“Let us.” Just let that phrase sink in. Over and over again, the writer of Hebrews speaks to the believers of Christ as a group. Take a minute to soak yourself in the “Let us” commands in the book of Hebrews.

Let Us Hold Fast 

“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10:22-23

Let Us Stir One Another Up

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Hebrews 10:24-25

Let Us Run

“Let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2

Let Us Worship Together

“Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire… Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.” Hebrews 12:28-29; 13:15

Let Us Rest

“Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it.” Hebrews 4:1

Let Us Pray

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16

Let Us Go Outside the Camp

“Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured.” Hebrews 13:13

Today in our culture of “me” everything—”me” marriage (Keller), “me” friendships, “me” life—we see that this “me” thinking has drifted into the church. I contend that Christianity is not about you and me; it is about us. If we follow Jesus, we must fight the urge to make it all about ourselves and grow to see the whole body of Christ, which is the church. When you think of the church, what are some thoughts that come to your head? Be honest with yourself: does it make you smile, or make you cringe? If you were to place it on a list of important things in your life, where would it end up? To be even more personal, what has the church meant to you over the past six months, the last year? Has the church been a blessing? Or are the thoughts of how the church has failed you the first to pop up in your mind?

Some people love group texting chats, and then others would list group chats as one of the most annoying things in the world. It is that text thread with ten to fifteen people in it. There’s that one person who always comments, gives a thumbs up, emoji, “haha” to every single comment, or always posting a video. There are some who can’t exit those conversations fast enough, or at least you find a way to mute the conversation. Would you consider church to be like those group chats? Sadly, when people think of the church, it can easily be thought of as an annoyance. A weekly gathering of people that you don’t necessarily like who are always making weird comments, or who you have no desire to actually be in relationship with. There may be a few people that fit your group, but the rest, you could live without. I imagine if the church is truly being the church, it is not going to be filled with people who look like you, act like you, and like the same things as you. There will be people with different backgrounds, upbringings, and political views. There may even be people who like Ohio State! But if we will start to see “us” as Hebrews describes it, the church can and will be the most loving, caring, giving, serving, forgiving place on the Earth. Let me make this statement again just so you can feel the weight of it. I believe the church is supposed to be the most loving, caring, giving, serving, forgiving place on the Earth. Without a hesitation, I can tell you I believe this to be the truth. It is why I have such a passion for the church to be the church. Not just a place where people are kind, but a place of true love. Not just a place where people smile and are nice, but a place of sacrificial people, willing to bear one another’s burdens. I challenge you, as you read this book, to be looking for what Scripture really says a “Let us” church is supposed to be.

No Need for “Us”

I do see new dangers today that threaten the “us.” Maybe I should say it this way, I see the same dangers of the past just packaged a little differently. I am commonly seeing a trend to think that as long as I have my favorite Christian podcast, my favorite preacher, or my favorite app, I am good. People would be more devastated to lose those things than if they lost the church. This isn’t speaking against podcasts or listening to other pastors; what I am speaking against is when those things take the place of the church in your life. Now, do I believe that most Bible-believing Christians would argue against the church? No, I do not. Do I think there are many who are missing out on all the things we are called to do together? Yes, I do. I just saw this morning on social media, a question that hundreds of people answered, “If you could only listen to one pastor the rest of your life, who would it be?” Has the importance of the speaker, or the influencer, moved in front of the local church in your life?

Our culture is becoming more and more separated, and increasingly isolated. People are not seeing the need to work at face-to-face friendships because they think their screen supplies everything they think they need. I see the withdrawal happening; I see the temptation of it in my life. Do I think this is just because technology is changing? No. I believe this is a spiritual battle. God has created us to be together, to worship together, to serve together. The more we are separated, the easier it will be to not be the church the Lord has called us to be. 

I started out in student ministry years ago. We would do events like all-nighters, inviting kids to stay up all night with crazy games and activities. I will tell you, I really didn’t have to work hard to get kids to come out. The option to hang out all night with their friends was an easy sell. I argue that today, about 20 years later, it’s a much harder sell. They already get to hang out with their friends all night, not face-to-face, but on some device that actually gives distance and, for many, a comfort zone that they would rather not exit.

Who Is the “Us” in Hebrews?

The book of Hebrews’ original audience was Jewish Christians who were struggling in their confidence in the Lord. These Jews had come to know Christ but were having doubts. Along with their doubts, they were being persecuted because of their faith. Leon Morris says, “They seem to have been hesitant about cutting themselves off decisively from the Jewish religion in favor of the Christian way.” John MacArthur says it this way, “They lacked full confidence in the gospel and consequently in their Lord. They were in danger of going back into the standards and patterns of Judaism.”

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.”Hebrews 10:19-23

You may wonder why we are starting in chapter 10. Hebrews follows many of the Pauline Epistles’ outlines. (Now, I didn’t say Paul wrote it; I am saying it follows the same style). The first half of the letter speaks to who Jesus Christ truly is. It specifically looks at the Old Testament and how Jesus is the Great High Priest, that He is greater than Moses, and He died once and for all that we may be saved. Hebrews 10:19-21 gives a summary of the first ten chapters of the book and then gives direction on how the church, the believers, the “us,” is called to live. Kent Hughes explains, “So we come here to the great turning point in Hebrews where the writer turns from explanation of the superiority of the person and work of Christ to the application of it in the lives of the storm-tossed church. It shifts from doctrine to duty, creed to conduct, precept to practice, instruction to exhortation. All of which means one thing: the writer becomes very explicit regarding how Christians ought to live.”

In Hebrews chapter 10 verse 19, the author starts out by telling us of the confidence we have to approach the all-mighty, all-knowing God. To do this, the writer briefly speaks of multiple arguments he has made in the first half of the letter. He mentions entering the holy places by the blood of Jesus. This is in clear reference to the Old Testament and the temple. The temple is where the presence of the Lord resided. There was great fear to enter the presence of the Lord. Only once a year during the Day of Atonement would the high priest enter the inner parts of the temple. He would then sprinkle the blood of the sacrifice (lamb) on the mercy seat, where the Ten Commandments were placed, as an atonement sacrifice for the sins of the Israelites. This was something that was done every year. A new sacrifice every year, but now Hebrews tells us there is a new way. Because of the blood of Jesus, this once-and-for-all sacrifice truly does bring forgiveness of sin. Tim Keller says, “What a picture! The temple was the residence of the holy God, His perfect moral righteousness represented by the Ten Commandments, which no human being ever has or ever can keep. How shall a person approach God? Wouldn’t the law of God condemn us? Yes it would, except for the blood of the atoning sacrifice on the mercy seat, over the Ten Commandments, shielding us from its condemnation.”

The Scripture goes on to say that this new and living way, pointing to Christ, is not a dead sacrifice but living and is open to us. It again brings us to the temple, the curtain that separates the Holy of Holies. That curtain was about 60 feet tall, 30 feet wide, and four inches thick. This was not your average window curtain to keep out the sun. This curtain was miraculously torn in two from top to bottom, when Christ died on the cross. “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split” (Matthew 27:50-51). Albert Mohler, Jr. says, “We no longer enter God’s presence through a curtain, We enter through Jesus, our great high priest over the house of God.” Hughes, describing it more, says, “The inner curtain... was the grandest of thirteen curtains in the temple. Its function was to block all eyes from and forbid access to the Holy of Holies except once a year when the high priest entered with blood offered for himself and for the sins of the people.”

This wonderful picture shows that we shall no longer be separated from God. Because of Christ and His blood shed on the cross, we now may come boldly to the throne of God. I love what Michael Kruger says, “Drawing near to God is a complex affair.” We don’t do this in arrogance but in humility; because of Christ, we may confidently come.

The next verse again encourages us to come, but we don’t come alone, we come together. “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith” (Hebrews 10:22). At the end of this verse, I can’t help but see the picture of baptism. Romans 6:4 reminds us, “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” Have you been baptized? It is a very important step for believers in Christ; the outward expression of the amazing inward transformation.

This brings us another “Let us.” “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23). Richard Phillips says, “Hold firm to the gospel hope in an unbelieving world.” The teaching of the past four verses is pointing us to the most important thing we know... Christ, Who He is and what He has done. Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 says it this way, “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.” We, as Christians, hold fast to the truth of the Gospel. Here, the word “confession” has an interesting, and even deeper meaning. Phillips goes on to say, “The Greek word for confession here means a public and doctrinal confession, and it is in this manner that we must uphold the truth.” Romans 10:9-10 says, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” Mohler remarks, “It is verbal verification of repentant hearts. The writer of Hebrews is not referencing a lengthy doctrinal statement. The confession on his mind is the central confession that Jesus saves sinners.”

So, this teaching leads to the question, “Can you hold fast to your confession of hope?” Has there been a time you have confessed Christ as your Savior? Here the writer isn’t asking you about how you feel, how you grew up, when you were baptized, or when you had your first communion. I remember a night many years ago when my son was around seven years old. My wife and I, along with our son, were sitting in the living room. The game show “Family Feud” was on the TV, and I only remember one survey from that night. The game show said they surveyed 100 people and asked them, “Where do you take someone on a first date?” After a few answers were given, one guy who was trying to figure out something to say, blurted out, “Church!” Church is where you take someone on a first date. All of a sudden my son explodes and says, “Ohhhh, we got a believer here!” We died laughing. My son, who grew up in church, at seven years old was identifying who was a believer and who wasn’t. Hebrews points to true believers, those who hold fast to their confession in Jesus Christ. Those who truly make a proclamation of faith and live it out by following Him.

Can you hold firm to your confession? Do you have the confidence to know you are secure in your relationship with the Lord? Are you confident in Jesus who is faithful? Is your confidence, not in what you have done, but in what He has done for you. Have you ever made that confession of faith? Have you ever been baptized, taking that step of obedience, an outward showing of an inward salvation? Phillips says, “People who trust in Jesus Christ stand before an open door, with free and open access to God, and with their sins atoned for by His blood.”

Questions for personal study or group discussion: