The New and Living Way

19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,

20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body,

21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God,

22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,

25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Introduction

Big Idea: The author of Hebrews encourages us to draw near to God with confidence on account of the new and living way opened up for us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He also reminds us that we have a responsibility to the community we worship with. We must encourage one another to love, do good works, and encourage one another until Christ returns.

The importance of drawing near to God and its effect on those around us can be seen in the following illustration.

Illustration: In the 18th century, George Whitefield traveled across the American colonies, preaching passionately about the love and grace of God. He faced opposition, yet he continued to draw near to God through prayer and scripture. Whitefield’s unwavering commitment not only impacted his own faith, but it stirred revival in the hearts of thousands. His legacy reminds us that drawing near to God in our struggles and persistence can encourage others and transform lives, leading to a powerful movement of faith that spans generations.

The Reason for Our Confidence (19-21)

19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God,

The Hebrew writer was writing to encourage the church to enter into the new and living way provided for us by the sacrifice of Jesus. He uses the language of temple, priesthood, and sacrifice to show the church the basis for our confidence.

In the OT temple system, there was only one time of the year that someone could enter the Holy of Holies. This was on the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. The High Priest would go into the Holy of Holies with the blood of a perfect lamb to atone for the sins of Israel.

By drawing on these symbols, the Hebrew writer is explaining the basis for our confidence to approach the most holy place: because Jesus Himself, our great High Priest, offered Himself as the perfect lamb to make atonement for our sins.

Transition: The Hebrew writer gives us three imperatives, each beginning with “let us...” in vv. 22, 23, and 24.

Let Us Draw Near to God (22)

22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

The first imperative is to “draw near to God” (v. 22).

God is relational. All of His purposes in creation and redemption has been to make a way for us to have a real relationship with Him. The author of this letter is telling us that we must make the first move. We must approach God in order to facilitate the relationship.

However, there are conditions to coming near to God.

The first we already talked about. Jesus alone is the way to have a relationship with God. But the Hebrew writer gives us some additional conditions.

The first condition is “a sincere heart.”

We cannot come to God with ulterior motives or ungodly ones. We must come to God for the sole purpose of knowing Him, serving Him, and loving Him. He’s not a vending machine. You cannot use Him when you need Him. God’s joy is to give His presence to those who long for Him and serve Him out of a humble, dependent heart.

The second condition is “the full assurance that faith brings.”

Just in case his readers weren’t sure what he meant, the author goes ahead and explains what this means. It is “having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” These are references to regeneration and baptism.

A person is not saved just because Jesus died for them. If a person truly believes that Jesus died for them, they will turn from sin, turn to God, and God will give them a new heart. They become a new person. They will not be the same. Jesus called it being born from above in John 3. We call it regeneration. Its the new nature that comes from genuine faith.

If a person is not born again, they are not a Christian. They have to receive a spiritual rebirth to become a Christian. And the sacrament that Jesus established to testify to that new birth is water baptism. So what the Hebrew writer is emphasizing is that in order to draw near to God with confidence, we must have undergone the new birth (the inner reality) and baptism (the outward sign).

Let Us Hold Fast to Hope (23)

23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

The second imperative that the writer gives is to “hold unswervingly to the hope we profess.”

Hope is one of the three greatest Christian virtues. This is clear in texts like 1 Corinthians 13:13:

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Paul stresses these virtues often in his letters. In fact, most of his letters have the three in close proximity. It’s because a genuine Christian will be someone who displays faith, hope, and love.

The relationship between these virtues is nicely summarized by Norman Geisler:

Faith is the soul looking upward to God; love looks outward to others; hope looks forward to the future. Faith rests on the past work of Christ; love works in the present; and hope anticipates the future. Norman Geisler

The hope referred to in our text is a hope in the future eternal life for all believers.

Hope is always for something you do not yet possess. It’s always oriented towards the future. For the Christian, the greatest hope we have is that when we cross the line of worlds between this life and the next, we will see Jesus face to face. All of the trials, tribulations, and suffering of this life will be wiped away once for all, never to be remembered for the rest of our eternal life.

Our motivation for hope is stated by the writer: for he who promised is faithful.

We can hope as believers because we have God’s promise on the matter. He has given us His assurance through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He has also given us the Holy Spirit as a down payment of our future life. And finally, we have His inerrant, infallible word, the Bible. Whatever God has promised, He will see to its fulfillment.

Illustration: Joseph’s Trust

In the biblical story of Joseph, he faced betrayal, slavery, and imprisonment. Yet, he held tightly to God's promises throughout his trials. Eventually, he rose to prominence in Egypt, saving nations from famine. Joseph's story reminds us that even when life seems unfair and God’s promises feel distant, they are still unfolding. Our hope rests in trusting God’s perfect plan, believing that He can redeem our struggles for a greater purpose.

Let Us Spur One Another (24-25)

24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

The third imperative in our passage is to consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

Although there is much to say on the subject of a person’s individual responsibility to God, most of scripture focuses upon the corporate dimension. We’re not only responsible to God, but we are also responsible for one another. Christ did not die for individuals, but for a Church. Christ will return, not for individuals, but for a bride, “a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless” (Eph 5:27). So too, our focus is not just on ourselves, but on how we can help each other be everything that Christ wants us to be.

The writer indicates that we should take time to think about how we can help each other increase in love and good works.

It’s not hard to see why. Life throws at us all kinds of curve balls that keep us focused on our circumstances, rather than upon God’s purpose for our lives. We need the help of each other to get ourselves back on track with the bigger picture. When considering this, I always think of Paul’s admonition in Galatians 6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

This church was struggling with a lot of social rejection and possibly even persecution. Some were defecting from the Christian faith and returning to Judaism. Some had stopped meeting together with other believers. This is seen in the last verse. The Hebrew writer exhorts them to not give up on meeting together, but rather instead to encourage one another.

His motivation for the believers is that the return of Christ is approaching.

This is an area which I feel we don’t pay enough attention to. A major motivation for the early church was the return of Christ. It made them not put so much importance on this life, accumulating this worlds goods, securing positions and influence, and so on. Instead, they were willing to forsake all that the world lives and strives for in order to fulfill Christ’s mission because they knew Christ was coming back.

A biblical focus on the return of Christ should make us much more focused on faithful obedience to Christ’s mission and doing all we can with the time that God has given us.

Conclusion

As our great High Priest, Jesus has made a way to enter the Most Holy Place. He was not only the priest but the sacrifice as well. But by being the High Priest and atoning sacrifice, He also replaces the Temple, becoming the place where people draw near to God.

Because this way has been opened, we have courage to draw near to Him in prayer, obedience, and love. But as we draw near, we are compelled to encourage other believers to draw near as we see the return of Christ approaching nearer.

This week, I’d encourage you to think about how you can draw nearer to God and encourage others to do so. Let the goal in all we do be to glorify and magnify Jesus Christ in all we do.

Let’s pray.