## Encouragement

## Hebrews 10:19-25

The epistle to the Hebrews was written in order to encourage these believers as they were going through some extremely difficult times. Some were tempted to consider going back to the old ways of Judaism. The letter was written to show them that what they have in Christ is superior to what they had in the past!

Although the book was written to Hebrew Christians, there is much encouragement for believers today as well. In our passage this evening we find great privileges of being a Christian, and great responsibilities.

I. Great Privileges. v19-21

A. A Place of Access. v19

1. To understand this privilege we must understand what it was like for the Old Testament people to worship.

2. They could look upon the Tabernacle from without, but only the high priest could enter into the holy of holies.

3. His entrance was limited to only once per year and then only after cleansing and sacrifice.

4. Even then his entrance was one of fear and trembling.

a. the priests garments included bells along the bottom hem of his robe to let the rest of the priests know that he was still alive.

b. he also had a robe attached to his leg that would remain accessible from the holy place.

c. if the priest should die while in the holy of holies, the others would not be permitted to enter in to retrieve the body. They would have to drag him out of the holiest of holies.

5. But now, we can boldly enter "into the holiest by the blood of Jesus"

a. His sacrifice was complete, His blood sufficient!

b. The separation veil was torn in half...opening the way of entrance for all men.

B. The Price of Access. v19b-20

1. It is only "by His blood".

a. This is where we must be dogmatic.

b. To say that the blood of Christ is not important is to remove the central element of our salvation.

c. We do not have access to God...

1) just because Jesus was sinless

2) just because Jesus lived an exemplary life

3) just because Jesus died

d. It is because of His precious blood, shed on calvary, that we can enter into the very presence of God and have fellowship with Him.

2. Through the vail, that is to say, His flesh.

a. The veil was not removed, it was rent in two.

b. As the soldier pierced the side of Jesus Christ,

c. God reached down and tore open the veil in the temple.

C. The Proof of Access. v21

1. We have a high priest over the house of God.

2. He isn't like the high priests of Israel, He has entered into the Holy of Holies in heaven!

3. NOTE: Hebrews 4:14-16

4. He invites us to enter in with Him!

II. Great Responsibilities. v22-25

A. With Regard to Our Worship. "Let us draw near..." v22a

1. "With a true heart..."

a. Jeremiah tells us that the heart is deceitful above all things. cf Je. 17:9

b. Millions of people approach God with the right words, but with the wrong heart.

c. A "true" heart isn't necessarily a good heart, but it means being honest before God.

2. "...In full assurance of faith..." v22b

a. "But without faith it is impossible to please Him..." He. 11:6a

b. He's not talking about having faith in yourself, but rather it is confidence in God.

c. "For he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." He. 11:6b

d. We come to God on the basis of faith, not doubts!

3. "Having our hearts sprinkled... and our bodies washed with pure water." v22c

a. Cleansed by the blood of Christ our perfect sacrifice.

b. Sanctified by the work of the Spirit in the new birth.

c. This has nothing to do with water baptism!

d. Before the high priest could enter into the holy of holies he had to have been sprinkled with the blood of the sacrifice and cleansed by washing with water.

e. There can be no true worship without salvation and spiritual cleansing from sin.

B. With Regard to Our Witness. "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith..." v23

1. "Without wavering..."

a. Jas. 1:8, "A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways."

b. We cannot afford to allow our witness for Christ to waver.

c. Others are watching our life and will evaluate our Christianity by us! O Christian, remember you bear His dear name, Your life is for others to view. A living example, men praise you or blame, And measure your Savior by you.

2. "For He is faithful..."

a. We may, at times, be tempted to doubt Him and begin to waver.

b. But God is faithful to do exactly what He has promised!

c. Our witness is not dependent in any way upon ourselves, but it is built upon the faithfulness of God, so let us hold fast!

C. With Regard to Our Work. "Let us consider one another..." v24-25

1. "Provoke unto love..."

a. The way that Jesus told His disciples how the world would know them was by their love for one another.

b. We need to love one another with an unselfish and unending love as Christ loved us

c. We need to "provoke" or "stir-up" that love in one another.

d. Our ministry must be motivated by love for one another, or we have no ministry!

2. "Provoke...to good works..."

a. We need to encourage one another to do right.

b. There are plenty of folks who would encourage us to do wrong, or just to quit doing right.

c. We need one another to cheer us on to victory.

d. Sports teams do not have a special "jeering squad", but rather they have those who cheer them on!

e. The only ones who will encourage you to do right are others who are involved in doing right, and who really love you.

f. No one who truly cares about you would want to see you do wrong!

3. "Not forsaking...but exhorting..."

a. The habit of some of these Hebrew believers was not to come together for church.

b. Whether it was out of ignorance, indifference, or self-centeredness we do not know.

c. A persons perspective on the local church says much about their spiritual maturity.

1) Some may say, "I don't think I will go tonight, because I want to watch this ball game. (or some other equally selfish reason)"

2) That person thinks in terms of what they want, and not in terms of the needs of others.

3) Note: I have seen where people come to church and the person who invited them decided that it wasn't important enough for them to attend.

4) We ought not to come to church with the attitude of "bless me if you can!"

d. From the verse we can see that the importance for the assembling of ourselves together is to exhort one another.

e. And this becomes more and more important as we approach the time of Christ's return!

f. One other note concerning the forsaking of the assembly: this verse is in the context of the warning against wilfull sin. In other words, refusing to come to church is wilfull sin against God and will result in judgment.

Conclusion: There are many benefits and privileges afforded to the child of God, but with these privileges come certain responsibilities. We do not get the one without the other. What a blessing to be able to approach the Father and find help and mercy in times of need. What a wonderful thing to have Jesus Christ as our great High Priest. We have responsibilities concerning our worship, our witness, and our work. Are we meeting those?