“Therefore, Brothers and Sisters…”

We’re going to read from the book of Hebrews and from the tenth chapter. And I invite you to follow along as I read. I’ll just read from the nineteenth verse through to verse 25:

“Therefore, brothers”—or “brothers and sisters”—“since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great [high] priest over the house of God, 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. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 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.”

Amen.

Father, we pray that you will “take your truth” and “plant it deep in us,” that you will “shape and fashion us” in the likeness of your Son,[1] in whose name we pray. Amen.

Well, I have been anticipating this evening, because I’ve known that it was coming. But of course, we all knew that it was coming. But I’ve had a run of things where I’ve been speaking at the Gospel Coalition, then I was speaking at Missionary Aviation Fellowship, and all the time along I say, “Lord, what am I going to do when we get to Sunday night on the 4th?” And the passage of Scripture that has been on my heart as I’ve been traveling around is the passage that I just read, and that is from Hebrews 10:19.

And I’ve had these verses in my mind because I was aware of the fact that it is not only a Communion service but also that some of the folks who are attending our conference, which begins tomorrow in the afternoon, are already here. And so, in coming to these verses, I’ve thought very much about the fact that it first of all focuses us on the finished work of the Lord Jesus. In fact, the book of Hebrews is the most comprehensive statement of the priesthood of the Lord Jesus. And so that is clear. But at the same time, it directs us to what we might refer to as the unfinished work that is entrusted to us in living for Jesus, so that what Christ has accomplished provides the foundation for what we are then entrusted to do in living for him.

Well, that was fine. But then I thought, “Well, there’s so much in Hebrews that has to do with just the finished work of Jesus. How can you contain yourself to these few verses in chapter 10?” And then I said, “Well, I don’t need to do that. I can just go to any verse I choose, and if they choose to follow along, that will be fine.”

So, if it’s tedious to you, just don’t follow along. But it’s right around chapter 4 that we get this first indication—chapter 4 and verse 14, where the writer says, “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God.” And at that point he begins to build out for us the nature of the priesthood of Christ. You can go through the chapters. I’m not going to go through them all. But by the time you get to chapter 7—so I’ve been very kind to you there—I think by the time you get to chapter 7, right around verse 24, which is in contrast to verse 23, he’s making the point that all the priests that had served under the old covenant, there were many of them, many in number, because they were prevented by death from being able to continue in office, so as one died, somebody else had to be put in place. In contrast—verse 24—concerning the priesthood of Jesus: “But he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever.” And in verse 27: “He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.”

The new covenant speaks not of the actions of the people but of the actions of God, not of the response first of all of the people but the initiative of God.

If you look down your page, you’re probably there in chapter 8, and in verse 6 you will notice that the writer says, “As it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.” So he’s pointing out that the covenant that Jesus mediates is better than the old because it’s based on better promises.

And this is where we just need to pause and make sure we understand that the old covenant was full of duties—all of the duties that the people of Israel had to perform. But the new covenant speaks not of the actions of the people but of the actions of God, not of the response first of all of the people but the initiative of God—all those promises found in God and fulfilled in Jesus, so that the new covenant is based on forgiveness in the Lord Jesus Christ and that that new covenant through the death of Jesus signals the disappearance of the old covenant and all of the old covenant regulations.

Now, I’m going to just pause out of Hebrews to help us understand just the way in which this comes to the fore in the institution of the Lord’s Supper. This is Matthew chapter 26 and reading verse 26:

“As they were eating”—that’s Jesus and the disciples—“as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it [he] broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body.’ And he took a cup, … when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.’”

Now, what Jesus is actually doing there in that Last Supper—as it were, what he’s doing—he’s essentially setting aside the Passover lamb that had been prepared for the celebration of the Passover, and he places himself symbolically, not literally, on that table. And in that context he declares, “This is my body, and this is my blood”—the blood the expression of sacrifice and the body there the indication of his death, so that he is both the Priest, and he is the Sacrifice. And in doing that, he provides, as we just sang, a “perfect redemption,”[2] purchased by his blood.

By this means we get to chapter 9, where again the writer is making the same point so that we might not miss this. Verse 11:

When Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.

“Therefore”—verse 15—“he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance.”

Now, you see, the daily offerings for sin which were part of the old covenant were established and firmly established. When you get to chapter 10, he makes that point. Verse 11 of chapter 10: “Every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.” But here we go: “But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”

So what Christ has done in his death and in his resurrection has dealt with our predicament. The real issue that is being settled is not our futile existence but is the reality of the wrath of God—that by nature, we are alienated from God. The reason that we need Jesus as our Prophet is to deal with our ignorance, so that he speaks to us the word of God. The reason that we need him as our Priest is because of our alienation, in order that he might grant a reconciliation, that he might bring warring parties together by his blood.

And his work of sacrifice is completed. That’s why he sits down. But yet he continually intercedes on behalf of those who are being sanctified.[3] You might stumble over that verse, 14: “For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” Well, how can you be “perfected” and at the same time be “being sanctified”? How does this work?

Well, sanctification is, first of all, accomplished in its fullness at the cross of the Lord Jesus. And that’s what verse 10 says: “And by that will we have been sanctified”—past tense—“through the offering of the [blood] of Jesus Christ once for all.” So the accomplishment of sanctification is in the cross. So it is there.

It is also experienced by us in the ongoing work, which is what he refers to here in verse 14. And you say to yourself, “And well, how… Will this go on forever?” No; eventually, it will be consummated. It’ll be consummated on that day when our faith becomes sight. It’ll be consummated on that day when we will see him and we will be made like him.[4] But what he has done is an accomplished work.

Now, what that means in all kinds of ways it is important for us to understand. First of all: that what Jesus has done is in need of no repetition. No repetition. So anybody who says, “We’re going to continually resacrifice Jesus in the Roman Catholic Mass”—that is wrong. It is not in need of any addition. It needs nothing supplemented to it to make it a go.

I need no other [sacrifice],
I need no other plea;
It is enough that Jesus died
And that he died for me.[5]

That’s the testimony of believing faith. No need for repetition, no need for addition, and no need for continuation. If it’s finished, it’s finished. If the work was completed, it’s completed.

Now, I say this to you tonight, and we’ve got a congregation that is varied. But we need—as David Wells says in one of his books—we need the courage to be Protestant. We need the courage to actually fulfill what the Scriptures are saying. There is a reason why the Reformers said what they said and did what they did to break the bonds of a repetitious sacramentalism that yielded nothing to the souls and hearts and lives of men and women.

And so we have to make sure that we understand that when we are sharing the gospel with people, the idea of being dead in our trespasses and sins—the reality of it is that we are by nature unworthy of God, we are unfit for heaven, and we’re unable to fix the situation. Unworthy of God, unfit for heaven, and unable to reconcile.

Now, that made me think—and since it made me think, I’m going to let you think as well—as I was thinking about this, I said, “You know, this really has an impact on the way we share the gospel with people.” Because if our approach to sharing the gospel is just “You know, you folks, you’re not doing so well, you’re feeling a little futile, and we’ve got a great story here for you”—you know, unless we understand that God’s wrath is his settled conviction against our sin, then although people may admit to being sinners, unless they understand that their sin is sin against God and that God has provided in Jesus, in his own Son, the means whereby our sinful souls are set free…

Now, that took me to Evangelism Explosion in the early ’70s, I think it was, down in Fort Lauderdale. And some of you participated in Evangelism Explosion, and therefore, you know the two questions that you asked of the people when you knocked their door. Question number one: “Do you know that if you were to die today, that you would go to heaven?” “Do you know that if you were to die today, that you would go to heaven?” That’s question one. The people may answer variously. The follow-up question: “If you were to die today and stand before God, and he asked, ‘Why should I let you into my heaven?’ what do you think you would say?” Would you say “Because of something that I have done—something done by me, relying on my own effort”? Would you say, “Because of something done in me, thereby relying on my own experience”? Or would you say, “Entirely because of something done for me, in the reality of expiation and reconciliation”?

The fact of the matter is that as he gets to verse 19, he is absolutely confident and believes that we can be confident: “Therefore, brothers [and sisters], since we have confidence…” We have it! On what basis do we have it? And what does it give us? It gives us access and boldness. And this is “by the blood of Jesus, by [a] new and living way that he [has] opened [up] through the curtain” and so on. We have confidence.

In Christ, you will never be more acceptable to God than you are in this moment. Because his completed sacrifice secures our redemption and our place before him.

In other words, if you’re a believer tonight, you have every right to be confident, whether you feel like it or not. Because you may feel multivariously. You may feel yourself to be wretched and had a horrible week and read your Bible only three days out of nine, and so you’re saying to yourself, “Well, at least we have Communion. We can get that back. That’s worth a few points. That’ll backfill missing these days and so on.” If you’re thinking that way at all, you don’t understand. You don’t understand.

In Christ, you will never be more acceptable to God than you are in this moment. Because his completed sacrifice secures our redemption and our place before him. Therefore, when you think about it and you think about dying—which we don’t want to think about a lot, but from time to time…

Charles Haddon Spurgeon died on the 31st of January 1892. Four weeks before his death, he was meeting with friends, and they were asking him, because his life was ebbing from him. And he took the opportunity to quote from one of his favorite hymns, which begins, “Before the throne of God above I have a strong and perfect plea.” And this was the verse that he quoted:

Behold him there, the risen Lamb,
My perfect, spotless righteousness,
The great, unchangeable I Am,
The King of glory and of grace.
One with himself I cannot die.

Buried with him, raised with him.

My soul is purchased by His blood;
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ my Savior and my God![6]

Addressing those same friends for the last time, this is what he then said: “Though I have preached Christ crucified for more than forty years, and have led many to [the] Master’s feet, I have at this moment no ray of hope but that which comes from what my Lord [and Savior] Jesus [Christ] has done for guilty men.”[7] That’s it.

Lloyd-Jones addresses it very similarly. And this is what he says:

There is but one cure for the ills of man. When my conscience accuses me there is but one thing I know of that can give me rest and peace. It is to know … Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, … has forgiven me. It is to believe, and to know, that because He loved me and died for me, I am clear of accusation. And, conscious as I am of my weakness and failure, and my lack of power to live a life worthy of the name, I am again driven back to Him. It is only from Him and the power of the Holy Spirit which He imparts that I can be made more than conqueror. And as I contemplate myself lying on my deathbed and going on to meet my Maker and my Judge Eternal, my only hope is that I shall be clothed with the righteousness of Jesus Christ, and that He will take me by the hand and present me “faultless before the presence of [His glory] with exceeding joy.” It is always, and only, in Christ that I find satisfaction. It is only in Him that [as] problems are solved. The world, with all its methods, cannot help me at the moment of my greatest need. … Christ never fails. He satisfies always and in every respect. … Wesley [was right]: “Thou, O Christ, art all I want; More than all in thee I find!”[8]

Now, I’ve belabored that, and I only have time just to mention these points of application. But the foundation is so vitally important. The “therefore” that you find at verse 19 is actually one of the great “therefores” of the New Testament. It’s similar to “therefore” at the beginning of Romans 5 or Romans chapter 12. And what the writer is doing is making sure that in light of the immense privileges of the gospel, his readers understand that we are not passive—that Christ has finished his work, but we have work still to do. So that is why he provides, if you like, the exposition of the priesthood of Christ before he gives the exhortation to live for Christ in this way. And you will notice what he says. We’ll just note them.

Number one, in verse 22: “Let us draw near” to God. “Let us draw near” to God—to do that sincerely, not like those of whom the prophet writes in Isaiah. God says, “The problem is these people draw near with their lips, but their hearts are far away from me.”[9] Very possible for this to take hold of a life. “Let us draw near” to God, “sprinkled … washed.” That’s just the language from the Old Testament ritual. And these being “sprinkled” and “washed” are not conditions to be fulfilled. They’re in the perfect tense. This has already been taken care of.

So, “Let us draw near” to God. Verse 23: “Let us hold fast.” You see why I was thinking about tomorrow, when we get to Basics? What shall we be doing? Well, first of all, let’s make sure we draw near to God. Secondly, let’s hold fast. Hold fast to what? Well, “hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering.” How do you draw near to God? By holding fast. How do you hold fast? By drawing near to God, it would seem: “born again to a living hope [by] the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”[10] This is the great distinctive of Christian living: hope in a hopeless world. Our hope is anchored in the past because of Jesus’ resurrection. Our hope remains in the present because Jesus is alive. And our hope is certain for the future because Jesus is coming.

“Let us,” then, thirdly, he says, “consider how…” “Consider.” That means think about it. Consider how to aggravate everybody? No. It’s a very similar word, though. The linguists here can check this for me, but it does mean to create a sense of agitation, but a good one, not a bad one. “Let us consider how to stir up one another” to what? Well, “to love and [to] good works.” In other words, “Give it due consideration.” We’re all different—different personalities, different backgrounds. Not everybody likes the same thing. And so we need to be considerate in the way we determine how we could stir one another up. You know, I don’t know how you are at getting gifts, but I think my wife is very careful with gifts. I tend to be a little—I’m like, “Well, just get something, you know? As long as we have something…” She says, “No, you can’t just get something. You have to give consideration to it.”

So as you move around tomorrow, as we move around in our lives and we see people from different backgrounds, different persuasions, different inclinations, let’s consider. Let’s consider how we could say a word in season to stir one another to love and to good works.

You can have an immeasurable influence for good in taking a quiet, humble, unobtrusive interest in those who cross your path.

And the only way that this’ll happen is if we make sure that we’re “not neglecting to meet together.” Makes perfect sense, doesn’t it? If you live in isolation, you won’t be able to apply this at all: “not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some,” but rather “encouraging one another.”

I don’t know that there’s anybody I’ve met around here recently that is suffering from a surfeit of encouragement—you know, if you meet them and say, “How are you doing?”: “Well, people are just encouraging me so much, I can hardly stand the… This encouragement is killing me!” Uh-uh.

To those of you who don’t talk a lot—and it must be a great thing—you can have an immeasurable influence for good in taking a quiet, humble, unobtrusive interest in those who cross your path. Some of us who use words all the time may be tempted to think that words are the key. Silence is often golden.

So I should stop now and pray:

Our Father, thank you. Thank you for Jesus. Thank you that in him our faith has found a place that it can rest, so that when we come to break bread together in a moment or two, we have confidence, not in our abilities, not in the things that we’ve achieved, but in the finished work of the Lord Jesus. And we pray that that impetus, that divine energy, pervading our hearts and our minds, may produce, not only in these next few days but in the days to come, this kind of genuine, wholehearted concern in order to live in community with one another in such a way that your purposes will be fulfilled. And we ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen.

[1] Stuart Townend and Keith Getty, “Speak, O Lord” (2005).

[2] Fanny Jane Crosby, “To God Be the Glory” (1875).

[3] See Hebrews 7:25.

[4] See 1 John 3:2.

[5] Eliza Edmunds Hewitt, “My Faith Has Found a Resting Place” (1890).

[6] Charitie Lees Bancroft, “Before the Throne of God Above” (1863).

[7] Charles Spurgeon, quoted in George C. Needham, Charles H. Spurgeon: His Life and Labors (Boston: Bradley and Woodruff, 1890), 316.

[8] D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Truth Unchanged, Unchanging (New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1901), 95–96.

[9] Isaiah 29:13 (paraphrased).

[10] 1 Peter 1:3 (ESV).