Our Peace through Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:11-25)
Notes
Transcript
Announcements
Announcements
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Prayer of Repentance and Adoration
Thank God for who he is
Praise God for his love, mercy, and truth
Pray that our eyes would be open to our sins and pray for repentance of those sins
Pray that we properly worship Jesus and honor and glorify his name in all that we do today.
Call to Worship / Scripture Reading
Call to Worship / Scripture Reading
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” 22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.
25 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, 31 but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.
Sermon
Sermon
Introduction
Introduction
Last week we started a miniseries for the purpose of slowing down a little bit to focus on Christmas. Not only are we focusing on Christmas, but we’re really celebrating what is called Advent, which focuses on Jesus’ first coming, which we celebrate during Christmas, and anticipating his second coming in the future. Basically, what we’re doing is studying different themes that are meant to orient our thinking at Jesus Christ—so last week, we started with the theme of hope and in the message from Hebrews 4:1-13, we really emphasized what our hope ought to be in—and that would be the promise from God of a Sabbath rest for those that truly believe in him. Or put another way, our hope is in Jesus Christ and what he has promised to do.
This morning, we’re continuing in our series by looking at another specific theme. This theme is something that we frequently pray for even if we don’t necessarily realize that we’re praying for it. It is something that we hope to achieve in our home lives and something that we typically hope for at work, in our country, and in the world as a whole. We sing about it (particularly during this time of the year) and when we read about it in the Bible, we’re taught that we should seek it, desire it, and be makers of it. This theme, of course is the theme of peace. Thus, we hope for peace in our homes, at work, in our country, and throughout the world. We sing of peace on earth and good will to men and the Bible teaches us to seek peace, desire peace, and be peacemakers.
The issue is that we often look at the wrong things to bring us peace. We seek peace from our families or we seek peace from politics. We seek peace brought on through social justice or even in churches, we sometimes think the goal is unity because it provides a sense of peace; but in reality, we’re missing where true peace comes from. True peace doesn’t come from our families, true peace doesn’t come through political means. True peace doesn’t come through additional education. True peace comes only through Jesus Christ.
This morning, as we dig into this theme, my hope is to make it abundantly clear where true peace comes from, how we partake in that peace, and what we are to do when we do experience peace, but first, let’s read this morning’s passage.
11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
15 And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,
16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them
after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws on their hearts,
and write them on their minds,”
17 then he adds,
“I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”
18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
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.
As we study this passage, we’re going to break it into three portions: (1) we’ll see that Christ’s Sacrifice opens Access to God (11-14)—we’ll see this in a contrast between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant; we’ll see this through the sacrifice of Jesus, and the result of his sacrifice; (2) we’ll see that Christ’s Sacrifice Makes Peace (15-18) and we’ll see this evidenced through the New Covenant and the forgiveness of sins; and (3) though 19-25 is technically the start of a new section, it does help us apply the theological principles in 11-18 by showing us what Our Response ought to be in regards to Jesus making peace with God on our behalf, which will sort of meld into our application for today. All of this will point us to the simple truth that true peace comes through knowing Jesus Christ.
Let’s pray for the illumination of the Holy Spirit before we dig into the Scriptures.
Give thanks for the word of God
Give thanks for our ability to read and study the word of God
Pray for the illumination of the Holy Spirit as we seek to understand and apply the Bible to our lives.
Just to get us caught up in the book of Hebrews—last week, I mentioned that one of the primary themes in the book of Hebrews is the contrast between Jesus Christ and all things. I explained that the supremacy or primacy of Jesus Christ is a significant idea that the author of Hebrews repeatedly focuses on throughout the book: Hebrews 1-2 states that Jesus is “superior to angels” and that God has given Jesus authority that the angels don’t have; Hebrews 3 plainly states that “Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses,” and in Hebrews 4, the author continues in the idea that Jesus is greater than Moses because Moses was a faithful servant, but Jesus is God’s Son. And starting in the second portion of Hebrews 4, the author says that through Jesus Christ, we have a great high priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses. And from the statement that Jesus is the Great High Priest, the author in Chapter 7 , then contrasts Jesus from Melchizedek, who was the high priest that Abraham tithed to in Genesis 14; which is of note because Melchizedek was a high priest for Yahweh prior to the Law being written. And yet, Jesus is still greater than Melchizedek because Jesus is a high priest “that is holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.” (7:26) And finally, right before our chapter for this morning, we’re told that Jesus is the greatest High Priest of a Better Covenant and Chapter 10 expounds on why the New Covenant is such a better covenant as we read in Vs. 11, a contrast between the Old and the New.
Christ’s Sacrifice opens Access to God (11-14)
Christ’s Sacrifice opens Access to God (11-14)
11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
Vs. 11, starts by contrasting what Jesus had done to what had been occuring under the Old Covenant.
Remember that the Old Covenant, which was called the Law during the New Testament, was a conditional covenant between God and the nation of Israel.
The covenant was conditional in the aspect that God expected the Israelites to meet certain demands and depending on whether or not they met those demands, there would be blessings or curses.
The Law itself was not meant to save people—doing the law was not a means of salvation, but rather living by the Law was meant to transform Israel into a separate and called-out nation so that everyone around them knew that they worshiped Yahweh.
And part of this Law was the sacrificing of animals for the atoning of sin—which is what is being referred to in Vs. 11, “every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.” This is really explained in Vs, 1-4, so let’s take a moment to read those verses as well:
10:1-4, states “For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. 2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? 3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”
Because the sacrifice of animals couldn’t take away sins on a permanent basis, they had to continuously offer the same sacrifices for the atoning of sins.
Vs. 12-14, then contrasts this daily repetition of animal sacrifice to the sacrifice that Jesus has made.
Whereas under the law, priests needed to repeatedly offer the same sacrifices that cannot take away sins, Vs. 12, “Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins”
And you might ask, “what makes Christ’s sacrifice different?” Why is it that animal sacrifices weren’t enough to take away sins, but the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross was?
And in order to answer this question, we have to take a look at the purpose of animals sacrifices and the ultimately the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as a whole. What was the purpose of sacrificing animals throughout the Bible?
The first instance of animal sacrifice is actually inferred in Genesis 3:21, “And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.” I’m saying that its inferred because the Bible doesn’t actually state that the animals were sacrificed; but it would make sense that since sin requires death for payment, that the animals utilized to clothe Adam and Eve after their sin were also utilized to atone for their sins.
The next instance of animal sacrifice is Abel offering the firstborn of his flock in Genesis 4 and the concept of animal sacrifice continues with God utilizing Abraham’s animal sacrifices to make a covenant with him and his offspring, the ram that was offered as a burnt offering by Abraham instead of sacrificing Isaac; but it isn’t until the law is codified in which we’re told that the sacrifice of animals was necessary for the forgiveness of sins.
So, all sin offerings were utilized for the forgiveness of sins, which doesn’t explain why animal sacrifices could only offer temporary atonement and thus any time you sinned you would have to offer another animal sacrifice; and why Jesus’ sacrifice in the New Testament is a sufficient sacrifice for all time.
Let me make this suggestion, that the difference isn’t so much between animal sacrifices and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The actual difference is the difference between the two covenants.
Animal sacrifices in the Old Covenant were not intended to provide atonement for all sins, which is why the Israelites had to continuously offer sacrifices to atone for their sins. God never intended for the Law to save his people and thus the sacrifices were never meant to be a once-and-done solution; as Hebrews 10:1, states “the law has but a shadow of the good things to come.”
Jesus’ sacrifice in the New Testament was intended to provide atonement for all sins for those who believe. Thus, Jesus’ sacrifice is fundamentally different than the animal sacrifices in the Old Testament and instead of continuously offering Jesus as a sacrifice to atone for sins, his one sacrifice is sufficient. God intended for Jesus to save his people and thus, Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was meant to be a once-and-done solution.
So, in Hebrews 10:11, the author is contrasting this continuous need to sacrifice animals for a temporary solution for sin and the once-and-done sacrifice of Jesus Christ for a permanent solution for sin.
And he states that whereas the “[priests stand] daily at [their] service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, Vs. 12, “when [Jesus] had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”
Or put differently, what the priests were trying to accomplish by repeatedly offering the same sacrifices, Jesus accomplished with his single sacrifice on the cross for our sins. Well, what exactly were the priests trying to accomplish and what exactly did Jesus accomplish with his once-and-done sacrifice?
If we read ahead to Vs. 17-18, we read this, “'I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.’ Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.” What Jesus accomplished through his sacrifice on the cross, is forgiveness for sins and thus there is no longer any offering for sin.
But forgiveness for sins wasn’t the only thing that the animal sacrifices in the Old Testament was trying to accomplish and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross did accomplish. There’s more to it than just forgiveness for sins and we really have to ask ourselves, what is the purpose behind the forgiveness of sins?
Or put another way, why did God go through all the trouble of instituting sacrifices and then offering his own Son to be a substitutionary sacrifice for sins?
Think with me, why does God offer salvation in the first place? The answer lies in what life was originally intended to be in the Garden of Eden.
Think with me, Genesis 1-3 gives us a brief account of what life was like in the Garden of Eden.
Genesis 1:26 states, “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’”
Genesis 1:28 says, “And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’” And Vs. 31 ends that section by stating that “God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.”
Genesis 2:15, then says that “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.”
And then in Genesis 3, we read about the fall of man into sin, but in the midst of God confronting Adam and Eve, we gain some insight into this relationship between God and man.
After they eat the fruit of the tree, Genesis 3:7 says, “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked.”—There is a very strong physical component there, thus they recognized their nakedness and tried to cover up, but there’s also a very strong spiritual component. After they ate the fruit and they recognized that they had sinned, they hid themselves from God. And when God came into the garden in the cool of the day, they continued to hide themselves from God due to fear.
This tells us that prior to sinning, they had a relationship with God in which they were completely open to him and it gives us insight into the relationship that God actually wants all people to have with him—one in which we can commune with him and walk with him; without fear and with openness.
Salvation isn’t offered just to forgive our sins; salvation is offered so that our sins can be forgiven and we can have a relationship with God in which we’re completely open to him, in which we can commune and walk with him, without fear.
And this relationship with God can only occur because of sacrifice for sin, which Jesus accomplished on the cross. It is Jesus’ sacrificial atonement for our sins on the cross that opens access for us to commune with God.
And what the author of Hebrews does to reaffirm this truth is to draw our attention to the New Covenant in a succinct manner in Vs. 15-18.
Christ’s Sacrifice Makes Peace (15-18)
Christ’s Sacrifice Makes Peace (15-18)
15 And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,
16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,”
17 then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”
18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
The statement in Vs. 15, that the “Holy Spirit also bears witness to us” connects the previous statements, that Jesus has offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins and that by the single offering “he has perfect for all time those who are being sanctified.” with evidence from the Scriptures that he quotes in Vs. 16 and 17.
Both 16 and 17 are quoted from Jeremiah 31, which is an Old Testament a prophecy concerning the New Covenant that we’re under now.
And in the covenant itself, God says that (1) “This is the covenant that I will make with them” and that part of the covenant is that (2) “[he] will put [his] laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds.” and (3) that he will “remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”
First off, who is he referring to when he says them and their? Because a covenant is between two parties, its important for us to know who the parties are. This is quoted from Jeremiah 31, and in Jeremiah 31, the two parties are actually God and the Israelites—you might ask how I know that, it’s because Jeremiah 31:33, which is where the author of Hebrews is quoting from specifically says, “This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel.”
So, you might question, “why exactly does it just say them and their in Hebrews 10. The reason why, is because the author of Hebrews and really all of the apostles and the New Testament as a whole, recognized that the New Covenant applies to more than just Israel.
The New Covenant applies to Israel, but it also applies to those who (as Vs. 17 states) God doesn’t remember their sins and their lawless deeds. Well, who has committed sins and lawless deeds? Everyone, but those in which God doesn’t remember their sins and lawless deeds make up a significantly smaller portion. Specifically those who as 1 John 1:9 states, have confessed their sins because “he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
This significantly smaller portion of people whose sins aren’t remembered are those who truly have repented and believed in Jesus Christ. As Acts 3:19 states, “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out.”
So this covenant is specifically for those that truly believe
And the covenant is specifically that God will put his laws on their hearts and write them on their minds and that their sins and lawless deeds will no longer be remembered.
Concerning the statement that his law will be on our hearts and written on our minds
Now this doesn’t mean that we’re going to know God’s law verbatim in our hearts and minds. Though some sense of right and wrong is innate like Romans 2 teaches. What this is really teaching is that when we do become true believers in Jesus Christ, he replaces our hearts of stone with hearts that are no longer hostile to the law of God. We’re no longer utterly opposed to his law. John Piper makes the statement that, “It doesn’t mean that we know them all by heart . . . It means that, when we read them in [his] word, the inclination to do them is in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. This is a great work of the Holy Spirit, purchased by the blood of Christ called the new covenant.”
Put simply, God’s putting of his law on our hearts and writing them on our minds places us in a position in which we actively want to pursue his law through his word.
Concerning the statement that sins and lawless deeds of those who believe will not be remembered
Shows us the position that true believers have in the New Covenant. Those that have truly repented, believed in the name of Jesus Christ, and follow him are now in a position where there sins and lawless deeds aren’t remembered by God.
The significance of this, is that through the New Covenant, instead of continuously offering sacrifices like the priests in Vs. 11-14 for the forgiveness of sins; Jesus’ sacrificial atonement has placed the believer in a position where all of the sins of that believer are no more. The sin which separates man from God is forgiven by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.
And when understood in light of creation and we remember how mankind was supposed to have a relationship with God that was supposed to be completely open, one in which we walk with God without fear and without hiding—it gives a clear image that Jesus’ sacrifice puts us in a position with God that is no longer separated by sin.
Now before we move to the final section of Scripture, I need to answer a question that you might be thinking--”What does all of this have to do with the theme of peace?”
Now the New Testament actually speaks of two different kinds of peace—an objective peace that has to do with your relationship with God, and a subjective peace that has to do with your experience in life.
Typically, when we think of peace, we think of the subjective peace that has to do with your experience in life and part of that is reflected in the Hebrew word shalom that we translate into peace. This word, which is utilized throughout the Old and New Testaments and is still frequently utilized today, is a form of peace that is more than just a “I hope you don’t get into trouble” type of peace. Shalom really means something along the lines of, “I wish for you to have all the highest good coming your way.”
In other words, shalom in this sense, is really more about your experience in life.
The issue is that oftentimes people will seek for this peace in the wrong places. And while it is possible to experience some amount of peace in life like this, until you’ve met the ultimate peace-giver, you’re really only experiencing a shadow of true peace.
Now, until you actually meet the ultimate peace-giver, which simply means that until you believe in Jesus Christ (who truly gives peace), you’re what Paul calls a natural man. The natural man lacks peace with God because as Romans 5:10 states, we are all enemies of God until we receive Jesus Christ.
Which means that the biblical peace or shalom is more than just the absence of trouble in your life; and it is completely unrelated to what is happening in your life.
True peace is experienced when we come to believe in Jesus Christ—And because of what Jesus had done on the cross (his sacrificial atonement that we studied through Hebrews 10), we are no longer his enemies. We’ve come to his side because Jesus provided the sacrificial atonement necessary for our sins and brought us into peace with God.
Since this peace occurs when after someone becomes a believer in Jesus Christ, it can’t truly be found until they come to know Jesus Christ. Because this peace refers to the peace that is brought between God and man at the moment of salvation, it is impossible to experience true peace otherwise.
Now that I’ve stated that, we can actually move into the final segment of Scripture, which is really about our response to the experience of true peace in Jesus Christ; and like I said earlier, this will meld into our application.
Our Response and Application (19-25)
Our Response and Application (19-25)
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.
In response to Jesus’ single sacrificial atonement for our sins, which opens up access to God and allows us to be at peace with God, we can now have Vs. 19, “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.”
The beauty of what Jesus has done for us on the cross is that it allows us to enter the holy place.
This is a direct reference to what the Old Testament calls the Holy of Holies—and if you remember with me, the Holy of Holies was at the center of the tabernacle and later the temple. In the Holy of Holies sat the Ark of the Covenant, which houses the budding staff and the Ten Commandments. And situated on the lid of the Ark of the Covenant was the Mercy Seat. And the Mercy Seat is where the presence of God would dwell. Or in other words, God’s presence would be amongst his people in the Holy of Holies, but here’s the issue.
Because of sin, you couldn’t just enter into the Holy of Holies. There was one person in Israel that was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies and that was the High Priest. And even then the High Priest could only enter the Holy of Holies once a year during the Day of Atonement in order to make atonement for the sins of the nation.
The Day of Atonement occured once a year, which means every day other than the Day of Atonement, the Holy of Holies was completely off limits. Or in other words, being in the direct presence of God in the Old Testament only occured once a year by the High Priest on the Day of Atonement.
But according to Hebrews 10:19-20, because of what Jesus did on the cross, which is expounded on in Hebrews 10:11-18, we now have the ability to enter into the Holy Place by the blood of Jesus through a new and living way that he opened up for us through his flesh.
Not only can we enter into the Holy Place because of Jesus Christ, we can do it with confidence, without hesitation. Or put in a different way, we can now commune with God because of what Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross for our sins. We can be at peace with God.
Which is absolutely amazing and astonishing that the almighty, all-powerful God would go through all of this to bring us into a relationship with him, but it might leave some questions as to what exactly we should do now and a lot of those questions are answered in the next five verses and this is really when we transition into application.
In the last five verses, the author gives us three specific commands that are explained in the surrounding context—you’ll be able to pick up on them quite easily, because they all start with the two words, “Let us.”
First, from Vs. 21-22, “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.”
Since Jesus, who is our great priest, has opened up access to God by his once-and-done offering for us and because we can now enter into the Holy places with confidence—let’s actually draw near.
If we truly do believe in Jesus Christ, we have no reason to fear God because of our sins. Jesus is mediating between us and God, so let’s actually draw closer to God.
We draw closer to God by (1) meditating on his word and studying his word, praying, worshiping, serving, giving, and fasting. We typically refer to these as spiritual disciplines. (2) We draw closer to God by actively pursuing him over all others.
But just doing these disciplines isn’t enough, because we can meditate and study his Word, pray, worship, serve, give, and fast in ways that don’t honor and glorify him. We have to do it how Vs. 22 states it, 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.
This means that we need to seek God with an authentic heart
We need to seek God with confidence in our faith
We need to seek God with a cleansed conscience, which denotes a moral condition
And we need to seek God with our bodies washed in pure water, which refers to outward action.
We need to confidently draw near to God with authenticity with a clean conscience and outward actions that prove our inward conscience.
Second, from Vs. 23, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.”
Since Jesus has opened up access to God and because we can now enter into the Holy Place with confidence—let’s hold fast the confession of our hope.
This is specifically speaking about doctrine. You’ve heard me say it before, take time to actually know what you’re claiming to believe when you call yourself a Christian. Why do I keep saying this?
Because just saying you’re a Christian is meaningless unless you actually know what Christians are supposed to believe—and ultimately, you won’t know what a Christian is supposed to believe until you actually take the time to search the Scriptures and learn what the Bible says, but because it takes hours to read through the Bible, I’d recommend to just start by looking at what our doctrinal statement says. It will act sort of like a skeleton for you as you learn what Christians believe.
Once you know what your confession of hope is, hold fast to it—this means that you ought to be rooted and grounded in it. This means that you shouldn’t waver on your confession of hope. Why?
Because he who promised is faithful. The one who provided a means for you to gain access to God through his sacrificial atonement on the cross, has made you a promise through the New Covenant. And because Jesus is God and God has always been a promise-keeping God, you can hold fast to your confession of hope because God keeps his promises.
And finally, Vs. 24-25, “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, all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
Since Jesus has opened up access to God and because we can now enter into the Holy Place with confidence—let’s consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.
Now that our relationship vertically between us and God is settled and is in peace, let’s look at our relationships with one another as a church family.
Vs. 24--Consider how to stir up one another to love and good works and then 25, Don’t neglect to meet together, but encourage one another.
This tells us that stirring up each other to love and good works is intentional. In other words, we are to intentionally figure out way sin which to stir each other up, specifically to love and good works.
What this means is that as a church, we cannot be just passive partakers, we need to be active in our relationships with each other. We are to consider how to stir up each other and Paul tells us to pursue what makes for mutual upbuilding within the body of Christ.
This means that as a church, we need to be intentional with developing relationships with each other that go past just being friendly with each other—we have to develop relationships in which we can encourage each other and provoke each other to love and good works.
This means that we need to be open with one another enough to where we can actually invest in each other, which can only happen when we don’t neglect to meet together.
The exhortation to not neglect meeting together is more than just coming together for church (though that is an important aspect of it)—this exhortation is to meet together in other aspects of life as well. Or put another way, we ought to have intentional relationships with each other that don’t stop when we walk out of the door Sunday afternoon.
We ought to have intentional relationships with each other that do what Paul says to the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 2:8, “Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives.” (NASB) Or in other words, we need to share life together. And in sharing life together, we’ll develop relationships in which we can encourage other, mutually upbuild each other, and stir each other up to love and good works.
The peace that we experience through knowing Jesus Christ ought to compel us to stir each other up, to meet together, and to encourage one another, especially because the Day is drawing near.
That final statement, “and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Is a reminder that our time on earth is short—so take seriously all of what this passage is speaking of.
If you haven’t taken part of this peace with God through Jesus Christ—repent, believe in Jesus, and know Jesus. Jesus’ sacrifice is what allows us to know God.
If you have taken part of this peace with God through Jesus Christ—give thanks, drawing near to God by seeking Jesus, and hold fast your confession of hope.
And finally, if you have taken part of this peace with God through Jesus Christ—don’t neglect in sharing life with your fellow Christians, be intentional with mutually upbuilding and encouraging one another, and purposefully stir up one another to love and good works.
Pastoral Prayer
Give thanks for Jesus’ sacrificial atonement that opened a path for us to know God.
Give thanks that God in his providence set into motion the events that led us to him.
Pray that those who have yet to experience peace with God do so today
Pray that those who have taken part of this peace with God will give thanks, keep seeking Jesus, and stays firm in their confession.
And finally, pray that we as a church continue to intentionally share life with one another for the purpose of mutually upbuilding, encouraging, and stirring up one another to love and good works.