Draw Near to God Part II

[I derived portions of this post from two past sermons I have preached on Hebrews 4:14–16 and Hebrews 10:11–23 as well as from a past article I wrote. This post is the second in a two-part series. You can read the first article, “Draw Near to God Part I”, here. For context, I have kept a large portion of the introduction to Part I here.]

A few weeks ago I preached on Mark 1:1–13. I pointed out that Mark uses the same language at the beginning of the book at Jesus’ baptism (Mark 1:10–11) as he does at the end of the book at Jesus’ death on the cross (Mark 15:37–39). They each read:

Mark 1:10–11—10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.

Mark 15:37–39—37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

I observed that Mark frames Jesus’ earthly ministry with proclamations of his identity as the Son of God paired with the tearing open of the heavens and the temple curtain. He does this in order to point us to this reality—Jesus secures access to the Father.[1] Here, I hope to take a deeper dive into what exactly that means for you if indeed your life is hidden in Christ. To do that, I turn to the book of Hebrews.

 

Drawing Near to God in Hebrews

The book of Hebrews goes to great lengths to exhort Christians to draw near to God. Along with many great promises, Hebrews highlights two foundational reasons for us to draw near to God: (1) Jesus is our great high priest, and (2) Jesus is the perfect offering for sins. These two realities go hand-in-hand. In Part I of this two-part post, we dived deeply into the reality of Jesus as our great high priest. We noted that in the midst of sin, we are often tempted to unbelief in Jesus’ high priestly ministry; therefore, we often hesitate to draw near to God in repentance. Rather, we linger in a sinful sense of guilt and shame. But Heb 4:14–16 reveals that because of Jesus’ high priestly ministry we are welcomed with open arms into God’s presence and should draw near to him confidently. But Hebrews doesn’t stop there. It continues to pile on the reasons for why we should confidently draw near to God even in the day of our sin. Here in Part II we turn our attention to Jesus, the perfect offering for sins and how that too bolsters our confidence to draw near to God in repentance.

 

Jesus our Offering for Sins

Hebrews 10:19–22—19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great 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 with pure water.

Here, Hebrews 10:19 proclaims that “we have confidence to enter the holy places.” Therefore, Heb 10:22 exhorts us to “draw near.” The reason for our confidence is twofold. First, we are confident “since we have a great high priest over the house of God,” which we unpacked in Part I. The other reason for our confidence?—the blood of Jesus: “we have confidence to enter the holy places, by the blood of Jesus” (Heb 10:19). The author of Hebrews binds up our confidence to draw near to God with Jesus’ sacrificial offering for sins on the cross. He sharpens his point by comparing Jesus’ offering for sins to the sin offerings under the Old Covenant. In doing so he shows the vast superiority and completeness of Jesus’ offering for sins. Consider a few verses just prior to vv. 19–22.

 

Our Perfect Offering for Sins

Hebrews 10:11–14—11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

For we as Christians, to not draw near to God in repentance because of a particular sin or sins is to effectively say that Jesus’ sacrifice is not enough, whether we realizes it or not. The author of Hebrews recognizes our proneness, even as believers, to unbelief. Therefore he offers us a glorious reminder of the reality of Jesus’ offering for sins so that we might never minimize its effectiveness. Here, Hebrews 10:11–14 compares the sin offerings of priests under the Old Covenant to that of Jesus’ sin offering of himself in order to show the superiority of Jesus’ offering. Notice the details of Old Covenant priests’ sacrificial work:

      • Every priest
      • Every priest has stood daily
      • Every priest repeatedly offers
      • Every priest repeatedly offers the same sacrifices
      • Every priest repeatedly offers the same sacrifices, which can never remove sins

Before Jesus, every priest under the Old Covenant had to repeatedly offer sacrifices for sins every single day, hence their daily standing (Heb 10:11). Furthermore, these sacrifices could not even take away sins! (Heb 10:11). But the one great high priest, Jesus, when he “offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God” (Heb 10:12). After his sacrifice, Jesus’ sacrificial work was done, having sealed his victory (Heb 10:13). Where Old Covenant offerings could not take away sins, Jesus’ offering did away with sins forever and established the New Covenant in his blood (Heb 10:16–17; Jer 31:33–34). Indeed, “by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” (Heb 10:14). The message is clear,  by his perfect offering for sins, Jesus perfects his people.

 

Access Secured

Hebrews 10:19–22—19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great 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 with pure water.

So we turn our attention back to Hebrews 10:19–22. All of the details regarding Jesus’ perfect offering perfecting his people are packed into this one phrase, “by the blood of Jesus.” It’s Jesus’ blood alone that is our confidence to draw near to God. When the blood and water poured from Jesus’ side (John 19:34), “our hearts [were] sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies [were] washed with pure water” (Heb 10:22). An “evil conscience” is the equivalent of “an evil, unbelieving heart” (Heb 3:12). The very unbelief, then, that would tempt us to not draw near to God is what Jesus struck down when he died on the cross. Thus, because of this perfectly purifying work of Jesus’ perfect offering for sins on the cross, we have “full assurance” (Heb 10:22) to draw near to God, just as the author of Hebrews exhorts. And, by the same sacrifice, Jesus also made the way into God’s presence. Jesus opened what Hebrews 10:20 calls “the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh.” This should bring to mind Jesus’ crucifixion in Mark 15:37–39, referenced above. There, at his death on the cross, the curtain of the temple tore—a divine sign that complete access into God’s presence had been granted through Jesus’ bodily death. So, Jesus’ perfect offering for sins perfected us for God’s presence and opened for us a way into God’s presence. This is why you should confidently draw near to God. Even in the day of your sin you should confidently draw near to God. Even in the day of that one particular sin that seems to continually plague and beset you—draw near to God confidently, because your sin and this purpose, your drawing near to God, are the very reasons Jesus offered the perfect sin offering, his life.

 

Jesus our Great High Priest and our Perfect Offering for Sins

Jesus’ dual role as the great high priest of our faith and the perfect offering for our sins clears the path for us as Christians to fly to God in repentance, not away from him in shame. Take encouragement in this, brothers and sisters. And when you find yourself weary in your continuing battle with the flesh, don’t pick up again that old helmet of unbelief. Instead, remember to don your helmet of salvation—salvation won for you by Jesus our great high priest and our perfect sin offering—and continue to fight. And, fly back to the throne of grace, where you are always welcome with open arms, and where Jesus sits ready to pour upon you mercy and grace to help in time of need (Heb 4:16).

Draw Near To God Part I

[I derived portions of this post from two past sermons I have preached on Hebrews 4:14–16 and Hebrews 10:11–23. This post will be the first in a two-part series.]

 

A few weeks ago I preached on Mark 1:1–13. I pointed out that Mark uses the same language at the beginning of the book at Jesus’ baptism (Mark 1:10–11) as he does at the end of the book at Jesus’ death on the cross (Mark 15:37–39). They each read:

 Mark 1:10–11—10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.

Mark 15:37–39—37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

I observed that Mark frames Jesus’ earthly ministry with proclamations of his identity as the Son of God paired with the tearing open of the heavens and the temple curtain. He does this in order to point us to this reality—Jesus secures access to the Father.[1] Here, I hope to take a deeper dive into what exactly that means for you if indeed your life is hidden in Christ. To do that, I turn to the book of Hebrews.

 

Drawing Near to God in Hebrews

The book of Hebrews goes to great lengths to exhort Christians to draw near to God. Along with many great promises, Hebrews highlights two foundational reasons for us to draw near to God: (1) Jesus is our great high priest, and (2) Jesus is the perfect offering for sins. These two realities go hand-in-hand. Here we will consider Jesus as our great high priest. In a forthcoming post, we will consider Jesus as our perfect sin offering.

 

Jesus our Great High Priest

Hebrews 4:14–16—14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

In light of this passage and the reality that God is the source of our life and joy, the natural question is, “Why does Scripture need to exhort us as Christians to draw near to God?” The short answer is, (1) we still sin, and (2) we are prone to unbelief. Thus, in response to a particular sin or sinful moment, the sin of unbelief tempts us to not trust in the work of Jesus. Therefore, we do not draw near to God in repentance. Rather, we often linger just outside the throne room of grace choosing to stay in our sense of guilt. This passage, though, gives us astounding reasons to not hesitate but to instead make a confident mad dash to our heavenly Father, even in the day of our sin. And these reasons find their footing in Jesus as our great high priest.

According to Hebrews 4:14–16, we should draw near to God because of two amazing realities: (1) Jesus is our great high priest, who has passed through the heavens, and (2) Jesus is our sympathetic high priest. Let’s consider these in turn.

 

Our Great High Priest Who Has Passed through the Heavens

First, Hebrews 4:14 encourages us to hold fast to our confession and draw near to God, because we have a great high priest, God’s own Son, who has passed through the heavens. In order to better understand the significance of Jesus’ high priestly ministry and his passing through the heavens, it is helpful to consider the Old Testament (OT) office of high priest that anticipated him. Thankfully, Hebrews gives us help here.

Recall, the location and length of the OT high priest’s work. He made atonement for the people in the tabernacle or temple. Specifically, he entered into the most holy place, behind the curtain where the ark of the covenant and God’s presence rested. He entered here only once a year (Lev 16:15–19; Heb 9:7). Furthermore, the ministry of each OT high priest only lasted as long as he lived. It was not permanent because he eventually died. Hebrews makes clear, as we will see below, that this location of ministry and this length of ministry were limiting factors with regard to atonement. The work of OT high priests was never going to solve man’s sin problem. The weight of man’s sin against an infinitely holy God demanded eternal priestly work in heaven itself, a place only one of divine nature could enter.

Unlike the OT priests, Jesus passed through the heavens (4:14). That is, in love, God sent Jesus, his Son, to earth in order to die, rise from the dead, and ascend beyond the heavens back into eternity. And Jesus did ascend, passing through the heavens. And he entered into the very throne room of God. And there he lives forever to make intercession for you! Only Jesus the high priest, as fully God and fully man, could enter into God’s presence to minister forever on behalf of men. Hebrews strikes this glorious chord of God’s salvation plan over and over.

Hebrews 7:24–25—24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. 25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

Hebrews 8:1–2—1 Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 2 a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man.

 Hebrews 9:24—For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.

Therefore, we can confidently draw near to God, into his very throne room, because Jesus, the Son of God, our eternal great high priest has gone in before us on our behalf.

 

Our Sympathetic Great High Priest

Second, Hebrews 4:15 encourages us to draw near to God, because we have a sympathetic high priest in Jesus. Again, Hebrews reminds us of the nature of OT high priests so that we can appreciate Jesus’ priestly ministry all the more.

The OT high priest was able to “deal gently with the ignorant and wayward” because of his own human nature and weakness (Heb 5:2). Now, we might be tempted to think that because Jesus never sinned, he could never relate to or understand our struggles. However, it is precisely the opposite. Because Jesus never sinned, he understands our struggles more than any other high priest ever could. Consider an illustration, which I heard from a former pastor of mine.

Imagine you go to the local fair or circus. There you see a strong man performing great feats of strength. This strong man takes a sturdy metal bar in his mighty grip. And, using his great strength, he cranks down on the bar until it finally gives under the extreme pressure and bends. This same strong man then takes another metal bar in his hands. Again, he cranks down on the bar using just as much force as before. This time, however, the bar does not bend. So he regathers himself, mustering up every last ounce of strength he has, and he cranks on the bar with greater and greater force. Still, the bar does not bend.

So now, I pose to you the same question my former pastor posed: Which bar endured the most force? Well the answer is obvious, isn’t it? The bar that never bent endured the most force. What’s the point? Well, we, of course, are the bar that bends. When temptation applies enough force on us, we give in to the pressure and sin. Often this does not require much force at all. However, Jesus is the bar that never bent. Because he never sinned, Jesus endured infinitely more pressure from temptation than you or I ever have or ever could. Therefore, Jesus is more intimately acquainted with temptation than any man before or after. Thus, Jesus understands you and sympathizes with you more infinitely and more intimately than you could ever imagine. This is Jesus’ disposition toward sinners. He is sympathetic, understanding, and welcoming.

We can confidently draw near to God, into his very throne room, because Jesus, our sympathetic high priest intercedes for sinners based on his sinless life.

 

Access Secured

Just as we saw in Mark’s gospel, Jesus our great high priest has opened the curtain to heaven’s mercy seat for us. Notice the purpose of our drawing near in Hebrews 4:14–16. We draw near in order to receive mercy and find grace to help in a time of need. When are we ever in greater need of help than in a moment of sin? Answer: Never. And what awaits us if we will but draw near to God? Answer: The very grace and mercy we need. In Jesus our great high priest, we find abundant reasons to not linger outside the throne room. Just look through the torn opening into the heavenly throne room, as Hebrews 4:14–16 invites us to. What do we see? There we see Jesus, our eternal, sympathetic high priest, sent for us by God, interceding on our behalf. And suddenly, our breath catches in our chest as he turns to look at us with a smile. And we hear an unbelievable, heavenly invitation ring out from the throne of our Triune God, who bids, “Why do you linger? Draw near. And come in boldly, my child. You are welcome here.” Let us heed these words joyfully, especially in the day of our sin.

[1] See Mark L. Strauss, Mark, ZECNT (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014), 72.

How to Hold Fast Our Confession

How do you respond when confronted with temptation, sin, and failure in your life?

We often respond in one of three unbiblical ways:

  • “I’m forgiven! Therefore, sin doesn’t matter!”
  • “I’ll overcome this. I’ll fight it and won’t fall into it again!”
  • “Now I’ve blown it. There’s no hope for me. I might as well give up. All is lost.”

How should we respond?

  • Not with indifference.
  • Not with self-confidence and self-effort.
  • Not with despair.

Consider what the book of Hebrews tells us at the end of chapter 4. The author has just explained that a Rest awaits God’s people; as we believe in Him and in His promises, we can rest from our works, from our efforts to cleanse ourselves. Yet we do strive – we strive to enter His rest! We work hard to depend on Him.

And striving to depend on Him instead of striving to make ourselves presentable to Him only makes sense. For we can never fool Him. His Word discerns our thoughts and intentions, opening us up before Him. He knows our every weakness, our every temptation, our every failure. While we may strive to make ourselves worthy of His acceptance, He always knows how far short we fall.

In this context, the author writes:

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.  15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.  16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16)

That is: Jesus is our great High Priest. He overcame those very temptations that you face – and, having overcome them, He now is exalted to the right hand of God the Father. So we must hold fast to the truth of the Gospel, confessing it with our mouths, believing it in our hearts, and preaching it and applying it to ourselves every day. For remember what the Gospel tells us:

  • Jesus is indeed the Son of God. He is powerful and mighty, wise and discerning.
  • Jesus experienced weakness. He was tempted in every way even as we are – and He knows the power of temptation more thoroughly than any of us, for He resisted to the end. He understands our struggle.
  • Jesus held fast the confession. He was without sin.
  • Jesus offered the perfect sacrifice, so that you, fallen sinner that you are, might be reconciled to God the Father (Hebrews 7:27).

How, then, do we fight the fight against temptation, against unbelief? How do we follow our Lord and Savior in holding fast to our confession? Hebrews 4:16 tells us:

  • Go to the Father! He sits on the throne, showing that He is the Almighty One! He is far more powerful than the Tempter.
  • Go to the Father! With Him you will find mercy! For Jesus knows your weakness (Hebrews 5:2), and He is the One who offered sacrifices – Himself! – for you.
  • Go to the Father! Do that boldly and confidently, for the Gospel of our confession teaches that Jesus is our mediator! (Hebrews 9:15)
  • Go to the Father! For He will give you both the power to resist temptation and the power to hold fast to your confession. Indeed, He will give you the power to enter His rest, granting (as we could render the last few words of Hebrews 4:16) “grace unto a well-timed help.”

So fight the good fight – by His power. Hold fast your confession – by turning to Him, depending on His grace, actively depending on Him and His promises. Don’t belittle sin. Don’t be self-confident. And don’t despair. We have a great High Priest. Depend on Him. He will never let you down.