Full Assurance

 DEVOTION

TO HEBREWS

FULL ASSURANCE

Heb 10:19-25

19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another — and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

NIV

We have absolutely nothing to fear if we have complete confidence to enter the Most Holy Place because we do so by the blood of Jesus. In the old covenant, we were told that on that one day of atonement, the high priest could enter the Most Holy Place, but he wore bells in his garment, and a rope around his ankle just in case God was not pleased with his offering or that he was not holy enough, or sprinkled enough blood of a bull, and stuck him dead. The other priests could drag him out. However, we have nothing to fear or worry about as we enter that Most Holy Place, because we have been washed in the blood of Jesus, and there is power in the blood. We are not separated from God by any veil or curtain so that we can draw near to God with a sincere heart full of assurance of faith. It is interesting the Greek word translated as sincere, has a more direct meaning of a true or truthful heart. This begs the question of if we may come to God without a truthful heart. How can we think that we could deceive or withhold some truth about ourselves from God? Does he not know our every thought? Then we draw near to God, when we come to him in prayer, are we not supposed to talk with him about everything that is going on within us. We are told here that we can have this full assurance or entire confidence because our hearts have been sprinkled, in the blood of Jesus, to cleanse us from a guilty or evil conscience having our bodies washed with pure water. We know that when we fall short, when we yield to some temptation, whatever that might be, we start to feel bad, or guilty and we pray, but with some trepidation. But that is not what we are told, we have been washed in the blood and cleansed and we can enter in the very presence of God with a true heart, confessing our weakness, without fear of judgment, for God sees us as Holy and blameless through the blood of Jesus. God is always faithful to forgive us because he has already done so with the blood of Jesus and there is power in the blood. We are living in his grace, in his love, in his fullness of faithfulness. Even when we are not as faithful as we should be, he is always faithful. All our confidence and hope are in Jesus. We have no confidence in ourselves, and our faithfulness is unsteady, but he is pure and true all the time so we can have full assurance in his faithfulness, We will leave this spurring each other on for later, as we simply are full of joy, in full assurance in our being able to enter the Most Holy Place with a true heart.