Hebrews 10:15-39

The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First He says:

"This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put My laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds." Then He adds: "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more."

And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin.

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, His body. And since we have a great Priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people." It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.

So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised. For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him." But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.

Is It Hard to Get Into Heaven?

As a child I wondered where God lived in outer space and how long it would take to get there. Far beyond intergalactic space with its billions of swirling nebulae and novas lies another dimension. Some speculate it's the fifth dimension. Wherever it is and however far out, the Bible calls it the highest of heavens.

You cannot go there in a rocket ship. That's because heaven exists beyond even speeded-up time. Traveling at a zillion miles per hour might catapult you instantly to the edge of our universe, but to take a step into the third heaven requires something different, for our flesh and blood cannot enter it. You must be born again or you cannot, as Jesus warned, "see the kingdom of God."

-- Joni Eareckson Tada, Christian Reader, Vol. 33, no. 5.

One Wednesday after our children's club meeting, our family stopped at Dairy Queen. It was a special evening because my 4-year-old daughter had just asked Jesus into her heart. My husband, wondering how much she actually understood, asked her, "So you want to go to heaven to see Jesus?"

"Yes," she replied. "But can I finish my Dilly Bar first?" -- Tammy McBee, Normal, IL, Today's Christian Woman, "Heart to Heart."

So… how hard is it to get into heaven? Let’s look into Hebrews 10 and see if we can get any insight.

First, however, please take the time to read today's scripture.

If you think preaching is easy, take on this set of scriptures!

Under the new covenant, or gospel dispensation, the individual that repents and accepts the blood covering of Jesus has full and final forgiveness. This is the difference between the new covenant and the old one. Under the old, sacrifices had to be repeated frequently. Under the new covenant, one Sacrifice is enough to procure spiritual pardon for every one who believes. They are being freed from punishment in the world to come. That makes the new covenant pretty exciting! Rest assured that nothing we can do outside of accepting the sacrifice of Christ for our sins saves us! Therefore, if you want to be saved from eternal punishment and saved to eternal life, receive Jesus! It’s that simple!

Verses 17, 18 Then He adds: "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more." And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin.

Verses 19-25 speak of “The Life of Faith.” Now we get practical. As believers we have an open way to the very presence of God. Think about that! Some people can call on the President of the United States and he will return their call if he is not in the office at the time of the call. I would guess that not many in this church could do that.

However, we can “call on God” Himself any time we need to and He is always ready to respond! But how often do we fail to pray? Obviously I cannot speak for you, but I know that I do not use privilege as often as I should.

Why can we do this? It is made possible by the blood of Jesus, by the merit of that blood which He offered up as an atoning sacrifice. Matthew Henry writes, “The agreement of infinite holiness with pardoning mercy, was not clearly understood till the human nature of Christ, the Son of God, was wounded and bruised for our sins. Our way to heaven is by a crucified Savior; His death is to us the way of life, and to those who believe this, He will be precious. They must draw near to God; it would be contempt of Christ, still to keep at a distance.”

After you receive Christ as your Savior you should be baptized in water. Water baptism was given by God to remind us that our conduct should be pure and holy. While we get comfort and grace from knowing that we are reconciled to God, we should also walk in obedience to God. We need to seek out ways to be of service to each other.

We also need to obey verse 24: “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” In other words, we should stir up each other to practice good works and the practice of good works.

We all get weary at times – and the rest of us should be quick to console, then counsel, then encourage the ones who are weary – knowing that our time will come sooner or later!

In verses 26-31 we are exhorted against apostasy (rebellion against God) and to perseverance. Apostasy, the sin mentioned here, is a total and final falling away, when a person determines to despise and reject Christ. We are not talking about the sin of giving up or wanting to forget the church. We are talking about the person who declares once and forever that they want nothing more to do with God. Christ is the only way of salvation. He alone has the words of eternal life.

The apostate will die without mercy. Verses 26 and 27 send a chill through our spiritual being. “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. That does not appeal to me! Note verses 29-31: “How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge His people." It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

How dreadful it will be, when not only the justice of God, but His abused grace and mercy call for vengeance! This does not apply to the person who is repentant of his sin. Anyone who is willing to salvation will be granted forgiveness. John 6:37 states, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never drive away.”

As we look at verses 32-39, we have to remember that the early church faced many afflictions. The early Christians were both feared and hated. Actually, that is the reason Christianity is under so much pressure today. People respect us, but they fear us because of our spiritual power. Here in Loyal, Oklahoma, it is not so much a problem as it is elsewhere in the country.

Adversity united the early Christians much as the events of September 11^th have united our country these days. However, the unity in the United States is starting to come under attack again, so we must remain diligent.

The Christian spirit is a spirit of compassion; it helps us sympathize with others… visiting them, helping them, and praying for them. I enjoy life as we know it today, but this life is “but a shadow” of things to come. The happiness that the saints enjoy in heaven will far exceed any joy you have here and it will last forever. In heaven there will be no enemies!

This will balance the books for any loss we suffer here. The greatest part of the saints' happiness, as yet, is in our future! The Christian's present conflict may be difficult, but will be soon over. God never is impressed with our talk until it matches our walk. As we live by faith, and die in faith, our home in heaven is secure!

Melody Saggus’ grandfather died and she wanted to be with the family. She writes, “After explaining to my 5-year-old daughter that my grandfather had died and I was going to fly out of town for a couple of days, she went to school and told her teacher a different version of the story. "My great-grandpa died and my mommy had to go to heaven to see him. My daddy's going there to pick her up tomorrow!"

Melody D. Saggus, Christian Reader, Vol. 33, no. 5

I would say that heaven was very real to this 5 year old… and not a difficult concept to accept. Don’t you wish we all still had that child-like faith?

How hard is it to get into heaven? Only one person in the Bible received a direct promise of heaven--a thief. But he was a forgiven thief. Have you asked God to forgive your sins so you will be ready?

I have not read much by C. S. Lewis – a great Christian writer who has helped a lot of people – but now and then I find a quote that is right on target. Here is one: “We are afraid that Heaven is a bribe, and that if we make it our goal we shall no longer be disinterested. It is not so. Heaven offers nothing that a mercenary soul can desire. It is safe to tell the pure in heart that they shall see God, for only the pure in heart want to.” C. S. Lewis in The Problem of Pain. Christianity Today, Vol. 36, no. 7.

If your only reason for serving God is to get to heaven you will miss a lot of blessings in this life. One writer lamented that he wasn’t sure he wanted to go to heaven. Why? He was John Venn, a British social reformer. He once lamented that a drawback of entering heaven might be the lost opportunities to do good. “There will be no sick to visit, no naked to clothe, no afflicted to relieve, no weak to nurture, and no faint to encourage. Also, there will be no one to win to Christ.” -- William Wilberforce, Christian History, no. 53.

I’m guessing that he was probably surprised when he entered heaven at the amount of things to do.

Are you ready?

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