ENTER … BUT COME CLEAN
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introduction
The author looks a the superiority of Christ from multiple angles. No other priest could fling open the doors of heaven for sinners. No other person could qualify as the mediator between God and man. No pious person could live up to the precise demands of the Law. No sacrifice could completely pay the price for sin and cancel the debt.
Only Jesus can do this. This has been restated and restated.
At this point in the letter, the author shifts the focus to us. To our responsibility. He looks into our eyes and says “No matter how you look at it, the person and work of Jesus is everything. Now, here is what you need to do about it.”
Since the writer has made all these arguments and answered the points of contention, we need to understand something:
If we don’t trust and obey Him entirely, we’re in big trouble.
Now is the 4th warning in Hebrews. Do you remember the others?
Pay attention so you don’t drift away!
Beware of the hard heart!
Don’t stray from the path of spiritual growth!
and now the fourth:
Stand firm in the faith or be judged by God!
When we finish this section we should understand something very clearly.
God requires that His children trust and obey him and
If we don’t, serious consequences are in store for us.
At the end of this lesson, you will walk away with a choice:
Do we want to be counted among those who shrink back to destruction
or
among those who have faith to the preserving of the soul?
Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus—he has inaugurated for us a new and living way through the curtain (that is, through his flesh)—and since we have a great high priest over the house of God,
If you remember, what was the most sacred place on earth called and where was it located?
It was situated in the back of the tabernacle behind a veil. Only the high priest could enter it when?
and how many times a year?
This could only be done after a precise process of ritual cleansing. It was completely off limits to everyone else, including other priests.
When the temple was built in Jerusalem, the holy of holies was located inside and a giant curtain separated it from the rest of the temple.
When Jesus died, who knows what happened? This signalled the dramatic change from the OT system to the new.
Suddenly, the curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom, the earth quaked, and the rocks were split.
No longer was God declaring for unclean sinners to Keep Out. Instead we are now free to enter the holy of holies with confidence.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus—
He calls all of us to come! Not just the Jews, but gentiles, men and women, adults and children, rich and poor to enter the sacred place.
Why?
This represents a personal, intimate, permanent relationship with the living God.
Some people may still shuffle their feet because of shame or hesitate because of fear, but the author strengthens our steps with confidence with two facts:
First, Jesus’ blood-His sacrifice for sin- has opened the way for us to enter into a personal relationship with God.
he has inaugurated for us a new and living way through the curtain (that is, through his flesh)—
Second, Jesus remains as our Great High Priest over the house of God.
and since we have a great high priest over the house of God,
This image of the house of God appears multiple time in the NT. We saw this earlier in 3:1-2 when the author spoke about the OT people of God
Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession. He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was in all God’s household.
This also refers to the NT community
But if I should be delayed, I have written so that you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.
and also individuals who hold firmly in their confidence to the end.
But Christ was faithful as a Son over his household. And we are that household if we hold on to our confidence and the hope in which we boast.
It also draws from the image of the tabernacle or temple which is set apart for the worship of God. When we look at the image of the temple in the NT and apply it to the spiritual sense, it’s narrowed to 2 ideas:
The church as the temple of God.
Don’t you yourselves know that you are God’s temple and that the Spirit of God lives in you?
In him the whole building, being put together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.
and the bodies of the individual believers as God’s temple.
Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
Both of these ideas are in view in this passage. The bible never separates the individual from the community or the community from the individual.
However, the concept of the house has specific implications for the individual.
The author doesn’t deny that Christ is our Great High Priest, but in Hebrews 10 he wants each of us to remember that Christ is my High Priest.
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 in pure water. Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.
Since we are held accountable individually for the decisions we make, the writer gives three commands we are to obey. These begin with let us.....
First, let us draw near.
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 in pure water.
The work of Christ has cleansed our consciences from sin and guilt but this is the internal cleansing of the heart.
The phrase our bodies washed with pure water could mean baptism, but the author’s emphasis is actually on what baptism signifies: the dedication of a person’s life to following Christ with a changed lifestyle.
When the author says draw near, he is inviting believers who have been eternally forgiven to go deeper in their personal relationship with Him.
Second, let us speak out
Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful.
The word confession comes from the word “homologia”, this can be understood to be a statement of allegiance.
Since this passage is both internal and external-the conformity of the whole body-the author has in mind both a confession in words and action.
With a strong confidence in the superior priesthood, we can continue to confess Him with our mouths and follow him with our lives-serving as a representative to a world that desperately needs to see Christ in us.
Third, let us stir up
And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.
This goes to the community of faith. As a member of the body of Christ, which is the church, we have a responsibility to live lives of faith and obedience in such a way that we positively stir up others towards spiritual growth.
As external expressions of drawing nearer to Christ, we should encourage the internal motivation of others toward spiritual growth.
We should encourage the internal motivation of others-love; in turn, this internal motivation should manifest itself in external actions-good deeds.
We do this, not by hiding away somewhere with our own relationship with him, but by assembling as a community, drawing closer together as we eagerly anticipate His coming.
This passage has important implications for attending gatherings of the faithful. We can’t fulfill the command to stir up if we’re living like islands from one another.
The various “one anothers” of scripture are only possible in the gathered community. It isn’t helpful for the uncommitted, rebellious, unloving and disobedient believers to gather in the community either.
The idea that individual Christians have something positive to contribute assumes that those individuals have been striving to “come clean” and “draw near”.
For if we deliberately go on sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire about to consume the adversaries. Anyone who disregarded the law of Moses died without mercy, based on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment do you think one will deserve who has trampled on the Son of God, who has regarded as profane the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know the one who has said,
Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay,
and again,
The Lord will judge his people.
It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
What happens if we, as believers, neglect the commands we just spoke about? The author has a strong warning here for those who may do the opposite things.
These verses address two contrasting sets of people.
Those who draw back to destruction and then in the next section those whoo have faith too the preserving of the soul in the next.
So who is the “we” in verse 26?
Some say it’s the unsaved-those who have an ungenuine profession of faith. They fail to cease from sin.
Others say it’s those who were once genuinely saved but lose their salvation due to apostasy. True believers who deny their faith.
But as we discussed earlier in Hebrews, I think it’s those who are saved but face severe judgement.
It’s those who are saved by grace through faith, but have backslid and entered a state of sin from which there is no possibility of return.
Because of this, they face temporal judgment and loss of heavenly reward, but not loss of eternal life. This was discussed when we covered chapter 6.
When the writer says we, he is included. This type of language in the warning is addressing believers and not unbelievers who have only had a brush with the gospel.
It also isn’t to those who have the appearance of believers but have never experienced true salvation.
When you read this, these “we” people are those who have received “the knowledge of the truth”.
The word here in Greek is “epignosis” which means a first hand experiential knowledge-a thorough understanding and not just a faint awareness.
We also see that they received and are not just aware.
So, the author is talking about those who are genuine believers but whose lives are contrary to a life of faith and obedience to Christ so much so that they are indistinguishable among the unbelievers. They have backed away instead of drawn near.
These have drawn away from community and spiritual growth and encouragement has plateaued. These folks have betrayed their confession of faith in Christ-the only one who can pay for their sins.
They have been born again, but they go on sinning-willingly, knowingly and continually.
This type of lifestyle isn’t a stumble, it is willful. It’s not a season of rebellion or a constant struggle against temptation and sin.
We have all experienced this. This is when we know what God expects of us and we outright oppose him and his commandments.
The author points to the old covenant consequences.
Anyone who disregarded the law of Moses died without mercy, based on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
How much more should those be judged who blatantly rebel against the grace of God under the superior, new covenant?
How much worse punishment do you think one will deserve who has trampled on the Son of God, who has regarded as profane the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?
Such hardened, unrepentant sinners can expect terrifying fury and vengeance from God.
but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire about to consume the adversaries.
For we know the one who has said,
Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay,
and again,
The Lord will judge his people.
It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Remember, we are his children and as our father he must discipline us when we deliberately disobey him. When we reach the point of no return, how much worse it will be for those.
But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property. However, he kept back part of the proceeds with his wife’s knowledge, and brought a portion of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
“Ananias,” Peter asked, “why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the proceeds of the land? Wasn’t it yours while you possessed it? And after it was sold, wasn’t it at your disposal? Why is it that you planned this thing in your heart? You have not lied to people but to God.” When he heard these words, Ananias dropped dead, and a great fear came on all who heard. The young men got up, wrapped his body, carried him out, and buried him.
About three hours later, his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. “Tell me,” Peter asked her, “did you sell the land for this price?”
“Yes,” she said, “for that price.”
Then Peter said to her, “Why did you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.”
Instantly she dropped dead at his feet. When the young men came in, they found her dead, carried her out, and buried her beside her husband.
So, then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sin against the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself; in this way let him eat the bread and drink from the cup. For whoever eats and drinks without recognizing the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. This is why many are sick and ill among you, and many have fallen asleep.
If anyone sees a fellow believer committing a sin that doesn’t lead to death, he should ask, and God will give life to him—to those who commit sin that doesn’t lead to death. There is sin that leads to death. I am not saying he should pray about that.
In any case, they will lose heavenly reward before the judgment seat of Christ.
If anyone’s work is burned up, he will experience loss, but he himself will be saved—but only as through fire.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
If you remember when we spoke about this in chapter 6, the author views this type of scenario as a rarity-but it is still a reality. It doesn’t appear to have happened to his readers yet, but if they continue down the path away from grace and the new covenant, it could happen to them.
Remember the earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to taunts and afflictions, and at other times you were companions of those who were treated that way. For you sympathized with the prisoners and accepted with joy the confiscation of your possessions, because you know that you yourselves have a better and enduring possession. So don’t throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you need endurance, so that after you have done God’s will, you may receive what was promised.
For yet in a very little while,
the Coming One will come and not delay.
But my righteous one will live by faith;
and if he draws back,
I have no pleasure in him.
But we are not those who draw back and are destroyed, but those who have faith and are saved.
Now comes the appealing vision of the faithful followers of Christ. He fully believes the readers are in this category. This is seen in Hebrews 6:9-12 when he addresses the quality of their faith and obedience.
Even though we are speaking this way, dearly loved friends, in your case we are confident of things that are better and that pertain to salvation. For God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you demonstrated for his name by serving the saints—and by continuing to serve them. Now we desire each of you to demonstrate the same diligence for the full assurance of your hope until the end, so that you won’t become lazy but will be imitators of those who inherit the promises through faith and perseverance.
He reminds them of their earlier days when they had their initial enlightenment of the saving knowledge of Christ. They endured suffering, public scorn, tribulations and persecutions. But even through all this, they remained steadfast in their faith and witness. They didn’t shy away from suffering for His name, they showed a genuine love and concern for others in need and a priority on heavenly reward over earthly treasures.
Remember the earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to taunts and afflictions, and at other times you were companions of those who were treated that way. For you sympathized with the prisoners and accepted with joy the confiscation of your possessions, because you know that you yourselves have a better and enduring possession.
The writer goes from warnings for the comfortable to comforting the afflicted with great promises. The need of the former is repentance. The need for the latter group is endurance. Since they have demonstrated their ability to endure, nothing should stand in their way of moving forward in commitment to their faith and obedience to Christ.
It’s normal for weak and weary believers to hide when the going gets tough. We see this in all types of situations. People run away when bad things happen or they are scared. Animals do this too. It is the fight or flight response. The readers of this letter were facing a terrible situation in their culture where following Christ meant turning away from everything you have ever known.
The writer paraphrases the OT-a passage of encouragement to hold on until trials have passed.
Go, my people, enter your rooms
and close your doors behind you.
Hide for a little while until the wrath has passed.
But then he weaves in Habbakuk, which is a verse about warning of swift judgement for those who fall away from a life of faith.
For the vision is yet for the appointed time;
it testifies about the end and will not lie.
Though it delays, wait for it,
since it will certainly come and not be late.
Look, his ego is inflated;
he is without integrity.
But the righteous one will live by his faith.
The message is clear: hang in there. The journey is almost over. The reward is worth it. The consequences for not doing so are severe.
