Confidence Before God, Boldness Before Others (Hebrews 10:19-39)

Over the next couple of weeks, I am very blessed to have the opportunity to go on a sabbatical.

Now, in addition to this time off to take some time to relax, one of the main goals for the sabbatical is to think through a discipleship pathway for the church.

It was interesting that many of the things that I was already thinking about as far as this pathway goes, many of those things were reinforced this week as I began to look at this week's passage.

After a number of chapters of theology and right doctrine, we get to some of the applications that all of that theology brings to our life this week.

And the text that we're in today has a couple of options of teaching through it, in my opinion.

I'm sure there's many, but one of those is to take three or four weeks and gradually go through some of these things and really dive in deep to some of these things.

But the other option that we're going to be taking today is kind of taking a step back and seeing the overview and seeing how all of these truths come together that we should be applying to our life.

And so our passage this week covers a significant portion of scripture.

It's going to be Hebrews 10 verses 19 through 39.

Hebrews 10:19–39

But the main idea that the author is trying to communicate to us from this passage is because of Jesus, we can confidently come before God and boldly live for him.

Because of Jesus, we can confidently come before God and also boldly live for him.

Now, the main thing that I want us to see today is that our salvation was bought and paid for by Jesus.

And living for him will be counterculture to this world, but living for him is worth it.

Living for Jesus will be counterculture to this world, but living for him is worth it.

Now, we're going to be reading all of this passage today, but we're going to do it as we walk through it and break it up into these sections.

Now, there are five truths, five things that I want us to make very clear today.

And we're going to very quickly go through some of these things.

We're going to very quickly go through those.

So I just want to go ahead and give you all five of them to begin with.

And so it'll save some of you from afterwards.

I missed the third one.

I missed the fourth one.

Some of you like to make sure you have all of those down.

So I'm going to go ahead and give you all of those things to begin with so that we can work our way through them.

To begin with, we want to see the importance that we know Jesus.

We know Jesus.

We follow Jesus.

Don't reject Jesus.

Count the cost of following Jesus and be faithful to Jesus.

So know Jesus.

Follow Jesus.

Don't reject Jesus.

Count the cost of following Jesus and be faithful to Jesus.

And so to begin with, I want us to see how important it is that we know Jesus.

We get this from the first two verses of our section this week, verses 19 and 20.

It says this.

Therefore, brothers, since we have comforted,

confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus,

by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain,

that is through his flesh.

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus.

You see, for the last nine chapters, the author has been showing us the supremacy of Christ.

How Christ is so much better than anything and everything in this world.

And sharing the good news of the gospel.

Now, as he gets ready to give us some application and also share some strong warnings,

he gives us a very quick recap of the gospel.

He gives us a very quick overview and review of what we've already been learning for nine chapters

and wants to make this very clear as we get ready to apply this to our lives.

He says,

We have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus.

We have seen the author make it very clear that the holy place here doesn't just refer to the most holy place in the tabernacle or the temple,

that part that only the high priest could go behind once a year.

But he's telling us very clearly that Jesus doesn't just enter into the shadow.

He doesn't just enter into the cup.

He goes into the real place, the real presence of God to secure our forgiveness.

And it says he went through the curtain, that is, through his flesh.

You see, the thick curtain in the tabernacle stood as a constant reminder that our sin has separated us from God.

That we can't enter into his presence.

And so it tells us that Christ went through the curtain, that is, through his flesh.

And so when Christ's flesh was torn for you, the temple curtain was also torn.

Now, this actually happened in history.

It actually happened at the death of Christ where the temple curtain was torn in two.

It was a physical sign of a spiritual reality.

Now, because of Christ, you and I, as believers, can walk straight into the most holy place.

We, as believers, because of what Christ has secured for us, can go straight into the presence of God.

And this is not because of our worthiness, of our actions, but it's because of the worthiness of the sacrifice.

Because Christ made this sacrifice for us.

You see, one of the things that Hebrews does beautifully is to show us the uniqueness of Christ.

He was uniquely qualified to make a permanent and lasting sacrifice for us.

Jesus was uniquely qualified to pay for our sins because he is both God and man.

You see, in order for him to make a perfect sacrifice for us that would be enough forever,

that wouldn't require another sacrifice to be made over and over again,

like the priests of the Old Testament, in order for this sacrifice to be enough to be done,

then he would have to be God.

In order to bridge the infinite chasm between us and God would require an infinite sacrifice.

But we also see that this person would have to be human.

Like us, familiar with our shortcomings, understanding what we're going through in this life,

in order to pay the price for humanity, he would have to step into humanity.

And so we also see that this person would have to be perfect in order to make a sacrifice.

Because if he was not perfect, then a sacrifice would have to be made for him,

much like the priests of the Old Testament.

And so what we see very clearly as we work our way through the book of Hebrews

is that the sacrifice to pay for our sins, to pay for our sins once and for all,

that wouldn't require a constant sacrifice, that would have to be made over and over again,

would require this person to be God, would be like man, and also to be perfect.

And so what we very clearly see is there's only one.

There's only one God, man.

And there's only one who is God, man, and perfect, and that is Jesus.

And so it makes him uniquely qualified to pay this sin debt for us.

J.I. Packer, speaking on this incarnation, he knows, he says,

Hebrew stresses that had he not thus experienced human pressures, weakness, temptation, pain,

he would not be qualified to help us as we go through these things.

As it is, his human experience is such as to guarantee that in every moment of demand and pressure

in our relationship and walk with God, we may go to him.

Confident that in some sense, he has been there before us, and so is the helper that we need.

In every single situation and circumstance in life, we have one that we can go to.

One that will never fail us, and this is the confidence that we have.

This is why it's important to know Jesus.

What the author has done beautifully, and what I hope to have accomplished as we look through this,

is to see that Jesus is not only enough for us, but Jesus is available to us.

Not only is he enough for us, but he is available to us.

We are all dead in our sins, but the sacrifice on the cross is enough for all of us to be able to come to God,

for all of us to be able to come to him.

And so next, the author gives some application to this understanding of who Jesus is

and how we should follow him and how we should know him.

And so once we know the gospel, once we know Jesus, we are called to follow Jesus.

We're called to follow him.

Look at verses 21 through 25.

It says this,

And let us consider how to stir up one another,

to love and good works,

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.

And so in this passage,

the author gives us several let us statements.

To begin with,

as believers,

as those who know Jesus,

it says,

let us draw near.

And it says to let us draw near with true hearts.

The passage tells us that as believers,

our hearts are sprinkled clean from an evil conscience.

You see,

under the old covenant,

the priest would take the sacrifice of these animals

and they would sprinkle objects in the temple with the blood in order to cleanse them.

And in order to make them pure,

they would sprinkle the blood of the sacrifices on these things.

And so figuratively speaking,

Christ's blood has been sprinkled on our hearts

so that we can have new life.

Because of this,

we can draw near to God.

And as believers,

we have the full confidence

that we can go into the presence of God,

not in ourselves,

but in the precious blood of Christ

that has been sprinkled on us

to cleanse us.

And this is wonderful news for us

because it is the presence of God

that gives our lives joy,

meaning,

and purpose.

It is being in his presence

that gives our life meaning,

that fulfills us

because in the garden,

this is what we were created for,

to have this relationship with God,

to be able to be in the presence of God.

Sin has destroyed this,

but Jesus has restored it.

And so we see we are to draw near.

But next we are to hold fast.

We are to hold fast to our confession,

to what we believe.

And when I read this,

my mind immediately went back

to Hebrews chapter 6

Hebrews 6 · chapter mention

when we were talking about holding fast.

In Hebrews 6,

we are told it says,

we who have fled for refuge

might have strong encouragement

to hold fast

to the hope that is set before us.

And we have this as a sure

and steadfast anchor of the soul,

a hope that enters into the inner place

behind the curtain.

There's a song,

and it's actually a song

that the choir is going to be singing this week

in the 11 o'clock service.

It was written by Matt Boswell,

and it's called

Christ the Sure and Steady Anchor.

And in this song,

he writes these words.

He says,

You see,

we're to hold fast

to this anchor that is in Christ,

that has gone before us,

that has gone into the presence of God,

that has bought and paid for our redemption.

This is what we are clinging on to.

In this life,

when our faith is put to the test,

whether it be by our own doing

or others trying to bring us down,

we must hold fast

to the anchor of our souls,

hold fast to our confession

that our hope in this life

and the life to come

is in none other than Jesus Christ.

And there is nothing

that is more secure than Him.

We recognize

what we are holding on to is truth.

And that truth

is what we build our lives on.

Finally, in this section right here,

we see that we are to consider

how to stir up one another.

It says,

Let us stir up one another.

Now, some of us are really good

at stirring up one another.

But it's important that we see

what we are to stir up one another to do.

We are to stir up one another

to do good works.

You see, my kids are really good

at stirring one another up.

In fact, another translation

that some of your Bibles may have,

it says to provoke.

Charlotte has a master's degree

in provoking.

She can provoke everybody

and get them all stirred up.

But what this is telling us to do

is to stir up one another

to love and good works.

Now, either way that you look at it,

whether your translation says provoke

or to stir up,

either way,

what the author is communicating

is we are to do this

to the point

that it can become uncomfortable.

You know,

when you're provoking somebody,

when you're stirring someone up,

when my kids provoke each other

and stir one another up,

they do it to the point

that they get a reaction from somebody.

They do it to the point

where they actually understand

that their provoking,

their stirring up,

has caused a reaction.

The author is calling us

to push each other

to do what God has called us to do.

And it's more than just a suggestion.

It's more than saying,

hey, it might be a good idea to do this.

It's an encouragement

that leads to an action.

It's an encouragement

that goes beyond just a suggestion.

And one of the ways

that we are to encourage one another,

in the early church

that they were writing to,

one of the ways

that they were encouraging one another

was to make sure

they didn't neglect coming together.

Corporate worship

is important

in the life

of every believer.

The gathering together

like this

is important

in the life

of every believer.

This is what we are called to do.

One commentator

that I was reading this week

said it like this.

He says Christians

must not neglect

gathering together

for corporate worship

and for the times

of prayer and encouragement.

He said verses 24 and 25

are strong words of judgment

against those

who are in the habit

of neglecting other believers.

Those who neglect

the assembling together

cut themselves off

from the very means

whereby Christ feeds,

assures,

and protects His people.

to say that

I can do this alone

is to defy

the very command of Christ.

Some may claim

they can hear better preaching

on the internet.

Probably so.

Others said

they are too busy

to attend church.

But these excuses

revealed the reality

of a disobedient heart.

Instead of searching

for an excuse,

Christians should be doing

everything within their power

to meet together

not only because

they need to be fed

by the preaching

of God's word

but also because

it is part of their faith

to stir up fellow believers

to love and good works.

You see,

you need someone

to stoke the fire in you.

You need someone

who will call you out

when you need,

you need someone

to keep you on the right track

to help you

when you get,

to get up

when you don't want

to get up,

to shake you occasionally

and tell you

to get it together.

This is part of what it means

to be a follower of Christ

is that we stir up,

we provoke one another

to love and good works.

The next thing the author does

is he highlights

only two possibilities

when it comes to

knowing the truth

of the gospel.

When a person knows the truth,

when they understand

the truth of the gospel,

they either believe

and give their life

to this truth

or they reject it.

And so the next thing

the author makes clear

for us is a strong warning

and the warning is this,

don't reject Jesus.

The author gives us

a very strong warning here,

don't reject Jesus.

Look at verse 26,

we're going to pick up

right there,

it says this,

for if we go on sinning

deliberately after receiving

the knowledge of the truth,

there no longer remains

a sacrifice for sins,

but a fearful expectation

of judgment

and a fury of fire

that will consume

the adversaries.

Anyone who has set aside

the law of Moses

dies on the evidence

of two or three witnesses.

How much God

is a fearful thing

to fall into the hands

of the living God?

This is one of several

challenging passages

that we have dealt with

in our study

of the book of Hebrews.

In this passage,

the author addresses

an issue that was

most likely prominent

in this church.

That is,

there were people

who knew the facts

about Christianity,

they knew the truth,

they had heard the gospel,

they knew it well,

and yet they went

about deliberately sinning

and living in sin.

In the Greek,

this word that's translated

deliberately here,

it actually comes

at the very beginning

of this sentence.

the very beginning

of this,

and so what the author

is trying to do

is emphasize something

very clearly for us.

What he's emphasizing

is stop living in sin.

Stop deliberately

living in this sin.

The warning against sinning

deliberately does not mean

that all sin

that we commit

nullifies Jesus' sacrifice

for us.

It doesn't mean that,

but it does mean

that just because

you grew up

hearing truth,

just because you

walked an aisle

and was baptized

is not evidence

that you're truly saved.

You see,

perseverance

in a changed life

is evidence

that you're saved.

Perseverance

in a changed life

is the evidence.

It is people

who repent

of their sins

that are truly saved.

And this is what

God allows us to do

once we believe,

once we are saved,

then this process

of repentance begins.

And this is evidence

of the change

that has happened

in our life.

A lack of repentance

shows very clearly

a lack of understanding

of the gospel.

I think one of the things

the author is doing

is showing

that you can't keep

playing this game.

He's showing

that you can't keep

straddling the fence

where he's saying,

you know what,

I want to follow God,

but I also want

to follow this world.

You know,

I want one foot here

and one foot here.

One foot that is

clearly looking towards God

and one foot that is

clearly looking away.

He says,

you can't do this.

And it reminds me

of Elijah

when he's calling out

to the people of Israel

there,

when there was many

that were following

the Baals.

And he said,

he says,

how long will you go

limping between

two different opinions?

If the Lord is God,

follow him.

But if Baal,

then follow him.

What he's saying,

he says,

if the Lord is God,

if you are claiming

that the Lord is your God,

if God is your master,

if he's the one

that you're following,

then follow him.

But if not,

then stop pretending

like you are

and follow whatever it is

that is most important

in your life.

When it comes

to our relationship

with God,

a choice

has to be made.

We can't go on

without making a choice.

We must choose

who it is

that we're going to serve.

We can't serve

two masters.

And so the question

then becomes,

are you going

to follow this world

or are you going

to believe,

be saved,

and repent?

The next thing

we see

when it comes

to following Jesus

is that we must

count the cost

of following Jesus.

We must count

the cost here.

We'll pick up

in verse 32.

It says this,

but recall

the former days

when after you

were enlightened,

you endured

a hard struggle

with suffering,

sometimes being

publicly exposed

to reproach

and affliction,

and sometimes

being partners

with those

so treated.

For you had

compassion

on those in prison,

and you joyfully

accepted the plundering

of your property

since you knew

that you yourselves

had a better

possession

and an abiding

one.

Therefore,

do not throw

away your confidence

which has

a great reward.

You knew yourselves,

you had a better

possession

and an abiding

one.

You see,

most scholars

will date

the book of Hebrews

to be written

around just

the mid-60s A.D.,

and they do this

because of some

contextual clues

within it.

They know

that it was

almost certainly

written before

A.D. 70

because that was

when the temple

was destroyed,

and from some

of the things

that it talks

about in here,

many of the

practices of the

temple were still

in place.

The sacrificial

system was still

in place

when this was

written.

But also,

there's some

other contextual

clues that lets

us know that

it wasn't long

before A.D. 70

that this book

was written,

and a lot of

that comes from

this passage

right here

because it speaks

of oppression,

imprisonment,

afflictions,

all of which

were consistent

with what was

going on

in the Roman

Empire.

You see,

in A.D. 64,

Nero burned

Rome and blamed

the Christians

for it.

And at this

point,

many Christians,

the persecution

escalated greatly.

Many of the

things done to

the Christians

at this time

were so gruesome

that I wouldn't

even share them

in a context

like this

with everyone.

But understand

this.

There was a

cost to

following Jesus.

There was a

cost that these

believers were

enduring when it

comes to

following Jesus.

And the truth

of the matter

is that there

is always a

cost to

following Jesus.

We can clearly

see it here,

but the truth

of the matter

is always a

cost for these

believers,

for them to go

public with their

faith and be

baptized meant

that a target

would be placed

on their back.

You see,

for them,

they didn't have

like we do here,

where we can

roll out a

baptistry and

just right here

have a baptism.

Many of them,

for them to be

baptized,

they would go to

a very public

place like a

river where

everyone could

see and they

would be

baptized there.

And all of a

sudden,

everybody knew

that this person

was a follower

of Christ.

Today,

we're blessed

with these nice

air-conditioned

facilities,

nice heated

baptistries.

And when someone

is baptized,

we clap for them

and we get really

excited for them.

We should do

all of those

things.

That is wonderful.

We are blessed

in so many ways.

Rarely do we have

to deal with a

great deal of

persecution.

In fact,

many times the

persecution that

we deal with

is not brought

on by faithfully

following God,

but sometimes it's

brought on by

not faithfully

following God.

Kent Hughes,

one time he noted

this.

He said,

sadly,

Christians are

very often

persecuted,

not for their

Christianity,

but for their

lack of it.

Sometimes they

are rejected

simply because

they have

unpleasing

personalities.

They are rude,

insensitive,

thoughtless,

or piously

obnoxious.

Sometimes they

are rejected

because they

are discerned

as proud

and judgmental.

Others are

disliked because

they are lazy

and irresponsible.

Incompetence

mixed with

piety is

sure to

bring about

rejection.

So don't

assume that

just because

people are

rejecting you

that you are

doing this

the right way.

Sometimes what

we need to do

is to look

more like

Christ in

our context,

to show

grace and

kindness and

show people

who Jesus

truly is.

That being

said,

there is

always a

cost to

following

Jesus.

It will

change the

way you

live your

life.

It will

change the

way you

think about

your finances.

It will

change the

way that

you interact

with your

family.

It will

change the

way that

you love

your spouse

and your

children.

It will

change the

way you

spend your

time.

It will

change the

way you

spend your

priorities.

You will

still live

with a sense

of urgency,

but instead

of having a

sense of

urgency of

trying to

get the

next greatest

thing or

to keep

up with

your neighbors,

you're going

to live

with a sense

of urgency

to get the

gospel message

to those that

need to hear

it.

You see,

Jesus just

asked for

one thing,

and that's

everything.

He wants

all of us.

To put it

very bluntly,

if following

Jesus has

not cost you

something,

then the

Bible calls

us to

question whether

or not you

are following

Jesus.

If following

Jesus has

not cost you

something,

then the

Bible calls

us to

question whether

or not you

are actually

following Jesus.

You see,

you will not

find one

follower of

Jesus in

the Bible

who trusts

in Jesus

and their

life doesn't

change.

It doesn't

exist.

There is a

cost to

following Jesus,

but it's

worth it.

But it is

worth it.

You see,

what is

remarkable is

not that they

lost their

possessions

because they

identified with

Jesus.

What is

remarkable is

they responded

with joy to

losing their

possessions.

It's not

remarkable that

they lost

everything by

following Jesus.

It's how they

responded to

losing to

everything to

following Jesus.

They responded

with joy to

this persecution.

How is this

possible?

Because what

they are

gaining is

far more

valuable than

what they were

losing.

What they are

gaining is far

more valuable than

what they are

losing.

But you say,

well, some

of them were

losing their

life.

Let me say

it again.

What they

were gaining

is far more

valuable than

what they were

losing.

And so,

finally, we

look at this

passage and

we see that

we are called

to be faithful

to Jesus.

Be faithful

to Jesus.

Verses 36

through 39.

For you have

need of

endurance so

that when you

have done the

will of God,

you may receive

what is promised.

For yet a

little while

and then coming

one will come

and will not

delay.

But my

righteous one

shall live

by faith.

And if he

shrinks back,

my soul has

no pleasure

in him.

But we are

not of those

who shrink

back and

are destroyed,

but of those

who have faith

and preserve

their souls.

You see,

the life of a

Jesus follower

is a lifetime

of faithful

endurance,

of faithful

devotion.

We need

the hope

of God's

word for

this journey

and we

need the

fellowship

of other

people to

be along

this journey

with us.

This is what

this is telling

us clearly.

To endure,

to be faithful

to Jesus

over the

course of

our lives,

we need

God's word

in our lives.

We need

it to resonate

with us.

We need

it in our

souls,

but we also

need the

fellowship

of other

believers

who will

spur us

on to

love and

good works.

I've used

this quote

a number

of times,

but I

believe it

bears repeating.

Eugene Peterson

in his book,

A Long

Obedience

in the

Same

Direction,

he says

it this

way.

He says,

one aspect

of world

that I

have been

able to

identify

as harmful

to Christians

is the

assumption

that anything

worthwhile

can be

acquired

at once.

We assume

that if

something can

be done

at all,

it can be

done

quickly

and efficiently.

Our attention

spans have

been conditioned

by 30-second

commercials.

Our sense

of reality

has been

flattened

by 30-page

abridgments.

It is not

difficult in

such a world

to get a

person interested

in the message

of the gospel,

but it is

terrifically

difficult to

sustain the

interest.

There is a

great market

for religious

experience in

the world,

but there is

little enthusiasm

for the patient

acquisition

of virtue,

little inclination

to sign up

for a long

apprenticeship

in what

earlier generations

called holiness.

You see,

all too often

we see

sanctification

in the

Christian life

as a task

to be completed.

We say,

we just need

to hurry up

and be

sanctified.

We just need

to hurry up

and become

what God

has already

declared us

to be.

But this

is a

lifelong

process.

It's a

lifelong process

that only

sees us in

when we

get to

be with

him in

heaven

one day.

And so

as believers,

we are

declared

righteous.

We saw

this last

week,

we are

declared

to be

righteous,

but we

will spend

our

lifetimes

becoming

what God

has declared

us to be.

You see,

it is my

hope and

prayer that

we are able

to see that

our salvation

very clearly

was bought

and paid

for by

Jesus Christ.

And living

for him,

it will

be

counterculture

to this

world.

There is

a cost

that goes

along with

following

him,

but also

we will

see very

clearly

that it

is worth

it.

Because

following

Jesus

is the

greatest,

most valuable

gift that

we could

ever be

given.

And so

I want to

ask you

this morning,

are you

ready this

morning to

believe,

to be

saved,

and to

repent of

those sins?

Are you

ready to

give your

life to

Jesus?

Maybe

you're

like many

of these

believers,

they know

the truth,

they've

heard it

all of

their lives,

they've

grown up

understanding

this,

but now

they actually

need to

get it

right.

They need

to understand

that going

all in is

not straddling

the fence,

you can't

follow Jesus

and follow

this world.

A choice

has to be

made.

And so

maybe today

you need

to make

that choice.

Or maybe

today you

need to

think about

where you

are and

look at

your life

and realize

that there

needs to

be some

progression

that's

happening.

There needs

to be

some

sanctification

that happens

and you

need to

ask

yourself,

what or

who do

I need

in my

life to

help me

more faithfully

follow Jesus?

But let's be

honest with

ourselves today

and respond in

a way that

brings God's

name,

honor,

and glory.

Father,

thank you so

very much.

Thank you

so much

for the

book of

Hebrews,

written to

a church

that is

like any

church in

this world,

struggling

with so

many different

things in

this life.

But Lord,

I pray that

we take the

truths that

are found

in your

word,

that we

would see

them not

as just

knowledge

to be

gained,

but knowledge

that we

want to

apply to

our lives

to change

the way

that we

live.

And so

Lord,

help us

to see you

more clearly

today.

Help us

to follow

you more

faithfully.

Help us

to endure.

Help us

to come

alongside

other

believers.

Help us

to stir

up one

another,

to provoke

one another

to love

and good

works.

And Lord,

help us

to be

open when

people are

doing that

to us.

When people

that have

our best

interest in

mind are

encouraging

us or

provoking

us to

follow you

more

faithfully.

So Lord,

help us

to see you

clearly today.

Whether that

be for the

first time

to give

our life

to you,

or whether

that is to

faithfully

follow you

all the

days of

our life.

And we

ask this

in Jesus'

name.

Amen.

I'm going

to invite

you to

stand this

morning.

We're

going to

sing a

song of

invitation.

And if

God is

speaking to

you this

morning,

won't you

respond as

we stand

together

and sing?