Our Great Responsibility (10:19-39)

Introduction

Well here we are in a brand new year, 2023. To some, entering a new year creates fear and trepidation, while others look at it as a time of new beginnings. Maybe this is the year you’ll lose those excess pounds, or start to exercise, or get out of debt, or maybe engage in a new hobble. Whatever the new resolution it gives us a feeling of hope to at least talk about it and plan. However, it doesn’t take us long to realize that our talking and planning do not amount to much without actual, real live action.

After a five-sermon break during our advent series, it’s now time to back to our study of the book of Hebrews, which, over many weeks, we have been greatly blessed by the books primary theme, and that is the Theology of Jesus the Christ. We began with who Jesus is; he is the very essence of God himself, eternally begotten of the Father and exist as the second person of the trinity along with the Father and Holy Spirit. Therefore, he is much greater then the angels (since they worshipped the Son, though for a short time he was made lower then the angles), much greater then Moses (since Jesus had a different appointment then Moses), much greater then the priesthood of Aaron (Jesus was the final high priest and final sacrifice), and even much greater then Melchizedek (the type of Christ, the King of Salem [Jerusalem]).

To the first century Jewish believer (the Hebrews to whom it was written), this had profound implications, since only their Messiah, who they had been waiting for for centuries could have fulfilled all of these qualities. Yet, their Messiah, for a short time of necessity took on flesh like ours (as we just celebrated the incarnation on Christmas), in order to be that perfect, once-for-all-time sacrifice for the sins of his people.

Also in our study, we have been warned over and over again about those who say they believe in all we have said about Jesus, but do not. They sneak into the church and even look and sound like the real thing but they do not continue or they seek to pervert all or some of the truths concerning Jesus. This morning is another one of those warnings, this time showing us that there is more to trusting Christ then just talking, you know like our New Year’s resolutions. We will see this morning from our text, Our Great Responsibility with regard to the great salvation that has been given us. When we take this responsibility seriously, they become evidences that we are really God’s people, since we engage in actual, real live action of obedience to our God’s commands.

Text: Hebrews 10:19-39

Hebrews 10:19–39 ESV

19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. 26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. 32 But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, 33 sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. 34 For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. 35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. 37 For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; 38 but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” 39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

Main Idea: Since God has provided for us real, tangible, and everlasting salvation through his Son, we as his people are responsible to show forth this salvation in tangible, active obedience.

It is important to note that before God commands something, he declares the realities that exist to make those commands possible.

In other words, if I asked my son to mow the lawn, it would be necessary for me to first tell him that the lawn mower is in the shed and that the gas can is next to it. So we begin this morning with the,

I. Declaration Regarding the Truth of Our Salvation (19-21)

A. We Can Enter the Presence of God (19-20)

Therefore, brothers (19a) - written to believers with an encouragement to move forward because of all that has been said and done. All that we have been taught about Jesus from his deity, to his humanity and all that this humanity provided is implied here, and now we move into the effect of all that Jesus did and is doing in our lives personally.

since we have [pre, act, ind - we presently possess] confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus (19b) - this confidence or boldness is a recent privilege, since any Jew would know, you just don’t go walking into the holy of holies without disastrous consequences. How is it that we can do this?

by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh (20) - The curtain that separated the holy of holies was now gone, replaced by the flesh of Jesus given for us, opening the way forever.

Matthew 27:51 ESV

51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.

So how do we know that it will stay that way and that things won’t revert back to their former ways? We know because of,

B. Our High Priest Is Over God’s House (21)

since we have a great priest over [preposition - with responsibility for] the house of God (21) - under the old covenant, the Levites, and particularly the High Priest were responsible for what went on in the temple; who could or could not be there, the sacrifices and how they were conducted, etc.

The point is, that Jesus has not only given us access to the very presence of God, but he is the responsible one who guards the house of God of which are all the members of the covenant community (all true believers).

As a result of the truths we now know, we have a,

II. Responsibility Resulting From the Assurance of Our Salvation (22-25)

There are three present tense, active voice, subjunctive mood verbs, that are grammatically designed to declare the ongoing, active possibilities we have to obey the accompanied actions, based on the declared statements above.

Note first that there is a progressive flow to our responsibility, and so it begins very strategically with going into the presence of God, as the writer of Hebrews invites us to,

A. Draw Near (22)

let us draw near - actively drawing near to God, as a way of life, but how?

with a true heart in full assurance of faith, - a heart that has been made right, and a faith that is based on what God has done, not anything in us,

with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience - this imagery is of the priests as they served must first be cleansed through a sacrifice on their behalf before they can offer sacrifices for the people, but not so with us because of the blood of Jesus we are cleansed once and for all

and our bodies washed with pure water - the priests would wash themselves in the large vessel called the laver before entering into their service before the Lord. We have been washed with the water of the word, and cleansed by the Holy Spirit. Therefore we can,

Hebrews 4:16 ESV

16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

James 4:8 ESV

8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Having drawn near to God, we are now able to,

B. Hold Fast (23)

Let us hold fast - to continue to believe and practice as a sign of that belief. What are we to believe and practice,

the confession of our hope without wavering, - being unshakable and unswerving in what we say we believe. Not holding to this confession until something better comes along, but knowing emphatically that what we believe is the absolute truth, and how is that possible,

for he who promised is faithful - what we believe is not based on human wisdom or philosophies, but it originates and is overseen by the eternally faithful, sovereign God!

Our responsibility does not end with ourselves, for now we are told to,

C. Consider How (24-25)

let us consider how (24a) - continually observe, apprehend or consider. In other words, develop a plan on,

how to stir up one another to love and good works (24b) -

not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, (25a) - the meeting (local church) together provides the setting in which to,

encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (25b) - without the local church, we cannot grow in our walk with the Lord. It provides the ordinary means of grace needed to maintain personal growth. Notice that this meeting together and encouraging one another should increase as you see the Day drawing near, or as we see the signs of Jesus return increase. We read how this played out in the early church:

Acts 2:42–47 ESV

42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

As we see in this passage, the early church received these following graces, and is a model of what the modern local church should produce:

Preaching of the Word (apostles’ teaching)

Ordinances (breaking of bread)

Prayer

Fellowship (sharing in common)

As a member of God’s covenant community, we have a great responsibility as we have seen, but what happens if those who profess to be believers do not carry out their responsibilities, the writer of Hebrews issues a,

III. Warning Against Deliberately Violating Our Salvation (26-30)

For (coordinating conjunction)- begins with an explanation of warning concerning if we fail to act responsibly with the great salvation we are given.

The writer of Hebrews addresses himself and the church by using the first person plural pronoun we. This warning is given in a general way since the writer does not know who is real and who is pretending.

This warning seems to be given to those who have no regard for their responsibility and actually deliberately work contrary to what has been given, in other words, apostates.

This warning is given by first declaring three truths regarding salvation, the first is,

A. Sin’s Sacrifice Has Ended (26)

if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth (26a) - speaking of one who is knowledgeable of spiritual truth but blatantly disregards it.

there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins (26b)- the payment for sin is complete. There is no other way of salvation.

Romans 6:10 ESV

10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.

Hebrews 9:28 ESV

28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

There is no other way to salvation, to the Father, to heaven, except through Jesus Christ exclusively, and yes, we are saying that all other ways are false!

John 14:6 ESV

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

As a result, to deliberately reject this sacrifice leaves that one with the reality that,

B. Sin’s Judgment Is Imminent (27)

It is important to note that the church is not a safe haven for unbelievers. Though we may not know who is or who is not a true believer, these pretenders should understand that they have nothing to look forward to,

but a fearful expectation of judgment - God’s judgment will fall on such a one, and this judgment will be all consuming,

a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries - there will be no recovery, fire consumes all with no escape.

But you might say, that’s not fair, isn’t there a trial, aren’t I innocent until proven guilty? We answer this with the reality of,

C. Sin’s Indictment by Witnesses (28-31)

In the Old Testament, one could not be condemned for a capital crime without two or three witnesses.

Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses (28) - The argument here is from the lesser to the greater,

How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace (29)- in other words, if two or three fallible people can agree to put someone to death because of a capital crime he committed against the law of Moses, how much surer is the witness of the God-head against, and bring judgment for, the ultimate capital crime,

trampled underfoot the Son of God - rendered it useless, not important, disdaining something, like wiping your feet on a doormat.

profaned the blood of the covenant - making unholy or worthless, by which he was sanctified - the blood of the New Covenant, was what set apart each person to salvation

outraged [insulted, mocked] the Spirit of grace - all of this action insults the Holy Spirit and his work of regeneration.

For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (30-31) - the assurance that God will not wink at this, since he knows who is true and false, and he will scan the congregations of his professing people and pick out the ones who are false and bring them into judgment.

1 Peter 4:17 ESV

17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

All of these characteristics are the work of an apostate, who mimics those who are true believers, but in his heart he mocks it all and denies its truth, leaving the faith when the going gets tough. However, there is,

IV. Hope Derived from Persevering in Our Salvation (32-39)

Now the writer of Hebrews shows us what a true believer looks like...

He brings his readers into remembrance regarding the truth of their salvation. It is as if he is awakening them from a spell that the false teachers had put them under.

A. Remember the Past (32-34)

recall the former days when, after you were enlightened

you endured a hard struggle with sufferings (32b) -

publicly exposed to reproach and affliction (33a) -

sometimes being partners with those so treated (33b) -

you had compassion on those in prison (34a) -

you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property (34b) -

In other words, you took your responsibility seriously and showed signs of true life!

This was possible, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. (34c) -

B. Endure in the Present (35-36)

Therefore [because of what you have done in the past] do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward (35) - reignite all that you believed then

For [let’s explain] you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised - This explanation tells us that though we may not see much relief now, there is,

C. Hope in the Future (37-39)

Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay (37) - what is our hope, the one who is coming, the Lord Jesus Christ, will return, it’s called the great hope,

Titus 2:13 ESV

13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,

but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back [verb: to pause or hold back in uncertainty], my soul has no pleasure in him (38) - in the meantime, we live our lives by faith; faith in the future return of Christ.

my righteous one shall live by faith - is not a new phrase, it is used three other times in the scriptures, Hab 2:4; Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11, all with the same truth communicated in the context of the issues at hand.

But [in contrast] we are not of those who shrink back [noun: the shrink back ones] and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls (39) - as a result, we persevere through our faith, not shrinking back or being destroyed.

So What?

There is nothing like our salvation. We who were dead are now brought into the very presence of God through the blood of Jesus Christ!

This salvation is not a static existence, it will always dynamically affect every areas of our lives, and breeds a responsibility to work and grow in our salvation.

Are you a pretender? If you are, the church cannot shield you from God’s judgment.

Do you care that Christ died on the cross for our sins, and was buried, and rose again the third day?

Does the fact of your sin and God’s judgment against your sin bring you under convection or is it just a bunch of hooey to you?

Do you believe that there is only one way to God and heaven and that is through Jesus Christ?

There is coming a day when this life will be over, and what is done with the great salvation God has given will matter in our eternal destiny, this is not to be taken lightly!