Hold Fast and Draw Near!

After a long break for the Christmas and New Years holidays, we are now returning to our series from the book of Hebrews. This mornings Scripture lesson is from Hebrews 4:14-16. My last sermon in this series was entitled, “The Dangerous Word of God.” To refresh our memories and so we can better follow the author of Hebrews agreement, let me read from Hebrews 4:11-13 first.

Hebrews 4:11–13 ESV

Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

In that sermon, we discovered that the Word of God is Dangerous because it is Living, Piercing and Revealing. If we do not respond to the Word of God with faith and obedience the Word of God will condemn us rather than save us. I concluded that message by reminding you that one of the late R. C. Sproul’s favorite saying was “Coram Deo,” Latin for “Before the Face of God.” Dr. Sproul had a passion for reminding people that each of us live our lives before the face of God.

In this life, it is easy for people to deny or forget this fact. But there is a day coming when each of us will stand before the face of God, because we will stand before His judgement throne. On that day will you have fear or confidence?

The author of Hebrews wants his readers to have confidence! Hebrews 4:14-16 and Hebrews 10:19-23 are rhetorical and literary brackets. They serve as an introduction and conclusion to the longest and most important teaching section in the book of Hebrews. They are both concerned with how we can have confidence before the face of God.

With this in mind, let us now hear God’s Word from Hebrews 4:14-16:

Hebrews 4:14–16 ESV

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. 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. 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.

This three verse paragraph teaches us that in order to have confidence before the face of God we must do two things:

Hold Fast to Our Confession

Draw Near to the Throne of Grace

The call to “hold fast” and “draw near” also appear in Hebrews 10:19-23. Consequently, we know that doing these two things is very important for having confidence before the face of God.

In both passages, what we are to “hold fast” to is “our confession.” Thus, the first way to have confidence before the face of God is to...

Hold Fast to Our Confession

Notice that the text says, “our confession” rather than, “your confession.” The confession that we are to hold fast to is the universal confession that all true believers share. There is much debate among Christians over many doctrines, but there are some doctrines which there should be no debate. The doctrine the author of Hebrews focuses on is the doctrine of Jesus as our great high priest. Again, the parallel passage of Hebrews 10:19-23 focuses on Jesus as our high priest. In this lengthy teaching section of Hebrews 4:14-10:23 we are going to learn much about Jesus as our high priest. But this morning I want to focus on just what the author of Hebrews focuses on in these three verses. In verse 14, he writes this...

Hebrews 4:14 ESV

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.

In this verse he tells us two things about Jesus:

He passed through the heavens.

He is the Son of God.

These two things are what make Him such a “GREAT high priest”!

What is so “great” about these two things? They both speak of the “nearness” of Jesus to God. Jesus is in the “nearest” PLACE to God and Jesus is in the “nearest” RELATIONSHIP to God.

Jesus is in the Nearest PLACE to God

When the author of Hebrews says Jesus “has passed through the heavens,” he means that Jesus has passed through the visible heavens into the invisible heaven were God is. In other words, Jesus is in the very presence of God. As the author of Hebrews will make clear later on, the earthly priests of the Old Covenant served in mere copies of of the true heavenly temple. Jesus on the other hand is in the true temple of God. Let me illustrate the difference like this: The Old Covenant priests made conference calls, but Jesus speaks to God the Father face to face!

In addition...

Jesus is in the Nearest RELATIONSHIP to God

The Old Covenant priests were sons of Aaron, Jesus is God’s one and only Son! In other words, He is in the closest possible relationship to God. Now think of this—Jesus, the Son of God, is speaking to His Father face to face on our behalf!

If this was not enough, the author of Hebrews goes on to write in verse 15:

Hebrews 4:15 ESV

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.

Verse 14 focused on Jesus’ divine nature, but verse 15 focuses on Jesus’ human nature and once again the author points out two things:

Jesus was tempted like us in every respect

Jesus was sinless

Both of these things are necessary for Jesus to the perfect mediator.

Jesus was Tempted Like Us in Every Respect

To be an effective mediator, a mediator has to be able to sympathize with those whom he is acting as a mediator. During His time on earth, Jesus was tempted with every category of sin. There is nothing special or unique about any temptation you have ever faced. The Devil wants you to think that your temptations are strong or different than other people’s temptations so you can make an excuse for your sin. But as Paul remains us in 1 Cor 10:13, all of our temptations are common, run of the mill temptations that all other human beings have faced, including Jesus.

Jesus knows how hard these temptations are to resist. Jesus knows what they feel like. As a consequence, Jesus is able to sympathize and help us in our time of need.

Unlike us however...

Jesus was Sinless

This is so important, because unlike the priests of the Old Covenant, Jesus offered Himself as sacrifice. The Old Covenant sacrifices couldn’t in and of themselves atone for people’s sins, they simply pointed to the greater sacrifice of Christ.

One of the things they taught was that a sacrifice must be spotless and without blemish. This was pointing to the necessity of Jesus being sinless.

Jesus sinlessness make Him both the perfect mediator and perfect sacrifice that is able to fully pay for and cover over our sin. This is why we can approach the throne of grace with such confidence!

But to have true confidence, we must use it. This brings us to the second thing our passage tells us to do...

Draw Near to the Throne of Grace

I began my message talking of appearing before God when we die. This is a reality each of us must face. Later on in his letter, the author of Hebrews writes:

Hebrews 9:27 ESV

And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,

Most people (including many Christians) do not like to think about this realty because the thought of appearing before the judgment throne of God fills them with fear and anxiety. However, as we have learned from our text this morning the author of Hebrews wants us to have confidence, not fear.

In light of the GREATNESS of Jesus’ priestly ministry, the author of Hebrews is urging us right now to approach the throne of grace. So you can see this, let me read Hebrews 4:16 again.

Hebrews 4:16 ESV

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.

By faith and through prayer we can daily come into the presence of God the Father. We often tack on the phrase, “in Jesus Name” to the end of our prayers. Rarely do we consider what these words mean. They mean a number of things, but first and foremost, they mean that we approach God in prayer solely on the bases of Jesus and His high priestly work. If Jesus were not in heaven right now, acting as our mediator, God would not hear, nor would He answer our prayers.

The author of Hebrews point is this: As we daily draw near to the the throne of grace to find help in our time of need we will grow in confidence. We know this is the case, because of what he writes in Hebrews 10.

Hebrews 10:22 ESV

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.

Now in both these passages, the help that is in mind is help with temptation and sin. Isn’t this interesting? When do we feel most reluctant to come into God’s presence? It is when we are struggling with sin! Jesus is serving as our high priest not to condemn us, but to help us with our sin!

Conclusion: Hold Fast & Draw Near!

Jesus can do this because He has taken ALL of our sin upon Himself and fully paid for it. Experientially we are still sinners, but legally we are righteous! God’s throne of judgement is no longer a place of fear, but of mercy and help for those who place there faith in Jesus. This is why it is so important to hold on to Jesus and never let go!

Have you laid hold of Jesus by faith? There is no other way to have confidence before the face of God.

If you have laid hold of Christ by faith, are you daily drawing near to the throne of grace? There is no other way to grow in our confidence than to bring our sins and temptations to God. If we try to hide our sin and struggles from God, we will deny ourselves the help we need and we will be burdened down by a guilty conscience. So Hold Fast and Draw Near!

Let us pray.

Lord Jesus, thank you for this passage of Scripture that teaches us how to have confidence, not fear in your presence. Open our eyes to see what a great high priest we have in Jesus so that we can enjoy freedom and confidence before you. Amen.

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