The Epistle To The Hebrews - Executable Outlines

Mark A. Copeland
1) This is an allusion to the Old Testament practice of taking blood from the altar and
consecrating the priests by sprinkling them with it - Exo 29:21
2) It is the blood of Christ that is truly efficacious in purging our conscience of sin - He
9:14
b. We have had “our bodies washed with pure water”
1) Another allusion to the manner in which priests were consecrated - Exo 29:4
2) The author likely has reference to baptism...
a) For baptism is referred to as a “washing”- cf. Ac 22:16; Ep 5:26; Ti 3:5
b) Though the stress is on the inner cleansing, not the outer - cf. 1 Pe 3:21
[With Christ as our High Priest, and our own consecration as priests through the blood of Jesus, we
should not hesitate to draw near to God in prayer and worship, looking forward to that day when we
literally enter “through the veil” into God’s wonderful presence! For similar reasons we should also
heed the next part of “A Gracious Exhortation”...]
II. LET US HOLD FAST OUR HOPE (23)
A. WE ARE EXHORTED TO HOLD FAST THE CONFESSION OF OUR HOPE...
1. In Christ we have a much “better hope” - He 6:19; 7:19
2. But there is the danger of apostasy - He 3:12-13; 4:11
3. For which reason we must “hold fast” the hope which we confess- He 3:6,14; 4:14
-- Indeed, we need to “hold fast...without wavering” - He 10:23
B. A GOOD REASON TO HEED THIS EXHORTATION...
1. The faithfulness of God: “for He who promised is faithful”- He 10:23
2. God will not fail us (He 13:5); therefore we need to emulate the faith of Sarah, who
“judged Him faithful who had promised” - He 11:11
[We can depend upon God to keep His promise. But will we remain faithful to Him? To help ensure
that we will, we need to heed the final part of “A Gracious Exhortation”...]
III. LET US CONSIDER ONE ANOTHER (24-25)
A. IN ORDER TO STIR UP LOVE AND GOOD WORKS...
1. As we “draw near” to God and “hold fast” our hope, we are not to do so alone
2. We are to be mindful of each other and how we are doing (“consider one another”)
3. With a view to incite or spur on (“stir up”) both “love and good works”
- This is reminiscent of the exhortation in He 3:12-14
B. ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH FREQUENT ASSEMBLING...
1. An important purpose of our assembling is to “stir up love and good works”
a. Yes, we do come to worship and praise God
b. But we also come to edify and exhort one another! - He 10:25a
2. Therefore we must not become guilty of “forsaking the assembling of ourselves together”
a. The word “forsake” means “to abandon, desert”
b. I.e., to stop assembling with the saints altogether
c. Some evidently had done so (“as is the manner of some”)
3. Exhorting one another through assembling is even more imperative “as you see the Day
approaching”
Sermons From Hebrews 78