The Church
Hebrews 10:19-25
September 8, 2013
For the next few weeks we are going to take a look at The Church. Not necessarily First Baptist Church, yet, this is all about First Baptist Church, but it’s really about the universal CHURCH. But when I talk about the universal church, I am talking about First Baptist Church. My hope is that after the next few weeks, we’ll have a better awareness of what the church is supposed to be and what our role is supposed to be within the church.
Let me tell you as I studied for this series, I saw a lot of jokes about the church, some of them were really pretty good. Some were filled with sarcasm and cynicism; some were just plain silly. To your benefit I’m not going to tell these jokes. Even though some would really step on some toes, and that’s just the reason I am not telling them. I think, I hope, I can get my point across throughout these messages without making anyone feel too uncomfortable. But, a little uncomfortable . . . that’s okay. So, that’s my preamble as I get into this.
This morning I want to look at a passage of scripture from Hebrews 10:19-25 ~
19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus,
20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh,
21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
22 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.
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,
25 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.
As we look at this scripture, I want to make a few observations about the church and over the next weeks, we’ll get a little more specific about the church.
To understand what the writer is getting at in this passage, we need to take a very quick look at the Old Testament temple.
The writer said, we’re to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. He’s referring to the Holy of Holies. It was the innermost part of the temple. This is where the Ark of the Covenant was kept and contained the Ten Commandments. It could be entered only by the High Priest on Yom Kippur – which is the highest holiday for Jewish people in which they repent for their sinfulness.
So, you and I would not be eligible to enter the holiest of holies and meet with God personally. We would have to go through the High Priest only on Yom Kippur.
Now, imagine an Old Testament scene. A man from a foreign land sees the temple and wants to enter and meet with God because his heart is heavy with grief.
We’ll say he’s a Moabite. He asks a Jewish man “What is this?
The Jewish man says, “This is our temple, where we worship God.”
And the Moabite says, “Well, I would like to go in there.”
The Jewish man says, “You can’t go in there. That’s not for the people of Moab. That’s for the people of Israel.”
“Well, what would I have to do in order to go in there?” asked the Moabite.
“You would have to become an Israelite,” says the Jewish Man.
Then, the Moabite says, “If I were an Israelite, I would go in there! And, I would meet with God.”
But the Jew says, “Oh no, you couldn’t go in the holy place, because you’re not from the tribe of Levite of the house of Aaron.”
“Well, I sure wish I could be an Israelite and a Levite of the house of Aaron. And, I would not stop there. I would want to go into the Holy Of Holies.”
The Israelite exclaimed, “Oh no! You don’t understand. You could be a Levite but you couldn’t go in there unless you were the high priest.”
Finally the Moabite says, “If I were the high priest, I’d go in every day to meet with God!”
The Jew says, “Oh, no, you wouldn’t. You could only go in once a year!”
UGH! You see, the writer of Hebrews wants us to understand that Jesus died for us, so that we could have access to God, not just once a year, but every second of everyday. We get to go in there day by day not only individually, but we go corporately. All of us at the same time can go into the holiest of holies, and we do this because Jesus shed His blood for us.
The writer of Hebrews still isn’t done! He says, we go in through the veil or curtain. The veil was a woven curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. This veil was symbolic of Christ’s body.
The high priest would enter the Holy of holies through that curtain, once a year. Matthew 27 tells us, 50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. 51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
I believe the symbolism of top to bottom is that only God could reach the top and tear the curtain in two. So, now we had full access into the holy of holies through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. We come through His shed blood. There’s no other way to go into the Holy of Holies.
So, we know that we now have full access to God. And because we do, the writer tells us 3 times in the final verses “LET US” do something.
Firstly, 22 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.
He’s talking about the fact that we should draw near to God with a true heart because we have been cleansed through the blood of Christ. It’s what John said in 1 John 1:9, 9 If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
That’s a great word of hope for us. We should have full confidence that God forgives us and not only forgives us, but cleanses us from all unrighteousness. We have this confidence, and we should not be afraid, we should not think we are not worthy to approach God, so we should draw near to God
He now adds, 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
This means we hold tight, picture hanging onto ledge for dear life. That’s what it means to hold fast. We hang onto the hope we have, because the One we’ve placed our hope in is faithful to us. Jesus won’t fail us, He won’t forsake us, instead He will be with us today and tomorrow and always, no matter what we go through. God promises He will be with us, always!
The writer concludes by encouraging us ~ 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,
25 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.
What the writer is telling us is that we need . . . do you hear me? WE need to stir one another up. That word really means to stimulate or provoke one another. It means we care enough about one another that we just can’t leave them alone. We do this in the best type of love, which is the love of Christ. It’s an agape love, a sacrificial love.
Even in that day, people decided attending worship was not all that important. Some were neglecting to come together and worship. We’re not to call them and berate them, to guilt them into coming, but to talk with the love of Christ, to encourage them and stir up a longing to worship. The
I believe the local church is the only and final hope of the world. I agree with Bill Hybels the pastor of Willow Creek Church near Chicago. In his book Courageous Leadership, Hybels said this ~
“The local church is the hope of the world. There is nothing like the local church when it's working right. Its beauty is indescribable. Its power is breathtaking. Its potential is unlimited. It comforts the grieving and heals the broken in the context of community. It builds bridges to seekers and offers truth to the confused. It provides resources for those in need and opens its arms to the forgotten, the downtrodden, the disillusioned. It breaks the chains of addictions, frees the oppressed, and offers belonging to the marginalized of this world. Whatever the capacity for human suffering, the church has a greater capacity for healing and wholeness.”
Hybels concludes, “Still to this day, the potential of the local church is almost more than I can grasp. No other organization on earth is like the church. Nothing even comes close.”
Finally, I read about a church built in the 1550’s in Doubs, France. The only way to light the church was for the people in town to bring their own lanterns to church. At the end of the pew there was a place where the people would hang their lanterns. As people would arrive they would hang their lantern at the end of the pew. The more people who came, the brighter the church became. If no one came, the church was in darkness.
Every time we come to church, we are bringing the light of the Lord Jesus Christ. When we choose to stay away, the church is just a little darker. There’s less life, there’s less singing, there’s less prayer, there’s less of everything.
Folks, you’re here this week, but will you be here next week, and the following weeks? This the place to be on Sunday morning. It’s the place where we find comfort, community, compassion, grace and the presence of Christ as a community. We can’t do it alone. We need one another.
As we move into the world this week . . . remember Christ died for you! He died so you can walk through the curtain, and into the Holy of Holies. He wants that very intimate and personal relationship with you.
