We have been following some of the arguments made by the writer to the Hebrews in recent posts. In #41, we saw that God wanted to show us more convincingly than by His word of promise that His purposes for us are unchanging - so He swore an oath by Himself to that effect! This makes our hope a firm anchor for our souls, grounded in heaven where Jesus ever lives as our great High Priest to intercede for us. Then in #44 we saw that it is the blood of Christ, which He took into the heavenly tabernacle, that really cleanses our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. His sacrifice therefore wiped away the stain of our sin and made us white as snow.
The passage above summarizes these arguments again for us in two statements, before drawing three conclusions.
First summary statement - Jesus has opened for us a new and living way through the curtain of the heavenly tabernacle into the holy places by His blood. Just as His body was broken, so the curtain of the earthly tabernacle was torn in two to show that this way is opened up to us to enter with confidence.
Second summary statement - Jesus is installed as a great priest over the house of God (the writer has said before that Jesus is able to sympathize with us in our weakness).
Pause here a moment and take in what the writer is saying here. Jesus took His blood into the heavenly holy places as an offering of atonement before God - and it was accepted. He entered heaven as the God-man, showing that the way is now open for redeemed and glorified humanity to enter heaven also. His blood washes us white as snow and He ministers in heaven as our Great Priest to plead the merits of His once-for-all sacrifice on our behalf.
We were barred from entry into heaven before, but now it is not just that we can creep in through the back door and hope to hide away where no-one will see us. Not at all! We are welcome to come near to God because of what Jesus has done! And there is no other way to heaven except through the work of Jesus - it is His new and living way, or no way.
So then, what should we do? The writer tells us in his three conclusions, all exhortations to us and all beginning with “let us.” “Therefore,” he says, “since these things are true:”
- Let us draw near (v 22)! It would be strange indeed if a generous person bought a house for us at enormous expense and opened the door to let us in, only for us to stand around outside and admire the house from a distance! No, says the writer, the blood of Jesus has sprinkled our hearts clean from an evil conscience and we have been washed in pure water (I think an emblem here of the Holy Spirit). Therefore, with true hearts and full assurance of faith, we may enter and draw near!
- Let us boldly affirm that our certain hope - the anchor for our souls - is Jesus Himself. We will hold fast to Him and He to us. And we really shouldn’t have any waverings, because we have the promise and the oath of God to convince us of His unchanging and gracious purposes for us! Times were tough for the original readers of this letter and some were thinking of turning back from following Christ. The wonder of our access to God through Jesus is something we need to marvel at but also use to strengthen our resolve when we go through difficult times.
- Let us consider how to stir one another up to love and good deeds. If we see others who are wavering, we need to get alongside them and encourage them. Biblical Christianity is all about the “one another” ministry among believers. We need to stir each other up and encourage them to be fruitful in their knowledge of Jesus. One of the first signs that someone is drifting from Christ is that they stop attending the gatherings of the church. We need to meet together to stir each other up! I know we can’t do this face to face at the moment, but we can do it in other ways and it is vital that we do! There is an urgency here, too, because our time on this earth is short and we need to make the most of every opportunity of fruitful service.
So, if it will help you to remember these wonderful exhortations, think of this passage in Hebrews as the “3 lettuces” passage:
- Let us draw near to God by the way Jesus has opened
- Let us hold fast to our Anchor and not waver
- Let us stir up others to press in to Jesus and be fruitful
We have a gracious God and a glorious gospel - why not seek to encourage at least one brother or sister in Christ every day with the wonder of these truths?
