Larry Siegle · Hebrews 3:1-6
Link to sermon video: The Need for Restoration – L Siegle
The Time to Build and Rebuild
“The NEED for Restoration”
(Hebrews 3:1-6)
Series: The Time to Build and Rebuild
Thesis: God wants to build a house of those who love Him and are determined to accomplish His purpose.
INTRODUCTION
1. We begin a study to identify and explore the desire of God to build something of value and the need to rebuild our lives.
2. The title of the series is The Time to Build and Rebuild
3. The title of our message today is: “The NEED for Restoration”
RESTORATION, REFORMATION, DECONSTRUCTION
1. The world today is on a collision course and the decisions made today will have an impact on millions of people in the coming generations.
a. When God gave to Israel the “ten commandments” there was the reality of effect the actions of the people would have—not only on themselves but also on the “generations” to come (Exod. 20:1-6).
b. The word generations is in italics in most versions of the Bible, because in the Hebrew, the word generations is not there—but it is implied.
1) Literally, the verse says, “…to the children to the threes and the fours” (Exod. 34:6, 7).
2) The Hebew word “generation” is dore and is pictured as a ‘door moving back and forth…A generation is one revolution of the family line. The Hebraic understanding of order is the continual cyclical process of life and
death or renewal and destruction. This root can also have the meanings of circling around of something in a wide area or to cover a large area”
3) While the earth remains constant (by comparison), generations of people come and go (Eccl. 1:4-7).—there is a continual cycle of movement—a never-ending dance that is observed.
2. In this series of studies we are going to consider what the church of the Lord needs in order to awaken the hearts and minds of people in our world today.
a. Deconstruction—According to French philosopher Jacques Derrida is the “taking apart and examination of an idea, text, tradition, or belief in order to expose its hidden assumptions, internal contradictions, or underlying
power dynamics”
1) In the context of theology/faith it refers to the “systematic dissection and questioning of religious beliefs…to disentangle faith from harmful cultural attitudes”
2) It is the “process, often influenced by postmodern relativism, that rejects core doctrines of the faith, leading to the complete abandonment of faith itself (deconversion).
3) The evidence suggests a wholesale abandonment of the concept of objective truth that can be known as it relates to relationship with God.
b. Reformation—“the act of improving or correcting what is wrong or corrupt, a change to a better state or condition. To bring something back into alignment with a standard set of objectives.”
1) There was a major theological shift in the 16th century from the time of the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries) with the religious practices that had become embedded within the Roman Catholic tradition over the centuries.
2) Many of these “traditions” had become objectionable to some within the church (such as the ‘sale of indulgences’)—the ability to purchase “forgiveness” and “freedom from punishment” for sins committed with money.
3) Martin Luther came along and challenged the authorities of his day with the goal and desire to reform the church by bringing its doctrine and practices back to what they had believed previously.
a) Reformation is somewhat like ‘putting fresh paint on an old piece of wood’ (Matt. 23: 25-28).
b) The problem with reformation is that it did not/does not go far enough to actually correct the problem—it just makes it look a little better on the outside.
c. Restoration—“is the process of returning something to its former, original, or unimpaired condition”
1) This process involves, “carefully removing later additions or distortions in order to recover the integrity of an object, tradition or belief”
2) In terms of theology the concept of restoration necessitates, “recovering the original beauty of Biblical
Christianity by removing the extraneous elements of culture, myth, and toxic dogma—preservation and recovery to the core elements of truth.”
THE PROCESS IN OLD COVENANT ISRAEL
1. God sent the prophets into the “land” to warn them of impending judgment and destruction (Jer. 1:9-12)
2. God later reminds Jeremiah of the truth of His plan and purpose and that it will come to pass (Jer. 31:1-30).
a. The word “restore” is found in the Scriptures 74 x. “to turn back” – to find the quality of a former place or condition”
b. There is never a time we see God giving up and abandoning His purpose—the process of tearing up, breaking down, the old former things is necessary in order to recapture and to restore the relationship that has become lost.
THE CHURCH OF THE LORD NEEDS “RESTORATION”
1. From 1790-1840 was the “Second Great Awakening” on the American frontier because of all of the things that churches were teaching at the time.
2. The “Stone-Campbell Movement” began in a time of religious “revival” the hearts of people with a desire to recover and to return to a Biblical theology over against the trend of creeds, councils, conventions that had dictated what
various groups believed and taught.
a. Alexander Campbell wrote a series of articles on the “Restoration of the Ancient Order of Things” separate from allegiance to “creeds” and “traditions” outside of the Bible.
3. It was in 1962 that a young man and his family settled right here in NE Ohio and he and his father-in-law began to study the Scriptures related to the message and meaning of the Biblical “end-time” as it relates to the fulfillment of
redemptive history.
a. The substance of his conclusions was often rejected at the time, but he and others pressed forward in the desire for restoration for what the Bible actually teaches.
1) There are those in this very room who suffered the “withdrawal” of fellowship over this understanding of the text.
a) We lost friends, family members, fellowship, and so many other things because of our steadfast desire for restoration to continue—to help the world to see that the various concepts and misconceptions have no basis in the truth.
b) 22% of those who now live in the United States actually believe the “end of the world” will happen during their own lifetime.
1) Climate Change, or Nuclear War, now Artificial Intelligence is going to bring about the “end”
2) Our children and grandchildren are being fed this nonsense and the time has arrived for us to ‘take a stand’ for the truth and to teach what the Bible teaches.
GOD’S CHALLENGE TO ISRAEL
1. God had delivered His people from Babylonian captivity and caused them to return to the “land” (Hag 1:1-9)
2. God stirred up the “spirit” in the heart of the “remnant” to arise and to do what God wanted them to do (Hag. 1:12-14).
3. As a congregation, we cannot allow ourselves to become satisfied as just “one of the many” without any distinction or identity that honors God and is pleasing to Him.
PEOPLE MUST BE CHALLENGED
1. The message of “fulfillment” or “Accomplished Salvation” involves the “whole counsel of God” (Acts. 20:27; Jude 3).
a. Those who teach this message from within the Restoration Movement are referred to as the “ringleaders” who teach “extremism” as it pertains to God’s “purpose of the ages” (Eph. 3:11).
b. Teaching and ministering to the needs of our family, friends, loved ones, our children deserve to hear the truth of what the Bible actually teaches.
THE TIME FOR RESTORATION TO CONTINUE IS NOW
1. Each of us much continue to pray and to study the Scriptures like the Bereans of old, “to see whether these things are so” (Acts 17:11). “Prove all things” (I Thess. 5:21).
2. We must be willing to approach God’s Word with a sense of humility (Isa. 66:2).
3. If we want to be disciples of Jesus, we MUST continue in His Word (John 8:31, 32).
4. God promised to “make all things new” and HE did (Rev. 21:1-5).
CONCLUSION
1. God wants to life each one of us up and to use us for His honor and glory.
2. God wants to equip us to be able to share the substance of HIS message with others around us.
3. The time has come to repent and to pray for God’s power to “stand” and to “move” ahead in our ability to teach
Outline (Word document): Time_to_Rebuild.docx