Hebrews 10:15-25 NKJV
15 But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before,
16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” 17 then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” 18 Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.
19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and having a High Priest over the house of God, 22 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. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
Verses 19-25 are truly such comforting words that present how Christ has opened the way for us to approach Almighty God without the fear of being consumed in His holiness. The “Therefore” signals that it draws a summary conclusion from the long stretch of exposition in 5:1-10:18, a conclusion that is based, most directly, on the remission of sins through Christ’s bodily offering (v 18) and the perfection that it provides (v 14).
The admonition in 10:22 is also taken ups in the common order for the Divine Service in our Lutheran congregations as the invitation to confession and the reception of the absolution. At St. Paul in Taylorsville, NC it says it this way:
“Beloved in the Lord, having been baptized into the most holy name of the blessed Trinity, it is good and right that we should make confession of our sins before our merciful Father in heaven. Let us, therefore, draw near with a true heart — in sincere repentance and genuine faith — and confess our sins, seeking His mercy and forgiveness for the sake of His beloved Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ.” And highlighted below the exhortation are the scriptural texts from which such an exhortation is drawn (Psalm 51:17; Proverbs 28:13; Hebrews 10:22; and 1 John 1:9).
At the beginning of God’s Divine Service that invitation puts the congregation in the same situation as the Hebrew congregation in 10:11-25. Before the members of the congregation may approach God in the heavenly sanctuary, they must be true to God the Father in confession of their sins and receiving His absolution through the blood of Jesus Christ, their great High Priest. Christ is the way from heaven to earth and from earth to heaven, which can be reflected by the aisle that goes from the nave to the Chancel/Altar area.
Let us pray: Gracious Father, we give You thanks for opening Your kingdom to all believers through the way of Christ’s fully atoning merits for the forgiveness of sins. Amen.