Untitled Sermon (4)

Hebrews 10:19-39

Leading up to our passage we have seen all these wonderful things of what Christ has done. We have seen how he is a greater prophet how is a greater King, a greater high priest, a better sacrifice, a better mediator and that he offers a better covenant with better promises. We seen that the law along with the tabernacle and elements for worship which these listeners were very familiar with was just a shadow to all that Christ embodies. All those things were to point them to something greater. What he accomplished was sufficient to secure us eternal redemption, he is able to purify our conscience to serve God, he is able to sanctify us and truly bring the forgiveness of sins. The author goes above and beyond tp show that Jesus is far better than anything Isreal has ever experienced. So he tells them all this before our passage but after this passage in chapter 11 we see what any call the hall of faith. And how the OT saints were commended for their faithfulness. How they endured hard things and remained faithful. And he ‘s going those figures as a source of encouragement for these believers to endure. So we see on the front end a heavy dose our foundation being Christ and what we accomplished and the back end encouragement that those who are faithful can persevere. But in the middle of those 2 things we have some commands and we have some pretty strong warnings against apostasy. It is my belief that because of whats stated before and after the goal of the writer to his audience is to help focus them, strengthen them, build endurance in them and help mature them in their faith so that they can continue in the faith. And i also believe that he is confident that they will persevere.

In this first section of our passage we are going to see in light of what Christ has given us access to, and in light of what Christ has done do these 3 things.

So first understanding what Christ has done lets us know he is The foundation and therefore everything that comes after this is motivated because of him. v19-21

read vs 19-21

Question: What does this tell us?

So first we see that a transition has taken place with the word therefore. The author is switching gears moving us from doctrine to now our duty. Up until this point for the most part it has been a heavy dose of Christ centered teaching and a few commands for his audience. But in this section and until the end of hebrews we are about to get a heavy dose of in light of what jesus has done you do this. Its time to apply what we have learned about Jesus.

so after the transition the first thing you see in these verses is that Christians must sure that our relationship to God reflects a full understanding of Christ’s work. If we don’t have a full understanding of Christ finished work our relationship with God will be impacted negatively , and our relationships with others will also be impacted as well. If we don’t grasp the significance of what Jesus has done these things he going to call us to do cant be accomplished, a least not the way God wants us to accomplish them.

We see he starts off calling them brothers which i believe help us to see that he believes his audience are indeed true brothers and sisters in Christ. And what makes them brothers is the fact that they have professed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. That is their foundation, this is what connects the writer to his audience. And before we move on i think its a helpful reminder to us here tonight is that we too are brothers in Christ and that is because of our profession of faith in his finished work. Believing in Jesus brings us into the family of God. Remember in chapter 2 were the writer says:

English Standard Version Chapter 2

For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11 For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers

We see here we all have the same source and that is Jesus if we trust in him for salvation. HE is our foundation.

So it says we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus. I believe this is the first of three encouragements he gives these believers. He tells reminds them that they have confidence to enter the Holy Places because of the blood of Christ. And what this first encouragement is telling us is that we now have confidence to enter Gods presence. HE tells them in the next encouragement that Jesus has opened up for us a new and living way through his flesh, and final encouragement is that Jesus is the great high priest over the house of God. Notice in this first section he really hasn’t told them to do anything yet, he just just them what they have. He is building his argument, he going to call these believers to do some things but first he wants to make sure they understand what Jesus has done for them and given them access to. Its not till vs22 that he tells them what to do in light of this truth.

What do you think is the importance of him starting with these encouragements before he tells them what he wants them to do?

Because In the Christian life, it is not just what you do, it is why you do it.  He is not saying, ‘Do this in order that God will love you.  Do this in order that you can earn salvation.’  He is saying that, ‘In light of what He has done for you in Christ, now do this.

And i beleieve that makes all the difference. because what we dont want to take away from this commands or exhortations is works righteousness.

He is talking about a believer ‘living out’ the realities of what God has done for him.  It is not just the ‘what’ that matters in the Christian life, it is the ‘why’.  We not only need to know what to do, but we need to know why we are to do. 

So before he calls them to action he pauses to remind of of all the blessings they have in Christ and I believe he wants us as readers of this to pause and see all the blessings we have in Christ. Just as they must understand this so must we understand this. Because we too can be in danger of not truly understanding these blessings we have in Christ. i dont think i would be faithful to the text if i didnt have us pause to think deeply about do we really realize what Jesus has given us? we need to know this we need to know of the shed sacrifice of Christ and the confidence you have because of it.  And that He has ushered in a new and living way for us through the veil, that is, His flesh

think for a minute about the curtain which separated the Holy of Holies from the outer tabernacle. That curtain was the entrance way of the priest into the very presence of God, symbolized by the mercy seat.  He is saying, ‘Jesus’ flesh was like that curtain.  His incarnation, His taking on our humanity and dying in our place, was like the curtain, the only curtain through which we enter into the presence of God.’  He says that he wants us to be confident, not only because of the shed sacrifice of Christ, but also because the sacrifice of Christ is the very entrance curtain into the presence of God.  His argument is because the humanity of Christ has now become the entrance curtain into the very presence of God

he says, “Since we have a great high priest over God’s house of God.”   His argument that Christ is a superior priest.  Because His priesthood is superior, it is finished, and yet He continues to be our mediator.  Because He is the priest over the whole church , over the whole house of God, I want you to do this (we’ll see next)

He has laid out three reasons why he wants you to do what he is going to tell you to do . You see the argument. Jesus is the motivation why were to do x,y,z.

understanding of Christ’s work and its implication for us is absolutely essential to healthy Christian experience. You know, sometimes people will say that stuff like this is heavy theology. And these things are only reserved for pastors, and theologians, scholars and seminary students you know this stuff is too deep. But the writer of hebrews didn’t think this stuff was too deep for these believers. if it wasn’t too deep for then it isn’t too deep for us and he wants these truths stored in our hearts.So that we can be equipped to serve.

and now we’ll see where he is taking us.

any thoughts before we move to next section?

These next 3 verses contain 3 exhortations

read Verses 22-25

verse 22 -Draw near

Here is the first one that he says: “Draw near.”  Look at verse 22: “Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.”  “Draw near” is the first imperative.  What does it speak of?  It speaks of our personal devotion and relationship with God.  Isn’t it interesting what we are commanded to do here?  It is what Israel, as a people, was explicitly commanded not to do.  You remember Mt. Sinai?  What was the command?  “Do not draw near the mountain or I will strike you down.”

Now what is the New Covenant command?   “Draw near.”  The author of Hebrews has that in the back of his mind because, as you remember, he is going to come to that illustration himself in Hebrews 12:18 and following.  He is going to compare Mt. Sinai and Mt. Zion. Basically the argument is going to be this: The old priesthood and the old system required you to stay the distance.  Because real mediation had not yet been accomplished in time.  But now that we live in the time of the New Covenant and Jesus’ finished sacrifice has been offered, you are now invited by God the Father Himself to come into His presence without human mediation.  Because divine human mediation has been offered for you in Jesus Christ and what human mediation could possibly help that?  What human mediation could possibly be needed to supplement that?  You have been brought into the very presence of God by the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ — you don’t need a human priest anymore.  So he says, “Draw near.”  He has already said that in Hebrews 4:16, “Draw near in prayer.”  But he is re-emphasizing it again, this personal devotion and closeness that we ought to have to the Lord.

By the way, he does give four conditions.  Look back at the verse again.  Four things:

the first is Draw near with a true heart.  What is he saying?  Come with sincerity.  Come with genuineness. 

Secondly: Draw near in full assurance of faith.  Have a godly faith confidence as you come to the Lord.  A confidence that is based upon your apprehension of the significance of what Jesus has done for you on the cross. You come with a confidence based on what Jesus has done.

Thirdly, you come with a clean heart.  That is, you come with a conscience which is realizes that you have been declared not guilty by God because of what Jesus has done on the cross.  Come with a conscience that understands what justification by grace through faith means.  Come with a conscience that knows what it means that God has pronounced over you and over all your sins:  “Therefore, there is now no condemnation.”

And then he says fourthly, “You come with washed bodies.”  He is not just talking about baptism there, although outward baptism is certainly a sign of this.  He is talking about the spiritual baptism that is accomplished by the regenerating and sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit that is symbolized in the washing of baptism.  So he says to these Christians, ‘You come in this way.  You come with a sincere heart.  And you come with a full assurance.  And you come with hearts that have been cleansed because of the work of the Christ.  And you come with lives that have been transformed by the work of the Holy Spirit.  That is how you come to God.’  But the main point of verse 22 is that we draw near with boldness, with confidence, with full assurance.

What is the author of Hebrews saying here?  He is saying that he knows that is sadly possible for Christians not to realize the blessings that are theirs in Christ.  And he is saying, “Don’t do that.  Don’t walk through this life as a believer and not realize the significance of what Jesus has done for you.  Don’t waste this time.  Don’t go for years and then realize what you have been given in the Lord Jesus Christ.” He is saying, “Draw near with a full assurance into the presence of God.” 

verse 23

Christians must consider the consequence of Christ's work for our hope.

If you will look at verse 23, you see the second exhortation.  The first exhortation is ‘draw near.’  The second exhortation is ‘hang on.’  He is really calling us to persevere there, isn’t he?  When he says to “Hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who has promises is faithful.”   “Hold fast” is speaking of perseverance, constancy.  Hold fast without wavering, he says.  These Christians have confessed Christ to be their hope of salvation.  And they are surrounded by people who want to persecute them and they are surrounded by Jewish friends who are protected by law in the Roman society from persecution.  They think, “Well, you know, I could have a relationship with God.  I could go back to Judaism.  I wouldn’t  be persecuted as a Christian and that would be good, wouldn’t it?”  And he says, “No, you hold fast that confession of the Lord Jesus Christ without wavering.  Don’t waver in the confession of that hope because it is the only hope.  Don’t fail to believe the pr our hopefulness is explicitly mentioned. 

What is the basis of our hope according to this? What is it?  “For He who promised is faithful.”   He says, “Look, this is why you shouldn’t let go of this profession of faith that you have made.  This is why you shouldn’t let go of your confession of the Lord Jesus Christ, because the One who promises is faithful.”   This hope is based upon an apprehension of our understanding of the promises that God has made to Jesus in the covenant of redemption.  What are the promises that are stressed in the Book of Hebrews up to this point?   Not simply the promises that God has made to us in the Abrahamic Covenant.  But what?  The promises that God has made to Jesus to “ be a High Priest forever according to the Order of Melchizedek.”  ANd this good for us to understand, so  You are a Christian and are struggling with assurance and you say how can i know God loves me, how can i know he’ll do what he says for me how do i know he’ll do what he promised for me?.    The author of Hebrews is saying, “Your confidence is not based ultimately on the promises that God has made to you, but the promises that God has made to Christ.  Do you doubt those promises?  Do you remember the promises that God the Father has made to His son?  When God the Father promised to make Him a priest according to the Order of Melchizedek forever and when God the Father promised His son that He would give you into His hands, do you doubt that promise?  john 10 tells us that none can snatch us from his hands These promises are true!!

You see, it is easy sometimes to doubt that God might be faithful to us.  That is because of our lack of faith.  Bu you know, even when we are struggling with our own faith, we know enough about our God to know that He is not going to break a promise to His son.

So the author of Hebrews says, “I want you to hold fast to your confession and to your hope because your hope depends ultimately on what God promised His son and don’t ever let us think the Father will not fulfill His word to His son.  Even if in the weakness of your faith and doubt, you wonder whether He is going to fulfill His promise to you, don’t ever think that He is not going to fulfill His promise to His son.” And His promise to His son is to give you into His hands.  The Son is not going to let you go.  So the author of Hebrews says, “You draw near and you hang on, because God has made promises to His son.” 

 Christians must consider the consequence of Christ's work for our fellowship

verses 24/25

Finally he says this in verses 24 and 25:  “Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds.”  He is calling us to entice one  another, to stimulate one another, to provoke one another to love and good deeds.  He is wanting us to see the consequences of Christ’s work, not only for our assurance and not only for our hope, but also for our fellowship with others.  Provoke one another to love and good deeds.  In light of all this truth, you stimulate one another, you entice one another.  He is reminding us of the resultant responsibility that we have to one another as brothers and sisters, because we have been made brothers and sisters by the finished work of Jesus Christ.  If it is true that we have assurance because of what Jesus has done, if it is true that we have hope because of what Jesus has done, it is also true that we have obligations to one another because of what Jesus has done.  So He tells us to love one another, stimulating one another to love and good deeds.

verses 26-31

Rejecting the truth of Christ has eternal consequences.

so when we first glance at these verses we see a warning here. Its important that we understand that the writer isnt just talking about any old sin, he is talking about a specific sin. He is addressing a very specific kind of sin and that is sinning against the truth of the work of Christ or simply put rejecting Jesus.  The kind of sin that the author of Hebrews is talking about all the way from verse 26 to 31 is explicitly rejecting the unique and solely sufficient sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ.  This is basically a person who has made a profession of faith in Christ and then at some point has decided that the work of Christ is not necessary for them in order to enjoy fellowship with God forever and they have deliberately and despicably utterly rejected the sacrifice of Christ for them.  They have turned their back on Christ and returned to some other form of religion in approaching God and fellowship. ANd that is exactly what they would be doing if they went back to the old system.

The author of Hebrews is saying here that if a person willfully and knowingly rejects the one real sacrifice for sins, then, of course, there is no other sacrifice for sin that person can turn to.  If you have rejected the only sacrifice that there is sin, where then do you go in order to get forgiveness for sin?  And the author of Hebrews’ point is there is nowhere you can go.  So if you have rejected the one sacrifice for sin, there is no hope for you.  He is saying very straightforwardly to the congregation that rejecting the truth of Christ has eternal consequences.  That is his point.  He is talking about the rejection of Christ, the rejection of His work, of His person, of His Lordship.  In this passage we are being confronted with the consequences of people who have made a profession of faith in Christ, coming to some point in their Christian experience where they reject Jesus Christ.

lets remember this audience were jewish Christians who came out judaism and now have converted to Christ.  But apparently some of the people in this congregation are tempted to convert back to some form of Judaism.  And so if that is the case, this warning makes perfect sense.  If there are some people who are wavering in their faith and thinking of going back to the old system the author of Hebrews sends out a stern warning saying, “Look, if you reject Christ, who you publicly professed, there is nowhere else to turn for forgiveness of sin.”  That makes perfect sense in light of his argument, because what has he said over and over about the Old Testament system of sacrifices?  He is saying the Old Testament system of sacrifices can’t forgive your sins.  Do you remember his point that he has already made in Hebrews 9 and 10 that the blood of bulls and goats cannot forgive sins.  But That only Jesus’ sacrifice forgives sin.  So if anyone in that congregation reverts from Christianity, rejects Jesus and goes back to Judaism, what does he have to say for them?  He says this: “Look, that sacrificial system can’t forgive sins.  Because that sacrificial system pointed forwarded to the one true sacrifice that Jesus was going to offer on the cross.  So to reject that sacrifice, there is no other sacrifice that can get you into fellowship with God.  There is no other sacrifice that can bring about eternal salvation.  There is no other sacrifice that can assure that you will be not be judged for your sins.  You see his point, Jesus is the only way.  

Now he continues that argument in verses 28 and 29.  His argument is basically this.  That in the New Covenant, that is in the time after Christ, in the time in which Christ has come to fulfill the promises of the prophet Jeremiah and he predicted the coming of the New Covenant in Jeremiah 31, in the time of the New Covenant, the penalty for willful sin is not less than it was in the time of Moses, it is greater.  So the penalty for sin under the New Covenant exceeds the penalty under the Old.  In other words, the punishment for rejecting Jesus is more severe than His punishment under the Law.

He says this.  Look at verse 28.  “Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy under the testimony of two or three witnesses.”  And this is talking about in dueteronomy where we see the law about idolatry set by Moses that and if any one was caught worhipping other Gods and was witnessed by two or three people the punishment for the idolator was to be stoned to death, capitol punishment. A very very serious sin. To participate in idolatry, to turn your back on the living God and to follow after false gods was to bring about immediately the penalty of death. 

Now the author says that was the penalty for idolatry under the Old Covenant.  How much severer do you think it would be to trample under your feet the very Son of God.  That is his argument.  He is saying if you think that was an appropriate penalty for someone who committed idolatry against the one true God in the time of Moses, what do you think will be the penalty for those who trample under foot the blood of the Son of God.  So the argument is that covenant breakers in the New Covenant ought to anticipate severer punishment than the punishment that was given to those who broke the Law in the time of Moses. 

So the author of Hebrews is simply reminding us that it is not something to trifle with — our profession in the Lord.  It is of the utmost seriousness.   

verses 30,31

So in case they dont believe him ,He goes on to give a scriptural proof.  Look at verses 30 and 31.  So he quotes Moses here in these next two verses showing them what God says about sin.  ANd If these people are thinking about going back to judiasm, who better to quote than Moses to show that what he is saying is true.  He quotes from Deuteronomy and says “For we know Him who said, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay.’” He says, “We know the God who said through Moses, vengeance is mine, I will repay.”  He gives another quote: “And again, ‘The Lord will judge His people.’” So the writer supplies here scriptural proof of the principle that God will judge sin.  And this should remind us of the awesome judgment of God.  Nothing escapes Him.  The author of Hebrews is saying I want you to remember the one that you are going to have to give an account to.  Nothing gets by Him. Vengeance belongs to Him, He will repay.  This is reminding us that at that final judgment, that awesome judgment of God is not going to miss anything in our lives, especially the rejecting of His Son.  If he gave His son to die, then He apparently thought it was of the utmost importance and the only way that we can be saved and if we despise that death, the author of Hebrews is just saying, what in the world will it be like to fall into the hands of the living God. 

So I think the author of Hebrews is putting this quotation in front of us.  “It is a fear thing to fall into the hands of the living God” in order to inspire us to fear God so that we will overcome the temptation to turn away from the only way of salvation and the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The author of Hebrews, I believe is not speaking of this to unbelievers in efforts to get them to trust in Jesus Christ.  His point is not to blast idolaters or to blast those who have already forsaken Christ.  His point is to warn Christians not to shrink back from their loyalty to Jesus Christ.  His purpose is constructive.  That is important to see.  In fact, we will see in verses 32-39 that the author of Hebrews has very high hopes for the perseverance in faith of everyone in this congregation.  He thinks they are going to persevere to the end, that they are going to stay faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ.  But he is warning them because he loves them and because it is so serious that they not reject their profession in Jesus Christ. 

Look at verses 32-34.  He calls on them to remember to reflect upon some of the deeds that they did not long after they made their profession of faith in Jesus Christ.  They lived out their faith and so he teaches us in verses 32-34 that examining our graces of times past gives us momentum in persevering in our faith.  “Remember the former days when after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of suffering,.”  The author of Hebrews says remember those early days after you professed that you were a believer in Jesus Christ.  You went through incredible persecution.  Some of you were thrown into prison.  But all of you, even if you were not thrown into prison, went to visit your brothers and sisters when they were in prison for their profession of faith.  You ministered to them.  You shared in their suffering.  And so he says I want you to remember that because that was a very trying time also.  What did you do then?  You endured.  You persevered.  You didn’t fall away from Christ when it got hot and heavy.  You stayed faithful to Him.  He says, “I want you to remember that and reflect on it.  I want you to think about the significance of that because if you persevered in that, you can also persevere in  this time.

This passage makes it clear i believe that the author of Hebrews intends this whole section of his book to be an encouragement and warning to believers.  What he is trying to do is strenthen their wavering faith.  This is very important.   

Take a moment and Think back about that time where your faith was really put to the test and you persevered. Think about how God brought you through that rough time.

The author of Hebrews is saying to us, “Look, you have persevered through difficult times and now you are struggling with your ongoing trust in Christ.  I want you to continue to trust in Christ.  I want you to hang on no matter how you feel.  I want you to continue to trust, even if you dont feel God is there, he says I want you to trust in Christ i want you to remember how good God has been to you.  Dont turn from God and try to live this life on our own. The author of Hebrews here is asking  us to go back and reflect upon ourselves and recognize that the only hope we have is in Jesus Christ.  The truth is that If we really know ourselves and what we deserve, we won’t try and save ourselves; and we won’t entrust our salvation to our own merits or the blood of bulls and goats.  If we really know ourselves, the only way we will feel secure on the last day is to know that our hope is entirely in Jesus Christ.  On the last day what covering do you want?  When the wrath of God is sent out, what covering do you want?  Do you want the covering of your own works?  Of your good life?  Do you want the covering of the blood of bulls and goats or do you want the shelter of the Lord Jesus Christ?  I know how I vote on that issue. What covering  do you want when the wrath of God finally goes out?  The author of Hebrews is pressing that home.  He is saying, persevere, keep trusting in Jesus Christ.  

He says one last thing.  In verses 35 through 39, again he is calling us to endure in our hope, to endure in the confidence that we first had.  In light of the second coming, the One who is coming is going to come, Jesus is going to come again.  He is going to judge.  And in light of the fact that faith is the way that the Lord sanctifies us, it is the instrument where we are sanctified, he says, “endure.”  And so this section closes with a final word which is very optimistic, an optimistic exhortation and an exhortation for us to endure.  In fact, this section from verse 32 to 39 is the transition section to Hebrews 11.  The main point is that we are to endure in the faith, and what is Hebrews 11 going to be.  It is a gigantic illustration of people in the Old Testament who endured in their faith.  So there is a perfect connection between this section of Hebrews and Hebrews 11.  Having given this exhortation, now the author of Hebrews is going to say, “Let me give you an example of some people who went through difficult things and they endured in the faith.”  And he begins to list them and down that list he goes, telling a little about the things they went through.

This whole passage is an exhortation to us not to fall away from clinging to Christ. to remain faithful to him, to continue to draw near to him, and to continue to stir one another up so that they can continue in faith. Listen there are all sorts of things that tempt us to fall away from our trust in Christ.  We may be going through something in our experience that is so hard that makes it difficult for us to trust God. But first remember that our foundation is secure. That Jesus’ finished work has given us total access to God and he wants us in his presence. And when we have rightly understood that then word for us tonight in light of what Christ has done is “endure.”  You have endured in the past and God has been faithful.  Endure in the faith because the coming One who will come.  And it is trust despite all evidence to the contrary, it is faith which grows us up as Christians.  And so when you face those circumstances where you can’t figure out what God is doing, trust anyway. This passage is a call for us to persevere