Strathalbyn Church of Christ

Hebrews 12:12-17. Theme: How shall we live in a hostile world?

Sermon by Pastor David Williams. Strathalbyn Church of Christ. 26 Jun 2022

Some people really hate Christians. Internet comments pull in the most venomous and extreme opinions. They show humanity at its worst. Hostility against Christians is common there. We need to understand something of the attitude that these people bring so that we can keep engaging with our world, our hostile world – not on their terms, but in Christ’s terms, that is, in truth and in love. Here is one example; it’s not edifying but here it is:

My idea of paradise is waking up one day to discover every Christian church has been bulldozed to the ground and every Bible has been burned and the mere utterance of God or Jesus is forbidden and punishable with a fine.[1]****

Such extreme views are not just on the internet. A journalist had a go at Mike Pense, the former US Vice President. Pense must be ”mentally ill for talking to Jesus”.[2] Evangelical websites are shut down when a Muslim or gay activist complains the site is offensive, misleading or hate-speech.[3]

How shall we live in a hostile world

The first readers of this letter - Jewish Christians faced hostility from fellow Jews and Roman rulers. How shall we live in a hostile world was a question for them – as it is for us - as our society cuts all ties with Christian morality and rejects any role for the church in public life. Sound advice is given in this letter – we must:

1. Overcome despondency

2. Pursue peace & holiness

3. Seek Grace

4. Beware of unbelief & corruption

5. Beware of immorality & godlessness

1. Overcome despondency 12-13

Some of us are very good at being miserable! Things are too hard. Everything is against us. I’m feeling crook. I’m too tired. I can’t be bothered. But this is a sinful attitude. It is one that ignores God’s purposes for you here and now and the fatherly discipline he is exercising; it ignores the great and certain hope we have in eternity; and it dishonours him as our King and Lord. We cannot live for him in a hostile world be allowing despondency. To this attitude the writer says two things:

a. Be strong!

12 Strengthen your drooping hands and weak knees

If you are despondent, the writer has already given us the solution:

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, Heb 12:2.

It may be that our physical laziness is impacting on our spiritual laziness. Sometimes we need to discipline our bodies to bring our spirits into line. A friend had a daily mantra: “No bible, no breakfast”. The Western church has become spiritually lazy. We no longer have daily devotions, we no longer tithe, we find bible study too difficult, the sermons are too long. We react against any attempt to set regular spiritual habits in place, because that would be legalistic. But like anything worthwhile, spiritual devotion – prayer, bible reading, sharing the gospel, loving one’s neighbour – this can be hard work. Jesus prayed all night – I’m sure he felt very tired at the end of it. Don’t buy the lie that I need to wait for inspiration to be truly spiritual. The saints of old had lots of perspiration before they found any inspiration. There is a world of difference between diligent, disciplined habits and legalism.

But these is a flip side to this. That is, when we are weak, God is still strong. That was the theme for this week’s CMS mission dinner – speakers spoke of their experience of being utterly powerless, utterly incapable – yet God still working in their midst. And this is the picture in the Bible. Our bodily weakness – our inability – can drive us to an even greater trust in his power.

We need to remember too that this is not about flying solo. This may be hard for us independent Aussies to get our heads around – but the writer is addressed to the whole congregation. The writer is saying, Y’all together – Strengthen your drooping hands. In other words, watch out for one another. Encourage and pray for each other. In that vein, the writer goes on to say …

b. Watch your influence on others!

13 Make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.

Watch out for your influence on others. Lay straight paths for them. Take care for weaker brethren. Don’t be a stumbling block. Especially, don’t bring them down by your own grumbling and lack of faith. Rather, let those who have become despondent (or lame), be lifted by your faith.

Earlier in Hebrews 12, it speaks of God disciplining us through suffering. The way we respond to suffering can have a huge impact – for better or worse – on those around us. How do you respond to suffering? It is not easy. But do you suffer stoically? Do you suffer miserably? Do you get angry and resentful? Or do you suffer with patience and joy …

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus – our example here - the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, Heb 12:2.

Others notice how you deal with suffering. I hope and pray for a good death. Not a painless one – although I wouldn’t object to that! Rather, I hope for one that honours God. I pray that the way I go out would testify to my certain hope in my Saviour. I hope and pray this for all of you.

So, we are live in this hostile world be being strong in him, by watching our influence on others. Or to put it in the opposite way,

How not to live – in a hostile world.

a. Give in to despair

b. Give in to laziness

c. Bring down others by your poor attitude

2. Pursue peace 14

14 Strive for peace with everyone

Strive for peace with your mates? Not just that – strive with peace with those in the church? No, not just that. Strive for peace with everyone. In other words, with that sister or son who hasn’t spoken to you for 5 years. Strive for peace with that neighbour who complained about your tree clogging his gutter. Strive for peace with that church member who argued with you. Strive – means active ongoing effort. It is the same word that is used for pursing, like a hunter pursuing his prey. It doesn’t give up. It’s not enough simply to avoid creating conflict. Rather, strive and keep on striving to mend conflict.

Blessed are the peacemakers, Mt 5:9, Jesus said.

14 Strive for peace with everyone

I realise some have tried and tried and it has ended in tears and failure. Conflicts can be heartbreaking. Of course, success is not guaranteed. They may throw it back in your face. But their response is in God’s hands, not yours. Your duty is clear:

If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Rom 12:18.

There are some practical steps that can be helpful in resolving conflict. Come and have a chat about it. There are Christian organisations like PeaceWise who are skilled in helping individuals, families and churches in resolving conflict.

How not to live

- We don’t ignore conflicts and allow them to simmer

- We don’t settle disputes as the pagans do – dragging one another to court (1 Cor 6:1-8).

- Or, display anger and revenge for all to see (Mt 5:22-26, 38-48; 7:12).

Such conduct is not honouring Christ or those made in God’s image. It blackens the reputation of the church.

But when we live as God’s peacemakers, our enemies may be stunned into silence by our responses.

3. Pursue holiness 14

14 Strive for … holiness

For living in a hostile and unholy world, we need to stand out as God’s holy people. But here is a difficulty. How can sinners strive for holiness? There are two sides to this: We are holy and are becoming holy.

a. We are holy

In Christ, our guilt was taken away. We are now holy in his sight.

But you were washed, you were sanctified (made holy), you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, 1 Cor 6:11 (Ps 51:7; 1 Cor 3:16-17; 6:19; 1 Jn 1:9).

b. We are becoming holy

Because we are holy before God, we can start to live that way. His Holy Spirit is in us. He is changing us – making us more like Jesus (2 Cor 3:18). As we remember that the blood of Jesus has cleansed us, then we will want to please him. We will be distressed when we fail to do so. So we strive for holiness. But we will never be perfect this side of heaven. Anyway, God doesn’t use perfect plaster saints. He uses grubby, messy real people – you and me – as his mouth, hands and feet. Incredible isn’t it!

I could go and clean my car (something that is a tad overdue) – but I know that it would be thorough and clean after I’ve done it. Or I could get my granddaughter to help – I know the car would end up with wet and muddy carpets, mud and soap suds on the bonnet and a window that I can’t see through. But all the time, she would be learning – and you never know, the mirror might somehow end up cleaner than it was before she started. So, God could just do everything himself. But he gets us to do his work instead. And sometimes, we might get something right. We are both holy and becoming holy.

What do we make of the warning?

for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.

This comes back to those two sides of holiness. For those who are not saved, they remain in their sin, outside the kingdom. For those who are saved but continue to live ungodly lives – they cannot see or experience God until they repent. They are shutting themselves off from any relationship with him while they remain unrepentant. If you are feeling spiritually out of sorts, if God seems distant, perhaps you are not pursuing holiness. Perhaps there is something you need to repent of.

How not to live

- Forget that Jesus’ blood has cleansed us

- Compromise with the world

- Pursue holiness not in God’s strength but in our own strength.

4. Seek Grace 15

15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God

Not all non-Christians are hostile to us. Some churches attract passengers. Christians can be nice and safe people to hang out with. Loving and caring for one another. They’re not usually too grumpy or too selfish. Passengers are those who hang out with Christians but have never done business themselves with God. They have never truly repented and found his forgiveness. A friend of mine spent decades as a passenger, just hanging out with Christians. Are you in that place? Do you have friends or family who may be in that place? Hear God’s word. Again, this is not a word to elders but to all of us. We all have a duty to watch out for one another:

15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God

If you confront someone, if you act, you may well offend. You may hurt. You may be totally mistaken as to where they are at. But surely it is better to risk hurt and offence than allow someone to miss out on God’s grace. Thought, prayer, and godly wisdom is needed. Courage and faith too. But let us do all we can so that no one in our community fails to obtain the grace of God. Don’t sit back and leave it up to God or someone else. God’s Spirit brings grace, but he uses our lips. He uses fumbling, bumbling, awkward lips to bring his grace (Ex 4:10-13; Isa 6:5).

How not to live

- Be so polite that we never challenge, never risk offence.

South Australians are very polite – we don’t like to create conflict.

But the gospel is offensive. We need to be ready to speak it.

5. Beware of unbelief and corruption 15

Such passengers are not just at risk personally – they can imperil the whole community.

15 Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.

The risk is that the church can become like the world.

This poisonous root refers back to a warning given by Moses:

18 Beware lest there be … [anyone] whose heart is turning away … to go and serve the gods of other nations. Beware lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit.

19 “Those who hear the warnings of this curse should not congratulate themselves, thinking, ‘I am safe, even though I am following the desires of my own stubborn heart.’ This would lead to utter ruin!

This is a terrifying warning. Passengers are not safe simply by hanging out with Christians. Nor are children safe because their parents have a strong faith. They should never think “I am safe” – they are on the precipice of utter ruin! If they don’t worship the Lord, they will soon find other gods to worship. And they may bring these gods and their unbelief into the church to divide and cause bitter and poisonous division. Of course, we welcome all comers into the church. Yet we know also that church history is riddled with people who destroyed churches by false teaching and ungodly conduct. It only takes one apostate, one heretic to destroy a whole church. And so we need to be alert to the dangers of unbelief and ungodliness

15 Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.

How not to live

- Fail to challenge and correct false teaching and ungodly behaviour.

6. Beware of immorality & godlessness 16-17

When hearts are not right, a moment of madness can arise – like with Esau. And there may be no turning back.

16 Make sure that no one is sexually immoral or godless like Esau, who traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal. 17 You know that afterward, when he wanted his father’s blessing, he was rejected. It was too late for repentance, even though he begged with bitter tears.

When it came to his inheritance, Esau failed twice. His younger brother Jacob beat him to it (Gen 25:29-34; Gen 27).

a. Jacob persuaded Esau to trade his birthright for a meal

b. Esau as the older son was entitled to his father’s primary blessing. Jacob over another meal, tricked his father into giving him the blessing that was due to Esau. When Esau discovered the trick, he tried to get his father Isaac to change his mind (literally, to repent) but it was too late.

The result was that Jacob inherited – not just property - but something vitally important for the history of salvation: the blessings given by God to his grandfather Abraham. It is easy to feel sorry for Esau being outwitted by his scheming younger brother.

However, let’s go to the first story. Esau chose his appetite over the sacred birthright of his grandfather Abraham - the promises of God to bless the nations through his offspring. So, by choosing his stomach, Esau despised the promises of God. He is rightly condemned for his godless attitude.

Going back to the text it says,

16 Make sure that no one is sexually immoral or godless like Esau

There is nothing to show that Esau was sexually immoral. However, godlessness and immorality can go together. How many have wandered from the faith because they have messed things up sexually. Christians sleep with their partners and stop going to church. Sometimes to avoid the criticism of other Christians. Sometimes they can’t live with the inconsistency and so stop practicing their faith.

Christians who are sexually immoral need warning and they need love. Regrettably, we often do one but not the other. But they need both – they are in peril. They need warning and they need love. Jesus did both, to the woman caught in adultery. He said, “neither do I condemn you” but he also said “Go, and sin no more”, Jn 8:11. He loved, with a warning.

Jesus’ standard was very high when he spoke of lust (Mt 5:27-30). In terms of sexual sin, we have probably all failed him. The solution is always to repent and find his mercy. He is rich in mercy and will forgive your sin.

How not to live

- Putting appetites and material things before God

- Giving in to sexual temptation in a world awash with sex

How should we live in a hostile world?

1. Overcome despondency

2. Pursue peace and holiness

3. Seek Grace

4. Beware of unbelief and corruption

5. Beware of immorality & godlessness

And we can only achieve these aims as we are

fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith

And as we work together supporting, caring, praying for and looking out for one another.

Lord Jesus, thank you for the privilege of being co-workers in your kingdom. Help us work together with you and one another for your honour and glory. Amen.

Sources:

- Brown, R. E. (2021). The message of Hebrews: Christ above all. IVP.

- Wright, N. T. (2015). Hebrews for everyone.

- Stedman, R. C. (1992). Hebrews. Leicester: InterVarsity Press.

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[1] https://www.quora.com/Should-Christianity-be-banned

[2] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2018/02/19/pence-defends-faith-normal-after-tv-host-calls-crazy-think-jesus-talks-him/353088002/

[3] https://www.subsplash.com/blog/church-social-media-pros-and-cons

Series: Hebrews

Topics: #Hebrews