Thursday, June 14, 2007

"By faith [the Israelites] passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned" (Hebrews 11:29).

IDEA: When two do the same thing, it is not always the same thing.

PURPOSE: To help listeners understand that the same acts can come from different motives.

Have you ever had someone point to some non-Christian or even anti-Christian and say, “They live better lives than many professing Christians” ?

When people say that, what do they imply by the comparison?

I. People sometimes think that the criteria for whether or not you’re accepted by God lies in what you do.

What do you think is the significance of the observation, “When the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned”?  The Greek is intensive: they were totally engulfed, overwhelmed (Hebrews 11:29).

Both the people of Israel and the Egyptians did the same thing: they both tried to cross the sea. One group made it and the other did not. What made the difference?

What was the difference in their actions? Did the Israelites run faster and make it to the other shore before the winds changed?

Were the Israelites more courageous than Pharaoh’s soldiers?

Was it a matter of “luck” that the first group made it and the second group did not? The wind (Exodus 14:21) stopped blowing and the Egyptians perished.

II. The difference between the people of Israel and the Egyptians lay not in their acts, but in their faith (Hebrews 11:29).

When two do the same thing, it may not be the same thing.

The issue between God and people lies not in their deeds but in their trust and faith in him.

The writer speaks of repenting from “acts that lead to death.” He isn’t talking about bad deeds, but good deeds, possibly rituals, that do not come from faith. 

Two people may do the same thing, but it is not the same thing.  Some deeds reflect faith and others reflect self-sufficiency. The motive makes the difference.