Assurance in Hebrews 3

[John Caldwell]

Hebrews 3:12-19 is a commentary on the quotation in 7-11 (Psalm 95). The author encourages his audience to take care that there be none among them with an unbelieving heart. Becoming partakers of Christ means holding firm the beginning of our assurance until the end.

If we take the original audience to be primarily Jewish (which I believe is warranted), what is the “beginning of our assurance”? Is it referring to a knowledge of the gospel message or is this beginning a faithfulness to Judaism with its object being Christ? Is “the end” entering into “God’s rest” in the present (the salvation rest and inheritance we have in Christ) or the future eternal “Sabbath rest”?

 

[Episkopos]

Hebrews 3:12-19 is a commentary on the quotation in 7-11 (Psalm 95). The author encourages his audience to take care that there be none among them with an unbelieving heart. Becoming partakers of Christ means holding firm the beginning of our assurance until the end.

If we take the original audience to be primarily Jewish (which I believe is warranted), what is the “beginning of our assurance”? Is it referring to a knowledge of the gospel message or is this beginning a faithfulness to Judaism with its object being Christ? Is “the end” entering into “God’s rest” in the present (the salvation rest and inheritance we have in Christ) or the future eternal “Sabbath rest”?

We are to have confidence in God...and NOT in some supposed religious formula we may or not wish to believe in. The kind of faith that enters into fellowship with God is not the same as convincing ourselves we are saved.

This happens far too much...where the confidence is put in a salvation status FROM God (supposedly) but without any evidence of a miraculous walk.

No, our confidence is to be in the PERSON of Christ and God the Father.

People talk of a personal relationship..but mainly that is confused with a personal relationship with a doctrine not God Himself.

 

[prism]

Hebrews 3:12-19 is a commentary on the quotation in 7-11 (Psalm 95). The author encourages his audience to take care that there be none among them with an unbelieving heart. Becoming partakers of Christ means holding firm the beginning of our assurance until the end.

If we take the original audience to be primarily Jewish (which I believe is warranted), what is the “beginning of our assurance”? Is it referring to a knowledge of the gospel message or is this beginning a faithfulness to Judaism with its object being Christ? Is “the end” entering into “God’s rest” in the present (the salvation rest and inheritance we have in Christ) or the future eternal “Sabbath rest”?

Persecution was on the rise, and many Jewish Christians were beginning to doubt this 'new way' and were having thoughts to revert to the old sacrificial system. Hebrews was written as a testimony to the 'better' way under the 'better' Covenant.

 

[Enoch111]

If we take the original audience to be primarily Jewish (which I believe is warranted), what is the “beginning of our assurance”?

Here is the beginning of our confidence or assurance:
Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high (Heb 1:3)

The reason Christ sat down at that right hand of the Majesty on high is because He finished the work of redemption.

 

[marks]

Hebrews 3:12-19 is a commentary on the quotation in 7-11 (Psalm 95). The author encourages his audience to take care that there be none among them with an unbelieving heart. Becoming partakers of Christ means holding firm the beginning of our assurance until the end.

If we take the original audience to be primarily Jewish (which I believe is warranted), what is the “beginning of our assurance”? Is it referring to a knowledge of the gospel message or is this beginning a faithfulness to Judaism with its object being Christ? Is “the end” entering into “God’s rest” in the present (the salvation rest and inheritance we have in Christ) or the future eternal “Sabbath rest”?

Hi John,

There is something very interesting in this verse 3:14;



"we have become" from 'gegonamen', this is a Perfect Tense verb, which is to say, once it happens, it's done for all time.

Paul used this tense in saying, "Have I not seen the risen Lord?" His meaning there is that he had indeed seen Jesus having risen from the dead, and that never changes. He never stops being someone who has seen the risen Lord.

In the same way, we have become partners, once for all time, and we can know this by the fact that our faith endures through thick and thin, like Peter also writes.

What many see as presenting conditional salvation actually assures us of the permanence of our being united together with Christ.

This is what I see our assurance to be. Once His, always His!

Much love!

 

[John Caldwell]

We are to have confidence in God...and NOT in some supposed religious formula we may or not wish to believe in. The kind of faith that enters into fellowship with God is not the same as convincing ourselves we are saved.

This happens far too much...where the confidence is put in a salvation status FROM God (supposedly) but without any evidence of a miraculous walk.

No, our confidence is to be in the PERSON of Christ and God the Father.

People talk of a personal relationship..but mainly that is confused with a personal relationship with a doctrine not God Himself.

I think, @Episkopos , that this may be why sometimes we can find those with very poor theology being so much more mature than others who are more "theologically astute".

There was a lady at a previous church who would often tell me in a discussion that she does not know what people are talking about in some of the bible classes, but she knows Jesus (she was Pentecostal but a member of our Baptist church). Her relationship with Christ was enough for her, and she was too busy about kingdom work to concern herself with theological systems. She was probably the most godly person I have ever met (her theology was awful).

I think that sometimes people miss the point of spiritual growth and the depth of Scripture. They believe God leads them to know information (like Calvinism or Covenant Theology, or Arminianism or Catholicism or whatever). I am coming to realize that the spiritual depth, the spiritual maturity, and the deep things God leads us into is less information and more on the grounds of our relationship with God and other men. (I hope that makes sense, it seems poorly articulated).

 

[amadeus]

I think, @Episkopos , that this may be why sometimes we can find those with very poor theology being so much more mature than others who are more "theologically astute".

There was a lady at a previous church who would often tell me in a discussion that she does not know what people are talking about in some of the bible classes, but she knows Jesus (she was Pentecostal but a member of our Baptist church). Her relationship with Christ was enough for her, and she was too busy about kingdom work to concern herself with theological systems. She was probably the most godly person I have ever met (her theology was awful).

I think that sometimes people miss the point of spiritual growth and the depth of Scripture. They believe God leads them to know information (like Calvinism or Covenant Theology, or Arminianism or Catholicism or whatever). I am coming to realize that the spiritual depth, the spiritual maturity, and the deep things God leads us into is less information and more on the grounds of our relationship with God and other men. (I hope that makes sense, it seems poorly articulated).

You my friend are right on the money. I am certainly not against studying the Bible, but there are some like the lady you mention that are very close to God without understanding all of those details. This reminds me of the illiterate Central American I met a number of years ago who could not read his native language [Spanish] nor any other human language, but he loved God and was from what I could see closer to God than many of the Bible students I have met.