As believers on the Lord Jesus Christ we are privileged people that can approach the God of the universe drawing near to Him. Hebrews 10:22 says “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” In the Old Testament, part of the ceremony of cleansing from leprosy (a type of sin) was that the Priest would sprinkle the leper with sacrificial blood and the leper would then go and wash in water, (Leviticus 7:1-9). Isaiah 52:15 speaking of Christ the sin-bearing servant said “So shall He sprinkle many nations…” And 1 Peter 1:2 references the “sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ” as the means of our “sanctification of the spirit for obedience”. Going back to Hebrews 10:22 not only have our hearts been sprinkled, but also “our bodies washed with pure water”, this draws my attention to Ephesians 5:26-27 where Christ’s bride (the Church) is being prepared for her presentation to Himself “with the washing of water by the word.” You see the sin-bearing servant that Isaiah spoke about is now our “High priest” Hebrews 10:21 that has sprinkled us with His blood and washed us with the water of cleansing. Because of this we can draw near to God calling Him “Abba, father” Galatians 4:6, and as a father He waits with open arms to receive and embrace us; James 4:8 tells us that when we draw near to Him He will draw near to us; we are “accepted in the Beloved” Ephesians 1:6. But what is a true heart? An un-divided heart, a sincere heart, a focused heart, not vacillating between the flesh, the world, and the Spirit; it is to have a single eye, (see Matthew 6:22 KJV. “Let is draw near with a true heart”
Come close
By Rose Hill
To God we are invited to draw near,
When with a sincere heart, we’ve nothing to fear.
As a Father, He is waiting to hear,
From His children both far and near.
Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version copyright …1982 by Thomas Nelson Co. used by permission.