Enter In

The Holy Spirit promised to Jeremiah that, one day, sin would be forgiven and its guilt removed so that a relationship with God would be possible through Christ, and He still testifies that truth to us today. “And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying, ‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws upon their heart.’ He then says, ‘And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more’” (Heb. 10:15-17).

Verse 17, which points to our sins that God will remember no more, is the key to all that the author of Hebrews brings up in this passage. Believers not only know God’s will, but we are empowered to do God’s will because the Holy Spirit lives in us. In fact, this very truth (the Holy Spirit living in us) continues to testify to us that we have been forgiven and the barrier of sin has finally been removed. The author of Hebrews wraps this up in verse 18: “Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.” 

Why is this so important? We can now boldly, with full confidence, enter into the presence of God, the true holy of holies, at any time and draw from His enabling power. He says in verse 19, “Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus.” Since this verse doesn’t tell us what to expect when we enter into God’s presence, let’s look back a few chapters to where the author does tell us.

“Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16). It is only there at the throne of grace that we find the resources for all that He demands to deal with life in our time of need. It is in His very presence we will find grace and mercy to help in time of need! It is His grace that transforms us by His replacing us and enabling us in all that He demands. But it is His mercy that enables us to bear up under the consequences of our sinful choices which once would have shut us out of God’s presence. Now, even when we have sinned, we will find grace and mercy which the law and the blood of bulls and goats would never have allowed. Christ has opened the door for us to personally relate to God.

Back in chapter 10, verse 20 says this way is “a new and living way.” Not only is it totally and qualitatively brand new in comparison to anything that the old covenant was, but it is a living way—it is an accessible, active, and enduring way. Christ opened this way up for us, as the writer goes on to say in this verse, “by a new and living way, which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh.” This points back to Christ’s suffering for us on the cross. Just as the temple veil was torn open in Matthew 27:51, His flesh was also torn open through scourging and on the cross for you and me. As verse 21 states, He is now our Great High Priest presiding over the house of God (which is His Church) and guaranteeing their entrance into the presence of God. Sin can never interfere with our entering into His presence to find grace and mercy in our time of need.

Christ is our Great High Priest who daily intercedes for the people of God in the presence of the Father. Now, since we have this new and living access into God’s presence at all times because of the shed blood of Christ, we can live life on a higher plane in His enabling power. Stop trying to get into a room you are already in; enjoy the privilege Christ offers us as He now lives in our hearts as believers. Enter in—He is inviting you to come boldly into His presence with no fear! Draw from His divine enablement to do all that He has required of you.

Wayne Barber is senior pastor of Hoffmantown Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico.