Hebrews 10:22 (NKJV)

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Bible Commentary

Hebrews 10:22 is a Bible verse from the New Testament that tells us how to mentally approach God the Father because of what the blood of Jesus Christ accomplished for us.

At first glance, this Bible verse is full of to-do’s in our approach to God. It says to not only draw near, but to draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith. Then it says our hearts should be sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies should be washed with pure water.

Wow, that’s a lot for our feeble minds to take in, much less execute!

But let’s look again Hebrews 10:22, this time with the entire passage.

Hebrews 10:19-22 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, ²¹ and having a High Priest over the house of God, 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.

Let’s simplify this very long sentence by first eliminating the participle phrase.

Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus…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.

This is not just a verse of to-do’s. It’s a list of what’s already been done by the blood of Jesus. What the Apostle is telling us is to get in the right mindset, understanding what Christ has done on our behalf so we can enter with boldness.

Unlocking the Truth – Mental Mindset

Just like Jesus Christ, God responds to faith over need. Our faith—believing what He has done for us—is what activates His power.

He is an Almighty God Who is powerful in every way, but He also granted us the power of the Holy Spirit when we accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior. We have a responsibility to participate in the process. The Apostle tells us why we can have boldness and why we should have boldness when approaching God.

We can draw near with a true heart. “Heart” in the Greek means: the thoughts or feelings. Christ gave us the power to approach God with the truth of what we’re thinking and feeling, whether it’s good, bad or ugly.

We don’t have to hide our immoral thoughts and desires from God. The blood of Christ covers us so we can approach Him in truth, which is Christ. We can come to God in the boldness of the truth when we believe we are safe in Christ, which helps us trust Him with the outcome. That is a true heart in full assurance of faith.

God works through the truth, so when we come to Him giving Him access to what has been hidden in our hearts, He sees the beauty of Jesus Christ and then heals and restores us to His righteousness and causes the peace of Christ to enter in.

Sprinkled from an Evil Conscience

Next, Hebrews 10:22 says that because of the blood of Christ our hearts have been sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Remember, “hearts” means our thoughts and feelings. In some religious ceremonies, it is customary for one’s hands and head to be sprinkled with water before approaching God at the altar. And in baptism, our bodies are submerged under water.

Here, the Apostle tells us that the blood of Christ cleaned us on the inside–our hearts—so we can approach God with a clean heart and a clean body.

So the obvious question is: Why do we have evil thoughts and feelings if our hearts have been cleaned by the blood of Christ? Note the word “conscience” in Hebrew 10:22, which in the Greek means: co-perception, become aware, informed of. When Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, she became aware of evil. Before then, she had no perception of it.

Through the blood of Christ, we have been given the opportunity to get back to the place of having “no perception” of evil. We have that potential in Him. In this sin-cursed world, the atmosphere is full of thoughts and feelings of evil. But 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says,

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, ⁵ casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,”

Even though the blood of Christ gives us the power to live free from evil, we must participate by bringing every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. It is a process, but one that is greatly rewarding as we follow Him. Let’s put on this mental mindset before we enter into prayer with the Lord. We can boldly 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.

Study the Bible verse of Hebrews 10:22 and boldly approach God with faith-filled understanding of the power of the blood of Jesus Christ.