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We can turn with me in your Bibles 
to the book of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 10. Last Sunday morning, 
we looked at the warning against apostasy in verses 26 to 31. Tonight, we're gonna look at 
verses 19 to 25. This is not an exercise in a 
backward expositional series, but rather there is a twofold 
reason. The first place in the morning 
hour in our confession study, we consider chapter 13 of sanctification. And chapter 10 in the book of 
Hebrews 19 to 25 concerns that as well. And then secondly, last 
week I made the connection between 26 to 31. Apostasy is a reality. One of the ways, one of the means 
by which persons get to that particular point is to neglect 
the various exhortations that are given in verses 19 to 25. 
There are two encouragements and there are three exhortations 
given for the people of God. Those who disobey, those who 
neglect, those who forsake the three things that are indicated 
here run the risk of committing apostasy. So I thought it would 
be fitting for us to spend a little time just to unpack verses 19 
to 25 tonight. So I'll read the section, we'll 
pray, and then we'll look at what the Apostle intended for 
us. Beginning 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, and having a high 
priest over the house of God, 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. 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, we thank you for this section of Holy Scripture. We 
thank you for all of the Bible, all Scripture given by inspiration 
of God, profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction 
in righteousness. And we pray that you would thoroughly 
furnish each of us unto good works, that you would cause us 
to reflect upon not only the encouragements in the passage, 
but as well the exhortations, what the Apostle intends, for 
the people of God with reference to their lives and to their profession 
of faith. Grant us help from on high, grant 
us the Holy Spirit that we may understand the Apostle's argument 
here, and God, again, forgive us for all of our sins and anything 
that would darken our understanding. For certainly you have called 
us by grace, through faith, in Jesus Christ. You have supplied 
all the resources necessary for pilgrims in this world. And we 
would pray even now, Lord God, that this passage would be a 
great encouragement to our hearts and it would spur us on to love 
and good works. And we pray these things through 
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Now, this particular passage 
is structurally similar to what you've already seen in Hebrews 
chapter four. If you want to turn back there 
for just a moment, because the apostle has a particular method 
that he engages in in this section. In chapter four, he gives encouragements 
and exhortations. In chapter 10, he gives encouragements 
and exhortations. And these bookend what he's discussed 
concerning the priestly office of our Lord Jesus Christ. So 
in chapter four, verse 14. He says, 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 
going over to chapter 10, it's the same sort of a structure, 
the same sort of a pattern. He's discussed in great detail 
from chapter 5 at verse 1 to chapter 10, verse 18, the priestly 
office of our Lord Jesus Christ. He has provided that doctrine. 
He has provided that teaching. He has set forth the supremacy 
and superiority of Christ over the prophets, over Moses, over 
Joshua, over the old covenant system. And here in chapter 10, 
19, he begins with, therefore, In other words, he comes to apply 
the doctrine that he has been teaching and preaching to these 
people. And as I said, he gives two encouragements 
to the people of God, and then he gives three exhortations. 
An encouragement is just that, something that should feed our 
soul, something that should give us hope, something that should 
cause us to be content, something that should bring great balm 
and help to us. And then these exhortations are 
commands, they are specifications, they are things that the people 
of God must undertake. And as we mentioned last Sunday 
morning, those who neglect these run the risk of committing the 
apostasy that is demonstrated in chapter 10, verses 26 to 31. 
So let's look first at the two encouragements for the people 
of God in verses 19 to 21, and then secondly the exhortations 
to the people of God in verses 22 to 25. Now notice the two 
encouragements. We see that in verses 19 and 
20 is the first, and then the second is in verse 21. And the 
first is we have access to the Holy of Holies. Verse 19 says, 
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. This has always been the 
desire of the creature who comes to understand who God is. Psalm 
15, we read it at the outset of worship. David says, Lord, 
who may abide in your tabernacle? Who may dwell in your holy hill? 
He repeats this in Psalm 24 verse 3, who may ascend into the hill 
of the Lord or who may stand in his holy place. We need to 
appreciate that access to God is one of the best. Well, it 
is the best thing that the creature can ever have. The Lord God made 
us for communion with himself. The Lord God made us for that 
intimacy and that union with himself. And yet we like sheep 
have gone astray. So the perennial question is, 
who may abide in your tabernacle? And the persistent problem is 
our sin. But as he's made clear in chapter 
5, verse 1, to chapter 10, verse 18, Christ has dealt with the 
sin problem. Christ has obliterated it through 
his life, through his death, and through his resurrection. 
It is through the blood of Jesus Christ that we now have access 
into the very presence of God Almighty, and that's the emphasis 
of the apostle, in this particular place. Therefore, brethren, having 
boldness, to enter the holiest." Now, the holiest there is the 
Holy of Holies. Remember, he's already discussed 
the tabernacle and the temple prior to this particular point. 
Simply put, the tabernacle and then the temple was a place where 
God was met by his people. There was an outer place that 
was called the holy place, and then you had the holiest or the 
holy of holies. And into that particular place, 
one person went one time a year. On the day of atonement, the 
high priest would go in there, he would make atonement for Israel, 
then he would confess the sins of Israel over the scapegoat, 
and then that scapegoat would be driven out into the wilderness. 
But persons didn't have free access into the holiest. Persons 
couldn't just say, well, you know, I want to go meet with 
God today and enter into that place. In fact, the priest had 
to go through certain things before he went into the Holy 
of Holies. And in order to do so, he had to go with blood and 
he had to sprinkle that on the mercy seat. Well, here we have 
free access because of what Christ has accomplished on our behalf. that therefore indicates that 
this is in fact concrete application following the explanation of 
Christ's priestly office. The boldness in view is that 
same boldness that he's already specified in Hebrews 4.16. We have boldness in contrast 
to the legal prohibition of the Old Covenant. In the Old Covenant, 
you and I wouldn't have just wandered in to the Holy of Holies. 
we have now access in light of what Christ has accomplished. 
And as well, we have boldness in contrast to the dread and 
the fear that the people of God had in the old covenant. Look 
at chapter 12 in the book of Hebrews for just a moment. Verse 
18 of chapter 12, for you have not come to the mountain that 
may be touched and that burned with fire and to blackness and 
darkness and tempest and the sound of a trumpet and the voice 
of words so that those who heard it begged that the word should 
not be spoken to them anymore. For they could not endure what 
was commanded. And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, 
it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow. And so terrifying was 
the sight that Moses said, I am exceedingly afraid and trembling. 
Well, there's a marked contrast between that and what we have. 
The apostle says we have this boldness to now enter in to access 
that holiest, that place where God dwells. John Owen says, whatever 
was typically represented in the most holy place of old, we 
have access unto. That is, unto God himself, we 
have an access in one spirit by Jesus Christ. And then the 
specific means by which we access it is here summarized by the 
apostle after having spent a lot of time amplifying the priestly 
office of Jesus. He says, having boldness to enter 
the holiest by what? By the blood of Jesus. So you 
don't just wander into the presence of a holy God. Israel learned 
that in the book of Leviticus. The tabernacle is built, the 
Shekinah glory of God has come down upon it, and even Moses 
himself cannot enter into that place. Then comes the book of 
Leviticus, which provides the instruction on how sinful man 
enters into the presence of the living and true God. And it's 
through blood. In that particular covenant, 
it was typical. Here, it is realized, it is anti-typical, 
it is the blood of Jesus Christ that secures us access into the 
very presence of God Almighty. Now, if we were a black church 
in Southern California, this might be a good time for the 
preacher to say, now, can I get an amen here? We have access 
by the blood of Jesus Christ. He doesn't shed His blood and 
bring us forgiveness of sin and impute His righteousness to us 
so we can stay far from Him. He has provided access. And one 
of the exhortations is, is that we utilize the access that has 
been provided to us. Brethren, we have been blessed 
beyond measure. We have the very holiest opened 
up by the blood of Jesus Christ. And more often than not, because 
of our laziness, because of our waywardness, because of our love 
of sin or whatever it may be, we do not utilize what Christ 
has secured with his own precious blood. The emphasis of the apostle 
is to encourage the people of God that we have boldness to 
enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus, verse 20, by a new 
and living way, which he consecrated for us through the veil that 
is his flesh. Now this emphasizes the incarnation 
of our Lord Jesus. In order for him to live in obedience 
to the Father's law, in order for him to render that sacrifice 
of substitution on the cross and bear the wrath and fury of 
God for us, he had to assume our humanity. And so the second 
person of the Trinity does that. He comes into this world. He 
takes on our humanity. The confession of faith says, 
with all the essential properties thereof, and common infirmities 
thereof, and yet without sin. The book of Hebrews already highlights 
this in chapter 2. He takes on the seed of Abraham 
by becoming one of us. And here specifically, it is 
an encouragement to the people of God by a new and living way, 
which he consecrated for us through the veil that is his flesh. Now that veil language is a bit 
difficult in this particular context, but what I think he's 
getting at is that veil that separated the holy place from 
the holy of holies. And we see at the death of the 
Lord Jesus Christ, that veil is rent in two. It's from the 
top to the bottom. It's not us going up to God. 
It's God coming down to us and receiving us unto himself. And 
that flesh of Christ has obliterated that veil so that now we can 
go into that holiest a holiest place and enjoy communion with 
the living and true God. John Owen said, and that which 
was signified hereby is only this, that by virtue of the sacrifice 
of Christ, where in his flesh is torn and rent, we have a full 
entrance into the holy place, such as would have been of old 
upon the rending of the veil. And then notice the emphasis 
here is not just on one among us, but upon all of God's people. You gotta see that marked contrast 
between old and new. When in chapter seven and eight, 
the author tells us that the new covenant is a better covenant, 
grounded on better promises, which affords a better hope, 
he's not kidding. In the old covenants, as I've 
said, one day out of the year, the high priest alone went into 
the holiest. But here in Christ, we have free 
access by his blood into the very presence of God almighty. 
That should encourage our hearts. The second encouragement that 
the apostle gives is found in verse 21. We have a great high 
priest. He says in verse 21, and having 
a high priest over the house of God. Again, this is parallel 
to what he does in chapter four. He's already expounded the significance 
of the priestly office of Christ in 5.1 to 10.18. And here specifically, 
he highlights that we have him. Now having is supplied and it's 
a legitimate supply. Having a high priest over the 
house of God. It is a blessed reality that 
Christ is our high priest, that Christ is the one who has secured 
access by his blood to furnish for the likes of you and I that 
free access into the very presence of God Almighty. So those are 
the two encouragements. We have access into the very 
holiest, the holy of holies, and we have this great high priest. 
Now let's move to the exhortations and see what his emphasis there 
is. In the first place, he says there is this necessity to draw 
near. Again, I mentioned last week, 
just incidentally, the faith, hope, love does indicate that 
Paul wrote this. That is a Pauline triad. He often 
uses faith, hope, and love. And you see that embedded in 
the text. Verse 22, faith. Verse 23, hope. Excuse me, verse 
24, love. These three things, the apostle 
emphasizes in his writings, and this is one of the places where 
we would go to prove Pauline authorship of the book of Hebrews. 
But with reference to this exhortation to draw near, to draw near. He's already provided it for 
us. He's already secured it for us 
by His blood. He's already consecrated this 
new and living way. And so the emphasis is that we 
utilize this. We improve upon it. We make good 
on what Christ has secured for us. It would be akin to a father 
or a mother giving a gift to their child, giving, you know, 
blessing and conferring good things upon them. And then the 
child not playing with it, not utilizing it. You say, well, 
I've already provided it. I've already secured it. I've 
already paid the money. I've already gone to the store. 
I've already taken care of all that. You need to go out and 
play with it. You need to enjoy it. You need to utilize it. You 
need to use it. That's the emphasis of the Apostle. 
Again, you can see how this is intimately connected to the apostasy 
warning in verses 25 to 26 to 31. If we don't utilize the free 
access that has been secured for us by our Lord Jesus, if 
we get comfortable living at a distance from God Almighty, 
then we run the risk of apostasy. Brethren, the best guard against 
apostasy is to maintain close and vital communion with our 
living God, that close and vital communion that's already been 
secured by our good and living God, by Christ the Lord through 
his blood. So the emphasis here is to come 
to God. John Owen again says, wherefore 
this drawing near contains all the holy worship of the church, 
both public and private, all the ways of our access unto God 
by Christ. Notice that this is a present. 
Now, there's a sense where we have not yet entered into all 
that is going to be ours by virtue of the redemptive work of Jesus 
Christ. There is an age to come. There is a consummate glory. 
There is a nearness to God that we haven't fully comprehended 
at this point because we walk by faith and not by sight. But 
this is a present emphasis when the apostle says, let us draw 
near. let us draw near, let us utilize 
this access that has been secured for us. I believe Owen is absolutely 
right. This drawing near contains all 
the holy worship of the church. In other words, it's something 
that we presently possess, it's something that we presently own, 
and it's something that we must presently utilize, not only for 
the glory of God, but for the good of our people. And brethren, 
before we move on, the blessed reality is we're not drawing 
near to God because you and I are great guys and great girls. We 
are drawing nigh to God because Christ is a great Savior. We 
are drawing nigh to God because He took on our humanity. We are 
drawing nigh to God because He suffered the wrath and fury and 
curse of God on our behalf. We're drawing nigh to God because 
he has secured for us those twin blessings and justification, 
forgiveness of sins and the imputation of righteousness. We draw nigh 
because God in his grace has provided us access in and through 
the Lord Jesus Christ. Now notice that he specifies 
the means by which we are to draw nigh. Verse 22, let us draw 
near. with a true heart in full assurance 
of faith." A true heart in full assurance of faith. Now, that 
might be a phrase that gives us a bit of cause for worry. 
Wait a minute. I know my heart. It doesn't always 
look like what the apostle is expressing in this particular 
place. I think the overarching concern is sincerity. Sincerity 
of heart. Those who have been conquered 
by God's grace, those who have been called out of darkness into 
marvelous light, we're not practically holy in terms of perfection, 
or we're not morally transformed under the place of absolute conformity 
under the Lord Jesus Christ, but because we're saved by God's 
grace, because of the Spirit in us, we have this sincerity, 
we have this lack of hypocrisy, we have this ability to draw 
nigh in full assurance of faith. He goes on to say, having our 
hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed 
with pure water. Notice the connection. He's not 
saying we have to have this done to us before we can draw nigh. 
This is settled. This has been taken care of. 
This is what the gospel is about. This is what cleansing through 
the blood of Jesus results in. The reality is, is that we have 
been washed. The reality is that we have been 
purified. The reality is, is that we have 
been cleansed. We've been washed in the precious 
blood of Christ. And as a result, we are to draw 
nigh unto him. And the emphasis in the passage 
is upon what Christ has secured, what Christ has provided, and 
therefore, brothers and sisters, let us utilize the access that 
God has secured for us through his beloved Son. Now notice the 
second exhortation. It's an exhortation to hold fast. Verse 23, let us hold fast the 
confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised 
is faithful. Now, this is a continual emphasis 
in this epistle. As I tried to explain last Sunday 
morning when we looked at the apostasy passage, remember the 
context. I'd really love to do this right 
now. Who remembers the context and what was going on in the 
scenario just to see if anybody paid attention last Sunday morning? 
But the context, he's writing to Hebrews, he's writing to Jewish 
Christians, professors of Christ that happen to be Jews. And the temptation for these 
Jews, prior to the destruction of the temple in AD 70, was to 
go back to the temple. It was a very difficult thing 
for them in light of friends, family, business associates. I mean, some of you probably 
can relate to some degree or other. You belong to a religious 
community and every deviation or any deviation from that community 
is looked upon with frowns. It's looked upon with great suspicion. 
Well, imagine you're a first century Jew and you have sided 
with Jesus Christ. You are now confessing him as 
the Messiah. Your fellow Jews are not. Your 
fellow Jews have rejected. Your fellow Jews have resisted. 
And your fellow Jews are probably not real happy that you are now 
going after this Nazarene. And perhaps they will cut you 
off in business dealings. Perhaps they will cut you off 
in a religious sense. Perhaps they will no longer have 
any intimate relationship with you unless you forsake that Nazarene 
and you come back with us to the temple and you bring your 
goat, you bring your bull, you bring your lamb, and you bring 
it and you sacrifice it the way a good Jew does. There was this 
pressure upon them. And so the emphasis, a recurring 
emphasis in the book of Hebrews is on the professing people of 
God to hold fast to their confession. Go back to chapter 2. Chapter 
2, just to rehearse these quickly, because I think this is the most 
important thing. And it should be obvious why this is important 
relative to the sin of apostasy. If we do not hold fast, we fall 
prey to committing apostasy against God. But if you look at chapter 
2, verse 1, therefore, we must give the more earnest heed to 
the things we have heard, lest we drift away. We must give the 
more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift 
away. And I love the language that he utilizes there. I mentioned 
last week. It's probably not the case that apostates wake 
up on Sunday morning and say, that's it, I'm done. It's over. I'm no longer going to worship 
Jesus. I'm no longer going to serve the Lord God most high. 
It happens in steps. It's a process. A person gets 
to that point after having drifted away. They don't do it overnight. It's by small steps. They stop 
reading the Bible. They stop praying. They stop 
going to church. They absent themselves from the 
supper. They no longer have any communion or connection with 
the people of God around them. There's a drifting away. And 
the end result is ultimately apostasy or defection from the 
glory of God in the gospel. We see it as well in chapter 
3 at verse 6. Chapter three, verse six, but Christ as a son 
over his own house, whose house we are if, notice the if, we 
hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm 
to the end. Chapter four, verse one, therefore, 
since a promise remains of entering his rest, let us fear lest any 
of you seem to have come short of it. You see it there in verse 
14, we've already read. Let us hold fast our confession. Chapter 10. I'm sorry, yeah, 
chapter 10, verses 35 and 36, later on in the chapter. 10, 
35, therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great 
reward, for you have need of endurance, so that after you 
have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. For 
yet a little while, and he who is coming will come and will 
not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith, but if anyone 
draws back, my soul has no pleasure in him. See this recurring emphasis? 
It makes sense. These Jews that had professed 
Jesus are finding great pressure amongst family, amongst friends, 
amongst business associates. They are being pressured with 
leaving the Nazarene and going back to Moses. Now, Moses isn't 
bad. Moses is great. But Moses was 
a covenant that has been surpassed by the Lord Christ, who is superior. And that's the groundwork that's 
already been laid in the book of Hebrews. So we are to not 
only draw nigh, but we are to hold fast and that's the emphasis 
there in verse 23. Let us hold fast the confession 
of our hope without wavering. Now that's tough and absolutely 
demands grace and so therefore we ought to be those who are 
indebted to God Most High. Christ in John 15 said, apart 
from me you can do nothing. Holding fast the confession of 
our hope, we depend upon Jesus. We depend upon the Holy Spirit 
of the living and true God. There is no sanctification. There 
is no growth. There is no perseverance. There 
is no good thing in the Christian life apart from the Christ of 
the Christian life. It's by virtue of his death and 
resurrection that we accrue these benefits. and therefore we need 
to live in close communion with our beloved Savior. But notice 
the security that we have in this statement. Verse 23, let 
us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for 
he who promised is faithful. He who promised is faithful. 
Now, brethren, I would suggest there's probably gonna be wavering. 
I hate to burst your bubble, but there just might be a little. 
It's not always the case that we are just resolute like our 
Lord Jesus. Remember that bit in Luke chapter 
nine, he set his face like a flint to go to Jerusalem. We don't 
do that. We are not steadfast. We are 
not the sorts of people that are described there in Psalm 
15. You know who Psalm 15 is about, right? It's about Jesus. 
Jesus is the one who fulfills all the stipulations in Psalm 
15. He ascends into the very tabernacle of God most high. 
And by virtue of his graciousness to us, he brings us along with 
him. We enter in by virtue of His righteousness that is specified 
there in Psalm 15 and again in Psalm 24. But with reference 
to our perseverance, with reference to the confession of our hope 
without wavering, we need to understand and realize that God 
is faithful. God is not gonna let anything 
come between us and him. God is not going to lose one 
for whom Jesus died. God is on our side. And if that 
is the case, what can man do? It's Paul's argument in Romans 
chapter eight. If God before us, who can be 
against us? And that's what we need to consciously 
consider as we move our way through this world, persevering by God's 
grace. We draw near because of the blood 
of Jesus. We persevere and hold fast our 
confession because of the faithfulness of God. I have many passages 
here concerning the faithfulness of God. We could be here another 
hour just rehearsing the statements in scripture that highlight the 
faithfulness of God. Deuteronomy 7, 9. Deuteronomy 
32, 4. Psalm 145, 13. 1 Corinthians 1, 9. 1 Corinthians 
10, 13. 2 Corinthians 1.18, 1 Thessalonians 
5.24, 2 Thessalonians 3.3, 1 John 1.9. He's what? Faithful and 
just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 
And those are just a sampling among many that the Bible sets 
forth. Brethren, it is a good fight 
because ultimately it is God's fight and God will see us through. We simply need to cast ourselves 
upon him because ultimately he cares for us. Two passages in 
the context or in the book, however, highlight this faithfulness of 
God. Turn to Hebrews chapter 6. Hebrews chapter 6. If I were to ask you, what was 
a significant thing that occurred often in early Christian art? I suppose some would say the 
fish, others perhaps might say the cross, but I wonder if any 
of us would say the anchor. It was the anchor. Anchor was 
a prevalent piece of Christian art in the early church. And 
I think it's based on this passage in Hebrews 6. Christ is, God 
is the anchor of the soul of the believing sinner. Verse 13 
in Hebrews 6, For when God made a promise to Abraham, because 
he could swear by no one greater, he swore by himself, saying, 
Surely, blessing, I will bless you, and multiplying, I will 
multiply you. And so after he had patiently endured, he obtained 
the promise. For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for 
confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. Thus God, determining 
to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability 
of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath." Now, God doesn't 
make an oath for his benefit. You know, when we swear an oath 
in a courtroom, it's to affirm or attest that we will tell the 
truth. God is Lord God of truth. The 
oath that he swears isn't for him. It's not to keep him on 
track. It's not to keep him, you know, 
honest. It's for our benefit. This is the emphasis of the apostle. 
Men indeed, verse 16, swear by the greater and an oath for confirmation 
is for them and an end of all dispute. Thus God determining 
to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability 
of his counsel confirmed it by an oath. It's like he couldn't 
say it any stronger. God goes over and above and beyond 
the call of duty to assuage any fears in our hearts that he's 
ever going to start something with us and not see it through 
to the end. That would simply be ungodly 
on his part. So he confirms it by an oath, 
he swears by his own name, and then in verse 18 it says that 
by two immutable, unchangeable things, in which it is impossible 
for God to lie, we might have strong consolation who have fled 
for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope 
we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and 
which enters the presence behind the veil, that's the holiest, 
the holy of holies, where the forerunner has entered for us, 
even Jesus, having become high priest forever. according to 
the order of Melchizedek. And then one other in the Hall 
of Faith, in Hebrews chapter 11. Hebrews chapter 11, again, 
just underscoring the faithfulness of God relative to the patriarchs. Hebrews chapter 11, verse 11. By faith, Sarah herself also 
received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when 
she was past the age, because she judged him faithful who had 
promised. So in the first place, we are 
to draw near because we have access. In the second place, 
we're to hold fast the confession of our hope because God who has 
promised is faithful. And then thirdly and finally, 
in terms of the exhortation, we are to consider one another. 
We are to consider one another. And that's what he emphasizes 
there in verse 24. Let us consider one another in order to stir 
up love and good works. The believer is called to consider 
Jesus in chapter three at verse one. Here he's called to consider 
other believers. You know, in my history as a 
pastor, you know, you meet people and they say, well, you know, 
I don't always get something out of church. Not anybody here, 
obviously. Everybody here always gets something 
out of church, right? But, you know, I've met with 
people and I just get nothing out of it. Do we ever think that 
I can bring something to the table? You know, we just come 
to church for what we get. You know, that's how marriage 
is going nowadays. You know, everybody enters in 
just for what they can get. Marriage is about what we can 
give. You say I do to somebody so that you can serve them, so 
that you can love them, so that you can give yourself to them. 
What happened to that sort of a concept within the context 
of the church? It's all about us. Well, they 
have to have great nursery care, they have to have great programs, 
they have to have great preaching, everything has to be designed 
to serve me. Do we ever think that somebody 
might benefit today from me being in church? I might be able to 
speak a kind word, an encouraging word, I might be able to say 
to someone, you know, I'll pray for you this week. That might 
go a long way to encourage the heart of our fellow. Do we consider 
that? That's what the Apostle says. 
Let us consider one another. Let us think about others. Let 
us not be consumed with that unholy trinity of me, myself, 
and I. Let us not be the typical narcissist. Let us not be the guy, narcissist, 
that looks in the water and just gazes about how beautiful and 
lovely and wonderful he is to the neglect of everything around 
him. Brethren, we are not supposed to be that way. We're to consider 
others. We're to consider that if I'm 
absent from the life in the context of the local church, I may bring 
discouragement to people. I may not be there to be a boon 
to others. We need to consider actively 
how it is we can stir one another up to love and peace. good works. That doesn't mean we get everybody, 
we peel off on the side and we say, okay, I've got 15 ways that 
you can stir me up to love and good works, or I've got 15 things 
that I want to say to stir you up to love and good works. That's 
not the point. The point is that we love each 
other, we want to be with each other, we want to encourage one 
another, and we want to help one another. I know that may 
seem a bit countercultural and revolutionary, but that's God's 
purpose within the context of the local church. In fact, go 
back to chapter 3 for just a moment, because this emphasis has already 
come out. In chapter 3, verse 12, beware brethren, lest there 
be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from 
the living God. This apostasy that is later explained 
in chapter 6 and 10. but exhort one another daily 
while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened through 
the deceitfulness of sin." That is a reality. None of us were 
designed to live on our own as Christians. He who separates 
himself, according to Solomon in the book of Proverbs, seeks 
his own desire. And that is not good and godly. 
We are told, as God's people, having been encouraged that this 
access has been secured by the blood of Jesus, that we have 
such a high priest. We are called to draw near to 
God. We are called to hold fast our confession. And we are called 
to not only think about ourselves, but to actually think about others 
within the context of the church, and to figure out ways that we 
can stir them up to love and good works. Well, nobody ever 
stirs me up to love and good works. Then break the vicious 
cycle and do it. Either you're part of the solution 
or you're part of the problem. Isn't that the way we are? Unless 
somebody does it for me, I won't do it for them. Unless somebody 
stirs me up, it's not for me. Nobody likes me. Okay, so the 
right response is to not like anybody else? What's the end 
game with that kind of logic? I don't know what you're gonna 
end up with. This is not good. We're supposed to actually do 
what God says. And God says to us, we're to 
consider one another within the context of our local church. 
Now, certainly you can do it outside the context of the local 
church. By all means, go out and stir 
up everybody. That would be a great calling 
for any of us. But within the context of the 
church, the people that we eat the bread and drink the cup with, 
the people that we sing with, the people that we pray with, 
the people that we hang out with, there ought to be in us this 
desire to help them insofar as we can. See, there's this mindset 
that unless I'm a preacher, unless I'm a missionary, there's nothing 
really I can do in the context of the church. I got something 
you can do, show up. Just come. It encourages me. 
It really does. It just encourages me. Somebody 
doesn't show up that typically shows up. Do I call them? Because 
it almost seems cultic like I'm checking. It's not. I want to 
know. Why weren't you at church? Why didn't you come to the supper? 
You know, in my home, if one of the five kids didn't come 
down at dinnertime, I'd probably go upstairs and say, what are 
you doing? It's dinnertime. Come and eat. Right? Not because 
I'm mad at them or hate them, but because this is a time for 
family communion, and intimacy, and union, and discussion, and 
love, and the expression of all good things. Brethren, we're 
to stir one another up to love and good deeds. And notice, he 
says, 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. Now, the logic 
is airtight, isn't it? We can't consider one another. 
We certainly can't stir them up to love and good deeds if 
we're not with them. You see that connection, right? 
24 and 25 go hand in glove. In order to consider one another, 
in order to stir one another up to love and good deeds, the 
implication, the presupposition, or the assumption is, is that 
we will actually be together. And so the prohibition of verse 
25 is to not neglect the place where God calls us to gather. 
Don't forsake the assembling of yourselves together as is 
the manner of some. Some of these professing Jewish 
believers had started to drift away. Some of them had started 
to absent themselves from the house of God. Some of them were 
not present among the people of God and therefore they were 
negligent in considering one another and stirring up others 
unto love and good works. This happened then, it happens 
now. This drifting away, this easy approach, this, oh, I don't 
know, all I need to do is go once on Sunday. I've met that 
over my 22 years as a pastor as well. Well, the Bible doesn't 
command an evening service. Okay, but people that are blood-bought 
like to worship God. That's what I think. I was taught 
a very simple approach to Christianity. Whenever the church doors are 
open, you show up. And that's always served me well. 
It's always been a help to me. Well, I don't feel like it. Who 
cares what you feel like? Do you live based on feeling 
everywhere else in the world? I don't feel like getting up 
on a Monday morning and going to work sometimes. I actually 
take Monday off, so perhaps that's not the best analogy. Tuesday, 
do I just not go? Do you really live that way? 
Do you just tell your employer, I didn't feel like coming to 
work. I just didn't feel like showing up. And yet somehow that 
obtains in the context of the local church. It's okay when 
it comes to Sunday and it comes to God. We'll just say to God, 
I just didn't feel like coming, so I didn't come. Are you kidding 
me? You would be fired from any decent 
employer anywhere in the lower mainland if you live that way. 
God graciously doesn't fire you, and we ought to praise him for 
that. But notice the emphasis. We need to 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. Chrysostom, 
that silver-tongued preacher in the early church, said he 
knew that much strength arises from being together and assembling 
together. For as iron sharpeneth iron, 
Proverbs 17, 17, so also association increases love. For if a stone 
rubbed against a stone sends forth fire, how much more soul 
mingled with soul. It's a great, great observation 
on this particular passage. Now, Owen suggests that some 
of the reasons why this was happening in the early church, at least 
with reference to these Jews, is first of all, fear of persecution. Well, if we don't go to church, 
we won't be there when the Gestapo runs in there with guns and arrests 
people and hauls them off. So there was this fear of persecution 
that perhaps weighed upon the heart and the mind of people 
that they were afraid and so therefore they wouldn't go. Brethren, 
we obey God. We let God take care of all that. 
We're not supposed to be afraid of persecution. Now that doesn't 
mean we walk out and say, please persecute me. But on the other 
hand, as God's people in this world, doesn't Paul lay down 
the mandate in chapter 3 of 2 Timothy? All who desire to live godly 
in Christ Jesus will be what? They will be persecuted. When 
you signed on the dotted line, you signed up for that. It's 
kind of like the guy that goes and joins the military and ends 
up in Timbuktu fighting enemies. He said, well, I didn't sign 
up for that. Well, actually you did. You put your name on the 
dotted line, you swore an oath, and now you find yourself in 
this situation. As the people of God, you signed 
up for that. And so the fear of persecution 
is not legit. As well, he speaks of spiritual 
sloth, laziness. Brethren, never underestimate 
the power of remaining corruption in your heart to overwhelm you 
with the feelings of, I don't want to go. I don't feel like 
going. Do what you know you're supposed 
to do. A fruit of the Holy Spirit is 
self-control. You control yourself. You don't 
let yourself control you. I don't know if that makes sense, 
but you do what you're supposed to do. Unbelief, working gradually 
toward the forsaking of all profession. You see how intimately connected 
these exhortations are to the section that follows in terms 
of the prohibition against or the warning against apostasy. 
If we're not drawing near to God, if we're not holding fast 
this confession, if we are not stirring one another up or considering 
one another, we run the risk of apostasy. That is an airtight 
connection in this particular passage. Now notice what he says, 
and we'll close with the exposition at this point. as you see the day approaching. The believer must exhort one 
another, which assumes association together. The believer must do 
so in light of the approaching day. If we ask the question, 
what is the approaching day? The history of interpretation 
has yielded a couple of different options. Some suggest it's the 
day of one's death. Others suggest it's the day of 
judgment, that final day when we will all be ushered in to 
the presence of Christ and give an account of deeds done in the 
body, whether good or ill. Others suggest, and I think it 
is this, the day of Jerusalem's destruction in AD 70. So that 
day is approaching and the The common approach to disaster and 
calamity is not what the apostle exhorts us to. Let me give you 
an illustration. Let's say that you knew that 
next Monday the world was going to end. What would you do? You 
would get your affairs in order, you would hang out with your 
family, you would, you know, do whatever. I don't know, maybe 
you'd run for the hills and try to find a place up north where 
you could hide. You might be inclined to skip 
church. Do you know what the apostle 
is saying? Never skip church. Even on the eve of the destruction 
of Jerusalem in AD 70, when the Roman armies will surround that 
city, desecrate its temple and utterly decimate that place. 
Don't miss church. I think we miss church for a 
whole lot of lesser reasons. I think we miss church for a 
whole lot of lesser reasons than utter calamity, catastrophe, 
devastation, and destruction. You ever considered that woman 
in Luke, that woman that was bound by this infirmity? It was hemorrhaging, is what 
the commentators tell us. She was a daughter of Abraham, 
and she's bent over. She's in bad and rough shape, 
and Jesus heals her. And everybody gets upset that 
Jesus healed her on the Sabbath. I mean, brethren, you might be 
a Pharisee if you get upset when Jesus heals somebody on the Sabbath. If that bugs you, you've got 
big problems. And of course, Jesus reproves 
them for that. But it is intriguing. Where is 
she when Jesus heals her? She's in the synagogue on the 
Sabbath day. She's not on her couch. She's 
not in her bed. She's not whining. She's not 
grumbling. She's not sniveling. She is in 
the place where she's supposed to be. We are not to forsake 
the assembling of ourselves together. Now, I realize there are persons 
outside of the Reformed community that think it's bondage. They 
think it's legalism. They think it's horrific to have 
a Sabbath and to actually exhort people to come morning and evening. 
You know, I don't personally care what they think, because 
the Bible tells us there is a Sabbath day to keep holy before our God. The Bible tells us that with 
reference to that Sabbath day, we're not to forsake the assembling 
of ourselves together, as is the manner of some. And especially 
when we see calamity coming, when we see catastrophe coming, 
when we see destruction coming, we're supposed to still go to 
church. It's a beautiful thing, isn't it? A beautiful thing. And I hope that all of us will 
see the connection to apostasy in the following section. John 
Owen finally says, whatever desolations and destructions may be approaching, 
our best and wisest frame will be to trust unto God in the discharge 
of our duty. Approaching judgments ought to 
influence unto special diligence in all evangelical duties. In 
other words, the catastrophe and the calamity and the devastation 
and the decimation doesn't argue for laziness on our part. It 
doesn't mean that, oh, well, you know, there's bad things 
coming, so I'm gonna, you know, I'm gonna sit in my living room today. 
No, according to Owen, I think that's the emphasis of the apostle, 
with this calamity coming, that is no excuse for you to absent 
yourself from the public worship of God. because it's in that 
context that you get to consider one another to stir them up to 
love and good works. If you are not doing that, you 
run the risk of committing apostasy as defined by the apostle in 
verses 26 to 31. Well, in conclusion, we ought 
to be encouraged by the present possession that we have. We have 
access unto the holiest and we have a great high priest. Secondly, 
we need to understand the present responsibility That is ours. We need to use the access we've 
been given. It has been purchased with precious 
blood. Doesn't that make a gift that 
much better? When you give something that's 
really expensive, it's not to show off, it's not to parade 
yourself, but you value that person so much that you're willing 
to spend that kind of money, that kind of work, that kind 
of effort. It costs the blood of the Lamb 
of God for us to have access into the very holiest. Are we 
not gonna use that? Are we gonna say, well, you know, 
I'd rather not. I'd rather live at a distance 
from God. I'd rather live on the fray. No, we would never say that in 
the context of somebody who had given us a gift. As well, we 
need to hold fast the confession of our hope. Brethren, you know 
what? One of the challenges that we face in our society, sexual 
ethics. what the Bible teaches about 
sexuality. If you would have told me 20 
years ago, this would be the battleground, I probably would 
have said, what? But by steps, by increments, 
this is becoming a battleground. You probably saw the opening 
of Chick-fil-A in Toronto the other day. The homosexuals were 
out there opposing it, protesting against it. It's a chicken sandwich. What are they going to do with 
the people of God who maintain that it's a sin and an abomination 
before God Almighty? Not because we're homophobic, 
but because we're theophobic, and we don't want the judgment 
and wrath and fury of God to come upon our fellows. We want 
them to repent. We want them to believe. We want 
them to know what the Corinthian, ex-sodomites knew. Such were 
some of you, but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were 
justified. It's a blessed reality. Brethren, 
this is an area that the church is incrementally starting to 
compromise. Even good denominations are getting 
close to this particular issue in a way that is very, very discouraging. to maintain that men are men 
and women are women is becoming a test of orthodoxy within the 
context of modern evangelicalism. We need to hold fast our confession, 
not because we're bigoted, not because we're Nazis, not because 
we're racist, not because we're homophobes, but because we're 
believers in Jesus Christ. And His law demands certain conduct 
from His creatures. And for us to renege on that 
is to compromise and to let go of the confession of our hope. 
Women in the pulpit! God forbids it! You're not supposed 
to preach if you're a woman. You're supposed to do anything 
else but preach the gospel in a church. Oh, you bigot! You, 
what's the word? I am a misogynist. Yeah. I mean, 
anymore, if I asked my wife to make me a sandwich, I'm a wife 
beater. I mean, this is where we're going 
and it's horrifying. And the church or professing 
church is capitulating. Brethren, we don't capitulate 
to Rome when they get rid of the doctrine of justification 
by faith. We don't capitulate to Rome when 
they pronounce papal infallibility. We don't capitulate to pietism. We don't capitulate to antinomianism. We don't capitulate to legalism. 
And we certainly don't capitulate to a federal government that 
wants to obliterate gender distinctions. Why anybody in their right mind 
in the professing church of Jesus Christ would kowtow on this issue 
is absolutely baffling to me. Brethren, it is going to be increasingly 
more difficult to hold fast the confession of our hope without 
wavering. And as well, we need to consider 
one another. Philip Hughes, in his excellent 
commentary on the book of Hebrews. If ever you read one commentary 
on the book of Hebrews, I would encourage you to read Philip 
Hughes. He says, 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. That's a very powerful and a 
pertinent statement with reference to this application. We need 
to be about others as well. And then finally, we need to 
appreciate that what is happening in terms of access with reference 
to our text, both the encouragement and the exhortation, is a present 
reality. He's not talking about access 
after we die and we enter into the presence of God into the 
holiest place. That happens in corporate worship. 
That happens in the public worship of the living God. If you doubt 
that, look with me at Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians chapter 
2, a very churchly book of the Bible. Emphasis much on the church 
of Jesus Christ. And in Ephesians 2, after having 
spoken of how God has brought nigh sinners through the blood 
of Jesus Christ, how God has brought together Jew and Gentile 
through the blood of Jesus Christ, He then celebrates the blessed 
access and privilege we have together, Jews and Gentiles. 
Verse 19 of chapter two, he says, now therefore. You are no longer 
strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints 
and members of the household of God, having been built on 
the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself 
being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being 
fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you 
also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in 
the spirit Where does God peculiarly dwell in this new covenant setting? 
He dwells in churches like this. He is with the people of God. 
The Spirit is in our hearts collectively as we gather. Most high God is 
among his people in this place. That is a great boon. If ever 
there's a thing or a Sunday morning where you say, I just don't feel 
like going. Remember, God's gonna be there. 
God is gonna be in this place. It may not be the Shekinah glory 
like they witnessed in terms of the tabernacle and temple. 
But brethren, we walk by faith, not by sight. Where is Jesus 
in Revelation chapter one? He's in the midst of the lampstands. The lampstands of the seven churches 
of Asia Minor. Where is Christ on Sunday? He's 
with us. Look at Hebrews chapter two. 
You know, sometimes you hear churches say, well, you gotta 
have a choir. You gotta have a choir director. We have a choir. We're it. We have a choir director. Jesus is it. Look at Hebrews 
chapter two, verse 10. For it was fitting for him, for 
whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many 
sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through 
sufferings. For both he who sanctifies and 
those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason 
he is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, I will declare 
your name to my brethren in the midst of the assembly. I will 
sing praise to you." Christ is in the midst of the assembly 
singing praise to the Father along with his blood-bought children. There is no greater privilege 
that you and I will ever have on this side of heaven than what 
is specified here in our text, having boldness to enter in to 
the holiest by the blood of Jesus Christ, our Lord, who has consecrated 
this new and living way, who has secured for us all of the 
benefits and the privileges of the children of God Almighty. 
Michael Morales in his excellent book on the book of Leviticus 
says, and so this heavenly reality is tasted and renewed liturgically 
in the corporate spirit-enabled approach of God's people as they 
ascend with Jesus to the heavenly Mount Zion, Lord's day by Lord's 
day through the new and living way, the veil of Jesus' flesh. Go to Hebrews 12, because again, 
I think people hear that sort of thing and they say, you know, 
that's just not been my experience. I find the preaching boring. 
I find the preaching long. I find the hymns outdated. I 
find there to be a lot of things that I don't particularly agree 
with. Brethren, it's not all about what you particularly agree 
with. It's all about what God has commanded 
and what we, by grace, are seeking to obey. But if you look at Hebrews 
12, I've already read the section where, in the Old Covenant, the 
saints were fearful of drawing nigh to Sinai. But in verse 22, 
and again, this isn't in the future in terms of Eschaton. It's not the future in terms 
of heaven. It is the church on earth worshiping the living God. 
Verse 22. But you have come to Mount Zion 
and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. 
to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly 
and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to 
God, the judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, 
to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood 
of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. The 
next time you wake up on a Sunday morning and you say, I don't 
feel like going to church, read this section in Hebrews 12 and 
see what you're missing if you do not come to church. Well, brethren, consider the 
encouragements, consider the exhortations, and by grace, persevere, 
endure, and contend earnestly. Because God Almighty is faithful, 
God Almighty is glorious, God Almighty has secured for us every 
spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. If you have 
not come to God through Christ, I exhort you to that end. Believe 
on the Lord Jesus Christ, turn from your sin, look unto him 
who is altogether lovely and chief among 10,000, that one 
who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, that one 
who lived for sinners, that one who died for sinners, and that 
one who was raised for sinners. Believe on him and you will have 
everlasting life. And as a believer in him, utilize 
the access, hold faster confession, and consider one another. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank you for your word. We thank you for the connection 
and the consistency that we find here in this section in Hebrews. 
And I pray, Father, that we would be encouraged at the reality 
that we have access to the holiest, that we have a high priest like 
Jesus Christ, our Lord. And Father, help us to be obedient 
with reference to the things commanded in this passage. And 
in this, may we find great joy. We know, Father, at times our 
flesh rails against such things, but when, by God's grace, we 
do what we're called to do, there is great blessing, there is great 
joy, there is great encouragement, and I pray that we would all 
know that, that we would all be helped and strengthened by 
your Spirit to do what we're supposed to in the context of 
our local church, in the context of our lives together with one 
another. I ask now that you would go with 
us, that you would protect us and keep us in this coming week, 
that we would know your nearness as our good, and that we would 
seek to glorify you. And we pray these things through 
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.