Hebrews 2:15
1 December 2024
and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
So verses 14 and 15 can sort of be lumped together in some way and we've broken it into two focuses.
A fortnight ago we dealt with one of them. This week we come to deal with the other, namely the two great formidable enemies. One being the devil and the other being death.
And what we spent our time dealing with a fortnight ago in Hebrews 2:14 is that the devil and the power that he wields has been defeated. If we think back to verse 14 about Christ in becoming a man, which is the focus of this section in Hebrews 2, we see that through death He, that is Christ, might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is the devil.
So it is through death, through the laying down of the life of the Son of God and what Christ would face, that the evil one has been conquered. Because note the power that he has in this verse. It's not an authoritative power as we noted, not that the devil is seated on some throne as though he is the master of when people live and when people die, but he still has a power in which to use the fact that death is the consequence of sin and that is his charge against people on this earth and that has been defeated by the Son of God and what He has secured at Calvary.
This is what we emphatically unpacked from verse 14. But that, brothers and sisters, is just one of the formidable enemies that we see just in these few words in these two verses and there's another formidable enemy that we come now to tackle and address from verse 15, which is the subject of death.
Verse 15, and following the sentence, 'deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery'.
Now this is a subject for those who were studying 1 Corinthians 15, quite a bit of what we're going to address this afternoon is going to be summarising what we find throughout that chapter and it's a subject that we do all think about often in circumstances that are enforced because of the impact of it in our lives and when we stop to think about our mortality and when we deal with this subject of our fear of it, it is something that can be quite unnerving, something that really often makes us think in quite a deep and often profound way.
Just a few weeks ago I was looking at a picture of my home town from over a hundred years ago and I was looking at this picture and reflecting on the fact that almost certainly everybody in that picture is now dead and then I started to think in a hundred years' time, the spot in which I was standing, everyone here will be dead, including me.
And when we think about the realities of our own mortality, when we consider what even people are investing in, go back to a hundred years of people going about their daily business and all the important meetings, the important discussions and all of these things, practically speaking, all of these things are where moth and rust destroy.
And to take time, even right now as we're likely thinking about our own mortality and the practical things that we're doing and therefore the things that matter, one thing we have to reconcile. Everybody in this world, everybody on this earth has to reconcile that it does not matter who you are and it doesn't matter where you come from, it doesn't matter your lifestyle, it doesn't matter even how healthy you try to eat and how much you try to prolong certain aspects of it. In the Lord's providence, this is something that though we may try to prolong it, though many may try to deny it, they may try not to speak about it, they try to fight against it, it is a reality for every single one of us that we are all going to die.
And this stops us in our tracks and it should impact the way that we are living. Here as we're sitting, we have to have this in view because yes, we do, understandably, rightly so often, make our plans. Many of you will likely have plans for what the next ten, maybe twenty years will look like, hopes for the future and all of these sorts of things and then often what happens in people's lives, suddenly that changes with one phone call, with one piece of news from the doctor and for some it's even more sudden, suddenly wham, splat, gone.
Now this is in no way to be flippant about the reality of what this means in our lives. But brothers and sisters, when we're reading in this verse about a formidable enemy, which is what this is, here the language is speaking about those who through fear of death, a fear of death is what we are dealing with and that's a reality, that is a reality.
If you were to press most people and perhaps even for some professing Christians, this is the biggest sticking point, this is the biggest uncertainty, the uncertainty of why, the uncertainty of what and the uncertainty for many of the what next. And the uncertainty for many of the what next takes us to establishing another crucial truth, a truth that we as born-again believers sitting in this place know and as we're going to consider this afternoon are comforted by. Because death in the earthly practical sense is final, it means the end here on this earth.
But at the same time, death is not the end. So understand this, anyone who's sitting here in case there is any illusion, death when you physically die on this earth, that is not the end. It's not a case of well you die and then you become somebody lying in the ground and nothing of you exists anymore.
No, what we see clearly in the Scriptures is that death means the end of our earthly bodies here but there will be an eternal existence. And ultimately there is one of two places that each of us will go. One is in the warm embrace of the glory of God in heaven and the other is under the wrath of God eternally in hell. One is the blessing and reward because of God's grace of being a child of God. The other is the consequence of being at enmity, being separated from God.
And this is the stark contrast we have to have in view when dealing with the subject of death. And the more we engage with this, the more on one level unnerving it should be and the more desperate we should be to hear the truth that is contained in a verse like this and be driven by it and driven to proclaim it. Because this is more than just the lifeline. This is the hope of life.
This right here, in this verse, in this text, in this book, the book of Hebrews and in the Bible, this is your hope, brothers and sisters. It's the hope that you have this evening that in a message which is dealing with the subject of death, we are going to go from this place rejoicing in life.
Now how can this be? How can it be when we know what this verse is reconciling? Because the verse is talking about fear of death and even it goes on to this language of being subject to lifelong slavery. And this helps to give more of an explanation of why there is death in the first place. It's such an assumed thing in life, but we need to know why this is the case.
Because as we see in Scripture, we were made for life, but death has been the consequence of where we have now gone. Turn with me briefly to Romans chapter 6. Romans chapter 6, we have the Apostle Paul contrasting two positions of slavery. Now just to remind you, in Hebrews 2:15, it talks about those being subject to lifelong slavery. And here in Romans 6:20, we read, 'For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.'
Now do you see here the progression of this text? It's talking about being slaves of sin. Now this really does strike at the heart of many people in our city's worldview. Because many people will be walking around these streets and thinking about what we're doing and thinking, well, you, the people who are enslaved to something, you're enslaved to religion. You're all tied up in your religious stuff. I'm free from all that. No, no.
The Word of God is clear that you are enslaved to sin. The passions, the drives, the lusts of your fallen and corrupted nature. And this is something that again and again, even in our series in the book of Hebrews, we have taken great time to establish in order to be clear. We are enslaved to sin and we see just how that happens because there is a freedom that God has given us when we were created.
When man was created at the garden, there is a freedom, a freedom to enjoy that intimacy with God, a freedom to enjoy the beauty of His perfect creation. And what did man do in that freedom? Disobeyed God. Defied His law. Corrupted his entire being. What was in the image of God now became an image of man, corrupted, fallen in sin.
And so therefore, the entire being of man in this corrupted state is enslaved, enslaved to sin. Because what people need to know, what you need to know tonight, some of these things that even now you're wrestling with, some of these things that you still enjoy, these worldly, idolatrous, lustful things, you were not made for these things. It is the corruption of your flesh that enjoys and craves it.
And brothers and sisters, it is because of that, because of who you are, because of what I am in my corruption, in your corruption of sin, enslaved to sin, that as we see in Romans chapter 6, it leads to something and that is death. This is why there is death. Death is the consequence of sin, sin which we are enslaved to, which leads to death. Because that is the right consequence of our rejection of our Creator.
And we were made for our Creator. We were made for life. And death is the unnatural intruder. It is. It is the unnatural intruder. This is something that is unnatural and yet it has become the most normative thing. The fact that we die because it is the result of sin that we die.
And this is why even our bodies and who we are as people, human beings on this earth, is now a corrupted and tainted picture of what we were created for and by, by the living God. I used this picture once before. It's like when you are walking around a castle that is now nothing more than a ruin and we've got plenty of these in Scotland. You can still make out somewhat what that castle would have looked like. That's us. That's the state that we're in. That's not going to be used for anything of significance to house and give shelter and all of these things. It is now nothing more than a glorious ruin. That's what we are as people who are devoid, separate, cut off from God.
And what we have to understand, we must understand this, that death is a consequence. It is a just consequence. Man will not live forever in this world, in this corrupted state. This is a consequence that the Lord declares in Genesis chapter three. It's why the earth is afflicted. It's why disease and decay impacts our bodies. It impacts our souls. It's why there is so much suffering and difficulty, pain and tragedy. All of this is as a result of our sin, which leads to death.
It answers the why is there suffering in the world question and it takes us to therefore understanding that this consequence has been decreed by One who is perfect and righteous, the righteous Judge, the living God.
Some may say, well, if God is a loving and merciful God, as the Bible says, then surely all this nasty, wicked affliction stuff and the notion of death and hell, He can just do away with all of that. Think of a judge who has a moral as well as legal duty to uphold the law. What would be thought of such a judge if we applied that logic?
God is bound in His own governing decree to the law, which defines what is good, right and moral. God cannot be untrue to the very nature of who He is and it is why everybody, every one of you without exception, has, does, is falling short of this perfect standard and it's why death is the consequence and it means a separation from the warmth of God's embrace eternally.
We must be justly punished for our sin and this is why the doctrine of hell is an essential doctrine for us to understand. In order to grasp in our minds that not only is death the result of sin, but we also understand that the consequence is eternal and please note that every single person who is condemned to the eternal punishment of hell does so in an unregenerate, rebellious and corrupted state.
And so when we're dealing with the subject of death and the fear of death, rather than saying to people, maybe unbelieving family, work colleagues, whoever it may be, oh it's not that bad, actually what we have to understand is it is worse than they think.
Because the biggest things that need to be reconciled is not the fact that we're not going to live forever on this earth. The biggest things to reconcile is the existence of God, the moral law giver and the righteous judge. The biggest things that need to be reconciled is the reality, the existence of sin and the impact that this has on every one of us in our corrupted state. These are the things that need to be reconciled and this is exactly what Hebrews 2:15 is dealing with when it talks about lifelong slavery, enslaved to sin.
That is our condition and therefore it leads to the consequence of death. Now brothers and sisters, as we noted, this is not a verse and this is not a sermon where we're going to be leaving feeling utterly miserable and downcast because we are now about to deal with what this verse is saying about that condition.
Verse 15 is talking about the one who delivers all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. There is one who delivers us from this condition, from the slavery to sin, from the consequence of death, from the eternal punishment of hell, all of these things that we are dealing with in these opening minutes.
We are now coming to face the one who delivers us from that and again and again, verse after verse, chapter after chapter in the book of Hebrews, the answer is one that almost the youngest in this room could say. It is Jesus Christ.
Come with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. This is a chapter and especially the verses that we're going to read that we can never exhaust and get tired of reading, especially when we take time to dwell on our own mortality and the fallen corrupted nature of our being and the condition of slavery that we are in.
When we think about death and the fact that even for some practically much closer than others it comes knocking, it comes banging on the door and we know that we are deserving of it, we know that we are guilty of it. The fear that it produces, the panic, the uncertainty of everything that's surrounded by the subject of death, to come face to face with victory language in the face of this is something that can stir our souls with great rejoicing and praise and that is exactly what we have here at the end of 1 Corinthians 15.
1 Corinthians 15, the end of verse 54, it says, 'Death is swallowed up. This death, this consequence, it is swallowed up in victory. Oh death, where is your victory? Oh death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.'
What a passage of Scripture. What a passage of Scripture this is. That monster of death, that enemy which is formidable, that you in your sin, in your corrupted nature can do nothing to prolong, stop, delay, challenge, defeat. You can do nothing in the face of death but there's one who can, there's one who has, there's one who is and there's one who does and that is Christ.
And again we saw it from Hebrews 2:14 where it says that through death, it is through Jesus Christ dying that this victory language could be a reality for us this very evening. Now we're not going to spend too much time unpacking this because when we get to Hebrews 2:17 we'll be spending much more time unpacking the significance of what it is Christ has done and faced.
But brothers and sisters, what we have to understand is that it would take God dwelling among us in becoming a man, clothing Himself in human flesh. It would take Christ living a life without sin in ways that we certainly know we have not done. It would take the sinless life of Jesus Christ being nailed to that cross and bearing the sins of His people, His blood being shed as a means by which we could be cleansed of our unrighteousness, by which we could be freely forgiven, that there could be a pardon for sin. That is Jesus Christ, that is the gospel, that Jesus would face all of this and therefore we have victory, victory over death.
This opening part of 1 Corinthians 15:54-55 is almost mockery language. Now we think, in what position could we ever be to be mocking death? How could we ever even think to do this? Well, actually, when we start to realise what it is Christ has secured, we can begin to see that that monster, that formidable enemy that's coming knocking on the door of the born-again Christian has no case, has no claim over you.
This is where we come to not simply a hope somewhere out there but we come to the hope and the certainty that the Christian canon does have. The certainty that you have, brothers and sisters, is that you know there is One who is perfect, One who is righteous, One who is holy, who has passed through death to life where the consequence of sin and that slavery is not something that Christ in any way was guilty of or answerable to. And so, therefore, the guilt of your sin, Christian sitting here this evening, that is what Christ is dealing with, that He is taking it, He is putting it away in order that you would receive His righteousness, that you would receive life.
Death has a claim on you because of your sin. This is what verse 56 is saying in 1 Corinthians 15: 'The sting of death is sin'. Sin is why you die. This is what we've unpacked and the power of sin is the law, God's law, which declares that you are guilty in your sin. But notice what verse 57 says, 'Thanks be to God who gives us the victory, gives us the victory through Jesus Christ,' because this sting of death that we're reading up here is a sting that Christ has taken upon Himself and Christ is not answerable to this sin because He knew no sin and this is why He can and He does rise. It's why it had to be the sinless One laying down His life.
He literally, physically died and was buried in a tomb. This is the historical truth of the ending of Jesus' earthly life and yet we know, praise be to God, it is yet still but the beginning. It is but the beginning because He rose and in Him rising He conquers death. Death is defeated. The unnatural enemy of death, which is what we deserve to face because of sin, Christ has faced it head-on at the cross and He has defeated it and He's defeated it for you, child of the living God.
This is your victory this evening that Jesus Christ has passed through from death to life and He is the risen and exalted Lord and King over all things. He is not languishing in a tomb somewhere right now, He is seated on a throne, victorious. The devil has been defeated, death has been defeated and this is why in Romans 8:1-2 it says, 'There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus for the law of the spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.' You see this language, this language of condemnation which we deserve, the law of the spirit of life has set you free, that slavery of sin, you are set free from it, set free from sin and set free for Christ.
That's your life, Christian, that's your life and your hope for you know that this is eternal now. You're no longer simply thinking in terms of the next 20, 30 years, you're now thinking in terms of eternity. You get eternity into view and this impacts the way that you live your life. You're not investing in the things where moth and rust destroy, now there is an investment in that which will last forever for the sake of your soul, for the sake of your husband, your wife's soul, your children's soul and your children's children's soul. These kingdom investments are now what drives your life because you know your destination and your destination is heaven. Your destination is to be with your God and that's your joy and hope here this evening.
For those who have truly repented of their sin, for those who believe in Christ as the Lord and Saviour of their lives, belief only in Christ, not in some other religion, some other idea or mixing in a few different things here, there and everywhere, no, a conviction that you are a sinner enslaved to sin and this fear of death is because that which is unnatural is the end that you will face and believing that Christ has faced death itself on the cross and He has risen victorious to give us life. That is the hope of the gospel.
That is the victory of the gospel that we see in 1 Corinthians 15 and why in Hebrews 2:15 it speaks of being delivered. You have been delivered from this slavery of sin and that deliverance is only and it is fully and truly found in Jesus Christ and it cannot be broken. It cannot be broken.
Romans 8:33-34, 'Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? For it is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the One who died, more than that, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.' By the death of Christ, by the burial of Christ, by the resurrection of Christ, by the ascension of Christ, by the reality that Christ reigns and rules today and He will return, it is all because of Christ that you have a hope that is steadfast and certain. You have a life which is eternal and not only is it eternal, it is eternal with your God. That is the hope of life that we have in Christ in the face of death.
Now just in these final few minutes, let's just deal with a couple of the practical realities of the fear of death for the Christian and we'll also consider how that contrasts with he or she who is not a Christian.
Verse 15 of Hebrews 2 is dealing with this subject of the fear of death and we do need to reconcile truths about death even for us as Christians. It would not be the most transparent thing for a Christian to say, well I'm not affected by death at all. It doesn't make any odds to me now that I'm a Christian. Now the truths of what we have been unpacking here are foundational to the core of your being and praise God for that. But there are a couple of things we still need to reconcile.
First of all, death is scary. Death is a scary thing to think about. That doesn't change. The realities of everything surrounding its meaning and purpose and what lies afterwards has transformed in the hearts of the believer, but the scary nature of death in a fallen world, that still remains. When some people, especially as they're maybe coming through a time of great trial and affliction in their health and maybe they're thinking about their mortality in a more specific way, there are things that would make them feel scared. The physical suffering of what it means to suffer to a point where your body shuts down and dies, that is something scary. To think about when you may die and what that might look like, that is a scary thing to consider.
And there needs to be an understanding and a sensitivity. You're not, no longer being spiritual if you're acknowledging that death is a scary thing. But as we can see from many verses in Scripture, like Psalm 23:4, when it talks of walking through the valley of the shadow of death. We've got language of valley, darkness, shadows. It's very scary. But brothers and sisters, this language of a shadow of death is how we now think. It is not the fatal blow that the carnal fleshly man sees it as. In Scripture, in texts like 1 Corinthians 15, death, scary though it is, is described simply as going asleep. It is going from one life to the eternal life with our Lord, where there will be no sickness, disease, decay and death.
So it is scary. But brothers and sisters, we must remind ourselves and rejoice to know it is not all-consuming. It will not crush and conquer you because Christ has crushed and conquered death. That's your hope.
And the second thing we need to be clear on, and it sort of relates to the first, but even more specifically, death is sad. Now, first of all, when we think about our own dying, if I were to consider the point of me dying today, that would be a sad point in my mind for many reasons, some of which would be thinking about things that I hope still I would do in my life with my family and my ministry. But another crucial thing that would be very sad for me is considering who and what I leave behind with regards to my own family, even my church family, and thinking of the hurt and pain that death causes for those who are left behind.
It is without dispute in most cases, surely, the greatest sadness that we have to reconcile. The subject of bereavement, the suffering that it causes in the hearts of people, and everyone here to differing degrees has faced the impact of the sadness of death. And brothers and sisters, this is the result of being in a fallen world. As we've noted, death is not something that is natural to our creation. It is because of the distortion of sin. That's why we feel the pain of it. And even likely for some, reflecting on this now, it's very raw. And in no way do we make little of such a thing. It is a sadness like very little other on this earth.
But the Apostle Paul was not being naive. He was not being casual or indifferent, but he yet still said in Philippians 1:21, 'For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain'. 1 Corinthians 15, the passage we read, is no less true because of the sadness of death. In fact, when we think of the sadness of death, is it not all the more a joy and comfort to read of the victory over death in Jesus Christ? And does that not even more drive us in our desperation in, for example, our evangelism to preach the glory of the gospel to the unbeliever where the sadness of death leads to the consequence of hell?
What a contrast it is sitting here tonight to know in the midst of how scary and sad death is, that in our hearts and lives as believers in Christ, it is yet still the pathway to victory and eternity with Christ. The unbeliever does not know this. It's why if you've ever had the misfortune of being at a humanist funeral, what utter folly is spoken from those lecterns because people cannot make sense of it, mixing their metaphors, talking about resting in peace, resting where, who knows?
We know from the Word of God there's an eternality to this subject and there is a damning consequence for the unbeliever and this is why the gospel must be preached, be about the business of proclaiming the gospel, living according to the gospel and rejoicing in the gospel because as we see here in Hebrews 2:15, brothers and sisters, we've been delivered from the slavery of sin and the eternal damning consequence of sin which leads to death.
And so with that scary and sad nature of death, and it very much is, for the Christian, even if I, even if you were to be called home to glory today, there is still an underlying and foundational joy that we have because we know where we are going. We know to whom we are going to be welcomed with the warm embrace, safe in the everlasting arms of our Father.
That is what Christ has secured for you. And here tonight, it is why in dealing with some of the most scary, sad and horrifying subjects in this world, we come to a passage of incomparable joy because there is victory over these things in Jesus Christ and in Christ alone.