Assurance of Better Things

Well, again, a good morning to you. Please turn in your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 6. We're looking at one verse today. So, how long could that possibly take? Hebrews 6, verse 9. Come to a key and really pivotal text in Hebrews 6. It's really a kind of a hinge text, a pivot point, a switch in the thought, just like a switch on a railroad track.

It makes a change, a change from Warning to encouragement. It's one of the most important verses to get your mind around in Hebrews 6, and really in the book of Hebrews. Because if you do not grasp what the author is saying in Hebrews 6:6, 6, 9, I'm sorry, you're not going to understand what he's talking about in the whole chapter, and you're not going to understand what he's talking about in the whole book.

So it's important that we take a morning to spend some time looking carefully at this specific text and how it relates to the rest of Hebrews chapter 6. There's so much to say on Hebrews chapter 6, and that's what I want to do this morning. Let me read to you verse 9.

But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way. Than accumulating things that need to be said about Hebrews 6. And so I'll use this opportunity to speak to those things, to mention some things. First, I want to look at the grammatical details of Hebrews 6:9.

Then I want to look at some of the major misunderstandings of Hebrews 6. And then I want to step into the world of John Bunyan. His pilgrim's progress, and look at the personalities involved in Hebrews 6. And then I want to come and look at the better things that God has in store for God's people.

So, this is one of those messages. If you feel like you're not really sure where the introduction ends and the body begins, don't worry. I'm not sure I do either. But there is direction and purpose, and I think you need to upload another slide. I think look back and see if there's another presentation that got uploaded.

If not, it's okay. I can go with these. I think that's right. Anyways. But there is direction and there is purpose. I want you to understand this text and its theological implications in history and even in the modern theological systems and how it introduces us, how this verse introduces us to the yeah, okay.

I guess that's what I'm doing. Okay, that's what we're doing. I'll just come to that and just leave it at that for just for a moment, and then we'll get to the message, maybe, but there's so much that needs to be said. On this passage. So, first, as I said, I want to look at the details of verse 9.

We'll look at the details, the grammatical details of verse 9. But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way. Notice the first word, but, you can circle that because it stands as in contrast, that everything that has been said before, in contrast, he's going in a different direction.

And all that has been said in verses 4 through 8, and let me, these were some frightening words. Listen to what he says, just to remind you of what he said in verses 4 through 8. For in the case of those who had once been enlightened and have tasted the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put him to open shame.

For the ground that drinks in the rain, which often falls on it, and brings forth vegetation useful to those whose forsake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God. But if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed and ends up being burned.

Now, if your pastor is speaking to you like this, it's a cause for alarm. But then in verse 9, notice the word but. But, in contrast to everything that's just been said, but beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you. But, in contrast, beloved, dear ones, ones in the faith, this word is used over 60 times in the New Testament, and every time it's referring to the household of faith.

It is not referring to unbelievers. Many times it is the term that God the Father uses to refer to his Son, beloved, beloved. He's talking now specifically to that portion of the congregation that he knows true believers. Like in any gathering, you have a mixed crowd, even like today.

I would say that we're not so thoroughly purged that we do not have among us the unbeliever and the pretender, and then we have the true believers, the beloved. And so he is referring to the beloved, those who are, he sees as genuine believers. Notice how he says, y'all, but so he likes Texas, right?

He's a southerner at heart, right? But beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning y'all. We are convinced. And that's the first word you actually come to in the Greek. We are convinced. As you start this verse, it shows up a little bit later. We are, but beloved, we are convinced.

But it really starts out with the emphasis, but we are. Convinced. We are absolutely sure of something very different for you, beloved. That's the emphasis. We have come to believe with certainty. And it's a passive. In other words, something has caused us to believe something very different about you.

You're not going to be one of these that are enlightened and then tasted and yet fallen away. We think we are convinced of something better. What is that? Better things. Something better. Better things. Something of higher value, greater, something superior for you than what we have just mentioned in verses 4 through 8.

And what are those things, the better things associated with? Look back. But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you and things that accompany salvation. Something that goes along, something that is connected to salvation, something that comes with salvation. We are convinced that something better is coming with you, not the falling away, not coming near to salvation, but something that comes with salvation.

Those are the kinds of things that we are convinced that we're going to see in you. Things that accompany salvation, some things that are inseparable from God's word. Redeeming and saving work in Christ. There are certain things that go along with Christ's saving work, and apostasy isn't one of them.

So we are convinced of better things concerning y'all, beloved. Even though we're speaking to you in this manner, we're talking in this manner to everyone. And everything that he has just said is true. But we are saying something else in addition to the beloved. Something extremely encouraging. And this chapter, which starts out with one of the most frightening warnings in Scripture, becomes one of the most blessed, hopeful chapters in the book of Hebrews.

And it's one of the greatest chapters on assurance, but we never get there because we get all tripped up about: can you lose your salvation? That kind of thing. And what does this mean for me personally? Isn't it just like Satan to so obscure a text, take the attention away?

This passage is about assurance. And he turns a corner in Hebrews 6:9. Salvation, salvation. Listen, let me say something about salvation. Salvation that can be lost is not salvation. Salvation that is not eternal is not salvation. Such ideas of salvation can foster statements like, I think I'm saved, I hope I'm saved, but not I know I am saved.

And that's where the author is going. He wants you convinced, but it's interesting. He is convinced that they are going to accompany, had things, signs, and things that go with them that accompany salvation. The author is sure not only of his own salvation, but the salvation of his people to whom he's writing.

Now, how do you get so assured of that? We are absolutely convinced of your salvation. How can he be so sure of somebody else's eternal salvation? Well, he's going to answer that question in the following verses, which we're not going to get to today, so you can have to come back for that one.

It is a phenomenal section of scripture dealing with what is our basis of assurance and how we can have that. So, those are just the grammatical details, okay? Just a quick flyover of the words used. Now, I want to talk to you. About advance it for me? There you go.

Some misunderstandings. As many of you know, there are many misunderstandings of Hebrews chapter 6, many misinterpretations and many misapplications of this warning that we have just worked through. The first eight chapters of Hebrews 6. The first one I want to mention, and I'm just going to mention a couple.

They go on, but major categories, there's one misinterpretation that really leads to despair. Despair. Some take this statement or these verses to apply, to be aimed directly at true born-again Christians to warn them against being apostate. In other words, there's the possibility, and this becomes the text about losing your salvation or that a true believer can abandon the faith.

And it's one of the major texts defending the position that you can lose your salvation. And then this becomes kind of that paradigm verse that then other texts in Scripture are used to support the idea that a Christian can become apostate. And so what happens is that this interpretation leaves many true Christians without assurance.

Think about it. Well, if I could lose my salvation, guess what I would do? I'd do it. If I had to hold on to it, I didn't do anything to get it in the first place. How in the world am I going to hold on to it? It leaves many Christians with, I don't know for sure where I'm going to be.

I guess you won't know until the end. And especially those who have fallen into gross sin. Those who have fallen into gross sin, then they, I have done it, Pastor. I have gone beyond the point of no return. I once was part of the redeemed, and now I have departed from it as evidence in what I did.

Now it is impossible for me to ever go back. And boy, that can really put the despair in a person. However, this interpretation is flat-out contradicted in our verse this morning. Just look back again. But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you and things that accompany salvation.

Whatever has been said about those who have been enlightened and have tasted the heavenly gift and then have turned away, whatever is being said about them, however close, whatever their relationship with God, it was not the kind of relationship that comes with genuine salvation. He flat out says it.

That's why it's important to keep reading your Bible and not just stop without, because he flat out tells you, keep reading. But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, things which accompany salvation. So, this passage is not teaching that one who is born of God dies or becomes unborn of God.

That's silliness. You don't understand what's happening in salvation. What it's teaching is that the one who is born of God exhibits the evidences of salvation, and apostasy isn't one of those. Remember Joshua and Caleb? They were like, let's go into the land, it's good, let's go. And the whole Exodus generation said, No, let's go back to Egypt.

There's two in that mix that are demonstrating genuine faith. And there's a whole generation that is exhibiting faithlessness, apostasy, turning back. So, there indeed is a class of people who are brought near to salvation but do not experience it. Grace can be, even today, grace can be and is showered upon many individuals, and it has a positive impact for a season, but it doesn't actually regenerate them.

Such people do not continue in the faith. And so their journey with God stops perhaps near salvation, near the gate, but not after the gate. Not after salvation. So that's the first misunderstanding that leads to despair, hopelessness. But there's a second misunderstanding, and it goes to the other extreme, and it leads to disregard.

To disregard. Some understand this warning to be directed solely at the unbelievers. And so what they are quick to do is they're quick to reference other verses that imply the impossibility of salvation loss, such as like John 10, 27, where Jesus said, My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

That's what they do. They follow. And I give eternal life, get that, eternal life. Not a temporary life for a little while, but eternal life to them. And they will never perish. And no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father who has given them to me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of my father's hands.

And some be saved, that's it. You cannot lose your salvation. And they're right. This language is too strong. Some say, well, maybe you can walk away. No? My sheep hear my voice, they follow me, and that's what their disposition. He gives them eternal life, and they will never perish, either by walking away or by being snatched out.

No one takes them out of my hand, and no one can snatch them from my father's hand, and my hand and my father's hand are one. You cannot lose. If you belong to Christ, you belong to Christ. But such an interpretation, when you start using other scripture to look at this, and it's right, scripture interprets, interprets, interprets scripture, but you need to let this scripture speak for itself.

Yes. It is speaking to a mixed congregation, though. But what happens with this interpretation? Well, once you're saved, you're always saved. Therefore, you can dismiss this warning as not applying to you. For there's a moment in here where the author is now not talking to believers, he's talking to unbelievers.

So now I'm exempt, even though my life continues to bear thorns and thistles. So I can dismiss this passage as not applying to me. But this interpretation is also contradicted in chapter 6 and Verse 9, our text this morning. But beloved, who's he talking to? The beloved. He makes it, it's plain.

6-9 is very plain. It clears up the misunderstanding. It's just a simple reading. But beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you. You. Again, he's talking to the believers. Even though we are speaking to you in this way, it's clear. If the plain, simple meaning is anything, it's saying he's talking to the whole, and he's talking to the believers among them.

So you don't just relegate this to one category or another. Two extremes. One leads to despair, and the other leads to disregard. So what is the correct response? Well, the answer is simple. Diligence. Diligence. It's a real warning. But believers are going to respond to it very differently than unbelievers.

I remember when I was little in grade school, my friends and I after school would like to go and hike the canyons around our, and we would explore the caves. And we would, and I remember one particular day we were out exploring these caves and exploring these canyons.

And we came to this place where there's a bunch of a few trees. And we walked right over to look at the trees, and it was a sheer cliff going straight down. And my friends are like, I'm getting away from that cliff. I'm getting away from that cliff.

And one of them, one of the amongst them, me, wanted to show off and walk the ridge. A strong wind would have pushed me off. Now, is that very smart? Do I really have an awareness of what that cliff means and what could happen to me? No, I'm not really dialed in.

By God's grace, there wasn't a wind, and by God's grace, I didn't fall off the cliff. But how is a believer going to respond to a warning like this? I'm getting away from that cliff, okay? I'm not going to test this. Whereas the unbeliever says, well, that didn't apply to me one way or the other.

Or God would never do that. You know, in some ways, the Christian life is like a marriage. You know, Nancy and I couldn't build a life together until we decided to stop dating and get married. Does that make sense? I believed Nancy's vows. She believed my vows. And out of that faith in each other's vows, we decided to go forward building a life together.

Our dating years were over. Married life is not dating life. It's obvious. Marriage is not hoping to be married, it's marriage. The Christian life isn't about dating God, it's about being married to God. You cannot live a Christian life thinking, I'm just hoping I'm in a relationship with God.

Just like I can't build a relationship with Nancy if I'm just hoping someday she will want to get married to me. No, we move beyond that. We get married and we build a life together. That's what the Christian life is about. And some of you need to stop dating God and be married to Him.

You can't live the Christian life without assurance. I belong to Him. Now I'm going to go live. It's a very different life than it's like, well, I hope one day, one day, I'm going to come out okay in the end. That's a very different life than I know my Redeemer lives.

I know nothing will snatch me from His hand. And I don't know, I may be able to fall in a lot of ways, and I may make a blunder of a lot of things, but this much I am sure: the one who called me is holding on to me.

He is my high priest. He is at the right hand of the Father, and I am assured and secured. Now I can go and build a life. Now I can live the Christian life. Do you see the difference? And that's what he's getting to. He's like, brother, beloved, there is so much better for you because we have a high priest.

And that's where he's going with all of this. He's interrupted himself here. I want to talk about Christ's high priesthood and the assurance of salvation and what this means: that Christ, our Lord, is at the right hand of the Father, and what this means for you and me.

So it's a passage that motivates us, motivates the faithless to faith and the faithful to greater faith. Diligence, not disregard, not despair, but diligence. That's where he's going. So, still just talking generally about, let's talk about the personalities involved. Now, all of you Pilgrim's Progress people better dial in because we worked hard to make sure you get it.

I hope you get this because there are some characters, there's four personalities that I want to borrow by way of analogy from Pilgrim's Progress that personify the people in Hebrew. Hebrews 6. And there's four categories. The first, and we meet them all in the country of conceit. Country of conceit.

I'll tell you something. We meet them all in the country of seat, as conceit, as Christian and hopeful are journeying to the celestial city. The first is atheist. I want to mention atheist. Now, atheists, let's not think about atheists like we would today, like just know God. He believes that the God of the Bible doesn't exist.

And that's really what an atheist is when you boil it down to it. There's only one God. There's the God of the Bible, and all others are not God. So if you don't believe in the God of the Bible, then you really are an atheist by this definition.

And so, as Christian and hopeful are traveling, then all of a sudden they see this man named Atheist. And he comes running up to meet them. He's got his back. I'll just read to you some of the portions. There is a man with his back towards Zion, and he is coming to meet us.

His name was Atheist. And he asked, where are you two going? Christian said, we are going to Mount Zion. Then Atheist fell into a great laughter. Ha ha ha ha. What is the meaning of your laughter? said Christian. Atheist said, I laugh to see what ignorant persons you are to take upon yourself so tedious a journey and yet are like to have.

Nothing but your travel for your pains. Christian said, why? Do you think we shall not be received? Atheist says, received? There is not such a place as you dream in all the world. Christian says, but we have both heard and believed that there is such a place to be found.

And atheist said, no. I have been farther than you. I too was once like you. I left in search of this city, and I have gone much farther than you, and now I am turning back because I am convinced it doesn't exist. And so I'm going back to the life that I lived, hoping to be satisfied there.

He is the one that, he is that spirit that says, I am going back to Egypt. I am going back to my life that I had, and my mind is made up. I've seen enough, heard enough. And so hopeful said to Christian, let us go on. Do not hear him.

Let us believe. Let us continue to believe to the saving of the soul. Let's persevere in the faith. And so they turned away from the man, and atheist was laughing at him, went his way. You see, atheist does not believe that the God of the Bible exists. But he is an illustration of those in Hebrews.

6, 4, who have once been enlightened, much like that Exodus generation, had tasted the heavenly gift, had been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and then they had fallen away. Even though they had tasted of the good word and the powers of the age to come, they turned their backs, and our writer says it is impossible for them to be saved or to renew them again to repentance.

Listen to what one commentator, F.F. Bruce, says about this kind of people. Those who have shared the covenant privileges of the people of God and then deliberately renounce them are the most difficult persons of all to reclaim for the faith. It is indeed impossible to reclaim them, says our author.

Such of these have that unbelieving heart that in Hebrews 3, 12, the writer warns against, take care, brethren, that there not be any one of you an unbelieving heart that falls away from God. They're hardened by this deceitfulness of sin. They believe they've been there, done that. And so they go through, they leave, and they spend the rest of their life re-crucifying Christ, butchering him, either philosophically.

Hermeneutically, historically, whatever. They read, they don't like the Christ of Scripture, so they redefine them according to their own fancy. And they butcher him, they re-crucify him and mar him beyond any resemblance to the Christ revealed in Scripture. I need to comment again that the impossibility is on their side of the fence, on man's side of the fence, not on God's.

The impossibility is on man's repentance, not on God's pardon. If you will repent, if any will repent, God will graciously pardon. Pardon. But atheists is that kind of individual that has gotten so hard, he thinks he's been there, done that, and he's turned back, made up his mind, like that Exodus generation.

Nothing more can be done. Nothing else will renew them. So those are the first, that's the first one. Now there's three more personalities involved. And this really gets to the heart of who the author of Hebrews is writing to and exhorting. Those like atheists have gone, they've done their thing.

They wouldn't be in the congregation. They're not there. That's not his audience. His audiences are the ones turn away. Little faith or valant for the truth. If I'm using Bunyan's analogy. Three, turn away, little faith, valent for the truth. Which one are you? Are you a turnaway? A little faith or a valant for the truth.

We meet all of these on dead man's lane, dead man's lane. So as we, and I previously commented on turn away, so I won't spend much time on him. But as Christian and Hopeful enter into this dark lane, dead man's lane, they witness one called turnaway. He's being led away by seven devils.

And on his back is written the word apostasy, one who turns away. There are evil forces at work in this individual that is turning him away from the truth. And if he isn't brought back, isn't turned back, he is going to crystallize in that hardness like atheist. His outcome will be the same unless he repents.

He's from the town of apostasy. That's the turnaway. And there are those in the book of Hebrews that are seriously considering turning away, going back to Judaism. And that's, they're turning back, just like those turning back to Egypt. Afterwards, we encounter this individual called Little Faith. Little Faith.

Now, Little Faith is from the town called Sincere. And as he was traveling down Dead Man's Lane, three thugs attack him. One of them is named Faintheart, like fearful of the future. The other is Mistrust, mistrusting God, and the other is guilt, guilt over sin. So these are the three thugs.

Here comes Little Faith, and these three thugs. You might recognize some of them. Faintheart, anxiety, mistrust, mistrusting God, and guilt, guilt over sin. And so these three thugs fall upon little faith and they beat him to a pulp. They rob him. But before they could finish the job and get all of his belongings, one called Great Grace was coming and they were scared of Great Grace, so they ran away.

However, they got away with all of little faith's money. They didn't get his gemstones, the true possessions or value of riches, but they did get away with all of his spending money. And this left little faith going through life the rest of the journey, having to beg, having to borrow, and he didn't have enough to eat.

His faith, he went through life with that limping along kind of faith. Sincere. He is received at the gate, but boy, life sure could have been a lot differently. And so the writer is exhorting both those who are thinking about turning away and those with little faith to be like Valent for the Truth.

That's the third individual on Dead Man's Lane. Valent for the Truth. And so in the second book, Christiana's story, this is when pilgrim's wife and kids come to this same dead man's lane, they encounter this guy named Mr. Valent for the Truth. And his spirit was the opposite of that spirit of turnaway, and it was much stronger than that of little faith.

Let me just read to you a little bit of this narrative. They went on, and just as the place where little faith formerly was robbed, there stood a man with his sword drawn and his face all over covered with blood. Then said Mr. Greatheart, who are you? The man answered, saying, I am one whose name is Valent for Truth.

I am a pilgrim and am going to the celestial city. Now, as I was on my way, there were three men that surrounded me. And then they gave me three options. And here were the three options. Options. Number one, I could become one of them. Number two, I could go back to where I came from.

Or number three, I could die upon this spot. Does that sound familiar? These are often the choices set before us. Become like one of us, go back or die. Join us. Give in, go back, die. Let your faith abandon your faith. Let it die. Move on. Give in, go back or die.

Sounds familiar, isn't it? That's what the world wants. Listen to how Valent for the Truth responded. To the first, join us. He says this. To the first, I have been a true man for a long season, and therefore it could not be expected that I should now cast in my lot with three thieves.

In other words, joining you is unthinkable, because I am no longer like you. Then they said, oh, okay, then go back. What are you going to say to that? He says, so I told them that the place from where I came from was altogether unsuitable for me and very unprofitable for me.

So going back to there is illegitimate and unprofitable. So I'm not going back. Then they said, okay, about dying on the spot. What do you say about that? He said, my Life cost is far more dear to me than I should give it away for the price that was paid for me.

So, dying on the spot is not an option. And with that, Valent for the Truth pulls his sword, and a great battle ensues. And he's victorious. And he says, This, Then these three drew upon me, and I drew upon them. They have left upon me, as you see, some of the marks of their valor, and have also carried away with them some of mine.

They are but just now gone. Greatheart said, but that was great odds, three against one. Valent said, This is true, but little and more are nothing to him that has the truth on his side. Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear. Though war should rise against me, in spite of this, I will be confident.

You see, continuing in the faith is evidence of the faith. Both little faith and valant for the truth continued, but with varying degrees of intensity. So it comes back to the question: are you a turnaway, a little faith, or a valant for the truth? You see, the author wants all of us.

To have confidence in the truth, like valent for the truth, to be valent with the truth, believe it, go where it goes. And so, what does he do? He warns the turnaways: you are without faith, come to faith. He encourages little faith to have greater faith, and he encourages us to grow in our faith, to turn to him, stop dating Christ, be married to him, grow in that faith.

And so, now we come to the better things that God has in store for his people. Things. So, the outline is very simple this morning: assurance of better things. Now, we come to maybe the sermon, or I'm not going to come to the sermon. We'll come to the better things next week, and it's appropriate.

I've said a lot about this. Enough to say this: that if you're thinking about turning away from Christ, repent, don't go. Down that road. If you feel like your faith is small, Hebrews 6 is for you because it's going to give you that bedrock assurance of why you can face the future bold and bravely as a Mr.

Valent for the truth. So, with that, I invite you back. That was an introduction to next week's sermon and the text that we're in. Heavenly Father, we give you thanks for all the good things that you are doing in our lives. Father, we thank you for the warnings of Scripture that exhort us to have faith, and we thank you for the encouragements in Scripture to have faith.

And that's our desire, Father. Forgive us for every inclination that doubts you, that is inclined to turn away or feels tempted even for a moment. Help us to grasp firmly that sword of truth, Father, where we can withstand the lies and the spiritual attacks that are coming with us against us.

So, Father, we thank you for your great grace, Father, that's able to assure the soul, call the hardened sinner to repentance. And grow us in grace and keep us in the faith. So, Father, because we need you to keep us, and we know that that's what you've committed to do.

And so, we look to you and follow you. Thank you in Jesus' name. Amen.