LIFE & GAME CHANGER 12 OF 16

THE SON—PRIVILEGES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

"Having, therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by the way which He dedi­cated for us, a new and living way, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh; and having a great Priest over the House of God; let us draw near with a true heart in fullness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our body washed with pure water; let us hold fast the confession of our hope that it waver not; for He is faithful that promised; and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works; not forsaking the assembling of ourselves to­gether, as the custom of some is, but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as ye see the day drawing nigh."--HEBREWS 10:19-25

            For our present article the whole of this paragraph is needed, revealing as it does privileges and responsibili­ties, resulting from the fact of the finality of the speech of God to men through His Son.

            It is best to remember that the letter to the Hebrews is not intended to interpret the speech of the Son, but to insist upon its authority. In our previous articles we have considered the Son as superior to angels, to Moses, to Joshua, to Aaron. We have also considered the fact that upon that superiority of personality and function through the Son, there is established for men a new covenant written upon the heart, and based upon personal first­hand fellowship with God. The result of this creation of a better covenant is that of the establishment of a better system of worship. We have a right of entry, not into an earthly tabernacle, but through the earthly into the heavenly, into the Holy of Holies, so that we may worship God, without any other mediation than that of the one great Priest.

            It is at that point in the letter where the paragraph now under consideration commences. All these things being so as to privilege, responsibility inevitably results. As we have seen before in the course of the letter, the writer again and again turns aside to utter words of solemn exhortation and warning. The full passage here begins at verse nineteen, and ends at verse thirty-seven and the latter part of it is characterized by warnings. With these we are not dealing now, but with the section revealing the responsi­bilities devolving upon us, on account of our high and holy privilege through Christ Jesus our Lord.

            The recognition of privilege is seen in the repetition of the word "Having" twice over, and that of responsibility in the repetition of the words "Let us" three times. In this way let us consider the matter, beginning then with the privileges referred to.

            In considering these, we assume familiarity with the stately arguments concerning the Son, which we have been considering, and to which we have now made reference.

            We have seen Him superior to angels in the fact of His Sonship; superior to Moses in the fact that He is Son and Master of the House; superior to Joshua in that he leads His people into rest; superior to Aaron in that His Priest­hood is forever after the order of Melchizedek. We have

seen the new center of worship established, and the pos­sibility of approach upon the basis of a new spiritual covenant.

            Now the writer makes no reference to Moses, to Joshua, to Aaron, but to that great fact of our access to the Holiest through the mediation and priesthood of our Lord. "Hav­ing, therefore, brethren, boldness to enter in." That is the first "having," and it refers to our right of access to God, based upon all the things that have been said concerning the Son of God. The place is referred to, and under the symbolism of the Tabernacle, that place is the Holy of Holies, beyond the veil, wherein in the old economy was found the ark with the mercy-seat, and the overshadowing cherubim, and the shining of the Shekinah glory. Our privilege is that of passing within that veil.

            We are reminded also of the way of our entrance:

"By the blood of Jesus . . . through the veil, that is to say, His flesh."

            The value of that expression, "His flesh," is exactly that found in the prologue to the Gospel of John, when he, writing of our Lord, said, "The Word was made flesh." Our right of entrance is through that, but it must be care­fully kept in mind it is through the rending of the veil; and our right, therefore, to enter this place of worship is not created by the Incarnation, not because God has been manifest in flesh, but by that of the death and resurrection of the incarnate One.

            The writer, continuing, describes this as "a new and living way." With that phrase I pause for a moment, because the Greek word rendered "new" there, literally means newly-slain, and the phrase accurately translated reads, "a newly-slain and living way." In this connection we may call to mind the fact that in the Apocalypse, John speaks of beholding:

"In the midst of the Throne . . . a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain."

            This is our way into the Holy of Holies, and we have no other right of entry there. Man, by reason of sin, has for­feited his right of fellowship with God, and that right is restored through the Priest.

            The whole great truth finds simple expression in Mrs. Alexander's wonderful hymn written for children, but which in many ways sets forth this truth more perfectly than any other has done:

"There is a green hill far away, Without a city wall,

Where the dear Lord was crucified, Who died to save us all.

There was no other good enough,

To pay the price of sin,

He only could unlock the gate
Of heaven and let us in."

            And this He did by the rending of the veil of His flesh, that is by the mystery of His atoning death. Here we stand, face to face with the fundamental truth concern­ing our right of access to God, and perhaps it finds ex­pression in another children's hymn, full of simple beauty:

"But though we're sinners every one,

Jesus died!

And though our crown of peace was gone,

Jesus died !

We may be cleansed from every stain,

We may be crowned with bliss again,

And in the land of pleasure reign,

For Jesus died !"

            In considering this first "having," we pause for a moment with another technicality of translation. The word rendered "boldness" means, quite literally, bold­ness of speech. We find it in the Acts of the Apostles, when it is said of Peter and those with him, that their boldness of speech arrested and astonished the Sanhe­drim.

            It is boldness of speech that we have in the Holy of Holies, which means that there we find freedom of utter­ance in the presence of God. It is a great and almost overwhelming statement and thought, that in that Holy Place we are able to stand, and talk face to face with God. Kipling, in his introduction to one of his books, referring to men that he knew and honored, described them as "gentlemen unafraid." That phrase exactly des­cribes our privilege.

            And yet we pause, because the majesty of God is necessarily so overwhelming that it is difficult to under­stand how the thing is possible until we come, as we now do, to the second "having." "Having a great Priest over the House of God."

            And here for the moment the emphatic word is that word "over," which means that our Priest is there in full and final authority; and we stand there not merely ad­mitted through His work, but in fellowship with Him.

            The lines of another hymn occur to me in this con­nection:

"So near, so very near to God, We cannot nearer be;

For in the Person of His Son, We are as near as He.

So dear, so very dear to God, We cannot dearer be,

For in the Person of His Son, We are as dear as He."

These, then, are the great privileges referred to.

            In view of these privileges the writer points out the responsibilities resulting. Let us first set them out in order, each being introduced by the phrase, "Let us."

"Let us draw near." "Let us hold fast." "Let us consider one another."

            An examination of these three phrases will show that the form of the verb in each case suggests not so much an act as continuity. "Let us draw near" means continuously. "Let us hold fast" means persistently. "Let us consider one another" means constantly.

            Observe again, "Let us draw near . . . in fullness of faith." "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope." "Let us consider one another to provoke unto love." Three words stand out: faith, hope, and love. In the first two, responsibility is strictly individual, although the pronoun is in the plural. In the third case the appli­cation is social, embodying the fact of fellowship.

            Taking these in separation, we begin with the first. We are to draw near. We know that the way has been opened for us. We have the right of access to the Holy of Holies. Our responsibility is that we avail ourselves of this privi­lege. Privilege is only powerful as it is practiced. Through Christ the great hour has come in which no longer in Jeru­salem or Gerizim, but wherever the human soul is, the way is open. It is not enough to know this. We must enter.             Moreover, we are to do so "in fullness of faith," and faith is the faith that is fixed upon the Priest and His mighty redeeming work. As we approach, we are not to waver in doubt, for the everlasting mercy of the Father is seen in the glory shining upon the mercy-seat. It is important that we recognize that before going, therefore, into this place of worship there must be a place of preparation by confession, and the seeking of the putting away of what­ever defilement we may have contracted. Granted these things, however, we may come, through our Priest, into the presence of God with freedom of utterance, with all boldness of speech.

            Our responsibility, moreover, is that we come, holding "fast the confession of hope." We may express this hope whereby we are saved as being the onward expectation and desire for the full realization of all wrought for us in and through the redeeming work of our Lord:

"Every one that hath this hope set on Him, puri­fieth himself, even as He is pure."

            Our hope, therefore, including as it does the ultimate in the processes of the ages, is immediate confidence in the ultimate, complete, full realization of the Divine purpose. Faith and hope are ever joined together. We are to draw near, then, holding fast the confession of our hope. The ground of our confidence in this is contained in the preg­nant sentence:

"He is faithful that promised."

"My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus' blood and righteousness.”

            Our hope is never built upon ourselves, or upon our own endeavors. It is created by the certainty that He will not fail. Hope is radiant. Hope is buoyant. Hope sings its song on the darkest day. Hope chants its anthem on the roughest way. Thus we are to come, daringly, in fullness of faith; and joyously, holding fast the confession of our hope.

            But once more. There can be nothing finally self-centered in Christian experience. When experience tends to self-confidence, it is perishing. Therefore, the writer says, "Let us consider one another." Therein lies a great principle as to responsibility. Men and women who really know God, and know what it is to stand in His presence, cannot be careless concerning each other. The writer ex­presses this responsibility by saying we are to "provoke unto love and good works.” That in itself is an arrest­ing method of speech. It seems at first that there is some­thing contradictory between the word "provoke" and the word "love." An examination of the word "provoke" rather adds to this sense,, because the Greek word is the one from which we derive our word paroxysm; and it is interesting that in our common use of it we usually apply it in the sense which finds expression in the phrase, a paroxysm of rage. It is the word that was used to des­cribe Paul's emotional upheaval in Athens, when, see­ing the city full of idols, his spirit was provoked within him. Now the writer speaks of a provocation that is kindled by love. Our love is no merely soft, piquant sense. It is in itself a fire which consumes, and it is to be exercised on behalf of others.

            Continuing, he shows how this is to be done, and first says:

"Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves to­gether, as the custom of some is, but exhorting one another."

            That is to say, all the privileges which are ours individu­ally we are to share with others. At the end of the Old Testament literature we find a message in which Malachi, referring to days of decadence, declares that there re­mained a remnant of souls of whom he said:

"They that feared the Lord spake one with another."

That was the practice of fellowship. Concerning those he wrote:

"The Lord hearkened and heard,"

Which is a very arresting declaration when the Hebrew words are rightly apprehended. The first one, "The Lord hearkened," is a word which literally describes the prick­ing of the ears with quick action, described by that phrase, which shows a sensitiveness and an attention which is marked. The prophet dared to say that that is what God does when His people are talking together. The second word, "heard," while still referring to the same idea, has another emphasis, for it means to bend over, listening attentively.

            Thus our responsibility as we enter in is a social one. We come with a sense of inter-relationship.

            This article may be very simply summarized by the repetition of words which fell from the lips of our Lord in the upper room, in His final intimate conver­sation with His disciples. He uttered them in connection with the symbolic act of washing their feet. He said to them:

"If ve know these things, happy(born again) are ye if ye do them."

This is what the writer of this letter is showing. The whole paragraph marks the relationship between knowing and doing. Privileges perceived and not practiced become par­alysis. Having the right of entry, having the fellowship of the Priest, let us respond, and fulfill our responsibilities. Life is to be mastered by faith, and not by doubt; it is to, be forevermore illuminated by hope, and not darkened by despair; and in its activity love is to be practiced in fellow­ship. These are the privileges of the Holy Place; and un­less we fulfill our responsibilities, we cannot enter into alt the values of these privileges.