The Mark

We are going to finish up Hebrews 10 today!  That being said, let's start with a look at Romans 10.

9that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.

Romans 10:9-10 (Berean Study Bible)

Belief, that essential, foundational act of becoming a Christian, is such a mystery!  On the one hand, it is a simple acknowledgement of the truth of Jesus Christ, a trusting in His finished work on the sinner's behalf, an acceptance and surrender which seat Jesus on the throne of one's heart.   On the other hand, it is a profoundly complex act, with eternal consequences.

There is no such thing as "easy believism", as far as Christianity is concerned.  Belief is quite complicated, far from superficial.  In fact, when adults come to Jesus Christ, their belief is accompanied by costly repentance, the giving up of other idols they have accumulated and worshiped along their life's journey.

I wrote in a recent blog post on Hebrews 10:23 that it is impossible for Christians to "keep themselves saved".  In other words, it is God's faithfulness that "holds on to us" and keeps our salvation secure.  With the duality of our carnal and our redeemed natures, it is impossible for us to do this for ourselves, because of the constant warring of those two natures in our lives!

Today, I was at a birthday party with my two-year old great-nephew.  (The party was for his older brother.)  The little boy was dressed in a gorgeous Noah's Ark "shortall" , with smocking on the front. (You mamas out there know what I mean).  But, as beautiful as his outfit was, it became smeared with icing from the cookie cake, the red sauce from the pizza.  It was all over his mouth, hands.... everything he touched bore the mark of grease.
Even Christians get their royal robes dirty! We sin from time to time (let's be honest - - DAILY), and we have to run to our Lord for confession, forgiveness, cleansing, restoration.  Hopefully, along the way, we grow in our faith as we learn more of the heart of our Savior through His Word.
This process is not the same as walking in sin, wallowing in sin - - apostasy.

Saving faith, true belief, is especially complex from the standpoint of identifying who is Christian and who is not.  We can observe a person's life, but only God knows that person's heart.

However ...
I have come to believe that the strongest indicator of a true Christian (that person claiming allegiance to Christ, claiming that He is Savior) is this: steadfast, persevering faith.
Honest, authentic faith endures.  The true Christian's "belief" is so strong and pure that it refuses to capitulate to apostasy when confronted with worldly philosophies or when that belief is challenged by the direst persecution.

Take a look at today's passage, Hebrews 10:26-39 (ESV).  It's long, but so important that I'm choosing to reprint it here.

26For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 29How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? 30For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

32But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, 33sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. 34For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. 35Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. 37For,

“Yet a little while,

and the coming one will come and will not delay;

38but my righteous one shall live by faith,

and if he shrinks back,

my soul has no pleasure in him.”

39But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

Don't worry --- I won't exegete every verse.  We'd be here for hours.  But, let's start with verse 39. The apostle John says something very similar in 1 John 2:19 (ESV).

 19They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

It could be argued that many (if not most) Americans have heard the gospel message of Jesus Christ. In other words, they have "received knowledge of the truth" (vs. 26).  Many of those who "heard" might have gone so far as to profess allegiance to Jesus Christ, yet without a true belief. They may have walked the aisle, parroted a prayer that someone led them in, etc. - - maybe because it was what their family expected, or what their friends were doing.  But, there was no sincere, deep belief in the heart.  It is these folks who are spoken of in Hebrews 10:26-31.  SO many across the world have never had a chance to hear the message of the gospel!  How much worse it will be for those who have had a chance to hear, perhaps over a period of years and years, and still have not believed, truly believed to the point of a changed heart.

The evidence of a true heart change, a supernatural transformation, is the "fruit" which genuine belief, authentic faith, produces.  After all, as Jesus said, "a good tree produces good fruit" (Matthew 7:17 NLT).  You will not see apple trees producing figs.  Or, as the Lord also said, "You will recognize them by their fruit" (Matthew 7:20 NET).

You can resemble a Christian believer and not be one; but you can't be a Christian believer and not look like one.

On the flip side, ...
Verses 32-36 describe the true converts of the first century, and the 20 centuries since.  Because of their faith (vs. 38), they endured sufferings (whether ridicule or physical torture or great loss) with JOY!  And, they endured to the end.

Do you see that the actions of these true believers inexorably flowed from their belief, from their saving faith?  The same is true today.  Those who do truly take God at His word concerning Jesus, the Son of God, will not commit apostasy.  They may be enticed and deceived by some false doctrine; but, once shown the truth they will renounce error. They do not "shrink back" (vs. 39)  or eventually reject the eternally saving gospel of Jesus Christ.  Their actions don't "keep them saved"; their actions PROVE they are saved.

Saving faith endures.  This is true belief - - the unmistakable mark of the disciple of Jesus Christ.

Recommended further reading:

https://www.gotquestions.org/perseverance-saints.html
I did not take any material from this site in the writing of this post.  But, the article linked above goes on to expound upon the doctrine called "perseverance of the saints".

Done, Not Done

It is an inescapable truth of this earthly existence:

what gets done doesn't usually remain done.  

A young mother posted on Facebook the other day - - - she felt the satisfaction of her laundry being done and her house clean.  She felt that for a brief, shining few moments.  Then, the other family members returned home, and the cycle began again.

Earlier this month, I filed my household's taxes, after weeks of hunting, gathering, organizing and tallying....lots of tallying.  April 15th looms each year.  On January 1st, the record-keeping begins again.

You can probably think of a similar process in your own life.  It may produce a certain amount of comfort - - that sameness, that repetition.  On the other hand, it may be like tax prep, producing extreme dread and angst.

Some have said, "Nothing is certain but death and taxes."  I've had an abundance of both this month.
But, there is one thing on which I never again have to take action, and that is to prepare for my own death.  Oh, I'm not talking about wills or trusts or funeral arrangements.  In fact, I'm not even talking about physical death.

We recently studied here about the layout and meaning of items in the ancient Hebrew Tabernacle and Temple.  The ritual sacrifices to address the sins of the Hebrew people went on and on and on, day after day, until Jesus Christ cried from the cross, "It is finished!" (John 19:30).

Today, we are in Hebrews 10:11-14 (ESV), with verse 14 being the key verse.

11And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12But when Christ^b had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

See? The author of Hebrews contrasts the seemingly endless actions of Levitical priests over the centuries with the once-for-all-time work of our High Priest, Jesus.  He came to be that "single offering" of verse 14. He has purchased with His blood all who will receive Him as Savior.  His blood does what (verse 4) the blood of bulls and goats could never do!  It also does what I, myself, on my own power, could never do.

One offering.  One time.  And now, it is finished, forever.

My pastor preached on 1 Peter 1:8-9 this morning, but reached out and grabbed this verse, Hebrews 10:14.  I want to share this point he made.  This eternal sacrifice Jesus made is inexhaustible!  It never runs out.

Have you ever waited in line for something wonderful only to find that when it was your turn....there was no more?  Perhaps at the potluck, after enjoying the entrees and sides you lumbered over to the dessert table only to find....that banana pudding you had had your eye on....was all gone.

Oh hallelujah! There is always room at the cross!  Jesus will never turn away anyone who comes to Him in repentance for salvation.  His blood is always enough, always sufficient to cleanse EVERY sin, always available up until the moment of physical death.

This is why I sorrow at the loss of my loved ones this month, but not as those who have no certain assurance.  Both of my loved ones died having been justified by the blood of their Savior.  I'm so grateful that God gave them grace, gave me grace so that I, too, have been cleansed, redeemed, justified through Jesus' once-for-all sacrifice.

While I will likely know physical death (unless Jesus returns to Earth in my lifetime) I will never know spiritual death.  As Hebrews 10:23 says, "He who promised is faithful."  It is the faithfulness of God that assures my eternal salvation, not my own faithfulness (thank God!)
Let's take up the Scriptures again, this time starting with our key verse, the last verse from the earlier passage.
Hebrews 10:14-17 (ESV).

14For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

15And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,

16“This is the covenant that I will make with them

after those days, declares the Lord:

I will put my laws on their hearts,

and write them on their minds,"

17then he adds,

“I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”

Believers in Jesus Christ, listen to me:  your enemy, that old serpent, the devil wants you to believe that you can fall from grace, that you weren't truly saved, that you aren't "good enough" to serve Him....and any number of other lies ... because he was a liar, a deceiver (and a murderer from the beginning, according to Jesus).  Don't you dare listen to that accuser who wants more than anything to steal your peace and joy!

Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ - - - our God only sees Jesus' blood when He looks at us.  He "remembers your sins and your lawless deeds no more".  You are forgiven.  It is finished.

However, He loves you too much to allow you to wallow around in unconfessed sin, day after day.
He loves you too much to leave you bound up in the snares, the traps that old devil sets for you and into which you frequently fall.  Because of His great love, He calls you to confess your sins regularly, because that confession is part of His sanctification process...the process where He more and more writes His words from the Bible on your heart and in your mind. The Holy Spirit longs to rule and reign in your life, making you day-by-day, as you confess your daily sins, more and more like your Savior.

Done, yet not done.  Finished, yet a work in progress.

There is a commercial running currently.  It's for Clorox bleach.  The little boy is so excited to show his mama that he has "gone potty" successfully.  Only problem is....he has gone in the bathtub.  The camera cuts from the mother's horrified face to a jug of Clorox bleach slamming down onto a surface. I'm reminded of that when I think of confession and sanctification.

Every Believer's salvation is secure.  It is forever finished, complete, flawlessly executed.  But, our sanctification begins at the moment of our salvation.  From the inside out, God's Spirit moves in us, molding us, shaping us more and more into His image, the One who died for us, the One we adore. How glorious!

Father, as this evening closes, I am humbly grateful for my eternal salvation, which You and only You gave me so many years ago.  And, I am deeply sorry for the ways I have fallen short of your standard today. While I know that all my sins, past, present and future, are forgiven, I surely do hate to disappoint you through my sinful choices, as well as by my unintentional lurches into a ditch of sin.   Thank you for allowing me to apologize and for continuing to create in me a clean heart, day by day. I know and strongly affirm that only You, Holy Spirit, can accomplish salvation and then sanctification, can produce holiness of any sort in this sin-beleaguered soul.  It is because of this truth that I give You, my God, ALL the glory for any good thing that arises out of me.  The only resplendence that could be attributed to me ... is because of You, my Savior.  And, that is why it is so easy for me to give You all the glory and honor and praise for what You have done and for what You are continuing to do in me and in this world.
In Jesus' name, amen.