This morning we continue our journey to the end. You may have noticed from last week’s reading and from this week’s readings and as you will hear in next week’s readings, as we approach the end of the Church Year our readings deal with the end times, with Judgement Day and Jesus’ return. And let me assure you, we will meet the Lord. I have to admit that there are many times I struggle to believe that we actually believe we will meet the Lord. I say that because too often we live as if we will live on in this world forever, and I must include myself. I cannot tell you how often it is that I must remind myself of the temporariness of this world. And yet, so often we invest so much of our time and energies in this world instead of getting ourselves ready for the world to come. The great thing is this, when we reach heaven, all this will seem like nothing, but until then, we do live in this world and we struggle not living as a part of this world.
In our text, the writer to the Hebrews begins by reminding us of the Old Covenant of Sacrifices. We begin at verse eleven, “11And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” (v. 11-14).
In the Old Covenant the priest had to repeat the sacrifices daily. In other words, there was no end of the sacrifices that were being offered. As you read through the whole Bible and especially the first five books of the Old Testament the sacrificial offerings were set out and there were a lot of sacrifices that needed to be made. The “problem”, if you will, of these sacrifices was that they did not do anything. They did not earn forgiveness. Instead they were simply offered as a foreshadowing of what was to come. They were a reminder that the price for sin was death, that blood had to be shed for forgiveness.
It was not until Christ came and offered Himself as the once for all sacrifice for our sins that the sacrificial offerings were ended. Notice how the writer tells us that the priest stood to offer the sacrifices on a daily basis. After Jesus offered Himself, that is, after His life, suffering, death, resurrection and ascension, He sat down at the right hand of the Father. That He sat down is an indication that everything is accomplished. Jesus’ sacrifice of Himself did pay the price for sin. His blood was shed. He died, paying the price for our sins and earning forgiveness for us. Everything has been taken care of.
Today we continue to have the witness of the Holy Spirit, in particular through the means of grace. Picking up in our text at verse fifteen, “15And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, 16“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” 17then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” 18Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin” (v. 15-18).
After Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, God immediately stepped in. He initiated the covenant by promising to send a Savior. And notice that this initiation of the covenant, this promise was given even before there was an Abraham and a Children of Israel, reminding us that God’s promise was for all people. God later reiterated His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, even King David, and so forth. He reiterated His covenant with Mary and Joseph and began fulfilling His covenant in the giving of His Son, Jesus, born in Bethlehem.
Jesus brings us the fullness of the Good News. Jesus did what we cannot do, He lived perfectly. He obeyed all of God’s laws, perfectly. He fulfilled all of God’s promises, perfectly. He lived in this world, always looking to the world to come. While He invested Himself and the giving of His life in this world, He did not invest His life in this world. He had no home, no place to lay His head. He did not have a “regular” job. He had the clothes on His back and yet never worried about anything He needed. He lived in perfection and then He took our sins upon Himself, being made sin for us. And He paid the price for our sins, He died. His death brought our forgiveness.
And finally, the writer gives us words of encouragement in our confidence as well as instruction in our living as Christians. We pick up at verse nineteen, “19Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22let 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. 23Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25not 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” (v. 19-25).
What was new for his first readers may not be so new to us today, but the writer tells us that we can approach God directly, this direct approach to God was indicated when Jesus died and the veil in the temple was ripped in two from top to bottom. Each one of us can pray directly to God. We may simply speak with Him. We do not have to be formal in our speaking to Him. We may simply, and we are encouraged to simply, speak with Him as we speak with a close or dear friend.
We can have confidence in sins being forgiven. That is why Jesus came to earth. That is why Jesus suffered and died, to pay the price for our sins. We have confidence that our sins are forgiven. This confidence does not give us license to sin, but it gives us the freedom to live life knowing that we have forgiveness so each day is a new day and a new day to start over. And with forgiveness, we know that we also have life and salvation. Our eternal lot is set.
We can do good works. No, good works to do not save us. In and of ourselves we cannot do good works, but by the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through us we can and we do the good works which God has prepared in advance for us to do. This includes, as the writer says, “stirring up one another to love and good works,” in other words, encouraging each other to love and good works.
And finally, and notice these are not my words as I continually encourage you, but they are the words of God through the Epistle writer, we are to eagerly desire to be in the habit of meeting together for divine service and to encourage and build each other up. In other words we are to encourage each other to make regular, every Sunday and every day, and diligent use of the means of grace. And especially as we come closer and closer to the end of the world or to our own end on this earth, how much more important do we understand the necessity of making sure we are ready for our Lord’s return.
What does this mean? As we approach the end of the church year we are reminded of our sin. It is our sin which keeps us in trouble. It is our sin which brought Jesus’ death. It is our sins of thought, word and deed. It is our sins of commission, doing the things we should not be doing. And it is ours sins of omission, not doing the things we should be doing, encouraging and building each other up, being in divine service and Bible class, giving of our time, talents and treasure, as we should and as the Lord has blessed us. And now that I have said this, please do not think, either, well, pastor just has to say those things, or there pastor goes again, gripping and complaining about what we’re not doing. Instead, as the Lord so well tells us through other writers, take a sober look at your own life. When we all compare ourselves to Jesus, we do all come up short and that is the point. And that is sin. If we cannot admit our sin and our part in Jesus’ death then we have an even bigger problem.
As we approach the end of the church year we are reminded of God’s covenant. It is only as we realize our sinfulness that we can begin to fully comprehend God’s plan of salvation. First we are reminded of God’s covenant and His fulfillment of that covenant in the giving of Jesus and His life for ours. And second, we are reminded of God’s continued covenant that, as Jesus promised, He will return to take us from this valley of tears to be with Himself in heaven.
So, as we approach the end of the church year we are reminded of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. We are reminded that even though we are unworthy, is not because of our worthiness that Jesus gave His life. He gave His life because of His great love for us. We are unworthy. We are undeserving. That is why it is a gift. Again, the more sinful we realize we are, the more wonderful His forgiveness is.
As we approach the end of the church year we are reminded of our forgiveness and eternal life. And so we are reminded that we are forgiven and we are also reminded that with forgiveness of sins there is life and salvation. Remember, there are two ways to get to heaven. One way is by being perfect. So much for that. The other way is by faith in Jesus, because faith in Jesus brings us forgiveness and when we have forgiveness, we are perfect. So, forgiveness always means life and salvation.
As we approach the end of the church year we are reminded of our eagerness to make regular and diligent use of the means of grace. I know this is true for our shut-ins and for those who cannot be in church, they so much desire to be here. They so much eagerly anticipate our visits when they may partake of the Lord’s Supper. And this eagerness and desire should be our eagerness and desire. This desire should well be our desire, to eagerly desire to be given the gifts the Lord has to give.
As we approach the end of the church year we are reminded of our encouraging each other. Yes, we are brothers and sisters in Christ and sometimes we act like brothers and sisters, sometimes in not so good ways and sometimes in good ways. Yet, we are encouraged to encourage each other and build each other up, because the Day is drawing near. And the Day is nearer now than even when we began our service this morning.
One of the things I enjoy most about preaching at the funeral of a Christian is that I am able to present a message of forgiveness and hope, which we know is a certainty. As we approach the end of this church year we might well be reminded that our days are numbered and even though our days are numbered, at least our days on this earth, we have the certainty of heaven. May the Lord continue to give you that certainty and may we continue to share that certainty with each other. To God be the glory for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
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