April 11 Sermon: Yielding the Peaceful Fruit of Righteousness

Consider these questions as we look at Hebrews 12:1-17:

1. How does Pastor Mark emphasize the significance of discipline in our lives, drawing parallels to parental discipline and athletic training?

2. What is the relationship between discipline and holiness and how does this connect to the pursuit of God's grace?

3. In what ways can you actively pursue holiness and maintain a community of support with fellow believers?

Transcript:

Discipline. Just me saying the word likely brings strong images to your mind. You may remember a time where you misbehaved and your parents stepped in to correct you and try to keep you from doing the same thing again. Maybe the image that comes to mind for you is related to your time in school. You were caught misbehaving and formal steps had to be taken to correct you. It is likely that when you are reminded of these moments that you are transported back to them in your mind and maybe you even feel the same deep feeling in your gut of fear and uncertainty. Discipline is an important matter and I’m guessing in most cases you look back on the discipline that you have had in your life and you now understand the importance of it. The way that those situations were handled by those in positions of authority over you shaped you and helped you to be the person that you are today. And when you became an adult you understood the difficulty of discipline. It is necessary for the development of children and to set them on the correct path but it is hard to know if what you are doing is the right course of action. Discipline is hard. Not only for those who are being disciplined but also for those who are doing the disciplining.

‌As we return to the book of Hebrews after our break for Palm Sunday and Easter passages we find ourselves in a passage that is addressing this very topic. Discipline. Not how you and I should perform discipline but how we are disciplined by the God who so deeply loved us that he paid the price to save us from our sin.

‌And so we come to this passage and we are going to break it down into three points again this week to help us navigate and understand it.

‌Our first point this morning is that we are called to set aside sin. It would be really easy to look at the grace of God that we have been reading about in the book of Hebrews and see it as a license to sin. God has paid the price to reconcile us to himself and it’s all taken care of so our natural sinful inclination would be to think that now we can do whatever we want because we have a blank check of forgiveness. Instead of a license to sin the author of Hebrews calls us to set aside sin in light of the gospel. We are to pursue holiness and run with endurance in light of the truth of what Jesus has done for us.

‌Secondly, we see that God disciplines his children. This is a harsh truth for us because we often confuse love with good feelings and we think God just wants us to be happy. The truth is that God wants us to be holy and his discipline for us is like the discipline a parent has for a child. Parents don’t discipline because it’s fun. Parents discipline their children because they love them and care for them. The same is true for God. He loves us and he disciplines us because we are his children.

‌Finally, we are called to work and strive for holiness. We know that we are holy because we are in Christ. We have been given the gift of Christ’s perfect righteousness and God sees us as though we have never sinned because of what Jesus has done but that does not mean that we are magically now perfect in this life. We still find ourselves struggling with indwelling sin and that doesn’t just go away. That is why we hear the word and the Spirit convicts us of our sin that we might amend our lives and live a life of greater obedience before God.

‌And so with those points mapped out let us set out on our journey through this passage.

As we return to Hebrews today it couldn’t have worked out any better that these two verses are how the passage starts off because it is reminding us of where we left off a few weeks back. We have that word therefore to call us back to where we were in Hebrews 11. We spent two weeks in the great faith chapter that told us about the faith that the big names in the Old Testament had and we learned that they trusted in the same thing that we trust in. They hoped in the coming of the Messiah and looked for something beyond what they can see. We know the finished work of the Messiah but we also look to a hope that is to come. We saw there that Biblical faith looks to the work of Jesus and that victory that his has won for us is our only hope.

‌And so as the author of Hebrews continues here he calls back to those witnesses that he mentioned in Hebrews 11. We have seen the testimony of those who looked to Christ and we have seen how he accomplished salvation for his people. This doesn’t cause us to become passive and sit around waiting for our life to end. The author of Hebrews tells us that this should cause us to lay aside every weight and sin that clings so closely. I really appreciate the way this is stated here. Every weight. Sin is extra weight. It is baggage that you don’t need. It’s like the famous prank that we used to try to pull on people in Boy Scouts. Try to get some rocks into someone’s backpack when they aren’t paying attention and then they have to carry that extra weight on the hike. We know what a difference that makes. Whether it’s the weight you drop off a baseball bat as you leave the on deck circle to step into the batters box or maybe you’ve taken a walk with ankle weights on. You can tell the difference and when you are able to move on from sin it is the same feeling. A weight is lifted.

‌That’s what the author of Hebrews is pushing us toward. Leave the weight behind. In the lives of the heroes of the faith we have seen how we are saved by trusting in God’s salvation in Christ and so you are free. Why would we want to continue to be burdened by the sin that we have been freed from. And then we see another illustration that we can so easily understand. We are told to run with endurance the race that is set before us. The Christian life isn’t a sprint. It is an endurance race and those races require that you finish strong. We must set our eyes on the finish line that God has given us in the Lord Jesus and keep our eyes on him because he is the founder and perfecter of our faith. As we have seen so clearly in the book of Hebrews the work of Jesus for us is how we are saved and it is our faith and trust in his power to save that gives us peace and hope.

‌And so the author of Hebrews calls us to fix our eyes on him and then shows us what Jesus did. He ran the race set before him with endurance. With joy he endured the cross even though to be crucified on a cross was shameful but we see that he was glorified in his resurrection and ascension and now he has finished the course because he is seated at the right hand of the Father.

‌So we are called to put aside sin and endure to the end because Jesus has endured for us. This is the goal but we know this is hard. Sin is difficult to put away. One of my favorite quotes is from Martin Luther. He says that “When I became a believer I thought I had drown the old nature, but the rascal knew how to swim”. This is so true and so the author of Hebrews reminds us of what Jesus did to endure for us to save us from sin. Sinners attacked him with hostility and he endured and so we are called to remember the endurance of Jesus to endure ourselves and the example of Jesus is again called upon. Have you struggled against sin to the point of shedding blood? Jesus shed his blood to save you from sin and so we can endure in fighting against the sin that clings so tightly.

‌And as a part of this struggle we see our second point come out in the next part of the text. God disciplines his children.

‌This is such an important part of the idea that God disciplines us. He does it because we are his children. The author of Hebrews is saying remember that God addresses you as children. You aren’t just some random people making their way in the world. Because you have been bought and paid for by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ you are adopted into the family of God and so he cares for you as his own. And so this idea is built up with quotations from scripture. And you can see the very clear idea here. Don’t regard the Lord’s discipline lightly. He’s doing it because he loves you. He has your best interest at heart. I hesitate to use this as an illustration because it is sad but we know when parents are absent don’t we. Often the behavioral issues that we see in children are a result of a lack of parental involvement. And the idea that we see here is that of course you are being disciplined for your sinfulness. You have a Father who loves you deeply. He gave his only begotten son to bring you into his family. Discipline should not be a surprise, it should be the expectation because God loves you so deeply as his children.

‌And as we move to verses 7 and 8 we see this point expanded upon. You see, the author of Hebrews would have seen examples of what he is talking about in the time that he lived in. Many Roman nobles would have illegitimate children that were conceived through their rampant sexual immorality. They would essentially ignore them completely. That is what we see at the end of verse 8 here. The illegitimate children of these Roman nobles would be forgotten and left without discipline but the children they had with their legal wives would have their father’s name attached to them and they were the ones who would inherited the estate. They also were put into a rigorous training program.

‌So that is the background to verse 8. If God didn’t discipline his children then they would be illegitimate children and not sons. The fact that God disciplines us shows us who we are. We aren’t an afterthought. We are his children and he cares for us.

‌And the author of Hebrews keeps pushing his illustration. Our earthly fathers discipline us and we respect them. How much greater should our respect be then for our Father in Heaven? It should be greatly magnified and we see why here. Our Father discipline us for a short time but God’s discipline is continuous and it is for our good and we also see that it is for a specific purpose. That we might share in his holiness. His standards are for our good and the more we become like him it not only glorifies his holy name but it is of benefit to us as we grow in the fruit of the Spirit and love God and our neighbor more and more.

‌But discipline is hard and as we move to our third point we see that we are to strive and work for holiness. As it says here it seems painful rather than pleasant. Now, it is important that we take a minute to make sure we understand something. Discipline is not always punishment. We can discipline our children without them being punished. We discipline our children when we ensure that they brush their teeth. We are disciplining our children when we teach them to do something.

‌And none of that is easy. It would be a lot easier not to have to do any of that it all seems to be painful rather than pleasant but it pays off in the end. And that’s the point being made here. God not only disciplines his children when they break his law but the law of God itself disciplines us. We are learning godliness from following his commands. We are shaped and formed by the word of God and it pays off. God is at work in his children through his Word and by the Holy Spirit convicting us of our sin and it is hard but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those that have been trained.

‌We look at those excel in different areas and we often talk about their natural, God given ability and obviously that is true but what we don’t see is the hard work put in to make them excellent. MVP baseball players are still hitting off a batting tee. Championship quarterbacks practice throwing and studying playbooks. Discipline takes work. The same is true for holiness. We need to press on in our following God’s commands and growing in holiness and when we do it pays off. It yields fruit. Even though it is hard it pays off. We all want some magic bullet to help us be holy but that isn’t how it works and we know that isn’t how it works because nothing works that way. Excellence isn’t something you get randomly. It takes work but in the case of being disciplined in godliness we know that the effort does pay off.

‌And so as our passage for today continues we see the author of Hebrews encouraging us.

‌It encourages us to get up and get on the straight path. Get to moving towards holiness and the athletic training imagery continues. You’ve got to get up and get those muscles moving and be healed to finish the race. And so the call is to strive for peace with everyone and to strive for holiness. The author here says that without holiness no one will see the Lord. Now, this is not saying that you need to be perfectly holy on this side of glory to enter into God’s presence. What it’s saying is that if you are a child of God you are going to desire to live in holiness and in conformity to God’s law. So it is important that we strive for these things.

‌What else does the author of Hebrews encourage the people of God to do? See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God. What does this mean? The idea expressed here is that we are to ensure that a pure gospel is proclaimed. We don’t want false teaching invading the ears of others and setting them on a path away from the pure grace of God that we find in the gospel. We also are to ensure that no root of bitterness causes trouble and makes people angry and causes discord among God’s people. We know how this moves us away from God’s call on our lives for holiness.

‌We also see that there is no place for sexual immorality. This is a problem in every age, not just ours. In a pagan culture sexual immorality of all kinds ran rampant and the author of Hebrews is calling for the people to remain chaste and follow God’s standard for sexual purity within the confines of marriage between a man and a woman. As I said this is a problem and temptation in every age but as believers in Jesus Christ who are saved by his grace we are called to resist the temptations of the world.

‌And the passage closes up with the example of Esau. He sold his birthright for a single meal. He gave up his blessing for something temporary. And after the meal was consumed and digested he still wanted to receive a blessing but it was rejected. The point being made here is to seek the Lord while he may be found. Repent now as you hear the word. Turn from sin and the lust of things that are temporary and pursue that which is eternal.

‌What a blessing it is for us to be able to see this message in God’s word today. We live in a world that is obsessed with the temporary and finding the pleasures that fulfill our desires in the moment. This is a blessed reminder that there is something more that is so much more valuable to pursue.

‌And so we have two points of application that we can take out with us into the world as we desire to pursue the holiness that God calls us to.

‌First, consider the cloud of witnesses. This passage started out with a reminder of the heroes of the faith and charged us with laying aside every weight and sin that clings so closely. Remember what the heroes of the faith clung to. It wasn’t to their own righteousness and their own works. Instead, they clung to the promise of Christ. They chose to forsake the world and instead look to the one who would be forsaken for their sins. And to that cloud of witnesses we need to add all those who have clung to Christ. It is important that we remember that this quest for holiness and honoring God with our lives is not a solo effort. It is one of the primary reasons we are here today. We gather to worship God in Spirit and in truth but we also gather to be encouraged by one another. And so, I want to encourage you. As you run the race with endurance bind yourself to others that are running the race. There are those who are more experienced and you can learn from them. There are those who are younger in the faith and they can learn from you. Together we are the family of God and we are to build one another up and grow in holiness together.

‌Second, if we are to do this it requires that we pursue holiness. As we have seen the discipline of this is difficult. It is so important that we remember that this is an active thing. We will not become more holy if we don’t do anything. We need to hear the word. We need to let the Holy Spirit convict us of our sin. If those things are not happening we are not growing. That’s just a fact. And so we need to be sure to hear the word. We need to know God’s commands for us and we need to assess whether we are following them. And it is so vital that we understand that this all begins with repentance. It starts with a change of mind that acknowledges that we can’t do this on our own. We need the one who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despised its shame, and is now seated at the right hand of God. Our growth in holiness comes from turning it over to God and understanding that I am not earning my salvation on my own. Instead, I have received salvation and so I desire to live a life worthy of the price that was paid for me. And so, may we endure and finish the race with a certain knowledge that we do not run it alone. Our sisters and brothers run with us, Jesus is with us, the Holy Spirit indwells us, and we will arrive at the destination because of the great mercy that has been shown to us.