Draw Near: Three Invitations That Change Everything

There is a moment in the Old Testament sacrificial system that is almost impossible to fully appreciate from the distance of modern life. Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest would prepare himself with elaborate ritual, dress in specific garments, offer sacrifices first for his own sin, and then — and only then — pass through the veil into the Holy of Holies. This was the inner sanctuary of the tabernacle and later the temple, the place where God's presence dwelt in a particular and terrifying way.

Some accounts suggest that priests wore small bells on the hems of their garments when entering that sacred space. If the bells stopped ringing, those waiting outside would know something had gone wrong. A rope, the story goes, was sometimes tied to the priest's ankle so his body could be retrieved without anyone else having to enter. Whether or not every detail of that tradition is historically precise, the image captures something real: access to God was restricted, conditional, and frankly frightening.

Now consider what the writer of Hebrews says to those who trust in Christ. In Hebrews 10:19-25, the invitation is not cautious or hedged. It is bold. Because of the blood of Jesus, believers have confidence to enter the holy place. Not trembling uncertainty. Not anxious hope. Confidence.

That single shift from fear to confidence is not a small thing. It is everything. And it comes with three specific invitations that the passage extends to every believer.

The First Invitation: Draw Near

The writer describes a "new and living way" that Christ inaugurated through his own flesh. When Jesus died on the cross, the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom — not from the bottom up, as a man would tear it, but from the top down, as God himself would. The barrier was removed. The restricted access was abolished. The way into God's presence was opened permanently.

The phrase "new and living way" carries weight worth sitting with. It is new because it is not the old sacrificial system, not a way of earning or performing or qualifying through ritual. It is living because it has never ceased and will never cease. The sacrifice of Christ was not a temporary fix or a seasonal solution. It was once for all. The access it secured does not expire.

This means that every believer, at any moment, has an open invitation to draw near to God. Not on the merits of their own performance. Not based on how the week went or how consistent their prayer life has been. On the merits of Christ alone, who has perfected for all time those who are sanctified, as Hebrews 10:14 states.

The invitation to draw near is paired with two qualities: a sincere heart and full assurance of faith. A sincere heart is one that has been genuinely changed by grace, not one performing religion from the outside in. Full assurance of faith is not arrogance — it is simply trusting that God means what he says. To come with full assurance is to come without a backup plan, without hedging bets, without quietly wondering if Christ will be enough. He is enough. The invitation is to come near with that settled conviction.

The Second Invitation: Hold Fast

The second invitation follows naturally from the first. "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful." The confession here is not merely a creedal statement recited from a page. It is the living profession of what you actually believe about your standing before God.

For many people, the honest confession sounds something like: I hope I have done enough. I hope the good outweighs the bad. I hope God grades on a curve. But that is not the confession the writer of Hebrews has in mind. The confession of Christian hope is fixed and objective. It is not rooted in personal achievement but in the faithfulness of the one who made the promise.

The anchor of this invitation is that final phrase: he who promised is faithful. The stability of Christian hope does not rest on the believer's ability to maintain their grip. It rests on the character of God, who does not change, who does not revise his promises based on circumstances, and who declared through Christ that the work of redemption is finished. If that is true — and it is — then the confession of hope can be held without wavering, not because believers are strong enough to hold it, but because the one they are trusting is strong enough to keep it.

The Third Invitation: Consider One Another

The third invitation turns outward. "Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near."

The word translated "stimulate" or "provoke" is deliberate. It is not a passive suggestion to be vaguely supportive of the people around you. It is an active, intentional orientation toward others with the goal of stirring them toward love and action. This requires thought. It requires knowing people well enough to understand where they need encouragement, where they need challenge, and where they need someone to simply show up.

The warning against forsaking the assembly is not a guilt trip about attendance. It is a recognition that the Christian life was never designed to be lived in isolation. Believers need each other. The gathering of the church is not a program to attend but a community to inhabit, a place where the mutual work of encouragement and challenge and confession happens in real time among real people.

The Connection Between All Three

These three invitations are not independent items on a checklist. They build on one another. Confidence in drawing near produces confidence in confession. Confidence in confession produces the kind of settled, outward-focused faith that naturally thinks about how to serve and encourage others. The person who is regularly drawing near to God, holding fast to the hope of the gospel, and investing in the community of faith is not a person who has mastered religion. They are a person who has simply taken seriously the access they have been given.

The veil has been torn. The way is open. The invitation stands.

Draw near.