Harvest Laws for Holy Living - 12 - The Law of the Past (2)

Several years ago, The Illinois Medical Journal carried an article that states why learning to forget the past and moving forward in our lives is so important.

There are two days in every week about which we should not worry—two days which should be kept from fear and apprehension. One of these days is Yesterday with its mistakes and cares, its aches and pains, its faults and blunders. Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control. All the money in the world cannot bring back Yesterday. We cannot undo a single act we performed; we cannot erase a single word we said. Yesterday is gone.

The other day we should not worry about is Tomorrow with its possible adversities, its burdens, its large promise and poor performance. Tomorrow is beyond our immediate control. Tomorrow’s sun will rise either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds—but it will rise. Until it does, we have no stake in Tomorrow, for it is as yet unborn.

That leaves only one day—Today. Any man, by the grace of God, can fight the battles of just one day. It is only when you and I add the burdens of those two awful eternities—Yesterday and Tomorrow—that we break down.

It is not the experience of Today that drives men mad—it is remorse or bitterness for something which happened Yesterday and the dread of what Tomorrow may bring. Let us, therefore, journey but one day at a time.

Actually, by taking care of today we provide for tomorrow—or at least prepare for it.

The call of Scripture is “Today, if we will hear His voice, we must not harden our hearts as when Israel provoked God in the day of trial in the wilderness.” The children of Israel miserably failed and wandered about in the wilderness for forty years because they failed to daily take care of their hearts so that they could keep their eyes on the Lord and trust in Him. The trials they faced were opportunities for growth and the glory of God, but because they failed to daily discipline their lives for godliness, they spent their lives going in circles in the wilderness.

Think about this: “A loose string gives out no musical note; but fasten the ends, and the piano, the harp, or violin is born. Free steam drives no machine, but hamper and confine it with piston and turbine and you have the great world of machinery made possible. The unhampered river drives no dynamos, but dam it up and we get power sufficient to light a great city. So our lives must be disciplined if we are to be of any real service in this world.”

What are the tests of life? They are tools in the hand of God designed to shape us into the character of Christ. Their design is not to break us, but make us by conforming us into His image. Again, while we should never want to fail, or intend to fail, we all do, and we need to learn to use our failures as step- ping stones to growth and sowing a harvest for the glory of God.

We cannot control the length of our life, but we can control its width and depth.

We cannot control the contour of our countenance, but we can control its expression.

We cannot control the other person’s annoying habits, but we can do something about our own.

We cannot control the distance our head is above the ground, but we can control the height of the contents we feed into it.

God help us do something about what we can control and leave all else in the hands of God!

I promised at the end of the last message that we would attempt to gain a better understanding of Heb. 6:4-6, because it figures so prominently in the writer of Hebrews contention that the Law of the Past is highly significant for us.

The seventh law of the harvest is simple, succinct: You, I can’t do anything about last year’s harvest... it’s in the past...but we can do something about this year’s harvest.

In Heb. 6:1, we read the exhortation that it is needful for all believers to “go on to spiritual maturity.” Verses 4-6 tell us why that is so crucial. We must go on because there’s something completely impos- sible if we don’t. That’s the application of this passage, which we’ll get to a little later in the message.

The question is: what’s impossible if we don’t go on? Let’s see v. 4-6 in their broader context.

A warning for failing to go on to spiritual maturity, go onward, forward for God.

Note first of all that v. 4, 5 specify that it’s impossible for these immature, carnal believers, who have five specific factors stated about them, to do something. It is my position that those who are addressed here are genuine believers who were walking in disobedience and facing the possibility of divine disci- pline as a result because they had gotten to the place of no return...they had “fallen away.”

These believers are described using five phrases, which I want to examine with you.

We’re talking here a once-for-all enlightenment that can neither be repeated nor reversed. The light of Christ’s Gospel can never be accepted more than once.

If you are saved today, it’s because you have fully partaken of the gift of salvation...not just sampled it!

The point here is that there is something specifically impossible for a saved person with these five traits to do, so the only alternative is to go on to maturity.

By the way, all five of these characteristics are in the past tense...they all occurred once in their lives and could never be repeated.

Then, what’s impossible, you ask? Verse 6 supplies the answer (read v. 6. Omit the “if”).

Briefly describe the “and having fallen away” here. Several things should be noted. First of all, the word “if” at the beginning of v. 6 is the same as the word “and” throughout this passage. Secondly, the “falling away” is used only here in the NT. It is too strong a word to refer to apostasy. It literally means “to fall alongside, to fall sideways,” as someone who might fall out of rank in a regiment of soldiers. He isn’t deserting; he’s just failing to keep pace. Because this Christian soldier has been subsisting on a diet of milk, his strength has waned. His salvation isn’t in question, but his spirituality is.

This word comes from the same root word as “fault” in Gal. 6:1. Both of these passages then, speak of believers falling out of rank from the things that pertain to Christian living. Heb. 6 is warning us that we can get to the place in our Christian life where, because of persistent immaturity, carnality, we step across a line of no return, and are no longer able to find repentance. God says to such believers, “I am through with you until the Bema Seat.” In fact, He may take such a believer home prematurely.

Take special note that this passage is not saying that it is impossible to renew them to salvation. We must not read the word “salvation” into the word “repentance.” God is speaking to Christians who per- sist in remaining spiritual infants.

Such a person, according to v. 6, besmirch the lovely reputation of the Lord Jesus, and end up taking their stand with those who crucified Him. They become a public disgrace to Jesus Christ. To get to that place results in the impossibility of ever recovering from it, and God’s discipline, chastening kicks in.

The significance of all this is to warn us not to get to the point where repentance is no longer an option. The application, as far as sowing and reaping are concerned, is that because of the impossibility of undoing the past, there’s only one direction a believer should go--FORWARD. We can’t have our past carnality or immaturity erased or eradicated by going back to the cross and repenting and starting the Christian life all over again, nor can we eliminate our past rebellion and start all over again. The record stands...therefore GO ON!!

This brings is right back to the illustration in 6:7-8. Here are two people with potential to produce fruit for God’s glory. One does; one doesn’t, and harvests a crop worthy of burning. Which believer are you in this illustration?

Close with I Cor. 3:13-15.