Confidence to Draw Near

Hebrews: The Supremacy of Christ  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented
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Hebrews 10:19-23

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, 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.

This is the Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God.
Our passage today again deals with the idea of assurance. The author tells us that we can be assured of our salvation. We can know that God has saved us and that our eternal destination is set by him. We can have confidence and boldness to approach God through the work of Christ.
I once saw a video of a debate between Christians and atheists. The Christians asked one of the atheists if he had faith that the theory of evolution was true. He replied, “No, I have confidence that evolustion is true.”
“So you don’t have faith?”
“No, I have confidence based on the evidence.”
In the final rebuttals, one of the Christian team members said, “Our opponent has stated that he does not have faith in evolution, but that he has confidence that it is true. Confidence. From the Latin ‘con fide’ which means ‘with faith.’”
The look on the the atheist’s face of “I fell into that trap.”
You see, when we cannot know something for sure, we have to do our best with the evidence that is presented to us, allowing that evidence to give us the confidence, or the faith, that what it points to is true.
The author of Hebrews has spent much of this book giving us the reasons for why he tells us in our passage today that we can boldy approach God, confident that he will keep his promises.
Big Idea: We can confidently draw near to God, knowing God is faithful.
Hebrews 10:19-20

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)

The author says we have the boldness to enter the sanctuary of Heaven. The Greek word here is:
παρρησία - parresia - boldness, confidence
This word can be translated as boldness, confidence, or describe something as being done plainly or publicly. The writer of Hebrews is telling us that as Christians, we should have boldness when we approach God. This boldness is not arrogance, which can often be confused with confidence. But arrogance is based on your own ability, on a confidence of self-reliance. Our confidence as Christians is in the work of Christ, and Christ alone.
Hebrews 4:14-16

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens—Jesus the Son of God—let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.

Christ has passed through the heavens, come to earth, lived the perfect life according to the law, was tempted in all the ways that you and I are still tempted today, and still never sinned. We can approach God's throne of grace with boldness, with confidence, not because we are such great people, but because the Son of God did the work you and I cannot, dying for sin in our place, earning the righteousness we cannot earn, and freely giving it to those who believe in him.
Verse 19 of our Passage is a direct comparison to Hebrews 3:12, where the author warns his readers against unbelief.

Watch out, brothers and sisters, so that there won’t be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.

You can know God exists, understand that an intelligent designer created this world, know that Jesus lived, died, and was even resurrected, but that knowledge does not equal belief and Trust in God. Do you actually have faith in God?
Our boldness does not come from a blind faith, but from a living faith. Martin Luther called this a “fides viva” in Latin.
The late Theologian RC Sproul once said that fideism was infecting our world.
“We live in a time where we’ve been infected with what’s called fideism, which says, ‘I don’t need to have a reason for what I believe. I just close my eyes like Tiny Alice and take a real deep breath and scrunch up my nose. And if I try hard enough, I can believe. And I jump into the arms of Jesus. I take a blind leap of faith.’”
RC Sproul
That is not what we are called to in Scripture. We are not called to “easy believeism.” We are called to have a reasoned faith.
1 Peter 3:14-15

But even if you should suffer for righteousness, you are blessed. Do not fear them, or be intimidated, but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.

The Greek word for defense in this passage, it's apologia,
ἀπολογία - apologia - to give a reason or defense, to give an apology
it means to give a reason. This is where we get our modern-day word of apologetics. Those who work in Christian apologetics are looking at the science, the data, the manuscripts, and the arguments made within scripture, running all of that information through a logical framework, and reasoning their faith in order to defend what they believe, and teaching others to do the same.
Some of you may know the name Lee Strobel. In the 1980s, he was an adamant atheist working as an investigative journalist in Chicago when his daughter almost choked to death at a restaurant, but was saved by a nurse whose plans for dinner changed at the last minute, causing her and her husband to choose that particular restaurant for dinner that night. Strobel's wife could not let go of the fact that there was a reason the nurse was there that night to save their daughter. As it turned out, that nurse was a Christian, and Lee's wife started to meet regularly with the nurse and attend church with her.
Lee was so disgusted when he found out that he began to use his skills to investigate the claims of the Bible to prove that his wife's newfound faith was simply a delusion and not real. His investigation is now the content of the best-selling book, The Case for Christ, because the evidence of the reliability of scripture, especially when it came to the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, was undeniable. Lee is now one of the leading apologists in Christianity today.
 If Jesus sets the standard for morality, I can now have an unwavering foundation for my choices and decisions, rather than basing them on the ever-shifting sands of expediency and self-centeredness. Lee Strobel The Case for Christ (1998)
Another apologist who tried to debunk scripture and failed is J. Warner Wallace. Wallace was an atheist working as a Cold Case Detective in LA. He used his skills as a homicide detective to investigate the claims of scripture, again trying to prove that Christianity was a hoax. His research also led him to submit to Christ and write the book Cold Case Christianity. Nora and I actually got to meet Wallace this last fall at an apologetics conference for students.
There are so many more examples of atheists who could not deny the reliability of Scripture and the work of God in this world:
C.S. Lewis - Narnia, Mere Christianity
Peter Hitchens - Brother of famous atheist Christopher Hitchens
Francis Collins - Director of Human Genome Project. Converted after studying and researching human DNA.
(Create list of Apologists and Apologetics Resources)
You see, our boldness as followers of Jesus has nothing to do with us, but relies completely on the one who loved us and gave himself for us. Our faith is not in our works, but in the works of Christ, through his blood. This is why the author started this verse with the word “Therefore.” He has given an “apology,” or a reason, for why we can have boldness. His “therefore” is pointing back to everything he has been saying in the previous 9.5 chapters of this book, especially from chapters 8, 9, and 10, where he has described the new covenant in Christ and how God accomplished it through Jesus.
The work of Christ inaugurated, or opened, a New and Living Way through the curtain. The curtain being referred to in this passage is the one that separated the holy place in the temple from the holy of holies, where the Ark of the Covenant was placed. If someone who was not the high priest tried entering the most holy place, behind the curtain, they would die. If the high priest tried entering on a day other than the day of atonement, he would die. There was actually legend in Hebrew teaching that the people would put a rope with bells on it around the anke of the high priest as he went into the holy of holies on the day of atonement, just in case he angered God and God struck him dead. But what scripture actually says is that the high priest had bells on the hem of his garment, so the other priests would hear his movements as he ministered before the Lord…but there was no way to retrieve the body if he was struck down by God. However, the work of Christ has made it possible for us to enter the holy sanctuary and approach the throne of grace with boldness.
The new and living way to God is through Christ alone.
John 14:6

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

There is no other way to God. The new and living way to God is through Christ alone. We have life through Christ's death. Not only that, we gain life through our own death. This last week I saw a video clip of a liberal theologian saying, “Just because those are the words Jesus used, saying he is the only way to God, does not mean that Jesus is actually the only way to God.”
Some of you have maybe seen the bumper sticker that says, “God said it, I believe it, that settles it.”
RC Sproul hated that bumper sticker. He said that the middle statement was unnecessary to the premise. The bumper sticker should read, “God said it, that settles it.” You and I believing what God said or not has nothing to do with whether or not is true. God’s truthfulness, his commands, his authority over us are not impacted by us believing or not believing. Because the reasoning that you and I may use in trying to debunk what the Bible says will not be based in the absolute truth of who God is, but rather in our finite, feelings-based, over-emotional, and sinful hearts.
Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Christ's death and resurrection are what give us this hope. And we receive that hope through the death of our own wants and desires. We gain life in Christ through dying to ourselves, through the Holy Spirit giving us new hearts, working his fruit in our lives, and molding us into the image of Christ. This is where our confidence lies.
Are you constantly dying to your own wants and desires? Are you killing the sin in your life so that it does not kill you? Are you continually asking God to fill your heart and mind with is wisdom and understanding? Are you asking him to fill you with the Holy Spirit on a daily basis to be an example of his love and grace to the people around you?
Ask God to work in your heart to desire what he desires, to love what he loves, and live in a way that shows new life in Him to others.
Do you have a reasoned faith? Do you know why you believe what you believe? Does the knowledge of what you believe drive you closer to God? If not, I want to help you make your faith your own. It is not enough for you to come to church on Sunday, hear me preach a sermon, and call it good for the rest of the week. Pastor Ryan said it, that is good enough for me.
Study. Read. Learn. If you have questions about Scripture, why it says what it says, etc. Research it. Ask questions. Meet with me so we can work through it together.
This fall, I am treaching a Systematic Theology class for 6-8th graders. Not rteaching them what to believe, but teaching them how to think about what Scripture says so they can reason out their faith themselves, not relying on their parents’ faith for salvation.
If any of you want help in doing this, please see me after service and we will figure out a way to help you reason out your faith.
Hebrews 10:21-22

—and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, 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.

In the Old Testament law, the high priest was essential to atonement and access to God's presence. It was only the high priest who could go into the holy of holies to offer the sacrifices to God for the sins of the people. But as the author of Hebrews has emphasized over and over again, Jesus is our great high priest who offered the greatest sacrifice possible in his own body and blood.
With Jesus as our high priest over the house of God, the author tells us that we should draw near to God with true hearts and full Assurance of faith. Again, we see the author emphasize that our confidence, or assurance, cannot be found in our own works. It is through the work of our high priest, Jesus Christ, that we can enter into the presence of God the Father.
James 4:8

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

Though this idea of drawing near to God initiated with the Levitical priests in the Mosaic Law, we see it become the approach of anyone who follows after God. We have already seen the author tell us to draw near in 4:16. In Psalm 73, a man named Asaph, who was the worship director in King David’s court, wrote about his confusion and jealousy over the earthly prosperity of the wicked. And yet, in all of that insecurity, Asaph eventually states where he finds his hope.
Psalm 73:28

But as for me, God’s presence is my good.

I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,

so I can tell about all you do.

He describes God’s presence the thing that is good for him—not riches, not prosperity, but being in the presence of God is the greatest good we are ever going to experience.
Do you know the goodness of the presence of God? Do you know the Father who is waiting to wrap his loving arms around you? I know that there are some here who did not, and perhaps still do not, have the greatest relationship with their parents. Hearing that God is a loving Father does not make sense because they did not know what a loving father was growing up. Being Mother’s Day today, I know there are also those whose relationships with their mothers have been or still are strained.
Though sin breaks the perfect picture of what a loving father or mother should look like, where we are often hurt by those who are supposed to love us the best, you can know the peace and love of God who is the ultimate Father, the one that earthly fathers should strive to emulate to their children, guiding, protecting, and loving them beautifully. God is also described as being like a mother hen that gathers her chicks to hide under the shelter of her wings.
God’s presence is a place of peace, protection, and love. It is the place of our ultimate good. Run to the arms of the Father that will never let you go, encasing you in his arms as a father does his kids. He is the Father who will never walk out on you, leave you, or abandon you. He will hold your hand as he walks with you and guides you through the trials of this life, as a parent does their child.
Our passage says that we are to approach God with a True Heart. Other translations say we are to approach with a sincere heart. This sincerity or truthfulness of heart indicates a genuineness in seeking God. It means you are approaching God for his glory and not your own. There is no room for ulterior motives when we come before the Lord, because God knows our hearts.
When you ask God to help you in your finances, maybe in seeking a new job, or for provision in some other way, are you asking because you want to glorify God with your finances, or because you're tired of things being hard and don't trust that he is already in the process of taking care of your situation?
God knows the difference.
Being fully assured of our faith means we are utterly confident in God's promises. Our assurance lies not in our own works, but in the work of God himself.
Part of our Assurance comes from the fact that we have hearts that have been sprinkled clean so that we no longer have an evil conscience, because God's law has been written on our hearts and minds. Our being washed in pure water is a partial allusion to the Priestly cleansing rituals in the Tabernacle, where they were continually washing and cleaning.
The author of Hebrews also seems to be alluding to Ezekiel 36:25 in this passage. In this verse, the Lord is speaking to the people through the prophet Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 36:25

I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.

The very next verse after this is where the the Lord states through the prophet that he will put a new spirit in his people, taking out their hearts of stone and putting in hearts of flesh. Our being made clean by God directly corresponds to receiving a heart of flesh with his law written upon it. This is why the washing mentioned by the author of Hebrews is likely not associated with water baptism but with the Holy Spirit's work in us through regeneration.
Knowing the Holy Spirit’s work within your own heart is what gives you the assurance to trust in the Lord. His work provides you the faith, the trust, and the confidence that he will guide us in truth.
Hebrews 10:23

Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful.

We are also encouraged to hold on to our confession of Christ with hope and not wavering. In Hebrews 6:19 we saw the author describe God as an anchor.
Hebrews 6:19

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.

When we confess Christ, when we declare that we have put our faith in him, submitting our lives in service to him, we are held secure in our hope. This echoes the author's call in Hebrews 2:1 to pay attention to the doctrine that we believe.
Hebrews 2:1

For this reason, we must pay attention all the more to what we have heard, so that we will not drift away.

Like a boat at sea, we must remain anchored to the truth of God’s word. We have to remain fixed on the Lord and his commands. One translation says that we are to pay more careful attention to what we have heard.
The late pastor and theologian, Tim Keller in preaching on 2:1 said this:
We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.” This term more careful attention is really much stronger than I ever thought before I studied it for us this week. The word attention literally means obsession. The word more careful is another very strong word. More and careful are trying to get across a word that actually means to be furiously obsessed.
Timothy Keller
Assurance of our hope is strengthened through our careful and rigorous study of God’s word. But just reading and studying the word means nothing if we do not put it into action.
…paying closest attention to what we have heard means living in the revelation of God’s Word—and it always has.
R. Kent Hughes
We must live what we have learned. We must live out what we are paying attention to. Just having head knowledge without the heart practice and devotion means nothing. You cannot hold onto your hope in the Lord if you do not spend time with the Lord in prayer and the reading and studying of his Word. When we know, truly know what God’s Word says, we can understand the holiness and righteousness of God. When we know that he is holy and righteous, we know that he does not lie, that he keeps his promises.
The author tells us that we don’t have to waver in our hope, we can hold tightly to the promises of God because he has proven himself faithful.
How many times have you seen God work in your life when there seemed to be no way to get through it? I cannot tell you the amount of times we have seen God provide when we were not sure how the bills were going to get paid, or how we were going to get Christmas gifts for the kids. But God is faithful.
Are you holding on tightly to God? Are you anchored to the hope of Jesus Christ? Ask your heart...does it know the God who always keeps his promises? Does your heart know the confidence it can have in a God who provided the only possible way to enjoy his presence and offers it freely to you?
Cling to the promises of God. Anchor yourself to the truth of God’s Word. Remember that the basis of our holding fast is not our strength; it is the faithfulness of God to keep his promises.
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