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HEBREWS: THE INFINITE SUPREMACY AND SUFFICIENCY OF JESUS CHRIST

XV. God's Strong Call To Fellowship With Him

(Hebrews 10:19-25)

I. Introduction

A. We live in an era of great need for an encouraging word amid man's discouraging spiritual failure, so a word from God on the infinite supremacy and sufficiency of His Son Jesus Christ is both desirable and fitting.

B. The Epistle of Hebrews offers it, and Hebrews 10:19-25 gives a strong call to fellowship with God based on the infinite supremacy and sufficiency of Christ and His high priestly ministry, so we view it for our insight:

II. God's Strong Call To Fellowship With Him, Hebrews 10:19-25.

A. The central directive in God's Hebrews 10:19-25 call given through the Author of Hebrews to "draw near" to fellowship with God in Hebrews 10:22a is based on the spiritual provisions in Hebrews 10:19-21 (as follows):

1. As "New-Covenant people ("brothers")," we can have "confidence (parresian; cf. Heb. 3:6; 4:16; 10:35) to come into the very presence of God" in fellowship with Him, Hebrews 10:19a; B. K. C., N. T., p. 804.

2. That confidence to enter into God's presence is based on Christ's death in our behalf, the once-for-all substitutionary atonement that perfectly qualifies us to be acceptable to God, Hebrews 10:19b.

3. The death of Christ's body occurred along with God's tearing from top to bottom the vail that separated the Holy Place from the Holiest of Holies (Matthew 27:50-51), which event signified how the death of Christ's body opened up access for us believers to fellowship with the Father in His Holiest of Holies, Heb. 10:20.

4. Also, we have an infinitely supreme, all-sufficient High Priest Jesus Who is over God's house, Heb. 10:21.

B. Based on these foundational truths, may we rightly approach God to fellowship with Him, Hebrews 10:22-23:

1. May we approach Him with a "true, dependable" (alethines) heart in full assurance of faith, Heb. 10:22a.

2. May we approach Him having our hearts (figuratively) sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience from past errant religious guilt produced by former errant beliefs (Judaism), Hebrews 10:22b; Ibid.

3. May we approach Him having our bodies (figuratively) washed with pure water, namely, having put away outward deeds of impurity, Hebrews 10:22c; Ibid.

4. May we approach Him as we hold unwaveringly to the hope that God will fulfill His promises that we profess in the Christian faith without our reverting to former false religious beliefs that counter that hope, for God is faithful to fulfill what He has promised us, Hebrews 10:23; Ibid.

C. Having rightly approached God in fellowship with Him, may we let that fellowship impact our relationships with one another in the Lord, Hebrews 10:24-25:

1. May we consider how we may produce an "incitement" or "stimulation" (paroxusmos, The. Dict. of the N. T., v. V, p. 857) of each other unto love and good works, Hebrews 10:24.

2. May we not "abandon, desert" (egkataleipo, Arndt & Gingrich, A Grk.-Eng. Lex. of the N. T., 1967, p. 214-215) our meeting together (as some were doing in the Author's time), but "help one another by mutual exhortation" (parakaleo, Ibid., T. D. N.T., p. 796), and all the more as we see the "Day" [of Christ] approaching when we will be held accountable to Him for our actions, cf. 2 Timothy 4:1, Hebrews 10:25.

Lesson: (1) Based on the fact that as spiritual brothers in Christ who can have confidence to enter God's presence in fellowship with Him, a fellowship made possible by the perfect, finished work of Christ in His death and that is further augmented by the infinitely supreme, all-sufficient High Priestly ministry of our Savior Jesus Christ for us, may we fellowship with God. (2) May that fellowship contain an attitude of true dependability in full assurance of faith, an attitude of a conscience purged from false pre-salvation religiosity and from impure deeds so that we hold firmly to the Christian faith in place of all false religious views to the contrary. (3) May our fellowship then spill over into our relationships with fellow brethren in Christ in considering how we might incite or stimulate one another unto love and good works and not desert the practice of meeting together to help one another by mutual exhortation, especially so as we see the Day of the Lord approaching when we will give an account to Him for our lives and ministries.

Application: (1) Since the Christian faith is grounded on the finished work of Christ that infinitely positionally equips us to fellowship with a holy God, may we courageously fellowship with Him in full assurance without being burdened with the false guilt of a past false religiosity to the contrary. (2) May we let that fellowship with God spill over into our relationships with one another, inciting each other unto love and good works as we gather together and as we also consider our accountability to the Lord for our lives and ministries at Christ's coming.