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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/william-skates/the-full-assurance-of-faith/
Hebrews 10, we'll read from verse 9 to the end of the chapter, sorry, verse 19. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh.
And having an high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
And let us hold fast the profession or confession of our faith better, hope is the word, for he is faithful that promised. And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another and so much the more as ye see the day approaching.
For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries.
He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses of how much sore punishment, suppose ye shall he be thought worthy who hath trodden underfoot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace.
For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord, and again the Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hand of the living God.
But call to remembrance the former days in which after ye were illuminated ye endured a great fight of afflictions, partly whilst ye were made a gazing stock both by reproaches and afflictions, and partly whilst ye became companions of them that were so used.
For ye had compassion of me and my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and enduring substance. Cast not away, therefore, your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward.
For ye have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of God ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith.
But if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them that draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. Now the Lord will bless to us the reading from his word.
I appreciate what our brother had to say, and my comments might in some ways dovetail into that. In my Bible, the title over the section that we read from verse 19 down is The Full Assurance of Faith, or The Full Confidence of Faith.
And that will be the title of my little message now this morning. Hebrews is all about Christ, and about the fulfillment of the tabernacle types that are found in him. Chapter 10 brings to a conclusion a section from chapter 7 onwards where the writer has been contrasting the Old Covenant with the New Covenant and how things have been fulfilled in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So just to come to the chapter, let me give you a little outline, first of all, of the whole chapter 10. In verses 1 to 9, we have the allegory of the law. The allegory of the law. Verses 10 through 18, to where we just commenced to read, verses 10 to 18, it's the atonement of Christ is the subject.
The atonement of Christ. Verses 19, where we began to read through 22, the approach of believers. We can approach into the holiest. Then in verses 23 to 25, we have the active confidence of believers.
The active confidence of believers. We have the alternative for unbelievers, that's verses 26 through 31, that warning section in there. And then from verse 32 to the end, verse 39, we have the anticipation of believers.
And I take it it's the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ that is anticipated there. In the first nine verses, the allegory of the law, we're told that the law was a shadow. It was a shadow of good things to come.
Now a shadow cannot do anything in and of itself, but all it does is give a little faint outline of the real object. The law could make nothing perfect, but the law would call to remembrance sins. So it called for the remembrance of sins every year.
But when we come to the Christ of God, the one who came under the law, he has brought in the removal of sins. Not the remembrance of sins, but the removal of sins entirely. And how good it is to know him as our Savior.
Any in the meeting this morning still in their sins? We want to tell you another time that there is one way in which your sins may be removed, and it is only through personal faith and trust in our Lord Jesus Christ.
When we come to the next section, verses 10 through 18, where the atonement of Christ is presented, I take it that verse 12 is the focus of that little section. But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.
So the Lord Jesus is in contrast to all that went before under the Old Testament economy, where every priest is contrasted here with this man. Every priest stands, and he has sat down. Every priest stands daily, whereas he has made one sacrifice for sins forever.
Now, forever mentioned nine times in the book of Hebrews always refers to the preceding phrase. So I take it that's the case here as well. He offered one sacrifice for sins forever, then he sat down at the right hand of God.
He's going to rise up again and come to the air and call his waiting people home. So every priest offering daily would stand in contrast to the forever, and the repeated offering of those Old Testament animal sacrifices is contrasted with the one sacrifice for sins.
They could never take away sins, but now that he has accomplished this one sacrifice, he has sat down at the right hand of God. His work is complete. Old Testament saints or priests, they never sat down, but now the Lord Jesus has sat down at the right hand of God.
And we have this tremendous conclusion then in verse 17, where God comes out and says, and their sins and iniquities I will remember no more. And so it's all taken away, and we stand before God accepted in the perfection of that sacrifice that our Lord Jesus has made.
So that brings us to the section that we did read. The full assurance of faith. Verse 19. Having therefore, brethren, boldness. That is, that's not irreverence, but that is a holy confidence, literally freedom of speech, and it brings before us the thought of the confidence that we may have as we draw near into the presence of God into the holiest.
In verse 10, we are told that we are sanctified by the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Sanctified. That is, we have been made fit for the sanctuary. We have, to coin an English word, been holified.
That's the idea. Sanctified, fit for the holiest. Fit for the holy presence and sanctuary of God, so that we may draw near. Verse 20, he says that we may draw near by a new and living way, or a fresh and living way, which he has consecrated or inaugurated for us through the veil.
So the forerunner, our Lord Jesus, has for us entered inside the veil, into the holy of holies where God is in that heavenly sanctuary. And he has gone in. Now, there is sometimes a little difficulty noticed in verse 20.
Through the veil, that is to say, his flesh. The question is, what does his flesh refer to? Is it the way that he has inaugurated for us? Or is his flesh the veil that's spoken of here? Is it, number one, his true manhood, which now opens up the way for us?
Or does it literally refer to his body that was rent upon the cross? Well, you'll notice that there is no mention here in this context of the veil being rent. It's not mentioned. It is not Christ in his death that is the focus of the living way.
I take it that it is his living manhood, now at God's right hand, which provides the way of access for us. The high priest has entered in as a true man, the forerunner. And so the trail has been blazed, if you will.
The fresh and living way has been opened up into the presence of God. Verse 21 follows on. And having a high priest over the house of God, because we have that representative for us in the sanctuary, our great high priest, that one who carries our very names upon his shoulders, and he has our names on that breastplate, speaking of the type, upon his heart.
He carries us, as it were, upon his shoulders, his strength, his ability to hold us up. And upon his breast, upon his heart, representing us as his people with warm affection upon his heart. He is the one that represents us now in the presence of God.
So we get the exhortation now. Verse 22. Seeing all this is in place, he says, let us draw near. And it's in the present tense, with a middle voice. In other words, let us continually draw near for our own benefit, with our own interests.
Because Christ appears in the presence of God for us. That was chapter 9. And we now have that right of access into his presence. Let us draw near with a full heart, number one. In full assurance of faith, number two.
Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, number three. And our bodies washed with pure water. Now he's making an allusion to Old Testament typology again. And these things would be true of us positionally as priests.
And as being in Christ, we are able to draw near with a true heart before God. God looks upon us in Christ. And so on. We can draw these things out positionally. But I take it that we are to enjoy them practically in our souls.
So that we draw near with a sincere heart before God. We draw near with full assurance of faith. We have nothing to fear as we come into God's presence. We may approach with a holy confidence. We are accepted in the beloved one.
Our hearts have been sprinkled from an evil conscience. And in chapter 9, verse 14, he speaks about being sprinkled. And the idea is a purged conscience. And our bodies washed with pure water. That is, the priests in the Old Testament, when they were made priests, they were washed all over at the labor.
One-time event. And when we became believers, we had the washing of regeneration. A one-time event. But then there was the daily cleansing at the labor for the priests. And that would remind us of practically our need for daily cleansing.
That our lives might be cleansed from the practice of sin. And if we are conscious of sin, we come with confession, knowing that the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanseth us from all sin. So the exhortation is, let us draw near.
Let us avail ourselves of these tremendous privileges that have been afforded to us. Let us draw near unto God. By the way, it is interesting to notice that there are three major exhortations in the book of Hebrews that correspond with three major divisions in the book.
In chapters 1 through 7, it's the person of Christ. In his manhood and verily God, that is presented as one who is suitable as our great high priest. The person of Christ. And the exhortation there in that section, chapter 6, verse 1 is, let us go on.
Let us go on. We have the ministry of a great high priest to provide the resources to go on. Then in chapters 8 through 10, it is the work of Christ that is the focus. His atoning work, in contrast to that old thing.
But now we have the completed perfect sacrifice of Christ, the work of Christ. And our exhortation is, in verse 22, let us draw near. Let us draw near. Then in the last section from chapters 11 through 13, it is faith in Christ that's the focus.
Chapter 11, the great chapter of faith, and so on. And the exhortation in that section, chapter 13, verse 13, let us go forth unto him. So here in our verse, let us draw near. We may do that because we are a holy priesthood.
1 Peter chapter 2, we may draw near. In the next section, let us go forth. We may do that as a holy priesthood. 1 Peter chapter 2, and I think it's verse 9. So first of all, we go into the sanctuary. That's what we are encouraged to do in the context here.
And then we are to go forth in testimony as a royal priesthood. Now let's move on. The next little section I have entitled, the act of confidence of believers. Verses 23 through 25. Let us hold fast our profession or confession of our hope.
Now the King James has faith here, but the word in the original is usually translated hope. So let us hold fast our confession of hope. I tell you this is a very practical truth. We go into the sanctuary.
We go out in testimony because our high priest will soon appear. That's our hope. That's our hope in the context of Hebrews. Chapter 9, at the end of chapter 9, unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
So by faith we have a hope. What's that hope? We are anticipating the day of his appearing. So this whole world is not our home. We're just a passing through. We're moving on to our eternal home where the forerunner has for us entered even Jesus.
And as we move through this life, our hope is shining before us. Our great high priest will soon appear and soon we will be at home in our eternal home. That should be the tenor of our life down here now.
We should always have that confidence. Let us hold that fast. The anticipation of what lies on before for us as believer. And verse 24, Brother Kent's already quoted this. And let us consider one another to provoke unto love, to encourage unto love, and to good works.
That will contribute to the harmony amongst saints in testimony in this world. A world that is marked by hate. Hateful and hating one another. But the believers collectively and as individuals are to reflect the very character of our heavenly fathers we've been hearing who is perfect in love.
And we are to provoke one another, encourage one another unto love and good works. That will maximize our reward, by the way, in a coming day. And our father has a sure reward for his children. Verse 25, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is.
You know we are told in another scripture that because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. We were speaking earlier of the sad lack of interest amongst those that are still in their sins.
We were speaking about the lack of commitment even amongst believers. And here is an evidence right in this verse of one way in which that is manifested, forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is.
It seems that believers of a previous generation would never have missed a meeting. Almost should they have been dying on their feet, they would have been there. The weather was such, it was such poor weather that only the old and infirmed could be out.
One brother said, a lack of commitment. Some take sabbaticals from the assembly, whatever that is. Seemingly going back to the realm of the world to get refreshed. That's a strange way to think. As though there was no coming kingdom.
As though all of the above that we've been speaking of is not going to take place. Let's get real, brethren and sisters. Our Lord is coming. He could come at any moment. And we anticipate His appearing when He will be established as King of kings and Lord of lords.
We have that hope. Let us hold that fast. We have the alternative here for unbelievers in verses 26 to 31. I'm not going to touch on that just now. The time is running out. But let me come to the last section in our chapter from verse 32 to 39.
I've written over this, the appearing and the believers' anticipation of that appearing. First of all, He calls them to remember, looking back on former days, just after they were saved, after they were illuminated, they endured a great fight of afflictions.
They knew what persecution was. They were made a gazing stock, both by reproaches and afflictions, and also they became companions of them that were so used. So He's basically calling them to remember previous victories in the faith.
In spite of the persecutions that were around, they were remaining faithful. And He appreciates that because it generated within them a compassion for others. And He says in verse 34, Ye had compassion of me in my bonds.
So because of their afflictions, they were more enabled to have compassion on others. And that would be the effect, wouldn't it, of trials that come into the life of believer. It enables that believer to be more sympathetic, perhaps, for others that are going through something similar.
There is a meaning to trials, after all. And they took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, He says, knowing in yourselves, so they had this hope firmly in themselves, that ye have in heaven a better and enduring substance.
They recognized that they were a heavenly people. They recognized that they had a heavenly inheritance that was literally out of this world, that would far eclipse anything that they had lost down here.
And they had lost down here. But they had that before them. And so He encourages them further in verse 35. Cast not away, therefore, your confidence. Don't let present trials interfere with your outlook.
That always will have in view that eternal perspective, which hath great recompense of reward. For you have need of patience, that is endurance. Endurance, that after ye have done the will of God. Now notice that.
In this context, what He is speaking of is the trials, is the persecutions, is the afflictions that they are doing, and He says after that's over. After ye have done the will of God. It was the will of God that they go through it.
Ye might receive the promise. It's hard to understand how trials can be the will of God. But the fact remains that trials now are part of His will. They do provide an opportunity for the believer to have a faithful confidence in God in it all.
And that will meet with an eternal reward. I think that's the point. So there's a great future then for the child of God. It put me in mind of what Peter writes in 1 Peter 1, where again he's speaking of trials, difficulties, that are being endured for a season.
If need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold trials. Let the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perishes in this world, might be found unto honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.
The certain day of the reward in that day, the day of His appearing for yet a little while. And He that shall come will come and will not tarry. Brothers and sisters, we remind our hearts that He'll soon be here.
Soon the last soul will be added into the building of the church. I will build my church. And when it's complete, He says, Surely I come quickly. And He will not tarry. He will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith, verse 38.
Or literally, that goes like this. The just by faith shall live. It's a quotation from the book of Habakkuk, and chapter whatever it is. I don't have a note of it. Thank you. The just shall live by faith.
Thanks, Brian. It's quoted three times here in our New Testament, and each time it is quoted, there's a difference in emphasis. In Romans chapter 1 we have it, in verse 17. And the emphasis in Romans, of course, is the just.
The just in Romans. Then in the book of Galatians, where the principle of faith is set out in contrast to law, we put the emphasis on faith. The just by faith shall live. And in Hebrews here, the emphasis falls on the last part of the expression, the just by faith shall live.
Shall live. Now I assume when I came to that, that that would be surely the present tense, the present continuous tense. So the just by faith shall continue through this life to live. But I was startled, maybe, to notice that it's in the future tense.
So the just by faith shall live. Future. In that coming day, implying that our confidence in God causes this life to pale, in our view, compared with the abundant life in the eternal reward of His kingdom that will be so abundant that this life on earth will pale into the insignificant.
And the just shall live now with this confidence in God. And we shall really live then in that coming day. But we are not of them that draw back onto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
So we look on. We look up. We look on. And we are anticipating at any moment the up-calling of God through Christ Jesus reaching its climax at the rapture. When with that shout and that trumpet we rise to meet Him in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
So let us hold fast in full assurance of faith. The Lord bless His Word.