Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 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. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 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 (Heb 10:19-26, ESV).”
It has been used so often that I cannot remember where I first heard the idea. Not to say that the idea is overused it is still truly relevant as we read God’s Word. The idea is usually expressed like this, “When ever you see a therefore in the text you have to ask the question, ‘what is it there for?’” Here the word is translated from the Greek οὖν and as a conjunction it means “and so” or “now then” and is being used to connect the first clause with a clause to come.
I love two things about this particular “therefore” in Hebrews. First, it is pointing back to a little over nine chapters of stuff; that is a big first clause. Because Jesus is the Son of God, because as the Son of God He is superior to Moses, Malchizedek and even to the angels, because Jesus is the founder of our salvation, because Jesus is the Great High Priests, because God’s promises are secure, because Jesus is the guarantor of a better covenant, because we are redeemed by the blood of Jesus, because of all these things, and more, all of which are found in Hebrews leading up to this “therefore” it is a big “therefore.” The first clause is so huge I am already anticipating the second clause. It is going to be equally huge!
Second, the writer of Hebrews sums up the first clause beginning with the word “since.” “…since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God… (Heb 10:19-21)” In other words, the blood of Jesus provides a way for you and I to enter into His presence in the holiest place where He resides as our atonement. Since all of this is true the writer of Hebrews is going to tell us that we ought to do something; that something is the second clause.
What ought we to do? How should we respond to what God has done for us? Are you sitting on the edge of your seat? Are you so awe struck by the selfless humility of the perfect and all-powerful God of the universe who has given all of Himself for you that your only desire is to know what you should do right now? Here it is… we are to draw near to God. We are to draw near to God and in that nearness, we are to be true in heart; true about ourselves, true about who God is, and true in our intentions towards Him. We are to trust, know, or have faith, that our consciences are clean, sprinkled with the blood of His sacrifice and our flesh purified through our baptism into His death. And, we are to encourage one another to the good works of love. I know, you probably thought that I was going to tell you that we ought to obey God’s commands or that we should live as better people. Nope, we are to abide in our faith, what we know about God, we are to abide in our hope, what we know God is going to do, and we are to abide in love, doing for others that which God has done for us (1Co 13:13). This is how we are to draw near to Him.
What is also astonishing is that is not a concept new to the New Testament and absent in the Old. The prophet Micah, writing to the Israelites around 750–700 B.C., writes, “[The LORD] has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God (Mic 6:8)?” Have faith in what is good, walk in the confidence of what God is going to do, and do justice and kindness from an attitude of love.
The men and women of the Old Testament knew that God was good and relied on His promises of redemption. Today as men and women of the New Testament we know how God has redeemed us and we rely on His promises of eternal life, bodily resurrection, and ultimate glorification. Adam Clarke writes that, “He is faithful that promised eternal life, which is the object of your hope, is promised to you by him who cannot lie; as he then is faithful who has given you this promise, hold fast the profession of your hope (Clarke 1810-1826, Heb 10:23).” How wonderful is it that when we gaze into the heavens what we find is a God of love who is faithful first to His own word and then to the word He has given to His creation? I shudder to think that we could gaze into the heavens and see anything else; anything less.
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Clarke, Adam. Adam Clarke’s Commentary On The Bible. Public Domain, 1810-1826.
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