The Sofa To The Sanctuary

“The Sofa and the Sanctuary”

Hebrews 10:19-25

19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 21 And having an high priest over the house of God; 22 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. 23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) 24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25 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.

Introduction: In 2020 we have seen a phenomenon unlike anything we have ever experienced in the history of the church. We began the year with the announcement that there was a deadly virus that had been unleashed on the world originating from a lab in Wuhan, China. The results of this pandemic as it has come to be called was the “shutdown” of our country, our communities and our churches. A year later about half the country is still shutdown and even many of our churches are still in various stages of re-opening. I am thankful for the leadership of our church and the fact that except for a two month period last year and two weeks this year we have been open and having services. God has been good and we praise Him for His grace and mercy. But that being said we have also seen something else develop over the past year that is very disturbing. Almost everyone who studies trends in church attendance is saying that 20-25 percent of those who attended church pre-covid will not return post covid. If you love the Lord and His church this is an alarming problem and if you are like me you are asking some questions and looking for solutions.

There is a demographic element to this issue. It’s obvious that seniors have been staying at home during this pandemic because the virus has taken such a high percentage of this age group but it wasn’t just seniors who stayed at home, many families with children stayed home because churches were not able to provide children’s ministries until just recently.

But it’s now being recognized that there is more at work than just demographics. There is a spiritual component that cannot be ignored. Some have suggested that what we are seeing is a reflection of what the Bible describes that would happen in the “last days;” that there would be a “falling away” and that “the love of many would wax cold.”

Some Bible scholars believe that this trend started about 30 years ago and they point to the steady decline in attendance figures in the American church. They say that the Covid-19 pandemic just served to expose or reveal a problem that was already there. All this being said it will probably take years to analyze all the information.

What I want to do this morning is to look at is to look at our text and especially verse 25 in the light of what has happened. Let’s examine:

I. The Context

a. the author

Most Bible scholars believe that Paul is the author based on his familiarity with Jewish custom and the OT.

b. the address

The name of the book gives us what we need as far as who the letter was written too. These are Jewish believers for they are “brethren.”

c. the argument

Some of these believers having come to Christ are now in danger of recanting this confession and returning to Judaism. Paul argument is the Jesus is a better sacrifice, a better priest and a better way than anything offered in Judaism.

II. The Command

a. the meaning

I want to highlight two words in verse 25. The first is “assembling together.” It means a gathering together in one place and the (religious) assembly (of Christians).

The word “church” found in the NT is from the Greek word ekklesia and is an important component of understanding the church. Ekklesia is a Greek word defined as “a called-out assembly or congregation.” Ekklesia is commonly translated as “church” in the New Testament. For example, Acts 11:26 says that “Barnabas and Saul met with the church [ekklesia]” in Antioch. And in 1 Corinthians 15:9 Paul says that he had persecuted the church [ekklesia] of God.” The “called-out assembly,” then, is a congregation of believers whom God has called out of the world and “into His wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9). The Greek ekklesia is the basis for our English words ecclesiastical (“pertaining to the church”) and ecclesiology (“the study of doctrine concerning the church”).