Hebrews 10:22  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.
23  Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
24  And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
25  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

We left off with verse 22 yesterday. We did not finish looking at that verse. We see there that salvation affects the inner man as well as the outer man. It affects the soul and the spirit of man and it also affects the body.
God tells us here that the saved person has been given a true heart. Deception is a mark of the ungodly. There are many ways in which deception is used. I heard a report just recently that all the botox that is sold in North America comes from Ireland. The reporter was talking of what would happen if the U.S. transportation was hit with a similar situation as we have now in Canada. No botox would be shipped across the country. The reporter stated that if the left wing media did not have access to botox, they would all look like they were in their 50’s. Apparently one of the primary uses of botox is to slow down the natural occurrence of wrinkles in the face, particularly in the forehead and around the eyes. Botox is used by people who want to deceive others into thinking they are younger than they actually are. That is just one form of deception.
Of course, of much greater concern is the deception in the spiritual realm. The list of religious deceivers is long. If I mention a few, I would be sure to miss many others. Sadly, just as North American people in general have come to expect that people are going to “doctor” their appearance to make them look more “attractive” and “acceptable” to others, many people want to have their itching ears scratched by deceptive teachers.

II Timothy 4:3  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4  And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

Again, we must understand that just because God prophesize this, does not mean that He forces it to happen. God knows the nature of fallen man. He knows man better than man knows himself. He knows that those who reject the truth still want to feel good about themselves. The Bible tells us that the Bible is like a mirror. A mirror reflects what the person looks like. We have already noted that many people are so concerned with their outward appearance that they will inject or have someone else inject stuff into them to try to alter their appearance. Spiritually speaking, many people want a deceiver to inject into their mind what they want to hear.

Isaiah 30:10  Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:

I hope that is not true of anyone reading these devotionals, but God says this is true of many people. Why would a person want someone to deliberately lie to them about eternal truths? Why would a person want to build their life on lies? Would you go to a deceiving insurance salesman and purchase your home insurance from such a person? Would you not want to be sure that if a storm ripped off your shingles, they would be covered by your insurance policy? Would you not want to be sure that if fire tore through your house, it would be covered by the policy you were paying for? How is it that so many people are willing to be deceived when it comes to God’s Word? Jesus asked a very important question in this regard:

Matthew 16:26  For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

The soul of man is important. The soul of the wicked lives to sin. That soul will end up in the lake of fire. No one truly wants to go there, and yet many will. The soul of the saved person desires to please God. That soul has been changed by God so that the person can please Him. That soul will end up in Heaven with God. Most people want to go to Heaven. Some have an imaginary heaven. Some, like John Lennon imagined there is no heaven and no hell. He knows better now. Sadly it is too late for him.
Back in our text we see that God expects His children to draw nigh to Him with a true heart. We cannot fool Him, so why try?
The person that has the true heart will also have full assurance. That boldness that God offers to His child is possible for those who have a true heart. Biblical boldness is not boastfulness. It is a humility that receives assurance from God’s Word.
We see as well that the true child of God has had his heart sprinkled from an evil conscience. That is what makes the heart true. It is not a matter of painting something on the heart. It is a matter of cleansing the heart.
I remember as a boy working for our neighbour. He had a few cows and some chickens and ducks and turkeys on 50 acres of land. He shipped milk in cans. The milk inspector came around and said his barn was not clean enough and he needed to clean it up or he would lose his right to ship milk. The neighbour asked me to sweep down the cobwebs and to scrape off the worst of the manure from the walls and then he hired someone to come in and whitewash the inside of the barn. After that was done, the milk inspector came back and signed a paper that the barn was suitable for a milk barn. If the lights were on and you looked at the walls, you could still see the ripples from the manure residue that was still on the walls. However, that did not matter because the whitewash covered them and that was good enough for the inspector and so it was good enough for the neighbour.
That is how New Evangelicalism approaches Christianity. I saw a short clip of a well known “evangelist” where the music was typical bar room music and the “worship team” was just a rocking away. The lead singer was a tattooed long haired man. That man then had some kind of a religious talk and then the “evangelist” took the stage. He was dressed in a suit and tie with a nice hair cut. I did not watch the entire scene, but the hypocrisy of that whole thing was rich. Yet that is quite acceptable in New Evangelicalism. The people want their itchy ears scratched and they certainly got that from that bunch.
God tells us that salvation cleanses the conscience of the recipient. They don’t want to go back to that old scene. They want truth. They do not insist on their version of truth. They submit to the authority of God’s Word and they are teachable.
God tells us further that the saved person has their body washed with pure water. Even the outside of the saved person is changed by God. The true Christian is not a schizophrenic. He is real. He does not have a split personality. He is a saved person on the inside and on the outside. That is what makes the difference. The fight against godliness is replaced with a humble acceptance and appreciation for God’s righteous and hold standards. God initiates this change and the saved person accepts this and builds upon it. That is what God says.
God invites those who have been saved to hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering. The reason for this challenge is because “He is faithful that promised”. God does not change His ways. He is not like a reed blowing in the wind. He is not like a wave driven by the wind. When Jesus rebuked the storm while in the ship, the sea became quiet and peaceful. The disciples were amazed! They began to wonder who this man was?
True Christians have no need to change with the times. I have witnessed that in my lifetime in the religion I was raised in. It was very confusing for me as a young person and into my youth. I was not saved, but what I was witnessing just did not make sense. I am thankful that God did not let me just slip into that mentality and accept that as the norm. It certainly was not because I was better than anyone else. It separated me from the norm even though I was not seeking to be separate. I just could not fit what I was witnessing with what God was trying to show me through the little I knew of His Word. Eventually He got through to me and saved me. I still had baggage I needed to get rid of. We were far too long in New Evangelicalism and it was such a relief to my soul when we got out of that mess.
God tells us to hold fast the profession of our faith. For me personally, I don’t ever want to go back to what I had before. I also don’t want to get off on a tangent of my own making. I want to hold fast to the profession of the faith once delivered unto the saints. God has put that desire into my heart, and by His grace I want to be true to that.
Pastor Bartel