Welcome back to our study of the book of Hebrews, today, we’ll zero in on Hebrews 10:19-25, the full assurance of faith. The writer is setting the stage for three exhortations. We learned in the previous verses that God was pleased with Jesus’ sacrifice and there was evidence about this in Jeremiah 31:31-34 where the Holy Spirit reassures the worshiper about his/her right standing before God by the process of sanctification, in which He ( the Spirit of God) enables him/her to obey the laws of God. Moreover the same Scripture also informs the believer that He is forgiven and needs no longer to offer any more sacrifices for sins. Because of all this, the writer says that now the worshiper has confidence to enter into the Holy Of Holies. We need to understand what this news sounded like for the readers. Access to the Holy Of Holies was prohibited to all but the High Priest. And even the High Priest was only allowed in there once a year. And He never entered with confidence, because He had to go in with the blood of calves and goats and follow very strict instructions, or else he could be struck dead. That was a terrifying experience, the High Priest was never confident whenever he was getting ready to go through the veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. But when Jesus breathed His last on the cross and said it is finished, the veil was torn from top to bottom, and access to the Holy Of Holies was now open to all who put their trust in Him. The worshiper is now allowed in that secret place only through the body of Christ. And this is a living way, that isn’t going to fade or ever die out. And Christ is our great High Priest who intercedes for us. Just think about the people received those words.
Full Assurance Of Faith
The Passage
The Full Assurance of Faith
19 Therefore, brothers,[a] since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 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. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 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.
Notes
- Verse 22
This is the first of three exhortations that the writer gives to his readers. Based on what was said in the previous verses, it is evident that under the new covenant, the worshiper has access into the Holy Of Holies ( in the real tabernacle erected by God). What I want to make clear before tackling this verse is that the believer’s right standing before God has already been settled, there is no longer any need to offer any sacrifices for sins. But that doesn’t give the worshiper the freedom to enter into fellowship with God with a cavalier attitude. Yes the debt has been paid once and for all but God will still chastise His children when they disobey Him because they’ve grieved Him. Moreover, entering the presence of God still requires a pure heart and a clean conscience, which means we must confess our sins prior to coming boldly to the throne of grace. A better way to understand this exhortation is a close look at 1 John 1:5-2:2
5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
2 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
Scripture also tells us that blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. While none of us can be perfectly pure in heart on this side of eternity, our attitude shall reflect a desire to want to do what pleases Him, this is why the sanctification process is so vital in not only conforming us to the image of Christ, but also to confirm our election as true children of God. Born again believers long to be like their savior, because God’s seed remain in them. So the first exhortation is an open invitation to come to the throne of grace but with the right attitude in order to have an unbroken fellowship with God.
- Verse 23
We need to understand why this second exhortation is so important. Let us recall some of the background to this letter. The Jewish believers the writer was addressing were being tempted to forsake their confession of Jesus and the hope of eternal life because of the persecution they were under. So in this exhortation, he was inviting them to hold tight to the hope they once confessed without wavering because God who made the promise is faithful. If you remember in chapter 6, (more precisely Hebrews 6:13-20), we talked about the certainty of God’s promise to Abraham. Not only did God make a promise, HE backed it up with an oath. Abraham whose descendants these Jewish believers were, believed God and held onto this hope. So the writer was just reminding his readers about this a second time. He was giving them the cure against wavering. And we also need to pay attention to these words; in times of great trials, we must fix our eyes on Jesus, look ahead to the coming of Christ because God is faithful to His promises.
I like how the first portion of verse 23 reads in the French version. Let us hold fast the confession is translated “ let us remain attached” to the confession. And I believe the idea here is that we must be firmly established in this Hope to the point where it informs all our decisions.
- Verses 24-25
While the first two exhortations had to do with our relationship with God and our confession, the third one had to do with fellowship with other believers. Based on the words above, we can infer that some of the believers who were wavering had stopped coming to the church fellowship. And that was detrimental to their growth; isolation is one of the tools the enemy uses to plunge believers into doubts. It weakens the believer’s walk. So the writer was inviting his readers to be active in the fellowship, first by showing up and then encouraging each other to love and good works ( those are all the by- products or the fruits of the Spirit). And the motivation he gave for this exhortation was the second coming of Christ. Because Christ is coming soon, the believer’s primary objective is to remain watchful and lives his/her life in light of this second coming. Jesus said to His disciples to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and that is the idea that is being communicated here. Let us to Colossians 3:1-4
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your[a] life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
The believer’s real new life hasn’t been fully disclosed yet, what the believer will be has not yet been made manifest but we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as HE Truly is, and that should encourage us to good works, to love and fellowship.
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My name is Tayib Salami and I started Tayibs.com for the sole purpose of exploring difficult questions about the Christian faith that most of us shy away from. In 2017, I entered a very dark time in my life and it’s only by the grace of the Living God that I’m still alive today. It led me to really go deeper in my faith and consider a myriad of questions that I never thought about asking myself or others before. Welcome and enjoy the ride with me.