“How Strongly Should You Resist Sin?”

(Hebrews 12:1-29)

I. Introduction.

A. Orientation.

The author reminded us

That our lives here are very short –

In just a little while

Jesus will come for us (10:37),

And that while we’re here

God wants us to live by faith (v. 38) –

To believe Him,

To trust Him,

To follow Him –

If we don’t have faith,

We can’t possibly please Him (v. 38);

If we don’t,

We will have to face His judgment.

But if we do,

We will be able to please Him –

To live the life He calls us to live –

And we will finally enter heaven (v. 39).

We’ll know:

Where we came from,

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Where we’re going,

And what we are to do

While we’re here:

Set our faces towards heaven

And head that way until we arrive.

B. Preview.

How do we do this practically?

That’s what the author now tells us.

II. Sermon.

A. First, you need to purpose to live this life

With the same kind of effort

You would run a race.

1. The authors says

You must first

Lay aside every encumbrance

And the sin that so easily entangles.

Encumbrances are the things

That aren’t necessarily sinful,

But that weigh you down –

That weaken you,

That make it harder for you

To do what God calls you to do.

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2. And you know what sin is –

Everything the Lord tells you not to do –

Everything hateful –

And everything you’re not doing that you should –

Everything loving.

You are to lay aside both the encumbrances and sins

And run the race –

Live the life God calls you to live –

The life that glorifies Him,

That moves His kingdom forward –

And you are not to give up

But live this life to the end (v. 1)!

3. The Lord has given you the perfect example in Jesus.

He lived only for His Father’s glory –

The Father sent Him,

That He might give you faith.

He looked ahead to the glory

The Father would give Him,

And the joy He had prepared for Him –

To be with Him in heaven,

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And to have the pleasure of your company –

And He endured the cross –

The pain and the shame of crucifixion –

And received the reward –

He was crowned King over all (v. 2).

He fixed His eyes on heaven –

On doing what the Father

Sent Him into the world to do

And didn’t waver.

God wants you to fix His example in your eyes

And do the same –

To look forward to what God has promised you,

To the joy, to the glory –

To look at what Jesus was willing to suffer for you,

And not to tire or be disheartened

If He should call you

To suffer for Him as well

In living the life

He calls you to live (v. 3).

B. How far should you be willing to go?

1. The author says, “You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in

your striving against sin” (v. 4).

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You should be willing to die rather than compromise/sin.

What sin is he talking about?

The sin of apostasy in particular,

But every other sin as well.

2. Why should you be willing

To die rather than sin?

a. First, because sin is why Jesus

Was nailed to the cross:

Can you really love Him,

If you want to continue to do

The things that caused His suffering and death?

b. Second, because God hates sin –

Every sin is infinitely offensive to Him.

If you love Him

It’s something you should avoid like the plague:

Paul writes, “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the

flesh with regard to its lusts” (Rom. 13:14).

c. Third, because if you continue

To practice sin, knowing this is true,

You only prove that you really don’t love/know Him,

John writes, “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin

is lawlessness. You know that He appeared in order to take away sins;

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and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins; no one who

sins has seen Him or knows Him” (1 John 3:4-6).

Perhaps understanding this

You can better understand

Why Thomas Brooks wrote, “[It’s] better to bear than to swear, and to die

than to lie.”

d. But there’s a fourth reason

You should be willing,

To suffer, even to die, rather than sin,

And that’s because

Of what God has promised to do

If you don’t repent of your sins (vv. 5-6).

He is a faithful father

Who will make sure

You do the right thing

Because He loves you –

Parents, you know that to get your children

To go the right direction,

You have to discipline them.

God has to do the same (v. 7).

Thankfully, He loves you enough to do this.

He has made a promise to you:

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That you will be like His Son (Rom. 8:29) –

And so He’ll make sure

That you grow in that direction (vv. 10-11) –

In your thoughts, words and actions.

How does God discipline you?

He does through His Word –

By telling you what sin is,

And what it deserves –

Through your conscience –

By convicting you by His Spirit –

By reproof, admonition, correction and instruction

Through a parent, brother or sister, or elder;

Through church discipline.

And even more directly in your life –

Through various hardships.

Never forget that when He does discipline you,

It’s because He loves you.

Parent don’t let their child do things

They know will hurt them,

Because they love them.

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The same is true of God.

If He doesn’t discipline you when you sin

That’s when you need to be concerned.

“But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then

you are illegitimate children and not sons” (v. 8).

If you can sin and get away with it;

If God doesn’t put His hand out to stop you

Or correct you,

Then you’re not His.

You need to repent

And trust Jesus Christ.

If you will,

He will help you to stay on the narrow path

And bring you safely to heaven.

e. What should you do

When He disciplines you?

First, don’t take it too lightly (v. 5).

On the other hand,

Don’t be crushed (v. 5).

Instead be thankful –

It’s a mark of adoption –

And repent

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Because He’s working in your life

To help you do the right thing (v. 13).

But if you don’t,

He will turn up the heat

Until you do.

The author writes, “Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the

knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb

which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed” (vv. 12-13).

He loves you too much

To let you go on

In the things that will destroy you.

C. What else can you do

To fortify yourself against sin?

The author gives us two things –

Something specific and something general:

Pursue peace and holiness (v. 14).

1. First, as much as it depends on you

Be at peace with everyone around you.

Why?

a. First, because the Lord commands you to.

b. Second, this is why Jesus came into the world –

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To bring peace:

To reconcile you to God

And with the members of His body.

c. Third, because there needs to be peace

Between you and your brethren,

If you’re not to quench the Spirit’s work in your heart

And gain the additional strength

That comes from fellowship

With that brother or sister.

d. And fourth, because unrighteous anger

Eventually becomes bitterness,

And when it does,

It affects those around you

And turns them against the person or persons

You’re bitter against as well –

Which works against the peace

The Lord is trying to bring.

And so if you are at odds with anyone –

Not just believers –

Though particularly believers –

But also unbelievers –

If there’s any friction or animosity,

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Whether you caused it or not,

You are to do what you can

To reconcile that relationship.

Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers,

For they shall be called sons of God” (Matt. 5:9).

He also says, before you worship Him

You should seek to be reconciled

With those you’re at odds with (Matt. 5:23-24).

He takes division in His church very seriously.

2. Second, you are to pursue holiness in general –

The author writes, “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without

which no one will see the Lord” (v. 14).

The author already told you

To lay aside every sin

Because it will get in the way

Of your living for Christ.

Here he reminds you again

That if you’re not doing this –

If you’re not seeking

To become more like Jesus –

You will not see heaven.

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He gives us another example

Of what may be the unpardonable sin:

Esau had the right of firstborn –

He was first in line to inherit the blessing –

Which included being in the line of Messiah –

And yet he gave it all up for a bowl of soup.

He despised God’s blessing

And so lost it – he missed out on the kingdom of God.

The author reminds us again

When you sin against great privilege,

You can easily pass the point of no return (vv. 16-17).

Make sure that you don’t despise God’s Word

And end up being shut out of His kingdom.

Turn from your sins, and trust in the Lord.

D. The author ends

With some encouragements and warnings.

1. First, an encouragement:

In the New Covenant

The Lord holds out so much more grace.

The Old, contained so many displays of God’s wrath –

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A mountain they couldn’t touch (v. 18)

On pain of death (v. 20);

A blazing fire on that mountain

With smoke reaching to heaven (v. 18);

The blast of the trumpet and God’s voice

That were both so terrifying

That not only the people (v. 19),

But Moses was terrified (v. 21).

That isn’t the mountain you’ve come to in the New Covenant:

The author writes, “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the

living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general

assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the

Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the

mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better

than the blood of Abel (vv. 22-24).

That’s quite a different picture,

As Newton writes,

“He has hushed the Law’s loud thunder,

He has quenched Mount Sinai’s flame.”

We know that picture He gave on Sinai

Was for our good:

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Still, we prefer the revelation of His grace.

That’s what He holds out to you

If you will only trust Him.

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2. If you don’t,

You will see Sinai/judgment.

“For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth,

much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven”

(v. 25).

He is coming again in judgment.

When He does, He will shake heaven and earth (v. 26).

He will destroy the old creation

And bring in a new one

That can’t be shaken (v. 27).

Don’t be destroyed with the old creation,

But turn away from your sins

And trust the One

Who will gladly give you His kingdom.

Serve Him in fear and awe (v. 28) –

And do all you can

To encourage one another to do the same

Remembering that the God you serve

Is a consuming fire (v. 29). Amen.

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