The Sermon Notes of Harold Buls On the Epistle Lessons of the Ingrian Church of Russia Text from Hebrews 10:35-39 Advent II 1. Please read vss. 32-34 first. These vss. portray the suffering and persecution of Christians during the administration of the Emperors Claudius and Nero in Rome. The people suffered when they became Christians. Then they were persecuted and insulted publicly (vs. 33). They supported believers who were suffering and, finally, lost their own property. (vs. 34) But they suffered this loss with joy because they looked forward to the better heritage of everlasting life. 2. But the persecutions were over and the Christians were no longer exercising their boldness to confess Christ. That could lead to the loss of the eternal reward in heaven. Vs. 35. 3. They had need of _endurance_, vs. 36. For other references to this quality see Lk. 8:15. It takes endurance to bear Christian fruit, good works. Such people who patiently do good works are described at Rom. 2:7. At Hebr. 12:1 the writer says: "Let us patiently run the race (of life) which lies before us." At Rev. 3:10 God says to the Christians at Philadephia: "You have kept the Word of endurance and faith of the saints." Where? In this world of sin, death, destruction. See also Rev. 14:12. Jesus promises us at Mt. 24:13: "He who endures to the end, he will be saved." 4. In vs. 36 of our text the writer is saying that you need to have endurance so that you can do the will of the Lord and then finally enjoy the fulfillment of the promise of everlasting life. The Lord says at Rev. 2:10: "Be faithful to death and I will give you the crown of life." It takes true Christian faith and courage to endure. 5. The great example in the OT of endurance is Job. God permitted Satan to take away Job's wealth, his health, his children, his wife's loyalty. And then his friends came to him and accused him of living in sin. They said that that was the reason for his suffering. It was not. God was testing Job. But God preserved Job's endurance so that he could say in his darkest moment: "I know that my Redeemer lives and that I will see Him on the last day." Job 19:25-27. Hebr. 11 gives us a list of OT saints who endured and are now in heaven with Jesus. We need Christian endurance, a gift of God which comes to us through the means of grace, baptism, the Lord's Supper, the Gospel. 6. Vs. 37 of our text tells us that, as in the case of Is. 26, the period of waiting for the Lord will not be long. We think of Ps. 30:5 which says: "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." Life is filled with tears and sorrow but our text says: "The Coming One (Jesus) will come and will not delay." We know, believe and confess that Jesus is coming again to judge the living and the dead. 7. Vs. 38 introduces a quotation from Hab. 2:4. At Rom. 1:17 and Gal. 3:11 this thought is used to speak about faith which justifies us before God. Our text uses it as the necessity of faith for endurance. The second half of vs. 38 warns us not to draw back from faithful endurance. If we forsake God He will forsake us. 8. Vs. 39 says: "We are not the sort of people who apostasize and thus lose their souls but we are of the true faith which leads to the preservation of the soul." The writer is reminding his hearers of what they are. Christians are saints but they are also sinners. They are like little children. They become dispirited. 9. Pastors must constantly shore up the weak faith of Christians. And Christians must always be encouraging each other. Parents must constantly encourage their children. This is what it means for Christians to love each other, to help each other on the road to everlasting life. They weep with each other. They laugh together. They share their joys and sorrow in Jesus' name. Let us do that. The Sermon Outline of Harold Buls On the Epistle Lessons of the Ingrian Lutheran Church of Russia Text from Hebrews 10:35-39 Advent II THEME: He who Endures Will Be Saved INTRODUCTION Our theme is taken from Jesus' promise on Mt. 24:13. What does our text say about enduring? And what does our text say about being saved? What is the relationship between the two? These are the questions which are answered in our text and in many places in the Bible. It is to God's glory and our benefit. I. He who endures-- A. He does so _passively_. Read vss. 32-34 where the writer describes the sufferings of the Christians under Emperors Claudius and Nero, 54-64 A.D. They endured a contest of sufferings. They were gazed upon in their suffering and affliction. They lost their earthly possessions with joy. Jesus had warned Christians. A disciple is not above His Master. Read Jn. 16:1-4. Jesus predicted that people would be thrown out of the synagogues. They would be killed by those who did not know God. Think of what Paul did before he became a Christian. Jesus, too, suffered passively. He was despised and rejected by man. Can it happen to us? Yes it can and will. The Bible tells us. B. He does so _actively_. Vs. 33 tells us that the Christians shared with those who suffered passively. Vs. 34 tells us that they sympathized with the prisoners. The parable of the sower tells us that those who hear attentively keep the Word and bear fruit in PATIENCE. They patiently do the will of the Lord. Vs. 36 of our text says "You have need of endurance so that, after you have done the will of the Lord, you will receive the reward." Active endurance means doing the will of the Lord. Read II Cor. 4:1-16. Twice Paul says: "We do not grow weary." He was perplexed, hard pressed, persecuted, struck down. But he was not crushed, despairing, nor destroyed. He was always dying but his new man was renewed day by day. It was the same with Jesus. When he raised Lazarus His enemies refused to believe it and even _plotted His death_. C. Our text says: "Don't throw away this boldness which you showed both passively and actively. Don't grow weary. The promises of Jesus have not died." II. --shall be saved. Our text has three expressions which point us to everlasting life, life with Jesus forever: the great reward, vs. 35; the promise, vs. 36; the saving of the soul, vs. 39. A. The great reward. The word "reward" occurs only in Hebrews: 2:2; 10:35 (our text), and 11:26. At 2:2 it means the same as at Rom. 6:23 "The _wages_ of sin is death." But at 10:35 and 11:26 it means the same as "but the _gift_ of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord." Christians do not earn heaven. The whole epistle to the Hebrews teaches the forgiveness of sins through the sacrifice of Jesus. B. The fulfillment of the promise, vs. 36. This word "promise" occurs fourteen times in Hebrews and always points to our salvation in Christ and its goal, everlasting life. For example, at 10:39 we read: "All these (OT saints) dies although they did not attain (the fulfillment of) the promise." Likewise in our text, vs. 36, we read: "You have need of endurance so that, after you've done the will of God, you will attain (the fulfillment of) the promise." We are reminded of vs. 35: "Do not throw away your bold confession which has a great reward." C. The saving of the soul, vs. 39. The writer says: "We are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul." Vs. 38 speaks of this faith: "The just shall live by faith." That is a golden thread in the whole Bible. By grace you are saved through faith. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Faith is active in love toward our neighbor. Our text says: "he who endures will be saved." ______________________________________________________________ This text was converted to ascii format for Project Wittenberg by Debbie Harris and is in the public domain. You may freely distribute, copy or print this text. Please direct any comments or suggestions to: Rev. Robert E. Smith of the Walther Library at Concordia Theological Seminary. E-mail: bob_smith@ctsfw.edu Surface Mail: 6600 N. Clinton St., Ft. Wayne, IN 46825 USA Phone: (219) 452-2148 Fax: (219) 452-2126 ______________________________________________________________