SS - Hebrews 10:19-39

Last time Caleb talked about Christ’s once for all sacrifice that was the fulfillment of the ongoing sacrificial system

Two sections

First - Vs 19-25

“Therefore” - Points back to previous realities but is summarized in the following 2 realities

2 posessions

3 Commands

“since”

Confidence to enter the holy places

A Great Priest

Holy places (holy of holies)

furthest interior portion of tabernacle

Ark of covenant was here

No one allowed to enter

High priest once a year

By the blood of Jesus

Through his flesh

When Jesus is crucified, the temples curtain (sperates the holy place from the holy of holies)

The blood of Christ now allows us unadulterated access to God

2 - We have a great priest over the house of God

Great priest = High priest

Hebrews 4:14 “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.”

High priest was the only one who was allowed to go into the holy of holies on the day of atonement

Jesus, being the one who had authority to go into the holy of holies, now lives and intercedes for us forevermore

What is this house?

Hebrews 3:6 “but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.”

Because of those possessions, the author now issues 3 exhortations

“Let us”

Before we look at them, what virtues do we see in these exhortations?

Faith

Trusting in God’s providence

Hope

Looking forward with confidence

Love

Seeking the greatest good for another

See in Heb 6

Hebrews 6:10–12 “For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

Also in 1 Corinthians 13:13 “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

Draw near

Because we have access we are exhorted to draw near to the throne of grace

Hebrews 4:16 “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.”

True heart

Sprinkled clean, washed

Hebrews 9:13 “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,”

In old covenant, defiled peoples were sprinkled with water containing ashes of heifer for cleansing.

We have been defiled from sin but have been sprinkled with Christs blood (Heb 12:23-24 & 1 Pet 1:2)

Full assurance of faith

Note our assurance isnt based on our faithfulness but rather what God has done in Christ

“Sprinkled clean… washed with pure water

2. Hold Fast (adhere to, cling to)

The confession of our hope without wavering

Hope is looking forward with confidence (Expectation) Not wishing.

So when things aren’t looking good, don’t waver from your hope

Why??

Because he who promised is faithful

3. Consider

Don’t expect it

“How to” Not there

“Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works” KJV & Geneva

Stir up - Provoke

How?

By not neglecting to meet together

Corporately & Casually

BUT

Encouraging (exhorting) one another

All the more as you see the day drawing near

Section 2 - Warning & Recollection

4 (or 5) major warnings in Hebrews

Chapter 2 - Drifting

Chapter 3 - Fall away with unbelieving heart

Chapter 6 - The seriousness and dangers of apostacy

Now we see our fourth

Chapter 12 - Don’t refuse his voice

Let’s first look at some things that we know and then make sense of this

There is a hell

It’s worse than earthy punishment

Author argues lesser to greater

Deuteronomy 17:2–6 ““If there is found among you, within any of your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, a man or woman who does what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, in transgressing his covenant, and has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, or the sun or the moon or any of the host of heaven, which I have forbidden, and it is told you and you hear of it, then you shall inquire diligently, and if it is true and certain that such an abomination has been done in Israel, then you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has done this evil thing, and you shall stone that man or woman to death with stones. On the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses the one who is to die shall be put to death; a person shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness.”

Setting aside the law of moses here is to actually reject God & his authority

How much worse punishement for those who trampled underfoot son… profaned blood… outraged spirit

God’s wrath is coming for his enemies

Now let’s look at those who fall into this group of people.

Helpful exercise when you can’t make heads or tails

List out all the things you know in isolation

So what do we know about these people from the text?

Go on sinning deliberately

Received knowledge of the truth

Trampled underfoot the Son of God

Profaned the blood of the covenant

Was sanctified???

Outraged spirit of grace

Here’s what I propose: These people are unbelievers who were among the church & professed faith in Christ but have ultimately rejected him as evident by their sin

Let me defend this with the text and see if you agree

I say their unbelievers because I believe the Bible teaches that those who are in Christ will persevere until the end

John 10:27–29 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”

Romans 8:38–39 “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Philippians 1:6 “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

1 John 2:19 “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.”

In verse 19 he gives them assurances

Since we have

Since we have

Among the church and had a profession of faith

“knowledge of the truth”

“remains a sacrifice for sins”

“was sanctified”

“blood of the covenant”

This was more than just someone who had heard the gospel. Their was a seeming commitment to it. They were “in” the church. They seemed as though they were genuine

They have ultimately rejected Christ

“trampled”

“Profaned”

“outraged”

Hebrews 6:4–6 “For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.”

Evident by their sin

“go on sinning deliberately”

Willfull, ongoing, habitual sin

They don’t care about their sin

Story from phillips about girl

NOTE* “His people” objection

Israel was “his people” but there were believers, unbelievers, and apostates

This is a real and serious warning to the church. Don’t abandon Christ

MEMORY

Encourages them to recall the sufferings they went through

Reproach Affliction

Corporate identification - Partners

Prison

Plundering of property

This would cause some to abandon Christ but he uses it to encourage them to run headlong into Christ

Better & abiding possession

We dont shrink back and are destroyed but have faith and preserve our souls.

So run to Christ