New Covenant Rights and Privileges

NEW COVENANT RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES Spring Valley Mennonite; March 1, 2020; Hebrews 10:19-25 Within our culture there are certain milestones to which we look forward; these are usually attached to a particular age. A teenager can’t wait until he is old enough to drive. Then at 18, he is considered to be old enough to be out on his own, and as High School graduation passes, either college or the work force awaits. At 21 we can borrow money, enter contracts and legally are considered an adult. About this time, most people begin thinking about getting married—certainly an admirable milestone, as is the arrival of children. At 25 our automobile insurance goes down. Hopefully we have begun to achieve some sort of success in our vocation and our income increases. We might purchase a house. We look forward to births, vacations, and graduations. Certain privileges and rights—and obligations accompany all these milestones. Then not much happens until we reach retirement age and can draw Social Security, and perhaps have the freedom from going to work every day. At 65 we have earned Medicare insurance coverage. From then on, we just get older. Not too many special milestones exist, unless you are one of those exceptional individuals who run their first Marathon or climb Mt. Everest at age 70. Such milestones are the stuff of life in our North American culture. There is another culture which exists alongside that which I just favorably described; this is the culture and life of a Christian. The Christian individual passes through many of these same milestones, but something has happened to them which changes everything and inserts true meaning into life: They have come into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. They have been radically changed from the inside out, and their whole focus in life has been redirected. The Bible calls this by several terms: being “born again”, “saved”, “converted”, “redeemed”, “forgiven”. All these terms describe the work of grace—God’s undeserved favor—in their life. They have reached out and received the free gift of forgiveness for their sins, and they have been given eternal life. This milestone of redemption far surpasses any other event in life and is, in fact, the most significant event one can ever experience. As with any significant milestone in life, our new life in Christ is accompanied by rights, privileges and yes, responsibilities. But these responsibilities are all positive things that produce blessings. Allow me to define Christian responsibility through personal examples. It is my responsibility to love my wife. This is not difficult for me to do, and I am blessed by her love in return. It is my responsibility to preach every Sunday morning, but I am so richly blessed to feast on God’s Word through the week. I am obligated to eat the delicious meals Alice creates, but that is not a burden. Likewise, the responsibilities which come from the New Birth are not burdensome. Jesus has told us that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. The Holy Spirit make obedience possible and enjoyable. There is nothing so fulfilling as following God’s will for our lives. In his letter at this point, the author of Hebrews has completed a detailed comparison of how Jesus Christ has fulfilled the Old Testament system of Law, and as our Divine High Priest has provided a way into the very presence of Holy God. Having conclusively proven the superiority of this New Covenant, he now begins to instruct us of our rights and privileges and responsibilities as members of this new society of believers. It is all positive! I. A NEW CONFIDENCE IN THE NEW AND LIVING WAY Read Hebrews 10:19-20. Before we examine the details of this passage, I would point out the terms which will lead us. Notice that verse 19 and 21 each have the word “since”. This has the force of “because”; “because of something”, there will be a result. There is a cause and effect. The effects of these two “since” terms are seen in verse 22, 23, and 24 with the words “let us.” Since these things are true, then let us do something. Back to verse 19. What is the first cause? “We have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus.” What is this holy place? It is the dwelling place of God. Under the Old Covenant, it was in the Temple. Only the High Priest had very limited access to the presence of God. But now a wonderful change has occurred: because of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus and through His shed blood, a “once-for-all” final sacrifice has been offered. The sin barrier which separated sinful man from a Holy God has been breached. Symbolized by the veil in the Temple, this barrier has been removed. We now can enter God’s presence with confidence. Because of the absolute sufficiency of Jesus’ sacrifice, and because of the “new and living way” Jesus created, we can confidently go into God’s presence. This confidence is a benefit of a saving relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Inherent in this whole passage is the open invitation for each person to accept the forgiveness won by Jesus’ sacrifice. All these benefits and blessings are only for believers. All others still abide under the judgment and wrath of God because of their sin. How good it is to have our sins forgiven, but how absolutely dreadful it is to fall under the judgment of God. This pathway to God is new and living because Jesus not only died for our sins, but He was raised from the dead. He is our living Savior. No longer is the way to God paved with the blood and flesh of dead animals. The final sacrifice has been offered, and our living Savior invites us to come with Him into God’s Holy presence. II. OUR HIGH PRIEST HAS LED THE WAY Read v. 21. Jesus, our eternal High Priest after the order of Melchizedek, has established a new manner of relating to God. He Himself has offered His blood as the final atoning sacrifice. There no longer is a need for a Jewish High Priest from the family of Aaron. That old way of relating to God is worthless and wrong. Jesus, our new High Priest, has replaced the old system. III. BECAUSE WE HAVE CONFIDENCE AND BECAUSE JESUS OUR HIGH PRIEST LEADS THE WAY—LET US (FIRST) ASSUREDLY DRAW NEAR Read v. 22. How do you view God? Many people, even believers, see God as being angry and wrathful, distant and unapproachable, His absolute holiness repelling rather than attracting. Jesus death and resurrection has changed all that for the believer. Instead of being separated from God by our sin nature and our resultant sins, God is now favorably inclined toward us. His love and grace rather than His justice now shine forth. We are at peace with God and He welcomes us into His presence. His plan of redemption which cures our sin problem has been completed. The Father now can freely allow His blessings and favor to abound toward His children. God smiles at us and welcomes us to draw near. He delights in our drawing near to Him. In one sense this is the message of redemption and salvation. God’s desire from the beginning was to make it possible for fellowship and relationship with His highest creation. God loved man so much that He sent His Son, so that all who believe might have eternal life with Him. What more could God do than what He has done? He has cleansed our hearts from an evil conscience that has, in the past, tried to justify our sins. Our conscience condemns us; it reminds us of how guilty we are. It has been said that we feel guilty because we are! Guilt remains until the sin problem is solved. When we accept Jesus, our conscience is freed from this guilt—we are freed from an evil conscience. Having our bodies washed with pure water does not refer to water baptism as it might seem, but rather to how the Holy Spirit continually works to make us like Jesus. Paul uses the same terms in Titus 3:5 when he speaks of “the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit” and in Ephesians 5:26, “the washing of water with the Word”. The cleansing action of the Holy Spirit, begun when one comes to Christ, changes us on the inside. This process of making us holy, or sanctification, is what we read about in Romans 8:13 of “putting to death the deeds of the flesh, enabling us to live as God desires. Because God’s justice and righteousness are both satisfied, we can enter God’s presence with confidence and assurance. Read v. 23. IV. LET US HOLD FAST THE CONFESSION OF OUR FAITH This is the human side of salvation. We hold fast what we believe. Our lives will bear out what we confess to be true. A person who claims to be a believer but never demonstrates by his life that he has been changed is just fooling himself. I have had the difficult task of preaching the funerals of those who claimed to be a believer but, by all indications, had never shown any characteristics of salvation. All that could be said was that they made a profession of faith sometime in their lives. In His conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus used the illustration of the wind with being born again. We cannot see the wind, but we can see its effects. When the wind is blowing, we see the leaves on the trees moving, or the dust blowing. Here in Kansas we see the long- term effect of the south wind in the trees tilting toward the north. You could claim that the wind is blowing but if there are no effects of that wind, that claim is empty. Likewise, if a person claims to be saved, but never demonstrates any effects, that claim is open to doubt. Of course, the difficulty is in quantifying such change. Like the ability to draw near to God, this holding fast what we believe is a sign of a positive response to the Gospel. One commentator has expressed it like this: Holding on is the human side of eternal security. The Reformers called it “the perseverance of the saints.” It is not something we do to keep ourselves saved, but it is evidence, on the human side, that we are saved. It is a paradox, just as is the doctrine of election. God sovereignly chooses those who are saved, but He will not save anyone who does not believe. God keeps us secure in His Son, but our own wills, expressed in holding on in perseverance, are also involved.1 A true believer will not abandon what he professes to believe. Read v. 24-25. V. LET US BE COMMITTED TO ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER IN COMMUNITY We are to be committed to one another by gathering together in community. But we gather for more than simply for fellowship, but to encourage each other to “love and good deeds.” An illustration of this is of a wood fire in a fireplace. If you take a single log out of the fire and place it by itself on the hearth, the fire soon goes out. But replacing it alongside other blazing logs reignites the flames. So, it is with our relationship with others; we desperately need one another to stir up the flames of commitment, love and service. We can accomplish so much more together than apart. Have you ever counted the times Scripture uses the term “one another?” “One another” is two words in English, but it’s only one word in Greek. It’s used 100 times in 94 New Testament verses. 47 of those 94 verses give instructions to the church, and 60% of those instructions come from Paul. 100 TIMES!!! WHEN GOD SAYS SOMETHING ONCE, WE ARE TO OBEY—BUT HE HAS INSTRUCTED US 100 TIMES TO DO THIS! So, here is my question: how can we “one-another” each other unless we are together? It is impossible for a Christian to obey our Lord and to “one another” by oneself. This verse is plainly telling us to be intimately involved together in church. This is our “go to church” verse! Apparently, among the recipients of this letter, some believers were going it on their own, as verse 25 states, making it a habit of missing church gatherings. This leads to discouragement of others. We are missed when we are not here. Our spiritual gift is missing. Our love is missing. And God misses your part in corporate worship. Worship is not a thankless duty for the religiously committed. It is another gift of mercy from a God of glorious grace. I believe each church has a unique symphony of praise and thanksgiving to offer the Lord. Each person is playing a unique instrument of praise. When you are missing, so is your instrument. What would an orchestra sound like without the violins, or the percussion, or the woodwinds? And—this is important for us today--We will progressively need each other more as we approach the end times, “as we see the DAY DRAWING NEAR.” There will come a time when we may depend on one another for our very lives. We are not guaranteed that life will always be as easy for the church as it is now. We see indications of persecution around the world, and even in isolated cases in our nation. We need and will progressively need one another for mutual encouragement, and perhaps for our very lives. Because of what Jesus has done in opening the way to the Father, let us draw near. Let us hold fast our confession. Let us stimulate one another to love and good deeds. Let us gather together as a church body. This is the Word of the Lord.