There is a place into which believers of old never dared tread...where only the High Priest went once each year, and then, with much fear and trembling. It is now the place that God calls all believers to; willing that we should come, not in fear, but boldly, for access has been provided to us on a trail of blood, leading from the altar of sacrifice into the Holiest of All.
Let’s begin by laying a little bit of historical background for the sake of better understanding; more fully realizing the significance of this place in which we now stand spiritually; into which God calls us to enter daily.
The tabernacle of the Old Testament, as designed by God and built according to His instruction to Moses, consisted of three main areas (sanctuaries). The first, the outer court, contained the brazen altar and the laver. On this altar, the blood of sacrificial animals was shed, and the laver was the place where the priests would wash their hands and feet in a cleansing ceremony prior to taking the blood of sacrifice into the holy place.
The second, or inner sanctuary (or Holy Place), contained the show bread, the lampstand and the altar of incense. Now, all of these tabernacle furnishings that I have mentioned so far had much deeper meaning than worshipers of old realized, and were all types of Christ, and significant of the work He was to do. But we will not study all of them here. I have to make these brief statements and let it suffice that we know the general layout of these articles.
The third room, the Holy of Holies, was behind a thick veil, and contained the ark of the covenant and the Mercy Seat. It was here that God’s presence dwelt with the people, and here where the High Priest would enter once each year to sprinkle sacrificial blood on the mercy seat in atonement for himself and all the people, for their sins.
It was a fearful place to be, even for the High Priest, who was commanded to go there...and most certainly a place that all others knew better than to approach. Everything about it; the thick veil, the instructions given to the priesthood for the various ceremonies, the warnings issued against approaching unworthily, all in essence said, ‘you are not welcome here, stand back’. Examples: In Exodus 31 we see God giving instructions to Moses that Aaron and following High Priests were to wash their hands and feet before entering the Holy Place with the blood of sacrifice, “that they may not die”. And when they went into the Holy of Holies once a year to represent the people, they got in and got out quickly; out of the very place that God now calls us to, and exhorts us to come with confidence; the confidence that accompanies assurance of faith that the sinless blood of Jesus opens the way, and because of His sacrifice and the torn veil, we can stand in the presence of God in His righteousness, our sin already judged.
They could not have this assurance. The tabernacle ministry, although a shadow of the good things to come, was only that...a shadow. The blood of bulls and goats, although meant to cover the sins of the people until the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan, could not take away sin; and that which is in sin, that which is sin, cannot exist in the presence of a Holy God. So it was for their safety that He kept them at a distance.
Now however, just the opposite is true. The veil has been torn from top to bottom, and a loving God, who once stood in the flesh and uttered the words “Come to Me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest”, now calls us to “draw near” and this is more than an invitation; it is also a command, as a father would command his children to do what is right and safe for them to do.
Let’s illuminate this section by first reading chapter 9, vss 24-28
“For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; nor was it that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood not his own. Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world, but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.”
The writer clearly states here that the duties of the High Priest were a type, a shadow of what was to come. The tabernacle itself was a type of the heavenly tabernacle, and the blood of many sacrifices year after year served, not to take away sins, but only to remind man year after year that his sin remained.
“The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed, while the outer tabernacle is still standing, which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience...” ref. 9:8 & 10:1,2
Did you catch that? The way into the holy place had not yet been disclosed, until our true, faithful High Priest would appear on the scene and offer a sacrifice better than bulls and goats. He entered, “Not...a holy place made with hands...but into heaven itself...to appear in the presence of God for us”. And did not offer “blood not His own”, but “put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself”. (Read 9:11-14)
Come with me now, past the bloody altar of sacrifice, and the laver of cleansing, and let’s enter with confidence through the torn veil into the Holiest of All.
The writer to the Hebrews begins this passage in vs 19, asserting (not asking if we do or saying that we should), that we have confidence to enter the Holy Place. It is imperative that we catch this point or the rest of the passage would lose its punch. There are places in scripture that speak to us about spiritual truths as fact (even though sometimes we struggle with them), and are worded in such a way as to assume that we are aware and confident of their truth. An example is Romans 6:2. We sometimes talk of ‘dying to sin’ or say that we should daily die to sin...but if you read the wording of Romans 6:1,2, it is obvious that Paul considers any believer as already dead to sin, and does not raise the issue that there should be any doubt or problem about that at all. This is as it is here in Hebrews 10:19. After the truths he has laid out in chapter 9 and the first 18 verses of chapter 10, about the way into the Holiest having been opened for us by the blood of Jesus, and that we now are free to stand in the Holiest in the righteousness of our Great High Priest, who “ever lives to make intercession for us”, it goes without saying that we should have confidence to draw near.
Worshipers of old did not have confidence. They had fear. They may not have understood many things, but they understood that they had sin, and the presence of sin always dispels confidence in a relationship to a holy and righteous God. The two are as far apart as the poles; as one end of the universe to the other. They were under a law of death, not a principle of life. And since the blood of bulls and goats only served to remind them of their condition, they could not have confidence to stand in the presence of holiness.
But now, we are told that we have confidence. And what is it that gives the writer confidence to say that we have confidence? Because we enter, that is, our entrance is gained, by the blood of Jesus. Where the blood of Jesus is, sin is dispelled! They are as far away as the poles; as one end of the universe to the other. We are not under a law of death, but under “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (which) has set us free from the law of sin and of death”. And what has His blood accomplished for us in relation to entering into the presence of God? It has created a new and living way. The old way was dead. It could not provide life; it only fortified a consciousness of sin. But through the perfect sacrifice of His blood, sprinkled on the Mercy Seat once for all, a new and living way into the Holy of Holies has been made. The veil, the thickly woven veil that ripped from top to bottom at the time of His death, the veil that once shut out man from the presence of God, remains as a type of Christ’s flesh that was torn for us, to open wide the way into blessed communion with the Father. Where once the High Priest entered, did his duty and departed quickly, we are now called by God to ENTER IN and DRAW NEAR to Him.
ADDED NOTE: The word “new” in vs 20 is, in the original language, “freshly slain”. In other words, God sees the shed blood of His Son, the perfect sacrifice, as fresh always. It is as though JUST NOW, Jesus died for us. It is as though JUST NOW He bore the stripes on His back and the thorns on His brow. In the Father’s eyes, it is always as though JUST NOW, the veil was torn. Remember the words of the song that say ‘the blood that Jesus shed for me, ... it will never lose its power’? How could it? It was shed JUST NOW. Freshly slain...Hallelujah!
By Christ’s perfect sacrifice, His perfect obedience to the Father’s plan, He became our Great High Priest over the house of God. His work is done, and it is perfect. It cannot be added to or taken away from. He finished His work, and “sat down”. He temporarily laid aside the independent exercise of His divine attributes, walked among men as the perfect God-Man, suffered, was crucified, died, was buried, and as our High Priest, entered the tabernacle not made with hands, sprinkled the blood of His perfect sacrifice on the Mercy Seat which is in Heaven, and “sat down”, until “His enemies be made a footstool for His feet”. His sitting down signifies that His work is completed. There is no more to do and, yes, He “ever lives to make intercession for us”, but not in reference to atonement. For “Where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin”. Heb 9:18
This is what He wants us to know; to be confident of; this is what the writer of this book has assumed that we already have; confidence in the perfect blood sacrifice of the perfect Lamb of God, who has opened a new and living way into the Holy of Holies through a torn veil. So, assuming that confidence, he exhorts us to “draw near”.
Now notice that he is writing to Christians, so this is not a gospel message. He is not telling them or us to get saved. He’s saying that since we are believers, we have confidence to draw near. The very nature of the exhortation implies that, 1. we have a need to draw near, 2. that we are not all near, 3. that we are not always near.
(Not that he needs me to agree with him, but...I agree)
I believe that the Christian church is replete with those who have come to the brazen altar (the cross) and beheld their sacrifice, and have gone on to the laver’s cleansing waters, and perchance have ventured and do venture occasionally into the inner sanctuary to pray, or to partake of the Bread of Life, or to study His Word and receive more Light from that Lampstand which is the light of the Word of God; but most of us have never drawn near, or seldom draw near that Holy of Holies. This is something that must be done on a daily basis. Yesterday’s visit within the veil (if indeed we were there) is not sufficient for today’s evil. It is not enough to be confident of His death for us, it is not enough to be confident of our sanctification to fill the head with knowledge of these things. It is not enough to fulfill an obligation of entering the church and performing rites of worship and adoration; to say the proper prayers and drop the proper offering into the passing plate and nod our silent “amen”s at the proper points of the sermon. God has, by the tearing of His Son’s flesh, opened the way into His very blessed presence; where we can learn of Him, leave for the moment the entire world behind with its sin and lusts, and grief and defeat and despair and death, and enjoy His presence and give Him the enjoyment of ours; and we are COMMANDED to “draw near”. When we refuse/disobey, we “...trample under foot the Son of God, and ...regard as unclean the blood of the covenant...and...insult the Spirit of grace”. Does that sound a little harsh? Well, God sacrificed His only Son to provide that entrance. How dare we NOT draw near?
But there are conditions to be met...that is to say, all that need be done to open the way for us has been done...but let’s be careful while entering with confidence, not to enter with insolence. He is, after all, Holy God. First, let’s enter with “full assurance of faith”. He has paid the price of our sin. Now, we are not worthy in ourselves, but we stand in His righteousness, not our own. If we fail or fear to enter because of a focus on our unworthiness, then we are in essence placing more faith in our sin than in His blood. Are we saved? Have we appropriated to ourselves the gift of salvation through faith in the shed blood of Christ? Then look not to self. By faith, in full assurance of faith, draw near. Remember, He calls us to it knowing our condition. Remember also, that it was while we were His enemies that Christ died for us. So when you think about finding a secret place in prayer, and think to yourself that maybe God won’t hear you or that you are not fit to come before Him, remember who is the accuser of the brethren; and remember that God is faithful to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, and to cleanse our conscience from dead works, and answer Satan with this; “My King shed His blood and died in my place, ‘JUST NOW’! Go away Satan, I’m called to draw near to the throne of Grace”. Then pray.
“...having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” It is knowledge and confidence in what He did for us that gives us boldness to enter within the veil, while it is full assurance of what He did in us that draws us near. He, by the sprinkling of His sacrificial blood has cleansed our hearts of an evil conscience; that is to say we no longer labor under the consciousness of the guilt associated with past sin. You can read about that in chapter 9, vs 14, and here in chapter 10, vss 2 and 3. Our conscience has been sprinkled clean. He has cast our sin into the deepest sea and forgotten it. Let not the knowledge of our past sin be what holds us back from drawing near! We are sprinkled clean from an evil conscience (or a consciousness of our forgiven sin). Furthermore, our bodies are washed with pure water. Now this is a spiritual implication. We went physically into the waters of baptism; in doing so, being obedient to our Lord, who instructed us to do so. But here the reference is to our spiritual sanctification by the Spirit and being cleansed daily by the pure water of His Word. No we may not enter into this Holy Place glibly and think that we enter on our own merit. It must be with awe and reverence for a God Who once could not be approached under fear of instant death, but Who now, because He has brought salvation to Him, invites us to come by faith into His very presence. And because He is Who He is, not even consciousness of evil has a place in His presence. And just as the High Priest used to wash his hands and feet before ministering in the tabernacle, we need daily wash our hands and our feet by the sanctifying written Word. But by all means, and without fail, let us avoid sinning through ignoring His exhortation to DRAW NEAR!
The writer gives us three exhortations pertaining to this confidence we have to enter within the veil by the blood of Jesus. First, we are to draw near. We all begin far too many of our days, and end our days, not having taken the time to do the most important thing; draw near. We concern ourselves with physical things that are already fading away as the flower of the field. We concentrate, sometimes from our waking moment, on worldly pursuits that are as wood hay and stubble, while we neglect to draw near; the very act that would bolster the heart and prepare the spirit for a daily Christlike walk. Then we wonder why we fail. Make a commitment with me today, to seek to obey God in this regard, and to, with full assurance of faith, daily draw near to Him with a heart sprinkled clean from a consciousness of evil and bodies washed with the pure water of the Word.
The writer’s second exhortation is dependent on the first, for it is only through the strength and clear-mindedness that comes from drawing near, that we can ever hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering. Why? Because the rock that holds us firm, that ceases the wavering, is the knowledge of the fact that ‘He who promised is faithful”! We may desire in our heart to do the will of God in the world around us, but we often forget that it is not we who are faithful, but He who is faithful, Who promised. What did He promise? Well, for one thing, that we could speak confidently of the hope that is in us because the truth of it is not dependent upon us, our ability, or our merit, but upon His finished work and the eternal truth of His Word.
The third exhortation comes in verse 24. The first two have had to do mostly with ourselves. Drawing near to God is both a divine pleasure and a step of obedience. It awakens us to, and fills us with the blessed knowledge of one-on-one communion with Him; and secondly, it prepares us to go into the world in which we must function although we are not OF the world, and to hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering. But this third exhortation goes beyond us, though in a sense it is not beyond us because the totality of believers throughout history make up the body of Christ; therefore, failure to yield to this exhortation is to do both our brothers and ourselves a disfavor that can only be described as ‘S-I-N.’
“Let us consider” the three key words. This calls for deliberate thought, and not only deliberate, but constant. Can we belong to a church body, function within it, give our talents to it, and not consider the others around us? Impossible! Absolutely impossible! And he says to “stimulate one another to good works”. How is that done? Is it through guilt? Going to each other and saying “you should do this, or you should do that”? I think not. That attitude is only dirty rotten legalism and self-righteousness. No, I believe we stimulate one another to good works, by praying for one another’s needs, and meeting one another’s needs, and setting examples by our own unselfish good deeds; not done for the purpose of setting an example, but as a fruit of righteousness; a result of the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit.
Notice that the writer in the same sentence says, “...not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another.” How often have we heard someone say, “My church is the great outdoors”, or, “I don’t have to go to church to worship God”. Well, the first is completely false. The church is neither the great outdoors OR the building with the pointy top. It is Christ’s body of believers...and if we are not gathered with them in worship and fellowship and mutual support and “Stimulation to good works”, then we are NOT IN CHURCH!
The second is only half true. No, you needn’t go to church to worship God. But you need to be a regularly attending, effectual member of the body of Christ, to be in obedience to God. Do you dare blatantly disobey Him, then brashly purport to worship Him? At your own peril! “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sin” and “it is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the Living God”.
I’ve not taken these out of context, the writer says them in verses 26 and 31, referring back to the things we’re discussing here.
And he ties that exhortation to assemble to our mutual encouragement; indicating that our mutual encouragement is a high, if not primary purpose in assembling. “Not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” (That “day drawing near” is a reference to Christ’s return)
I am encouraged when in trial and people pray for me. I am encouraged when I pray for them and see the answer come. I am encouraged when a brother shares something with me that opens my eyes to spiritual truth. I am greatly encouraged when I see or hear of a new babe in Christ, or sit to witness their baptism! I’m also encouraged when it is announced that the pot luck is heated and on the table...but that is another matter.
To finish, let me capsulize. The passage we have studied here is the perfect blend of blessed, liberating spiritual truth, and call to obedience. We have been invited to draw near to the very presence of Almighty God, to feel the strength of His loving arms and be close enough to hear His heart beat; to learn of Him and be prepared spiritually on a daily basis to go into the world with strength to hold fast the confession of our hope, with full assurance that His promises are true, and knowing that by His perfect sacrifice, our heart is sprinkled clean of an evil conscience. We have been encouraged to consider one another, (I might paraphrase that to say, ‘be considerate of one another), thinking how to stimulate own another to good works. Here it is folks...can’t ignore it, so take it to heart; “Not forsaking our own assembling together”. It’s in black and white!
And I will end as the writer ended; “all the more, as you see the day drawing near”.
Did you hear that? Our zeal, our involvement, the confession of our hope to the world around us, and foremost, our habitual and fervent seeking to draw near to God, should not wane, but grow more fervent as we see the day draw near. It will not grow easier. No, indeed it will not. As this world draws closer to an end, and those who will not follow Christ grow more determined to be at odds with Him and His church, spiritual foundation of the rock of Christ’s blood and His promises will only grow more essential to any measure of success in spiritual growth and life. We need to have a newly realized confidence to enter, by the new and living way inaugurated for us through the veil, that is His flesh; and with this confidence daily draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, and find strength for a Christlike life in a Godless world!
Peace and strength and unity, found in the Holiest of All!
“By a new and living way,
Entrance to the very throne
Is secured for those for whom
Jesus’ blood does now atone.
Priests and prophets of the past
Never were such access givn’;
Now, the lowliest blood-washed son
May approach the throne of Heaven!”
-Owens
