Keys to Successful Living: 12 Ways to Discover God's Best for Your Life (5 page)

O
UR
SIXTH
KEY
for successful living is found in Hebrews 10. It is interesting to me that in almost every one of these keys, the text begins with the word
therefore
. In other words, we see a logical unfolding, a sequence of thought. Here are our first five keys:

1. Let us fear
   
2. Let us be diligent
   
3. Let us hold fast our confession
   
4. Let us draw near to the throne of grace
   
5. Let us press on to maturity
   

Have you placed these first five squarely in your memory? If so, let’s move on now and look at the sixth key.

The content of this verse sounds similar to the fourth key, but there is an important distinction. That one was: “Let us draw near to the throne of grace.” This sixth key is: “Let us draw near to God.” The distinction is made clear in the context of Hebrews 10:19 and the follow-up in verse 22: “Since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place . . . let us draw near to God.” This suggests that drawing near to God is equivalent to entering the Most Holy Place.

In light of that truth, look again at these two statements. “Let us draw near to the throne” (Key #4) means that we can come for the help we need—for mercy and for grace. But “Let us draw near to the Most Holy Place” (Key #6) means that we draw near to God Himself. I believe that this key opens the way to go much further. Not merely do we come to the throne for help, but we come because we are invited to take our place with Christ on the throne. It is by taking our place with Him that we enter into the Most Holy Place.

The Tabernacle Pattern

The author of Hebrews uses descriptive language here based on the pattern of the Tabernacle of Moses. Put simply, three main areas comprised the Tabernacle. First was the Outer Court, an open courtyard bordered by curtains. Any Israelite could enter this area. Then, within this courtyard on the western end, was the Tabernacle itself—a portable tent held up by a wooden framework. Inside the first curtain of the tent was the Holy Place. Only priests could enter this chamber. At the farther end, beyond the second curtain, was the Most Holy Place. This chamber could be entered only by the high priest once a year—on the Day of Atonement.

Our destination is the Most Holy Place, beyond the second curtain.

The only furniture in the Most Holy Place, as it was designed by God, was the Ark of the Covenant. This was a box
made out of acacia wood that was completely covered with gold. The Ark was topped with what was called the Mercy Seat, or the place of propitiation. Inside the Ark were the two tablets containing the Ten Commandments, but these were covered by the Mercy Seat. This placement indicates that through Christ’s propitiation on our behalf, the Law has been covered by mercy.

On the ends of the Mercy Seat were two cherubs facing one another. They were looking toward the center of the Mercy Seat with their wings stretched out over them and their wing tips touching in the center.

The Mercy Seat is God’s throne. It is important for us to remember that God sits on a throne of mercy. His mercy covers the Law. The two cherubs with their faces turned inward toward one another, their wing tips touching, represent the place of fellowship. So, the Mercy Seat is a place of mercy, a place of fellowship—but it is also a throne, the seat of God as King.

There was no representation of God Himself in that piece of furniture—which, of course, was forbidden by Law for the Israelites. But God did come into the Most Holy Place and take His seat. He came in the form of the
Shekinah
glory—the visible, palpable presence of Almighty God. Without that glory, the Most Holy Place was in total darkness. There was no natural or artificial illumination. When the
Shekinah
, the glorious presence of God, came in, it was the sign that God was taking His place on the throne.

The sixth
Let us
statement, then, invites us into the Most Holy Place. We are welcomed to draw near to God. We are,
in fact, invited to take our place with Christ on the throne. This passage in Hebrews 10 also tells us that we are to come by “a new and living way.” What is the new and living way? It is Jesus. We see a direct comparison of Jesus’ life and ministry—the “new and living way”—to the Most Holy Place.

Four Requirements

Even though we are invited to enter the Most Holy Place, the writer of Hebrews says that we must fulfill certain requirements in order to approach the Mercy Seat and the throne.

1. A Sincere Heart

We approach God with our hearts, not with our heads. God is not the answer to an intellectual riddle, but He does meet a longing heart. It must be a sincere heart, without any pretensions or hypocrisy. We have to expose ourselves to God just as we are and not try to cover up anything or pretend to be different than we are. We must be open and honest with Him.

2
. A Full Assurance of Faith

In the next chapter of Hebrews, we read: “Without faith it is impossible to please [God], for he who comes to God must believe” (Hebrews 11:6
NKJV
).

We see from this passage that we must come with faith in God’s faithfulness; in other words, we come not in our own ability or righteousness, but with absolute faith in God’s faithfulness.

3. Our
Hearts Sprinkled from an Evil Conscience

An “evil conscience” comes from wrong and sinful deeds we have committed in the past. Through the blood of Jesus, however, we can receive assurance that all those evil deeds in the past have been forgiven and that our hearts are pure from sin. We can have our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience through the blood of Jesus.

4. Our Bodies Washed with
Pure Water

In his first epistle, John tells us that Jesus came by water and by blood (see 1 John 5:6). In these two conditions, we see the blood that sprinkles from an evil conscience and the water that washes our bodies. I believe
water
refers to Christian baptism. In every place where it is explained in the New Testament, Christian baptism is depicted as sharing in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

This confirms for us that “the new and living way” is Jesus. It is the act of coming and partaking of His death, His burial and His resurrection. As we approach the Mercy Seat, we identify with everything that Jesus went through in dying for our sins.

Identification with Jesus

What, then, does it mean to be seated with Jesus? It means to be enthroned—to share the throne with Him.

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:4–6
NIV
1984

Notice the three stages of identification with Jesus. First, we are “made alive.” Second, we are “raised up” or resurrected. And third, we are “seated with Him.” Where is Jesus seated? On the throne.

Once we see our identification with Jesus, we are invited to follow Him all the way. Since He is the “new and living way,” we can be made alive with Him, and we can be resurrected with Him. But we do not need to stop there. We can also be enthroned with Him.

In the pattern of the Tabernacle, the first curtain represents what we enter into through sharing in the resurrection of Jesus. The second curtain that leads to the Most Holy Place represents what we enter into through sharing in the ascension of Jesus.

Jesus was not merely resurrected; subsequently, He was raised up to heaven to the throne. That is where God wants us. God does not want us to stop short in this new and living way until we have reached the throne—until we are sharing the throne with Jesus, seated with Him in heavenly places. That is our destination.

D
OES
IT
EVER
FEEL
as though you have lost sight of God? Does evil seem to be winning in your life? If the answer is yes, take special note of this all-important seventh key.

First, though, let’s review our first six keys:

1. Let us fear
   
2. Let us be diligent
   
3. Let us hold fast our confession
   
4. Let us draw near to the throne of grace
   
5. Let us press on to maturity
   
6. Let us draw near to the Most Holy Place
   

The seventh key is found, like the previous one, in Hebrews 10.

Let’s take a moment to review what we have learned about confession. First,
confession
means “saying the same as God.” Confessing our faith, then, is saying the same with our mouths that God says in His Word. It is making our words agree with the written Word of God in every point. Generally, as we advance in the spiritual life, our confession comes closer to being in complete agreement with the Word of God in every area of our lives.

Second, it is through our confession that we are linked to Jesus as our High Priest. One of the main themes of Hebrews is that Jesus is our High Priest in heaven. He is there on our behalf in the presence of God the Father—to represent us,
to present our petitions, to intercede on our behalf and to make good every right confession that we make.

This is brought out in Hebrews 3:1: “Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession.”

In other words, our confession enlists the ministry of Jesus as High Priest on our behalf. If we make the right confession, Jesus is obligated in His eternal faithfulness to see that the confession is made good. If we fail to make the right confession or if we make no confession at all, we silence the lips of our High Priest. We give Him no opportunity to minister as High Priest on our behalf. We can see, therefore, that there is tremendous importance in confession.

The Sequence of Confessing

There is much to learn from the way this theme of confession is built up in the epistle to the Hebrews.

First, in Hebrews 3:1, we are admonished to make the right confession: Jesus is the Apostle and High Priest of our confession. We then remember the related key we studied in Hebrews 4:14—the third key: “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.” In speaking of Jesus as our High Priest, Scripture immediately goes on to emphasize our confession—in other words, our confession enlists His ministry on our behalf as our High Priest. And in Hebrews
4:14, we are admonished to “hold fast” our confession. We must not change what we have said. We need to keep making the words of our mouths agree with the Word of God.

Thus, we come to the next step in this sequence, the seventh key: “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering” (Hebrews 10:23). Notice the two added words:
without wavering
.

If we look through these passages of Hebrews in correct order, we see that, in respect to our confession, there are three successive stages. First, we make the confession. Second, having made it, we hold fast; we do not change. Third, we hold it fast without wavering.

Why do you think
without wavering
is put in? What does it imply? To me, these words imply—not merely on the basis of logic but on the basis of personal experience—that when we make the right confession, we are going to encounter negative forces and pressures that will come against us. Even though we have made the right confession and are holding it fast, there may come a time when the pressure increases. At that time, it may seem that all the forces of Satan and all the powers of darkness are turned loose against us, tempting us to let go of our confession.

The Right Response

This is the very point at which the writer of Hebrews tells us, “Don’t let go. Hold fast—without wavering.” The darker the
situation, the greater the problem and the stronger the pressures, the more important it is for us to hold fast without wavering. Why? Because “He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23).

You may feel that God is behind the clouds, out of sight, and you have no idea what He is doing. But Scripture says He is faithful. Whether you see Him or not, whether you understand or not, He is faithful. He is committed to His Word, and He is our High Priest. If we hold fast our confession
without wavering
, He will do His job as our High Priest.

Compare what we have just observed with this simple statement in 2 Corinthians 5:7: “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” Clearly, you can see that there is opposition between faith and sight. The natural man walks by sight—he trusts his senses, and he believes only what his senses tell him. But in our spiritual lives as Christians, we should not trust our senses. We walk by faith.

Faith relates us to an unseen, eternal realm where reality does not change. The world of the senses is always changing—it is temporary, unstable and unreliable. But through faith we relate to a different world—a world of eternal realities and eternal truths. As we relate to that world by faith, we hold fast our confession without wavering.

The pressures God permits to come into our lives determine whether we are trusting our senses or our faith. If we change our confession because of the darkness, then we are going by our senses and not by faith.

For faith, there is no darkness. Faith sees with an inner spiritual eye into a realm that does not change. Faith gazes upon a High Priest who is reliable and constant.

The Example of Abraham

In connection with this principle of making and holding the right confession without wavering, look for a moment at the example of Abraham as he is portrayed in Romans 4. I think that Abraham is one of the best examples of holding fast without wavering. This is what Paul says about Abraham:

Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.”

Romans 4:19–22
NIV
1984

We see from this example that real faith faces facts. Any attitude that is not willing to look at the real facts is not real faith. Abraham did not try to deceive himself or picture the situation differently from what it was. With his senses he saw that his body and Sarah’s womb were as good as dead. But then he decided not to trust only in his senses.

Abraham is called “the father of all who believe” (Romans 4:11), and we are exhorted to follow in his steps of faith. We are required to walk that same path of faith. How? We lay hold of the promise of God, we make our confession, and then we hold our confession fast without wavering.
We are not to be deterred by what our senses reveal, but to look beyond the senses and the seen things into the unseen realm—to see by faith our faithful High Priest, there at God’s right hand.

Don’t Be Double-Minded

In this connection, listen to what James says in his epistle. Many Christians fail at this point. They make a confession; they hold it fast; but when the pressures build up, they do not hold it fast without wavering.

But when [a believer] asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

James 1:6–8
NIV
1984

This is the person who wavers: a person who starts to ask, starts to pray or starts to believe—but who does not hold fast without wavering. That person is tossed to and fro, blown about by the winds and the waves. Scripture says about such a person—and this is a very solemn warning—“that man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord.”

By wavering, we can forfeit our blessings and lose the benefit of Christ’s ministry on our behalf as our High Priest. What is the remedy? “Let us hold fast our confession without wavering.”