You better believe it’s worth it to keep going as a Christian. The first reason for this is your confident entrance.
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.
Hebrews 10:19-25
Draw near (Heb 10:22) and hold fast (Heb 10:23). Those are the chief instructions of this paragraph.
Draw Near
You ought to draw near to the holy places of heaven. The place where Jesus now lives and reigns and ministers as a high priest forever. You and I, even now, even today, can draw near to that place with him.
Why can we do that? Two reasons:
- Jesus has opened a new and living way to get there (Heb 10:20).
- We have Jesus as a great high priest (Heb 10:21).
In other words: He went ahead to blaze a trail before us, and he’s now waiting with open arms to receive us. Because of both those things, v.19: We have confidence to enter the holy places (Heb 10:19).
I remember the first time I went camping with my sons. I had never gone camping before, mostly because of my sleep disorder. But as a result, I had grown solidified over time in my inability to do anything outdoors, such as camping.
But the first time my sleep was healthy enough to allow me to try it, I really needed some friends to show me the way and to welcome me. One friend blazed the trail: making all the arrangements and setting up all the equipment. Other friends got there ahead of me, welcoming me at my arrival, and showing me what I needed to do, so that I didn’t have to figure it all out on my own. I’m sure you can imagine that this gave me great confidence!
That’s what Jesus does, in order to lead us to be with his Father in heaven. He blazed the trail ahead of us. And he serves us and waits for us there with open arms and ready hands. All of this enables us to draw near to him in heaven.
“But,” you might say, “I’m not in heaven with Jesus! So what does this mean for me now?”
That’s a great question, because until the Day comes when we are actually present with Jesus in heaven, what that means for us now is that we follow the second chief instruction in Heb 10:23: hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering.
Hold Fast
All through the book of Hebrews, the author has been urging us to hold fast to Jesus by holding fast to our confession of him. This means we publicly acknowledge him as our King, Priest, and Inheritance. We confess this before the church — not only when we are baptized, but every time we gather to sing, pray, and teach one another. Because in Jesus, heaven and earth are coming together.
So we confess these things before the world — at any cost.
Holding fast to our confession of Jesus as king, priest, inheritance, and superior to all creation under heaven — that’s how we draw near to Jesus in heaven for now. Until we reach that day when he returns, and we get to be with him forever, physically.
But even that drawing near, that holding fast — that confident entrance into heaven with Jesus — that is really difficult to do. And it’s even more difficult to persevere in once you’ve tried it.
For example, let’s say a young person is in a class at school, or playing on a sports team, and they give credit to the Lord Jesus for their success. Or they testify to how good it is that God created us male and female. They might be laughed at to the point of embarrassment. Once that happens, it’s not so easy to do it again, is it? The memory of that public ridicule makes them think twice about confessing Jesus as king and Lord of all.
How much more difficult is it for adults, whose respect, reputation, or livelihood might be on the line? Many of us try to make it seem more “grown up” to keep our mouths shut about Jesus in public places.
This is hard. This is really hard. Is it worth it to keep going, especially when we’re punished for it? How do we do this?
Consider How to Stir One Another Up
Because of that difficulty to endure, the author concludes that we need each other (Heb 10:24).
It is not enough to consider how I ought to hold fast the confession. It is crucial that both you and I consider how to stir one another up to love and good deeds. That means we must not neglect our meeting together (Heb 10:25). The closer we get to the day of Jesus’ return, the more important it is to continue meeting together, so we might stir one another up.
Application
Let the truth of place and priest fuel your confidence. Because Jesus your priest is in heaven, you get to be with him. You are with him now, in spirit, when you confess him as your king, priest, and inheritance. You will be with him then, in the body, when he returns and reunites heaven and earth once and for all.
Your priest is in that place, so you can approach with confidence.
But that’s not all. There’s another crucial application: Do not isolate yourself! If you think you can get through the challenges you’re facing on your own, you are terribly deceived. Drawing near to Christ, to our confession, and to each other is how we nurture our confidence and endurance.
Perhaps you need a reminder of what is true, lest you throw away your confidence. Perhaps you need to be more honest and vulnerable about what you’re going through. Perhaps you need to be more receptive to the help that is available to you.
Whatever it is for you: draw near and hold fast.
This is not just about you, but about your entire church. You might hold the key to someone else’s confidence. You might have the experience, or the Scriptural insight, to stimulate another brother or sister to believe it’s worth it to keep going.
So you better believe it’s worth it to keep going as a Christian.
Jesus has given you confident entrance into heaven, which is not yours to keep for yourself, but something to help you encourage others with.
In the next paragraph, we’ll discover the second reason it’s worth it to keep going as a Christian.
