Post Sermon Thoughts // May 17, 2020
I saw a contradiction between my Sunday school lesson and my sermon when I listened to them both in preparation for putting them online.
In the Sunday school lesson, I said, “Our sinning goes to the uttermost, but His saving goes to the uttermost. And his saving always outpaces and overwhelms our sinning, because he always lives to intercede for us.”
In the Hebrews 3 sermon I said, “I will experience hell if I allow myself to drift enough…to disbelieve enough…to be hardened enough.”
How does one reconcile these two seemingly contradictory statements?
First, I could have articulated the quote from the sermon better. That sermon was preached in the context of eleven other sermons from Hebrews, but nonetheless the above statement could have used independent clarification/explanation. However, though these two statements are contradictory on the surface, I believe they are complementary at a deeper level.
For the believer who is aware, heart-broken, grieved, and undone by his sin, the words, “His saving always outpaces and overwhelms our sinning” is the needed word. For the believer who is disregarding, dismissive, counting lightly, and unrepentant over his sin, the warnings of Hebrews (from the sermon) is the needed word.
For the unrepentant, unbelieving, and hardened believer there ought to be alarm. The alarm is that continuing in this state could be evidence of fundamental lostness. What I was trying to say by personalizing “I will experience hell if I allow myself to drift enough…” is that though I believe in eternal security, the outpacing of God’s grace over our sin, and His sufficient intercession, I believe that the recipients of such glorious hope are those who fight drifting, unbelief, and hardness of heart. A lack of assurance ought to grow if we couldn’t care less about these things.
Therein, though I could have been clearer, I believe the two statements are reconcilable and are each a fit word to be given to people in different states of heart.