Word of Salvation – Vol.12 No.36 – September 1966
The Same Jesus Christ
Sermon by Rev.P. H. Pellicaan on Hebr.13:8
Scripture Reading: Hebr.13:1-9
Psalter Hymnal: 85; 293:3,4. (after the Law); 293:6; 303:6; 233; 448; 493
Beloved Congregation,
It is dangerous to isolate a word of Scripture from its context, to ignore the words that precede it and the words that follow it. If you would do this with our text you would get a general statement without any particular meaning. “He is always the same…!” that is usually not a complimentary saying. It gives the impression that you describe a person who is rather dull. There are never surprising things, you know beforehand what he is going to say and what he is going to do. It is always the same old story. If you isolate this text it is not a very attractive subject to dwell upon.
And that is why I said, it is dangerous to ignore the context. You would arrive at a wrong conclusion.
Because I dare say that Jesus is the most surprising Person we can ever meet. And He’s got surprises in store far exceeding our wildest hopes. It is what Paul wrote to the Ephesians: “Unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, unto Him be the glory in the church.” And so we must have a better look at our text, considering also the context. And I suggest that we look at it from two sides: we look at it from verse 7, the preceding verse, and from verse 9 which follows.
Verse 7 speaks about ministers who had the rule over you, who spoke the Word of God, and whose faith we are urged to follow. We should also consider the end of their conversation. Now what is this all about?
We don’t know who these Hebrews were to whom this epistle is addressed. We don’t know where they lived, and in what circumstances. We do not even know who was the author of this letter. In our Bible we find it under the heading, epistle of Paul, but this is only an addition, it does not belong to the original text, and is most likely wrong. We have to turn to the epistle itself to find out what the position was of these Hebrews, what their problems were, and their needs. We then find several indications that these people were in great difficulties. If we read for instance the words, “able to succour them that are tempted ” we understand that there were temptations. If there is spoken of “grace to help us in time of need” then it is evident that they were having a difficult time. If it is said that they took joyfully the spoiling of their goods, we gather that they were robbed, boycotted, persecuted. The members of this congregation of Hebrews are told that they should remember them that are in bonds, and so, evidently, some members were in prison. It was a church under the cross, persecuted, oppressed, driven into a corner. Seen in that light chapter 11 also becomes very meaningful where we read about the persecutions and tortures that were imposed upon the believers through the ages and where it is shown that despite these afflictions victory was gained by those who put their trust in God.
And now reading again verse 7 we could imagine that the ministers that are mentioned here and who passed away, died, not of a natural death. After all, the church was still very young. The epistle to the Hebrews was written in the year 64 and consequently the church was not older than about 25 years. It is unusual that in such a short period several ministers in one particular congregation would die. There is the possibility that they were martyred. They brought the supreme sacrifice. They died in faith, in the glorious expectation of life eternal. They were enabled by the King to die triumphantly. That same triumphant attitude is expressed in verse 7: the Lord is my Helper, I shall not fear. Fearlessly they entered the gates of death. And that was the end of their conversation. The end also of their preaching. They had spoken the Word of God. They had faithfully discharged their office, and the crown of glory was given to them. A gracious King received them and crowned them. And that King changes not! That is our text. And what great comfort we find here now.
Faithful servants have been received in glory. That’s how it was yesterday, that’s how it is today and that’s how it shall be forever.
Whether you realize it or not, we are all on our way to the most decisive hour of our existence: The hour when our things of this world will lose their importance… when it will be completely immaterial whether you have lived long, and grown old, or short and die young… when it won’t matter any longer if you have been successful in business, or rather a failure…. when it will be utterly unimportant if you have possessed a flash car and a nice home or have been living in a shed, and maybe owned. a pushbike. The hour is coming that you will be standing before God’s throne. That will be the end of your conversation. You won’t have any contact then anymore with other people only with God. You will leave behind your children, your husband or wife, your friends and neighbours. Every tie with others will be broken. This is the end…!
The Hebrews had seen this happen to their ministers; Servants of the Word who did not compromise. They brought the message, regardless of the consequences. They preached fearlessly – and they died fearlessly. They appeared before God’s throne without horror.
And what will happen if WE have to appear there? At this point our text is an exclamation of joy: Jesus Christ, the Same, yesterday, today, forever! It is an interjection, and in these few words we have the pure unadulterated gospel of grace. When that hour will arrive, and our conversation will end, then nothing is said about our good works, our zeal, the sympathy we have always shown toward the church. No, there is only a shout of joy: Jesus Christ, My Saviour, my All!
There is a beautiful illustration of this text in psalm 73. The psalmist is puzzled and upset about the prosperity and the power of wicked, god-less people. They are not troubled, not plagued, they increase riches. Everything they touch seems to turn into gold, whereas the believer is poor and needy. He bitterly complains about that, and in perplexity he asks himself the question, have I cleansed my heart in vain? What is the profit that I have believed? But his doubts were solved when he entered into the sanctuary and understood their end. The end of their conversation. We then read: they were cast down into destruction, they were brought into destruction, they were brought into desolation as in a moment. They were utterly consumed with terrors.
Consider then the difference! On the one hand destruction, desolation, consuming terrors. On the other hand Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, forever. The faithful Saviour who does not change, who does not have second thoughts or a change of mind. He is still the same Saviour who came to this world to seek and to save those who were lost. He is still the merciful Redeemer who was moved with compassion when He saw the multitude as sheep without a shepherd. He is still with us, loving, guiding, saving. Even when our conversation ends He will be there. That is why Scripture can speak so beautifully about the death of believers – they fall asleep in the Lord. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. Of Him it was said by Isaiah: He shall gather the lambs in His arms and carry them in His bosom. And He is still the same!
However, there is more in this text if we look at it from the following verse. Jesus is the same and then in the same breath it is said: be not carried away by divers and strange doctrines.
What doctrines are referred to? Meat is mentioned and you might think that it has to do with Judaism, demanding strict obedience to the ceremonial law concerning clean and unclean meat. However, this is very unlikely for several reasons. We have to understand this as referring to heathen practices, where meat, offered to idols, played a role. And so we have a warning against syncretism, that means: a mixture of Christian element and heathen elements. And then this warning is very much up-to-date right now. In a recent publication of the World Council of Churches we find the statement that there are “redemptive influences” in Buddhism, in the Islam and so on. In these religions God has been working for ages already, and missionaries should not make the fatal blunder of proclaiming that these heathen religions are all wrong, and that Christianity is right. That should not happen, according to this publication, but we should enter into “a dialogue”, a conversation, and missionaries should start off by listening and learning. After all it may become obvious that these so-called heathen know more about God than we Christians do!
It is in fact a Freemason idea: Christianity is just one branch of the original religion in the same way as Buddhism and other religions. They are all sprouting out of the same root, and that original root is preserved by freemasonry…!
These are the strange doctrines and there is quite a diversity of them. Be not carried away with them – we read. Why not?
Because Jesus Christ is the same! He is still the same as the One Who said, nobody can come to the Father but by me. He still says that!
And if He is the same, then it is quite evident that there is no need to “re-think” the gospel, to “re-interpret” the message of the church. The apostle Paul has consistently warned the churches that there is a perversion of the gospel that may come from people who are very much trusted and esteemed. Paul even included himself when he said: Though we or an angel of heaven should preach another gospel than we have preached, let him be accursed. Those are very strong and sharp words. They are not so popular nowadays. It is not nice, not kind to say things like that. They are intolerant. And in many circles intolerance is the only recognized sin…! Yes, Paul was intolerant in the same way as truth is intolerant. Truth cannot compromise with the lie. After all, what fellowship has light with darkness? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols, or with strange doctrines? The vital question is and remains: what do you think of Christ? Has He changed? Is He still the Same? Even in this 20th century with all the wonderful progress, and marvellous inventions?
Is it true that since we now know the first principles of space travel, the gospel is out-lived, out-moded? Don’t we need a Saviour anymore? Don’t we need pardon for our sins? Has the Holy Spirit failed in guiding the church in all truth? Has He revealed to us now that our Lord was obviously mistaken when He spoke about heaven and hell as He did? These are some of the strange doctrines we are faced with nowadays, and the Bible has told us clearly that these strange and divers doctrines would try to supplant the wonderful gospel of Jesus and Him crucified. There is however no gospel apart from Jesus Christ. All the rest is quicksand, treacherous and dangerous.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. It is a gospel that has survived every attack, persecution and the powers of satan and hell. It is stronger than human pride, wiser than human wisdom. And it does not need rethinking, re- interpretation. It only wants to be believed. And it is not a matter of having a set of convictions, of adopting a certain attitude, following a special way of life. No, it is much more than that. It is centred round a living Saviour, Who is with us all the days, and Who is the Same forever. And there is no other name given under heaven whereby we must be saved. And you can either believe it or reject it. You can’t bargain or strike a deal accepting some and ignoring the rest. You can’t divide Jesus Christ. He is your Saviour or He isn’t. Oh I know, you may have different ideas; your whole outlook may have changed. That is nothing unusual. However: Jesus changes not – never. And so there is only one solution: YOU change your idea’s, your outlook. That change we usually call conversion. The word usually used for this term means literally: a change of mind. If you are converted, everything becomes different, your valuations, your purposes, your methods.
Does that mean that to be a Christian you have to be conservative? To be a conservative means that you are a Bible- believer, but I reckon that the word conservative is not a very fortunate expression. I would say that a Bible-believing Christian is progressive. For the very reason that a Christian is someone who follows Jesus. And our Lord never was conservative He was progressive. He brought new wine, and demanded also new containers for it.
The gospel is never outmoded, the only comfort never grows stale. And all the time there are new opportunities, new tasks, new responsibilities, new light, new comfort. But it always has the same source, it is built on the same foundation, it always has the same centre: Jesus Christ, the Same, yesterday, today, forever! That is the rock on which the church is built, that is our only comfort in life and death. It is our doctrine, our message of salvation to be preached to all creatures till He comes. And even then this gospel will not become a thing of the past, for it will be the new song in heaven in ever-new exultation. He is the true Witness, He never changes. And He will do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think. To Him be the glory in the church!
Amen.