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And more specifically, what are 
we to do as Christians corporately? As we go about our Christian 
way in this lower world, what do we do as Christians and as 
Christians gathering together in church? here in the book of Hebrews sets 
before his recipients and sets before us a proper pattern for 
living corporately before God, resting upon Jesus Christ in 
the perfection of his salvation, there are some things that he 
exhorts Christians to do in light of this so great a salvation. 
Christ Jesus, the Lord, has shed his blood for guilty sinners 
by his grace and for his glory. God, by virtue of that Perfect 
sacrifice has brought us forth from darkness to light in Christ. 
What do we do now then as Christians and Paul gives us, or the author 
to the book of Hebrews, gives us a two-fold foundation for 
these three exhortations that he gives. And the foundation, 
if you'll remember, was this, therefore, the statement that 
begins in verse 19, Therefore, brethren, having boldness to 
enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living 
way which he consecrated for us, through the veil that is 
his flesh. That's foundation number one. 
And then the having is supplied in italics here, but it's repeating, 
this having, and having a high priest over the house of God. 
So that's the two-fold foundation for these three exhortations 
that follow. The exercise of our Christian 
duties, the exercise of our Christian obedience, a joyful compliance 
to the commands of God in light of so great a salvation, they 
rest upon these two foundations, the blood of Jesus Christ and 
the fact that He is our High Priest over the house of God. 
Now remember that all of this is delivered within a particular 
context. It's helpful to remind ourselves 
of what's going on in a particular context. The reason why the Apostle 
Paul is setting before them these two foundations for their Christian 
performance, and why the Apostle Paul is then exhorting them with 
this threefold exhortation, is because they were being tempted 
to be stolen away from Christian worship to go back to temple 
worship. All of those washings and all 
of those ceremonies and all of those sacrifices were to be put 
away with the coming of Christ because they pointed forward 
to this Christ. And so they weren't to be tempted 
to go back to temple worship because Christ is the fulfillment 
of all of those articles of old covenant religion. Don't go back, 
but rather with these two glorious foundations in view, do these 
three things. And therefore, go about your 
Christian way in the way commanded by God, in the way inaugurated 
by the Lord Jesus Christ. And the first two exhortations 
were first, a confident New Testament worship born of a perfect sacrifice 
and amazing grace. You'll remember that was verse 
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. Remember, 
there is a vanquishing of fear that comes with Christ and the 
perfection of His sacrifice and those who He has saved by amazing 
grace. Let us draw near with a true 
heart. We can draw near in worship. We can come before our God. We 
can come into the presence of our God. without fear, not because 
of something inherent to our Christianity, not because we're 
so great and we're so lion-hearted and we're so awesome, but because 
of what Christ has done for us, we can come with confidence and 
courage before God, bringing to Him our petitions, our supplications, 
our prayers, our thanksgivings, resting upon the work of the 
Lord Jesus Christ. Let us draw near with a true 
heart. Now, what you'll notice in these 
three exhortations is that they're marked by the exhortation proper, 
and then they're also marked by the manner in which we are 
to go about in obedience to them. For example, let us draw near 
with a true heart. The manner by which we are to 
do that is in full assurance of faith, resting upon this reality 
that our hearts are sprinkled from an evil conscience. Now 
notice the second exhortation was an immovable constancy in 
our profession of faith, buttressed by our unchangeable God. We have 
the exhortation proper here, let us hold fast the confession 
of our hope, and it is after the manner of without wavering, 
or it is according to this manner, without wavering. We lay hold 
of the confession of our hope, and we do that without wavering. 
We don't ebb and flow. We don't wax and wane. We don't 
come to church and then go back to temple worship. We stay with 
our Christ. We stay with our brethren. and 
we hold fast the confession of our hope. This Jesus who shed 
His blood, this high priest over the house of God. Well, thirdly 
then, and that's where we're at now, the third exhortation, 
and that comes in v. 24. The third exhortation is the 
thoughtful diligence in our communion with each other that spurs charity 
and joyful obedience to Christian duty. I'll just say that one 
more time if you'll allow me. A thoughtful diligence in our 
communion with each other that spurs charity and joyful obedience 
to Christian duty. And hopefully you see that in 
the text. Let's read it. Verse 24. And let us consider 
one another in order to stir up love and good works. not forsaking 
the assembling of ourselves together as is the manner of some, but 
exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the 
day approaching. Paul wraps up this threefold 
exhortation with this third exhortation, which again is that Christians 
are to be marked by a thoughtful diligence, A thoughtful diligence 
in our communion with each other. Remember, when we come in here 
to church, we're not so many individual Christians coming 
and sitting in proximity to others and then just leaving. We just 
so happen to come in here together to worship and then we're gone. We're in here for each other. 
We're not in here as packed-in individuals who then depart. 
We're in here as individuals, yes, but we're in here as individuals 
who are in communion with each other, who are in fellowship 
with each other, who associate with one another. We have a loving 
reciprocity. We have a mutually beneficial 
reciprocity, one to each other, where we are to be considering 
one another. We are to be mindful away from 
ourselves and towards one another that we might arouse, that we 
might stir up charity, love, good works. We come in, yes, 
as individuals, but individuals in communion with one another. 
It is a thoughtful diligence in our communion with one another 
unto a particular purpose, and that is to stir up charity and 
joyful obedience to Christian duty. So first off, we want to 
note this, that there is a particular activity that Christians are 
to engage in. We are to have Christian hearts 
that are directed in service to our fellows. That's what we 
have here in this language that the apostle sets before us, and 
let us consider one another. We are to be mindful towards 
each other. We are to have this character 
about us, Christian hearts that are directed in service to our 
fellows. Owen puts it this way, and in his particular time, There 
was what he observed to be a departure from this particular Christian 
ethic. And he notes this from the words 
of the Apostle Paul, let us consider one another. He writes this, 
this is the great end of the communion that is among Christians 
in the mutual consideration of one another. Just pause for a 
moment. That's what we're to do. That's what we're to be marked 
by, a mutual consideration for one another. Considering the 
circumstances, conditions, walkings, abilities for usefulness of one 
another, they do excite one another unto love and good works, which 
is called the provocation of them or the stirring up the minds 
of men unto them. This was the way and practice 
of the Christians of old, but is now generally lost with most 
of the principles of practical obedience especially those which 
concern our mutual edification as if they had never been prescribed 
in the gospel. There is a command, there is 
an exhortation, there is an admonishing by the Apostle Paul in this third 
admonishing to consider one another, to be mindful of each other. 
We'll look at a number of ways that this can flesh itself out, 
but turn with me for a moment to Philippians 2. With our minds 
drawn to the Incarnation this time of year, and we should say 
hopefully our minds are drawn to the Incarnation each and every 
Sunday. We gather together in the name 
of Jesus Christ, the Lord, the Incarnate One, the God-Man, our 
Mediator. We're drawn mindfully to consider 
His glory, His riches, His excellencies, each and every Lord's Day, and 
hopefully as you go about your Monday through Saturday, you're 
waking up and you're falling asleep with contemplations and 
reflections upon so great a Savior. so great a God. But in Philippians 
2, do you notice what we have here? We have the Apostle Paul 
exhorting in perhaps a more expanded way, if you will, the ethic of 
Hebrews 10, 24 and 25. Notice in verses 1 to 4, therefore 
if there is, and we might read this, therefore since there is, 
therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of 
love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any, hopefully I did 
say Philippians 2, 1 to 4, If any affection and mercy, verse 
2, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of 
one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish 
ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others 
better than himself. Let each of you look out not 
only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 
You see here a mutual consideration. You see, what's important in 
this apostolic exhortation for each and every one of us is to 
vanquish, to get rid of, to jettison our selfishness, our selfish 
ambition, and to be mindful towards each other. We're to consider 
each other. We're to have our mind, our thoughts 
are to land upon our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. We'll 
get to this a little bit later, but this has in mind our corporate 
gathering together as Christians in the Church of God, of which 
Christ is our head and king. But the exhortation is to not 
be selfish, to not be self-centered, to not focus upon self, to not 
walk around, if you will, with so many multitudinous metaphorical 
mirrors, looking at ourselves and considering only ourselves, 
but to cast away those mirrors and to consider one another, 
that we might stir each other up to love and good works. And 
you might ask the question, or you might not, because it follows 
right after here, and we've looked at this many times, but what's 
the motivation? What is the foundation? From where do we gain the motivation 
and the stirring to be able to consider one another in the way 
that the Apostle Paul commands? Well, it is the incarnate work 
of Jesus Christ, our Savior. The reason why we are to be mindful, 
because there was one who had a disposition of mind such that 
is unmatched. Verse 5, let this mind be in 
you which was also in Christ Jesus. You see, there is a disposition 
of mind that we are to emulate. We have a pattern set before 
us. We have what we could call an 
exemplar, an example. set before us, and the prime, 
and the supreme, and the superior, and an exclusive, and an unrivaled 
one. Let this mind be in you, which 
was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did 
not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself 
of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant and coming 
in the likeness of men. You see, we're to look at that 
following the exhortation, and we're to fall on our knees in 
repentance and say, God, give me the strength to be like Christ. 
We can never be like Christ in the sense that we're going to 
give ourselves for guilty sinners. We're not to do what Christ does. We are to have minds which emulate 
the disposition of Christ. We're never going to be a Savior, 
but we can be like our Savior. And here set before us is the 
most beautiful, the most glorious, and the most humbling example 
of humility that ever there was. The Son of God coming down to 
our lower shame, taking upon our humanity to save us from 
our sins. He had a mind that was not on 
Himself, but on others, and He gave Himself for others. The Son of Man did not come into 
this world to be served, but to serve, Christ said, and to 
give His life a ransom for many. We look at that babe wrapped 
in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger, and we find motivation 
of motivations to be mindful to each other, because He was 
mindful. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ 
Jesus. You know, the incarnation of 
Christ... When we say the incarnation of Christ, that contemplates 
the entirety of His incarnate work. Not only a babe wrapped 
in swaddling cloths lying in a manger, but the entire scope, 
the entire breadth, the entire exercise of that incarnate mediator's 
work. From birth to death. to resurrection, 
to ascension, to current session, where he still has his true humanity 
ever living to intercede for his people. But with respect 
to the incarnation, peculiarly, it's very often in view in apostolic 
exhortation. Turn with me quickly just for 
one example, one more example before we move on, and that's 
in 2 Corinthians 8. Remember, there's a particular 
activity that we as Christians are to engage in. We're to have 
Christian hearts that are directed in service to our fellows. Where 
do we find the motivation, the example, the exemplar? We find 
it in Christ our Savior. And in 2 Corinthians 8, there's 
a wonderful verse here that the Apostle Paul, again, is using 
in order to stir up this joyful obedience, this joyful activity, 
and being mindful of others. And he's giving the example. 
In fact, the Philippians would be included in this example. 
Macedonian Christians giving to those who were afflicted with 
poverty, giving of their liberality. And notice that his exhortation 
comes, or the example comes, in verse 8. I speak not by commandment, 
but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence 
of others. For you know the grace of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes 
He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. You see, if your Christianity 
is a self-Christianity, if you come in here as an individual, 
and your parade horse blinders are on, and then you leave as 
an individual, never giving one speck of time, one iota of mindfulness 
towards your brother and sister, that can simply come in the manifestation 
of prayer, for your brothers and sisters, or whatever way 
is wholesome and lawful within the context of the church, but 
if you only ever come in as self and leave as self, then you need 
to be brought to the place where you consider with great repentance 
the condescension of Jesus Christ, and you are to be aroused to 
a consideration of others. stirred up to a mindfulness that 
takes your eyes off of self, casts them upon a brother and 
sister, and see your calling as one who stirs them up to love 
and good words, who exhorts, who admonishes, who loves, who 
reminds of Christ, who points to God. All of those things that 
should be our joyful Christian duty. So finding our way then 
back to the book of Hebrews, there is a particular activity 
that we are to engage in. we are to have Christian hearts 
that are directed in service to our fellows. That is simply 
wrapped up in these words, let us consider one another. Then we have secondly this, that 
there is a particular purpose for this loving reciprocity. 
There is a particular purpose for this activity, and that is 
that we might excite, provoke, or