Part 8 “Convert or Disciple?”
Hebrews 6:4-12
Intro – the question of today’s sermon, dear friends, is this: are you a convert or a disciple? There’s a vast difference between being a convert to Christianity and a disciple of JC…
Convert Disciple
• prayed the prayer • lives the life
• focused on decisions for Christ • focused on devotion to
Christ
• goes to church • is the church
• hears the Word • lives the Word
• cheers from the sidelines • is in the game
• asks: when did you become a • asks: are you alive Christian? in Jesus today?
• remains a spiritual infant • moves toward maturity
Sure, being a convert is an important starting place. And for some of you listening to this message, this is the starting place to which Jesus is calling you…come to saving faith…
But conversion, while an important starting place, is exactly that: a starting place…meant to launch us on the journey of discipleship…
Are you a convert or a disciple? That question is at the heart of today’s passage in Hebrews, 6:4-12…(turn there…)
Now when I read the passage you’re going to think I’ve missed the point and am asking the wrong question…but I am telling you that if you are following the letter to the Hebrews, and understand the reason it was written and what the heart of the writer was for these first century Christians…
…then I believe you will be able to see this passage in a different light…it’s intended light…
…prayer…read…
There you go. Now you’re thinking, “Yep, you missed it. The question of today’s sermon has to be: “can a Christian lose their salvation?”
That is an important question…and one that is raised in this passage…BUT, it is not the only question of this passage and when it becomes that, we are robbed of the intended message of this passage.
The Intended Message of the Passage
So, let me give you the intended message of the passage, the thing the writer really wanted to get across to the recipients of this letter…
And to do that, let me quickly remind you of the reason Hebrews was written. If you’ve been with me thru this series so far, you’ll know by now that the book of Hebrews was written to a group of believers who converted to Christianity from a Jewish background and had become discouraged, persecuted and were struggling in their newfound faith. So much so that they wanted to give up…
Heb. was written to help these believers not to give up, not to turn away from their faith in Christ, not to return to their Jewish religion…
And to do this, the writer is presenting the superiority of Jesus Christ to anything else, so they will stay faithfully devoted to Him and be long-term disciples of Christ, not merely converts with a short shelf life who choose to walk away…
And the HS, through the writer, uses many different approaches and lines of reasoning and examples and warnings to convince his readers that they must stay true to Jesus, they must not give up and turn away…and in today’s passage, this is probably the most intense and serious warning he gives in the entire book…
And here is that warning in a nutshell: the salvation you have received is meant to be a life-long journey of productive discipleship. Do not risk losing it all by neglect, laziness, or turning away from Jesus.
In other words, the salvation that comes from the gospel of Jesus Christ is meant to produce disciples, not just converts. It’s meant to go the distance. It’s meant to produce a life of diligent faith and obedient practice and persevering commitment… the salvation of Jesus Christ is intended to produce lasting spiritual fruit in the lives of His disciples…
So to give that up, to turn away from the faith, from following Jesus, to become a spiritually unproductive person… is to risk losing the blessing of God’s eternal and heavenly rewards…
The clue to understanding this is found in the analogy the writer uses in vv.7-8 about the two fields; the one that produces a crop and receives the blessing of God…and the one that produces only thorns and thistles and is in danger of being cursed and burned…
Jesus on Fruitfulness
Jesus has a lot to say about our salvation leading to fruitful discipleship…
John 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.
What kind of fruit is Jesus talking about? Certainly, the fruit of the Spirit (Ga. 5) love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, self-control…
-fruit that changes our lives…transforms our character
…but it doesn’t stop there… God changes our lives so that He can use us to help other people’s lives be changed…
…the fruit of people’s changed lives…
…the people we encounter who are impacted and transformed by God’s work through us…thru our love, caring, sharing…so that souls are saved, people are served, prayed for, healed, encouraged, comforted…built up, so much more…
So as you can see, according to Jesus, productive discipleship, fruitfulness, is the intended outcome of our salvation…
And earlier in the chapter He gives us the process by which we can become fruitful, productive disciples…and remain fruitful, productive disciples…
-it’s found in vv.5-8…and it’s really simple…it’s all about abiding, remaining…staying connected to the life of Jesus through His word, prayer, His life flowing in us and through us…
So this is what the writer of Heb has in mind when he is issuing this stern warning to his readers…don’t just be a convert…be a disciple…
A Word of Encouragement
Now, notice how the tone changes in vv.9-12…no doubt the writer, realizing he has been coming on pretty strong in these past few verses, switches from a stern warning to a word of encouragement…
So notice how he encourages them in vv.9-12
a. he affirms their sincerity v.9
b. he appreciates their love and service for God v.10
c. looks ahead to the end results v.12
Two Applications
-realizing that we must move beyond simply being a convert we have to ask:
1. to what degree are we growing as productive disciples of JC?
-remembering that we grow into productive, fruit-bearing disciples of Jesus by abiding in Him…firmly connected to the Branch…
…daily prayer and reading of the word…leading a holy life…serving Christ by helping His people (6:10)…connecting with other disciples who will challenge and stretch you and help each other grow…
…to what degree are you growing?
* and if you’re not growing, then why not?
2. to what degree are we helping new converts become disciples?
-that’s so important, because what we often see is people make commitments to Jesus and then in a few months or years, they drift away from church and faith and return to their previous way of life, this time more discouraged and jaded than ever before…
-so you can see how important it is that we have a plan of intentional discipleship in place to not let that happen…
Can We Lose our Salvation?
So, let’s spend the last few minutes of our time dealing with the other question that arises from this passage: can a true Christian lose their salvation?
And if you’ve been in our church for any length of time you’ve heard me say a number of times that as I understand scripture, a true believer cannot lose their salvation. The evidence of scripture leans toward salvation being a gift of God based more on His faithfulness than ours…a work He initiates and accomplishes more than a work we can achieve or earn…it’s more about God holding on to me than me holding on to God…
Salvation in the Bible is based not on works, but on grace. Meaning we can’t earn our way into salvation or work our way into it. It’s a gift of God given to undeserving sinners who sincerely know they need God’s forgiveness and new life.
Scriptures On Eternal Security
Salvation involves “adoption” and “justification”…
2 Cor. 1:22 “…set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”
John 10:28 “I give them eternal life and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my Father’s hand.”
Rm 8:39 “…nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God…”
Phil 1:6 “…He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ…”
So when it comes to the eternal security of the believer, I believe the scriptural evidence in its favor far outweighs the evidence against it.
Now while we cannot lose our salvation, we can certainly forfeit it’s blessings…we can do great damage to our relationship with God…we still possess free will, and if we want to use that to choose to walk away from God, He will not stop us…God will honor the free will He has given to each human being…God forbid that should happen, but I sadly believe it can…
So then what do we do with Heb. 6? How do we understand it? It is a considerably difficult passage and not easily understood.
Here’s how I understand this. In my understanding of the Bible, I believe one of the reasons God has included passages like Heb. 6 and others is to prevent someone like me from getting too complacent in my view of salvation.
If taken to an extreme, the truth of eternal security can lead a person to be lazy, passive and even disobedient, thinking that since their salvation is safe, no matter what, then it doesn’t matter how you live your life…
…since we’re saved by grace, then God will forgive you anyway, so you can coast along until heaven…or sin freely because, after all, your salvation by grace is secure…
God knows human nature…and if given a chance to take the easy route, we will…and that can lead to all kinds of dangers spiritually. So I believe the Lord has to warn us against complacency and false security and using His grace as an excuse for laziness and disobedience…
There is abundant scriptural teaching that warns us against the danger of false salvation and the need to remain faithful to Christ…
Scriptures that Warn About Falling Away
Mt. 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Luke 8:13 Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.
Phil. 2:12 “…continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling…”
2 Cor. 13:5 “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.”
Don’t be lulled into a false security and complacency in your faith, or belief in a false gospel. If you do, you risk becoming an unproductive convert in danger of losing your heavenly rewards…in danger of losing the blessing of God…
Stay fervently committed to being a growing disciple of JC…not motivated by fear of losing your salvation…but motivated by the greatness of Christ’s salvation…
Like v.9 says, God is convinced of better things in your case – things that have to do with salvation…
Things That Have to do With Salvation
And that’s they key: Understanding and responding to Christ’s great salvation will be the thing that keeps us growing and faithful and productive as a disciple of Jesus…
Understanding how much God loves us…so much that He would send His Son to die for us…understanding how valuable we are to Him, so much that Jesus would rather die than spend eternity without us…understanding how much He loves sinners, people like you and me who know we’re messed up and not good enough…and giving them a whole new status as a son and daughter of the Heavenly Father…thru the substitutionary work of Jesus Christ…
…understanding that He willingly endured torture and crucifixion to pay a sin penalty that we had no hope of paying…and all He thought about when He was going through that pain and suffering was you…and you…and you…and me.
That’s the kind of great salvation we have been given…a salvation that great requires a great response from us…
A great salvation and a Great Savior…that’s the reason I want to live for Him… love Him, serve Him, honor Him, obey Him…willingly chose to make Him King of my heart and Lord of my life…
…and become far more than a convert…I want to be a growing disciple…
So, are you a convert or a disciple? I want you to take a stand today and say, “I want to be a disciple of Jesus Christ!”
Who will stand with me right now?