Remember 5-3-26 AM

I.            Remember the persecution you endured (Heb. 10:32-34).

a.     The writer says to remember the former day.

b.     Think back to the early days of their conversion, when following Jesus became costly.

c.     They had been enlightened – as mentioned, this means when they were converted to Christ.

d.     They endured a great fight of afflictions.

          i.      The language used indicates a severe contest, like a fight in the gladiator arenas of the day.

          ii.      Their lives as Christians were not casual or easy.

          iii.      It was a brutal spiritual contest.

e.      Part of the suffering was public shame, which is the idea of gazingstock.

          i.      Some translations have publicly exposed.

          ii.      They were put on display, publicly mocked, treated as a spectacle.

          iii.      Their suffering was not private, but public.

          iv.      This matters today because our society places so much emphasis on public perception.

          v.      We’d much rather, in general, face inward pain instead of outward shame.

          vi.      These brethren, at least for a time, had stood for Christ while being publicly mocked.

f.       He then reminds them of the way they stood with fellow Christians who were being treated this way (vs. 33b).

          i.      Companions come from the idea of shared participation.

          ii.      They not only suffered, but stood with others who suffered as well.

g.     They even reached out to those who had been imprisoned (vs. 34).

          i.      In that world, people imprisoned counted on friends and family to provide for them.

          ii.      They didn’t have three hots and a cot in that day.

          iii.      To visit those imprisoned was to risk being identified with them.

          iv.      These Christians did not hide in the shadows, but supported those that it might cost to support.

h.     They even endured the loss of property.

          i.      The spoiling of your goods indicates, seizure, confiscation, or loss of possessions.

          ii.      Their commitment to the Lord and one another had financial consequences.

          iii.      Notice that they endured this joyfully.

i.       We need to remember that suffering for Christ is a reminder that we have chosen the right road.

j.       We’ve all probably lost friends, and maybe family members, because we refused to be moved from the gospel at some point in our walk with the Lord.

k.     We may have been made fun of at work or by school friends because we don’t do the same things, wear the same things, or go to the same events as worldly people do.

l.       Hebrews is telling us that this path has always been costly.

m.    Faithful Christians don’t endure just their own suffering.

          i.      We help our brethren in their suffering.

          ii.      It is easy to admire bold believers from afar.

          iii.      It is harder to stand with them when that relationship costs us something.

n.      Faith remembers that following Jesus has always cost something.

II.            Remember the promise (Heb. 10:34b-36).

a.      Why were they willing to suffer loss joyfully?

b.      They knew God had promised them something better.

c.      They have a better inheritance, or possession as some translations say.

          i.      The word for substance means what one truly has, what belongs to him, or what is his property.

          ii.      They had lost earthly property, but we are only stewards of the possessions of this world.

          iii.      They knew they had a greater possession, that was truly theirs.

          iv.      Remember, better is a key word in Hebrews.

          v.      Their possessions in Christ were better because it cannot be taken away.

d.     Not only is it better, it is enduring.

          i.      This means lasting, or staying.

          ii.      Their earthly possessions could be taken away, or they would one day be corrupted.

          iii.      The heavenly possession can’t be taken and will not fade away.

e.      Because of this, they were told not throw away their confidence, which has a great reward.

          i.      Confidence describes a settled assurance with God.

          ii.      You see, the danger these people faced was more and greater than external persecution.

          iii.      The greater danger was internal collapse of faith.

          iv.      If they cast away their confidence, they would abandon the very thing that had gotten them this far.

f.       Only with endurance would they receive what God had promised.

          i.      Endurance means steadfastness under pressure.

          ii.      They could not just begin well – they had to continue faithfully.

g.     There is an important sequence to note – doing the will of God, receiving the promise.

          i.      He is not teaching salvation by works.

          ii.      He is simply teaching that genuine faith perseveres.

          iii.      The one who truly trusts in Christ continues in obedient trust until the promise is received.

h.      We live in a time when people are trading eternal treasure for immediate comfort.

i.        We have to remember that what is coming is better and what is better is lasting.

j.        Faith endures present loss because it knows the promise is better and lasting.

III.            Remember punishment is coming for those who harm God’s people (Heb. 10:37-38).

a.      This section quotes from Habakkuk, which is a book written in a setting of violence, injustice, and coming judgment.

b.      In Hebrews, this is used to show that God is not indifferent to what His people are suffering – He is coming in judgment.

c.      There is a very important point that needs to be made here.

          i.      The writer is not talking about the second coming of our Lord.

          ii.      These people needed encouragement right then.

          iii.      Pointing to an unknown date far in the future would not help them.

          iv.      This is a reference to Christ coming in judgment.

          v.      This is a reference to the coming destruction of Jerusalem.

d.     Remember that he had told them to make sure they assemble together to give one another encouragement.

          i.      We talk about that verse when it comes to church attendance, and we should.

          ii.      But, in its context, we also need to keep in mind the last phrase: and so much the more as you see the day approaching.

          iii.      This is also a reference to the destruction of Jerusalem.

e.      As we stated a while back when introducing this book, it was written in the early 60’s of the first century.

          i.      In the later 60’s, Rome comes against Jerusalem.

          ii.      In AD 70, Jerusalem is destroyed.

f.       The Christians had been taught about the coming destruction of Jerusalem because our Lord spoke about it, recorded in Matthew 24.

g.     The Hebrews writer is encouraging these brethren, who would have lived in and around Jerusalem, to remember that the Lord is going to come in judgment against those who were harming them.

h.     The righteous live by faith.

i.       The unfaithful shrink back.

j.       There is no neutral ground.

k.     Under pressure, a Christian either keeps trusting or retreats into ruin.

l.       This is important to remember because it is easy for us to look around and think that evil is winning.

          i.      When injustice goes on and things are tough, we can become disoriented.

          ii.      We see here that Christ is not passive.

          iii.      He is not blind to our suffering and to wickedness.

          iv.      He comes against those who oppose His brethren.

m.    We don’t need revenge to keep going – we need faith.

n.      It doesn’t mean everything will be resolved quickly, but it does mean nothing done to us for Christ will be forgotten or ignored.

o.      Faith keeps going because Jesus sees the wicked and will judge rightly.

IV.            Remember your place (Heb. 10:39).

a.      The writer does not soften the danger in any way, but he also does not leave them there.

b.      Shrink back indicates pulling away in fear.

c.       Perdition carries the idea of a sense of ruin or destruction, not just inconvenience.

           i.      This is not loss of rewards only.

           ii.      It is spiritual destruction.

           iii.      To leave Jesus is not a move to a lesser place, but a move toward ruin.

d.      The writer shows his belief in them by saying that he believes they are the kind who will move towards the Christ, not from Him.

           i.      They will preserve their souls in Christ.

           ii.      This in not self-salvation, but persevering faith.

e.      Remember your place means remember you are in Christ.

           i.      You are among the faithful.

           ii.      You are in the place where life is found.

f.        Today, shrinking back rarely looks dramatic.

           i.      We don’t face the persecution these brethren faced.

           ii.      Our shrinking back looks like neglect.

g.      Neglect becomes drift, drift becomes distance, and distance becomes disobedience.

h.      We start neglecting prayer, or reading God’s word, and then we start to miss services.

i.        When we start missing services, we start to stop caring about holiness.

j.        We then start to stop being concerned with warnings we get in various ways from God.

k.      What begins as neglect ends in ruin unless there is repentance.

l.        Faith stays with Christ because leaving Him leads to ruin.