The Letter to the Hebrews
Why We Must Hold Fast To Our Hope
Hebrews 3:6b-11
Let’s turn to Hebrews 3. If you need a Bible, go ahead and raise your hands and we will bring one to you. Hebrews 3 is on page 1002 in the Bibles we are passing out.
I believe Scripture teaches that if this morning you are genuinely trusting Jesus Christ – trusting Him as your Savior, your Lord, and your heart-satisfying Treasure – then you can be absolutely sure that you will go to heaven. And the reason is because when God saves us He starts a work in us which He will not let anything stop – not you, not Satan, no one. He will keep you trusting Jesus and fighting the fight of faith – not perfectly, but persistently -- all the way to the end.
So once someone is genuinely saved – they will always be saved. No one can have salvation and then lose salvation. Once you have salvation you will always have salvation.
But -- some people draw a conclusion from this that is wrong – dangerously wrong.
They think – if once I have salvation I will always be saved – then because I made a decision for Christ five years ago it makes no difference where my heart’s at – I will still be forgiven for all my sins and enjoy the new heavens and earth. What’s in my heart now makes no difference to my eternity – because once saved always saved.
But that’s a dangerously wrong conclusion. And when we read the letter to the Hebrews we can see that some of them had drawn this dangerously wrong conclusion.
And so here in vv.6-11 he corrects that wrong conclusion by telling us how we can tell that we are saved. Look at what he says at the end of v.6 --
And we are his house [that is, we are saved, God’s saved people] – if [IF, IF, IF] indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.
So let’s start with this first question – How can we know that we are God’s house – God’s saved people? Read the second half of v.6 again --
And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.
Notice what that IF is telling us. It’s not telling us how to BECOME God’s house. It’s not saying – if you hold fast your hope then you BECOME saved. No. It’s telling us how we know we ARE God’s house. It’s saying – if you hold fast your hope then you know you ARE saved.
It’s like I said – we are alive if indeed we are breathing. Breathing isn’t how we become alive. Breathing is how we know we are alive.
So in the same way – we are saved if we hold fast our hope. So the way to know that we are saved is because we hold fast our hope.
So the way to be assured that you are saved is not by looking back at the past – at a decision you made last year – or 20 years ago. The way to be assured that you are saved is by looking at the present – at your heart right now. Are you holding fast to your hope?
The way to know that you are saved is because you are holding fast to your hope. But what exactly does that mean? What does it mean to hold fast to our hope?
Let’s start with that word hope – we are to hold fast to our hope. In the Bible, “hope” is not wishful thinking. It’s not what we mean when we say “I hope so.” In the Bible hope is a rock-solid certainty that your future is going to be unbelievably good.
So what is our hope? You can see one clue in Hebrews 3:1 – we are partakers of a heavenly calling. And you can see this spelled out more in Hebrews 13:14 –
For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.
So our hope is heaven – the city that is to come. Our hope is the new heavens and earth, where we will gather with all the redeemed in beholding God’s glory in Jesus Christ. And we know that’s going to be unbelievably good, because in this life God gives us tastes of His glory. These tastes are infinitely more satisfying than anything else – and so we know that beholding His glory forever is going to be unbelievably good.
So our hope is being in the new heavens and earth with all the redeemed beholding Gods’ glory in Jesus Christ forever.
And we are to hold fast to our confidence in our hope. That word “confidence” means we know this hope is going to be there. How can we be so sure? We can be sure because God has given us evidence –
He’s given us evidence in history – because 2,000 years ago God came to earth in the person of Jesus. We have all the eyewitness evidence we need to know that Jesus healed ten lepers, raised Lazarus from the dead, died on the Cross, and rose from the dead Himself. So we can know this is all true.
And he’s given us evidence in our own experience – because as we seek Him in prayer and the Word and worship – He gives us supernatural tastes of His glory, majesty, and beauty. These are like appetizers of the full banquet we know in heaven.
That’s why we can hold fast to our confidence in our hope.
And saved people also hold fast to our boasting in our hope. Here the word “boasting” does not mean bragging. It means rejoicing in, delighting in, glorying in something. So to boast in our hope means we love this hope of beholding God’s glory more than anything. What we long for more than anything is the new heavens and earth where with all the redeemed we will behold God’s glory in Christ.
So with that in mind let’s read v.6 again --
And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.
But the problem was that some of the author’s readers were not holding fast their confidence and their boasting in their hope. The pull of money and fame and comfort had made them forget about the new heavens and earth. The pain of battling sin had made them wonder if the new heavens and earth were worth it.
Not only that – but these readers did not see the problem. It seems like they were saying – it’s OK if we are not holding fast our hope – we’re still part of God’s people. We are still saved. There’s no problem.
And so the author wants to warn them of the danger they are facing. And some of us might need to hear this warning as well. Are you letting money and fame make you forget about the new heavens and earth? Are you letting the pain of battling sin make you wonder if heaven is worth it?
And are you letting all of this happen – while thinking there is no problem? If so – then in great love God had you come here today so you could hear how the author of Hebrews warns his readers – because he’s also warning you.
So how does he warn them – and us? It’s in vv.7-11. In these verses the author quotes from Psalm 95, where God urges his people not to be hard-hearted as Israel was when she was first delivered from Egypt.
Look at what he says --
7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, "Today, if you hear his voice,
8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness,
9 where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years.
10 Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, 'They always go astray in their heart; they have not known my ways.'
11 As I swore in my wrath, 'They shall not enter my rest.'"
This is a shocking passage – describing a shocking story in the Old Testament.
God had powerfully delivered the people of Israel from Egypt with amazing signs and wonders. God had delivered them from the angel of death with the Passover. God had saved them from Pharaoh’s army by parting the Red Sea – and then when Pharaoh’s army tried to cross – God drowned them all by having the Red Sea close up over them.
God had done all these things for the people of Israel. But after all that – God swore in His wrath that they would not enter His rest. They would not enter the Promised Land.
Why? Because as v.8 says they had allowed their hearts to grow hard against God and had rebelled against God. Because as v.9 says they put God to the test – sinning again and again – testing Him to see if His patience would run out. Because as v.10 says -- they had gone astray in their hearts.
So even though God had done all these wonderful things for Israel – because of their sinful hearts – God swore in His wrath that they would not enter His rest. They would not enter the Promised Land.
And the point the author of Hebrews wants to make to his listeners is this – if you allow your hearts to grow hard, if you test God’s patience by continuing in sin, if you let your hearts go astray – if you do all this and not care, not cry out to God for help, not trust Jesus to change your heart – then God will respond the same to you as He did not Israel. He will swear in His wrath that you will not enter his rest – you will not enter the new heavens and earth.
There’s the warning. We know we are God’s people because we are holding fast to our hope. But if we are not holding fast to our hope, if we are letting go of our hope, if we are gripping something else for our hope – then we might not be God’s people. And if we continue in this state without taking action – we are risking eternity. We might not enter God’s rest.
So what can we do? Let me give you three crucial steps --
First, understand that God can change your heart. Look at Hebrews 13:20-21 --
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
It doesn’t make any difference how lukewarm you feel – how far from God you are – how far you have drifted. God has the power to change your heart. He promises that as you come to Him and trust Him – He will work in you that which is pleasing in His sight.
Second, come to Jesus as you are, confessing your sin, and pleading for His help. Look at Hebrews 4:16 –
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Draw near to Jesus. Take some time this afternoon – get away by yourself – and draw near to Jesus just as you are – someone in need of grace. Confess your sin to Him. Let Him assure you of complete forgiveness. And ask Him to change your heart and strengthen your hope.
Third, pray over God’s Word until you feel Jesus changing your heart. Look at Romans 10:17 –
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
Where does faith come from? Not from us gritting our teeth and trying to think positive. But from us opening God’s Word and hearing the Word of Christ. When we pray over God’s promises we will feel Jesus changing our hearts and strengthening our faith and hope.