This morning I invite you to turn with me to Hebrews chapter 3, Hebrews 3 as we read together that chapter, the text being verses 13 and 14 of Hebrews 3. And also if you would turn with me in the back of the Psalter hymnal to page 28, 28, the top of the page, there we find on that page the last two questions and answers for Lord's Day 21. This morning we want to confess together what we believe with question and answer 55, the communion of the saints. Last week, you recall, we began to consider the church, the glorious body of Christ, as we also then have arrived in our consideration of the Apostles' Creed to the last few articles of the Apostles' Creed. Those dealing with the work of the Holy Spirit, applying the work of Jesus Christ in a specific way, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, and the forgiveness of sins. Now, if you think about it, when we stand together on Sunday evening and we profess our faith using the words of the Apostles' Creed, we often do it in such a way that we say, I believe a Holy Catholic Church pauses the communion of saints. We pause in such a way, not that long, obviously, but we pause in such a way that it seems like they are disconnected. We disjoint them, if you will. But in truth, our confession ought to be something more in the order of, I believe, a holy Catholic church, the communion of saints. Because the communion of saints more closely defines holy Catholic church and it describes the relationship believers have who make up the holy Catholic church. This morning, we continue to consider the church, the glorious body of Christ, as we consider what we confess with the words of the communion of saints. Let's first turn to Hebrews chapter 3. Hear now the word of God. Therefore, holy brothers who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest, whom we confess. He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God's house. Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. Moses was faithful as a servant in all God's house, testifying to what would be said in the future. But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house, and we are His house if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast. So as the Holy Spirit says, today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion during the time of testing in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried me and for 40 years saw what I did. That is why I was angry with that generation, and I said that their hearts are always going astray and they have not known my ways. So I declared on oath in my anger they shall never enter my rest. See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if we hold firmly to the end, the confidence we had at first. As has just been said, today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion. Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was He angry for 40 years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter His rest, if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter because of their unbelief. Verses 13 and 14 again, But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if we hold firmly to the end, the confidence we had at first. And with this, in the back of this altar hymnal again, page 28. Page 28. As we express what we believe, reciting the answer to question 55. Question 55 asks, What do you understand by the communion of saints? First, that believers one and all, as members of this community, share in Christ and in all His treasures and gifts. Second, that each member should consider it his duty to use his gifts readily and cheerfully for the service and enrichment of the other members. Beloved in Christ the Lord, confrontation. Now, even the very sound of that word, I think, probably makes many, if not most of us, feel a little bit uneasy. Because I suspect that most of us don't like confrontation. It's not always a pleasant thing. Especially spiritual confrontation. And even further, if we are the ones being confronted spiritually because of our life in some way, because of something we are doing or not doing that doesn't seem to fit with our profession. And of course, when it comes to confrontation, we know that there are some who are better at it than others, yet I'm not sure that I know of anybody who enjoys it. Because it means that something is not right. It means that mistakes have been made. There are errors. And if you think about spiritual confrontation, oftentimes those who are confronted spiritually will put up their guard and they will respond something like, Well, you think you're better than me. You think you're so perfect. You have no right to judge me. Yet all of these responses you see really are evidence that the one who is being confronted probably is guilty. But the truth of the glorious body of Christ is that we as believers are in communion one with each other. And each of us has an obligation to watch out for one another and to hold each other accountable. It could be a matter of life or death. And because of the sin that each of us still struggles with, spiritual confrontation may very well be necessary. It is a part, a big part, an important part of the communion of saints. You see, beloved, faith in Christ and profession of that faith is so sacred and it is to be guarded by those who share it. Again, the church is the glorious body of Christ. As we said in connection with a holy Catholic church, it is a comprehensive community. The comprehensive work of the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The comprehensive work from time and place. Catholic, universal church. God's people gathered from the beginning to the end of time and from all over this world. And comprehensive in duration, that church is eternal. But along with being a comprehensive community, also within the body of Christ, you and I are not alone. We are in communion. We have relationship. The glorious body of Christ is also a connected community. The communion of saints. It is a body connected with the head, first of all, and in the second place, a body connected through the head. Now, when we say the phrase communion of saints, no doubt if we were to go around with a tablet and write, what do you think of when you think of communion of saints? We would probably have a whole list of things that we think of that are included in what we consider to be communion of the saints. And in our mind, some of these things might seem more official. For example, worship, or Bible study, or fellowship. Fellowship is a good word to define in one word, communion, isn't it? Fellowship in the church in various ways. We have many programs and opportunities to enjoy fellowship, one with another here in the church. But in other ways, when we speak of communion of saints, we might think of things that are more social or more personal. For example, bringing a meal to someone or offering a ride to one of our brothers and sisters who needs it or having coffee with each other or going to the beach together or any large gathering that we might enjoy with brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's communion. It's fellowship, we might say. But all of those things and whatever we might think of that is involved, is included in communion of the saints, they all flow from the most important task that we have toward one another in that communion, which the text, verses 13 and 14 of Hebrews 3, puts before us this morning. And that task too, which we'll actually consider in our second point, that task too only has meaning because of the connection of the body with its head. It begins there. The body must be connected with the head. Otherwise, very simply, there's no body, and that head is Jesus Christ. Now, when we think about the book of Hebrews, this letter, we think about the situation a little bit. We know that this letter was a letter of encouragement and challenge, most likely written to Jewish converts to Christianity and written to encourage them to stay the course. To keep their eyes fixed on Jesus, as the writer says in chapter 12, the author and the perfecter of our faith. Stay the course. They were suffering persecution and pressure. Persecution because of their testimony of faith in Jesus Christ. And therefore, along with that, they were being pressured to forsake that faith and to turn back to the Jewish Old Testament customs, especially the sacrificial system with the high priest and the animals and the blood and all that stuff. And therefore, this was a letter of encouragement. And along with that encouragement, there was warning included. encouragement to, as verse 6 says, hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast. And as verse 14 says, hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. And along with that encouragement to stay the course, the writer in chapter 3 gives a warning from history. We are to learn from mistakes of the past. He quotes Psalm 95, which of course points back to an episode in Israel's history in the wilderness of Israel's complaining, constant complaining. At one time, no water, and Moses draws water out of the rock, and God said, I've had enough. And because of that, they spent an extra 40 years of wandering with the older generation never, ever entering the promised land of rest. A warning. Be on your guard. Learn from the mistakes of the past. Now, the writer in verse 6 says we, and he's talking about the church, we are God's house. We are God's house, and as God's house, we are called to endure in the faith. Now, the idea in verses 6 and 14, when it says hold on or hold firmly to the end, the idea is not that of retaining salvation or staying saved because of my own faith. That's not what the writer is saying. But the idea is more possessing, owning salvation, evidenced by continuing in faith in Jesus Christ. That life of faith, continuing in that faith, staying in the course, is evidence of true faith. Yet, enduring in that faith means that faith must be real, right? It must be sincere. The church is a connected community only as the body first is connected to its head by faith. And by faith, as the writer says in verse 14, we share in Christ. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly to the end the confidence we had at first. The writer is saying holding firmly to faith is evidence. It gives proof that one truly shares in Christ. It proves that that faith is real, that it's genuine. It's not that faith that saves us. It's the instrument, we know, that receives all the merits of Christ. But it's not that faith that saves us, but faith is evidence of being saved. But this means, then, that that one-time profession of faith is not enough. It means nothing apart from a life of faith, walking in faith. Those who share in Christ are called to walk in the light of His truth as He is in the light. Holding fast, holding firmly, boys and girls, has the idea of staying on course like a ship out in the ocean, even though it's tossed by the waves and by the wind. It stays on course. It keeps heading toward its destination. Though tossed by persecution and troubles, we are called to stay the course, to keep our eyes focused. Only faith, by the strength of the Holy Spirit, keeps the believers in a living relationship with Jesus Christ. By faith, we share in Christ. As the Catechism says, in all His treasures and gifts. That's what we share in Him. His treasures. What are His treasures? His treasures are Himself. The person and work of Jesus Christ. His person, knowing Jesus Christ. Knowing that He's not just a man, but He is God. He is the Son of God. He is God Himself. And being one with Him by faith. 1 John 1, verse 3 says, That which we have seen and heard, we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. Beloved, having fellowship with God and possessing the love of God is a great treasure. We know that when Jesus walked on this earth, many people, they wanted His power. They wanted His work. They wanted His healing. They even wanted to hear Him speak. They wanted Him to do for them what they wanted, namely to release them from Roman rule. They wanted all these earthly things from Him, but they didn't believe in His person. They didn't believe that He was God. And apart from sharing the treasure of His person, His work means nothing. But we also share in the treasure of His work. Very simply, His work toward our salvation. We don't have time to talk about everything there is to talk about about that salvation except to say the whole package from election, regeneration, onto glorification. The whole package of salvation is indeed a great treasure. And we can summarize that treasure with one word, life. Big letters, life. John 10, verse 10, there Jesus says, I have come that they may have life and have it to the full. And all believers, whether young or old, whether new to the faith or mature in the faith, all believers share equally in this life of Christ. No matter what your status or your wealth or your social position or your color. We share in Christ's treasures, but also His gifts. He pours out His gifts in abundance through His Holy Spirit. All believers share in His gifts, but all differently. He pours out different gifts upon His people, but for the well-being of His glorious body. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12, verse 12, the body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts, and though all its parts are many, they form one body, so it is with Christ. And that means that, figuratively speaking, some of us here are our feet. Some of us are hands. Some of us are ears. Some are eyes. We all have different functions. But all believers work together for one purpose, for the good of the one body. There is no such thing as a giftless Christian. Now, the writer of Hebrews in verse 14 speaks of the confidence. He reminds them of the confidence we had at first. And he's talking about the hope of salvation those have who share in Christ. Faith in Jesus Christ. And the assurance of salvation in Him is the ground, the faith in Christ is the assurance or the ground of our salvation. He's saying, remember that. Remember, have confidence in that. Remember when you first came to believe Remember the confidence you had. Remember the freedom that you had when you first came to believe. It's real. It's true. Don't let anybody take it away. Beloved, the believer's hope is based on the faithfulness of Jesus as the great high priest in the service of God. Again, that's a theme here in the letter to the Hebrews about Jesus, the great high priest, because they were being pressured to turn back, Go back to those men who had to offer sacrifices for themselves. Those animals, the blood of which isn't sufficient, the writer says. But Jesus is the great high priest. He offered Himself. His blood is sufficient. In Him, we have the richest and the highest possessions. And that forms the foundation of our confidence for life and our courage in this life. See, true faith gives confidence of my eternal security in Christ. That nothing shall separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. No one shall snatch me out of His hand. And that confidence then also leads to courage for this life. Courage. Courage to speak openly and freely about my faith. Courage to boldly preach and teach the gospel of Jesus Christ. Courage in the face of Islam. and other Christ rejecters and haters. That's on the minds of many of us this week as we had the privilege, many of us, to hear Mr. Solomon at the seminary and then the events of the week, of course. Courage in the face of Islam and other Christ haters and rejecters. Courage to confess with the authors of the Belgic Confession. On page 69, if you want to turn there in the back of the Psalter hymnal, but if you've never read it before, in the introduction to the Belgic Confession of Faith, And the Reformed believers of 500 years ago were being considered as those who were anti-government because they believe in King Jesus. And the writers of the Belgian Confession representing the believers said that they were ready to obey the government in all lawful things, but that they would, and here's the courage, they would offer their backs to stripes, their tongues to knives, their mouths to gags and their whole bodies to the fire rather than deny the truth expressed in this confession. The truth of Jesus Christ and His saving love. Courage. Courage to boldly proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord, He is God, He is my Savior. The Hebrew Christians, and beloved, this is true for you and me today. We're being encouraged to stay the course. They're being encouraged to learn from history. Don't make the same mistakes as your forefathers made. They're being encouraged to continue to give evidence of sharing in Christ. Of having communion with the head. Jesus Christ alone is the tie that binds our hearts together in Christian love. Communion of saints. Well, maybe we should say what communion is finally, huh? How do we understand communion? Communion. Communion expresses the relation between two or more persons who have some thing or some possession in common. It expresses the relation between two or more persons who have some thing or some possession in common. And the foundation or the ground of this communion is that thing, that possession that they have in common with the communion of saints of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ defines the church. He defines who she is. He defines what she does. He defines what kind of members she is to have. We share in Christ by His Word and Spirit. If you don't submit to His Word and Spirit, you are not united to Him by true faith. If you are separated from Christ, you are separated from the source of life, and you are dead, and you are separated also then from His glorious body, you have no communion of the saints. But those connected with the head, Jesus Christ, by faith, and in the second place, are also a part of the body connected through the head. We cannot be connected one with each other through the head unless we are connected with the head. The church is one body. Again, boys and girls, we know that it's manifested throughout the world in different congregations, but it's one body with one goal. True believers, one body with one goal and purpose, and that is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, in doing so, to point others to Him. Because without Him, there's no hope. The communion of saints, beloved, is a privilege. It's not a right for you and me. It's a privilege to have been joined with Christ by His Holy Spirit through faith and to be joined one with another. It's a privilege, but it's also a mandate in the sense that there's a duty. The answer says again, the second part, that each member should consider it his duty to use his gifts readily and cheerfully for the service and enrichment of the other members. It's a mandate. It's a duty. There's activity involved. We said with regard to one holy Catholic Church that I am and forever will remain a living member thereof. And my life is to be demonstrated in that communion of the saints. If you belong to Jesus, then you belong to each other. The communion of saints is not about what I can get out of my fellow church members. It's not how I can benefit personally from my brothers and sisters in Christ. But it is about what I can give. It's about the activity and the obedience of faith in Jesus Christ. It's about being something for every other believer. Setting my life and all of my power in service for others in Christ's name. It's about enjoying and encouraging one another, cooperating together and building up the congregation of believers. In Ephesians 4, after Paul says that he gave some to be prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, he says to prepare God's people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is Christ. From Him, the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament grows and builds itself up in love as each part does its work. That doesn't mean for ourselves, but for each other. The communion of saints is a living fellowship of believers spending myself and being willing to be spent on behalf of one another even as Christ gave Himself. Not selfishly, thinking twice about it or thinking, what can I gain in return? But as the Catechism rightly says, readily and cheerfully. The text in verse 13 now gives us that greatest task that I mentioned a moment ago, that greatest task, that greatest demonstration of communion. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. And that, of course, comes off of verse 12, which says, See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God, but encourage one another daily. Beloved, we are called to protect the faith. We know, of course, that it is God the Holy Spirit who keeps us in true faith, but believers, one and all, are given a responsibility to actively protect what we have in common. It is such a great salvation. And with the confidence and the courage that each one of us is given, we are called to actively protect what we have in common. We are the means that God uses to challenge, to protect, to encourage, and to build each other up in the faith, to maintain and to protect the purity of the church as much as we are able to in the strength of the Spirit. Because of the deceitfulness of sin, as the writer says. Sin's deceit, the specific goal of sin is apostasy. To turn you and me away from the living God. Sin, we know this all too well, don't we? Sin presents itself as something attractive. Something desirable. Think about Eve in the garden. you'll be like God. Think about David on the rooftop as he looked down and saw Bathsheba in the bathtub. Desire. Attractive. Makes it look like that. And Paul says, No wonder in 2 Corinthians 11.14 for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. Satan wants us to think he's our buddy. He's our pal. He wants the best for us. Sin seduces one into thinking that it can fill a void, that it can provide satisfaction, that it can give me the fix that I need at the time. It gives a present prospect of relief from troubles and persecution. Think of the Hebrew Christians again being tempted to return to Judaism. The deceit was this. Oh, you're not giving up God, you see. If you go back to that Old Testament, You're not giving up God, but you're gaining something. You're gaining escape from persecution and the present danger of faith in Christ brings. You're not losing anything. You're gaining that escape. Or again, we think of the deceitfulness of Islam. It's on my mind, you see. Islam is built on the liberties that are attractive to the sinful human nature. the liberties that contradict the clear teaching of the Word of God, liberties that make the Word of God appear restrictive and oppressive and senseless. But there's liberty in Islam, they teach. But the truth is it's a trap. It's dangerous. It's eternally deadly. And beloved, we too struggle with sin's deceit. We do, don't we, in our personal lives, in our businesses, in our relationships. We do daily battle with temptation to compromise in some way, shape, or form. Or to justify. Well, if I did it this way, it would be a whole lot worse, so I'll settle for this way. Sin hardens, the writer says. And the idea there is to dry out, to dry up. Think of a heart that is completely hard, dried up. No life-giving blood flowing through it. A spiritually hard heart no longer soaks in the Word of God. It's dead to it. It refuses to hear the voice of God. It does not have a conscience that is sensitive. It no longer recognizes the proper path. And instead, it determines, it desires to act contrary to true faith and faithfulness. The saints are to encourage one another daily. And that includes each and every one of us and all believers. Again, verse 12 says, See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. None of you. And instead, encourage one another daily. You see, we are all prone to wander. And this encouraging is an ongoing activity. Daily do this. Make it a standard of your walk in life. Daily. Satan never takes a break. Why should you and I? But it's only for a limited time, as long as it is called today. Paul in 2 Corinthians 6, verse 2 says, I tell you, now is the time of God's favor. Now is the day of salvation. This life, the days that God gives to you and me, is the day of grace for you and me. It's today. But it will not continue forever. Death will come, and it will be too late. The greatest task we have in communion of the saints is to encourage one another in that which connects us to Christ and to each other. True faith. And beloved, this includes our children. We saw that we were privileged again this morning to witness that baptism. God's covenant promises saying, I take this child, Olivia, out of the world and place her in this Christian family, in this Christian church. She has to be taught, along with all the children here, boys and girls, all of the adults here are your brothers and sisters. They're a bit older, but they're brothers and sisters and we have a duty to encourage you, to call upon you to remember who you are, to remember to whom you belong, To remember the promise that God has given to you signified and sealed in baptism. And you are called one day to say, yes, I understand, I believe. And have the assurance of that salvation. We are called to encourage one another in that which connects us to Christ and each other. True faith. All of our other fellowship, you see, is meaningless apart from faith. It's no different than the social gatherings of the world. But that communion is sweet that is clothed in the garment of faith in Christ. Love for Him and for His people. But this encouraging one another, beloved, could be difficult. Because it includes correcting. It includes rebuking. It includes challenging. It includes admonition. It includes confrontation. Also encouraging in the positive sense. I don't want to leave that out, but it includes these other things that we don't always like. John Calvin says, unless our faith be now and then raised up, it will lie prostrate. Unless it be warmed, it will be frozen. Unless it be roused, it will grow torpid. In other words, lethargic or inactive or motionless. We are called to love the salvation of our own soul, to be sure, but also to love the salvation of each other's souls. We are called to desire that together we honor and glorify and praise Christ as much as we are able in the strength of the Holy Spirit. But unfortunately today, and this is true even in the church, there's this attitude that says, my life is private. My life is private. It's nobody else's business. Even believers want to be islands unto themselves. But you see, as the glorious body of Christ, united in true faith, we are each other's business. Not in a nosy way, not in the minute details of life sort of way, which seem to interest us more than each other's faith, but in the business of the Christian life. Life conducted as a Christian. We are to hold each other accountable and we are to desire that others hold us accountable because we know that it's for our good. When we speak the truth in love and receive that truth in love, that affects the entire body, the entire communion, and then what a demonstration of the glorious body of Christ. Well, the Escondido United Reformed Church, what about us? Do we enjoy this communion of saints? Do we profess to be connected as a body with the head? But are we connected one with each other? Do we enjoy this communion of the saints? We do have much fellowship. We have many programs, many activities, many opportunities to fellowship and commune with one another. We enjoy each other's company in so many ways. But is it crowned? Is it crowned with care for each other's walk with the Lord? Some of you may find it hard to believe, but there are some of your brothers and sisters here who are concerned about what they see as a spiritual decline in this congregation. You might look around this morning and say, what are you talking about? We're full. We're full. But you see, that means nothing if we all come out of custom or superstition, which hopefully we're not. But there are some of your brothers and sisters who pray for you, who have a godly concern about what they perceive as a spiritual decline in this congregation. Why is that? is it because there's a lack of commitment on the part of some to each other and to the Lord? Is it because there are some who put more trust in their wealth and in themselves and in their circumstances than in the Lord? Is it because there are some who make this life and the things of this life more important than and put before the Christian life? Is it because there are some of us here who are closet Christians in a new way that I heard this past week that we put what we hear on Sunday in the closet on Sunday night and we don't pull it out again until next Sunday, kind of like our church clothes? Is it because there are some who treat the Lord's Day and the Christian life as a matter of convenience? If I have nothing else going on? If my kids don't have something to do? If it benefits me? If it's profitable for me? Are some of us here, beloved, becoming hard-hearted because of the deceitfulness of sin? These things are hard to hear, aren't they? But we are called to daily examine our hearts and lives. See, God won't put up with it. Don't kid yourself, and neither should we. His glory is at stake when people profess to believe in Him, but then turn away from Him in their daily living, for example. And His glory is the number one priority as a communion of saints. Therefore, beloved, pray for one another. Pray for each other earnestly, day by day. Encourage each other. Challenge one another. Love each other as Christ first loved you and be willing to be loved. You see, only when we truly understand the love of Jesus Christ for us, His sacrificial love, giving Himself for us to make us a part of Himself, to enjoy communion with the head, Only when we truly understand that, only then will we also truly mean something to each other. See, apart from faith in Jesus Christ and apart from Him and faith in Him, there can only be a communion of one for you. And that's yourself. That's hopeless. And if that does describe you this morning, turn to the Lord Jesus Christ. Repent of your sins. Turn from your forsakenness to Him. The tie that binds our hearts with Him and together in Christian love. Because He is faithful and He will join you to Himself. And He will join you to all who long for His appearing. Beloved, there is no greater fellowship than the communion of saints with the Lord Jesus Christ and with each other. Amen.