On to Maturity, Part 5

Welcome to Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, Pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. In Hebrews 5, 11-14, the author calls believers to maturity. He says, Pastor Rich shares from the text what that maturity in Christ looks like, pointing out that Bible knowledge, intelligence, and how long someone has been saved don't lead to maturity in and of themselves. Let's listen to this message titled, On to Maturity. Today's segment is a continuation of the sermon titled, On to Maturity. It was preached on July 8, 2022.

We're listening to the second part. This is the second part of the sermon titled, On to Maturity. In other words, they were, in the congregation of Christians, they were at ground zero of Holy Spirit activity, that the Holy Spirit was working, revealing truth, and giving attesting signs, which is the good word of God and the powers to come. That is miraculous signs, where the Holy Spirit was working in the New Testament. At this time, they didn't come to church and say, now open your copy of the scriptures to this place in the New Testament.

They didn't have the New Testament. They were at that point speaking the New Testament, which we have now recorded for us today. And so it was the spoken word of God. And in that context, when the Holy Spirit gave new revelation, He oftentimes would provide with that attesting signs, which we call miracles, to verify that what was spoken was truth and was indeed from God. So you have then people who were associated with the Christian community, and they were at ground zero of Holy Spirit activity, and they were hearing the word of God. They were witnessing the miraculous powers of the Holy Spirit in attestation to the word of God.

Therefore, they were dabbling in the faith. They were associated with Christianity in the Christian community. And there are other people in the New Testament that have been like that.

For example, the main example would be Judas. Remember Judas Iscariot? Not only was he part of the Christian community, but he walked with Christ for anywhere from a year and a half to three years. We don't know exactly how long it was, but he walked with Christ. Remember when Jesus sent out the apostles and they preached the gospel of the kingdom, and they actually did miraculous signs, and they came back with great rejoicing?

But what's the problem with that? Judas was the son of perdition. The very one whom Jesus said when he spoke of his apostles, I have lost none of those that you've given me except one, the son of perdition. That's Judas.

Why? Because he was simply dabbling in the faith. He did not entrust himself to Jesus Christ. He was associated with Jesus Christ on his terms, and he fell away. There was another one, for example, in the New Testament. Paul writes of Demas. Demas was associated with those in Christian ministry, and Paul writes to me that he says, Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world.

What a tragic statement that is. So there are those, there were those then, there are many today that are dabbling in the Christian faith. They like being associated with the stuff that goes on in Christianity. They listen to the word of God. They see the workings of the Spirit of God. They're at ground zero of Holy Spirit activity, but they never entrust themselves and dive in. They never entrust themselves wholly to Jesus Christ.

They're simply dabbling in the faith, and that's a problem because there's a difference between association and possession. Taste does not equal drink. Taste does not equal drink, and that's how I see it in this context, when he says that they have tasted the heavenly gift. For example, when Jesus was on the cross, he was very thirsty, and when he was thirsty, they filled us, they gave him, they were ready to give him some wine on the cross, maybe to numb the pain. When Jesus tasted it, the Scriptures, Matthew 27 34 tells us that Jesus tasted it, but then he refused it. He did not drink it. So to taste it is not to drink it. You get the flavor of it, but you don't get the sustenance of it, or the full effect of it.

And so these that have tasted the heavenly gift, and tasted the good word of God, they got the flavor of it, but they never drank it. So what happens when they walk away? What happens when they say, forget it, I'm not getting in? What happens when they jump off the bus?

Say, you know, I've been riding it for a while, but I'm not going to that destination. What it says in verse 6, they crucify again for themselves, the son of God, and put him to an open shame. They crucify for themselves, they crucify again for themselves, the son of God, and put him to open shame. Let me explain it this way. To put someone to open shame means that you are determining guilt.

Open shame is related with guilt. So here they are, they've been dabbling in the Christian faith, and they say, you know what, I'm staying away from that, I'm going to go back here. But who's standing back here? The crucifiers. The ones who point to Christ and say, he deserved it, he's guilty, he's not God, he's not God's provision, he's not worthy of my trust. To crucify him again for themselves and put him to open shame means that I have tried him, I have judged him and found him unworthy.

He's not worthy of my trust. That's why it says it is impossible to renew them again to repentance. It is impossible to renew them again to repentance. The word renew then means to cause to change to a previous preferable state.

Now hang on to this for a minute, okay? We're going to look at renew and repentance. Now when you look at the word repentance, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance. The word repentance is a noun. I understand it, therefore, as a metonym.

It is one part that represents the whole. Let's say Colin got a new car, right? Colin, you got a great set of wheels there.

Really? Am I just complimenting the wheels of the car? He didn't just buy a set of wheels, he bought a whole car, but the wheels represent the whole vehicle. And so repentance here is a word, an aspect of the whole, that is representative of restoration of the fallen human condition. Repentance, regeneration, reconciliation, salvation, all of that.

The writer of Hebrews uses one word. He says impossible to renew, that word renew, to cause to change to a previous preferable state. He's speaking of the restoration of humanity. So what he is, for example, in Acts chapter 11, verse 8, it is said that then the Gentiles, to the Gentiles also, God has granted repentance that leads to life. He's speaking there of the fact that this whole salvation thing, repentance, regeneration, salvation, redemption, all of that, God has now lavished that on the Gentiles, not just the Jews. And so he's saying here it is impossible to renew them again to repentance.

What he is saying is they've abandoned hope because the word renew is a present active, meaning this, as long as you abandon Christ, you abandon all hope. If you're dabbling in the faith and you walk away and say, nope, not going to do it, you have abandoned all hope. As long as you abandon Christ, you abandon hope.

Now, why is that? Because he is the one who alone can reconcile you to God. If you abandon all hope, if you abandon Christ, you have nothing else.

There's nothing more to count on. There's not going to be another sacrifice, a sacrifice that will satisfy God's wrath and reconcile you to God. That's what Christ did. And so if you're going back to the foreshadows and you're still expecting Messiah, guess what? The Messiah has come.

There's not another one coming. And if you abandon Christ, there is nothing else to count on and you are effectively abandoning hope. That's what he says then in verses seven to eight.

That's the illustration that he gives. If you abandon Christ, you have nothing else and you abandon hope. So look at verses seven and eight with me.

The earth, which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and briars, it is rejected and near to being cursed. Whose end is to be burned? Whose end is to be burned? And this is where he comes out with a very hard truth.

If you abandon Christ, you've abandoned hope. Whose end is to be burned? When he mentions rain in this illustration. When it rains, it rains on what?

The whole ground. For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It rains on everybody and the rain represents God's gift of restoration and it falls upon everybody. But the briars then, it's not just fruit trees that grow up. There is also thorns and briars that grow up and they do not represent the seed that was planted.

They, therefore, will be harvested to be burned. We're so glad you've joined us for Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. You can hear this message and others anytime by visiting our website, www.delightingrace.com. You can also check out Pastor Rich's book, Seven Words That Can Change Your Life, where he unpacks from God's word the very purpose for which you were designed. Seven Words That Can Change Your Life is available wherever books are sold. As always, tune in to Delight in Grace weekdays at 10 a.m.