Jefferson Vann

FOLLOW SACRIFICIALLY

Mark 1:16-20; 2:13-17 NET

We have seen from Deuteronomy 13 that the LORD expects us to follow him loyally. We are not to allow anyone to tempt us to forsake our allegiance to God no matter what credentials they have, no matter how close we are to them and no matter how many are backing them – even if it is an entire city.

When the New Testament talks about Following God, the emphasis is on following Jesus – the king of God’s coming kingdom. When you join a club, it is usually because the club is doing something you want to be involved with. But when you become part of the kingdom, you are pledging loyalty to a king. From that point on, it is not what you want that matters. From now on, it is what the king wants that matters.

That is why following Jesus always means more than being a fan of him. When he calls us, the call requires that we follow him sacrificially.

The story of Jesus’ call of the four fishermen is an example of this fact.

Jesus challenged the four fishermen to follow him sacrificially (1:16-20).

16 As he went along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, Simon’s brother, casting a net into the sea (for they were fishermen). 17 Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will turn you into fishers of people.” 18 They left their nets immediately and followed him. 19 Going on a little farther, he saw James, the son of Zebedee, and John his brother in their boat mending nets. 20 Immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

These four men were not just out for a weekend of pleasure fishing. They had their own boats, their own nets, and they even had some hired men along. They were professional fishermen. They did this for a living. Being fishermen was the family business for them. It was the means that God had given them for providing for their own families. We learn from the early chapters of the book of John that at least three of these four men had already met Jesus, and probably accompanied him on his preaching tour in Judea (John 2:2, 12, 17; 3:22; 4:2, 27).

Now, these men were back in Galilee, and they were back at work. That short-term ministry trip was wonderful and all, but they have to get back to work now. So it is here in their normal setting that Jesus comes and visits them. They had already committed themselves to Jesus as the Messiah. Now their king comes to them and tells them that he wants them to do something else.

Let’s just stop there for a moment and ask that all-important question. Could Jesus be calling us to do something else besides what we normally do? He didn’t call Zebedee that day. He didn’t call the other hired men. He zeroed in on these four and specifically challenged them to rejoin his preaching tour. This time, it would be in Galilee. This time it would be in their home region. Except that this time they would have to sacrifice more than just a short time away from family and friends. This time he was challenging them to change their occupation. They would have to train to preach the gospel. They would have to begin at ground zero and relearn how to work at that new job.

Later, Mark describes another disciple who was challenged by Jesus to give up his current job and become a trainee disciple. We know this disciple as Matthew, but Mark called him by his Jewish name – Levi.

Jesus challenged Levi to follow him sacrificially (2:13-15).

13 Jesus went out again by the sea. The whole crowd came to him, and he taught them. 14 As he went along, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the tax booth. “Follow me,” he said to him. And he got up and followed him. 15 As Jesus was having a meal in Levi’s home, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.

The last time Mark had Jesus by the sea it was to recruit four new trainees. Now he is back there, and there is a whole crowd with him. He had just healed a paralytic, and so there was a huge crowd following him around, waiting to see what he would do next. What he did next was in a sense even more remarkable than the healing. He approached the tax booth.

Now, it’s one thing to approach a group of fishermen. They might not smell great, but they are generally likable. The only ones who don’t like fishermen are fish. But everybody tried to stay away from people like Levi. They were traitors. They had sold out to the evil Romans. They took money from good Jewish people to give to the hated Romans. Worse than that, they had a reputation for cheating people by taking more than was lawful. Becoming a tax collector was a way to get rich.

But that choice came with a price. Levi was the son of Alphaeus, but Alphaeus probably didn’t acknowledge Levi. Probably one of the reasons Levi changed his name was because he had been appointed tax collector. He had a new family. He had become a tax collector, so now he associated with two groups. One group was other tax collectors. The other group was a general group of outcasts in society – simply called “sinners” here.

The very next thing we see after Jesus calls Levi is Jesus and his disciples in Levi’s home, having a meal with him. Alphaeus is not there. But Levi has invited some of his fellow tax collectors to the party, and a number of those outcast “sinners” as well.

Levi’s initial contribution to Jesus’ ministry is his connection to these outcasts. He has an “in” with these people. There are a lot of people in Capernaum who are spiritually sick and they need a doctor. Levi brings the doctor and the sick people together.

But Jesus calls Levi to change his vocation again. He challenges him to sacrifice all his clout with Rome and all his potential riches and become a trainee like the four fishermen. Before he could become Matthew, the apostle, he had to become Matthew the disciple. Once again, the Lord is calling on his follower to sacrifice for the master.

Jesus even challenged the religious leaders to follow him sacrificially (2:16-17).

16 When the experts in the law and the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 When Jesus heard this he said to them, “Those who are healthy don’t need a physician, but those who are sick do. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

The news got out about the party in Levi’s house. The religious leaders in Capernaum found out about the meal Jesus and his disciples shared with the tax collectors and sinners.

This was a real problem for those religious leaders. They considered such a meal not just a breach of decorum. They taught that if you ate with such people, it would defile you, so you could no longer be around the good folks. There is an “us” and a “them.” If you want to be around us, you have to stay away from them.

Somebody (probably the one who drew the short straw) was delegated to ask the disciples why Jesus chose to associate with the riffraff. Jesus responded himself by saying that it is the sick people who need a doctor, and the doctor is in.

Now, Jesus is not saying that these religious leaders were already righteous, so they didn’t need him. He’s not saying that he chose to concentrate on the tax collectors and sinners because the experts in the law and the Pharisees were strong enough to take care of themselves.

Broadus points out that in verse 17, “The righteous is, literally, ‘ righteous (persons),’ without an article, thus not implying that there was an actual class of persons really righteous, not saying whether there were such persons or not.”¹

The religious leaders considered themselves righteous people already. But Jesus implied that they were only hypothetically righteous. At any rate, it was just that hypothetical righteousness that excluded them from the party. Jesus was in Levi’s house to reach new people for his kingdom. To join Jesus, these religious leaders would have to sacrifice their presumption of innocence. They would have to sacrifice their status as the spiritually elite of Capernaum.

The crowd who met in Levi’s house all had something in common. They came to see Jesus because they knew he had something they didn’t have. They were curious. They wanted to know why Levi was packing his things.

Weidner suggests that this feast was a going-away party. He says “Matthew made this feast in honor of Christ, and probably by way of farewell, invited many of his old associates, ‘for there was a great multitude of publicans and of others that were sitting at meat with them’ (Luke 5: 29)”²

They didn’t consider it beneath their dignity to come to Jesus. They might not have considered themself “sick” of anything, but they would be honest enough with themselves to admit that they could use some improvement. They were there to say goodbye to their friend. But since he was their friend, they were open to listening to him explain why giving up his job and taking up with Jesus was important to him. Because Levi was loyal to Jesus, they were interested in what he had to say.

But the crowd of hypothetically righteous people outside did not want to come in. They were not interested in defiling themselves, even if it meant seeing Jesus. There is always a crowd outside who will refuse to come inside. There is always a group of people who think that they don’t need Jesus. They can take him or leave him. There will also always be enough Levis on the inside to keep the people on the outside from coming inside. What Jesus told the Pharisees that day was that as long as they looked down on the Christians that are they will never become actual Christians themselves. As long as they let their prejudice and self-righteousness determine their loyalty, they will be staying away from his kingdom.

Following Jesus requires change, and change never happens without sacrifice. Sometimes that sacrifice is letting go of the things you expect to happen in your life. You train all your life to be a fisherman, and then you discover that Jesus wants you to be a fisher of men. Sometimes that sacrifice is leaving your stability for a less secure and uncertain future. You just get settled as a tax collector, and Jesus calls you to leave that post and become a trainee disciple. Sometimes that sacrifice means admitting that you are not as healthy as the world thinks you are. You are on the outside, looking at the party, and you realize that the doctor is in there, and you need him.

Wherever you are in your walk with Christ, don’t be afraid to sacrifice for him.

Listen to these words from a former Pharisee who realized that he had been only hypothetically righteous, so he sacrificed all his assets for Christ. They are the words of the apostle Paul:

“If someone thinks he has good reasons to put confidence in human credentials, I have more: I was circumcised on the eighth day, from the people of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews. I lived according to the law as a Pharisee. In my zeal for God I persecuted the church. According to the righteousness stipulated in the law I was blameless. But these assets I have come to regard as liabilities because of Christ. More than that, I now regard all things as liabilities compared to the far greater value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things – indeed, I regard them as dung! – that I may gain Christ, and be found in him, not because I have my own righteousness derived from the law, but because I have the righteousness that comes by way of Christ’s faithfulness – a righteousness from God that is in fact based on Christ’s faithfulness. My aim is to know him, to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings, and to be like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:4b-11 NET).

1Broadus, John Albert. Commentary on the Gospel of Mark. Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication Society, 1905. p. 23.

2 Weidner, Revere Franklin. Commentary on the Gospel of Mark. Allentown, Pa: Brobst, Diehl & Co, 1881. p. 79.

FOLLOW LOYALLY

Deuteronomy 13:1-18 NET

Today I’m starting a new series of sermons on following Jesus. You should not be surprised that I am beginning this series with a message from the Old Testament. You should know by now that I don’t think anything that Jesus said to us was an entirely new idea. God had already been preparing us for the New Testament gospel of the kingdom by what was revealed in the Old Testament. We should begin studying about following Jesus there.

Deuteronomy 13 is a good place to start. This chapter outlines for us the dangers of following the wrong leaders. If we do not discriminate in the people we follow, we will inevitably wind up following those who lead us away from God and his truth. That is a recipe for disaster.

The danger of following the wrong teacher (1-5)

1 Suppose a prophet or one who foretells by dreams should appear among you and show you a sign or wonder, 2 and the sign or wonder should come to pass concerning what he said to you, namely, “Let us follow other gods” – gods whom you have not previously known – “and let us serve them.” 3 You must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer, for the LORD your God will be testing you to see if you love him with all your mind and being. 4 You must follow the LORD your God and revere only him; and you must observe his commandments, obey him, serve him, and remain loyal to him. 5 As for that prophet or dreamer, he must be executed because he encouraged rebellion against the LORD your God who brought you from the land of Egypt, redeeming you from that place of slavery, and because he has tried to entice you from the way the LORD your God has commanded you to go. In this way you must purge out evil from within.

Notice the depths of the temptation here. The Israelites would never have followed a teacher who came declaring that he was a false prophet. They would not knowingly follow someone whose declared intention was to lead them away from the LORD. But the temptation would come from someone with a title. More than that, he came with a reputation: credentials. His credentials were the fact that he had predicted something was going to happen, and it happened.

We often get the wrong idea about how gullible the Israelites were. We tend to think of them as so naive that they would follow anyone who said anything. I don’t think that is the case. These people had a history of following God because he had proven his existence and power by delivering them from the gods of Egypt. They are used to a God who proved himself by striking down the firstborn in Egypt, leading Israel our from their midst, dividing the Red Sea, leading Israel through its midst, tossing Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea, leading Israel through the wilderness, and defeating great kings of Canaan to help them gain the promised land. They are not going to be persuaded by a mere argument.

So, the teachers who would come to tempt Israel away from their loyalty to God would be false prophets whose prophecies would come true. Why would God allow that? Henry Blunt asked the same question:

“At first sight, we are apt to imagine, that the easiest way for the Almighty to have prevented any such mischievous and dangerous results, would have been by preventing the sign or the wonder from coming to pass since it was so evidently wrought to establish a falsehood. But this is not the method of God’s dealings with his people in any age; He does not keep them from temptation, but with the temptation, he sends a way to escape.”¹

God intended for false teachers to come into Israel for the expressed purpose of leading his people away from their faith. He would allow those teachers to come, and to demonstrate their credentials as prophets by showing that their prophecies came true. God would permit this because he would be testing Israel to see if they truly love him with all of their minds and being (3).

Now, brothers and sisters, do I dare to compare our day to the time in which this scripture was written? Do I dare to tell you that the same God who allowed the Israelites to be tempted by false teachers might also allow you and me to face the same temptation? Yes, I dare to do that.

The world around us stands deluded by a scientific community that has suggested that everything can be explained without God. Politics and Philosophy have also provided teachers who are have embraced this atheistic doctrine. All of these prophets come with impeccable credentials. We are tempted to ask how all these experts can be wrong. But the scriptures here warn us that such a thing can and will happen. God is allowing it to happen to test our loyalty.

God’s prescription for the Israelites was simple. Those false prophets who encouraged rebellion against God were to be executed. In God’s kingdom on earth, nobody had freedom of speech if that speech denied the absolute authority of God Almighty.

The second section of this chapter shows that the Israelites would be tempted to be disloyal to God even by those closest to them. The tempters would emerge even among their friends and family.

The danger of following a friend or family member (6-11)

6 Suppose your own full brother, your son, your daughter, your beloved wife, or your closest friend should seduce you secretly and encourage you to go and serve other gods that neither you nor your ancestors have previously known, 7 the gods of the surrounding people (whether near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other). 8 You must not give in to him or even listen to him; do not feel sympathy for him or spare him or cover up for him. 9 Instead, you must kill him without fail! Your own hand must be the first to strike him, and then the hands of the whole community. 10 You must stone him to death because he tried to entice you away from the LORD your God, who delivered you from the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. 11 Thus all Israel will hear and be afraid; no longer will they continue to do evil like this among you.

This new phase of the temptation is more intimate than the last. Some people will remain loyal to the LORD despite anything they might hear from an expert. But these might be tempted if the word comes from someone close – a brother, son, daughter, wife, close friend. These are the false prophets who come to seduce us secretly (6).

Driver writes about this kind of attack:

“The sternest measures must at once be adopted to check the evil: not only is the tempter not to be listened to, but even though the temptation has only been expressed by him in secret, he is to be treated without mercy or compunction; for his attempt to seduce a brother Israelite from his loyalty to Jehovah, he is to be stoned to death”²

Notice what is happening here. The temptation was first from an unknown prophet who came with a credential. God had told his people to ignore the credential and respond to the temptation to be disloyal because God is testing their loyalty by allowing the prophet to come. Now the temptation is coming from a known source – a trusted friend or family member. God’s command for them was to disregard the closeness of the source and once again to treat the temptation based on its result.

Friends, we are so far from obeying this command in our everyday lives. We allow family and friends to undermine our loyalty to God at every turn. We need to come face to face with our guilt in this matter.

Jesus warned us that families would turn against one another because of him. He said “Brother will hand over brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Mark 13:12-13 NET).

The temptation to rebel against God can come from our closest kin and our dearest friends. This is also a test of our loyalty.

The final section of today’s text reveals yet another phase of the temptation to rebel against exclusive loyalty to God.

The danger of following a disloyal city (12-18)

12 Suppose you should hear in one of your cities, which the LORD your God is giving you as a place to live, that 13 some evil people have departed from among you to entice the inhabitants of their cities, saying, “Let’s go and serve other gods” (whom you have not known before). 14 You must investigate thoroughly and inquire carefully. If it is indeed true that such a disgraceful thing is being done among you, 15 you must by all means slaughter the inhabitants of that city with the sword; annihilate with the sword everyone in it, as well as the livestock. 16 You must gather all of its plunder into the middle of the plaza and burn the city and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the LORD your God. It will be an abandoned ruin forever – it must never be rebuilt again. 17 You must not take for yourself anything that has been placed under judgment. Then the LORD will relent from his intense anger, show you compassion, have mercy on you, and multiply you as he promised your ancestors. 18 Thus you must obey the LORD your God, keeping all his commandments that I am giving you today and doing what is right before him.

In this phase of the temptation, an entire city has been won over by the rebels. It is a city that had been loyal to the LORD but has now gone completely in the opposite direction.

In that case, the entire city was to be devoted to destruction. You may remember that such was the case of Jericho. God had devoted the entire city to destruction, and that is why Achan sinned when he kept some of its treasures for himself.

A city so destroyed was to be a prophecy of the final judgment – of destruction in Gehenna itself. The city which rebelled against the LORD was to be treated like God treated Sodom and Gomorrah. Its destruction was to remind all true followers of the price of apostasy. Jesus taught that rebels will be destroyed – soul and body – in hell (Matthew 10:28). The fact that cities devoted to destruction are not to be rebuilt is also a prophecy of the utter finality of hell. The apostle Paul taught that the fate of the lost is permanent destruction (2 Thessalonians 1:9). A person permanently destroyed cannot live again.

When we look at this chapter as a whole, we can see a warning from God that his people – those devoted to him – will be tempted to turn away from him. Prophets with supernatural skills will seek to lure them away. Friends and family will try to erase their faith. Even entire cities will seek to undermine their loyalty to the LORD.

Such is the case with believers in Jesus Christ today. The moment a person declares their faith in Christ, that person becomes a target for those who will make it their mission to destroy that faith. They will seek to undermine that loyalty. We have been warned!

1Blunt, Henry. A Family Exposition of the Pentateuch. London: J. Hatchard and Son, 1844. p. 243.

2Driver, S. R. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Deuteronomy. New York: Charles Scribner, 1895. p. 153.

TRUE FAITH

We have been studying the foundations of repentance and faith this month. I want to conclude the series by looking at true faith. There are all kinds of religions in the world, and all kinds of political and philosophical ideologies. Lots of people talk about faith. I think it’s important for us to distinguish between true biblical faith and other kinds of faith. To help us to do this, we will be looking at a scriptural text from 1 Peter.

1 Peter 1:18-21 NET

18 You know that from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors you were ransomed – not by perishable things like silver or gold, 19 but by precious blood like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb, namely Christ. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was manifested in these last times for your sake. 21 Through him you now trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

The apostle Peter lived through one of the most difficult and challenging times for the early church – a time when both the Jewish establishment in Palestine and the Roman authorities throughout the Gentile world were turning against Christians, treating them with discrimination and violence, and persecuting them for their faith.

The reason I mention this is that nowadays when some people talk about faith they are referring to something entirely different than what Peter was talking about in this passage. I have heard people describe faith as if it is some magical power that Christians get that they can use to make themselves healthier, wealthier, and more intelligent. Some people think of faith as a kind of spiritual strength that can help them get promoted at their workplace, make a million dollars, or raise super-spiritual children without any effort.

Peter lived in a world where true believers did not think like that. They were treated very badly by everyone else, and some were being slaughtered for their faith. They were being set on fire to light Caesar’s parties. They were being beheaded. They were being sent to the arena, to be murdered by gladiators, or eaten by lions. It seems to me that if faith was something that you could use to overcome worldly distractions and be victorious over all your enemies, Peter had the perfect context in which to talk about that kind of faith. He could have told the believers he was writing to that if they wanted to keep from being persecuted and murdered by Jewish fundamentalists and Roman Nazis all they needed was more of this magic faith. Instead, this is the kind of thing we read in this letter:

• “This brings you great joy, although you may have to suffer for a short time in various trials” (1:6).

• “Such trials show the proven character of your faith, which is much more valuable than gold – gold that is tested by fire, even though it is passing away – and will bring praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (1:7).

• “But in fact, if you happen to suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. But do not be terrified of them or be shaken” (3:14).

• “For it is better to suffer for doing good, if God wills it, than for doing evil” (3:17).

• “Dear friends, do not be astonished that a trial by fire is occurring among you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice in the degree that you have shared in the sufferings of Christ, so that when his glory is revealed you may also rejoice and be glad” (4:12-13).

• “So then let those who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator as they do good” (4:19).

My point in bringing this up is that there are all kinds of “believers” in this world, and all kinds of “faith.” So, when we talk about faith I want to make it clear what we are not saying. We are not saying that we have found the super-drug that is going to make us impervious to the problems and trials that normal people face in this life.

Doctor Graham said “Mysterious as it appears to be, true faith and suffering go hand in hand. You can’t have the one without the other … it is difficult to understand that suffering is with God’s permission.”¹

If you’ve found the kind of faith that avoids suffering, I’m glad for you, but I haven’t, and neither did doctor Graham, and neither did the apostle Peter. He lived in a real world, where God’s love for him did not mean that he was going to live above its problems. Peter – and all the other apostles except for John – were executed for their faith. But their faith was true, and I believe it was that true faith that Peter was talking about. It is quite possible that some of the people in this generation who call themselves Christians have never been introduced to that true faith. Today’s text gives the basic defining elements of it. Let’s review them, shall we?

God is the founder of true faith (18, 20).

As odd as it may seem, true biblical faith does not begin with the act of believing. It begins with the object of that belief. You can have the strongest faith in the world, but if you put that faith in a rock or a piece of wood, your faith is useless. That’s why Peter begins his faith talk not by asking his readers to look deep inside, but by asking them to look up. Faith works only if there is a powerful object of that faith.

The church’s faith object is its founder: almighty God, who set the processes of our eternal redemption and restoration in place. He did this by choosing his own Son and sending him to die in our place, as the ransom to buy us back from the consequences of our sin. Biblical faith begins with God.

Christ is the focus of true faith (18-19, 20).

The second basic element of biblical faith is also not something that we do, but something that was done for us. Christ’s death on the cross was essential. We could have had all the faith anyone has ever seen, and it would have been useless to save us. Sin had separated us from God’s favor and condemned us to experience his enmity and wrath. So, God in his love paid the sacrificial price for us. Jesus himself is described here as “the sinless, spotless lamb of God.” Suddenly, all those sacrifices under the old covenant make sense. They make sense not because God could ever really be appeased by an animal sacrifice. They make sense because they were pointing forward to the day when God himself would provide the sacrifice to bring atonement.

So, Peter tells his readers that those former sacrifices were prophecies and that they have now been shown their fulfillment. Biblical faith can save because God has paid the ransom, “the precious blood of Christ.”

The focus of the Christian faith is Jesus Christ, and he is enough. You haven’t even begun to express that faith if you are still expecting God to do something else for you before you will commit to him. Satan knows how to push your buttons, and he will keep pushing you as long as he thinks it is working. If you get into despair every time the road gets bumpy, he will keep you traveling on a bumpy road for the rest of your life. His goal is to get you to give up.

But what happens when you are traveling that bumpy road, and you look to Jesus? He traveled it first, didn’t he? He came to this planet for the very purpose of suffering, being defeated and killed – for you.

He is the focus of your faith, not your faith. So, it does not matter how much faith you have. All you need is a little tiny bit of faith – a mustard seed’s worth because it’s not the quantity of your faith that matters. It’s the sufficiency of the focus of your faith: Jesus Christ. Your weak, small, tiny, diminutive, teentsy-weentsy faith is enough to save you for eternity if it is focused on the amazing, miraculous grace of God and the atoning sacrifice of Christ on the cross.

The resurrection is the future of true faith (21).

Peter also tells us something about the future expectation of biblical faith. I think this is important for today because even Christians are often caught up in the wrong kind of hope. Listen to what Peter says about the Christian hope:

• “But in fact, if you happen to suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. But do not be terrified of them or be shaken. But set Christ apart as Lord in your hearts and always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope you possess” (3:14-15).

If you ask many average Christians today what their hope is, they will probably say something like “going to heaven when I die.” That would be the natural response that many would have to the question. The problem is, that response has absolutely nothing to do with what Peter had been talking about. Here is what Peter mentioned about the believer’s expectation in today’s text:

• “Through him you now trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory” (1:21a).

The hope that Peter steered his readers to was not a hope of something happening at death. It was a hope of a resurrection. Just as God raised Jesus Christ from the dead, so he will raise us when Jesus returns. Just as Christ suffered once, but he is glorified now, so we might suffer now, but we will share his glory at his return. Peter told his readers that they can stand firm in their faith because the same God who raised Christ and glorified him also intends to do the same for us. So, even if we do suffer during this life, our destiny is sure. The fact that Jesus suffered and then was raised and glorified is all the proof we need. And, the little faith that we have is all the faith that we need, because it is faith in the God who raises the dead.

1 Graham, Billy. Who’s in Charge of a World That Suffers?: Trusting God in Difficult Circumstances. (Nashville, Tennessee: W Publishing Group, 2021), p. 93.

NOT LAYING THIS FOUNDATION AGAIN

NOT LAYING THIS FOUNDATION AGAIN

Hebrews 6: 1-12 NET

This month, we have been studying our Lord’s command to repent and believe the gospel. We have found that repentance and faith are commanded in both the Old Testament and the new. We saw last week that when our Lord began his preaching ministry in Galilee, it could be summarized by those two words: repent and believe. Foundational to living the Christian life are the twin acts of repenting of sin and believing in God’s good news of salvation through Christ.

And yet, in today’s text, we find a Christian apostle saying these words: “not laying this foundation again.” What did he mean by that? This is another piece of the puzzle. What I want to do today is walk through the first 12 verses of Hebrews 6, and find out what the author of Hebrews is saying when he encourages his readers not to lay the foundation of repentance and faith again.

First, he’s saying that we need to progress in our Christian lives (1-3)

1 Therefore we must progress beyond the elementary instructions about Christ and move on to maturity, not laying this foundation again: repentance from dead works and faith in God,

Every time we see the word “therefore” in Scripture, we need to go back a few steps. In this case, we need to go back to the previous chapter. In Hebrews 5, the author was getting ready to teach about Jesus being appointed a priest in the order of Melchizedek. He told his readers that he had a lot to say about that topic, but it was going to be hard for him to do that because they had become “sluggish in hearing.” They had been believers for a long time, but it hadn’t resulted in their being discipled in the mature aspects of the Christian faith.

So, his words to the Jewish Christians to whom he was writing were “we must progress.” They had stayed in the elementary instructions about Christ for too long. The problem was not with those elementary instructions. They are true instructions. The problem is that they were intended to be the beginning of the Jewish Christians’ walk in the Lord, not the end of it.

Repentance from dead works and faith in God are absolute essentials. They are foundational. The problem that the author of Hebrews had was that his readers had decided to keep laying this foundation over and over again, and never progressing beyond it.

Take this building we are in today, for example. The building has a good solid foundation. You cannot see the foundation, because it is down there – at the foundation. All the wonderful things you can see in this building are supported by that foundation. They were built on it. What would have happened if the builders kept digging up the foundation over and over again? The rest of the building would never have been built.

Here’s a quote from A. B. Bruce that explains what is happening among the readers of this epistle:

“Such are the fundamentals. What is meant by leaving them? Not, of course, ceasing to believe in them, or to think and speak of them, or to attach importance to them; for, though elementary, they are the foundation (θεμέλιον). They are to be left in the sense in which a builder leaves the foundation of a house—by erecting an edifice thereon. They are not to be treated as if they were everything, building as well as foundation. There has always been a Christianity of this sort, stationary, unprogressive; always concerned about the initial stage, and never getting beyond it.”¹

2a teaching about baptisms, laying on of hands,

At this point, the author of Hebrews mentions another couple of things that are foundational to the Christian life. Baptisms and the laying on of hands are things that every believer experiences early on in his or her Christian life. Most of you were baptized a long time ago. You remember your baptism and it helps you to keep your commitment to Christ. You don’t have to do it again. It was a symbol that stays with you. The laying on of hands refers to your acceptance of the Holy Spirit, and all of the Spiritual gifts that you operate in. You don’t have to do that many times either.

Baptism and spiritual gifts naturally flow from repentance and faith. They are initial proof of a person’s repentance and belief in the gospel.

2b resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.

The final two foundational elements that the author of Hebrews mentions are doctrines that a new believer puts his faith in, but does not experience until Christ returns. We trust Christ for the permanent life he promised, but we will not experience that life until the resurrection. Until then we continue to live our temporary lives. We trust Christ to permanently judge and condemn unbelievers in Gehenna. But unbelievers continue living their temporary lives as well.

A translation note on the word “eternal” is helpful here. Eternal is technically an English translation for the Greek word αἰώνιος. But it sends the wrong message to use it in this context. We know that Christ is going to judge on a certain day in the future. Because the Bible talks about a future judgment day, we know that Christ’s judgment is not taking place now and that it is not a perpetual process of judgment. So, a better translation for the Greek phrase κρίματος αἰωνίου would be permanent judgment. That is what hell will be. It will be the permanent destruction of evil.

3 And this is what we intend to do, if God permits.

What the author of Hebrews intends to do is progress beyond the elementary instructions about Christ and move on to maturity. He’s saying that there is more to learn that will help his readers live victoriously and faithfully today.

He’s frustrated that his readers are taking so long to grow. Jesus felt that same frustration. He once told his disciples “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now (John 16:12).

Second, he explains what happens if we do not progress in our Christian lives (4-8)

4 For it is impossible in the case of those who have once been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, become partakers of the Holy Spirit,

5 tasted the good word of God and the miracles of the coming age,

6 and then have committed apostasy, to renew them again to repentance, since they are crucifying the Son of God for themselves all over again and holding him up to contempt.

7 For the ground that has soaked up the rain that frequently falls on it and yields useful vegetation for those who tend it receives a blessing from God.

8 But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is useless and about to be cursed; its fate is to be burned.

There are a lot of preachers and biblical scholars who use this section to argue over the theological question of whether or not a person can lose his salvation. That theoretical question is not what the author of Hebrews is addressing here. He is talking about Jewish people who have had access to the gospel, and have professed faith in Christ.

He’s telling those Jewish Christians that they are in danger of committing apostasy. He’s saying they could be tempted to chuck all this Jesus stuff and return to a Judaism without the Messiah. He uses a parable similar to the one that Jesus used about the different soils. Like in Jesus’ parable, the seed of the word of God comes, but the soil can reject it. The Jewish Christians can have all the truth of the gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit that comes with the gospel and still choose to reject it.

Bruce comments “This was the crime the Hebrew Christians were tempted to commit. A fatal step it must be when taken; for men who left the Christian Church and went back to the synagogue became companions of persons who thought they did God service in cursing the name of Jesus.”²

Now, here’s my point. If we Christians today hear the truth and refuse to respond to it, we’re not just being slow. We are taking a step back. We are not just being immature, we are toying with apostasy. Growth is not an option in the kingdom of God. To refuse to build on the foundation is to reject the foundation.

Third, he explains why we can be assured that true Christians will progress and inherit God’s promises (9-12).

9 But in your case, dear friends, even though we speak like this, we are convinced of better things relating to salvation.

10 For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love you have demonstrated for his name, in having served and continuing to serve the saints.

11 But we passionately want each of you to demonstrate the same eagerness for the fulfillment of your hope until the end,

12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and perseverance inherit the promises.

In the end, the author of Hebrews is confident that his readers are going to build upon the foundation of repentance and faith in the gospel. He remembers the love they have shown each other in Christ. He’s confident that this love came from God himself. He knows they have a hope that can only be fulfilled by Jesus. He encourages them to be imitators of those who through faith and perseverance inherit the promises. A little later on in his letter, he’s going to talk about those people he encourages them to imitate. Chapter eleven lists these heroes of faith.

Abel was one of those heroes because he had only one shot at demonstrating faith in God and didn’t throw away that one shot.

Enoch was one of those heroes because he chose to walk with God when everybody else was walking away from him.

Noah was one of those heroes because he believed that God was going to do what he said he was going to do.

Abraham was one of those heroes because he trusted God for his future, even though he didn’t know all the details.

Sarah was one of those heroes because she trusted God to use her, even though she was already past her “use by” date.

Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph were heroes because they trusted God to help them make an impact on the future of their families.

Moses was one of those heroes because he learned to see the invisible and trust God for the impossible.

Rahab was one of those heroes because she risked everything since her confidence was in God.

In that number, some people received miracles and some remained faithful but saw no miracles. But each of them learned to be faithful and each will be rewarded for their faith.

What the author of Hebrews is saying now is that his readers have a choice. They can stop and turn back now, reject Christ, refuse to grow in their faith, and it will result in apostasy. But he is convinced that the building is going to continue to grow.

The same is true for you and me. God is building a temple for his presence. Every day we face the choice as to whether we will be part of that temple.

1 Bruce, Alexander Balmain. The Epistle to the Hebrews: The First Apology for Christianity; an Exegetical Study. (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark) 1899, p. 206.

2Bruce, p. 214.

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REPENT AND BELIEVE

REPENT AND BELIEVE

Mark 1:14-15 NET
14 Now after John was imprisoned, Jesus went into Galilee and proclaimed the gospel of God. 15 He said, “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the gospel!”

We have been studying two foundational imperatives this month: repentance from sin and believing in God’s gospel. It is in today’s passage that we learn from Jesus himself how foundational these two actions are. When our Lord began his preaching, it could be summarized by these words: “repent and believe the gospel.” We have seen in our study that neither of these is a new command.

Today I want to share seven reasons to repent and believe the gospel. Three of the seven reasons are implied from today’s text.

First, we are commanded to repent by our king (15).

When Jesus started proclaiming that the kingdom of God was near, he was declaring that he had been appointed King of that kingdom. When he next said “Repent and believe the gospel!” he was commanding all of his subjects to do something. The form of the word (μετανοεῖτε) is a grammatical imperative. He did not give anyone an option. He did not say that the gospel was one of the paths to God that a person could take.

He did not add a condition to his command. If he had said “if the world will let you, repent” then perhaps that would have excluded some people. Many who have repented and turned to faith in the gospel have paid for that choice with their lives. Their political and religious leaders demanded that they reject Christ. But their king did not put an exclusion clause in his command. Jesus commanded them to repent, and so they did.

Many have had to renounce their own families to obey the command from their king. They knew that Jesus did not say “if your family will let you, repent.” His command came with no conditions.

Second, the gospel demands a response (14)

What Mark referred to as the gospel is the whole story of how God has intervened in the history of humanity by sending his Son to be our king. As our king, Jesus will renew all creation, destroying all evil and removing sin from the earth. But we cannot be passive about this news.

The gospel is not good news because it promises that everything is going to come out alright. Jesus’ words to us were not “let it be.” No, the gospel is good news because the ship we are on is going to be torpedoed – but we have the chance to get off it and get into a lifeboat before it happens. If we choose to do nothing, we will go down with the ship!

A third reason to repent and believe is found in our Lord’s statement that it causes joy in heaven.

Jesus said, “there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to repent” (Luke 15:7).

Maybe you think you can take your chances on being one of the ninety-nine who does not need to repent. I would not. If you have never repented, I can guarantee you that you are not one of the ninety-nine. Besides, the real question for all of us is this: do we want to bring joy to our heavenly Father? If we do, Jesus told us that we can do that by repenting.

A fourth reason to repent and believe is that the alternative is perishing.

Luke records a time when Jesus was talking to some people about two horrible events: a massacre by Pilate of some Galileans and a disaster in Jerusalem when a tower fell on some bystanders.

“Now there were some present on that occasion who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. He answered them, “Do you think these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered these things? No, I tell you! But unless you repent, you will all perish as well! Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower in Siloam fell on them, do you think they were worse offenders than all the others who live in Jerusalem? No, I tell you! But unless you repent you will all perish as well!” (Luke 13:1-5).

If you are ever in a disaster situation like that, it makes you think. You naturally begin to question why it happened. You might even wonder about the victims. You might wonder what they had done to deserve such a tragedy happening to them. But Jesus urged his listeners to think about something else. He urged them to realize that we all deserve that fate. Repentance and faith in the gospel is our only way out of a similar fate.

Our history might lead us to bring up some other disaster, like 9-1-1, a plane crash, or COVID-19. But Jesus was teaching us that no one escapes the big one. The big one is the second death – destruction in Gehenna. That is the big disaster still looming in the future for everyone… everyone who does not repent. The torpedo is slicing through the sea surface as I speak. No one on board will be safe when it hits. That is why the news about the lifeboat is good news.

The Bible says that “this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). Those are the two options. Either repent and believe in Christ or perish in the big one when it comes.

I want to share a quote here from a very old book. The edition from which I will be quoting is dated 1845. The author is John Oswald Jackson.

“This is for you, if unsaved, THE great question; all others fall beside it into the shade. Compared with this, all domestic, commercial, political questions are as the small dust of the balance; they are but as drops to the ocean; in a word, they are for time, this for ETERNITY!! And let me in fidelity say, that if you are conscious that you have not yet experienced this repentance, you are in the most perilous condition imaginable. However amiable and learned; however rich and refined; or however poor and despised; what ever may be your inward disposition or outward character; your internal feelings or external circumstances; still, unless you have repented, the God of truth and tenderness declares solemnly you must perish!”1

A fifth reason to repent and believe is that the same king who commanded it will be the judge appointed to decide our permanent fate.

The apostle Paul taught that “although God has overlooked such times of ignorance, he now commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has set a day on which he is going to judge the world in righteousness, by a man whom he designated, having provided proof to everyone by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:30-31).

It will not be only Christians who are held accountable for obeying this command of Christ. That command extends to all people everywhere. The one who preached the good news to his people will hold the entire planet responsible for believing it. The God who created this planet has set a day in which it will be judged. He has appointed a man to do the judging. That man is not me. I could not handle that responsibility and neither could you. But God has appointed one who is capable of answering this question. He is the one who commanded us all to repent and believe his gospel. He knows whether or not we have done it.

A sixth reason to repent and believe is that just being sad about one’s sin is not enough.

Note what the apostle says here:
“For sadness as intended by God produces a repentance that leads to salvation, leaving no regret, but worldly sadness brings about death” (2 Corinthians 7:10).

Paul points out that there are two kinds of sadness – one intended by God and the other, worldly. Only one kind of sadness leads to life. The other leads to death. Both are true sadness. But only one kind of sadness saves. That is the sadness given to us by God to produce repentance. So, my question for you today is not whether you are sad about your sin. Cain was sad about his sin. Judas was sad about his sin. Worldly sadness just leads to death.

A seventh and final reason to repent and believe the gospel is that it is available for every living person right now.

Jesus commanded all the Galileans to repent and believe the gospel (15). No doubt there were many Galileans to whom Jesus spoke who had wrecked their lives with failure after failure. But Jesus did not stop at each one and give each one a specific regimen of works of restitution and penance. No, the command to repent and believe is a one size fits all command. Repentance is designed as the beginning of a life of sanctification. Repentance serves as the foundation of a life of good works. But no amount of sanctification or good works ever precedes the initial act of repentance.

Repentance (μετάνοια) is by definition a change of mind. You do not have to work for a change of mind. You don’t have to ease into it by slow progression. There are not twelve steps to take. Repentance is not graduation – it is enrollment.

Repentance is something you can do all at once, in response to a single command. The same is true of belief. Faith is like a lamp. It can be off and then turned on in a second.

Now, once the light is turned on, there will be a thousand adjustments every day that you and I will have to make. But these adjustments are not repentance. They are the natural result of turning on the lamp. Now that we see the light, we know what steps to take and which steps to avoid. The light helps us to examine ourselves and to root out evils that we had no idea were here inside us. But none of that is repentance. Repentance is a once-in-a-lifetime decision to obey Christ – to enter his kingdom, to believe in his gospel.

Consider, brothers and sisters, whether you have repented in that sense. Have you turned from a self-centered life of sin and allowed God to turn his light on in your heart?

For most of you, I can imagine that you do not have to struggle with that question. You can remember the time – for some of you the exact day – when you gave your heart to Jesus. I’m not asking you to do it again. The light needs only to be switched on once.

If you are confident in your repentance and faith in the gospel, I merely want to encourage you to express that confidence. There are people all around us who have not yet obeyed Christ’s command. We are called to bear witness to them. Many still ride the fence. We need to make it clear to them which side we have taken. Many have not yet brought joy to their creator in heaven. If we have, it should have resulted in a bit of joy for us. The world needs to see that. If we have repented, we are guaranteed not to perish in the fires of Gehenna. That knowledge should give us confidence that gets people’s attention. If we have truly repented, we should feel more joy than sadness.

Jesus commanded us to repent and believe his gospel. If you have done that, you are on the right side of history. If you haven’t done that yet. All it takes is flipping the switch.