider” according to verse one.  We are to likewise be faithful to God as the Lord Jesus was (Matt. 25:21, 23; Luke 12:43; 1Cor. 4:2). 

                                                  ii.     All Christians are stewards in the Lord’s house, though in a lesser sense of course.  We all, for example, have spiritual gifts.  We have them as sacred trusts; they are not ours.  If we are unfaithful in administering our spiritual gifts, we are unfaithful stewards. Some of us have been given special responsibilities to witness, specifically to people in our community that God has placed around us.  Some have been unfaithful stewards of this trust.  Others of us have been given positions of teaching and instructing and have been unfaithful in studying diligently, faithfully, and sacrificially. These too, are unfaithful stewards.  The Christian life is a sacred trust given to us by God and it demands our faithfulness.  One of the greatest thrills a Christian can hope for is that of hearing his Lord say at the end of his life, “As I was faithful to the Father, so you have been faithful to Me.”  We have not begun to discover what God can do through us if we are willing to be faithful. –MacArthur, J. F., Hebrews, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary

 

III.             The Believers are Directed (3:1-2).

a.      To fix our focus on Christ.

                                                    i.     Consider Jesus. He is eminently worthy of our consideration as the Apostle and High Priest of our confession. In confessing Him as Apostle, we mean that He represents God to us. In confessing Him as High Priest, we mean that He represents us before God. –William MacDonald

                                                  ii.     The word “consider” means “to consider carefully, to understand fully.” This is no quick glance at Jesus Christ! It is a careful consideration of who He is and what He has done, which culminates in obedience to Him.

                                                 iii.     The Lord Jesus is being faithful to the Father who “appointed Him.” Therefore we are urged to fix our gaze on the person of Christ who is even now faithful to God. Jesus is our Model for fidelity to God and He expects us to be faithful to Him. The faithfulness of Christ, moreover, has an Old Testament prototype in Moses.

b.      To stop concentrating on Moses.

                                                    i.     It was not Moses who did all of this for these believers; it was Jesus Christ! They were not exhorted to consider Moses, but to consider Christ.

                                                  ii.     The New Testament, however, shows that Moses’ teaching was intended only to prepare humanity for the greater teaching and work of Jesus Christ (Rom. 1:16–3:31). What Moses promised, Jesus fulfilled: “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). –Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary

                                                 iii.     There is one aspect in which Jesus was admittedly similar to Moses. He was faithful to God, just as Moses also was faithful in God’s house. The house here does not mean only the tabernacle but also the entire sphere in which Moses represented God’s interests. It is the house of Israel, God’s ancient earthly people.

Journaling

 

Take a few moments to record your personal insights from this lesson.

 

 

What steps can I take this week to strengthen my faith in God?

 

 

For more Bible passages about remaining faithful, see Deuteronomy 11:13–18; 1 Samuel 12:24; 2 Samuel 22:26; 1 Kings 2:3,4; 2 Chronicles 19:9; Psalm 97:10; Proverbs 28:20; Matthew 25:19–23; 1 Corinthians 4:2; 10:12, 13; 3 John 3–5; Revelation 2:10; 17:14.

 

To complete the book of Hebrews during this twelve-part study, read Hebrews 3:1–19.

The Danger of Stagnation

God calls His people to diligently progress in spiritual growth to full maturity—“Let us go on unto perfection” (Heb. 6:1). William Newell (Hebrews Verse by Verse) describes perfection as “the process of the Holy Spirit within the believer will conform him to the image of Christ in faith, holiness, love, and knowledge….” God desires for Christians to develop their spiritual senses with the Word, discern good and evil, and become fully assured of their heavenly hope in Christ.  God will grow believers, but they must cooperate with His divine purposes. To do so will require diligent exercise of faith and a tenacious persistence, but the result is inheriting the promises of God (6:12-20).  

The writer of Hebrews has explored the most encouraging ministry of the Christian’s Great High Priest, the Lord Jesus (Heb. 4:14-16).  His service to the believer is certainly enough to promote continuous spiritual progress (5:9, 10). But there is the possibility that some believers will not advance in their faith (5:11-14), and some may even draw back from the full commitment of continuing with Christ (6:4-8). The purpose of this writing is to explore this very real possibility.  

THE CONDITION OF SPIRITUAL STAGNATION

Progression in the faith is God’s desire for each believer, but stagnation is when the Christian’s life plateaus far short of maturity. Hebrews 5:11-6:12 addresses this important issue of spiritual stagnation, sluggish Christian growth, and even apostasy.  Instead of diligently pursuing full and fruitful adulthood in Christ (6:10-12) some were slothful and lazy regarding the life of faith. As a result, these plateaued believers were grossly immature.

Hebrews 5:11-13, insightfully shows their level of juvenility. Accordingly spiritual childishness is an inability to listen to the Word and apply it to life (5:11). There is also little or no ability to instruct from the Word and share it with others (5:12a). Immaturity is also marked by an inability to appreciate any teachings beyond the foundational truths (5:12b-13).  Finally, juvenility results in an inability to use the Word of righteousness for decision making (5:13). Obviously a condition of stagnation is sheer spiritual bankruptcy.

STAGNATION CAN RESULT IN APOSTASY

What can be expected for not progressing to Christian adulthood? Hebrews 6:4-6 holds the answers to what a lazy approach to spiritual matters will produce. This passage confronted the condition of spiritual stagnation, but it remains one of the most difficult passages in the Bible to interpret. Never-the-less it shows that a person who is spiritually stagnant can expect several negative developments. Backsliding, little or no zeal for Christ, vulnerability to error, shaming the Name of Christ, feelings of insecurity, vast theological confusion, and very little spiritual fruit are just some of the plagues of spiritual irresponsibility.

Because they fail to recognize the priesthood and intercessory ministry of Jesus Christ, they likely are frustrated with Him and blame Him for some perceived inadequacy in Christianity.  They suffer from an unjustified diminishing confidence in Christ. It is no stretch of the imagination to say that some may have become frustrated with Christ and the faith life. The persecutions they endured dishearten some and a few others were embittered by the chastening of the Lord. Thus their form of stagnation was heavily seasoned with the pains of confessing Christ in a hostile climate. Of course these developments only exacerbated the problem.

The first need here is to define the problem of apostasy—“fall away” (Heb. 6:4, 6). The writer would like to address the subject of Jesus the High Priest of the order of Melchisedec (6:20). However, he is unable to do so because of the mental and spiritual dullness of these infantile believers. In addition some had fallen away and there was the possibility that others may follow. To “fall away” (v. 6) means to commit apostasy in some degree. Newell said, “The inner meaning of the word translated “fallen away” in Hebrews 6:6 is that of a secret departure from God.” He continued by adding, “it is not a falling into sin that is meant, but a falling away from God, from Christ, from salvation, a renouncing of truth.”

In the strictest sense apostasy is a rejection or repudiation of a previously held belief or confidence in the Christian Faith. Apostasy in the broader sense encompasses various degrees of departures from faith ranging from instances of ‘unbelief’ (Heb. 3:12, 13) all the way down to ‘reprobation’ (2Tim. 3:6-8). It could include a refusal to trust the Lord for a specific matter as well as full rejection of Christianity and actively trying to dismantle it. The spectrum would include both grossly backslidden and theologically confused believers who cast off their confidence in Christ. Obviously full apostasy and reprobation refers to unbelievers. Apostasy does not result in the loss of eternal life; salvation is based on faith and trust in Christ’s work (Heb. 5:9; 7:24-28; 9:12; 10:14; See also Heb. 6:13–20; see also John 5:24; 10:26–30; Rom. 8:28–39). But, defection from the Faith, apostasy, and the withdrawal of one’s Christian profession (Heb. 3:6, 14; 10:23-25, 35-39) is the issue at hand.

The assertion that such a failure is not possible for a real believer is an unbiblical dogmatic idea designed to accommodate a theological system. It is born of theological tidiness and convenience, not the truth. Walvoord and Zuck (The Bible Knowledge Commentary) observed that Paul spoke of a certain Hymenaeus and Philetus who claimed that the resurrection has already taken place, and in doing so they destroyed the faith of some genuine believers (2 Tim. 2:17-18). Paul was being a solid realist who took assaults against the faith very seriously. Some of these Jewish believers were on the verge of giving up their confidence in Christ and the NT teachings about Him. Thus the writer was constantly challenging them to commit to Christ, keep the faith, and continue to walk with Christ confidently (Heb. 3:6, 14; 4:14; 6:9; 10:35; 13:9; Jn. 8:31; Acts 13:43; 14:22).

Secondly the weight of an act of apostasy must be discerned along with the meaning of two key phrases in this warning passage. It is “impossible” for the enlightened to be renewed unto “repentance” while they are still disregarding Christ’s finished work and present ministry as High Priest (6:4, 6). Verses four through six must describe true believers. To “renew them again unto repentance” (v. 6:6) refers to a fresh commitment to Christ and the Christian Faith. This is not another salvation experience, but a full rededication of oneself to Christ. Restoration is possible if they repent, but it remains impossible as long as they doubt the value of Calvary and the intercession of Christ as High Priest.

There may have been mere professing Christians who had decided to reject Christ and Christianity fully. In any congregation of any substantial sizes there is the possibility of unsaved individuals lurking in the ranks. These may have been encouraging others to do the same; this is apostasy in its fullest sense (Heb. 3:12).  Pressing on to spiritual maturity; however, requires living by faith in Christ the great High Priest who is with the Father in Heaven, and not turning back to the ABCs of faith (6:1-3).

THE IMPACT OF APOSTASY

This is serious because such sinful actions actually denounce Christ. These people “crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh” (Heb. 6:6). They are constantly putting Christ “to an open shame.”  They brought shame to the name of Christ every time they worshipped through the temple system after having made a profession of faith in Christ.  Temple worship was very visible, public, and open, therefore any participation in this worship form was openly discrediting and denouncing Christianity.

This relates ominously to modern Christians who turn to the gurus or celebrity figures for answers to help with life’s challenges, but seldom considers Christ.  Believers will look to sociologists, psychologists, Hollywood figures, talk show hosts, horoscopes, the politically elite, the government, and the hyper educated for resources and answers. The same could be said for believers who place their confidence in a church, denomination, or religious distinction while they blatantly ignore Christ. The difficulty here is these same Christians seldom look to the all sufficient Christ and a life of faith.  They shame Christ when they ignore Him while becoming enamored with human idols and by actually taking godless counsel from mere people. If they have a great High Priest making intercession for them in the very presence of God, if they have available to them grace and mercy to help in time of need, then why act as though they do not!

The Scriptures regularly warns against the possibility of apostasy as an actual and genuine danger. Logically, only real believers can apostatize, unbelievers cannot. These warnings are for genuine Christians today who are in the same danger of falling away from an open and healthy profession of Christ as Savior, Lord, and High Priest. In many respects it is not full scale apostasy that most will commit.  Instead it is a more insidious form where believers incrementally and increasingly stop professing Christ in more and more areas of their experiences. Eventually there is little or no obvious claim Christ has on their lives. Perhaps for social or professional expediency they do this. Maybe some deny Christ for reasons along the lines of political correctness. No doubt, some disassociate themselves from Christ in order to accommodate a highly secularized culture. Others are very quiet about faith in Christ because they embrace the modern social values of ‘tolerance’ and pluralism.  Others are simply ashamed of Christ and faith in Him. Some have been all but commanded to never mention their faith in Christ especially stifling any evangelistic zeal. So to avoid professional repercussions they comply. Such ‘Christians’ have been effectively neutralized by their lack of progress, confession, commitment, courage, and faith. Stagnation and apostasy are extremely serious matters in this light.

If a person is diligent and persistent about growth in Christlikeness then these qualities will advance them a great distance down the highway of fulfilling God’s will. However, if they are lazy and slow to learn then this would debilitate much of their potential. It is far better to heed the writer of Hebrews, “Let us go on unto perfection” (Heb. 6:1).