Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text for this evening is the Epistle Lesson just read, from Hebrews 10. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- It must have been quite an experience for the disciples to live with and to get to know Jesus – the Divine Son of God incarnate, the great prophet and teacher and worker of miracles, and our dear Savior and Lord. I suppose that the night of His betrayal, the Last Supper, must also have been quite an experience for them – and instructive for them as they contemplated what happened that night over the course of their lives.
- In coming to know Jesus they were actually coming to know God – God the Father. You remember what Jesus once said to them: “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.” And then the disciple Philip objected to this, and said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us,” to which Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know Me, Philip? Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father.” [John 14:7-9]
- All of this is quite important – important for all of us. We also would like to be “KNOWING GOD,” sure and certain of Who He is and what He thinks of us. After all, we know that there is much in this life that is beyond our control – but not beyond God’s control; and we know that at some point in time we will be leaving this world through death – and we’d like to have some idea as to what is going to become of us!
- So “KNOWING GOD” is important to us – and our text helps us with this. In our text is a quote from Jeremiah 31. Our text elides out an important statement from God in Jeremiah 31: “for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD.” [Jer. 31:34] Through this “New Covenant” “they shall all know Me . . . declares the LORD.” All of this helps us to understand that:
I. We Know God Through The Forgiveness Of Sins Provided For Us In The Blood Of Jesus Christ – His Suffering, Death, And Resurrection
Text: “And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, ‘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,’ then He adds, ‘I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.’ Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.”
Statement: Of critical importance, when it comes to “KNOWING GOD” is the issue of our sin. We certainly know that we sin – that we have evil thoughts, speak evil words, and commit evil deeds. We know that such sin is an affront to God – and calls down His righteous judgment and punishment. And we know that the just “wages of sin is death,” temporal punishments, physical death and the eternal death of separation from God.
Application: So we have this burning question: Just what is God going to do with us in view of our sin? The answer to this question is given in the text quoted from Jeremiah, and in our text from Hebrews: “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” The consequence of this is also stated in our text, that now there is no longer any need for “offering for sin” – that there cannot be any more “offering for sin,” because it has been fully and completely paid for and removed from us by Jesus Christ, so that God no longer even “remembers” our sins.
What is the import of this for “KNOWING GOD”? Hopefully, that is obvious to each of us. God has reconciled us to Himself in the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. “He made Him Who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” [2 Cor. 5:21] God is love – and in love for us He has removed the issue of our sins from our relationship with Him! We know Him when we know and believe the love that He has for us. This love is in Christ Jesus, His beloved Son, Who has taken away the sin of the world.
Application 2: So, those who know His gracious forgiveness and mercy in Christ Jesus, know God. Those who do NOT know His gracious forgiveness and mercy in Christ Jesus, or who reject this gracious mercy and forgiveness, DO NOT know God. God wills for us to know Him in His Son, Christ Jesus, to know Him through His gracious forgiveness, mercy, and love!
Transition: And our text reveals wondrous things in regard to those who are “KNOWING GOD,” specifically that:
II. Those Knowing God Enter Into The Holy Places Of God
Text: “Therefore, brothers, 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 Priest over the house of God, 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.”
Statement: It is a bit unusual to have both of the Sacraments of God’s grace mentioned in the same verse – the Sacrament of His blood and flesh, and also the Sacrament of “washing with pure water.” Both have to do with God’s grace, mercy, and forgiveness. Both are centered in Christ Jesus, and have to do with “KNOWING GOD.” Both bring us into a very special and precious relationship with God – “KNOWING GOD” and entering into close presence and fellowship with Him. Both bring us into “holy places.”
And we must remember two things: this happens “by the blood of Christ” and “through His flesh.” Now, the disciples must certainly have been filled with awe, wonderment, and a good deal of questioning when Christ gave them the New Supper, that of “the New Covenant” in His blood. But through the years they surely came to understand the blessed significance of this Sacrament – in terms of actually “KNOWING GOD” and coming into His blessed presence in “the holy places.”
Application: We too may have a good deal of questioning about all of this. But we must focus on two things – the blood of Christ and the flesh of Christ, and recognize that by these things we too “have confidence to enter the holy places” and to “draw near to God with a true heart in full assurance of faith.” We do so because we are “KNOWING GOD” through His gracious mercy, forgiveness, and love in Christ Jesus. Having “seen” Jesus in this way, we also have “seen” the Father – and “KNOW” Him!
Transition: This is foundational for our lives in Christ, for:
III. Those Knowing God Hold Fast The Confession Of Faith – Knowing His Faithfulness To Us And To His Word
Text: “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He Who promised is faithful.”
A. We Hold Fast Our Confession Of Faith With Our Words
Rom. 10:9-11 “Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, ‘Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame.’”
B. We Also Hold Fast Our Confession Of Faith With Our Deeds Of Love
Text: “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.”
C. We Also Hold Fast Our Confession Of Faith With Our Worship Fellowship Together – As We Look For The Return Of The Lord Jesus Christ
Text: “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.”
Statement: “KNOWING GOD” is important, critical for us, not only for our inner peace of mind and being, but also for our way of life. It sets our priorities, and the central aspect of our life and being: “holding fast the confession of our hope without wavering” – by what we say, what we do, and by our faithful worship fellowship as a congregation.
Application: So we’re not talking here about “education” – mere knowledge, but rather “KNOWING GOD” changes everything for us, the entirety of our lives. This is the blessedness of the promised “New Covenant” in Christ Jesus, the blessedness of “KNOWING GOD” – forgiveness, peace with God, eternal life and salvation, AND ALSO a whole new way of life, including “where” we go [the holy places, the very sacred presence of God] and what we are doing in life as disciples of Jesus and ambassadors of God.
Conclusion: We started out by considering the exceptional experiences that Jesus’ disciples had in walking with Him for three years, hearing His Word, getting to know Him, and especially the special fellowship meal of the Last Supper – which extends until Christ drinks the fruit of the vine with us in His kingdom.
We need to take seriously the exceptional experiences that Jesus affords to us right now in “KNOWING GOD” through Him! Forgiveness, life, eternal salvation! Being with Jesus, and the Father, and the Holy Spirit in “the holy places” of God – through the Sacrament of Christ’s flesh and blood! Living as His disciples – in verbal confession of our faith and hope, in lives of love and good works, AND in our blessed fellowship of worship as His congregation, His church!
If we are “KNOWING GOD” then we know that this is His will and His promise within the New Covenant in Christ Jesus, that: “they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD.”
God grant this blessedness to us all, Amen!
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.