Sermon Tone Analysis

Defining A Christian

How would we to find a Christian?

I'm not talking about defining people that believe a certain side of things are subscribed to a certain religion.

The question I'm asking this morning is, what character traits would the world notice and conclude hey, that person must be a follower of Christ.

— How are we defined to the world?

I think it would be very easy for us to describe certain characteristics to other religious groups.

A couple of guys riding their bikes down the street, wearing ties and going door-to-door are going to strike us as being Mormon.

People who on religious grounds refrain from consuming caffeine or celebrating holidays and birthdays immediately allow us to conclude that they are Jehovah's Witnesses.

A family that worships together on Saturday and doesn't eat pork, well that sounds like a Jewish family to me.

These are all stereotypes, but stereotypes are usually created because they tend to define a significant portion of the people being considered.

We have plenty of stereotypes of a lot of people groups whether they are warranted or not.

But what stereotypes define a Christian?

I am afraid for some that it often falls into two categories:

Some people see Christians as boring and kinda mild-mannered.

Well, maybe not you but it's probably not me.

Others unfortunately and usually because of some ugly past experience that they have see Christians as being hypocritical or judgmental.

I hope that's not me.

This morning as we continue in Hebrews chapter 10 looking at verses 19 through 25 we are going to observe what gives us our assurance as Christians, but more specifically what that assurance generates in the life of a believer.

Other words, what other people should say about you and then to the conclusion that you must be a Christian.

How long with me if you have your Bibles Hebrews chapter 10 starting in verse 19 and we will be down to verst 25.

Our message this morning is entitled The Impact of Assurance as we continue our Series A Once For All Life

Let’s Pray

In Name

Adjudicated

I am afraid that there are a lot of Christians who are Christians in name only.

Not by reputation or by deed.

I don't know who originated this question, but you've likely heard it before.

And though it is trite I am still going to ask this morning.

If our country were to enact the laws that many Middle Eastern countries have, laws that prescribed the death penalty for those convicted of being a Christian — and yeah authorities came to your house to arrest you.

Would there be enough evidence to convict you, in a court of law, of being a Christian.

Even if we denied it.

I've seen a lot of courtroom drama over the last month or so with the Johnny Depp and Amber Herd trial being so publicly litigated.

I wonder if we were cross examined by a team of expert lawyers, if the jury would decide that we are beyond a reasonable doubt Christians.

Doers

The book of James starts off hitting hard, and doesn’t really let up until the period right before the book of 1 Peter.

In Chapter 1 James says this:

I am afraid that a lot of Christians would see themselves being Christian because they are defined by certain outward appearances.

How they dress, the music they listen, the kind of activities they do or do not engage it, or the company that they keep.

All of those things to some degree are probably a good thing, at least at some level.

But if outward things, are the things that define us as Christians then our faith is probably about an inch deep.

As James writes we should be defined as those who are doers of the word.

Do we have a correctable spirit?

This is pretty easy to measure.

If we were confronted by a sermon that was really touching on some sensitive issues fo us, and confronting our sin in a way that almost seemed personal.

Would you get upset?

Or, would you hear the word of God and allow it to be transformative in your life.

Can you allow the teaching of truth to rub you a bit raw and to reinjur old wounds and be glad for it because you know that it is under that kind of preaching that word of God can be transformative in our lives.

Productive Christianity

Hebrews 10 tells us that we are to have a productive Christianity.

We have the benefits of the faith — as mentioned in verse 19 — which are foundational.

First year which is pretty astounding is that we get to enter into the holiest by the blood of Christ.

If you have been with us from the beginning as we have studied the book of Hebrews you will remember that the temple had this outer and inner courtyard.

In the inner courtyard was the temple building itself.

— that building had a rise of steps and a porch and then some doors to the holy place.

Only priests could go into that holy place.

But beyond that even was a second room.

The Holy of Holies, the most holy place.

Only the high priest could enter there, it was obscured by a large curtain and it was where the Ark of the Covenant was, at one time placed, having upon it the Mercy Seat, where God’s presence was made known to man.

In Matthews account of the crucifixion, we read the following in Chapter 27 vv 50-51

Matthew 27:50–51 (KJV 1900)

50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom ...

A Picture

We have to remember that if the book of Hebrews starts anything it's that the temple is a picture of the true heavenly temple.

As the Jews understood the temple that room the holy of holy that is where God was.

The veil separated man from God it was only to be accessed once a year by the high priest.

— understand that when the curtain, in the temple was torn it pictured that in the true temple in Heaven — Where God truly resided — the veil of separation between God and man had been removed.

When v19 says that we enter into the presence of God by the blood of Jesus — We can see the picture of the High Priest making for himself sacrifice before he was worthy to enter before the presence of God.

— In the same way our High Priest made sacrifice for us so that we could enter into the presence of the Father.

The Product

Having that boldness to be able to enter boldly before the throne of God should make an impact on your life.

vv22-25 list what evidence should come from having access to the Father through Christ.

— Warren Wiersby calls these the Three Great Christian Virtues: Faith, Hope and Love

Virtue #1 - Faith

We find faith in v22

It makes reasonable sense that faith would produce assurance, after all the only way you could have assurance in something is if you had faith in it.

That you had a confidence in it being what it purported.

There is an allusion here to both salvation and baptism

Sprinkled

Having our hearts sprinkled carries with it the weight of the Jewish sacrifice for purification.

The blood would be sprinkled

I like the way that Charles Spurgeon summed it up when he said:

In many cases the sprinkling of the blood meant purification.

If a person had been defiled, he could not come into the sanctuary of God without being sprinkled with blood.

There were the ashes of a red heifer laid up, and these were mixed with blood and water; and by their being sprinkled on the unclean, his ceremonial defilement was removed.

There were matters incident to domestic life, and accidents of outdoor life, which engendered impurity, and this impurity was put away by the sprinkling of blood.

This sprinkling was used in the case of recovery from infectious disease, such as leprosy; before such persons could mingle in the solemn assemblies, they were sprinkled with the blood, and thus were made ceremonially pure.

Washed

But then v22 talks about our bodies being washed.

A reference to Baptism.

I have always found it interesting that we never really get a bunch of people asking John the Baptist what Baptism pictured, yet there he is, on the banks of the Jordan, baptising people.

The Jewish people baptised.

Nobody asked why, because everyone understood why.

The Qumran community took baptising very seriously and in their Rule Of Community this was written:

The Person “cannot be purified by atonement or cleansed with water for impurity.

He cannot be sanctified in seas or rivers, or cleansed with any lustral water … It is through an upright and humble spirit that a man’s sin will be expiated, and through his self-submission to all God’s ordinances that his flesh will be cleansed, so that he may have water for impurity sprinkled on him and be sanctified by means of cleansing water.”

The act didn’t do anything.

But, it pictures an upright and humble heart before God.

A heart that cries out: I was dirty in sin but have been washed clean by the blood of Christ.

Baptism demonstrates an obedient heart.