19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:19-25

This passage is talking about the new found confidence that those who trust in Jesus have to enter into His presence. The reference to the curtain here points us to the curtain in the temple surrounding the most holy place. Only the high priest had access through the curtain to the presence of God in Holiest of Holies. Everybody else was forbidden to enter, and faced death if they did! When Jesus died, that temple curtain was torn in two from top to bottom. It was a picture that said Jesus has removed the barrier between us and God by his body. Jesus, the great high priest, grants access to God through the curtain of his body. In other words, all those who have had their sins removed by the sacrificial death of Christ can enter freely, and without fear of death. Because they have been cleansed, or washed clean, by Jesus’ blood, they can enter with great confidence that God will accept them!

This gives the Christian a great and secure hope for the future, until we finally meet Him face to face when we die, or on ‘the Day’, when He returns (v25). In the meantime, however, we must keep going in the right direction (unswervingly) and ‘spur each other on towards love and good deeds’. This passage puts it quite strongly, the Christian life should be active and not passive. It should be a life full of love and good deeds as we continue Jesus’ mission to reach the world with the Gospel. And it also makes another strong point, we aren’t to try to live the Christian life on our own. In fact, it shows us that we put ourselves in danger if we do so. Not meeting together quickly becomes a habit - a bad habit - and habits are hard to change. We must avoid going it alone and thinking we don’t need to meet together with other Christians. We need the encouragement of other believers if we are to keep going forwards and avoid being pulled off track.