HOLDING FAST
HEBREWS 3:6
HEBREWS 3:6 NKJ
6 but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.
Keeping in mind the book of Hebrews was written to people who were considering leaving their faith in Christ. Because of the pressure from fellow Jews, these believers were backing up.
The writer of Hebrews, while showing that Jesus is better than the Jewish laws they came out of, is also encouraging them to hold fast.
Hold fast in modern terms could be described as holding tight or retaining. In this verse, he encourages holding tight to two things: confidence and rejoicing of the hope. Confidence would be the confidence or boldness that we have in Christ. There is a boldness that only Christ in our lives can bring. Under Jewish law, there was not this level of confidence. The law was a constant reminder of our sinful nature. The law could never make us right with God. But Jesus gives us boldness and access to God through our faith in Him. (Ephesians 3:12)
And hold fast the rejoicing of the hope. Hope is a positive, favorable expectation. Because we are now free from the condemnation of the law, free from that sense of not being right with God, we have an expectation of good things, not dread. We now have peace with God and access by faith into His grace. So we are not on the outside looking in. We are not second-class citizens. Now we are members of God's household. We are accepted in Christ, and that causes us to expect good. Because we are expecting good, we are rejoicing. Hebrews encouraged the Jewish believers then and believers today to hold on tight to the great things we have in Christ.
Application
Hold fast is still good advice. Actually, more than good advice; it's a strong directive. We are connected to Jesus, and our confidence is wrapped up in that relationship. We have a living hope, and that gives us reason to rejoice.
This devotional ties in with yesterday's admonition to pay close, focused attention to what we know. Don't drift away from it. Don't let go of these important truths. Hold on, help is on the way.
Prayer
Dear Father, my confidence is in Christ, and I rejoice in expectation of Your goodness in my life. I'll hold on to those things.