Remember
Introduction
- Address to the Jewish Church
- Many of the disciples were not mature
- They were dull of hearing: slow to learn Christian doctrine
- Was it a failure of the elders to teach well?
- There is no hint of this - cf v12 and imitate your leaders
- Was it the hardness of their path?
- Did they become discouraged and no longer walk with Christ?
- God gives us trials to help us grow
- The author of the Hebrews continually holds up Jesus
- Look to Jesus as the great High Priest, look not to the earthly priests
- Jesus has made full atonement of sins
- They were babes because the had taken their eyes off Christ
- Have we taken our eyes off Christ?
- We must fix our eyes upon Him
- "Consider Christ"
- Some Christians get so discouraged they can lose their assurance
- v13-20 are designed to encourage people
Remember Abraham (v13-15)
- It wasn't an easy life for Abraham - but he overcame, he endured, he obtained the promise
- You venerate Abraham
- Remember his life
- You can do the same
- He was sinful and overcame
- You are sinful but can overcome
- Abraham obtained a promise as soon as he came into the land of Canaan
- "I will make of you a great nation"
- "I will give you a land in which to dwell"
- The years went by and nothing was happening
- Rom 4 - he didn't waver in his belief
- Humanly it looked impossible but Abraham trusted in God
- Sarah gave birth to Isaac aged 90 (Abraham was 100)
- "Surely blessing I will bless you"
- This promise was given to Abraham on Mount Moriah
- Abraham was tested and passed
- God is not evil
- Abraham recognised something of the future sacrifice of Christ (God's Son) at this time
- The Hebrew Christians could look back to see they are descendants of Abraham
- However, God was saying that the nations would be blessed
- The true child of Abraham are not the physical descendants but those who have faith in the promises of God and the Lord Jesus Christ
- Remember Abraham
- If we are in difficult situations, look to Abraham's difficult situations and remember God's faithfulness
Remember God cannot lie (v16-18)
- God is always faithful
- Man cannot always be trusted to tell the truth
- We need to swear oaths and sign contracts
- God would never need to swear an oath - His word and promise is enough
- However, God did condescend to Abraham and made an oath
- He swore an oath as there was no-one higher to swear by
- God is unchanging - He is immutable
- God's promise and His oath
- God has said:
- Anyone who comes to Jesus Christ by faith - they will be saved
- God will never leave us nor forsake us
- As Christians we need to take hold of the promises of God and live in them and believe them
- God cannot lie
- We can always trust the word of God
- What He has said He will do
- As Christians we have come from a place of punishment, vengeance and wrath
- We have fled to Jesus
- We have found refuge
- We have found hope
- "Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him." (Rom 5:9)
- Hold onto the word of God
Remember you have an anchor (v19)
- Consider the example of the 'anchoreia' - the anchor stone
- Christ was our forerunner and our anchor
- He has gone into heaven on our behalf
- We are secure because of Him
- Hope is a very dominant theme (within Hebrews)
- 6:19, 6:18, 3:6, 6:11, 7:19
- We live in a world without hope
- Example of the 6 week war in Gaza
- Would we have hope if we lived in these areas?
- Christ is our hope - our anchor
- Consider example of Horatio Spafford
- "When peace like a river ... it is well, it is well with my soul"
- Jesus is there in heaven representing us right now before the Father
- He always defends us when satan attack us
- He always lives to make intercession for us
If you want to make progress in your Christian life, look to Jesus