Hebrews 10:11-25
“Straight From the Heart”
By: Rev. Kenneth Emerson Sauer, Pastor of Parkview United Methodist Church, Newport News, VA
www.parkview-umc.org
I don’t know about you, but there are times when I’ll be walking so strongly in the Holy Spirit (and this may go on for weeks or months) that it seems as if nothing could possibly bring me down…and then…and then…
…many times…
…not even on purpose…
…I’ll do something dumb…
…and ‘out of the blue’ I’m no longer walking on cloud nine.
Now, I don’t mean that when I’m walking on cloud nine that there aren’t bad things going on around me.
Maybe I have a cold, maybe I’m really worried about a church member or family member who is in the hospital or isn’t doing real hot, maybe my car isn’t running correctly…
…but I still have that ‘peace’ which transcends all understanding.
The things that get me down are sins…whether they be advertent or inadvertent.
And this is because I have dedicated my life to following Christ…
…I want to know Him more and more each and every moment of the day…
…I want to become more and more like Him…
…and I want to do His will.
But there are barriers.
There are things that occur that remind me just how far away I still am from being made holy.
I mess up so often.
Can anyone here relate?
Today’s Epistle Lesson speaks to us about Jesus Christ’s sacrifice for the sins of the world—once for all.
And it also says in verse 14 that “by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.”
It doesn’t say those who are ‘holy’…
…it says, “those who are being made holy.”
Now, this is one of the things that makes the Christian journey so exciting, but it can also make living as a sinful, imperfect human being in a Fallen world very disconcerting at times.
When it says in verse 14: “by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy,” it means that those of us who are running the race are fully forgiven!
And quite often we don’t understand what that means or we don’t accept the fact that God loves us that much.
Our minds can’t comprehend unconditional love…especially if we are not unconditionally loving others.
It is often so hard to understand how or why God could possibly love us that much.
In a Peanuts cartoon, Lucy approaches Charlie Brown with a paper and pen and says, “Here, sign this. It absolves me from all blame.”
Then she goes to Shroeder with the same paper and says, “Here, sign this. It absolves me from all blame.”
Finally she comes to Linus: “Here sign this. It absolves me from all blame.” As she walks away Linus says, “Gee, that must be a nice document to have.”
Well, we don’t have a document, but we do have a Savior Who committed the most unselfish loving act in the history of the world.
Jesus Christ went to the Cross at Calvary so that we would be absolved of all blame and would be fully forgiven.
Remember when Jesus caused quite a stir by saying, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days”?
And then, after Jesus was arrested, the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus, but when they couldn’t find any-- many false witnesses came forward.
Two of the false witnesses used this against Jesus: “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”
It is very interesting that after Jesus Christ died, it was only a few years until the temple was destroyed.
And Israel hasn’t been able to put up another temple, and Israel is not offering animal sacrifices anymore.
In verse 4 of Hebrews chapter 10 we are told: “it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”
The blood of the animal sacrifices only covered over the sins until the Lamb of God, Who is Jesus, came to take away the sins of the world.
Of course, when Jesus said: “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
The temple He was talking about was His body.
But in many ways, Jesus was also talking about the actual temple because the Holy Spirit dwelt inside of Jesus.
The Jews had always been taught that God dwelt in the temple, but now, through His once and for all sacrifice, Jesus has changed the location of the temple.
Where is the temple today?
Let’s look at 1 Corinthians chapter 3:16-17.
The temple is within the body of those who, through faith in Jesus Christ, have accepted the sacrifice of His body for the forgiveness of their sins…
…and have been born again…
…that is, the Holy Spirit of God has entered their hearts and minds.
If you have a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ…you are God’s temple.
Because within you, the Holy Spirit of God dwells.
Now, let’s look again at Hebrews Chapter 10:16.
This is what Christianity is all about---having the laws of God written in our hearts and on our minds.
This is the “new and living way” which has been “opened for us through the curtain, that is” Christ’s “body.”
And so we are to draw near to God with sincere hearts.
This means that we are to have an undivided allegiance to God in our inner being.
And we are to have a faith that knows no hesitation in trusting and in following Christ.
When a little child is in danger or despair he or she literally runs and throws him or herself into the arms of his or her mother.
This is the full assurance of faith.
And only with this full assurance are our hearts kept sincere.
Many times we don’t run to God with this full assurance.
This is often where the trouble comes in.
Sometimes when I sin I don’t run straight to God…
…sometimes I run straight for myself…
…sometimes I run the way I used to run before I was saved…
…or I just run around in circles.
And this causes a huge conflict within my soul.
Look again at verse 22.
We are to draw near to God as people who have been, are, and remain forgiven, with the dread of guilt no longer holding us back.
When we sin, we are to draw even closer to God…
…we are to run to God with sincere hearts…
…with the full assurance of faith…
…repent, and move on.
Those of us who have been born again are the temples of the Holy Spirit of God.
So we, imperfect as we are, have Someone Holy living inside of us…
…and this Holy Spirit is putting the laws of God in our hearts, and writing them on our minds.
So, if and when we do something that is not ‘in step’ with the laws of God…
…we feel a conflict inside of us.
And this is a good thing.
It keeps us running the race.
It causes us to return to the full assurance of faith.
And it also teaches us a lesson, for we are humbled and reminded of our constant need to rely solely on the grace and goodness of God…like the Israelites in the desert…we Christians can easily forget where our help comes from.
Look at verse 23.
It is hard to see how any Christian hope could possibly exist apart from the promises of God.
Because our hope is established on the promises that God has made to us.
And these promises are our daily bread.
The Bible begins with the promise of redemption and it ends with the promise of final triumph!
In Isaiah 1:18, God promises: “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”
Well, gee wiz, this has come true!
Praise the Lord!
In Matthew 11:28-29, Jesus says: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Anybody who is saved knows that this promise is fact.
In Revelation 3:20, Jesus declares: “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”
I’ve experienced this promise.
How about you?
This is what gives us hope.
For we know that God’s promises are true.
Therefore, when we mess up, when we sin…
… “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess.”
Did we realize that there was so much in this passage of Hebrews?
We’ve already covered faith, and hope…
…but there is more…
…there is love.
Let’s look at verses 24-25.
We are to consider how we can spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
This is the work of the Lord putting His laws in our hearts and writing them on our minds.
We are called to love God and one another.
There is no greater command.
Only love can awaken love, only humility and patience can stir up good deeds.
We need each other!
Dwight L. Moody was once witnessing to a person…
…trying to persuade him to accept Christ.
They were sitting in the man’s parlor.
It was winter and coal was burning in the fireplace.
The man was arguing that he could be just as good a Christian outside the Church as he could be in it.
Moody said nothing, but he stepped over to the fireplace, took the tongs, picked up a blazing coal from the fire and set it off by itself.
In silence the two watched it smolder and go out.
“I see,” said the man.
If there was ever a time when believers needed to come together, it is today.
Instead of chopping each other down, we need to draw together in love around the person of Christ.
We need to encourage one another.
We need to study the Word of God together.
God has something for a group that He will not give to any one individual.
God won’t let me grow in the knowledge of His Word unless I share it, and hear from others who share it.
We are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together.
We have a Bible study at this church, and there is a blessing there for each one of us that we can’t get when we just study the Bible by ourselves.
We also need to make sure we consistently attend worship together…
…and there are Sunday School classes for all of us…
…but less than half of us participate.
We really do need each other…all of us do.
There is a once and for all sacrifice for our sins…
…have we accepted this for ourselves?
God is putting His laws in the hearts and minds of those who are saved…
…how does this make us feel?
We are to draw near to God with sincere hearts in full assurance of faith…
…Oh, what needless pain we bear when we fail at this!
We are to hold on to the hope we profess and know to be true.
We are to build each other up in love, and meet together and fellowship together, and worship together and study together.
Just look at the three graces in this Epistle: faith, hope and love.
Praise God for the confidence we share through the blood of Christ!
Let us pray: Faithful God, give us such trust in Your promises that we may move unwaveringly toward You, seeking only what pleases You all of our days. In Jesus’ name and for His sake we pray. Amen.
