Under the old covenant, no one but the high priest could enter the Most Holy Place in the wilderness tabernacle and later in the temple in Jerusalem. Christ, in His office as our great high priest, took His blood not into the earthly Most Holy Place, but into the Most Holy Place of heaven itself. Now we can all draw near to God and have access to Him in a new way, for when Christ gave up His life on the cross, God reached down and tore the temple veil in two to signify that now there was no barrier between Himself and mankind. (Matthew 27:51) Through our faith in Christ, our prayers go directly to the throne room of Almighty God (the holiest place there is). We are able to speak with God in a new way: on the basis of our relationship with His Son. He will never turn a deaf ear or a blind eye to anyone whose life and whose sins are covered by the blood of Christ.
"Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, His body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water." (Hebrews 10:19-22) The high priests of the old covenant never entered the Most Holy Place with boldness. They knew they were weak and mortal men who were coming into the presence of a holy and righteous God. They knew they were coming into His presence with nothing but the blood of animals to serve as a temporary covering for their own sins and for the sins of the people. They knew they owed their own blood for their sins and that it was only the mercy of God that allowed animals to stand in for man year after year. The hearts of these priests must have been pounding so hard that they felt faint. Their knees must have been knocking together in fear. At this point, they'd done all they knew to do to sanctify themselves well enough to stand before God, but they couldn't be certain that they didn't harbor something unholy in their hearts. In that case, they knew that being struck dead in the Most Holy Place was a very real possibility. Ancient Jewish tradition states that the high priest had a rope tied to his ankle so that if he died in the Most Holy Place he could be pulled out, since no one would have been able to enter to retrieve his body.
But Christ, unlike the other high priests, entered the Most Holy Place with all the confidence that belongs to the perfect Son of God. He didn't tremble and feel faint when He presented His blood to God. Christ knew He had never sinned. He didn't have to repent of His own sins and sanctify Himself before making an offering to God on our behalf. Because His perfect sacrifice covers us, we too can go into the presence of God on the authority of Christ (not on our own authority) and on the basis of our relationship with Christ, and receive mercy and grace. (Hebrews 4:16) Our hearts have been sprinkled with His blood, as the author said above in verse 22. Our bodies have been washed by "pure water", as the author says in verse 22, likely referring to the baptism we undertake after accepting Christ, for this public practice symbolizes what has taken place on the inside.
Because we have been made new by Christ, and because He will never break a promise to us, the author urges us to stand firm in the faith. As the people of Christ we have a hope that can never be taken away from us. He is going to do for us everything He has said He will do. "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful." (Hebrews 10:23)
In addition to encouraging ourselves in the Lord, we are to encourage those around us. "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another---and all the more as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:24-25) How can we encourage each other if we never meet together? In these verses we can clearly see that we are commanded to be in church. We are told to add our physical presence to the body of believers. Just as the Bible tells us it was the habit of Jesus to be in the synagogue on the Sabbath (Luke 4:16), we are to attend church services and other types of gatherings where believers are present. We are living in a fallen world where we face trials and temptations every day; if we don't band together and support each other we are far more likely to fall into discouragement and to fall into sin. Attending a gathering of believers and finding out that prayers have been answered is one of the best ways to feel more hopeful about our circumstances. We can then say to ourselves, "If the Lord fixed Tom and Susie's marriage, He can fix mine too," or, "If the Lord brought Ellen's wayward prodigal son home, He can transform my wayward daughter's life," or, "If the Lord healed Frank of his serious health problems, He can heal me too."
Believe me, one of the things Satan wants most is to separate us from the body of believers. He's a roaring lion who is looking for the one who strays from the herd, because the one who drops behind the rest of the group is easier to pick off. So stay in church. Meet with a small prayer group on a regular basis. Spend time talking with and giving encouragement to fellow Christians. Let them give encouragement to you. Pray together over each other's needs. It's amazing how much your faith will grow when you do what Jesus did---when you make being in the Lord's house a habit.
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