Sermon Tone Analysis

How many times have you refinanced your mortgage?

I hear commercials all the time about refinancing.

It seems like there is always a better time to get a better rate in order to save money, re-cast your amortization, or even to take a little money out.

But let’s take a step back for a moment.

What is a mortgage?

Most of us think that a mortgage is a way to purchase a house without having all of the money for it up front - which is a good thing, because at the rate that prices have been rising, very few people would ever own a home if we had to pay for it in cash.

But have you ever thought about the word mortgage?

The word “mortgage” has old english and French roots and is derived from two words

mort (from the Latin Mortuus) - meaning “dead”

gage - meaning “pledge”.

Interestingly, the word “gage” refers to a medieval knight’s glove that was thrown down in a sort of challenge or promise.

So, if we get to the crude conclusion of these words, we’ll find that someone who engages in a mortgage is basically saying - “I promise to pay this or I’ll die.”

Or another way would be to see a mortgage as “An agreement until death.”

That’s why most mortgages are so long.

So, when we look at refinancing, we’re essentially looking for a better deal.

We’re looking for an easier way for us to fulfill our death-pledge.

Now, I know, you didn’t come to church to talk about mortgages or financial contracts.

But thinking about this kind of contract seemed like a good way for us to begin thinking about the idea of a covenant.

Now covenants and contracts are different.

The Lexham Bible dictionary notes the differences in this way:

In terms of initiation, contracts are made by the exchange of promises, whereas covenants are sworn by solemn oaths.

In application, contracts are limited by the terms of the exchange of property (“this is yours, that is mine”), while covenants involve an exchange of life (“I am yours, you are mine”), which covers a virtually unlimited range of human relations and duties.

In terms of motivation, contracts are based on profit and self-interest, while covenants call for self-giving loyalty and sacrificial love.

Contracts are temporary while covenant bonds are permanent, even intergenerational.

Such distinctions do not imply that covenants are necessarily opposed to contracts, since covenants call for both promise-making and oath-swearing (Heb 6:13–18).

A contract is an arrangement in human affairs that may be reinforced by swearing a covenant, in order to add the more binding dimension of the divine.

Over the last several weeks as we’ve studied the book of Hebrews, we’ve seen how the writer of the book makes a bold claim that Jesus is greater.

He has then presented arguments laying out how Jesus is greater than angels, Moses, and the priests.

In this next section, the writer is communicating that Jesus presents a greater covenant.

Jesus Presents a Greater Covenant

Now, unlike a contract where we get to make changes, one thing that we have to understand is that this covenant isn’t simply greater, it’s perfect.

There were a few different covenants that God initiated with the people of Israel.

Based on the context in these chapters, it seems like the writer is referring to the covenant at Sinai with Moses, when God gave them the commandments and standards for living.

That covenant aimed at leading people toward holiness.

But unfortunately, like an adjustable rate mortgage that keeps getting more expensive, the more the people sinned, the more they sacrificed, the more difficult it became to adhere to the expectations of the covenant.

Raymond Brown notes that the old covenant, just like an old mortgage, was “imperfect” “powerless” and ultimately “obsolete.”

The writer of Hebrews notes that this was foretold by the prophet Jeremiah that there would be something new, something complete, something powerful, something accessible to everyone.

So how is the new covenant greater?

This new covenant didn’t just raise issue to our sin, it permanently addressed it.

This new covenant wasn’t established on ritual, it is internal - written on our hearts.

This new covenant isn’t restricted to a certain group of people and isn’t administered by a limited group of priests - it is available to everyone - elsewhere in scripture we read that we must receive this by faith - while it may be universally available, it’s not automatic.

This new covenant provides a full and complete pardon - God remembers our sins no more.

Finally, this new covenant is, in Brown’s words, “assured.”

Look at how many times God speaks through Jeremiah stating - “I will.”

I will make a new covenant

I will put my laws in their minds and hearts

I will be their God

I will be merciful

I will remember their sins no more

The old covenant was instituted by God, it required that the people constantly do certain things to keep the covenant.

Unfortunately, as we are all prone to do, the people of Israel wandered.

Their religious activities became empty rituals.

Essentially the writer of Hebrews is communicating to us that the Covenant that Jeremiah prophesied about is here in Jesus.

Wiersbe summarizes the argument of the chapters we’re considering today in this way:

“[Jesus] ministers on the basis of a better covenant (Heb.

8), in a better sanctuary (Heb.

9), and because of a better sacrifice (Heb.

10).”

Rather than taking time to dive into the weeds of his argument on the sanctuary and the sacrifice (because we’ve already touched on those over the last few weeks), I want to take the remainder of our time to really consider...

What does the greater covenant mean to us?

Hebrews 10:19-39 gives us some good material to think about from a practical standpoint.

He begins by summarizing what he has said up to this point:

Hebrews 10:19-21 “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus [essentially the better/perfect sacrifice], by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain , that is, through his flesh [the better sanctuary], and since we have a great priest over the house of God [our perfect mediator],”

The “therefore” here not only should cause us to remember what he has said up to that point, but it also marks a change as the remainder of the book gets to a more practical side of things.

We’ve said before that many of the NT books were divided into two sections -

indicatives - truths about our faith, us, and our relationships with God.

imperatives - the “so what” - the actions that we should take in light of those truths.

These verses in Hebrews 10 seem to mark that shift from orthodoxy (what we believe) to orthopraxy (how we live).

The greater covenant impacts our ACTS (A.C.T.S.)...

A. Approach God full of faith (Heb.

10:22)

Thinking back to the idea of an old contract or an old mortgage, in order to get a new mortgage we have to qualify.

We have to have enough income, enough equity in our home, enough insurance.

There is a chance that if any of that has changed that we won’t qualify.

With the greater covenant that Jesus brings, we are already qualified, not because of anything we have done, but because He qualifies us.

We have no reason to fear rejection from God if we have received Jesus’ substitutionary sacrifice.

If you are unfamiliar with the essence of the old covenant and the good news of the greater covenant, it essentially boils down to this:

God created us to be in perfect fellowship with him

Sin entered into the equation - the first humans rebelled against God’s goodness and stained the rest of us.

It would be easy to put all the blame on them, but we have to realize that we willfully and incidentally sin - daily.

The old covenant introduced rituals and sacrifices to remind people of their sin - they had to daily, weekly, yearly offer sacrifices to address their sin problem - and yet by virtue of the fact that they had to keep coming back - they would have known that these sacrifices were insufficient to permanently deal with their sin.

God, through prophets, frequently spoke of a day when the Messiah or the Anointed one would come to atone for sin for all time.

Enter Jesus - he was born through a miraculous birth - because of that he did not inherit our sin nature.

But as a human, he lived perfectly - sinless - able to perfectly fulfill all the requirements of the old covenant and then offered his life as the perfect sacrifice - ushering in the new covenant.

You see, he took in his body the punishment for all of our sins.

He paid the debt that you and I owe.

Our job then is to respond, to approach God - humbly admitting the presence of sin in our lives and gratefully receiving Jesus’ sacrifice as sufficient payment for our sins.

We then, get to live that out in our lives - allowing the covenant that is then written on our hearts to permeate our lives.

Because Jesus has paved the way for us to have access to God - we can boldly approach him.

Not only should we approach, but because of what Jesus has done, we should...

C. Cling to our confession (Heb.

10:23)

Remember, the covenant is predicated on what God did, what Jesus did, not on our unfaithfulness.

When we get mired in thoughts of inadequacy or self-sufficiency - we need to return to our confession - it’s what Christ did - not what you and I are or are not doing.

Hold on to that.

If you’ve not yet received it, let today be the day of your salvation.

Now if those two sound a bit familiar, they are.

The writer of Hebrews has challenged us to draw near (approach) and to hold fast (cling) in the past (Heb.

4:14-16).

Remember, these first century Jewish background believers were being pressured to turn away from Jesus.

So as we approach God because of the confession to which we cling, the next part of our ACTionS means that we should...

T. Think about one another (Heb.

10:24-35)

This is where we have to fight against the rugged individualism of our society.

We are saved into a community of faith, into a family.