LAUGH 'N LEARN

An Encouragement Ministry of Verde Valley Christian Church Of Cottonwood Arizona
http://vvchristianchurch.net

Issue # 362    February 8,  2010

LAUGH

LEARN

Jim's Manuscript

February 7, 2010

"Salad Dressing"

Better In Every Way--Hebrews Series (Part 10)

Text:  Hebrews 10

The Old Covenant sacrifices did nothing for the ability of the person to quit sinning and change their habits.  If anything, rather than erasing a sin, the system tended to UNDERSCORE, UNDERLINE, or HIGHLIGHT the sin.  The repeated need for sacrifices repeat, "There you go again".  "You've done it again".  The sinner went away, reminded of his sin, and would go and sin again, only to need to offer a sacrifice again. 

What sinners need is something more than a highlighter; we need an eraser.  Complete forgiveness that works, and works in such a way that we go away changed from the inside out, able to sin less, rather than the repeated cycle of sin, confess, sin, confess, sin, confess. 

For some people, Church is merely a highlighter.  What I want for you is something far deeper than reminders, but the internal reality that makes a difference.  You need the real thing, that changes you from the inside out.  We are continuing with these themes, how Christ is better in every way, than religion. 

Focus:  Jesus said, "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." (Revelation 3:20)

Jesus knocks at our door.  Will we welcome him and enjoy a close personal relationship with him?  The picture used for this close personal relationship with Jesus in Revelation 3:20 was a shared meal.  I want to use a shared meal as the running metaphor today in Hebrews 10.  You will see why later.

I.        A Review of the Main Course  (10:1-21)

We are going to see in chapter 10:1-18 a review of the main course.  The themes we have already seen in Chapter 7, 8, and 9, are reviewed.  After the review however, we will be told the Central Application, or the Main Point, so we see the Main Course and how it will sustain us and satisfy us in this section.

·       OT Animal Sacrifices Highlight Guilt (10:1-4)

¹ The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming--not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. ² If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. ³ But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, ⁴ because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Animal Sacrifices only symbolized the payment for sin, they did not accomplish the payment of sin.  They were but a dim preview of the good things that were to come when Christ came. 

·       Christ's Sacrifice Erases Guilt (10:5-18)

First let's read this entire section, then we will pause and ponder a few points. 

Hebrews 10:5-18 (NIV) ⁵ Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; ⁶ with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. ⁷ Then I said, 'Here I am--it is written about me in the scroll-- I have come to do your will, O God.'" ⁸ First he said, "Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them" (although the law required them to be made). ⁹ Then he said, "Here I am, I have come to do your will." He sets aside the first to establish the second. ¹⁰ And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. ¹¹ Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. ¹² But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. ¹³ Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, ¹⁴ because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. ¹⁵ The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: ¹⁶ "This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds." ¹⁷ Then he adds: "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more." ¹⁸ And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin.

This shows us that God provided what we need!  We need more than a highlighter, we need an erasure! 

• ¹⁰ ... we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
• ¹⁴ because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
• ¹⁷ Then he adds: "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more." ¹⁸ And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. 

Let's look at each of these (10:10, 14, and 17) in more detail.

• ¹⁰ ... we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

It was during the preaching of Hebrews in this chapter 15 years ago that the phrase hit me:  "Holiness is NOT Achieved, Holiness is RECEIVED!"  Look at 10:10 again.  WE HAVE BEEN MADE HOLY.  This is past tense, and in this we are passive.  It isn't an achievement, it is a "receive-ment"!  We didn't make ourselves holy, we have been made holy.  It is something done to us.

Now let's look again at 10:14.

• ¹⁴ because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

Would you look at that!  What Animal sacrifices couldn't do (10:1), Christ did (10:14)!  We already saw the word "perfect" in 10:1.

Hebrews 10:1 (NIV) The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming--not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.

Compare what could NOT be done in 10:1, with what HAS been done in 10:14

• ¹⁴ because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

What a strange sentence 10:14 is, what a strange and WONDERFUL TRUTH!   He "has made perfect"--Done deal! Past tense!--those of us who are "being made holy!"  WE are still in process, yet we are already considered to be perfect somehow! 

Salvation is an accomplished fact as well as an ongoing event!  We who are in Covenant with Christ are perfect in our position, yet in process still as to our Condition!  Positionally, we who are in Covenant with Christ, are perfectly covered by Christ's sacrifice; we are perfect even though we are still in process!!!  Conditionally we are being made holy.  This is all based on the achievement of Jesus.  The achievement of Jesus provides us our position of perfection, as well as providing us the process of being made holy!

We are already made perfect in Christ forever, even though each day we are still in process and becoming more like him.  We live in this tension of the ALREADY and NOT YET.  

We who are in covenant with Christ already have ALL the removal of sin's guilt.  Guilt's removal is ALREADY ours.  We are ALREADY perfect in that ALL our guilt is paid for.  Our guilt is erased.  Our hearts are washed clean.  Even though we are still in the process of learning how to live more like Christ every day.  We are ALREADY perfect (in our position in covenant with Christ), even though we do not YET reflect God's image exactly (in our condition).

Illustration:  A Balloon within a Balloon.  The outer Balloon is Christ.  We entering into Christ, in covenant with him, are in the PERFECT POSITION.  Even though our CONDITION is still in PROCESS.  Because we are truly IN HIM.  We are already made perfect.  Done deal.  We are in, because He IS IN.  But we are still becoming like him in our condition.

• ¹⁷ Then he adds: "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more." ¹⁸ And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. 

·       He Sets Aside The First To Establish The Second (10:9b-10)

He sets aside the first to establish the second. ¹⁰ And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

He Set Aside the Old Covenant when He Established the New Covenant

·       The Once For All Sacrifice replaces the Sacrificial System (10:11-18)

¹¹ Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. ¹² But [now the contrast] when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. ¹³ Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, ¹⁴ because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

¹⁵ The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:

Quoting Jeremiah 31:33 (AGAIN, see Hebrews 8)

¹⁶ "This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds."

Quoting Jeremiah 31:34 (AGAIN, see Hebrews 8)

¹⁷ Then he adds: "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more." ¹⁸ And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. 

The Main Application:

·       10:19-21     We Can Enter Into A Personal Relationship With A Holy God through the Curtain with Confidence

¹⁹ Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, ²¹ and since we have a great priest over the house of God,

The Holy Spirit here, through the author of Hebrews describes Jesus' body as the curtain.  Why does he do that?  Many reasons.

o      A curtain hides and reveals.  Jesus body hid the glory, as well as revealed God's glory.

o      The curtain is the only access to the Holy of Holies.  The tabernacle curtain then becomes the "illustration" (SEE 9:9) of opening to the very presence of God.

o      Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me."  (John 14:6)

o      Matthew, Mark, and Luke report that the moment Jesus died on the cross, the curtain, this curtain in the Temple ripped, from the top to the bottom.

Matthew 27:50-51 (NIV) 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. The earth shook and the rocks split.

o      This curtain was 60 feet tall in the temple.  It was 30 feet wide.  It was a very thick elaborately woven material.  Nobody entered through it but the High Priest, and then only once a year.  It was ripped from Top to Bottom.  Man did not open it.  God did.  And it was opened never to be shut again.  Access was opened by Christ's crucifixion! 

o      The judges of Jesus ripped their clothes when they cried "Blasphemy", but God vindicated Jesus, and ripped the curtain!  Jesus is who he claimed to be!  Don't tell me this didn't go unnoticed. 

o      Here is another way to put it.  When the last bit of life, poured through the ripped flesh of Jesus, the very flesh that veiled his deity and caused his rejecters to stumble at this claims, that he was the Son of God, the Curtain itself was ripped open, and the new and living way was made open and accessible to us!

o      We have access through the torn curtain that is the crucified torn body of Christ!  That's why we are to have Confidence to Enter.  We enter on the basis of Christ's merits, and accomplished sacrifice on our behalf.  Our debt has been paid.

Hebrews 10:19-20 (NIV) ¹⁹ Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body,

Is there anyone here today who does not feel confident to face almighty and Holy God?  What can you do if you don't feel "holy" or "perfect" and as a result you don't feel confident?  This is telling us the basis for entering CONFIDENTLY!  We enter confidently when we are in the PERFECT POSITION, IN COVENANT WITH GOD THROUGH CHRIST!

Tell me, what is the opposite of confidence?  Fear.  God's Word has clearly shown us the way of Confidence, the way of fearlessness before him.  There is happiness here.  Confidence before God is a wholeness, a happiness like no other happiness. 

When you have this position, ...

When you have accepted this MAIN COURSE,...

...here's what you do!  Are you ready?

II.       Finish Your Salad ("Let Us") Before Dessert

A.      "Let Us" is Mandatory

When it comes to the 5 "Let Us" phrases in this next section, I had a decision to make:  I could either talk about these phrases as cohortative subjunctive verb forms, and get into the grammar of the word forms, or I could talk about these "let us" statements as "lettuce in a mandatory Salad".  

Hortative = "You should",

Co Hortative = "We should",

"Let us" = we should!  It is a hortatory command, which means an exhortation of encouragement. 

Now to put it simply, Eat your salad!  We need to do this for our own good. 

It is easier to talk about these 5 "Let Us" phrases as a salad than to talk about them as cohortative subjunctive verb forms.  This cohortative subjunctive verb form is an exhortation or encouraging command form.

The phrase "Let Us" here might be misleading to our ears that have heard this phrase as if it means, "let's" as in a suggestion.  phrases "Let us" do so in so, as if it is merely suggestions.  But rather, the meaning is this:  since the Main Course 10:19-20 is true, and we can enter into God's presence, then therefore "WE SHOULD and MUST" do this this and this, with all of these "this's" predicated by the "Let Us" phrase.  Since 10:19 is true, therefore "Let Us" do this and this and this because it is MANDATORY to do so, and for our own good!  We should!  It is the LOGICAL next steps.  So, consider this salad mandatory.  We are at the dinner table with Jesus in a close personal relationship. 

If we say about the "let us", "Ah, Do I have to eat this?" 

Jesus says, "If you want dessert , Finish Your Salad"

What is the "Let Us" Salad?

1.       Let Us Draw Near (10:22)

²² let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

Let this encourage you to approach God faithfully, on a daily.  What does your drawing near to him look like?  Does it look like a covenant relationship?  Do you have daily talks?  Do you listen?  Do you check in?

2.       Let Us Hold On (10:23)

²³ Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

The word "unswervingly" is a word that is translated "unbending" or "holding fast" as in not yielding to the pressures to compromise, "holding on firmly", "keeping a firm grip" on the promises.  This would also mean, tenaciously holding to the true teachings about Christ and his work in the New Covenant.

3.       Let Us Motivate Inventively (10:24)

²⁴ And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

"Spur" is a strong word.  Other translations of this is "provoke".  We need to think and creatively come up with ways to provoke others to do right.  To spur them on.  To encourage them.   To wake em up and get them going.  To get them back on track when they have fallen off track.  Etc... 

Care Groups offer a great weekly format to do this within a caring, relational, structured atmosphere.  Meeting together helps all of us stay stronger and healthier and happier.  We all succeed and God is glorified with we are faithful here.

4.       Let Us Eliminate Unexcused Absences  (10:25)

²⁵ Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing,

We've got to stop letting the good habit of meeting together get bumped by lesser things.  You need to settle it in your mind that going to church is a commitment that deserves our high priority and blesses us in the long run.  Meeting together in Care Groups is a commitment that builds healthy lives and a beautiful church where we see God at work regularly.  There are great pay offs when we make meeting together our priority.  Meeting together strengthens us.  We grow in our faith, and God is exalted through us in the strength of fellowship.

5.       Let Us Encourage One Another (10:25)

²⁵ ... but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

As "the Day" approaches will be experiencing days where we need more and more encouragement.  That's why this is the NEED TO HEED section.  What he goes into next is what happens when we fail to eat our "let us".

When we eat this five course "let us" salad...

B.      Then We Can Stand Our Ground (10:26-34)

1.       Warning Against Going Back To The Old Ways (10:26-31)

²⁶ If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, ²⁷ but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. ²⁸ Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?  ³⁰ For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people." ³¹ It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Earlier, the way of confidence before God was described, now here the way of "FEARFUL EXPECTATON" the opposite of confidence is described.  It is a "DREADFUL THING".

If we read this section by completely lifting it out of context, we might suddenly fear that any deliberate sin stomps on the blood of Jesus, devaluing him, and is unforgivable.  It is a terrifying passage.  However, in context, you realize that it is addressing those who "deliberately keep sinning" by shrinking back away from the once and for all sacrifice of Christ--which is the ONLY way of assurance and confidence.  How did they do this?  By returning to the Old Covenant system, which has been set aside.  This brings no confidence or assurance.  These Jewish believers by returning to the Old Covenant sacrifices show that they no longer trust Christ for access to God, and they are therefore confronted with the implications.  They will be judged for disregarding the precious sacrificial gift of Christ.  Their actions show to God that they despise the costly payment Christ paid.  This is a passionate plea to the Jewish believers to not shrink back to Judaism.  If they do, they will NOT be forgiven.  There is no sacrifice outside of Christ that can forgive their sins or give them access to God.  They will be guilty of trampling under foot the blood of Christ. 

But How does this apply to us?

A Pointed Question:  Are we placing our confidence in the New and Living way--the living Christ, in love and in covenant with Him, or are we placing our confidence in some dead doctrine, like a dead sacrifice, an empty ritual, a dim shadow that fades in the light? 

Anyone professing to be a believer in Christ that lives as if Christ's sacrifice makes no difference, better heed the warning.  Those truly in Covenant with Christ are grateful to him for his sacrifice, and their lives reflect that gratitude.  If Christ's promises are boring, and following Christ isn't something you want to do, perhaps this fiery warning ought to shake you up to reconsider your course direction.

2.       Stand Your Ground Even When It Causes Suffering (10:32-34)

³² Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. ³³ Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. ³⁴ You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. 

III.       Dessert (10:35-39)

³⁵ So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.  ³⁶ You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.  ³⁷ For in just a very little while, [now quoting Habakkuk 2:3-4]  

"He who is coming will come and will not delay. ³⁸ But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him." 

³⁹ But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.

(C) Jim Hammond

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