Hebrews 10:16-25

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,”

• Recap
  • Last week we stared at the perfect and pure law of God and how God himself put His laws into our hearts through the vehicle of the holy spirit
  • We looked at the old covenant
    • Law (to reveal sin) & sacrifices (to atone for sin)
    • That we may appreciate Jesus coming to pay for that sin and being the only worthy sacrifice
    • Today the author of Hebrews continues to use the imagery of the old covenant to reveal the beauty of the new covenant

 

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.

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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.

• • Today the author of Hebrews continues to compare the old and new covenant and specifically hones in on the holy of holies or the holy place of the tabernacle
    • Talk about the holy of holies in relationship to sin
      • High priest
      • Sin offering for himself and nation
      • Bells

• Hebrews 9:6-12

• • • • Preach through this section
      • New covenant
        • New access
        • Eternal redemption
  • This sets us up for why vs’s 17-18 are so important
    • Sin prevented us from access to God
    • Praise God for Jesus paying the price for our sins
    • Now we want to look at 3 things
      • 1) we can confidently enter the holy of holies
      • 2) we are to have faith in our salvation
      • 3) we are to encourage one another

 

1) we can confidently enter the holy of holies

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.

• Confidence to enter the holy places, vs 22 let us draw near with a pure heart in full assurance

• • Why do we have this confidence and full assurance to enter the holy of holies?
  • Because of Jesus!
    • He cleansed us, he paid our entry ticket, he put us on the guest list, he placed our tickets at will call, he made our rsvp with the father and paid with His blood
    • This is why we have confidence, because Jesus gave us access
  • Why is it important that we enter?
    • Talk about what was in there
      • His presence
      • His mercy seat
      • His laws
      • In other words, to enter into the holy of holies is to walk in the spirit of God
      • 1 corinthians 6:19  do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
        • For the holy spirit is the presence of God
        • For in the holy spirit is the laws of God written on our hearts
        • Just as the children of Israel relied on His presence to guide them and provide the presence and access to the Father, so do we
        • The scripture is telling us we can access the holy spirit confidently and with full assurance of faith
  • When the scripture tells us to enter confidently into the holy of holies with full assurance of faith, this is not a physical temple
    • It is the command and encouragement to walk in the power and presence of the holy spirit 
    • House analogy
  • This statement begs the question, if His temple is inside of us, aren’t we already “confidently entering” into the holy of holies?
    • The answer is that Jesus made access and made His home in us, but we still choose whether to keep the fire of the presence of God burning in that holy temple or if we’d let His temple lie dormant 
    • House analogy
      • I went to the bank, got preapproved, the preapproval was so good that the banker told me that someone put up the funds free and clear, I just had to move in the house
        • This my new permanent residence
        • Nice, 2000 square foot, vaulted ceilings, bookshelves built in the walls, inground pool
        • Got my uhaul, moved my furniture in there
        • Moved my clothes in there
        • Got my change of address filed at the post office
      • But I still kept paying rent at my old house
      • Sometimes I stayed at the old house, sometimes I stayed at the new house
      • The new house had lots of food, new clothes, it was blessed, completely payed for
      • But the old house was comfortable, familiar, still had to pay rent, I knew the new house was better, but I kept finding myself at the old house
      • Besides, the landlord always welcomed me home
      • In this analogy, the new home represents the holy spirit that dwells inside of us
      • The old home represents our flesh
      • To dwell in the new home is to walk in the spirit, seek God, pray, meditate on His word
        • Galatians 5:25 says it like this 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
          • If He has made us alive by the holy spirit, let us enter the holy of holies, let us live in the power of the spirit
      • To dwell in the old home is to simply live life absent the God who redeemed you.  To neglect and take for granted what Christ has done and wants to do in us.
      • This is the choice we have as believers have.
      • The text is telling us to confidently enter into the holy of holies

 

2) we are to have faith in our salvation

 

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.

• The two phrases that stand out here are “true heart in full assurance of faith” and “hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering”
• This means plainly to genuinely have faith in the gospel that has saved you!
• We can have faith because it is God who has done it
  • He has sprinkled our hearts and bodies
    • This is another allusion to the old temple
    • Everything was made holy by ritual sprinkling of the blood and the priests undergoing ritual washing
    • This is saying that we can have faith because Jesus has sprinkled us with His own blood making us holy and He has washed us with His blood making us clean
      •  Titus 3:4But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 
• We can have faith because our belief isn’t in ourselves, but He who promised is faithful
  • Who is that?  Jesus!
  • This is why we don’t have to waiver, because we are putting our hopes squarely on Jesus
• This charge to hold fast our confession without wavering is accompanied by a rope to hold on to
• The text says to draw near with true heart in full assurance of faith
  • It is in the drawing near that we get the confidence in our faith
  • Likewise, it is in the isolation and separation that our faith loses strength
• So again, we are encouraged to fight for the presence of God
  • Fight to be close to the father
  • Fight to draw near to God
  • Fight to stay close by reading, speaking, and meditation on His inspired breathed out word
  • Fight to stay close by entering into His presence in prayer
  • Fight for the joy found in Him keeping your mind on Him
  • Thankfully this fight to flourish in our faith is not to be fought alone, point number 3

 

3) we are to encourage one another

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.

 

• • We have been encouraged to confidently approach the holy of holies and stir up the holy spirit within us
  • We have been encouraged to stand firm in our faith
  • Christianity is never only about ourselves, the last exhortation we get here today is about encouraging one another in the Lord!

• Stir up one another  to love and good works

• • • This means to push your brother and sister in Christ to love God more and to do more for the Lord
    • Picture of teammates pushing each other to be successful
      • My friend who takes pictures of their food
      • Or the friends who are workout partners that keep each other coming to the gym
      • Growing up I used to hear the term prayer partners, this is where the idea comes from
      • Still today I hear the term accountability partners, to keep each other from falling
      • This needs to be part of our dna as a church, that we have real sibling relationships that are pushing each other in the love of Christ, in the love of the people of God
        • We are to mark 12:30 love the lord with all of our heart mind soul and strength and love our neighbor as ourselves
        • This is half of the exhortation, 
          • The other half is to stir each other up in good works
          • What are these good works
            • It is the works of Christ and works commanded of us in scripture
            • Encourage one another in your sharing of your faith
            • Encourage one another in your reading of the word
            • Encourage one another in your service for the lord
            • Encourage one another in your obedience to the lord
            • Encourage one another to be a not only a noun in the lord, but a verb for the lord
    • This stirring is so important because Christianity is not only a personal lifestyle, but a communnual culture.
      • We are children of God and we are the family of God\

• Ephesians 2:19-22 19So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,d but you are fellow citizens (of the kingdom)  with the saints (holy ones) and members of the household of God, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God bye the Spirit.

• • • Back to the text

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.

• • Intentional meeting and gathering is the vehicle in which we do the spurring and encouraging one another
  • This includes the sunday gathering
  • This includes bible study
  • This includes hanging out with each other
  • These are all opportunities to not neglect to meet together
    • This doesn’t mean that we spend all of our non-working hours together, as was my upbringing, shoutout to macedonia cogic
    • What it does mean is that the church is not like a family, it is a family
    • Family spends time with each other and in our case, when we are together we are pointing each other towards Jesus!
  • This exhortation to spur one another on is so important because we are in a fight
    • Our two enemies are satan and our flesh
    • Satan wants us isolated so that his attacks can be more effective
    • Not only that, but we ourselves are powerless outside of Christ and outside of the communion of the holy spirit
    • We need each other to push us towards Jesus and His strength when we find ourselves alone, in a rut, and vulnerable to sin

• As is the habit of some

• • • Nothing new under the sun
    • This is also the responsibility of the leaders of the church cultivate a culture
      • Take a moment to encourage the church in this

• All the more as you see the day drawing near

• • Saints, we need each other, more specifically we need each other’s encouragement in the Lord now more than ever
  • Let us commit to each other anew
  • Here is some homework
    • Call or text one person in the family this week to encourage them in the Lord
    • If you are willing to accept this challenge, type amen in the chat (be it so)

Sermon Transcription on Hebrews 10:16-25