“let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water” (Hebrews 10:22 HCSB).
As we consider the characteristic qualities of Hebrews 10:22, we next come to an attribute that will soon become a focus of greater attention: “full assurance of faith.” One Biblical scholar offers a foundation for understanding this concept with a look at the original language of this passage…
“Plerophoria, ‘full assurance,’ is an expression which occurs more than once in the writings of the Apostle Paul. He speaks of plerophoria suneseos, ‘the full assurance of understanding’ (Col. 2:2); plerophoria tes elpidos, ‘the full assurance of hope’ (Heb. 6:11); and plerophoria pisteos, ‘the full assurance of faith’ (Heb. 10:22). According to its etymology, this word denotes ‘a carrying with full sail’; the metaphor being taken, probably, from ships when their sails are filled with favourable gales. Thus it may here signify the vehement inclination of the mind, impelled by the Holy Spirit, towards an assent to the truth perceived.” (1)
Thus, this reference to a “full assurance of faith” previews the famous “Faith Hall Of Fame” that is to come in the following chapter.
A more obscure reference then follows this phrase: “having our hearts sprinkled and purified from a guilty (evil) conscience” (AMPC). This terminology becomes easier to understand if we stop to consider the negative effects of a guilty conscience.
You see, virtually everyone knows what it is like to live with a guilty conscience. It was the prolific 17th century commentator Matthew Henry who once observed that “A guilty conscience needs no accuser or tormentor but itself.” (2) Whenever we treat others inappropriately, we must live with the guilt of such behavior. This often leads to emotional distance and loss of intimacy with others. The same may be said of our relationship with God as well.
This is why a passage from earlier in Hebrews chapter ten is so important for those who place their faith in Christ: ‘Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no longer'” (Hebrews 10:17 NET). The knowledge that God no longer remembers our sinful thoughts and behaviors frees us from the shackles of a guilty conscience before Him.
Therefore, as we are told in the New Testament epistle of 1 John, “Dear friends, if our conscience does not condemn us, we have confidence in the presence of God” (1 John 3:21 NET).
(1) Herman Witsius, Sacred Dissertations on What Is Commonly Called the Apostles’ Creed, trans. Donald Fraser, 2 vols. (1823; reprint, Phillipsburg, N.J.: P & R, 1993), 1:42–43. Quoted in R.C. Sproul, Faith Alone: The Evangelical Doctrine of Justification, electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2000), 80.
(2) Matthew Henry, Exposition of the Old and New Testament, Volume 3