Gospel Bible Baptist Church

The Heart Established with Grace
Hebrews 13:8-9

Introduction

Church leaders come and go. Though they serve the Lord faithfully, and left a good example to their flock worth remembering, some died early. Others left the ministry for some other reasons. Some started out well but ended so badly. Why? Because they fell into temptation. Some because they changed their doctrinal stand which cause the church to be divided and believers to stumble even carried away by wrong teachings. Our text speaks of the changelessness of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and warning not to be carried away by strange doctrine.

I. Christ unchangeable (Heb. 13:8)
A. Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. This verse speaks of Christ’s immutability.
1. Immutability according to Webster means unchangeableness; the quality that renders change or alteration impossible; invariableness. Immutability is an attribute of God
B. Scriptural Proofs:
1. Psalm 102:26-27 They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.
2. Malachi 3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
3. Hebrews 1:12 And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
4. Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
5. James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
C. The immutability of Christ means that as God, His nature is absolutely unchangeable. God remains forever the same. Jesus is the never changing Saviour in this always changing world. Christ is the changeless, unshakable, firm foundation for our witness. How true is the Hymn “As thou hast been, thou forever will be. Great is thy faithfulness”

Illustration/Application: Jesus’ Name In “I.H.S.”
A familiar monogram is “I.H.S.” These three letters are frequently taken to signify the Latin words, Jesus Hominum Salvator (Jesus the Saviour of men), and such were introduced into the Latin Church.
This, however fit and beautiful it may be, is an afterthought. The letters are abbreviated form of the transliterated word ‘iesus,’ being the Greek form of the name Jesus.
In the National Gallery may be seen a picture by Moretto, in which St. Bernardino is holding up a circle in which I.H.S. is inscribed, and the thought suggested is “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever.”—James Burns Encyclopedia of 15,000 Illustrations: Signs of the Times.

Illustration/Application: Unchanging
Repenting means revising one’s judgment and changing one’s plan of action. God never does this; he never needs to, for his plans are made on the basis of a complete knowledge and control which extends to all things past, present, and future, so that there can be no sudden emergencies or unlooked-for developments to take him by surprise. “The counsel of the Lord stands for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations” (Ps. 33:11). What he does in time, he planned from eternity. And all that he planned in eternity, he carries out in time. And all that he has in his Word committed himself to do, will infallibly be done. Thus, we read of the “unchangeable character of his purpose” to bring believers into full enjoyment of their promised inheritance, and of the immutable oath by which he confirmed his counsel to Abraham, the archetypal believer, both for Abraham’s own assurance and also for others (Heb. 6:17–19). So, it is with all God’s announced intentions. They do not change. No part of his eternal plan changes.
It is true that there is a group of texts (Gen. 6:6–8; 1 Sam. 15:11; 2 Sam. 24:16; Joel 2:13–14; Jn. 3:10) which speak of God as repenting. The reference in each case is to a reversal of God’s previous treatment of particular men, consequent upon their reaction to that treatment. But there is no suggestion that this reaction was not foreseen, or that it took God by surprise, and was not provided for in his eternal plan. No change in his eternal purpose is implied when he begins to deal with a person in a new way.
Your Father Loves You by James Packer, Harold Shaw Publishers, 1986, page for January 4

II. Doctrinal Stability (Heb. 13:9)
A. Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines…. (Hebrews 13:9)
1. Doctrine simply means teaching, biblically speaking, it refers to sound teaching based on the Word of God.
2. “Divers and strange doctrines” are false doctrines because they are different from what was taught by the Apostles that was written in the Bible. (Rom. 16:17). They are contrary to God’s Word. The NT contains many warnings against false teachings and false teachers (Acts 20:29, Rom. 16:17, 2 Cor. 10:4-5, Eph. 4:14, 2 Tim. 3:16)
3. Grace is the unmerited favor of God shown to the sinner. In the matter of salvation, Grace is the undeserved kindness God shows to the sinner in declaring him just. Salvation is always by grace through faith alone in Christ alone. (Eph. 2:8-9).
4. Some Hebrew believers were considering going back to Jewish laws that governed foods. This is legalism which is the addition of works to the Gospel of grace. Anything which adds to the gospel is another gospel (Gal. 1:6-9). The Apostle Paul is warning them that these dietary regulations would not profit them spiritually because they never profited the Jews spiritually! The dietary laws impressed people as being spiritual, but they were only shadows of the reality that we have in Christ (Col. 2:16-23).

Illustration/Application: C. S. Lewis
What makes Christianity different from all the other religions of the world? Years ago, that very question was discussed at a conference. Some of the participants argued that Christianity is unique in teaching that God became man. But someone objected, saying that other religions teach similar doctrines. What about the resurrection? No, it was argued, other faiths believe that the dead rise again. The discussion grew heated.
C. S. Lewis, a strong defender of Christianity, came in late, sat down, and asked, “What’s the rumpus about?” When he learned that it was a debate about the uniqueness of Christianity, he immediately commented, “: Oh, that’s easy. It’s grace.”
How right he was! The very heart of the gospel is the supreme truth that God accepts us with no conditions whatever when we put our trust in the atoning sacrifice of His incarnate Son. Although we are helplessly sinful, God in grace forgives us completely. It’s by His infinite grace that we are saved, not by moral character, works of righteousness, commandment-keeping, or churchgoing. When we do nothing else but accept God’s total pardon, we receive the guarantee of eternal life (1 Tim 3:4–7).
Good news indeed. What a gospel! What a Savior! – VCG

III. Hearts established by grace (Heb. 13:9b)
A. The word heart is found 833 times in 765 verses in the Bible.
B. In the Bible the heart is a term for the center of man’s thinking, emotions, and will. The heart is often referred to in scripture as the seat of the affections and of the passions, also of wisdom and understanding — hence we read of ‘the wise in heart,’ The Lord gave to Solomon ‘a wise and understanding heart (1 Kings 3:12). It is the centre of a man’s being. But before the deluge God’s verdict of man was that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Gen. 6:5
C. False teachers want to lead Hebrew Christians back into a religion of outward forms and ceremonies. Also, lots of the Hebrew Christians to whom Paul was writing still clings to the Old Testament ceremonial worship. To make the situation worse there were among them teachers who taught and promoted obedience to the law.
D. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats… The word established means, “to be set; fixed firmly; founded… ” Paul wants their hearts to be right.
E. And how is the heart to be established? The heart must be established with grace. Not with Old Testament ceremonies, meats, temple sacrifices, rituals, and standards. Real Christianity is lived on the inside, within the heart, not by external display. Legalism is always boasting about the outside.
F. Believers’ hearts and minds are strengthened through a knowledge of the gospel and a personal relationship our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, not through external rituals and ceremonials (the old Mosaic covenant) which has already been abolished.

IV. Conclusion:
Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ doesn’t change and will never change. The heart represents the mental, emotional, and volitional aspects of mankind. Christianity deals with the internal needs of fallen humanity, something legalistic Judaism could not do