Hebrews 10:19-25

In Hebrews 10:19-25, the author gives us two effects of the Christ-event:


1. Our Worship (vv19-22).

The sacrifice of Christ makes our access to God possible and makes worship of the one God possible for gentiles (i.e. outsiders of the covenant and promises of God). Prior to Christ Jesus, non-Jews would have to become Jews in order to participate in the worship of the one God; Christ makes it possible for all nations to worship God without having to become a Jews. This spells equality for all people before God, i.e. there is no special privilege accorded to any people group. Similarly, today there is no privilege for any one, whether you are rich or poor, adults or children, PhD or ITE, CEO or domestic helper; all are on the same level before God.

He also makes us acceptable to God by becoming our high priest and sacrifice. We are led into God’s presence by Christ through his ‘shed blood’ and ‘broken flesh’. We may have different experiences and talents, but these should not be a wall of division, but gifts to be received with gratitude. Rather than allowing our experiences and talents become a cause of division, use them to foster unity and love by serving each other. And this brings us to the second point.

2. Our Fellowship (vv23-25).

Our fellowship should be encouraging and stimulating flowing from the confidence we have in Christ. Do we come together just to do projects or ‘to serve’? Is there any other value besides coming together to plan for projects and programs? Is this Christian fellowship? According to our passage today, I doubt so. Hebrews 10:24 says ‘let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds’ and v25 says ‘encouraging one another’. When these two factors/ingredients of fellowship are missing, that’s when we will start to neglect ‘our own assembling together’.

Our fellowship is a reflection of the reality of Christ’s work to bring people together before God in worship and mutual encouragement. Our presence in a gathering of God’s people or fellowship should be characterized by what we can contribute to the well-being of the Other, rather than what we can gain. Fellowship does demand for our time and energy, but anything that is worth doing demands our time and energy. The nature and quality of each fellowship depends on our understanding of our role to stimulate and encourage one another. Each time we attend a fellowship or church gathering, we must be prepared to do that.

The Christ-event does not affect individuals only; it too affects our social life as well. Our sacramental life should inform our social life. Our worship of the one God should affect our relationships in His one body.