Sermon 02/22/04 pm

Jim Huskey, A Price for our Actions

Having developed his theme in the book of Hebrews - "better" - the

things christians have that those under the Mosaic dispensation and

those who preceeded them didn't have, that Jesus was superior to the

angels, superior to Moses, that his priesthood was superior to the

priesthood under the law, that the law had to be replaced because it

did not provide redemption, the changing of the priesthood necessitated

the changing of the law as well, he showed how much better that law

is than the one that preceeded it. It was established upon better

promises. There were, however, those who were still turning back. In

the tenth chapter of Hebrews, beginning with verse 23, he said, "Let

us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is

faithful that promised;) and let us consider one another to provoke

unto love and to good works; not forsaking the assembling of ourselves

together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another; and so

much the more, as ye see the day approaching. For if we sin wilfully

after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth

no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of

judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He

that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses;

of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy,

who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood

of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and

hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath

said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord.

And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to

fall into the hands of the living God." Heb. 10. 23-31.

Up until this point in the book he had used a different approach of

reasoning. He had tried to show them that what they have under Christ

is so much better. Reason would suggest that common sense would say

'Stay with what you have now, for it's so much better. It would be so

foolish to give that up and go back to that inferior system.' But

no one was going to force them, or drag them and make them stay faithful.

That was a choice they had to make. They were free moral agents. Now

people tell me all the time, "Now, I've got a right to do this. I can

do what I want to do." Well, that's absolutely true !!!! I remember

preaching a series of sermons on faithfulness one time and we'd studied

this passage and one of the comments I'd made was that if we had someone

who suddenly was absent from our assembly, we ought to call on them and

see why they weren't there. One of our elders got up the next Sunday

and said, "Somebody call me and see why I was there, I wouldn't show

up the next Sunday just to show them I didn't have to come." Well,

that shows you the kind of person who had been appointed as an elder.

Well, I was young, real impetuous, and I got up the next Sunday and

preached that there are a lot of things you don't have to do, if you

don't want to; you don't have to go to heaven, either. Well, they

fired me two or three weeks later, but that was a blessing !!!! It's

true - there are a lot of things we have a right to do, but it's

stupid to do them. I have a preacher-friend, I don't know how true

this story is, he's been known to imbellish a few things, I'll not say

what kind of preacher he is, but this illustrates the point real well.

I don't know if this really happened or not, but he told it to be the

truth. He owns a good bit of property and one day he was out painting

his fence. One of those fellows with a "bubble gum machine" on top

of his car pulled up at his place, got out, walked over to him and said,

"I have reason to believe there's marijuana out in this area." Friend -

"There's not any marijuana out here." Deputy - "Well, I'm gonna' look.

You see this badge? It gives me the right to look." So the deputy

started to climb over the fence. Friend - "You can't cimb over that

fence." Deputy - "You see this badge? It gives me the right to climb

over it if I think I need to." So the deputy climbed over the fence.

He got on the other side and the friend looked at him and said, "Oh,

by the way, that wet paint on your uniform there may not set too well

with it. I just painted that fence. I told you not to climb over it."

Deputy - "Well, I'm going to look for marijuana." There was a barn

there and the deputy said, "I'm going to look in that barn." Friend -

"You can't go in that barn." Deputy - "You see this badge? It says

I can go in that barn if I think I need to." Friend - "You can't go

in that barn; there's a full grown bull in there." Deputy - "You see

this badge? It says I can go in there." Friend - "Whatever!!!". He

went on back to painting his fence and the deputy went off to the barn.

A few minutes later he heard the deputy hollering. He looked up and

here came the deputy with the bull right behind him. Deputy - "Do

something!!! Stop this bull!!!!!". My friend hollered at him as

he ran by, "Show him your badge!!!!" You see, there are a lot of

things people may have the right to do, but that does not mean it's

wise to do them, nor does it mean there's not a price to pay for making

that choice. That's the very point the Hebrew was making in this

segment. This time he made it in a different say. He pointed that

out. Yes, they could go back to Judaism. Yes, they could choose to

forsake all those things the Lord had done for them. I don't reckon

there's a "church police" that's going to go out and gather you in

every Sunday and make you come to worship. So yes, they could leave.

What Paul was trying to do was impress upon them the fact that even

though they could leave, they have the free will to make that choice,

but if they do it, there is a price to be paid. It's rather interesting.

I don't know if the philosophy that exists today was around in the days

of the first century, nor not. Maybe it was and maybe that's the reason

he mentioned some of the things he did in this passage with respect to

what would happen. You see, there's a philosophy that exists today

that says since God is good, God would not punish anybody. God would

not punish anybody !!!! So, now notice what the author said. "But a

certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which

shall devour the adversaries."

There are a couple passages in the Old Testament that are rather

interesting. One of them comes from a book most folks are not very

with, the book of Zephaniah. Zephaniah was written during the days

Josiah was king of Judah. The Jews then were saying 'God's not going

to do anything to us; we're his people, he's not going to let anything

bad happen to us.' In chapter 1, beginning verse 12, we read, "And it

shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with

candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees; that say

in their heart, The Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil.

Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation;

they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant

vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof. The great day of the Lord

is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of

the Lord; the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is the day

of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and

desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick

darkness. A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities,

and against the high towers. And I will bring distress upon men, that

they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the

Lord; and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as

the dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver

them in the day of the Lord's wrath; but the whole land shall be

devoured by the fire of his jealousy; for he shall make even a speedy

riddance of all them that dwell in the land." Zep. 1:12-18. So there

must have been some, even prior to the first century, who said "Oh,

God isn't going to do anything bad to his people. Since he is a God of

love, he'll just overlook all the disregard for his law." The point

Zephaniah was making was very pointed. He said, "Oh, no he won't

overlook." God will punish those who refuse to obey him. Remember,

this was a prophet to Judah, the nation through which Christ would

eventually come. In Deuteronomy we find a similar passage with a little

different approach. In Deuteronomy, chapter 32, we find that Moses

was speaking to the children of Israel. He warned them regarding the

things God would do. Let's begin in verse 35. "To me belongeth

vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time; for the

day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon

them make haste. For the Lord shall judge his people, and repent himself

for his servants, when he seeth that their power is gone, and there is

none shut up, or left. And he shall say, Where are their gods, their

rock in whom they trusted. Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices,

and drank the wine of their drink offerings? let them rise up and help

you, and be your protection. See now that I, even I, am he, and

there is no god with me; I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal;

neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand." Deut. 32:35-39.

You remember Jesus, when he was upon the earth, tried to get a point

over to the people. He said in Luke 12:4 beginning, "And I say unto you,

my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have

no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear;

fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell, yea,

I say unto you, Fear him." Luke 12:4,5.

Did the Hebrews, these Jews who had become christians, and who were

turning back to the old law, have a right to turn back? As free moral

agents, yes they did !!!! They absolutely did !!!! But because they

COULD do it, did that make it RIGHT to do? Did it make it WISE to do?

Could that choice be made without sever consequences? The answer is

NO !!!! That's the point the Hebrew was making to them. It's sort of

that old thing - for every action, there's a price to pay. Sometimes

it's very difficult to get us to understand that. We're so oriented

to the here and now, if something doesn't happen "right then", well

we think we got by with that one. No !!! It's not necessarily so.

As old Brother Marshall Keeble used to say, "God doesn't settle all

his accounts in October." That was one of his phrases I've heard him

use many times. That was another way of say "Don't think that just

because you haven't been caught already and punished that you won't be,

because God is slow to anger." But be sure there'll come a time when his

anger will be full. If you don't believe that, read the works of

Flavus Josephus who was a Jewish historian who lived during the first

century. He wrote about the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70. Look back after

having read what Josephus wrote, remembering he was not a christian and

his Jewish friends had termed him a traitor because he advised them to

surrender, but he saw the "hand writing on the wall." He wrote of the

things that happened during the seige of Jerusalem, how mothers would

boil their babies and eat them, and how they would eat other things

that are unmentionable, just to try to survive a few more days. Yes,

there is a price for our actions when they are not what they should be.

God isn't going to make us, force us, take away our will, force us to

become robots, do what we're supposed to do. No, he's not going to do

that. We're free moral agents. That means we have the right to make

a choice. However, having the right to make a choice also says we have

the responsibility to pay the price for that choice. That's the point

the author was trying to drive home to the Hebrews.

Notice how he ended the tenth chapter. Verse 38 begins, "Now the just

shall live by faith; but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no

pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition;

but of them that believe to the saving of the soul." Heb. 10:38,39.

Notice the way he worded that as he wrote to the Jews who were in danger

of doing these things. He said "..we are not of them." He appealed to

their better judgment and their better reasoning. "..but of them that

believe to the saving of the soul." May God help us that that be true

of us.