Hebrews 10:22

Let us draw near with a true heart in fullness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience: and having our body washed with pure water.

The drawing near enjoined in these words is drawing near to God, the very concept of such a thing suggesting what a wonderful privilege is involved. God is not like some head of a mere earthly state but is the eternal and all-powerful Ruler of Creation. In all times and places, the heads of human states have enforced the strictest conditions and requirements upon persons seeking admittance into their presence. Kings, prime ministers, and presidents throughout history have laid down specific rules to be followed by those seeking interviews. Therefore it is not illogical that drawing near to God should be possible only upon the fulfillment of the preconditions set forth in the Bible, such things not to be decided by men seeking to draw near, but prescribed and made mandatory by God himself in his word. The verse at hand reveals the divinely imposed preconditions to be fulfilled by them that would draw near to God. The importance of these things demands that specific attention be given to each one of them.

With a true heart shows that no insincere person or hypocrite can ever really draw near to God. Jesus said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8). The Holy Spirit says, "Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23). Success is promised the obedient. "And thou shalt find him, when thou searchest after him with all thy heart and with all thy soul" (Deuteronomy 4:29). In the parable of the sower, the seed which produced the good fruit was that which fell upon the good ground, the honest and good heart. Only the honest and good heart without deceit or hypocrisy can approach God; none others need apply.

In fullness of faith is another precondition of redemption, or drawing near to God. "Fullness of faith" means true and wholehearted faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God and with full confidence in his power and Godhead. Although it is a fact that people are saved "by faith," there are many degrees of faith, such as little faith, weak faith, vain faith, and dead faith. One should make sure that he has enough faith to be saved. The doctrine which has stripped the heart out of most modern religion is that old standby of the Protestant Reformation which announced justification by FAITH ALONE. Such a doctrine is a perversion of scripture, an addition to scripture, and a flat contradiction of scriptures (James 2:24). The faith that saves is a working, obedient, loving, living faith; and a faith that is none of these things can never save. It is not believing, merely, but believing WITH ALL THE HEART that is needed. The Christian confession from earliest times was never made without regard to this emphasis, as attested when Philip required of the eunuch, "If thou believest WITH ALL THINE HEART, thou mayest" (Acts 8:37). Yes, that verse is omitted from the English Revised Version (1885) and other versions, but it is still in the margin where it bears eloquent testimony to the practice of the primitive church, the same requirement being retained to this day in the universal practice of churches of Christ throughout the world.

Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience is a reference to penitent acceptance of Christ's sacrifice through knowledge and contemplation of it and also a humble willingness to accept as our own what Christ has provided. The comparison is between the sprinkling of blood upon ancient worshipers in the old covenant, which blood was actually sprinkled upon their bodies; and, in the new covenant, the sprinkling not of people's bodies but their hearts, by the blood of Jesus. The scriptural heart, of course, is the mind, as implicit in the words of Christ to the Pharisees, "Why reason ye thus in your hearts?" (Mark 2:8). See under Hebrews 9:14 for the effect of Jesus' blood upon the heart and conscience of sinners.

And our body washed with pure water is beyond all doubt a reference to Christian baptism, making it, therefore, a precondition of salvation, or drawing near to God. That such is true is attested by the vast majority of modern scholars and by the near unanimous testimony of the ancients. Only among writers in the post-Reformation period, when writers were influenced by the popularity of the "faith only" thesis, does one find any strong views to the contrary. Milligan's summary on this is helpful. He said,

Nearly all eminent scholars are now agreed that here is a manifest reference to the ordinance called Christian baptism. Alford says that "There can be no reasonable doubt that this clause refers directly to Christian baptism. The bath of water (Ephesians 5:26), and the bath of regeneration (Titus 3:5), are analogous expressions; and the express mention of BODY here, as distinguished from HEARTS before, stamps this interpretation with certainty.[29]

To deny such an obvious meaning would be to pose an impossible alternative; because in the entire Christian religion, there is absolutely nothing else, other than baptism, to which this could have any possible reference.

The entire analogy here is drawn from the activities of the ancient worshiper as more fully elaborated above. For more on the subject of "Baptism," see under "Six Fundamentals" in Hebrews 6. In keeping with the analogy are Paul's instructions from Ananias to "Arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord" (Acts 22:16).

All of the instructions, or preconditions, for drawing near to God as set forth here stand for that portion of the plan of salvation which brings people into Christ; which to be sure is not the whole duty, but the beginning. All of the duties, responsibilities, and requirements of the Christian life are to be received and discharged in faith as long as one is under the probation of life. This verse tells HOW to be enrolled as a Christian. How? Draw near to God: (1) with a true heart; (2) in full assurance of faith; (3) having the heart sprinkled from an evil conscience; and (4) the body washed with pure water.