Participants: C. A. Murray
Series Code: POF
Program Code: POF000021A
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00:24 Hello friends, and welcome to, Pillars of Faith.
00:28 What a blessing it is to study God's Word. 00:30 This is the first part or first sermon in a series of five 00:35 given by Pastor C.A. Murray. 00:37 We want to welcome you. 00:39 You may be listening via the internet, or the radio, 00:42 watching via television. 00:44 However you are, thank you for joining us. 00:46 We appreciate again you tuning in to 3ABN. 00:49 We're coming to you from the 3ABN Worship Center 00:52 here in Thompsonville, Illinois or West Frankfort. 00:55 We're kind of right on the edge between 00:57 Thompsonville and West Frankfort. 00:59 But what a privilege it is, like I mentioned, 01:00 to study God's Word. 01:02 And I always appreciate Pastor C.A. Murray. 01:05 He and I have worked together here at 3ABN 01:07 for a number of years, and his office door 01:10 is just down from mine. 01:11 And it's always nice to go into his office and just sit down, 01:15 and he always has a word of encouragement, 01:18 something to share from God's Word. 01:21 You know, a neat thing about Pastor C.A. too is that 01:24 he has a love for souls. 01:26 You know, God has put a special calling on his life. 01:29 He's been a pastor, been in the ministry for 42 years 01:34 or over 42 years. 01:36 And I don't know how many of you know this, 01:38 but Pastor C.A., he can roller skate, 01:41 and he can roller skate good. 01:42 Also, I've seen him play basketball. 01:46 He enjoys having a great time. 01:48 He and his wife, Irma, are just really special people. 01:52 You know, you can enjoy all the great things about someone, 01:55 and we here at 3ABN don't want to just lift up 01:58 people on a pedestal, but God has placed him 02:02 as a special instrument here at 3ABN to minister 02:05 to not only those of us here at 3ABN, but to those 02:08 around the world. 02:10 And we just appreciate he and his wife very much. 02:12 Now the series that he is bringing to us, 02:14 this is again the first part in a series of five, 02:18 and it's called, Walk This Way. 02:20 That's the title of his series, Walk This Way. 02:23 And today's sermon is, Stay This Way. 02:27 I'm looking forward to hearing the message 02:28 brought to us by Pastor C.A. Murray. 02:30 But before he comes out and breaks the Word of God to us, 02:33 let's open in a word of prayer. 02:36 Father in heaven, Lord, we're grateful for this day 02:39 that You have blessed us with. 02:40 We're grateful for life, for health, for strength. 02:43 We're thankful for Pastor C.A. Murray and the calling 02:46 that You have placed on his life. 02:48 I know he has ministered to hundreds, thousands, 02:52 maybe millions of people around this world. 02:54 And Father, here in this life we may not be able to meet 02:58 every person that we minister to, but I know in heaven 03:01 someday, so long as we're faithful to You, 03:02 we'll be able to meet them. 03:04 Lord, just pour Your Spirit through him 03:08 to us today. 03:10 And it's easy to walk away from a sermon and just say, 03:12 "Wow, Pastor C.A. preached a great sermon," 03:15 but Father, You have given him words today 03:17 to speak to us. 03:19 So may we not only be hearers of the Word, 03:23 but also doers of the Word. 03:25 We again thank You, we love You, we thank You for Jesus Christ 03:29 and the gift of salvation. 03:31 And in Jesus' name we pray, amen. 03:42 And we do welcome you to, Pillars of Faith; 03:45 Walk This Way. 03:48 The title of this particular message is, Stay This Way. 03:51 I got the title years ago when I was in the seminary. 03:55 I heard a rather cute story of a fellow who worked 04:00 in a large corporation. 04:02 And he had a very, though we may say menial job, 04:05 he was just sweeping floors and tidying up 04:08 at the end of the day. 04:10 But evidently, he did such a fine job that the president 04:16 of the corporation asked him to come to his house 04:19 so that he could meet him, shake his hand, 04:22 have dinner with him, and give him a very special reward. 04:27 And this fellow had never been in the presence of such opulence 04:33 or such grandeur, and he really didn't know how to behave. 04:38 When he knocked on the door the butler came to the door, 04:41 and he announced his name, and he said, 04:45 "I'm here to see the president." 04:46 And the butler, of course, said, "Walk this way." 04:50 And having never been in opulence before, a rich house, 04:54 he thought that was the way he was supposed to walk. 04:56 So he, of course, walked this way. 04:59 An old story that I heard in the seminary. 05:01 And so I wanted to use that as the title of our series, 05:04 because we're going to talk about the way to walk. 05:08 But having said that, we know that Jesus is the way. 05:12 And so today we want to wrestle with, "stay this way." 05:18 Turn with me, if you will, to the book of Hebrews. 05:24 The book of Hebrews is going to be the focus of our 05:28 attention for this particular sitting. 05:32 Hebrews 1:1 05:38 Hebrews 1:1 05:40 Stay This Way. 05:43 Allow me once again to pray before we go into God's Word 05:46 so that we may be assured of His presence and power 05:51 as we seek to mine the gold hidden in His Word. 05:57 Father God, we do praise You. 05:59 We thank You for being such a good God and a gracious God. 06:03 Thank You, Lord, for the power of Your Word. 06:06 Thank You for those men and women who, 06:08 under the unction of the Holy Spirit, wrote words 06:11 of truth and wisdom. 06:13 And thank You for an opportunity to study 06:16 that truth and that wisdom. 06:18 Teach us today, be the Instructor. 06:22 And we thank You, Father, in Jesus' name, amen. 06:25 I'm in Hebrews 1:1 reading from the New King James Version. 06:32 The Bible says, "God, who at various times 06:36 and in various ways spoke in times past to the fathers 06:41 by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us 06:45 by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, 06:51 through whom also He made the worlds; 06:54 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image 06:58 of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, 07:03 when He had by Himself purged our sins, 07:07 sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 07:12 having become so much better than the angels, 07:17 as He has by inheritance obtained a more 07:20 excellent name than they." 07:25 It is no coincidence that we have this particular opening 07:32 to the book of Hebrews. 07:34 It's a powerful opening and a powerful word. 07:37 And it is no coincidence that Paul, in his writing 07:40 to the Hebrews, Hebrew Christians, that is, 07:44 writes and begins his writing this way. 07:47 We are looking at, brothers and sisters, 07:49 an apologetic for a fledgling nascent faith. 07:54 Paul is trying to defend an idea. 07:58 And we're going to talk about that in just a little bit. 08:00 He's trying to defend an idea, but also he is giving us 08:05 the pedigree, if you will, of its founder. 08:09 So it's a defense, it's also a recitation of the pedigree 08:17 of who Jesus is, and it forms the foundation 08:22 for everything that Paul is trying to say. 08:24 Paul is trying to make a defense of his faith 08:28 and those who may be called to suffer for their faith. 08:32 And as we will find out in just a little bit, 08:34 maybe even question the legitimacy of their faith. 08:39 I have often thought how tough it must have been, 08:43 how difficult it must have been, to be a Christian 08:49 in the early centuries. 08:51 Being a Christian in the early centuries was no picnic. 08:56 First century, second century, even third and fourth centuries, 09:01 Christians faced unimaginable challenges, 09:05 unimaginable difficulties. 09:08 Their life could be forfeited for their faith. 09:11 Certainly their liberty, their freedom, their family, 09:14 all forfeited for their faith. 09:16 And so one did not elect to become a Christian 09:20 unless you really believed in who Jesus was 09:24 and the faith He established. 09:26 And that's why Paul began his letter to the Hebrews like this. 09:30 God, who at various times spoke to us through the prophets, 09:33 now chooses to speak to us through Jesus, 09:37 because from now on it's all about Jesus. 09:41 So if you're risking your life, if you're risking your faith, 09:43 if you're risking your family, Paul wants you to know 09:47 that Christ is worth the risk. 09:51 And so he begins his letter to Hebrew Christians 09:56 with this apologetic, this defense, of the new faith 10:01 and the pedigree of its founders. 10:05 The Jews did not want Jewish Christians worshiping with them. 10:12 They did not want Jewish Christians in the 10:15 temples and synagogues. 10:17 They weren't really welcoming to this new faith within a faith 10:24 or faith superimposed upon a faith. 10:28 And in about 96 AD, as I recall, it was the Jewish community 10:35 that made the first real moves to separate themselves 10:39 from the Jewish Christians. 10:42 Many have thought in the past it was the Jewish Christians 10:44 who sort of moved away from the classic Jewish community, 10:49 but history really tells us that it was the Jewish community 10:53 that really kicked the Jewish Christians out of their faith 10:58 towards the end of the first century. 11:01 They added some language to a reading that we call, 11:04 the Amidah; good history. 11:06 The Amidah was a series of readings, blessings, 11:09 that were done in the synagogue service. 11:11 Around about 96 AD in a place called Jamnia, 11:15 the Pharisaic community which really had taken 11:18 control of Judaism added what's called, the Birkat haMinim. 11:24 A very impressive word which simply means, 11:26 the blessing against the heretics. 11:29 And it wasn't really a blessings at all. 11:32 It was a series of curses that were said as part of the service 11:37 against the hated Christians who were, up until that time, 11:41 embedded in the Jewish community. 11:44 All worshiping together, all going to synagogue together, 11:48 all going to temple together. 11:49 Everyone sort of embedded and nobody knew who they were. 11:52 And so the Pharisaic community added this Birkat haMinim 11:58 to smoke out the Christians. 12:00 It was their idea to get the Christians out of the synagogue 12:04 for any number of reasons. 12:06 And the reason the Christians had to leave 12:08 is because anybody could be asked to recite 12:12 this Birkat haMinim. 12:15 So no true follower of Christ would ever pronounce a curse 12:21 on his own faith. 12:23 So slowly but surely the Christians began to divorce 12:27 themselves from the synagogues and from the temples 12:30 because they didn't want to be forced to recite 12:33 the Birkat haMinim. 12:36 But it's important to note that it was not the Jewish Christians 12:41 moving away from Judaism, because the Jewish Christians 12:46 did not see Christianity as a repudiation of Judaism. 12:53 They saw it as an evolution of Judaism. 12:57 The Jewish Christian saw Judaism merging into Christianity, 13:03 not Christianity replacing Judaism. 13:06 For them, it was a natural evolution of their faith. 13:10 The Jewish community was looking for a Messiah. 13:13 To the Jewish Christians, Jesus was the Messiah. 13:16 So it wasn't one over against the other. 13:19 It was the natural evolution of Judaism. 13:22 "You're looking for a Messiah. 13:23 Hey, we found that Messiah, and His name is Jesus." 13:27 But for the Jewish community, they felt that this new faith 13:33 was an alien faith. 13:35 And they didn't want Christians as part of their 13:37 synagogue worship. 13:39 More than that, they didn't want Jewish Christians 13:44 proselytizing Jews. 13:47 They didn't want Jewish Christians taking Jews aside 13:52 and sharing their new found faith with them. 13:55 They didn't want the witnessing. 13:57 They didn't want Jewish converts to Christianity. 14:01 So the Jews, dare I say, kicked out the Jewish Christians. 14:07 You've got to remember that in the early church, 14:11 the early church really was predominately Jewish. 14:15 It was overwhelmingly Jewish. 14:17 Not exclusively, but certainly overwhelmingly Jewish. 14:22 The first evangelists were Jewish. 14:26 There is some argument about Doctor Luke, 14:30 but it is certain that Matthew, Mark, John, Peter, and Paul 14:37 were all Jewish followers of the Messiah. 14:40 Some people say Luke was a Jewish follower, 14:43 some say he was a non-Jew, 14:44 some say he was a diaspora Jew living outside of Palestine. 14:48 We're not really sure. 14:50 But Matthew, Mark, and John certainly were. 14:53 Paul certainly was, Peter certainly was. 14:56 And so the basis, the heart of the early church, 15:01 was made up of Jews who had converted to Christianity. 15:06 And the first mission projects were done to Jews. 15:10 Then of course it spread out to the Gentile world. 15:14 And the Jewish community despised, to put it nicely, 15:21 this new sect. 15:22 Let's look at a powerful text. 15:23 I'm in John 15:24. 15:27 John 15, I'll turn to it in my Bible. 15:29 John 15, in the book of John, chapter 15, 15:34 and we'll take a look at verse 24. 15:41 John 15:24 15:47 The Word of God says, the Bible says, "If I had done 15:50 among them the works which no one else did, 15:54 they would have no sin; but now they have seen 16:00 and also hated both Me and My Father. 16:04 But this happened that the word might be fulfilled 16:08 which is written in their law, 16:10 'They hated Me without a cause.'" 16:15 It's a very powerful text that John is reciting, 16:18 the words of the sentiments of Christ there. 16:21 "They hated Me without a cause." 16:25 Now you've got to remember, this is written towards the 16:27 close of the first century. 16:29 This is written some 60 years after the death of Jesus. 16:34 It was no picnic, no picnic, being a Christian 16:40 even in the time of the end of the first century. 16:46 It was no easy thing to be a child of God, 16:51 to be a follower of Christ, in these days. 16:55 Even the term, the original term, "Christian," 16:59 was a derogatory term. 17:02 The Christians embraced it soon after. 17:04 But it was originally meant to be a slur. 17:07 It was a derogatory term, a negative term. 17:09 A put down, if you please. 17:12 In Act 26:28, we have the story of Paul's famous defense 17:17 of his faith before Agrippa. 17:20 Festus shouts, "All this study has made you crazy." 17:25 Paul is defending his faith. 17:27 He's defending Jesus who died and rose again. 17:31 And to these alien Roman minds, it sounds a little nuts. 17:36 It sounds a little cuckoo. 17:38 It sounds a little off that these things that Paul 17:44 was saying could actually be. 17:46 "You've lost your mind," he said. 17:50 But Paul's appeal to Agrippa was a sincere one. 17:54 Now the King James records Agrippa's statement 17:58 in these words... 17:59 I'm reading in the New King James, 18:01 "You almost persuade me to be a Christian." 18:06 Now the translation makes it sound like, 18:08 "Hey man, you almost got me. 18:10 I'm almost there. You almost persuaded me." 18:13 But really when you look at the Greek construct, 18:17 that is not what Agrippa is saying at all. 18:23 That's not Agrippa's sentiment at all. 18:25 Agrippa is saying something really different. 18:29 I translate it now reading the NIV. 18:34 "Agrippa says to Paul, 'Do you think that in such a short time 18:40 you can persuade me to be a Christian?'" 18:44 That's a little closer to the sentiment that Agrippa had 18:49 in listening to Paul's defense. 18:52 "You're not going to make me a Christian with such a few words. 18:55 You're not going to blow my mind with just a few words. 18:58 Don't think that you've got the ability 19:01 in just a few minutes to turn me into one of them." 19:05 Agrippa's telling the truth of the sentiment 19:07 of the majority of people who were outside of Christianity. 19:10 To be a Christian meant to risk your position, 19:14 your life, your family, your job. 19:17 And Agrippa is saying, "No, no, no, no, no, Paul. 19:20 You're not going to make me a Christian with just 19:22 a few cute little words. 19:24 That's not going to happen." 19:26 Reading in the International Standard Version, 19:29 "Can you so quickly persuade me to become a Christian?" 19:35 Or the English Revised Version, the ERV, 19:38 "With but little persuasion you think you would 19:42 make me a Christian?" 19:45 Or the Living Version, "Do you think that you can 19:49 persuade me to be a Christian so quickly?" 19:53 So you see the almost disdain in Agrippa's voice. 19:56 He's not saying, "You almost made me a Christian." 19:58 No, no, he's saying, "That couple of words, 20:02 that's not going to make me a Christian. 20:03 I'm not going to give up my position, my family, my friends, 20:07 my job, my standing in society under the influence of 20:12 a few words like that. 20:13 It's going to take a little bit more if you want to 20:15 make me one of them." 20:17 Because becoming one of them made you an outcast 20:21 in society. 20:22 So you see the little nuance, the almost sarcastic slant, 20:26 that Agrippa is putting on his words. 20:28 "Do you think that in such a few words you're going to get me 20:31 to become one of them, to jeopardize all I have 20:35 to become part of this hated sect? 20:37 No, no, that's not going to happen." 20:40 So walking that way, Christ's way, in the first century 20:47 was no easy thing. 20:50 You know, I just say this, though, 20:52 because walking with Jesus at the risk of your life 21:02 kept the church pure. 21:06 You see, when there is a price to be paid for doing something, 21:13 you don't do that unless you're ready to pay the price. 21:21 If becoming a Christian costs you something, 21:28 you don't become a Christian unless you're willing 21:33 to pay the cost. 21:36 And that kept the church pure. 21:39 Because only true believers became Christians. 21:46 Because they realized that becoming a Christian 21:48 could cost them their life. 21:50 Well nowadays it ain't necessarily so. 21:53 Anybody can profess Christ, 21:57 and there's no real cost to professing Christ. 22:02 In fact, you've got a lot of preachers 22:04 who spend an awful lot of time telling people 22:08 it's easy to be a Christian. 22:10 Just love Jesus, and that's all you've got to do. 22:16 Christ talks about, "People come to Me with their lips, 22:20 but their heart is far from Me. 22:23 You only value the things that cost you something. 22:28 If it costs you something, you have respect for it. 22:33 I was in Nashville just a little bit ago, 22:36 and we were working on one of the new projects. 22:40 And I noticed a man who was very careful with his cello. 22:46 In fact, during the sessions he would never put his cello down, 22:50 he would never rest his cello on the ground, 22:53 He always put it back in the case. 22:56 And I noticed he was so concerned about this instrument. 23:03 And so I asked him, I said, "Hey man, I noticed that cello 23:06 never gets on the ground, you never lay it down, 23:08 not even on a chair. 23:09 Every time you're not playing, the cello is back in the case." 23:13 He said to me, "This cello was made in 1755." 23:20 He said, "There's only one or two in the world. 23:23 And it is insured for two million dollars." 23:29 Now I guess if I had a two million dollar cello, 23:32 I'd put it back in the case every time too. 23:34 You see, those things that cost you something, 23:37 that are worth a lot to you, you take care of. 23:40 And so the Christian church in the early days 23:44 was pure because you only joined it if you were willing 23:48 to die for Jesus. 23:50 And the church was strong and it was pure. 23:54 So walking this way can be, and in the early centuries 23:58 certainly was, a lonely road of earthly sorrow 24:03 and death by pagan Rome for the first four centuries 24:08 after Christ died. 24:10 And really, over the next 1200 plus years, 24:18 pagan Rome, papal Rome, saw to it that 24:24 Christianity suffered. 24:27 And so the question on the lips and in the hearts of many, 24:30 particularly Jewish Christians, and perhaps it is on our 24:35 lips and in our hearts today, "Is it worth it?" 24:40 And I guess that's the question that every Christian 24:45 must ask themselves. 24:48 Is it worth it? 24:51 Is it worth the risk of my life to follow Jesus? 24:56 Is it worth the risk of my job to follow Jesus? 25:01 Is it worth risking my standing in the community 25:04 to follow Jesus? 25:06 What if people think I'm weird? 25:07 What if people think I'm out of touch? 25:09 What if people think, like Agrippa or Festus thought 25:13 of Paul, that I've lost my mind? 25:15 Is it worth it? 25:16 And back in these early days when Christianity, 25:19 if it did not guarantee your death, 25:23 it certainly put you at the risk of death, 25:26 the early Christians had to ask themselves, 25:29 particularly Jewish Christians, "Is it worth it?" 25:34 The Jews thought they were too Christian to be Jews, 25:38 the Christians too Jewish to be Christians, 25:44 so they're wondering, "Is it worth it?" 25:46 And it is to this group of people that Paul addresses 25:52 his letter to the Jewish Christian. 25:57 There was pressure to go back into Judaism. 26:01 It was familiar, it was the old way. 26:05 And Paul's weapon against that pressure 26:11 was the insistence that Jesus was the way. 26:16 And that you should not only walk this way, 26:20 but also stay this way. 26:23 And it's interesting, because 26:25 when you look at the book of John... 26:26 And we're going to talk about this 26:27 in one of our other sermons. 26:29 When you look at the book of John, what you'll find is 26:32 that John carries the same burden as Paul does, 26:36 but approaches it a little bit different. 26:38 Paul is saying to the Hebrew Christians, 26:41 "You've begun to walk this way. 26:44 Now what you've got to do is stay this way, 26:48 even though there's pressure to go back the old way 26:53 or some other way." 26:55 And that is the burden of the book of Hebrews. 26:58 So now when we read Hebrews 1:1, it makes a little more sense 27:04 when we see what Paul is doing in Hebrews 1:1. 27:11 "God, who at various times and in various ways 27:15 spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, 27:19 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, 27:25 whom He has appointed heir of all things..." 27:28 We are, you and I, the early Christians along with us, 27:33 along with Christians of all ages, are the inheritance 27:38 of Jesus Christ. 27:39 What does He get for all of His troubles? 27:41 He gets you and He gets me. 27:44 And thank God He's glad to get it. 27:47 Died to save us. 27:49 So Paul is starting out his book by saying, 27:52 in the last days it's all about Jesus. 27:57 So the question that is on the lips and in the heart 28:00 of particularly the Jewish Christians of those days 28:03 and many Christians of our day, "Is it worth it? 28:08 Is it worth the sacrifice?" 28:12 Paul will tell you, "Oh yes, it most definitely is." 28:19 So there's pressure now for the Jews to return. 28:21 And I want to go back to that for just a minute. 28:24 There's pressure to go back into Judaism because Judaism 28:28 is the old way, it is the familiar way. 28:32 So the book of Hebrews is written particularly 28:36 to Hebrew Christians. 28:38 When you see Hebrews, it's Hebrew Christians. 28:41 These are those who are culturally Hebrews 28:49 but who have, maybe I'll use the term, graduated 28:54 to Christianity, but who are, because of their outcast state, 29:03 they are considering returning back to their Jewish roots. 29:10 And Paul is saying, "You've walked this way, 29:16 stay this way." 29:18 Because they're thinking in their minds... 29:20 And we do this kind of thing. 29:22 You know, you get very pragmatic about life. 29:25 "You know, Judaism wasn't so bad." 29:30 You know how we can revise history. 29:32 When the children of Israel were out in the desert 29:35 and starving, and it was hot in the day and cold at night, 29:40 and they're thinking back to their days in Egypt, 29:47 and they're thinking, "You know... 29:51 ...Egyptian life wasn't so bad." 29:55 You tend to revise history. 29:56 They forgot all about the whips and the taskmasters 29:59 and the bricks without straw. 30:02 "Eh, it wasn't so bad." 30:04 Well it was so bad. 30:05 And now the Jewish Christians are saying, 30:08 "Maybe we ought to go back to the old ways. 30:14 Maybe we ought to... 30:16 You know, that Jewish stuff wasn't so bad. 30:22 We worshiped together, 30:25 their faith is the basis for our faith. 30:30 Maybe we ought to just go back." 30:34 Because in their minds, remember, they weren't 30:37 replacing Judaism. 30:40 It was just an evolution of Judaism. 30:43 So it's easy, when you still see Judaism as legitimate, to say, 30:49 "Well maybe we ought to just go back to the familiar ways. 30:52 Maybe we ought to just, we're Jewish Christians, 30:55 maybe we ought to just drop the Christian part 30:59 and go back to the Jewish part. 31:04 We could save ourselves a lot of grief, 31:07 save ourselves a lot of heartache, 31:09 save ourselves extermination, 31:14 not to mention torture and death." 31:18 And so it may have seemed reasonable in the first century, 31:26 and in the following centuries, to do that. 31:31 We got along with our Jewish brothers. 31:33 And for a while they did. 31:36 Then of course, as I mentioned before, 31:38 the Jewish Christian break came. 31:41 They became at odds with each other 31:43 and they had to part company, and certainly part worship ways 31:50 and separate one from the other. 31:55 So this, then, is the scenario that we had back in those days. 32:03 The Jews, because of nationalism, 32:06 and the Christians, because of the spread of the gospel, 32:10 and the Gentiles and the fervor; and fewer and fewer 32:14 Christians now are coming from the ranks of Judaism. 32:18 As the church began to grow, fewer and fewer of the 32:23 new Christians are Jews. 32:24 So they really have less in common with their Jewish roots. 32:29 And so affiliations and backgrounds begin to shred. 32:32 They begin to separate. 32:33 And we see the tension as addressed in Acts 15. 32:37 So turn with me to Acts 15. 32:39 I'll show you something very interesting. 32:40 This gives us a peek into the separation ethic 32:49 that began to exist in the early church. 32:51 I'm in Acts 15, and I think I want to pick it up... 33:01 Acts 15, we're looking at the Jerusalem council. 33:08 Ah, here we go. 33:14 I'm in verse 6, the Jerusalem council. 33:17 "Now the apostles and elders came together 33:19 to consider the matter." 33:21 You had Jewish believers and Jewish Christians 33:28 who were trying to make the new Christians 33:32 go through the old Jewish rites and ceremonies 33:35 before they could be accepted into the church. 33:37 Now when the church was particularly populated 33:39 with former Jews was not a hard thing. 33:43 But as Gentiles became prevalent in the church, 33:47 they saw no need to go through those rites which were 33:52 particularly valuable to the Jewish community. 33:56 So a controversy arose and the head council in Jerusalem 34:03 began to address and redress that council. 34:05 Here are the words, "Now the apostles and elders 34:07 came together to consider the matter. 34:09 And when there had been much dispute, 34:13 Peter rose up and said to them, 'Men and brethren, 34:18 you know that a good while ago God chose among us, 34:22 that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word 34:25 of the gospel and believe. 34:27 So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them 34:30 by giving them the Holy Spirit...'" 34:32 So first of all, he's justifying the fact that Gentiles 34:35 need to be and are part of the family of God. 34:38 "Got the same Spirit that we have, the same Holy Spirit. 34:42 And God has called us to take the gospel to them. 34:47 So He gave them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us." 34:51 I'm in verse 9. 34:53 "...and made no distinction between us and them..." 34:57 So Jew, Gentile; once you come into the Christian faith, 35:01 you're all the same. 35:03 "...no distinction between us and them, 35:05 purifying their hearts by faith. 35:08 Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke 35:14 on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers 35:18 nor we were able to bear?" 35:20 I think that's kind of interesting. 35:21 He's saying, "Why do you have to put stuff on them. 35:22 We couldn't even handle it when it was put on us. 35:24 Why would we put it on them?" 35:26 "But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ 35:32 we shall be saved in the same manner as they." 35:37 Very, very important. 35:38 You don't get saved under a special dispensation, 35:41 you don't get saved under a special set of rules. 35:43 We all get saved the same way by the same Person. 35:46 And that is the Man, Christ Jesus. 35:48 "Then all the multitude kept silent and listened as 35:52 Barnabas and Paul declared how many miracles and wonders 35:56 God had worked through them among the Gentiles." 36:01 So, we see that God was working through the Gentiles, 36:06 as He was through the Christians. 36:08 And this tension, though solved here in Acts 15, 36:15 really simmered for a time, and the Christian church 36:19 and the Jewish church had, as a said before, 36:21 had to part company. 36:23 The question is, "Should we make the Christians, in short, Jews? 36:28 Should we make them jump through Jewish hoops, 36:32 or should we let the Christians come to Jesus, 36:36 come to Christ, through the aid of the Holy Spirit 36:39 just like we all have to do?" 36:41 The answer, of course, came out of the mouth of James, 36:43 co-signed by Peter and Paul. 36:45 "Therefore I judge," he said, "that we should not 36:49 trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God, 36:53 but that we write to them to abstain from things 36:57 polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, 37:01 from things strangled, and from blood." 37:04 Add to that the keeping of the commandments, 37:08 which is alluded to in the following line. 37:11 And that's sufficient. 37:12 In other words, he's saying, 37:14 "Let's just give them basic things. 37:15 They don't have to jump through Jewish hoops, 37:17 they don't have to become surrogate Jews. 37:19 They just have to love Jesus and keep some basic things 37:22 that separate them from the world and from the 37:25 pagan community, and they will be accepted by God." 37:28 Now even with this decree in the Jerusalem council at about 37:33 AD 50, the divisions increased. 37:38 And so 45 years later, the Jewish community says, 37:41 "Bye, bye," to the Christian community, 37:43 and the Christian community takes off to spread the gospel 37:47 throughout the known part of the world. 37:51 The Romans were cracking down on what they termed, 37:55 illicit religion. 37:57 Judaism was not particularly adored by Rome. 38:02 They weren't that crazy about Judaism themselves. 38:05 But at least it was what the Romans called, a licit religion. 38:10 You've heard of illicit. 38:11 Well the Romans called certain religions, licit. 38:14 In other words, they were legal to exist within the empire. 38:18 Judaism was a licit or legal protected religion by Roman law. 38:24 You remember Paul was a Jew. 38:27 And before Paul could be sentenced, he had the right 38:31 to appeal to Rome. 38:35 His religion was at least legal, 38:38 though not in particular favored. 38:41 Judaism was licit, Christianity was illicit. 38:47 Christians were soon to be judged as outlaws. 38:53 And so this weighed on the minds of 38:54 the Hebrew Christians also. 38:56 "We can go back to Judaism 38:59 and enjoy a certain amount of protection, 39:04 or we can go into Christianity which is an outlaw religion." 39:12 And that was another subtle pressure to go back to something 39:14 that they were familiar with, that they knew. 39:18 The Hebrew Christians also realized that Jews 39:21 were God's chosen people. 39:24 Christians didn't have that pedigree. 39:27 So Hebrews wasn't particularly an evangelistic work, 39:31 in its broadest sense. 39:33 The book of Hebrews was for those who were trying to decide 39:38 if they wanted to become Christians 39:40 and remain Christians. 39:42 It was written for people who were having second thoughts 39:47 about staying in Christianity, 39:50 about staying in the Way and following Jesus. 39:54 And that's why we call it, Stay This Way. 39:56 Because Paul's burden, his message is, 39:59 "You've begun this way, stay this way. 40:03 And don't have second thoughts, because Jesus is the way." 40:09 People like you and me who struggle with doubt sometimes, 40:12 that's why Hebrews is a good book to read. 40:14 Hebrews is a good book to give some study to. 40:17 Even the very first verse, as we said, 40:19 sets the premise for this entire book. 40:21 So when you read it, you are hit with several things 40:24 that I call, the super things. 40:27 Super themes, I call them. 40:29 One, Hebrews will establish for you that among all the men, 40:35 women, boys, and girls ever born on this planet, 40:41 Jesus is unique. 40:44 So when you give your life to Jesus, you are following someone 40:50 for whom there is no equal, and certainly no superior. 40:57 Christ is unique. 40:59 And that's what Paul is saying at the very beginning. 41:03 He's unique. 41:04 What you see was created through Him. 41:08 What you are is created through Him. 41:11 What will be, created through Him. 41:14 He is unique. 41:16 He is unequaled, unparalleled, in the history of the world. 41:21 Christ is supreme. 41:23 Regardless of the list you have, regardless of the God you serve, 41:27 regardless of what you think about what's going on 41:31 in heaven or on earth, Jesus is supreme. 41:37 None greater, none more deserving of worship. 41:40 He is unique and He is supreme. 41:44 There is none like Him. 41:46 There are no copies, no clones. 41:48 Christ is unique. 41:50 Only one, one only. 41:53 And He is supreme. 41:56 Number three, and this is very, very important. 42:00 "You pick the category," Paul says. 42:04 You pick the category. 42:08 Priest... He's supreme. 42:12 Sacrifice... He is supreme. 42:17 Teacher... He is supreme. 42:21 Example for us... He is supreme. 42:27 And Christians, particularly Hebrew Christians, 42:29 could relate to that. 42:30 They knew what it was to have their sacrifices 42:34 taken to the presence of God by a priest. 42:38 So Paul is saying, that priest and those sacrifices 42:43 could never really do the work for you. 42:47 But this new Priest, this supreme Priest, 42:51 this supreme sacrifice named Jesus can do it all. 42:56 Indeed, has done it all. 42:59 As sacrifice, He is supreme. 43:02 You knew what it was to offer a lamb, or a bullock, 43:05 or a ram, or a dove. 43:07 You knew what that was. 43:08 You knew that those were given for your sins. 43:14 Well this unique, supreme being called Jesus 43:19 gave His life for your sins. 43:22 And so Paul acculturates, he cloaks his words 43:27 in language that the Hebrew Christians could understand. 43:31 Teacher or rabbi... 43:33 We've had teachers, we've had good teachers. 43:35 We've had people who were experts in the law. 43:39 But nobody spoke like Jesus. 43:42 Nobody talked like Jesus. 43:44 Jesus is the unique Teacher. 43:46 He is also the supreme Teacher. 43:49 But more than that, the words that He spoke 43:52 were unique and supreme. 43:55 They were one of a kind words, and they were words above 43:59 all other words. 44:01 You remember, the Bible says of those listening to Him, 44:03 "Never a man spoke like this." 44:04 Because He spoke with authority. 44:09 As example, Christ is our example. 44:14 He's the vine, John 15. 44:16 We're going to talk about that in an upcoming sermon. 44:19 We are the branches, He is our example. 44:21 These things which were done, were done aforetime 44:24 that they may be examples to us. 44:26 Christ is our example. 44:28 We tend to look at others. 44:31 We tend to look around. 44:33 We tend to example ourselves or pattern ourselves 44:37 after others that we see. 44:39 But Paul is letting us know in the book of Hebrews that 44:44 there's only one real example that you need to 44:48 line yourself up with. 44:50 Don't line yourself up with the pastor, 44:52 or the conference president, or the deacon, or the elder, 44:55 or any good man or woman that you may see in church. 44:59 The person you need to compare yourself to, 45:03 the real example, is Jesus. 45:06 Now I'll tell you something. 45:08 It is interesting that when you compare yourself 45:11 with other individuals, most people will always find 45:14 a reason or rationale to come out better than somebody. 45:18 "Well, they sing better than I, 45:19 but I preacher better than them." 45:21 "Well, they dress better than I, but I'm thinner than they are." 45:25 "Well, they look better than I, but at least I'm taller." 45:27 You always find some kind of way to make yourself feel good, 45:29 until, until, you look at Jesus. 45:34 When you look at Jesus, you see yourself 45:38 as you really are. 45:41 For there is nothing in you that supersedes the majesty 45:46 and power of Jesus. 45:49 So He becomes our example. 45:52 If you want to know what to do, do as Jesus did. 45:58 If you want to know what to say, speak as Jesus spoke. 46:03 If you want to know how to act, act like Jesus acted. 46:09 And you'll be doing the right thing. 46:10 So Christ is our eternal example. 46:15 And Paul puts that very plainly in the book of Hebrews. 46:19 He is our example. 46:21 He is also the Restorer. 46:24 Your life has been torn apart, your life has been trying, 46:26 your life has been made rubbish, 46:29 Jesus can reclaim what you have lost. 46:34 He is the Restorer. 46:37 If you think you've gone too far and you've gone too fast, 46:41 I'm here to tell you, Paul is here to tell you, 46:44 the book of Hebrews is here to tell you, 46:46 that Christ can restore. 46:49 Paul also says He is our Judge. 46:52 He's going to be the one who's judging your case. 46:55 And isn't it nice that your Judge in also your Lawyer? 47:04 And when your lawyer is your judge, you can't lose 47:08 for winning. 47:10 When the judge is on your side, and the attorney's on your side, 47:16 you've pretty much got it made. 47:18 If the judge is rooting for you, 47:20 if the judge is pitching for you, 47:23 if the judge is on your side, 47:25 you know you're going to get a positive outcome. 47:29 So Christ is Judge, He's Restorer, 47:33 lastly He's Arbiter. 47:35 He's going to look at your case and He's going to give you 47:37 a fair ruling. 47:40 All of this is packed into the book of Hebrews. 47:45 Paul wants the Hebrew Christians to know, 47:49 "Stay this way, for this is right way." 47:56 That point is still valid and worth emphasis 48:01 some 2000 years later in our day. 48:05 He's not just another prophet, although He is. 48:08 He's not just another guru, although He is a leader. 48:13 He's not just some shaman, or even some social engineer, 48:19 or Utopian cult leader. 48:22 He is the mighty God, Paul is saying. 48:27 A thousand times no, He's not just an ordinary person. 48:32 He is a unique person. 48:34 Paul came out of the gate swinging. 48:36 He's armed, and dare I say dangerous. 48:39 And I say it again, "God, who at various times 48:42 and in various ways spoke in times past to the fathers 48:46 by the prophets, has in these last days, 48:51 when He speaks to us, He speaks to us by His Son." 48:54 You remember back in, was it Mark, where the disciples 48:59 asked Jesus, "Show us the Father." 49:02 And they said it suffices, just give us some clue of who He was. 49:07 And Jesus said, "Have I been so long with you 49:10 that you don't know that when you're looking at Me 49:13 you're looking at the Father? 49:14 When you're looking at My acts, you're looking at the 49:17 acts of the Father. 49:18 When you're listening to My words, you're listening 49:20 to the words of the Father. 49:22 When you see how I love, you're looking and experiencing 49:25 the love of the Father." 49:27 So God has spoken to us, He connects to us, 49:31 through His Son Jesus in these last days. 49:36 And then he establishes, as I said before, 49:39 the Son's pedigree. 49:40 "...to whom He has appointed heir of all things, 49:44 through whom also He made the worlds; 49:46 the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, 49:51 upholding all things by the word of His power..." 49:56 You and I live, ladies and gentlemen, because Christ 50:00 died and lives again. 50:02 And as Paul says, He is sitting down at the right 50:07 hand of the Father so that we can enjoy 50:10 the benefits of His sacrifice. 50:14 Sitting at God's right hand on high. 50:18 That's why they go back. 50:21 Because God has given them... 50:22 That's why they should not go back, rather. 50:25 Because God has given them something better. 50:27 You see this over and over again in the book of Hebrews. 50:29 It's really wonderful, this something better. 50:31 God provides something better. 50:33 God provides a better way. 50:35 God provides a better sacrifice. 50:37 God provides a better example. 50:39 God provides even a better covenant. 50:42 Not a different covenant, but a stronger covenant. 50:45 Because this one is based on the works of Jesus, 50:48 and through the power of the Holy Spirit 50:50 is implanted in the heart. 50:54 Let's tap the brake for a moment, 50:56 just put the light on for something for a moment. 50:58 I want to show you something. 51:00 I gave you Hebrews 1:1... 51:06 ...as an affirmation of what Paul is saying. 51:09 Let's just go through and take a look at this better way 51:15 that Paul comes back to over and over again. 51:18 Hebrews 1:1; let's look at Hebrews 2:3. 51:22 Paul says to the Hebrew Christians, 51:24 "...how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, 51:29 which was first begun to be spoken by the Lord, 51:32 and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him..." 51:37 So again he's saying, "If you neglect what Jesus is saying, 51:41 if you turn your back on what Jesus is doing, 51:44 if you cast away who Jesus is, you can't escape. 51:48 You've got to stay this way." 51:51 Hebrews 5:9 51:54 "And having been perfected, He became the author 51:57 of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, 52:01 called by God as High Priest 'according to the 52:05 order of Melchizedek...'" 52:06 Again Paul comes back to this idea that He's perfected, 52:12 He's the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, 52:16 called by God as High Priest. 52:20 Again, we see the power of Jesus, the majesty of Jesus, 52:23 the pedigree, dare I say, of Jesus. 52:26 This is why Paul says, "You need to stay with Him 52:29 because He's your new High Priest, 52:32 He's your sacrifice. 52:33 He's got salvation, and there is salvation in no other." 52:38 So you can see how important this would be 52:40 to a group of people who are thinking, "Maybe this 52:43 Christianity thing is not what it's cracked up to be." 52:47 Paul is saying, "Oh no, you've got a new High Priest 52:50 who's the author of eternal salvation, who's going to 52:54 do for you what none other can do." 52:57 I take you down to Hebrews 9:28. 53:01 "...so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. 53:06 To those who eagerly wait for Him, He will appear 53:09 a second time, apart from sin, for salvation." 53:14 Paul makes a very important point in the book of Hebrews. 53:18 He says, "You remember those sacrifices that took place 53:20 every morning, every evening? 53:22 You remember how those sacrifices went every morning, 53:24 you had to slay a lamb? 53:25 Every morning you had to 53:27 slit the throat and collect the blood. 53:29 Remember how that went on and on? 53:31 That stuff could never really take care of your sins. 53:35 It was done in faith that Jesus would come one day 53:40 and be the ultimate sacrifice." 53:43 So he says, Christ was offered once. 53:47 Only once. 53:49 You only need once. 53:51 Because it was the perfect sacrifice. 53:55 Those sacrifices took place daily. 53:57 Every morning, every evening. 53:58 Well Christ did it one time. 54:00 And that once was better than all of those millions 54:04 of sacrifices that took place over thousands of years. 54:08 Christ did it once. 54:10 He died for sin. 54:12 But when you see Him the next time, 54:15 He will be apart from sin, He will supersede sin, 54:18 He will destroy sin, and He will come for salvation. 54:24 Hebrews 10:29 54:28 Referring to Moses' law, "How much worse punishment, 54:33 do you suppose, will he be thought worthy 54:37 who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, 54:40 counted the blood of the covenant by which he was 54:43 sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?" 54:47 This comes at the end of a long and powerful soliloquy 54:50 by Paul in the book of Hebrews. 54:53 He's saying, "God has done so much. 54:56 Even those who were condemned by the Mosaic law 55:00 at the testimony of one or two people, 55:03 how much worse is it going to be for those of you 55:07 who reject the love of God, and the Son of God, 55:13 and the work of God, and the blood of the covenant 55:16 which sanctifies us, and you insult the Spirit of grace?" 55:20 Paul is making a very, very strong argument 55:22 that you put yourself in jeopardy when you turn 55:26 your back on Jesus, and everything that Jesus 55:28 is trying to do, to go back to an old way of works 55:31 which cannot save you and cannot help you. 55:34 If they were punished for rejecting Moses' law, 55:38 how much more punishment will you receive... 55:41 And that, of course, is eternal damnation. 55:43 ...for rejecting what Jesus has done on the cross of Calvary? 55:47 Hebrews 12:25 55:50 "See to it that you do not refuse Him who speaks. 55:54 For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, 55:58 much more..." 55:59 We see that over and over again in Hebrews. 56:01 "...much more..." Christ did it much more. 56:03 "...shall we not escape if we turn away from Him 56:06 who speaks from heaven..." 56:08 Paul is speaking plain. 56:10 "You've got words that priests and prophets spoke here on earth 56:14 but now Jesus is speaking to you through the Holy Spirit 56:16 from the courts of glory. 56:18 Don't turn your back on the words of God. 56:20 Because not only is Christ the real deal, 56:24 He's having you to walk in the real way." 56:28 Then I submit to you Hebrews 11:13 and 11:39. 56:33 Time is going to run out, and we don't have time to 56:36 go through all those text. 56:37 And I don't have time to take it back to Isaiah 30:21. 56:42 But the message is clear for the Hebrew Christians 56:48 and for those of us who follow Christ today. 56:51 Jesus said, "There is only one way. 56:54 I am the way, the truth, and the life. 56:59 No man, no woman, no boy, no girl, 57:04 comes to the Father but by Me. 57:09 And having found the way, walk in that way 57:14 and stay in that way." |
Revised 2016-11-17