Another Serving of ‘Let Us’

It was not very long ago that I wrote an article titled “Did You Eat Your ‘Let Us’”. The premise was that the “eating” of “let us” was a play on words. Instead of eating real lettuce, the idea was to introduce some things that a Christian should include in his life. The main texts were Hebrews 4:1, 11, and 16. In this article, we will notice that there is another “serving” of “let us” for the Christian. This time the main texts are Hebrews 10:22-25.

The first verse encourages, “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water” (Heb. 10:22). In the context, the writer of Hebrews was contrasting aspects of the Law of Moses to the Law of Christ/“a new and living way” (Heb. 10:1, 20). One of the major differences is that under the Law of Christ, when a man obeys the Gospel he receives the forgiveness/remission of sins (Heb. 10:16-18). This did not happen under the Law of Moses. “For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect…For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins” (Heb. 10:1-4). Imagine every year, even though you made the right sacrifices, being reminded that you are still accountable for your sins. One can only imagine what it must have felt like for a Hebrew Christian to realize that finally those past sins were forgiven. With that blessing, the Christian also has the privilege of “drawing near” to God because Jesus is his High Priest (Heb. 10:21). As a matter of fact, the writer of Hebrews indicated that the Christian should do such with “full assurance of faith”. In other words, there should be no doubt in our minds! Why, you might ask? Because the Christian is no longer burdened with his past sins. Through obedience to the Gospel, the Christian can now have a clean conscience and a “new life” (Rom. 6:4-6). By being baptized for the remission of his sins, the Christian has hope (2 Cor. 5:17; Col. 3:9-10)!

The next “serving” of “let us” states, “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)” (Heb. 10:23). This verse further teaches the need for a Christian to remain faithful to the Lord all of his life (Heb. 3:12-4:1; Rev. 2:10). Once we have taken the brave step of believing and confessing our faith in the Lord, we should never falter in faithfulness to Him. We should remember that if we abandon our Lord, then we will be in a worse condition than before becoming a child of God (2 Pet. 2:20-22). Jesus said, “…No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). Also, Paul wrote, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:58). Similarly, he stated, “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong” (1 Cor. 16:13). Those in the first century were taught that if they denied the Lord, then they would be denied by the Lord (Matt. 10:32-33).

Finally, the third “serving” of “let us” in this article indicates, “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (Heb. 10:24-25). Keeping in mind the context, the writer of Hebrews encourages the first century brethren to think and care for each other. The love of the brethren is a wonderful blessing. However, we should be careful to remember that if we refuse to love our brethren, then we are violating the Law of Christ (1 John 3:14-15; 4:7, 11, 20-21). If we truly love our brethren, then we will do what we can to boost their faithfulness. We will help them to understand what are “good works” and how to do them (Titus 3:1). Included in that effort will be the admonition and rebuke of an erring brother. In particular, the writer of Hebrews addressed the failure of some Christians to assemble when they were supposed to do such. This action was sinful then, even though at times Christians were persecuted, and is still sinful now. Every opportunity, we should do what we can to encourage our brethren to stay the course. We must not let fear or excuses keep us from loving each other, doing good works, and assembling with the saints.

Well, there we have it, another three helpings of “let us”. Will we apply the things that we have learned to our own lives? By so doing, we can improve our lives for the present and future.
~ Corey Barnette