Holding Fast Our Confession | Hebrews 4:14-16

14Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16)

We hold most tightly what we value most highly. When the tide surges at the beach, we grip our children more tightly than our beach toys because they are more important. When financial or schedule tides surge, we make the same decision: we grip what we value and let go of what we don’t.

Here God exhorts us to “hold fast our confession,” the most valuable possession we have.

Holding fast is a muscular, aggressive endeavor. It’s what one does while waiting for the police after wrestling an armed intruder to the ground. We are here called to grapple into our grasp and grip with iron strength “our confession.” Our confession is our religion, all that we hold to be true about Jesus. If we don’t intentionally hold fast, our faith in Jesus as Savior and allegiance to him as Lord and King will slip away from us.

Hold Fast because We Have a Great High Priest

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. (Hebrews 4:14)

High priests acted “on behalf of men in relation to God” (Hebrews 5:1). They reconciled sinful people and their holy Creator through animal sacrifices. But these sacrifices were deficient and temporary. Jesus is the Mega High Priest because his action on behalf of men in relation to God was sufficient and permanent. Jesus sacrificed himself, taking our sin upon himself once and for all.

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Sin is like cancer and treason rolled into one great terminal rebellion against our Holy King. It kills us slowly like a disease and finally like a death sentence. Jesus took the sickness and crime upon himself so that we might be healed and pardoned. Never let go of this glorious truth!

Hold Fast because We Have a Sympathetic High Priest

..let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:14b-15)

Think of your weaknesses and temptations. Weaknesses are the physical “infirmities” we all experience as a result of the fall: chemical imbalances and their consequent rogue emotions, exhaustion, hunger, bodily reactions to stress, perverted sexual impulses, etc. Temptations are the worldly and demonic ‘bait’ that targets our weaknesses: inappropriate stress relief valves such as alcohol or pornography, the ice cream in the freezer, that attractive man/woman sitting near you in the coffee shop.

Weaknesses and temptations are not sinful (Jesus experienced both, “yet without sin”). They are the compounds that often unite to create sin.We get drunk because after a stressful day, a case of beer looks good. We waste evening after evening in laziness in front of the TV because it distracts from our anxiety and depression.

What does Jesus’ think of our weaknesses and struggles with temptation? Does he shake his head in disgust, seething with impatience, muttering, “What is wrong with you people? After all I’ve done for you, why are you still so weak? Why are you still tempted by this trash?” No, his face is marked with sympathy.

Even more than sympathy, empathy. It’s not just that he can imagine how hard it must be to deal with such weakness and temptation. It’s that he knows exactly what it’s like because he has “in every respect” experienced it all the way to the end without giving in. No one empathizes with you like Jesus–not your spouse or pastor or best friend.

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This means that, even though we “are naked and exposed” (Hebrews 3:13) before him, he’s sympathetic. So not only is he an able high priest, he is a willing high priest. Never let go of this glorious truth!

Hold Fast by Drawing Near

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)

While our weaknesses, temptations, sins, shame, guilt and fear often lead us to “fall away from the living God” (Hebrews 3:12), we hold fast by drawing near to him. How?

First, we draw near “confidently” because we know that Jesus is able and willing to act on our behalf in relation to God. This means that after we sin, there is no arbitrary waiting period before we can pray, asking for forgiveness and help to repent. We can draw near while our angry words still echo around us, while the gluttonous ice cream spoon is still in hand, while the computer is still shutting down after the pornography binge. We can go to the throne of grace immediately and confidently because our approach is not based on our holiness but Jesus’ greatness and sympathy. Remember, he prayed for his murderers while they were murdering him, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

Second, we draw near with empty hands. We don’t come to the throne giving or bringing anything. We come “that we may receive mercy and find grace.” Mercy is not getting the punishment we deserve. Grace is instead getting the blessing we don’t deserve.

In Les Miserable, Jean Valjean steels a man’s silver. Yet when apprehended, the man refuses to press charges (mercy) and gives him the rest of the set (grace). This merciful/gracious act redeems Valjean and transforms his entire life. This is what happens at the throne of grace.

Discussion Starters

Read Hebrews 4:14-16 together.
What do you find most challenging, troubling or helpful in this passage?
In verse 14, how does the fact that “we have a great high priest” motivate us to “hold fast our confession?”
If your group is close enough for this, share some of your weaknesses and temptations. If not, brainstorm a list of general human weaknesses and temptations in the world.
As a human, what weaknesses and temptations might Jesus have experience that we experience?
What weaknesses and temptations do we know Jesus experienced based on Scripture?
How can Jesus have been tempted in every respect as we are when we live in a world full of specific temptations he couldn’t have faced (through modern technology for example)?
In verse 15, how does the fact that “we do not have a high priest unable to sympathize with our weaknesses” motivate us to “hold fast our confession?”
How does drawing near to the throne of grace (verse 16) correspond with holding fast our confession?
Practically speaking, how does one “draw near to the throne of grace?” What does this look like in real terms?
How do mercy and grace “help in time of need?” How do they help in the everyday needs of life?
Take some time to pray for each other.