A Serious Call - Heb. 3:12-15

Introduction  It is always a celebration when new members join the church. This celebration of our mystical union with Christ and one another is a Gospel celebration. It is a celebration of our Head, the Lord Jesus Christ. As people are willing to commit to each other by way of covenant, the body of Christ is strengthened, the Gospel is illustrated, and Christ is glorified.  Joyous occasions as this one provide us with the opportunity to remind ourselves how important life in community is for the follower of Jesus Christ.  I. This warning is given to those who profess faith in Jesus Christ.  A. We see that in the word brethren in v. 12.  B. It is also evident in v. 14 where these people are called partakers of Christ.  II. This is a serious warning  A. Strong beware in the beginning of v. 12.  B. The seriousness of the warning is also seen in the consequence of not listening to it – hardened hearts.  III. This warning describes the progressive steps in the hardening of Christian's heart.  A. What we read here is a picture of what sin does if undetected, unexposed, and unforsaken.  B. It all begins with my giving way to sin in my life.  C. When we deceive ourselves and call good what God has called evil, the next step takes place: unbelief, 12.  D. The third part in this sad progression is departing.  E. Where we finally end is with a "hardened" heart.  IV. The question that every one of us should be asking at this point is how can these scary steps of hardening take place in the life of a Christian?  A. This takes place because sin is fundamentally deceptive.  B. Sin deceives ten out of ten people.  V. It is because of our blindness to our own sin that the Holy Spirit gives us this essential call to exhort one another.  A. The call is to encourage each other daily.  B. The blinding ability of sin is so powerful and persuasive that you and I literally need daily intervention.  C. What the writer of Hebrews is crushing with this warning and call is any allegiance we might have to an isolated, individualized, "Jesus and me" Christianity.  D. The grace of having our lives interrupted by the insight-giving ministry of others protect us from becoming spiritually blinded to the point of the hardening of our hearts.  E. This means that Christians who convince themselves that they are able to live outside of God's regular system of help and protection are in danger of becoming increasingly blind and hard of heart.  Conclusion  But God in his infinite mercy and grace did not leave us to go through this life alone. He brought us into his church so that together we would grow in faith. Each one of us is a gift of grace to the others. To ignore our spiritual need for one another is to set out on the path that ends in a hardened heart toward Jesus Christ. So, let us exhort each other in the grace of Jesus Christ as long as it is today, so that we all might grow into the fullness of our Head, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Put the internet to work for you. via Personal Recipe 881887