Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart:
Hebrews 10:19-25 (NIV)
A Call to Persevere in Faith
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 toward 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.
When we begin to recognize how holy God is, we begin to ‘fear’ God, because God holds our destinies in his hand. But because of the work of Christ, we don’t need to be afraid to come before God in worship, because we have the full assurance of faith. Unfortunately, it is easy to take this for granted. In this passage, we are called to spur one another on to love, and especially to keep meeting for worship. When we fail to meet for worship, we are in great danger of forgetting the faith and falling away from God.