"Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec." Hebrews 6:20
Hebrews 6Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this will we do, if God permit.For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
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"Boldness" (lit., all-spokenness—a spirit of utter, confident openness), is taken from two Greek words pan, meaning all; and hrema, meaning speech. We have a similar meaning in our term, "speak out." The Apostle John uses it over and over: "If our heart condemn us not, we have boldness (same Gr. word) toward God." "Herein is love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world." "This is the boldness which we have toward Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us." "Abide in Him, that, if He shall be manifested, we may have boldness and not be ashamed before Him at his coming" (1 John 2:28; 3:21; 4:17; 5:14). The verb is also illustrated in Eph. 6:20; 1 Thess. 2:2; Acts 13:46; 14:3, 18:26 and other places. It means to speak out all the heart, without fear or reserve.
. . . Notice that the Israelites had not what is here called "boldness toward God." This was the very opposite of that which they knew under Law, with the veil unrent. Only the priests of the tribe of Levi were permitted to come even past the first veil; and the high priest alone, once a year only, came past the second, into God's immediate presence. Behaving was the consciousness toward God under Law; believing—freedom, unreserve, "boldness," came only through Christ's work. Now the believer comes into the presence of God, gladly resting in Christ's blood, with which (blood) Christ
"entered into the holy place—into Heaven itself, now to appear before the face of God for us."
There was nothing for sinners to hide but sin; and sin had been put away by the blood of Christ; which was now trusted in! Satan's continual effort is to obscure the work of Christ, and bring sins to remembrance; and thus "put (us) in fear by ... terror," as Peter says (1 Pet. 3:6).
Under the Old Covenant no one had nor could have, the consciousness that his sin was forever and entirely put away. But God has provided us a
"better hope, through which we draw nigh unto God"!
Indeed, the exhortation to
"hold fast our boldness and the glorying in our hope,"
of Chapter 3:6, runs right through the book of Hebrews:
"Having then a Great High Priest, who hath passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession" (4:14).
"Be not sluggish, but imitators of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises" (6:12).
"Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus" (10:19)
, and then the great exhortation (vs. 23):
"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope that it waver not; for He is faithful that promised."
. . . Six words might sum up the believing Hebrew's position: "Within the veil" (6:19; 10:20); without the camp. "Within the veil" is the heavenly position: Christ is there, and believers in fact are there in Him, and are to be there in constant entrance (10:19 ff). Without the camp [Heb 13:13] reveals where Christ is and His followers are, as to this world and its "religion." If God takes Judaism away from the Hebrews, and commands them to
"draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace,"
having "no continuing city" on earth, no temple, ceremonies, special days—no religious camp, but Christ in the glory only—let us beware of any "religious" things man sets up on earth! All earthly religious things are of the flesh, which has been forever rejected of God. Let no man build it up by religious forms, lest it prove his doom.
("It (the kingdom of Christ) has no sacred days or seasons, no special sanctuaries, because every time and every place are alike holy. Above all, it has no sacerdotal system. It interposes no sacrificial tribe or class between God and man. The only priests under the Gospel, designated as such in the New Testament, are the saints, the members of the Christian brotherhood. As individuals all Christians are priests alike."—Bishop Lightfoot, of Durham.)
Again and again we say, since their "religion" is taken away from the Hebrews (to whom God gave it), let no Gentile (to whom religion was never given) dare to claim to have it! You—who are you? A publican, we trust, who has smitten his breast, saying,
"God be merciful to me, a sinner" (Lk. 18:9-14).
Otherwise, you are a Pharisee!
Bearing His reproach: For if there is anyone despised or reproached on earth, it is one openly holding a hope of Heaven, yet having no connection with human "religion." Let such an one love fellow Christians, and unsaved people too, howevermuch; and let him testify ever so faithfully of God's infinite gift of love, even Christ, dying for our sins—yet the question the world will ask will be, "What religion do you profess?" or, "What denomination do you belong to?" And if he says, "To none: I belong to Christ," they cast him out. Yea, the "denominations" themselves will persecute him. And why all this? Hearken:
Because the sins of such a one were put away by the blood of Christ, and he knows it.
Because he died with Christ and is a new creature in a Risen Christ, and he knows it.
Because, wonder of wonders!—he is a member of the Body of Christ; and the Spirit, Who baptized him into that Body, indwells him—and he knows it.
Because he finds in the Cross the end of all human religions, the end of all man's hopes of whatever sort.
Because he is not of the world even as Christ was not of the world; and he is hated because Christ is hated—and he knows it.
Of course all this makes him "different" from the world. Unless your only hope is not "religion," not being a "church member," not so-called Christian activity, but—the blood of Christ Who entered Heaven
"through His own blood,"
having shed it on the Cross, forsaken of God for your sins—your hope is a damning delusion, whatever your "priest," "pastor," or "spiritual adviser" may tell you. So any man or woman who knows the true gospel is in a world where he will bear His reproach.
"All that would live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" (2 Tim. 3:12.
The world will not have Christ Himself set before them: as their only hope of escape from hell; as having immediate claims upon them as their Creator God, as the Redeemer at the cost of His own blood; as their appointed judge. Let these claims of Christ be set forth in the power of the Holy Spirit, and you will find the wrath of this Satan-ruled world to be just what it was when they spat in the face of the Son of God, and nailed Him to the Tree!)
Let it be known that you believe the mere profession of "the Christian religion" to be a delusion, and you will at once find yourself bearing His reproach. "Religion" is a false hope. Christendom has put on this garment and goes right on sinning. Salvation, on the other hand, involves men's knowledge of and acquaintance with Jesus Christ in Heaven Who bore their sins in His own body on the Tree. Saved people have HIM. They have deserted "religion" for a Person—a Divine Person—and are waiting for Him from Heaven."
William R. Newell
Excerpts from Hebrews Verse by Verse
Photo by Jan's Archive on Unsplash
