Hold Fast

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Current revision as of 14:51, 18 April 2012

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering for he who promised is faithful” (Heb. 10:23).

- Hebrews 10:23

Yesterday we saw that given the great truths about Christ’s superiority and His high priesthood, there can be no other response other than to draw near Him with assurance and confidence (Heb. 10:22). When we see the majesty and faithfulness of Christ we can do nothing less than come near to God through Him during every season of our life.

However, it is not enough to draw near to Him. Today’s passage tells us that we must also hold fast to the confession of our hope (v. 23). We must not worship God silently and in secret, but must also display our allegiance to Him publicly. Here we see the close connection between true faith and outward practice that is highlighted on every page of the Bible. It is not enough to be silent and think that we have true faith if no one ever knows about it. Rather, true faith is only true faith if we believe in our hearts and confess with our lips (Rom. 10:9). As John Calvin tells us about this verse: “[God] requires also profession or confession, for it is not true faith except it shows itself before men.”

Our confession is “the confession of our hope” (Heb. 10:23). Our society often uses the word hope as a euphemism for wishful thinking or to express a longing for the impossible. But this is not what we mean when we speak of Christian hope. Christian hope alone is worthy of the term hope. For it is a true confidence that God will fulfill all His promises — a true confidence that all will be renewed. It is something that we know will happen because we have experienced the first-fruits of salvation. In contrast to our society, we say that hope is only actual hope if we have sufficient reason to believe that the things for which we hope will come to pass.

Christians alone have true hope because the one who makes such promises to us is faithful (v. 23). The faithfulness of His Word and His activity through history give us the basis for our hope and confidence that God will do all that He promises. Because of this faithfulness, we too must be faithful to Him. We must hold to our confession “without wavering.” We must resolve to walk with Him in faith despite doubts that might arise. We must resolve to look to Him alone for salvation. We must cling to Jesus and to nothing else.

Coram Deo

Many of us can find places in our lives where we do not hold fast to our confession. Maybe our workplaces, families, or friends pressure us to be silent about our faith. If you are in a situation where you are not holding fast to your confession, pray that He would give you the necessary boldness and then do what is required to stand for Him.

Passages for Further Study

Deut. 31:6
Isa. 7:9b
Matt. 10:32–33
Acts 4:1–31