If We Hold Firm to the End
If We Hold Firm to the End
Two important things we can learn as Christians is who we are and where we are. Knowing these two things helps us understand the freedom Jesus has provided us. Being firmly grounded in these areas brings greater clarity to scripture passages that may seem to bring our security in Christ into question. Knowing these things helps us rest in the peace with God Jesus has provided for us.
Let’s begin in Hebrews 3:1 where we read, “1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;”
The Apostle Paul began most of his letters by addressing them to “the saints” in the various churches to whom he wrote. In the Greek, the word he used is hagios. This word means holy ones. It is often translated “sanctified,” or set apart.
So it is in this chapter of Hebrews. The writer addresses his comments to the holy brethren, thus reminding them of who and whose they are. They are holy, and they are set apart for God and His purposes.
More than that, they are partakers. Here we read that they are partakers of the heavenly calling. Elsewhere (2 Peter 1:4) we read that we who are in Christ are partakers of the divine nature. This is a sharing, a partnering. These holy ones, like all who are in Christ, are partners with God, sharing in His plan and in His character.
Next, the verse refers to Jesus. To see Him called our high priest is perhaps unsurprising. If we have read the earlier chapters of Hebrews, or if we read those that follow, the priesthood of Jesus is a major theme, and one we see demonstrated in His sacrifice at the cross.
Interestingly however, Jesus is also called Apostle. Peter, Paul, James, John, these are the names those f us raised in the church think of when we hear the word apostle. An apostle is one sent forth with orders, a messenger. Knowing this it is easy to see why the word is aptly applied to Jesus. Earlier in Hebrews 1:2 we read that God has spoken to us by His Son. John 3:16 famously tells us that God loves us so much that He gave His son. Jesus is truly the Apostle of God to us.
But this verse says that Jesus is the Apostle and high priest of our profession. Interestingly the Greek word translated profession here is homologeo which we find in 1 John 1:9. There it is translated “confess.” Le me read that to you. 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (KJV 1900)
Homologeo literally translated is “same speak.” That’s awkward in English. We would phrase it “say the same” or “agree with.” Here, it points us to the idea that the Jews to whom this writing was directed have agreed that Jesus is more than a great rabbi and that He is indeed the prophesied Messiah, in our terms, the Christ. Peter put it this way in Matthew 16:16, “thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Martha, the sister of Lazarus, said the same thing in John 11:27. This is confession. This is profession. This is homologeo. Jesus is indeed the Messiah, the Christ, the messenger sent from God, the high priest who interceded for us (see 1 Timothy 2:5). It is this we profess, this we confess, this with which we agree.
Hebrews 3:2 “2 Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.”
“It is finished!” These words exclaimed by Jesus as He was dying sum it up well. Though tempted by the evil one during a forty-day fast, Jesus remained faithful. As His hour approached, He expressed His deep emotional stress to Father asking that if there was any other way, He would prefer to be removed from the situation He was about to face, He continued to walk by faith and not by sight and yielded to the will of the Father. John records the prayer of Jesus shortly before His ascension. In John 17:4 “I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.” (KJV 1900)
Moses was faithful. Against his better judgement, he went to Egypt and led the people of Israel out of slavery. He met with God and spoke for Him, the Law was given through Moses (John 1:17), he led the people for forty years. This was his assigned role, and we will see more about that shortly.
Jesus was faithful. Jesus came full of grace and truth (John 1:17). He was the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world. (see John 1:29) Jesus was the crux of history. Philippians 2:8 “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” He is the One who frees ultimately.
Hebrews 3:3-4 “3 For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house. 4 For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God.”
Moses had some glory. According to Exodus 34:29 and following, when he came down from Mount Moriah his face was glowing and he wore a veil when speaking to the people because they were afraid. This glory was fading however because Moses was not the source of it.
Jesus had more glory.
2 Corinthians 3:7–11 tells us about this in saying, “7 But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: 8 How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? 9 For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. 10 For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. 11 For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.” (KJV 1900)
Hebrews 3:5 “And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after;”
This is an important point. Notice here that Moses was a servant for a testimony of things to be spoken later. In Luke 24:27 we are told of Jesus speaking with some disciples. Here it is, “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” (KJV 1900)
The Hebrew scriptures speak of Jesus. He is the thread woven throughout the Old Testament. The Bible is the message and story of Jesus, the savior of the world. The Old Testament shows shadows of things to come, gives prophesies and promises of freedom and salvation. With ever increasing clarity, the good news of Jesus the Christ is proclaimed.
Moses was giving insight into the One who would come.
Hebrews 3:6 “But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.”
Jesus is that Messiah, that Anointed One, that way, that truth, that life, that source of righteousness resulting in salvation. Jesus is the builder of the house, and we are that house. The Church, the assembly of believers, the body of Christ. Peter put it this way in 1 Peter 2:5 “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” (KJV 1900)
This is wonderful news, but then the Spirit through the writer of Hebrews inserted the word “if.” It seems that we are His house “if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.”
These “if” verses are stumbling blocks for many believers. They were stumbling blocks for me, and I interact with people all the time who find them unsettling or simply do not understand their meaning.
I spent decades seeing things like this out of context. Like many others I knew, I would latch onto verses like this that seemed to present untenable—even unattainable—conditions. With great clarity about my personality and weaknesses, I would conclude that one of two things were true. One: I would be unable to meet this condition and was bound for hell. Two: I would barely squeak by this condition and God would somehow fill in the gaps and allow me into heaven. What terrible theology that was!
The secret to such things is context, audience, and a firm grasp on the nature of God, or in the terms of theologians, a good hermeneutic.
Since context is so important, in an effort to bring the clarity of truth, let’s establish some. We will return to this potentially unsettling “if” statement after we have looked at the explanation laid out in coming verses of our text.
Beginning now with Hebrews 3:7-11 we find a quote from Psalms 95:7-11. “Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, 8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: 9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. 10 Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. 11 So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)”
Just a quick side note here. Some versions of the King James Bible render verse 11 “So I sware in my wrath, _if_ they shall enter into my rest.” The Greek word for “if” appears here, but it is used in a specific way that makes it clear that the outcome is negative.
When the people God had freed from Egypt came to Canaan, several men were sent to look over the promised land and see what was there. After forty days, the men returned and all but two gave terrifying and negative reports about what they saw. Joshua and Caleb, however tole the people that God would deliver the land to them and they should go in as He had told them.
This is a picture of faith that is very valuable. Often people wonder about the parts of scripture that talk of tasting the goodness of God, or hearing the good news, but not staying with it over the long term. Many even have a term for it. They say that a person is a backslider. This picture of the Hebrews approaching Canaan is a wonderful picture of that.
God had graciously provided freedom for His people whom He loved. Everything was cared for. They had a prophet to lead them, obstacles such as the sea were moved aside so they could pass, life-giving water was provided out of a stone, food fell from heaven free for the taking. God demonstrated His love for them by making a way where there was no way, but most people had put their faith in Moses and did not trust God Himself. They had hardened their hearts. This is rejection of God. It is a willful failure to hear Him. Jeremiah 5:21 provides one example of what Father is saying: “Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not.” (KJV 1900) Jesus called it not having ears to hear.
This is rejection of God and the Old Testament story of the Hebrew nation is rife with it. At the foot of Mount Moriah while Moses was getting the Law from God, they made a gold idol. In the book of Samuel they call for a King so they can be like everyone else in the world instead of listening to the prophets God had given them. God said in 1 Samuel 8:7 “Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.” (KJV 1900) Again in Isaiah 29:13 He says this, “Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, And with their lips do honour me, But have removed their heart far from me, And their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men.” (KJV 1900)
While we cannot judge the eternal state of anyone else because all we see is the outward appearance, Father sees the heart, so He knows who is His and who is not. The last two verses of the passage we’re looking at now is the key to understanding all this. Father says, “They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.” Do you see that? These people “have not known” His ways. They are the same as those of whom He says in Matthew 7:23 “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (KJV 1900)
Underscoring all this, the next verses provide additional clarity.
Hebrews 3:12 “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.”
There it is in bold clarity. An evil heart of unbelief and departing from the living God. After all, that’s what unbelief is; rejecting God, just as in Samuel the Hebrews rejected Him as their king, preferring instead a king like everyone else had.
Unbelief is disobedience. It has been so from the days of Adam and Eve in the garden. The first people chose to believe the evil one rather than trusting the goodness of the One who had created them and supplied everything they had.
Carrying on now with verse 13, we read,
Hebrews 3:13 “But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”
Those who are not saved, not yet made new and immersed into Christ, may need to hear more as they come to believe God. Such belief does not always come easily or instantly, at least from our perspective. These may look fine on the outside, fellowshipping with believers, maybe even professing faith, yet still not believing. Because we cannot know the state of their hearts, we are to treat them with love and take them at their word about their faith. Nevertheless, Father knows and so continually reminding people of the truth of the Gospel is important.
Some however will be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. This is the heartbreaking truth of life in this fallen world. Sin is deceitful and the enemy clouds the minds of those who are not in Christ. It is the heartbreaking side of the freedom God has given every person; the freedom to choose to believe Him or choose to reject Him and go their own way.
Now we have come to a second potentially troubling “if”.
Hebrews 3:14 “For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end”
In this instance we can see an important detail. Belief is not analog, it’s binary. Sorry, I’m an old computer guy and this is how I think. Here’s what I mean. People can hear the good news and think to themselves, man this is great, I wonder if it’s true. This is the beginning of their confidence, but it is not belief. They may need to hear more, they may need to see Christ in others, they may need time to mull things over.
When are people make partakers of Christ? That’s easy, it’s at salvation, the moment they get saved. Right, but more specifically, when exactly is that? Is it the result of a specific prayer? Is it when they deeply regret sin and tearfully promise not to do it anymore? Of course not. People are made partakers of Christ the instant they believe God that Jesus is their only hope of glory.
Do you see it there? We are made partakers of Christ if we continue in our initial confidence that God has an answer and finally choose to believe God when He says that Jesus has done everything necessary for us to be made righteous and given eternal life. In that moment we agree to be reconciled to God.
Here is a great passage about that, 2 Corinthians 5:18–20 “18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. 20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.” (KJV 1900)
Now we can conclude Hebrews chapter 3. The remaining verses restate in a single logical thought everything we have seen in this chapter of Hebrews so far.
Hebrews 3:15–19
15 While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.
16 For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses.
17 But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?
18 And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?
19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. (KJV 1900)
Here we see the good news that all who believe will enter His rest. Those who could not enter were barred because of unbelief. Some may ask, “It appears from this that those who fail to choose to trust God are damned. Why then do you teach that we have the freedom to choose?” It is true that those who do not choose to trust Jesus are damned. They are damned because they have chosen to reject Him, not simply because they did not know, or failed to choose at all.
If we review the Old Testament story of the Hebrew nation, we see this in stark relief. The people rebelled and rejected God. They worshipped other gods. They criticized and failed to honor God. He gave them chance after chance. He showed them time and again that He loved and cared for them. He sent prophets to tell them what He expected from them, but they would not listen.
To believe God is to obey God. Belief is obedience.
