Such a Great Salvation!

Hello, this is Will Hardy with ManTalk Radio. We are all about breaking down the walls of race and denomination. Your chosen Truth Network Podcast is starting in just a few minutes.

Enjoy it, share it, but most of all, thank you for listening to the Truth Podcast Network. Today, Pastor Russ Andrews will walk us through Scripture to answer these questions. Join us on Finding Purpose, a local triangle ministry glorifying God by helping men find their purpose for living.

For more information and to connect with Russ Andrews and Finding Purpose, you can visit us online at findingpurpose.net or connect with us on Facebook. Now let's listen to Russ Andrews as he teaches us how to be a Christian without being religious. Okay, guys, let's go to the Lord in prayer. Heavenly Father, thank You so much for this day, and Lord, thank You for this time of year. Lord, we look out there, and it's a very dark world, but You are the light of the world, and Your light shines brightest when it is the darkest. Lord, I pray that Your light would shine in this room tonight, that it would flood our hearts and our minds with Your truth, and that we would, Lord, hear what You have to say, and we would pay careful attention to it and not drift on by.

Senor name that I pray, amen. Okay, so we are in Hebrews chapter 2. Last week we covered the first four verses of Hebrews chapter 1. I wish I could do the balance of chapter 1, but I don't have time to do that and all of chapter 2. And when we get back in January, we'll be in Hebrews chapter 3.

So I want to really try to take Hebrews chapter 2 and have us all learn something and come to know the Lord more deeply. Over the past 17 years, the ministry that I founded back in 2003, Finding Purpose, has hosted 14 events here in Raleigh at the Carolina Country Club. Now the reason we chose the Carolina Country Club was because it's a central location, and we were trying to reach businessmen with the gospel. And I added up every one that attended all those events, and the number comes to about 6,000. Primarily men, few women, and I hesitate to use the word the majority. I hope it's not the majority, but I believe a very large portion of those who attended these events heard a clear presentation of the gospel. But I believe that most of them moved on with their lives without giving serious consideration to what they had just heard.

Sadly, this is the response of most of the people that you and I know. They hear the message, but they just drift through life with apparently no real interest in the gospel. They are forever hearing, but never understanding. And that brings us to Hebrews chapter 2. So follow along with me, begin with verse 1.

The writer of Hebrews writes, God also testified to it by signs, wonders, and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit that the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will. Now tonight, men, I want to answer four questions. First, what have we heard? What should be our response? What has Jesus done for us? And number four, what is Jesus doing for us right now?

So what have we heard? Well, we have heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. Remember, the writer of Hebrews is addressing his fellow Jews, and he's reminding them of what they had heard, the gospel. That this Jesus of Nazareth who lived among them died, was buried, and was raised again on the third day.

Now who do they hear this message from? Well first, this salvation was announced to them by Jesus Himself. You may remember that in Luke chapter 4 when Jesus returned to his hometown, he went into the synagogue and the tradition was that whenever a visiting teacher, rabbi was present, they would invite him to read the reading for that day. And so Jesus was invited to come up. So he's standing there, and he's handed the scroll from Isaiah chapter 61.

And here's what he reads. He read, The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He's anointed me to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim freedom for prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. And just like all you guys, every eye in that synagogue was fastened on Him. And He looked at them and He said, Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. He was declaring Himself to be the long-awaited Messiah who was sent by God to preach good news to the world.

And you remember what they did? They wanted to stone Him. And so this salvation was first announced by Jesus to the Hebrews, to the Jews. Then it was confirmed by those who heard Him and witnessed His life, namely who?

The apostles and specifically the Apostle Paul. 1 John chapter 1 verses 1 and 2 says, again this is John the disciple writing this, he says, That which was from the beginning which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched. This we proclaim concerning the word of life. The life appeared, we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and has appeared to us. Do you believe His eyewitness account? Because John is saying the same thing to us right now.

He's saying He saw, He touched. See all the Jews had to do was believe this good news. But most of them moved on with their lives.

They just drifted on through life. Not only was the Gospel announced by Jesus and confirmed by these eyewitness accounts, but God Himself testified to the Gospel with signs and wonders and miracles. Remember in Matthew chapter 3 when Jesus was baptized, everyone around heard a voice from heaven saying, This is my Son.

With Him I am well pleased. This was the first of many miracles, and it was simply God the Father confirming to His Son and to everyone around Him that this is His Son, the promised Messiah. And then Jesus went on to heal the sick. He gave sight to the blind. He enabled the deaf to hear, the lame to walk, and He even raised people from the dead. Yet the Jews still refused to believe.

You see that points to the hardness of man's heart. And so Jesus said to them in John chapter 14 verse 11, Believe me when I say I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. Jesus announced the Gospel. The apostles confirmed it. God testified to it, and the Holy Spirit sealed it. Remember Jesus said, When I go away, I'm going to send another comforter who will be with you. He said, I will return to you. He was talking about His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, who's also known as the Spirit of God or the Spirit of Jesus. It's God's Spirit living in us, and it's His Spirit who testifies with our spirit that we're children of God, that we belong to Him, and that we can actually really say our Father.

I actually often say my Father who is in heaven. The Jews had every opportunity to believe, and yet so many refused to come to Jesus. And so one day when Jesus was looking out over the city of Jerusalem it said He was weeping, and He said this, He said, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I've longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you are not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. And what happened in 70 AD?

The Romans came in and ransacked the temple and destroyed the city of Jerusalem. Their house literally became desolate. And it saddens me to say this, men, but I believe that when the Lord looks out over our country right now and our world, but I'm focusing on our nation right now, I believe He is saying the same thing. O America, America, how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you have not been willing.

Look, your nation, our nation, my nation is left to us desolate. I'm saying that God is and has been forsaking us. In other words, He's letting us go our own way. He has given us over to our sinful desires.

He's letting us have what we want. Romans 1 verses 21 through 24 says, For although they knew God, have we not known God as a nation? For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore it says God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. If you're going to read through the rest of Romans 1, there are three times when it says God gives them over, and every time He gives us over, it's to lower and more debased debauchery. He gives us over to natural sin, unnatural sin. Do I need to explain what that is? And then He gives over to a depraved mind.

A depraved mind is what happens to a nation when its leaders can no longer discern between good and evil, between right and wrong, and that's where we are. But let me give you a warning here. Look back at verses 1 through 3 again.

I want you to see this carefully. We read, We must pay more careful attention therefore to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For since the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishments.

How shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? It's talking about the law that was given to Moses. The law was given to Moses on Mount Sinai, but something I didn't really realize until I studied Hebrews chapter 2 is that it was with the assistance of angels, probably thousands of angels. The Bible doesn't give us a lot of information about these angels, but there are two places where it mentions this. In Acts chapter 7 verse 53, when Stephen stood before the Sanhedrin, he said, You who have received the law that was put into effect through the angels, but have not obeyed it. He was talking to the Pharisees because they had received the law, but it was first given to Moses with the assistance of these angels. And then in Galatians 3 19 it says the law was put into effect through angels by a mediator, and that mediator was who?

Moses. Now I want you to notice two things about the law. It was binding.

That is, if you broke it, you paid the penalty immediately. Judgment was swift and often deadly. And here's the second point. It was just, so the punishment fit the crime.

But here's the most important truth I want you to grasp. The writer of Hebrews is reminding us that God is still just because He does not change. If He carried out the law during the time of the Old Testament, He still acts the same when we break the main law, which is if we do not believe.

He is still He is still just. We will receive the punishment that fits the crime if we ignore so great a salvation. What's the unpardonable sin? Unbelief. What is the punishment for those who refuse to believe the gospel? Romans 6 23 says the wages of sin is what? Death. The death that it's talking about here is eternal death in a place called hell.

Jesus said more about hell than anyone else in the Bible. He warned about it time and time again. Why did He do that? Because He hates us? Because He loves us. He wants you to hear the truth. So what? So you can, if it takes fear, so you return to Him so He can save you.

But you know what? You never hear anything about hell in churches anymore because our enemy the devil doesn't want us to know about the existence of a real literal place called hell. He doesn't even want us to know about his own existence. So Satan has done a masterful job in our country, particularly in liberal churches, of consuming both his own existence and the very existence of hell.

So here's the warning. Look at verse 3. How shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? He's talking about the wrath of God that is coming on the day of judgment for those who ignore the gospel message. First Thessalonians chapter 1 verse 10 says, Jesus who rescues us from the coming wrath. Don't y'all think this is a wonderful Christmas message? Just stay tuned.

It's going to get better. The bad news is always followed by what? Good news. And I heard Dr. Stephen David who's a pastor at Colonial Baptist. I got these two titles of Jesus from him in something he was preaching this weekend. He said the first time Jesus came, He came as the gracious redeemer. However, when He comes, He will come back as the grim reaper and He will be full of the wrath of God. He's coming back to destroy what? Evil. Why doesn't He destroy evil now? Because He is so patient and long suffering and He wants more people to be saved. The overwhelming majority of people that you and I know will not escape the coming wrath.

Do you know why? Because most of them have not paid careful attention to what they've heard. So they just drift along. The word used for drift in Greek is parapeo.

It means to float on or drift away like a ship where the captain does not heed or pay attention to a warning. We know he's in a better place. How many times have you heard that at a funeral service with a guy who really rarely steps foot in church and you know he was not a believer? And yet everybody says, well, he's good. He's been reunited with his father or his mother or his wife or whatever.

Really? Listen, I've never been to a funeral where the person is not in heaven. They all go to heaven. So either all these funeral services, some of them are wrong or the Bible is wrong. Because Jesus said the road that leads to life is what?

Narrow. And how many people find it? Only a few. Have you paid careful attention to what you've heard? John 3 36 says, whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life for God's wrath remains on him. Pay careful attention to what you're hearing tonight because you're hearing the gospel. You've got time to get everything okay with Christ. Now that brings us to verses 5 through 18 which I'm ready to get to.

And here we get to see why the gospel offers such great salvation. Beginning with verse 5, it was not to angels that he, talking about God, has subjected the world to come about which we're speaking. But there's a place where someone has testified, what is man? He's talking about God. What is man that you are mindful of him, God? The son of man. That's another euphemism for man. It's not talking about Jesus is the son of man here.

It's talking about us. What is man that you are mindful of him? The son of man that you care for him. You made him a little lower than the angels. You crowned him with glory and honor and put everything under his feet. And putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him.

Talking about us. But we see Jesus. So now it shifts from man to Jesus. But we see Jesus who was made lower than the angels for a little while. Now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. In bringing many sons to glory it was fitting that God for whom and through whom everything exists shall make the author of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. But the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of what?

The same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them what? Brothers. Jesus is saying this to you right now. I will declare your name to my brothers. In the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises. And again I will put my trust in him. And again he says, Here am I and the children God has given me. Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death. That is who?

The devil. And free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. Only a Christian can approach death with no fear. For surely it is not angels he helps but Abraham's descendants. For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way or that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God. And that he might make atonement for the sins of the people because he himself suffered when he was tempted. He's able to help those who are being tempted. I know that what I've always said tonight is heavy about our country.

I have to be honest with you. I fear for our country. I don't like to watch the news now but I want you to understand this truth because I do believe I believe our nation is under God's judgment.

How can it not be? You can't kill 60 million babies and ask God to turn a blind eye. And apparently, I hate to say this, but the next president Biden, he wants to appoint a guy in charge of health, the secretary of health, health education. He's the most radical person. He is so in favor of unfettered abortion. And I said, God, how could this be your will?

I mean I'm questioning it. I don't understand God sometimes, but I have to accept that He knows best. And sometimes He gives a nation the leaders it deserves. But here's the good news guys, whenever God brings judgment, in that judgment there's always been always a race, a ray of hope.

And so tonight I want us to end with hope. And Jesus is our great hope. He has offered such a great salvation on a platter to us. All we have to do is eat it, take it. So what has Jesus done for us? Well here we learned that in the world to come, when the Lord Jesus returns to this earth, God is going to subject everything not to angels but to who? Us.

Actually it's going to be us. You know we're co-heirs with Christ. It's basically already subjected to Christ, but He's going to subject it to us.

That's what the text says here. This was His original plan. This is what Psalm 8, which the Hebrew, the writer of Hebrews is referring back to Psalm 8.

It's about us as men. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Then He made mankind. And what did He tell mankind to do?

Have dominion over the earth. Psalm 8 says, the writer David is talking about how God made man. He said, you made Him ruler over the works of your hands.

You put everything under His feet. But we blew it. With the fall we lost that place of dominion. Homer Kent, the commenter that I'm really recommending, he says, sin with its curse held man back from reaching that ideal set forth in Psalm 8. God had this wonderful plan for us guys in the beginning, but we blew it.

But He still had a plan. And that was that God's Son would become one of us. Kent goes on to say, what man lost by the fall the man Christ Jesus achieved. Thus all believing men, who believes in here?

Okay, I'm getting ready to tell you what's going to happen to you. We will ultimately reach the goal of Psalm 8 by virtue of being in union with Christ. This explains why this is such a great salvation. Not only do we escape hell and God's wrath, but we're going to be given dominion over the world, which is coming. This time of the world that Christ is going to remake when He restores His earth. And we're going to reign with Christ on this coming new earth.

For how long? Forever. How did Jesus accomplish this? Well, that's what the gospel is all about. Because of the grace of God, Jesus suffered death so that we might not have to.

In His suffering He was made perfect. It simply means that the suffering was necessary, guys, so that He might identify with us completely in our suffering. Because what are we? Are we suffering? You better believe we're suffering. I walk around and I look at all the potholes and I'm going, and we live in a pretty well-off city. But you look at our country, it's just decaying.

We can't afford to fix everything up. And we've got the hospitals are jam-packed. We're under a pandemic. We've got a friend of ours, Lamar Jones, who's dying of a brain tumor. We've got Chris struggling with leukemia. And on and on and on it goes.

You know somebody. Some of you guys are suffering, I know, suffering financially, suffering with depression and stress. But see, He could identify with us because He suffered too. He says by His death and resurrection, He is bringing many sons to what? Glory. Glory, men, is where we're headed. And this is such a great salvation.

We can't even grasp it. And so in closing, I want to tell you Hebrews, what it says about Jesus. I want you to understand who He is and how this is so good for us. Jesus is our victorious Captain.

Notice that verse 10 says that Jesus became the author of our salvation. The Greek word that is used here, and I've kind of, I love this word now. It's an easy one to pronounce. It's archegon. Doesn't sound like Star Wars. Archegon.

Y'all say it. Archegon. Jesus is our archegon.

Do you know what that is? It means a leader or pioneer. But really a better picture, it has a military tone.

He is a military captain leading his army in a new direction. When Jesus died on the cross, the veil was torn in two, opened up a new way to God. When He arose from the dead, He completely destroyed sin, death, and the devil. And so now, men, we who belong to Christ should have no fear of what? Death. In fact, the Bible doesn't talk about us dying. He talks about us falling asleep and you wake up where? Paradise. That's why Chris is not worried.

He told me the only thing he's concerned about is not being able to see his children grow up, which I totally understand. And his wife Stephanie has the same kind of faith. It's amazing. Not only Jesus, not only is He our victorious captain, but He's our elder brother. And look, He's not ashamed to call us His brothers. And that's why I sign all my emails, you're a brother in Christ if I know you're a believer. If I say, in Christ, you might want to ask me why I did that.

I'm giving away my secrets. And one day, listen, guys, we're going to gather at the wedding supper of the Lamb, and Jesus is going to stand up. He's going to say, Stefan is my brother. And Stefan, He's going to say, Stefan, I know you've got a good voice because I gave it to you, but now I want you to hear my voice. He's going to sing over you. Do you want me to sing over you, Stefan?

No, you don't. What is Jesus doing for us now? Well, this is the third thing He is. He is our great, merciful, sympathetic High Priest. The Bible says He was tempted in every way that we were. It says because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He's able to help those who are being tempted.

Do you know what, guys? When you struggle with some of the sins of the flesh, do you think Jesus is standing there condemning you? It's hard for me to believe that He was tempted in every way that I have been tempted, and yet He didn't give in to sin.

I did. And if the Holy Spirit will convict me, but that's for my good. He said, I'll just ask the Lord to forgive me for doing that. Lord, I want to turn away from it with your help.

Help me to turn away. And He just restores my fellowship with Him. Satan is the accuser. Jesus is the consoler. Why is there such a great salvation? Because our Captain Jesus is leading us, a band of brothers, victoriously toward the new heavens and the new earth where He's going to wipe away every tear from our eyes, and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. For it says, for the old, all the things will have passed away. In other words, God is going to bring us back what all began in a garden, and He'll say, guys, brothers, now we're going to do it right.

Go have dominion over everything, the mountains, the rivers, the valleys, the streams, surfing, water skiing, tennis, basketball, work. The curse will be removed. There'll be incredible joy. So don't ignore the gospel when you hear it. Our salvation man is the greatest gift we possess, and Christmas is all about what?

Giving. So let us be intentional this Christmas about sharing this great salvation with our friends and family members and neighbors who, listen, are still drifting through life and really have no hope. And finally, if you're not sure that you have real hope, then what should your response be to the gospel?

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and what? You will be saved. And that's what Christmas is all about. It's such a great salvation. Merry Christmas. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word. Thank You for the truth contained in it. Thank You for what You're teaching us, Lord.

I'm so excited. I think I'm more excited about the study of Hebrews because I never really studied in depth than any book I've ever studied. And I think we're going to see You more clearly through this Christological book than any book that we've ever studied. I pray to Heavenly Father that You would bless these men, watch over their families. And Lord, I pray that You protect all the men in this study and our wives and children from COVID so that we don't have to shut down.

And Lord, bring us back safely in January. And Lord, I pray that You'll add to our number. And I pray that sometime, Lord, during the winter or spring, we'll be together here completely. And Lord, I do pray for our nation. I pray for whoever's going to be our president. I pray for our governor. I pray for all of our leaders, Lord. I pray that they would come to know You. I pray that our nation will return to You and that we would have a revival before You return. Thank You for the great salvation You've given us. It's in Your name that I pray.

Amen. Being a Christian is not about being religious, but about having a dynamic, alive relationship with Jesus Christ. You've been listening to Finding Purpose with Pastor Russ Andrews, a local triangle ministry glorifying God by helping men find their purpose for living. You can discover more about finding your purpose in life by checking out the resources at findingpurpose.net or connect to Finding Purpose on Facebook. Pastor Russ would also like to extend a special invitation for you to join him and over 300 other local triangle men to study God's Word together every Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in downtown Raleigh. Find out more at findingpurpose.net. This is the Truth Network.