Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary 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 approach 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 to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Hebrews 10: 19-25 (NRSVA)
Some time ago I got an email from a friend who sent me a whole sheet of those “letters to God by children”; one of them was:
Dear GOD, It rained for our whole vacation and is my father mad! He said some things about You that people are not supposed to say, but I hope You will not hurt him anyway. Your friend (But I am not going to tell you who I am).
There is a phrase in our text that evokes a picture. That phrase is “through the curtain”. The sky was clear the morning they led Jesus through the streets of Jerusalem to Golgotha. The sky didn’t stay clear! Near mid-day the sky went dark; three hours later it was still dark when Jesus breathed his last agonizing words: “it is finished”.
At that moment the earth began to shake like a bad California day. Matthew tells us the earthquake was so violent huge rocks were split in two.[1] Tombs were opened when this happened; corpses were raised and they were seen walking in the cities nearby.
Notice what else happened:
At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. Matthew 27:51a (NRSVA)
This is the curtain Paul mentioned when he wrote to the Hebrews of how Jesus made a way for us to enter God’s presence. The curtain was a separation in the Old Testament temple. It separated everyone from the holy presence of God. The reason for the veil was sin. The very reason that veil separated the place where God would show up from the place where man stood is the difference between a holy God and sinful men. The veil represented the darkness of having no hope to approach God.
Sin is that which takes our hope away and makes life unbearable. Author Lee Stroebel talks about hoping for success in explaining Easter. He tells how his brother-in-law tried to do that with his 5-year-old son Sean. “They were sitting in church on Easter, and just before the service began, my brother-in-law pointed to the cross and said, ‘See the cross? The people put Jesus on the cross. The people killed Jesus.’ Sean looked around very nervously, then asked cautiously: ‘These people?’" [2]
That is always the reaction; we are astonished that we have the capability to put God to death – yet the very presence of the curtain said so!
When that curtain was torn in two it was because the sacrifice of blood on the cross was final; it was a victory over sin and death.
Our text tells us to do three things in light of that veil being torn down…
ENTER THE SANCTUARY
Entering the sanctuary, or drawing near to God’s house is a matter of coming close to the One who gave it all for you. When Jesus died for our sins, he proved the truth of what he said in His teachings: for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son…[3]
I don’t have to be encouraged to draw near to the ones I love. Sometimes I need a reminder, because I get distracted doing things. But the normal thing to do when you love someone is to hang-out with him.
The “how” of hanging-out with Jesus is found in the word “confidence”. We have been cleansed by His blood, so we can draw near to God’s house in full confidence that our faith has brought us into God’s Forever Family!
Why should we do that? His sacrifice makes our salvation certain. To be saved is the most important reality in life. We live on this planet for less than 100 years in most cases…150 would be astounding. Eternity is a lot longer than that! Draw near to God…join with His household…be adopted into the family. After all, you cannot be a Kingdom Family if you’re not in the Kingdom.
HOLD FAST TO GOD’S FAITH
The second command is to hold fast to the faith. One of the reasons true Kingdom Families hold together better is that we were designed to be people of faith. The “how” of holding fast to our “confession of hope” is without wavering.
It is certainly easy to get sidetracked these days. I see it every year when we attempt to enlist people to serve. Holding fast to God’s faith has more to do than just being convinced in your mind that Jesus saves. It has to do with serving consistently.
Comedian Alan King talked about his poor attendance record in church. His rabbi confronted him about the frequent absences and challenged King to make more concerted efforts to be in worship. King gave him a long list of excuses that contained little merit. He then became very defensive and stated, "Every time I come, people make a big deal about me being there. That makes me feel very uncomfortable." The wise rabbi replied, "If you came more often they wouldn’t be that excited to see you!" [4]
Every believer who draws near to God’s house should hold fast to the faith with his service. The “why” of this is found in what Paul said about the promises of Jesus – they’re faithful; they always come true. Jesus promised rewards to His followers who serve Him faithfully – it is a true promise! He also promised chastening for those who are less than faithful servants; that is no less a true promise.
PLAN TO MAKE AN IMPACT ON GOD’S WORLD
Paul said we should “…consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds…” That’s making a plan for impacting each other and the world. In addition he gave us the “how” to do that in two simple ways that you will recognize – Paul said we should continue with God’s plans by meeting together and by encouraging each other. This is “walking it and talking it”!
I am only vaguely aware of how God fits everything together. But, often looking back we see more clearly. I was searching through some old papers and came across a note from Sarah Hollis. Sarah was Carrie’s age (10) when we went to Jacksonville, Florida. She rode our van to church each week – her parents never came. I had the privilege of baptizing Sarah.
One Sunday she came to me with a two-fold request. She wanted me to pray for her uncle and his wife, and also go see them to “baptize their baby”. When I met Sarah’s uncle and his wife it was clear they had very little church background. What they had was worried hearts over a very sick, premature baby in an incubator. They wanted me to baptize their baby; the doctors said he was going to die within a day or so. My heart went out to them. As a Baptist pastor I couldn’t baptize this infant, but I would pray for him with everything I had.
I was fearful of the trust that couple placed in me as they asked me to talk to God for their son. I told them the little kitten-sized child was in God’s hand. I held their hands and we prayed.
That was in 1990. Five years later Sarah wrote me this note:
…I still remember the day you prayed for Scott (my cousin) and gave his parents faith and helped them believe. On the 28th of this month he turns 5 year[s] old. Today is his party. Thank you for giving me the faith and hope. Thank you, Sarah Hollis
Sarah remembered that day as a time when her pastor gave her faith. At the time my main thought was frustration over Sarah putting me in an awkward situation about baptizing a baby. I’d never even laid eyes on his parents. I went, because I was her pastor. But I went, mostly because I couldn’t deny Sarah’s pleading eyes.
Looking back, I know, and she also probably knows, it was God who gave her faith. In the end, God used a pastor doing his job to build faith in a little girl. And God used a 10 year-old kid’s faith to spur a forty-something, Christian pastor into good works. Sarah impacted my life with her faith, and my faith was strengthened because of her impact.
Our hope is all about drawing near to God’s House, holding fast the faith, and making plans to impact each other for good.
I believe God has given us a few questions through this text, and He wants us to wrestle with them until there is an answer formed in each of our minds about what it means to truly go through the veil…to truly come right up alongside the throne of God.
Those questions:
• Have I truly drawn near?
Have I fully trusted in His sacrifice over my sins?
Am I saved?
• Am I truly holding fast?
Is serving through my church a priority in my life?
Is that priority appropriate with eternity in mind?
• Am I investing myself to build a Kingdom Family that will impact my world?
Do I do what I do because it pleases me?
Am I impacting the lives of others for Jesus Christ?
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ENDNOTES
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1] Matthew 27:50-55
2] Lee Strobel in "Jesus is Alive -- True or False?" a sermon on SermonCentral.com
3] John 3:16
4] Damian Phillips, Why Attend Church, SermonCentral.com
