Parresia · Let’s Keep the Amazing in Grace, Session 9: “Entering the Holiest”

Introduction

Welcome to the 9th session of “Let’s Keep the Amazing in Grace.” This session is entitled, “Entering the Holiest.” This phrase is used in Hebrews 10, and refers to entering the presence of God by the blood of Jesus, when the veil of separation has been torn.

We studied a veil in 2 Corinthians 3 – the veil that comes from the law which ministers death and condemnation.  Jesus fulfilled the law when He put on sinless human flesh, lived a holy life, and then, as our perfect Lamb of God, absorbed all of our law-breaking. 

He who knew no sin became sin that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. He became the veil that separated us from God. The veil was torn, and His blood was shed to wash away our sins, and He paid the wages for our sins when He died in our place.

And when He did that, He showed us who God really is.

John 1:14-18 – And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ” 16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He [Jesus] has declared Him.

God in heaven can’t be understood by man, but God veiled in human flesh reveals Him to us. Jesus said, 

John 12:45, NASB – He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me.

How do we know what God is like? Look at Jesus. Read the Gospels. He is the image of God, the exact representation of His nature. Jesus loves unconditionally. Jesus doesn’t count men’s sins against them. He touches lepers and defends the rejects. He heals and feeds and delivers. The only people He got angry with were the self-righteous hypocrites who misrepresented God to the people.

We look at Jesus to see who God is, but the Old Covenant believers had a veil over their hearts, so they couldn’t fully see who God was.

2 Corinthians 4:6 – For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God [The glory of God is His goodness and grace. The Old Covenant believer was blinded by the veil of condemnation which kept him from seeing the glory of God. But God commands light to shine and lifts the veil so we can see His glory – WHERE? – ] in the face of Jesus Christ.

In the context, the veil of the law must be removed before someone can see Jesus and know who God truly is. This is why I have spent so much time on law vs grace and the need to completely remove any perversion of pure grace from our thinking. The more we know God in His grace, the more intimate our fellowship with Him will be, and the more the power of the Gospel will be manifested in our lives.

John 1:17 – [Again, John said – ] For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Can you see that the law is on one side, and grace and truth are on the other? Some people say we need to balance grace and truth, as if law and truth are synonymous terms and there is such a thing as too much grace. But John 1:17 says law and grace are on opposite sides. Truth is on the side of grace.

So what is truth if it’s not synonymous with law? The Greek word for “TRUTH” (alētheia) means “the reality lying at the basis of an appearance; the manifested.” (Vines) In short, “truth” is “the REAL.”

In Jesus we have grace (the unearned, undeserved, unmerited favor of God) and we have truth (the reality lying at the basis of an appearance; the manifested). In Jesus we have the reality of all that Gos IS.

Grace and truth came through Jesus. And the Greek verb “came” is a singular verb – which means that grace and truth are in effect a singular subject.  Grace&truth came as an inseparable whole in Jesus Christ. [V-AIM-3S – Verb, Active, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Singular]

You can’t have grace without truth – reality of who God is. You can’t have truth – reality of who God is – without grace. 

So once again I am going to contrast law and grace/ truth – why? So we can know God better!

Two covenants

So there are – 

• Two covenants: law and grace.
• Two deals cut: one with the people, one with God’s son. 

This New Covenant was an intrinsic covenant that was made within the infallibility of the Trinity between the Father and the Son, It wasn’t made with us, so there is nothing we can do to break it. We are simply the beneficiaries of it! The only way that the covenant could be broken would be if Jesus sinned or Jesus died. Neither is possible!

• One covenant kills;  one gives life.
• One is all about man’s lack of faithfulness and goodness;  one is all about Jesus’s faithfulness and goodness.
• One shines the light on sin;  one shines the light on the perfection of God’s Son to remove that sin.
• One was given to bring out man’s sin;  one was given to make man holy.
• One condemns;  one justifies.
• One covers sin;  one takes it away! 
• One brings a consciousness of sin;  one brings a consciousness of Jesus.

Background of the book of Hebrews

We’re going to look at several passages in Hebrews where the writer contrasts the Old Covenant of law with the New Covenant of grace – which he called a better covenant, based on better promises.

For a little background on the book of Hebrews – we do not know for sure who the author is. Many biblical scholars think it was Paul, others disagree with that.

No other Book so beautifully defines Jesus as our High Priest, the fulfillment of the law, and the Author and Perfecter of our faith.

Hebrews was written to Jewish people. Some of them were Christians, and some were on the brink of receiving Jesus as their Messiah and the final sacrifice for their sins. 

At the time of the writing of the book of Hebrews, many of the Jewish people were still making the Old Covenant sacrifices to atone for sins. And the writer was begging them to stop because the true Lamb of God had come.

There is a lot of symbolism in Hebrews for us – are we trying to atone for our sins – to cover them and pay for them? Or are we resting in the finished work of Jesus?

Hebrews 8 – The New Covenant 

Hebrews 8:7 – [Now to Hebrews 8. In this passage the writer is quoting Jeremiah 31:31-34, an Old Testament prophecy about the New Covenant] “For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. [God found fault with the Old Covenant.]

If obedience to the 10 commandments had worked to make man righteous, then there would have been no reason for the New Covenant. In other words, Jesus would not have needed to die. But God made a faultless covenant with eternal promises.

IN the next few verses of Hebrews 8 we see the promises in this New Covenant:

Hebrews 8:10 – For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts…

What are these new laws? Are they 10 commandments rehashed? No! I don’t believe that God put the “Thou shalt nots” in our hearts. He found fault with that system! He put the “I will’s!” (speaking of Himself).

You know how I know it’s not the “thou shalt not’s”? Because clearly the Mosaic Law was burdensome!

1 John 5:3 – [John wrote – ] For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

1 John 3:23 – [What are these commandments?] And this is His commandment: that we should [1] believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and [2] love one another, as He gave us commandment.

The external demands on the flesh for righteousness (the 10 Commandments) have been replaced with the internal fruit of the Holy Spirit –  the life of Jesus living through us:

Romans 5:5 – the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

James 2:8 – [James calls the New Covenant] …the royal law of love…

James 1:25 – …the perfect law of liberty…

Galatians 6:2 – [Paul says] Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. [Notice Paul doesn’t call it the “Law of Moses.” Self-sacrificial love by the Spirit is the law of Christ.]

In the New Covenant: 

• We don’t love to be loved. We love because we ARE LOVED.

1 John 4:19 – We love, because He first loved us.

1 John 4:10, NLT – This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

• We don’t forgive to be forgiven. We forgive because we ARE FORGIVEN.

Ephesians 4:32 – And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

Grace from the inside will do what the Law from the outside never could. 

Hebrews 8:10, cont. – [Back to Hebrews 8:10 – another promise of the New Covenant – God says -] and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

That statement is repeated many times in the Old Testament. Whenever God said, “I will be their God, and they shall be My people,”  it was because of His faithfulness to the covenant of grace He had made with their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and was always accompanied by His miraculous intervention to help them or save them in some way.

Next in verse 11 of Hebrews 8, we find another promise of the New Covenant:

Hebrews 8:11 – None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.

This New Covenant promise speaks of the Spirit dwelling inside of us through whom we can know God personally, no matter who we are – from the least to the greatest. 

We can all hear the voice of the Holy Spirit – no matter how important we are, no matter how educated we are, no matter if we are young or old, rich or poor, male or female – this promise is for everyone!

And what happened to cause this New Covenant to take effect in our lives? What is the “covenant-activating clause”:

Hebrews 8:12-13 – For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” 13 In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete.

In the Old Covenant it was “You shall not… you shall not…” It’s all your part.

In the New Covenant it’s all God! “I will put My laws… I will be your God…All will know me… I will be merciful… I will remember your sins no more.” It’s all God: Jesus + nothing.

A cleansed and perfect conscience

After Hebrews 8, the writer continues into chapter 9 contrasting the Old and the New.

Hebrews 9 speaks of the tabernacle “made with hands” [Hebrews 9:24] –  the portable temple Moses built in the dessert where the priests would sacrifice spotless animals to atone for the sins of the people – Contrasted with the perfect tabernacle not made with hands – not of this creation – but heaven itself – where the eternal blood of the Lamb of God is sprinkled on the Mercy Seat. 

Each part of the tabernacle was a “shadow” of the better things to come in Jesus. The blood of the lamb is the central focus of Hebrews 9-10. Why?

Hebrews 9:22, NLT – For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.

But with the blood of Jesus our sins are purged as if they had never been committed. 

Isaiah 1:18 – “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.”

Isaiah 43:25 – “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; [because He loves us!] And I will not remember your sins.”

So the blood is the central focus, of Hebrews 9 and 10, and the High Priest is the central figure because he was a shadow of Jesus, our eternal High Priest, and the sacrifices made by the priests were also shadows of our Lamb of God.

Under the law God was unapproachable behind a thick veil in the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle. 

Only one person, the high priest, was allowed in the presence of God and only once a year on the Day of Atonement to make the yearly sacrifices. on behalf of all the people.

But even with the shedding of the blood of these sacrifices, there was still a big problem: 

Hebrews 9:9 – [those Old Covenant] gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience…[and remember this high priest was representing all the people]

Those sacrifices could never permanently remove the guilt and stain of sin.

There was always a sense of incompleteness because the job of moving the sin was never complete. Those sacrifices could not take away sins. They could only cover them.

In fact, the word “atone” means to cover. Those sacrifices could cleanse the people outwardly, but they could never transform the heart. 

Hebrews 9:14 – [but – ] how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God [as our sin offering], cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

If our conscience is cleansed, then we should be free from dead works. What are dead works? For those people, the writer is specifically talking about sacrificing bulls and goats and lambs on the altar to make themselves right with God after the true lamb had come.

For us, dead works are those Things that we do in our own efforts to cleanse ourselves and make ourselves right with God apart from Jesus. We all fall into dead works when we don’t have a perfect conscience before God that’s free of the guilt and stain of sin.

We’ll try to atone for – cover – our sin. We put confidence in our flesh to overcome the power of sin instead of putting confidence in Jesus – which as we know leads to failure, which leads to condemnation, which leads to more sinning – and then  cycles of sin.

Cycles of sin develop from wrong believing about who we are because we identify ourselves by our behavior instead of our identify in Christ. It’s an “identity crisis.” And you will act like what you believe you are.

The more that people think that God demands perfect behavior to attain righteousness, the more they say, “The Christian life is too hard.” News Flash!! It’s not too hard – it’s impossible! There’s only one Person who could do it, and His name is Jesus. We are powerless without utter dependency on His life living through us.

The only way to rid ourselves of dead works and attempting to perfect ourselves in the flesh is to have cleansed and perfect conscience. The only way to do that is to set our minds, not on ourselves, but on Christ and Him crucified. 

Expound on “perfect” (Hebrews 10:1-2)

Moving into Hebrews chapter 10, we see more about what it means to be “perfect in regard to the conscience.” 

Hebrews 10:1 – For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, [in Jesus] and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach [God] perfect.

Perfect in what regard? Hebrews 9:9 told us: perfect in regard to conscience. Those sacrifices were like sweeping the sins of the people under the carpet, but never bringing peace to their conscience.

Each year more sin would be swept under the carpet, and it would get fatter and fatter. It would look clean on the outside, but all the dirt was still there on the inside. 

In the next verse it says that those sacrifices for sin in the Old Covenant would’ve – 

Hebrews 10:2 – For then would they not have ceased to be offered? [if they worked] For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins.

They would have stopped offering the sacrifices of bulls and goats and lambs if that blood could have purified them. Every sacrifice was just a reminder that the sin was still there and that the true Lamb of God had not yet come. But the cross changed everything! The Lamb of God has come!

John 1:29 – Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

Jesus has lifted up the carpet and purged all of our sin and purified us once for all!

Hebrews 1:3 – …when He had by Himself [with no help from us!] purged our sins, [He] sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high [He sat down because the work was finished – not a morsel of sin remained]

Sin consciousness

Does it seem too good to be true that God doesn’t want us constantly making a list of our sins? Isn’t sin consciousness what we’ve been taught our entire lives? Aren’t we suppose to be on a perpetual search for our sin?

Once you search and search and find as much sin as you can, then ask your spouse or your parents or your friends or even your children because they will remind you of the sins you forgot. There is no end to that search!

It’s a well-intentioned practice because the goal is to be able to approach God without the barrier of sin, but that very idea frustrates the grace of God! Jesus Himself became the barrier of sin so He could remove it! 

If you have an Old Covenant perspective, you will have the debtor’s mindset as if you owe God for your sin, and you will approach Him with the fear of a slave – when in reality what we owe Him is a debt of gratitude and humility for being the final payment for our sins.

 

The Old Covenant sacrifices were like a credit card. They just pushed the payment forward. The sense of debt was still on their minds.

Next verse in Hebrews 10:

Hebrews 10:3-4  – But in those [Old Covenant] sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.

A reminder of sins tells us that either the payment was not enough or the recipient is not satisfied. A reminder of sins insult both Jesus (who is our payment) and God the Father (who is the recipient of the payment). It’s like telling the Father that the cross of Your Son was not enough.

He chose to come for us / The Cup

Hebrews 10:5 – Therefore, when He [Jesus] came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering [Father] You did not desire, [why? Because those sacrifices couldn’t take away sins and left a barrier between God and his people! – ] But a body You have prepared for Me.”

God prepared a body for Jesus. In the most stunning demonstration of utter humility, Jesus became a human being, born as a baby. “Jesus, the Son of God, became the Son of man so that the sons of men might become sons of God.” (CS Lewis, Mere Chrstiianty)

Jesus took on human flesh. Why? Because as God He couldn’t die.

Hebrews 2:14, NLT – Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. [but he doesn’t have it anymore!]

Jesus was the only human being born to die.

Hebrews 2:17, NLT – Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice [of Himself] that would take away the sins of the people.

His blood, sweat, tears, and pain were experienced in a real body that was prepared for Him. 

Philippians 2:7-8 – [Jesus] He made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. [His obedience made you righteous! Romans 5:19]

As a man Jesus experienced on the cross all of the effects of sin and the curse for us  because that’s what sin demanded. The night He was betrayed, Jesus prayed,

Matthew 26:39 – “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, [The destiny of all humanity hung in that one word, “nevertheless!”]  not as I will, but as You will.” 

Jesus chose to take the cup and drink it for our sakes.

He cried, “I thirst” so that your thirst would be quenched (John 19:28; John 4:14). On His worst day, Jesus was abandoned by His friends so that you would never be alone. (Mark 14:50). 

• The blood trickling through the nail-piercings in His hands says, “My peace I leave you.” (John 14:27; John 20:19)
• The blood dripping from His brow from the crown of thorns says, “You are whole in your mind. My peace I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid.”
• The blood gushing from His side says, “I love you.” (Romans 5:8) 
• The stripes on His back say, “You are healed.” (Matthew 8:17; Isaiah 53:5)
• His bruises, His face all torn up, His head hung low, His nakedness all says to you, “I became sin that you might become righteous.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

He took the cup of suffering, SORROW, PAIN, DISEASE, SIN, SHAME, CONDEMNATION, WRATH,     but WORST of all forsakenness

Matthew 27:46 – “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?”

• As the Son of Man, He called God “God” for the first time so that we as the sons of God could call God “Father.”
• He was forsaken so that we could be accepted.

Jesus came on assignment

So Jesus came with a purpose – and Everything about His life pointed to that end result. He was on assignment from His Father:

Hebrews 10:9-12 – then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” [Then He tells us what the will of God is: ] He takes away the first that He may establish the second. [Jesus took away the first covenant of law to establish the new covenant of grace] 10 By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. [sanctified means “made holy,” separated unto God ONCE FOR ALL! ] 11 Every [Old Covenant] priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly. [why did he stand? The work wasn’t finished. No seat in the Holy of Holies except the Mercy seat, but that was for God. Why repeatedly? Because it only worked temporarily] 12 But this Man, [Jesus Christ] after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.

• Why “One sacrifice?” – Because it worked the first time!
• How long did it work? “Forever!” 
• Why did He sit down? Because the work was finished!
• And where did He sit down? At the “right hand of God.” The right hand is the place of honor, authority, righteousness, blessing, and acquittal.

Remission of Sins / Veil is Torn

Hebrews 10:17-20 – [skipping down to verse 17 – ] then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” 18 Now where there is remission of these [in other word, forgiveness of sins and lawless deeds], there is no longer an offering for sin. [there is nothing left for you to do to to be forgiven!] 19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness [parresia – free and fearless confidence] to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh…. [Again, Jesus BECAME the barrier, so that the barrier could be removed]

At the moment that Jesus was crucified, the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom by God Himself through the blood of His Son. The windows of heaven opened so that all people could have free and fresh access to the Father. At the end Jesus shouted, 

John 19:30 -“It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.

The same blood that tore the veil is the same blood that washed your sins away so that you could boldly enter the presence of God at the throne of grace! It’s a new and living way! The more we enjoy His presence the more abundantly alive we will be!

Evil Conscience

Hebrews 10:21-22 – and having a High Priest [Jesus Christ] over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience.

What is an “evil conscience?” The word “evil” there is the Greek word “poneros” and it means “full of labors, annoyances, hardships, pressed and harassed by labors.”

An evil conscience is a conscience that is always feeling down and condemned. It’s a conscience that is harassed and pressed by the labors, annoyances, and the hardships of our self-effort. 

It’s the KIND of conscience that will keep us from enjoying the new and living way of intimate fellowship with God. It’s the kind of conscience that says, “I better get right with God before I approach the throne of grace” – which is actually an oxymoron!

Before God we ought to have a debt-free, labor-free, hardship-free, hassle-free, guilt-free conscience. What kind of conscience is that? A conscience full of Jesus! 

Hebrews 10:23-25 – Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

That’s why it is so important to do what we’re doing right now. Each time we come together, we encourage one another to look to Jesus.

We stir up the good works in each other – not dead works. We’re not pressuring one another to work harder for God to earn His approval. We exhorting one another to remember the truth about who Jesus is, what He has accomplished, what that means for us, and who we are in Him.

And this is all the more important as we see the day of His glorious return approaching.

Copyright info: All scriptures in the New King James Version unless otherwise noted.

• (NKJV) New King James Version. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
• (NLT) Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
• (NASB) Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)