Perseverance in Faith: Cherishing God's Grace

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Well, the short answer is I don't know. I don't know whether your protracted sexual sin will have the effect of preventing you from being restored to repentance, and I hope the fact that I don't know will sound to you both sobering and hopeful. Sobering because it is possible to sin oneself into a condition of inability to repent, and hopeful because in Christ Jesus the worst of sins, the worst of sins will be forgiven if there is authentic repentance in faith in Jesus Christ. [00:01:56]

This book is written precisely to help people save people who have made a great beginning in the Christian life. Describe, for example, in chapter 10 verses 32 to 34, recall the former days when you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. [00:02:35]

We must pay closer attention to what we have heard lest we drift away from it or chapter 12 verse 12, therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees and make straight paths for your feet so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather healed or chapter 3 verse 12 take care of brothers lest there be in any of you an evil unbelieving heart leading you to fall away from the Living God. [00:03:21]

Exhort one another every day as long as it is called today that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin because we have come to share in Christ if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end so we know that they were born again because their persevering did you get that free verse 14 we have come to share in Christ if indeed we hold our confidence firm to the end. [00:03:41]

The strategy of the inspired writer is to lavish the readers with glorious displays of superiority, the superiority of Christ and his salvation for sinners, that's one thing, and yet on the other hand to give them a stark and stunning warnings of destruction if we turn away from this overflowing grace and join Esau by selling our birthright for a bowl of pottage and so prove that we were never in Christ like we saw in 3:14. [00:04:14]

Let yourself be swept into the fact that his covenant is a better covenant and his promises are better promises and his sacrifice is a better sacrifice. This book is a volcano, an overflow of spectacular provisions of God through Christ to save the worst of sinners. Yes, it is. Let this be the primary impact of the book of Hebrews, not to be sure the terrible warnings of destruction are there. [00:05:26]

See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God, that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau who sold his birthright for a single meal for you know that afterward when he desired to inherit the blessing he was rejected why for he found no place of repentance he couldn't repent though he sought it with tears that's the heart of the warning in this book. [00:05:55]

Don't treat the grace of God and the preciousness of Christ and the forgiveness of sins and eternal life with such contempt that you harden your heart to the point where you can't cherish Christ anymore, you can't hate sin anymore, you can't repent or receive forgiveness anymore. The warnings of the book of Hebrews are most fundamentally not warnings about being beyond the reach of grace. [00:06:07]

They are warnings about hardness of heart that cannot receive grace as a precious gift and rest in grace as free and cherished grace as all satisfying. The problem with Esau in Chapter 12 and this is the main problem that the writers dealing with the the problem with the Eastside chapter 12 was not that grace and forgiveness were unavailable but that he had sinned himself into a condition. [00:06:47]

He loved this world so much he loved sin so much that freeness the freeness and the all sufficiency of grace couldn't be seen or felt or received as more precious than sin hmm so it says in 1217 he found no place no occasion no ability of repentance though he sought it with tears not tears of repentance over the ugliness and the distastefulness and the christ crucifying evil of sin. [00:07:28]

Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts but take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil unbelieving heart leading you to fall away from the Living God exhort one another every day as long as it is called today that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin this is a this is a man crying out to a church for whom he believes it's not too late. [00:09:05]

Do not throw away your confidence, which has great reward for you have need of endurance so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised it's a sweet pleading to every person it's not too late turn don't harden your heart maintain your hope keep your confidence amen thank you Pastor John for those sobering words and Josh thanks for your openness to talk about your past. [00:09:40]

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