Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 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. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. 26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. 32 But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, 33 sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. 34 For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. 35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. 37 For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; 38 but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” 39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. (Hebrews 10:19-39 ESV)
Introduction
Today’s message is titled “The Way of Provocation”. The earlier Christians were known as followers of the way. We are looking at some of the things that mark this way.
To hear Christianity as a way of provocation may confuse you. Some may say, “Yes, people at church provoke me and that is why I do not go.” Then you do not understand.
We use provoke in a negative sense. We will frequently tell our children, stop provoking your brother. One kid stands on the other side of the room and says, “See, you can’t touch me. If you do, you’ll get in trouble.” The cries of injustice arise. That is provoking in a negative way.
Provoke means to stimulate or give rise to (a reaction or emotion, typically a strong or unwelcome one) in someone: It is to purposely evoke a response from someone. Comes from the latin pro-forward and vocare- call. Literally call forward. We do not want to intentionally provoke people to anger. But in a positive sense, we do want to provoke, and we are called, and we have a responsibility to intentionally provoke and stir up people in their walk with the Lord. We want to stir people to do what God calls them to do.
you may receive what is promised. 37 For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; 38 but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” 39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. (Hebrews 10:19-39 ESV)
Introduction
Today’s message is title the way of provocation. The earlier Christians were known as followers of the way. We are looking at some of the things that mark this way.
To hear Christianity as a way of provocation may confuse you. Some may say, “Yes, people at church provoke me and that is why I do not go.” Then you do not understand.
We use provoke in a negative sense. We will frequently tell our children, stop provoking your brother. One kid stands on the other side of the room and says, “See you cant touch me. If you do, you’ll get in trouble.” The cries of injustice arise. That is provoking in a negative way.
Provoke means to stimulate or give rise to (a reaction or emotion, typically a strong or unwelcome one) in someone: It is to purposely evoke a response from someone. Comes from the latin pro-forward and vocare- call. Literally call forward. We do not want to intentionally provoke people to anger. But in a positive sense, we do want to provoke, and we are called, and we have a responsibility to intentionally provoke and stir up people in their walk with the Lord. We want to stir people to do what God calls them to do.
Theme in Scripture that we are to encourage, build up, provoke. In the early church this was what the gathering of the people was intended to do. We read in 1 Corinthians 14:26 that when the church gathered each person was to bring a “psalm, a teaching, a revelation, another language, or an interpretation.” (1 Corinthians 14:26). Today’s church has become more of a show. Sit there and watch. Let the professionals do the work; they teach, counsel, etc. I am intentionally pushing back on that as a church. We are not here to entertain you. We are here to provoke you. And you are not here as spectators. You are to provoke others in their faith.
This is why we are trying to get people to share testimonies, to share what God is doing in their lives, to share a verse that encouraged them and might encourage others. I would love to have a line of people ready to share what God has done in their lives.
Prop: God has ushered in a new and living way to access him, and we ought to stir one another to see and access this, because there is a day of judgment coming in which we will be judged for what we have done.
- God Made a New Way
This passage begins by sharing the good news of what Jesus has done.
[since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh]
To enter the holy place. Where God dwells. Safe place. Blessing. Presence of God. To be in someone’s presence is to be accepted. I loved living in DC and going to the monuments and buildings. The rotunda of national art gallery. It’s so big, formidable, secure, enduring. It feels safe. The holy place is the same, and it is the presence of God. This eternal dwelling is what we all long to enter into.
We cannot come by just any path, though. All roads lead to Rome. Not all roads lead to the holy place. Way, access. The way to it is…
By the blood of Jesus
This passage is about the perfect sacrifice of the perfect man, Jesus Christ. All the Old Testament sacrifices are abolished. They had to be done year after year, which showed they could not make us holy. But Jesus has done that. This priest after living a perfect life, dying on the cross and then rising from the dead had the ultimate mic drop moment. He offered one sacrifice forever! No more are needed.
All the other sacrifices are duct tape solutions. Partial fixes pointing to the need for the true repair. This sacrifice has been made v19 builds on there. “Therefore”
Hearts cleansed of a guilty conscience.
The curtain has been torn. You know when you fly coach and the stewardess comes back to shut the curtain so you can’t see what they are doing up there. I got peanuts and water. They got cashews. I have not met the standard to come up. I could pay more and be there.
We were separated from God and we could not pay more. We were morally broke. 30 trillion in debt and no job. Jesus paid our debt and because of that we can now come to him. We were removed and entered a different class. But that curtain has been torn. In the Old Testament was a curtain in the temple separating the holy from the most holy, but when Jesus died that curtain was torn in two. You have access to God. You can come near. You can approach.
We can come any time. We can come any way necessary. But we must come with a sincere heart. True heart. As a true metal opposed to an adulterated metal, full of impurities.
Jesus is our assurance. As Christians our confidence to enter the presence of God is in what Jesus has done. I hear so many people who I believe are overly confident in what they have done. I know where I am going because I know I accepted him into my heart. I know I prayed in fifth grade. I know because I know that I know. What do you know?
My confidence is not in how hard I have prayed, in how many I have shared with, how long I have served him, how many sacrifices I have made. My confidence is that I have a high priest who entered the holy of holies, who offered a perfect spotless lamb that was himself, that his sacrifice was accepted and that through that I can be forgiven of my sins. I have no confidence in myself. No confidence in how much I know. I know I am a great sinner and Jesus is a great savior. When our confidence is in us it is misplaced and shows how much we do not really know.
- God Calls us to Provoke to Love and Good Works.
If you know what Jesus has done for us you can sit there and not tell others. I watched the Chernobyl series a while back. There was a massive nuclear explosion and the scientist there told no one what had gone wrong. In their pride and arrogance these scientists obfuscated what happened. They could have saved lives had they acted. They refused.
[24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
Stir them up. Provoke. in a positive sense incitement, encouragement, stimulation ( Hebrews 10.24);
Notice the exhortations here. Let us draw near, let us consider, let us hold fast. Let’s go to six flags. Not a statement. Not a command. It is an exhortation. Let’s build a church. Let’s reach people. Let’s stir one another up!
Love and Good deeds. We don’t naturally gravitate to this. We gravitate to selfishness. Default setting is me!
We need stirring up because the world is going against us. We need stirring up because Satan is out to attack us. We need stirring up because life is hard.
We need a friend in life who when the sky is falling talks you down. Let’s consider the hope we have in Jesus.
This is something for every believer. Who have you provoked recently? Is this a way of life that defines you? Do you come to church with the attitude of how can I bless another, how can I encourage them with the promises of Jesus?
Notice the connection between stirring up and meeting together. The opposite of stirring up is not meeting. Some have a habit of not meeting. Strong language of habit. Ethos of some. It is a way of life. It is what you are committed to.
Episynogogue. The gathering of believers. Church. *Not a building with a cross on top but a people with the spirit of God inside them.* This gathering in the New Testament is seen as the center of spiritual life. It is organized, with leaders, with purposefully provoking one another to good deeds.
There is so much confusion on church in our community. Listening to the Fish while you sit at the pool is not church. It’s not watching online. There is a problem when we can “do church” online and not interact with anyone, no one knows you are there, and you are doing nothing to stir others up.
Church is a community of people who know the hope in Jesus Christ and are trying to live out God’s plan for them, and stir up others to live for it.
Make sure you see what the church is, even in all its blemishes. In Ephesians the church is the vehicle through which “the manifold wisdom of God is being made known.” It is in a simple gathering of believers who want to love and share Jesus Christ with others. Gathering and being together should be a priority and a habit.
I am sympathetic to people who have been hurt and disappointed by church. Jesus was hurt by the church, but he still loves it, and it still stands central to his purposes.
The Church is messy and if you read your Bible you will see it was messy in the New Testament, too. It is a group of broken people trying to tell the world about the Savior that promises to fix them.
You will get hurt and disappointed and there may be times you need a break. That is permissible because we are not saved through church attendance. But such breaks should also be the exception and not the norm. Look, if you break a bone you need to give it time to heal. Church is in the relational business, and there are times you get hurt. You may need some time to heal, heal from disappointments. But healing means you come back. Healing means you see Jesus’s purpose in the glorious mess of the church and you embrace it, not run from it. You make it a habit.
We are also in a time of Covid. What does this passage mean for us now? Well, you need to feel the weight of it. For some, Covid became a good excuse to quit doing what they didn’t value. I hope you will see God’s purpose in the church. Make it a habit.
Some people have not been to our Sunday gathering for over 18 months, but they are looking for ways to stir up the body. I think they feel this. They are connected in a small group, they read their emails, keep up with church, send me cards about messages and services. They are knit into the spiritual community and stir others up. I can’t wait to see them, but given their health conditions I understand their position. Others, you have no connection. You are not doing anything to provoke others in their walk. You are not being provoked and are probably growing cold.
You move away from the fire and it gets cold. We are a community on fire for Jesus. We need to stoke/provoke the fire. Breathe life into it. Don’t be a wet blanket. Look to Jesus for your hope.
If you love Jesus, how can you not love his people? How can you not love the people he died for?
- Provoke to Faithfulness
We need encouragement because life is hard. For these people life was harder because of their commitment to Jesus. Two warnings:
First is a warning to not turn away. There are strong warnings here for those who stop following Jesus, those who deliberately sin after knowing the truth. They know the wonderful work of Christ, but they live however they want. You can have knowledge of the truth and reject it with how you live.
[For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. If anyone disregards Moses’ law, he dies without mercy, based on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 26-30
He calls this spurning the Son of God, profaning the blood of the covenent, outrage the Spirit of God. At the beginnning of this chapter he explained the gospel in profound ways. Amazing grace. But this church is rejecting it.
Deliberately sinning. Setting aside, strictly regard as nothing, set aside. Junk mail. Important. Respond soon. Irrelevant.
- Provoke to Endure Mistreatment
He is calling them to be faithful. He is calling them to return to the joy they once had. These people have been in battles. He is calling them to be faithful in hardship. Recall how they once lived.
32 But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, 33 sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. 34 For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.
This church had to endure opposition. The early church was challenged in their faith…
- We know from Acts 18:2 Jews were removed from Rome by Emperor Claudius in AD 55 and Christians were displaced as well.
- We know Paul persecuted followers of the way to death, binding and imprisoning men and women in prison (Acts 22:4)
- In the early church Rome didn’t care if you worshipped Jesus, as long as you worshipped the Roman gods, too. If you were accused of being a Christian they would call you to sacrifice to the Roman gods. If you syncretized and sacrificed then everything was good. If you did not you could lose your life, be thrown to wild beasts, or set on fire,
There was a risk in following Jesus. They identified with those who were publicly exposed. There was a risk in meeting with others who had been persecuted, risk in gathering as a church.
I believe we need to be praying. We need to be believing. We need to be sacrificing. Are we going to be a group of believers that is absent and quiet, or one who is present and heard?
Endurance. You are going to have to endure suffering. Do you want to be like Jesus? Then endure suffering. Rejection. Didn’t that define who he was? What is your theology of suffering. Most have a theology of glory. Serve God and watch the barn houses fill. How about a theology of suffering. Loving others even when it is hard.
Jesus has many who love his heavenly kingdom but few who are willing to bear his cross.
We need to be provoked to faithfully serve Jesus. There is too much opposition to be disconnected.
- Final Exhortation
[39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.
Let’s not shrink back. Let’s not give up meeting. Let’s talk about the hope we have. Let’s talk about a joy that you have even when your property is confiscated. A joy you have even when you don’t know where you will be living. A joy that you have when others ridicule you. Let’s talk about how we have messed up, shrunk back, stayed silent, but that Jesus has made a way for you to come back. Let’s be those who have faith. Let’s be those who wrap their arms around each other. Let’s lift one another up. Let’s point to the glories of the cross. The glories of heaven. The glories of salvation.
An anxious world is anxiously destroying others to secure for it an imaginary stability that is not there without Christ. We have that stability and confidence that nothing and no one can take away.
