https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Hebrews-Encouragement-to-Remain-Faithful.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: Hebrews 10:19-25<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nI. The book of Hebrews interleaves evidence of the superiority of Christ, His covenant, and\nHis church with encouragement to the brethren to remain faithful.\n
A. After giving evidence that Jesus is God’s son, the writer said – Hebrews 2:1-4<\/p>\n
B. Jesus was a faithful son and so must we be faithful – Hebrews 3:5-4:11<\/p>\n
C. Because Jesus shared our humanity, we can have confidence – Hebrews 4:15-16<\/p>\n
D. Being a Christian requires continued growth – Hebrews 5:12-6:6<\/p>\n
E. Being a Christian requires diligence – Hebrews 6:9-12<\/p>\n F. After extensive proof that Christ’s law was a superior covenant that replaced the\nMosaical law, the writer said – Hebrews 10:19-39\nII. Chapter 11 is called the hero’s of faith, but it fits in with the writer’s theme of\nencouragement to remain faithful\n A. By using examples from the Old Testament, the writer addresses the excuses so\nmany of us give as to why we fall short.\n
B. Abel – Hebrews 11:4<\/p>\n 1. Abel remained faithful despite the fact that his own brother did not like his\nrighteous behavior\n
2. Some give up because of family pressure.<\/p>\n a. They don’t like how bad you make them look, so they demand that\nyou change\n
3. Abel remained faithful even though it cost him his life<\/p>\n
C. Enoch – Hebrews 11:5<\/p>\n
1. Here is response to the argument “Well, I’m only human.”<\/p>\n 2. We convince ourselves that we must fall short because everyone sins, so\nwhy fight it.\n 3. I’m not saying that Enoch was sinless, but here is a man who managed to\nplease God sufficiently enough to avoid death.\n
a. A rarity, true<\/p>\n
b. But still Enoch shows it was possible<\/p>\n
D. Noah – Hebrews 11:7<\/p>\n
1. Far too many cave to peer-pressure.<\/p>\n 2. In a world completely given over to sin, Noah remained faithful and saved\nhis own family\n
E. Abraham – Hebrews 11:8<\/p>\n 1. Like Noah, Abraham was asked to trust God concerning things he could\nnot see.\n 2. Have you met people that say, “if you can prove it to my satisfaction, then\nI’ll change.” The problem is that you never manage to gather enough\nevidence.\n
F. Sarah – Hebrews 11:11-12<\/p>\n
1. Even when it looked impossible, Sarah, trusted God because He promised.<\/p>\n
G. Pilgrims – Hebrews 11:13-16<\/p>\n
1. I have known several who gave up because they didn’t receive benefits.<\/p>\n
2. The changes didn’t happen soon enough for them or they didn’t occur<\/p>\n
3. “If I don’t get something out of it now, why bother?”<\/p>\n
H. Abraham – Hebrews 11:17-19<\/p>\n
1. Here is the answer to “God asks too much” or “Its too hard”<\/p>\n 2. Isaac was the one God promised to Abraham. He was the one the future\nhung upon. Yet, God asked Abraham to kill him.\n
I. Isaac, Jacob, Joseph – Hebrews 11:20-22<\/p>\n
1. “I just don’t see any future in it.”<\/p>\n 2. Far too many of us live in the “now.” We don’t see what can be and will\nbe if we just remain faithful.\n
J. Moses – Hebrews 11:23-26<\/p>\n
1. So many return to the world because of its immediate gratification.<\/p>\n
2. Moses chose hardship over pleasure and riches.<\/p>\n
K. Moses – Hebrews 11:27<\/p>\n
1. “Its illegal”<\/p>\n 2. While Christianity is allowed for the most part, people cave when the\ngovernment opposes the truth\n
L. Moses – Hebrews 11:28<\/p>\n
1. “God is too harsh”<\/p>\n 2. How many compromise the faith because they cannot believe that God\nwould really send people to hell?\n
M. The Israelites – Hebrews 11:29-30<\/p>\n
1. Many people act as if God demands too much of them.<\/p>\n 2. They want the benefits, they want the results, but they think it is\nunreasonable for God to ask them to play a part in gaining of it.\n
N. Rahab – Hebrews 11:31<\/p>\n
1. “I have had too sinful of a past.”<\/p>\n 2. We excuse our future bad behavior because we were bad in the past or\nbecause bad things happened to us in the past.\n
3. They think that it isn’t worth trying to change, so they never do.<\/p>\n
III. Now, tell me again why you can’t remain faithful – Hebrews 11:39-12:3<\/p>\n
A. The hardships we might face are for our benefit – Hebrews 12:4-13<\/p>\n
B. Don’t become bitter and sink into immorality – Hebrews 12:14-17<\/p>\n
C. Don’t refuse God – Hebrews 12:25-29<\/p>\n
IV. Sometimes encouragement can chafe – Hebrews 13:20-22<\/p>\n
A. But it is what we need to hear.<\/p>\n
B. We need to keep pushing on to the goal<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Hebrews 10:19-25 I. The book of Hebrews interleaves evidence of the superiority of Christ, His covenant, and His church with encouragement to the brethren to remain faithful. A. After giving evidence that Jesus is God’s son, the writer said – Hebrews 2:1-4 B. Jesus was a faithful son and so must we…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[357,608,256,1064,1288],"class_list":["post-62699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-encouragement","tag-excuses","tag-faithful","tag-hebrews","tag-steadfastness"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":84967,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/a-better-understanding-of-hebrews-1025\/","url_meta":{"origin":62699,"position":0},"title":"A Better Understanding of Hebrews 10:25","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 24, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by David Gibson For a Bible passage to have the maximum impact, we must see how it connects with the Big Picture. The Scriptures speak of \"not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some\" (Hebrews 10:25). How does this relate to God's Grand Plan? Two verses before,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":68444,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-being-neglected-or-forsaken\/","url_meta":{"origin":62699,"position":1},"title":"What Is Being Neglected or Forsaken?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 19, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Adam Litmer The following question was recently asked: \"What specifically is meant in Hebrews 10:25 by 'neglecting' or 'forsaking'? Is it inferring a requirement of attendance, or is it addressing an attitude towards worship? If it is a requirement, wouldn't that infer all opportunities (Wednesday night, etc.) set up\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35567,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/two-unchangeable-things\/","url_meta":{"origin":62699,"position":2},"title":"Two Unchangeable Things","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 4, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Matthew W. Bassford In addition to the other things that make Hebrews challenging for us to follow, the writer assumes that his readership is familiar with the Old Testament. He jumps from allusion to allusion, rarely pausing to explain his references to the Law with more than a phrase\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/stars-300x169.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":45810,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-you-make-people-understand-the-importance-of-attending-services\/","url_meta":{"origin":62699,"position":3},"title":"How do you make people understand the importance of attending services?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 28, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good day, Many people are just doing good without going to church or recognizing God, how do you make people understand the importance or take Christianity seriously if they don't see any need? Answer: The authority of the Bible rests upon the fact that its teachings come from God.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2422,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/could-you-explain-hebrews-1026-28\/","url_meta":{"origin":62699,"position":4},"title":"Could you explain Hebrews 10:26-28?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 3, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Could you explain\u00a0Hebrews 10:26-28? Answer: \"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":61146,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-will-not-forsake-you\/","url_meta":{"origin":62699,"position":5},"title":"I Will Not Forsake You","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 4, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Deuteronomy 31:1-6 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Moses was approaching the end of his life. The time of his departure was at hand. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Understandably, the children of Israel would be nervous. He has been their leader for 40 years. Moses faced down Pharaoh and led them out of slavery.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62699"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62699\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}