Hebrews 10, we're on page 1007.
Our family used to holiday in a tumbledown cottage in a remote part of Ireland.
! And when we started going there, no one had been to the cottage for quite a long time.
And the path at the side that took you up there had become overgrown.
And what had once been a kind of driveway of sorts was covered in mud.
And really the whole thing was impassable. You couldn't get up.
So we couldn't get to where we wanted to go.
I cut back some of the overgrowth, spent some time hacking away at all the branches that had grown over.
And I got someone to come and lay a truckload of stones on the path.
Now I didn't do that just so that the path was functional again for its own sake.
I didn't do it just so that I could step back and say, well that was a good job of cutting back the overgrowth.
And well that path now looks really, really good.
I did it so that we could actually use it.
I did it so that we could benefit and that we could gain access to where we wanted to go.
Now there's a sense in which the same sort of thing is true with all of the theology that we've been given so far in the book of Hebrews.
Back as far as chapter 5 we've been given the sustained case for the supremacy of Jesus.
He is our high priest, the true and better high priest.
And his sacrifice, offered as it is in the reality of heaven, is superior to all that went before.
But all of that doctrine isn't just given to us as an end in itself.
Chapter 10 verse 19, therefore.
So he's saying, the author is saying, in light of all that I've just said to you, something must now be done.
All that has been rolled out for us in chapters 5 to 10, you could say is summarized in verse 19.
The blood of Jesus, which creates then verse 20, the new and living way that is opened for us through the curtain, that is through his flesh.
Verse 21, and since we have a great priest over the house of God.
He's saying Jesus shed his blood.
He gave up his life in order to atone for our sins.
He has opened a way back into the presence of God.
And he now mediates for us as a perfect priest in heaven.
We are reconciled to the Father.
We've been over this, haven't we, the last few weeks.
And we're told all of this in rich detail.
Not so that we can say, well isn't that nice?
Although it is.
Not so that we can pass a doctrine exam, although the theology is vital.
Not just so that we can meditate on the sheer grace and mercy of it all, although we must.
Not simply so that our hearts would be captivated with joy with all that this means for us,
although they very much should be.
But so that we might act on it.
So that we might do something with it.
So that it might shape our lives.
That the way that we live would look like an implication of all of that.
And that's where we start this evening.
Two points this evening.
The first is this.
Live like we really know Christ.
Therefore, live like we really know Christ.
That's verses 19 to 25.
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus.
Since we have confidence to do this, he tells us to act in three ways.
First of all, let us draw near, verse 22.
Let us hold fast, verse 23.
And let us consider verse 24.
And I want us to see that as we think about these things, that as he calls us to do them, he's calling us to do them together.
The language is corporate throughout.
Now what that means is, when he says, therefore, brothers, it's brothers and sisters.
It's the church family.
Then verse 24.
The us in view there.
The one another of the church community.
We'll get more practical on this later.
But recognize that what we're called to here, which is the ancient triad of faith, hope, and love, we're called to together.
This is a corporate exhortation.
This is a team talk, as it were.
What will that mean?
Verse 22.
Draw near in faith.
If you live like you really know Christ, you will draw near in faith.
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.
Now whatever your reasons might be for shrinking back, for keeping God at a distance,
whether because you're cross with Him, or because you feel that you've let Him down.
So whether it's something He's done or something you feel about yourself, if you're a Christian, if you're trusting the Lord Jesus, you can set all of them aside.
Indeed, the word translated confidence in verse 19 is literally boldness.
We can boldly approach the eternal throne of God.
How can we do that?
Through the finished work of Christ, our high priest.
Because He offered His blood in the true heavenly sanctuary.
You have been sprinkled clean.
You're clean this evening if you're in Christ.
And you know this because of the washing of our bodies, the very thing that is depicted in Christian baptism, what we've just seen this evening.
Christ's blood, we sing it, really does make the foulest clean.
And if you are trusting in the Lord Jesus, His blood avails for you.
So for the believer in the Lord Jesus, there is no reason to keep God at a distance.
Because there is no sin too great that cannot be covered by His atoning blood.
Now for those of you who are given to self-doubt, for those of you who think that you've sinned your way beyond His reach,
Christ's sacrifice on your behalf commands you to draw near to God and to do so boldly.
Don't hold back.
And for those of you for whom life is hard, and because life is difficult, if you're honest with yourself,
there's a part of your heart that is angry with God,
or because life is difficult, you've pulled back and you've allowed your heart to go cold to Him,
Christ's sacrifice commands you to come back, to draw near, go to God in faith.
Draw near in faith.
Having done that then, verse 23, we are to hold fast with hope.
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
As Christians, we confess all that Christ has done for us as the basis of our hope.
What is your hope?
Your hope is all that Christ has done, His finished work.
We have a great high priest, one who has gone into heaven on our behalf.
When we sin, or when Satan brings his accusations against us,
the Lord Jesus steps in and pleads the merit of His blood.
Father, He says, He was purchased at the cost of my life.
She is free because I took her punishment in her place.
This is our hope.
That is the ground of all of our hope, the finished work of Christ and the fact that He mediates for us.
And the author reminds us that we must hold this hope with a tight fist.
We must hold it unshakably.
Don't doubt.
Don't fear.
Don't put your hope anywhere else.
Why?
Because God, He who promised, is faithful.
He's faithful.
What a relief.
Isn't that a relief?
If this depended on us, we would be lost.
We know how fickle our hearts can be.
I certainly know how fickle and cold mind can grow at times.
We know how easily tempted we are.
We can have the highest, most lofty thoughts of our God,
and within a moment, within a split second,
we can have our gaze drifting off after some glistening idol somewhere else.
We think to ourselves, maybe I'd be happier if that was my life.
We know, if we're honest with ourselves, if making it to glory depended on our faithfulness,
we would be in nothing but trouble.
But it doesn't.
It doesn't.
It depends on the faithfulness of God to His own promises,
and because He is faithful, we can hold on to our hope through even the most intense,
difficult, painful, nerve-shattering storms of life.
I don't know what you're going through this evening as you seek to live for Christ.
Temptations that feel overwhelming.
Pressure from outside in some way.
Difficulties at work.
Struggles in your family.
A sense of shame that you feel unable to let go of.
Anxiety about any number of things.
Go to God and hold fast your hope.
Because He's faithful.
He is faithful.
And He has put His Word on it.
He will see you through.
And He'll see you through step by step by step all the way to the end.
Sometimes when we're struggling and hope is thin on the ground,
we think to ourselves, I'm never going to make it to the end.
We don't need to think like that.
Just take the next step.
And the next.
And all of a sudden, you realize you've come quite a distance,
and God has been faithful all the way.
Hold fast with hope.
And then next, thirdly,
if we're going to live like we really know Christ,
stir up to love.
Verse 24.
Stir up to love.
The corporate aspect comes through most clearly here.
Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.
The best sports teams,
whatever the sport,
if it's a team sport,
the best sports teams
are those where every player knows their job,
but doesn't play as an individual.
Whatever the sport,
and you can ask experts in any one of these sports,
any of the best coaches that there have ever been,
and you say,
what makes an absolutely top-notch player?
They'll say,
yeah, they're talented.
Yeah, they're this.
But in the end,
they put the team first.
They know that their role
is to contribute to something bigger than them.
It's the team as a whole.
And we need to think about our Christian life like that.
It is a team sport.
And the team isn't there just to help you succeed.
But we all see our role as contributing to the progress of the whole.
You're asking yourself the question,
how can I get the best out of my brothers and sisters?
The word for stir up here,
let us consider how to stir up one another.
That word could be translated provoke.
Provoking one another.
Provoking someone is usually doing something.
Normally, it's annoying, isn't it?
You feel provoked by somebody.
But it's doing something to bring out a response.
And here we are to provoke one another to love and good works.
And I take it that that means then, verse 25,
what does that look like?
What do the love and good works look like?
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.
You see,
if you are struggling
to kind of hold fast to your hope,
what do you need?
You need someone to come along in love
and to encourage you to take the next step.
You come along and you say,
we know that gathering as the church,
week on week,
is absolutely vital.
Being here for worship
is the beating heart of Christian life.
And so you come,
not just to consume yourself,
what is provided for your worship
or your encouragement,
but you encourage others to do the same.
I'm struggling to hold fast my hope.
And you say,
make sure you're there on Sunday.
I'll come and pick you up.
You say,
oh, you're cold in your faith at the minute.
Well, confess your sin
and draw near to God in faith
as He calls you to.
Go boldly to Him.
You're discouraged for X reason,
whatever it might be.
Hold fast to Christ,
my brother, my sister,
and do it with hope.
He's praying for you in heaven right now.
In the midst of this struggle,
the Son of God is praying for you.
Keep going.
Work is killing me at the minute.
I'm just so busy.
I just can't,
I can't keep going.
There's so much opposition.
I'll pray for you.
Can I help in some way?
I'll come and meet with you
and pray with you.
Let's read the Bible together for a bit
just to get through this next phase.
Now, often when we're discouraged,
when discouragement hits,
what's the first thing
that goes by the wayside?
We withdraw from the people of God.
We withdraw from church.
I don't really feel up to it this Sunday.
Well, the author is saying
that when we don't feel up to it,
it is when we need to go.
And not just for ourselves,
but so that other people
who know that we're struggling,
who know that we're going through it,
see us recognizing that this is a priority
and we gather together
and they are encouraged.
I think this verse gives us an insight
into the original context.
People, what was going on?
So people were discouraged
because of opposition,
so they distanced themselves
from the church community.
They distanced themselves
from the church community
and so they felt the draw
back to old covenant religion
was more attractive.
In the meantime,
the people that they left behind
were then discouraged
because there were fewer of them at church.
And church life was harder
and it felt more fragile.
Here's the thing.
I think we can all sign up
to this idea in theory.
Yeah, I'm a team player.
I know that we all got to pull together
in the life of the church.
But ask yourself this question.
When it comes to being provoked,
when it comes to being stirred up
towards greater obedience,
deeper faithfulness,
more consistent, evident
Christian discipleship,
would you let someone
speak into your life?
Would you allow someone else
to challenge you?
Would you respond
to their encouragement?
Or should they just keep
their nose out of your business?
There are so many demands
on your time.
So many demands
that are pressing on your time
and the brightest minds
in the world
are paid millions of pounds
to lure your heart away
after their products
rather than being captivated
by the Lord Jesus Christ.
We all feel the pressure
in different ways
in our culture
to step back
from faithfully following Jesus.
And we also all have blind spots.
Blind spots by definition.
We can't see them.
So we need other people
to point them out.
None of us can stand
on our own.
We weren't designed
to do that.
None of us
can do it
because we weren't designed
to do it.
We cannot live
the Christian life
in isolation
and we weren't designed
to do that.
And by the way,
what we might call
the Christian industrial complex,
they haven't helped us
actually
because we can access
all kinds of Christian resources
online
that give us the impression
that we can live
the Christian life
on our own.
If you have an internet connection,
we're told that you can live
a rich Christian life.
You can't.
The Christian life
is inescapably corporate.
The New Testament
has no vision
of the Christian life
apart from the local church.
This is reflected
in the vows we take here
as church members.
Vow number four,
do you recognize
the authority of the elders
and assent to the governance
and oversight
of the International
Presbyterian Church?
And do you agree
to accept their discipline
if that should ever be necessary?
We need elders
who will teach,
encourage,
and correct us.
Vow number five,
do you promise
to support the church
by prayer,
giving money and time,
and caring practically
for individuals?
We need the practical care
of one another.
Vow number six,
do you commit yourself
to building and maintaining
healthy relationships
within this church,
treating your fellow believers
as your brothers and sisters
in Christ?
What is that vow
if it is not Hebrews 10,
19 to 25?
We need others
to help us live
the Christian life.
So when we gather like this,
when you gather with the church,
you don't just gather
for your own benefit
or for your own personal growth,
but for the benefit
and growth of others.
And just turning up,
just being here,
or just turning up
to the prayer meeting,
that is an encouragement
to your brothers and sisters.
They look around
and they say,
they're still holding fast.
They cared enough
about the Lord
and about me
to be here.
Their voice
made the singing
more encouraging.
They want to provoke me
to godliness
and encourage our church
to keep going.
I'm going to do the same.
If they can do it,
so can I.
But again,
for this to be a reality,
we need to be willing
to be provoked.
To receive a brother
or sister in church life
telling us
that we need
to change certain behavior.
We need to repent
of an obvious sin.
We need to change
our priorities.
If someone in church life,
if one of the elders
challenged you
about your parenting,
how would you take it?
Ooh.
You can talk to me
about anything else,
but don't touch
the idol
right at the heart
of everything.
How dare you?
We should welcome
their willingness,
actually,
to care enough
to get involved,
to provoke us
to love and good works
and to keep going
in obedience.
Live like you really
know Christ.
Draw near to God
in faith.
Hold on to the gospel
in hope
and lovingly encourage
others to do the same
in all areas
of discipleship.
live like you really
know Christ.
Point number one.
The author then
follows this
with a warning,
if you don't,
and an encouragement.
Point number two,
live with a wise
perspective.
Live with a wise
perspective.
That will mean
two things,
26 to 31.
First of all,
remember what's coming.
Remember
what's coming.
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.
Here the author
raises the reality
of judgment.
Now what's interesting
is,
if you've been with us
over these weeks,
he has just spent
several chapters
talking about
the complete
sufficiency
of Christ's sacrifice
for every sin.
All confessed sin
is forgiven sin.
So there does remain
a sacrifice for sins,
even today,
even this evening,
for anyone who
hears Christ's voice
and doesn't harden
their heart,
but turns their lives
over to him.
So what does he mean here?
Well, this is where
the context
really matters.
The problem here,
as we've said all along,
is that some Christian Jews
are attempting to go back
to the blood
of bulls and goats.
And to do that,
they would need to travel
to Jerusalem
to offer their sacrifices.
But this letter
was written around
the late 60s AD,
just before the war
broke out
that destroyed Jerusalem,
the destruction
that Jesus said
in the Gospels
would happen
within the lifetime
of those that he
was speaking to,
and it climaxed
in AD 70.
So he's referring
to those who would
go back to the old
covenant ways
and go back
to Jerusalem
to do that
and incur
that judgment
that was going
to come.
So if I can paraphrase,
it's this.
He's saying,
for if we sin deliberately
by returning
to the Levitical sacrifices
which must be offered
in Jerusalem,
after we've received
the knowledge
of the truth
that Christ died
once for all
and did away
with the repetitive
sacrifices
in doomed Jerusalem,
well, there no longer
remains a sacrifice
for sins back there,
but a fearful expectation
of judgment.
Roman armies,
massacred Jews,
fury of fire
which will consume
the adversaries.
The author is concerned
about a specific
historical judgment
and so he warns
his hearers
about going back
to Jerusalem
to worship
when the city
is on the verge
of destruction.
And that destruction
came to pass
just as Jesus promised.
The city fell
and many who,
verse 26,
had spurned Christ
were lost.
And what that does
for us all these years
later is remind us
that God keeps his word.
He has promised
that he will take vengeance
on those who oppose him
and on that day
whenever it comes
it will be a fearful thing
to be in that situation.
Verse 31.
Christ has done
all that is required
to reconcile you to God
regardless of your background,
regardless of your status
or your ability,
regardless of what you've done
with your life,
however good
and however bad,
the blood of Jesus
has opened the way
to God
if you will take it.
But if you won't,
if you would rather
navigate this life
on your own terms,
the only alternative
is to fall into the hands
of the living God,
not as your father
but as your judge.
It is real warning
to real people.
So remember what's coming.
We always have to calibrate
our behavior in the present
in light of what we know
about the future.
Remember what is coming.
Apart from the Lord Jesus Christ
who has done everything
to reconcile us to God,
to take us all the way
to glory.
Apart from that,
all that there is
is judgment.
It is very sobering.
Real warning.
The author follows this
with a reminder
of his hearer's past experience
as well.
Remember what's coming,
he says,
but also remember
what's past.
Verse 32.
Remember what's past,
but recall the former days
when after you were enlightened,
you endured a hard struggle
with sufferings,
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.
When you started out
on this Christian life,
you took a lot of grief.
You were mocked
and humiliated
and rejected
and abused
and robbed,
but you kept going.
It's almost like
the author is saying,
remember the conversation
we had
that time
after your flat
was ransacked
and they spray painted
all that stuff
over your front door.
You had your valuables stolen.
It was an awful time.
And do you remember
that I was saying
I was sorry
that you'd experienced this
and you rebuked me?
You said that this was reproach
for the sake of Christ
and that you were glad
to be counted worthy
to suffer for his name's sake.
Do you remember that?
The author is reminding
these weary believers
what they went through
in order to get to this point.
And he's saying,
well,
first of all,
they had the right perspective
back then.
They happily accepted
the loss of what they had.
Verse 34.
Since you knew
that you yourselves
had a better possession
and an abiding one.
That's what Christ
holds out to us.
Something that is way better
than anything
we could ever have here.
Something that is way better
that if we were to give up
now because it's too hard.
We think it's too hard.
We would be forfeiting
just something
unimaginably wonderful.
and one that is not
going to be fleeting
but one that is going
to abide.
You had the right perspective
back then,
Hebrews.
You know
and you knew then
that Christ
was your real treasure.
But also,
secondly,
in order to encourage them
to persevere
and not give up.
He's saying,
do you remember
you went through all that?
Why would you give up now?
Verse 35.
Do not throw away
your confidence
which has a great reward.
You've come through so much.
You know like the person
who takes on
the massive challenge?
Those kind of big challenges
that are cool these days.
I'm going to swim around Europe.
I'm going to row across the world
on my own in my pants.
And they set off
with great confidence.
And there's a great fanfare
in all of that.
And despite all the challenges,
at the start,
they keep going.
And at some point,
in this great challenge,
there'll be some people
who say,
I can't do it anymore.
And they stop.
But there'll be others
who think,
you know,
I've come through so much.
I can't stop now.
That's the person
that he wants
these people to be.
He's calling these hearers
to be that person
and to endure.
Not to believe
in themselves,
but verse 37,
can you see,
to trust Christ's promises
and to have faith
that God,
who has promised
to be faithful,
will see them through.
That's the only way
anyone will endure
to the end.
Now, some of you
need this reminder.
As we come to a close,
some of you need
this reminder.
You made a courageous start.
You made a costly start
in the Christian life.
It cost you friends.
It cost you relationships.
Your family
are annoyed with you.
They're disappointed
that their dreams for you
haven't been fulfilled.
because you've given yourself
to being Christian.
You were warned
by HR
because the views
you expressed on X
weren't in line
with the company's
position on inclusion.
At the beginning,
you lost your job
because you liked
the social media,
posted, quoted,
the Bible,
and so on.
Remember those days.
And if you're tempted
to walk away
from Christ now,
remember those days
and don't throw away
your confidence.
Don't lose your nerve.
When following Christ
is particularly tough,
we need this twin perspective
in order to be confident
and keep going.
Remember,
judgment lies ahead
and there is nothing else
for those who walk away
from Christ.
It's very sobering.
And at the same time,
remember what you went through
to get this far
and don't waste
that struggle.
Instead,
live like you really know Jesus.
Live by faith
in our good God
who will keep us
for glory.
And let's do it together.
Let's pray.