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Please turn with me in your Bibles 
to Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10. If you were 
here on Wednesday night, this will be a bit of repetition, 
a bit of review. I think it's a very fitting portion 
of Scripture that demands attention from all of us. Hebrews chapter 
10, verses 19 to 25 is what we'll be focused on this morning. But 
I do want to begin reading in chapter 10 at verse 1. For the 
law, having a shadow of the good things to come and not the very 
image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which 
they offer continually year by year, make those who approach 
perfect. For then would they not have 
ceased to be offered. For the worshipers, once purified, 
would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices, 
there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is not possible 
that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. Therefore, 
when he came into the world, he said, Sacrifice and offering 
you did not desire, but a body you have prepared for me. In 
burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you had no pleasure. 
Then I said, Behold, I have come. In the volume of the book it 
is written of me to do your will, O God. previously saying, sacrifice 
and offering, burnt offerings and offerings for sin you did 
not desire, nor had pleasure in them, which are offered according 
to the law. Then he said, Behold, I have 
come to do your will, O God. He takes away the first, that 
he may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified 
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 
And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly 
the same sacrifices which can never take away sins. But this 
man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat 
down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till his 
enemies are made his footstool. For by one offering he has perfected 
forever those who are being sanctified. The Holy Spirit also witnesses 
to us, for after He had said before, this is the covenant 
that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord. I 
will put My laws into their hearts and in their minds I will write 
them. Then He adds, their sins and their lawless deeds I will 
remember no more. Now where there is remission 
of these, there is no longer an offering for sin. 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, and having a high priest 
over the house of God. 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. Let us 
hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He 
who promised is faithful. 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. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father, as we come to consider your word, we pray now for the 
ministry of your Holy Spirit. We acknowledge our absolute dependence 
upon you, Lord God. Jesus taught us that apart from 
him, we can do nothing. And we acknowledge that the reception 
of the Word of God is a spiritual work. We know that flesh and 
blood did not reveal blessed truth to Simon Bar-Jonah, but 
Jesus Father who is in heaven. We pray even now, Lord God, that 
you would reveal things to us, that you would move us and shape 
us and conform us to your Word, conform us to your beloved Son. 
We ask that you would forgive us for all of our sin and unrighteousness, 
and for any here that do not know the Lord Jesus Christ, We 
would pray that today would be the day of salvation, that You, 
by Your power and by Your sovereignty and in Your glory, God, You would 
bring forth sinners for the praise of Your great name and for the 
good of their never-dying souls. And we ask through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen. Well, here the main doctrinal 
section of this particular letter ends. It began in chapter 5 at 
verse 1, and it goes all the way to chapter 10, verse 18. And the primary emphasis in that 
section is on the priestly office of our Lord Jesus Christ. We 
have rightly observed, not us alone, but throughout the history 
of the church, that Jesus fulfills three offices for His people. He is a prophet. That means He 
speaks to the people on behalf of God. He is a King, as is indicated 
here in Hebrews 10. He sits down at the right hand 
of the Majesty on High, where He must reign till all of His 
enemies are made His footstool. As a King, He protects us. He 
defends us. He rules over us. And He governs 
us. And then the other office that 
Christ fulfills is that of priest. And what a priest does is he 
goes to God on behalf of the people. And he goes to God on 
behalf of the people in two specific ways. The first is by sacrifice. The priest does not come empty 
handed. Well, the glory of this letter 
to the Hebrews is that Christ is both priest and victim, that 
He is both the One who offers and the One who offered up Himself 
as a sacrifice for sinners. But then also the priest intercedes. He makes intercession for his 
people. And in Hebrews 7, it indicates 
that Jesus always lives to make intercession for us. So chapters 
5 to 10 are primarily dedicated to presenting Jesus as the great 
High Priest of the New Covenant. And then notice in verse 19, 
after engaging in this theology, He then says, therefore brethren, 
and He begins to apply all that He has taught. And this is a 
familiar pattern in the Scripture. We have the doctrine of the cross, 
or the gospel, and then we have application. We often hear today 
that if we aren't doing those things that Jesus did, then we're 
in bad shape. And I would agree with that. 
Our Christianity has to be vibrant. It has to be alive. It has to 
be moving. We have to love God and love 
our fellow man. But we also run the risk of trying 
to engage in application without first getting the doctrine. Without 
first understanding Christ and Him crucified. Without first 
understanding just what the Gospel is all about. In the early part 
of the 20th century, this was called the Social Gospel Movement. The men involved in that, theologically 
liberal, were engaged in trying to remedy all of the evils in 
society. with this major defect. They were trying to do it in 
their own strength and by their own power without being attached 
to the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. So the author spends 
chapters 5-10 to set forth the glory of Jesus as priest. And we need to get that down 
if we're going to let our Christianity be biblical. If we're going to 
live in the manner by which God has called us. When we look at 
chapter 10, verses 19-25, it is structurally parallel to what 
we've already seen in chapter 4. You may go back there. Chapter 
4, verse 14, before he starts this explanation of the priestly 
office of Christ. He says in chapter 4, verse 14, 
seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through 
the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest 
who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points 
tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly 
to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find 
grace to help in time of need." Now notice what he wants us to 
do in this passage. Verse 14, let us hold fast our 
confession. Verse 16, let us therefore come 
boldly. These are called exhortations. 
He wants his readers, he wants his audience to do something 
with the doctrine that they have received. But surrounding these 
exhortations are encouragement. Not only do these things, but 
think about these other things. Seeing then that we have a great 
High Priest who has passed through the heavens. Jesus, the Son of 
God. He highlights the fact that Jesus 
is a sympathetic Savior in verse 15. These are the encouragements 
that we need to focus upon so that our Christian lives can 
be lived victoriously. So that we can persevere the 
way God has called us. In other words, we need to keep 
an eye on the cross as we live the life of sanctification. And 
that is precisely what is in view in chapter 10, verses 19 
to 25. There are three exhortations. 
Very simple to understand. Notice in verse 22, let us draw 
near. Verse 23, let us hold fast. And verse 24, let us consider 
one another. Those are the three exhortations. 
This is what the apostle wants from the church in light of the 
fact that Jesus is our High Priest. But before he gets to those exhortations, 
he's got two encouragements. That brings us beyond introduction 
to the message itself. We have two encouragements and 
three exhortations this morning. Two encouragements. You need 
to think before you try to live the Christian life. Paul sets 
this forth very clearly in Romans 6.11. He says, likewise, reckon 
yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus 
our Lord. Based on that gospel reality, 
he then says, therefore, do not let sin reign in your body. Do not present your instruments 
or your members of your body as instruments of unrighteousness. You see that? The Gospel and 
what God has done to us and for us through the finished work 
of Jesus Christ is the power, the motivation, and the way that 
we comply with the biblical commands. If we reverse that, we engage 
in a works righteousness. We just try to let, let, let, 
and do, do, do without any virtue being drawn from the cross work 
of Christ. We're going to be frustrated, we're always going 
to be defeated, and we're going to show ourselves to be in bad 
shape. So, let's look at these two encouragements. 
The first is that we have boldness to enter the holiest. Now, when 
he sets forth these encouragements, he goes right to the heart. These 
are great things. He says, therefore, brethren, 
having boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus. Earlier, in this section, he 
has described the Old Testament worship system. Remember the 
tabernacle in the temple? It was a big rectangular building 
and there were two primary rooms. The one room was the holy place, 
and the next room was the holy of holies, or what he calls here, 
the holiest. There was a veil separating these 
two rooms. Each and every day the priest 
went in to the holy place. But there was one day out of 
the year, the day of atonement, that the priest, or the high 
priest rather, went in to the holiest. Went in to that most 
holy place, and it was for atonement. And hear what the author is saying 
to us. We currently, right now, constantly 
and continuously have boldness to enter into the presence of 
Almighty God. We don't have to wait for the 
high priest who shares our weaknesses. We don't have to wait for the 
Levitical priesthood to come on that one day, that Yom Kippur. And to enter into that place, 
he says, having boldness. This is a continual and a perpetual 
possession that the believer in Christ has. You see how he's 
going to encourage you. You already possess this. It's something that God, by virtue 
of Christ's finished work, has given to you. And so when he 
says to draw near, it's a no-brainer, brethren. You have that boldness. You can enter in beyond the veil. You have One who is a forerunner 
that has preceded you. And He has granted to us bold 
access to the very throne of grace itself. So, Christian, 
when you feel this distance between you and God, it isn't God's fault. It isn't God's problem. You are 
not acting consistent with what God has already given to you. Isn't this the admonition that 
James and Peter issued to us too? Draw near to God. Draw near 
to Him and He will draw near to you. How can we do that? Because 
we have boldness to enter the holiest, not because we're good, 
not because we've performed well, not because we've satisfied the 
law of God, but by the blood of Jesus. That's the access. That's the way. That's the means 
to penetrate beyond that veil into the very presence of God 
Himself. That high priest on the Day of 
Atonement probably made four trips into the most holy place. 
He would bring the blood of another. He would lay it on the mercy 
seat. He would come out. He would gather some more and 
go back in. But He didn't hang out there. He didn't sit down 
there. He didn't chill out there. But rather, what we find is that 
Jesus has sat down. By virtue of His priestly office, 
we have access to that throne. It's by His blood. Never for 
a moment think you have access to the Father because you performed 
well. Never think for a moment that 
you have access to the Father because you've done good. We 
must look at it like a reward sometimes. Sometimes we treat 
the Lord's Supper like that. Well, I've been pretty good this 
week. I read my Bible every day. I was able to check off the list. 
This is a fruit or a reward given for my obedient faith. No, it 
isn't. This is a visible reminder of 
God's grace meeting your sin. We have access into the presence 
of God by virtue of the blood of Jesus. He says, by a new and 
living way, which He consecrated for us through the veil that 
is His flesh. That veil blocked access to the 
very presence of God. He speaks of Christ's flesh as 
being the means of access to the presence of God Himself. 
All those truths associated with Christ's first coming, His incarnation, 
His being born in a lowly state, His living a life of perfect 
obedience to the Father. These are Jesus' words in Hebrews 
10, verse 7. Behold, I have come. In the volume 
of the book it is written of Me to do Your will, O God. He 
was born of a woman, born under the law to redeem those under 
the law. He fulfilled it perfectly. Because 
we needed righteousness. We needed an alien righteousness. 
So Christ obeys the Father on our behalf. Notice, it's a new, 
it's a living way. And it's been consecrated for 
us. Through the veil, that is His 
flesh. And then the second encouragement 
is in having a high priest over the house of God. You see, the 
Apostle here is going to tell you what you need to do. He's 
going to tell you what you need to think about. Can I just say, 
by way of an aside, this is where most problems come in our lives 
as Christians. We forget the cross. We're going to slug it out in 
our own strength. We're going to look at somebody 
and see how they perform so well. And we're going to do likewise. 
But lo and behold, we never do likewise. We get frustrated. We get upset. We begin to doubt 
the very power of God. Well, the primary issue is that 
we haven't first considered Christ. How do you live as a Christian 
without Christ? This isn't a system of morality. Well, there's morals 
to be sure. There's duties to perform. But 
Christianity, first and foremost, isn't about an agenda. It is 
about belief. on the Gospel of Jesus Christ 
our Lord. It is about the doing and the 
dying of the Savior. The rising again. We need to 
get our minds wrapped around that. We need to be fully assured 
of what the Bible says concerning Jesus before we ever try to engage 
in these activities. And so he says, we have access 
to the presence of God. And we have a High Priest over 
the house of God. Now for the sake of those who 
have not been with us, just rehearsing a few of the aspects of Christ's 
priestly ministry as set forth in Hebrews 5-10. Christ is not 
like Aaron. Christ is not like Aaron. Remember 
Aaron, the High Priest on the Day of Atonement. He had to go 
into that holy place to make atonement first for His own sin. And then for the sins of Israel. 
Jesus isn't like that. Jesus is the Lamb of God who 
takes away the sin of the world. Jesus is the one alone in whom 
there is perfection. He's not like Aaron. Chapter 
6 tells us that He is of the priesthood of Melchizedek. That's 
why we sang Psalm 110 this morning. Psalm 110, given in the context 
of Old Covenant worship. Given at a time when the tabernacle 
and the temple were in place, and there was a priesthood operative. 
When the high priest would go on the Day of Atonement, the 
people of Israel were taught, there's another priest coming. 
Not from the tribe of Levi, but of the order of Melchizedek. The author spends a great deal 
of time in chapter 7 showing us this reality. Jesus is not 
from the tribe of Levi, but He is perfectly qualified and fit 
for the office of priesthood. Not only was He appointed to 
office, but according to Hebrews 7, He was appointed by oath. 
The others were born into it. If you were a Levite and you 
were born, you assume the office of priesthood. Now, out of those 
Levites, some would ascend to the office of the high priesthood. Not so with Christ. He is placed 
in position by divine oath. Hebrews 5 all the way to chapter 
10 tells us that He offered Himself as a once-for-all sacrifice that 
secures eternal redemption. You might be wondering, why don't 
we just get to the practical here? Because if you don't get 
this, you're not going to do the practical. It's that simple. And if you do, it's not going 
to be Christian. You might fit into the Kingdom Hall. You might 
fit into the Mormon Tabernacle. You might fit in with the Elk's 
Lodge or the Moose Lodge or the Rotary Club or the whoever. But 
in order to be a genuine Christian, you've got to be attached to 
the Christ of Calvary. And that's why he spends so much 
time developing the priesthood. See, we sometimes get it all 
backwards. We come to the Bible and say, just tell me what I 
need to do. And while that is important, we need to know what 
to believe. We need to understand first and 
foremost how we stand before the living God. It's not by virtue 
of our performance. It's by virtue of Christ's. Over 
and over again in this section, he highlights The perfect work 
of Christ. Notice in Hebrews 5, 9. And having 
been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to 
all who obey Him. The author of eternal salvation. Not a partial. Not a for today 
only and the rest is up to you. He secures eternal redemption 
according to Hebrews 9, 14. We see that He offered up Himself 
at Calvary, as I've already mentioned. Notice in verse 26 of chapter 
7. For such a high priest was fitting for us, who is holy, 
harmless, and undefiled, separate from sinners." I think the implication 
is because we're so unholy, we're so full of harm, and we're so 
thoroughly defiled. We need one to answer to God 
on our behalf who is the exact opposite. He is fitting for us 
because we're so bad. He is fitting for us because 
God is so glorious and demands absolute perfection. So Jesus 
provides that. It says in verse 27, "...who 
does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, 
first for his own sins and then for the people's. For this he 
did once for all when he offered up himself." That's repeated 
several times from here on out to chapter 10. Once for all. See, we don't come at the Lord's 
Supper and re-crucify the Son of God. We come to remember God's 
grace. Later in Hebrews 10, He's going 
to say, in those sacrifices associated with the Old Covenant cult, there 
is a reminder of sins daily. You know what the Lord's Supper 
is? It's a reminder of God's grace. The author wants you to think 
of your priest. Not the man who sits in a box 
that you go and tell your sins to. But the man enthroned at 
the right hand of the Majesty on high, who is not only king 
and prophet, but is priest. He not only wears a crown and 
wears the prophet's mantle, but he is both victim and sacrifice 
in that grand act of calvary on your behalf. Brethren, get 
your minds wrapped around that. Let's just suppose for a moment 
you were out somewhere and you saw somebody who professed to 
be a Christian do something wrong. You might conclude, what manner 
of Christian is he or she? They did something wrong. Might 
be a good conclusion. Might be a horrible conclusion. 
You don't know that they repented. You don't know that they sought 
God's mercy. You don't know that they sought God's forgiveness. 
But how often do we meet professing Christians that couldn't give 
even the barest simplest explanation of what transacted at Calvary. We've become performance-based. 
As long as you do what we think you ought to do, you're a good 
Christian. But you can't define justification by faith alone. You don't have any inkling whatsoever 
of blood atonement. You don't understand what Luther 
called the great exchange? My sin heaped upon the Savior, 
and Him punished in my behalf, and His righteousness heaped 
upon the believing sinner. Why do we accept that? Because 
you see, we don't think doctrine is that important. Jesus thought 
it was important. He said to the Pharisees in His 
own day, unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins. Paul and Silas said to the Philippian 
jailer, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. 
And in order to actually comply with biblical commands, we need 
to wrap our minds around the gospel. Gospel influence, gospel 
enable. Peter T. O'Brien commenting on 
the Hebrews 7 text said, by contrast with the old covenant priesthood, 
Christ offered the definitive and ultimate sacrifice of himself 
once for all. He did not make an offering for 
himself, but of himself for the sake of others. A lot of good 
theology in that message. He didn't offer up sacrifice 
for himself, but of himself for the sake of others. Jesus, according 
to this section, is the surety of a better covenant. Hebrews 
7 and verse 22. Jesus is the surety of the better 
covenant which provides a better hope, and the mediator of a better 
covenant which was established on better promises. So go back 
to Hebrews 10. The apostle is calling you here 
to consider these two blessed facts, that you have boldness 
to enter the holiest, and that you have such a high priest over 
the house of God. Now, what's he say for us to 
do? The first is this, verse 22, let us draw near. With a 
true heart and full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled 
from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. I mentioned Paul as the author 
of Hebrews. There's a lot of debate concerning 
this. I think he is. For various reasons that we have 
rehearsed throughout Bible study on Wednesday night. If you disagree, 
well, that's just the way it goes. But something that you 
do notice here is something very Pauline. The Pauline triad. Faith, hope, love. Isn't that what Paul's about? Faith, hope, love. Isn't that 
what he says in 1 Corinthians 13? Faith, hope, love. Let us 
draw near, he says, with a true heart in full assurance of faith. We need to believe the message. 
We need to believe the gospel. We need to understand certain 
truths concerning Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Christianity 
is a message. Christianity must be believed. Christianity is a truth that 
we must, by the grace of God, wrap our minds around. But by 
virtue of that reality, draw near. Why do we live so far from 
God if we have access? Imagine sitting in the most holy 
place saying, boy, I'd sure like to go into the most holy place. 
How come only the high priest gets to once a year? Almost like, 
dude, you're in the holy place. You're there. Look around you. You ever been in that debate 
with an evolutionist? Where is the proof that God made 
the world? What else do you need? Look at 
that. Make one of those. Make this. Let's see evolution do that. Well, the very proof that we 
have access to God is what the Scripture testifies concerning 
Jesus. What happened at Calvary? Remember that veil was rent asunder? What's the lesson that we are 
to take from that? There is access to the Father 
through the blood of Jesus. We have access through His flesh, 
through His great redemptive act, which culminated in His 
blood shedding at Calvary. Let us draw near, he says. Christian, 
there's no reason for you to live in the ghetto. There's no 
reason for you to live out there. Remember, we learned something 
about the lizard last week. The lizard is found in king's 
palaces. There's a certain holy ambition 
there. The spider. We all hate spiders. We want 
to get rid of them. But the spider ends up in the king's palaces. 
We need to be more like that spider. We have this access. It is a perpetual and a continual 
disposition. Let's use it. How do we draw 
near? Do we go sit on top of Mount 
Sham and just close our eyes and hum? Is it all mystical? Is it all based 
on my feeling? How do we draw near? That Bible 
in your lap ought to be in your head and heart. Prayer ought 
not to be neglected. As you'll go on in a few moments 
to say, do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together. These 
are the means by which we draw near to God. I'm not saying you 
can't sit on top of Mount Shem and have a beautiful, relational, 
worshipful time with God. You can do that. God can visit 
you in a powerful way while you're mowing the lawn. Generally speaking, 
though, we find Him in the Word. We find Him in the preached Word. 
We find Him in the prayer closet. When you pray, go into your closet. The Father who sees in secret 
Why all the admonitions in the Scripture to use these things? 
Because that's where God is. Draw near, He says. Don't make 
peace with being far from God. This is a reality that can happen 
to Christians because we're lazy, or because we love our sin, or 
because we just get in a rut, or we just get complacent. We 
begin to accept this great distance. We might say things like, well, 
when I was first converted, boy, I was really on fire for the 
Lord. As if it's okay not to be on fire for the Lord now. 
You know that Paul was probably a Christian for about 30 years 
when he wrote Philippians 1.21, for to me to live is Christ and 
to die is gain. Fire burning out there. Why? Because he made it his aim to 
seek the Lord. to use the means, to read his 
Bible, to pray, to be along with other believers. Draw near, he 
says, with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having our 
hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed 
with pure water. These are truths already enacted. 
Look back at chapter 9, verse 12. Chapter 9, verse 12, Not 
with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered 
the most holy place once for all, having obtained eternal 
redemption. For if the blood of bulls and 
goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies 
for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood 
of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without 
spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the 
living God? You draw near by virtue of Christ's work at Calvary. You don't draw near because you 
deserve it. You don't draw near because you've earned it. Let 
me just tell you flat out, brethren, we're not on a barter system 
with God. We'll always lose. Every single time. We don't have 
enough assets to outdo the liabilities. We'll always come up short. God 
demands perfect obedience. He got that in the person of 
our Lord Jesus Christ. When you draw near, it's through 
blood. Just like in the old covenant, 
those things were cleansed through the sprinkling of blood. You 
don't enter into the presence of God without blood. Just reading a book this week, 
and the man mentioned how... I'm going to actually mention 
the book a few more times as we move on this morning. But the 
man mentioned how he had some experience with a pastor who 
was dealing with a person in his church that was a cutter. 
A cutter, somebody who cuts themselves. They're depressed, or they have 
issues, they have problems, and they think that somehow in the 
shedding of this blood, their problems are going to go away. 
The pastor was able to say, oh, there's blood necessary, but 
it isn't yours. It's the sprinkling of the blood 
of the new covenant. That's where there's power. That's 
how you draw near to God. Your conscience, your body, everything, 
the totality is cleansed. Some see here a reference to 
water baptism. I don't think so. Calvin and 
Gill both identify this cleansing of the body as the influence 
of the Holy Spirit of God Most High. In fact, Calvin says, what 
follows, our bodies washed with pure water is generally understood 
of baptism, but it seems to me more probable that the apostle 
alludes to the ancient ceremonies of the law. And so by water he 
designates the Spirit of God according to what is said by 
Ezekiel, I will sprinkle clean water upon you, the entirety, 
your body, your soul, Everything has been taken care of through 
the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. So, draw near. Don't stay away. Remember that veil that blocked 
access to the most holy place was only penetrated once a year. 
Not so in the New Covenant. You can live off with the Lord. 
This isn't mysticism. It's not humming. It's using 
the means that God has ordained and drawing near to Him. Secondly, 
we need to hold fast our confession. Notice verse 23, let us hold 
fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who 
promised is faithful. This isn't new. I believe one 
of the reasons that the book of Hebrews was written, because 
there was a lot of pressure put on Jewish Christians, those who 
believed the gospel. They were being tempted, they 
were being lambasted, they were being pressed to go back to the 
old covenant ceremonies. They're being told, hey, the 
temple's still there, the sacrifices are still being rendered. You're 
being disobedient. You need to go back to that way. 
So what's the apostle do? No. Hold fast. Don't go backwards. Go forwards. Continue on with 
Jesus. In Hebrews chapter 3. Hebrews 
chapter 3 at verse 6. It says, but Christ as a Son 
over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence 
and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end. Verse 14, for 
we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our 
confidence steadfast to the end. And then in chapter 4, verse 
14, we already saw it. Let us hold fast our confession. We need to do so without wavering. 
It means you need to believe the Bible. You don't question 
it. You presuppose it. It is true. It is axiomatically 
true. It is God speaking to you in 
this book. Don't question. Some of you young 
people, some of you children, you hear all these new religions, 
all these philosophies, you start to question the Bible. What about 
this? What about that? Take it from 
those who, by God's grace, are in the faith. Just believe what 
God says. Life will be much better. Much, much better. We need to 
hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering. That could 
be both subjective and objective. Hold fast the confession of our 
hope. That means persevere by God's grace in the faith. Don't 
give up. Don't give in. Don't stop. It's 
called a perseverance. Yes, there's going to be trials 
in your Christian lives. Yes, there's going to be difficulties 
in your Christian lives. Yes, there's going to be issues 
in your Christian life. Didn't the Master speak to this? 
He said, in this world, you're going to just have joy and happiness 
and nobody's going to mess with you. You're just going to sing 
zippity-doo-dah right on into heaven. There'll be bluebirds 
flying around your head. There'll be rose petals on the 
ground. Your foot will never have to touch this filthy earth 
because God's just going to waft you away. In this world, you 
will have tribulation. The language, the tribulation 
in view there, the flipsis is the idea of something in a vice. You guys that, you know, the 
garage is your shrine. You all got a vice there. You 
put it in there and you crank it. And what happens? The pressure 
holds it in place. In this world, you will have 
that. You will have pressure. You will have tribulation. You 
will have trial. I learned early on, even in a 
non-Christian family, life isn't fair. Asaph learned this according 
to Psalm 73. I looked at the wicked and they 
prospered. I looked at the righteous and they had nothing but problems. You will have tribulation. What's 
the Master going to say? But be of good cheer. I've overcome 
the world. Dare I say that's what the book 
of Revelation is all about? It is the tribulation of this 
world while the Master is enthroned on high, granting grace, spirit, 
power to His church to persevere in the midst of it. Hold fast. What are you going to do? Let 
go? Stop being a Christian? Go back on to hell? There could 
be an objective sense here as well. Hold fast your confession 
without wavering. Don't compromise doctrine. I 
think this is very important for a day and age like our own, 
where people want to compromise doctrine for the sake of unity. 
Love rejoices in truth, not in unity without truth. Don't compromise. Hold fast without wavering. If everybody else is doing this 
in the name of Jesus, that doesn't make it right. When did truth 
ever become democratic? There's a perfect illustration 
of this in the Old Testament. There's a prophet by the name 
of Elijah. And he is the one man who is 
maintaining faithfulness in the midst of gross idolatry. It's interesting, Ahab calls 
him the troubler of Israel. Ahab's put more trouble into 
Israel than perhaps any other king. And he calls Elijah the 
troubler of Israel. Well, he had about 850 prophets, 
false prophets, against Elijah. Do we side with the crowd? Do 
we side with the mob? Do we side with those who cut 
themselves and who bleed on themselves and engage in a frenzy to call 
upon their God? Or do we look to the one man 
who says, I believe in Jehovah. I believe in Yahweh of Israel. 
That He will consume this sacrifice and He will do it for His own 
glory. Brethren, truth is not democratic. It is not popular 
to hold certain truths today. In fact, in the world of ideas, 
you can hold just about anything except that intolerant, bigoted 
religion of Christ. I mean, how dare anybody ever 
exclude anybody else from the Kingdom of Heaven? Well, Jesus 
excludes people from the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus says, depart 
from me for I never knew you. Jesus said, I am the way, the 
truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except 
through me. Brethren, we need to hold fast 
the confession of our hope without wavering. Now notice the reason. 
Not because we're good holders fast, but because God is faithful. For he who promised is faithful. 
Don't doubt that. Don't discount that. Don't think 
there's a better way to approach God. Don't think that your innovations, 
don't think that your additions or your substitutions or your 
subtractions somehow enhance the biblical message. God is 
a sovereign God. God is engaged in saving those 
whom He has purposed. We need to be faithful to the 
Word that He has entrusted to us. And then the third exhortation. Those two are more vertical in 
nature. Let us draw near. Let us hold 
fast. Now he tells us to look to the 
horizontal. Let us consider one another. 
It's interesting, back in Hebrews 3.1, he uses the same verb, consider 
Jesus. Now he says, consider others. 
This is a powerful tonic and a powerful remedy to what is 
an otherwise selfish life. I don't mean to offend your delicate 
sensitivities today, but I suspect you're selfish. I suspect you're 
proud. I suspect you're arrogant. I 
think that very often we think no further than our own noses. 
Not just you, I'm there too. You know the old saying, you 
got one finger pointed out, you got three back? This is the perennial, 
annual, constant issue for the Christian, to be others-minded. Let us consider one another. You have access to God. You have a great high priest 
over the house of God, not so that you could be a selfish, 
proud, arrogant wretch, but that you may draw near to God. That 
you may hold fast the confession of your hope without wavering. 
And that you may consider others Look around you. There's more 
in this world than you. A man has well observed that 
when they finally do find the center of the universe, a lot 
of people are going to be shocked to realize that they're not it. Consider others. Think about 
someone else. Stir others up to love and good 
works. When you wake up in the morning, 
do you come to church because you know you're going to get 
blessed? Or because you can be a means of blessing to others? 
Are you going to talk to somebody perhaps you haven't spoken to 
for a while? Are you going to try and encourage someone? Are 
you going to love someone? It's not the Lord's Day. You 
missed that particular person. Go to prayer on their behalf 
the next day. Let us consider one another. 
Do all your prayers terminate on you? Do all your prayers end 
with you? Do you come to God with both 
hands outstretched so that you have more? Is there a place in 
your prayer closet for others? Men, do you pray for your wives? 
Do you pray for your children? Children, do you pray for your 
parents? Wives, do you pray for your husbands? Do we as the church 
pray for the governing authorities according to 1 Timothy 2? Something 
I've observed, it's a lot easier to complain about the civil government 
than it is to pray for them. You know what we're told in the 
Bible to do, though? Not to complain about them, but to pray for them. 
It's interesting, even the letter to the exiles in Babylon, pray 
for the peace of the city that you're in. They're living in Babylon, under 
pagan rule, in the exile of God, and God's word to them is, pray 
for the peace of that city. God forbade them to flee to Egypt. You carry through with the punishment 
that I'm inflicting. In fact, those who did go to 
Egypt, God said, I'm sending Nebuchadnezzar, my servant. He's going to grab you exiles 
from Judah and he's going to take you to Babylon. Brethren, 
we need to pray. Encourage. Love one another. 
Stir one another up to love and good works. We ought not to promote 
sin in each other. We ought not to promote the worst 
in each other. Hey, I'm going to do this because 
I know it really makes my dad mad. Yay! I'm going to do this because 
I know it just irritates my kid. I know my wife hates this, so 
I'm going to do this. What is that? That's not Bible. 
That's sin. We need to stir one another up 
to love and good works. He gives a negative and then 
a positive. Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together 
as is the manner of some, but rather exhorting one another. And so much the more as you see 
the day approaching. We talked about this on Wednesday 
night. You and I all love something. What do we do for that object 
that we love? We get near it. We like to be 
around it. We hopefully love our wives, 
so we want to spend time with them. We hopefully love our husbands, 
so we want to spend time with them. We love our children, so 
we want to spend time with them. We love our parents, so we want 
to spend time with them. I think that's the thrust of 
this exhortation, not forsaking the assembly of yourselves together. If you don't come to church, 
what's that say? It might indicate that you don't 
love the brethren. And if you don't love your brother 
whom you have seen, how can you love God whom you haven't seen? Philip Hughes comments, selfishness 
and divisiveness go hand in hand. For self-love breeds the spirit 
of isolationism. He who does not love his fellow 
Christians fervently from the heart feels no compelling need 
to associate himself with them. You don't really love the people. 
Sure, you're not going to miss anything, not being there. This 
is a tough passage, I must admit. Do not forsake the assembling 
of yourselves together. There's two extremes. On the 
one hand, this text has been marshaled to teach, you need 
to show up every time I tell you to show up. I'm the pastor, 
we're the elders, here's what we say, you need to jump through 
the hoops. It's been used as a method of control. That's one 
extreme. Hey, the church is going to play 
bocce balls on Friday night, and if you're not there, you're 
forsaking the assembling of yourselves together, and you are just wicked. That's a misuse of the text. 
That's to put it in the vice and say, say it! Say it! I want 
you to say it! But on the other hand, the very 
allusion to this text means you work for Religion, Inc. And you 
love to control people. And how dare you ever tell anybody 
that they ought to come to church? How dare you? Religion, Inc. You're a bad man. You like control. 
You want all those people to just show up and to give and 
to do what you say. Well, brethren, somewhere between 
those two extremes, we can apply this command. We're going to 
be in each other's presence, even though we're not perfect. John Owen made a very perceptive 
observation on this text. He says, you need to remember 
that perfection, freedom from offense, scandal and ruinous 
evils is not to be expected in any church in this world. What's 
he saying? There's no perfect church. God 
wants you to be in imperfect churches. God knows that everybody 
around you is messed up. God knows that everyone around 
you has issues. God knows that your elders are 
jacked up. Your deacon, messed up. God knows 
this, and yet He says, you need to be with one another. You get funky and weird when 
you isolate yourself. You get strange. You've all met 
them. People say, oh, I believe in 
Jesus, but I don't need the church. Yes, you do. We need to bump 
into each other. We need to pair off those rough 
edges. We need the camaraderie. We need 
the exhortation. We need the reproof, even though 
it's sometimes difficult to take. We need to be in the presence 
of other believers. Proverbs 18.1 says, A man who 
isolates himself seeks his own desire. He rages against all 
wise judgment. God didn't save you so that you 
could go lay on your couch and enjoy Christ's redemptive work 
and just slide on into heaven. He saved you so that you can 
come into local churches. You can try and identify needs. 
You can try to encourage people. You can try and stir one another 
up to love and good deeds. You can pray for the people. 
You can love the people. You can just be there. I said 
on Wednesday night, pastors don't need emails and flowers and cards. 
Just show up. Beautiful. Beautiful. Just show up. Oh, you're lowering 
the bar. You know what? Just showing up 
is a great means of encouragement. I've got to confess, my bar has 
been somewhat lowered over the years, and I hope it's more aligned 
to the Bible. I'm not suggesting that the Bible 
has a low bar. It's just we peg super-spiritualism 
as something that the Bible doesn't. The Bible is a lot more realistic 
document than we sometimes are. So this is what Paul says to 
us. You've got all these encouragements. Here's what I want you to do. 
Oh man, here he comes. Duty. Yeah, this is horrible, 
isn't it? Draw near to God. I'm being facetious, 
kids. Draw near to God. That is a blessed 
privilege. Hold fast the confession of our 
hope. Getting to align ourselves with 
the reformers and the Puritans and the martyrs of the past. 
What greater and more nobler thing could there be? Spurgeon 
said the Bible is a blood-soaked book. Not just the blood of Jesus, 
but the blood of martyrs and confessors and reformers. What 
better thing than to stand in the heritage of those godly men 
and hold fast our confession of hope without wavering? And 
then to consider one another? To love in good words? To look 
out at somebody else for a change? There's, as I said, a great tonic 
in that. You know what's one of the best 
things when you're depressed? Go serve someone else. Get your 
mind off of you. The mind will occupy you constantly. Go serve someone else. This text highlights what C.J. 
Mahaney calls in a current book, living the cross-centered life. Yes, you need to do these things, 
but it's under the very shadow of Calvary itself. Live a cross-centered 
life. I just want to recommend that 
book. It's a little brief book. Very 
good. Living the Cross-Centered Life. He says when we focus on 
the gospel, it guards us from three problems that often happen 
to Christians. We're coming to a close. I know 
it's hot. I realize that. Do you know how hot it is in 
here? Yes, I do. I really do. Three things focusing 
on the cross will avoid, or hopefully. One is emotionalism. We gauge 
our spiritual vitality by how we feel. That's wrong. You know what, brethren? You're 
not always going to feel great. Look at Psalm 42 and 43. Why 
art thou downcast, O my soul? Hope thou in God. Look at Paul. He had a thorn in the flesh. 
He says, I prayed three times for the Lord to remove it. He 
didn't say, I went out and said, yippee-ki-yay, I've got the thorn 
in the flesh. There is pain in this world. You will have tribulation. There's 
loss. There's suffering. There's trial. Because I feel bad, my relationship 
with God is severed? No. Hopefully, secondly, it keeps 
us from the real live issue of what's called legalism. Rest 
assured, brethren, when you stand before God on Judgment Day, it 
is not what your hands have done that can save your guilty soul. 
You need to take the hymn that says, Nothing in my hand I bring, 
simply to thy cross I cling. You need to look to that cross. 
Foul I to the fountain fly, wash me, Savior, or I die. There is 
not a one of us who will ever stand before God and God will 
say, well, that is really excellent. That you performed well, you've 
done thus, you added circumcision to your profession, you've engaged 
well, well done. No. It is by virtue of Christ's 
finished work. We saw that in Galatians 2.21 
a few weeks ago. If righteousness comes through 
the law, then Christ died in vain. And the third thing that 
living a cross-centered life will hopefully keep us from is 
this perpetual condemnation. We think it sounds pious to say, 
I'm so sinful, I'm so bad. It's unbelief if we aren't fleeing 
to the cross. I'm not saying you're flippant. 
I'm not saying you dance around because you're such a great sinner. 
I'm not saying that. You're not supposed to continue 
in sin that grace may abound. to some people that haven't gotten 
a hold of the reality of the virtue of Christ's blood. That's 
not piety. That's unbelief. You're walking 
around constantly in a state of condemnation. You need to 
go to the cross. You need to go to Calvary. You need to say, 
fowl, I to the fountain, for I washed me Saviour, I die. You 
need to hear Paul's words in Romans chapter 8, verse 1. There 
is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 
I always think of the example of the prophet Isaiah. Woe is 
me, for I am undone. I am a man of unclean lips, and 
I live amongst a people of unclean lips. God deals with his sin, 
and then the triune God says, Whom shall I send? Who will go 
for us? Here am I. Send me. Not us. Well, I've got to wait three 
hours, Lord, to make sure I really feel this forgiveness. I've got 
to wait 15 hours, Lord, to make sure I really read my Bible and 
I respond properly. Here am I. Send me, says Isaiah. He receives the forgiveness of 
sins and he acts upon it. It's not pious and godly to walk 
around saying, oh, I'm such a wretch. There are seasons, there are 
occasions, there are times when it's perfectly acceptable to 
say, oh, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this 
body of death? But you need to keep on. Thanks be to God through 
Christ Jesus our Lord. You need to believe the gospel. 
You need to believe in the blood of Christ. You need to believe 
that it cleanses us from all sin. And if you are here this 
morning, you haven't followed a word I've said, this might 
be the first thing I hope and pray you'll understand this day. 
You are a sinner, like us all. You have offended God in every 
point, like us all. You have been like a sheep that 
has gone astray, like us all. But God sent His Son to live 
in obedience to His law, to die as a sacrifice, and to rise again. 
The good news, the Gospel says, believe on Him and you will receive 
forgiveness of sins. That is great news. That is magnificent 
news. That is the most excellent thing 
you or I will ever hear. Not go out and do better, but 
flee to the One alone, save sinners from their sins. Please, listen. Please understand, please know, 
there is no salvation apart from Jesus Christ the Lord. You believe 
on Him, you believe what the Bible says, and you will be saved. Well, let us pray. Father, we 
thank You for Your Word and we thank You for the encouragements 
that we have to live the Christian life. And I pray that we would 
take these things to heart, that we would consider this access 
that we have into the holiest, that we would consider this high 
priest over the house of God, and that, Father, You would grant 
us the grace and the power of Your Holy Spirit to draw near 
to You, to hold fast our confession, and to stir one another up to 
love and good works. We ask that You would go with 
us now. We pray that You would watch over us the remainder of 
this day. We ask through Jesus Christ our 
Lord. Amen.