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But
remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you
endured a great conflict of sufferings, partly, by being made
a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and
partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated. For
you showed sympathy to the prisoners, and accepted joyfully
the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves
a better possession and an abiding one. (NASB) Heb. 10:32-34 |
It is possible to believe and yet not really believe. There is such
a thing as vain belief. Do you really believe? Just because a person
says he or she is a Christian does not mean he or she really is one!
Just because a person starts off‘with Jesus” does not mean
he or she has true faith. The trials of life can cause us to grow
and they can reveal our true faith. The worst pitfall of a trial is
that it causes us to struggle in our faith. The beauty of a trial
is that it may reveal the truth about our faith! Trials are sweet
and sour.
Call
To Trust.
The trials these folks were experiencing had caused them to stop spiritually
growing (Heb. 5:11-14). They should have been teachers, but they were
still baby Christians. They had ministered to other Christians (Heb.
6:10), but many of them had stopped going to church regularly (Heb.
10:24-25). They were not growing Christians. Their trials had caused
them to stop growing. Why? Were they not real? Or, was their faith
in Jesus being tested? These are the only two choices! So after having
warned them, the Holy Spirit now encourages them.
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Therefore,
do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.
For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the
will of God, you may receive what was promised. FOR YET IN A
VERY LITTLE WHILE, HE WHO IS COMING WILL COME, AND WILL NOT
DELAY. BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH; AND IF HE SHRINKS
BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM. But we are not of those
who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith
to the preserving of the soul. (NASB) Heb. 10:35-39 |
They needed to “hold on” and not shrink back. The Greek
word for “shrink back” means “to stop doing something
because you are fearful it has little value.” They were afraid
they had made a mistake. They were afraid that coming to Jesus was
a mistake.
Conclusion.
Trials
are sweet and sour. They reveal the truth about our faith - real or
vain! History
tells us that the emperor Valens sent a messenger to Eusebius, an
early church father, and threatened to take his possessions by force,
to torture him, banish him and even kill him. Eusebius responded with,
“One does not need to fear confiscation, who has nothing to lose,
nor banishment, to who heaven is his country; nor torments, when his
body can be destroyed at one blow; nor death, which is the only way
to set him at liberty from sin and sorrow.” Eusebius’ could
face future trials with victory in his heart because he had faith
in his mind. He did not shrink back because he “knew he had made
the right choice.” He was depending on Jesus. His unchanged faith
in Jesus was the mark of true faith.
How
is your faith? Is it real or empty? Do trials cause you to question
God or what He has said in the Bible? Have you stopped going to church,
stopped studying the Bible, quit praying, or are you faithfully believing
Him?
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