I wrote this sermon for Hebrews in Greek at Bob Jones University on April 11, 2001.
Theme: The theology of the person and work of Christ is the basis for a confident Christian experience.
Introduction
After probably the longest doctrinal section of the book, the author of Hebrews makes his transition to the practical exhortations that are logically deduced from such profound truths concerning the person and work of Christ. [The transitional word that connects this long sentence to the preceding context is οὖν, which serves to bring resulting implications from the previous discourse.] The logic of the passage is, because of all that has preceded (at least back to 8:1, if not all the way back to the beginning of the book), which is summed up in verses 19–21, believers should (1) draw near to God, (2) hold fast the hope they confess, (3) and consider each other for the stirring up of love and good works; because if they do not, it is likely that they will fall into apostasy. As in most doctrinally oriented epistles, the author does not leave his readers without giving them specific instructions that come from theological truth. All biblical practice must be based on sound doctrine, and all doctrinal truth must affect the experience of the believer. The theology of the person and work of Christ is the basis for a confident Christian experience.
I. The doctrine of the confident Christian experience (vv. 19–21)
A. The believer can have confidence to enter into the holiest (vv. 19–20).
1. The manner of entering: confidently (v. 19)
This attitude of boldness and confidence stands in contrast to the attitude under the old covenant. There was no freedom to enter the holy of holies. Too often do believers come to God lacking the confidence that belongs to them. Most of the time this stems from looking at one’s own worthiness rather than the worthiness of Christ.
2. The place of entering: the presence of God (v. 19)
In the OT, the holy of holies was the dwelling place of God. For this reason the high priest would enter here with blood and offer it to God. This access to the presence of God was restricted to the high priest, and even he could only enter once a year. But now, because Christ has entered, the way remains open for all who have been cleansed by His blood.
If one did not know better, he would think that many believers today still believe that they are living under the old covenant. How infrequently do we take advantage of this open access to the presence of God!
3. The basis for entering: the blood of Jesus (v. 19)
This epistle makes much of the necessity of blood. Twenty-one times in this epistle the author mentions blood. Just as the priests under the old covenant could not enter past that second veil into the holy of holies without blood, so Christ could not enter without his own blood, and neither then could we enter. But because Christ has entered with that precious blood, having fully satisfied the just wrath of God, and having expiated our sins, we can have confidence that we may enter freely into God’s presence, being fully accepted.
4. The way of entering (v. 20)
a. It is a new and living way (v. 20a). It is a new and better way with new and better privileges, a way far superior to the way of the old covenant. The living way stands in contrast to the old way that was characterized by death. Hundreds and even thousands of animals were slain over and over again. Their blood was poured out continually for the sins of the people, picturing the Lamb that was to come. In contrast to all this death, the Lamb of God was slain but raised back to life again. He conquered death and sin. He lives! And because He lives there is great prospect of finding life. Christ and the new covenant stand highly exalted above the death of bulls and goats under the old.
b. It is a way through the veil (v. 20b). The imagery here has created some problems in interpretation. The phrase, “that is to say, his flesh,” refers either to veil or to way. Most likely it refers to veil. What the author is therefore communicating is that just as no one could approach the holy of holies without going through the veil, so no one can come into God’s presence without going through the Son. Just as the veil was that which was between God and man, so Christ, the God-man is the one mediator between God and man. Here is the access, and the only access, to the presence of God. And just as it was necessary for the veil to be rent for the holiest to be opened, so it was necessary for the flesh of the Son of God to be rent to open the true holy place. Under the old covenant there could be no perfect freedom of access to God. The veil, that is to say, the flesh of Christ must be rent. This is what makes the new covenant superior to the old.
B. The believer has a great high priest over God’s house (v. 21).
1. Christ is a great high priest (v. 21a).
The second part of this causal phrase says that we have “a great priest over the house of God.” The priestly work of Christ is clearly one of the major themes of this epistle, one that the author has spent much time developing in the previous chapters. Christ’s priestly work and line is far superior to the Levitical priesthood.
2. Christ is over God’s house (v. 21b).
This reference to Christ as a great priest “over the house of God” clearly points back to 3:1–6 where Christ’s Sonship over God’s house is contrasted with Moses’ servanthood in God’s house. Christ clearly had the place of supremacy over even one of the greatest of OT men, Moses. The house of God, as in 3:1–6, refers to the believing people of God of all ages, the true Israelites, the sons of Abraham. Here again is another reason not to defect to Judaism.
II. The practice of the confident Christian experience (vv. 22–25)
After summarizing the doctrine of the previous chapters, the author moves into the practical exhortation that has bearing on the everyday life of believers. His exhortation here is threefold: let us be approaching God, let us be holding fast our confession, and let us be considering one another. The first deals with one’s relationship with God; the second, with his own Christian experience; and the last, with his relationship to other believers. There also seems to be a certain logical order of progression here from one’s relationship with God, to his own confession of faith, to the faith of others in the body of Christ.
A. The believer must draw near to God (v. 22).
Where is it that believers are exhorted to draw near? What may be considered a parallel passage in 4:14–16 likewise exhorts us to “draw near with confidence to the throne of grace” (v. 16; see also 7:25 and 11:6). It is to God that we are to approach. Because Christ has removed all the hindrances to fellowship and communion with God, we must draw near to God. He does not limit this approaching just to prayer or worship, but he leaves it general, referring to a life of continual communion with God. And when we do approach God, we are fulfilling one of the very purposes for which Christ died (see 1 Peter 3:18).
John Owen, a puritan of the 17th Century, said, “Christ is our best friend, and ere long will be our only friend. I pray God with all my heart that I may be weary of everything else but converse and communion with Him.” How much do we need the attitude of the Puritans to approach and commune with our great God!
1. The manner of coming (v. 22a)
How are we to come to God? What should be the condition of our hearts?
a. With a sincere heart. No one may approach God who has not really turned from his sin, submitted to the Lordship of Christ, and placed his entire faith in Christ’s finished work. This is the basis of a sincere heart. We cannot approach God with a front.
b. With full assurance of faith. This is both a prerequisite for coming and a result of coming. The believer who is not assured of the sufficiency of Christ will not be able to approach God, but the one who is will be strengthened in the very faith in which he comes.
2. The reason for coming (v. 22b, c)
How is it that believers can approach the holy presence of God? The author reminds us of what the death of Christ has accomplished with reference to our standing before this holy God. It is because of Christ that we can approach.
a. Our hearts have been sprinkled (v. 22b). He first makes reference to the cleansing power of the blood of Christ. Earlier in chapter 9, the author of Hebrews dealt extensively with the sacrificial system of the old covenant contrasting it with that of the new. He explained what the priest would do on the Day of Atonement, which is found in full detail in Leviticus 16. In 9:7 he spoke of the high priest entering “into the second [the holy of holies] only…once a year, not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance.” This blood he would sprinkle upon the ark, making propitiation for the sins of the people. The author goes on to argue in verses 13–14, “If the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” This once for all sacrifice of Christ gives a clear conscience for all those who would approach God, not only positionally, but also experientially, for “the blood of Jesus Christ God’s Son continually cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). So when our hearts are guilty with an evil conscience, we must remind ourselves of the cleansing power of the blood. We must remember that Christ has perfected us forever by His sacrifice.
b. Our bodies have been washed (v. 22c). This cleansing was associated with baptism in a unique relationship in the early church. Because of the closeness in time between conversion and baptism, the apostles could make such statements as, “Repent and be baptized for the remission of sins,” (Acts 2:38) and “He who has believed and been baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16). Of notable significance for our context is Acts 22:16 that says, “Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.” Baptism was the outward sign of that inward cleansing that took place at conversion.
B. The believer must hold fast his confession (v. 23).
1. The way in which to hold it: unwavering
Hebrews 3:6, 14 speak in a similar fashion, “Whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end…For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end.” It is absolutely essential in the mind of the author that believers do not let their confession waver, that no doctrine change, and that their faith does not become weak. But how are believers to do this?
2. The reason to hold it: God is faithful
Again the basis for holding fast this confession is to be found in God and not in the confessor. What hope would be given us if we had to trust in our own abilities or merits or the strength of our own faith? How then could we hold our profession to be unwavering? Only by pointing his readers to the faithfulness of God does he give a solid basis for holding fast this confession. As we find later in 11:11, Sarah too “considered Him faithful who had promised.” The faithful and unwavering character of God guarantees the certainty of all of his covenant promises. Confidence in God’s character is the only way that we can heed this command.
C. The believer must consider how to stir up other believers (vv. 24–25).
1. The purpose of stirring each other up (v. 24)
a. To produce love. Love for God and others is the motive whereby all good works that are pleasing in God’s sight are begotten. Anything that does not arise from a heart of love is an empty work of self-righteousness.
b. To produce good works. Fruitfulness in the life of a believer is one of the evidences that the author gives to encourage believers in the assurance of their salvation. In Hebrews 6:9–10 he talks about those things that “accompany salvation,” which God will certainly not forget. In verse 7 of the same chapter, he mentions that the ground that produces fruit “receives a blessing from God.”
2. The means of stirring each other up (v. 25a, c)
Christian growth and maturity is a collective activity apart from which true growth and maturity will not be attained.
a. By not forsaking assembling together (v. 25a). No believer is to ever think himself to be so strong or to have progressed to the point where he no longer needs the fellowship of other believers. Fruitfulness in the Christian life is stimulated by other believers.
b. But by encouraging one another (v. 25c). The author’s emphasis on the necessity of mutual encouragement is reflective of the very nature of the Church. He makes a similar statement in 3:12–14 “Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called ‘Today,’ so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end.” Since the church is a body, each part is not only responsible for its own well being, but also for the well being of all of the other parts.
3. The reason for stirring each other up (v. 25b, d)
a. Some are leaving the assembly (v. 25b). The author does not give us clear information as to why some have stopped meeting together with the church. Perhaps, it was due to persecution, or maybe false teaching, or possibly the pressure to return to Judaism. This last reason seems to be one of the major occasions for the writing of the epistle. Most likely it was a combination of these elements. But regardless of the reason it is clear that he views this as a serious situation. The gravity of this is seen by what comes next in the following context. He moves from exhortations to strong warnings against apostasy, which shows the seriousness with which he viewed the forsaking of the assembling together. Here he follows a similar pattern as in 6:1–8, where he begins with an exhortation that comes right before what may be the strongest warning of the book, and possibly of the whole NT (see also chapter 3). Similarly, the apostle John describes the departure of certain ones from the church as a manifestation of a lost condition (1 John 2:19).
b. The day is drawing near (v. 25d). Here the author further expands the final exhortation to provoke fellow believers to good works and to continue assembling together by making reference to “the day drawing near.” The connection (“even by so much more…”) between this clause and the preceding exhortation serves to strengthen the importance of encouragement and gathering together. The “day” mentioned here refers to two possible days. Some suggest it was the approaching destruction of Jerusalem that Jesus prophesied about in Matthew 24 when “not one stone [would] be left upon another.” Others suggest that the author is referring to that final Day of Judgment. Without going into a long defense, I think that probably the immediate reference was made to AD 70 and the destruction of Jerusalem, but I also believe that there is continuing relevance for us today with reference to that final Day that is coming. Regardless of the exact day spoken about, it is clear that the prospect of coming apostasy and persecution should spur believers on all the more to mutual encouragement and fellowship.
Conclusion
The theology of the person and work of Christ is the basis for a confident Christian experience. What confidence the believer can have in drawing near to God because Christ has opened the way of access for us. He entered by his own blood. His flesh was rent in two. What assurance belongs to the believer in holding fast his profession of faith, because God is faithful in all His promises, and Christ has accomplished them by his atoning work. And what urgency and necessity should grip the believer to stir up his fellow Christians to produce good works out of a heart of love. We must diligently fight against unbelief in our own lives and the lives of others. It appears that the author is implying that if we are not pressing on to maturity, we will slide back into apostasy. The Christian life is one of great freedom and confidence, but also one with very important duties and obligations. The believer has both great responsibilities and great privileges because of the supreme person and work of Christ. Let us press on together with diligence and with confidence in the most holy faith, drawing near to God, holding fast our profession, and stirring each other up to love and good works because of the supreme work of Christ our Savior.