If you were at epikos church this week, we studied Hebrews
10:19-23. If you don't have a church
home we invite you to check us out. We are
one church in two locations. We are one
of the churches in Milwaukee and West Allis that is committed to sharing the
gospel through faithful preaching.
This passage begins to summarize and apply this entire
section that began at 5:1. Compare this week's passage with 4:14-16. The
passage's general flow or structure is the declaration of the truth of what
Christ's sacrifice achieves and then two commands for us to respond to in light
of the truth.
The author declares our confidence to enter God's presence
that comes through Christ alone through his sacrificed life and shed blood.
Often times our confidence can rest in something other than Christ— even if it
appears 'Christiany.' For example, our church attendance, our baptism, our
theology, or our righteousness/godly behavior. None of these will allow you
into God's presence. Instead, it is the blood of Christ alone that gives us
admission and confidence of our admission.
Not only does Christ's work as the great high priest make it
possible to enter God's presence, but we can draw near (and stay near) to the
Father through him as well. Just as the Israelites were made ceremonially clean
through the sacrifices, Christ's sacrifice makes us pure and clean— not just
ceremonially clean, but bodies and conscience. Recall from the last sections
the OT sacrifices had to be repeated daily (10:11), but Christ's work was
completed (10:12). The result is our everlasting ability to draw near to the
Father having been granted access to him.
Holding fast to our confession is a command we've seen
previously in Hebrews (4:14), though it is also tied to our confidence (3:6)
and our hope (3:6; 6:18). We are to trust in the Lord and his faithfulness
without wavering. If we were to hold fast to our own faithfulness or our own righteousness,
we would be sunk.
Remember the main point of Hebrews is calling the church to
steadfast faithfulness in light of severe challenges and persecution. The
author in this section is reminding them of Christ's faithful work in the past
in order that they will take advantage of their direct access to the Father in
the present. Further, in light of this truth, holding fast to this truth will
carry us into our future hope.
Remembering what Christ has done is an important daily task, recalling that our hearts and bodies have been cleansed by Jesus' blood. But do we take advantage of our ability to draw to God? If not, what is keeping us from drawing near with confidence? Do we struggle to trust in the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice— whether we think our sins are too great or doubt that our sin has truly been dealt with at the cross? This is why we need the reminders... because aren't always living in the full assurance of faith, confident, and unwavering.
Remembering what Christ has done is an important daily task, recalling that our hearts and bodies have been cleansed by Jesus' blood. But do we take advantage of our ability to draw to God? If not, what is keeping us from drawing near with confidence? Do we struggle to trust in the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice— whether we think our sins are too great or doubt that our sin has truly been dealt with at the cross? This is why we need the reminders... because aren't always living in the full assurance of faith, confident, and unwavering.
If you would like to hear the sermon on this passage you can
go to the epikos church website at www.epikos.org. With locations in West Allis, East Side, and
soon North Side we are one of the Milwaukee churches dedicated to faithfully
preaching God's word.
