20.5.24p - Hebrews 10-12 - Holy Worship

After studying Leviticus this morning, I thought it would be a good time to think about our worship. What is worship, and how do Christians worship God?

As we study Hebrews 10 and 11 this evening, we will see a few similarities to the Leviticus worship. But we will also notice that worshipping is not just about the activities. We like to focus on activities, but activities and methodologies are only worth mentioning once we have a few other things in place.

Atonement

The first thing that must be in place to worship God pleasingly is holiness. That means all of our sins and uncleanness must be wiped away. Is it easy to pursue holiness? To be holy is to be like God. It is to be perfect, doing the will of God, sanctified, and set apart from the world. How do we get there? We need atonement for sins. The book of Leviticus shows us is that the Israelites needed a sacrifice to approach the entrance of God's Tabernacle. Mankind is utterly unworthy and unholy in God's sight without sacrifice to atone for our sins. But, according to Hebrews 10, Jesus has given us the ultimate atoning sacrifice that gives Christians access into the holiest place of all, heaven itself. We have access to the presence of God any time we want it, thanks to this sacrifice. How do we take advantage of that great blessing?

Hebrews 10:19--25 (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.

Notice that he encourages us to enter the holiest place. We can go through the veil and draw near to God because of the sacrifice of Jesus. What do we need to bring? He says for us to draw near with true hearts and clean hearts, washed bodies, mouths that confession our hope without wavering, and minds that consider how to stir up our brothers to love and good works. This is our Leviticus. These are the requirements for pleasing worship. He is telling us that we have to show a love for God in our hearts, souls, strength, and mind. Do we notice the difference between this and Leviticus? We aren't just bringing an animal with us to worship. We are bringing a holy version of ourselves. God wants our inside and outside to be pure and holy for him when we draw near. So, to worship God is to pursue a greater love for God in every aspect of our lives. How do we do that? Notice the words of the text give us a hint. Three phrases will be expounded on in the next three chapters: "Full assurance of faith," "Confession of our hope," and "Love and good works." Faith, hope, and love are essential for pleasing worship.

If we read a little farther, we see that they once had these three things.

Hebrews 10:32--36 (ESV) --- 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.

They were once struggling and suffering with great faith. They once had compassion for others, and they knew that they had a better possession waiting for them. Now they need to get back to that so that they can worship God by doing his will. Is this a description of us? Were we once full of faith, love, and hope? What happened, and how do we get that back? Let's talk about each of these individually and understand how they can be developed. We will talk about needing great faith tonight. Next Sunday morning, we will see our need for greater hope and love.

Keeping Faith (11)

We can say that faith is covered in Chapter 11, though I do not appreciate these chapter divisions. Many people go directly to 11:1 while leaving out Chapter 10:39, which is the critical verse in understanding faith.

Hebrews 10:39--11:3 (ESV) --- 39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. 1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

When we think about faith and how important faith is to our worship, it's important to note what faith is. Faith is standing firm amid trials. It means we don't shrink back when things get tough because we have an assurance and a conviction. Notice that the writer talks about our assurance of things that are hoped for. We believe that God will deliver his promises. It is also a conviction of things not seen. We believe that God has done what the word of God says he did. That assurance and conviction are displayed throughout chapter 11 as he describes all of God's working for those who have faith. Notice what he starts with.

Hebrews 11:4 (ESV) --- 4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.

He starts with the worship of Abel. Why does he do that? Why doesn't he just start with Abraham? The point is that faith makes us acceptable. Faith is what God counts as righteousness. Are we convicted that Abel was considered righteous through faith? Abel killed an animal to worship God. He spilled blood because he knew that God was holy, and he was sinful. Then he talks about Enoch.

Hebrews 11:5--6 (ESV) --- 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Enoch was this great character in Genesis who walked with God and was not, for God took him. How did he do that? He was pleasing to God because he had faith. He had a conviction of things not seen, and assurance of things hoped for. In other words, he believed that God created everything for man's good, that God was good, and that he would do good to man in the end. Do we believe that? That is faith.

Look again at verse 6, "Whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." If we want to draw near and worship God, we cannot doubt his existence. We may go through periods of doubt in our life, but we cannot draw near to God with that doubt in our hearts. We need a true heart that has the full assurance of faith in God's existence. Then, we need faith in God's goodness. We have to believe that he rewards those who seek him. It does not say he rewards those who are perfect. He rewards those who seek him. We must be in a state of seeking God and wanting to draw near to him with holiness.

Verses 8-16 talk about the most significant examples of faith in the Old Testament, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Jacob.

Hebrews 11:8--16 (ESV) --- 8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. 11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. 13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

These men and woman had an assurance of things hoped for. They were looking forward to God providing them a city and making them into a great nation. They did not shrink back or long for their previous home. They did not abandon the promises of God. They were steadfast and faithful to God. That faith made God so happy to be with them, that he prepared a city for them to live in with God for eternity!

Look throughout this chapter and see that theme over and over again.

The Pioneer of Faith (12:1-4)

Hebrews 12:1--4 (ESV) --- 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. 4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

He ends with a statement that encourages us to have faith. We must lay aside every weight and every sin to run the race with endurance and stand firm in our faith. The weights are everything that causes us to shrink back (pressures of society, the draw of a comfortable life, etc.). Sins can be things like idolatry, sexual immorality, lying, anger, etc. These pull us away from holiness and make us unfit to stand in the presence of God. Jesus will cleanse these things, but we must also have the faith to put them off. If we think it is too much or too difficult, his final example shows us that it is not. Jesus showed us how worthy God's promises are of our suffering.

Do We Have Faith?

Remember what we said at the beginning. “God wants our inside and outside to be pure and holy for him when we draw near. So, to worship God is to pursue a greater love for God in every aspect of our lives.” Faith is the first and foremost necessary element to draw near to the presence of God. If we lack faith, we lack a heart that truly desires to be with God. What a wonderful God we serve! He explains how we can draw near to him through the sacrifice of Jesus in Chapter 10, and he encourages us to do that over and over again in Chapter 11 by having faith.

So, when things get bad, do we have faith or do we shrink back? We must not consider the trials and suffering of this life to be an indicator of God abandoning us. Instead, we must see it as an opportunity to show our faith. Faith shines brightest in moments of struggle and suffering. When we lose our jobs, when we have a chronic sickness, when our children are suffering, or when we lose someone we love unexpectedly, we are expected to have faith that God is still real, he is good, and promises future eternal blessings. When everything is going well, faith can be lost in the minutia of happiness present in everyone when times are good. But in times of trouble, our faith shows that our love and desire for God is unwavering. He is in control, and he is good no matter what happens to me. His promises are real. He wants to give them to his faithful people. We can count on him to deliver them to us if we believe and submit to his will.

How do we get this kind of faith? We can find faith by reading the promises of God and being convicted that the things God's word says happened in the Old Testament really happened. We did not see them happen, but we believe because this is a story that is too good not to be true. It has to be true because we can see God’s signature throughout. This knowledge gives us confidence in God’s power and God’s goodness. Even when things look bleak, God is always working good and helping mankind find him.

Warning

Our only fear should be a fear of throwing away that confidence in God’s goodness.

Hebrews 10:35 (ESV) --- 35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.

There is a great reward if we keep confident in the promises of God. But there is also a warning of destruction if we shrink back.

Hebrews 10:37--39 (ESV) --- 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.

If we refuse to show faith and return to a life of selfish living, the sacrifice of Christ can be removed. Faith is the primary characteristic that God finds redeemable in us. We cannot let it go and return to the ways of the world.

Hebrews 10:26--30 (ESV) --- 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.”

These verses warn us that if we reject God's will and decide to live a rebellious life without faith, we will lose the sacrifice that makes up for our shortcomings. We will not be able to draw near to God's presence and receive the blessings he offers. They warn against returning to a sinful, unholy way of life. If we do that, he says that there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment.

Friends, I do not want that to be the case with anyone here. Do not shrink back to the ways of this world and lose your confident, full assurance of faith. God allows faith, what the world calls foolishness, to make up for all of our shortcomings. He counts us as righteous and lets us draw near to him through it.

Conclusion

Next time we will look at developing hope and love in the chapters that follow. If you would like to draw near to the throne of God, you can come near. You need faith, hope, and love. Do not shrink back. Don't let the weight of the world crush your faith and prevent you from fully trusting the God of the universe. Don't let the sin that clings so closely become a part of your life. If it is, scrape it off.

Romans 10:17 (ESV) --- 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Hear God's word and believe it with all your heart. Then love God with all your heart and trust him. He wants to be your God and give you an eternal home with him.