Family Commitments: Gospel Living
Download MP3Hey, everybody. Hi, Tim. It's good to see you all. If you would, go ahead and start opening your bibles to Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10.
Collin Hansen:As you're making your way, I'll go ahead and pray for this time. Okay? God, we ask that you would meet with us. By your spirit, you would speak to our hearts and our minds, that you would open our ears, that we would receive your word, and that your word would change us. God, we are desperate to hear from you.
Collin Hansen:Since we have last come together in this room to gather around your word, to to worship you in song and in prayer, since the last time we were here, we have heard many lies. There has been much deceit around us. And we gather together in the midst of darkness, in the midst of lies and deceit, and we listen for your truth and for your truth to change us and transform us to look more and more like our savior, like our lord, like our king, Jesus. And so we come expecting you. Meet us in your word by your spirit that that we might hope in god alone.
Collin Hansen:We pray these things not only for our benefit but our homes, this city, the state, our world. We pray these things in the name of the father, the son, and the holy spirit. Amen. So, we'll be in Hebrews 10 tonight, starting with verse 11, if you want to go ahead and make your way there. A couple weeks ago, I was up in Kentucky, central Kentucky outside of Louisville.
Collin Hansen:And I was there preaching at a youth camp. We had like a weekend camp, like a fast paced, a full week of camp in 40 hours is how they pitch it. It's crazy. It's a, but it was fun and then and then we turned right around in a couple of hours and 500 kids showed up for a full week of camp. And, I am I'm an introvert and and I get really freaked out in those kinds of situations, but I felt like the Lord had opened up this opportunity to be at this camp again.
Collin Hansen:And so I I went for it. And and so I'm I'm hanging out, and 500 kids, these buses coming in and loud music and all this stuff. And I'm, at the same time, really excited and completely terrified. I mean, it's just walking into the cafeteria was, like, the first day of high school, you know, freshman year, you're walking in and just just terrifying. And so as, I I walk in, I'm kind of looking around.
Collin Hansen:I I get a drink. Nobody knows that I'm the camp pastor necessarily. And so like, I'm kind of walking around. I see a table of guys and I sat down and I sat down with them and middle schoolers start talking, asking them where they're from, all of that stuff. And, and this 12, 13 year old boy sits down next to me.
Collin Hansen:And, his name is Nathan. He he has learning disabilities and he, he had no regard for the guys that I was talking to, nor any regard for me trying to talk to those, students. He wanted to he wanted to have a 1 on 1. And, and so we started having a conversation. He started asking me, are you the camp pastor?
Collin Hansen:I said, yeah. He said, you know, asked where I was from and all these different things. And then he looked at me and with all sincerity, he said, what is the gospel? Now, I don't know if it was the t shirts or the big screen TVs that were flashing all these And I, I took a breath and I was like, I'm a professional. Like, I'm, I gotta, I need to be able to answer this.
Collin Hansen:Like, but here I was, like, I was going to engage in, all of these activities and games with these kids and all that in hopes of finding some opportunity where I could introduce that question and answer. Right? I mean, that's what I was going to be doing that whole week. And here it is, first off, I haven't gotten up and preached anything, there hasn't been nothing has happened. They're coming in and like eating pizza.
Collin Hansen:And this kid, he asks me, what is the gospel? And I don't tell you that story to tell you how I perfectly answered that. I tell you that story because I want you in 2 different ways to identify with it. 1, maybe you're like Nathan and you're asking that question. And maybe you're surrounded by church things and you've been surrounded by church things for a long time, but you keep hearing people say gospel, gospel, gospel over and over again.
Collin Hansen:And you're wondering what does that mean? Really, what does that mean? And, also, I want you to identify with it and and kind of seat yourself where I was sitting. And maybe that's an a neighbor of yours that would ask that question, or the person with the desk or the office next to you, or a family member that says, what is the gospel? And see, we have to be able to answer this question.
Collin Hansen:And not just the professionals, all of us. 1st Peter 3 15 says this, always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. This is all of us. We have to be able to answer this question. We have to be able to give an account for this hope that we have.
Collin Hansen:So what do we say? Good question. You need to talk to my pastor. Good question. I've got a book that you should check out.
Collin Hansen:Good question. I've got a podcast that you should listen to. No. The hope is in you. How do you answer that question?
Collin Hansen:What do we say? Because we are all called to be these ministers of the gospel, to be ministers of reconciliation. This isn't a clergy lady divide. We all are called to this ministry of the gospel, and we need to be able to answer this question. And further than that, what does gospel living mean?
Collin Hansen:What does that look like? And so those are the things that we're going to consider. What is the gospel and what is gospel living? Hebrews 10. This this letter is written in an attempt to encourage both confidence and assurance for the readers and the listeners.
Collin Hansen:That they would grow in a confidence and assurance. Some of the people that first heard this had grown apathetic or they've kind of gone back to this religious practice that was distracting them from the hope that was in them, the hope of the gospel. And so the author is bringing their attention back to the sufficiency of Jesus and commending in them this assurance, this confidence in their hope. And so look with me in starting with verse 11. Hebrews chapter 1011.
Collin Hansen:And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. So from that, he's he's calling to mind this vision, this visual that they have of the priest standing and offering these sacrifices regularly. Notice he says standing, because, like, there's for the for the priests of that time offering these sacrifices, sacrifices would have taken up so much time and attention for the people of God during during those years. So much of their time would have been consumed with the necessity of the sacrificial system. And so he's saying, the priest stands and does this.
Collin Hansen:He stands because there's not any time for sitting. Like, there's not like a stool, like, I'm just gonna take a breather. Like, they are continually doing this. And he's saying the priest stands there day in, day out, offering repeatedly the very same sacrifices over and over, and they will never take away sins. This tradition, this religion, these practices, it's never going to accomplish this taking away of sin.
Collin Hansen:Look at verse 12. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. So contrast that, the visuals. The priests standing, same sacrifices over and over again, daily, repeatedly. And they will never take away sin.
Collin Hansen:And now the writer says, now picture this, when Christ had done his single sacrifice, the once for all time, he didn't stand after that. He sat down. So the standing, the over and over repeatedly offering these sacrifices, and then Christ, once for all, one single sacrifice, the one has done the one sacrifice, and he sits down, which is to say, not only is it finished and accomplished, but it's been accepted. This sacrifice, this single sacrifice of Christ has been accepted by god the father. It is sufficient to do the task, to do the work of taking away sin.
Collin Hansen:And so he sits. And he waits from that time until his enemies would be literally under his feet, is what it says. Verse 14. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. What an amazing line there.
Collin Hansen:Like, if you type that into word, it's it's going to start giving errors all over the place. Like, passive voice. And it's like, yeah, that's passive voice. It's supposed to be passive voice. Like, follow again.
Collin Hansen:Look at it. Verse 14. For by a single offering, which is himself, he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. This is that amazing work of Christ, that God made him, Jesus, to be sin, who knew no sin, that we might become the righteousness of God in him, in this single offering. So he's contrasting the standing repeatedly and then the single offering of Christ.
Collin Hansen:So from this, we we see that this need for sacrifices, the the very need to go in and do this daily is a testimony to our sinfulness. It's a testimony for our rebellion. And sometimes we lose sight of that. Like, sometimes we lose sight of the fact that the cross is central to the gospel because we were so wicked and rebellious against God, he had to die for us to save us. Like, I dare you to think about that, that we were so sinful and so rebellious against God that the lengths at which he had to go was to become sin and die.
Collin Hansen:And then not only that, he was raised from the dead. He was raised from the grave. And that he doesn't he's he's not just efficient and sufficient in being the sacrifice, the penalty for our sin, taking the wrath, but he gives us his righteousness as well. The gospel, this royal announcement that the son of god has died for our sins, that he rose again and has been enthroned as the true lord of the world. Therefore, we are called to repent and to believe.
Collin Hansen:That still seems complex. Right? Like, sitting around the table in that cafeteria, that that still seems pretty complicated. Right? And it is.
Collin Hansen:It is complex. Tim Keller says this, the gospel is a clear and present word, but it is not a simplistic word. It is complicated. It's a singular message, but but at the same time, it is a simple message. We have all these different visions and and images that the scriptures give us for trying to understand what this gospel message is.
Collin Hansen:And there's not just one standard outline that's used repeatedly throughout the scriptures, but there are what Keller calls, like, these chapters, good news. Because if this had just happened, like Christ had come, the incarnation had happened, the cross, he endures our sinfulness. He is raised from the dead. If this isn't offered to us, if this isn't applied to us, then what good is this righteousness of Christ? Like, it it's not good news until it meets us, till it confronts us.
Collin Hansen:And that's where I would say to Robert, it is a Damascus road every time because we all go from death to life. And if we've lost that truth, then we're not seeing our sin as it really is. And we will never worship with a full heart of joy because we're not seeing the fact that we are that sinful. We really were that dead. They aren't just a gradation scale of kind of dead along the way.
Collin Hansen:You know, it's not the black knight who's just, like, got flesh wounds and we're just, like, limping along. Like, we're do we're you know, like, we're we're kinda still hanging on a little bit. No, it is it is dead dead. Dead in our sins and trespasses. And if we make it anything else, the gospel's not the gospel.
Collin Hansen:He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. He has accomplished this, and he not only saved us, but he rules over us. He is enthroned. That's where he is seated. It's a throne.
Collin Hansen:And this Christ objective, this obedience to the father that led him to the cross, so that for all time, we would be made perfect in him, and it is finished. And so these people that were wanting to go back to the sacrifices, go back to these priests, he's saying, don't go back there. Because when we go back to these things and we keep trying to cover our tracks and save ourselves, we are denying the fact that once and for all, Christ was sufficient. And when he said it was finished, he meant it. So let's go back and think about this objective of the author here, this confidence, this assurance.
Collin Hansen:Look with me, verse 15. How do we get this confidence and this assurance? Well, he says that the holy spirit affirms and confirms the truth of the gospel. Verse 15. And the holy spirit also bears witness to us.
Collin Hansen:For after saying, verse 16, this is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord. I will put my law in their hearts and I will write them on their minds. And then he adds, he, meaning the Holy Spirit, adds, I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more. Here, front and center, the Holy Spirit is taking full responsibility for these words of Jeremiah. That that informs how we should approach the word of god.
Collin Hansen:It really should. That that should shape how we go to the scriptures for confidence and assurance to what God has said and what God has done is that we can come to his word and he says, the Holy Spirit has said this through the prophet Jeremiah, I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more. The Holy Spirit here is confirming the finished work of Jesus. And in contrast, once again, what the what the author of Hebrews had said previously about this image of the priest doing this repeatedly, daily. And that that repetition, that going back is a reminder that, hey, you're sinful daily.
Collin Hansen:And you're sinful again. And tomorrow, you're gonna need to come back with another sacrifice. And the day after that, you're gonna need to come back with another sacrifice. And the day after that, you're gonna have to come back with another sacrifice. This continual reminder of our sinfulness.
Collin Hansen:And the author of Hebrews is saying, have confidence for this single offering, this single sacrifice for sin. Who is Jesus? Go back to that. Verse 18, for where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. The fact that there is forgiveness at all What we could not do, he has made perfect those who are being sanctified.
Collin Hansen:And yes, that is a passive voice. He has done this. Verse 19, Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain that is through his flesh. And since we have a great high priest over the house of God Okay. Before we go any further, make sure that you pick up on those two things.
Collin Hansen:The sense we have, since we have confidence to enter into the holy of holies, which I would really, really like to go into right now, but we're going to keep moving. So since we have this confidence to do that, to have this access to God, this presence of God, the holy of holies, this place of God's presence, we have confidence to go in there. And since we have a high priest over the house of god, since those things, Three things. Follow with me. Verse 22.
Collin Hansen:The first thing, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith and with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. The first thing is that let us draw near. Let us draw near in worship. Gospel living is defined, 1st and foremost, as worship. Let us draw near to this presence.
Collin Hansen:That's what he's talking about with the holy of holies. That in the tabernacle, that central location of God's presence, that we have access into that. Now, that's mind blowing that we would have access to that. Because of all the restrictions that were in place there, that we would have access to God himself. Let us draw near to that presence in worship.
Collin Hansen:Let us do that. Let us draw near. We who are far off, we have been brought near by the blood of Christ, so let us draw close to our God. The second thing, verse 23, let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. Gospel living presses us in to our confession and our trust in Jesus.
Collin Hansen:Let us hold fast. Why should we hold fast? Why should we not waver? Look at the end of that verse there, For he who promised is faithful. He's the author here, the author of Hebrews is not bolstering his readers by reminding them of their own strength or their own potential, or their own faithfulness.
Collin Hansen:The reason that you hold fast with confidence, the reason you can do that is not your faithfulness, but he who called you, he is faithful. That's why we have this confidence, because he who has called you is faithful. This confession rests on the condition that god is true and god is faithful, and your faith and your hope are dependent upon god's promises and his faithfulness to those promises. We can get so caught up in our own faithfulness, or perhaps the lack thereof. And maybe you are even in a season in your own life where that confidence or that assurance is waning because you look at your faithfulness and that does not strengthen your resolve for confidence or assurance.
Collin Hansen:And what the author of Hebrews is saying is your your desire to go back to these repetitious sacrifices, your desire to go back to religiosity, to go back to these traditions, your pull to that, the reason is because you're lacking this assurance and this confidence, and the reason that you're lacking that is you're not focusing on the faithfulness of Jesus, the sufficiency of Jesus, and then the faithfulness of our God. We come back to that. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering. And the third thing is this, look at verse 24. Let us consider how to stir up one another, to love and to 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.
Collin Hansen:Gospel living isn't alone. It's intentionally communal. He's saying, let us consider how to stir up one another for love, for good works. This goes back to that issue of need that our culture is so resistant of. You coming here, whether you mean it or not, is a testimony to need.
Collin Hansen:You being here together, whether you intend it or not, is a confession of need. Although far too often we make church some good commitment that we should do, It's something we should do. You should go to church, especially if you're in the South. Like, you're not your neighbors are going to see you outside and they're going to judge you. So go to church.
Collin Hansen:You know? It's something you should do, rather than the reality that the scriptures tell us, and that is you need this, and you need one another. And one of the things that you need to do when you come in here is to realize that you have a job to do. You have a responsibility. It's not just to receive things.
Collin Hansen:You come in here with work to do, and that work is to consider how you're going to stir up those around you for love and good works. Now, did you come in here ready to work? I rarely do. And again, I get paid. Like, it's my job, you know?
Collin Hansen:But, this kind of work, this kind of work that says, even though this stage is maybe like 8 inches high. Like, there's not a divide here between leadership and then you. Clergy and then you. It doesn't work that way. The let us is this is for all of us.
Collin Hansen:And and if you want to shirk this off on someone who's paid staff, then you will never ever look at the greatness and sufficiency of Jesus the way that he intends all of us to. Let us we are called into this. We are called into this room in this time together to serve one another. We have work to do when we come together. And even if you say, I don't think I really need anything this week, I feel pretty top of my gain.
Collin Hansen:I've got my confidence, I've got my assurance. Do you think about the needs of others? Do you think that the other people in this room need you? Well, maybe they don't because they've never had you stir them up to love and good works. Maybe they don't need you.
Collin Hansen:But if we are to live into what Christ has, through his flesh, like, that veil that's being talked about there is his flesh ripped, torn, that we might have access and confidence into the holy of holies, the presence of God. That's his flesh. That's his body. He did that. His flesh was ripped, like that veil was ripped so that you and I, like like, that we would come into this place, you and me, we would stir one one another up, and that we would consider.
Collin Hansen:Before we get to the stirring, we have to consider. I like how that's there. There's a prereq for the stirring, and that is you've got to think about this. You don't accidentally stir people up for love and good works. You don't haphazardly care about the people around you and stir them up for the good works that they have been created for in Christ Jesus.
Collin Hansen:Ephesians 2:10. That you don't just fall into that. We don't stumble into these things. We have to consider it. And I would encourage you, consider that before you come into this place, but let's not limit the stirring up to an hour and 45 minutes in this room is much bigger than that by the grace of god.
Collin Hansen:He has done it. We have access to god. Therefore, let us draw near. Let us hold fast, and let us consider how we might stir one another up for love and good works, that we will be honest with our needs, that we would see the sufficiency of Christ and see that we have work to do out of love, as disciples of our living, seated Lord. Let's go to him in prayer.
Collin Hansen:God, we thank you for your word and we thank you for our time together in it. And we, god, I ask that, the things that we've talked about in this time that were true, that you would implant them deep in our hearts, that you would root them deep in our hearts. Any foolish or unwise or poorly worded thing would just be forgotten. Lord, may your truth and your goodness and your greatness stand. May we behold your glory.
Collin Hansen:May we look up as Stephen and see our risen lord our risen lord enthroned. And help us to to live this gospel life out. The the gospel wouldn't just be something that we believed at our initial conversion, but that we would see that your gospel sustains us by the power of your spirit, by the kindness of you, our lord. So we ask that you would work these truths deep into our hearts and our lives that we might live the gospel wherever we might go to the praise and glory of your name. We pray this in your name.
Collin Hansen:Amen.
