Author Archives: John Sanzone

Aug 6, 2023. Hebrews 4:1-10

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COMPLETE DELIVERANCE. Hebrews 4:1-10. 8/06/23. #13.

1 Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. 2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. 3 For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: “So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest,’ ” although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; 5 and again in this place: “They shall not enter My rest.” 6 Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, 7 again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said: “Today, if you will hear His voice,

Do not harden your hearts.” 8 For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. 9 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. 10 For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.

1. To start is not to finish

                a. The journey to becoming a Christian is compared here to Israel’s journey from Egypt to Canaan

                                a1. Just as learning about Jesus is a prelude to receiving Jesus, walking through the Sinai Desert was a transition to arriving into the Promised Land

                                a2. Leaving Egypt didn’t guarantee entering into Canaan

                b. In order for Israel to safely arrive at their destination, they had to obey God

                                a1. They heard God’s words, but did not heed

                                a2. A contrast is made between preaching and hearing (receiving and obeying)

                                a3. Not those who left Egypt would enter into God’s rest, but those who obeyed him

2. Joshua could not save them

                a. Joshua was chosen to be the leader after Moses

                                a1. Joshua led and instructed, but could not force compliance on the part of the people

                                a2. Jesus offers salvation, but doesn’t force it on anyone

                b. Only “preaching mixed with faith” produces salvation, for an unheeded message is ineffectual

                c. Joshua 24 Joshua tells the people that he could answer only for his own salvation

                                a1. The Jews still carried idols with them that they had brought out of Egypt

                                a2. Ezekiel 20 9 centuries later, God tells Judah that they had never left their idols from Egypt

                d. If the Jews would not obey Joshua who led to physical deliverance, they also did not listen to Jesus, who offered spiritual deliverance

                e. When preaching falls on deaf ears, no chance occurs in the hearer

                                a1. Ephesians 2:1-10 it is grace mixed with faith that produces salvation

                                a2. As with Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Paul, the warning given must be heeded to be saved

                f. Joshua spoke of a different day

                                a1. Joshua 22:4-5, Joshua offered a blessing of rest, but only on those who obeyed God

                                a2. Joshua knew that God’s permanent rest was still future

3. God’s completed work

                a. God had completed His work of creation and rested

                                a1. Rested = ceased from labor (everything was finished and very God – Genesis 1:31)

                                a2. Man was given a perfect body, soul, and environment

                b. When man fell, he left God’s perfect rest

                c. Through Jesus Christ, God offers to return believers to His perfect rest that He completed

                                a1. The perfect creation is a type of God’s eternal perfection that cannot be marred

                                a2. Believers enter into an eternal rest which is free of burdens, labor, trials, and strife

                d. Joshua only could offer rest from warfare, but Jesus offers eternal rest for the weary embattled soul

                e. Psalm 95:7-8 David repeated the same warning

                f. All that separates us from His rest is resisting Him

Key verse: Ephesians 2:1-101 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Jul 30, 2023. Hebrews 3:16-19

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REJECTED BLESSING. Hebrews 3:16-19. 7/30/2023. #12.

16 For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? 17 Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

1. Sowing & Reaping

                a. Spiritual concepts are not that difficult to grasp

                                a1. Those who believe in Christ are saved & those who do not believe are lost

                                a2. Those who receive the message of God are blessed & those who reject are judged

                b. Hebrews asks 3 questions

                                a1. Who rebelled, even after they heard?

                                a2. Was it not those who sinned who died in the desert?

                                a3. To whom did God swear that they could not enter His rest in the Promised Land?

                c. The answers to the 3 questions are obvious

                                a1. All those (except a small few) who came out of Egypt rebelled

                                a2. It was the people who sinned against God who died in the wilderness

                                a3. God would not allow any of the rebellious generation (except Joshua & Caleb) to enter into His rest

                d. God cannot bless rebellion

                                a1. The people who stubbornly held onto sin & who refused to yield to God were punished

                                a2. God gave every opportunity for the Jews to understand His ways & will, & to obey

                                a3. God was careful to explain both the blessing of what He offered & consequence of rejecting the offer

2. Clearly seen, heard, & felt

                a. Jews clearly heard God’s direction & commands

                                a1. Provided the Law & detailed instructions

                                a2. Taught what they must & must not do

                                a3. Every aspect of life was covered in detail (worship, diet, Tabernacle, rank & order, prohibitions, civil law, leadership…)

                b. Jews saw the verifying miracles

                                a1. The plagues on Egypt, Moses’s rod turning into the serpent, death of the Egyptian

                                       firstborn sons…

                                a2. The Red Sea opened, Pharaoh’s army drowned, manna from heaven, water from rocks, defeat of Amalekites, manifestation of God on Mt. Sinai

                c. Jews clearly saw God’s anger

                                a1. Thousands were destroyed after the Golden Calf fiasco, rebellion against Moses & Aaron, complaining in the wilderness, the Baal Peor orgy…

                                a2. Yet, they still refused to repent

3. The anatomy of unbelief

                a. 2 kinds of unbelief

                                a1. Unbelief due to lack of evidence or desire

                                a2. Refusal to belief despite strong evidence

                b. The Jews had an abundance of strong evidence

                                a1. Saw the miracles & God leading them via a pillar of fire & cloud

                                a2. Heard His commands & saw His wrath

                c. To choose not to believe in the face of overwhelming evidence is not unbelief, but rebellion against God

                                a1. 1 SAM. 15:17-26 rebellion is as the sin of idolatry & stubbornness is as witchcraft

                                a2. Heb. warns that stubbornly holding onto OT Law was just like rebellion of Exodus Jews

                d. Rebellion in any form (holding onto false belief, sin, disobedience, bad habits…) is like idolatry

                e. God is gracious but still angry at sin (Eph. 4:30)

                f. Unbelief & disobedience are both rebellion

Key verse:  1 Samuel 15:17-26

17 So Samuel said, “When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel? 18 Now the Lord sent you on a mission, and said, ‘Go, and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ 19 Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the Lord?”

20 And Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21 But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”

22 So Samuel said:

“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,

As in obeying the voice of the Lord?

Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,

And to heed than the fat of rams.

23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,

And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.

Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,

He also has rejected you from being king.”

24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. 25 Now therefore, please pardon my sin, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord.”26 But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.”

Jul 23, 2023. Hebrews 3:12-15

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THE HARD HEART. Hebrews 3:12-15. 7/25/2023. #11.

Hebrews 3:12-15

New King James Version

12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; 13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, 15 while it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

1. Take heed

                a. “Beware” literally is “look out” or “watch”

                                a1. There are many spiritual pitfalls in life

                                a2. Paul told the Philippians to work out their salvation with fear… (Philippians 2:12)

                                a3. 2 Pet. 1:10 make certain of election

                b. Important to be aware of spiritual estate

                c. A constant guard and on watch

                d. Heb. is concerned that since converted Jews were holding onto their Law & traditions, forsaking the grace of Christ, that they were not truly saved at all

                e. 1 Jn. 2:19 cannot lose salvation, but must truly be saved to begins with

2. Many false conversions

                a. Unfortunately many come to Christ as a whim or to fit in, but were never truly converted

                b. Several examples in Scripture of false saints

                                a1. Seed falling on thorny & stony soil

                                a2. MT. 25:1-13 ten virgins & the bride groom

                                a3. Man with wrong clothes at the wedding

                                a4. Mt 7 men who did many works in Jesus’ name, but Jesus never knew them

                                a5. Jn. 15 false branches on the vine

                c. Heb. 6:1-8 there are those who “taste of the Holy Spirit” but do not partake of the Holy Spirit

                d. Many have a comfortable familiarity with the church & Christians, but are not truly saved

                                a1. They enjoy coming to church services & even helping in ministry

                                a2. There is no true permanent commitment to Christ (no vibrant relationship with Him, His Word, or His will)

                e. Hebrews was concerned that the Jewish believers’ unwillingness to change indicated lack of saving relationship with Christ

                                a1. A hard (dried up) heart is one not affected by the Gospel of Christ

                                a2. People can deceive themselves that they are truly saved when they are not

3. The big IF

                a. If we hear the Lord’s voice & heed Him, we are His

                                a1. Our hearts do not rebel against him

                                a2. We love to know & obey His Word

                                a3. Heb. 10:24-25 we love to assemble with God’s people

                                a4. Love to do God’s will

                b. If when endure to the end we will be saved

                                a1. Holding the beginning of our confidence to the end  (no leaving the faith)

                                a2. Lk. 9:57-62 no man having put their hand to the plow & looks back is fit for the kingdom

                                a3. Mt. 24:11-14 he who endures to the end will be saved

                c. Being a believer is not a passing fade, a phase, an experiment, or a cultural preference

                                a1. True belief endures doubts, hardships, challenges, attacks, threats, trials, temptations, & failures

                                a2. There are many who begin walking toward salvation, but get sidetracked or embrace a counterfeit belief system

                d. Not all church goers are believers (only a few are)

Key verse:  Matthew 25:1-131 “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. 6 “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ 7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. 11 “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ 12 But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

Jul 16, 2023. Hebrews 3:7-11

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HEAR GOD’S VOICE. Hebrews 3:7-11. 7/16/2023. #10.

7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice, 8 Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness, 9 Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And saw My works forty years. 10 Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways.’ 11 So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ”

1. The voice of God

                a. This is a quote from PS. 95:7-11

                                a1. Israel heard God but did not heed God

                                a2. To hear (akouo – to understand and respond) means to receive and act upon

                b. Do not harden (sklero – to dry out) one’s heart (to become austere or harsh)

                                a1. We have a choice to seek God and soften your heart or rebel and harden our hearts

                                a2. The evidence of God, His grace, and His will were very clear and obvious

                c. Repeatedly rebellious Israel was punished but they still continued to complain and rebel

                                a1. God was angry with Israel and finally made them walk the desert for 40 years until the Exodus gen. died off

                                a2. Through refusing to obey God, he could not bless them with the good land, but cursed them with a desert

                d. God will not bargain with us or go our way

                                a1. Job 38 God does not seek or receive our counsel or demands

                                a2. We are to submerge our will to God’s

                e. A stubborn heart is prideful and self-destructive

                f. Jewish believers were being stubborn

2. The warning repeated

                a. God was saying that the Jewish believers

                                a1. God used the illustration of His dealing with Israel in the wilderness as a warning not to be hard like their them

                                a2. To put God to the test is to invite judgment upon oneself

                b. A hard heart defies God

                                a1. Source of a hard heart is sinful pride

                                a2. One chooses to harden one’s own heart

                                                b1. Obeys the voice of willfulness

                                                b2. Follows the habits of rebellion

                                a3. Hardness tests God

                                a4. One cannot know the ways of God when seeking to go one’s own way (cannot serve

                                       two masters)

                c. Even though Jewish Christians were taught the way of God, they still held onto their traditions and Law

                                a1. God warned them that they will suffer loss if they tried to add onto the Gospel

                                a2. A hybrid of Law and grace would pollute and degrade what Christ had done

                d. When we hold onto traditions, rituals, rules, and misconceptions not found in Scripture, we cheapen the grace of Christ and replace faith with customs

3. To hear the voice of God

                a. God speaks to us today through His Word

                                a1. As we incorporate the Word into our lives, the Spirit can use the Word to lead us

                                a2. A predetermination to obey the Word and the leading of Spirit will lead to faithfulness

                b. Important to drop what we are holding onto that is neither biblical, not godly

                c. Must seek the voice of God and the ways of God

                                a1. Fallen state leads to a hard heart

                                a2. Be aware of own sinful nature and control it

                d. Most believers do not fully seek the voice of God

Jul 2, 2023. Hebrews 3:1-6

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FAITHFUL IN ALL THINGS. Hebrews 3:1-6. 7/02/2023. #9.

1 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, 2 who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house. 3 For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house. 4 For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God. 5 And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, 6 but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.

1. Holy family

                a. We are beyond being servants & disciples

                                a1. Writer calls us holy brethren (separated as part of the family of God)

                                a2. Partakers (metochoi, sharers, common partners, community) in the heavenly calling (appointed for a divine purpose)

                b. Jesus not only provided a means of salvation, but a means of adoption into the heavenly family

                c. Jesus is the means by which believers are adopted

                                a1. Apostle = one sent on a mission (apostolon)

                                                b1. Jesus was sent by God (the Father) on mission to pay for sins of mankind

                                                a2. Jesus then sent the Apostles to share the news of Jesus’s sacrifice that paid for man’s sins

                                a2. High Priest = one who makes intercession for believers (Rom. 8:34)

                d. Jesus was appointed (poiesanti, having been made) by God for this task (task was made for Jesus)

                                a1. God assigned His Son to pay for sins

                                a2. Jesus faithfully fulfilled His assignment

2. Just like Moses, but greater

                a. Moses was highly regarded as the Law giver

                b. Moses was faithful to his task

                                a1. He led the people out of Egypt

                                a2. Moses obeyed God (except for the rock incident where he did not glorify God)

                                a3. Moses received the Law from God

                c. Jesus was faithful to his task, but was worthy of far more glory than Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-22)

                                a1. Moses’s ministry prepared the people for the coming of Christ’s ministry

                                a2. Moses came as a servant of God, but Christ came as Lord of all

3. The home builder is greater than the home

                a. Though Moses established the system of the Law given to him by God, the giver of the Law was far greater than the Law

                b. The house has less honor than its builder

                                a1. God built the earth, universe, & all created things, so is greater than creation

                                a2. Jesus created all things, & therefore, is superior to all that is created

                c. Moses was created by the Lord, so is inferior to Him

                                a1. The Jews highly regarded Moses, but the Lord is greater than Moses & thus superseded both Moses & the Law

                                a2. Since Christ is both the home builder & the home owner, he is greater than the home

                d. Confidence in Moses is misplaced, for Moses can’t do anything for us

                                a1. The confidence of the Jews had to be transferred from Moses to Christ

                                a2. Since Christ fulfilled the Law, the Law has no binding impact on us

                e. “If we hold fast to this confidence”

                                a1. This does not mean that we can lose our salvation if we do not hold fast to Christ

                                a2. I John 2:19 those who drift away from the faith never were in Christ to begin with, for they would have remained in it to end

                f. Our hope, confidence, & joy are in Christ alone

Key verse: Deuteronomy 18:15-22

15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear, 16 according to all you desired of the Lord your God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, nor let me see this great fire anymore, lest I die.’ 17 “And the Lord said to me: ‘What they have spoken is good. 18 I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. 19 And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him. 20 But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ 21 And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’— 22 when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.