confidence to approach (Part Two)

As I mentioned in part one, the writer of Hebrews is not so much thinking of believers approaching God privately in Hebrews 10:19-25 as he is about believers approaching God corporately. Evidently, there were some believers who were neglecting to meet together (Hebrews 10:25). So, he exhorts them to make it their habit to gather together given that they all have confidence or boldness to enter the sanctuary—the place where God is encountered (Hebrews 10:19). That in itself is a remarkable statement. The writer states that every believer has objective confidence or authorization to enter the sanctuary.

A question came to mind as I was studying these verses: What was hindering these believers from gathering? Why were some neglecting to meet together? I think Hebrews indicates what was hindering these believers from gathering with the Christian assembly, namely, reproach from outsiders. A few verses after this paragraph he asks that these believers recall former days when they were “publicly exposed to reproach” (Hebrews 10:32-33). In Hebrews 11:26, he tells them that Moses “considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt. In Hebrews 13:13, he exhorts them “go to [Jesus] outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured.”

The question above was followed by another question: What hinders Western Christians from gathering with the saints? Why are some Western Christians neglecting to meet together? I don’t think, at least in my cultural context, that believers are hindered because of reproach from outsiders. So, I thought, if it is not external reproach that hinders, what does? Three quick answer came to mind (I’m sure I could think of several more if I took the time). First, I’m convinced that laziness hinders many. It takes hard work to gather in the way that Hebrews is calling on believers to gather. We are to make it our habit to “consider how to stir up one another to love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24). Hebrews does not allow for spectator Christianity. Christianity, as Hebrews understands it, demands participation, and participation demands hard work. Second, I believe that some neglect to meet together because they dislike some of their fellow-gathers. Some people don’t regularly gather with the Christian assembly because there are certain people at the gathering that they just do not like. They might think something like, “I’m just tired of having to deal with this person week after week. His personality really rubs me the wrong way!” Third, others don’t gather out of fear. They are afraid that others will learn what’s really in their hearts or what they are actually like at home. “If they find out what I’m really struggling with, they’ll think this or that about me and my family.”

What I love about Hebrews 10:19-25 is that it reveals the reason under all these reasons for why some neglect meeting together. Sure, people might admit that they don’t gather because it requires hard work or that they dislike others who gather or that they are afraid, but they probably will not identify the real reason underneath these symptomatic reasons. So, what’s the reason underneath the reasons? Notice how Hebrews 10:19-25 begins. “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places…” “Therefore” indicates a logical connection with what precedes. Hebrews 10:19-22 is giving a distillation of Hebrews 8:1-10:18. What do we find in this earlier section of Hebrews? An unpacking of the gospel, that is, an unpacking of what it is Christ as accomplished. We have confidence to enter because “we have…a high priest…who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven” (Hebrews 8:1). He’s seated, unlike the priests of the Old Testament who were always standing, because he finished his work making purification for sins (Hebrews 1:3). We possess this authorization to draw near because our Christ “entered once for all time into the holy places…by means of his own blood thus securing an eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:12). The redemption that Christ secured for his people is an eternal one. Hebrews 10:15-17 then states that the Spirit himself bears witness on the basis of what Christ has done that he “will remember [our] sins and [our] lawless deeds no more.” So, what’s the reason underneath all other reasons? When we neglect meeting together with the saints it’s ultimately because we have forgotten the gospel. It is because the gospel of Christ’s accomplishment is no longer vivid to us; it’s no longer central to our consciousness.

When we neglect gathering with the saints, it’s ultimately because we have forgotten the gospel. Consider again the three superficial reasons I gave earlier. Laziness: When someone says that gathering takes too much work, they are essentially saying, “I’m really don’t see myself in need of that kind of work. I really don’t think I need to be stirred up to love and good works on a weekly basis.” What does the cross have to say about that? “Your need is far greater than you are even beginning to imagine. Your need for salvation and growth in holiness is so great that the Son of God has to die for you. He lived and died not only that the Father might accept you but that He might also grow you into the image of His Son.” Dislike for others: When we neglect to gather because there are those we dislike, we are essentially saying, “I’m likeable!” How does the gospel answer that? “When the Son of God died for you, were you likeable? No, you were his enemy! He wasn’t made like you in every respect (Hebrews 2:17) in order to call you his brother (Hebrews 2:12) because you were likeable! You are far less likeable than you think.” Fear: When we stay away from the Christian assembly because we fear others learning about what is really in our hearts, the gospel says, “The cross has already let your secret out! The cross has made visible for all to see the filth that exists in your heart. It says that the filth in your heart is so putrid that the God-Man had to die for you. Your secret has already been revealed!”

The gospel exposes the shallowness of our reasons for not gathering but it does not stop there. It goes on to say that “we have confidence to enter the holy places!” (Hebrews 10:19). We who are more sinful than we even begin to know have authorization to draw near to God himself! How can that be? Because we, sinful though we are, have a high priest who “after making purification for sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:3). He has dealt finally with our sin and guilt through the shedding of his own blood on our behalf. So, while the gospel says that are sin goes deeper than we know, it also says that our sin has been dealt with more profoundly than we can even begin to imagine. How profoundly? So profoundly that the writer says that “we are having confidence, boldness, authorization to enter the holy places!”

When the truth of the gospel is central to our consciousness, all superficial reasons for not gathering will fall away. Not only is the gospel the power of God unto salvation, it is also the power of God unto the gathering of the saints. Where else are the saints going to regularly hear this glorious gospel than at the Christian assembly? Don’t neglect meeting together. Let us go that we might consider how to stir one another up unto love and good works through preaching the great gospel of grace to each other.

Side Note: I think this post has application to the current blog controversy surrounding Mark Driscoll (see here and here). When we forget the gospel, we will fail to be restorative in our criticism. We will fail to see the log in our own eye. Only the gospel enables us to properly deal with the sin we observe in the lives of others. The gospel makes us humble and careful...

One reason I need to gather with the saints around the gospel is because I am too quick to forget it allowing my own pride and arrogance to go unchallenged and corrected...