Heb 5:7-10
INTRO: I have great love and respect for the book of Hebrews. This book brings together the two covenants and clarifies, as perhaps no other book, the relationship of them ... and the contrast of them. And it brings our minds, over and again, to Jesus ... Gods Son and our High Priest. In the book are passages which help us to see Jesus as our Savior ... by reason of His great atoning sacrifice. This morning, though, my thoughts come from Hebrews 5:8. What Jesus Learned About Obedience. He learned:
I. THAT IT CAN BRING SUFFERING
A. Our text very clearly says that
1. does suffering always follow obedience? no
2. but it will, at some point, do so
3. because obedience to God will come into conflict with worldly values, views
B. So, obedience will mean sacrifice
1. Phil 2:8 ... obedient unto death ...
2. its easy to obey if no cost is involved - but obedience takes on a new meaning, significance, as the cost grows - so, consider Mt 10:34-36
3. I wonder if we try to make obedience easy by: minimizing its importance? narrowing the field of obedience? emphasizing grace at expense of obedience? making so many things relative?
II. THAT THERE IS A HIGHER AUTHORITY
A. Now, we think, But Jesus is Deity!
1. but remember Phil 2:6,7 - emptied Himself
2. to identify with humanity He became subject to God
3. 2 Cor 8:9
B. Note the following texts:
1. Jno 12:49 He gave me a commandment ...
2. Jno 14:31 as the Father gave me commandment ...
3. God in heaven ... can we ignore Him, His authority? yes, but only at our own peril
III. THAT OBEDIENCE REQUIRES KNOWLEDGE OF GODS WILL
A. Jno 4:34 .. is to do the will of Him that sent me ...
1. now, how would He be able to do without knowing?
2. Jesus had to know in order to obey
3. return to Jno 14:31 a revealed commandment - an appropriate even so I do
B. 2 Tim 3:16,17 God took great care to reveal
1. the obligation to know is ours
2. ignorance will not excuse failure to obey
3. Acts 17:30 removes ignorance as ones excuse!
IV. THAT OBEDIENCE IS SPECIFIC
A. Lk 22:42 ... not my will, but Thine, be done
1. remember, Jesus had a choice - Jno 10:18
2. but God had clearly revealed His will - 1 Pet 1:18-20
3. obedience meant doing the specific will of Father - obedience did not allow for options, negotiations
B. The lesson? What God commands, we must obey
1. specific commandments require specific obedience
2. this principle must be consistently applied good intentions will not make deviations into obedience
3. yes, all sorts of efforts are made to modify, alter specific obedience to Gods specific commands
4. one of the contemporary methods involves language - from believing words have definite meanings we have come to a time when we are taught words have only meanings a person assigns to them (my truth, your truth, etc.)
5. to that Paul replies - 2 Tim 1:13
CLOSE: A favorite and important text is Rom 6:17,18. Revealed truth obeyed from the heart makes us free from sin. Have you learned to obey?
Cecil A. Hutson
08 September 2002
You Must Hear the Gospel
Romans 10:17
You must hear the gospel and then understand and recognize that you are lost without Jesus Christ no matter who you are and no matter what your background is. The Bible tells us that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Before you can be saved, you must understand that you are lost and that the only way to be saved is by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:8) Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6) “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17)
You Must Believe
Hebrews 11:6
You must believe and have faith in God because “without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6) But neither belief alone nor faith alone is sufficient to save. (James 2:19; James 2:24; Matthew 7:21)
You Must Repent
Acts 3:19
You must repent of your sins. (Acts 3:19) But repentance alone is not enough. The so-called “Sinner’s Prayer” that you hear so much about today from denominational preachers does not appear anywhere in the Bible. Indeed, nowhere in the Bible was anyone ever told to pray the “Sinner’s Prayer” to be saved. By contrast, there are numerous examples showing that prayer alone does not save. Saul, for example, prayed following his meeting with Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:11), but Saul was still in his sins when Ananias met him three days later (Acts 22:16). Cornelius prayed to God always, and yet there was something else he needed to do to be saved (Acts 10:2, 6, 33, 48). If prayer alone did not save Saul or Cornelius, prayer alone will not save you. You must obey the gospel. (2 Thess. 1:8)
You Must Confess
Romans 10:9
You must confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. (Romans 10:9-10) Note that you do NOT need to make Jesus “Lord of your life.” Why? Because Jesus is already Lord of your life whether or not you have obeyed his gospel. Indeed, we obey him, not to make him Lord, but because he already is Lord. (Acts 2:36) Also, no one in the Bible was ever told to just “accept Jesus as your personal savior.” We must confess that Jesus is the Son of God, but, as with faith and repentance, confession alone does not save. (Matthew 7:21)
You Must Be Baptized
Acts 2:38
Having believed, repented, and confessed that Jesus is the Son of God, you must be baptized for the remission of your sins. (Acts 2:38) It is at this point (and not before) that your sins are forgiven. (Acts 22:16) It is impossible to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ without teaching the absolute necessity of baptism for salvation. (Acts 8:35-36; Romans 6:3-4; 1 Peter 3:21) Anyone who responds to the question in Acts 2:37 with an answer that contradicts Acts 2:38 is NOT proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ!
You Must Be Faithful Unto Death
Revelation 2:10
Once you are saved, God adds you to his church and writes your name in the Book of Life. (Acts 2:47; Philippians 4:3) To continue in God’s grace, you must continue to serve God faithfully until death. Unless they remain faithful, those who are in God’s grace will fall from grace, and those whose names are in the Book of Life will have their names blotted out of that book. (Revelation 2:10; Revelation 3:5; Galatians 5:4)