(A sermon delivered in June 1990, probably at Chatswood uniting Church)
Intro
Reading: Hebrews 12:14-29
This has been a year of firsts for me
- first time anyone close to me has died
- first time in SA
- first time I’ve imagined the possibility of living overseas
- first time working part time
- first time speaking at an ISCF camp
- first time giving an evangelistic talk
- and tonight, the first time giving a talk which I think may distress people.
This is a message straight from my heart. But it’s a heart that is rather proud and maybe arrogant and I hope it doesn’t get in the way of you understanding God’s heart.
I think this passage in Hebrews has a strong message to us
Read v18-24
The comment about Abel’s blood: whereas the murder of Abel cried out for revenge, the death of Christ pleads for forgiveness.
The first section here pictures the Israelite nation gathered around Mt Sinai at the time when God gave the 10 Commandments to Moses. The picture is so awesome as to be emotionally devastating. Unbearably powerful.
The picture of heaven is just as awesome, but more joyful and confident. It is overpowering in it’s graciousness.
The Covenant to which we are called is far more glorious than the Old Covenant. It’s not materal and temporal, but spiritual and eternal. How can we live in mediocrity if we are part of such a grand hope?
In the Christian life we experience two motivations: the yearning for heaven and the frustration with the imperfections around us. We grapple with the tension between the two. We’re part of God’s greatest plan yet so easily get caught up in the motions of day-to-day life. We have the well of eternal life within us (like Brian Medway’s illustration of the artesian bore) yet are called to self-sacrificial and costly service. In the balance of these two forces, we must recognise the high calling which God has on all of our lives and we must figure out what our response is to be.
What I learnt from SA
In our society one of people’s main aims in life is to be comfortable. We see it in the need to own a house; in the growing demand for our “rights”; the need for a stable job with enough income to support regular holidays; in the pre-occupation with buying luxury goods. We see it in the way old and handicapped people are hidden away so they don’t trouble us.
In fact we are addicted to comfort. We hold it up as the standard by which we judge success. We use it to direct our decision making. We plan our life around it. We claim it as a right. But it’s not a right: in many parts of the world it’s not even a possibility! South Africa is a clear example of a situation where many people worry more about survival and personal dignity than comfort. The truth of the matter is that the majority of the world lives that way!
Let me make a bold statement that you probably won’t like. Striving after comfort as a life goal is idolatry. It is an attitude which shows that we are worshipping something other God. It denies God his rightful place as the centre and focus of our lives. It is a dogma of our cultural which we allow to blind us to the sacrifices God calls us to make.
“He has made us little lower than gods, while our highest ambition is to be a little above the Joneses.” – John V.Taylor
Is comfort and mediocrity an appropriate response to the call of God?
If you’re living an average life, then you’re missing out. Our calling is much higher than that.
Let’s examine this passage and see what IS an appropriate response to God
Without holiness no-one will see the Lord (14)
This is quite a strong statement. Who here is holy? It is not within our power to attain the sort of holiness which God requires. Can anyone then see God?
Holiness, like most of the Christian life, has two parts: God’s and ours.
We become acceptable to God because the work of Christ purifies us. That’s God’s part: he deems us holy.
However, that doesn’t mean we have no responsibility. We must “make every effort” (14) to be holy. We need to develop our personality and lifestyle so that we act in a way which is fitting for people who belong to God.
This means we must stop sinning. Not so much because sin is wrong or bad, but rather that it’s no longer appropriate. If we have been reborn into God’s family and set aside for his service, sin no longer makes sense. If our old self is dead and the Holy Spirit lives in us, then sin is no longer natural for us.
What is the appropriate response to God? Make it a practical goal to develop holiness
Esau gave away his inheritence and couldn’t get it back (16-17)
Gen 25-27 tells the story of Isaac’s twin sons Jacob and Esau.
Although Esau was born first (and was therefore rightful heir), God had said that Jacob would rule over Esau.
Read Gen 25:29-34
When Isaac was about to die, Jacob received his father’s blessing and Esau missed out
John Bunyan had a major struggle with this verse (Grace Abounding pp37-58). At one time in his life he turned away from full faith in Jesus and then was tormented by the fear that he would never be able to regain the inheritence he had turned away from. He spend more than 2 years desparately chastising himself because he was sure that regardless of how repentant he was, it was impossible for Christ to forgive him.
But the point of this verse is not say we can’t be forgiven. Rather, it warns that there are things which we can give away and never be able to regain, no matter how hard we try. Even as forgiven people, we still often are left with the consequences of our mistakes. You cannot undo an experience.
We so often imagine that sin is not so bad because we can always repent later. But repentence cannot restore innocence. Once we lie, or steal, or try our hand at sex or drugs, we are never the same again. Never imagine that such experiments into sin are beneficial. Do they make us more mature? More aware of real life? NO. They warp our perspective, destroy our sensitivity to good and evil, blind us to the real issues in life and separate us from God.
Lost innocence can never be regained. We should yearn with all our heart for purity and faithfulness. After all, we are to be the bride of Christ! This yearning for purity and innocence is only natural if we have a proper picture of who God is and if we understand the wonder of the Covenant he has called us into. Why is it that we want to get away with as much as we can in the hope that it won’t matter all that much to God?
Jesus Christ endured the cross to make it possible for us to be pure. Too much has been paid for us to take sin so lightly.
See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks (25)
If we don’t go along with what God says, it either means we think that he doesn’t know what’s best for us, or we doubt that he really wants us to have the best. Either way is insulting to him. You can’t refuse God’s advice without refusing God himself.
It’s a dreadful thing to go against the Lord Almighty. Don’t think that you can manipulate God into accepting anything less than your complete obedience. Don’t think that you can dictate to God what is OK and what is not.
What do you think will happen when you invent your own morality instead of reading what God has laid down in his Word? When you have a fun time with sexual adventures outside marriage, or when you hold tightly to your possessions, or when you seek your own comfort while ignoring others’ neds?
Do you think these things will make your life fuller and more enjoyable? Never! If you ignore God’s advice, you will always come out second best.
As Paul wrote to the Galatians: God cannot be mocked. You can’t expect to go against God and come out on top. You will reap what you sow. (Gal 6:7-8)
What is the appropriate response to God? Do what he says; no excuses
We should have a thankful confidence in this kingdom which cannot be shaken (28)
This passage suggests both positive and negative reasons for being faithful to God. We have seen a solemn warning against refusing God but the strongest message of this passage is to remind us of how fantastic the kingdom of God is.
Given what we know about the character of God, the nature of the New Covenant, and his ultimate plans for us, what other way is there for us to react but to fall on our knees in thankful wonder?
Worship God with reverence and awe. How I yearn for our corporate worship to be marked by reverence and awe! But that will only come if each of our lives are marked but reverence and awe.
What is the appropriate response to God? Reverence and awe
God is a consuming fire (29)
The image of God as a refining fire is used several times in both OT and NT. How does it make you feel? Is it an image you can warm to?
A refining fire takes unprocessed ore and melts it. All the impurities float to the surface and can be scrapped off, leaving only the pure gold.
What gets consumed by God’s fire? Anything unholy or temporal. Everything which does not belong in heaven. In that way, the things which are left are those which cannot be shaken.
God’s fire will burn away all the impurities in your life if you give him the chance. But that takes a long time; it’s painful and humiliating. However, it’s the only way to find out what real life is about. It’s the only way to take part in the life of Christ.
What is the appropriate response to God? Jump into the fire.
Summary
Titus 2:11-14
For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.