Hebrews: The Daily Discipline of a Devoted LifeSample

A preaching professor of mine told me that every sermon he has ever preached has the same outline. He asks three questions of every text: ‘what?’, ‘so what?’ and ‘now what?’ In other words, ‘what does the passage say?’, ‘what does it mean?’ and ‘what difference should it make in my life?’ 

The writer to the Hebrews has spent ten chapters giving us the ‘what’, and it is glorious theology. Jesus is greater than anything the Old Testament has to offer. He is greater than angels, greater than Moses and Joshua, and greater than Aaron and the whole Old Testament priesthood and sacrificial system. But from this transitional paragraph until the end of the book, he applies the supremacy of Christ powerfully to our daily lives as Christians. This is the ‘so what?’ and ‘now what?’ of Hebrews! 

Two key concepts dominate this paragraph. The first is the word ‘confidence’. Jesus’ once-for-all sacrifice for sin now gives us confidence to enter God’s presence ‘by a new and living way opened for us’ (v. 20). This truth makes a tremendous difference to your prayer life. 

What the high priest used to do with trembling hands once a year, as he dared to enter the Holy of Holies, we now do with confidence every time we pray in the name of Jesus. Our prayers ascend, unhindered, directly to God’s throne – the holiest place in the universe – purified, as they are, by the blood of Christ. We are now invited to ‘draw near’ (v. 22) to the sanctuary of God, which used to be such a fearful place for Old Testament priests to go. Now it is home to us. As Mavis Ford’s hymn ‘I stand before the presence’* puts it, ‘the holy of holies has become my dwelling place.’ 

The second key phrase is to ‘hold unswervingly’ (v. 23). The problem with these Jewish Christians is that their theology had cracked under pressure. The pagan culture around them and persecution from fellow Jews meant they were on the verge of walking away from Christ. So now that the writer has reminded them of the supremacy of Christ, they need to ‘hold unswervingly’ to the faith they profess. 

We find ourselves in a similar position. Our secular world will tell us our Christ is a myth, our Bible is error-strewn, and our God is dead. But in the midst of that, we need to remind ourselves that Christ is worth our total allegiance. The Son of God, the Messiah who spilled his blood for us, is the meaning of life, and we need to hold tight to him, with full confidence that he will come again to claim the world as his own. 

Reflection

 Are you holding tight to your Christian convictions? 

*Ford, Mavis, I stand before the presence (Authentic Publishing, 1980)