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We can turn in your Bibles to 
Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10. As I said, 
we'll pick up our exposition of Matthew's Gospel, God willing, 
in September. A few weeks ago, we looked at 
Hebrews 10, 19 to 25, and then last week, 26 to 31, so I thought 
we'd finish out the chapter with a consideration of Hebrews 10, 
verses 32 to 39 this morning. I do want to begin reading at 
verse 19 to remind us concerning the context and the apostles' 
argument. Therefore, brethren, having boldness 
to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living 
way, which he consecrated for us through the veil that is his 
flesh, and having a high priest over the house of God, let us 
draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having 
our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies 
washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession 
of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 
And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and 
good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, 
as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so 
much the more as you see the day approaching. For if we sin 
willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there 
no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful 
expectation of judgment and fiery indignation which will devour 
the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses' 
law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 
Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought 
worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot? counted the 
blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, 
and insulted the Spirit of grace. For we know him who said, Vengeance 
is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. And again, the Lord will 
judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall 
into the hands of the living God. But recall the former days 
in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle 
with sufferings, partly while you were made a spectacle, both 
by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while you became companions 
of those who were so treated. For you had compassion on me 
in my chains and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, 
knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for 
yourselves in heaven. Therefore, do not cast away your 
confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, 
so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive 
the promise. For yet a little while, and he 
who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall 
live by faith. But if anyone draws back, my 
soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who draw 
back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of 
the soul. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father, we thank You for this epistle of Hebrews. We thank 
You for the teaching that we find in chapter 10. We pray that 
as we consider this last portion, our hearts would be encouraged, 
that our faith would be strengthened, and that You would cause us to 
be more and more conformed unto Your Son. We pray for the forgiveness 
of sins again as we come to Holy Scripture. We know that sin darkens 
our mind and our understanding, and we would pray that you would 
cleanse us in that blood, and as well supply the Holy Spirit, 
the giver of the Word, so that we may receive it, we may understand 
it, and by your grace and for your glory, we may put it into 
practice in our own daily lives. Our Father, we just praise you 
and we thank you for these opportunities as we enjoy the worship of God, 
as the people of God, on the day of God. And we pray these 
things through Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, in verses 19 to 25, 
we saw where the Apostle, I take it as the Apostle Paul, wrote 
the book of Hebrews. He gives the people of God two 
encouragements, and then he draws out three exhortations. So in 
verses 19 and 20, he tells us, or 21, he says specifically that 
we have access to the holiest. That means we have access to 
the very presence of God. It has been secured for us by 
the priestly work of the Lord Jesus. So we have access to God, 
we have a priest with God, even Christ Jesus our Lord. Based 
on those encouragements, He gives us three exhortations. He says 
in verse 22, we are to draw near with a true heart in full assurance 
of faith. He says in verse 23, we are to 
hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering. And in 
verse 24, we are to consider one another in order to stir 
up love and good works. This is what the people of God 
are supposed to look like. We, by God's grace, have been 
saved. We, by God's grace, have been 
delivered. We, by God's grace, have been 
forgiven of our sins. And therefore, God calls us to 
draw near to Him using the access that has been purchased for us. 
God calls us to hold fast the confession of our hope, not to 
turn away from, not to defect from, and not to apostatize from 
the true religion, which is Christianity. And we are to consider one another. We're not to live our lives in 
isolation. We are not to be the sorts of 
people that have no contact whatsoever with other people. We are not 
to be the kinds of people that neglect the saints of Christ, 
but we are to consider them. The author tells us in Hebrews 
3.1, we are to consider Jesus. But as well, we are to consider 
Jesus' people, encourage them, exhort them, love them, stir 
them up. to love and good works. And one 
of the means by which we fulfill this is assembling ourselves 
together, to come together on the Lord's Day. It doesn't speak 
that we can't come together other days, but certainly this is the 
opportunity we have to fulfill these things, and then prayerfully 
throughout the week as well. The author then gives a warning 
in verses 26 to 31 against what is called apostasy. If you are 
interested in the exposition of this, you'll have to go back 
to last week. Basically, what it teaches is not the sorts of 
sins that, say, a David committed, or that even a Peter committed, 
that were forgiven. But what he describes here is 
an apostate, one who defects from, one who turns away from, 
one who renounces the Christian faith in its entirety. He describes him in verse 29 
as one who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the 
blood of the covenant by which Christ was sanctified, a common 
thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace. what an apostate is. If you have remaining corruption, 
if you are struggling in your sin, Romans 7 and Galatians 5.17 
acknowledge that category. Confess your sin, forsake your 
sin, and you will find mercy from God. But if you reject or 
repudiate the offer of Christ, the sacrifice of Christ, you 
renounce completely those things that you at least at one time 
affirmed That's who the warning is for. And typically, the apostate 
has no concern. He's not going to go to church, 
he's not going to read his Bible, he's not going to have this inner 
turmoil, but he has fully renounced the things of God in Jesus Christ. That's what apostasy is. Here 
in verses 26 to 31, it's described as well in Hebrews 6. Now note, 
finally, in verses 32 to 39, our author returns to his specific 
audience. I think the connection is more 
likely with verses 19 to 25. 26 to 31 was an excursus, a warning. Do not refuse, do not neglect, 
and perhaps the warning is strengthened by the exhortations. If you don't 
draw near, and you don't hold fast to confession of your hope, 
and you don't stir one another up or consider one another to 
stir them up to love and good works, you may fall prey to committing 
apostasy. But here in verses 32 to 39, 
he resumes his encouragement to the people of God, and notice 
there are two main things we ought to appreciate in this section. First, the reminder of former 
days in verses 32 to 34, and then the exhortation to them 
to persevere. He does this a lot in this epistle 
primarily because of the tendency or the temptation for the original 
audience to return to Judaism. If, as has been argued, Paul 
wrote Hebrews prior to the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70, that 
meant that temple worship was still in play, that meant that 
there was still a priesthood operating at that temple, it 
means that worshippers, or false worshippers, were bringing sacrifice 
to that temple, and Jewish Christians, Believers called Hebrews, those 
who had professed faith in Messiah, would be pressured by these unbelieving 
Jews to turn away from Christ and to go back to that sacrificial 
system. That's the press. That's the 
emphasis. That's what the apostle wants 
to caution them against. and He wants them to endure, 
to run, to persevere, and to finish well. Well, let's look 
at this reminder of former days in verses 32 to 34. Notice in 
verse 32, "...recall the former days in which, after you were 
illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings." There's 
a particular duty or a responsibility. They are commanded to remember. 
And I think that oftentimes in Scripture we are commanded, or 
at least shown by example, the necessity for us to remember 
the past so that we will be steadied in the present and ready for 
the future. And I think that's what's going 
on in this particular section. He says, recall the former days 
in which after you are illuminated. or having been enlightened. This 
probably speaks to their reception of the truth. This probably speaks 
to that day when, by God's grace, they had been enlightened. And 
it's a passive verb. That means they did not enlighten 
themselves. They did not illuminate themselves. God enlightened them. God illuminated 
them. God, through the preaching of 
the Gospel, opened their eyes and their hearts to receive the 
truth. God, in His sovereign power, made them willing in the 
day of His power and drew them nigh. And so Paul tells them, 
I want you to remember those days. I want you to recall what 
happened when you were first enlightened, when you received 
the truth of the Gospel. He calls on them to remember 
their particular attitude, and I think this is helpful as well. 
Have you ever fallen into that rut, saying, well, you know, 
when I was first converted, I used to witness a lot. When I was 
first converted, I would never miss a church service. When I 
was first converted, I always liked to pray, and I read through 
my Bible. When I was first converted, well, 
Paul's saying, or the Apostle's saying, consider what was going 
on at that particular time. And if you are conducting yourself 
more consistently then, remember it with a view to revive it and 
recover it. In other words, don't be satisfied 
with stagnancy. Don't be satisfied with lethargy. Don't be satisfied with the status 
quo. I think that's all too common 
in the church today. We want enough truth, we want 
enough information to get long-term fire insurance. We want enough 
Jesus to secure our place at the Messianic banquet. But we don't want any Jesus to 
sort of usurp our lives now. I mean, we don't really want 
to have to, you know, stir one another up to love and good deeds. 
We don't really want to have to draw nigh unto God or hold 
fast the confession of our hope. We want enough Jesus to secure 
our future, but we don't want enough Jesus to radically alter 
our lives. The Apostle says, banish that 
type of thinking. Think back to when you were first 
enlightened. Think back to when you first 
heard the Gospel, the reality of your sin, the vileness that 
you've expressed in your rebellion against God, violating not one 
of His commandments, but all of His commandments. You hadn't 
loved God, as you ought. You hadn't loved your neighbor, 
as you ought. This is the summary of what the 
Decalogue teaches, our duty to God and our duty to men. And 
then by God's grace you heard of Christ. You heard of this 
one who lived in obedience to that law. You heard of this Christ 
who died as a sacrifice and a substitute in order to pay the penalty of 
us having violated that law. And then you heard of this Christ 
who was raised on the third day. And by the grace of God and the 
illuminating or the enlightening power of God, your eyes were 
open, your heart was open, you saw, you believed by grace. There was joy unspeakable and 
full of glory. Brethren, don't be stagnant now 
that you've been in the way for some time. Don't be lethargic 
or apathetic. Don't be a Canadian or an American 
Christian. Be what the Bible describes. 
That type of discipleship that Jesus describes. Taking up your 
cross daily and following Christ. Denying self. chopping off hands 
and gouging out eyes, not in order to be saved, but because 
by God's grace we have been saved. You see the author's rhetoric. 
He wants you to recall what it was like when you first believed. Notice, or Calvin says rather, 
first off, he says, the remembrance then of past warfare, if it had 
been carried on faithfully and diligently under the banner of 
Christ, is at length useful to us, not as a pretext for sloth, 
as though we had already served our time. In other words, you 
can't say, well, you know, back then I used to witness, back 
then I used to pray, back then I used to read my Bible. So, 
you know, not so much now. Calvin says don't do that. It's 
not supposed to be a pretext for sloth. He says, but to render 
us more active in finishing the remaining part of our course. 
Brethren, I know what it is to get weary in the Christian race. I know what it is to get discouraged 
in the Christian race. And I suspect you do as well. And what's the tendency when 
we get discouraged or when we get weary? We get lazy, we get 
slothful, we get neglectful. We don't spend time drawing nigh 
unto God. We're not holding fast that confession 
of hope. We're certainly not considering 
one another, because all we do is consider ourselves in that 
particular state. It is a difficulty and a trial 
to be sure, but brethren, We need, by the grace of God, to 
recall, to remember that enlightenment whereby we see Jesus, whereby 
we see our sins forgiven, whereby we see a crucified and risen 
Lord who has loved us and who has given Himself for us. Brethren, 
we need to shake off sloth, imbibe or embrace these exhortations, 
and run with endurance. This is the apostles' argument. 
You know what radical Christianity is today? Just doing what you're 
supposed to do. And that means loving God with 
your heart, soul, mind and strength. Loving your brothers and your 
neighbors as yourself. That's radical, faithful, godly 
discipleship under Jesus Christ. Notice what he goes on to say. 
As you recall this time that you had been enlightened, as 
you recall this time that you had been brought out of darkness 
into marvelous light, you'll realize there was accompanying 
struggles. you will know that there was 
hardship that you had to face. Notice what he says. Recall the 
former days in which, after you were illuminated or enlightened, 
you endured a great struggle with sufferings, partly while 
you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, 
and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated. 
The believer's salvation by Christ is often closely associated with 
the believer's trials in Christ, isn't it? Is it the case that 
we come to God and we come to Christ and we now love Jesus 
and we hold allegiance to Him and all the world congratulates 
us? Did you come to work the day after you got converted and 
they presented you a birthday cake for your new birth? Were 
people telling tales and minstrels singing over the goodness of 
God displayed? No. This world is in opposition 
to Christ, and so when one is conquered by sovereign grace, 
they typically tend to be opposed by the world as well. And the 
author specifies this. The reception of the Holy Spirit 
in salvation is more often than not punctuated by trials and 
hardships and difficulties. I'll give you two examples. The 
first is David. 1 Samuel 16, David is identified 
by Samuel as the Lord's anointed. Samuel anoints him with oil. 
The text says that the Spirit comes upon David. And what happens 
from thence on, all the way to 2 Samuel 20? David is in perplexity, 
trial, affliction. Some of it, obviously, in 2 Samuel, 
brought on by his own sin and rebellion, but a lot of it wasn't. Trials and difficulties punctuated 
the life of David. You cannot escape that. In fact, 
on Wednesday night, we got to chapter 20, and we kind of get 
this thought in our own lives that if we have suffered for 
a while, or if we have been tried for a while, or if we have had 
difficulty for a while, we deserve a break. In fact, McDonald's 
used this as a campaign several years ago. You deserve a break 
today. That appeals to man, doesn't 
it? We deserve a break today. Men, 
we come home after a long day of work, and what do we deserve? 
We deserve a break. And sometimes in the Christian 
life, we think the same thing. We're McDonald's-minded. We deserve 
a break. We get to 2 Samuel 20 after surveying 
David's life, and what happens? The rebellion of Sheba against 
the crown of David. He didn't get breaks. It's interesting 
to me. He didn't get breaks. He didn't 
get reprieves. He didn't get time off for good 
behavior. The other example is David's greater son. Trace the 
narrative in Matthew's gospel and you'll see something intriguing. 
Jesus is the true Israel. He is the firstborn called out 
of Egypt. He passes through the waters 
of baptism, and then he enters into the wilderness to be tried 
by the devil. But it is intriguing. Matthew 
3, specifically, when Jesus goes into the waters of baptism, the 
Father Himself voices His approbation and says, This is My beloved 
Son in whom I am well pleased. The Spirit descends upon Jesus 
in the form of a dove. It doesn't mean you go out and 
worship doves. It was the form of a dove. And 
then in chapter 4, verse 1, it says, the Spirit of God led him 
to the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. So you see, you 
cannot say, well, I've got the Spirit now, so therefore my life 
is going to be one big rosy cheek. My life is fundamentally altered 
in terms of my relationship with God. I'm a child of the King, 
so therefore no harm shall befall me. Uh-uh. It's incredible to 
me how often we imbibe the health, wealth, prosperity gospel while 
rejecting the likes of Benny Hinn, one of its chief proprietors. We still probably have it deep 
down in our hearts, don't we? I mean, things should go for 
me, right? I'm a Christian. I'm a believer. Well, what was David? David was 
a man after God's own heart, and yet he was hunted like a 
dog. He was rebelled against, he was rejected. In 2 Samuel, 
David actually has to leave Jerusalem because his own son took his 
throne and took his crown. Why do we think we're going to 
get better treatment? I don't understand it. Then Jesus 
was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Talk about absolute, 
utter, perfect obedience. And what did it get him at the 
end? Away with him, away with him, crucify him. It pleased 
Yahweh to bruise him, putting him to grief. So you see, brethren, 
it is a reality that the Christian life, more often than not, when 
first begun, is punctuated by perilous times. Owen makes this 
observation, not my grandson, but John the Puritan divine. 
And it is usual with God thus to deal with his people in all 
ages. He no sooner calls persons to 
himself, but he leads them into the wilderness. He no sooner 
plants them, but He shakes them with storms, that they may be 
more firmly rooted." There's a purpose in it. There's a remedial 
end in view. God doesn't just say, I want 
to see how much horrible things David can, you know, handle. 
I want to see how many horrible things these Hebrew Christians 
in the first century can handle. It's not like God's up there 
with some sick mindset, thrusting things at people and just watching 
their threshold. It is to plant them firmer. It 
is to stabilize them and make them more solid. Owen says he 
does this for several reasons. One, to utterly take off their 
expectations from this world. It's a good place to be, isn't 
it? To have our expectations utterly taken off of this world. Second, for the trial of their 
faith. Third, for the glory and propagation of the gospel. Fourth, 
for the exercise of all graces. Fifth, to breed us up in the 
military discipline of Christ as He is the captain of our salvation. He says, they who pass through 
their first trials are Christ's veterans on new attempts. Again, 
it's amazing to me how often we as Christians can just miss 
this. How do they train crack military 
units? Okay, I want you to go down to 
the beach today, I want you to get the lawn chair out, I want 
you to roll out the towel, and I want you to soak in the sun. 
and make sure that you always have a beverage and that you 
have a fan so that you're not affected by the heat of the day. 
Is that how they train crack military units? No, they say, 
Go down to the beach today, and it's going to be especially cold, 
so we want you to go into the water and stay there all night 
until you get hypothermia. And then when you come out of 
the water, we want you to roll around in the sand while we mock 
you. And then we want you to carry 
a big pole so that you'll march 20 miles back to the barracks. 
That's typically how they train. I don't know if it's exactly 
like that. Give me a little bit of liberty here. I haven't studied 
up on my SEALS training recently, but you get the point. It's adversity. It's trial. It's hardship. It's 
carrying big logs for 20 miles. That toughens the soldier. What 
do you think it is in the Christian life? bask in the sun, sip your 
beverage, or is it going to be adversity and trial that conforms 
us more unto the image of whom Hebrews 5a tells us He learned 
obedience through suffering? Brethren, God's ways are good. That's why the psalmist says, 
it was good for me that I was afflicted. That's why he says, 
thou art good and you do good. He sees the remedial purpose 
of God in the trials and afflictions that he faces. He doesn't whine, 
he doesn't grumble, he doesn't complain, he doesn't reject, 
resist, or rebel, and he certainly doesn't get lazy and neglect 
the means that God's ordained. He says, it is good for me that 
I was afflicted. And the same is what the Apostle 
is reminding the people of here. Note the example of their struggle. 
You know, we have difficulties to be sure, but look at what 
these guys, or what happened to them. Partly while you were 
made a spectacle. This is a public spectacle. The 
word is where we get the word theater. They were on public 
display. Has anybody ever raised their 
eyebrow at you when you went to pray in the work lunchroom, 
and you found that particularly offensive? What do you mean they 
rolled their eyes when I prayed? Well, you weren't made a public 
spectacle and a laughing stock. You weren't held in derision. 
They didn't bring you out to the factory floor and throw stuff 
at you and berate you. We read these letters from Voice 
of the Martyrs concerning various nations where persons suffer 
for the cause of God and truth. Brethren, this is what he wants 
them to recall. I want you to remember, you were 
made a spectacle. You were held up to derision. 
You were put to shame. You were disposed of publicly. This probably happened, or is 
recorded, not probably, it did happen, as recorded in the book 
of Acts. Who was the first great persecutor of the Church of Jesus 
Christ? If you say the Roman Empire, 
you're wrong. The first great persecutor of 
the Church of Jesus Christ was unbelieving Israel. Trace the 
history in the book of Acts. Who does Paul face his first 
problems with? It's with the unbelieving Jews. They rejected Christ and they 
reject Christ's people. And these men, these women, these 
early believers were made a spectacle. Notice, he goes on to say, partly 
while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, 
and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated. 
So just to identify with somebody, just to side with somebody caused 
them to consider you on their side. One man says, anyone who 
expressed and displayed sympathy for persons who had been socially 
condemned and disgraced by seeking to minister to their needs suffered 
a similar fate. In other words, if somebody's 
in jail for worshipping Jesus as Messiah, and you bring them 
food, that's something we need to remember. The empire didn't 
feed the prisoners three hots and give them a cot. If you ate 
in prison, it's because you had friends. That's why Paul in Philippians 
is so happy that they sent Epaphroditus, who ministered to my needs, because 
if he didn't minister to my needs, I would have died. Paul wasn't 
a disembodied spirit. He needed nutrients, he needed 
proteins, he needed carbohydrates, he needed fats, he needed all 
those things that sustain life and health. So if you took lunch 
to Paul, everybody's going to think you're with Paul, right? 
And that's a legit understanding. And he says they did that. And 
then he gives concrete examples in verse 34, the manifestation 
of their conduct. Note their compassion. You had 
compassion on me in my chains. There's a variant that says either 
compassion on me in my chains or compassion on the prisoners. 
The end result is the same. They had compassion on Christians 
who were in jail. And this compassion wasn't just 
a feeling, oh, I feel so bad for them. It was prayer, it was 
visitation, it was giving food, it was giving drink, it was bringing 
a cloak, it was a manifestation of the compassion that they felt 
in their hearts. They moved on it. You see what 
the apostle is saying when he gets to the exhortations in the 
first section? Consider one another. Now he's 
reminding them that they had at one time considered one another, 
don't relinquish this, don't stop this, don't tire of it, 
don't conclude, well, I've done so much good, I no longer have 
to do anything. No, you need to persevere, you 
need to endure, you need to go forward. Notice they suffered 
their own deprivation, again a manifestation of their conduct 
in terms of this spectacle and this reproach and this tribulation. You had compassion on me and 
my chains and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods. 
That probably means exactly what it says. either in an organized, 
sanctioned manner by the state. This would develop later on in 
the empire. By the time that the apostle 
writes here, it's not just on believing Israel anymore. It 
is the Roman Empire. Initially, it looked at the Christians 
as a subset of Judaism and didn't really mess with Christianity 
much. until Christianity started messing with the empire. Not 
by having sit-ins, or love-fests, or drinking chamomile, or any 
of that. It was through preaching the 
gospel. That's how God used the church to turn upside that world 
at that time. The empire gets increasingly 
concerned, and the pressure and the persecution is on. And so 
it was either a state-sponsored deprivation of their property 
or mob violence. People get mad, they get upset, 
they know you're a Christian, they come and take your stuff. 
He says, that happened to you. What's he indicating? There was 
a time in your life when you did, in fact, hold fast the confession 
of your hope. You say, well, I want my TV. 
I'm going to renounce Jesus. I want my couch. No, you joyfully 
accepted the plundering of your goods. You didn't crave it and 
hold on to it. You didn't say, mine. You didn't 
invest your soul and your life and your joy and your hope in 
that stuff. And then note the reason that 
he gives for this. Because you knew that you have 
a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven. Again, 
there's a bit of a variant here. I think the idea is clear. You 
did this. You had compassion on me, if 
it is indeed Paul. You had this disposition of joyfully 
accepting the plundering of your goods. Why? Because you know 
things in terms of eternity. You understand there's something 
bigger than couches. You understand there's something 
bigger than comforts. You understand there's something 
more joyous than the stuff of this world. Knowing, he says, 
you have an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven. It's interesting. How many times 
are these people called on to endure? In fact, in our next 
section we're going to see it. What does he say about this possession? 
You endure for an enduring possession. God's gift, God's goods, God's 
kindness, God's mercies and graces, they endure. You see what the 
author is saying? We need to endure for a time 
because God, in His enduring grace and love and mercy, has 
given us all things in Christ. It's a beautiful sort of way 
to think through these things. So that's the reminder of former 
days. Now let's look at the exhortation 
to persevere in verses 35 to 39. I think the connection's 
obvious. Here's what you used to do. Therefore, 
in verse 35, keep doing it. Dazzling exegesis, right? You 
guys are all going to go home and say, wow, Facebook, there 
was some exegesis. It's obvious. What's he saying? 
It's a reminder of the past as an exhortation for present duty 
to fit them for service on into the future. Davis observes this 
in 1 Samuel 7. We stand in the present, but 
dwell on the past in order that we can be steadfast for the future. We need to be thinking about 
the past in terms of God and His faithfulness to us. We need 
to be sturdy and steady in the present so that we may endure, 
that we may persevere. Notice, He says specifically, 
therefore do not cast away your confidence. This confidence is 
also translated boldness. It's what we see in Hebrews 4, 
14. We have a boldness to enter. Here we see it in Hebrews 10, 
19. We have boldness to enter the holiest. Don't cast away 
your boldness. Don't cast away this access. Don't trip up. Don't stop. See, this is probably one of 
the most difficult things in the Christian life, isn't it? 
Persistence, perseverance, endurance. You know, just a real live illustration 
here. My children went to a Christian 
school, and I would observe that once in a while they would have 
these sort of, you know, rah-rah fests, as I like to call them, 
pep rallies for Jesus. And then it would be common, 
at least in that day and age, the expression of this was praying 
at the flagpole. Praying at the flagpole. If you 
show up and pray at the flagpole, that's what good godly people 
do. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with praying at a flagpole. 
And I'm not saying it's wrong for a school to try and encourage 
people to follow Jesus. I'm not saying that at all. But 
it is intriguing that the flagpole sort of manifestation didn't 
last all year. I personally think God would 
rather have you in your closet, you know, at 6 a.m. or 5 a.m., 
for you Spartans out there, rather than showing up at the flagpole. 
I mean, the flagpole should be gravy. Your closet shouldn't 
be neglected. We want gravy in the Christian 
life, don't we? We want all of this stuff out 
here, but we're oftentimes not faithful in what the Apostle 
sets down. It says, do not forsake the assembling 
of yourselves together as is the custom of some, even the 
more so as you see the day approaching. Remember when we reflected on 
that? What day is it? It's either the day of my death, 
or it's the day of the final judgment, or it's the day of 
the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. Each one of those, 
however, interpreted by at least some Christians today, would 
be a reason not to go to church. If I knew I was going to die 
tomorrow, I might not go to church today because I need to spend 
time with my family. If I knew that the city was going 
to be destroyed tomorrow, I might not go to church today because 
I've got to get my guns and get my stuff and my beans and my 
rice and my oats and load up the car with gas and head out. If I knew it was the day of final 
judgment, same thing, I want to gather my family around. Do 
you see the apostles' logic? Do not forsake the assembling 
of yourselves together, as is the custom of some, even the 
more so as you see the day approaching, whether it's the day of death, 
whether it's the destruction of the city, or whether it's 
the eschatological day of judgment. If that was going to occur on 
Monday, do you know where God wants you today? Right where 
you are. Right where you are. Until you die. God wants you 
to read your Bibles. He wants you to pray. He wants 
you to fellowship one with another. Not in these fits and starts. 
Not in these, I'm going to go like a madman and read 20 chapters 
for, you know, three days and then fizzle out because I don't 
understand Leviticus 11. It's steady acquisition over 
the long haul. How often we forget Aesop's fable. Who's the better competitor? 
It's the tortoise, brethren. Slow and steady wins the race. Not fits and starts. I'm going 
to read 15 chapters today and tomorrow I'm going to, you know, 
watch sports, whatever. This is what the Apostle says. 
You have, I'm sorry, verse 35, therefore do not cast away your 
confidence which has great reward. In other words, endure with the 
context of understanding what God has laid up for endurers. In other words, think about heaven 
once in a while. I think we need to be reminded 
about this. We need to think about heaven. This comes out 
in this passage. You've got to think about the 
promise. You've got to think about what God has laid out for you. 
This will help you to run with endurance the race that is set 
before you. It will help you to press on. 
Persevere. You know that at the end of your 
course, what will you hear? Well done, good and faithful 
servant. Enter into the joy of your rest. That's what the author 
is reminding the people of God here. Notice the reasons that 
he gives in verse 36. For you have need of endurance. 
The Christian life is hard, isn't it? The Christian life has challenges, 
doesn't it? We've spoken of persecution, 
we've spoken of reproach, we've spoken of public derision, but 
we've got an on-board sort of alien opposer. It's our own remaining 
corruption. When you pop out of bed in the 
morning and you think, boy, I'm going to read my Bible. Do you 
ever get opposed? Oh, no, not me, Pastor. It's 
always just great. Paul notes this principle present 
in Romans 7. When I seek to do good. Do you know when that opposition 
or that remaining corruption shows itself probably the most? It's when you're actually trying 
to do what God wants you to do. I know in our lives, Sunday mornings 
were always the most difficult. It wasn't like everybody bounced 
out of bed and combed their flowing locks and brushed their teeth 
and had their breakfast and all went out in a single file line, 
and we drove our way to church, always there early, always there 
punctual, holding the door open for the older folk. That was 
a mess. Running out without shoes, yelling 
at them to go get shoes, get in the car, we're going to be 
late, My kids heard that once, they heard it a million times, 
I don't want to be late, and you're still late. Why is that? If you're going somewhere else 
on a Tuesday, it's typically not that hard, is it? I'm not 
saying that's true in every case or every instance, but we have 
this sort of onboard opposition to God in our own hearts. We 
are prone to wander, as Robert Robinson wrote, and as we sing, 
prone to leave the God we love. Therefore, he says, you have 
need of endurance. Notice how he connects this to 
the will of God, so that after you have done the will of God, 
it is God's will for you to endure. It is God's will for you to even 
suffer for the cause of Christ. It isn't haphazard trials, it 
isn't haphazard reproaches, it isn't haphazard tribulations. 
You don't live in a world governed by impersonal faith. You live 
in a world governed by a personal God who is absolutely sovereign. 
And whatever He does, or whatever He pleases, He does. Our trials 
are orchestrated by God. Our suffering, our running, our 
endurance, our perseverance, all of this is according to the 
will of God. And then again, points us to 
that promise. You are to anticipate the promise. You may receive the promise. 
Run with endurance the race that is set before you, thinking about 
the promise. Think about heaven. Yeah, it's 
tough on this earth, isn't it? It's hard in this life at times, 
isn't it? Do you realize we're going to a place where there's 
no more pain, no more sorrow, no more suffering, no more tears, 
no more death? The final enemy that is judged 
or rendered incapacitated is death itself. We're going to 
be with Jesus. You need to ponder this as you 
endure, as you persevere, as you run. This is what the author 
says. And then notice, he appeals to 
Scripture, and his appeal to Scripture is absolutely crucial 
in this particular context. He hasn't joined upon them to 
exercise certain graces. You are to run, you are to endure, 
you are to persevere, you are to remember the past, to stir 
up present faithfulness and constancy. But note the specifics of what 
he says in verses 37 and 38. This is a conflation. That means 
a bringing together of two passages. Isaiah 26, 20 and 21. This is 
probably the, for yet a little while. And then Habakkuk 2, 3 
and 4. And he who is coming will come 
and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith, 
but if anyone draws back, my soul has no pleasure in him. 
The idea is simply this. In Isaiah 26 and in Habakkuk 
chapter 2, there were specific contexts of impending judgment. 
And so God highlights the difference between the people of God and 
the non-people of God, and that difference is faith. Appreciate 
this particular connection. He calls us to run, He calls 
us to endure, He calls us to persevere, but these are manifestations 
of graces flowing from that foundational principle of faith. This then leads him to go into 
Hebrews chapter 11, the great faith chapter. Well, it comes 
on the heels of verses 37 to 39, where he enjoins the power 
of faith, or enjoins how important faith is for the people of God. Perhaps Owen can explain it better. Unto this end, with reference 
to exhorting them that they have need of endurance, that they 
are not to cast away their confidence, which has great reward, unto 
this end he commends unto them the necessary use of confidence 
and patience, as those graces which would carry them through 
their difficulties and support them under them. But these graces 
are not the root whereon constancy and perseverance do grow, they 
are all branches of it. He says, They do not give strength 
unto the soul to do and suffer according to the mind of God, 
but they are the way whereby it does exercise its strength, 
which it has from another grace. It is faith. From whence alone 
all these things do spring. You see, what is he saying? What 
does he come back to? What does he highlight? It's 
that city of faith, belief in God, belief in the truth. How 
do we endure? How do we persevere? How do we 
go forward? How do we stand up under public 
insult? How do we take the deprivation 
of our goods? It's by faith in the Son of God 
who loved me and who gave himself for me. The citation of Isaiah 
26 and Habakkuk 3 puts us into those contexts where there's 
a judgment coming. And specifically in verse 37 
here, He who is coming will come and will not tarry. In other 
words, Christian church, your Jesus is coming back for you. There will be troubles. There 
will be hardships. There will be trials and difficulties. But He gives us the remedy or 
the antidote in verse 38. Now, the just shall live by faith. This is how you function, this 
is how you move, this is how you go forward, this is how you 
comply with drawing nigh unto God, holding fast the confession 
of your hope, and considering one another to stir them up to 
love and good works. It's by faith, grace through 
faith in Jesus Christ. Now, note his specific application 
to his audience in verse 39. But we are not of those who draw 
back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of 
the soul. 26 to 31 was a reminder of apostasy. It was a warning 
concerning apostasy. But the author, at least for 
this moment, suspects or assumes that his audience is with him. 
He tells them, by way of encouragement, we are not of those who draw 
back to perdition or to destruction, but of those who believe to the 
saving of the soul. What about this statement? We 
are not of those who draw back to perdition. Is there a drawing 
back not unto perdition? Yeah, it's called sin. Every 
time we sin, we draw back from God, don't we? Every time we 
commit something God says not to do, every time we violate 
the law of God or we do not conform to it, it could be seen as a 
drawing back. But the drawing back to perdition 
is the apostasy described in verses 26 to 31. Let's listen 
to Gil here. I wish, I hope, I pray that sometime 
when you struggle or when you have difficulty, instead of picking 
up the latest Christian fad novel, you pick up Gil. Gil will steal 
your soul in the midst of hardship and difficulty. He says, very 
pastorally and very practically as well, I might add, there is 
a drawing back which is not under perdition. Persons may be attended 
with much unbelief, may be very cold and indifferent to gospel 
ordinances, may fall into great sins and may greatly backslide, 
and yet be recovered as David, Peter, and others. And there 
is a drawing back to perdition when Christ is rejected as the 
alone Savior, when He is not held to as to the head, when 
false doctrines and damnable heresies are given into, and 
when men draw back and never return, nor are they, nor can 
they be returned, and their apostasy is total and final. I love this. He says, but true believers do 
not and cannot draw back in this sense because They are held fast 
in the arms and with the cords of everlasting love, are chosen 
of God unto salvation, are given unto Christ and secured in Him. 
They are redeemed and purchased by Him. They are united to Him 
and built upon Him. They are interested in His prayers 
and preparations and are His jewels and His portion. They 
are regenerated, sanctified, inhabited and sealed by the Spirit 
of God and have the promises and power of God on their side. You see, this finishes the thought. The apostates do what he says 
in 26 to 31. But we, brethren, he includes 
himself, we are not of those who draw back to perdition. Then 
he makes this glorious statement, but of those who believe to the 
saving of the soul. Notice what the saving of the 
soul is connected with. Not your perseverance, not your 
endurance, not your ability to fight and run. The saving of 
the soul is connected to faith in Christ. We're saved by grace 
alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to be sure. Salvation 
is not according to our works, our power, our capability, our 
endurance, our perseverance, but he says, of those who believe 
to the saving of the soul. That's why when you come to Free 
Grace Baptist Church, hopefully the gospel you hear isn't, go 
out and do better, go out and try harder, go out and make yourself 
nicer. but believe on the Lord Jesus 
Christ, because salvation is connected to faith in Him. Now 
that faith by the grace of God doesn't remain alone. Our confession 
speaks to this in saving faith. Faith thus receiving and resting 
on Christ and His righteousness is the alone instrument of faith. 
Yet, it is not alone in the person justified, but is ever accompanied 
with all other saving graces and is no dead faith, but worketh 
by love. So in other words, we are those 
who believe to the saving of the soul. And because by the 
grace of God we have believed to the saving of the soul, we 
will endure, we will persevere, we will run. But when we finish 
the race, God's not going to say, it's because you ran, it's 
because you persevered, it's because you ran or endured. It's because of my Son. His life, 
His death, His resurrection and salvation is by grace, through 
faith as the instrument. That means by which we come into 
saving contact with that Christ. The author is not telling you 
to run with endurance, to persevere, or to pull up your bootstraps. 
He is telling you to look unto Jesus. In fact, he will do so 
very clearly in chapter 12. After 11, he gives all these 
examples of great faith. Chapter 12, he tells us, as runners 
in the Christian race, what are we supposed to do? We're to look 
unto Jesus. the author and finisher of our 
faith, who for the joy that was set before him despised the shame, 
suffered on the cross, and was raised on the right hand of the 
Majesty on high." Sorry. Looking unto Jesus, the author 
and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before 
him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is sat down at 
the right hand of the throne of God. So, in summary, in conclusion, 
here's what the author wants. If you have come to a place in 
your life where you are slothful, you are lazy, you are lethargic, 
you are apathetic, you are indifferent to the things of God, remember 
what happened when you were first enlightened. Remember what it 
was like when you first gazed upon Jesus Christ. Do you ever do that? Do you ever 
think back? I think Paul wants us to think 
back on our baptism, you know, in Romans 6. One of the arguments 
so that we don't present our members as instruments of unrighteousness 
is to remember our baptism. Do you ever think back on your 
baptism? Ever think back on what that 
was like to publicly identify with the triune God in the waters 
of baptism? It's glorious, isn't it? By God's 
grace, we believe. By God's grace, we've gone into 
this water and we've come out. Think back to that. Think back 
to that zeal you had when you went to work and you couldn't 
help but tell people about Jesus. Think about that zeal you had 
when you realized that if the church doors are open, I'm there. 
Think about that zeal you had that, I can't go to bed without 
prayer. I can't finish a day without, 
you know, my Bible. What's happened? Has Christ changed? Has Christ become less lovely? 
Has Christianity lost its allure and its attractiveness? Listen 
to our author. Remember those days. They cost 
you sorely. People in the lunchroom made 
fun of you. People in the city square threw 
rocks at you. You came to visit me in my prison, 
and they thought you were a Pauline sympathizer. But you did it. Why? Because of what Christ has 
done. Now, don't settle on your lease. Don't grow moss in the church. Don't be one of those apathetic 
deadbeats that profess the faith, but you could never tell when 
looking upon them. He says, do not cast away your 
confidence. You have need of endurance. If one of the challenges in the 
Christian life is long-hauled perseverance, the way to achieve 
it is not through laziness, it's not through sloth, and it's certainly 
not through neglect. It's through doing what God calls 
you to do. Draw near. Imagine that command, 
I want you to draw near to me. That's a great command, isn't 
it? We have access to the holiest, according to verse 19. We have 
access to the presence of God, and God says, I want you to use 
it. How can anybody say Christianity is harsh, it's vicious, it's 
mean, it's unkind? God says, I want you to spend 
time with me. Imagine you children hearing your father say, I want 
you to hang out with me, and I want to just bless you. Oh 
man, my dad's the worst. Really? That sounds pretty awesome 
to a guy who didn't have a dad. Sounds pretty great to me. The 
second thing he says, I want you to hold fast your confession. 
Don't let go. That Christ has conquered you, 
that Christ has saved you, that gospel is your everything. Don't 
hold it with some limp-wristed chamomile-drinking tea hand. 
Hold fast the confidence of your hope and don't let go. And then 
look at your brethren. Care about the saints. Love the 
people of God. Pick up the phone. Send them 
an email. Text them. Send a carrier pigeon 
their way to drop something nice on. Do something for the people 
of God. You get the prayer emails concerning 
the brethren. Do you pray for them? Have you 
ever thought about calling them? Have you ever thought about actually 
visiting them? Brethren, this is what the Apostle 
says we are supposed to do. We're to consider one another. We're to try and stir them up 
to love and good works. Always amazes me, people that 
don't want to come to church, they say, well, I don't do anything, 
I don't preach, I don't play the piano. You encourage others. You know what stirs this heart 
up to love and good deeds? It's just to see you on Sunday. 
Just to see you, you don't have to come and hug me, you don't 
have to kiss me, you don't have to say, Jim, you don't have to 
say anything to me. If I just see you, I'm encouraged. 
It makes me happy. I go home and I'm happy. Praise 
God, because that's what it's about. The Christian life is 
not exhausted by church attendance, but it's not less than church 
attendance, it's not less than Bible reading, it's not less 
than prayer. These are all vital elements 
of the Christian life. So the apostle wants you to shake 
off the sluggishness, to put to death the dispositions or 
the hard-heartedness that you may have imbibed over the years. 
Throw it off. Remember the past and be steadied 
in the present so that you can be useful in the future. That's 
the thrust of the section. That's what he wants us to get. 
Owen says, the apostle would have them so called to mind as 
to consider withal what supportment they had under their sufferings, 
what satisfaction in them, what deliverance from them, that they 
might not despond upon the approach of the evils and trials on the 
same account. If we remember our sufferings 
only as to what is evil and afflictive in them, what we lose, what we 
endure and undergo, such a remembrance will weaken and dispirit us as 
unto our future situation. In other words, brethren, that 
sounded too puritanical to convey into the modern parlance. Here's what I think he's saying. 
When you remember the past, what are you specifically remembering? 
Yes, when by God's grace I looked to Jesus and lived. Yes, by God's 
grace I went through public reproaches. Yes, I went through some afflictions. 
Yes, people took my stuff because I loved Jesus. But what's more 
important to remember? God sustained me in the midst 
of it. God upheld me through it all. You remember the past 
so you can see God We're going to do this tonight, specifically 
in Habakkuk 3. Because the Apostle cites Habakkuk 
3 and 4 here, I want to look at Habakkuk 3 tonight to show 
you that Habakkuk needed to put into practice Habakkuk 2.4, the 
just shall live by faith. Habakkuk is facing trial, difficulty, 
hardship, vis-à-vis the Babylonian captivity of Judah. He's facing 
real, live issues, and how does he deal with it? Well, I think 
it's instructive for us, so we're going to look at it tonight, 
Habakkuk chapter 3. But brethren, it's God. It's what we remember, 
that's what we see, that's what we look back into the past to. 
Oh yeah, that person spit on my face, but the Lord encouraged 
me through it all. Oh, that person took my lunch, 
and yet the Lord strengthened me through it. Oh yes, I went 
through that hardship and that pain, but the Lord saw me through 
it. You see, you reflect on the past because there is God acting 
for you. He is one you have tried and 
proven. This will steady you in the present 
to fit you for the future and to run with endurance the race 
that is set before you. So brethren, I hope that this 
is an encouragement to you. I hope that this is a help to 
you. And I hope that each and every one hearing the sound of 
the Word of God today will indeed, by God's grace, find themselves 
in verse 39. I hope and pray that you are 
those who believe to the saving of the soul. You are those who 
believe to the saving of the soul. You need to believe on 
Jesus. You need to look to Christ. You need to get your eyes off 
of self. You need to get your eyes off your own works. And 
you need to look and live at that one who, by the power of 
the Holy Spirit, gave his life a ransom for many. Please, do 
not depart without thinking through this. I know we do this every 
Sunday, and I suspect that you could probably rehearse it to 
me back. Think about it. Think about the truth. If you 
don't believe, there's no saving of the soul. If by the grace 
of God you believe there is saving of the soul, you don't want to 
be unsaved, you don't want to be lost, you don't want to be 
damned, you don't want to be those who are drawn back to perdition 
or destruction. You, by God's grace, want to 
go forward into the blessed arms of the one the Bible describes 
as altogether lovely and chief among ten thousand, even our 
Lord Jesus Christ. Well, let us pray. Father, we 
thank you for the Word of God, and we thank you for the fact 
that you have not left us alone in this world, but you've given 
us Scripture, you've given us the Spirit, give us grace to 
put these things into practice. We would probably all confess, 
I don't want to confess sin where it isn't God, but I suspect many 
of us struggle with that ideal, that situation wherein we first 
found ourselves, full of zeal and full of earnestness for the 
Lord Jesus. And as time goes on, our hearts 
grow cold. Do forgive and do cleanse and 
do wash us in the blood of Jesus and cause us to run with endurance 
the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus. And we pray 
in His most blessed name. Amen.