Heaven, or Earth
The sermon emphasizes the importance of drawing near to God with confidence and assurance, relying on our position in Christ and letting go of the need for rules and rituals.
Miles J. Stanford preaches on the boldness we have to enter into the Holiest through faith, emphasizing that there are no barriers for us to receive blessings from the Father. He contrasts Judaism's imposing rituals with Christianity's call to lay aside hindrances and run the race to heaven. Stanford warns against Judaising in Christianity, where insistence on old laws can lead to bondage instead of experiencing the full liberty as children of God.
Text
"Having. . . boldness to enter into the Holiest" (Hebrews 10:19).
We are to draw nigh in faith where we already are in position.
"Instead of the priest coming out to bless, as in Judaism, we are to go in for blessing. There are no barriers now. The Father has removed every hindrance and now it is for me to go in and abide. The teachers of Christendom have practically stitched up the veil which He rent. The rent veil in the Gospels is the Father's coming out, but the rent veil in Hebrews is the believer's going in." -J.B.S.
"Judaism has all the sanction of a divine origin and the splendor of an imposing ritual; yet, for the early Christians, all this was a weight to be laid aside, a useless encumbrance, a positive hindrance. And we have the same hindrance to lay aside today, for Christianity has been perverted into a modified kind of Judaism, in which people are occupied with religious things on earth, and thus hindered from running the race to heaven." -C.A.C.
"Typical of the past, there is a great deal of Judaising in Christianity today. The Ten Commandments have a place assigned to them as the sine qua non, the recognition of which was necessary for true religion while man was in the flesh and under law. To insist on their having that place now tends to bring men into fearful bondage, and to hinder them getting into the full liberty of the children of the Father." -G.V.W.
"Judaism, in its full results, is the manifestation that God is come down to man upon the earth; and this will again be displayed in the millennial days of Israel's blessing. But Christianity is based upon the wondrous fact that man, in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, is gone up to the Father into the heavens."
"Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith" (Hebrews 10:22).
Sermon Outline
- The Importance of Drawing Nigh
- The Contrast with Judaism
- The Need to Lay Aside Judaising
- The Reality of Christianity
- God's Presence in Heaven
- Man's Presence in Heaven through Christ
Key Quotes
“Instead of the priest coming out to bless, as in Judaism, we are to go in for blessing.” — Miles J. Stanford
“The rent veil in the Gospels is the Father's coming out, but the rent veil in Hebrews is the believer's going in.” — Miles J. Stanford
“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith” — Miles J. Stanford
Application Points
- Let go of the need to follow rules and rituals, and instead rely on your position in Christ to draw near to God.
- Approach God with confidence and assurance, relying on the freedom from the law that Christianity offers.
- Focus on developing a direct relationship with God, rather than trying to earn His favor through good works or rituals.