Lettuces
—Hebrews 10:21-25, an old sermon outline
Foreword: Digging around in some old sermon outlines, I found this lesson from Hebrews chapter ten. It’s called "lettuces" because the Hebrew writer makes three statements beginning with the words "Let us..."
Our text (Hebrews 10:21-25) opens with this powerful statement: "...we have a great priest over the house of God..."
This has been a theme in our series of studies in Hebrews. We have learned a lot about how great is our great high priest Jesus Christ and what wondrous things he can do for us. But what can we do in response to him?
The Hebrew writer, in these verses, answers that question. He says, "Since we have a great priest over the house of God..." then gives us three appropriate responses as outlined below.
Lettuces
1 Let us draw near...
- ...with a true heart honest to God.
- ...in full assurance of faith.
- ...having a clear conscience and a body dedicated to God. ¹
Hebrews 10:22 The fellowship lettuce.
2 Let us hold fast...
- ...without wavering steady and strong.
- ...to our confession of faith in Christ.
- ...to God’s promise of eternal life.
Hebrews 10:23 The faithfulness lettuce.
3 Let us consider...
- ...how to stir up one another to love and good deeds.
- ...how to build up one another with lots of encouragement.
- ...how to help each other see the day —the Lord’s day. ²
Hebrews 10:24-25 The foresight lettuce. ³
Footnotes
1. There is some debate about the meaning of "having... our bodies washed with pure water" and whether it refers to baptism.
I do not enter into that discussion in this lesson. I simply point out that the Hebrew writer is always drawing parallels between things under the old law and things under the new. The "various washings" of the law (Hebrews 9:10) had to do with purifying, sanctifying, dedicating things for the worship and service of God.
Christians dedicate their bodies to God as well as their souls (Romans 12:1), and God sanctifies the whole person (1Thessalonians 5:23).
2. Another point of debate is what "the day drawing near" might mean. Is it the second coming, or is it the first day of the week when we assemble together, or what?
Again, I do not enter into that discussion in this lesson, but point out that every day really should be the Lord’s day because every day could be our last day. We are always near the end, because we never know when our last heart beat will be.
3. The Greek κατανοεω (katanoeo), translated 'consider' means to thoroughly think about a matter so as to understand it well.
So the word 'consider' should be taken in the sense that we mean it when, for example, we speak of our 'considered opinion'. We mean that we have given much thought to the matter, and that’s the sense in which the Hebrew writer uses the word.