Let Us Live

Introduction

Good morning please open in your Bibles to Hebrews 10:19-25 that is Hebrews 10:19-25. If you are using a Bible scattered throughout the chairs this morning you will find our passage on page 946 that is page 946. Imagine you have been witnessing to a friend or co-worker. You know them well and they know you. You pray for them on a regular basis and you have a deep desire to see this friend place their faith in Jesus. You have invited them to church and maybe they have come from time to time, but they don’t come with any consistency. Yet, this friend begins to change. They start to become more and more interested in Jesus. You invite them to study the book of John with you and they agree. And after a period of reading the Bible for themselves and getting some necessary questions answered this person becomes a Christian. They look to Jesus and say what John the Baptist said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Let look to you their Christian friend and ask, “Now what? I’m in, I believe, now what do I do?” What would you say or do for this new believer. How would you help them grow? Brothers and sisters, are you ready to make disciples?

I believe this passage in Hebrews answers that question not only for the new Christian but for all Christians. Once convinced of the truth of the death and resurrection of Christ and its clear implications that through it and through the death of Jesus alone can we be made right before God, how are we to live? If you are here today, and you are saying, “I believe, I’m in, but now what? What am I to be doing?” Then you are in the right place. Today our aim is to answer to that question. How are we to live as Christians? Let’s read Hebrews 10:19-25

Confident in Jesus v. 19-21

The author of Hebrews has spent 10 chapters convincing his readers that Jesus is superior to all things the Old Covenant had to offer. His audience was a group of Christians who were once Jews. They are being tempted to abandon the perfect sacrifice of Christ and return to their old ways Judaism and its sacrificial system. Our author has proven that Jesus’s blood is superior to the blood of bulls and goats, that he entered into the true, heavenly, tabernacle which is superior to the earthly temple, and that he Jesus is the great and perfect high priest that is superior to the High priest from the tribe of Levi so revered by the Jews. Jesus fulfills all of the old covenant and therefore sets it aside in order to establish the new covenant. This is all that is packed into the word “Therefore” in our text. Because of all this is truth… therefore… live this way. Because of all this is true you and I can have confidence in Jesus. And since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus and since we have a great high priest over the house of God… let us… live.

The three let us phrases which we will look at in detail in just a moment are all predicated upon the truth of verses 19-21. It is only because Jesus died and through his death/blood/flesh that we can enter into the holy presence of God. The curtain that used to symbolically separate God in the Most Holy place in the Jewish temple was miraculously torn at the death of Jesus. His death, flesh, made a “new” way for sinners to enter into the presence of God. New in that is was finally revealed, though it was always the plan of God to offer His Son in this way. And a living way, because Jesus did not only die for sin, but he established his priesthood through an indestructible life as the author Hebrews says earlier or a resurrected body. His body was broken for us, but also raised for us.

This reality, the sufficiency of the death of Jesus to take away sins once and for all leads the author to tells us three times “let us.” What are his readers supposed to do, if they affirm his argument? He says, if you agree with me about Jesus, then let us draw near, let us hold fast, and let us stir one another up. Let us draw near, let us hold fast, and let us stir one another up.

Let Us Draw Near v. 22

Hebrews 10:22 “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.”

If you believe that Jesus died for your sins, that he is your high priest and that his death is enough to save you from the wrath of God then you are to draw near to Him. If you believe that then you are a child of God. John 1:12 “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,” And a child with parent you are to draw near to your heavenly father. I’m not even that good of a dad, I fail my kids all of the time and yet, when come home from the office most days at least one kid comes running to the door yelling, “Daddy’s home! And I get a tight big hug!” My kids draw near to their father. And they do so with a true heart in full assurance. They run to their Dad convinced that I will gladly receive them. Many times my hands are full and I have say “Give me a second, Daddy wants to hug you just let put this down… but they know that Daddy loves them. They know they are accepted that they are source of joy to me. Our relationship is not merely contractual, but rather it based in love.

And our relationship with our heavenly Father is so much better and any relationship with a human father. I told you, I’m not even that good of Dad at many times. I am easily irritated, selfish, and finite. God is slow to anger, He is compassionate and merciful, and he so selfless He wrapped Himself in flesh, lived in this sinful world, and died a criminal’s death for our sakes. He is a better Father then me or any other human father could ever be. So, our author tells us, if you believe in Jesus. If you place your faith in the once for all sacrifice of Christ then your sins have taken far away. You are completely forgiven! There no need for you and I to doubt God’s love for us. You can feel the full assurance of faith because what God has done.

He has sprinkled our hearts clean from an evil conscience. An evil conscience is a conscience that loves sin. It is a conscience that is hardened to the affections of God and the truth of God. It is a conscience that will always condemn you because it will never be satisfied by the false means of justification that the human heart creates. Human beings, in vain attempts to satisfy their conscience’s condemnation apart from God create false gods. We call these idols. These idols are anything that takes the place of Jesus. Any habit, false religion, person, ideology that says there is another way to deal with sin and guilt is an idol. But if you believe in Jesus he promises to cleanse from your idols or false beliefs and replace them with Himself. Ezekiel 36:25–26 “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” This is what has happened for you if you agree with the author of Hebrews about the identity of Jesus. If he is the better priest, sacrifice, and entered the true tent then your sin really is done away with forever.

Which you can enjoy the subjective experience of assurance. You can feel like you are in fact saved. But only because those subjective feelings are grounded in the objective reality of Christ work. He saying to you and me today, if you are in, you are in! Feel the assurance God gives because your heart has in fact been sprinkled clean by the blood of Jesus. His sacrifice is enough, so you have no need to worry about being enough. Your heart is sprinkled clean and our bodies washed with pure water.

Christians do not believe that the body and soul are disconnected. Our world in various forms promotes and idea that the true self is somehow disconnected from the body. And that leads either to a desire to conform the body to a perception of the inner self or the idea that sin committed in the body does not taint the soul. Which would if true would reason that the purification of the soul or the heart would not necessarily lend to the purification of the body. But, what we see here in our text is that the heart and the body are purified through the sacrifice of Christ. The “pure water” in this text is referencing the Old Covenant ritual of using water mixed with the ashes of a heifer to cleanse people after their bodies came in contact with something unclean like a dead body. The author is revisiting the idea he introduced in Hebrews 9:13–14 “For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” The author is using this Jewish imagery as he writes to his Jewish audience to say, you really are clean inside and outside. If the old rituals that would need to be performed over and over made you feel clean and then how much more so should you feel clean now that you have been purified with the “pure water” of Christ. All of you is purified, all of you is cleansed your heart, your conscience, your body it is all clean.

And because this is objectively true you can draw near to God be filled with His peace and have full assurance of faith. And in that full assurance you and I can Hold fast to our faith.

Let Us Hold Fast v. 23

Hebrews 10:23 “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.”

You are to draw near to God with a true heart and full assurance of faith, but Christian there will be times when this is difficult. The original audience of the book of Hebrews was living in one of those times. There was a temptation to walk away from their faith, but our author through the guidance of the Holy Spirit tells them hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering. Their confession is the Christ is the Lord who died for their sins and rose from the dead. It is the acknowledgement that we cannot save ourselves, and we are fully dependent upon the finished work of Christ to save us. And this truth fills us with hope. Hope that one day Christ will return for us and make all things right. Hope that those things are hard now, one day Christ will have His way. We hold fast to the truth that all our hope is in Jesus. He perfect life, he sacrificial death, he resurrection, and his return. We hold fast because what he has done, and yet we all feel the pull to walk away from time to time. Especially for the new Christian I must warn you there will be a temptation to walk away.

Perhaps who know someone who has done this. They used to say their were a Christian but now they no longer serve Christ. What brings about this walking away? Matthew 13 Jesus tells the parable of the soils. He tells of a sower, a planter, who went out and sowed seed. Some of his seed fell on a path and the birds came and devoured them. He sowed some seeds in the rocky ground where they did not have much soil. They sprouted quickly but since they had no depth of soil when sun came up they were scorched and withered away. Still other seeds fell among thorns and the thorns choked them out as they sprouted. But finally other seed fell on good soil and they produced more grain some a hundredfold, some sixty and some thirty. The disciples don’t understand this parable and so in Matthew 13:18–23 Jesus explains the parable, ““Hear then the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

There are four soils presented: the path, the rocky, the thorns, and the good soil. The path represents those who never really talk hold of the gospel. They deny it outright. The rocky soil represents those who receive the gospel at first but when tribulation or persecution come they fall away from the faith. The thorns are those that hear the word but material gain and the things of the world choke the word. The good soil is the one who hears the word and understands it and bears fruit. This soil represents Christians who grow in their faith, produced good works, tell others about Jesus, and remain steadfast in their faith.

It is good to review this parable throughout our walk with Christ. It reminds us of the dangers that we face. Are you tempted to walk away from Jesus in tribulation and persecution.: Job loss, bodily sickness, unrealized aspirations, being made fun of for your faith, losing a promotion because you are Christian, being physically harmed because you walk with Jesus. Are you lured away from Christ by the worlds goods: the pursuit of money or career, a nice house, living in the right neighborhood, driving a particular car… will you gain the whole world and yet lose your soul. Or will you hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering.

Perhaps you are here this morning and you willing to say, I am barely holding on. You think, how is that even possible to hold fast without wavering. Maybe you hear a missionary story where people lose everything for Jesus and think I could never do that. You read about someone tortured for Jesus and think I would give up. You hear stories of people enduring great suffering, but still giving glory to God and you wonder how that is even possible. You look to these people and find them inspirational, but don’t believe that you could ever be like them.

Can we? Can normal Christians like us hold fast to our faith even when persecuted, hated, even beaten? When we are told we the illness is terminal, or the illness is chronic and will never go away, what about when marriage is just really hard, our kids walk away from their faith and us, when we realize that our earthly dreams just aren’t going to come true… Will we hold fast when the promotion is right there it just takes away from our families and churches a little bit more than usual. We obviously ask will we? But maybe we ask can we? How can we hold fast through tribulation, persecution, the temptation of riches and wealth, or whatever else life throws our way.

I believe you can. I believe normal ordinary Christians can withstand extraordinary circumstances and temptations. Because while we are able to experience the subjective joy of our salvation, the peace of God, and full assurance of faith it is all rooted in the objective truth of the Gospel. The Gospel makes clear that our salvation starts and ends with God. You and I can hold fast to Jesus because he holds fast to us. Hebrews 10:23 “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, why!? for he who promised is faithful.” He will hold you till the very end! Listen to the promise of Jesus in John 6:37–40 “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”” Everyone, normal Christians like you and me, who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life. Because the Son who Hebrews tells us is the perfect sacrifice, high priest, who entered the true tent, and established the new and living way, the new covenant that same Son will also raise the one who believes in Him on the last day. Dear brothers and sisters you can hold fast without wavering. But only because he who promised is faithful. He has promised to raise you up with him on the last day, but he has also told us the means he will use to keep us till that last day.

Let Us Stir One Another Up v. 24-25

Hebrews 10:24–25 “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 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.”

He tells us to consider how to stir up one another to love and good works. He does not simply tells us to stir one another up, but rather to consider how to stir one another up. We need to give intentional thought to how we can help one another lover and do good works. This requires that we know one another. We need to know each others strengths and weaknesses, talents and abilities, schedules, ambitions, etc. If someone needs a repair done their home you shouldn’t call Jimmy… you should call Mark. But if you have a question about end times theology I think Mark would admit that Jimmy might be a better fit. But even this is still too service level to really get at what the author is trying to convey. Yes, Mark has carpentry skills and Jimmy has a Masters of Divinity but the text calls me to consider how I might stir them up to love and good deeds. What keeps Jimmy from showing love to his family and friends? What would motivate Mark to do good works… I won’t keep picking on them because it would get to personal. That’s the point. If you consider, give intentional thought, to this question then you must get personal. If we are to obey this text then we must know those who are in our church.

How do we do this? How do we get to know each other so we can stir one another up to love and good deeds? First of all, we can’t neglect meeting together. It is vital that we are gathering together. The less we gather with our church the further away we will become from the body relationally. The church and the worship service are the necessary soil for meaningful relationships to grow. Don’t discount the importance of listening to the same sermon together week after week in person. The short conversations you have before and after the service, the experience of communion as we celebrate the death of Jesus until he returns. The singing of songs and watching the young families wrangle kids, watching the sister sing to Jesus when you know life is hard for her right now. You can’t get that at home listening online. You can’t joke about my random lurching body movements if you’re not here to see them.

On a more serious note, we don’t preach to a fictional audience when we preach. I preach to you. You’re reactions, your body language, your face communicate to preacher, and good preachers are able to temper their delivery of truth to the audience. You, the live audience, makes preaching better. This communal experience of singing, praying, and preaching that we do each week unites us as a body. It provides the necessary structure or trellis for the vine to grow. We also, grow in our ability to stir one another up when we come to community group and participate both in listening and in speaking. When we listen to what others are saying and don’t just talk to hear our own voice we are able to deliver meaningful encouragement. We encourage others when we speak up instead of leaning into our introverted tendencies. We will be able to do this better and better as we add more opportunity to gather together this fall in ABF and RHC kids.

And as we gather I want to encourage all of us that we would push back against the consumeristic mind set of our culture. Don’t access the value of church attendance merely based upon what you get out of it. I am thrilled when you are encouraged by a worship service or community group, but your attendance should not be contingent on what you get out of it. You should attend because others need to be encouraged. Do you look at your community group and ever think, how can I encourage these people today? Or is attendance based upon what you and your family enjoy about the experience. The author Hebrews tells us, that if Jesus is your high priest then let we are to gather together for the sake of one another, not for the sake of self. He is helping us see that our encouragements are a means of grace used by God to keep one another in the faith.

If you are not present for the gathering of your church, then you cannot be an instrument used by God to keep others in the faith. In our church we have church membership in the process we all commit to the member’s covenant. We read the covenant together as a church each time we present new members and we affirm the covenant by saying Amen as the end of the reading. This is a commitment we all make to one another. Specifically in the community section of the covenant we make these three commitments:

We plan to be members of Redemption Hill Church and will work to help see it established and flourish (Mt. 16:18).

We commit to gathering regularly with Redemption Hill Church (Heb. 10:24-25).

We commit to fulfilling the one another commands of Scripture as we move toward membership (e.g. love, serve, forgive, teach, admonish, encourage, pray for one another (John 13:34; Gal. 5:13; Eph. 4:32; Col. 3:16; 1 Thess. 5:11).

As we look as this text I want to remind the members of our church of the commitment they have made to God and one another to encourage you to continue on in these commitments knowing that your faithfulness has an eternal impact on your fellow church members. Do you realize that? God uses your faithfulness to keep your brothers and sisters in the faith.

Conclusion

So what would tell that brand new Christian? What do you need to be reminded about today as a Christian? I hope you see that we are to draw near to Christ through the blood of Jesus. I pray you help establish a regular devotional life in which they draw near to Christ through prayer and Bible study, knowing that as they read the Bible that grow in their awareness of sin. But that awareness is not ment to repel them from God, but instead they can draw near to Him, especially in our failure. I pray you tell them to hold fast to their faith be aware of the schemes of the devil who wants to pluck them away. Warn them of the temptations of doubt that come in times of tribulation and persecution. Help build that new believer up so that can withstand the attacks of the enemy. And I pray you tell them that the local church is a necessity, not an add on. It is through membership, real and meaningful membership, of a local church that God keeps us in the faith. Encourage them to be baptized as a symbol of their cleansing by Jesus’ blood and being washed by the pure water of Christ that makes us clean for all time.

I am praying that God would bless us with a harvest of souls. I hope you are praying as well. But as the old saying goes, “Don’t pray for rain and not bring an umbrella.” Let’s not pray for new converts, only to be ill prepared for what to do once they profess in Christ. Let us, together, draw near to God, hold fast to our confession, and stir one another up to love and good works. (Let’s Pray)