So Great A Salvation – part 2
Hebrews 2:5-18 (10-18)
June 14, 2015
As you know we are working our way through this book of Hebrews.
We don’t know the author
We don’t know the recipients
But we do know that
They weren’t taking Jesus as serious as they should have.
And after reminding them that through Jesus God is speaking to us,
The writer was adamant that they should pay attention
And not neglect this message of Jesus.
Hebrews 2:1-3a “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?”
As the writer made clear,
The salvation of Jesus is in fact A GREAT SALVATION,
And that is the point he is defending in the remainder of the chapter.
Now last time we met we began looking at why, and I gave you the first point.
#1 THIS SALVATION ADDRESSED GOD’S PROMISE
Hebrews 2:5-9
If you will recall what we talked about,
We saw how God had made a promise to man.
God had created man in His own image and placed man in the garden
To literally subdue and rule all of creation.
In verse 8 we saw where the Psalmist quoted David as saying, “You have put all things in subjection under his feet.”
Of course we noted a problem with that.
WE DON’T SEE IT
Creation is not currently subjected to man.
This world is subjected to angels…specifically a fallen angel; the devil
He is currently “the god of this world”
He is currently “the prince of the power of the air”
So we have an obvious problem.
Man is promised to rule and reign, but we don’t see it happening.
(9) “But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.”
We don’t see man in control, but we do see Jesus.
He humbled Himself to become human
That He might taste the death that man deserves.
In short, Jesus came to restore man back to his original role.
Scripture teaches that He will return, He will bind the enemy, He will set up His earthly kingdom, and His saints will in fact reign with Him on the earth for 1,000 years.
Revelation 20:1-4 “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time. Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.”
There is not another salvation in the world that will accomplish that.
The salvation of Jesus is A GREAT SALVATION
(And we saw this last time)
This morning we move on to the next reasons
Why His salvation is a great salvation.
This Salvation Addressed God’s Promise
#2 THIS SALVATION ACCOMMODATED GOD’S NATURE
Hebrews 2:10-13
If you will remember, last week I told you that one of the major stumbling blocks to the faith of Israel was the incarnation.
The writer just said that Jesus was God and that He “was made for a little while lower than the angels”
That statement would have been hard for the Jews to swallow.
They had nothing but the biggest view of God and to think that God would belittle Himself so as to become human was just too much of a stretch to them.
But here the writer reveals that “it was fitting”.
That is to say it perfectly aligns with who God is.
He is going to make the point that the incarnation
Fits perfectly into the truths you know about God
And how He operates.
He is out to show that “it was fitting…”
This was right, this fits, this makes sense…he says
He says it was “fitting for Him”
For who?
Well he tells you who Him is.
He is the one “for whom are all things, and through whom are all things”
Well who is that?
That is God.
All things are for God and all things are through God.
So the writer claims that this salvation where God’s Son becomes flesh and dies for sinners is perfectly fitting according to who God is.
And it is fitting if you understand what it is that God is seeking to do.
What does verse 10 say God’s objective was?
“in bringing many sons to glory”
Isn’t that the promise we talked about back in verses 6-8?
• That God had promised to “put all things in subjection under [man’s] feet”
• That God desired to bring His sons back to the glory they lost?
But in reality it is more than just that.
We are talking about the complete destruction of the sin nature of man.
I’ve told you before, but salvation has three stages.
There is JUSTIFICATION
It occurs that day that you place your faith in Jesus Christ and you are instantly justified in the sight of God. He now views you as righteous.
There is SANCTIFICATION
That occurs after justification and it is the process where God starts conforming you into the image of Christ.
There is GLORIFICATION
That is the day in which salvation is complete. The sin nature is totally destroyed and you now walk in perfect righteousness.
This is the ultimate goal of God’s salvation.
It is to restore man back to perfect righteousness.
PERFECT HUMANITY IN A PERFECT WORLD.
That is what God is up to.
And in God’s decision to redeem humanity back to perfection, the writer says that “it was fitting for Him…to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings.”
Now there is an interesting statement.
That God chose to “perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings”
The “author of salvation” is obviously Jesus.
And the writer says that God chose to “perfect [Him] through sufferings”
I thought Jesus was already perfect?
I thought Jesus was already sinless?
What does that mean?
“to perfect” here DOES NOT imply that Jesus was less than perfect.
He was not
He was well-pleasing to the Father, He was totally sinless, He was perfect.
SO WHAT DOES HE MEAN?
“to perfect” here translates TELEIOO (ti-lay-ah-o)
It means “to bring to an end; to fulfill; to complete”
It is a different form of the same word Jesus uttered on the cross
(tetelesti – “it is finished”)
When the writer here says that God had to “perfect” Christ,
He IS NOT implying that Christ was less than perfect.
Rather he is revealing that God chose to prepare Christ.
God chose to mold Christ into the Savior He had to become.
It is the same word used later in the book:
Hebrews 5:7-9 “In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation,”
He was already perfect, but through His suffering
He became fully prepared and ready for His job of Savior.
Think of it as training.
He was the only possible candidate
And then God put Him through savior training.
SO: In God’s desire to save His children and restore them to glory,
It made sense that God would make sure His chosen Savior
Was fully prepared to accomplish it.
And according to the writer, the training God used was “sufferings”.
God would humble the Savior, make the Savior low,
And then afflict Him with suffering
All as a means of making Him a perfect Savior.
Why did God care so much?
(11) “for both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren.”
BECAUSE WE ARE HIS CHILDREN TOO
God was willing to let His Son suffer
So that He would be able to save the rest of His children.
If you want to cut it right down the middle,
We are talking about the love of God.
Here is a God who loved His children so much
That He sent His Son to suffer that He might save them all.
Does that sound familiar?
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
THAT IS PERFECTLY IN LINE WITH GOD’S NATURE.
This salvation is great because
It is the only salvation that fully accommodates the nature of God.
Let me show you a little further.
Romans 3:21-26 “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
Now key in on the result that Paul mentioned in that passage.
“so that he would be just and the justifier…”
Do you realize how hard that is?
You have a holy God and sinful humanity.
• He created them perfect with a plan to make them rule,
• But they sinned and now deserve eternal destruction.
So by our way of thinking you have two choices.
You can either be JUST – destroy all sinners
Or you can be MERCIFUL – forgive all sinners
But you can’t be both.
And the problem is that no matter which avenue God chose
It would be inconsistent with His nature.
He could judge sinners, but that doesn’t sound like the merciful God we know.
He could forgive sinners, but that doesn’t sound like the holy God we know.
SO HOW DO YOU MAINTAIN HOLINESS WHILE ALSO SHOWING MERCY?
You pay the price yourself
And that is what God did in Christ.
God became flesh that He might pay the debt of sinful humanity
“it was fitting”
It was right, it was consistent, and no other plan of salvation can say that.
That is what makes this such A GREAT SALVATION.
Here we have one Son coming to save the others.
And notice that the writer uses Old Testament Scripture to support his point.
(12-13) “saying, “I WILL PROCLAIM YOUR NAME TO MY BRETHREN,
IN THE MIDST OF THE CONGREGATION I WILL SING YOUR PRAISE.” And again, “I WILL PUT MY TRUST IN HIM.” And again, “BEHOLD, I AND THE CHILDREN WHOM GOD HAS GIVEN ME.”
• According to verse 12 this Son came to “proclaim Your Name”
• He came to be an example to His brothers (13) “I will put My trust in
Him”
• And He came with the expectation that His brothers would follow His example,
“Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me.”
This One Son came
To lead the other Sons to a proper understanding of the Father,
To demonstrate what it meant to please the Father,
And to lead those other sons to follow His example.
And He couldn’t do that if He stayed away.
You can’t be an example
You can’t be a leader
You can’t be guide if you never enter their world.
Max Lucado wrote in “A Love Worth Giving”
“Imagine the change he had to make, the distance he had to travel. What would it be like to become flesh? This question surfaced as I was golfing recently. Waiting on my turn to putt, I squatted down to clean my ball and noticed a mountain of ants beside it. Must have been dozens of them, all over each other. A pyramid of motion at least half an inch tall.
I don’t know what you think when you see ants on a green as you are waiting to putt. But here is what I thought: Why are you guys all bunched up? You have the whole green. Why, the entire golf course is yours to spread out in. Then it occurred to me. These ants are nervous. Who could blame them? They live under a constant meteor shower. Every few minutes a dimpled orb comes crashing into their world. Bam! Bam! Bam! Just when the bombing stops, the mallet-swinging giants arrive. If you survive their feet and sticks, they roll a meteor at you. A golf green is no place for an ant.
So I tried to help them. Leaning down where they could hear me, I invited, “Come on, follow me. We’ll find a nice spot in the rough. I know it well.” Not one looked in my direction. “Hey ants!” Still no reply. Then I realized, I don’t speak their language. I don’t speak Ant. Pretty fluent in the idiom of Uncle, but I don’t speak Ant.
So what could I do to reach them? Only one thing. I needed to become an ant. Go from six feet two inches to teeny-weeny. From 200-plus pounds to tenths of an ounce. Swap my big world for their tiny one. Give up burgers and start eating grass. “No thanks,” I said. Besides, it was my turn to putt.”
(Lucado, Max: A Love Worth Giving, W Publishing group, Nashville, TN, 2002 pg. 152-153)
That is the point here.
The incarnation is not glamorous
The incarnation doesn’t seem to make sense
But when we are talking about a God who loves His children
And wants to deliver them, it makes absolute perfect sense.
If one Son was going to faithfully deliver the others,
He was going to have to enter their problem
He was going to have be trained in their suffering.
And God sent Him because God is holy and merciful.
This salvation fit the nature of God.
And no other plan of salvation can say that.
There is only one salvation that Addressed God’s Promise
There is only one salvation that Accommodated God’s Nature
#3 THIS SALVATION ACCOMPLISHED GOD’S DESIRE
Hebrews 2:14-16
And now we are really getting to the point of it all.
A truly great salvation can only be measure by its effectiveness.
DID IT WORK?
Well, let me remind you again of the problem.
• God created man in His own image, perfect and in charge of His perfect creation.
• However, man traded that right to the usurper Satan who stole that right from him in the garden.
• And now man lives with a fallen nature in a fallen world where Satan is the god of this world.
• God promised that it won’t always be that way, and indeed we are looking for “the world to come” but we are incapable of achieving it on our own.
We need salvation
We need deliverance
We need a Savior
We need one who can ENTER our race, DEFEAT our enemy,
And DELIVER us back to the position God previously promised us.
Anything less than that is not salvation.
• Any plan that leaves man in sin
• Any plan that leave Satan in charge
• Any plan that leaves the world in bondage is NOT great salvation.
We are looking for the plan that Accomplishes God’s Desire.
Well here it is.
Again the writer explains the necessity and perfection of the humiliation of Christ.
(14-15) “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”
Now in case you missed the point earlier,
Here the writer spells it out as clearly as possible.
“Therefore, since the children share in flesh and flood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same…”
In short, why would the Christ become human?
Because “the children” are human.
He is purposely being redundant.
• He didn’t become human because He was weak
• He didn’t become human because it was fun
• He became human because those He wanted to save were human
Furthermore, He became human so He could die.
Remember?
Hebrews 2:8-9 “YOU HAVE PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET.” For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him. But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.”
The wages for Adam’s sin was death.
The only way to restore Adam was to die for him.
So God became flesh so that He could die.
AND THROUGH HIS DEATH HE WOULD ACHIEVE VICTORY FOR US
“that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,”
We remember that Satan is the god of this world.
And if he is to be removed then someone must defeat him.
WELL NOTICE HIS MAIN WEAPON
What is it?
“the power of death”
John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy…”
What was it that Satan brought to the garden?
He brought lies that led to…death
Spiritual death – physical death – eternal death
Under Satan’s control this is all that man has.
• He is spiritually dead
• Satan seeks to keep him there until he becomes physically dead
• At which point he will remain eternally dead
That is Satan’s power; that is Satan’s weapon
And if you will look at our world today, it has enormous effect.
Ray Stevens wrote a song called “Doctor, Doctor”
“Strip down naked boy and cough and sneeze, and jump up on that table on your hands and knees”, now there’s not another person in the world we’d do that for. But we just hop on up there like a cocker spaniel, like it’s written somewhere in some sacred manual that we have to do everything the doctor tells you; who do they think they are?”
And think about all the things doctors will do to you. (and you let them)
• You have to have yearly physicals
• You have to perform self-examinations
• You have to go in for tests to embarrassing and humiliating to talk about
WHY?
Because if you don’t, you might die!
When you get in a car,
• You had better buckle your seat-belt
• You had better not speed,
• You had better not drink
• You had better not text
WHY?
You might die!
Satan holds the power of death
And he literally holds the world ransom with it.
People literally live with “the fear of death”
THAT IS PRECISELY WHAT JESUS CAME TO FIX.
He came to take Satan’s greatest weapon away.
“that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,”
Jesus came with the counter weapon – LIFE
Jesus took Satan’s greatest shot, and walked straight into death, but:
• He escaped Satan’s grasp
• He broke Satan’s hold
• He nullified Satan’s greatest weapon
Revelation 1:17-18 “When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.”
Jesus stepped into death, stole the keys and walked out the other side.
Satan boasts of spiritual death – Jesus offers spiritual life
Satan boasts of physical death – Jesus offers resurrection
Satan boasts of eternal death – Jesus offers eternal life
And the result of this?
(15) “and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”
The result is freedom for God’s children!
1 Corinthians 15:55-57 “O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
He took down the enemy so we no longer fear death.
HE ACCOMPLISHED GOD’S PLAN
Not one of the redeemed need have any fear of death.
George and I were talking last week about someone who died, and we talked about how people often say, “He died too soon”
But if you understand what Jesus did, that’s like saying someone
“Got out of the hospital too soon.”
That person just moved from a fallen, sinful, broken world run by the devil
And stepped into a perfect, sinless, glorious world
Where he will live with the Father.
I don’t know how a person goes there too soon
There is no more a fear of death for God’s children!
(16) “For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham.”
So the work of Jesus may have seemed strange,
But it is in reality the greatest salvation the world has ever seen.
This Salvation Addressed God’s Promise
This Salvation Accommodated God’s Nature
This Salvation Accomplished God’s Desire
#4 THIS SALVATION AIDS GOD’S CHILDREN
Hebrews 2:17-18
And here is the final glorious reality.
Not only did God come and taste death and conquer it,
But through His suffering He has also become CERTIFIED
To help us the rest of the way through.
Think about it for a second.
• Adam was created in perfection
• But Adam fell in the garden
Christ came and helped us, but who is to say that we won’t blow it again?
The answer: Christ
(17-18) “Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”
“He had to be made like His brethren in all things”
Why?
“so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”
The goal was never to pick us up, brush us off and leave us on our own.
God knows how that game plays out.
We fall again and ruin it again.
Now we have an Advocate.
• One who has suffered as we have suffered
• One who tasted life and death
• One who knows what our battle is like
He is “merciful” because He knows how hard this life is
He is “faithful” because He doesn’t wish to see His work fall short
And now, because He has been trained through His suffering
“He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”
You want me to put that to you another way?
WE HAVE WHAT ADAM DID NOT!
Wouldn’t it have been great if Adam had someone beside him to come to his aid when Satan was working them over?
But Adam didn’t have that and Adam fell and Adam ruined everything.
And were it not for Jesus, we would do the same.
But He didn’t just restore us, He now sits with us to secure us.
He comes to our aid.
He keeps us from stumbling and makes propitiation when we do!
1 John 2:1-2 “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”
THIS IS A GREAT SALVATION
It addressed God’s promise instead of just treating the symptoms
It accommodated God’s nature instead of forcing Him to choose one or the other
It accomplished God’s desire of defeating death and setting His children free
It aids God’s children so that they don’t fall again like Adam did previously
No other salvation can make such boasts.
That is why the author of this letter said in the first part of this chapter:
Hebrews 2:3a “how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?”
• What is your plan for being restored to glory?
• What is your plan for being set free from death?
• What is your plan for being protected from future mistakes and failures?
• If you neglect this salvation, what is your plan?
WHATEVER IT IS, IT WON’T WORK
That is also why in the next chapter the writer will begin by saying:
Hebrews 3:1 “Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession;”
See, it’s time to start taking Jesus more seriously.
You’ve never run across anything or anyone like Him.
To fail to pay attention
To begin to drift away
To continue to neglect
WOULD BE A MOST TRAGIC MISTAKE
His Salvation is A GREAT SALVATION
