“So DO NOT THROW AWAY your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised. For, “IN JUST A LITTLE WHILE, He who is coming WILL COME and will NOT DELAY.” And, “But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.” But WE DO NOT BELONG TO THOSE WHO SHRINK BACK and are destroyed, but to those who HAVE FAITH AND ARE SAVED.” (Hebrews 10:35-39)
The fundamental message of the book of Hebrews is summarized in verses 35 and 36. Everything else said in this letter is meant to strengthen a Christian’s confidence that Jesus Christ is, in fact, the ultimate means of our salvation. Even in the face of persecution and doubt, we have every reason to trust in God and His promises, “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS, BY A NEW AND LIVING WAY opened for us through the curtain, that is, His body…” (Hebrews 10:19-20). Those to whom these words are written have, in fact, already survived some level of persecution “Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured IN A GREAT CONFLICT FULL OF SUFFERING.” (Hebrews 10:32). Since the gospel they hold to is so obviously true, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:23), and so incredibly valuable, “For by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” (Hebrews 10:14), and since the consequences of rejecting it are so dreadful, they ought to “HOLD FAST“ TO THEIR FAITH in the face of difficult times.
Your Personal Pastor -Bill Stockham