Welcome to Unveiled Faces, a Redeemer Presbyterian Church podcast. Please enjoy our feature presentation. Do not let your hearts envy sinners, but be zealous for the fear of the Lord all the day. For surely there is a hereafter, and your hope will not be cut off. This concludes a reading as well as a hearing of God's holy and inspired word. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, Lord, we do pray that you would bless the reading of your word. In fact, Father, we pray that you would use your word today, that we may know you and know you all that much better. Father, for those who do not know you, we pray that you would open their eyes today, that they may see the beauty of our Savior, your Son, Jesus Christ. And Father, for those whose eyes are already open, we pray that you would open them wider, that we may behold even more the beauty of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen. There's a cognitive condition that psychologists refer to as wishful thinking, wishful thinking. And wishful thinking is when a person forms beliefs or makes decisions based upon what that person really desires to be true rather than any objective assessment of what reality actually is. For an example, it's not uncommon for a young aspiring musician to think that he's gonna make it big in Nashville. But then when you hear this young aspiring musician sing, you realize he's not going to make it big in Nashville. The confidence of that musician has been based in wishful thinking and not in objective reality. All of us to one degree or another are prone to wishful thinking. This is because we all possess strong desires for certain things that we really want to be true. And if we allow these strong desires to cloud our sense of reality, then we can easily fall into the air of wishful thinking. That's an error we need to guard ourselves against. It's the error the Apostle Paul warned about in Romans 12.3 when he wrote, not to think of yourselves more highly than you ought, but to think soberly. But not everybody heeds Paul's warning. Not everybody thinks soberly about the will of God in their life. Wishful thinking, therefore, is common. And it's precisely because wishful thinking is so common that there's another error we can observe. It's the error which automatically assumes somebody's optimistic outlook on life is nothing more than wishful thinking. Let me explain. When John makes a statement that should it be true, will provide a noticeable benefit to John, Jane might be tempted to dismiss John's statement on the basis that it's wishful thinking. Jane will say to herself, of course John is going to believe that because he likes the idea of the benefits that will result from that situation. So he convinces himself that it's true. In the study of logic and rhetoric, this is known as an informal fallacy. The error which Jane has committed is referred to as an appeal to motives. It's a subcategory of the ad hominem attack, if you understand or are familiar with that term. John may or may not be guilty of wishful thinking. That's something which needs to be determined. But if Jane makes that determination based only upon her observation that John stands something to gain should what he says actually be true, then she's committed a logical fallacy. Her conclusion is based only upon what she believes John's motives to be. She hasn't actually assessed the situation on the merits of the case. Imagine Elvis Presley. Before he became famous, saying to you, I'm gonna make it big in Nashville. If you didn't listen to him sing, If you just assumed that because Elvis liked the idea of fame and fortune that he was pursuing this pipe dream of wishful thinking, then you'd be committing the appeal to motives fallacy. A more responsible approach would be to say to young Elvis, I can certainly understand why Nashville would be appealing to you, but let's hear you sing. Let's see you perform. Let's see if you really have what it takes to make it in Nashville. When it comes to the truths proclaimed in the Bible, many unbelievers in the world will commit the appeals to motive fallacy. They listen to Christians talk about all the positive benefits that accrue to those whose faith is in Jesus Christ, and then they dismiss these things as wishful thinking. They hear us talk about the glory which awaits us in heaven, how there will be no longer any evil, no suffering, no sickness, no pain, no oppression. And the unbelieving world says, you only believe that because you like the way it sounds. You like to think that there's something more to life than what this world has to offer. You want to think, it makes you feel good to think that all the injustices in this life are somehow gonna be set aright in the next life. So you believe that there's a God in heaven who's gonna make all these things happen, but that's just wishful thinking. Karl Marx advanced this position. He did so in such a subtle way that he successfully misled millions of people into dismissing Christianity on the grounds that it's just wishful thinking. Here's how he did it. He said that the working class people are exploited in a capitalistic society. He then went on to say that in order to deal with this oppression, with these injustices, the working class people turn to Christianity because it promises them that if they just endure these present sufferings with faith and perseverance, then something far greater, something far better awaits them in the next life after death. And this idea was summed up in Karl Marx's famous statement that religion is the opiate of the masses. In making that statement, Marx is expressing his belief that religion has certain practical functions that are similar to the functions of opium in a sick person. It provides, first of all, relief from personal suffering. Religion does, Christianity does, as well as opium. And secondarily, Marx said, it causes a person to experience hallucinations that don't actually comport with reality. And what Karl Marx's statement amount to is an attack upon Christianity by means of a logical fallacy. He recognized the hope that we have as Christians, a hope in the hereafter. It's a hope that promises rewards and blessings to those who faithfully endure the trials and tribulations of this present life, whose confidence is in the Lord Jesus Christ, who has overcome death. And then Marx dismissed the entirety of Christianity on the accusation that it's just wishful thinking. Brothers and sisters, you need to remember that we live in a world where there's a lot of hostility towards Christianity. You don't have to look too far to find people who will attempt to subvert the hope that you have in the hereafter, in the life to come. on the basis of mockery, on the basis of logical fallacies, informal fallacies. People will mock you, they will tell you that what you believe is just wishful thinking because you like the way it sounds. They'll assert that religion is a crutch for frail-minded people, something the weak need in order to support them through the trials and difficulties of life. They'll pose questions to you that they just assume from the get-go you cannot answer. If God loves you so much, then why does he let all these bad things happen to you? As if that proves the point. The unbelieving world will present all manner of challenges to your faith, trying to discourage you from maintaining your hope in the promises of God. And don't think that you are impervious to these attacks. Don't think that people, the people of the world, cannot get inside your head and begin to cause you to doubt the authenticity of your hope. Please turn in your Bibles to the New Testament book of Hebrews. This epistle was written to Hebrew Christians living during the first century. That's why it's called Hebrews. It's written to Hebrew people, Hebrew Christians. And these Christians were very much like you and I, yet they were Christians who were experiencing some serious challenges in their life. They were Christians whose hope and confidence in the Lord was being assailed by the people around them. Chapter 10, please. I'm gonna begin reading at verse 32, and if you would please follow along, chapter 10, verse 32. And the author of this epistle is reminding his readers how they had already persevered through some quite significant trials in the past. So beginning in verse 32, he writes, but recall the former days in which after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings, partly while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated. Now, I'll continue reading, but let me pause there just for a second. The people that this was written to were definitely true and genuine Christians, okay? It says in verse 32, recall the former days in which after you were illuminated, You endured a great struggle. And the words, after you were illuminated, refers to the time after these people had received the saving grace of Jesus Christ. After their minds had been illuminated by the Holy Spirit to acknowledge and to embrace the Lord Jesus Christ. So make no mistake about it, that the people that this were written to were true, genuine Christians. Then in verse 33, the writer begins to describe how they had suffered for being Christians. And he gives two reasons for why they suffered. First, he says that these Christians suffered because they were reproached by the world, so that the world made a spectacle of them before the eyes of their peers. And second, They suffered because they became companions or champions of other Christians who were being reproached by the world. So they were reproached and then they came alongside those who were being reproached. In other words, they stood up for their fellow Christians. They came to the rescue of those who were being reproached. They defended the dignity and the honor of those who were being mistreated. And as a result, they themselves were mistreated. They suffered greatly because they were willing to take a stand for righteousness and justice. Sounds like a pretty honorable group of Christians, right? Indeed, they were. These people were the real deal. If they were here today, They'd be on the front lines of the pro-life battle, defending the lives of the unborn. They'd be the people who are running the gospel missions in the inner cities. They'd be the people who are showing compassion to the residents in convalescent homes. They'd be the people bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ into the prisons. They'd be giving their own time and their own talents and their own treasures to stand alongside the oppressed and the vulnerable people of this world. And this much is affirmed in verse 34. The author of the epistle writes, for you had compassion on me and my chains. and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and more enduring possession for yourselves in heaven. That's what these people did. And that was their motivation, knowing that they had a better and a more enduring possession for themselves in heaven. And I'm stressing this point that these were active, genuine Christians who had the evidence of the fruit of their salvation in some very tangible ways because I want you to see that strong Christians are susceptible to episodes of doubt and insecurity. Follow along as I resume reading in verse 35. The author of this epistle writes, therefore, do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. Do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. Why did this admonition need to be written? Didn't the author of this epistle know that once a person's saved, that person's always saved? Didn't he know that God will cause every one of his elect to persevere to the end? What's the big deal then? Why such a strong admonition in verse 35? Because even strong Christians are susceptible to episodes of doubt and insecurity. That's why the Bible contains many admonitions concerning our Christian hope. Verse 18 of our sermon text from Proverbs is such an admonition. It's telling us not to lose our confidence in the hope that we have in the life hereafter. For surely there is a hereafter, Solomon writes, and your hope will not be cut off. Well, it's absolutely true that God preserves each and every one of his elect to the very end of life It's also true that those saints will sometimes go through a crisis of faith before they reach the end. And that's what's happening here to the Christians in Hebrews 10. When it comes to our understanding of God's sovereignty over the affairs of our lives, we need to remember that God not only ordains the end, but he ordains the means by which we get to the end. That means that God not only preserves his elect so that they finish this earthly life with faith in Jesus, but he also provides his sustaining grace all along the way. So when your fleshly weakness causes you to doubt and to begin to consider throwing away your hope and confidence in God. God provides circumstances in your life that will provide the necessary encouragement to help you endure in your faith, to cause you to endure in your faith. He'll provide a church. He'll provide a specific person. He'll provide a particular book or something that will bring you to a position of strength in your faith. That's God's provision. And that's what's happening here in Hebrews 10. The epistle that we just read was God's gracious provision to those Hebrew Christians to give them the necessary encouragement to endure in their faith. What they needed at that very moment in their Christian life was to be reminded that the hope they had embraced in the former days was not in vain. So God used one of his children to write this epistle to them and then deliver to them so that they can be told, therefore, do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward, for you have need of endurance so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. Then he concludes this chapter by reminding the Hebrew Christians about who they are as people redeemed in Christ. But we are not those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul. So here's the point. God knows that his people need to be reminded over and over again that their faith is not in vain. He knows that we have seasons of our lives in which everything seems to be going wrong, which every time you walk around a corner, something unexpected smacks you right between the eyes. And after this has happened for the umpteenth time, you might begin to question whether the hope you have will ever be realized. You might begin asking yourself questions. to which you used to be really sure you knew the answers to. And when the unbelievers of this world tell you that your hope is nothing more than a pipe dream fueled by wishful thinking, well, you might begin to wonder whether that's actually true. Verse 18 of our sermon text was written to remind you that there is a certainty to the hereafter. and the hope that you have will not be cut off. Your hope will be realized beyond the grave. Doubts and insecurities are most likely to arise when your perspective ends at the grave, when your perspective on life ends at your own death. Let me repeat that. Doubts and insecurities are most likely to arise in your own life when your perspective of life goes from today to the day you die. But when your perspective extends beyond the grave, then that's when those doubts and insecurities lose their impact. Why? Because of the grandeur of the glories that await you beyond the grave. Romans 8.18 informs us that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glories which shall be revealed in us. So if your perspective is only for the present time, then you're going to be focusing on what? The sufferings. That's what this present time provides, sufferings. In the world you will have tribulation, Jesus said. Life is a veil of tears, we're told. But this present life is not all that there is. Surely there is a hereafter, our sermon text tells us. And because there is a hereafter, your perspective on life should include the hereafter. So when you take into consideration what we just read in Romans 8.18, that the sufferings of this present age are not even worthy to be compared with the glories that await us beyond the grave, then you realize that you can have hope in this present age, even when you are experiencing suffering and tribulation. King David is a good example of a man who had the perspective that extends beyond the grave. As you know, David had a hard life. Certainly there were seasons of David's life which were less violent than others, but David also had his fair share of trials. And this is why so many of the Psalms that he has written bring such comfort to our souls. Because we can relate to the distress and the anguish that David often has written as he expresses his soul to God through the form of Psalms and prayers. Psalm 17 is a perfect example. Psalm 17 is a prayer. And it begins in David's typical style. He praises God for his holy character, and then David proceeds to plead with God to deliver him from his enemies. And in doing so, he describes who his enemies are. Beginning in verse eight, David prays, keep me as the apple of your eye. Hide me under the shadow of your wings, from the wicked who oppress me, from my deadly enemies who surround me. They have closed up their fat hearts. With their mouths they speak proudly. They have now surrounded us in our steps. They have set their eyes crouching down to the earth as a lion is eager to tear his prey, and like a young lion lurking in secret places, confront him, cast him down. So these are the wicked people from which David was asking the Lord to deliver him. And before I read on, let me ask you to listen to what I'm about to read. Listen for how David concludes this prayer. He acknowledges that God, for whatever reason, has given earthly comforts to his enemies. But Dave is not distracted by the prosperity of his enemies because his hope and confidence is located beyond the grave in the eternal glories which await him after his own death. Verse 13, deliver my life from the wicked with your sword, with your hand from men, O Lord, from men of the world who have their portion in this life and whose belly you fill with hidden treasure. They are satisfied with children and leave the rest of their possession for their babes. As for me, I will see your face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake in your likeness. Did you hear how David finished this prayer? He sees the earthly treasures and prosperity of the wicked, but his heart's not attracted to that. Instead, his heart's directed to the Lord. He finds his comfort in knowing that when he passes from this life to the next, that he will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Brothers and sisters, do you have this same hope as David is expressing in Psalm 17? Do you have the same hope? Is it your firm conviction that when you pass from this life to the next, that you'll open your eyes and you will behold the face of God and be completely satisfied? That was David's hope. As for me, he prayed, I will see your face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake in your likeness. What David is praying here in Psalm 17 is what our sermon text tells us to do. Do not let your heart envy sinners, but be zealous for the fear of the Lord all the day. David was zealous for the fear of the Lord. He sought his refuge in the Lord. His hope for the hereafter was in the Lord. Therefore, David's perspective extended beyond the grave and his heart was fixed on the glories that await him beyond the grave. And the person who's zealous for the fear of God will not envy the earthly life of sinners. Do you hear that? The person who's zealous for the fear of the Lord will not envy the earthly life of sinners. The person who yearns to spend eternity in the presence of the triune God is not a person who's going to be enticed by the things that this world has to offer. This is because the person who fears God and whose hope is in the hereafter is a person whose perspective on life extends beyond the grave. There's a fictional story told about two men who lived next door to each other. They lived on the 10th floor of a 20-story apartment building. And they shared a common balcony out their back window so that on those occasions when both of these men happened to be outside on the balcony, they could talk to each other. They were right next to each other. And as the familiarity between these men began to increase, one man confessed to the other man that he had a growing conviction that he could fly. No matter what the other man said to him, there was no convincing him that he couldn't fly. So the day finally came when the man who thought he could fly determined to do so. So he told his friend to wait on the balcony and watch him as he flies by. And then the man proceeded to go up to the top of the 20-story building and to jump off. And as a friend watched from the position of the balcony, he could see the man's body rapidly accelerate towards the ground. And he was aghast because he knew that this man was about to die. But when the man who was falling passed by the 10th floor, He looked at his friend who's standing on a balcony, and with a big smile on his face, he yelled, so good so far. Both of these men looked at the same situation and had drastically different responses to it. One was terrified by the situation. The other was ecstatic. And the difference can be attributed to the scope of their perspectives. One man was looking at the situation from a perspective of 20 stories, and the other man was looking at a perspective of 19 stories. When all you can see in your life is the next however many years you expect to live on this earth, then you're like the man who jumped off the roof. For a brief period of time, He thought that everything was going all right. He experienced the exhilaration of an adrenaline rush as he, quote unquote, flew through the air. And he liked that. Now imagine how foolish it would be for the friend who's standing on a balcony to envy the man who's falling. Imagine if he said to himself, flying looks like a lot of fun. My friend did it and he said it's working out great for him. In fact, I looked at his face. I saw the joy and ecstasy on his face. So I think I'm gonna try to fly too. The person who envies the life of sinners is doing exactly that. He's looking only at the first 19 stories of the free fall, and he's saying to himself, that's what I want. I want that for my life. I'm going to pursue that. When you, as a Christian, maintain a perspective that extends beyond the grave, then you'll see the momentary exhilaration experienced by sinners on this earth And you'll say to yourself, I have absolutely no desire for that because I know what the end result of that choice will be. And it's not pretty. But when you don't maintain a perspective that extends beyond the grave, that's when you become discontent with Christian faith. That's when you begin to envy the life of sinners. That's when the fallacies, the fallacious attacks from the unbelieving world will cause you to doubt your convictions. You'll begin to contemplate casting away the truth, your faith. You'll question whether your faith is just a crutch for weak-minded people, an opiate for the oppressed and downtrodden of this world. When you don't maintain a perspective that extends beyond the grave, that's when you will experience a crisis of faith. If that's where you are today, then let me point you to what the writer of Hebrews said to those first century Christians who were in the same boat. He wrote, for you have need of endurance so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. Do you see the chronology here? The Christian life is one of endurance. You're here on this earth to do the will of God. And after you've done the will of God, then you will receive the promise. The Christian hope, therefore, is beyond the grave. Our hope is in heaven. That's not to say we have no hope here on earth. There are down payment, security deposits the Lord has given us of our eternal hope that we realize here on this earth. But ultimately, our hope is in heaven. 2 Corinthians 4, 17 and 18 puts it this way. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things that are not seen. For the things that are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. That's just another way of saying that your perspective needs to extend beyond this present world. Your ultimate hope in life is not in this life, but in the life to come. And when you maintain that perspective, then the afflictions you suffer in this life are quote-unquote light, in contrast with the glories that await you in the next life. Karl Marx was absolutely correct in his observation that Christian faith provides comfort to the oppressed and the downtrodden of this world. Absolutely true. His error was to assume that discomfort was based in wishful thinking, when in fact, in reality, it's based upon the sure testimony of the triune God. For surely there is a hereafter, God says. Surely there is a hereafter. Let those words sink in, because those words provide the framework for a proper perspective on life. Surely. There is a hereafter. And not only does God assure us that there's a hereafter, but he also assures us that the hope we have in Jesus Christ will not be cut off. It will not fail. It's not just wishful thinking, but it will be realized. It certainly will be realized after you have completed the will of God here on this earth. 1 Peter 3.15 tells us to always be ready to make a defense for everyone who asks you a reason for what? For the hope which is in you. The hope. Our sermon text from Proverbs 23.18 provides a reason for your hope. And it's an entirely legitimate reason that can be defended against the attacks of unbelievers. The reason for your hope is because God promised it. Because God said so. It's because the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth said so. And that settles it. May the Lord give you and I the necessary faith to believe Him when He says this, and to trust Him when He says this, and to fear Him all the days of our life so that we can run the race with endurance. so that we could run the race with endurance, the race that has been set before us, that we may do the will of God, that we may endure through the sufferings of this world, which are light and not even able to be compared with the glories that await us. Let us look to Jesus Christ as the author, as well as the finisher of our faith. Let's pray. Our dear Heavenly Father, you know that we live in a world of hostilities. In fact, your son, in his high priestly prayer, acknowledged such, knowing that we are not of the world, but have been sent into the world. And he prayed for your provision and protection as we remain in the world, that we would not be swallowed up by the world, that we would not be overtaken by the world, but rather that you would preserve us. Father, we know that by our own strength, we would fall. We know that as we walk through this life, that you hold us by our hand so that when we fall, we are not cast headlong, but that you uphold us and you set us aright again on our feet. Father, we thank you and we praise you for your great mercies to us in regards to the preservation of your saints. Father, we continue to strive to be faithful and to walk according to the calling that you have placed upon us, to be zealous for good works and to be zealous in the fear of the Lord. Father, we just don't have the capacity to do this in and of ourselves. And so we continue to trust in you. We continue to walk in the Spirit, knowing that it is your Comforter, the Holy Spirit, who leads us into all truth and who gives us wisdom and guidance and gives us clarity of thought, that we may know the mind of Christ and that we can walk in ways of righteousness. And so Father, when we experience episodes of doubt, when we experience insecurities, when the world assaults our faith, when it attacks it, casting all forms of mockery and allegation at our feet, Father, we pray that we would be like those Hebrew Christians who had endured great suffering in the name of Jesus Christ. And like those Hebrew Christians, we pray that we would not be those who fall back to perdition, but we would be of those who believe unto the saving of our soul. We have every confidence of knowing, Father, that Jesus Christ is the author and perfecter of our faith. And so we know intellectually that once we're saved, we're always saved. But in practical terms, Father, we continue to stumble. We continue to fall. And it's in these times that we turn to you and your strength, believing in the promises that you have given to us, that there is indeed a hereafter, and that our hope for the hereafter will not be cut off. And so, Father, help us to maintain the perspective of eternity. Help us to see the great glories that await us, and that these would be motivation to us to continue to strive, to run the race with endurance. And Father, May we give all glory and honor and credit to you, that when we receive the crown of glory, that we may throw it at your throne, and that we may deflect all glory back to yourself, for it is you, our triune God, who is deserving of such glory. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. This has been a presentation of Redeemer Presbyterian Church. For more resources and information, please stop by our website at visitredeemer.org. All material here within, unless otherwise noted. Copyright Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Elk Grove, California. Music furnished by Nathan Clark George. Available at nathanclarkgeorge.com.