back to Hebrews 10. Tonight after
church, we're going to have a get together to honor our graduating
seniors. And if some of you men after
the service this morning can set up the tables in the back,
that would be helpful. Verse 19, Hebrews chapter 10, Having therefore, brethren, boldness, confidence, freedom, fearless
assurance. Having therefore, brethren, boldness
to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. I don't know of a more remarkable
statement in all of the word of God than that statement. That I am called upon to come
into the holiest, the very presence of the thrice holy God, and to
do so with boldness. That's hard to get hold of, isn't
it? to come into his presence with boldness. The Hebrews had been taught all
of their lives that only one man could come into the Holy
of Holies, the great high priest. And he didn't come without blood.
And he only came once a year. He was the only one who came
into the Holy of Holies. Anybody else who attempted to
come, they would meet with certain death. And then to hear this
admonition, let us therefore come boldly into the Holy of Holies, come
with boldness. And there's some other amazing
things he says to do, let us draw near, verse 22. Let us draw
near with full assurance of faith. Now, all of these things that
he says to do are predicated on the word, therefore. Let us, therefore, brethren. I love what Henry Mahan used
to always say, anytime we see the word therefore, let's see
what it's there for. And this is therefore, brethren. Well, what's he talking about?
Well, look back up in verse 18. And I think that this is what the book of Hebrews is all
about. He makes this incredible statement.
Now where remission of these is, remission of what? Sins and iniquities. There are sins and iniquities,
I will remember no more. Now where remission of these
is, there's no more offering for sin. Turn back to Hebrews chapter
one. Let's look at the beginning of this book. God, who at sundry times and
in diverse manner spake in times past unto the fathers by the
prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by Son. He identifies who the Son is,
the one whom he hath appointed heir of all things. Everything belongs to him. By
whom also he made the worlds. He's the creator. Jesus Christ
is the creator. Who being the brightness of his
glory and the express image of his person and upholding all
things by the word of his power. Don't forget the reason you just
took a breath is because he willed it. You're so, I'm so much in
his hands. when he had by himself, with
no help, with no contribution from me or you, when he had by
himself purged our sins. He sat down. Now where remission of these
is, back to our text. Now where remission of these
is, There is no other offering. There's no need for you to try
to bring one. That's an insult to his offering. There is no other offering. It's already been accepted. Do
you hear that? He hath made us accepted in the beloved. The offering's already been made.
Nothing for you to do. Having therefore, because the
offerings already been made. Having therefore, brethren, boldness
to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. Now, what verse 18 refers to
could be said to be the crescendo of the entire book of Hebrews. This is what this is leading
to. No more offering for sin. This speaks of the final, complete,
total, and absolute remission of sins. They're gone. They're
gone. The reason you and I If we're
the ones included in this text, can come with boldness into the
throne of grace because we have no sin to worry about. It's gone. The complete exoneration, the
complete blotting out of sin. This is how God can be just and
justify the ungodly because of the blood of Christ. It's the
complete glorification of every attribute of God. Do you know
every attribute of God is glorified in him blotting out the sins
of his people? This is God's work, isn't it? That's why he
did this by himself. Only he could do it. And because
of that, we're called upon to come boldly into the throne of
grace. Listen to this scripture. The
Lord said regarding that publican who beat on his breast, crying,
God, be merciful to me, the sinner, the sinner. The Lord said, I
say unto you. There's such power in those words,
I say unto you. This is not Todd says unto you.
This is not some preacher says unto you. Christ says, I say
unto you. That man went down to his house
Justified. Not merely forgiven. And I don't
want to say merely forgiven. What a glorious thing the forgiveness
of sins is. But this is better than forgiveness. Forgiveness
comes from this. Justification. The Lord says, I say to you,
that man went down to his house justified. Now if I'm justified,
that means I've never sinned. If I've never sinned, I can come
boldly under the throne of grace. Therefore, because of this, everyone
without exception has boldness to enter into the holy of holies,
the very presence of the holiness of God, the light that no man
can approach to through the blood of Jesus. I don't miss that. I wouldn't dare think of coming
boldly in his presence in any other way. but by the blood of
Jesus. Now, earlier in this book, he
said, let us come boldly to the throne of grace, but this is
even more amazing, having boldness, having access to enter into the
holiest, into the very presence of God. Boldness, freedom, cheerful confidence,
fearless assurance. Bold shall I stand in that great
day, for who ought to my charge allay, fully absolved from these
I am, from sin's tremendous curse and shame. Now who has this boldness? Having therefore, brethren, boldness. Brethren, not everybody has this
boldness. Not everybody has the right to
come into his presence with this boldness. The unbeliever certainly
doesn't. You know, if the unbeliever did come into his presence, he
would try to rip God from his throne and take his place. You
see, the unbeliever hates God. The unbeliever does not want
his exaltation. He certainly does not have this
welcome right into the very presence of God because he's an enemy
of God. He hates God. He has no love for God at all.
It's those who are deemed as the brethren. What a precious
title, the brethren. Look in Hebrews chapter two.
Here's what he means by this. Verse 11, for both he that sanctifyeth
and they who are sanctified. That teaches us a lot about sanctification,
doesn't it? He's the one who sanctifies.
We're the ones who are sanctified. This is his work. Both he that
sanctifyeth and they who are sanctified, what's it say? Are
all of one. not simply joined close together,
but one, united to Jesus Christ. I love the illustration the Lord
gives. He says, I'm the vine, you are
the branches. Now, no illustration can set forth more the reality
of oneness with Christ. The same stem that flows through
the vine goes through the branches. Now that's union with Christ.
There's not a connecting point. The same stem that goes through
the vine is the one going through the branches. Both he that sanctifieth
and they who are sanctified are all of one, for the which cause
he's not ashamed to call them brethren. Now that's who the
brethren are. For whom he did foreknow, Them
he also did predestinate that they might be conformed to the
image of Christ, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Wherefore, holy brethren and
partakers of the heavenly calling. Now these are the ones who can
come with boldness into the holy of holies, those deemed brethren. And what is their ground of coming? The blood of Jesus. No other way. The blood of Jesus. The blood spoken of in Acts chapter
28 when Paul said to the Ephesian elders, feed the church of God,
which he purchased with his own blood. And I say this, I hope
with the proper reverence, but the blood of Jesus Christ is
the blood of God. That's why it is so powerful
and effectual. That's why we can come with boldness
into the very presence of God only one way, through the blood
of Jesus Christ. Notice what he says with regard
to the blood in Hebrews chapter 10, verse 19. Having therefore brethren boldness,
to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new
and living way, which he hath consecrated for us through the
veil, that is to say his flesh, and having a high priest over
the house of God, let us draw near." Notice he calls the blood of
Christ a new and a living way. Now, the word new here is the
only time this word is used in the New Testament. The word means
literally freshly slaughtered. And it's scary in a way to even
use language like that, but that's the language the Holy Spirit
used. The blood of Christ is always new. It's always poignant
to the Father. It's always present. It's always
new. It's not something that's old.
When I come into His presence, I come into the presence of that
blood that's always new and always powerful to the Father. New,
freshly slaughtered, and it's living. It's not the blood of
a dead animal sacrifice. It's the blood of Him who lives. Now that's where the boldness
comes in. This new and living way, which He hath consecrated
for us through the veil that is His flesh. Now, that veil
in the temple, I've read, it doesn't say this in the Bible,
but I've read in other writers where they said that thing was
four inches thick. Have you ever seen a piece of fabric four inches
thick? Nobody would have the power to rip that, would they?
But what happened the moment Christ died? What did that veil
represent first? That veil represented separation.
You can't come into God's presence. Somebody's got to come in for
you, the high priest. You can't come. And that veil
was a continual reminder, I can't go in there. When Jesus Christ died, The second
he died, that veil was rent in half, torn in half from the top
to the bottom to let us know this is God's work and that separation
was taken away. That's why I can come boldness.
God rent the veil. My boldness isn't in anything
in me. I have no boldness in myself
at all. but I have boldness that what he did is enough to make
me to be able to come into God's presence and be accepted. You
see, when his flesh was rent, the veil was rent and the way
is made open. Free access to anybody who comes
through him. Look in verse 21. And having an high priest over
the house of God. Now remember this thing about
the priesthood of Christ. Remember when he said to Peter, I've prayed for you, that your
faith fail not. Now I can say that every believer
in this room, Jesus Christ prays for you. When he said, Father, forgive
them. Guess what? Everybody he prayed
for was forgiven. He never prays in vain. He never
asked the Lord to give him something the Lord doesn't give him. Having,
possessing this high priest over the house of God, verse 22, let
us draw near. Now this is the first of three
let us, if that's the way you say it in our text. The first
one is toward God. Let us draw near. The second one is toward ourselves.
Let us hold fast our confession. The third one is toward each
other. Let us provoke one another to love and good works. Now this is what comes out of
this incredible statement of having boldness Therefore, having
boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, he gives
us three, let us, us. Let us draw near. Let us draw near. Does every believer have this
boldness to draw near? Do I have this boldness to draw
near? Do I have this right to draw? Do you have this right
to draw near? Well, let me answer that question
by asking another question. Is the only requirement to draw
near the blood of Christ? That's the only requirement. God said, when I see the blood,
not when you see it, when I see it, he didn't say, when I see
your faith, he didn't say, when I see your efforts against sin,
he didn't say, when I see your progress in the Christian life,
he didn't say, when I see your intentions, he said, when I see
the blood, I will pass over you. Every believer is called upon
to draw near. Now, listen to this. When we
have sin fresh on our conscience, we have a tendency to put ourselves
in some kind of time out box and wait until we feel a little
bit better. Draw near right now, God commands
you to, through the blood of his son. Let not conscience make
you linger, nor a fitness fondly dream. The only fitness he requires
is to have a need of him. You know, I was thinking yesterday,
what me and you need is a need. If I have a need, He healed them that had need
of healings. Healing. Ask the Lord to give
you a need. Right now, ask the Lord to give
you a need. If you have a need, He saves
those that need. Draw near. And look how he says
to draw near. He says to draw near with a true
heart. Now, I've thought about that.
As a matter of fact, every time I read that, I'm reminded of
this fact. I've got a treacherous heart. And I really believe that. I
don't trust my heart. How can I know I'm drawn near
with a true heart? You know, the scripture says the heart is deceitful above
all things, desperately wicked. Is your heart like that? Mine
is. So what is this thing of drawing
near with a true heart? Well, the only way I can understand
that is that new heart that he's given. That clean heart that
David asked God to create within him. The pure heart our Lord
spoke of in the Beatitudes. Blessed is he whose transgression
is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord will not impute iniquity and in whose spirit there is
no guile. Now that's talking about the
new heart. It's a true heart. It only is
a true heart. Now I realize it comes through
this one consciousness of mine, and my consciousness, whatever
it is that makes me, it only comes out of one place. Me. And
so I'm always aware of sin and deceit and treachery. And I know
myself enough to know how easily I lie to myself and I lie to
others. And if someone says, I'm not like that, well, you're
totally deceived then because you are. Every one of us are
like that. Liars. Someone says, I never
lie. What a big lie. I've heard, I've
had people say that to me. I never lie. Really? Nobody believes
that. That's just something that irritates
me when I hear people say that. I'm honest. I draw near with a true heart.
Every believer does have this true heart. And you know what
a true heart does? It looks to Christ only. It's
honest enough about itself to see that all it is is sin in
and of itself. And I have to have Christ drawn
near with this true heart, the heart that he gives. Let us draw
with a true heart in full assurance of faith. Now full assurance,
full assurance, full assurance of faith. Not full assurance. As soon as I say I'm fully assured
that I'm saved, nobody can tell me different. I might think it
for about a half a second, but I'll start questioning it after
that. What if you're not? The full assurance of faith.
I really believe that who Christ is and what he did is everything
in salvation. That's full assurance. I'm fully
assured that he is everything in salvation. I'm fully assured
of that. I'm fully assured that I need no other argument. I need
no other plea. It is enough that Jesus died
and that he died for me. I'm fully assured of that. In
full assurance of faith. Having our hearts sprinkled from
an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Having our hearts sprinkled from
an evil conscience. Now, what is an evil conscience?
I've heard people say, I strive to keep a clear conscience. Well,
you ought to. I'm not denying that we ought
not ever sin again. Isn't that right? We ought not
ever sin again. But the only way I have a clear
conscience is not because, well, I've got a clear conscience.
I couldn't even say I got a clear conscience about this sermon
because I know there's enough sin in my heart that send me
to hell for even the way I presented this sermon. I really believe
that. The only thing that clears my conscience is the blood of
sprinkling. You remember what Hebrews 12 says? That the blood
of Christ speaks better things than that of the blood of Abel.
What did the, remember when God said, your brother's blood cries
to me from the ground? When Cain murdered Abel and God
says to Cain, your brother's blood cries to me from the ground.
You know what it cried from the ground? Vengeance. Justice. Punishment. What does Christ's
blood cry? Justification. Complete cleansing. Salvation. Now that's the only thing that
satisfies my conscience. The blood of Christ most precious. I need thee precious Jesus for
I am full of sin. My soul is dark and guilty. My heart is dead within. I need
the cleansing fountain where I can always flee. The blood
of Christ most precious. The sinner's perfect plea. Your heart sprinkled from an
evil conscience. Now remember, the only good conscience
is one that has nothing to feel guilty about. And through the
blood of Christ, I don't have anything to feel guilty about.
I've got a clean standing before God, the perfect righteousness
of Christ. And your body's washed with pure
water. That's talking about the washing of water by the word,
the word of God. Oh, how cleansing it is to hear
the word, to believe the word. Now he says next in verse 23,
here's the second let us. Let us hold fast the profession
or the confession of our faith. Now that word faith, I'm not
real sure why the translators translated it faith if you look,
because it's the word that's generally translated hope. Hope. Let us hold fast the confession
of our hope without wavering, without bending back and forward,
for He is faithful that promised. Now, when we talk about confession,
this is the second thing He tells us to do. First, let's draw near
through the blood of Christ. Every believer is commanded to
do that because of His blood. And you want to do it too, don't
you? You want to draw near into the very presence of God. Let
us draw near. And the second thing, let us
hold fast, hold tightly to the confession of our hope without
wavering. Now, when we talk about confession,
well, to confess means to speak the same thing. So the confession
of my hope better be the same confession as the confession
of your hope and every other believer's hope. There's one
hope, one hope. Confession means not only to
speak the same thing, confession has something to do with a public
identification with that hope. Birds of a feather flock together.
I want to be identified with everybody who believes this. I want to cast my lot with the
people of God, don't you? There's something public about
this confession. And thirdly, when you confess
something, you plead guilty. I confess. This I confess to
thee after the way they call heresy, so worship I the God
of my fathers. You plead guilty. Now, what is
my hope? Turn to Romans chapter 8 for
just a moment. I think that I will be giving
every believer's hope. Here's my hope, found in verse
31. If God be for us, who can be
against us? There's nothing for me to fear.
This is what my hope says. I've got nothing to be afraid
of. Here's why. He that spared not his own son,
but delivered Him up for us all? How shall He not? What could
possibly prevent Him from freely giving us all things? There's nothing that can prevent
Him from freely giving me everything because He spared not His own
Son. Because of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse
33, Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? There's
nothing I can be accused of. How come? God justified me. God justified me. That's what
Christ accomplished by his death on the tree. He accomplished
my justification. That's why nothing can even be
laid to my charge. Paul's saying this in triumph,
bring it on. Nothing can be laid to my charge. Verse 34, who is he that condemneth?
Who can condemn me? It's Christ that died. That's
the only answer I need. It's Christ that died, yea rather
that's risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who
also maketh intercession for us. That's my hope, Christ died.
You know, that's why I need to say this. That teaching that
says that Jesus Christ died for all men without exception, and
some of those men whom he died for will end up in hell is utter
blasphemy. The only hope that every believer
has is that Christ died. And if he can die for me and
I wind up in hell anyway, that means his death didn't save.
There's something I need to do. Thank God it's Christ that died. Nothing else is needed. And then
he goes on to say in verse 35, who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? Nothing. Nothing can separate
me from, that's my hope. That's my hope. That's every
believer's hope. That's our confession. Let us
hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering for he
is faithful, the promised. And here's the third, let us.
Let us consider one another to provoke, not the irritation, not the anger, not the annoyance. Let us consider one another. You're not an island. I'm not
an island. And everything we do affects
somebody else. We're going to provoke people
one way or the other. Let us consider one another to
provoke to love and to good works. Not forsaking the assembling
of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting
one another, encouraging one another. And so much the more
as you see the day approaching, the day of judgment. Let us consider
one another. I ought to treat you in such
a loving, nonjudgmental, merciful, and gracious way that it provokes
you to love me. Now that's what he's saying. You're to treat me. Now, let
me say this, too. The Bible does not tell other
people how to treat me. It tells me how to treat other
people. Don't forget that. Well, they ought to be treating
me. I thought they were Christians. Don't think like that. That's
a ridiculous way to think. Don't think that. Think about
what you're called upon to do. The Lord said, do unto others. as you would have them do to
you. Now if you do that, you know
what? You're gonna provoke people to love you. You're just gonna provoke people
to love you. Provoke them to love and good works in return.
And don't miss this. He says, exhorting one another,
and so much the more so as you see the day approaching, not
forsaking the assembling of yourselves together as the manner of some
is. Now I realize that when he's talking about not forsaking the
assembling of yourselves together, primarily he's talking about
leaving the gospel. Because if you read the next
verse, it says, for if we sin willfully after, that we've received
the knowledge of the truth. If you hear the gospel and decide
to turn from that, you're toast, is what he's saying. There is
no other offering for sin. You leave the gospel And you
will leave and I will leave if he doesn't keep us from it. And
we realize that, don't we? We ask Lord, keep me, preserve
me, because I know that's what I'll do. So primarily what he's
talking about, he's not talking about missing church every now
and then. He's talking about forsaking the assembling of yourselves.
You see, we're identifying with his message. This is our, we're
identifying with this message. If I leave this, you know there
are people who at one time claimed to believe this, they're not
here anymore. Now, he's saying don't forsake
the assembling of yourselves together. And this is also, don't
miss this, when he's saying, when he's talking about assembling
yourselves together, notice he says not forsaking the assembling
of yourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting
or encouraging, that's the word, encouraging one another. And
so much the more as you see the day approaching. Listen, the
day's approaching and the stuff that's going on in this life
isn't really important. Not in the grand scheme of things.
Amen? It's really not. Don't forsake the assembling
of yourselves together. That discourages or it encourages
other people to do the same. Don't forsake the assembling
of yourselves together. The day's approaching. We don't
have much more time. Don't have much more time. Lord's
coming back. He may take us in death, whatever
it's near. It's near. May we live in the
constant awareness of the nearness of that day. Draw near. come with boldness
unto the throne of grace through the Lord Jesus Christ. And all
of this is because of that therefore. Therefore. That was the name
of the sermon. Therefore. Where a mission of these is,
there is no more offering for sin, having therefore, brethren,
boldness. Let's pray. Lord, how we thank you for your
word. How we thank you for the boldness
that we have to enter into the holiest by the blood of thy dear
son. Always new, always living, always
powerful. Lord, we ask that you would give
each person in this room the grace to draw near through the
blood of thy son. In Christ's name we pray, amen.