[I couldn't get it into an outline form so I apologize for that]
THis is the sermon I am preaching on Sunday night. I thought I'd share my outline here and see what comments anyone wanted to share about it. I am being as nice as I am about The Purpose Driven Life in it because there are many members in our congregation who are really into it, and I don't want to turn them off to hearing truth if I say something against it.
I used the Holman Christian Standard Bible as my text as I prepared my outline, so I will quote that first so you know where I am getting my ideas and such.
We have a great deal to say about this, and it's difficult to explain, since you have become slow to understand. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of God's revelation. You need milk, not solid food. Now everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced with the message about righteousness, because he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature--for those whose senses have been trained to distinguish between good and evil. Therefore, leaving the elementary message about the Messiah, let us go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, faith in God, teaching about ritual washings, laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And we will do this if God permits. For it is impossible to renew to repentance those who were once enlightened, who tasted the heavenly gift, became companions with the Holy Spirit, tasted God's good word and the powers of the coming age, and who have fallen away, because, to their own harm, they are recrucifying the Son of God and holding Him up to contempt. For ground that has drunk the rain that has often fallen on it, and that produces vegetation useful to those it is cultivated for, receives a blessing from God. But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and about to be cursed, and will be burned at the end. (Hebrews 5:11-6:8 HCSB)
A Call to Endure
Hebrews 5:11-6:8
I. This is not meant to be a bash Rick Warren and The Purpose Driven Life sermon. My goal is to expose the lack of maturity in the modern American church and to make the consequences of that immaturity known.
II. The Purpose Driven Life A. The five purposes of the Christian life 1. "You Were Planned for God's Pleasure" 2. "You Were Formed for God's Family" 3. "You Were Created to Become Like Christ" 4. "You Were Shaped for Serving God" 5. "You Were Made for A Mission" (The Purpose Driven Life. Zondervan. 2002. Pp. 7-8) B. On the surface and in practice these are not bad things at all. C. All Warren has done is boil the Christian life down to the bear essentials of what he believes it means to be a Christian.
III. The issue is not ultimately with Rick Warren and his book - The issue is with the American church A. The Purpose Driven Life took the country by storm B. As the cover states, "The # 1 New York Times Bestseller" – It has sold over 20 million copies and is in about 20 languages C. If you want to be a good Christian, you need to read The Purpose Driven Life - This is where the troubles begin 1. Christians have turned this book into the new Bible 2. While Warren backs everything he says with Scripture, random Christians run around backing what they say with Warren 3. This should not be the case
IV. "You have become slow to understand" – Hebrews 5:11 A. The writer here wants to tell these people about Jesus being the great high priest, but he can't because the people have become slow to understand B. Their minds have become dull as has their sense of hearing C. The way we become "slow to understand" is by not using our brains 1. God gave us brains for a reason 2. He wants us to use them 3. God wants His people to be a thinking people
V. "You need milk, not solid food" – 5:12 A. The writer is here talking about a people who should be teaching, yet they themselves need to be taught B. And they need to be taught "again the basic principles of God’s revelation" C. These people have become so deafened by silliness that they have forgotten what the basic tenants of Scripture are 1. Doesn’t this sound a lot like today? 2. People have become so obsessed with being "purpose driven" that they have forgotten the importance of being "Spirit driven" 3. Their focus is off of that which really matters
VI. Milk vs. solid food – 5:13-14 A. Those living on the "milk" of the word 1. Are inexperienced with the message about righteousness 2. Are infants B. Those living on the "solid food" 1. Are mature 2. Can distinguish between good and evil – Philippians 1:9-11 "The maturity needed to grasp Christ’s priestly ministry is not intellectual sophistication, but spiritual discernment arising from consistent obedience to God’s will." – R. C. Sproul (The Reformation Study Bible ESV. Ligonier Ministries. 2005. Pg. 1783)
VII. What are the basics of Christianity really? – 6:1-2 A. Repentance from dead works B. Faith in God C. Teaching about ritual washings D. Laying on of hands E. The resurrection of the dead F. Eternal judgment G. Proving the point made in verse 12, the writer here points to things that the American church would say are "the deep things". – We have become "slow to understand" 1. This is not the fault of Rick Warren 2. Our culture is enamored with the simple things – Things that make them feel good 3. The Purpose Driven Life is VERY encouraging, and they don’t want to move on to something that might not be so encouraging H. God permitted the writer to move into deeper things – 6:3
VIII. The danger of falling away – 6:4-8 A. This passage is not saying that we can lose our salvation – Our eternal salvation is secure 1. John 10:28-29 2. Romans 8:29-30 3. The Westminster Confession: They, whom God hath accepted in his Beloved, effectually called, and sanctified by his Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved. B. This passage IS saying, though, that it is possible to fall away C. I believe this passage to be speaking of a body of believers – a church. I will explain this more later. D. The kind of people it is "impossible to renew to repentance" 1. Those who have once been enlightened – 6:4 a. The Greek word rendered "enlightened" here is the word "photizo" which means "to make to see" b. These people have in fact seen the truth 2. Those who have tasted the heavenly gift – 6:4 3. Those why have become a companion with the Holy Spirit a. Literally, this would read, "sharers of the Holy Spirit" b. The Greek word rendered "sharers" is the word "metochos" which means "a participant or partner" c. I take this to be speaking of someone who is truly saved 4. Those who have tasted God’s good word and the powers of the coming age – 6:5 a. ESV renders this "the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come" b. These people have experienced the power of the Bible and the working of the Holy Spirit c. They are true Christians 5. Those who have fallen away – 6:6 E. Why is it impossible to renew these people to repentance? 1. They are recrucifying the Son of God – 6:6 2. They are holding Him up to contempt – 6:6
IX. Why I think this passage is speaking of a church A. We know that an individual who is saved will persevere – 2 Corinthians 9:9 1. At our salvation, we were given Christ’s righteousness 2. Since Christ is God, His righteousness in us will endure forever B. The local church is not given this same promise C. Why I make this controversial statement is found in the next 2 verses
X. The kind of church that doesn’t fall away – 6:7 A. The ground imagery 1. Used in Scripture to portray God’s people 2. We often use ground imagery in the same way to speak of a church B. The rain imagery 1. Used in Scripture to portray the Spirit of God 2. We use rain imagery in the same way C. The kind of church that endures 1. One that is Holy Spirit saturated 2. Produces useful fruit
XI. The kind of church that does fall away A. One that doesn’t produce anything useful – 6:8 B. A church can be as purpose driven as it wants to be, but if it isn’t producing useful fruit, than it has a judgment resting upon it 1. It is about to be cursed 2. It will be burned at the end
XII. A call to perseverance A. The "purpose driven" church model isn’t all bad B. But this model is a man-made model C. The church exists for the Christian, not for the non-Christian 1. Christ died to purify His Bride – Ephesians 5:25-27 2. OT – Only the priest could enter the temple (priest = God’s chosen) 3. Who are we to change this? D. Too many church are producing good people rather than Godly Christians E. God is calling us to break this trend and do what He has called us to do 1. The Great Commission assumes that we are going somewhere – "having gone" or "after going" 2. The sharing of the gospel should be happening outside those doors F. As a church, let us endure in the task that God has placed on us – To go into all the world making disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything He has commanded us. He is with us and will see us to the end. We have no need to fear.
Last edited by Kalled2Preach; Fri May 13, 20052:31 PM.
