Hebrews 6:9-12 (HCSB)
Even though we are speaking this way, dear friends, in your case we are confident of the better things connected with salvation. For God is not unjust; He will not forget your work and the love you showed for His name when you served the saints—and you continue to serve them. Now we want each of you to demonstrate the same diligence for the final realization of your hope, so that you won’t become lazy but will be imitators of those who inherit the promises through faith and perseverance.
The writer of Hebrews has written strongly, even harshly, in the last couple of paragraphs, salting his warnings against falling away back into legalistic Judaism with terrifying pictures of the fate of those who, having received salvation by grace through faith, then turn away and are eternally lost. But now he takes a softer tone.
The warning is real, but the writer wants it to inspire faithfulness, not fear; to move these Jewish Christians forward in their faith, not move them to turn hopelessly away from the hope they have. So, he reassures them that he is confident that they have not, and ultimately will not abandon the faith, but will continue to grow as Christians, and to deepen what they already possess.
An important point is that God is not unjust and will not break a bruised reed or snuff out a smoldering wick (Isaiah 42:3). He does not turn away from those who stumble momentarily, but whose intention is to follow steadfastly. So, his encouragement is to get up and return to the good kingdom work in which they had been involved up till now, and to stay faithfully on track all the way to the end of their journey.
The two key characteristics needed to complete the Christian journey successfully are faith and perseverance. Faith, as will be seen in chapter 11 is not merely belief in something, or even strong belief. It is steadfast trust in a promise God has made, a trust that moves a person to obedient action, believing that God can and will keep His part of the promise if they will keep theirs.
Perseverance, or as it is called in many translations, patience, is widely misunderstood today. Many people believe that patience is the ability to not feel upset when things go wrong or take longer than expected. But the Greek word translated patience is macrothumia, literally translated “longsuffering”. The closest synonyms that we have in English today are “grit” and, as translated here, “perseverance”. It is the ability to keep going when things are hard, and to not give up. Picture Paul, rejected, beaten, stoned, but still continuing to take the good news to those who haven’t heard. That is the patience, the perseverance, the “longsuffering” that is needed to successfully finish the race.
Father, thank you for this clarity. I’m afraid that many of us, especially in America and many places in Europe, have received and believed theological principle that, if we are in the center of Your will, the path will be easy. So, if we encounter problems, challenges, or rejection, we assume that either Your promises are false, that they are not for today, or that we are outside Your correct path. But the Bible itself puts the lie to that theology. Outside of Eden, Your people have never had it easy, but have always been mistreated and rejected, all the more as we follow You more closely in this sin-twisted, sin-darkened world. Lord, we still need faith and perseverance today, so that we will hang on to Your promises and continue in trust and obedience all the way to the end. Amen.