Sunday Morning Sermon, PRBC, 2/22/09

Hebrews as an Encouragement to Persecuted Christians

Turn with me please to the book of Hebrews, the book of Hebrews chapter 1. You may recall that seems like a long time ago now we looked at Hebrews chapter 1, we looked at just the first few verses on the Lord's Day.

I think it was as far back as possibly October now unfortunately. That is one of the drawbacks to preaching only every few weeks is if you try to do a series by the time you get to the next part no one's remember remembers what you said in the last part but there might be some advantages to that as well now that I think about it.

So we will continue in our examination of Hebrews chapter 1. Before we open the Word of God let us ask him to bless our time together. Indeed our Heavenly Father at this very time we would ask that by your spirit you would help us to understand you would open our hearts and minds to this your word which you have preserved for us.

We know that we ask a great favor from you that you would open our eyes to see wonderful things out of your scriptures but we know you delight to bless your people and so we ask that you would come and be with us now we pray in Christ's name amen.

As you will recall we by way of introduction emphasized in looking at the book of Hebrews the fact that it was written to encourage people who were under a tremendous amount of attack they were being encouraged to abandon the faith specifically Jewish Christians who were being encouraged to go back to the old ways don't continue to follow this newfangled religion come back to the old ways you'll be received back into the synagogue you'll be received back into your families if you will but offer the sacrifice which would demonstrate that you have now denied that Jesus this one you call the Messiah was in fact a sacrifice for sins and so great pressure was being placed upon them.

Now very few of us are under a situation today where we have family pressure to go back to Judaism but there are similar pressures that are placed upon us in our society today. Some of you sitting before me have come out of for example Roman Catholicism and there might be great pressure from your families to come back to the old ways to go to mass and and thereby confess that Jesus is being represented upon the altar that there is not this one finished sacrifice that perfects for all time but there is a sacramental system that would require you to go back over and over and over again and our society itself places great pressure upon us to be ashamed of the gospel to be ashamed of this belief that we have that there is in one way that God has acted one particular way that God has acted to bring about salvation.

There is almost nothing that is considered to be a greater heresy in the secular humanism of our day than to believe that God has acted in only one way that there is one objective truth that he has revealed that truth and that we are accountable to that.

This is considered great heresy in our day. So there's much to be gained from looking at Hebrews and its encouragement to us. The writer to the Hebrews is saying to the Jewish people of his day there's nothing to go back to.

Everything that Judaism would offer has been fulfilled in Christ. Indeed it is the testimony of those Old Testament scriptures that Jesus Christ is exactly who he was. And so there's a number of themes that the author will develop through the book of Hebrews to demonstrate that remember we read during the scripture reading this morning we read from Hebrews chapter 10 last week Hebrews chapter 9 in the morning and evening services and there we had the emphasis presented to us of the ones for all sacrifice of Christ the fact that the repetitive sacrifices the Old Covenant were only pointing to the need for a finished action in regards to sin.

Repetitive sacrifices cannot take away sin the one sacrifice of Christ does here at the beginning of this epistle in the very first chapter you have a lengthy argument presented concerning the person of Jesus Christ.

And all through Hebrews you have the author demonstrating the superiority of Christ to these things in Judaism. Here in chapter 1 it is the presentation of the person of Christ and his supremacy over all of creation his supremacy over the angels.

And so you may recall that we looked at the first three four verses of the introduction after God spoke long ago in various portions and in various ways that I emphasize that time that it seems the emphasizing the many ways but the incomplete ways in which God spoke in the past to our fathers through the prophets.

In these last days he has spoken to us in the sun whom he appointed heir of all things through whom he created the world. The sun is the the radiance of his glory the exact representation of his person or his essence he sustains all things by the word of his power or his powerful word.

And so when he had accomplished he had completed cleansing for sins he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high a quote from Psalm 110. Thus he became so far better than the angels as he has inherited a name that is superior to theirs.

And so we've already looked at this text. We'll be moving on from there but just by way of reminder again maybe a little bit more in depth than we normally would as a reminder because it's been a while since we looked at this particular text we have the emphasis given to hear of the fact that Jesus is the final way of revelation that is that God had spoken to our fathers our ancestors by means the prophets in various and diverse ways.

He had done so at different times and there's a lot of different ways in which this revelation came sometimes in visions and the messages of the prophets and the things that God did. But there is a a break in verse 2.

In these last days something has happened that has put us into the very last days God has spoken with finality because though he had spoken in the past through the human agency of prophets now in these last days he has spoken to us in not a prophet but in a son his son the one that he has appointed heir of all things.

So there is a closeness of relationship. In fact in verses 2 3 we have this discussion of the relationship of the father and the son he is said to be the one who has been appointed heir of all things not just some things all things.

Why. Because through whom he created the world this is the one through whom creation itself has come into existence. The sun is described as the radiance of his glory. As I stand up here you can sort of see it reflected from the walls in the front and from my forehead but the the radiance I there are certain people in the back who could be making faces at me right now that I could not see because that back window is extremely bright.

Some of you have noticed that sometimes during the heat of the summer will close the divider back there just to help the air conditioner keep up with the with the load and you'll notice how it's very different in here.

It's a very different feeling in here or if for some reason Roxy's not here and we forget to open the open the the slats on the blinds on the windows very very different there is a radiance coming through even from the millions of miles away that it is right now I can see very brightly the radiance of the sun.

And we talked about the fact that some feel that that that somehow maybe that's a problem because instead of the the sun being the the the brightness of the sun itself for the sun itself he's the radiance of that.

But we talked about that in the last time that we were together and we looked at this text and we emphasize that one cannot even know the sun exists if we do not see its radiance. There is a close relationship.

And probably what's actually being referred to here is in John 1 1 when we are told that the word reveals to us who God is eternally been God in verse 18 he reveals to us who God is. This is probably what we have here in verse 3 that we know about the glory of the father through the revelation of the sun he's the radiance of his glory the exact representation of his essence or his purpose his person.

We talked about the fact that the term character we talked about the the ring that you had pressed into the wax and the exact representation that that would present and how no mere creature could be an exact representation of the being the person of God the father and that he is in fact the sustainer of all things.

He sustains all things by his powerful word. This went back to the book of Colossians and Paul's emphasis there upon the fact that not only is Christ the one through whom all things have been made but for whom all things have been made and that he sustains all things by the word of his power as well he holds all things together.

Now these are incredible statements concerning the person of Jesus Christ. These are not words that could ever be used of a mere prophet. And so the finality of this revelation that has come in Christ is seen by the fact that it comes by the highest possible authority one who is the one who sustains all things who has created all things holds all things together.

But then having said that he sustains all things by his powerful word. And so when he had accomplished cleansing for sins when he had made cleansing for sins he is the one who made atonement. So this very one who is the creator cleansing of sins is made by him here at the very beginning of the book of Hebrews an emphasis upon the fact that this idea of salvation this idea of forgiveness it is not something that man has cooked up it is not some system that God puts into place.

And so you work the levers and you pull on the pulleys and you put the right combination in and out comes forgiveness of sins forgiveness justification. All of the gospel is the work of God it is a divine action.

That is why man's pluralism man's hatred of the gospel saying you can't say there's just one way is such an affront to God. Because forgiveness of sins redemption is a divine act it's something only God can do to say it there must be many ways is to demand of God that he in essence bow down to our whims and he do it our way such as the essence of human religion.

But it is not the essence of divine religion. But having accomplished cleansing for sins then you have the citation from the 110th Psalm he sat down at the right hand the majesty of high on high. We saw that in the later portion of Hebrews that we read this morning.

And you need to recognize why that's so important. We'll emphasize it more when it's developed. This is just an enunciation of it here at the beginning of the book. But the reason I think that the early Christian writers latched on to this and use this so often is sometimes lost on modern Christian readers today because we don't know our Old Testaments.

I am so thankful that we read through the Old Testament we preach from the Old Testament. I've often said one of the things that drew me here was that first night when that first sermon I heard on a Sunday evening came out of the Minor Prophets.

And in my background where the church I was at the time that really wasn't something you did unless it was during Oh fundraising time and you had found a particular phrase you could use to try to make people feel real guilty if they didn't fill out their stewardship card or something like that.

But the idea of actually preaching through the Minor Prophets blew me away. And I'm so thankful that we do that. But this text the reason this idea of sitting down at the right hand of the majesty on high why that would catch people's imagination catch people's understanding was because they knew what happened in the temple.

They knew that when the high priest went in the Holy of Holies he didn't sit down. There is no place to sit. He had something he had to do and then he had to get out of there once he had done so. And there was even a fear that if the high priest not be accepted of God he'd be struck down in there.

A great tragedy would take place. But he enters into that holy place and he sits down at the right hand of the majesty on high. Who sits at the right hand. That is the position of favor acceptance. If you're sitting at the right hand of the majesty on high that means what you have done has been accepted and it is completed finished pleasing to God accepted by him.

That's why he sits at the right hand of the majesty on high. His work has been accepted. It is God who has raised him from the dead. That resurrection evidence of the acceptance on the part of God of the perfection of the work of Christ.

How can there be some other way. There's not a number of seats there. And Buddha is sitting there and Vishnu is sitting there and Mohammed is sitting there. No it is Christ who is seated at the right hand of the majesty on high.

That means there's only one way that God has provided for the divine forgiveness of sins. And that is in Jesus Christ. And so he sat down at the right hand the majesty on high. Thus he became so far better than the angels as he has inherited a name superior to theirs.

Christ Superior to the Angels

And so here is the transitionary statement. Here is where from this point on in chapter 1 the author is going to be arguing the supremacy of Christ to the angels themselves. Now again we think back to the Old Testament.

We think back to the context he's writing to Jewish Christians. What did they see as the situation where God is being worshipped. Are there not places in the Old Testament where we gain a brief vision into heaven.

And this was all the people of God had at that time to know what kind of worship was taking place. And what is the the greatest example of this. But Isaiah's temple vision in Isaiah chapter 6. And there Isaiah sees the Lord lofty and lifted up.

He's sitting upon his throne and the cherubim and the seraphim surround him. And they say and call out to one another over and over again holy holy holy is the Lord of hosts. And so there is this continuous worship taking place.

The angelic beings are seen as those that are created to be the very closest to the throne of God. And so if you demonstrate the supremacy of Christ to those creatures which which are the closest to the very presence of God himself.

What are you demonstrating about Christ. Yes you've made the assertion here in the first few verses you've made these assertions about who Jesus is. And a monotheistic Jew. A Jew who gets up in the morning and says the shema when he reads verses 2 3 is not going to get the idea that you are saying to him.

Well Jesus of Nazareth was nobody in particularly special. He was just a human being who had some great ideas about God. That's not what you're going to get. The Jewish. The Jewish mind who reads verses 2 3 is going.

Well wait a minute what you're saying about this person. You're talking about the Son of God. And remember how the Jews responded when Jesus used similar language of himself when he identified himself as the Son of God.

What the Jews do. They picked up stones to stone him. They explained at his trial in John 19 we have a law and by this law this man ought to die because he made himself out to be the Son of God. Yes the Old Testament uses that term sons of God.

It uses it in other generic ways even of the created beings. But that's not how Jesus was using it of himself. And they knew that they saw that and they recognized that. And so here you have these strong words.

And now the argumentation to demonstrate to the person who might read this and go what are you saying to me. And here to the Jewish Christian to say you need to remember what you will be walking away from if you walk away from your confession of faith in Christ.

I unfortunately given the work that I do have to have a lot of encounters with apostates. And that's a technical term it has a meaning in the Bible. There are such things as apostates sometimes people who rightly understand the perfection of the work of Christ and recognize that a person who has truly been regenerated by the Spirit of God to the glory of Christ is not going to be severed from Christ is not going to be lost.

That Christ would not be glorified in that that those who are united to him and his death will likewise in his resurrection. Sometimes because of that we figure well there's no such thing as an apostate.

But the Bible talks about them. First John chapter 2 talks about people who once sat in the fellowship. They were once probably in the context first John chapter 2 leaders in the Christian Church and yet in that day opposed the gospel message there are people who are apostates.

Now theologically we would explain that on the basis of the fact that there is such a thing as false faith there are those who say one thing and it has no reality in their life. That's what James 2 is all about.

We're not talking about a divine faith the divine act of regeneration. There are people who sit in the pews of our churches who will never see the face of Christ except as their judge and as the one who cast them away from his presence.

And that should of course cause us to be exceptionally concerned that we make sure that the gospel is plainly taught especially within the fellowship of the Saints. There are apostates and unfortunately I have to have a lot of dealings with them.

And as I listen to the the various reasons that people give and I recognize in the vast majority of instances the reasons given are actually a covering for sin. But there are I think things we can learn from what apostates say.

And one thing that I have discerned over the years is that many people who leave the faith one of two things happens either they become extremely dishonest in their misrepresentations of what they claim they once believed because I've heard a lot of folks try to describe their former faith and I just sit there going you went to what church?

You believed what? And it's and it's it's such a horrific mishmash of silliness that I I would have trouble even understanding you're saying you once believed what what I believe. And that's wow that's amazing.

That happens a lot. But then there are other instances where it just seems very very clear to me that there are entire swaths of what's called evangelicalism today where I don't know why people keep going to those churches.

I just don't know why. Because when I listen to people who've left I listen to their reasons I discover that they've never been challenged to get out of themselves long enough to put aside the interest of the world long enough to stop thinking about what they're going to be doing for lunch in a few minutes long enough to really think about the glory of Jesus Christ the glory of the gospel the power of the Word of God the awesomeness of the resurrection the tremendousness of the sovereignty of God.

Let's face it there are not a lot of places this morning here in the valley that are worshipping the way we're worshipping right now. And I certainly hope I know. If you're a member of this church you know this.

But if you're visiting I want you to understand. We believe this is worship because we are opening the Word of God and we are seeking to seriously understand what the Word of God says to us. We believe the Spirit of God comes and opens our hearts and minds to understand what His Word is and how we should live in light of it.

And we consider that worship. There are all sorts of places today where people have done a lot of things that they've called worship. But then when the guy gets up at the end to say a few words well the worships done.

We don't buy into that. At the same time a lot of folks that are standing behind a podium like this called a pulpit are very concerned that they want to be very trendy that they want to try to to get people to like them.

Because their message is pretty much just an interpersonal discussion anyways and you got to like the other guy you got to make that connection idea. You can tell how trendy I am. Because we don't think that the person behind the pulpit is the issue.

The person behind the pulpit is a messenger. The issue is the focus upon the Word of God. And the serious Christian wants to be instructed wants to know what the Word says. The serious Christian will prepare themselves to come to this place desirous of hearing the truth of God and desirous of the Spirit of God applying this to their lives and giving understanding as to what this means.

That's why we don't have to worry about trying to be all fancy with the preaching. Because we've got people here from every walk of life we've got we've got moms that work in the house and we have people that work in the office and we've got folks who do heavy construction labor and slosh concrete all the place and make it nice and perfectly smooth.

And there are people who do everything in between. There are people that sit at computers and they do data entry. There's people who teach and demonstrate that they have a part of Job in them that they can put up with teenagers and things like that.

We have all sorts of people here. And I am not smart enough Pastor Frye might be but I am not smart enough to somehow craft something where I think I can somehow push the buttons of such a diverse group as we represent here.

But you see we don't believe you have to do that. We believe that you present the Word of God and the Spirit of God ministers that word to each individual and thanks be to God. The Spirit of God knows what you need and the Spirit of God makes the Word of God to come alive.

And so in the hearts of the young people we talk about this one who is the creator of all things who upholds all things by the word of his power. And you go into the university you go into the high school and you hear the teacher trying to tell you that the tremendous and gorgeous beautiful awesome complexity of life is nothing but the cosmic toss of the dice.

And you go. I don't think so that doesn't make any sense to me at all. And yet the same text to the to the woman who is working hard in her calling. You can have confidence in God's purpose in your life because Jesus Christ upholds all things by the word of his power.

So his promises to you of redemption his promise to you of his comfort in the midst of the difficulties of your life. If he can uphold all things if he can keep the Sun in the sky and keep the universe revolving.

He has the power to meet your needs. You see the Word of God meets every one of us where we are. And so we don't have to play with it. We don't have to try to make it fit into anything. We allow the Word of God to speak.

And so even here as the author transitions into a specific argument about the supremacy of Christ the angels we as Christians can derive from this argumentation so much that is relevant to anything that's going to happen to you in this coming week.

No I'm not saying that if we add together the numbers the words or something like that you're going to get some type of help with some computer problem you're going to have this week. No. But the fact that we can reason logically that we can have a consistent worldview that we can interact with all the tremendous things going on in our society.

And our society is changing so quickly. But the fact that we can have a firm foundation upon which to stand is revealed to us. And these ancient scriptures that are not just simply words mumbled by men long ago they are Theanostos.

They are God breathed. That's why they remain relevant to today. And that's why we take the time to look at them. And so you think of this one who has become so far better than the angels as he has inherited a name superior to theirs.

He is superior to those creatures that are the closest to God. Because he is the son he is the exact representation of his person. How does he prove this first verse. Verse 5 rhetorical questions based upon the Old Testament scriptures.

For to which of the angels did God ever say these words. And then the first quote comes from Psalm 2 7. You are my son today I have begotten you. And in another place he says I will be his father and he will be my son.

And so here we delve into the area of the apostolic interpretation of Old Testament text now this is not an easy area. This is not an easy area. And the wisdom of the the modern consensus would be if you're preaching on something like this don't even go there just simply you know make reference to it interpret it and move on.

Because there's a quagmire there. There's just too much to discuss. Well certainly it is difficult especially in the sermon rather than in the Sunday school to say much about the use of Old Testament text in the New Testament.

Some of you know for example a huge work came out I believe late 2007 possibly somewhere around there use the Old Testament in the new I mean the thing deadly weapon if tossed. It's huge. It's it's massive because there's so much discussion as to how to understand this.

Let me just say this. The writer appeals to the scriptures of the church as they possess them at that time. What was the Bible of the primitive church. Remember the New Testament is still being written.

We don't know the exact order in which the books in New Testament written. It wasn't Matthew Mark Luke John. Actually we know that's not the case because we know that some of Paul's epistles very very early possibly the earliest like first Thessalonians or something like that probably before any of the Gospels are written.

So it don't assume that because that's the canonical order that's somehow a chronological order. It's not Hebrews might be one of the earliest epistles written. We don't know. It's not important to know.

It's interesting to speculate on. But God has not deemed it something that we need to have a CNN type reporter on scene to let us know. Well Hebrews began to be written at a certain time on a certain date and then it was finished at a certain time at a certain date.

We may want to know those things but they are not necessary. And so we don't know the order. So what was the the Bible of the New Testament Church in those early decades. Well it was the Old Testament obviously and specifically as we will note here in the book of Hebrews it was primarily outside of Palestine and even in the land of Israel it was what's called the Greek Septuagint.

The Greek translation of the Old Testament. The translations the citations that we have in the book of Hebrews come almost exclusively from the Greek Septuagint and as we'll see later on Lord willing over time we get to it.

There are even a couple places in the book of Hebrews where the Greek Septuagint is followed when it differs from the Hebrew. That was the text that people have. That is what they would go to look these texts up in now.

Remember also I can sit here and say well that's Psalm 2 7. He's quoting from Psalm 2 7. Remember those verse divisions didn't come about until the Geneva Bible in the middle of the 16th century. And so sometimes when we read things like in another place he says or someone has said somewhere we sort of go why didn't he give us the exact verse.

Well because versification hadn't happened yet. That's why. So you could say in the in the in the Psalms and the Psalter or you could say Isaiah said but you couldn't give the specific reference in that sense because that is a later developments very easy to find things that way.

But that had not yet taken place. And so we have the first two references given and they come straight from the text of Scripture. But the big question that immediately follows from everyone's mind is well but you know you could make an argument that any text you're gonna cite from the Old Testament had to have some meaning to the people at that time.

I mean the argument would be a look at Psalm 2 and and yeah there's it's we call it a messianic Psalm. There's the Jews themselves saw Psalm 2 is having a lot to do with the Messiah. But the second quotation is actually from first is a second Samuel 7 or first Chronicle 7 probably second Samuel 7.

And that's not normally what we would identify as a messianic text. And so people get really bogged down and in trying to figure out well you know how is he doing this. The author is talking to us about this one who would be the son.

And we see in the intertestamental period especially this development of the idea that you know David says a lot of things about himself. For example there's a most of the messianic Psalms are are Davidic they're about the kings of Israel.

They say certain things about themselves. But people began to see that there was a theme running through the scriptures and that that theme pointed us to a greater fulfillment of individual texts and that's where we have problems today.

What do I mean by that. Well I can tell you and if you've taken any seminary level classes you know this is the case in the olden days we looked at the Bible as a book that had unity it had harmony it had consistency and we could look for themes as the people of God did.

And in the days prior to the New Testament and they saw this revelation people used to treat the Bible the way Jesus treated the Old Testament text or the Apostles treated the Old Testament text. Well the main problems we have in scholarship today is that they just don't view it that way.

You can't allow for there to be connections between Hebrews or Colossians. Or in the Old Testament you can't allow for these themes the whole emphasis upon diversity. Isn't that a wonderful word. I don't know about you.

But diversity is a word that almost makes me ill anymore when I hear it. But because it has just become just this this mantra that can mean anything. And even in the study of the Bible this is the same case people have lost sight of having a view of the text of Scripture that is commensurate and similar to that of Jesus himself.

And I'll never understand it. But there are people out there who will tell you Jesus is my Savior but functionally they don't believe about the Bible what he did as if they're somehow wiser. I'm not sure why you trust someone to save your soul when you think they were wrong in their interpretation of the Scripture.

But there are people like that. This is one of the reasons I really believe that we must approach the text of the Bible prayerfully that we must seek the Spirit's assistance. Now in saying what I just did the vast majority of scholarship has just written me off because you can't confess the need for the Spirit of God.

But to me after the years of study that I've put into the Bible one of the greatest evidences of its inspiration its divine nature is seeing the harmony that exists if you'll just not preclude it by definition.

If you'll just put your humanism on hold a while if you'll just think past the surface level of the way that our society thinks maybe do some meditation maybe do some some serious contemplation you start to see this beautiful harmony.

It doesn't just exist on the surface of the level of the text. It's not it's not just on the surface level stuff. You have to actually hear what the arguments are. You have to hear what the assertions are.

But when you hear it there is tremendous beauty and harmony in the text of Scripture. And the writer to Hebrews saw that the writer to the Hebrews understood that and as such he draws from the text of Scripture words about this one who will be a son.

Was that said to David. Maybe to a king. Yes. But is that the only fulfillment of that does it have to be completed in that one ancient context. The reason they were forced to conclusion that no you can't just limit that way is because there are certain things that just simply could not be ascribed to just one person.

How do you. How can you fulfill Hebrews chapter 9 this wonderful counselor this mighty God this everlasting father this Prince of Peace in just one person there's something greater to be seen. They saw that they allowed for that.

And the writer to the Hebrews follows that higher view of Scripture. I submit to you the one of the greatest problems in modern Christian scholarship and as a result in modern Christian preaching because preachers get trained in seminaries if they're trained in seminaries that have a low view of Scripture they're gonna come out.

They're not gonna teach the people of God that we're handling the very Word of God here I submit to you that the view of Scripture that chops it up in little pieces that does not allow for God to speak as a whole is not only sub-christian because it's not the view of Jesus of the Apostles but it is a lower view on even an academic level than allowing for the tough work of truly handling the Scriptures as they were written and as they were intended to be understood by those who wrote them.

And so we've just scratched the surface here he is told he's asked a question to what angel has God ever said you are my son today I have begotten you. What does it mean to be begotten. What does it mean today.

Well those are things we'll continue to look at as we walk through a text especially if you're wanting to look very closely at the argument there is simply sometimes we're gonna sort of have to start stop in the middle because there's too much there is so much to be mined from this demonstration the supremacy of Christ.

A Call to Worship Christ Without Shame

But may I close our time with this exhortation. As you go about your life this coming week we know about the temptations to become focused upon earthly things to be so focused upon looking down that we don't take time to look up and remember the glory of the God that we serve the glory of the calling that is ours no matter what our jobs are.

Our calling is to be servants of Christ. But in the midst of those temptations don't forget this danger. And that is that around us there is this constant drumbeat. Be embarrassed about what you believe about Christ.

Be embarrassed if you believe that Christ is truly the Son of God the perfect revelation of God then you are offending others because you're saying that there is no other revelation of God that accurately represents what his purposes are in this world.