Hebrews 10:19-25: A New and Living Way
Hebrews 10:19
After much discussion on how Jesus went into heaven and secured our salvation, fulfilling the Old Testament prophets and the tabernacle pattern, the apostle Paul now will discuss practical applications of the teaching. This is indicated by the word “therefore.” He offers a short summary of things covered in previous chapters.
The first thing the apostle reminds us of is the boldness to enter the heavenly most holy place because of Jesus’ blood. The word boldness is translated elsewhere as confidence and openly, among others. Let us see these other usages.
Consider Peter and John speaking to the religious leaders of the Temple. “This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:11-13).
Not having been trained in the rabbinical schools, the leaders noted how bold they were. These Galilean fisherman had the nerve to threaten them, plainly accusing them of murdering the Lord Jesus. That is bold indeed! While these religious leaders did not have full authority to condemn them legally, they had already turned the Lord over to Pilate to execute Him. They could easily do the same to them. This is the kind of boldness we have in Christ.
This epistle also has a few usages of the word. “But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end” (Hebrews 3:6). The word “confidence” is this same word for boldness. Boldness seems to be a very significant part of being a Christian. Faith in Christ is not a wishy-washy approach to Christ. It is a confidence and a boldness that Jesus is risen, and we have triumphed with Him over the world and death.
Another appearance of the word is seen here: “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:14-16). Our high priest became one of us, but without sin, and was exalted into heaven. We need to be where He is, and when we rest there with Him, we will have that power in the many times that we need Him.
The blood of Jesus, as we have seen before, was quite satisfactory in redeeming us from sin. The Father saw it and was satisfied. “He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities” (Isaiah 53:11). “...he hath made us accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:6).
Hebrews 10:20
What does it mean a new and living way? Consider the discussion here.
How is Jesus like the veil in the tabernacle? Consider the discussion here.
Hebrews 10:21
There is a high priest over the house of God. The high priest is Jesus. We saw this over the past several chapters. The house of God is the church. “But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15). The church has the title that once belonged to the tabernacle and the temple.
The church superseding the tabernacle is significant for the next part of the discussion. If Jesus is the high priest over this church—the house of God—then we are to be about the business of the local church, where the believers are.
Over the next few verses, the apostle will mention three things that we should do because of the previous discussion. Because we have been brought near to God by the blood of Jesus, a new and living way, and have a high priest over us, the new house of God, we should:
- Draw near (Hebrews 10:22)
- Hold fast (Hebrews 10:23)
- Consider one another (Hebrews 10:24-25)
Let us examine each of these.
Hebrews 10:22
The first command is to draw near.
“And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and spoil them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them. And they said, Do whatsoever seemeth good unto thee. Then said the priest, Let us draw near hither unto God. And Saul asked counsel of God, Shall I go down after the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into the hand of Israel? But he answered him not that day” (1 Samuel 14:36-37). Saul would have fought the Philistines. The people said to do however he felt led, but the priest said, “Let us draw near hither unto God.” Saul stopped, sought the Lord, but heard nothing back. There was sin in the camp (i.e., Jonathan breaking the fasting oath), so they did not seek the Philistines that day. Drawing near to God implies not following others’ advice willy-nilly.
“For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee. But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works” (Psalm 73:27-28). To draw near to God is to trust in Him and to proclaim His goodness. To not draw near is to perish and to “go a whoring” from God. Severe terms indeed.
“Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men” (Isaiah 29:13). Drawing near to God is more than verbal assent. Drawing near to God involves the innermost counsel of our being.
From our passage here in Hebrews, we see that the heart is involved. We seek him and weigh every decision in light of Christ our new and living way.
Faith is more than something we exhibit to our Lord in the past for the sake of our justification. Faith is real trust that we exhibit from day to day. The modifier “full assurance” shows that the faith should not be in part. The apostle spent over nine chapters as to why Jesus is trustworthy. We should have complete trust in Him because He is higher than every angel and every Old Testament personage in power and authority.
The word for “full assurance” appears a few other times in the Bible. “For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh; That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ” (Colossians 2:1-2). This same apostle Paul wanted the Colossians to have full assurance of understanding in the Gospel, including the mysteries of God and Christ.
“For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake” (1 Thessalonians 1:5). When the Gospel is preached, it is more than the Word. Gospel preaching is accompanied by the power of the Holy Spirit, which gives us much assurance as to its truth.
“And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end” (Hebrews 6:11). Paul also desired that the recipients of this letter would have full assurance of hope for the rest of their lives until the Lord’s return.
Because we have full assurance of the hope (anticipation) of the Lord’s return, have seen the full assurance of the power of the Gospel by the Holy Spirit, and have full assurance of understanding from the Lord concerning His Word, we also should have full assurance of faith (trust) in Him. Because of what He demonstrated in the past by raising from the dead and ascending to the throne room of God, we should fully trust Him in everything.
With full assurance comes “having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience.” The word “sprinkled” is sacrifice language. Consider these: “For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh” (Hebrews 9:13). And again, “For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people” (Hebrews 9:19). And again, “Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission” (Hebrews 9:21-22). The sprinkling of Jesus’ blood was on the inward man, the new man, satisfying our guilty conscience that condemns us day by day for the evil that we are and that we have done. Because the blood satisfies God concerning our sin, it should also satisfy our conscience.
With full assurances also comes having “our bodies washed with pure water.” The baptismal regeneration crowd probably comes out in full force here. However, this should be seen in conjunction with the sprinkling on hearts. As we saw in Hebrews 9:19, water was used with sacrifice and ritual cleansing, as we saw here.
So it is not only the inward man that was sprinkled; our bodies were washed. What we do in the flesh matters. To say otherwise is to adhere to Gnosticism. “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God” (Romans 6:12-13). With a sprinkled conscience comes washed flesh. If you are right in the mind, you will be right in the actions!
Hebrews 10:23
We are to “hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering.” What is this holding fast?
It is to seize: “But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance” (Matthew 21:38). The evil husbandmen who did not want to give what was rightfully the owners thought they could seize the inheritance if they kill the heir.
It is to keep: “But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience” (Luke 8:15). In the parable of the soils, the fourth soil typifies a man who not only hears the word, but keeps it, and brings forth fruit. He retains what He heard. He obeys and responds to it.
It is to stubbornly cling to it: “For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had” (John 5:4). The disease of those to be cured would cling to the people. Nothing could get rid of it save spiritual intervention.
It is kept in memory: “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:1-2). Here is sobering thought. Those who do not keep the Gospel in memory are not saved. These “believed in vain.”
It is to hold firm and endure until the end: “But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end” (Hebrews 3:6).
There is a stubborn enduring and clinging to our profession or confession of faith. We confess that Jesus is Lord; this profession is consistent with where our true confidence lies, and it is evident day by day in our lives.
Why do we hold fast to that confession? “...for he is faithful that promised.” Recall that God made a promise and an oath to Abraham. The same faithfulness of God to Abraham is the same faithfulness God shows toward us. Because He is and will be holding fast to His promises, we hold fast to our profession.
Hebrews 10:24
The third command is to consider one another. Look at others and think about them. The result of this consideration is to see how to “provoke unto love and to good works.”
Love is sacrificial service, that in its fullest form looks like this: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). And the Deity of Christ is summed up in the statement, “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16), for He laid down His life for us.
There are a multitude of places that tell us to love others. “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:34-35). And again, “And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness” (Colossians 3:14).
Though we are to love others, we are to provoke others to love also. Engage other people to serve the Lord and be involved.
Likewise with good works, not as a method to earn God’s favor but rather as a fruit of God’s work in our lives, we have been commanded to do. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). Again, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). And again, “Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2:14).
Though we are to do good works to glorify God and help others, here we are to provoke others to good works. Encourage others to do works that will help others.
Hebrews 10:25
“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together...” This became the anthem of the pandemic. When the pandemic came, many of us were not physically present in church. I missed a lot of church myself. However, the primary definition of church is “congregation.” A congregation physically meets together somewhere. This verse corroborates with that interpretation and definition.
However, you also can be physically assembled and be fully disengaged from everything that goes on there. This verse is the antithesis of the previous verse. To be present and not engaged is to forsake the assembling just as much as if you were not there.
The word for assembling is used once elsewhere, referring to the Day of Christ: “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2). Surely, we will be physically present on that day, or we will not be!
“...as the manner of some is...” Some people do not gather with the saints as they should. These are not your examples. However, notice it is the manner of some, not most. It is very strange that multitudes of people who call themselves saved or Christians do not regularly go to church somewhere. Some of them are saved, because salvation is tied to faith alone in Christ. However, most of these people would not be Christians, because it is the manner of some, not most. Recall, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). Few are saved in the first place. It makes sense that most of them would be in church somewhere.
“...and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” What day? The Lord’s return. As this day is approaching, be that in our lifetimes or two hundred years from now, it is approaching. As we continue in our Christian lives, we see it becomes more necessary to be with other saints. Our recognition of our reliance on the Lord and His people increases with this understanding.
Even if the Lord’s return is not soon, the deterioration of our society is evident that the Lord will visit us in some way. As He gives our society over to a reprobate mind, we who know the truth must stick together.
We gather together and anticipate the Lord’s return. This is reminiscent of Zephaniah 2:1-3. Recall, in the previous chapter, The LORD warned of the Day of the LORD that was coming that would consume the entire world, including Judah and Jerusalem. Now here, there is a “nation not desired.” This is distinct from the nations of the world as well as Judah and Jerusalem given the context. This “nation” is His people in fact. Before the great judgment, He commands to “Gather yourselves together.” Those who sought the Lord throughout the world should seek humility and justice before the LORD’s coming. Then He says something most profound and cryptic: “it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’S anger.” This is one of the places in the Old Testament that talks about the rapture.
We assemble because we will be assembled together at His coming. Compare with 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2 above and Zephaniah 2:1-3. The gathering of the local church prefigures that gathering when the Lord comes. The word for church means “called out.” This is all rapture language. Going to church is eschatological in nature.
We need exhortation that much more so that we are ready for Christ and His coming. Turbulent times come before the Lord’s coming. We need each other; our faith is in ourselves if we do not see this. “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).