"Be Afraid" Sermon: Hebrews 10:26-31

“Be Afraid”

[Hebrews 10:26-31]

June 16, 2013 Second Reformed Church

            There is a good reason to be afraid of God:  God knows your heart.

            Last week, one of the things we saw is that as we draw near to God we must have a true heart – that is, we must have right doctrine – we must believe what the Bible says – especially about salvation through Jesus Alone, and we must have full assurance of faith – that is, we must believe what we believe sincerely.

            And we saw that there is a problem, because we must have both to draw near to God – it is possible to only have one or the other.  It is possible to know everything that the Bible says, to be able to explain all the doctrines of the Scripture and all the distinctive of our denomination and explain why we believe that our interpretation of the Scripture is the better one, and not believe that it is sincerely and necessarily true.  It is also possible to believe all kinds of things the Bible does not say – “God only wants us to be faithful, He doesn’t care what we believe,” “If we’re good enough, God has to receive us into the Kingdom,” “All religions lead to the same end – they are many paths to the same God,” and so forth – and be totally sincere in such beliefs, yet be wrong.  So, if we are to draw near to God, we must believe the things that Bible says – especially about salvation – and we must believe them sincerely with all our heart.

            Why?  Because, if we know everything in the Bible – and especially those things about salvation in Jesus Alone – but don’t believe them, we are still in our sins.  And, if we sincerely believe things which are not true, we are still in our sins.  Unless we believe the truth with all sincerity, we have not been saved – we are still in our sins.

            If we know all the right things, but don’t believe them, we have not been forgiven for our sins.  And if we believe things that are wrong, but believe them sincerely, we have not been forgiven for our sins.

            Do we understand?  Right knowledge must be combined with sincere belief.

“For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,”

If we continue in unrepentant sin – deliberate, happy, joyful sin – after we have come to rightly know the truth of the Bible – the truth of the Gospel – there is no longer a sacrifice for sins – there is no sacrifice for such a person.

“Wait a minute,” someone is thinking, “Are you saying that someone can believe the Gospel and then sin and lose their salvation?”

No.  As we go through our text, we must remember:  right knowledge must be combined with sincere belief.

What the author of Hebrews is picturing for us is someone who knows the Bible very well – who knows the Gospel very well – perhaps a pastor or a Sunday School teacher – they’re on TV, they write books, they’re on their way to General Synod, but, for as much as they can repeat all the facts accurately, they have never sincerely believed.

“Well, why would a person do that?”

Perhaps because people like to be part of a group.  Perhaps because people think having some sort of religious upbringing makes a person moral.  Perhaps because they enjoyed using their minds in understanding the Scripture.  Perhaps because they enjoyed teaching and entering into conversation with those who came to be taught.

But these are not people who “lose” their salvation – no – these are people who never had salvation – these are people who had knowledge, but never sincere belief.  These are people who participated in the life of the Church.  These are people who confessed the confessions.  These are people who in the end renounce the teachings of the Gospel – they forsake the Church – they turn their backs to Christ and say, “not for me!”

And, if that repudiation of Christ is permanent, the sacrifice of Christ which they seemed to have received is no longer available to them.  And the terrible thing is there will be people that come before the throne of God at the end of the age and say, “What do you mean we’re going to Hell?  We preached the Bible for fifty years.  We taught Sunday school for seventy years.  We participated in the Church and tithed and did everything that was right according to the book.”  But Christ will tell His Father, “These are not mine; I don’t know them.”  Because they did not sincerely believe what they knew, but continued in their sin with abandon.

“but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.”

If you memorize the Bible and can explain all the doctrines of the Bible, you may still go to Hell, if you don’t sincerely believe.  Although metaphors – images – are used to describe the horrors of Hell -- and that’s why the images are there – to disturb us – to frighten us – to alarm us, we are told that the judgment that such people receive is that they will be consumed by fire.  And the word, “consumed” there does not mean that they will at some point go into non-existence.  The word, positively, means, “to make a living,” and negatively, indicates a continual taking away – an eating that does not end.  And notice that God calls these people His “adversaries.”

And we might wonder:  “What if someone wrote the top hundred orthodox books, and led thousands of people to salvation in Jesus Alone each year, and pastored a mega-church, and taught through various media, inspiring other leaders and missionaries around the world – wouldn’t that count for something?”

If that person did not both know the Truth and believe it sincerely, it would be as if he had spit in the face of Christ and told Him to “be gone.”  It would be no better that if he were the chief proponent of atheism and attacks on the Church.  It would be accounted to him as sin – unrepentant, deliberate sin – leaving him without the Sacrifice necessary for Salvation and facing a fearful and horrific judgment and sentence.  The reason for all he did was not the love of Christ and His Salvation – it was something else.  It may have been useful to the Church and those who came to Christ through what he did, but there would no longer be the Sacrifice available for him, because he denied the Very One he had spent his life teaching.

This is not a popular thing to talk about – I’m sure some of you are hoping I will move on to something else pretty quickly.  But I would be lax in my duty if I do not call you – and me – to make sure that we have not even fooled ourselves – because it is possible to fool yourself.

Peter wrote, “Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:10-11, ESV).

Do you believe the teaching of the Bible that there is only salvation through Jesus Alone?  If you know and really believe that, you are a Christian.

Peter wrote, “For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And ‘If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?’” (1 Peter 4:17-18, ESV).

We who believe are saved, not based on anything we are or do, but on the work of Jesus Christ – His Incarnation, Life, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension.  There aren’t many ways – there are thousands and thousands of ideas out there, but only One Way through Jesus.

Some of you may be doubting that there are really people like the author of Hebrews is warning – one example:  some of us will be familiar with Charles Finney.  He was a revival preacher during the Second Great Awakening – perhaps the greatest revival preacher of the Second Great Awakening.  Thousands of people believed in the Gospel under his preaching.  Do you know what he wrote in his autobiography?  “Jesus is not necessary for salvation; we are able to do enough good works to merit our own salvation.”  He knew his Bible, but he didn’t believe.  He was an apostate – and God visits apostates with expectations of His Wrath, and then the judgment.

“Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.”

The author of Hebrews sets up a comparison from the lesser to the greater:  first, he reminds his readers that those people who committed capital crimes against the Law of Moses received the death penalty.  How much greater – he argues – how much heavier – is the punishment of those who break the Covenant with Jesus – those who reject His Salvation?  Breaking the Law of Moses and rejecting God’s Promised Salvation through Jesus are both apostate works – it’s saying “I know what’s true, and I don’t care, I’m going to sin and sin, because I like it.”  It’s the person sitting in the pew who says, “I hear what you have to say, and I don’t care, I’m comfortable doing what I’m doing and I’m going to keep on doing it” – never believing that God’s Wrath is about to fall on him.

“How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?

Both the breaker of the Law of Moses and the rejecter of Salvation through Jesus will be punished without mercy, but the one who rejects Christ has committed a greater offense, which the author of Hebrews breaks down into three parts:

First, he says that the one who has participated in the life of the Church claiming to be a Christian and then proving himself not by renouncing the Gospel “trample(s) underfoot the Son of God.”  How is that so?

In this way:  rather than just rejecting Christianity, this type of person wants the benefits of the Church, but still wants to be in control of his life.  This is a person who hears the call to submit to the authority of Christ and responds, “You’re not the boss of me!”  This is the person who says he will gladly participate in the Church and say all the right things, but he will not allow Jesus to dictate how he lives and what he believes.  This person likes the Church, likes Jesus, but says he will not allow Jesus to have authority over him.  Rather than bow before Jesus, he tramples Him.

Second, he says that the one who has participated in the life of the Church claiming to be a Christian and then proving himself not by renouncing the Gospel has “profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified.”  Do we see an immediate problem?

If this person is not really a Christian, how can it be said that “he was sanctified”?  How could someone who does not believe receive the gift of becoming holy in the Father’s eyes – and at the end of the age?

The answer is found in the meaning of the phrase “he was sanctified.”  As it is worded here it can merely refer to a person’s confession, not actual, sincere, belief.  So, we could read this verse, “profaned the blood of the covenant which he said he believed, by which sincere belief and confession one is found to be sanctified.”  This is important to understand, because the author of Hebrews is not saying that this person was a Christian and then renounced his Christianity – that he sincerely believed the Covenant and was made holy, and then renounced it and became unholy again – that is not what the author of Hebrews is telling us.  He is telling us that holiness only comes through the Covenant to those who sincerely believe the Gospel.

So, what has the person who renounces the Gospel he said he believed done in this second case?  He has profaned the blood of Christ – he has considered the blood sacrifice of Jesus and said it is nothing to him.  He has said he does not need a high priest or a sacrifice; he can make himself right in God’s eyes.

Third, he says that the one who has participated in the life of the Church claiming to be a Christian and then proving himself not by renouncing the Gospel has “outraged the Spirit of grace.”  How does one “outrage the Spirit of grace” – that is, the Holy Spirit?

Such a person outrages the Holy Spirit by lying to Him:  this person has come into the Church, learned what the Bible and the Gospel say, acted in a proper way, taken part in everything of the Church, but said, “I don’t need Jesus, and I don’t need His Sacrifice or High Priestly work “And the Holy Spirit cries out; “Liar!  Hypocrite!”  And we know that lying to the Holy Spirit is the height of sin – it is the unforgiveable sin:

As Jesus said, “Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come” (Matthew 12:31-32, ESV).

If a person – in the end – refuses to believe the Gospel, in faith, with sincerity of heart, truly, not just as an abstract truth, but as his ultimate need and only salvation, that person will not and cannot ever be forgiven.  Every other sin can be forgiven, but even if a person looks like a Christian, acts like a Christian, calls himself a Christian, knows the Bible and the Gospel inside and out, takes part in everything the Church does, but says that he doesn’t need Christ and His Salvation – His Gospel – or if he merely does not truly sincerely believe in faith that it is his only hope and salvation – he will not be forgiven – he will face the Wrath of God for his sins.

Be afraid.

Peter writes, “For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them” (2 Peter 2:20-21, ESV). 

“For we know him who said, ‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay.’ And again, ‘The Lord will judge his people.’”

For a second time, the author of Hebrews uses a comparison from the lesser to the greater, both using these two quotes from Deuteronomy 32.  They are taken from a song Moss sang and taught the people right before he died.  It is a song which accuses Israel of being unfaithful and promises that God will not stand for an adulterer to be His Bride, but He will take vengeance upon them and judge them.  And Moses warns the people not to come into a state like that – where they are calling themselves the people of Israel, knowing the Word of God, participating in Temple worship and sacrifice, yet proving their lack of belief by worshipping other gods on the side.

The same is easily put to the Church today:  are we a faithful, believing Bride?  Do we know what God has said – and all that is in the Bible – and all that is in the Gospel – we even have copies that we can read at home – and do we sincerely believe it through faith?

Do you know the expression:  “If it walks looks like a duck, and walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck – it’s a duck”?  It’s not true!  If I put on a duck costume, and walked and quacked like a duck, I would not be a duck, I would be an imposter – a hypocrite.

God will not tolerate hypocrites in His Church – if you are boasting of being part of the Church – of being in the Church – but you don’t believe, be afraid!  The day is coming when God will bring judgment.

“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

Human judgment is only for the length of this life, but the judgment of God is forever.  God brings the measure of His Holiness and Righteousness and executes vengeance upon all those who fall short.

The author of Hebrews does not write these words merely to frighten us, but to encourage us to make sure of what and Whom we believe in before the time is too late.  It’s wonderful to come to the worship service and be part of the Church in various ways, including being gifted in the Word and teaching it and preaching it to others, but if that is all it is – if there is no faith received belief at the core of what each one of us is doing, the author of Hebrews wants us to be afraid, because we are without help before a God Who requires holiness.

Is there any good news?

There is almost a mirror image of our concluding verse in the book of Second Samuel – David had disobeyed God, and God came to David through the prophet, Gad, and told him to choose one of three punishments that God would bring on the nation.  David was heartbroken – all of the punishments would bring great distress on the nation, especially as they were in the midst of war.  “Then David said to Gad, ‘I am in great distress. Let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into the hand of man’” (2 Samuel 24:14, ESV).

David chose to suffer at the Hand of God rather than at the hand of his enemies, because he knew that God is merciful.

God has sent the Savior – just as He promised – we can read about it and know of the promise of the Savior and all the signs of the Savior by reading the Bible, but that does not save us.  We are saved for sincerely believing in Him through faith.

Paul summarized the Gospel like this:  “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me” (1 Corinthians 15:3-8, ESV).

Believe in Jesus, God the Savior, and what He has done to accomplish salvation for all those who will ever believe, and you no longer have to be afraid of the judgment.  But make sure you believe.

Let us pray:

Almighty God, it is disturbing to talk about Your Wrath and Judgment, but it is necessary to warn those who believe they are right with You when they are not, and it is good for us to remember from whence we have come through the blood of Jesus.  Lord, make it clear to each on here, if we have truly, sincerely believed in Jesus as Savior by faith alone, and if any have doubts, haunt us with the fear of Your Judgment until we are sure – for the sake of our eternal life depends on it.  For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

Community Lunch

Today, D.V., is our community lunch from 12 to 1 PM.  Join us for a free lunch -- with no strings attached!  We look forward to see you.

June Sermons Adjustment

I will not being going to General Synod, so I am adjusting the schedule as follows:

6/16/13
  Hebrews 10:26-31  “Be Afraid”

6/23/13
  Hebrews 10:32-39  “By Faith Alone”

6/30/13
  Hebrews 11:1-3  “Faith”

Join us at 10:30 AM for worship!

"Hell on Trial" Study

We intend, D.V., to continue our study this evening at 7 PM.  We will consider the views of the early through the Reformation church.  Join us!

"Be Bold & Do Good" Sermon: Hebrews 10:19-25

“Be Bold & Do Good”

[Hebrews 10:19-25]

June 9, 2013 Second Reformed Church

            “Therefore”

            We have now ended the author of Hebrews doctrinal argument and moved into his practical application, and he begins with the infamous word, “therefore.”  In this case, the word “therefore” refers to everything he has argued thus far in his letter.  And so we remember:

            Jesus is the very incarnation of God the Son Himself.

            Jesus is greater than the angels, because He is the Son of God.

            Jesus is greater than Moses because He fulfills everything Moses taught.

            Jesus is greater than the high priests of Aaron and Levi, because He is a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.

            Jesus is the High Priest of a better Covenant because salvation is only through Him Alone.

            Jesus is a better Sacrifice than any and all of the sacrifices of the Sacrificial System because He and He Alone is the Perfect Sacrifice Who secures salvation for His people – forgiveness of all their sins, freedom from slavery to sin, and the imputation of His Righteousness to them.  And because this Sacrifice only need be offered once for all those He came to save, because He is perfect and holy.

            “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus,”

            Therefore, since all those things are true, we have confidence, we have boldness, we stand and enter with assurance of salvation – of reception as sons and daughters of God – brothers and sisters of Jesus – the holy places – Heaven itself, the throne room of God – through the Blood of Jesus.

            The author of Hebrews draws the parallel between the shadow in the First Covenant, where we remember that only the high priest entered the Holy of Holies in the Temple – that place where the Ark of the Covenant resided and the Presence of God descended – once a year with the blood of animals for the forgiveness of the sins of the people that they came to confess.

            And the fulfillment of the shadow through the Work of Jesus Who entered the Holy of Holies – that is, Heaven – by tearing open the curtain to the Holy of Holies in the Temple as He hung on the cross, making the way for all those who believe in Jesus Alone for salvation to enter God’s Presence through the Blood of Jesus which is effective to eternally save all those who believe.  Jesus’ Blood permanently opens the doors of the holy places that you and I can come into this sanctuary and worship before God Himself, with no curtain separating us – we are before our God now, in the holy places, before Him, and we shall be received into the Kingdom where He will ever be with us and we before Him in worship.

            And we enter the holy places confidently – boldly – even now – because He has raised us to life through His Resurrection – we are perpetually consecrated through Him – holy in the sight of our God and Father.  The atonement that Christ made through His Work on earth is the key to our entrance into the holy places now and forever as believers in salvation through Jesus Alone.

            That does not mean that we enter arrogantly – God forbid!  We enter with confidence and boldness and assuredly, but only through faith in the Blood of Jesus – through confidence in His Work,  boldly asserting the efficacy of His Blood, going forward with the assurance that all those things that the author of Hebrews has argued are true, and nothing we can do – not even following the Sacrificial System – could ever gain us entrance into the holy places, but our hope, in which we stand tall, in that we can enter through the Work that our God and Savior has done on our behalf.  We enter, not through our name and our works, but through proclaiming the Name and Works of Jesus.

“by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh,”

We enter the holy places – not though the old way – not through the curtain, which has been torn asunder and no longer separates the areas of the Temple – because it no longer exists.  We enter the holy places – not through the old way – not through the work of a high priest of the order of Aaron or Levi – who could never secure salvation for us, anyway.

No, we enter through the new way – through the New Covenant – Who is Jesus.  We enter through the living way – through the way that leads to life eternal – not through a way that leads to temporary forgiveness – or less.  No, Jesus allowed Himself to be torn open in body and soul – taking on Himself all of the sins of everyone who would ever believe and the Wrath of God for those sins, that we could come through Him – and only Him – into the holy places – into the Presence of God.

Jesus said, “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:9, ESV).

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” (John 14:6, ESV).

And let us understand that Jesus is using imagery – we do not literally climb through the flesh of Jesus in to the holy places.  Jesus does not literally have a door in His Body that we have to open.  No, He, Himself, is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  If we believe in Him – if we believe the Gospel – if we believe the New Covenant, we are welcome into the holy places, and we shall not die in the Presence of God.

 “and since we have a great priest over the house of God,”

What is the difference between a priest and a prophet?  A priest pleads before God on behalf of the people – especially with regards to their sins.  A prophet proclaims the Word of God to the people – on God’s behalf – which is why preaching has been called prophesying at different times in history.

Christ stands as Mediator and Priest – High Priest – over the house of God.  Jesus pleads for us before His Father.  Why?  Because we still sin.  Jesus does not die again for each sin we commit.  Jesus does not re-present His Sacrifice for each sin we commit.  But He stands before the Father and pleads for us as One Who has already paid the debt for every sin we will ever commit.

And we might wonder if that means we should not worry about sinning.  Paul confronted the Romans, some of whom thought it might be good to continue in sin – as much as they could – that God’s Grace would increase among them.  Paul wrote:

“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

“For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace” (Romans 6:1-14, ESV).

Do not misunderstand what Paul is saying:  Paul is not saying that we, Christians, will never sin again.  Paul is not saying that we will not struggle with temptation to sin.  Paul is saying, first, that we ought not to sin unrepentantly – happily – as though it doesn’t matter.  And, second, that through Christ, we have been freed from slavery to sin, so we do not have to sin, we do not have to give in to temptation to sin, we are to not let sin reign over us, as though we were still slaves, but we are to strive and fight towards that righteousness – that newness of life – into which Christ has called and saved us.

But, do not despair, the author of Hebrews says we have – we still need – a mediator, because sanctification – becoming holy – is a process – sometimes a violently difficult process – we all have sins that we enjoy or have especial difficulty saying “no” to.  We have a mediator, because we need one and He loves us and has chosen us to be His.  He stands before the Father to assert that we have been forgiven in Him – not to excuse our sin – but to show us – because the Father already knows – He gave Christ His people – Christ’s mediation shows us that He has not left us alone, and He has, indeed, covered all of our sins, and our only hope is in Him.

Paul writes, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” (1 Timothy 2:5, ESV).

Christ has made the way for us to enter the holy places – the Presence of God – through His One Sacrifice, and He now stands as Mediator for us before the Father that we would fight against sin and know that we are forgiven, even when we fall – He is still the High Priest for His people.

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

“Let us” or “Therefore” – here’s what we ought to do:

“Draw near” – the last thing we should do as the adopted children of God and brothers and sisters of Christ is run away or hide from God.  We are to continually draw near to God – especially in worship.  When things are good, when thing are bad, when we are doing well, when we can’t seem to let go of some sin – draw near!  Go to Christ.  Go to the Father.  Implore the help of God the Holy Spirit.  But don’t turn your back.  Don’t neglect coming into the holy places – especially when you are in trouble.

If you fall off a boat and someone throws you a life preserver, what should you do?  Should you push it away and say “you don’t know what kind of man I am?”  Or should you take hold of it with all your might and be brought to safety?

R. C. Sproul tells the story of a woman who came to him and told him that she had done such and such, and R. C. told her to confess her sin to God and receive forgiveness.  She came back and told him that she had done what he said, but she still did not think she was forgiven.  So, R.C. told her to ask for forgiveness one more time – and she became enraged – why should she ask for forgiveness one more time – she had asked and asked to no avail.  And R. C. told her that, this time, he wanted her to ask forgiveness for believing that her sin was too great to be forgiven by God.

If you believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ – draw near!  Do not neglect to drawn near!  Come into the Presence of our God and Savior – to worship Him, to hear His Word, to receive His Sacraments, because you are forgiven through the Blood of Jesus.

And “let us draw near with a true heart” – that is, let us draw near to God – especially in worship, in doctrinal truth – knowing what the Bible teaches.

And “in full assurance of faith,” – that is, with sincerity of heart, believing in the efficacy of Christ’s Salvation.

And it must be these two – drawing near in doctrinal truth and in sincerity of heart – it can’t just be one of these, because it is possible to know everything the Bible teaches about God and salvation, and not sincerely believe.  And it is possible to sincerely believe in things that the Bible doesn’t teach.

Knowing the Truth without a passionate love of it is death, and just being sincere, doesn’t meant that you can’t be sincerely wrong.

One of our seminary students who was examined last week said that she believed that the Bible teaches that Jesus’ Birth was a Virgin Birth – that Jesus was conceived without male human participation.  But, she said, as far as the meaning of the text, it didn’t matter if Mary was a virgin or if she slept around.  She was sincerely wrong.

We must know what the Bible teaches and sincerely believe it when we draw near to God.  But that is not all we ought to have in drawing near to God:

“with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience”

Sadly, this is not a proof for infant baptism.  What the author of Hebrews is saying is that our hearts – our consciences – our internal self – that which remains who we are, even if our body is damaged – that part of us is to be sanctified.  Our heart and soul and mind are to be sanctified as we come to draw near to God. 

“and our bodies washed with pure water.”

But, that is not all, our bodies are also to be sanctified – not through a literal washing with water, but in taking the symbolism of Judaic baptism, which was a baptism for repentance – initially for the Gentiles who were becoming Jews, but, as John the Baptist made clear, was for all people, even the Jews, who recognized their need of forgiveness through the Promised Savior – sanctifying our bodies as we come to draw near to God.

We are gathered for worship this morning – we are gathered near to God – in the holy places.  Are you sanctified – holy – in your mind and soul and heart?  Are you sanctified – holy – in your body?  Are we – in every part of our being – holy, before God?  No, but yes.  Peter wrote:

“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

“To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:

“May grace and peace be multiplied to you” (1 Peter 1:1-2, ESV).

We are not yet holy in body, soul, mind, and heart – we still sin – we are imperfect.  Yet, in Christ, and through His Blood, we are – in Him – not only righteous – but holy in body, soul, mind, and heart.  We are striving towards holiness now as the people that God has saved, and God sees what will be – that we are the holy people of God.  We ought to strive towards holiness in all things, but, before the Face of God, we are holy through the Blood of Jesus – so we can draw near to God in the holy places through Jesus, believing what the Bible actually says, in all sincerity, being holy in body, mind, soul, and heart.

If we believe that – though we come boldly, confidently, and assuredly into the holy places, we will also come humbly, recognizing that we are still sinners – we are not what we are called to be, yet, through the Grace of Jesus, we are received through Him as what we ought to be now – and through the Work of God the Holy Spirit in us, we are truly becoming what we are called to be.

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.”

Therefore – let us hold fast – tightly to the confession of our hope without wavering.  What is our confession?   God came to earth in the person of Jesus, lived a perfect life under God’s Law, died for the sins of everyone who would ever believe, and physically rose from the dead and ascended back to His throne.  We are to believe all that God has said, but, in short, we are to believe this Gospel.  And we are to hold on to it without wavering.

Why?  Because God is faithful!  The reason for our holding on to the Gospel is that we know God does not change – He cannot change – He is perfect and holy – and since God has clearly stated One Way to be right with Him and carried out every aspect of our becoming right with Him – we have no reason to doubt and every reason to trust.  No matter what failing and corruption we see in ourselves or in the world, God has promised resurrection and restoration and life eternal – and He is faithful.  So hold on and don’t waver.  All will be as God has promised – for you and me and all of Creation.

As Paul wrote, “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:9, ESV).

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,”

Therefore – let us – find ways to stir each other up to love and good works. 

The word “love” that the author uses is “agape.”  That is, a conscious, giving love.  “Agape” is not a love that is based on anything you did for me or anything you will do for me, and it does not stop if you do something to me or someone else that I don’t like.  This is a love that – since we are brothers and sisters in Christ – continues to love each other because of Christ.  It is a love that looks out for one another – encouraging each other in what is good and true and right, and guiding each other away from what is wrong and false and dangerous and sinful.

This is a love which can look at a person you would not care to hang out with if you were not a Christian, but since the both of you are Christians, you can sincerely encourage that person – in love – in using his or her gifts in the Church.  This is a love which can look at a person engaging in sin and lovingly take them aside as brother or sister and gently help him or her to see that what they are doing is sin and that they need to stop.

You might be a very laid back, slobby kind of person and someone else might be a very prim and proper type of person – and out in the world, you might not have had anything to do with one another – but you notice that she has a great voice, so you go up to her in love and tell her and encourage her to use it in the church.

You might be someone who notices another Christian in the supermarket, and he is “sampling” from the produce section, and even opening bags to try different foods.  So, in love – probably not in the middle of the store – you should explain your concern for what he is doing and how it is stealing – a sin – and encourage him to stop.

And so forth.

“not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another,”

R. C. Sproul asked in one of his video series if there is a command in the Bible to attend worship.  Those in the audience said “no.”  And then R. C. pointed them to this verse:  “not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another,”

God says we are all to regularly assemble together for worship.  Why does God have to say that?  Because some people thought – even in the first century – that they had met their obligation to God if they stay home and watch or listen to a worship service on TV or radio or the Internet.  I listen to sermons on CD and on the Internet – there are some good things out there – and there is a lot of junk – but it cannot take the place of being in worship with other Christians.  We must join together for fellowship – to sit under the reading and preaching of the Word together, to prayer together, to sing together, to receive the sacraments together, and to receive discipline together.  We are the body of Christ – not the bodies of Christ.  It is not possible to be a Christian alone.

Luke records the actions of the early Church:

 “And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42, ESV).  They gathered together for worship.

Gathering together for worship is not an option for Christians – there are times when we cannot get to worship, when we are ill, in severe weather, if we are homebound, but normally, every Christian should be in worship regularly.  It is when we gather together and receive the Grace given by God in worship that we grow.

Where are the Christians?

What impression does it make if we tell our friends and neighbors that we are Christians and we gather for worship on Christmas and Easter?  How well shall we grow if we are fed twice a year?

The word “encouraging” in this verse indicates congregational activities, as well as worship – that our being together in worship and in other activities in the church is our food.  It also indicates the attitude we are to have about each other – in addition to what we have already seen:

We ought not to set ourselves above each other.  We ought not to think that we don’t need each other.  We ought not to be in contempt of each other because of our sins.  We ought not to envy each other.  We ought to receive each other in love.  We ought to cultivate unity – though not to the neglect of doctrine.  We ought to encourage each other in doing what is good and right.  We ought to strive to lead each other in the truth.  We ought to help restore each other after we have fallen into sin.    And so forth.

Bringing a bunch of different people together and telling them to love and encourage each other is not easy, but it is what we are called to.  For the sake of Christ, we are to help each other be the best we can be for Christ and His Church.

Are we willing to love each other like that for the sake of Him Who has made the Way through His Flesh and by His Blood that we would be made holy by God and welcomed into the Presence of God?  Are we willing to really commit to joining together for worship and joining in other times we gather as the church for the sake of the One Who is always faithful?

Our text ends this morning with a motivation to be quickly at these things:  “and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”  The only question is what day the author of Hebrews is writing about.  The commentators are split:  some say that he is referring to the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D. – remember we have seen that the author of Hebrews says that animals are still being sacrificed, so the letter must have been written before 70 A.D.  So, the author of Hebrews could be saying, “and all the more as you see the end of the Sacrificial System coming through the destruction of the Temple drawing near” – which will increase the persecution of Christians.  Others say that the author of Hebrews is referring to the return of Jesus, “and all the more as you send the end of this age coming with the return of Jesus drawing near” – after which comes the judgment.

Whichever the author of Hebrews intended, the fact of the matter is we don’t have time to play games in church.  We need to know what we believe and stand for it, and love and help our fellow Christians in the Truth, for the time has come, as Paul warned Timothy, “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4, ESV).

Don’t neglect joining together for worship.  Come boldly through Jesus and His Gospel, Who is making you holy.  And let us cling to our confession and the One Who is faithful, lovingly joining together for the good.

Let us pray:

Lord, You have given us an unparalleled privilege to come into Your Very Presence to worship You and live – yet, we have often thought it a small thing.  Help us to see and believe passionately in the Work of Christ Who makes us one body and one people.  Help us to seek after holiness in all ways, as You bring us to holiness.  And help us to truly love each other, for the good of every Christian, and to the witness of Your Gospel through our good works – that those who see us will know there is a God and Savior in Irvington.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

"Hell on Trial" Study

Due to the Classis meeting tonight, we will not have our Tuesday evening study.  D.V., we will pick up our study next Tuesday, June 11th.

June Sermons

D.V., my plan for June is as follows:

 6/2/13
 Guest Preacher: Will Lampe                                      

6/9/13

 Hebrews 10:19-25  "Be Bold and Do Good”

6/16/13
  Hebrews 10:26-31  “Be Afraid”
 

6/23/13

 Guest Preacher:  Rev. Dr. Solomon Tivade

6/30/13 (97^th Anniversary and potluck)

  Hebrews 10:32-39  “By Faith Alone”

Review: "The Real Win"

Colt McCoy, an NFL quarterback, and Matt Carter, the founding pastor of a mega-church, have written:  The Real Win:  A Man’s Quest for Authentic Success.  I approached the book with skepticism, but found it to be a strong, biblical primer on manhood.  This is a book I would recommend giving to every high school boy – and perhaps even junior high boys – because of the messages it contains and need to be heard and believed – especially before entering the free-for-all of college.

McCoy and Carter alternate throughout the book telling their stories – the good times, the bad times, the wise decisions, and the sins.  Perhaps the one caution I would make in giving this book to a young person would be that following God will not guarantee his being a NFL quarterback, pastor of a mega-church, or, necessarily any other form of worldly success.

In the first chapter, they look at the truth that there is no “winning” without believing the God of the Bible and following Him.

In the second chapter, they look at the difference between worldly achievement and idolatry and following God’s purposes.

In the third chapter, they present complementarianism, and argue that the biblical model is for the man to be the spiritual head of the household and of his wife.

In the fourth, they explain the being head of the household and wife does not negate the fact that the husband is to love his wife and attend to her needs.

In the fifth, they go into detail about what it means to be the spiritual leader of the home.

In the sixth, they set out a strong warning against idolatry and guidance for pursuing the work the God has given to each individual.

In the seventh, they show that whatever work a man ends up doing, he is to work to please God and not men.  (And, if he works to please God, that will often be more than your boss will require.)  They also make it clear that work is part of God’s creation order and not a result of the Fall.

In the eighth, they distinguish between temptation and sin, and they look to the Scripture to see how men may reject temptation and keep from sinning.

In the ninth, they look at the fact that we are yet sinners, though saved, and they look to the Scripture to see that there is forgiveness for sin to those who repent – that God has grace and mercy for the repentant believer.

In the tenth, they look at suffering and how God uses suffering to make us into the men God wants us to be.

In the eleventh, they argue that the best legacy a man can leave is to be faithful to God.  Here, they also recap how following the other chapters – and Scripture – show that a man is faithful

The book comes with a detailed and useful study guide.  As I said to begin with, this would be good for a high school (and possibly junior high) boy’s study – or perhaps, retreat.

In a day of men being absent, abusive, and far from leaders, this is a very helpful book to begin the journey with the young men in our lives.

[This review appears on Amazon.com and on my blog.  I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.] 

"Three Witnesses" Sermon: Hebrews 10:11-18

“Three Witnesses”

[Hebrews 10:11-18]

May 26, 2013 Second Reformed Church

            The author of Hebrews now comes to the end of the argument he has been making – that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Old Testament High Priesthood and Sacrifices.  And in these verses, he presents three unimpeachable witnesses to his argument.

            “And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.”

            As we have seen repeatedly, the Old Testament Sacrificial Law required that sinners offer up animal sacrifices for their sins – Yom Kippur being the high holy day when all of Israel would gather to offer up animal sacrifices for their sins, and the high priest would lay the sins of the people on a goat and send it into the wilderness, and take a second goat and slaughter it, bringing that blood into the holy of holies, where the Ark of the Covenant was kept and the presence of God descended, because, as we keep saying:  “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22, ESV).

            Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.  Period.  That is God’s Law.  And we saw that God did mercifully receive the sacrifices of animals and did forgive the sins confessed.  However, as the author of Hebrews notes, the priest stood in his office and daily offered the same sacrifice repeatedly, but it did not take away sin – all of a person’s sins – and, particularly, the slavery to sin that all humans are born with due to the sin of our first parents.

            So, we saw there are three problems with trying to see the Sacrificial Law as a way to salvation – which was never what the Law was intended to be – as we have seen:

            First, animals are not an acceptable substitute for a human.  Only a human can take the place of a human to pay the debt of another human’s sin.  But no mere human is eligible to pay the debt of another human’s sin, because no mere human is holy.

Second, no mere human could survive paying the debt of another human’s sin, so the curse of slavery to sin would remain.

            And third, multiplying the number of times a person sacrifices animals does not help the problem, because animals are still not humans – and multiple animals do not merit a human.

            “But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,”

            The first witness to Jesus fulfilling the High Priesthood and the Sacrificial System is Jesus Himself.  We have seen in the author of Hebrews argument – not to mention the Gospels – that Jesus offered Himself in the role of High Priest and freely gave Himself as the Sacrifice for the sins of His people – all those who would ever believe.

            Although Jesus was not of the line of Aaron or Levi, but of Judah, Jesus was a better high priest than either line – Jesus was a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.  Jesus was one of a select few to be chosen directly by God to serve as His High Priest.  Jesus did not inherit His High Priesthood from Joseph, but was given it by God Himself.  And the high priestly order of Melchizedek was also not one in which the priest lay down his office when he died, but it was the only one in which the priest held his office forever.  Jesus was appointed by God to be a High Priest after the order of Melchizedek forever.

            Jesus was the One human able to offer Himself as a sacrifice – not only for one person – but for everyone who ever believed in Him, because Jesus is a real human being – just like all of us, but He never sinned – He lived a holy life under God’s Law – so He was eligible to take on Himself the Wrath of God for the sins of those who believed in Him.  But, He is also God – incarnated in the Person of Jesus – so, although He died under the Wrath of God, He was able to rise from the dead.  By rising from the dead, He not only paid the debt for the sins of His people, but He freed us from our slavery to sin, and imputed to us – credited to us – His Righteous Life – so we are now seen as righteous in the eyes of God the Father.

            Since Jesus is Holy human and Holy God, it was only necessary that He offer Himself up once as a sacrifice for the sins of His people.  There is never any need for a sacrifice to be offered again, because the God-Man paid the debt and raised us to new life.

            And when He had finished His Work as High Priest and Sacrifice, He ascended back to the throne of the Son in the real Holy of Holies – that is Heaven – the dwelling place of God – and He sat down on the throne at the right Hand of God, symbolizing that He had completed His Work and was exercising His Power as Sovereign Ruler of Creation.

            Jesus is an unimpeachable witness to His fulfilling the high priesthood and the Sacrificial System, by rising from the dead, ascending back to the throne of the Son, and sitting down, resuming the reign of God over Creation.  He finished His work, and all was completed.

            “waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.”

            The second witness to Jesus fulfilling the High Priesthood and the Sacrificial System is God, the Father:

            God the Father witnesses to Jesus’ fulfillment of these by receiving the God-Man, God in the Flesh, as being able – authorized – appropriate – as the One to fill the seat on the throne of the Son.  The fact that the Son enters enfleshed the holy of holies, which is Heaven, was not a disgrace – it did not make Him any less than God – He was fully God and His physical body – glorified – was received by the Father to sit next to Him as the Sovereign over all Creation.  There was no repulsion of the Trinity by bringing a flesh and blood human being, resurrected and glorified, into their midst, but He was received as the Incarnate God, forever enfleshed from that moment in the Virgin’s womb forward.  The Father honored the Son by receiving Him Incarnate back to His throne.

            As King of kings, the Son sits on His throne waiting to receive the promise made to Him that all of His enemies and all of our enemies, should be made as a footstool for His feet.  The imagery comes from the practice of ancient kings of wearing the feet of the kings they conquered around their necks.  But the enemies that Christ Jesus has conquered and is bringing under His feet are the fleshly sins, the worldly sins, hell, death, the devil, and all those who refuse to believe in Jesus Alone for salvation. 

            Although Jesus reigns sovereignly over all things now, He will show His Victory as the Incarnate God on the last day by stopping these temptations from walking amongst us that entice us to sin, He will stop the devil from walking among us, death will not be allowed to claim another person, and all those who refuse to believe will be taken away and then thrown into the outer darkness to receive the Wrath of God for their sin.  Antichrist(s), heresies, hypocrites, sin, death, the grave, and Hell, will all be under Jesus’ feet.

            As we see in I Corinthians:  “ For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For ‘God has put all things in subjection under his feet.’ But when it says, ‘all things are put in subjection,’ it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all” 

(1 Corinthians 15:25-28, ESV).

            In “the Parable of the Ten Minas,” Jesus describes bringing all His enemies under His feet like this:  “But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me” (Luke 19:27, ESV).

            Christ’s enemies are our enemies.  And Jesus has put Himself between His enemies and us to save us.  And the Father has blessed the Work of the Son and kept His Promise and is now putting all of Christ’s enemies under His feet as a footstool.

            The author of Hebrews continues:  “For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”

            And this is good news for us because Jesus has perfected all of His people through His Work.  By His One offering – His One Sacrifice of Himself, functioning as a high priest after the order of Melchizedek, Jesus has perfected all those who believe in Him forever – all we who are being sanctified.  That is, the One Sacrifice that Jesus offered to the Father was so perfect, that, as He has made us His people, we are seen as perfect in Him, and through the Work of God the Holy Spirit in us, we are being made holy – into the Image of Jesus – day by day.

            The fact that we are told that this perfection is for all time is good news for us, as well – it means that the Church – that is, all those who believe in Jesus Alone for Salvation – will be brought into the Kingdom, perfected, holy, and glorified.

The third witness to Jesus fulfilling the High Priesthood and the Sacrificial System is God the Holy Spirit: 

            “And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, ‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord:  I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,’ then he adds, ‘I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.’”

            With the witness of the Holy Spirit, the author of Hebrews argument comes full circle as he quotes the same passage he quoted back in chapter eight.  Here, though, the author of Hebrews emphasizes that the witness of the Holy Spirit to the Work of Jesus is for our sake.  The Holy Spirit wants us to know that He is doing these things as a comfort to us and as an assurance of our salvation in the completed and victorious Work of Jesus.

            The Holy Spirit describes a new covenant, the Second Covenant – the Gospel, which is unlike the First Covenant.  This Covenant, which God makes with us unilaterally – God does all the work – there is nothing for us to do under the Covenant – for us to receive salvation.  As Paul reminds us:  “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:4-10, ESV).

            Since Christ successfully officiated in His Office of High Priest and offered up Himself as the One Final Sacrifice, the Second Covenant was cut – God came to earth in the Person of Jesus, lived a perfect life under God’s Law, took upon Himself all of the sin and all of God’s Wrath for our sin, died, and physically rose from the dead, ascending back to His throne – as we have seen.

So the Holy Spirit takes the Covenant and puts it on our heart and writes it on our mind.  The Holy Spirit causes the Word of the Gospel to penetrate our hearts that we would believe and remains with us that we would understand the Gospel with our minds.  As Jesus promised:   “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you” (John 16:13-15, ESV).

And so we understand that the witness of the Holy Spirit is seen in we who believe, because only those who have been changed and enlightened by the Holy Spirit can believe the Gospel. 

And, the Holy Spirit adds, if we have believed the Gospel, then God will not remember our sins any more.  And David wrote, “The LORD works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.  He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel.  The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.  He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever.  He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.  As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.  For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:6-14, ESV).

            The conclusion of all these things – of his argument – of the witness of the Holy Trinity is:

            “Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.”

            If Jesus has offered Himself Once as the Perfect and Final Sacrifice as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek – if the Gospel is true – there is no need to offer animal sacrifices, there is no need to re-present or re-offer the Sacrifice of Jesus, there is no need to offer God any kind of bargain for forgiveness – none of it works – none of it is effective, except for Jesus Alone.

            The author of Hebrews ends this section on Jesus being the Perfect High Priest and Final Sacrifice by giving the testimony of three unimpeachable witnesses:

            Christ Jesus tells us that since He is both Perfect Human and Holy God at the same time in One Person, He is able to merit righteousness for His people and bear the sins and the Wrath of God for His people.  And since He has physically ascended back to the throne of the Son and is seated at the Right Hand of God, He signifies that His Work is complete and He is sovereignly reigning over all of Creation.

            So, we ought to understand that believing the Gospel is our only hope for salvation.  And let us also recognize that our bodies and the material world are good and will be restored at the end of the age.

            God the Father tells us that since He received Christ Jesus in His physical body to sit at His Right Hand that Christ’s Work is done and acceptable to the Father.  And God is keeping His Promise to crush all of Jesus’ enemies and put them under His feet, as well as to cause all we who believe in Jesus Alone for salvation to be perfected and made holy.

            So, we ought to pray for the end of Jesus’ enemies and ours – for the antichrist(s), heretics, heresies, hypocrites, sin, death, the grave – all these things we ought to pray would come to an end to the Glory of God.  And we ought to strive to keep from sin, ourselves, and pursue the holiness that we are called to.

            God the Holy Spirit tells us that salvation – putting the Gospel on our hearts and writing it on our mind – is wholly the work of God; we cannot cause ourselves to believe the Gospel – the Second Covenant.  And God the Holy Spirit indwells us that He would instruct us and help us to remember what we have read and heard in the Scripture and of the Gospel.  And God has forgiven all of the sins of everyone who will ever believe and freed us from our slavery to sin.

            So, let us be humble and full of thanksgiving to God for our salvation.  Let us put aside any idea that we did anything to earn our salvation, and receive the incredible gift that God has given.  Let us read and study our Bibles, and flee from sin.

            And, finally, let us understand what the author of Hebrews wants us to understand from this section of his letter:  Sin cannot be forgiven without the shedding of blood.  Animal sacrifices, though instituted by God, we never meant to be a means of salvation – they couldn’t be – for reasons we have gone over several times.  Only God Incarnate, the God-Man, the Savior that God promised to send, could live, shed His blood and die, and physically rise that our sin would be forgiven – and we would live eternally with our God and Savior.

            So, let us pray:

            Almighty God, we thank You for the promise and the fulfillment of the promise of salvation through the Savior You sent.  We thank You for giving us the Scripture to explain why we could not be saved through the blood of animals or our good works.  Help us to believe that salvation is all of Jesus, only Jesus, and Jesus Alone.  And help us to humbly see that salvation is about Jesus, not us, that we would live for You, and not ourselves.  For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

Reformed Wisdom

John Calvin on Hebrews 10:18 --

Now, since we have come to the close of the discussion respecting the priesthood of Christ, readers must be brief reminded, that the sacrifices of the Law are not more effectually proved here to have been abolished, than the sacrifice of the mass practiced by the Papists is proved to be a vain fiction.
    

They maintain that their mass is a sacrifice for expiating the sins of the living and of the dead; but the Apostle denies that there is now any place for a sacrifice, even since the time in which the prophecy of Jeremiah has been fulfilled.
    

They try to make an evasion by saying, that it is not a new sacrifice, or different from that of Christ, but the same; on the contrary, the Apostle contends that the same sacrifice ought not to be repeated, and declares that Christ’s sacrifice is only one, and that it was offered for all; and, further, he often claims for Christ alone the honor of being a priest, so that no one was fit to offer him but himself alone.

The Papists have another evasion, and call their sacrifice bloodless; but the Apostle affirms it as a truth without exception, that death is necessary in order to make a sacrifice.

 

The Papists attempt to evade again by saying, that the mass is the application of the one sacrifice which Christ has made; but the Apostle teaches us on the contrary, that the sacrifices of the Law were abolished by Christ’s death for this reason, because in them a remembrance of sins was made; it hence appears evident, that this kind of application which they have devised has ceased.

 

In short, let the Papists twist themselves into any forms they please, they can never escape from the plain arguments of the Apostle, by which it appears clear that their mass abounds in impieties; for first, according to the Apostle’s testimony, Christ alone was fit to offer himself; in the mass he is offered by other hands; — secondly, the Apostle asserts that Christ’s sacrifice was not only one, but was also once offered, so that it is impious to repeat it; but in the mass, however they may prate about the sacrifice, yet it is evidently made every day, and they themselves confess it; — thirdly, the Apostle acknowledges no sacrifice without blood and death; they then chatter in vain, that the sacrifice they offer is bloodless; — fourthly, the Apostle in speaking of obtaining pardon for sins, bids us to flee to that one sacrifice which Christ offered on the cross, and makes this distinction between us and the fathers, that the rite of continually sacrificing was done away by the coming of Christ; but the Papists, in order to make the death of Christ efficacious, require daily applications by means of a sacrifice; so that they calling themselves Christians, differ nothing from the Jews except in the external symbol.

"Community Lunch"

Please join us tomorrow (Saturday the 25th) for our free "Community Lunch" from 12 to 1 PM -- we would love to see you and share a meal with you!

Review: "Freefall to Fly"

Freefall to Fly:  a Breathtaking Journey Towards a Life of Meaning by Rebekah Lyons is a series of meditations on her life and how to cope with the “freefalls” of life.

She begins by telling the story of moving with her family from Virginia, where she was comfortable, to New York City – moving with her husband and their young son, who has Down syndrome.

She questions the move and whether it is right, why God had given her son his illness and how they would cope with it.  She struggles with missing what was comfortable and known, developing an anxiety disorder in the process.  She pleads with her husband to go back home – to leave this place or gates and locks, where her son throws a tantrum and lays down on Park Ave.

But she eventually comes to the conclusion that these “freefalls” – these times of lack of control, were for her to learn to use her wings.  A baby bird that drops out of the nest into freefall does not just crash, but moves its wings until it flies.  That is what the author learns and encourages her readers to do:  if you are freefalling, flap your wings until you fly – whatever that may mean in any given situation.

Lyons’ book is an encouraging piece for those times when we are trying to face life when it seems out of control.

[This review appears on my blog and at Amazon.com.  I received a copy of this book free from Handlebar Publishing for review.]

"Hell On Trial"

We continue our study of Hell tonight, D.V., at 7 PM, considering the witness of the New Testament writers.  Please join us!