Sermon Audio Jason Velotta

Happy Mother’s Day! This Sunday, we will take a break from Hebrews as we praise God for His gift of Mothers. We will also have baby dedication in the second service. Because of the occasion, we will examine several verses from Proverbs 31, the quintessential passage extolling the virtuous woman (or the excellent wife). This is a very well-known section that is often preached and taught on Mother’s Day. Unfortunately, I was often taught that Proverbs 31 is a checklist of virtuous actions the woman does to be excellent or worthy. If I were a woman or a mother (don’t laugh), Proverbs 31 wouldn’t encourage me or show me the virtue in my worth or calling. It would make me feel unworthy! The woman of Proverbs 31 is the epitome of honor, virtue, wisdom, and strength. Yet, when we look at ourselves, we are confronted with sin, mistakes, and inability. Sunday, we will look at Proverbs 31 a bit differently (“correctly” in my opinion). We will, of course, read Proverbs 31:10-31, but rather than run down the checklist of attributes and measure our worth and value by them, we will focus our attention on v. 28-31, finding that this “excellent wife” or “virtuous woman” is excellent and virtuous not because of all the things she does, but because she fears the Lord. Because she fears the Lord (which makes her “excellent”), she does all the wonderful things in this list. Her actions are not the source of her excellency but the fruit of her fear of the Lord. Proverbs is a book about wisdom, and this woman is presented as the model of wisdom. All her actions reflect previous teachings in Proverbs regarding what the wise do. The book begins by saying, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” and Proverbs ends by showing us this woman’s fear of the Lord expressed in a life of wisdom. She is excellent and virtuous because she fears the Lord, and because of that, we all must take heed. “a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.” (Prov. 31:30).

Zechariah 7 - Danger of Empty Religion

The book of Hebrews contains five incredibly severe warnings that warn readers not to turn from Christ. We have already studied three of these warnings. Sunday, we come to the fourth. Although we must examine these texts in sections because of limited time, Hebrews 10:19-39 is a complete unit and must be read as such. Many spurious interpretations have come from isolating this warning from the surrounding text and ignoring the intent and context of the author. Last week, the author began this section by showing how the reader must apply the truths of Jesus’ perfect sacrifice and priesthood. V. 19-25 said since we who are born again have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, we must 1. Draw near to God with true hearts, 2. Hold Fast to the confession of our hope, and 3. Consider how to stir one another to love and good works, not neglecting to assemble together. These commands are more than just our duty of obedience. They are the means by which God has given us to persevere in following Jesus to the end. After the “Let us” appeals, the author explains why he commands these things. V. 26-27 says, “26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.” We will meticulously study v. 26-31 on Sunday to understand the warning. Yet, after this stern and frightening warning, the author returns to encouragement in v. 32-39, telling the readers that they need endurance, as they showed after first being converted. As with all the other warnings in Hebrews, we will see two ways this warning can be misunderstood. First, many use it to teach that true, born-again Christians may lose the gift of salvation. That is certainly untrue. Second, many misunderstand these warnings by dismissing them as if they do not apply to us because believers are eternally secure. Both of those are misapplications of this text. We cannot trust our own hearts and to do so is folly. We must draw near to God, hold fast to our confession that Jesus is better, and consider how to stir one another to love and good works, not neglecting assembling together. (v. 19-25)



I. The Content Of The Warning (v. 26-27)

(this is where we will spend most of our time)

II. The Reasoning For The Warning (v. 28-29)

III. The Certainty Of The Warning (v. 30-31)

Zechariah 6 - Judgment & The Coming Salvation

Sunday, we will begin the final movement of the book of Hebrews. From 10:19 through the book’s end, the author shows us how we must live in light of the truths he has taught. Through ten chapters, the author has demonstrated from the Old Testament Scriptures that Jesus fulfills God’s covenant promises. He is the perfect High Priest and the perfect sacrifice. Jesus is the priest-king, enthroned at the Father’s right hand. Yet, this rich theological truth is not just for the Hebrew Christians to understand. Jesus’ sufficiency should inform the way we live. The writer repeatedly calls the Hebrew Christians not to turn from Christ, even in tribulation and suffering. Trusting that Jesus truly is better than all other things should draw the Hebrews closer to Christ when the world seems to be crumbling around them. To that end, the writer not only gives the reader exhortations and commands to live faithfully, but his appeals also show how we avail ourselves of the blessings God has provided to help His people persevere. Before giving these commands, Hebrews grounds our response in what Jesus has already given. We are bound to live by the writer’s commands because of the perfect salvation we have already received.

I. Our Responsibility Flows From Our Possession (v. 19-21)

II. Our Responsibility To Draw Near (v. 22)

III. Our Responsibility To Hold Fast Our Confession (v. 23)

IV. Our Responsibility To One Another (v. 24-25)

This Sunday, we will complete the final section in Hebrews’ doctrinal case for the supremacy of Jesus. Throughout the book, the author has given numerous scriptural and theological proofs that Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s covenant promises and the goal to which all the Old Covenant has pointed. We have also been warned several times not to turn away from Christ. In 10:1-18, the author brings the case to a close with four conclusions based on all that has come before. We examined two of them last week in verses 1-10.

I. Our Sacrifices and Offerings Can Never Take Away Sin (v. 1-4)

II. Christ’s Sacrifice Has Sanctified Us Forever (v. 5-10)

This Lord’s Day, we will finish the section with the last two essential truths.

III. Christ’s Sacrifice Perfects Those Being Sanctified (v. 11-14)

IV. Christ’s Sacrifice Is The Only Offering For Sin (v. 15-18)

As we said last week, these four truths are essential for walking in the gospel of Christ when it seems the whole world seeks to turn us away. When our own hearts tempt us to find sufficiency in our works or feel incomplete in our failures, these four truths keep us grounded in the truth. The writer has gone to great lengths to prove Jesus’ superiority and fulfillment of all things, so these concluding truths are essential for us to absorb before moving into his instruction for how we must live in light of them.