# Profession of your faith equals your testimony

Category: Obedience to God’s Will
Key Passage: Hebrews 10:23
Speaker: Paul Chisgar
Date: August 28, 2019

Hebrews chapter number 10 is our memory verse. In fact, we’re going to do a brief Bible study on it tonight. But we’ve been saying all month long, if you can quote this verse, we’ll have something for you. Hebrews 10:20.

Let’s look it up. Hebrews 10:23. We’ve got to get going. If you’re able, would you please stand as we read it out loud together? And we’ll be done, I believe, about 8 o’clock as far as the Bible study. Hebrews 10:23. Let’s read it out loud together, all of us. Here we go.

“Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for he is faithful that promised.”

You pray it. God speak to your heart as I pray the same. Lord, you know, we’re trying to shorten it tonight. And Lord, the vote, it’s so important, but now, Lord, we’re here at your word. We need something from it. And Lord, please, from this verse, would you speak to our hearts. Lord, please. And we’ll thank you for what you do in Jesus’ name. We ask this. Amen.

Thank you so much for standing. You may be seated.

He is not talking about us holding on or holding fast to our salvation. It does not say that. Some might try to use this verse to say, “See, you hold onto your salvation.” But the Bible does not say that. It says, holding on to our profession of faith.

When someone gets baptized, we’ll say, “In obedience to the command of our Lord and Master and upon your public profession of faith in him.”

Back in the day, many churches, good churches with kind of their system, would be if someone got saved, maybe out selling or something, the next step you try to give them to come to church and make public the profession of faith in Christ. Then try to get them baptized in soul. Not used maybe as much as it used to be, but a profession of faith. That’s what the Bible is talking about.

“Let us hold fast the profession.” Notice that: our profession of faith. Salvation says our profession of faith. Can I just say it pretty simply? Your testimony.

Your profession of faith in Christ, your testimony. Now, it says that thing, it says, “without wavering.” That’s the tough part. It’s a little easy in church when everybody’s on your side to hold fast the profession of faith. But it’s a little different in the heat of the moment. It’s a little different when you go to the relatives or maybe someone else that you’ve all not been the best testimony around, and the pressure is a little tougher then. But it says this thing, “without wavering.”

Here’s the amazing thing about it: the world’s watching. They’re watching. A young Buddhist studying the different religions said, “Your Christ is wonderful, oh, so wonderful, but you Christians, you’re not like him.” That’s a sad indictment against us. Hopefully not true, but so often it is.

George Pentecost tells a story of a very wealthy lady, a very prominent lady. He did not give her name, but she was spending a few weeks at a resort, very, very nice and very prominent resort. And they were having a dance back in the day there, and a lot of her friends started inviting, “Hey, well, why don’t you go to the dance? Why don’t you go to the dance?” And she said, “No, no, I can’t go.”

There was a senator there that was going to the dance. And the senator talked to her, and he said, “Look, it would add to the importance and dignity if you’d go.” And he said, “It’s just—it’s just not harmful. And won’t you go?” And she said, “Senator, I cannot.” Now, I read this part: She said, “I’m a Christian. I never do anything during my summer vacation or wherever I go that will injure the influence I have over the girls of my Sunday school class.” I like that.

That’s what the senator said. The senator bowed, they said, to the lady. And he said, “I honor you. If there are more Christians like you, more men like myself would become Christians.” Now, that’s what he’s talking about. “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering.”

That’s the tough part. Look, if you will, over in First Peter chapter number four. There is a wonderful verse about this subject here: First Peter chapter number four, verse number 18. Boy, it can be a convicting verse to me sometimes. First Peter 4:18 of God’s word.

1st Peter 4:18, great verse here. So interesting how God words it. He says, “If the righteous…” How do you become righteous? Through Jesus. Well, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Believe in your heart into righteousness, see? So it’s talking about to saved people. It says, “If the righteous scarcely be saved.” They’re righteous through the blood of Jesus Christ, but they haven’t grown. They’re not living in it. Scarcely be saved.

First Corinthians 3 talks about that. They’ve got the foundation of Jesus, but upon top of that, they don’t build gold, silver, precious stone. They build wood and hay and stuff. They’re going to suffer loss, yet they’re saved, yet so as by fire. Now, that’s that crowd he’s speaking of. But the righteous, scarcely be saved.

Those at work, and you witness to them, and they say, “Oh, I’m saved.” You say, “Wow”—you don’t say it, but you think, “Wow, I heard the way you were just talking over there, and I know where you go, and wow, you are.” And maybe they are. I don’t know their heart. That’s not for me to judge. I’m not called to be a fruit inspector. I’m called to be a soul winner. Tell them about Jesus Christ.

But notice what it says: “If the righteous is amazing,” and “if the righteous scarcely be saved.” Here’s the sad part: “Where shall the ungodly and sinner appear?”

If you’re not living for the Lord amongst your family or amongst the workplace or your neighborhood, when your neighbor has a death in the family or they have cancer, what are they going to go to and say, “Would you pray for me?”

I forget when one of our neighbors—they’ve moved—but his wife became very old. Eventually, she passed. And pray—Lord, my wife was able to lead her to the Lord before she died. But I remember the first time, and he wouldn’t talk about God at all with me. I’d been warned, “Don’t talk about God with him,” you know. But I remember the first time he said, “Would you put a word in for me?” He couldn’t even say the word “pray.” “Would you pray for me?” Why? He couldn’t even—“Would you put a…” And I knew what he said: “Mike, I’d be glad to pray for your wife.”

Boy, God began to work. Eventually, he got saved. But the summer before, they had watched as we put in an above-ground swimming pool. But you still got to dig it out, and we dug it out with shovels. And, boy, they watched everything we did. I mean, they watched as they yelled at the kids and say, “Y’all dig. I’ve got to drink my sweet tea over here,” you know. I’m joking, all right. But they watched everything. They really did. And, boy, we were far—we’re far from perfect, not trying to say that—but I’m just saying they’re watching.

And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where are the ungodly and sinner going to appear? Who’s going to tell them about Jesus Christ? Who’s going to pray for their loved one when God has their heart right? Who’s going to tell them the old gospel story? Who’s going to tell them what their marriage needs is Jesus? And he’s saying, “Hey, hold fast a profession of our faith.” This is what he’s talking about.

Can I encourage you, parents, when the pressure is on at home, don’t cave. They’re watching. They know. They might be the ones that’s putting pressure on you, but they know whether you’re strong and true and holding out for the Lord and in faith in the Lord or not. They know.

Can I encourage you at the workplace? And maybe you might slip up and say something you ought not to say sometimes. In respect to even almost more, if you go back and say, “You know, I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.” They know you’re real and you’re sincere, but you’re human. Holding fast.

Hey, young people, some of you are trying to be such a good testimony at school, and I’m so proud of you for doing that. That’s wonderful. And can I encourage you to hold out? Don’t waver when the pressure will come. Pressure always comes with your relatives at family reunion and in your neighborhood and wherever it may be, it’ll come.

I’ll never forget a sad thing when I worked in Sampson Metal and Machine in Lakeland, Florida. That was a place I worked at during summertime when I was in college. I’d go to college and come back. They’d always hire me back, praise the Lord. And they’re good to me. It’s not a huge—just a small machine shop, a metal fab shop, little factory there. And I don’t know how many employees, 20, 30 employees, whatnot. But I’d come back on one of my goals every summer: I got a witness to everybody, all the new—got a witness to anybody new before I go back to college. And that’s just one of my things.

And I never forget one of the men—everybody knew he was a Christian. Everybody knew he was a Christian. He was open about it. And some of the men had noticed he had the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. And we were checking out at the checkout—the clocking out back of the day before you had to push the card in there, you know, and clock out and all that. And some of the guys said, “What about you? Look at that.” And what to make it worse, he tried to justify it. And he said, “Well, I’m just enjoying God’s creation.” And, boy, his testimony was shot. And I’ll be honest, my effectiveness was shot in a lot of ways. “Well, if that’s what you Christians are about, that’s a joke.”

“Let us hold fast our profession of faith without wavering.” Now, here’s the key: that last part, “for he is faithful that promised.” That’s the key. You see, my ability to hold fast my profession of faith without wavering—that ability doesn’t come from me. Especially in your marriage, by the way. If you’re going to be the husband God wants to be or the wife, and you’re going to hold fast at this—I want to be the lady, the man that God wants to be in the home. That’s stuff that… How are you going to do that? The Lord. How are you going to?

Family—some of the hardest people to rise above, hardest people to witness to sometimes—is family. How am I going to do that without wavering? The Lord. I’m at work, eight, ten hours, whatever it is, hours of death. How am I going to be a good testimony without wavering? The Lord. That’s the key. My true reliance is not on me, but on the Lord. We run out of strength, we run out of energy. We don’t have it all together.

“For he is faithful to promise.” You say, “All right, what does he promise?” So many things. I mean, speaking of our faith, first, saying heaven. Praise your Lord, he’s faithful. My going to heaven doesn’t depend on me. It depends on him, and he’s faithful. They try to use and say, “Hey, you got to hold on in your salvation.” Oh, right there: “For he is faithful that promised.” He’s the one that keeps you saved. Yeah.

But not just salvation, 10,000 different ways. His unconditional love says, “I will never, never leave you.” I mean, the peace: “I will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on me.” God says, “I give you the strength where you can overcome temptation.” First Corinthians 10:13: “He’ll always make a way out except that you may be able to bear it.” And just on and on, he’ll lead you.

We’re about to come to a vote here in a little bit. And while I like that over there in Psalm 23: “He is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” He promised so much. He’s faithful. He’s promised us rewards in heaven. I mean, you’re just going down the line. Access to God. Early in this past, talking about Christ as a high priest. And because of these promises, you can do it.

Some of you’ve been living for the Lord for years and years, and that’s wonderful. My hat’s off to you. How can you do it for so long, year after year? Because he’s faithful. So that’s the key. Sometimes we want to rely on ourselves, but we get weak.

Look over in Isaiah, if you would. Isaiah 40. Verse number 31 is a very familiar verse. It was the one about the day that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. And it talks about the eagles and how they soar with the wind and all that. But I want you to notice the verse right before, verse 30. Isaiah 40, verse number 31. Add so much when you get them both together in there. Isaiah 40, verse number 30.

And look what he says in verse number 30. You all there? Amen? Look at that verse number 30. He says, “Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall utterly fall.” The strongest man is going to fall. But here’s the verse that we concentrate on so much: “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles.” That old eagle puts his wings out and he just soars. A wind kind of lifts him up. Storms often help eagles soar higher. “They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint.” We’re relying on God, waiting on the Lord.

There was a boy—he was just a homeless boy pretty much—and he slept in alleyways and just wherever he could. Very sad story. Read it in a book. I believe it was in England years ago. But he had no place to stay and just a boy on his own, homeless, sleeping behind trash cans, whatnot. The family found out about it and the fun they had enabled them. They got the boy. They brought him out in the country to the farm. And they took him to the bedroom. “This is going to be your bedroom.” He had never seen a bedroom like that. Wow. Had a soft bed. Wow. That’s your bed to sleep in tonight. Boy, just couldn’t believe it.

And he said, “You crawled into the bed for a minute or two, and man, it just—wow, I never slept on a soft bed with pillows and sheets.” He’s amazed. And the lady said, “This is your room. You sleep on the bed right there. It’s yours.” She left the room. And the boy lay there, and he just couldn’t take it. He kept thinking, “Surely somebody’s going to come in the room and say, ‘That’s mine.’ Somebody’s going to come and push him out of his spot.” He had that happen a lot. He just couldn’t grasp it: I can lie in this bed.

The next morning, the lady came into the bedroom, and he was on the floor, sleeping underneath the bed. And she had to say, “Hey, it’s all right. This is your bed. It’s yours. Nobody’s going to take it. You can sleep there.” And that’s the way we are. We’re so self-reliant when God has everything we need if we rely, rest. Now I find myself on the floor, relying on myself, my own ability and wits, and trying to make my heart right. I’m relying on Christ.

So let us hold fast a profession of our faith. Why? Without wavering. Why? For he is faithful that promised. That’s the key. My reliance is in Christ.

Would you bow your heads? Close your eyes. Just very briefly tonight, two questions. “Preacher, I want to be a consistent testimony. I want to be a better testimony. God spoke to my heart. I like to hold fast my profession without wavering.” God spoke to my heart about that. Anybody like that, preacher? I like to be a better testimony. Anybody just let me head up. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. Me too. Me too. I like to be there too. God bless you. Many, many, many hands. Many, many hands. Thank you so very, very much.

Maybe you’re here tonight. You say, “Lord, help me to rest in your promises and your faithfulness. I’m ashamed to admit how many times I’m relying on Paul. It’s a shame when God and Christ have it right there available. Now I’m sleeping on the floor.” “Preacher, I’d like to rely, just totally resting, trusting in the Lord.” God spoke to my heart about that. That’s you. Not you slip in the bridge. That’s me. That’s me. I’d like to grow in that too. God bless you. God bless you. Many, many hands. Thank you so very much.

Would you please stand? We’ll have a word of prayer. Our instruments will play briefly. We won’t be alone. If you need to come, just be obedient. Let’s take time. We’ll go make time. Just spend some time. That’s what it’s all about right there.

Father, thank you for the verse. Thank you so many of your people memorized it. Lord, help us to hold fast to a profession of faith without wavering. Thank you, you’re faithful. Lord, help us to grow, help me to grow relying and resting in your faithfulness. Bless the invitation. Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Original File: Profession Of Your Faith = Your Testimony - Pastor Paul Chisgar Wednesday 8282019