Wednesday, July 1, 2015

As the Day Draws Near - Hebrews 10:19-25

I taught through today’s section the first time about five years ago. It created a desire in me to study the entire book of Hebrews in-depth but I didn't know it would be years before the opportunity presented itself. In those intervening years, I would occasionally read through the book knowing that treasures hid within its words. This study has not only encouraged me but I’ve also connected with it on a deep level. I’ve been thrilled to have this new method of sharing it with you as we progress through the chapters.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B88Ivx7ssx4AX0NheF9GZkswWGM/view?usp=sharing
Click picture for a printable handout for this section.


I encourage you to start this section by reading Hebrews 10:19-25.

Therefore

We don’t use the word “therefore” in common language very much anymore. In the Bible, though, it’s such an important word. Never skip over it! When we see it, we need to back up because we’ll never fully understand what we’re about to read if we don’t first understand the previous section on which it’s based.

The book of Hebrews uses “therefore” more than any other New Testament book. The entire argument which the author presents builds upon itself throughout its chapters. The one that begins today’s section may be the most important of them all. It begins a conclusion of how we – you and I even today – are called to live and what we can expect in these last days.

Because of These…

The author is about to call us to action in three different areas. Before he does, however, he’ll give us two reasons why we need to step up in these three areas. He has explained these two cause statements throughout the last several chapters so watch for the links to take you to articles where we discussed them. I won’t go into much detail here.

Since We have Boldness (10:19-20)
We aren’t bold on our own – we have boldness. God has given it to us. We have confidence to enter the most holy sanctuary before God’s throne knowing the blood of Jesus atones for our sin permanently.

God split the curtain in the Jewish temple at the time of Jesus’ death. That's the parable. The power of His blood sprinkled on the mercy seat in the true heavenly sanctuary opened a new curtain for us. Through this new curtain – His body – we may enter the heavenly sanctuary in full boldness and confidence. This is our hopeThis is reality.

Since We have a Great High Priest (10:21)
Every day the priests offered sacrifices and burned incense in the temple. Every year on the Day of Atonement they sacrificed for their sins and those of the people. They entered the Most Holy Place with burning incense and blood to sprinkle on the mercy seat. But it was never enough.

Jesus is a different kind of high priest from the order of Melchizedek. With Jesus’ final sacrifice, it was enough. The price was paid, sin atoned for, and Jesus sat down at the right hand of God as His work was finished. A new covenant was established. No other priest in the history of the Jewish people could say the work of atonement was done; only Jesus finished the job.



Let’s Do These…

We should live a certain way because Jesus opened the way for us to enter in and because He atoned for our sin once and for all. Our lives should be different as the reality of our position before God transforms us.

Let Us Draw Near (10:22)
Do you realize the significance of all Jesus did to make it possible for you to enter God’s presence? He has sprinkled His blood on our heart to purify the wickedness of our seared consciences. He has given us pure and living water to wash away our filth. All He asks in response is we accept it by faith. Jesus’ sacrifice was absolute; our faith should be so as well. The greatest step of faith is the one that takes you away from the call of the world and toward the presence of Holy God.

Fake faith isn’t going to cut it. A cheap knock-off of the real thing won’t enter God’s holy presence. Those who enter with a true and sincere heart can stand boldly in His presence.

What does it mean to draw near to God? I see two possibilities – a here and now and a then and there.

Here and now we can enter God’s presence spiritually through prayer. We can come before Him in devotion and reverence as we would before no other. We can make requests to help us as we strive to serve and love Him. We can intercede on behalf of those who struggle and despair. Finally, we can praise Him and offer up thanksgiving for the abundance of blessings He pours into our lives.

Then and there we can literally and physically enter into God’s presence after our time on earth is done. Some day we will each cease to breathe on this planet and we’ll take our first full breath of eternal life. Perhaps then we will finally start to comprehend the gravity of Jesus’ sacrifice as we literally and truly enter into God’s presence through the curtain of Jesus’ body and stand where Jesus’ sprinkled His own blood on the true mercy seat.

Let Us Hold On (10:23)
We don’t want to lose hope; it’s a desperate place in which to exist. Yet we have to make a conscience decision to hold on to it. We have to restrain it so we don’t lose it. We have to “hold on to the courage and the confidence of our hope” (Hebrews 3:6). We have to “hold firmly until the end the reality that we had at the start” (Hebrews 3:14). And here we read, we have to “hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering” (Hebrews 10:23).

Culture will continue to decline – both in America and around the world. In all honesty, we can’t stop it. The decline will leave us discouraged, despondent, and worn out. At times it seems tempting to just lay down and stop the fight; to give up on hope. God calls us to something different, though. We do all that we can to hold on to our hope without wavering. The idea here is to not lay down or recline. Don’t lean back and don’t give up. Hold on to that hope with which you first confessed your sin and faith in Jesus because that is what you’ll need to stand tall until the end.

Let Us Be Concerned (10:24-25)
Sometimes it’s easier to just not care; to lay back and decide it all doesn’t matter. Let whatever happens happen because people get what they deserve. That’s not the attitude for which Christ died, however. What if He had said that of us instead of leaving the glory of heaven to come to earth and offer Himself as the final sufficient sacrifice? Since He didn’t choose that attitude, we shouldn’t either.

We need to be concerned about one another. We need to think about others; doing so should elicit a three part response in us. None of those responses allow us to leave people to their own devices and not care what happens to them.

Considering one another should provoke us to love and good works. The author of Hebrews threw in a little sarcasm here, I think. I can appreciate that. He wrote that when we think about others, it should provoke us. The word means “an incitement or irritation.” We can relate to that, can’t we? After all, we all know people who the thought of them is a source of irritation in our lives. Here’s the twist, though. That irritation should prompt us to love and good works. It doesn’t lead to griping, complaining, backstabbing, or ignoring. When we think of others and the thought irritates us – God calls us to respond with love and good works. After all, that’s what He did for us even though our sin was more than just a little irritating to Him.

Considering one another should bring us together in worship. My pastor makes the same comment almost every Sunday, “I can think of no other reason except worshipping God that would bring together such a diverse group of people this morning.” And that’s a good thing. When we think about others, we should want to come together with them in the common cause of worshipping our mutual Savior. Jesus died for them as much as He died for you. They love Jesus as much as you do. Come together and celebrate those things.

Unfortunately, this is a primary area of attack for Satan. He loves it when he can regularly pull us away – to the lake, sleeping in, preparing lunch, getting ready for an upcoming week. Any excuse will do as long as it keeps us out of the church building and away from worshipping with like-minded believers. He has another source of victory when he uses pettiness and dissension to make our togetherness a time of griping rather than a time of worship. We complain about the color of the carpet, the number of songs, the time of the service, and any other little tidbit that makes no eternal difference. Thinking about one another should be an irresistible pull to come together in worship.

Jesus is an example to us of someone who understood this. He said during the Last Supper with His disciples, “I have fervently desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer” (Luke 22:15). I don’t know if you’ve ever had a chance to celebrate a Messianic Passover but I guarantee it is a worship service. How much more would the Passover with the Messiah have been one? Jesus longed for it; He “fervently desired” it. In Hebrews, He asks us to feel the same way.

Considering one another should be a call to encourage. To encourage someone means to fill them with courage. Similarly, to discourage means to take away their courage. Your words and actions have the power to do either. You can either fill someone with the courage they need to face life’s battles, serve as God calls, and live a life honoring to Him. Or, your words and actions can take every bit of their courage to do those things and throw it in the trash. It’s up to you which way you choose.



As the day draws near

One day Jesus will return. Whereas He came as a baby in a humble manger the first time, the second time will be one of great power and authority as every eye will see Him and behold Him as King of all. That day is near. I don’t know when it will be; neither does anyone else. However, Jesus told us some things to watch for and those things are lining up in a way unparalleled in human history.

Life will be hard until that day. We may think it’s hard now but it’s going to get worse. That’s why these kind of passages are so important. Right here we have three simple reactions we should have to Jesus’ sacrifice. These reactions are the way God calls us to live as we see the day of His return approaching. He asks us, quite simply, to draw near to Him, not waver in the hope we possess, and consider one another in a way that leads to love and good works, worship, and encouragement.

I don’t think that’s too much to ask in a world gone crazy.

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