Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Hebrews 10:22
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
22. Let us draw near ] We have seen throughout that the notion of free access and approach to God is prominent in the writer’s mind.
in full assurance of faith ] See Heb 6:11.
having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience ] That is, having our souls our inmost consciousness sprinkled as it were with the blood of Christ (Heb 9:14, Heb 12:24, 1Pe 1:2) and so cleansed from the consciousness of guilt. So the Jewish priests were purified from ceremonial defilement by being sprinkled with blood (Exo 29:21; Lev 8:30).
and our bodies washed ] The perfect participles in these clauses “ having been sprinkled,” “having been washed ” imply that it is to be done once and for ever. All Christians are priests to God (Rev 1:5-6); and therefore Christian Priests, before being permitted to approach to God, must, like the Jewish Priests (Exo 30:20), be sprinkled with the blood of Christ, and bathed in the water of baptism (Eph 5:26; Tit 3:5; 1Pe 3:21).
with pure water ] “I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean” (Eze 36:25).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Let us draw near with a true heart – In prayer and praise; in every act of confidence and of worship. A sincere heart was required under the ancient dispensation; it is always demanded of people when they draw near to God to worship him; see Joh 4:23-24. Every form of religion which God has revealed requires the worshippers to come with pure and holy hearts.
In full assurance of faith – see the word used here explained in the notes on Heb 6:11. The full assurance of faith means unwavering confidence; a fulness of faith in God which leaves no room for doubt. Christians are permitted to come thus because God has revealed himself through the Redeemer as in every way deserving their fullest confidence. No one approaches God in an acceptable manner who does not come to him in this manner. What parent would feel that a child came with any right feelings to ask a favour of him who had not the fullest confidence in him?
(This plerophoria, or full assurance of faith, is not, as many imagine, absolute certainty of a mans own particular salvation, for that is termed the full assurance of hope, Heb 6:11, and arises from faith and its fruits. But the full assurance of faith is the assurance of that truth, which is testified and proposed in the gospel, to all the hearers of it in common, to be believed by them, unto their salvation, and is also termed the full assurance of understanding; Col 2:2. Though all that the gospel reveals, claims the full assurance of faith, yet here it seems more particularly to respect the efficacy and all-sufficiency of Christs offering for procuring pardon and acceptance. – McLean.
Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience – By the blood of Jesus. This was prepared to make the conscience pure. The Jewish cleansing or sprinkling with blood related only to what was external, and could not make the conscience perfect Heb 9:9, but the sacrifice offered by the Saviour was designed to give peace to the troubled mind, and to make it pure and holy. An evil conscience is a consciousness of evil, or a conscience oppressed with sin; that is, a conscience that accuses of guilt. We are made free from such a conscience through the atonement of Jesus, not because we become convinced that we have not committed sin, and not because we are led to suppose that our sins are less than we had otherwise supposed – for the reverse of both these is true – but because our sins are forgiven, and since they are freely pardoned they no longer produce remorse and the fear of future wrath. A child that has been forgiven may feel that he has done very wrong, but still he will not be then overpowered with distress in view of his guilt, or with the apprehension of punishment.
And our bodies washed with pure water – It was common for the Jews to wash themselves, or to perform various ablutions in their services; see Exo 39:4; Exo 30:19-21; Exo 40:12; Lev 6:27; Lev 13:54, Lev 13:58; Lev 14:8-9; Lev 15:16; Lev 16:4, Lev 16:24; Lev 22:6; compare the notes on Mar 7:3. The same thing was also true among the pagan. There was usually, at the entrance of their temples, a vessel placed with consecrated water, in which, as Pliny says (Hist. Nat. lib. 15:c. 30), there was a branch of laurel placed with which the priests sprinkled all who approached for worship. It was necessary that this water should be pure, and it was drawn fresh from wells or fountains for the purpose. Water from pools and ponds was regarded as unsuitable, as was also even the purest water of the fountain, if it had stood long. AEneas sprinkled himself in this manner, as he was about to enter the invisible world (Aeneid vi. 635), with fresh water.
Porphyry says that the Essenes were accustomed to cleanse themselves with the purest water. Thus, Ezekiel also says, Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean. Sea-water was usually regarded as best adapted to this purpose, as the salt was supposed to have a cleansing property. The Jews who dwelt near the sea, were thence accustomed, as Aristides says, to wash their hands every morning on this account in the sea-water. Potters Greek Archae. i. 222. Rosenmuller, Alte und Neue Morgenland, in loc. It was from the pagan custom of placing a vessel with consecrated water at the entrance of their temples, that the Roman Catholic custom is derived in their churches of placing holy water near the door, that those who worship there may cross themselves. In accordance with the Jewish custom, the apostle says, that it was proper that under the Christian dispensation we should approach God, having performed an act emblematic of purity by the application of water to the body.
That there is an allusion to baptism is clear. The apostle is comparing the two dispensations, and his aim is to show that in the Christian dispensation there was everything which was regarded as valuable and important in the old. So he had shown it to have been in regard to the fact that there was a Lawgiver; that there was a great High Priest; and that there were sacrifices and ordinances of religion in the Christian dispensation as well as the Jewish. In regard to each of these, he had shown that they existed in the Christian religion in a much more valuable and important sense than under the ancient dispensation. In like manner it was true, that as they were required to come to the service of God, having performed various ablutions to keep the body pure, so it was with Christians. Water was applied to the Jews as emblematic of purity, and Christians came, having had it applied to them also in baptism, as a symbol of holiness.
It is not necessary, in order to see the force of this, to suppose that water had been applied to the whole of the body, or that they had been completely immersed, for all the force of the reasoning is retained by the supposition that it was a mere symbol or emblem of purification. The whole stress of the argument here turns, not on the fact that the body had been washed all over, but that the worshipper had been qualified for the spiritual service of the Most High in connection with an appropriate emblematic ceremony. The quantity of water used for this is not a material point, any more than the quantity of oil was in the ceremony of inaugurating kings and priests. This was not done in the Christian dispensation by washing the body frequently, as in the ancient system, nor even necessarily by washing the whole body – which would no more contribute to the purity of the heart than by application of water to any part of the body, but by the fact that water had been used as emblematic of the purifying of the soul. The passage before us proves, undoubtedly:
(1)That water should be applied under the new dispensation as an ordinance of religion; and,
(2)That pure water should be used – for that only is a proper emblem of the purity of the heart.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Heb 10:22-24
Let us draw near
A triplet of exhortations
I.
DRAWING NEAR. Observe by way of contrast
1. Moses at the burning bush. Draw not nigh hither. Fire symbolic of judgment. God cannot thus be approached unto.
2. Children of Israel of Mount Sinai. The injunction given to stand off from the mount, God present in holiness, requiring perfect obedience to His law. This man could not render. Therefore there was no hope of being reconciled to God by the law.
3. Yet now the apostle says, Let us draw near. How is this? Because
(1) Christ hast fulfilled the law–He has become a daysman between us and God,
(2) God has drawn near to us.
(3) He Himself has invited us to draw near-Come unto Me, &c.
II. HOLDING FAST. A very necessary injunction in these days of apostasy from the faith.
1. What not to hold fast
(1) Human traditions. These are useful in so far as they are in accordance with Divine revelation, but are to be specially shunned when they make the Word of God of none effect.
(2) The speculations of theologians. These vary as the wind, and are not to be relied upon.
2. But
(1) The profession or confession of our faith without wavering–If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus thou shalt be saved.
(2) The faith itself once delivered to the saints. Why? That others may see the good works that spring from a lively faith, and be led to ask for the old paths.
III. CONSIDERING ONE ANOTHER.
1. HOW may we do this?
(1) By loving rebuke–not from the love of fault-finding. Faithful are the wounds of a friend.
(2) By showing love to our fellows. Christs new commandment: Love one another.
(3) By obeying the injunction–Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Bear one anothers burdens. Wash one anothers feet.
2. What would be the result of thus considering one another?
(1) More unity among believers.
(2) More power in the Church.
(3) More blessing in the world.
(4) More glory to God.
Application:
1. To the sinner. You are yet afar off. Christ invites you to Him. He will abundantly pardon.
2. To the believer. You need, every day–yea, every hour–to be coming to Christ for blessing. (H. Whittaker.)
Christian life
I. “LET US DRAW NEAR. Us. All Christians. Christianity is a spiritual democracy. Near. The middle wall is gone; Jews and Gentiles are near to each other. How?
1. With the heart. Some honour God with their lips, bug their heart is far from Him. You meet an acquaintance, and complain that he was distant, i.e., he was not hearty.
2. With sincerity. A true heart. We may be hearty without being honest.
3. With faith. Note the relative position of this. Only hearty and honest seekers will ever be true believers, such always will in an honest and good heart receive the word. Bug though faith is placed after heartiness and honesty, let it not be overlooked-otherwise our coming is vain.
4. With a pure heart. Sprinkled from an evil conscience, &c. Conscience no longer accuses; our sins are forgiven. Conscience no longer sleeps, allowing us to sin, but is restored to its original office. Conscience is no longer defiled; it is washed, purged. Outward life is, therefore, right–Our bodies washed with pure water.
II. LET US HOLD FAST.
1. What to? The profession of our faith, or, the confession of our hope. This is a better rendering. Christianity is a hope–Christ in you the hope of glory. That is Christianity in a sentence. The confession is the outward sign of the invisible hope. Duty to confess, and to hold fast to the confession.
2. Hold fast. A drowning man, holding a rope, brings all the nervous force of his system into his hands, and clings for dear life. Put all the force of the soul into faith, and so cling to Jesus.
3. Without wavering. Very fashionable now to doubt; and we are told if, we certainly believe anything we cannot grow. Be it so. We can only be safe, happy, strong, or useful, by being fully decided–by ceasing to waver.
III. LET US CONSIDER. A Christian man is a thoughtful man. From the nature of his position–saved from the wreck–he is in a position to look around–to think.
1. To provoke one another. Not to say: I am safe, or, I shall enjoy religion; but to consider the work of your fellows and the wants of others. Not to say: How little can I do, but how much.
2. Provoke one another.
3. To love and good works. Who shall love most, who shall do most, is the only question worth asking- the only provocation Christianity allows. (J. Colwell.)
Faith, hope, and love:
The apostles great argument is concluded, and the result is placed before us in a very short summary. We have boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way; and we have in the heavenly sanctuary a great Priest over the house of God. On this foundation rests a threefold exhortation.
1. Let us draw near with a true heart, in the full assurance of faith.
2. Let us hold fast the profession of hope without wavering.
3. Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works, labouring and waiting together, and helping one another in the unity of brethren. Faith, hope, and love–this is the threefold result of Christs entrance into heaven, spiritually discerned.
A believing, hoping, and loving attitude of heart corresponds to the new covenant revelation of Divine grace.
1. Having received, through Christs sacrifice and Christs present priesthood boldness, a full right of access into the holy of holies, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith. The privilege is right of access unto God, the duty is that of approach; and no man values the right of access who does not desire to approach. There can be nothing which really satisfies the heart of any man in being told that he is at liberty to approach God, if he has no inclination to approach unto God. We can only approach with our heart, and by faith, which has its seat in the heart; with a heart which is in earnest, true, and purposeful in this very work of approach. God desireth truth in the inward part. A true heart is a heart which accepts the testimony of God, which distrusts itself, which believes Gods Word, declaring our sin, guilt, and helplessness, and which responds simply, and without reservation, humbly and joyfully to the Divine gospel of the gift of God, eternal life through the righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ. A true heart is a heart purified by trust in Jesus. A true heart is a heart which desires to be with God and to live unto Him. What is meant by full assurance of faith? Nothing else but faith in full, vigorous, healthy exercise. Faith in what? Not faith in our having faith, in our being accepted; but faith that we have a right of access, that Jesus is the living way, and that He is the High Priest in the holy of holies. The object of faith, of the weakest and smallest spark of faith, as much as of faith in plenitude or full assurance, is not ourselves, but Christ in His person and work. The eye does not see itself; faith is not to stand on itself; your full assurance is to be that Christs blood is precious, and that He has entered as the Forerunner. Then you are at peace. Faith means trust, reliance, confidence, leaning. There is no other worthy of trust, none else reliable but Jesus. But if you wish to have an additional object of faith in your own progress and spirituality, you are, like Peter, looking away from Jesus unto the unstable sea. Nor have I any other proof of my faiths genuineness yesterday, but my exercising faith this moment. It is an ever-present tense–He that believeth hath eternal life.
2. We are exhorted to hold fast the profession of our hope without wavering. Before the First Advent believers looked forward in faith and hope to the good things to come. Believing the promise, they expected in hope the glory of Messiahs reign. With us this unity of faith and hope is substantially the same; but it appears now in a twofold manner. Faith rests on the past, the accomplished work of Jesus; hope looks to the future, the return of our Saviour. And the more we realise Jesus as the living Lord, the more shall we look forward, waiting for His coming, and going forth to meet Him. If we believe that He has come, we also hope that He will come. The profession of our hope is most practical and testing. Hereby we profess that we are strangers and pilgrims upon earth, that we are seeking heavenly things, labouring for heavenly rewards, laying up for ourselves heavenly treasures. We must forsake the sins, pleasures, and honours of Egypt; we must purify ourselves, as Christ is pure. If we profess hope, we must also rejoice, though we be in tribulation; we must view the sufferings and trials of this present life as not worthy to be compared with the coming glory. Then hope, resting on faith, supports faith, and fills us with courage and patience. Till I come, is the voice of the Saviour, when faith beholds His dying love; and going forth to meet Him, going forth out of the worlds sin, bondage, gloom, is the response of the bride.
3. But in thus drawing near unto God, and holding fast the profession of our hope, we must bear in mind that we are called to be a brotherhood, and that faith and hope are to be exercised in love. We are the body of Christ, and members one of another. We are to please not ourselves, but our brother unto edification. We are to consider one another as fellow pilgrims; to study our brothers need and sorrow, difficulty and trial; to exercise our mind on our duty and relation to him, that thus we may be helpful to him in his course, and stimulate and encourage him to good works. To consider one another in the right spirit is to look above all at the Christian character of our brother; to regard him, not so much in the light of his natural disposition; to love him, not so much on account of qualities congenial and pleasing to us; still less to exercise criticism, and to cherish suspicion and uncharitable judgment; but to fix our thought on the one great fact of brotherhood in Christ. And running together in a holy rivalry the same race, we should behold in our brother features of Christian character and activity in which we are deficient. And in this spirit of love we should cherish Christian communion; not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together. Christianity is eminently an individual heart-affair; but it is also eminently social. The promise of Christs presence is to the assembly gathered in His name. (A. Saphir.)
Drawing near to God
I. WHAT IS IMPLIED IN THIS, Let us draw near.
1. Sin has set us at a distance from God (Isa 59:2).
2. Sinners stand at a distance from God till they be called, and that powerfully (Joh 6:44).
(1) Insensible sinners will not (Joh 5:40).
(2) Sensible sinners dare not (Luk 5:8).
II. WE MAY DRAW NEAR TO GOD. Glad news this to poor sensible sinners! Come in, ye blessed of the Lord; why do you stand back? you may draw near to God. For
1. God is on a throne of grace in Jesus Christ (2Co 5:19).
2. There is a way to the throne never trod, nor designed to be trod, by any but sinners such as you, and the like of you. This is no back entry, but the most glorious way to the throne. Adam had a way to it, but that is blocked up; there is a new and living way consecrated for us (Heb 10:20).
3. He is a friend of ours who is set over the house of God (Heb 10:21).
III. WE OUGHT TO DRAW NEAR: Let us draw near. For
1. It is the command of God (Jam 4:8).
2. If we do not draw near to God, we dis-honour His Son, and so dishonour Himself, in so far as we frustrate the great design of the mystery of Christ (Joh 5:23).
IV. PRACTICAL IMPROVEMENT OF THE SUBJECT, in an use of exhortation.
1. Come back, sinners, draw near towards God and duty. What have you gained by going from Him?
2. Not only draw towards God, but come forward, and draw near to Him as a God in Christ. You may get near to Him ere you come to heaven; in His ordinances in the lower house, there you may have access to Him. Particularly, let us draw near to Him
(1) In prayer (chap. 4:16).
(2) In the holy sacrament of the supper. God is again coming to us in that ordinance: an ordinance appointed for the most special nearness out of heaven (1Co 10:16).
3. Let us draw near in these ordinances
(1) As rebels accepting the Kings peace, indemnity in the blood of His Son; draw near, and welcome (Isa 27:5).
(2) As petitioners to the King.
(3) As servants of the house, to serve our Lord, to wait upon Him, and behold His glory (Psa 116:16).
(4) As friends; friends of God, to have fellowship with Him, who may freely converse with Him: to unbosom ourselves to Him, and to be let into the secrets of the covenant (Joh 15:15).
(5) As children to a Father in Christ, to receive the portion of children.
(6) As a spouse to a husband, for our Maker is our Husband. Let us embrace Him in the arms of faith, give the love of the heart to Him a full Son 8:6).
4. But how must the business of our drawing near to God be managed? The apostle here lays down four directions:
(1) Draw near to God sincerely. Hypocrisy is a disease in the vitals of religion; it pretends one thing and intends another.
(2) Draw near in the full assurance of faith. Faiths special object is the blood of Christ.
(3) Get your hearts beforehand sprinkled from an evil conscience. Are you to come to His table? pray that all controversies be done away between you and Him. If you are to appear before the Lord, go, dip, wash, bathe in the fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness (Zec 13:1) that you may be clean.
(4) Let your outward conversation be blameless, free from scandalous sins Psa 24:4). (T. Boston, D. D.)
Drawing near to God
I. THE DUTY HERE ENJOINED. To draw near to God, in the sense of our text, is to seek Him in the use of the appointed means of grace, that we may be restored to His favour and image, and enjoy a heartfelt sense of that restoration.
1. We draw near to God when we engage properly in the solemn exercise of public worship.
2. Again, we draw near to God when we engage properly in the exercise of social worship.
3. We also draw near to God, in a peculiar sense, when we engage properly in the exercise of secret devotion.
II. How THIS DUTY MAY BE ACCEPTABLY PERFORMED. TO draw near with a true heart, means to worship God with sincerity, which is an indispensable ingredient in Christian piety. But do not confound sincerity with worthiness: that is another thing altogether. If we wait for a blessing at the hand of God till we are worthy of it, we shall die unblessed, and be lost for ever. We have nothing to plead but the worthy name of Jesus, and we need no other; and while we pray in His name, we may know ourselves sincerer however unworthy. The assurance of faith is a firm persuasion, a satisfactory evidence, that God does accept, pardon, save, and bless us, for Christs sake; and this firm persuasion, this satisfactory evidence, arises, not only from the exceeding great and precious promises of His Word, but chiefly from the direct influence of His Spirit, bearing witness with our spirit that we are His children. Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience. There are some evils from which a man may escape; but shall a man flee from a guilty conscience? As well might he endeavour to escape from his shadow when the sun is shining. Wherever he goes, or whatever he does, he feels self-reproach and a sense of the displeasure of the Almighty. Now let us accept the call of grace, be sprinkled from an evil conscience, and restored to the favour and image of God, that, like the apostle, we may have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men. And our bodies washed with pure water, in Christian baptism. Water baptism is an outward sign of the inward grace of purification.
III. A FEW BRIEF, PRACTICAL INFERENCES.
1. The first inference from the whole subject is, whoever neglects the means of grace, deprives himself of religious enjoyment.
2. The next inference is, they who use the means of grace will profit thereby.
3. Finally, we infer from this text, what is elsewhere plainly declared, Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. (T. A. Morris, D. D.)
Approach to God
On one occasion the Reformer paid a pastoral visit to a young scholar who was in his last illness, and one of the first inquiries made was, What do you think you can take to God, in whose presence you are so shortly to appear? With striking confidence the youth at once replied, Everything that is good, dear father–everything that is good! But how can you bring Him everything good, seeing that you are but a poor sinner? anxiously asked the Doctor. Dear father, at once added the young man, I will take to my God in heaven a penitent, humble heart, sprinkled with the blood of Christ. Truly that is everything good, answered Luther. Then go, dear son; you will be a welcome guest to God. (Anecdotes of Luther.)
Abiding in the holiest of all:
Some speak as if the Let us draw near meant prayer, and that in our special approach to God in acts of worship we enter the holiest of all. No; great as this privilege is, God has meant something for us infinitely greater. We are to draw near, and dwell always, to live our life and do our work within the sphere, the atmosphere of the inner sanctuary. It is Gods presence makes holy ground; Gods immediate presence in Christ makes any place the holiest of all: and this is it into which we are to draw nigh, and in which we are to abide. There is not a single moment of the day, there is not a circumstance or surrounding, in which the believer may not be kept dwelling in the secret place of the Most
High. (Andrew Murray.)
The effect of dwelling in the holiest of all:
Enter into the holiest of all, and dwell there. It will enter thee, and transform thee and dwell in thee.
And thy heart will be the holiest of all, in which He dwells. (Andrew Murray,)
Full assurance of faith
Assurance of faith, and assurance of salvation:
The full assurance of faith is a firm and full reliance on God and on. Christ, founded on a firm conviction that what is made known to us in the gospel is true. It has nothing to do with a belief in, or persuasion of, our own personal salvation. No one need wait, then, for this before he approaches God in prayer. Without any thought of self, except as we are conscious of weakness, of want, and of unworthiness, we may with boldness enter in the holiest of all, if we have a firm faith in God and in Christ. Is there, then, some may be ready to ask, no such thing as assurance of personal salvation? Granting that this is not to be confounded with that full assurance of faith of which the apostle speaks, may there not, nevertheless, be such a thing as this personal assurance of salvation, and may we not speak of it under other and more appropriate phraseology? To this I reply at once that there is such a thing, and that Christians may not only speak of it, but ought to seek earnestly, each one for himself, to attain to it. Christians are enjoined to examine themselves, so as to ascertain whether they are in a state of salvation or not; to be very earnest and diligent to certify their calling and election of God; to desire and aim at the attainment of firm and steadfast hope of eternal blessedness: and to regard the possession of joy in the Lord as a blessing to be asked of God, and a state of mind to be continually cherished by the believer. But obviously all this would be in vain if it be not possible for Christians to have some well-founded assurance that they are in a state of salvation. But whilst this seems unquestionably true, and whilst, therefore, there is such a thing as personal assurance of salvation, the doctrine has often been presented in such a way as to engender serious mistakes and lead to very dangerous errors. To some of them I must now advert.
1. It is an error to suppose that assurance of personal salvation does not admit of degrees; in other words, that it may be as full and strong in one just entering on the Christian life as it can be in one who has kept the faith for many years, and has passed through the varied experience of the Christian course. In ordinary cases, says a man eminent for his ability, piety, and experience, I entertain a better opinion of the modest, doubting, and fearful professor than of the bold and assured one.
2. Another error on this head is, that assurance of personal salvation is essential to salvation. This is held by those who teach that the faith which justifies is a confident assurance that the individual is himself in Christ, and so saved; and it is involved in the opinion of those who teach that every man who is in Christ knows this, and so is assured of his own safety. Now nothing can be more unscriptural than such doctrines. In all the New Testament there is not a single instance in which the apostles indicate, in the most distant way, that saving faith is a mans belief in his own salvation. No; their invariable cry was, Repent, and believe in Christ; accept the offered salvation through faith in Him. Trust in Him; rest on Him; come unto God through Him and be saved. It is no doubt true that to believe in Christ is to trust in Him for our own individual salvation, for the forgiveness of our own sins and the salvation of our own souls. But to trust in Him for our salvation is a very different thing from believing that we are actually saved in Him; to have assurance that His work affords a sufficient ground for us to rest upon as well as others, is a very different thing from having assurance that we are actually resting on that work for salvation; to know that Christ loved the Church, and gave Himself for it, is a very different thing from knowing that He loved us and gave Himself for us. Nothing, says the sagacious Andrew Fuller, can be an object of faith except what God has revealed in His Word; but the interest that any individual has in Christ, and the blessings of the Gospel, more than another is not revealed. God has nowhere declared concerning any of us, as individuals, that we shall be saved; all that He has revealed on this subject respects us as characters. He has abundantly promised that all who believe in Him, love Him, and obey Him shall be saved; and a persuasion, that if we sustain these characters we shall be saved is doubtless an exercise of faith; but whether we do or not is an object not of faith, but of consciousness The grand object on which faith fixes is the glory of Christ, and not the happy condition we are in as interested in Him If we be concerned only for our own security, our faith is vain, and we are yet in our sins. To these wise and weighty words I can add nothing, and nothing needs to be added.
3. The last error I notice is, that we can arrive at assurance of our own personal salvation otherwise than by means of a holy life. This is the criterion which Scripture everywhere proposes; and when any other is proposed, the door is opened for all manner of delusions and fanaticism. If men imagine they can directly see the existence of faith in their souls, or if they suppose that a conviction of their being of the number of the elect is borne in on their souls by the Holy Spirit, or if they infer from some pleasant feelings in their own minds that they are the objects of Gods favour, they are either deluding themselves with what is impossible, or they are trusting to what may be a mere fancy or passing emotion of their own minds. The only sure evidence of our being in a state of grace, is our being in heart and life holy. From this two things follow. The one is, that no man can in this life be absolutely sure that he is sated, because no man in this life can become perfectly holy; the other is, that as holiness of heart and life is salvation, it is only in proportion as this is attained that we have any real ground for believing that we are personally saved. By their fruits, said our Lord, ye shall know them. The great thing for us is to apply the right test to ourselves, and to look for those signs of salvation in ourselves which our Lord and His apostles have laid down, that we might try ourselves by them. (W. L. Alexander, D. D.)
Full assurance of faith:
Not with a quarter or half wind, but with full assurance, such a gale of faith as fills the sails of the soul, and makes it set up its top-gallant as it were. (J. Trapp.)
Hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience
Sins of ignorance and weakness:
Among the reasons which may be assigned for the observance of prayer at stated times, there is one which is very obvious, and yet perhaps is not so carefully remembered and acted upon as it should be. I mean the necessity of sinners cleansing themselves from time to time of the ever-accumulating guilt which loads their consciences. We are ever sinning; and though Christ has died once for all to release us from our penalty, yet we are not pardoned once for all, but according as, and whenever each of us supplicates for the gift. By the prayer of faith we appropriate it; but only for the time, not for ever. Guilt is again contracted, and must be again repented of and washed away.
1. First consider our present condition, as shown us in Scripture. Christ has not changed this, though He has died; it is as it was from the beginning–I mean our actual state as men. The history of redemption, if it is to be effectual, must begin from the beginning with every individual of us, and be curried on through our own life.
(1) When this is borne in mind, how important the Jewish Law becomes to us Christians! important in itself, over and above all references contained in it to that gospel which it introduced. To this day it fulfils its original purpose of impressing upon man his great guilt and feebleness. Those legal sacrifices and purifications which are now all done away, are still evidence to us of a fact which the gospel has not annulled–our corruption.
(2) Next, to pass from the Jewish law, you will observe that God tells us expressly in the history of the fall of Adam, what the legal ceremonies implied; that it is our very nature which is sinful. Herein is the importance of the doctrine of original sin. It is very humbling, and as such the only true introduction to the preaching of the gospel. Thy first father hath sinned: this is the legend on our forehead which even the sign of the Cross does no more than blot out, leaving the mark of it. This is our shame; but I notice it here, not so much as a humbling thought, as with a view of pressing upon Tour consciences the necessity of appearing before God at stated seasons, in order to put aside the continually-renewed guilt of your nature. Who will dare go on day after day in neglect of earnest prayer, and the Holy Communion, while each day brings its own fearful burden, coming as if spontaneously, springing from our very nature, but not got rid of without deliberate and direct acts of faith in the Great Sacrifice which has been set forth for its removal?
(3) Further, look into your own souls and see if you cannot discern some part of the truth of the Scripture statement, which I have been trying to set before you. Recollect the bad thoughts of various kinds which come into your minds like darts; for these will be some evidence to you of the pollution and odiousness of your nature. Even if you reject them, still do they not answer Satans purpose m inflaming your mind at the instant, and so evidence that the matter of which it is composed is corruptible?
2. Again, reflect on the habits of sin which we super-added to our evil nature before we turned to God. Instead of checking the bad elements within us, perhaps we indulged them for years; and they truly had their fruit unto death. Then Adams sin increased, and multiplied itself within us; there was a change, but it was for the worse, not for the better; and the new nature we gained, far from being spiritual, was twofold more the child of hell than that with which we were born. So when, at length, we turned back into a better course, what a complicated work lay before us, to unmake ourselves! And however long we have laboured at it, still how much unconscious, unavoidable sin, the result of past transgression, is thrown out from our hearts day by day in the energy of our thinking and acting!
3. Further, consider how many sins are involved in our obedience, I may say from the mere necessity of the case; that is, from not having that more vigorous and clear-sighted faith which would enable us accurately to discern and closely to follow the way of life. We stand before God as the Israelites at the passover of Hezekiah, who desired to serve God according to the Law, but could not do so accurately from lack of knowledge; and we can but offer, through our Great High Priest, our sincerity and earnestness instead of exact obedience, as Hezekiah did for them. What I have said is a call upon you, in the first place, to daily private prayer. Next, it is a call upon you to join the public services of the Church, not only once a week, but whenever you have the opportunity; knowing well that your Redeemer is especially present where two or three are gathered together. Christ died once, long since: by communicating in His Sacrament, you renew the Lords death: you bring into the midst of you that Sacrifice which took away the sins of the world; you appropriate the benefit of it, while you eat it under the elements of bread and wine. (J. H.Newman, D. D.)
Healing the evil conscience:
Suppose that all the people in the place where we live had some disease of the eye, and that in consequence some were not able to see at all, while none of them were able to see anything clearly. What a sad state of things this would be! We read of persons in the Bible who were just in this condition (2Ki 6:1-33.). It is a good thing that we have no such trouble with our bodily eyes; but the soul has an eye as well as the body. God has put these eyes in our bodies that we may see where to go and what to do. And so God has given to our souls that which we call conscience, and which shows us what is right and what is wrong–what we ought to do and what we ought not to do. But the apostle speaks in our text of an evil conscience. This means a conscience that has been injured like a diseased eye, so that we cannot see clearly.
I. WHAT IS THE USE OF CONSCIENCE?
1. To guide us and keep us from doing wrong. You know we have reins for our horses to keep them in the way they should go; and our consciences are the reins by which God guides us, and if we only mind the reins we shall save ourselves from sin and sorrow.
2. To keep an account of what we do. Conscience is Gods scribe or private secretary; it writes down all that we do, or say, or think, or feel. During the reign of Queen Mary, Bishop Latimer was brought to trial for conscience sake. In the room in which the trial took place was a curtain, and behind this curtain a man writing. Whenever the bishop answered a question he heard the sound of this mans pen as he wrote down each word that was spoken. The bishop said that the sound of that pen made him very careful to say nothing but what was strictly true. And this shows us how we should act at all times. Conscience, Gods secretary, is writing down everything that we do, whether it be good or whether it be evil. And the book in which this is written is the book of Gods remembrance, of which the Bible tells us, and out of which we are to be judged at last.
3. As a detector, to find out sin after it has been committed. You know we have what are called detective police. When a robbery has taken place, or a murder has been committed, the business of these men is to try and find out the guilty ones. And God makes use of conscience as His detective police to find out those who have sinned secretly.
II. How MAY CONSCIENCE BE INJURED?
1. By not giving it good light. We have compared conscience to the eye of the soul. We may also compare it to the window of the soul. A window is of use for letting light into room, and also for looking through, that we may see what is outside of the window. But if we wish to have a correct view of the things that we are looking at through a window, what sort of glass is it necessary to have in the window? Clear glass. Suppose that the glass in the window instead of being clear is stained glass–one pane red, another blue, another yellow, and another green. When we look through the red glass what colour will the things be that we are looking at? Red. And so, when we look through the blue glass all things will be blue, they will be yellow when we look through the yellow glass, and green when we look through the green glass. But suppose we have thick, heavy shutters to the window, and keep them closed. Can we see anything through the window then? No. And can we see anything in the room when the shutters are closed? No; it will be dark. And conscience is like a window in this respect. We must keep the shutters open and the windows clean, so that plenty of pure light can get in if we wish to see things plainly. Gods blessed Word, the Bible, gives us exactly the kind of light we need in order to have a good conscience. Let us be careful that we do not injure our consciences by not letting in this light.
2. By not minding what they say. The apostle Paul speaks in one place of mens consciences, which, he says, have been seared with a hot iron 1Ti 4:2). Notice how thin and tender is the skin on your hand or face. It is so delicate that it can feel the slightest touch. Not even a feather can rest upon it without your feeling it. But suppose you should have a red-hot iron applied to your hand. It would burn the skin off, and make a sore which would give you great pain. Afterwards it would heal over, and the skin would grow again, but the new skin would be very different from that on your hand now. Instead of being smooth and tender like this, it would be rough and hard, and have very little feeling. And the apostle means to say that if we do not mind what our consciences tell us we shall injure them just as the skin of our hand is injured by being seared with a hot iron. You know what an alarm-clock is. It is a kind of clock made to wake persons at a particular hour by making a loud noise. Suppose you have one of these clocks, and you wish it to waken you so that you can rise every morning at four oclock. You wind it up at night and set the index-finger on the dial-plate pointing to four. The clock keeps on through the night, ticking away, till four oclock in the morning. Then it begins to strike and ring, and makes such a racket as is sure to wake any ordinary sleeper. This is a very convenient way of being roused from sleep. Yes, it is a sure way, if you only mind the clock, and get up when it calls you. But if you turn over and go to sleep again for two or three mornings, the alarum-clock will lose its power, or rather you will lose your power of hearing it or of being awakened by it. No change will take place in the clock, but a great change will take place in yon. The clock will continue to sound the alarm at the proper hour, and it will make as much noise as ever it did, but it will lose its effect. You will sleep quietly on, just as though the alarm had never been given. Now, conscience is Gods alarum-clock. If we stop when it says stop, if we do what it tells us to do, then we shall always hear it; but if we get into the habit of not heeding its warning, and not doing what it tells us to do, then by and by we shall cease to hear it.
III. How MAY AN EVIL CONSCIENCE BE HEALED? The answer to this question will depend upon the way in which we injure our consciences. We may injure them by doing wrong to those about us, or by sinning against God. And this must be taken into account in saying how the injured conscience can be healed. Suppose we feel distressed in our consciences on account of some wrong done to a friend or neighbour; then the way to get rid of this trouble, and heal our injured conscience, is to go and tell that friend of the fault–to say that we are sorry for it, and ask his forgiveness, thus making up for the wrong we have done. But if our consciences are troubled on account of our sins against God, then how are they to be healed. How are we to get rid of this trouble? Oh, it is dreadful to feel that God is angry with us I When we know that this is the case we never can be happy till our sins are pardoned and our consciences are healed; and it is for this reason that the Bible tells us of Jesus as the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world. He shed His precious blood and died for us on purpose that our sins may be pardoned, and we may be at peace with God. And this is what the apostle refers to in the text when he speaks of having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience. (R. Newton, D. D.)
The cure for an evil conscience
Of course, the expression sprinkled is metaphorical. It means that we must receive into our hearts a sense and full belief of the efficacy of the death of Jesus Christ to cancel all our guilt and condemnation, and of the power of the Holy Spirit to make us yet good and holy and fit for the presence of God. And when we use the word sprinkled, it is to convey the excessive strength and efficacy and virtue of the grace of God–so that even though we may not yet be flooded with that spiritual blood and that spiritual water, its very drops will do the work I And if only you let your heart be imbued with the love of Jesus Christ and the faith which is in Him, and if you accept the gentle distillings of the Holy Ghost upon your soul, you shall be saved–saved from the torment of your own conscience now, and from the worm that dieth not, and the fire that never shall be quenched hereafter–because then the conscience that you are in Christ–and the conscience which God will give you of His perfect pardon and love–will entirely neutralise and destroy all power to hurt and distress you–in the conscience of all the sins you have ever done; and the sprinkled heart will kill the venom of an evil conscience. That gnawing canker! that dogging fear! that burden too heavy to be borne! that black future! There they are! Who sent them?
God. And why did He send them? Because He loves you. And who shall take them away? God. Only God. Place yourself under the sprinkling; if you cannot, ask Him to place you. Beg the great High Priest to sprinkle you; to do it at once, because you are at the worst, and just going to die. The water and the blood are always in His hand. And He is always pouring them out. Only lay bare your secret. Then open your heart of hearts to take it in. (J. Vaughan, M. A.)
An evil conscience:
When the compass loses its proper polarity at sea, the whole course of the vessel might be altered by it; and when the conscience loses its right direction, its responsibility to God, its deference and inclination to His law, by its continued violation of the higher duties, the heart is filled with fears, the dispensations of Providence are suspected to be judgments, when they may be real and satisfying mercies.
Conscience
Neighbour Jones has a conscience that looks forward and keeps him from doing wrong. But neighbour Smiths conscience is of the ex post facto order, never manifesting itself till after the wrong deed is done, and then acting as a terrible avenger. How many there are of this kind, always sinning and always repenting! No class of men, in a moral point of view, suffer so much as they.
An evil conscience
When Professor Webster was awaiting his trial, he brought against his fellowprisoners the charge of insulting him through the walls of his cell, and screaming to him, You are a bloody man! On examination it was found that the charge was wholly groundless, and that these accusing voices were imaginary, being but the echo of a guilty conscience. If such things can be done in earths prisons, what are sinners to look for in a future world? Oh, what taunts and curses shall pierce the ears of these who lie down in hell! Conscience will have a terrific power of starting such accusations, and then an ear of keen sensibility to receive the echoes as they roll back upon the soul What an occupation for eternity! What inconceivable agony to be shut up with the ghostly memories of past sin, and to hear, through long centuries of gloom and despair, only the uttered and echoed curses which sin brings down upon the soul! Oh for that grace which sprinkles our hearts from an evil conscience!
Saved from an evil conscience:
The sailors on the French coast have a legend, that beneath the waters as they lap the shore, deep down, there are the ruins of a buried city, and that on still, quiet nights it is possible for a voyager to overhear the music of the church bells as they gently sound fathoms deep. So in the heart of every man there is, deep down, the buried power of conscience, and in days of pain and sickness and loneliness and bereavement, of holy ministry and quickening, the voice of conscience, fathoms deep, is heard in the breast of man, speaking for God and truth, and of judgment to come. (F. B. Meyer, B. A.)
Hold fast the profession of our faith
Holding fast our profession:
I. WHAT WE ALREADY HAVE by the grace of God. If we read the text according to our present authorised translation, we have faith. We have made a public avowal of our faith. We have obtained what the apostle calls like precious faith: it is a rare jewel, and he is rich that possesseth it. But another reading–and a very good reading too–runs thus: The confession of our hope. If we have faith we have hope. We will take both renderings; for they are both correct in fact if not in the letter. We have a blessed hope, a hope most sure and steadfast, which entereth into that which is within the veil. The day of our Lords appearing will be the day of the redemption of the body from the dust with which it mingles. We have a joyful, glorious, blessed hope which purifies, and comforts, and strengthens, and sustains us, and this hope is in us now. Are we not enriched with the grace of God? Where faith and hope are found, love cannot be far off; for the three Divine sisters are seldom separated. Let us love the Lord who has given us the first two.
II. We have made A PROFESSION OF OUR FAITH, AND A CONFESSION OF OUR HOPE, By the memories of the day when you made that profession, be firm in it to the end. If you were not false then, if you were not deceivers then, hold fast the confession of your hope without wavering, for He is faithful that promised. Let us remember also the many times in which we have repeated that profession of faith, that confession of hope; for instead of retracting it, we have gone on to repeat it. We have been marked anew with the Kings name. If you ask how you have renewed your vows, I reply: you have done it many a time at the table of communion. You have repeated your profession in the shop, and in the market, and in the place of business, and among your friends, and in your family, and to the partner of your life. Those around you know you to be professedly an heir of heaven, a child of God: it is well that they should. We have considered how we began this profession, and we have also seen how often we have made it since. Let us think for a minute what it has cost us. Religion has cost many of its disciples somewhat dear: but it has cost nothing compared with its worth. What bashfulness it cost you to make the first confession of your faith! What a struggle it then appeared! You cried to God about it and you obtained courage; and now you wonder how you could have been so foolishly timid. Do not in future fall into the same fears. But perhaps some of you lost the friendship of many by becalming disciples of the Lord Jesus. I know one who became a member of this Church: she had moved in high and fashionable circles, but she said to me, They have left me–everyone of them. I said, I am very thankful; for it will save you the trouble of quitting them. They will do you no good if they profess to be your friends; and they will do you less harm by giving you the cold shoulder. It is about the best thing that happens to a Christian man when worldlings cut his acquaintance.
III. WHAT ARE WE NOW TO DO?
1. We are called upon to hold fast the profession of our faith.
(1) Of course this includes the holding fast of your faith.
(2) Hold you next to your hope.
2. But that is not the text. It is hold fast your profession of faith, your confession of hope; that is to say, stand to what you have done by way of avowment of these things. Constantly keep up your confession. You made it once. Renew it.
IV. WHY ARE WE TO DO THIS? We are to hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, because He is faithful that has promised. Have you found Him faithful? Has the Lord failed you? Has the Lord been untrue in His promises to you? If He has, then do not hold fast your profession. If, after all, it has been a mistake and a delusion, then give it up. But if He is faithful that has promised–if till this moment you have proved the power of prayer, the wisdom of providence, and the truth of the Sacred Word, then deal with my Lord as He has dealt with you. Be not faithless to the Crucified. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The Christian profession
I. THE PROFESSION REFERRED TO.
1. It is put on when we become the members of His visible Church.
2. It is one part of religion itself.
3. It will expose to difficulties and sufferings.
(1) Assaults of Satan.
(2) Opposition of world.
(3) Indisposition of our own hearts.
II. THE DUTY ENJOINED.
1. There must be decision of character. Not halting between two opinions. Not half-hearted. All our powers surrendered to God.
2. There must be constancy of spirit. Heart established, mind fixed, soul stayed upon God. Constant in duties; especially prayer, praise, reading the Divine Word, etc. Always setting the Lord before us, etc. Not as the morning cloud and early dew, &c.
3. There must be perseverance in practice. We only retain our hold by pressing onwards, etc. Not weary, but faithful unto death.
4. In short, we must hold fast our profession.
(1) By the exercise of vigorous faith.
(2) By the constraining influence of Christs love.
(3) By the cheering attractions of a lively hope.
(4) By the supporting and staying effects of holy patience.
(5) By the continual use of all the appointed means of grace.
III. SOME MOTIVES BY WHICH THIS DUTY MAY BE ENFORCED. Love to Jesus is a powerful motive. Gratitude for past mercies. Our present happiness, and our prospect of eternal felicity. But Christs faithfulness is here laid down as the great motive.
1. He has promised to give us grace to hold fast our profession; and He is faithful.
2. He has promised to acknowledge our profession; and He is faithful.
3. He has promised to reward our profession; and He is faithful.
Application:
1. Learn that religion requires both the devotion of the heart and the profession of the life.
2. The way to heaven is associated with conflicts.
3. Stedfastness is essential to our final salvation.
4. God has provided abundant resources for our comfort and safety.
5. The end will amply recompense for the trials of the way. (J. Burns, D. D.)
An unwavering confession:
Admiral Foote, of the American navy, was a very godly man. While pacing the deck at night, on the lonely seas, and talking with a pious shipmate, he became convinced of his need of a Saviour and became His disciple, remaining true to his profession to the last. He used to be called the Stonewall Jackson of the Navy. He often preached to his crew on Sundays, and was ever forward in doing good. (H. O.Mackey.)
Steady to the pole:
Late observations have shown that under many circumstances the magnetic needle, even after the disturbing influence has been removed, will continue wavering, and require many days before it points aright and remains steady to the pole. So is it ordinarily with the soul, after it has begun to force itself from the disturbing forces of the flesh and of the world. (Coleridges Aids to Reflection.)
Standing.fire:
Some time ago, in one of our great ships of war, there was a solitary sailor who was not ashamed to own himself a follower of Christ. For a long time he was alone; no other sailor joined him. His place of prayer was amid the noise and din of the sailors. One evening he perceived a shadow by the side of the gun. Another Jack Tar was creeping along, and said, May I come? Oh, the joy of the young sailor to have a comrade with him! They met for many nights behind the gun, reading and praying. They became the butt of the men in two or three messes, but still continued, bearing and forbearing. It came to the ears of the commander, who was a Roman Catholic–but I mention this to his honour. The moment he heard that two of his sailors were meeting for reading and prayer behind one of the guns, he sent for one of them, and instantly ordered a portion of the lower deck to be curtained off, and gave orders that no one should molest them. For some nights they were the only occupants, but by and by the curtain was opened, and a blue-jacket said, May I come in? He was welcomed. Another came, and another, and the last account I heard from that ship was this, that every night thirty-two were meeting for prayer, thirty of them believed to be converted characters. And there, by standing fire, by standing firm, true to what was his duty, God has blessed that solitary sailor, and made him a spiritual father to at least thirty of the men on board the ship.
Confidence in death:
In the reign of Queen Mary of England, a man named Palmer was condemned to die. Before his death he was earnestly persuaded to recant, and among other things a friend said to him, Take pity on thy golden years and pleasant flowers of youth before it is too late. His beautiful reply was, Sir, I long for those springing flowers which shall never fade away. When in the midst of the flames he exhorted his companions to constancy, saying, We shall not end our lives in the fire, but make a change for a better life; yea, for coals we shall receive pearls.
He is faithful that promised
A sure promise
1. We have a promise. We are secure; when one that is able hath passed his word, and by promise bound himself unto us, then we make sure thus far of the thing promised. The thing which we desire, and which is promised unto us, is not only the reward of eternal glory, which is the object of our hope, but power and ability with assistance to do all things necessary for the attainment thereof; for in the gospel, not only the reward, but power to perform our duty, are promised (Eph 1:16-19).
2. This promise is not the promise of any man or angel, but of God; this is more than if all the best men and all the holy angels had bound themselves unto us and given us all security, which possibly they could. The reason hereof is that His power is absolute and almighty, and nothing can resist or hinder it if once it begin to work. Besides, Gods mercy is like His power, and as He is able, so is He willing to do what He hath promised, and He hath signified His will and purpose, through faith, by His power to preserve us unto salvation.
3. Yet one may be able, and for a time willing, and yet upon several reasons and motives change his mind, for the mind and will of man or angel is not absolutely immutable; and so, though perhaps they will not, yet it is possible, they may fail us. But God will not, God cannot, for God who hath promised is faithful; for as He cannot forget or be hindered by any contrary power, so He cannot change His will. If He say the word, it must be done; if He pass His promise, He will perform. This faithfulness presupposeth His power and His promise, and it is the immutability of His will, for as He is unchangeable in His being, so He is in His promise (1Sa 15:29; Mal 3:6). So that all is sure on Gods part, and man hath no cause to waver, except he neglect his duty; and if he perish, his destruction must be of himself. And shall we, who have so great advantage, so many helps, so blessed an opportunity, and the promise of a faithful God, neglect and injure ourselves so much as to lose this glorious and incomparable prize? Shall we come out of Egypt, and come so near the borders of the heavenly Canaan, and turn hack? or refuse to go forward? Let us detest and eternally abhor to waver; let us go on whatsoever it may cost us. (G. Lawson.)
The faithfulness of God the Christians support in life and death
I. IT IS A FACT–He is faithful that promised.
1. Of whom it is that our text speaks. He is faithful that promised. Our text points to Him who fills the throne itself; we are contemplating Him as engaged to us by a covenant ordered in all things and sure; and as having communicated in consequence exceeding great and precious promises, while He is faithful to each and every promise which He has thus made.
2. We regard the Divine promises themselves. These promises are not mere movements of the Divine mind arising only under the exigencies of new circumstances or of events which spring up in the progress of time, but they flow from the deep fountains of His own grace and love; they embrace all that which is involved in the gift of His dear Son, the great work of the Saviour, the communications of the Divine Spirit, and in the application of every blessing which God has engaged to bestow on His Church on earth. They are all written with His own hand, they are all stamped with His own authority; and in His own Word they stand out in all their truth and in all their fulness.
3. We now consider the faithfulness of God to His promises. The first promise was that the seed of the woman should arrive in the fulness of time, and that He should bruise the serpents head; that He should give Himself as a ransom, and purchase the Church with His own blood. That promise has been fulfilled. Then, the promise of the Holy Ghost. The Redeemer ascended up on high; and He has poured forth the Divine Spirit: it has been granted and it is still continued to the Church.
II. As IT IS THE EXPRESSION OF THE CHRISTIANS EXPERIENCE–He is faithful that promised. When you are brought by the Holy Spirit to a just consideration of your own state as sinners, and with your eyes fixed upon the Infinite One, and stripped by transgression of all the rights with which you were originally invested, and when you see the manner in which God bestows everything out of His own fulness, and supplies your daily and your hourly wants; it is not on yourself or fellow-men that you can depend, for they are weak and evanescent as you are. It is not on your own works and your own productions that you can repose. It is not on your toil, your labour, your skill, or your acquisitions, that you can depend; for whatever your gains, they may take to themselves wings and fly and leave you desolate and utterly worthless. But the eye of faith contemplates the Infinite Being. It takes hold of God through His gracious word of promise; it looks at the atoning sacrifice of Jesus; it stands by that sacrifice, and embracing that Saviour as the only hope, the soul contemplates a faithful God. (Owen Clarke.)
The security of the promise
I. THE NATURE OF THE PROMISES.
1. They flow solely from the free and sovereign good pleasure of Jehovah.
2. They have all an immediate connection with the Lord Jesus Christ (2Co 1:20).
3. The form in which they are directed is not always the same, but sometimes assumes a more absolute, and sometimes a more conditional, appearance.
4. None of the promises, how conditional soever in their form, are altogether beyond the reach of sinners, so long as they are in the land of the living and place of hope.
5. They are many and various, every way suited to the numerous and diversified wants both of saints and sinners.
II. SOME CONSIDERATIONS TENDING TO ESTABLISH OUR CONFIDENCE IN THE DIVINE FAITHFULNESS AS A SECURITY THAT THE PROMISES WILL BE FULFILLED.
1. Faithfulness is an essential perfection of the Divine nature. The name of the Lord is faithful and true.
2. The promises upon the accomplishment so much of our comfort depends are promises of grace.
3. The truth of God is pledged in the most solemn manner for the accomplishment of His promises.
4. Nothing unforeseen or unexpected can occur as a reason why we should doubt the Divine faithfulness.
5. God is omnipotent, and therefore it is not the want of power that can render Him unfaithful.
6. God is unchangeable both in His nature and purpose; it is impossible, therefore, that He can ever disappoint the hopes that His goodness has raised. (G. Campbell.)
Divine promises:
The doctrine of the Incarnation is a promise; it assures us that God has become man to save us from sin. The doctrine of the Atonement is a promise; it explains the ground on which God grants the pardon of sin. The doctrine of Justification is a promise that the penalty of sin may be cancelled; the doctrine of Sanctification, that the power of sin may be destroyed. (R. W. Dale, LL. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 22. Let us draw near] Let us come with the blood of our sacrifice to the throne of God: the expression is sacrificial.
With a true heart] Deeply convinced of our need of help, and truly in earnest to obtain it.
In full assurance of faith] Being fully persuaded that God will accept us for the sake of his Son, and that the sacrificial death of Christ gives us full authority to expect every blessing we need.
Having our hearts sprinkled] Not our bodies, as was the case among the Hebrews, when they had contracted any pollution, for they were to be sprinkled with the water of separation, see Nu 19:2-10; but our hearts, sprinkled by the cleansing efficacy of the blood of Christ, without which we cannot draw nigh to God.
From an evil conscience] Having that deep sense of guilt which our conscience felt taken all away, and the peace and love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost given unto us.
Our bodies washed with pure water.] The high priest, before he entered into the inner tabernacle, or put on his holy garments, was to wash his flesh in water, Le 16:4, and the Levites were to be cleansed the same way, Nu 8:7. The apostle probably alludes to this in what he says here, though it appears that he refers principally to baptisms, the washing by which was an emblem of the purification of the soul by the grace and Spirit of Christ; but it is most likely that it is to the Jewish baptisms, and not the Christian, that the apostle alludes.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Let us draw near; this contains the duty grounded on, and enconraged to, by the former privileges, viz. the spiritual motion of his church, using Christ for their coming home to God, in prayer, and all parts of worship and conversation: see Heb 4:16; 7:25.
With a true heart; with sincerity and integrity of heart, both as it is the subject of actions, and exercising them as such in all acts of worship and service unto God, when the mind and heart is fixed to perform all strictly, according to Gods will, for matter and manner, so as to reach him glory, and to obtain from him a blessing, Psa 37:31.
In full assurance of faith; believing in, and being fully assured and confident of, Christs merits and Gods promise, which is trne, faithful, and immutable, to all who perform the duty required by it, Heb 6:11; Col 2:2; Jam 1:5-7.
Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience; having the soul in all its rational faculties, the inward man, the prime efficient of all actions, and here under bond to the law of God, purged and cleansed; alluding to the Aaronical rite of purifying by sprinkling of blood, as souls are to be now by the blood of Christ when they are justified, Rom 3:23-26, that God may admit them into his presence, hear them when they worship him, Heb 10:19,20; so as they may be free from an accusing or, condemning conscience, on the acconnt of the guilt of sin gnawing them, and making them obnoxious to punishment; as also of the stain and pollution of sin, making them unfit for any communion with God, Heb 9:14.
And our bodies washed with pure water; the body (as the priests were under the law washed before their service) is the outward man, which is, as well as the soul, to be sanctified by the Holy Spirit, and cleansd from all filthiness of flesh: these corrupt members of the old man must be put off, and mortified by the Spirit of God, before they can be fit to approach to worship him, Eze 36:25; 1Co 6:11,19,20; 2Co 7:1; 1Jo 3:3.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
22. (Heb 4:16;Heb 7:19.)
with a true heartwithouthypocrisy; “in truth, and with a perfect heart”; a heartthoroughly imbued with “the truth” (Heb10:26).
full assurance (Heb6:11); with no doubt as to our acceptance when coming to God bythe blood of Christ. As “faith” occurs here, so “hope,“and “love,” Heb 10:23;Heb 10:24.
sprinkled fromthat is,sprinkled so as to be cleansed from.
evil conscienceaconsciousness of guilt unatoned for, and uncleansed away (Heb 10:2;Heb 9:9). Both the heartsand the bodies are cleansed. The legal purifications were withblood of animal victims and with water, and could only cleanse theflesh (Heb 9:13; Heb 9:21).Christ’s blood purifies the heart and conscience. The Aaronicpriest, in entering the holy place, washed with water (Heb9:19) in the brazen laver. Believers, as priests to God, are oncefor all washed in BODY (as distinguished from “hearts”) atbaptism. As we have an immaterial, and a material nature, thecleansing of both is expressed by “hearts” and “body,”the inner and the outer man; so the whole man, material andimmaterial. The baptism of the body, however, is not the mere puttingaway of material filth, nor an act operating by intrinsic efficacy,but the sacramental seal, applied to the outer man, of a spiritualwashing (1Pe 3:21). “Body”(not merely “flesh,” the carnal part, as 2Co7:1) includes the whole material man, which needscleansing, as being redeemed, as well as the soul. The body, oncepolluted with sin, is washed, so as to be fitted like Christ’s holybody, and by His body, to be spiritually a pure and living offering.On the “pure water,” the symbol of consecration andsanctification, compare Joh 19:34;1Co 6:11; 1Jn 5:6;Eze 36:25. The perfects “having. . . hearts sprinkled . . . body (the Greek issingular) washed,” imply a continuing state produced by aonce-for-all accomplished act, namely, our justification by faiththrough Christ’s blood, and consecration to God, sealed sacramentallyby the baptism of our body.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Let us draw near with a true heart,…. Either to the holiest of all, into which the saints have boldness to enter; or to Christ the high priest, who is entered there; or to the house of God, over which he is an high priest; or rather to God himself, as on a throne of grace, on the mercy seat in heaven, the most holy place: to “draw near” to him is a sacerdotal act, common to all the saints, who are made priests to God; and includes the whole of divine worship, but more especially designs prayer; to which believers are encouraged from the liberty and boldness they may have and use, of entering into the holiest by the blood of Jesus; from Christ’s being the new and living way into it, and from his being an high priest over the house of God: the manner of drawing near is, “with a true heart”; not with the body only, but with the heart principally; with a renewed one, one that is right with God, and is single and sincere, is hearty in its desires, and upright in its ends.
In full assurance of faith; in God, Father, Son, and Spirit; without faith, drawing near to God can neither be acceptable to him, nor of service to men; and a full assurance of faith, with respect to the object drawn nigh unto, and of the way unto him, and of acceptance with him through Christ, and of having the petitions put up to him granted, is very comfortable to believers, greatly becomes them, and is well pleasing to God:
having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience; which is blind, inactive, partial, stupid, or guilty; and it is the blood of Christ, which being sprinkled on it by the Spirit of God, purges it from dead works, cleanses it from all sin, and speaks peace and pardon to it; and such may draw near with freedom and boldness, with readiness and cheerfulness, and with reverence and godly fear:
and our bodies washed with pure water; not baptismal water, but the grace of the Spirit, which is often compared to water, in Scripture: the body, as well as soul, needs washing, and renewing; internal grace influences outward, actions, which adorn religion, and without which bodies cannot be presented holy to God. The allusion is to a custom of the Jews, who were obliged to wash their bodies, and make them clean, when they prayed. So Aben Ezra observes on Ge 35:2
“that every Israelite, when he went to pray at a fixed place, was obliged to have , “his body pure”, and his garments pure.”
So a priest might not enter into the court for service, though clean, until he had washed himself all over z; and it is to sacerdotal acts that the reference is here.
z Misn. Yoma, c. 3. sect. 3. Vid. Philo de Victimas Offerent. p. 848.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Let us draw near (). Present middle volitive subjunctive as in 4:16 with which exhortation the discussion began. There are three exhortations in verses 22:25 (Let us draw near, , let us hold fast, , let us consider one another, ). Four items are added to this first exhortation.
With a true heart ( ). With loyalty and fealty.
In fulness of faith ( ). See 6:11 for this very phrase.
Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience ( ). Perfect passive participle of with the accusative retained in the passive, an evident allusion to the sprinkling of blood in the old tabernacle (9:18-22) and the shedding of Christ’s blood for the cleansing of our consciences (10:1-4). Cf. 1Pe 1:2 for “the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.”
Our body washed with pure water ( ). Perfect passive (or middle) of , old verb to bathe, to wash. Accusative also retained if passive. H can be either locative (in) or instrumental (with). See Eph 5:26; Titus 3:5 for the use of . If the reference here is to baptism (quite doubtful), the meaning is a symbol (Dods) of the previous cleansing by the blood of Christ.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Let us draw near [] . See on ch. Heb 4:16.
With a true heart [ ] . A right and genuine inward attitude toward God. For the phrase comp. LXX, Isa 38:3. N. T. o. For ajlhqinhv see on Joh 1:9, and comp. Heb 8:2; Heb 9:24. A true heart is required to enter the true sanctuary. The phrase means more than in sincerity. Sincerity is included, but with it all that enters into a right attitude toward God as revealed in our Great High Priest, – gladness, freedom, enthusiasm, bold appropriation of all the privileges of sonship. In full assurance of faith [ ] . Full conviction engendered by faith. See on ch. Heb 6:11. Faith ii the basis of all right relation to God.
Sprinkled from an evil conscience [ – ] . This qualification for a right approach to God is stated typologically. As the priests were sprinkled with the sacrificial blood and washed with water before ministering, so do you who have now the privilege and standing of priests in approaching God, draw near, priestlike, as sharers in an economy which purges the conscience (ch. 9 14), having your consciences purged. Your own hearts must experience the effects of the great sacrifice of Christ, – pardon, moral renewal, deliverance from a legal spirit. On the priesthood of believers see 1Pe 2:5, 9; Exo 19:6; Isa 61:6. This idea is dominated in our epistle by that of Christ ‘s priesthood; but it is not excluded, and is implied throughout. See ch. Heb 13:15. For sprinkled, see on 1Pe 1:2.
Bodies washed [ ] . Also typological. Most, expositors refer to baptism. The most significant passage in that direction is 1Pe 3:21; comp. Eph 5:26; Tit 3:5. It may be, though I doubt if the idea is emphasized. I incline, with Dr. Bruce, to think that it indicates generally the thoroughness of the cleansing process undergone by one who surrenders himself, soul, body, and spirit, to God.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Let us draw near with a true heart,” (proserchometha meta alethines kardias) “Let us approach of our own choice or accord, with a true heart;” Heb 4:16; Psa 51:6; Joh 1:47. The law covenant said, “thou shalt” and “thou shalt not,” but the new covenant entreats, “let us; gratitude for our better worship and service to Jesus Christ, not fear, should be our true motivation, Heb 10:23-24; .
2) “In full assurance of faith,” (en plerophoria pisteos) “In full assurance of faith,” that our faith in his blood will be received for every sinful need; That he will receive our prayers, petitions, is just as certain, as a child’s requesting his father when in need, 1Jn 3:21-24.
3 “Having our hearts sprinkled,” (hrerantismenoi tas kardias) “Having been sprinkled (as to) the hearts;” as the passover blood was sprinkled by the father of every household, in faith that death would pass over all in that house, so every one who rests in personal trust in Jesus’ shed blood for him, which he took to heaven’s mercy seat, is secure and should rest and serve God with peace, Eph 1:7; 1Jn 1:7.
4) “From an evil conscience,” (apo suneideseos poneras) “From a conscience that is wicked by nature,” that is by nature in fear, but is never to be after one is saved, Heb 2:15; Rom 8:15; 1Pe 3:21.
5) “And our bodies washed with pure water,” (kai lelousmenoi to soma hudati katharo) “And the body having been bathed in clean water; Baptism, like washing and sprinklings of the law, is a symbolic or ceremonial cleansing to Divine service, not to salvation, Rom 6:4; Act 8:36-37; Gal 3:26-27; Mat 28:18-20.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
22. Let us draw near with a true heart, etc. As he shows that in Christ and his sacrifice there is nothing but what is spiritual or heavenly, so he would have what we bring on our part to correspond. The Jews formerly cleansed themselves by various washings to prepare themselves for the service of God. It is no wonder that the rites for cleansing were carnal, since the worship of God itself, involved in shadows, as yet partook in a manner of what was carnal. For the priest, being a mortal, was chosen from among sinners to perform for a time sacred things; he was, indeed, adorned with precious vestments, but yet they were those of this world, that he might stand in the presence of God; he only came near the work of the covenant; and to sanctify his entrance, he borrowed for a sacrifice a brute animal either from herd or the flock. But in Christ all these things are far superior; He himself is not only pure and innocent, but is also the fountain of all holiness and righteousness, and was constituted a priest by a heavenly oracle, not for the short period of a mortal life, but perpetually. To sanction his appointment an oath was interposed. He came forth adorned with all the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the highest perfection; he propitiated God by his own blood, and reconciled him to men; he ascended up above all the heavens to appear before God as our Mediator.
Now, on our part, nothing is to be brought but what corresponds with all this, as there ought to be a mutual agreement or concord between the priest and the people. Away then with all the external washings of the flesh, and cease let the whole apparatus of ceremonies; for the Apostle sets a true heart, and the certainty of faith, and a cleansing from all vices, in opposition to these external rites. And hence we learn what must be the frame of our minds in order that we may enjoy the benefits conferred by Christ; for there is no coming to him without an upright or a true heart, and a sure faith, and a pure conscience.
Now, a true or sincere heart is opposed to a heart that is hypocritical and deceitful. (173) By the term full assurance, πληροφορία the Apostle points out the nature of faith, and at the same time reminds us, that the grace of Christ cannot be received except by those who possess a fixed and unhesitating conviction. The sprinkling of the heart from an evil conscience takes place, either when we are, by obtaining pardon, deemed pure before God, or when the heart, cleansed from all corrupt affections, is not stimulated by the goads of the flesh. I am disposed to include both these things. (174) What follows, our bodies washed with pure water, is generally understood of baptism; but it seems to me more probable that the Apostle alludes to the ancient ceremonies of the Law; and so by water he designates the Spirit of God, according to what is said by Ezekiel, “I will sprinkle clean water upon you.” (Eze 36:25.) The meaning is, that we are made partakers of Christ, if we come to him, sanctified in body and soul; and yet that this sanctification is not what consists in a visible parade of ceremonies, but that it is from faith, pure conscience, and that cleanness of soul and body which flows from, and is effected by, the Spirit of God. So Paul exhorts the faithful to cleanse themselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, since they had been adopted by God as his children. (175) (2Co 7:1.)
(173) This true, sincere, or upright heart, freed from vice and pollution, was symbolized by the washing at the end of the verse. Without washing the priests were not allowed to minister, and were threatened with death, Exo 30:19; and when any of them touched an unclean thing, he was not allowed to eat of holy things until he washed himself, see Lev 22:6. Washing the body was a most important thing, as it symbolized the inward washing of the heart, which alone makes us true, or sincere, or faithful to God.
We have here two things — a sincere heart, and assurance of faith: the last is then set forth by sprinkling, a word borrowed for Levitical rites; and the first by the washing of the body as under the law. — Ed.
(174) Πονηρὸς means רע in Hebrew, the evil of sin wicked, and also the effect of sin, miserable It seems to be in the latter sense here; a miserable conscience is one oppressed with guilt. So Grotius and Stuart regard the meaning. It is the same as “consciousness of sin” in verse 2. What seems to be meant is an accusing or guilty conscience, laboring under the pressure of conscious sin. But Doddridge and Scott, like Calvin, combine the two ideas of guilt and pollution; though washing, afterwards mentioned, appears more appropriately to refer to the latter; and forgiveness is what is most commonly connected with the blood of Christ. — Ed
(175) See Appendix M 2.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(22) Let us draw near.See Heb. 10:1; also Heb. 4:16; Heb. 7:25; Heb. 11:6.
With a true heart.True, the word used in Heb. 8:2; Heb. 9:24, a reali.e., a sincere heart. As in Hebrews 6 we read of full assurance, or rather, fulness of hope, so here of fulness of faith. Without this there could be for us no living way (Heb. 10:20) for entering into the holiest place. The thought of the whole verse connects itself with the priestly character of those who are the people of God (Exo. 19:6; Rev. 1:5-6). It is as priests that they enter the house of God, sprinkled with the blood of atonement (Heb. 12:24; Heb. 9:14; Lev. 8:30; 1Pe. 1:2), and with all defilement washed away (Lev. 8:6). Sprinkled from an evil conscience: that is, freed by means of the sprinkling from a conscience defiled by guilt. In the last words there is a clear allusion to baptism, as the symbol of the new life of purity (Eph. 5:26; Tit. 3:5; 1Pe. 3:21).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
22. Having so magnificent an access as stated in 19-21, our author now, in the following three verses, exhorts us with a let us thrice presented: namely, let us draw near, let us hold fast, and let us consider one another. The first regards our free access to God; the second, our firmness in profession; the third, our use of the communion of saints in maintaining the previous two, namely, our gracious access and our firm profession. The first let us is, let us gladly draw near. God in his holy place may be freely and boldly approached; who will not hasten to draw near? And so in this verse we have a delightful picture of the adorer in this new temple sweetly approaching a loving God. Heart, conscience, and body are all pure.
A true heart True in its freedom from all insincerity or wavering; true in its fidelity and firmness.
Full assurance Not only firmness, but exultant and aggressive assurance. The temple imagery is beautifully preserved throughout. It was by blood sprinkled upon them that the priests entered before God; that sprinkled blood implying their purification by atonement.
Exo 29:21; Lev 8:30. And Aaron and his sons washed their hands and feet in the brazen laver. Exo 30:20; Exo 40:30-32.
On the great day of atonement the high priest washed his whole body with water. Lev 16:4.
Evil conscience As we say, “a guilty conscience;” that is, a personal consciousness of being guilty.
Bodies washed It is unexegetical, with Alford and others, to find here a distinct allusion to baptism. The thought is not of a material body, literally washed with water, any more than of a material heart, literally sprinkled with blood; or any more than the house of God (Heb 10:21) is a material house. The heart is here spiritually sprinkled, as the image of interior purity; the body, spiritually washed, is the image of external rectitude of life. This verse, both in the Greek and the English, is a fine specimen of rhythm.
It is a very important fact that our author ascribes this privilege of immediate access to every Christian. Each for himself approaches to, and communes with, God. No human substitute stands in his place before God, or stands in God’s place before him. No one offers a sacrifice for him, and he, offers no literal sacrifice for himself. The one priest is Christ, and the one sacrifice is that of himself, once for all.
The apostles, the ministers of the New Testament, as not performing sacrifice and as not being substitutes, are not priests. Yet all the leading institutions of the Old Testament Church have a modified continuity in the New. The high priesthood has its eternal continuity in Christ. The predictive sacrifices are shadowed in the commemorative Lord’s supper. Circumcision is represented by baptism; the sabbath by “the Lord’s day.” And so the priesthood of the Old Testament has its representative in the ministry, namely, the apostle, the bishop, the elder, and the deacon, of the New. While no form of government is prescribed in the New Testament with Levitical precision, and large freedom is left to the Church to frame its own organization, there are nevertheless forms, sanctioned by “the New Testament and the example of the primitive Church,” which are truly preferable, the absence of which, though not an invalidation, is yet a defect in a church organization.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Let us draw near with a true heart in fullness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and having our body washed with pure (‘clean’) water.’
The first consequence of our new means of entry into God’s presence and of our new High Priest is that we can draw near to God. And it is something that we must do with a true heart and in fullness of faith. Then, putting it in a cultic way, we are to have our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed, with purified water. So having responded to our great High Priest we are to submit to His ministrations which will produce trueness of heart and fullness of faith.
We may see this from two angles.
Firstly it is a description of what makes us acceptable to God. We come through faith and through the benefits of what Christ has done for us on the cross which has sanctified and cleansed heart, mind and body once for all. ‘Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to Your cross I cling.’
Secondly it is a reminder that we must maintain our situation before God daily. Having been ‘bathed’ once for all, we need continually to wash our feet (Joh 13:10). Having been perfected before Him once for all we must continue being sanctified (Heb 10:14).
In other words the practical result of Christ’s activity is that we can draw near continually (present tense), through Him as our great priest (Heb 10:21), and because He shed His blood on our behalf (Heb 10:20), doing so in fullness of faith, that is with a confident and full faith that has no doubts and fears. And we are beng exhorted to do so. This drawing near does not simply refer to prayer, it refers to our taking our firm stand in the spiritual realm, living in His light (1Jn 1:5-7), recognising that we have been transferred into His kingsom (Col 1:13) and walking with God in the full confidence that we are His (Rom 8:4; Gal 5:16; Gal 5:25). It refers to our being aware of our privileges, and enjoying them to the full. It refers to our approach to God in the whole of our lives. We are to walk continually with Him in heavenly places (compare Eph 1:3; Eph 2:6).
This drawing near is to be with ‘a true heart’ and ‘in fullness of faith’. This emphasises both that our hearts must be genuine and true, and that it is through unfeigned faith, and through faith alone, that we must approach Him. It is a reminder that there is no room for dissimulation or guile in our walk with God, while at the same tiome emphasising we can approach Him with continuing and ever growing confidence, as long as we maintain a genuine attitude towards Him. As Jesus said, ‘those who worship Him, must worship Him in Spirit and in truth’ (Joh 4:24). Faith and genuineness of heart is everything. Ritual is secondary. Thus our hearts having been transformed by Him when we were ‘perfected’ (Heb 10:14) and born from above (Joh 3:1-6), we are to allow ourselves to be continually prepared and made ready by His Spirit, approaching Him through our own spirits on the basis of the truth that He has revealed as established by the Scriptures (‘salvation is of the Jews’).
Thus if we approach Him it must be as those who walk in His light (compare 1Jn 1:5-7), and any prevarication will hinder our entrance. All must be open to Him. On the other hand, once that is so, there are also no grounds for hesitancy. For we come by the guaranteed way through the blood of Jesus (Heb 10:23; 1Jn 1:7). Here then we have what Christ has bought for us, and provided for us, confident access to, and certainty in, the presence of a holy God.
The contrast, of course, is with the difficulty of approach under the old ritual. Then the people could only enter the outer court, the priests only the Holy Place, while the High Priest’s entry into the Holy of Holies was limited to once a year and that on the most stringent terms. It was all in order to emphasise the holiness of God.
But now the way has been flung open. But let us not think that it means that God is less holy (as we will shortly learn). It is rather because of the all sufficiency of the sacrifice made on our behalf. No longer the need for continual offerings and sacrifices, becuse He as the One sufficient sacrifice for sin for all time has been offered on our behalf.
Fullness of faith then expresses our response as we respond to the wonder of what Christ has done for us. We do so with a confident faith that is without fear, a faith that overflows. But the expression may also contain within it the thought that we need to ensure that we move on to a maturer, a fuller faith (compare Heb 5:11-14). Our faith should be a faith that is continually expanding and growing. It needs to be filled to the full. This faith is the first element of the three Christian virtues, faith, hope and love. Thus here we have fullness of faith, in Heb 10:23 we have the confession of hope, and in Heb 10:24 we are to be spurred on to love. These are the three basic attitudes required in the Christian life ( 1Co 13:13 ; 1Th 1:3; 1Th 5:8; Rom 5:1-5; Gal 5:5-6; Col 1:4-5; 1Pe 1:21-22). And it is through faith that we enter into His presence.
These ideas are then expressed in terms of two Old Testament rituals, both of which are connected with water, and illustrate the true heart and fullness of faith which Christ will work in us. The first is the ‘sprinkling from an evil conscience — with pure water’. This ‘sprinkling’ mentioned here is by some all to easily connected simply with ‘the sprinkling of the blood of sacrifices’. But hrantizo is never used in LXX of the sprinkling of the blood of sacrifices, and those commentators who maintain this generally mainly pass over briefly or ignore the reference in Heb 9:13 to the ashes of the red heifer. If, however, we do consult Heb 9:13-14 where such sprinkling is mentioned we find in Heb 10:13 that it is the ashes of the red heifer for the removal of uncleanness, (which contain sacrificial blood – Num 19:5), which are described as sprinkled and are then dealt with in more detail, for it is the ashes of the heifer alone, contained in the water of purification (Num 8:7; Numbers 19) that are sprinkled on people to remove uncleanness in the Old Testament ritual.
The blood of such sacrifices as are described briefly in Heb 9:12-13 were never sprinkled on the people in the Old Testament ritual in the tabernacle. They were applied to the altar, or before the veil, or on the Mercy Seat. Nor is the blood of Christ specifically spoken of as sprinkled on the people, certainly prior to this point in Hebrews. In Heb 9:14 ‘the blood of Christ’ sums up the totality of what is described in Heb 10:13, and in that sense it can be seen as both applied, as with the blood, and sprinkled, as with the ashes of the heifer in the water of purification. But it is the ashes of the heifer as contained in the water of purification that alone are sprinkled on the people.
‘The blood of sprinkling’ mentioned later in Heb 12:24 may be intended to be seen as sprinkled on the people in order to bind them into the covenant as in Exo 24:8 but if so it is not as part of the tabernacle ritual, and is using a verb not used in LXX. As we have seen in the tabernacle ritual it is only the water of purifying that is said to be sprinkled (hrantismos) on the people. And as this verse here appears to suggest that the sprinkling is to be seen as on the people, in the same way as the water for washing is also applied to the people, it would appear that the idea in mind here is similarly of the sprinkling of the water of purification.
It is true that the blood was sprinkled (but not hrantizo in LXX) on the people in the covenant ceremony at Sinai in Exo 24:8 but there is no reason for thinking that that that is in mind here or in Heb 9:13-14. It actually comes to play in Heb 9:15 onwards when the covenant comes into prominence.
It should further also be noted that ‘clean water’ meant a very different thing in those days than it does to us. To us ‘clean water’ contrasts with ‘dirty water’ hygienically. With clean water we wash and satisfy our thirst, and with dirty water we perform lesser tasks (if we use it at all). But in those days matters were a little different. To them ‘clean water’ was water that had been religiously cleansed by the use of the ashes of a sacrificed heifer, and was in contrast with water not so religiously cleansed. Such ‘clean’ water was useable for the removal of uncleanness (Heb 9:13; Eze 36:25) and especially for the removal of the taint of death (Numbers 19).
For in general in fact their water was not clean unless they went to a spring. Their cysterns rather produced water that was only relatively clean, and their contrast would rather then be between drinkable or not drinkable water, neither of which were fully clean, the latter being used among other things for washing. And what they considered drinkable would be of a standard that we would reject totally. It is also doubtful whether they would actually call it clean water. Clean water would either be spring water (although that is usually described as ‘living water’) or water that had been made ‘clean’, that is ritually purified. Significantly therefore it was spring water (‘living water’) that was used along with the ashes of the heifer for the production of the water of purification (Num 19:17).
So ‘having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and having our body washed, with pure (‘clean’) water,’ must surely be considered in the light of this. It refers to thorough spiritual cleansing (2Co 7:1) as seen in terms of the water of purification which was sprinkled on the unclean, and in terms of water that was used to wash in order to remove ‘earthiness’ (it is never said to cleanse).
But washing in the Old Testament was not with ‘clean water’. The point therefore is that through what Christ has done for us we have a better cleansing. It really will cleanse because it is the equivalen of purified water.
There is not, of course, in mind the thought of the use of actual water. What is to be applied is spiritual ‘cleansed water’, made clean through the blood of Christ. In the words of 1Jn 1:7, we are to walk in the light as He is in the light, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, will go on cleansing us from all sin.
So as in Heb 9:13-14 the connection is with the removing of the defilement within the conscience, which in Heb 9:13 was described in terms of the sprinkling of the ashes of the heifer, that is, of the sprinkling of the water of purification, which, as a parallel to the cleansing of the conscience in Heb 10:14, deals with the uncleanness of the flesh. To the Jewish Christians to whom this was written the idea of full cleansing from all defilement would be very significant.
The phrase ‘with clean (purified) water’ is here to be seen as connecting both with the sprinkling and the washing. That is, we may translate ‘having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience (with purified water) and our bodies washed with purified water.’ As a result the sprinkling of the conscience and the washing of the body are both connected with the water of purification (which contains the sacrificial blood), and therefore, in the light of Heb 9:13-14, with the blood of Christ. Those who are sprinkled and washed are seen as being made clean from the taint of death and given life by His blood. They are cleansed in both the spiritual side of their nature and in its fleshly side.
In one sense this occurs once for all when we come to Christ and are brought through faith into the sphere of His obedience and the sprinkling of His blood (Heb 13:12; 1Pe 1:2). From then on it is to be experienced continually as we seek day to day cleansing.
We can compare the words of Paul. ‘Seeing then that we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of body and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God’ (2Co 7:1). Here then both ‘heart and body’ (body and spirit) are to be seen as effectively purified because of the shedding and sprinkling of the blood of Christ by our Great Priest, and are to be maintained in that state. And this is far removed from the literal sprinkling of water which merely made the flesh ‘clean’ and the literal washings which simply removed earthly defilement and never cleansed (those who were washed were never directly cleansed, they remained unclean ‘until the evening’), rituals to which some were thinking of returning.
Taking the sprinkling with clean water first the conscience is here seen as cleansed through this ‘sprinkling of clean (purified, cleansing) water’, removing the taint of spiritual death and bringing peace within. It is something that happens once for all when we first come to Him in faith, and are ‘perfected for ever’, and it is something that is to be applied continually as we ‘are being sanctified’ (Heb 10:14). We are both accounted righteous though His blood once for all (Rom 3:24-25), and we are to be continually cleansed by His blood from daily sin (1Jn 1:7).
The implication is that the Spirit acts through His spiritual water of life (compare Joh 4:10; Joh 4:13-14; Joh 7:37) in response to our faith, which is the nore effective because it contains spiritual cleansing as a result of something that was superior even to the ashes of the heifer, the blood of Jesus. And as a result of that, it is ‘the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son’ which ‘cleanses us from all sin’ (1Jn 1:7).
This idea of the ‘sprinkling of clean (purified) water’ (perfect tense, what has happened in the past and is presently effective) is also spoken of in Eze 36:25-27 where it is also closely connected with the life transforming work of the Spirit. Whereas the other prophets depicted the Spirit’s activity in terms of rain, the priestly Ezekiel did so in terms of water of purification, with the sprinkling of ‘clean (because cleansed) water’ coming on them. It refers to the cleansing and renewing of the Spirit, through faith, by the application of the blood of sacrifice, which is here described as the blood of Christ (compare Isa 52:15).
This then takes us back again to Heb 9:13-14 where the cleansing of the conscience was through Christ’s sacrifice and the shedding of His blood (Heb 10:14), and was connected with ‘the eternal Spirit, and was closely connected in context, in Heb 10:13, with the application by the ‘sprinkling of the ashes of the heifer’, that is, of the water of purification. The same combination is at work, the blood of Christ illustrated by the sacrificial ashes of the heifer in the water of purification, which has cleansed us and will continually cleans, and the power and life of the Spirit ever at work within us. The sprinkling of the heart with ‘clean’ water is thus a brief way of saying the same thing as is said in Heb 9:14. We are purged, cleansed and renewed by the blood of Jesus through the Spirit of God in order to enter into His presence and serve the living God.
‘Our body washed with clean (purified) water.’ This again must not be interpreted too arbitrarily. We note that ‘the body’ here is in the singular in direct contrast with ‘our hearts’. This is not accidental. We are probably intended to make a comparison with Heb 10:5; Heb 10:10 and see the specific contrast between ‘the body’ and ‘His body’. For there we had already had cause to see that ‘His body’ had a special significance (Heb 10:5; Heb 10:10). It was a body fashioned for obedience. The whole emphasis of His ‘body’ prepared for Him was that it was prepared for Him that He might obey and do the will of God. But His ‘body’ did not need to be ‘washed’. He was clean in every part.
That therefore also surely compares with ‘the body’ here, as given to us, given so that we also can obey God, just as His body in Heb 10:5 was given to Him in order that He might fully obey God. Then the idea here is that not only is the conscience to be cleansed, but also the body, that body which was given to us that we might do His will, that was given to us in order that we might obey God, is to be washed with the same ‘purified water’ of the blood and of the Spirit so that it might fulfil its potential of obedience to God. Unlike His ‘body’, ‘the body’ given to us needs to be ‘washed’ in order that we might continually recommence obedience anew. We are to be cleansed in both flesh and spirit in order to perfect holiness in the fear of God (see 2Co 7:1). This kind of ‘washing’ is then to be seen as resulting, by a determined effort through faith as a result of the cleansing in the blood, to put away sin and obey God. This ties in exactly with Isa 1:16-18, where we read, ‘Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean, put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do well.’ In other words ‘wash yourselves’ refers to the commencing of a process which will result in doing right in the body. It is saying ‘do not wash yourselves in vain ritual (which has been condemned previously in Isa 1:11-14) but ‘wash yourselves by a positive attitude to righteous living’, which will result from His offered forgiveness (Isa 1:18).
Thus ‘washing’ with ‘purified water’ signifies responsive obedience in accordance with God’s word to us, and it is ‘the washing of water with the word’ which produces that obedience (Eph 5:26). It is only seen as possible through obedience combined with the sacrifice of Christ (1Pe 1:2). Compare how ‘washing’ is also elsewhere closely connected with new life and the regenerating work of the Spirit (see Tit 3:5). So the reference here is not specifically to being baptised but to the deeper requirements of obedience as a result of cleansing.
These ideas of ‘sprinkling and washing with ‘clean’ (purified) water’ thus both have very much in mind Eze 36:25-26 where the ‘sprinkling’ of ‘clean (purified) water’ is stressed and is directly connected with the promise of a new heart and a new Spirit, while the taking of the stony heart out of the flesh and the giving of a heart of flesh may well be seen as the ‘washing’ (purifying) of ‘the body’ to obedience by the Spirit (compare Tit 3:5). They refer to the life changing power of God through the blood and through the Spirit.
To conclude therefore, ‘Having our hearts sprinkled (with clean water) from an evil conscience, and having our body washed, with clean (purified) water’ must be seen as having in mind the shedding of Christ’s blood in the light of the waters of purification in Numbers 19, and as connecting with Heb 9:14 and with Eze 36:25 onwards. Connection with Isa 1:16-18 is also probable. Intended here is thus a spiritual cleansing, both of the inner conscience and of the ‘physical’ (fleshly) man with his physical desires, through the blood of Christ and the work of the Spirit, with a view to obedience (compare 2Co 7:1; 1Co 6:20; 1Th 5:23 where Paul speaks of the same thing). It occurs once for all when a person receives Christ through faith, and is something that is to be then constantly renewed as we walk in His light.
That will mean that having in Heb 9:14 referred to the activity of the eternal ‘Spirit’ working through the blood of Christ and through Christ’s offering of Himself in order to ‘cleanse the conscience’ (as connected with the ashes of the red heifer in Heb 10:13), that ‘cleansing of the conscience’ is now here described as through ‘sprinkling from an evil conscience — with clean (purified) water’, in other words with the spiritual equivalent of the water purified by the same ashes of the red heifer. In Heb 9:13-14 the idea of the cleansing of the conscience was compared in context with sacrifices, and especially and specifically with the ashes from the sacrifice of the red heifer, here it is connected with the water of purification which is from the same source and delivers from an evil conscience. And the idea is that the believer’s body, destined like Christ’s body to obedience, indeed as being part of Christ’s body (Heb 2:11; Heb 10:10; Heb 10:14), is to be thoroughly purified so as to be obedient.
We may then see both as connecting with the work of Christ on their behalf as confirmed by Jesus’ words in the Upper Room. ‘He who is bathed (made acceptable to God through overall forgiveness and salvation) needs not save to wash his feet (seek daily forgiveness)’ because he is fully clean (Joh 13:10)
Others have connected the washing with purified water with the preparations of the High priest for the Day of Atonement (Lev 16:4), and of the priests for their priestly work generally (Exo 29:4), but it should be carefully noted that that was never said to be with ‘pure water’. The emphasis on ‘pure’ water must be taken into account and indicates that any such idea is secondary. The sprinkling and the washing with purified water go together in his thoughts which suggests the close connection with Ezekiel 36 and Numbers 19.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Heb 10:22. Let us draw near, &c. Namely, to that place to which we may have free access, and to which we are so graciously invited: With a true heart,uprightly, sincerely, without any dissimulation or feigned piety: in full assurance of faith; in a full conviction of mind that Jesus is the Christ and our Lord and our God, and of the consequencesofthatgreatandimportant truth which has been so fully explained. This epistle being written to the Hebrews, they easily understood what was alluded to in the two next clauses. When the covenant was made in Horeb, Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, &c. See Exo 24:8. By this ceremony the people were obliged to pay obedience to that law. In the case of the leper, and the leprous house, he and it were to be sprinkled seven times, in order to be cleansed: Lev 7:38. Here therefore the apostle, by having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, means, “having them cleansed from all consciousness of evil,” and being fully sensible of our obligation to become obedient to the will of Christ. The washing with pure water does not refer here to Christian baptism, but to the Jewish baptisms in order to their being cleansed.When Aaron was to go into the holy of holies, he was first to wash his flesh with water, Lev 4:24 so was the leper to wash himself in water,that he may be clean. Lev 14:8. And so it was in cases of other uncleannesses: the persons were obliged to bathe themselves in water; Lev 6:27 in running water, Heb 10:13. It is in allusion to these customs that the apostle made use of the words pure, or clear water; meaning that we should keep ourselves free and unspotted from sin.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Heb 10:22 . ] let us then draw nigh, sc . to this , Heb 10:19 , and this , Heb 10:21 , or, what is, as regards the matter itself, not different, to God ; in such wise that is here, like , Heb 10:1 , used absolutely , or else receives its supplementation from the immediately preceding. Comp. Heb 7:25 , Heb 11:6 ; also Heb 4:16 .
] with true, i.e. sincere heart , so that we are really in earnest about the .
] in firm conviction of faith, firm inner certainty of faith . Comp. Heb 6:11 . Epexegesis of , for the clearer defining of the contents thereof.
] inasmuch as our hearts have been sprinkled from an evil conscience , so that we have been delivered from the same (see Winer, Gramm. , 7 Aufl. p. 577). Indication of the subjective qualification for the , while Heb 10:19-21 contains the objective qualification for the same. What is meant, is the justification of Christians through Christ’s bloody sacrificial death (Heb 9:14 ), after the analogy of the sprinkling with blood, whereby the first Levitical priests were consecrated and qualified to approach God. Comp. Exo 29:21 ; Lev 8:30 .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
XXX
EXHORTATIONS AND SPECIAL PASSAGES (CONTINUED)
The seventh exhortation in this book is as follows: “Let us draw near with a true heart in fulness of faith let us hold fast the confession of our hope that it waver not let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works, not forsaking our own assembling together, exhorting one another” (Heb 10:22-25 ). The doctrines that underlie this manifold exhortation are, (1) Christ has rent the veil hiding the holy of holies by his death, and dedicated for us a new and living way. (2) We have a great High Priest over the house of God. (3) The day of his final coming is rapidly approaching (Heb 10:19-21 ).
Here a question arises, Does “having our bodies washed with pure water” (Heb 10:22 ) refer to water baptism, and if so, what the bearing of the teaching? It is not clear that it has such reference. But if it does, it strongly supports the Baptist teaching, to wit: Our souls are cleansed by the application of Christ’s blood by the Holy Spirit in regeneration. Baptism in water only washes the body, and hence can only externally symbolize the internal cleansing. In this way Paul, internally cleansed, could arise and wash away his sins symbolically in baptism (Act 22:16 ), or as Peter puts it: “Water, even baptism, after a true likeness doth now save us, not putting away the filth of the flesh [i.e., the carnal nature] but the answer of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1Pe 3:21 ). In other words, it is a figurative salvation, and the figure or likeness is that of a resurrection (see Rom 6:4-5 ). Paul’s reason for the seventh exhortation is expressed in the famous passage (Heb 10:26-29 ), the whole of which is an explanation of the eternal, unpardonable sin against the Holy Spirit, very different from the gradual, unconscious sins of “drifting” and “hardening.” Its conditions and characteristics are:
1. There has been great spiritual light and knowledge, thoroughly convincing the judgment of the truth of the gospel, and strongly impressing the mind to accept it.
2. It is a distinct and wilful rejection of the well-known light and monition of the Holy Spirit.
3. It is a culmination of sin against every person of the Trinity. (1) It is a sin against the Father in deliberately trampling under foot the Son of his love. (2) It is a sin against the Son in counting the blood of his expiation an unholy thing. (3) It is the sin against the Holy Spirit in doing despite to his grace who has furnished complete proof to the rejector’s conscience that it is God’s Son who is trampled under foot, and that the blood of his vicarious sacrifice alone can save.
4. Once committed, the soul is there and then forever lost, having never forgiveness in time or eternity, and knows that for him there is no more sacrifice for sin, and expects nothing but judgment and fiery wrath which shall devour the adversaries.
5. Let the reader particularly note that this sin cannot be committed except in an atmosphere, not merely of light and knowledge, but of spiritual light, knowledge and power, and that it is one wilful, malicious act arising from hate hating the more because of the abundance and power of the light. The eighth exhortation is, “Cast not away your boldness” (Heb 10:35 ). The exhortation is based on appeal to their remembrance of the triumphs of their past experience. They had patiently endured a great conflict of suffering just after their conversion; they had been made a gazing stock both by reproaches and afflictions cast on them and by their sharing in the afflictions of their leaders. This is evident from the history of Paul’s labors among men. There was nothing in their present afflictions severer than those they triumphantly endured in their earlier experience.
The ninth exhortation is, “Therefore, let us also, seeing that we are compassed about by so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that hath endured such gainsaying of sinners against himself, that ye wax not weary, fainting in your souls” (Heb 12:1-3 ). The imagery here is that of a foot race, such as these people had often witnessed in the Isthmian Games at Corinth, or in the great amphitheater at Ephesus. “The race set before us” the great example upon whom the runner must fix his eye is Jesus, the author (or captain) and perfecter of our faith.
The force of the example of Jesus in Heb 12:2 is this:
He is set before us as the one perfect model or standard. A joy was set before him as a recompense of reward that when attained would make him the gladdest man in the universe. For this he voluntarily became the saddest man in the universe. Thus “the Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” was “anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows;” “He saw of the travail of his soul and was satisfied.” Here we are confronted with this double question: Does the phrase, “author and perfecter of our faith,” mean that Jesus first inspires and then completes our individual faith i.e., what he begins he consummates or that he is the captain and completer of the faith in the sense that his completed victory is both cause and earnest of our own victory, as in Heb 2:10 ? The latter best accords with the import of the Greek word, archegos , used both here and in Heb 2:10 , and with the whole context.
The word “witnesses” in Heb 12:1 means martyrs whose examples should excite our emulation, and accords with the meaning and usage of the Greek word marturos , which makes them witnesses to the truth and not spectators of what other people may do. Moreover, the biblical evidence is scant, if there be any at all, that departed souls are allowed to sympathetically intervene in the struggle of those left behind. Yet, by rhetorical license, in the exercise of the imagination, a poet, orator or writer may summon the dead to appear before the living for dramatic effect. But we go far when we seek to construct doctrine on rhetorical license. What is the “besetting sin” in Heb 12:1 ? It may not be the same in all cases. It is the sin to which one most easily yields whether pride, lust, covetousness, anger, vanity, or any other.
The tenth exhortation (Heb 12:4-13 ,) is, “Regard not lightly the chastening of the Lord, because (1) chastening is an evidence of sonship. (2) If we have borne arbitrary chastening from earthly parents, much more we will bear disciplinary chastening from our Heavenly Father. (3) While grievous at first, it yieldeth afterward peaceable fruit or righteousness, if rightly received.
Here come up the Creationist theory of the origin of human spirits and the Traducian theory. The Creationist theory is that the spirit of every human being born into the world is a direct creation of God, and only the body is derived from the earthly parent. The Traducian theory is that every child, in his entirety, spirit and body, is derived from his earthly parents, begotten in the likeness not only of bodily features but in spiritual state, otherwise man could not propogate his species, and every child would, in his inner nature, be born holy, not subject to inherited depravity and not needing regeneration until he became an actual transgressor hence needing only proper environment and training to grow up in holiness.
The passage in question is not decisive for either theory. God is the Father of spirits in that originally the spirit of man was not a formation from inert matter, but a special creation (see Gen 2:7 ). Thus the whole race, body and spirit, was potentially in the first man, died body and spirit in him when he fell, and after his fall he “begat children in his likeness” body and spirit.
In Heb 12:12-13 , “hands hanging down,” “palsied knees,” and “crooked paths” refer to the physical effects of spiritual depression or terror, the inner man acting on the outer. See case of Belshazzar (Dan 5:6 ), and recall cases coming under your own observation in which discouragements or despondency of the spirit enfeeble the body. Some men, morally brave, are physically timid. A famous French marshal always trembled at the beginning of battle. On one occasion his officers rallied him on his shaking legs. He answered, “If my legs only knew into what dangers I will take them today, they would shake more than they do.”
The eleventh exhortation (Heb 12:14 ff) is, “Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no man shall see the Lord.” There are two hazards attending obedience to this exhortation, against which there are special cautions, as follows: (1) The springing up of a root of bitterness to defile many. (2) The spirit of profanity, or the despising of sacred things.
In our own experience or observation, cases arise of a single root of bitterness disturbing the peace of communities and retarding the sanctification of hundreds.
Profanity here means, not so much swearing as it does a spirit of irreverence in speaking of sacred things, and, sometimes interested lost souls are completely sidetracked by the levity and foolish jestings, and the questionable anecdotes of preachers in their hours of relaxation.
The author having often, in his early ministry, witnessed the wounding and shocking of sober-minded Christians and the loss of interest in awakened sinners caused by the foolish jestings in the preacher’s tent concerning sacred things, and sometimes by obscene anecdotes, entered into a solemn covenant with Dr. Riddle, the moderator of the Waco Association, never to tell nor willingly hear a doubtful anecdote. This covenant was made while camping out one night on the prairie in the light of the stars.
The twelfth exhortation and its doctrinal basis are found in Heb 12:28-29 : “Wherefore, receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us have grace, whereby we may offer service well-pleasing to God with reverence and awe: for our God is a consuming fire.
I will group in classes the exhortation of Heb 13 as follows:
1. Love to brethren, strangers, and those in bonds.
2. Honor the sanctity of marriage.
3. Eschew the covetous spirit.
4. Hold in kind remembrance your leaders that have passed away.
5. Bear the reproach of Christ, even if it ostracises from worldly society.
6. Offer spiritual sacrifices of praise, confession, contribution, and prayer.
In closing this exposition there are two things worthy of note: First, The bearing of Heb 13:8 on the preceding verse, which means that preachers may come and go, but Jesus is ever the same. Second, The controversy arose over Heb 13:10 , a controversy as to what is the Christian altar. Was it the cross on which Jesus was crucified? Then how can the altar be greater than the gift on the altar, as Christ taught? Was it Christ’s divinity on which his humanity was sacrificed? This controversy was a refinement of foolishness, because the altar under consideration is not supporting the expiating sin offering of which the priests were never allowed to have a part, but the altar to which non-expiatory offerings were brought, such as meat offerings, thank offerings, tithes etc. Of these the priests and Levites might partake. The meaning is simply this that Christianity provides in its way for the support of its laborers through the voluntary offerings to Christ’s cause (see 1Co 9:13-14 ).
QUESTIONS
1. What is the exhortation in this book relative to faith, hope, and love?
2. What doctrines underlie this manifold exhortation?
3. Does “having our bodies washed with pure water” (Heb 10:22 ) refer to water baptism, and if so, what the bearing of the teaching?
4. How do you interpret Paul’s reason for this exhortation as expressed in Heb 10:26-29 , which refers to the eternal sin?
5. What is the exhortation relative to boldness, and on what is it predicated?
6. What is the exhortation relative to weights, sins, etc., what its imagery, and what its elements?
7. What is the force of the example of Jesus in Heb 12:2 ?
8. What does the phrase “author and perfector of our faith” mean?
9. What is the meaning and import of “witnesses” in Heb 12:1 ?
10. What is the “besetting sin” in Heb 12:1 ?
11. What is the exhortation relative to chastening, and what its reasons?
12. What are the theories relative to the origin of human spirits, and what the bearing of this passage on the subject?
13. What is the meaning and force of “hand hanging down,” “palsied knees,” and “crooked paths?”
14. What is the exhortation relative to peace and sanctification?
15. What two hazards attending obedience to this exhortation?
16. Do you know of a case of a single “root of bitterness” disturbing communities and hindering sanctification?
17. What is the meaning of profanity here, and what illustration of the effect of such profanity given?
18. In what did Esau’s profanity consist?
19. What is the meaning of Heb 12:17 ? So, What the exhortation relative to grace, and what its doctrinal basis?
21. Group in classes the exhortations of Heb 13 .
22. What is the bearing of Heb 13:8 on the preceding verse?
23. What controversy arose over Heb 13:10 ?
24. Why was this controversy a refinement of foolishness?
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
Ver. 22. Let us draw near ] Come, for the Master calleth,Mar 10:49Mar 10:49 .
With a true heart ] That is, with a heart truly and entirely given up to God, uprightly propounding God’s service in prayer, and that out of a filial affection, delighting to do his will, and therefore well content to wait, or, if God see good, to want what it wisheth, desirous rather that God’s will be done than our own, and that he may be glorified though we be not gratified; acknowledging the kingdom, power, and glory to be his alone. This is a true heart.
In full assurance of faith ] . Not with a quarter or half wind, but with full assurance, such a gale of faith as fills the sails of the soul, and makes it set up its top-gallant, as it were.
Having our hearts sprinkled, &c. ] Faith ever purgeth from sin, and worketh repentance from dead works.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
22 .] let us approach ( , see ref., = ch. Heb 7:19 , and is a word belonging to worship. So that the participial clauses which follow are best regarded as both belonging to , since they also describe requisite preparations for worship: see this further treated below, on Heb 10:23 ) with a true heart ( , Chrys. So Hezekiah pleads, Isa 38:3 , ) in full assurance ( , subjective, as in ch. Heb 6:11 ; see note there) of faith (with no doubt as to the certainty of our access to God by the blood of Jesus), having our hearts sprinkled from (pregnant construction for ‘sprinkled, and by that sprinkling cleansed from’) an evil conscience (a conscience polluted with the guilt of sin: for “if a man’s practice be bad, his conscience, in so far as it is the consciousness of that practice, is :” see Delitzsch, Biblische Psychologie, p. 163) and having our body washed with pure water (both these clauses refer to the legal purifications of the Levitical priests, which took place by means of blood and water. At their first dedication, Aaron and his sons were sprinkled with blood, their bodies and their clothes, Exo 29:21 ; Lev 8:30 . And so are we to be as God’s priests, having access to Him, sprinkled with blood, not outwardly with that of the ram of consecration, but inwardly with that of the Lamb of God: the first could only produce (ch. Heb 9:13 ), but the second, pureness of heart and conscience in God’s sight. The washing with water also ( Exo 29:4 ) was to be part of the cleansing of Aaron and his sons: nor only so, but as often as they entered the holy place or approached the altar, they were to wash their hands and feet in the brazen laver, Exo 30:20 ; Exo 40:30-32 ; and the high priest, on the day of atonement, , Lev 16:4 . There can be no reasonable doubt that this clause refers directly to Christian baptism. The of Eph 5:26 , and the , Tit 3:5 , are analogous expressions: and the express mention of here, as distinguished from before, stamps this interpretation with certainty. This distinction makes it impossible, with Calvin, Limborch, Owen, Bengel, Ebrard, and the old Socinians, Schlichting, al., to spiritualize away the meaning into “Christi spiritus et doctrina, seu spiritualis illa aqua, qua suos perfundit Christus, ipsius etiam sanguine non excluso” (Schlichting); for confines the reference to an outward act. And so Thl. ( . , ), Thdrt., c., al. Bhme, Kuin., Thol., De W., Bleek, Lnem., Delitzsch, and the majority of Commentators. Still in maintaining the externality of the words, as referring, and referring solely, to Baptism, we must remember, that Baptism itself is not a mere external rite, but at every mention of it carries the thought further, viz. to that spiritual washing of which it is itself symbolical and sacramental. Notice here that the word is , and not , as ch. Heb 9:13 ; our whole natural life, and not the mere outside surface: that in which our soul dwells and works, the seat of the emotions and desires: this also must be purified in those who would approach God in Christ. So that I would understand with Delitzsch (whose note here by all means see), that the sprinkling the heart from an evil conscience is, so to speak, intra-sacramental, a spiritual application of the purifying Blood, beyond sacramental rites, and the washing the body with pure water is purely sacramental, the effect of baptism taken in its whole blessed meaning and fulfilment as regards our natural existence. The end of his note is very beautiful: “As priests we are sprinkled, as priests we are bathed: sprinkled so that our hearts are freed from an evil conscience, and thus from self-condemnation, sprinkled with Christ’s Blood, to be sprinkled with which and to be certain of and joyful in justification before God is one and the same thing, washed in Holy Baptism, whose pure water penetrates with its saving power not only into the depths of our self-conscious life, but also into the very foundation of our corporeity, and thus sanctifies us not only in the flesh, but in the body and in the spirit: so bringing us, in our whole personal existence, through the Blood speaking in the Sanctuary, through the Water welling forth out of the Sanctuary, into so real a connexion, so close an union with the Sanctuary itself, that we are at all times privileged to enter into the Sanctuary, and to use, in faith, the new and living way.” On the further details of the passage see Hofmann, Weissagung u. Erfllung, ii. 234: Schriftbeweis, ii. 2. 161. The perfect participles shew that a state is spoken of introduced by one act the effect of which is abiding):
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Heb 10:22 . Being thus secure of an acceptable entrance , “let us keep approaching,” that is, to God (Heb 7:25 , Heb 11:6 ); a semi-technical term. , “with a true heart” ( cf. Isa 38:3 ), not with a merely bodily approach as if all were external and symbolic, but with that genuine engagement of the inner man which constitutes true worship. Chrysostom has . Davidson has “with fundamental genuineness”; but it is the genuineness which is elicited in presence of realities. is interpreted in 1Pe 3:4 , . It is the inevitable qualification of one who comes , “in full assurance of faith,” believing not only that God is (Heb 11:6 ) but that a way to His favour and fellowship is opened by the Great Priest. To engender this full assurance has been the aim of the writer throughout the Epistle. . These participles express not conditions of approach to God which are yet to be achieved, but conditions already possessed, “our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our body washed with pure water”. Both participles must be construed with . The obvious connection of “heart” and “body” forbids the attachment of to . To connect both participles with . is equally impossible. “ is a technical liturgical word, and sprinkling and washing are liturgical acts of preparation” (Delitzsch). Possibly the mention of sprinkling and washing is an echo of the injunctions of Exo 29:4 ; Exo 29:21 ; Exo 30:20 ; Exo 40:30 , prescribing similar preparation for the priestly functions. Our heart or inner man by the application of the ( cf. 1Pe 1:2 ) is delivered from the consciousness of guilt (Heb 9:14 ); out body by the application of the purifying water of baptism becomes the symbol of complete purity. “Sprinkled with that blood which speaketh evermore in the heavenly sanctuary, and washed with baptismal water sacramentally impregnated with the same, we are at all times privileged to approach by a new and living way the heavenly temple, entering by faith its inner sanctuary, and there presenting ourselves in the presence of God” (Delitzsch). Cf. especially Psa 51:6-7 , and Plutarch, Isis and Osiris , c. 80 (p. 383) where ceremonial purifications are explained on the principle that the Pure and Undefiled must be worshipped by the pure in body and soul.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
with. Greek. meta. App-104.
true. Greek. alethinos. App-175.
full assurance. See Heb 6:11.
faith. Greek. pistis. App-150.
having, &c. = sprinkled (Heb 9:13) as to the hearts.
from. Greek. apo. App-104.
evil. Greek. poneros. App-128.
our bodies, &c. = bathed (Greek. louo. App-136.) as to the body.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
22.] let us approach (, see ref., = ch. Heb 7:19, and is a word belonging to worship. So that the participial clauses which follow are best regarded as both belonging to , since they also describe requisite preparations for worship: see this further treated below, on Heb 10:23) with a true heart ( , Chrys. So Hezekiah pleads, Isa 38:3, ) in full assurance (, subjective, as in ch. Heb 6:11; see note there) of faith (with no doubt as to the certainty of our access to God by the blood of Jesus), having our hearts sprinkled from (pregnant construction for sprinkled, and by that sprinkling cleansed from) an evil conscience (a conscience polluted with the guilt of sin: for if a mans practice be bad, his conscience, in so far as it is the consciousness of that practice, is : see Delitzsch, Biblische Psychologie, p. 163) and having our body washed with pure water (both these clauses refer to the legal purifications of the Levitical priests, which took place by means of blood and water. At their first dedication, Aaron and his sons were sprinkled with blood, their bodies and their clothes, Exo 29:21; Lev 8:30. And so are we to be as Gods priests, having access to Him, sprinkled with blood, not outwardly with that of the ram of consecration, but inwardly with that of the Lamb of God: the first could only produce (ch. Heb 9:13), but the second, pureness of heart and conscience in Gods sight. The washing with water also (Exo 29:4) was to be part of the cleansing of Aaron and his sons: nor only so, but as often as they entered the holy place or approached the altar, they were to wash their hands and feet in the brazen laver, Exo 30:20; Exo 40:30-32; and the high priest, on the day of atonement, , Lev 16:4. There can be no reasonable doubt that this clause refers directly to Christian baptism. The of Eph 5:26, and the , Tit 3:5, are analogous expressions: and the express mention of here, as distinguished from before, stamps this interpretation with certainty. This distinction makes it impossible, with Calvin, Limborch, Owen, Bengel, Ebrard, and the old Socinians, Schlichting, al., to spiritualize away the meaning into Christi spiritus et doctrina, seu spiritualis illa aqua, qua suos perfundit Christus, ipsius etiam sanguine non excluso (Schlichting); for confines the reference to an outward act. And so Thl. ( . , ), Thdrt., c., al. Bhme, Kuin., Thol., De W., Bleek, Lnem., Delitzsch, and the majority of Commentators. Still in maintaining the externality of the words, as referring, and referring solely, to Baptism, we must remember, that Baptism itself is not a mere external rite, but at every mention of it carries the thought further, viz. to that spiritual washing of which it is itself symbolical and sacramental. Notice here that the word is , and not , as ch. Heb 9:13; our whole natural life, and not the mere outside surface: that in which our soul dwells and works, the seat of the emotions and desires: this also must be purified in those who would approach God in Christ. So that I would understand with Delitzsch (whose note here by all means see), that the sprinkling the heart from an evil conscience is, so to speak, intra-sacramental, a spiritual application of the purifying Blood, beyond sacramental rites, and the washing the body with pure water is purely sacramental, the effect of baptism taken in its whole blessed meaning and fulfilment as regards our natural existence. The end of his note is very beautiful: As priests we are sprinkled, as priests we are bathed: sprinkled so that our hearts are freed from an evil conscience, and thus from self-condemnation, sprinkled with Christs Blood, to be sprinkled with which and to be certain of and joyful in justification before God is one and the same thing,-washed in Holy Baptism, whose pure water penetrates with its saving power not only into the depths of our self-conscious life, but also into the very foundation of our corporeity, and thus sanctifies us not only in the flesh, but in the body and in the spirit: so bringing us, in our whole personal existence, through the Blood speaking in the Sanctuary, through the Water welling forth out of the Sanctuary, into so real a connexion, so close an union with the Sanctuary itself, that we are at all times privileged to enter into the Sanctuary, and to use, in faith, the new and living way. On the further details of the passage see Hofmann, Weissagung u. Erfllung, ii. 234: Schriftbeweis, ii. 2. 161. The perfect participles shew that a state is spoken of introduced by one act the effect of which is abiding):
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Heb 10:22. , let us draw near) by that way.-) which (heart) has thoroughly imbibed the truth, Heb 10:26.-, of faith) Hope and love are added, Heb 10:23-24. These three remain. Faith and hope often stand on the same footing (have the same aspect or relation): wherefore they are here also closely united, and coalesce in the following passages: ch. Heb 11:1 [Heb 12:18, Heb 13:1], etc.-, being sprinkled) So ch. Heb 12:24, Heb 9:13; Heb 9:19; Heb 9:21; 1Pe 1:2.- , hearts) Both the hearts and the body, Heb 10:23, are cleansed. It is not necessary to supply ; for as it is said, , I teach my son, so, , I take care that my son should be taught, and so , , I take care that my heart be sprinkled and my body washed.-, from) An abbreviated expression, to which the necessary word is easily supplied, sprinkled and (supply) delivered from an evil conscience.-, conscience) ch. Heb 9:9, note.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
A True Heart In Full Assurance
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised). Heb 10:22-23
Draw Near
Because we have such a great High Priest seated in heaven, because his blood has been forever accepted upon the mercy-seat, because he lives to make intercession for us, we have every reason to come to God by him. Christ has opened the way, Christ is the way, and every sinner who comes to God by this way is welcome in the holiest! Let us therefore draw near to God.
A True Heart
With a true heart” We come to God with our hearts, not with mere bodily religious exercise, but in true godliness, with the heart, with a new heart, one that is right with God, and is single, sincere, is hearty in its desires, and upright in its ends. Everything in the worship and service of our God must arise from and be done with a true heart.
Full Assurance
In full assurance of faith If we believe God, if we have faith in and toward the triune God, if we trust the Lord Jesus Christ alone for the whole of our acceptance with God, we may come to him, being fully assured of our acceptance by the blood, righteousness, and mediation of Christ. We cannot draw near to God in any other way. God is seen by faith, known by faith, honored by faith, and worshipped by faith in Christ.
Blessed assurance! Jesus is mine!
Oh what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, Im purchased of God,
Born of His Spirit, and washed in His blood!
A Clear Conscience
Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience — Our consciences are by nature evil, blind, perverse, corrupt, and pronounce us guilty before God. Once the blood of Christ is sprinkled on the conscience by the Spirit of God it is thereby purged from dead works, cleansed from all sin, and granted the blessed peace of full pardon and forgiveness upon the ground of justice satisfied. It is this that gives the believing sinner boldness to draw near to God.
Cleansed Life
And our bodies washed with pure water This is not talking about the water of baptism, but about the grace of God the Holy Spirit, often compared to water in Scripture (Joh 7:37-39). The body as well as the soul needs washing and renewing. Grace in the heart cleanses the life and sanctifies the whole man. The allusion, Gill tells us, is to a custom of the Jews, who were obliged to wash their bodies, and make them clean, when they prayed, worshipped, and offered sacrifice to God.
Hold Fast
“Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised)” (Heb 10:23).
Yes, we are kept in grace and kept in faith by the power of Gods grace, the blood of Christ, and the seal of the Spirit. Did he not hold us by his grace, we could not and would not hold him; but true faith holds him and holds him fast. Faith holds Christ to the end. He will not let us go; and we will not let him go.
Let us ever hold fast the doctrine of our profession, the gospel of Gods grace and glory in Christ, our crucified, risen, exalted Substitute, the Object of our profession. Here is our encouragement to do so: — He is faithful that promised! God is faithful (Lam 3:21-26).
Our faithful God has promised us eternal life and salvation in Christ to all who seek him. Truly, his faithfulness is great! His compassions never fail! His mercy, love and grace are immutable. His gifts and callings are without repentance. He will bring us safely home to heaven at last!
Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible
draw: Heb 4:16, Heb 7:19, Psa 73:28, Isa 29:13, Jer 30:21, Jam 4:8
a true: 1Ki 15:3, 1Ch 12:33, 1Ch 28:9, 1Ch 29:17, Psa 9:1, Psa 32:11, Psa 51:10, Psa 84:11, Psa 94:15, Psa 111:1, Psa 119:2, Psa 119:7, Psa 119:10, Psa 119:34, Psa 119:58, Psa 119:69, Psa 119:80, Psa 119:145, Pro 23:26, Jer 3:10, Jer 24:7, Act 8:21, Eph 6:5
in full: Heb 10:19, Mat 21:21, Mat 21:22, Mar 11:23, Mar 11:24, Eph 3:12, Jam 1:6, 1Jo 3:19, 1Jo 3:21, 1Jo 3:22
sprinkled: Heb 9:13, Heb 9:14, Heb 9:19, Heb 11:28, Heb 12:24, Lev 14:7, Num 8:7, Num 19:18, Num 19:19, Isa 52:15, Eze 36:25, 1Pe 1:2
an evil: Joh 8:9, 1Ti 4:2, 1Jo 3:20
our bodies: Heb 9:10, Exo 29:4, Lev 8:6, Eze 16:9, Eze 36:25, Zec 13:1, Mat 3:11, Joh 3:5, Joh 13:8-10, 1Co 6:11, 2Co 7:1, Eph 5:26, Tit 3:5, 1Pe 3:21, Rev 1:5
Reciprocal: Gen 18:23 – drew Gen 35:2 – clean Exo 19:10 – wash Exo 24:2 – General Exo 29:20 – sprinkle Exo 30:19 – General Exo 40:7 – General Exo 40:30 – General Lev 3:1 – without Lev 11:25 – and be unclean Lev 13:6 – wash Lev 15:5 – General Lev 15:27 – General Lev 22:6 – General Deu 23:11 – wash himself 1Ki 7:38 – ten lavers 2Ki 5:13 – Wash Psa 51:2 – Wash Son 2:14 – let me hear Eze 36:37 – I will yet Eze 40:38 – where Zep 3:2 – she drew Mat 5:8 – are Mat 23:26 – cleanse Joh 2:6 – after Joh 13:5 – to wash Joh 13:9 – not Act 22:16 – arise Act 24:16 – General Rom 10:10 – For with Rom 12:1 – that ye Col 2:2 – of the full 1Th 1:5 – in much 1Ti 1:5 – a good 1Ti 2:8 – lifting 2Ti 3:14 – assured Tit 1:15 – their Heb 6:11 – to the Heb 11:1 – faith Heb 12:28 – with reverence Heb 13:20 – the blood
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
ESSENTIALS OF TRUE PRAYER
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
Heb 10:22
The text teaches us how to pray acceptably, and sets before us the three great essentials of acceptable and true prayer.
I. A true heart.Lip-worship is an abomination unto the Lord. This people draweth nigh unto Me with their mouth, and honoureth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.
(a) A heart true towards God.
(b) A heart true towards ourselves.
(c) A heart true towards others.
II. A strong faith.Without faith it is impossible to please God; and the stronger our faith, the more pleasing to God.
(a) The mark of a strong faith is assurance.
(b) The faith God requires in our prayers is faith full to assurance.
(c) The faith most honoured by God is that which is full of assurance.
Not merely full up to the point of assurance, but full of assurance. We should seek to attain this degree of faith.
III. A consistent character.Having our hearts sprinkled. The expression indicates a consistent character as essential to a devout lifeinternal purity and outward conformity (Psa 24:3-4). The praying man must be he on whom the Spirit of God must rest (Eze 36:25-26). These three essentials may seem difficult to realise, but Sincerity, Faith, and Consistency are within the reach of all.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Heb 10:22. Draw near. The nearest the people of the first priesthood could get to the most holy place was by way of or near the vail. Likewise Christians may get very near the throne of God (by the full assurance of faith). The heart and conscience are the inner and invisible part of man, hence we know that sprinkled is used figuratively and means to be cleansed spiritually. The figure is drawn from the fact that the blood was actually sprinkled on men to consecrate them for the priesthood under the old law (Exo 29:21). Our bodies are literal and hence they are literally washed in the water of baptism. Pure water has no reference to the subject of sanitary conditions. The word means “unmixed” and is a contrast from the water of purification used under the law. That water was mixed with the ashes of an animal (Numbers 19).
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Heb 10:22. Let us draw nearevery hindrance created by Gods holiness and our own sin is removedthe way is openedlet us come to God in loving trust and holy service; and so worshippers are called comers (unto God), Heb 7:25; Heb 10:1, Heb 11:6with a true heartfree from hypocrisy and double-mindedness and in harmony with the realities of the Gospel (Joh 1:9), being what we seem and seeming what we ought to be, the perfect heart of Isa 38:3in full assurance of faith, i.e without any diffidence as to our right of approach or our acceptance through the entrance and presence of our priest Hope and love come afterwards (Heb 10:23-24), these three, the usual Pauline triad (1Co 13:13; 1Th 1:3; 1Th 1:5; 1Th 1:8; Col 1:4). The three assurances of Scripture, of understanding (Col 2:2), of faith, and of hope, are great blessings which all Christians should try and perfect. All the errors and doubts, the discomforts and fears, of Christian men are traceable to the defectiveness of these graces. Israels right of access is not comparable to ours. They were sprinkled with blood at Sinai (chap. Heb 9:19); the priests washed hands and feet before every sacrificial service (Exo 30:29), and the high priest washed his body twice on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16); but these were external sprinklings of blood and external washings, while ours are operations of grace. We are sprinkled as to our hearts, so as to be cleansed from an evil consciencean inward justifying through sprinkling of the blood of Christ (1Pe 1:2) which was shed for this very purpose, and is therefore called the blood of sprinkling (chap. Heb 9:14): and our bodies washed with pure water, with reference still to the divers washings of the Law (see chap. Heb 9:10), whereby both people and priests were purified for approaching to God, but with deeper significance. The blood under the Law typified the cleansing of priest and people from the guilt of sin, and the washing typified the cleansing of them from the pollution and defilement of it; so our justification through the blood of Christ is inseparable from that inward renewal which we call a new and regenerate nature. The faith that justifies is always the beginning of a holy character: both are essential to acceptable service and to acceptable fellowship with God (for the need of this double work, see Tit 2:14; Tit 3:5). Some commentators understand by the washing of the body the rite of baptism (Delitzsch, Alford, etc.), and it is not improbable that this may have been in the writers mind; but it is not consistent with sound interpretation to make one rite the antitype of another. Antitypes are spiritual realities, and if baptism is implied at all it must be baptism in closest connection with the grace it symbolizes; in short, it must be the spiritual significance of the ordinance rather than the mere ordinance itself.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 22
Our bodies washed, &c.; referring to the rite of baptism. Were we to insist upon the principle of strict conformity to the letter, in interpreting the allusions to the rite of baptism in the New Testament, even immersion would not suffice. To wash is more than simply to immerse.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
10:22 {7} Let us draw near with a {i} true heart in full assurance of faith, having our {k} hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with {l} pure water.
(7) A most grave exhortation, in which he shows how the sacrifice of Christ may be applied to us: that is, by faith which also he describes by the consequence, that is, by sanctification of the Spirit, which causes us to hope in God, and to procure by all means possible one another’s salvation, through the love that is in us one towards another.
(i) With no double and counterfeit heart, but with such a heart as is truly and indeed given to God.
(k) This is it which the Lord says, Be ye holy, for I am holy.
(l) With the grace of the Holy Spirit.