Responding Correctly
Published by Stanley Pouw in 2024 · 10 November 2024
When a person hears the gospel, the good news of salvation from sin through Jesus Christ, and when that person understands and believes that the gospel is true, and when that person commits to that understanding, then that person will either go on to be a true believer or fall back to be an apostate. You see, there are only two possible responses to the knowledge of the gospel.
An apostate is one who rejects the truth, having known it. That’s different from someone who maybe rejects only knowing a portion of it. The Bible tells us that the severest kind of punishment is for that apostate. Tonight we’re going to consider the first of those two possibilities, and that is the positive response to the New Testament, or salvation for that particular believer.
Now, in the book of Hebrews, we have been studying the depths of this deep book. It began, as we were introduced to the absolute superiority, sovereignty and supremacy of Jesus Christ. We found Him in the very first verses of Hebrews 1 to be the all-sufficient One. And then the writer of Hebrews begins to compare Jesus Christ with all of the features of the Old Testament.
So He shows how Christ is better than Moses, and Christ is better than angels, and Christ is better than all the prophets, and Christ is better than Joshua, and implies that Christ is better than David, and Christ is better than Aaron, and Christ is better than all the priests. And Christ offered a better sacrifice than the other ones. He is a better priest of a better priesthood than the other one.
And He offers a New Testament that is better than the Old Testament. And so through Hebrews 10:1 - 10:18 we find a presentation of the superiority of Jesus Christ. And as we come to verse 19, He asks for a response. Now periodically, He has been giving us several strict warnings that are interspersed between these presentations of the superiority of Jesus Christ.
Verse 19-20, “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus. 20 He has inaugurated for us a new and living way through the veil (that is, through his flesh).” The word “therefore” always point backwards. “On the basis of what I’ve said for 10 chapters in Hebrews and 18 verses, you must respond.”
If you know the gospel of Jesus Christ, you either then take a positive response in verse 19, “enter the sanctuary,” or you take a negative response, verse 26, you sin willfully after you knew the truth, and you fall away, and judgment comes. And that’s what He’s asking for beginning in Hebrews 10:19, in response to all of the presentation of Christ up through verse 18 of Hebrews 10.
And it’s an appeal for men to come to Christ on the basis of doctrine. You see, no biblical appeal is ever really made apart from a doctrine. And so ten chapters of basic doctrine about the identity of Christ and finally He says, “Now here’s the opportunity for you to respond.” And the first is a positive response that you tonight, who doesn’t know Christ, would have even tonight.
The positive response is salvation which is made up of three features: faith, hope, and love. Notice the text, first of all is faith. “Let us draw near,” verse 19. Secondly is hope, verse 23, “Let us hold fast.” And then there’s love in verse 24, “Let us consider one another.” All begin with “Let us,” one having to do with faith, one having to do with hope and one having to do with love.
Now, let’s begin with faith in verse 19 - 22. Verse 21-22 says, “And since we have a great high 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 in pure water.” On what basis can we draw near? Verse 19, “since we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus.”
The Holy Spirit begins by saying, “We can enter into God’s presence.” The sanctuary is the Holy of Holies where God dwelt. And no man could enter into that place except the Jewish high priest once a year to offer atonement for the sins of the nation Israel. But now He is saying, “You all can enter into God’s presence. The veil has been torn down, and you can all enter in boldly.”
So we have this new entrance into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. And this is a fantastic statement to a Jew because to a Jew, entering into the holiest is absolutely forbidden. And if a Jew ever tried to do that under the Old Testament, he would have been instantly consumed in the flames of the fire of Almighty wrath. So no Jew would ever conceive of going into the Holy of Holies.
You see, in the Old Testament there was a lot of blood being shed, but none of it ever opened up the veil. It couldn’t open the way. In Hebrews 9:22, it said, “According to the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” No way to forgive sin apart from bloodshed, but the bloodshed of the animals didn’t do it.
What did He do with His justice? He laid it on Jesus Christ and paid for sin and therefore, he can give us mercy. And so we can go boldly, saying, “I’m coming. Because you’ve already spent your justice on Christ, your mercy remains for me.” And so we enter boldly. In fact, we go into His presence, the Apostle Paul says, crying “Abba, Father,” which means Papa. It’s real intimate.
As faith begins to dawn in the believing heart, faith begins to perceive that we may come to God, that God is a loving God who already spent His wrath on Jesus Christ for those who believe and has nothing left but mercy. As soon as Adam sinned the access to God was shut. But now, the blood of Jesus Christ quenched His judgement. And the believer can enter boldly into His presence.
And the Old Testament could only bring a man partially into the presence of God anyway. It only just barely got him into that relationship. And we know it’s a new way not only because it gets you to God and the old way didn’t, but we know it’s a new way because it’s by the blood of Jesus and not the blood of animals. And so the Spirit calls it a new and living way.
His sacrifice is effectual for all of time and thus it is spoken of as fresh. It’s ever fresh because He’s really the Lamb slain from before the foundations of the world. And for the person who comes to Jesus Christ, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is fresh. Because the Apostle Paul says that the moment you’re saved, you die with Christ. “You are crucified with Christ, nevertheless you live.”
And so in a very real sense, Christ’s crucifixion is just as fresh as the moment that you experience Him. It’s a fresh way and, it’s a living way. That talks about resurrection. None of those animals came back alive again. But here, it’s a living way. Jesus isn’t even a dead sacrifice. He’s alive. He’s risen. And he’s seated at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for us.
More than that, it’s a living way because we’re alive. When you came to Jesus Christ, what did He do? Ephesians 2:4-5, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, 5 made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!” People in this world are spiritually dead. It’s an inability to respond to a spiritual stimulus.
And then all of a sudden Jesus Christ reaches down and makes you alive, and you begin to sense God. All of a sudden God is alive, and you’re alive. And things begin to make sense. And you begin to see what God wants and to think with the thoughts of God. And a whole new dimension opens up to you, and it’s life, and you’re alive for the first time, which means you’re sensitive to God.
That’s what Christian liberty is. Christian liberty isn’t doing what you want. Christian liberty is the ability to do right for the first time in your life. Because you’re alive to God, you can sense what He’s saying and be obedient. John 1 says, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” The body may die, but you are alive to God forever.
Verse 20 says “Christ has inaugurated for us a new and living way through the veil (that is, through his flesh).” How did He dedicate this to us? Through His flesh. And here, His flesh is called a veil. The inner Holy of Holies was separated from the Holy Place by this veil. That was to keep anybody out that wanted to get in. This great veil was there. It barred man’s access to God.
When Christ died, He didn’t brush the veil aside. He split it from top to bottom, and left it wide open. Christ came into the world and if His flesh was never torn on the cross, then the way was never open. Until Christ’s flesh was split, the way to God was barred, even though He was there. But when the flesh of Jesus Christ was ripped asunder at the cross, the way to God was open.
Verse 21-22, “And since we have a great high 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 in pure water.” Jesus Christ not only opened it up, but He became the high priest in the presence of God. He not only showed us the way, He took us in there with Him.
The term “the house of God” has to do with all believers. Peter uses it thusly in 1 Peter 4:17 and Paul in Ephesians 2:21 - 22. And so Jesus Christ opened the way, a new and living way, but He didn’t only open it, He took us in there with Him. Jesus Christ not only pointed out the access to God, but He took me by the arm and ushered me into His presence, and He sits there with me.
I’m anchored there by His presence, because I’m inseparably and eternally connected to Him. He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit. And the Lord is in there, in the throne of God, seated at the right hand of God, in His presence. And if He’s there, I’m there with Him, because we’re one. It is on the basis that access is provided. Verse 22 says, “Let us draw near with a true heart.”
Only Jesus can really cleanse a person’s heart. His is no external purification, but by His Spirit He cleanses the inmost thoughts and desires of a person. Conscience brings guilt. And the guilt can never be removed until the sin is removed. And when Jesus died, His blood removed our sins, and thus our conscience becomes free from guilt. Now, that has to do with God’s side.
But there is something that has to do with you. Our bodies are washed with pure water. And here we have the idea that there is a cleansing that goes on within us by the Spirit of God. First of all, blood is sprinkled to satisfy God. Then you and I are cleansed on the inside by water. In John 3:5, it talks about being washed by the water and the Spirit, and the water there is the Word that cleanses us.
And, secondly, you’re changed on the inside, as you’re washed by the Word and born again. Now, these are inseparable. When a man comes to Christ, they both take place. The legal act of Christ’s death is applied on His behalf, and God is satisfied. And the cleansing act of the Holy Spirit changes him on the inside, and He is satisfied. And all this comes when a person boldly enters by faith.
How does faith work?” Well, First of all, faith begins with a felt need. Paul, on the road to Damascus, was just shaking in his tracks, stunned, and he said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” That’s a need. He felt a need. Secondly, it continues with collecting evidence. In Romans 10:17, it says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by a message about Jesus.” It climaxes in commitment.
Verse 23, “Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful.” The second thing in this passage is hope. Now, what is He saying here? You may come up here and you may believe, but the validity of your faith will be revealed. There are many who go around confessing Christ, and the devil is letting people confess Christianity as long as they don’t practice it.
This is the human side of eternal security. The Bible teaches that if we’re God’s, He holds us, but yet there’s a human side of the paradox. God chooses us to be saved, and yet there’s a sense in which we choose out of our own will. We are secure by the power of God, and yet that doesn’t mean that we can just do anything we want to do. There’s a human responsibility to security, too.
Verse 24, “Let us consider one another to provoke love and good works.” The third thing is simply love. Now, these Jewish readers were having a hard time breaking with the Old Testament. And they were still holding on to legalism and they were still wanting to go back to the temple and go back to the priests and back to the sacrifice. And so He says, “Come on and get in the fellowship.”
Verse 25, “Don’t neglect to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.” This is an admonition to Christians as well. They were all in danger of falling back, and He’s saying, “Keep that fellowship going. Don’t go back. You need to love each other. The Christian experience is love and good works.
But if it is, it will, and it’ll also continue to the fellowship of the believers. And so what is the writer of Hebrews saying to us? Very simply, and we can’t overcomplicate his words, He’s simply saying, “Come on. The door is open. Believe God. Enter into His presence. Stay there. And commune as believers.” That’s a positive response to the New Testament. Let us pray.