19 And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20 By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. 21 And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, 22 let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.
23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Hebrews 25: 19-25
I heard a teaching recently that essentially said we should expect to be afraid. It’s what we do in spite of our fear that matters. That sounds good as far as it goes, but it’s not what Jesus said. He repeatedly said “Do not be afraid.” and “Fear not.” That seems different to me.
Jesus came into a world that knew plenty about fear. First century Israel was being crushed under the most powerful and oppressive government ever. Poverty was rampant. Economic pressures came not just from a government determined to tax the people to death; but from a religious system that demanded payment for sacrifice.
Not only that but Jesus brought something new to fear: intimacy with God. He came to take away the veil and all the pageantry that stood between man and God. After Jesus, we can approach God directly, face-to-face. That’s scary. In fact, most of the time when Jesus instructed his disciples not to fear, it was because He had just entered the place where they were. He was saying, “Here I am. Your Lord and Your God. But don’t be afraid. This is a good thing.”
The ministry He left us with is one of replacing fear and cowardice with faith and courage. We are called to en – courage. That is to input courage in the place of fear. Notice the context in Hebrews 25. The writer goes directly from the reminder about our ability to enter directly into the holy place to our work of motivating each other to acts of love and good works, and meeting together and ENCOURAGING each other, especially as His return draws near.
Encouraging each other isn’t just a good thing to do. It’s THE thing we are called to do. Courage comes from entering into His presence. We are called to help each other do just that. What a privilege.
Encourage and be blessed.
Nick
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