There is possibly nothing more critical in the Christian life than for every believer to understand their position in Christ Jesus. What is our position in Christ? Our position in Christ is our legal standing with God: we are either guilty or not guilty; in debt or free; His enemies or His friends. Only in understanding these things can we know how to live our daily lives in Him. It is by God's goodness and His grace that God changes our standing or our position before Him when we place our trust in Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. Ephesians 2:7 encourages us that our new status flows out of that wonderful phrase “the riches of God’s grace.”

If we are going to have fellowship with a holy God, we must be hidden in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. That is what happened the moment you were saved. You have probably heard me, and many other pastors use the term "in Christ." In a nutshell, this means that God the Father doesn't see the sinfulness of those who have placed their faith in Christ; He now sees the righteousness of His own Son (Ephesians 2:13; Hebrews 8:12). It is only "in Christ" that our sin debt is cancelled, our relationship with God restored, and our eternity secured (John 3:16-18, 20:31).

The writer of the Book of Hebrews explains in depth how Christians can understand more clearly our position in Christ. But he also shows us how to put our new position in Christ into practice in our daily lives. In the early chapters he explains the reason why Jesus is superior to all in His person. Throughout the middle portion of the Book, he shows how Christ is superior to all in His priesthood. But within the last four chapters he shows why Christ being superior to all should spur us on to endure in our faith even when we are facing tribulations. So, in these verses he gives us three exhortations to encourage us.

(Hebrews 10:19-25)

Therefore, brothers, since we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way He has opened for us through the curtain (that is, His flesh ), 21 and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. 23 Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us be concerned about one another in order to promote love and good works, 25 not staying away from our worship meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day drawing near. 

1.     We should Draw Near to God in faith

The writer of Hebrews exhorts Christians to "Draw near to God." To make clear to his audience who he is talking about, he describes four things about a regenerate person. First this person has a "True heart." It is a heart that is not wavering in its loyalties. They don't just put up a good front for everyone on the outside and are totally different on the inside. They take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). It doesn't mean they are immune to temptation or sin but that they are no longer enslaved to sin. This person also is "In full assurance of faith." Faith finds its foundation in the promises of God. We are saved through faith (Ephesians 2:8). We are to walk by faith (Colossians 2:6). Our faith is not just a blind leap but the more we trust Christ in the things in our lives, the more we prove His faithfulness. 

Thirdly, he says Christians are "Sprinkled clean from an evil consequence." In the Old Testament, priests were consecrated for their office by being washed with water and sprinkled with blood (Exodus 29:4, 21). This ritual cleansed the outside of the man so he would not be ceremonially defiled. It didn't cleanse the inside of the person. But because of Christ Jesus blood, all Christians are cleansed in the inner man, their conscience, and from dead works so they may serve the living God.

Lastly, he says their "Bodies are washed pure with water." This probably refers to baptism. The sprinkling and the washing in the Greek are pointing to a past action that has ongoing results. These cleansings both take place at the moment of salvation, but the effects are continual. The New Testament pictures water baptism as an outward picture of what God had done inwardly. He cleanses our hearts by faith (Acts 15:9) (1 Peter 3:21). So, if we take these two things together, our hearts have been sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies are washed with pure water and they point to inward purity that makes itself plain in our outward behavior.

2.     We should Hold On to our confession of hope without wavering 

"Confession" here is connected to water baptism. When we are baptized, we are publicly confessing our faith in Christ Jesus. The "Hold on" implies that there is something dangerous that is trying to pull me away from my confession of faith in Christ. The "Hope" is pointing to the promises of God that are not yet a reality, but we know they are certain because "He who promised is faithful."

The perfect illustration for this exhortation by the writer of Hebrews is the wedding ceremony. If you are married, you pledged your faithfulness to your wife or your husband, and as a symbol of that faithfulness you put on a wedding ring. When you are away from each other and some other person tries to seduce you, your ring should remind you of your pledge. And so, you should flee from that temptation. Baptism carries the same idea. You should remember your confession of faith at your baptism and be faithful to Jesus your Bridegroom when you are tempted to sin and flee from it.

3.     We should Think of Ways to inspire others to love and good works

Verse 25 is the practical way to make verse 24 a reality. The author of Hebrews is not commanding that Christians love one another and do good works. There are better Scriptures that can be used as a proof text for that idea. The command here is that Christians should inspire one another to love and good works. "Consider" means that a person must give serious thought to something. In the same thought, the word "Stimulate" means to grab attention. He is not saying to provoke someone to anger, but to think about how to provoke them to love and good works.

Practically speaking the writer is saying that we need to ask, "What does this other person need to help him or her grow in love and good works." But he goes on to say that this can only happen when we are assembled together. It is true you can practice faith and hope when you are alone, but you can only encourage others to love and good works when you are gathered with the saints. Just as a sidenote here, always find ways to encourage others and save your exhortations for people you know very well. But even then, you must be prayed up and have a sense that the Lord is leading you to speak.