Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith

Hebrews 10:18-35 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.

¹⁹ Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, ²¹ and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²² let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having 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 stimulate one another to love and good deeds, ²⁵ not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

Christ or Judgment

²⁶ For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ²⁷ but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. ²⁸ Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” ³¹ It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

³² But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, ³³ partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated. ³⁴ For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one. ³⁵ Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. ³⁶ For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.

³⁷ For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay.
³⁸ But My righteous one shall live by faith; And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him.

³⁹ But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.

My main purpose and hope in sharing these meditations is to encourage believers in faith; to stimulate us all to love and good deeds. I don’t expect that many unbelievers would be counted among those who follow, read and share Daily Nuggets, though I fully believe God’s word will not come back void. Today’s text says:  Since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.  Surely we find ourselves in a time when we must hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, as we see the day drawing near. We must know that regardless of what happens in our nation and the world, our true residence is in the holy presence of God and the kingdom of heaven.

In Matthew 24:4-14 Jesus says:  “See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will mislead many people. And you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains. Then they will hand you over to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. And at that time many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will rise up and mislead many people. And because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will become cold. But the one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.”  Those who mislead many in the name of Christ are those who say that if Jesus were here today, He would tolerate and embrace sin and immorality. They are those who embrace what society calls choice, but what is really murder. They are those who, for the sake of not offending, tolerate and embrace all sorts of immorality. Those who mislead many are those who say that because society has made something legal, it is acceptable or even good, while God says: Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.(Isaiah 5:20)  My friends, “See to it that no one misleads you.”   Surely, we see the time when nation (ethnos) is rising against nation. These are the racial and ethnic conflicts that are being propagated by those who focus on race in order to divide and destroy our country. Surely, we see that lawlessness leads to love growing cold. Lawless mobs and mob mentality have led to senseless destruction and violence against innocent people and their property. Lawlessness leads to hatred not love. Yet, many who mislead and are mislead, are in favor of lawlessness rather than law and order. Jesus says we need to endure to the end. Our endurance though is more than just holding on. He says: “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.”   To endure to the end, we should also fulfill Jesus commission to us. In Mark 16:15 He says:  “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”

The text says:  If we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.  It would indeed be terrifying to fall into God’s judgment, but instead if we are in Christ, Hebrews 4:16 says:  Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.  None of us can walk completely free from sin, but there is a difference between a misstep and willfully sinning. If we willfully sin, we distance ourselves from God. If we stumble, we should go immediately to the throne of grace. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says:  No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.  The help that we receive at the throne of grace provides the way out of temptation.

In these times: let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit. Amen.