Weaver1has's Blog

We have seen that Christ was the real high priest from Heaven itself and also Christ was the perfect sacrifice once and for all.  For these reasons we have a new and living way in Christ.  The tabernacle on earth was only ever a copy and shadow of the real one in heaven. As a digression we will first encouragement from Herman Bavinck’s Reformed Ethics:

“Only the Triune God has life in himself; all creaturely life is derived from and dependent upon God. While the drive for self-preservation characterizes all vegetative and sentient life, the spiritual life is characterized by love for God, in Christ, through the Holy Spirit Its fundamental principle is not found within the natural life but first arises through denial, self-crucifixion, renunciation, and loss of our soul. Love, poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit and fruit of the Spirit, gives stature and form to the spiritual life.” Reformed Ethics; Book 2 and chapter 7; page 239; By Herman Bavinck; edited by John Bolt)

This is a great encouragement from Herman Bavinck.  In this life we are always facing various trials and at the end even death itself.  My friend’s God is at work, and he cares for your soul.  In Christ by faith, we can grasp eternal life through the work of Christ.  In Christ we have fulness of life.   Bavinck in the first opening pages looks at St Pauls writings but here too in Apollos’ writings we find this encouraging theme.

Before continuing to our main theme let us read our main text from Hebrews 10. 19-25:

A New and Living Way

19 Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having 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 stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. Hebrews 10:19-25

When we read the book of Hebrews, we get great encouragement. Did you know that these Christians were really suffering for their faith?  We know what happened to the Temple in Jerusalem in AD 70. It was pulled down and those Jewish slaves were sent to the Corinthian Canal to build it. Obviously, it was a failed venture until 1853.  Some set the book in Rome however we know the book was probably written before AD 70 and my theory is that it was written in Jerusalem.  We know that many priests were becoming Christians in the Jerusalem Temple.  I would venture to say that these Jewish Christians were being abused by the local Jewish and Roman authorities.  Many of these believers that Apollos is referring to were losing land and property and were being put in prison.  This is persecution my friends.  The believers mentioned in the book of Hebrews are a great encouragement to us alive today.  When we suffer for our faith like they did they stayed firm in the faith.  

From what we have read we have seen Jesus as the Lamb of God.  It is Jesus who died on the cross but by faith we have great ‘confidence’.  This is faith language and we do not enter any temple on earth my friends we enter the Holy Place in heaven itself by the blood of Jesus:

19 Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus,

This is the true march of faith.  We are walking and getting closer to the great faith chapter 11.  We are not there yet.  However, we ought to know why we have this great confidence.  It is what Jesus has done for us.

We are not there yet but Apollos furnishes more morsels of spiritual food for our hearts.  ‘By a new and living way’:

20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God,

 Heaven itself through the work of Christ has broken through the heavens into our space and time.  We have the original Great High Priest over our souls.  The second Person of the Trinity.  The One who took on a body and died so that we might have eternal life.  In these verses we have the proof and evidence my brothers and sisters if only we ‘believe’ and trust our Lord Jesus fully.

Apollos has already covered this ground in this verse already earlier on in the book where he says:

23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful:

We saw from Psalm 95 that the people of God grumbled against God and Moses.  We don’t have to be that way my friends.  Sometimes we need to go through the hardships no matter what.  There may be a price to pay.  It maybe we will lose friends, be falsely accused for something we didn’t do.  It may be that we are thrown in prison for our faith.  Let us stay faithful to the Lord Jesus even if we are condemned.  Jesus is our Lord, and the Holy Spirit is our Comforter and helper.  Our home is already prepared in heaven for us.

As Bavinck would say Faith is the root and works are the fruit.  Apollos is grounded in reality my friends.  He takes the believers into heaven itself and then he brings them down to the sacrificial work of Christ on the cross.  In light of what God has done, we are called to love our neighbour.  From that perspective these verses are important:

24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. Hebrews 10:19-25

With the verses above we are encouraged to live as a family of God.  We are not to forsake assembling (but it is not a command).  Some Christians live away from civilization and they cannot attend for certain reasons.  It may be that the person has physical movements of moving around.  Let us not forget that our God is a God of love, and we ought to reciprocate our lord Jesus’ example.

We also have a firm hope in these verses where it says,” and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” For Christians there is the great expectation of our Lord Jesus coming back for his church.  Here we see a small glimpse of this truth.  We ought to have the same attitude as these believers as we are called to hope for the return of Christ. 

Reflection

Faith and Christian action are always linked.  Apollos (Whom I believe wrote this work of beautiful divine theological reality art) Explained to us what Jesus had done for us through his person and his actions.  Jesus went through many sufferings so in the same way we ought to follow the confession of our faith in Christ.  We are literally a new creation of God inside out as he has written his laws on our hearts.  In Christ we too will enter heaven itself.  It is not a fun thing to go to prison for something you did not do.  Jesus understands this as he was a prisoner too even as the chief priests and soldiers came to arrest him while it was still dark.  The work on the cross has been completed after Jesus cried out on the cross “It is finished”. 

Next time Jesus comes, He will not come as a servant but as the King of all kings. The writer to the Hebrews reminds us of this by saying “…all the more as you see the day drawing near. Hebrews 10. 25”

The day of Christ’s second coming draws near.  Let us take stock and fall on our knees and pray how we can be more like Christ.  There is no whip my friend, only love. 

You can also follow my other blog as Herman Bavinck the master theologian gives us the vocabulary for Life in the Spirit: https://hasan-godtalk.blogspot.com/

This entry was posted on August 29, 2021 at 12:08 pm and is filed under Hebrews course. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.