OUR PECULIAR OBLIGATION-I—Hebrews 10:19-25
Attention:
Meeting the New Neighbors
My quiet Saturday morning ended abruptly when my 12-year-old son, Billy, and one of his friends burst through the door.
"Hey Dad, announced Billy, "have you met the new neighbors?"
"No."
"Come on Dad, you have to meet them."
"Some other time; I’m busy."
"Dad, you have to meet them now."
From the urgency in Billy’s voice, I assumed the neighbors were waiting outside. I set aside my project and went to the front of the house. No one was there.
"Where are they?" I asked.
"Well, Dad," he explained, "we haven’t met them yet either, but our baseball is in their living room!"
The Dad had a Peculiar Obligation to meet his neighbors!
Need:
I’m afraid to die. I don’t seem to have the confidence about my future that a lot of people in the church have.
I don’t enjoy Sunday School or worship. I only attend. There are other things I would rather do.
I don’t think church stuff is so important...but people get flustered & act like I’ve done something horrible if I don’t show. Or when I miss a Sunday or Wednesday or special event they act like they really missed me when I return.
The author exhorted his audience to join him in living out/confirming the obligations peculiar to their faith.
Given their benefits(from Christ’s ministry), Christians are under peculiar obligation.
What obligations are peculiar to the Christian?
3 obligations peculiar to the Christian.
1—An obligation peculiar to the Christian is...
A BOLD ENTRANCE(:19-22)
Explanation: (:19-22)
:19—“Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus,”
The writer is addressing his brothers(Jews receptive to Christianity &/or Jewish Christians).
The author has demonstrated decisively to his audience that Jesus’ High Priesthood(4:14—5:11 & 6:19—10:18) has granted them a fearless & confident security(“boldness”) in approaching God.
We can enter the “Holiest”[place] only by means of “the blood of Jesus” because He is the true(7:28; 8:6; 9:11, 23-24) & eternal(6:19-20; 7:16-17, 21, 24-25; 9:14) High Priest.
His “blood” being Divine, it alone is able to cleanse our consciences from “dead works”(9:14), thereby ensuring our ability “to enter the Holiest.”
Since the audience has such a confidence at their disposal, in entering the Most Holy Place(9:1-28), & since they have a great High Priest, they are encouraged toward( “Therefore”) the actions specified in :22-25.
But believers are also blessed with other securities(:20-21) which grant them a further motivation toward the actions to follow.
“Boldness/Confidence”—parrhsia—1) Freedom in speaking, unreservedness in speech—1a) Openly, frankly, i.e without concealment, 1b) Without ambiguity or circumlocution; 1c) Without the use of figures & comparisons; 2) Free & fearless confidence, cheerful courage, boldness, assurance; 3) The deportment by which one becomes conspicuous or secures publicity. Strong—All out-spokenness, i.e. Frankness, bluntness, publicity; by implication, Assurance.
From—rew—To utter, i.e. Speak or say.
“Enter”—eisodov—N. f.—(Lit.—boldness for [an] entrance into)1) An entrance—1a) The place or way leading into a place (as a gate), 1b) The act of entering. Strong—An entrance (literally or figuratively). Used 5X.
“Holiest/holy place/Most Holy Place”—agion—Adj.—1) Reverend, worthy of veneration—1a) Of things which on account of some connection with God possess a certain distinction & claim to reverence, as places sacred to God which are not to be profaned, 1b) Of persons whose services God employs, for example, apostles; 2) Set apart for God, to be as it were, exclusively his; 3) Services & offerings—3a) Prepared for God with solemn rite, pure, clean; 4) in a moral sense, Pure sinless upright holy. Strong—A sacred thing (i.e. spot).
:20—“by a new & living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh,”
The “boldness” of the audience to enter into the “Holiest” is by a “new way.” This “new way” speaks in direct opposition to the ceremonial sacrificial guilt-multiplying & non-salvific events of the ‘old way’(implied).
Another aspect of this “new way” is that it is also a “living”(continual/never-ending) “way.” The fact that it is “living” contrasts with a ‘dead,’ discontinuous or incomplete way, as that found in the Mosaic Law. Given that it is living means its atonement/payment/effect always stands accomplishing its intent continuously for time & eternity.
Jesus initiated/inaugurated this new & living “way” “thru the veil.” The veil references the curtain which separated the Holiest Place from the Holy Place. Upon Jesus’ death the veil was torn into from top to bottom(Mat. 27:50-51; Mk. 15:38; Lk. 23:44-46).
“The veil” is used by the author to represent Jesus’ flesh. Jesus took on human flesh(Php. 2:6-8), & thru such a “veil”(stumbling block), secured our entrance thru His volitional(:5-10) sacrifice.
“New”—prosfatov—1) Lately slaughtered, freshly killed; 2) Recently made, new. Strong—Previously (recently) slain (fresh), i.e. (figuratively) lately made. Used 1X.
“Living”—zaw—V.—1) To live, breathe, be among the living (not lifeless, not dead); 2) To enjoy real life; 3) To live i.e. pass life, in the manner of the living & acting; 4) Living water, having vital power in itself & exerting the same upon the soul; 5) metaph. To be in full vigor. Strong—To live (literally or figuratively).
“Way”—odov—1) properly—1a) A way—1a1) A travelled way, road, 1b) A travelers way, journey, travelling; 2) metaph.—2a) A course of conduct, 2b) A way (i.e. Manner) of thinking, feeling, deciding. Strong—apparently a primary word; A road; by implication A progress (the route, act or distance).
“Consecrated/Inaugurated/Dedicated/Opened”—egkainizw—1) To renew; 2) To do anew, again; 3) To initiate, consecrate, dedication. Strong—To renew, i.e. Inaugurate. Used 2X.
“Veil”—katapetasma—1) A veil spread out, a curtain. Strong—Something spread thoroughly, i.e. (specially) The door screen (to the Most Holy Place) in the Jewish Temple. Used 6X.
“Flesh/Body”—sarx—1) Flesh (the soft substance of the living body, which covers the bones & is permeated with blood) of both man & beasts; 2) The body; 3) A living creature (because possessed of a body of flesh) whether man or beast; 4) The flesh, denotes mere human nature, the earthly nature of man apart from divine influence, & therefore prone to sin & opposed to God. Strong—Flesh (as stripped of the skin), i.e. (strictly) The meat of an animal (as food), or (by extension) The body (as opposed to the soul [or spirit], or As the symbol of what is external, or as the means of kindred), or (by implication) Human nature (with its frailties [physically or morally] & passions), or (specifically) A human being (as such).
:21—“& having a High Priest over the house of God,”
Therefore(:19)...by means of Jesus, the household of faith now has the new & living way open to them, thru His the flesh. And also because He is their eternal High Priest(4:14—5:11 & 6:19—10:18) performing His priestly duties(perfect mediation) “over the” entire “house of God”(3:6)...we must act.
3:6—“but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence & the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.”
:22—“let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience & our bodies washed with pure water.”
We are exhorted to “draw near” to God by means of Christ with a genuine “heart.” A true/genuine heart is one given to the “full assurance”(confidence) of faith.
“Faith” cannot be saving & moving faith unless it is founded upon “full assurance.”
Faith assures us that our hearts are free “from” sin & thus an “evil conscience”(evil moral desires/choices). By such faith, our consciences have been “sprinkled”(by the blood of Jesus), which resulted in the “washing”/cleansing of our “evil conscience.”
“an evident allusion to the sprinkling of blood in the old tabernacle (9:18-22) & the shedding of Christ’s blood for the cleansing of our consciences (10:1-4).”—RWP
The “full assurance of faith” assures us that “our bodies” are indeed clean & acceptable to God due to their being “washed with pure water”. Jesus’ blood has effected a cleansing which is the spiritual equivalent of having been bathed—not simply cleansing of the clothes(See “Washed” below)— but cleansing of the body from sin itself. We have indeed been justified by our faith.
Having Jesus’ blood “sprinkled” upon our hearts(9:18-22) has brought the remission of sins(7:25; 9:15; 10:4, 11, 12, 18) unattainable thru the old covenant. This “sprinkling” & “washing” has made the fully faithful holy & acceptable to God.
Rev. 1:4-6—“John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you & peace from Him who is & who was & who is to come, & from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, & from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, & the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us & washed us from our sins in His own blood, & has made us kings & priests to His God & Father, to Him be glory & dominion forever & ever. Amen.”
Rev. 7:13-15—“Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, & where did they come from?” And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, & washed their robes & made them white in the blood of the Lamb. “Therefore they are before the throne of God, & serve Him day & night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them.”
Mk. 1:4—“John came baptizing in the wilderness & preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.”[in anticipation of Jesus’ actual accomplishment of the remission]
Mat. 26:26-28—“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed & broke it, & gave it to the disciples & said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” Then He took the cup, & gave thanks, & gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. “For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”
Acts 2:38—“Then Peter said to them, “Repent, & let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; & you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Col. 1:13-14—“He has delivered us from the power of darkness & conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”
“Draw near”—prosercomai—1) To come to, approach; 2) Draw near to; 3) To assent to. Strong—To approach, i.e. (literally) Come near, visit, or (figuratively) Worship, Assent to.
“True/Sincere”—alhyinov—Adj.—1) That which has not only the name & resemblance, but the real nature corresponding to the name, in every respect corresponding to the idea signified by the name, real, true genuine; 2) True, veracious, sincere.
“Full assurance”—plhroforia—1) Full assurance, most certain confidence. Strong—Entire confidence. Used 4X.
From—plhroforew—V.—Strong—To carry out fully, i.e. Completely assure (or convince), entirely accomplish.
“Faith”—pistiv—Strong—Persuasion, i.e. Credence; Moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially, Reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly, Constancy in such profession; by extension, The system of religious (Gospel) truth itself.
“Sprinkled”—rantizw—1) To sprinkle; 2) To cleanse by sprinkling, hence to purify, cleanse. Strong—To render besprinkled, i.e. Asperse (ceremonially or figuratively). Used 4X.
“Evil”—ponhrov—1) Full of labours, annoyances, hardships; 2) Bad, of a bad nature or condition. It means mischief-making, delighting in injury, doing evil to others, dangerous, destructive. Strong—Hurtful, i.e. Evil (properly, in effect or influence; figuratively, Calamitous; also (passively) Ill, i.e. Diseased; but especially (morally) Culpable, i.e. Derelict, vicious, facinorous; neuter (singular) Mischief, malice, or (plural) Guilt; masculine (singular) The devil, or (plural) Sinners.
“Conscience”—suneidhsiv—N. f.—1) The consciousness of anything; 2) The soul as distinguishing between what is morally good & bad, prompting to do the former & shun the latter, commending one, condemning the other. Strong—Co-perception, i.e. Moral consciousness.
“Bodies”—swma—1) The body both of men or animals; 2) The bodies of planets & of stars (heavenly bodies); 3) Is used of a (large or small) number of men closely united into one society, or family as it were; a social, ethical, mystical body; 4) That which casts a shadow as distinguished from the shadow itself. Strong—The body (as a sound whole), used in a very wide application, literally or figuratively.
“Washed”—louw—1) To bathe, wash—1a) Of a dead person, 1b) Washing to cleanse blood out of wounds. Strong—To bathe (the whole person; whereas niptw means to wet a part only, & plunw to wash, cleanse garments exclusively).
“Pure”—kayarov—1) Clean, pure. Strong—Clean (literally or figuratively).
“Water”—udatov—1)Water. Strong—Water (as if rainy) literally or figuratively.
Argumentation:
To the Lost, this comes across as arrogance: ‘How dare they think they can know God...What God wants....What heaven’s like...What pleases God, ...That I’m not saved! I’m a good person, what nerve!,’ etc.
Heb. 4:12-16—“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Rom. 8:8-17—“So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors--not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”
Gal. 4:4-7—“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.”
Eph. 3:8-12—“To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.”
Rom. 5:1-5—“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
2Tim. 1:7-12—“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.”
1Jn. 3:18-24—“My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.”
1Jn. 4:17-18—“Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.”
Illustration:
Ellinor has a parking pass to East Rowan High School/Only she has access to her specifically numbered parking space/All others will be ticketed, fined & expelled/A BOLD ENTRANCE
Having a ticket to an event(ball game-concert-auction)/The ticketed have an unhindered-privileged Boldness upon entering the stadium/We get upset if our ticket is questioned/A BOLD ENTRANCE
Not an arrogant entrance—Not thinking ‘I’m all that,’—but rather a resolute trust in the access God has granted you in Christ.
Application:
?Is the Peculiar Christian Obligation of A BOLD ENTRANCE fulfilled in You?
?The Peculiar Obligations as a Christian fulfilled in you?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Peculiar Obligation of meeting the new neighbors(baseball in living room).
Action:
An Obligation peculiar to the Christian is...
1. A BOLD ENTRANCE(:19-22)
Presented 11/13/2011am to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf, NC 27054
