SCRIPTURE: Hebrews: 6-19

This Sunday Sermon is dedicated to Pastor Mark's history professor in seminary, Dr. David Rylaarsdam. As he guided us, eager seminarians, through the centuries of church history, he kept pushing us to learn from the heretics. He would challenge us to pay attention to the heretics for two reasons. First, to learn from their mistakes. Second, to know how their theological errors helped the church articulate theological orthodoxy with precision.

In Hebrews 3:11-19, we are also challenged to learn from history. The author challenges his audience (which includes us, by the way) that we must learn from the errors of one particular Old Testament event. That one event disabled Israel’s chance to enter into the Promised Land (a.k.a., “rest”). A whole generation of God’s people was b ...