Jubilee Community Church
Sunday Service
  • Pure
  • You Are My King (Amazing Love)
  • I Just Love You
  • Do It Again
  • God I'm Just Grateful
  • Come Jesus Come
  • What A God
  • Goodness Of God
  • Evidence
  • The Stand

  • "Let Us Draw Near, Let Us Hold Fast, Let Us Consider" — Hebrews 10:19–25

    Introduction

    Good morning. Before we move into worship, I want to slow down with you over one of the richest passages in the New Testament — a passage that actually sets up everything we'll dig into together this morning in the main service. Hebrews 10:19–25 is one long sentence in the Greek, built around three commands: let us draw near, let us hold fast, let us consider. Those three commands are the heartbeat of the Christian life — our relationship with God, our grip on the truth, and our relationship with one another.
    Let's read it together.
    Hebrews 10:19–25 ESV
    19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

    Background: Why This Passage Needed Writing

    To feel the weight of this, we have to remember who Hebrews was written to. This letter went out to Jewish believers who were tempted to drift back to the old covenant system — the temple, the sacrifices, the priesthood they'd known their whole lives. Some of them were facing real persecution for following Christ, and the old system must have looked safer, more familiar.
    The writer's whole argument across chapters 7–10 is this: everything the old covenant pointed to, Christ fulfilled — and He fulfilled it better. A better priest (ch. 7), a better covenant (ch. 8), a better sanctuary and sacrifice (ch. 9–10). By the time we land in 10:19, the writer is saying: therefore — because of all that — here's what it means for how you live.

    Drawing Near: What the Curtain Meant

    Verse 19–20 says we have confidence to enter the holy places "by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh."
    To understand this, picture the tabernacle, and later the temple. Inside was the Holy of Holies — the place where God's presence dwelt above the ark of the covenant. A thick veil separated that space from everyone else. Only the high priest could go in, only once a year, on the Day of Atonement, and only with blood (Leviticus 16). Any other approach meant death. That curtain wasn't decoration — it was a wall built to say: you cannot come close.
    When Jesus died, Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record the same detail: the temple curtain tore in two, from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51). Top to bottom — meaning it wasn't torn by human hands reaching up, but by God's hand reaching down. The writer of Hebrews says Jesus' own flesh, torn on the cross, is what that torn curtain pictures. His body became the way through.
    That's the "new and living way" — new because it had never existed before Christ, and living because it's not a one-time ritual but a permanent, ongoing access.

    Three Commands, One Flow

    1. Let us draw near (v. 22) — with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, hearts sprinkled clean, bodies washed with pure water. This language echoes the priestly consecration ceremonies of Exodus 29 and Leviticus 8, where priests were washed and marked before they could serve. Under the old system, that access belonged to priests alone. Under the new covenant, every believer is invited into that same nearness — not because we've earned it, but because Christ's blood has cleansed the conscience (v. 22) in a way animal sacrifice never could (Hebrews 10:1–4).
    2. Let us hold fast (v. 23) — the confession of our hope, without wavering. The Greek word for "hold fast" (katechō) carries the sense of gripping something tightly against pressure trying to pull it away. This isn't passive belief; it's active grip. And the anchor for that grip isn't our own strength — it's that "he who promised is faithful." Our confidence doesn't rest in how well we hold on, but in the character of the One we're holding onto.
    3. Let us consider (v. 24–25) — how to stir up one another to love and good works. The word for "consider" (katanoeō) means to fix your attention on something, to study it carefully. We're not just told to love each other in a vague way — we're told to think intentionally about how to provoke one another toward love and good works.

    The Verse Everyone Underlines

    Verse 25 is where most of us have heard this passage quoted before: "not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."
    Even in the first century, there were believers who had stopped gathering — likely out of fear of persecution, or the pull of the old system, or simply drifting. The writer doesn't scold them for doubt; he calls the neglect itself the danger. Why? Because verses 24 and 25 are connected. You cannot "stir up one another to love and good works" from a distance. Encouragement, accountability, and spiritual growth were never designed to happen in isolation.
    And notice the urgency: "all the more as you see the Day drawing near." The writer isn't just making a case for community for community's sake — he's saying that the nearer we get to Christ's return, the more essential the gathered church becomes, not less.

    Points of Application

    If you've been striving to feel worthy enough to approach God, this passage says the way is already open — through Christ, not your performance.Nearness is not earned, it's given.
    Wavering is normal; the command is to hold fast anyway, anchored in God's faithfulness rather than our emotional state.Hope needs a grip, not just a feeling.
    This passage doesn't present church attendance as a nice habit but as essential to spurring each other toward love and good works.Gathering is not optional maintenance — it's spiritual survival.

    Discussion Questions

    What does it mean practically to approach God with "full assurance of faith" rather than lingering guilt or doubt?
    Where do you find yourself wavering in your confession of hope, and what would it look like to hold fast this week?
    Hebrews 10:24 says to "consider how" to stir one another up — not just that we should. What's one specific way you could intentionally encourage someone in this room today?
    Why do you think the writer connects gathering together with the nearness of Christ's return? What does that tell us about the purpose of the church?

    Closing

    Church, this passage sets the table for everything we're about to do together this morning. The curtain is torn. The way is open. And this room — this gathering — is part of God's design, not an afterthought. Let's draw near, let's hold fast, and let's consider one another as we move into worship.

      • Hebrews 10:19–25ESV

      • Hebrews 10:24–25ESV

Jubilee Community Church
jubileeministries31773@gmail.com
229-224-3359
http://jccministries.org
10 members • 6 followers