Title: Considering One Another
Theme:
Text: Hebrews 10:19-25
“ Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”(Heb 10:19-25)
Introduction
Throughout the book of Hebrews Paul is making the argument about how much better Christ is than the religion of the past. His desire is to explain to the Jewish Christians what the sacrifice of Christ meant.
Here and in chapter 9 he has been dealing with the tabernacle and the sacrifices that were constantly offered up to the Lord.
The tabernacle was the sacred place of Jewish worship. It was were the cleansing of sin happened.
The Tabernacle
3 Sanctuaries-sacred places
a) the Outer Court (contained the Bronze Altar & the Brazen Laver)
b) the Holy Place (contained the table of show bread – the word of God on the left, the lamp stand – the Holy Spirit on the
right, and the altar of incense at the veil)
c) the Most Holy Place (separated by a thick veil, contained the Ark of the Covenant – representing the presence of God
(Shekinah glory of the Lord)) priest would go into the Most Holy Place once a year to offer up a sacrifice representing
the People. Yet there would also be constant sacrifices for the sins of the people.
Back to Hebrews 10
So when a Jewish reader would read this passage it opens up a new light. Because of the blood of Jesus Christ we can now go in to this Most Holy Place. Not just go in but we can go in boldly. This world boldly is not as much prideful as it is with assurance. No fear of judgment, no fear of death. You wouldn’t do that before because you would die.
This all happened totally different than before. You see we couldn’t have this assurance upon the death of bulls and goats, sheep and doves. They would not suffice. We would dare not draw near to God or to His Most Holy Place. But on the death of Christ we can now go boldly in. The veil was rent. Through the death of Christ. The body that was broken. We just spent four weeks talking about this great event.
He has now become our high priest.
“ Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of” (Heb 10:19-25)
So here is our commands
I. Let us draw near
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
Because we know all this we must now walk in that way. In other words we don’t need to just sit at the altar or in the Holy Place we must go into the Holy of Holies. We must enter into his presence
Notice our condition as we draw in “having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.” We come in as cleansed and holy. We have taken care of the confession. Our boldness is not in our works but his sacrifice.
II. Let us hold fast
Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
Let us get a firm grip onto what we believe. Don’t let go. To the fact that ours sins have been covered under the blood of Jesus Christ. Our lives have been changed. We must have an assurance.
How? “for he is faithful that promised” - He always keeps his word (as Jesus said in John 14 “If it were not so I would have told you so”. )
III. Let us consider one another
And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
This is the whole reason I talked about this passage. I want you to notice the connection that is drawn from our Christian life to the lives of others. We are not saved just for ourselves but for others.
the word consider means to “think upon, to ponder, to perceive and observe”. It is more than a casual look. It could also mean coming up with creative ideas on how to do the following.
Message Hebrews 10:24 Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out,
1. provoke unto love
The word “provoke” means to push but also to irritate. It could mean encourage but carries a stronger almost as a duty to push.
“ A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 13:34-35 AV)
2. provoke to good works
3. not forsaking the assembling of ourselves
“ And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,” (Ac 2:46 AV)
4. exhorting one another
Second he tells us to “exhort one another”. Exhort means to encourage.
Why? especially considering that the day of the Lord is approaching
Conclusion
I want to sum this passage up in two words: 1) assurance 2) consideration. First we must ask ourselves do we have the assurance in Christ. We have been promised in this passage and over and over again that “you see the day approaching”. The second coming of the Lord. It is sooner today than ever before. Are you assured of you salvation?
Secondly we must ask ourselves, Have we been considerate of one another? I think we need to pray for a new sensitivity for our brother or sister in Christ.
