Those troubling “if”
clauses
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.
We need to understand this in the light
of the total context, which is Moses leading Israel out of Egypt and to the Promised Land (3: 7-19) and
many did not continue proving they were not saved!
The writer is not suggesting that
Christians must keep ourselves saved. This would contradict the major theme of
the book, which is the finished work of Christ and His heavenly ministry
guaranteeing our eternal salvation (Heb. 7:14).
The writer is affirming that those who
hold fast their confidence and hope are proving [no maintaining] that they are
truly born again, note "whose house we are, not become" [see 10:38].
Some believe these mere professors were
in danger of losing salvation. The opposite was the case. If these turned out
to be mere professors then departed, they did not lose salvation but by not
continuing they proved they never were saved.
Three other times in this epistle, the
writer exhorted the readers to hold fast to this confession (Heb. 3:14; 4:14; 6:9;10:23). It was this same confession that
characterized men and women of faith in the ages past (Heb. 11:13).
Note other passages in the NT that speak
of continuing or holding fast (Acts 13:43; 14:22; Col. 1:23; 1 Cor. 15:2; 1 John 2:18-19).
We should not have confidence in
ourselves, because we are too prone to fail; but we should have confidence in
Jesus Christ who never fails.
In other words, those who have trusted
Christ prove this confession by their steadfastness, confidence, and
joyful hope. They are not burdened by the past or threatened by the present,
but are “living in the future tense” as they await the “blessed hope” of their
Lord’s return.
It is this “heavenly calling” that
motivates the believers to keep on living for the Savior even when the going is
gets tough.
