Sermon: Assured Hope

Let's pray. Now as we turn our attention to God's word this morning Hebrews chapter 6. Let's pray together.

Our Father we are thankful. You're the same God.

Sits in Throne over all of Heaven and Earth that you are the same God here in East Lansing that also sits in Throne over blentire Malawi. And we're thankful that you give the same word. The same Everlasting Eternal Word is effectual here. It's a factual across the globe. You pray this morning that as we sit in this place and stand in this place that we would. Find ourselves under the power of your word. You would speak to us and minister to our souls.

the power of your spirit for our good and For Your Glory Christ's name we pray. amen Hebrews chapter 6 verses 9 through 12 of using Pub Bible Lutheran page 104 Hebrews 6 verses 9 through 12. This is the holy inherent sufficient word of God. Though we speak in this way yet in your case beloved. We feel sure of better things. things that belong to Salvation for God is Not unjust so as to overlook your work. and the love

that you've shown for his name and serving the Saints. as you still do and we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness. To have the full Assurance of Hope until the end. So that you may not be sluggish. but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises the grass withers and the flower Fades the word of God is forever. Thanks be to God. amen

He may remember. That two weeks ago that we started in Hebrew 6 and Hebrews 6. The writer of Hebrews is giving this very Stark warning to the church that he is writing to that. He is a preacher to and a pastor too it is we could say maybe the Stark is warning in all of the scriptures and he's a good pastor. He knows that he is warning them about the sin of apostasy about falling away from Christ. And he knows as a good pastor is every

good pastor knows that when you talk about this sin to a congregation, there are many Christians Christians and that congregation that will begin to fear for their own salvation. Have they committed the sin of apostasy have they Fallen away from the living Christ? And so he addresses them as a good pastor right on the heels of the Stark warning in verse 9. He says this though we speak in this way speaking about the warning though.

We speak in this way yet in your case beloved. We feel sure of better things things that belong to Salvation. He wants them to keep persevering in Christ, but he doesn't want them to languish in Christ with a lack of assurance of their salvation. That's his concern in our verses. For them, he says he is sure of better things. Why why is he sure of better things for them? Because Of what he's seen in them. Because of what he's seen in them, he notes

their character both passed. And their character in the present.

insurance of Salvation is a struggle for many Christians. No doubt in this room this morning. There are a number of you maybe many of you that are struggling with Assurance of Salvation. So this morning we get to look at this together from these verses and we'll spend a little time on this together this morning. It gives us a wonderful opportunity to do that. The first thing I want to do is our first point this morning

that the writer of Hebrews is making to this congregation. Is that past faithfulness? encourages present confidence past faithfulness encourages present confidence He begins by noting their character in the past. Listen character follows faith. Never perfectly. We're never what we desire to be. We're never what we think we should be but where there is a lack of fruit in our lives. There's a lack of life, but where there is fruit,

That speaks of life. It's evidence of life. And he knows what he's seen in their lives. If you go to verse 10 there, he says your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the Saints. That's what he's seen. He's no doubt alluding to the beginning of the church. Wherever this church is at. The right of Hebrews is writing to he's speaking about the beginning of that church if you turn over to chapter 10.

chapter 10 verses 32 through 34 He addresses this what they were like at the beginning of the church. He says this. But recall the former days when after you were enlightened that as they come to saving faith when you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings. Sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction and sometimes being partners with those who treated for you had compassion on those imprison and you joyfully accepted the

plundering of your property since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and abiding one. He looks back at their past and he says look you willingly suffer for the sake of Christ. You willingly served and loved others in the body of Christ often at Great cost at Great expense to you. And he's saying your past faithfulness encourages present confidence. I'm confident. Because I've seen what you've done. I've seen who you were.

It began. This passage was noting quote God is Not unjust and overlooking such work. God's not unjust so often the work that you and I do in the body of Christ and for the glory of Christ, it goes unnoticed. In fact, that's often the best and the most encouraging work in the body of Christ that which goes unnoticed that service. some of you excel at that at being unnoticed I was just talking with an elder this past week about this and saying.

of an individual one of you in this congregation saying ha this person they're not upfront. They people don't know everything they do but man. I have a conversation over here and their name bubbles up. They're serving this person and I'm having a conversation with another person over here and their name bubbles up that they're serving this person. Just serve him Faithfully behind the scenes. Not saying to another Elder this past week

about a couple here in this congregation a young couple that I said, they're just sneakily effective. But you don't see them. But they're just effective and what they do. that they've had all kinds of people over to their home and have exercised the gift of hospitality and there's all kinds of people in this congregation that were on the fringes that felt like oh they didn't belong and they've had them over and now they know the love of the Saints.

so many of you that do that. Just doesn't get recognized but the Riders noting God recognizes. God sees and God Rewards he does not as the writer says quote overlook your work and your love God sees all things. He neither sumbers nor sleeps as the psalmist says he sees all evil. And he sees all good.

He hears every prayer. He sees every self-giving Act. He notices every Injustice that you suffer for the sake of serving others. He knows every dollar you have passed along. Our labors for his people are never for not.

and he Rewards now the writer is not saying that we're saved. Nor is he saying that our Assurance is founded upon our works. You don't have ultimately Assurance of your salvation because of your works and you surely do not have salvation because of your works that would upset the entire tenor of scripture. We are saved by grace alone through faith alone. His point is simply what we have often said in this Pulpit that we are

saved by grace alone through faith alone, but that faith never remains alone. when he works in US he then Works through us. They go hand in hand.

And so our past faithfulness should be one of the things that testify to us that give us present confidence of our salvation. So you can look back and in your life, you can see as it were all of these different Ebenezer Stones throughout your life. And you say oh the Lord work through me there and he work through me there and he worked through me there. It was his work through me and that's a Ebenezer Stone in my past the testify to

me that indeed I'm his

past faithfulness encourages present confidence our second point present faithfulness encourages present confidence present faithfulness encourages present confidence He speaks about their past faithfulness, and then he underlies it with just that little Clause as you still do.

He's not simply pointing to what they have been he's now pointing to what they or now character now matters. the Christian fights continually fights against resting on their Laurels and one of the reasons we fight is to have as the author says quote the full Assurance of Hope Assurance is often a battle. It's often about a battle in the Christian's life. And one of the ways to be assured of our Salvation is to continue to press in the Christ and to

continue to press up into Christ.

This is one of my great prayers for all of you in this room. And as long as we are here that we all recognize that we're here with purpose to glorify God and the goo good to his people the service people or as we talk about the three pillars of you are see we spoke about the berry beginning of the year. We exist to Proclaim Christ and we exist to grow in Christ. And part of the way that you and I grow in Christ and part of the way that we are proclaiming Christ.

Is that we are serving one another in love.

Jesus said they will know you by your love for one another. and one of the great gifts of loving the body of Christ of serving the body of Christ, is that my personal Assurance of Salvation grew mine As I serve you. Yours as you serve me. present faithfulness encourages present confidence

I've said there's so many of you during these last few turbulent years. that our society is going through I've said I think that. I'm pretty convinced that the great apologetic in our age not apology apologetic the great argument the great apologetic. in our age will be that we continue to gather together. in love one another

we live in a world and in a society that is doing everything it can to Make a suppose one another. creates stark contrast between one another Trying to get you to hate the person that's different from you. We even have a word for it. Now you're canceled. If you disagree with me about something I have no tolerance for you.

To cancel your neighbor over politics. Or covid over, Mass. or defund the police over reparations over whatever the topic did you are of the day is And our great apologetic is that we will continue to gather with one another to worship and glorify Christ. And when we gather we shower one another with service and love. And that will be strange to the world. In fact, it will often be offensive to the world. What is wrong with those people? They

think Jesus is more important than yes.

I will know you by your love for one another. Paul rejoice in Philippians that the gospel even spread to the house of Caesar his enemy Caesar's house Yes, he did.

Peter will rejoice that the gospel has gone out to the dirty gentiles. He would sit down and eat with dirty Gentiles. Yes, he did. Jesus would sit with tax collectors tax collectors. Yes, he did. Philemon will worship in the same church as a slave andesimus who is below him. Yes, he did. Anessimist will worship in the same church as a slave master Philemon. Yes, he did. Will know you by your love for one another.

But here's the other part of the equation. Even as it's the great apologetic to our culture, it's a great apologetic to our own soul. To our own soul. It's not easy to love others. It's not easy to love those in the body of Christ. I disagree with I have nothing in common with you. except Christ

and yet I love that brother or I love that sister that I disagree with them about everything about but I love them. And want to serve them that can only be grace.

the great apologetic to our own Souls that we love one another and serve one another. present faithfulness encourages present confidence a third point present and future earnestness will encourage confidence present and future earnestness will encourage confidence

Right Hebrews desires that they verse 11 show the same earnestness to have the full Assurance of Hope until the end. He tells them not to be sluggish as the exact same word that he used in chapter 5 verse 11 where he said that they were Dole of hearing that is sleazy slothful. He's saying do not be lazy and slothful laziness is the great enemy of fruitfulness sluggishness is the great enemy of righteousness. You remember that

parable of the talents that Jesus Toes or there's a master that gives the different number of talents to servants and there's a one servant that gets the one talent and that servant will bury that Talent into the ground and then the master returns and he doesn't get a return on it and he says to that that servant of is he says you Wicked and slothful servant and he takes that one Talent from him. All right people saying don't be slothful like that.

You're Endeavor your depressing.

As Christians we believe our Salvation is ultimately secured by Christ. It is his death. It's his burial. It's his resurrection that secures our Salvation. Our Salvation is firmly rooted in him. We rest in that and yet we don't rest on our laurels. We keep pressing in we keep sweating for his glory and the good of our Brothers and Sisters in Christ. We endeavor.

What I want to do is talk a little bit about Assurance together. Okay. Think about this together as we're endeavoring and thinking about Assurance of Salvation this morning together because it's such a struggle for so many.

Assurance I have often thought it is it is one of the greatest of blessings that we have in the Christian faith. It's not something the Lord had to give to us. Look he didn't have to give us salvation, but he does but then he he puts the cherry on top by saying. Oh I give you the Assurance of your salvation as well. You don't have to stir in am I actually say am I in Jeopardy someday? Could he out flank me somehow could I get robbed or were stolen or

taken away from the hand of Christ? No. He gives you this great Assurance. It's one of the great and rightful inheritances of the children of God and the scriptures clearly articulate a child of God May and should possess a true sense of inner peace and confidence regarding their own personal salvation. Which it take you very back to the beginning when you think about faith understand this that faith is trusting in Christ is savior. So the seeds of

assurance are inherently within Faith itself. They're already there. But here's the reality. though the gift of assurance is the inheritance of God's people it's reached out to you. It's offered to you. And it regularly accompanies saving Faith many of us though. We are Christians find it elusive or even non-existent in our Christian experience. Is John Calvin said we cannot imagine any certainty that is not tinged with

doubt or any assurance that is not a sailed by some anxiety Believers are in Perpetual conflict with their own unbelief. some of us have or struggling with assurance and Monumental ways

it was a when I came to saving faith in college. The first major battle I had of Christian Life was forgiving some adults that had done great injury to me as a child. The second was battling doubt an assurance of my salvation for five or six years I was I was undone. I'm I'm an introspective person. I I look too often within and too often am testing the fruits of my life. I wish someone had told me that wonderful Robert

Murray McShane quote early on in my Christian Life for every one. Look at yourself take ten looks to Christ. That's a good good word. You look to Christ. Before you look to yourself. That was wracked with doubt. I could turn myself inside out if I thought about anything for any period of time. I used to tell people if you give me long enough, just give me long enough to think about it and I'll doubt whether I love my own mama.

I'll do it. I can think about it long enough and I can get there. And I was like that about Christ. It was doubt was a constant killjoy in my life. some of you know this some of you live this

Well the best chapters I think in the Westminster Confession of faith, maybe my favorite chapter. In the entire confession is chapter 18 on the Assurance of salvation. Take a moment. This afternoon would encourage you to find it online. Those of you that don't have it tucked under your pillow at night. Like I do you can find it online. Wonderful chapter 18 would encourage you to read it. It is so wonderfully pastoral and theologically

Rich. And in that chapter, they helpfully address the underlying error when it says this. Quote infallible Assurance does not so belong to the essence of faith. But that a True Believer may wait long and conflict with many difficulties before he be a partaker of it. This is what the Westminster assembly was saying. There is not an equal sign between salvation and Assurance of Salvation no equal sign. That is you can have salvation. You can

be saved in Christ. You can be United to Christ. You can have faith in Christ. You can be everlastingly his and have no sense of it. That's a possibility. They're not so inextricably linked. That the one necessarily follows the other.

And the Christian scriptures speak to the Stark reality our own Christian experience many of us in this room speaks to that reality. Think about it biblically where that man and Mark 9 the father will come forward and will say the Lord Jesus Christ to say I believe. Help me in my unbelief. What's he saying? He believes but he knows that it's weak. It's frail. It's filled with doubt. His faith is wracked with doubt. It should make your soul rattle

with delight the response that Jesus gives to him. He recognizes it as faith. And he heals the Sun. And ounce of saving faith is saving faith. It is not the degree. It's not the quality. It's not the abundance of our faith that saves it's the object of our faith that saves. Jesus that's what say.

for many the struggle with Assurance is not due to being outside of Christ. In fact, it's evidence of your being in Christ. That you're struggling with assurance.

too many think Christian Life is absent of doubt. It's absent of struggle. It's absent a fight but the scriptures painted completely different view of the Christian faith pulses the Timothy this fight the good fight to the faith take hold of the eternal life to which you were cold and about which you made a good confession in the presence of many witnesses First Timothy 6 12 The Christian Life is seldom one of these. It's compared to a marathon Race Hebrews 12

a fight first Timothy 6 Warfare Ephesians 6. It involves struggle Colossians 129 suffering Philippians, 1:29 striving Philippians, 1:27 and discipline First Corinthians 9:27. That's Calvin said he who struggling with his own weakness presses toward faith in his moments of anxiety is already in large part Victorious. We press more and more into Christ as we are doubting and struggling with our faith and that pressing in

despite our doubt or even because of our doubt is a sign that we already have the victory.

So earnestness the writer of Hebrews says Christian Life is a life of fighting. Why? Because we have adversaries that want to assault your faith on every side. You have Satan and you have sin and you have your flesh that want to rob you of the joy of your salvation. And so it's a continual fight. So you keep showing earnestness. The writer of Hebrews is saying

same about this this week. but this text and thinking thinking back over two decades of pastoral Ministry and thinking if I had do a ranking of the main reasons that people come to me and say oh Pastor, can we get together to talk through an issue in my life?

And have literally the hundreds upon hundreds maybe thousands of people I've sat with face to face. This has got to be in the top three. Of why people come?

struggling with Assurance of their salvation And it's almost without fail. The man or woman will sit across from me in their eyes will be filled with tears. And there will be something along lines of those say I've continually struggled with this sin. I continue to wrestle with it and they are not what they desire to be in Christ. They are not what they think they should be in Christ at this point.

I don't find the joy and Delight in Christ that they seemingly see in others.

And they wonder whether they are actually saved they don't do what they want to do and do. What they don't want to do and if that's the case, well, you're in good company.

Paul and Romans will save for I do not understand my own actions for I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. The Apostle John in speaking to his flock as he is riding to them. We'll say there in first John 3:2 that look your children of God, even now you are not what you shall be says beloved. We are God's children now and what we will be has not yet appeared, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him because we shall see him as he

is my friends struggle. Struggle in the Christian life rather than being a sign of unbelief is often the greatest sign of true belief. The reality is that only individuals engaged in the fight are those on the other side of the battle lines from Satan and sin and the flesh the fact that you want more grace speaks of you already having Grace.

Keep showing earnestness. present and future earnestness will encourage confidence chapter in the Westminster Confession is so very helpful. One of the things that it does is that notes that you and I will have different experiences than some Christians will immediately upon salvation that they will have a full assurance and it doesn't waver at all. My wife is one of those. She prayed a prayer when she was under a tree

at four years old and she's never doubted a day in her life that she saved and then there's me.

and some of you will have great assurance and then you will go through periods where you have little assurance. And it will wax and it will wane. different degrees But I want you to know this. to give it's a gift that is yours. If you're in Christ.

It's it's extending his hands out to you and says. It's yours. Just take it.

We're to labor for it. Right if Hebrews is concerned that they show earnestness and acquiring it earnestness is often the way to embrace it. Is encouraging them. He's confident in their salvation, but he wants them to show earnestness that they may know the full Assurance of hope that is theirs in Christ. I want all of you to know the full Assurance of hope that is yours in Christ if you are in Christ, Be earnest.

It closes or passage with the example. Example of those who have gone before us. he says verse 12 be imitators imitators of those who through faith and patient and inherit the promises that is he's saying keep running and he's noting that look you're not the first to be involved in this they have finished the race. There are men and women that are ahead of you and they finish the race and they set before you an example.

And now they have all the promises. And so he's saying to these Hebrew congregants of his he's saying look have men and women that are set out before you that are just a little further ahead of you in the faith. That you can look to and you can see their love for the Saints and you can see their patience. You can see their service and it just encourages you to keep pressing forward. You should have dead people that do this for you.

That are now living. You should have living people that do this for you. I think about it biblically there are. biblical examples for me Heroes saints that I often think about David and as repentance or Peter and ezeal or Paul and the steadfastness or John and his growth and the Christian Life. Or I think of others who have died and gone on to be with the Lord. I think of the courage of Martin Luther or the heart of David Brainerd or

the love of John Newton or the faithfulness of polycarb. They continued in the faith. They were Earnest they kept pressing in and they finished the race and now all of that hope that they look forward to it's all been realized for them. It received all the promises. So the writer of Hebrews is saying be earnest. Keep pressing in. Keep at it.

And beautiful that what he is saying is that you and I as we serve one another in the body of Christ. We're Loving one another we're serving one another but what he's pointing out is that we're also the recipients of love the rest of the Saints. They set an example for us. And their lives in form Our Lives we are God's people. we

and one that way things he has done is he's given us one another. Help one another finish the race.

You're not the first keep clinging to Christ in this world. Keep struggling in faith keep being patient. He pressing into that assured hope that is yours in Christ Jesus. Let's pray.

Our Father We are thankful this morning.

That you're a God of so great salvation. Not only that you have gifted a salvation, but you've A Gifted us the assurance. of salvation

You've gifted us not only the Assurance of salvation, but that you've gifted us brothers and sisters to walk alongside of them in this life to serve. to love to be served and loved by

pray for each of us in this room that we would know this glorious savior. You find that we are united together as brothers and sisters that we see ourselves as your people.

And that we are known by our love for one another.

And pray that that would be true of us as we press into this eternal. Hope that we have been given. In Christ's name we pray. amen