Hebrews 10:19-25

For around 30 years after we moved into this building, I think for actually quite a long time before as well,

our church secretary or correspondent was Mr David Eard.

David Eard was the father of David Eard, who is now an elder in the church here.

And one of the duties of the church correspondent was that every Sunday at the end of the breaking of bread service,

which in those days was the one everyone attended, he would bring us the intimations, the notices.

And it's fair to say that Mr Eard had a unique style of doing it, what he sometimes lacked in brevity,

certainly made up for in warmth and wit.

But sometimes he had a more difficult duty to perform.

When someone who was a member of the church had passed away, a mystery was informing us about their death.

And in just a few sentences, he needed to sum up what had characterised their life.

And he had a wording that he used very often.

I'm not sure if he always used it, but certainly he used it very often.

And he would say, she loved the Lord, she loved the Word, and she loved the assembling of God's people.

She loved the Lord, she loved the Word, and she loved the assembling of God's people.

And in a sense, that said it all, there would, of course, be a funeral service,

and someone, quite often my father, would pay more of a personal tribute about the individual's character.

But actually, when you've said what Mr Eard said, you have probably given as high accommodation

of someone's involvement in the church as you could.

They loved the Lord, they loved the Word, and they loved God's people.

And in Hebrews chapter 10, in this passage we've read, there are three exhortations that the writer brings to us.

Hebrews 10 · chapter mention

And they are about the Lord, the Word, and the Lord's people.

So in verse 22, the writer says,

Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith.

Our relationship with the Lord.

Verse 23, he says,

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we possess, for he who promised is faithful.

God's promises, his word.

And then from verse 24, he says,

Let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds.

God's people.

I want to look very briefly at these three relationships this evening,

and what the writer to the Hebrews has to say about them.

But before that, just a little bit of background and the earlier verses that we read.

Quite a few of the New Testament letters can quite conveniently be divided into two sections.

There's a doctrinal section which takes up usually about half the letter, sometimes a bit more.

And then there's a practical section which comes after it.

And the doctrinal sections always have practical implications, and the practical sections include great doctrine.

But I think it's a valid differentiation to make in many of the letters.

And often in the middle, there's a kind of linking passage that links the two sections together,

that closes off one and that introduces the other.

So for instance, in Romans, Romans chapter 12 and verse 1, Paul says,

Romans 12 · chapter mention

Therefore, looking back, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy,

to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice.

Or in Colossians chapter 3, Paul writes,

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

Since then, and again looking back,

Since then you have been raised with Christ,

set your heart on things above where Christ is,

seated at the right hand of God.

And in both cases, he then goes on to some very practical instructions for the Christians.

And I think in the book of Hebrews, this is that linking passage.

It takes what the writer has been bringing us in the early part of the book,

particularly from chapter 4 onwards,

and it links it into the latter part of the book,

which is full of exhortations and also of examples that we should follow.

And this little passage, towards the end of chapter 10,

links the two together, summarizes one, and prepares us for the other.

So what does the writer say?

So looking back, the writer says two things.

First of all, he says we have confidence to enter the most holy place by the blood of Christ,

Jesus.

And then he says we have a great high priest over the house of God.

We have access to God's presence,

and we have someone who stands before God and who represents us to him.

Now the picture, of course, is from the Old Testament,

and it is of the tabernacle or later of the temple.

And within the tabernacle and the temple,

there was an area which was called the Holy of Holies,

or the most holy place, the writer calls it here.

And only one person, the high priest, could go into that area

and only once a year on the Day of Atonement.

The normal people, even the normal priests,

would never get to see inside the most holy place.

That is where the presence of God was,

within the camp of the Israelites,

or within the temple of the Israelites.

And only one person could go in,

only once a year,

and only having followed various rituals

to make sure he was in the right condition to go there.

And the writer here is saying,

that was the old position.

But the new position is that all of us

can go into the presence of God.

That barrier, that curtain that used to be there,

has gone.

And if we are trusting in the Lord Jesus,

if he is our great high priest,

then we have access into the very presence of God.

And the reason for that is the two things

we'll be thinking about later on

as we take communion together.

It's the blood and the body of the Lord Jesus.

So before the priest went in,

the animal had to be sacrificed,

his blood had to be sprinkled,

and the reparation for sin had to be made.

The writer says,

we can enter the most holy place,

not through the blood of animals,

as the high priest used to,

but through the blood of the Lord Jesus,

through the sacrifice that he made for us

when he died on the cross.

And he says,

the curtain that used to be there is gone.

Now you remember,

at the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus,

the curtain in the temple

that separates the most holy place

from the holy place was torn in two.

That barrier to entrance to God had gone.

And the writer here says,

the barrier is still gone for us as well.

And what is represented by that

is the body of the Lord Jesus,

which was figuratively,

or literally in many ways,

torn apart for us.

When the Lord Jesus' body

was nailed to the cross,

when he took our sins on himself.

That is what opened up

the way of access to God.

Jesus, who stands between us and God,

has given us access

into the presence of God.

So the writer says,

we have a new and living way

open for us.

New and as it was previously unavailable,

those who didn't know Jesus,

as those who had come before,

even the believing Jews,

they couldn't come

in the way that we can.

It's new.

And it's living.

It's real.

It's active.

And it is based on a saviour

who has died

and has risen again.

What a wonderful privilege it is

that we can come

into the presence

of the most holy God

without fear

through the blood

of the Lord Jesus.

Alongside that,

the writer says,

we also have a great priest

over the house of God.

What is the function of the priest?

It is to make sacrifices.

It is to represent men

before God.

And we, of course,

are a kingdom of priests

that we can come directly

into God's presence

and intercede for others

to him.

But the Lord Jesus

is the great priest

or the great high priest,

the one who stands

before the Father

and as the hymn said,

the song we listened to earlier said,

whoever lives

and pleads for us.

And we have someone

in the very presence of God

who is our representative there,

who is our high priest

and who is presenting

his own sacrifice to God

as the basis

on which we can come

into the presence of God.

And these two descriptions

very succinctly sum up

what's gone before

in the book of Hebrews.

And of course,

there's lots more there,

but in terms of a summary,

these two really sum it up.

The sacrifice of the Lord Jesus

greater than the sacrifices

in the Old Testament.

The priesthood of the Lord Jesus

greater than the priesthoods

in the Old Testament.

And so the writer says,

given that,

given what we've thought about,

given what's gone before,

given what we know

about our position before God,

here are three things

to think about.

Here are three things

that as Christians

should mark us.

And the first of these

is verse 22,

let us draw near to God

with a sincere heart

and full assurance of faith,

having our hearts sprinkled

to cleanse us

from a guilty conscience

and having our bodies washed

with pure water.

So this is about our relationship

with the Lord

and it is characterized

by faith.

By the faith that we have

in the Lord Jesus

and the confidence

that that gives us

to come into the presence

of God.

And we can come without fear,

knowing that the Lord Jesus

has taken all our sin

on himself

and that God,

on that basis,

is happy to accept us,

to accept us indeed

as his children

and to have us come freely

into his presence

to bring our praise,

our thanksgiving,

our confessions

and our requests to him.

And we can come with confidence.

We can come with the full assurance

of faith,

says the writer,

as we come with sincere hearts.

But he also says something

about our condition,

our confidence

and our condition

as we come.

He says,

having our hearts sprinkled

to cleanse us

from a guilty conscience

and having our bodies

washed

with pure water.

Now I think the immediate reference

in this verse

is to the Old Testament.

It is to the fact

that the blood

had to be sprinkled

and the priest

had to go through

the ritual

of cleansing,

of washing himself

in the exact form

stipulated

before he had come

into the presence

of God.

But perhaps it is appropriate

for us to look at it

in a similar kind of way

to the way we looked

at John 13

a couple of weeks ago

in terms of us

being made clean.

And our hearts

have been cleansed

by the blood

of the Lord Jesus

by his sacrifice

for us.

And that's been symbolized

for many,

if not all of us,

by going through

the waters of baptism.

Our bodies in that sense

being washed.

And baptism

is a representation

of something

that's happened

internally

and is showing

to the world

that we are different.

And perhaps the writer,

at least as a secondary thought

in these verses,

is thinking about

the cleansing internal

of our hearts

and the way

that is represented

when we are baptized.

But the key thing

is we come to God,

we come to him

in faith,

and we come to him

with real confidence.

Then in verse 23,

the writer moves on,

we've got a second exhortation,

let us hold

unswervingly

to the hope

we profess

for he who promised

is faithful.

And I've characterized

that as being

about God's word,

God's promises

to us.

And the key thing

that should mark us

as we think about them

is hope.

That we know

that our God

is faithful,

that he is reliable,

that he keeps

his promise.

And so when we come

to him,

we come with a confidence

that he holds us

in our hands

and that he will do

whatever is best

for us.

we should hold

unswervingly,

it says.

That's quite a strong word

that's used,

the adverb there,

unswervingly.

We should have a firm

and steadfast hope

and faith

in the Lord Jesus.

Doesn't mean

we'll never have doubts?

I think probably

all of us

at times

have doubts.

But nevertheless,

our faith,

our hope

in the Lord Jesus

should be something

that sustains us

through the hard times

as well as

through the easy times.

And certainly

the last few months

for all of us

in differing ways

have been

very hard.

And I hope

for all of us

that something

of the hope

that we have

in the Lord Jesus

and our knowledge

of him

has been able

to sustain

and strengthen us.

Knowing that

whatever may happen

in our world,

we are in his hands.

He is ultimately

in control.

And we have this

marvellous hope in him,

not just for this world

and looking for things

to get better,

but beyond this world

we have the hope

of eternal life

through the Lord Jesus.

And we should be aiming

to hold unswervingly

to that hope

and in the most

difficult times

lay hold of it

as the thing

that helps us through

as we think about

our relationship

with the Lord Jesus.

our relationship

with the word

characterised by hope.

And then finally

in verses 24 and 25

there is our relationship

with God's people

and I would suggest

that that is characterised

by love.

So the writer says

let us consider

how we may spur

one another on

towards love

and good deeds.

Notice the main verb here.

This writer doesn't say

let us spur

one another on.

That's true,

we should be spurring

one another on,

we should be encouraging

one another.

But the writer says

let us consider

how we may spur

one another on.

I think consider

is an adequate

translation here

but perhaps it doesn't

get across the full force

of what the writer

is saying.

And I found

a couple of paraphrases

quite helpful in this.

the Passion Translation

says that we should

discover creative ways

to spur one another on.

The message says

let's see how inventive

we can be.

Now there are paraphrases

that are going beyond

what the original text says

but I think they get

something of the flavour

of it.

We should be

consciously thinking

how can I best

encourage my Christian

brothers and sisters

in their walk

with the Lord Jesus.

How can I

take every opportunity

to support them

and to give them

encouragement

to keep going

and to follow Jesus

and to love one another

and to do good

in our world.

And perhaps at times

we have a bit of a kind of

one size fits all

mentality

in terms of how we think

people should be acting.

But we should be looking

as a church

of what is appropriate

for us

but also for individuals

as we come alongside them

and we seek to encourage them

in their faith.

Can we consider

what are the things

that are going to be

most effective

in building them up

in the Lord Jesus.

And of course

we will point them

to his word

we may well be reading

God's word with them

and encouraging them

through that

but doing it

not on a kind of

rote basis

this is what you do

if you're a Christian

rather thinking through

well what is it

that people need

what is this going

to most encourage them

spur them on

and let's think

how we can do that.

I think over the last few months

a good number of people

in this church

have been very good

at doing that

at thinking about

the needs of

particular individuals

and at looking

to meet these needs

and to encourage them

in their faith

and in their walk

with the Lord Jesus.

And all of us

should have that

as our goal

that we work together

that we serve together

that we encourage

one another

in our faith.

And then the last verse

verse 25

I suspect

I didn't discuss

with Graham and Nasser

but I suspect

this may be the verse

that particularly determined

that this would be

the passage

we looked at

this evening.

Let us not give up

meeting together

as some are in the habit

of doing

but let us encourage

one another

and all the more

as you see

the day approaching.

Let us not give up

meeting together.

There's an awful lot

you can do

by phone

or by Zoom

as we've discovered

over the last few months

but equally

there's an awful lot

you can't do

remotely.

Being able to sit

with someone

presumably distance

at the moment

to talk things through

to see

their reactions

and their body language

and how they're feeling

and how things are going

and to have a much more

in-depth

conversation with them

than you can

over the phone.

When things are

a bit more relaxed

than they are now

to be able to put your hand

around the shoulder

of a brother or sister

who is struggling

as you encourage them

in their faith.

To be able to pray together

as we meet together.

And we need as Christians

to recognise

we're not just

a collection

of solitary individuals

worshipping Jesus

and serving him.

Rather we're the church

of the Lord Jesus

that meets

at Brunsfield

and we have responsibilities

towards one another

that can only really

be fully discharged

in person

when we see

one another.

And we're wonderful,

won't it,

when we're all able

to be back together

as a church

and to share together

in the way

that we've been used to

in the past.

But I think there's

a real encouragement there

as we are able to

over the coming weeks.

To meet together

whether it's outside

or whether it's in houses

to be distanced

to meet together

and to be able

to share together

the things

of the Lord Jesus.

Particularly to look

for those who perhaps

need that word

of encouragement

and whether they're

feeling a bit down

or whether they're

perhaps slipping away

a bit in their

Christian faith.

But to encourage them

and to strengthen them

in the Lord Jesus.

What is the final incentive

for that?

The writer says

all the more

as you see

the day approaching.

The Lord is coming back.

We don't know

when it will be.

It could be

very soon.

And the writer says

that is a real incentive

for us to encourage

and strengthen

one another

in our faith

and in our walk

with the Lord Jesus.

It's a real incentive

not to absent ourselves

from meetings

of God's people

but where we can

where it's appropriate

and I realize

for everyone

it's not for everyone

it's not appropriate

at the moment

to meet like this

but where we can

to meet with others

and to encourage

one another

and strengthen

one another

in our faith.

So three relationships.

A relationship

with the Lord

that should be

characterized

by our faith

in him

and thinking

about our access

to God the Father.

Let's make good use

of the access

that the Lord Jesus

has given us.

A relationship

with the word

characterized

by our hope

and by the certainty

of God's promises

and strengthening us

through difficult times.

And a relationship

with each other

characterized by love

and bringing

mutual support

and encouragement

in walking

with the Lord Jesus.

It may be able

to be said

of all of us

he loves the Lord

he loves the word

and he loves

the gatherings

of God's people.

Let me pray briefly.

Father we thank you

for your word

to us this evening.

We thank you

for the writer

to the Hebrews

and the great concern

he had for those

he wrote to.

People were going

through difficult times

and we thank you

it is still relevant

to us today

that we need to

remember that we have

access into your presence

through the Lord Jesus

and what a wonderful

privilege that is.

That we need to

cling on to the hope

that we have

steadfastly

as we go through

life's trials

and that we need

to consider

how we can best

encourage

and strengthen

one another

in our faith

in our love

in our works.

Help us to learn

these lessons

we pray

and be with us now

as in a few minutes

we come together

to share

the communion

to share the Lord's Supper

may we do it

in a way that is

worthy of our Saviour.

We give you thanks

in Jesus name.

Amen.