The ABC of Christian Living

Heb 10:22-25

 

Introduction

Last in series

Next week – start Colossians

Discipleship – encouragement to walk with Christ – this message is such a message – one which I trust the Lord will use to encourage you to a greater faithfulness to Him and His church.

Context – Heb 10:19-25

Hebrews was written to Jewish believers, those who at some stage made a profession of faith in Christ, but are waivering, some may have turned away from following Christ and others were certainly entertaining the thought.

In the 1^st century when a Hebrew converted to Christianity, that person was ostracized – cast out, treated as dead by the family.

SO the temptation and the pressure to renounce Christ and return to the age old traditions of Judaism was immense – after all was this not the way God prescibed He should be worshipped.

SO the author warns his readers against apostasy to Judaism, against falling away from faith in Christ and encourages them to continue in Christ

He does that by showing Christ superior in everyway in comparison with Judaism

Christ brought superior revelation (1:1-3)

Christ is superior to the angels (1:4-2:18)– strikes at the belief that angels were the 

messengers of old the revalation.

Christ is superior to Moses (3:1-19)- Moses was a servant of God but Christ is the Son 

of God who holds a and superior Office

Christ is superior to Joshua (4:1-13) - offering a superior rest than the shadow of rest 

they had in entering the promised land.

Christ is  the Jordan to eternal rest through Him 

you enter into God’s Sabbath rest 

Christ’s priesthood is superior (4:14-7:28) – an eternal priest hood

Christ’s priestly service is superior (8:1-10:18) His sacrifice was superior, it was 

perfect and therefore had to be brought only once. Because ot that sacrifice we have the forgiveness of our sins and the cleasing of our conscience, something which the repeated animal sacrifices could never do.

Now coming to our passage the author is laying out the implications of the truth of Christ.

SO Often  - What we have in Christ – then application – same here

Heb 10:19-25 – let’s read – Reality in Christ is:

1.  Access to God – In Christ you can approach God & approach Him with confidence – not because of anything you have done, what Christ did and is doing.

You in Christ can enter with confidence, freely or even boldly , the holy place

q       Referring to the Holy of Holies, the place that represented God’s presence -  were the ark of the covenant was kept and the High Priest were allowed in only once a year – on the day of atonement to make atonement for the sins of Israel.

q       The holy place was indeed HOLY and from the time Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron who God killed for their irreverence (Lev10) it was not a place where the High Priest chose to linger, It was a terrifying occasion when mortal, sinful man approach the most Holy God – so they performed their duties, and they they made sure they got out of there.

q       God is holy and man is not and without following God’s prescibed way of approaching Him to the letter, was to be in a place of grave danger.

q       But now in Christ you & I can come freely, with confidence – not only once a year, not only through the mediation of a high priest, but every day, all day.                                                    In Christ you have access to the very presence of God – and we can linger in the presence of God.

q       Access which was secured by the blood of Jesus, by His death, His sacrfice

q       That opened up a new and living way – new – because it had never been available before Christ and living in the fact that Christ is alive, it’s not a dead way of rituals and ceemonies - but a living way through the life of Christ.

q       The author is affirming what John said that Jesus is the way the truth and the life.

q       Now the holy of holies was separated from the holy place in the tabenacle and temple by a thick veil – and the synoptic gospels (Mt 27:51; Mk15:38; Lk23:45) tells us that when Christ died this veil was torn from top to bottom. Not from bottom to the top , but top to bottom for God tore open the veil as Christ’s body was torn on the cross, opening the way into the very presence of God.

1. Reality no 2 You in Christ have a great priest, a high priest which is over the house of God.

q       If you are in Christ, then Christ Himself acts as your Priest, your great Priest. The role of the priest is to represent the people to God. You in Christ have the Son of God, the living One serving you, by representation, being your advocate 1 Jn 2 tells us and intercession on your behalf before the Father. Heb 7:25 – Christ lives to make intercession for them. Those who draw near to God through Christ.

1. Reality No 3 You also have a new LORD – In Christ you not only have a great Priest who is humble in service of those He saves, He is also the One exalted in honor and authority for He is over the house of God – He not only serves, He rules. He is the head of God’s Church, the ruler. Col 1:18 The head of the body , the church.

q       If you are in Christ, you are under His headship. You are under His Lordship.

q       Being In Christ means you embrace Him as Saviour with all the benefits and joys associated with salvation, but it also means you bow to Him as Lord.

The Author of Hebrews reminded his readers of the reality they now have in Christ

SO do not return to the old way of Judaism but live in light of you have in Christ

Likewise we also are reminded of the realities of what we have in Christ, and we likewise are exhorted in this passage to live the new life, a life marked by the touch of grace, the Christian life.

What are the hallmarks of the Christian’s life

What are the elementary expressions of one who is in Christ

What are the ABC’s of Christian living

I have found three for you in vv 22-25

 A - Authentic Faith; B - Bold Hope & C - Compassionate Love

The ABC’s of Christian life – is Faith, Hope and Love

The presence of these three virtues in your life is what marks you as fully understanding and applying the Gospel to your life.

Since we have access to God, a High Priest and Lord

Let us worship Him in

A – Authentic Faith

Heb10:22 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.

Since we have access to God – let us draw near to Him. Let us approach Him, Let us Worship Him.

Christ has paved the way, He made it possible for the sinner to come before the thrice holy God, without His wrath consuming us – His wrath was appeased by the life and death of Christ. SO we are to draw near, but draw near with authentic faith.

Authentic faith presents itself in a changed heart = heart here representing the whole of the person – authentic faith dwells in the regenerate person  and authentic faith allows you to draw near

q    With a true heart, a confident heart and a purified heart.

• Draw near to God with a true heart - an authentic heart – one without hypocrisy. A heart that is sold-out to Jesus, an abdicated heart, not with the pretense of submission or allegiance, but a totally surrendered heart – Surrendered to Christ.
• God knows your heart – man judges by external appearance but God judges the heart. He sees the heart, He knows it completely, for nothing is hidden from His sight.
• In drawing near to God, do so with a sincere heart, a true heart, an authentic heart.
• Some of the readers of this epistle were not sincere, they were waivering in their faith, they were unsure of the truth of Christ’s claims. They were considering returning to Judaism.
• What about you, are you influenced by the world, have you completely forsaken the world, worshiping Christ fully – or are you playing the hypocrite. Worship Christ with authentic faith – authentic faith produces a true heart.

A true heart, is the product of a confident heart – “ draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith”

• Confidence comes by faith. A heart filled with faith.
• In the very next chapter the author gives us an definition of faith –                “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
• Draw near to God fully believing, fully trusting in the Gospel, in Christ alone.
• This means:
  • Being fully assured of your reconciliation with God, that which you have longed for and hoped for. If you are not confident you have been reconciled to God in Christ – you will not be confident in drawing near to Him, in worshipping him and you will be hypocritical in your worship.
  • Being fully convicted that Christ is the new and living way to come to the Father. Not placing your trust in works, or in the law or in someone or something else – but wholly convinced that Christ and Christ alone is the way to the Father and that in Christ I can come, I will be accepted – not based on any merit of my own, but on the merit of your Saviour.

q       We may not be tempted by the the rituals of Judaism but often we are tempted by works. We believe we are saved by Christ, but somehow we often want to complete our salvation by earning merits through our good works- We’ll see later good works are essential to the Christian life, but motivated by gratitude not merit we may earn.

q       Draw near to God with a authentic heart, a confident heart and with a cleansed heart.

“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.”

• God is a holy God, and those who draw near to Him, must be holy as He is holy. The wages of sin is death and for centuries the blood of animals provided atonement, a covering for the sin of the worshipper. But Christ, the superior High Priest brought the perfect sacrifice once for all, a sacrifice which cleanses the heart and the conscience – for the blood of animals could not take away sins, But the blood of the perfect lamb of God can and does. And By this single offering he has “perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” Heb10:14
• So draw near to God with a clean heart and a clear conscience having repented of your sins, having confessed your iniquity and transgressions and having your heart and conscience purified by the perfect sacrifice.
• Believing one is forgiven and walking as one cleansed from sin- approaching God  is an act of authentic faith.
• I can tell you sin and unconfessed sin will bring separation between you and God – for the believer it is a relational separation not a positional separation. But you will not draw near to God until you have dealt with yous sin.
• It goes on and our bodies washed with pure water – the picture is still the tabernacle or temple where the High priest would bath himself before entering the holy place.
• For the reader and for us it is a picture of the believer’s baptism, that the cleansing of the heart, the renewal and the regeneration which God worked in the heart of the believer is expressed in baptism, a public act of obedience for the believer. Baptism does not save us, but it is an public declaration of an inner work done by God through faith in Christ.
• SO let us draw near to God with a sincere heart, a confident heart and a cleansed heart – Let us draw near with authentic faith.

We read that Enoch was a man who the Bible said did not die – he walked and then was no more for God took him. Heb 11:5 tells us that before He was taken he was commended as having pleased God. Is that not one of the best and sweetest description of a man – that he pleased God.

I know I want to be pleasing to the Lord, I am sure you too – then verse 6 of chapter 11 continues  “without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”

If you want to please God, if you want to draw near to Him then come in faith, authentic faith.  That is the first virtue we see present in one who knows the realities he has in Christ

The 2^nd  virtue of 2^nd building block of the Christian life is B – a Bold hope

B – Bold hope

Heb 10:23 ²³ “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful”

As a Christian you have great hope, real hope or even a bold hope.

The Believer has hope in Christ. Hope in the ressurection, hope in eternal life, hope in the fact that the good work that God had begun in you He will bring to completion at the day of Christ (Phil 1:6)

Now the Christian hope that is referred to here is not as our culture use the word hope. Hope for those without Christ is more – wishful thinking.

• I hope to one day be able to do this or that, 
• or I hope to get that promotion, I hope it snow this winter in Perth- wishful thinking
• or even more unlikely - we hope the Australian the Cricket team will beat India in today’s one day international – all wishful thinking - with no certainty or even confidence that it may actually happen.
• In contrast to that the Christian has great hope a bold hope, a certain hope.
• The Christian hope is not wishful thinking but it is concrete and real and it is a certainty waiting to be fulfilled.

The Christian Hope contains three elements

1. A future expectation – that which we await will happen. The salvation that we now have in Christ, the forgiveness of sins, reconciliation with God by faith and the progression in becoming more and more like Christ -  Our hope is the perfection of our salvation, our glorification, when we will reign with Christ, we will walk by sight and not by faith and we will partake fully in the joys of eternal life, unhindered by sin and the flesh. A great future expectation.
2. A trust – a confidence or a belief in the One who is the object of our Hope, or the one able to fulfill our hope. The Christian hope is seated in a person, the person of Christ. One who is completely and utterly trustworthy.
3. A patient endurance – Because it is future and because it is certain, for it is rooted in Christ, it also is characterized by strength and patience.

Strength and endurance to endure, sometimes under much pressure and difficulty- but to patiently endure present in hope circumstances in hope of the fulfilment of that which we know will come to pass. It is a patient hope.

• The sad thing was that some of the readers of this epistle still held to the hope of the coming Messiah, when He already came and He abolished Judaism being the High Priest of a better covenant - The author’s point is that there is no hope for the Jew in  Judaism, there is no hope in any other religions or philosophic worldview
• He is stressing that in Christ you have great hope
• So let us hold fast to the confession of our hope.
• Do not let go of your confession, your verbal profession, your public affirmation of the hope that you have.
• The Recipients of this letter confessed Christ, their hope when they turned from Judaism and were baptized– They put their hand up and declared that their hope was now not in the Law, but by grace through faith, not in Moses but in Christ.
• Every believer who has the hope of Christ must make and then hold fast such a public confession. Isn’t it what Romans tells us.

Rom 10:9:10  ^“, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”

• A public declaration of allegiance to Christ as your hope –your only hope
• Every Christian life must begins with a confession of Christ and every Chritian must continue to confess Christ as their hope.
• Even when pressure is applied, even when persecution follows, where this confession is assured and clear it will not be mute, it will not be dumb, but it will speak and speak boldly

 Jesus demands it

Mt 10: ³² “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, ³³ but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”

• The Hebrews were buckling under the pressure from family and friends, the pressure of their society to revert back to Judaism, to return to their old ways.

Many throughout the centuries have been pressured, persecuted, tortured even matyred for their persistant confession of the hope they have in Christ.

V     The Apostles were martyred for the confession of their hope

V     Many died for the refusal to bow before Ceasar

V     Even in modern times examples abound

• In the days of the Iron Curtain – many we persecuted in Communist countries for their confession of hope.
• In China thousands have suffered terribly for their confession of hope
• Africa –  mid 1900’s Pres Francois N’garta Tombalbaye of Chad wanting to rid his country of foreign influences wanted to return the nation to animistic, occultic practices – murdered thousands of Christians who refused to partake  in these santanic practices
• In the Middle east - Just Friday I received an e-mail on behalf of a pastor named Youcef Nadarkhani imprisoned in Iran – 2009 and now been ordered to be executed – His crime – the persistent confession of His hope in Chirst. Please pray for this man and His family.
• I also received news of an American couple of San Juan Cpaistrano – California which has been fined for having a Bible Study in their home.

We today, here in Perth do not face persecution for confessing Christ.

So what are the things which may imperil your confession

• Worldiness – cravings of the heart
  • Friendship of the world James 4:1-4
  • Love for the world 1 Jn 2:15
  • Prov 27:3 – as a man thinks in himself – so he is
  • Walking in the flesh – not in the Spirit – expressions of the heart
    • Fulfiling the desires of the flesh – not of the Spirit
    • If you have a life of hidden shame and sin, you will be guilt ridden, you’ll lack of assurance of your salvation and it will result in the silencing of your confession.
    • This is an issue I believe is what paralyze many churches. Men & women who are paralyzed by the guilt of their sin. It therefore has silenced their confession, their proclamation of the hope that is in Christ.

The Realitiy is that Christ can set you free, can bring you back in the right relationship with your Saviour – But until you express authentic faith in repentance your sin will silence your confession through guilt.

Hold fast to the confesson of our hope for “He who has promised is faithful”

Build you faith, be men and women of faith – the righteous shall walk by faith – faith comes from hearing and hearing the word of Christ Rom 10:17

Believe the One who has spoken – stand on His promises – go and read and see how often believers recounted the mighty acts of God on behalf of His people – why because these people were great – No because He is faithful and will never, ever, never-ever fail to fulfill His promises. He promise that if you come to Him He will by no means cast you away.

His word is Sure Therefore Our Hope is Sure

A Sure hope translate into a bold hope – boldly confessing Christ, through word and deed- in the work place, at Home and in the Church.

Hold fast the confession of our hope for He who promised is faithful

 The ABC of Chritian living is Authentic Faith, Bold Confession and now Caring Love

C – Caring Love

Heb 10:24-25 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.

The author says that believers, because of the confidence they have to enter the holy place, to approach the Father through Christ should consider how to stir up others to love and good works

• spend some time thinking about, contemplating, plan how you can stir up others to love and good deeds. How many of you have ever sat down to deliberately consider – how you can stir up another to love and good works?
• The word “stir up” literally means to irritate or to stimulate, to incite. In Acts 17:16 in observing the idols of pagan Athens – Apostle Paul’s spirit was provoked or incensed by it – stirred up
• 1 Cor 13:5 in describing love – Paul wrote that love is not irritable, it is not easily provoked – Here the author use this word in a positive way –
• Consider you you can stimulate or incite others to love and good deeds.

How do you do that?

He gives us the answer -  a twofold answer-

1. First - He said be at church, be at small group. – do not neglect to meet together as is the habit of some

If you want to obey this command to stir up others, to stimulate and incite others to greater love – love for the Lord and love for others, love expressed in good works, benevolent actions which promote faith – then show you care – caring love is to be nvoved– be there, be present. Be in the game. You can shout and scream and rant and rave all you like from the sideline, You want to make a difference, get your spiritual kit on and get in the game.  - Be part of the team.

It amazes me, in fact closer to the truth- it grieves me when Christians do not want to be in church, who do not want to be with other believers, or does not make it a priority. Where is their caring love

Many find all kinds of excuses - tiredness, busyness of life, offended or hurt by someone. What are you really saying – Lord I know you suffered for me by I am too tired to come to church to minister to your people. I don’t care for my need for rest is greater than the need of your people

Lord I know you died for me, but my life is a bit busy to serve your people right now? I am involved in so many things, so many programs, work is so demanding.

I am not insensitive to the demands of modernday life but remember – He is your life, don’t relegate Him to the fringes of your life.

• Spurgeon as a young believer wrote about his desire to be with God’s people

He said: “I could not be happy without fellowship with the people of God, I wanted to be wherever they were, and if anybody ridiculed them, I wished to be ridiculed with them, and if people had an ugly name for them, I wanted to be called that ugly name, for I felt that unless I suffered with Christ in His humiliation, I could not expect to reign with Him in glory.

• You say well I am willing to suffer for Christ, I am willing to be ridiculed for Him

Really, but you cannot drag yourself out of bed to be at church. You cannot tolerate being tired in order to maintain regular fellowship with His people.  Two meetings a week is too much for me to suffer.

You claim to be willing to go the extra mile for Christ, give your life for Him.

Where you lead Lord I will follow –

Well let me tell you, He is waiting for you just to get involved in the lives of His people at your local church. Follow me there first, before we dream of conquering the world.

• People don’t you get it – the church is the body of Christ. Christ is manifesrted among His people. If you love Christ, it is impossible not to love His Church, those for whom He died, with all it’s imperfectons and shortcomings. Why would you not want to be with them. Why are other things, things of the world, temporal things more important to you than edifying the Body of Christ by stirring one another up to love and good deeds
• for in doing so Christ is displayed more fully, He is manifested more clearly and the the confession of our hope is heard more loudly.

Consider how to stir up one another to love and good deeds by first of all being involved.

But do not neglect to meet together – don’t let it become a habit.

1. But encourage one another – all the more as you see the Day approaching

Modern day conveniences, mobile phones, video phones, Skype, you name it, will never be able to replace personal face to face interaction - as a brother or a sister sitting next to you, crying with you, laughing with you, placing their hand on your shoulder and pray with you. Looking you in the eyes and seeing your desparation and saying, I see your pain, I sense your need, I’ll tell you what, let me help you.

That is how you encourage one another – By loving others and by doing good works that benefits them, by being an example, by being an encourager, an exhorter a rebuker when needed.

The Day of Christ return is immanent, it is fast approaching.

Will He find you faithful and active in the stewardship He entrusted to you.

The stewardship of your salvation.

In the parable of the persistent widow when Christ taught about persistence in prayer. He asked the question: When the son of man comes will He find faith on earth?  Prayer is an act of faith. Obedience to His word is an act of faith.

 You have heard this morning what the word of God asks of you, What your Saviour desires of you.

You who are in Christ. You to whom the realities of access to God applies, who have Christ as their High Priest and their awesome Lord

He is urging your today, do not succumb to the influences of the world or the desires of your fesh but be - authentic in your faith, be bold in your confession and be compassionate in your love. Be involved

The ABC of the Christian life is faith, hope and love and the greatest of these is love-

Amen.