I Have Decided…
Hebrews 13:7-16
April 17, 2016
Most of you are extremely familiar with the ever popular invitation hymn:
I Have Decided to Follow Jesus.
It is a simple hymn of declaration
In which the composer repeated his declaration over and over.
I have decided to follow Jesus…no turning back
Tho’ none go with me I still will follow…no turning back
My cross I’ll carry ‘til I see Jesus…no turning back
The world behind me, the cross before me…no turning back
It is a really easy song to sing and a terribly difficult one to live.
And yet, it is the absolute requirement of Christianity.
Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”
Certainly this is the call of salvation.
A person cannot become a Christian at all without first denying self
And making a conscious decision to give their all to Jesus Christ.
But it is not as though this is a one-time decision.
The Christian must live here every single day of their life.
Luke 9:23 “And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”
• It is the continual call of following Jesus.
• It is the continual; daily decision to deny myself and take up the cross of Jesus and follow Him.
Paul said it this way:
Romans 12:1 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”
Paul there called it a “living…sacrifice”
What better way could we describe what it means to take up your cross and follow Jesus?
It is a constant decision to forfeit my life, my desires, my goals,
My ambitions, my safety, my possessions, my comforts,
And anything else for the sake of Jesus Christ.
And without a doubt those who lived with Jesus
And made the decision to follow Him
Knew exactly what was expected.
Paul said:
1 Corinthians 4:9 “For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men.”
2 Corinthians 4:8-11 “we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.”
It is a constant decision to choose Jesus over this world
And to accept upon oneself the scorn that the world has for Him.
Now honestly when we talk about things like this, the natural flesh immediately gravitates to THE COST of following Jesus.
And that’s ok.
As followers of Christ, we are commanded to count the cost.
Jesus isn’t trying to sign anyone up under false pretenses.
He couldn’t be more honest about what those who follow Him will face.
• He told us about persecution, in fact He promised it.
• He told us the world would hate us
• And that some would even go to death.
• He never sugar coated it.
He wanted your flesh to examine every possible negative,
So that when your spirit decided to follow anyway
You would not be surprised at the difficulty.
So it is natural to immediately gravitate to the cost here.
BUT SCRIPTURE DOES NOT WANT YOU TO STOP THERE.
Scripture wants you to examine the cost, but then move past it,
AND TO START FOCUSING ON THE REWARD.
Many times talked about that parable of the treasure in the field and the man who sold all that he had just to obtain that treasure.
Or the parable of the pearl of great value, and the merchant who sold all that he had just to obtain that pearl.
The kingdom is valuable and worth any earthly cost
You must pay to obtain it.
Scripture repeatedly calls us to look past the cost of following Jesus to the value of following Jesus.
In Philippians 3 Paul talked about all the things
He had going for him in Judaism.
Philippians 3:5-6 “circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.”
Here was a young man that had accomplished much in the life of Judaism.
And then he said:
Philippians 3:7-8 “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,”
Did Paul count the cost? Absolutely
But he also recognized where the true value was,
And it wasn’t in Judaism, it was in Jesus.
• He saw the cost, he saw the value,
• And he made a decision to follow Jesus.
• It wasn’t just a one-time decision,
• But a decision he made every day for the rest of his life.
That is what we are now talking about here in the book of Hebrews.
You know that we are now in the application section of this book.
WE ADDRESSING THOSE WHO HAVE DECIDED TO FOLLOW JESUS.
Now the writer is simply encouraging them to do it DAILY.
Why does he feel the need to do this?
Because the cost for these Christians is high.
You already know about the whole
Ill-treatment, prison, seizure of property problem.
But believe it or not that wasn’t the most difficult.
The most difficult thing to face was the reality of being ostracized from Judaism and all the traditions and privileges it offered.
If you’ll remember this excommunication began even in the gospels.
• Remember when Jesus healed the man who had been born blind and the Pharisees started interrogating his parents about the miracle?
John 9:20-23 “His parents answered them and said, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but how he now sees, we do not know; or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him; he is of age, he will speak for himself.” His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue. For this reason his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
• Or later in the book of John:
John 12:42-43 “Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.”
And that is why Jesus told His disciples:
John 16:1-2 “These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. “They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God.”
WELL, IT IS HAPPENING STILL.
If they decide to follow Jesus,
They are going to forever lose access to everything Jewish.
THIS MAY NOT SEEM LIKE MUCH TO YOU,
But that is only because you didn’t grow up Jewish.
Their ENTIRE SPIRITUAL BALANCE was obtained
Through participation in the Jewish customs and rituals.
I’ve often shared my frustrations with you regarding things like youth camps where the main emphasis seems to be on manipulating emotions.
I can see that even as far back as my teenage years that people learned that emotion was a very effective tool in motivating people to make decisions.
The fall out was that
People began to equate emotion with the Spirit of God,
And if you put them in a situation where God was present but it wasn’t emotional they didn’t seem to know how to even recognize Him at all.
And so when people of my generation were asked to worship God apart from emotional stimulation, they just didn’t know how to do it.
That is similar to the situation here.
• There whole life they had been trained that God is pleased when you attend the synagogue, attend the feasts, partake of the sacrifices, keep the dietary restrictions, etc.etc.
And now they are being ostracized from all of that
And it can kind of left them feeling like people without a barometer.
They felt good about their spiritual walk when they were in the temple,
But now they can’t go…what now?
No temple, No sacrifices, No altar, No Jewish community
It was costly
And so the writer now tells them to quit focusing on what they are losing
And HE WANTS THEM TO SEE WHAT IS TO BE GAINED.
And he wants them to decide to daily follow Jesus.
In our text there are 4 things these believers need to understand.
4 things that are theirs even as they leave their former manner of life behind.
#1 WE HAVE A FAITHFUL SAVIOR
Hebrews 13:7-9
Now I want to start here by looking at verse 9
Which I think sheds a great deal of light on the situation at hand.
(9) “Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited.”
The writer doesn’t get overly specific here as to what was being taught,
But he is specific enough that we can see the main point.
There was some sort of teaching going on that the writer called “varied and strange” and it had something to do with the benefit of “foods”
In particular that there was some way in which “foods”
Could strengthen the heart (that is the soul)
The importance of foods was clear in Judaism.
Part of their judicial law dealt with restrictions regarding what was clean and what was unclean, what was allowed and what was forbidden.
And certainly after centuries of that pattern
It would not have been hard to reason that
Part of pleasing God had to do with what you ate.
And even early believers struggled with this.
Perhaps you remember Peter literally arguing with God about eating unclean foods in the vision God gave him regarding Cornelius.
Acts 10:13-16 “A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!” But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.” Again a voice came to him a second time, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.” This happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into the sky.”
Paul even revealed that this had become a heresy that was spreading into the church.
1 Timothy 4:1-5 “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.”
So clearly there were some who sought to hold on to the dietary restrictions even in the church, as a means of pleasing God.
And of course this is false.
1 Corinthians 8:8 “But food will not commend us to God; we are neither the worse if we do not eat, nor the better if we do eat.”
BUT I DON’T THINK THAT IS THE ISSUE GOING ON HERE.
Following Jesus would not have prohibited these Jews from keeping a selective diet. (Jesus made all foods clean, but He doesn’t force you to eat bacon)
What seems preferable here is that the writer is referring to
The Jewish practice of participating in the sacrifices.
And in particular THE PEACE OFFERING (or Thank Offering)
If you brought a BURNT OFFERING or a GRAIN OFFERING or SIN OFFERING or a GUILT OFFERING
• Then you brought it to the Lord and after the Lord’s portion was offered
then the priests ate the rest with some exceptions.
But the THANK OFFERING was given to God out of gratitude.
Also called the peace offering.
And it was just an offering of gratitude and after God received His portion
And the priest received his portion then the offerer consumed the rest.
It was a voluntary act of worship meant to give God thanks
And allow you to feel in fellowship with Him.
Similar to my generation and the emotion of youth camp,
These people felt closer to God when partaking in sacrifices
Like the Thank Offering.
And the threat of losing that right is leaving them uncertain
How to bring anything to God that pleases Him.
So THE WRITER’S POINT in verse 9 is that those sacrifices or “foods”
Don’t produce any real benefit.
After all, it’s just food and it cannot strengthen the soul.
It looks good, it feels good, but it does not make a person more holy.
“it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods,”
When you come to Jesus you are trading food for grace.
Jesus makes us holy
Jesus makes us pleasing
It is not all cost, there is also great reward.
And that is this first point that WE HAVE A FAITHFUL SAVIOR
And to emphasize that, he’ll show them what others have found here.
(7-8) “Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
Here the writer is referencing people
Who made the same decision that is now before you.
He is talking about those “who spoke the word of God to you”
We know who that was.
Hebrews 2:1-4 “For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.”
The writer said that the message of truth was “confirmed to us by those who heard”. That was the apostles.
And the writer wants his readers to remember them
And then CONSIDER something.
He says, “considering the result of their conduct,”
Now that is misleading.
It almost sounds like we should look at the decisions they made in life and see that it all worked out good.
The Greek word here for “the result”
Is not a word referring to circumstances.
It is a word that literally means “to go out”
And it was used to reference the manner in which a person died.
It wasn’t their death itself, but rather their spirit when they died.
What the writer wants you to examine
Was the way those people faced death.
You should know that all the apostles were martyred.
Scripture doesn’t give the account of most of them, but church history has preserved many of the stories.
• We do have accounts of men like Stephen who bore witness to Christ standing at the right hand of the Father and then praying for his attackers.
The point here is that none of these men, even when faced with death,
Showed even the slightest hint of remorse about following Jesus.
• These were men who left everything to follow Jesus.
• These were men who ended up sacrificing everything to follow Jesus.
• And not one of them regretted that decision even at the point of death.
If you step out and follow Jesus…
• You may lose your access to the food, but what you get is “grace” which continually seemed to be worth it.
And then the writer reminded that
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
Which is his way of saying that the Jesus they followed
And the Jesus who made life worth it for them
IS THE EXACT SAME JESUS YOU ARE FOLLOWING.
If the grace of Jesus was enough for them,
The grace of Jesus will be enough for you.
WE HAVE A FAITHFUL SAVIOR
You may lose access to your ability to partake in one of those sacrifices,
But it’s not like that leg of lamb is going to help you on the day you die,
But Jesus most certainly will
Just like He did all those who went before you.
We have a faithful Savior
#2 WE HAVE A SANCTIFYING ALTAR
Hebrews 13:10-12
Another issue with losing access to the altar was:
You had no access to the Jewish system of atonement.
But the writer reminds us: WHO CARES?
(10) “We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.”
What altar is he talking about?
• Well, on the Day of Atonement when the sin offering was made for the priest and the people. No one was permitted to eat of that offering.
Instead, the sacrificial animal had to be carried outside of the camp
(because it bore sin) and burned there.
That place, although not glorified, was an altar of sorts.
And no one was permitted to eat from it.
(11) “For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp.”
Hopefully you remember that whole Day of Atonement presentation
That we discussed back in chapter 9.
To a Jew, this was the day of ultimate forgiveness
When all their sin was supposedly atoned for.
We learned back in chapters 9 & 10 that it NEVER ACTUALLY WORKED
Because that blood never really went into the presence of God,
It was all just symbolic.
Jesus was the One who literally carried His spotless blood
Into the actual presence of God to atone for our sin.
And that is what the writer reminds of here.
(12) “Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.”
You remember that don’t you?
• They didn’t crucify Jesus inside the city of Jerusalem, they led Him away to the hill called Golgotha.
And this is what the writer is saying – AND IT’S AWESOME!
You are focusing on that altar inside the temple where sacrifices are made
And you are upset because you can no longer partake.
Quit looking at that altar (it never worked anyway), look outside the city.
There is an altar out there.
It is the altar where the perfect sacrifice laid down His life.
It is the cross.
That is our altar, and it’s a WAY BETTER than theirs.
Our altar actually produces sanctification!
There altar couldn’t do that:
Hebrews 10:1-4 “For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins? But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”
• Their altar and their food never took away sin.
• Our altar (which they rejected) does take away sin.
Don’t fret leaving that old altar behind, we have an altar!
We have a sanctifying altar.
You may be losing a lot, but not everything.
We have a faithful Savior, We have a sanctifying altar
#3 WE HAVE A LASTING CITY
Hebrews 13:13-14
That was another major cost.
Could you imagine being ostracized and kicked out of your city?
They were.
Read Acts 8 about what happened after the stoning of Stephen.
Acts 8:1-2 “Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Some devout men buried Stephen, and made loud lamentation over him.”
This is why Peter wrote his letter to the “Dispersia” or those dispersed.
It would be costly to lose your very city for the sake of following Jesus.
(Especially when your city is the city of God…Jerusalem)
And yet the writer says:
(13-14) “So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.”
In other words, leave this city behind, it won’t last anyway!
And that is true.
• Someday this entire world will be destroyed by fire.
• Who wants to inherit what he cannot keep?
We are seeking a better city!
Revelation 21:1-4 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
That’s the city I want.
So they are kicking you out the city, so what…GO!
We have a better city anyway.
You aren’t losing anything!
Do you see that?
• You are losing food, but you are gaining grace.
• You are losing sacrifices, but you are gaining sanctification.
• You are losing an earthly city, but you are gaining a heavenly one.
By all means “go out to Him outside the camp”
Is there “reproach”? yes
But it is so worth it.
Just ask those who went before you and died.
Their testimony will tell you that it is so worth it!
We have a faithful Savior, We have a Sanctifying Altar, We have a Lasting City
#4 WE HAVE A PLEASING SACRIFICE
Hebrews 13:15-16
Can you see why this would be a big deal?
• If you’re whole life you were taught that God wanted you to bring sacrifices to the temple?
• If you’re whole life you were taught that you had to appear in Jerusalem for the Passover and for the Feast of Booths?
• If you’re whole life you were taught that Jerusalem was the city of God and you should “enter His gates with thanksgiving”?
WHAT NOW?
You can’t even get to the altar let alone bring a God a sacrifice on it.
How in the world can you bring God anything that pleases Him now?
First you should know that most of those sacrifices that Israel brought throughout the generations DID NOT please Him.
In fact we have MULTIPLE verses in the Old Testament
Where God says they don’t please Him.
Isaiah 1:11-15 “What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” Says the LORD. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. “When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts? “Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies — I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. “I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. “So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.”
Amos 5:21-23 “I hate, I reject your festivals, Nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies. “Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them; And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings. “Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps.”
And trust me those two verses are just the tip of the iceberg.
So you can’t bring sacrifices any more…
WHO CARES?
Those sacrifices never pleased God anyway.
But now, through Jesus, you can give God sacrifices that please Him!
(15-16) “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”
Did you catch what God wants?
Come through Jesus and through Him give God:
“a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.”
Come through Jesus and through Him:
“do not neglect doing good and sharing”
“for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”
THE POINT?
• You don’t need Jerusalem
• You don’t need the temple
• You don’t need the sacrifices
• TO BE PLEASING TO GOD
YOU’VE GOT JESUS AND HE MAKES YOU PLEASING TO GOD.
And because of Jesus your simple offerings of praise and obedience and generosity are also pleasing to Him.
DON’T’ PANIC! YOU HAVEN’T LOST ANYTHING!
• You lost access to food, through Jesus you gain access to grace.
• You lost access to a worthless altar, through Jesus you gain access to a sanctifying altar.
• You lost access to a doomed city, through Jesus you gain access to a lasting city.
• You lost access to an unpleasing ritual, through Jesus you gain access to a sacrifice that really does please God.
So what if you are losing all things.
YOU ARE GAINING CHRIST!!!!
“So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach.”
Put that cross on your back and daily pick Jesus!
This morning we have a unique opportunity to express that decision.
WE ARE PARTAKING OF THE LORD’S SUPPER.
Based on this morning you should know that there is no spiritual value obtained in eating this cracker or drinking this juice.
If there was, we’d give you a whole lot more than this.
• The value is in the remembrance.
• The value is in the attitude of the heart.
• The value is in the focus and the gratitude.
We partake of this cracker remembering His body that was pierced.
We partake of this juice remembering His blood that was shed.
We partake proclaiming that regardless of what we might lose in this life,
• We have a faithful Savior.
• We have a sanctifying altar.
• We have a lasting city.
• We have a pleasing sacrifice to offer.
Partaking in the Lord’s Supper is one of the ways that we proclaim:
I Have Decided to Follow Jesus.
Obviously then, if you have not made that decision,
You either need to decide to do that, or do not partake.
In fact the Paul told the Corinthians:
1 Corinthians 11:27-32 “Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.”
People literally get sick and die when they partake in hypocrisy.
It is a serious matter.
God wants those who genuinely have decided to follow Jesus.
And if that is you, then you are most welcome to this altar.
If it is not, then it is an altar from which you have no right to eat.
I’m going to pray we are going to have a time of preparation
And then we will come to the table of the Lord.
