The Supremacy of God’s Son: A Study in Hebrews
Hebrews 10:19-25 – Responding with Assurance
(This lesson is adapted from sermons and commentaries by John MacArthur, http://www.gty.org and J. Ligon Duncan, http://www.fpcjackson.org)
How can you be sure the next airplane you board will actually fly?
Over and over again, the writer of Hebrews has been doing what?
Appealing to these 1st century Jewish Christians not to turn away from the supreme Son of God and go back to the Old Covenant sacrificial system. In great detail, he has explain how all the elements of this system pointed forward to the One who is superior as our ultimate High Priest and as our perfect, once-for-all-time sacrifice.
As we hit Hebrews10:19, we find the turning point. We are stopped in our tracks and pointed to home. It is time to respond.
There have been warnings throughout the book…
Hebrews 2:1-3a
1 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. 2 For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?
There were other warnings in other chapters, but now here in verse 19 of chapter 10, it is time for a response. The question is…
How will we respond to what we have heard so far in the book of Hebrews?
Hebrews 10:19-25
19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 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 with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
As we go through these verses, we will see that the author is going to challenge his readers (or hearers) to respond with confidence to everything he’s said so far.
“therefore” – What does this word say to us? “therefore” equals “why for?” We look back to prepare for what lies ahead. The author is saying, “Because of all the things I’ve told you up to this point, here’s what I want you to do now.” And, we have to respond. When you hear the Gospel, you cannot remain neutral.
What are the two possible responses? Verse 19 offers the first possible response and verse 26 (which we’ll hit next week) offer the other possible response.
1. Three Reasons to Respond vv.19-21
19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
As believers, we must understand the theological underpinnings of what we believe. I believe this is a major shortcoming in many churches today and is one of the reasons so many “fall away” from the faith. As a general rule, we don’t have a deep understanding of what we believe.
J. Ligon Duncan -
Christians must take care that their relationship to God reflects a full understanding of Christ’s work. Our relationships to God, if they do not reflect a full understanding of what Jesus has done in His finished work, our relationships will be impacted negatively. Our fellowship with God will be hampered if we don’t realize, apprehend, the significance of Christ’s finished work.
The writer here gives us three reasons to respond to the message we’ve heard or three theological reasons.
Reason 1) we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus
As our ultimate High Priest, Jesus Christ has entered the holy place (heaven) and sat down and in doing so, he has opened the way for us. Because of His finished work, believers can now have full confidence to follow Him to heaven; to eternal life.
This confidence is not based on any work that we have done or based on anything that we possess, but it is based only in the person and work of Jesus Christ. It is a confidence to come into the presence of God and live eternally with Him. It is a confidence purchased “by the blood” of the perfect and once-for-all-time sacrifice that never needs to be repeated.
2 Corinthians 3:1-5
3:1 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you? 2 You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. 3 And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 4 Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God,
Reason 2) by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh
The second reason for responding is found in verse 20. As he said in verse 19, because of the shred blood of Jesus on the cross, we can enter into the holy place. Now, he tells us that we enter not in the traditional manner, ie., as the high priest did, but we pass through the veil (curtain) “by the new and living way.”
What is the new and living way? “through his flesh” Whose flesh? Jesus.
This might seem a bit strange, but it’s an analogy that the writer is drawing to help the readers or listeners understand this concept.
J. Ligon Duncan -
He is saying, ‘Jesus’ flesh was like that curtain. His incarnation, His taking on our humanity and dying in our place, was like the curtain, the only curtain through which we enter into the presence of God.’ His argument is because the humanity of Christ has now become the entrance curtain into the very presence of God…
Reason 3) since we have a great priest over the house of God
His last theological reason calling for a response is that Jesus Christ is a superior high priest. We’ve heard this many times before in Hebrews, but it is important for what follows starting in verse 22. Jesus is superior in His priesthood and He is our high priest.
What does verse 21 mean that He is “over the house of God?” He is the high priest over the church. It’s not just important to the individual believer, but it impacts the entire church because He is our High Priest. It’s the same concept for the “house of God” being analogous to the church that both Peter and Paul used.
1 Peter 4:16-17
16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
Ephesians 2:19-22
19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
So, the writer third and final reason for responding is that Jesus Christ is our great priest.
So, those are the 3 reasons to respond. Now the writer turns to the “what” part of this section. He’s told us that we need to respond; now we find out how we are to respond.
2. Draw Near to God with a True Heart v.22
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 with pure water.
The writer is saying that the way is open to Christ for those who come to Him with a true or sincere heart that has been regenerated by the blood of Jesus. You can now come boldly into God’s presence but this invitation is only for those who approach in genuine faith with no other motivations.
Proverbs 23:26 – My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways.
What kind of heart is true? As the second part of verse 22 tells us, it is only those that are clean from the sinful, evil that we are born with. This is the inner cleansing that is symbolized by the outward act of baptism. It was foreshadowed by high priest washing his body prior to entering the Holy of Holies.
Ephesians 5:25-27
25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
So, the writer calls believers to draw near to God with a true heart.
3. Let Fast to the Confession v.23
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
He is exhorting these Jewish Christians to “hang on” to what you know is true. Stay with the word that was preached to you and the word that God used to save you. This is a call to perseverance. These Christians are in difficult circumstances. They are facing persecution, but this is no time to turn away from the truth.
J. Ligon Duncan –
And they are surrounded by people who want to persecute them and they are surrounded by Jewish friends who are protected by law in the Roman society from persecution. They think, “Well, you know, I could have a relationship with God. I could go back to Judaism. I wouldn’t be persecuted as a Christian and that would be good, wouldn’t it?” And he says, “No, you hold fast that confession of the Lord Jesus Christ without wavering. Don’t waver in the confession of that hope because it is the only hope. Don’t fail to believe the promises.”
Some translations use the word “faith” instead of “hope” but the meaning is the same. It is the basis of our brief.
John Owen -
Faith is here taken in both the principal acceptations of it, namely, that faith whereby we believe, and the faith or doctrine which we do believe. Of both which we make the same profession: of one, as the inward principle; of the other, as the outward rule. This solemn profession of our faith is two-fold: initial, and by the way of continuation in all the acts and duties required thereunto. The first is a solemn giving up of ourselves unto Christ, in a professed subjection unto the Gospel, and the ordinances of Divine worship therein contained.
So, we are to “hold fast” to the confession of our faith.
4. Provoke Other Believers to Love and Good Works v.24-25
24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
Based on the work of Christ on the cross, we must see and act on the consequences. What are the consequences of His work? Stimulating our fellow believers to love and good works. Other words for “stir up” are “provoke” or “stimulate.” He writer here reminds us that Christianity is not me-center, but it is focused on others. We have a responsibility toward our brothers and sisters in Christ.
If it is true that we have assurance because of what Jesus has done, if it is true that we have hope because of what Jesus has done, it is also true that we have obligations to one another because of what Jesus has done. So He tells us to love one another, stimulating one another to love and good deeds.
The primary means of encouraging our brothers and sisters in Christ is to ensure that we do not neglect our responsibility to gather as a body and do the work that God calls us to. There was an obvious problem with this church in the book of Hebrews that as they came under persecution many of the believers would not assemble together.
John MacArthur –
They were all in danger of falling back, and He’s saying, “Keep that fellowship going. Don’t go back. You need each other. You need to love each other. You need to kind of irritate.” The word “provoke” literally is irritate. It’s a negative word. “Irritate each other into good works.” Paroxymos. Stimulate good works, and stimulate love. These are the things that go together in the Christian experience, love and good works.
It is important for us as a local church to remember that we are a “manifestation” or visible presence of the church universal, ie., all believers all the world. As such, Scripture clearly gives us duties that we are to carry out and these include assembling together and encouraging one another through the study and preaching of the Word and in most practical ways by ministering to one another.
