Jesus, The Only Way

If you have your Bibles, let’s go to Hebrews chapter 6 this morning. Hebrews chapter 6. Can we do this this morning? Can we just lift our face to the Lord, and let’s just pray. Jesus, we welcome You. Lord, we ask that You would speak to us through Your Word. Your Word is life. Your Word is food. And Lord, we ask that You would feed us today. Holy Spirit, open our ears and open our eyes to receive all that You have for us, and speak, as You always do. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

All right, Hebrews chapter 6. For those of you that don’t know, we have been in a study over the last several weeks going through the book of Hebrews, and it’s been an awesome time, and the Lord’s been speaking to us as we go through. And we are at Hebrews chapter 6.

Foot off the gas

And just a quick recap: the author of the book of Hebrews is writing to Christians who are discouraged. They have been going through persecution. Persecution is increasing, and they’re beginning to wonder, “Did I make a good decision here?” Right? Things don’t seem to be getting easier. Things seem to be getting more difficult. And not only was there a temptation to totally go back to what they used to do — to convert back to Judaism, to kind of put Jesus to the side and just go back to what’s comfortable — but there was also this temptation to just let their foot off the gas in their fervor and their desire and their passion for the Lord.

I don’t know about you, but those things seem to happen as we navigate through life. When things aren’t measuring up, when we face difficulties or our expectations aren’t met, we tend to take our foot off the gas. Do you know what I mean? Where it’s like, “I don’t know if this is it. I don’t really know. Is God really speaking to me? Is there really something happening here? I feel like I’m the same person. I don’t feel like there’s much going on.”

But how many of you know this book was written to believers to encourage them to press on, to keep going, to not let their foot off the gas, but to recognize that Jesus — the one that had been given to them, the one who had poured Himself out for people — is so much better than anything that they had before?

And if you’re here today, you have been redeemed by what Jesus has done. I think sometimes we lose sight of what we’ve been redeemed from. I don’t know about you, but when I think of what I would be like without Jesus, I’m like, “I don’t really get how people do it,” to be honest. I don’t really get how you can go through life without Jesus. Because if you don’t have Him, there is no solid ground. It is like you’re on quicksand, like you’re always sinking, and you’re always struggling just to find something that satisfies, something that brings life, something that brings fulfillment. But how many of you know only Jesus satisfies?

And so this is written to believers who are struggling in their faith. They’re struggling to stay the course. And the author is saying, “Don’t you realize Jesus is so much better? Do not turn back.” In fact, today we’re talking about Jesus, the Only Way. Everybody say that: “Jesus, the only way.” He is the only way. And so often people go through life misdiagnosing their lack of satisfaction, when it’s a lack of Him. They think they want more money. They think they want more time. They think they want a significant other, a partner. They think they want a raise or a promotion. But only Jesus satisfies. Amen.

It is impossible

And so we’re here in Hebrews chapter 6, and I want to read verses 4–9 this morning. If you don’t have your Bibles, I want to encourage you to bring your Bibles, because this is a little bit different teaching style than what we normally do. We are literally just staying in these verses. We’ll have other verses up, but you’re going to want to mark this up. You’re going to want to take notes in your Bible. And so be sure to bring your Bibles.

But Hebrews chapter 6, starting at verse 4, says, “For it is impossible” — everybody say “impossible.” Scripture gets tough when it uses strong words like that, you know what I mean? “It is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame. For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned. But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner.”

And so I want us to notice those first four words: “For it is impossible.” The author is not saying it’s very difficult. He’s saying it is impossible. And I know sometimes we use the word “impossible” as a figure of speech, right? We might say things like, “It is impossible for the Bears to beat the Packers,” right? It’s just impossible. Pride comes before the fall, so I’ve got to be careful. It’s Bears week. All right. But we can use the word “impossible” as a figure of speech, right? “That’s impossible. That would never happen.” Even though there’s a chance, we say it as a way of being sure that it’s most likely not going to happen.

But the word here is the Greek word adunaton — don’t quote me on that — meaning not able, or impossible. Okay? Not able. Let me give you some other uses of the word “impossible” through the book of Hebrews. Hebrews 6:18 — it’s the same Greek word — says it is impossible for God to lie. That sounds like that is impossible, right? God cannot lie. Hebrews 10:4 says it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats can take away sin. Hebrews 11:6 says it is impossible to please God without faith. So the author is not talking about something that is very difficult. The author is talking about something that is actually, genuinely impossible.

Well, what is Scripture saying is impossible? Here it is: it is impossible for those who fall away to renew them again to repentance.

I think we can become very casual with the good things that God has given us, right? Spouses do this all the time. We get comfortable in our relationship, and we kind of stop appreciating our spouse, because they’re always there. And we miss the nuances and the things that make them great, and we maybe stop appreciating some of the things that they do for us as much, right?

My wife loves to cook. She loves to make dinner, and that makes me a blessed man. Okay? And I am not a cook. When she leaves town and I need to make a meal, honestly, I just open anything that is boxed that I can grab and eat. You know what I mean? That’s my dinner. Okay? But when she is there, I eat like a king, right? She is so faithful in that, that there are times where I forget to say thank you. You guys get what I’m saying?

I think sometimes we approach God like that. Sometimes we can come into a time, and we can even come into an atmosphere of worship where we’re literally saying, “Thank You, Lord,” but because we just don’t feel like it, we don’t acknowledge it. You guys get what I’m saying? Yeah. And so Scripture is saying it is impossible for those who fall away to renew them again to repentance.

I want us to realize what you’ve been given, what Jesus has given you. We kind of referenced it during our time of worship, but think of what the Lord brought you out of. At the very least, He brought you out of an eternity apart from Him. At the very least. And that would be enough. But out of His goodness He goes above and beyond, because He loves you and He sees you and you are His. And just like any good father, He wants to give good gifts to His children.

And so not only does He save us from an eternity apart from Him, He literally gives good gifts to us. In our time of sadness, He brings rejoicing. Doesn’t Scripture say that pain may come in the night, but joy comes in the morning? We forget about the things that He’s brought us out of. We forget about the things where He turned things around and He did the impossible. We forget about the times that He maybe brought healing to our bodies. We forget about the times where He brought direction when we were directionless. We forget about the times that He sent people into our lives to declare good news, or to bring us out, or to bring clarity and wisdom. We forget about all of that, and we treat Him as common.

May we never treat the Lord as common. That’s what hunger is. May we be a hungry people, because hungry people come to the Lord and say, “Lord, I need You. I need You today. I don’t just need You when I die. I don’t just need You on my deathbed. I need You right now, because apart from You I have nothing.”

Who are these people?

And so Scripture says it is impossible for those who fall away to renew them again to repentance. Now, I find that difficult, because Scripture is very clear that for anybody that would come to Him and repent and give their life to Him and put their faith in Jesus, repentance and forgiveness is available. Would you all agree? Scripture is very clear on this. And I find it difficult to think that there are those who have tasted of the goodness of God, who know about Jesus, who have followed Him, and they are out there, and it is impossible for them. I find that hard. But this is what Scripture is saying: it is impossible for those who fall away to renew them again to repentance.

Well, Scripture gives us a picture of who these people are. We see two characteristics. Number one, we see that they have had a strong, significant spiritual encounter with the Lord. Look at verses 4 and 5. These people, for whom it is impossible to come back — it says they were once enlightened. What does that mean? Light had come upon them. They weren’t in the dark. They had been enlightened in their understanding. They saw the Lord. They had received Him.

It says they have tasted of the heavenly gift. In other words, they tasted of the Lord Himself, right? They had tasted of the goodness and the power of His death and His resurrection. They had tasted of Him. They had become partakers of the Holy Spirit. In other words, there was this participation with the Holy Spirit. And they tasted of the good word of God — in other words, they tasted of the goodness of the Word of God — and the powers of the age to come. In other words, there were powerful, supernatural experiences that had touched their lives. What Scripture is saying is there are those who have truly experienced the power of the gospel, and they rejected it. And because they gave it up, it is impossible for them to come back into repentance.

More than a prayer

Now, there’s a debate on this that oftentimes I hear: were they actually genuine believers in the first place? If they could reject Jesus, were they even genuine followers? So the question really is, what is a Christian? What does it mean to follow Jesus? The word “Christian” means to be like Christ. It means that you are a follower of Him, a disciple of His. And so being a Christian is much more than just saying a prayer.

I think too many times, too many people, especially in our culture, come to church on Christmas and Easter, they say a prayer, and they assume, “God and I are good.” But salvation is much more than just a prayer. How many of you know faith in Jesus looks like something? The way that you know your faith is real is because you aren’t the same.

Now, that change doesn’t happen immediately. Somebody say amen. But because you gave your life to Jesus, you’ve opened yourself to the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. And what is the Holy Spirit’s number one goal for your life? I say it all the time: to make you more like Jesus. If you have sincerely said, “Jesus, I give my life to You,” that’s not just a prayer. When we give our life to Him, He actually will take it. I want you to think about that. Your life is not your own when you give it to Jesus. It belongs to Him.

And so salvation is much more than a prayer. It’s much more than just a ticket to heaven. You see, once we receive that gift, we allow the Holy Spirit to start working in us to become more like Jesus. One of my favorite verses is 2 Corinthians 3:18, where it says, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

When you give your life to Jesus and you put your faith in Him — what does that mean? What does it mean to be a Christian? It doesn’t mean you just go to church. Being a Christian doesn’t mean you just say the right things. Being a Christian is, “I’ve given my heart and my life fully to Him. And because I’ve yielded myself in such a way, I am open to do whatever He tells me to do, with the goal of becoming like Jesus.”

Look at what Jesus said in Matthew 7:21. Jesus said — and this is talking about the end — “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven.” This is another difficult one. There are people that recognize who Jesus is. They call Him Lord. They’re calling Him Master, decision-maker — that’s what that means. Master. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name’” — if you don’t know what that means, to prophesy means to speak the words of God — “‘have we not prophesied in Your name? Have we not cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’” In other words, they saw miracles in their life. “And I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” So we can see here that a person can have significant spiritual encounters with the Lord but not belong to Jesus.

Falling and falling away

But there’s another characteristic we see. Verse 6 says they fall away. Everybody say “away.” There is a difference between falling and falling away. These people fall away from Jesus. We’ve got to remember Jesus is the only way. And for those who fall away from Him, there is no way into eternal life. There is no way into redemption of life. He is the only way.

Listen to Proverbs 24:16. It says, “A righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity.” You see, it’s one thing to make a mistake. It’s one thing to get it wrong, but then you have a heart that comes back to Jesus. Do you know what I mean? I hope some of us did that today, right? We come to Jesus and we just say, “God, I got it wrong. And Lord, I repent of a heart that hasn’t hungered for You, that hasn’t made You first.” Right? But there’s a difference between falling and falling away. Because if you fall away from Jesus, Scripture says it is impossible to renew them to repentance.

Why? Is it because your sin is too bad? No. How many of you know there is no sin too big for Jesus? The reason why they can’t find repentance — I need everybody to listen — the reason they can’t find repentance is because they’re not seeking repentance through Jesus.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people in the church that love the Lord leave the church, leave Jesus Himself, and go and try to find satisfaction and salvation through other things. And they jump around from one thing to the next to the next to the next, and nothing satisfies. And they get lied to. They’re deceived. They think their good behavior can save them. You ask people on the street, “Are you going to heaven?” Many of them will say yes. And you ask, “Why?” “Because I’m a good person.” Scripture says there’s no one good but Jesus.

And so we can’t get duped into thinking our good morals will save us. We can’t get duped into thinking our good values will save us, our behavior will save us, our church attendance will save us. We can’t get duped. Only Jesus saves. The only way that we can have true repentance is to bring our repentance to Jesus, because He is the way, right? John 14:6: Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” And so if you are not seeking repentance through Jesus, Scripture is saying here, it is impossible. It is impossible to be restored to God. Jesus is the only way. Amen.

You know, I was thinking about Peter and Judas. How many of you know both of them rejected Jesus, right? Peter denied Him three times, and then Judas betrayed Jesus. And I think sometimes we get it confused, because Judas actually had a form of repentance. He felt bad about it. He knew he got it wrong. And what does Scripture say? He took the money that he sold Jesus for, and he threw it in the temple, and he said, “I want nothing of this.” But Scripture says that he was the son of perdition, meaning he was lost. He was cast out. Why? Because his repentance was not found in Jesus. He felt bad. There was a form of repentance: “Take it back. I don’t want anything to do with this.” But it didn’t save. Why? Because it wasn’t before Jesus.

You see, Peter had denied Jesus, but he repented before Jesus Himself. And not only was he restored — Jesus said, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church.” In other words, Peter was used mightily by God. Peter was one of the apostles. Peter was the one who, when people would touch his shadow, they were instantly healed. We don’t even read that about Jesus. Why? Because Peter brought his repentance to Jesus.

So the idea here is, listen: if you turn your back on Jesus, don’t expect to find salvation anywhere else, because Jesus is the only way. There is no salvation apart from Him.

Faith looks like something

In verses 7 and 8 we see the consequences of falling away. It says, “For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God.” In other words, when we are following the Lord and we are making room for Him, to become more like Him, our life bears fruit, right? Our faith looks like something. Verse 8 says, “But if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.”

Giving your life to Jesus should look like something. It should look like something. And Jesus isn’t saying, “I need you to prove your worth.” No. It’s out of what He’s done that we can’t help but fix our eyes on Him. And when we fix our eyes on Him, as we gaze upon Him, like beholding Him in a mirror, what does the Holy Spirit do? “I’m going to make you more like Him.” Yeah. And that’s everything. The life of the believer, a life of faith, looks like something. James says faith without works is dead.

And so the question is this: is there a desire in your life to live holy to the Lord? Do you trust Jesus, that He actually really does have the best for your life? Because oftentimes we say we’ll follow Jesus, and we mean it, right? And then the rubber meets the road and things get difficult, and all of a sudden we’re like, “Well, hold on, hold on. I need boundaries. I need boundaries, right? I need to make boundaries, and I need to do things and arrange things in a way where I’m protected.” And what we end up doing is blocking the move of God from our lives. Why? Because we’re uncomfortable. We don’t like the way that it feels.

But how many of you know being transformed into the image of Jesus is uncomfortable? Being transformed into His image means something. It means that you will be lied about. It means that you will be talked about. It means that you will be falsely accused. It means that you will be persecuted. It means those things. And so why do we come to church and expect, “Well, I’m with God, so now I’m blessed, because He’s like a genie in my pocket,” right? And yes, you are blessed, and yes, He has a plan for your life. But we have to know that when push comes to shove, when things get difficult, rather than taking our foot off the gas — “I’m going to press in and dig even deeper.”

Why? Because I trust Him. Why? Because He’s good. Why? Because He saved me. Why? Because He deserves it all. “I’m not going to take my foot off the gas. I’m going to keep going. I’m going to keep praying. I’m going to keep getting into His Word. I’m going to keep believing His promises, even though I don’t see it.” Why? Because my life is His. Because He’s the only way. He’s all I have.

When you see people in a desperate situation — some of you probably have not been on a mission trip, or maybe gone to other places in the world where things are more difficult — there are more miracles. There is more happening. There is a deeper hunger for Jesus. Why? Because He’s all they have. Jesus is all they have. And where there is a deep hunger, there is usually a deep move. Why? Because He will satisfy those who are hungry.

And so if you’re here today and you are saying, “Lord, I want to live a life that’s holy to You. I want more of You” — I want you to really think about what that means, because usually the answer to that prayer looks different than the picture in your head. It is a dying to self. It is putting aside preferences, agendas. It is saying, “Lord, You are everything. Lord, all I have is Yours.” It is being fully dependent on Him. And so, is there a desire to live a life that is holy to the Lord? Because real faith will show in the life.

Confident of better things

Listen to verse 9. Verse 9 says, “But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner.” I want you to keep in mind he’s writing to people who have grown tired — people that have grown tired in the pressures of following Jesus. “When everyone else in the world doesn’t seem to care about Jesus, why should I care? When nobody else is following Him, and things seem to be working out fine for them, why should I follow Jesus?”

And the author is saying, “I’m confident. I’m confident that because you have tasted of the Lord, you will stay the course. I’m confident of better things.” And the writer is saying, “I declare over you: you will not step back. You will not go back to the former things. You will not be deceived, and you will not believe the lie that there are other options or that there are better solutions. There is nothing better than Him. No, you will stay the course. You will fulfill the calling that God has for your life, because you’re not going to take your foot off the gas. You’re not going to succumb to the pressure. You’re not going to succumb to the disappointment or your feelings. No, you’re going to believe in Him. You’re going to put your faith in His Word, and you’re going to seek Him. And when you seek Him, you will find Him, because you have a heart that is hungry for Him, that knows that there’s nothing better than a taste of who He is.” Are you guys with me? It’s as though the author is prophetically declaring, “You will not go back, because you know Him.”

And so maybe you’re here and you’re weakened. You’re tired. Maybe there’s discouragement. Maybe there are pressures. The biggest pressure always comes from those who are closest to you — the pressure to disengage, the pressure to cool your affection for the Lord, to snuff out the fire that the Holy Spirit has put in you. Pressures from life’s stress.

I was just reminded this week: don’t worry about what you’re going to eat, what you’re going to drink, or what you’re going to wear, for after these things the Gentiles seek. What is the Lord saying there? He’s saying, don’t seek the things that the world is seeking. It will never satisfy. Put your mind on the things above. Now is not the time to turn back. Now is not the time to turn back, because He who has begun a good work in you will complete it. Amen. Yes.

Only Jesus

Let’s go ahead and stand together, and I’m going to pray a blessing over us as we close our time this morning. Can we just close our eyes and lift our hands to the Lord? I just want to pray a blessing over each person here.

Jesus, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You, Lord, that You are the way, that You are the one that we can put our trust in, Lord, that You’re the one that we can be confident in. And even when pressures arise, Lord, we don’t need to seek alternatives. Lord, You are the only thing. You’re everything we’ve got. And even though there are times where we think we have enough, or times we think we have the world — Lord, if we don’t have You, we have nothing.

And so, Jesus, I pray over every person here: bring the transforming power of the Holy Spirit on every person in this place, to follow You, to fall more in love with You. There is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. It’s not by our works. It’s not by our church attendance. It’s not by good morals, not by good deeds. Only Jesus. Only Jesus.

And so, Lord, I pray that You would give hearts that are hungry for You, that are passionate for You, that want more of You, Lord. And as we go from this place and we seek You, Lord, that You would meet us, that You would fill us. Lord, as we fix our eyes on You, Holy Spirit, would You pour out? Would You teach us, Lord, and reveal to us who Jesus is, and what He says about us, and what He thinks about us? Teach us, Lord, how to follow You, how to worship You, and to grow closer to You. Lord, we give You everything. In You, Jesus, we are secure, and we put our trust in You today. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Transcribed from the message recording and lightly edited for reading.