Hebrews 10:22, commentary and pictures

To draw near is to come into close fellowship with God with a sincere heart and confident faith, inwardly cleansed from a guilty conscience and made clean in outward life. This is possible because Jesus offered one sacrifice for sins forever, and His blood opens the new and living way through the veil while He serves as High Priest over the house of God. Faith takes hold of that sacrifice by bringing sins into the light, confessing and receiving pardon through Christ as Advocate, Substitute and Intercessor in God's presence. Such assurance rests not on what man can do but on what God does through Christ, whose blood perfectly forgives and frees the conscience so the surrendered believer is made perfect in Him and may rest without anxiety. A true heart is known by enthroning Christ within and living conscious of the divine presence, with the conscience tested by the Word of God and the life transformed in purity, obedience and love for souls.

Wording and Cleansing Imagery

Having the heart sprinkled from an evil conscience is inward cleansing from guilt, so that sins and iniquities are forgiven and remembered no more under the new covenant in which God puts His laws into hearts and writes them in minds. Those so cleansed are perfected forever as sanctified, belonging to the true class who speak in sincerity, live as children of light, and become representatives in the world. Having the body washed with pure water is being washed and sanctified and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God, expressing cleansing from sin and readiness to draw near to God. This cleansing makes approach possible with a sincere heart and complete confidence of faith, resting on Christ as High Priest who intercedes and understands human weakness.

The washing of the body joins moral cleanliness to physical cleanliness, for it refers to cleansing the body from physical impurities, not to baptism by immersion, which does not wash the body. It also illustrates the outward purity and cleanliness expected of those whose hearts have received the truth, to be evident in their persons, their clothing, and their homes. A true heart is distinguished from a false heart, for a false heart puts forth tainted and corrupt streams in the daily life. A true heart enthrones Christ within as an honored Guest, lives conscious of the divine presence with Jesus as the central object of contemplation, and has the love of Christ poured in by the Holy Spirit, which softens and subdues the spirit and causes spirit, action, and daily life to represent Christ and reveal fellowship with Him.

Drawing near requires such a true heart in full assurance of intelligent faith with the heart cleansed from an evil conscience. Since there are good and bad consciences, a conscience that does not condemn for not keeping the commandments does not prove freedom from condemnation in God's sight. The conscience must be taken to the Word of God to test life and character by the standard of righteousness revealed there, and by that test a person can know whether faith is intelligent and what manner of conscience is possessed, fitting for keeping the commandments and for entering heaven without spot or wrinkle. The language of sprinkled hearts and washed bodies expresses purification from sin prefigured by the sprinkling of the heifer's blood toward the temple, which pointed to Christ shedding His blood and entering the holy place to cleanse the sanctuary.

Ground for Drawing Near

Believers may draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and bodies washed with pure water, because Jesus offered one sacrifice for sins forever and serves as High Priest over the house of God. His blood gives boldness to enter into the holiest by the new and living way He consecrated through the veil of His flesh. This drawing near is possible because by His blood He opened that new and living way into the holiest, and because He continues as High Priest over the house of God.

When Christ died as a sinless offering and the veil of the temple was rent in twain, a new and living way was opened without lessening God's claim upon men. The veil no longer separates worshipers from the Most Holy Place, so they need not wait for an earthly high priest to enter for them. All may now approach God directly through the merits of Christ as a personal Saviour, with liberty given to all to come without depending on priest or ceremonial sacrifice.

Through Christ as Head and High Priest, who gave Himself and now stands in God's presence over the house of God, believers may enter the true tabernacle not made with hands. With Him as their Head they may enter this hallowed temple as His beloved household and as members of His house.

To draw near with full assurance is for faith to take hold of the atoning sacrifice, with sins brought into the light, confessed, and pardoned through Jesus' blood. Christ takes the trembling hand of faith and lays it on the head of the atoning sacrifice, so every sin may be confessed and pardoned, and this requires throwing open the hidden chamber of mind and heart so sins are set in the light of God's countenance. Crucified to take away sins and risen from the dead, He stands in God's presence as Intercessor, chosen and appointed Advocate, Substitute and Surety, and High Priest over God's house. In Him humanity and divinity are combined, and in Christ crucified the wisdom and power of God are seen daily converting the soul and divinely adapted to meet all obstacles and trials of daily experience, so all sufficiency is provided and the follower is fitted for every work and trial with a personal Saviour who helps in every emergency. It is through Christ's sacrifice that man receives power to meet the wily foe and discern his falsehoods, which demands more than the highest intellectual qualities.

Christ's work in the heavenly sanctuary where He intercedes is as essential to salvation as His death on the cross was. His death began the work He completed in heaven after His resurrection, opening the way to the Father's throne. By faith people may enter that heavenly sanctuary, and through Christ's mediation the sincere desires of those who come to God in faith can be presented before the Father.

This confidence rests on Jesus as the living High Priest, Mediator, and Advocate over God's household, who intercedes for His people and understands human weakness. Through Him believers may approach God boldly for mercy and help in times of need, trusting His intercession, with hearts cleansed from an evil conscience through His sacrifice. As they draw near to God in faith He draws near to them, opening the heart to God through Christ both personally and as a household.

What Drawing Near Means

Drawing near means coming with a sincere, true heart and full assurance and confidence of faith, with the heart sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and the body washed with pure water and the life made clean for close fellowship with God. This approach is possible because Jesus' sacrifice opens the way into God's presence and He serves as High Priest, and it belongs with holding firmly to faith and continuing in hope because God is faithful to His promise. The cleansing accompanies receiving Christ and letting God's truth enter and transform the heart, enabling Christlike love toward one another, and it is urged especially amid discouragement and hardship.

By faith people may enter the heavenly sanctuary, even the holy of holies, where God reveals Himself and gives clear light, to commune with the Father and with Christ the Redeemer. There is free access to His royal presence when the heart is submitted to Him to be refined and purified, and through Christ's mediation the sincere desires of those who come to God in faith can be presented before the Father. His work there as Intercessor is as essential to salvation as His death on the cross was, for His death began the work He completed in heaven after His resurrection, and through His blood He washes sinners and makes them clean and white.

Drawing near means coming with heartfelt contrition and full assurance of faith, pleading the Saviour's shed blood for help in the struggle against evil, and those who draw near in this way overcome the enemy who seeks to destroy them. It is day-by-day talking with God and following on to know the Lord and laying hold on the hope set before, binding the soul to the Mediator and becoming partakers of the divine nature with life hid with Christ in God in leaning trust. This means believing fully in the efficacy of His atoning sacrifice and trusting His merits while working out salvation with fear and trembling because God works within to will and to do His good pleasure, as laborers together with God, keeping hold of Christ so the soul comes nearer and nearer to God with a pure, peaceable, merciful spirit and without combativeness. Entering the holiest by the blood of Jesus means climbing step by step the whole height of Christ's work to God at the top, holding fast to the Mediator and climbing by His merits without letting go, with the eye directed upward, escaping the corruption in the world through lust, fastening to Christ and straining every nerve to leave the world behind. It is being in Christ and yet led by Christ and led by His Spirit in genuine faith, believing and working on the plan of addition in perfect obedience to all the commandments, constantly mounting upward round above round to diminish the distance from God in order to obtain the mansions for the blessed, since to relax spiritual diligence for a moment is fearful peril between heaven and earth and to let go is to cease to climb, to fall, and to perish.

Drawing near requires throwing open the hidden chamber of mind and heart so sins are set in the light of God's countenance, for the blood of Jesus gives boldness to enter into the holiest and there is a Priest over the house of God. Christ takes the trembling hand of faith and lays it on the head of the atoning sacrifice, so every sin may be confessed and pardoned, and through His sacrifice man receives power to meet the wily foe and discern his falsehoods, which demands more than the highest intellectual qualities. This approach follows confession of one's own sins, mutual forgiveness, and the setting right of wrongs; when bitterness and enmity are put away, believers may come to God with a clean record and look to Him for peace through Christ, and confessing and seeking the Lord's cleansing allows a person to draw near with full assurance of faith. Those who pray honestly in faith in this sincerity can trust that God hears and answers, even when they do not immediately see or feel an answer. His answer may not be what was asked, because He gives what is best and brings Him glory, and the needed blessing may come later and exceed expectations.

Coming with a true heart in full assurance means enthroning Christ in the heart and keeping Him enthroned there by living conscious of the divine presence and making Jesus the central object of contemplation. It means having the love of Christ's heart poured into the heart by His Holy Spirit, which softens and subdues the spirit and gives strength to be more than conquerors through Him who loved and gave Himself. In this way the daily life represents Christ in spirit and action and reveals having been with Jesus and learned of Him.

Assurance and Acceptance in Christ

Drawing near rests on dependence on what God can do through Christ and not on what man can do. When a person surrenders wholly to God and fully believes, the blood of Christ perfectly forgives sin and cleanses from all sin, freeing the conscience from condemnation and making the repenting and believing one perfect in Christ Jesus. There is no need to be anxious about what God and Christ think of the believer, but to rest in what God thinks of Christ the Substitute, in whom the believer is accepted. Christ accepts the surrender of the soul to mold and fashion it after His own likeness, so that sanctification and the favor of God are not impossibilities but can be claimed and enjoyed now.

Drawing near with full assurance means not standing afar off from Him but trusting in lowly dependence upon the blood and righteousness of Christ. It means accepting salvation as the gift of His grace and believing the promise because He has spoken it. Even being led along a path of painful humiliation, emptied from vessel to vessel and led step by step deeper into the valley, brings into close communion with Jesus in His life of humiliation. Even those standing under the wrath of God for violating the law may draw near to God with a true heart in full assurance of faith through Jesus Christ as personal Intercessor in heaven. Drawing near means casting the soul just as it is upon His mercy and compassion, pleading for mercy, laying hold of Him by faith, putting away selfishness, covetousness and all practiced sin, surrendering the soul, falling on the Rock and being broken, and by faith in the blood of Jesus being cleansed from moral defilement and receiving His imputed righteousness and perfect obedience.

Christ looks with pity on every soul who knows he cannot save himself, raises up every trembling suppliant, and employs in their behalf the infinite fund of moral power provided by His atonement. He mingles the merits of His perfect obedience as incense with their sincere humble prayers to make them fragrant, and because the Father always hears the Son, those who pray and pray without ceasing receive a sure answer and full and free salvation. Feeling unworthy should drive the soul to the Saviour rather than hinder coming in full assurance, for unworthiness is self-evident while the worthiness of Jesus Christ is sure. Lack of consciousness of sins forgiven comes from unbelief and from not practicing Christ's teachings and bringing His virtues into life, whereas when Christ abides in the heart by faith His lessons are practiced, views of Christ are exalted, self is abased, affections center in Jesus, and thoughts are drawn heavenward. The mind must be trained to dwell on heavenly things, and humility comes from discerning the loveliness of Christ; dwelling on Christ's excellencies of character shows the offensive character of sin and lays hold by faith on the righteousness of Christ in order to cultivate His virtues and reflect His character.

Looking at the cross of Calvary keeps unworthiness and the cost of salvation constantly in view, prevents exalting self, and reveals Christ's matchless love, so that dwelling on unworthiness as if it were a virtue hinders coming in full assurance. The doubting soul takes hope and courage because he has One worthy to be his Saviour, and his only hope is to repent, humble himself, and lay hold by faith of a worthiness he does not have but which Jesus Christ supplies as his righteousness, and then to worship the Father in spirit and in truth and in the beauty of holiness. Jesus' blood gives access to God, with the heart sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and the body washed with pure water describing cleansing from sin and readiness to approach God, and being right with God is a defense in the time of trouble. Drawing near to God with full assurance of faith is joined to a heart made clean from sin and a life filled with the Holy Spirit. The assurance is reflected in the perfect peace and love that come with accepting Christ, while the abiding presence of Christ brings purity and freedom from sin.

Those who come to Christ in full assurance of faith receive the rich blessings God has in store for those who come to Him. Drawing near to the Lord brings mercy with every transgression blotted out, because Jesus loves the sinner, died for him, and holds his soul precious for securing eternal life in the kingdom of God. The opportunity to come must be given to each soul, and those who would help souls come must watch tenderly over them as over diseased bodies, speaking only words that are kind and considerate and just.

Life and Mission of Faith

Drawing near in full assurance is growth in grace for a sound Christian experience, calling for daily conversion to a life of simple obedience and for a consecrated life spent seeking to save perishing souls in dependence on the Lord rather than on human agencies. It is coming to the Lord every day with full assurance, looking to Him for wisdom and never turning to put trust in man. As the end nears and falsehood is mingled with truth, this daily coming keeps the way of the Lord and brings the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the strict watch and special help of angels in every time of need. Those whose hearts are strengthened by studying the word discern with certainty between falsehood and truth and between sin and righteousness.

This drawing near belongs especially to God's workers and missionaries, who are to seek Him in faith and depend on Him rather than on human wisdom as they take up the work before them. God has taken man into copartnership with Himself as laborers together with God, which calls for hearty cooperation in return, pledging soul, body, and spirit with martyr devotion and heroic courage and putting forth personal effort for the salvation of souls. Full assurance is to be exercised in asking Christ for enlarged capacity for service and increased power to help souls, with all power and efficiency received through the Holy Spirit, and faith united with prayer casts out evil spirits. Those who serve are not to rely on themselves or boast but to depend continually on Christ, recognizing need for His atoning blood, for help in knowing how to deal with people.

Those who draw near with heartfelt contrition and plead the Saviour's shed blood for help in the struggle against evil overcome the enemy who seeks to destroy them. Drawing near requires throwing open the hidden chamber of mind and heart so sins are set in the light of God's countenance, with every sin confessed and pardoned as Christ lays the trembling hand of faith on the atoning sacrifice. Through that sacrifice man receives power to meet the wily foe and discern his falsehoods, which demands more than the highest intellectual qualities.

The verse stands joined to holding fast the profession of faith without wavering because He is faithful that promised, and to continuing in hope. It belongs to those born again whose temper and habits are changed by truth, who have repented, been raised from moral degradation, been washed and sanctified and justified, with sins forgiven and remembered no more under the new covenant of God's law in heart and mind. They wear no yoke of bondage but only Christ's yoke, keeping the Father's commandments as Christ kept them, living as children of light and representatives of Christ, considering one another to provoke to love and good works, not forsaking assembling together but exhorting one another so much the more as they see the day approaching, and pursuing spiritual understanding.

This closeness is lived by daily meditation, prayer, and Scripture study, by which Christians come into God's presence with sanctified boldness and intimate acquaintance with Him, their earnest prayers entering within the veil. It rests on believing prayer and a living connection with God, relying on the merits of the Lamb's blood who takes away the sin of the world, believing and praying with living faith, expecting much and refusing discouragement. That connection keeps simplicity and humility, guards against Satan gaining advantage, brings the spirit and sanctifying power of truth into the heart with special blessings, and lays on everyone earnest individual work for personal overcoming and for others, not resting without evidence that ways please God, for overcoming is a serious reality with no time to lose. Such confident, persevering trust upholds in suffering and in critical times, leading believers to see God's salvation as they walk humbly with Him and trust Him to uphold His cause before an apostate world.

Drawing near cleanses the heart from an evil conscience and makes the life clean, enabling close fellowship with God and Christlike love toward one another. It is surrendering heart and soul and mind to do His will at any cost from love, grasping promises by living faith, pressing through obstacles, following where God leads and doing whatever He says, coming out from every scene of temptation, with Christ abiding within so He is revealed to others. The perplexed and self-confident are to turn to Christ, confess weakness, place confidence in Him, and receive strength as sons of God. In church capacity every soul united must draw near to Christ as the source of strength with deeper spirituality, greater missionary spirit, and thorough conversion, and then the church exerts righteous influence, attains scriptural union, becomes on earth a type of the church in heaven with every transaction free from human depravity, each acting his part as of the great family above.

Entering the holy of holies as a seeker for truth means laying aside every previous idea, renouncing every sinful practice, and accepting the Bible as God's inspired Word in its simplicity. It means coming before God with a softened and subdued heart, ready to listen to what He says.