He Opened the Way

Hebrews 10:19 – 25

 

All too often we default to living life passively. We view things in our lives as merely happening to us, like we’re in the passenger seat of life. When things get hard, we complain and cry out, asking why is -this- happening to me. I used to be like that, and if I’m not careful, I can sometimes still fall back into the “why me” trap.

 

But a major mental shift happened for me, not long after I became your pastor here. I read a book for my Pastoral Ministry class at seminary, titled The Character of Leadership by former Gateway Seminary president Dr. Jeff Iorg.

 

Reflecting on the different ministry positions Dr. Iorg has had throughout his life, he said, “The ultimate reason God assigned me to any position was because he could best use that position, at that time, to accomplish his purpose of shaping me into the image of Jesus.”^[1]

 

You see that truth doesn’t just apply to ministry, it applies to every aspect of your walk with Jesus. When I stopped seeing my circumstances as things happening to me, and instead began seeing them as the means of God to teach me and shape me into Christ's likeness, my perspective shifted completely.

 

I began to view most everything that way. How is God using my marriage to make me more like Christ? How is God using my role as a father to continue shaping me into Christ’s likeness? How is God using my farming experiences, my ongoing education, my giftedness, and this wonderful ministry He called me to make me more like Jesus?

 

That understanding fundamentally changes how you receive information, and what you do with that information. I’ve spent that last four weeks preaching on various aspects of Christ and His atoning work on the cross for the sins of all who believe in Him: Jesus is God the Son, He is the Suffering Servant who paid the price for your sin, He is Christ the King who came in peace, and He is risen and his sacrifice accepted.

So today, the question becomes, what do you do with that information? If that’s who God is, then what must change in you? Our passage for today in the book of Hebrews begins to answer that question quite well. Let’s read God’s Word together, Hebrews 10:19 – 25.

 

Everything that I preached on over the last four weeks, and more, is covered from Hebrews 1:1 – 10:18. Christ’s divinity and messiahship, His sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins, His kingship, and His being raised from the dead and living forever. The only major thing I haven’t preached on that is in there is Christ as our great high priest forever.

 

Nobody knows for certain who wrote Hebrews, but the author does a masterful job in the first ten and a half chapters breaking down how Jesus Christ is the Messianic king whose coming was prophesied, and how Jesus Christ is the greatest high priest who sacrificed Himself, who gave His own body and blood rather than that of animals, for the sins of His people.

 

And that brings us to our passage today. When you see the word therefore in Scripture, it usually means that because of everything said before this, you should do what comes next. This paragraph in Hebrews is pulling double duty here, it’s a heavy duty, commercial grade hinge to the entire letter.

 

That “therefore” is carrying chapters of theology on its back. It concludes everything from before it that I just mentioned, and it launches the exhortation part of the letter. This isn’t merely an afterthought when taking in what Christ has done, this is what you must do when you receive the gospel, when you receive Jesus by believing in His name.

 

This is about how you respond to what God has done. A changed life is the inevitable response to believing the truth about everything that Christ has accomplished. Because of Christ, you already have what our passages says here.

 

Understand that when sin entered the world through Adam in the garden, humanity was cursed to be separated from God because God is holy. But God already had the plan on how redeem you, through Christ. Access is not something you can earn, rather because of Christ, you have access to God, you are no longer kept separate from God by your sin.

 

Our passage says that, “we have the confidence to enter the holy places.” In the tabernacle, and then the temple in Jerusalem, the Most Holy Place is where the ark of the covenant sat, it is where God’s presence would dwell here on earth. It was separated from the rest of the temple, and therefore the people by a curtain.

 

Only after sacrificing a bull for his own sins, and therefore purifying himself, could the Jewish high priest go behind the curtain to sprinkle the blood of the sacrifice on the mercy seat on top of the ark to make atonement for the sins of the people.

 

Because people are inherently sinful, and because animal sacrifice is insufficient, the priest had to offer these sacrifices, for himself and the people, yearly.

 

But the priests were cautious in entering the Most Holy Place, if they had done something incorrectly, or were hiding any sin in their hearts, they would drop dead in that place because God is holy, and the unholy cannot stand in His presence.

 

But our passage tells us, that because of everything that came before this, that by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that He opened for us through that curtain, and since we have a Great high priest over the house of God, we are to live differently.

 

By His blood, Jesus paid the price for your sins, so that you can approach the holy place, not an earthly temple, but God’s holy and heavenly presence without fear of death. Christ took your place on the cross, He shed His blood for you, because without blood there is no access to God.

 

It is the new way because it is the New Covenant, it is the new thing God has done in His creation to us back to Himself. Christ has opened the way into God’s presence through the curtain. I just touched on it last week in my sermon, but when Christ gave up His spirit on the cross, the curtain in the temple was torn in two.

 

Christ’s sacrifice opened the way, access to God comes by means of His flesh, His body, His death on the cross. The cross doesn’t just forgive and remove the guilt of sin, it removes the barrier to God Himself.

And it is the living way because, Christ is risen indeed, He lives on as priest forever. He is physically alive and seated in heaven and Christ is our priest who brings us into God’s presence, and keeps us there. Christ’s priesthood is active, ongoing, and effectual. He is all we need to have real access to God.

 

So, if that’s who God is, what must change in you? How you respond to all of that is important and our passage gives three ways, three imperatives, which are foundational to your walk with Christ.

 

These three lay the ground work for the rest of the exhortations in the book Hebrews, and show you what being led by Christ through the way He opened for you looks like. Yet these three are not disconnected ideas, they are one unified response to Christ.

 

The first is draw near to God. The language used here is the same language used in the OT for approaching God in worship. But back then, only the priests could approach God’s presence, and only once a year at that.

 

But because of what Christ has done on the cross, because He has permanently opened the way for you to enter the Most Holy Place, the presence of the living God, you can approach God without fear of judgement and condemnation.

 

Christ opened the way for you to approach God, so that in the name of Jesus Christ you can bring whatever you need to God. Your suffering, your pain, your guilt, your struggles, your temptations, your failures, your triumphs, your joys, anything and everything.

 

But don’t miss what I said about the language, Christ opened the way so that you can draw near to God, so that you can approach God in worship. Christ didn’t open the way for you to step in and out of God’s presence when it’s convenient or when you want to.

 

He didn’t open those doors back there so you can come worship here, together (that’s important I’ll get to it later) only on Sunday mornings. The way to approach God’s presence is always open to you now, and everything you do is offered up to God as a form of worship.

 

 

What a reality, that you can worship God not just in church on Sunday’s, but by how you live at home with your families, out and about with your friends, at work you’re your coworkers, in public with everyone else because you are always in His presence.

 

Isn’t that wonderful? Isn’t that great? Or, instead is it terrifying? When you realize that everything you do is a form of worship, that how you live out every aspect of your life is a form of worship, that should cause you to pause and reevaluate what you do and how you live. Does your life truly glorify God, or is there room for improvement?

 

 You see, because of what Christ has done the way to approach God has been opened, so our passage calls us to draw near to God, but there are two conditions this passage in Hebrews gives us.

 

It says in v.22, “let us draw near with a true (sincere) heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”

 

Entering God’s presence requires conversion, it requires being His child, born-again by faith in Jesus Christ. It requires justification by faith in Christ alone, because when you’ve believed in His name and received the eternal and free gift of salvation you have already been cleansed.

 

Instead of being ritually cleansed by sprinkling sacrificial blood on the altar, we are cleansed because our hearts are spiritually sprinkled by the real blood of Christ shed on the cross for our sins. This isn’t a physical, real washing of the body, but an internal, spiritual purification. There is nothing earned here, it is by Christ’s atoning sacrifice being applied to you.

 

But sometimes, even though the way is open, sin still gets in the way. Notice the same type of language used in 1 John 1:9. You are already made clean by the blood of Christ, but when you let sin get in the way of your coming to God, there’s only one way to approach Him, to confess your sins to Him, because He’s already forgiven you, because He is faithful.

 

Which brings me to the next imperative, the next way you are called to respond to Christ, and that is to hold on tight to the hope you have in Christ. Hold on without wavering, v.23 says.

No matter what life throws at you, hold on to the confession of your hope, hold on to your faith. When facing struggles, suffering, pain, failures, temptations, pain, when facing challenging circumstances in your life, hold on to your faith. That’s what we’re called to do. Not waver in our belief and faith in Jesus Christ.

 

But what if you feel like you don’t measure up, what if your faith feels feeble and like it’s going to crack? What if you feel like your faith isn’t strong enough to face whatever circumstance you’re facing? Let me tell you about a story I heard this week.

 

Picture two Hebrews in the land of Goshen, in Egypt, the night before the first Passover. And one is expressing how nervous he is about all the plagues they’ve seen, and now the angel of death is going to come and take the first born of every household in Egypt that doesn’t have the blood of the lamb brushed on their door frames.

 

And the other guy asks him why should he be nervous if he’s already put the blood of the lamb on his door frame like God said do through Moses? The first guy says of course he did, but it’s alright for the other guy to be confident, that guy has three sons while he only has one. He knows what God said, but still he’s terrified!

 

So the angel of death passes over the land that night, which guy lost his son? The answer of course is neither of them! Neither of them because death doesn’t pass over them on the grounds or the strength of the faith exercised by them, but on the grounds of the blood of lamb.

 

It’s not because your faith is strong that you are called to hold on to it without wavering, no it is because as our passage says for “He who promised is faithful.” You don’t hold fast because your faith is strong and stable, no you hold fast because God is faithful and He is good and He always keeps His promises.

 

Your perseverance in faith is grounded in God’s faithfulness, not your own determination or resolve. Jesus Himself is the one who opened the door for you to enter God’s presences, and it is Christ who keeps you. Look at John 10:27 – 30. You can hold on tight to your faith because Christ is the one holding on to you.

 

 

Now, the third part of your response to the work of Christ in your life, is where our passage turns from inward to outward. Actively and continually care for one another.

 

“Let us consider…” the Greek verb v.24 carries with it the concept of careful consideration, thoughtful attention, and deep concern. But what for?

 

It’s simple, to stir up, to spur on, to drive one another to a perpetual attitude of love toward God, His people, and His creation that is expressed in outward good deeds. It’s an intense emotion, though in this case it’s not a negative one. Christ opened the door to God’s presence, and you are to respond together, as one body of believers.

 

But how do you do that? How do you love your brother or sister in Christ and rouse them to do good works? Our passage answers that too, by not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

 

I cannot stress enough the importance of being plugged in to your local church. Your Christian faith is not meant to be passive, and it is not meant to be kept secret. You were never expected or asked to walk in your faith all alone. The Christian life is meant, it is designed by God, to be lived in community.

 

This isn’t about attending programs that the church puts on, this is about being the church, together. Do you come to church to worship God every Sunday? Great. Do you stay for Bible study? Awesome. Do you attend a mid-week Bible study or gathering of the church? Terrific.

 

Have you noticed someone who hasn’t been here in a while? Go visit with them. Send them a text, give them call, send them a note by carrier pigeon, I don’t care how, just reach out and remind them that they have a home, and that they are loved, and that they are missed.

 

Is there a believer you know of who doesn’t have a church to call home? Invite them. Do you know someone who needs to hear the good news about Jesus, someone who needs the gospel? Tell them about Jesus, and then bring them to church.

 

 

Corporate gathering is not optional—not really—it is God’s means of perseverance and sanctification in our lives. The church is not incidental, we don’t exist because we all thought it was good idea to get together. No, the church exists because it’s God’s instrument in this world.

 

Perseverance is secured by God, but it is driven by His methods, His means, His ways of perfecting our faith and preserving it until Christ returns. God preserves His people through His Word, through His Spirit, and through the gathered body of born-again believers, His church.

 

And notice the urgency in this. Encourage one another to keep coming together, week after week, day after day, keep being the church because Judgement Day is coming, Christ is coming back, and God has already set up His church as a way for His people to be ready for that glorious day.

 

Here’s the truth, God is not distant or inaccessible—even when it feels like it. Rather, through the finished work of Jesus Christ, His Son, He has opened the way for you into His presence and He faithfully holds His people there until the Day that Christ returns.

 

Since by the blood of Christ God has brought you into His presence and holds you there, stop living at a distance and draw near to Him, hold fast to your faith in Christ, and press into His people.

                           

You don’t just visit God anymore—you live in His presence, and you don’t walk alone getting there.

 

If you believe in Christ, God has already called you home to a big, big house, with many, many brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers in Christ. Stop running. Stop ignoring. Stop avoiding what seems like work to be a part of this family and instead embrace it, because God calls you to it.

 

This week, I’m keeping it real simple. Here’s your application, be the church God calls you to be.

 

Ask God to show you how you can stir up one another to love and good deeds, and encourage one another to keep walking together. If you don’t know how, then ask another believer in the church, that’s what they’re here for. And then, in the words of Nike, just do it.

 

[1] Jeff Iorg, The Character of Leadership, 6.