Well this week’s audio program is entitled: “If we hold fast our confidence.” Jim the topic we are going to discuss today has served to be one of the most painful misunderstandings for those of us who are dwelling with/in Christ. There are so many things in the letter to the Hebrews that are confusing but, this is one of those that really gets in the way of seeing the God that our hearts see and hope in. It is this little word ‘if’ in the third chapter of Hebrews that seems to have no rime or reason for being there in the text. Why don’t I read it here for our listener and see if we can’t get some of the splinters out for some examination.
but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house–whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end. Hebrews 3:6 NASB

For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end, Hebrews 3:14 NASB

As some of you might suspect, I’ve been challenged on more than one occasion concerning the little word “if” as found in numerous Bible verses — especially those verses that seem to put our salvation in jeopardy. One particular guy confronted me with what he assumed was an oversight on my part by stating, That little word “if” really means what it says. And you know what? I agree, if means if. It’s conditional.

Yes Jim, this sense of the conditional is so familiar to us and it keeps us from grasping what our hearts seem to be towards. I think many teachers who speak of Gods grace have tried to make this seemingly conditional ‘if’ into some other meaning like “in so much as” or even the word “since’.

That’s right, if doesn’t mean since. Now, I realize this will rub some of you the wrong way, but I’d like to challenge that oft-used fix that has been brought into play for these so-called problem passages. No doubt the way if is used in some verses may suggest or lead into a meaning of since, but we too easily gloss over the tension and confusion by applying the if = since technique.

The First Class Condition? “ei” — If, and it is true. Meaning = since.

Too many contradictions in holding this hard and fast rule: Would Jesus actually be stating that he did cast out demons by Beelzebul? Matt 12:27 Since I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? (http://bible.org/article/myth-about-meaning-first-class-conditions-greek)

Jim I see what your’e saying here. So if it can’t be equal to the word or meaning ‘since’ then don’t most of us immediately think of the most obvious meaning next? You know, the ‘if’ we use mostly today. The original American made meaning “if”. As in maybe, maybe not?

The Third Class Condition? “ean” — If, and it may or may not be true. Meaning = if. One defines this as “maybe you will, maybe you won’t”
Maybe that’s why so many find themselves between a rock and a hard place when considering the ifs in Hebrews 3, after all, it’s a 3rd-class conditional if!! Maybe you will hold fast your confidence … or maybe you won’t. It’s all up in the air. But does this perspective have any real bearing upon the passage and its meaning? Anyhow, for consideration’s sake, I’m asking some of you to put that technical viewpoint on hold just long enough to hear me out. Can you do that?

but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house–whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end. Hebrews 3:6 NASB
For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end, Hebrews 3:14 NASB

What does the overall context provide concerning these verses? Remember? Written to and about the Hebrews, specifically in view of their own long history of unbelief.

Jim, not sure what you are getting at there? What do you mean by relating this to the jews former unbelief?

This verse is situated as an intro to Jew’s 40-year wilderness ordeal which took place because of their unbelief. Lipservice — in the same way we’ve learned how to say the right words to get by, the Hebrews also declared their “confidence,” even though they had unbelieving hearts.

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Add-on insertion regarding the history of the Jews

Considerations:

Keep in mind that Peter was an apostle to the circumcised — the Jews, the Hebrews — and he wrote both of his letters to those who resided as aliens, those who were scattered throughout the Mediterranean world … those who were chosen to hear and follow Jesus Christ.
Galatians 2:7-8 But on the contrary, seeing that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised (for He who effectually worked for Peter in his apostleship to the circumcised effectually worked for me also to the Gentiles),
2 Peter 2:1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.

What were these destructive heresies?

Consider the meaning of the word translated as heresy: αἵρεσις hairesis; from G138; choice, opinion:– NASB usage: factions(2), heresies(1), sect(6). Schism, faction, sect are words that all refer to divisiveness, the destruction of oneness.

Never confuse the differences of expression that come from the heart of unity as being anything like the differences of expression that come from a heart of division. The fleshly mind has shown itself as divisive all throughout history, and there are no exceptions. In our consideration of Hebrews, it must be recognized that Israel is no exception to this rule — nor is America, for that matter. The fleshly mind only creates an illusion of unity, and those who join together under the banner of that union will always find themselves struggling to keep it together. Maybe that’s why our attempts to follow that so-called Biblical command to keep the unity of the Spirit have so utterly failed.

Consider the destructiveness behind these opinions or choices: “even denying the Master who bought them.” The destructive heresies (aka. opinions, choices, factions) always target the head, that is, the very authority upon which the unity is made. The false prophets who challenged Moses were, in fact, challenging God himself because God had him head over His house.

Differences of viewpoint or differences in interpretation that challenge an institution created by man or the doctrines formulated by those who have set themselves up as authorities in place of Christ cannot be automatically assumed as challenges against God. If so, Jesus himself would have to be considered God’s ultimate destructive heretic. However, because he wasn’t afraid to challenge the men who set themselves up in Moses’ seat, he was put to death for having taught against the authority of man under the premise that he taught against the authority of God. But he could do no such thing. It was impossible for him to speak apart from his father or against his father’s will — for they were ONE.

Let’s consider the false prophets of Israel, the ones every Hebrew would have heard about in any synagogue that read from the word of God that had been spoken in various ways through the prophets (Remember Hebrews 1:1). As we approach any given instance where a false prophet came into being we must ask what was really going on behind the scenes? What made a person a false prophet? Who was being challenged? In what way was the wisdom of man being put above the wisdom of God?

The false prophets continually crept in and found their way among Israel, and it didn’t take very long after Moses led them out of Egypt before a major confrontation regarding God’s authority came to a head.

Korah: Numbers 16 Korah’s rejection of Moses’ authority and his demand for priesthood, along with the subsequent murmuring among the people. Korah, and his people, despised the Lord, Numbers 16:30 Although Korah was a descendant of Levi, the priesthood had been given to Aaron and his sons. Behind the words many Christians might find compelling — Numbers 16:3 “You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?” — Korah actually despised the Lord’s choice and wanted to be recognized as a priest before the Lord as well. Korah’s claim that Moses had exalted himself above the assembly might sound similar to things Jesus said about the Pharisees, but the truth of the matter is that Moses had in fact been chosen by God despite his own objections. In claiming that all were holy, Korah was not testifying to an equality of those who have been made holy through Christ, rather that through his persuasive speech, he had rejected the true priesthood of God, which ultimately rejected the only real high priest who could ever take away sins. That the Hebrew believers were made holy in Christ was a reality only brought about because of God’s chosen high priest through Melchizedek (Hebrews 7). Moses told Korah and his followers to gather the next morning to see who God would choose — “Tomorrow morning the Lord will show who is His, and who is holy…” (Numbers 16:11) — and God definitely revealed his choice by causing the ground to open up and swallow Korah and his 250 followers who had gathered against the Lord.

They shall not enter my rest: Hebrews 3 Israel’s rejection of the promised rest of God led to 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. The testimony of God’s faithfulness and promise to Israel was declared by Joshua and Caleb at the entrance to which Moses had brought them. Israel rejected it when they heard the warnings of the other 8 spies as to the impossibility of victory. The letter of Hebrews pictures Israel as still waiting at the entrance
Elijah and the false prophets of Baal:1 Kings 18 “How long will you hesitate between two opinions?” 1 Kings 18:21 . The 2 opinions: There is the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and then there is everything else. Now, how do you explain that without coming across as merely one religious viewpoint or belief being professed as the right one? You see, the God of Israel made no such attempt to explain it, he merely demonstrated it through the people he called as his own possession. The people had allowed 450 prophets of Baal (as well 400 prophets of the Asherah) to set up shop in their midst — as if there was no real contradiction, as if it didn’t fundamentally destroy Israel’s confidence and the boast of their hope. The wisdom of God versus the wisdom of man. Israel’s hesitation between two opinions continues to play out in today’s Christianity. In our religious fervor to increase “the kingdom”, we have given in and have adopted the wisdom of the world in order to appeal to the masses. We may assume that we have gotten more people saved by the techniques of the fleshly mind, but what we’ve really done may be closer to the kind of situation Israel found itself in during Elijah’s time. It was that way in Israel when they were confronted by the letter of Hebrews. No, they hadn’t brought back the false gods of Baal and the Asherah, instead they had gotten caught between the sufficiency of the new covenant brought about in Christ through the once and for all sacrifice and the insufficiency of the old covenant that had been brought about through the ministry of angels to Moses.

but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house–whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end. Hebrews 3:6 NASB

For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end, Hebrews 3:14 NASB

“His house” is singular, and that singular identity is defined or understood according to the oneness of the group.

If there was a Greek word I would examine better, it would be the word for hold fast — κατέχω — katecho. Why? Because it underlines the same twisted shift in perspective as found in the word if. Now, I’m not going to offer some radically different meaning here, however there is a radically different focus I think we should consider. And guess what? It’s the exact same distinction you’re going to hear me bring up time and time again: viewing the subject matter according to the logic of man versus the logic of God. κατέχω comes from two Greek words: κατά, having several possible meanings; and έχω, meaning to have or to hold. What I find particularly interesting about this word has to do with how the various meanings applied to the very few NT occurrences of katecho (like 16) seem to overlook the most used meaning to its often used root, kata. The overwhelmingly applied meaning of kata is some form of according (like 154 times in the NASB) and then 52 times as against. To hold fast has erroneously come to be viewed as some kind of strength of will on our part, and this totally goes against the overall flow of the passage in Hebrews.

The appeal to hold fast our confidence — that is, to hold it in view of or according to the reality of the one who has created this confidence — that appeal was not put forth as an individual thing, but rather as to the house of God that Christ was head of. This is not to suggest that there can be no individual application of it but that it needs to be understood in view of the unity. If you force this into a proposition that leaves your salvation hanging in the balances because of your fears that you may eventually stop believing, then you’ve missed the whole point. For it’s not about YOU, it’s not about ME, it’s about Christ and his sufficiency. After all, what is our confidence? What is the boast of our hope? Is it not Christ himself? In other words, the iffyness of the proposition has nothing to do with some kind of enduring quality of your faith, it has to do with enduring nature of the confidence itself. According to the mind of our contemporary Christian religion, we have learned to speak of and hang upon our faith (that is, in our believing) as if there were some kind of power in the decision we’ve made for Christ. However, the experience of the Hebrews from the beginning when Peter stood up and proclaimed how they had killed the deliverer God had sent testifies to something else. Faith doesn’t speak of itself, it testifies to the one who is worthy. The boast of the Jew’s hope was Christ, the fulfillment of the Law. of the one God chose to if we hold fast … he’s referring to the called out among the Hebrews

Oh so you are saying that this holding fast was a divine ,miraculous holding fast that was upon those who were/are chosen in Him? What about some examples of that?

It’s the same as found in 1 Corinthians 15:1-2, Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. Can we not see the obvious shift in perspective that’s been applied to this passage that causes us to examine ourselves and our ability to somehow hold fast … to somehow make sure that our faith doesn’t become vain?

Vain or worthless faith as seen in 1 Corinthians 15:2,14,17 all hangs upon the very same reality: Whether or not Christ actually did rise from the dead.
To hold fast has nothing to do with the attempt to keep our faith alive or active, it has only to do with holding our faith according to or holding it up against the truth of Christ’s resurrection. Everything rises or falls upon the truthfulness of the gospel. If it’s true — and with this postulation, our hearts should be responding with an amen, an agreement that Of course it’s true! — then our faith cannot nor will not ever be vain or worthless.

Jim I am sure our listener is saying ‘what do you mean hold it up to His resurrection?” “what does that have to do with anything?’

If there is one certainty found in the letter to the Hebrews, it is that everything about their faith rises or falls upon the reality of Jesus Christ. It is the exact foundation of the very chapter (Hebrews 3) where the if is put forth.

The call to the Hebrews to hold fast their confidence, as well as the boast of their hope, has nothing to do with their abilities or their strength of will, strength of faith, etc. Hold your confidence according to Christ, the one who is greater than Moses.

Hebrews 3:1-6 The comparison between Moses and Christ. Christ is so much better as the head of his house than Moses was. Notice the “consideration” they were asked: Consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession. As Moses was faithful to the one who appointed him in all his house, Jesus was faithful to the one who appointed him.

Do you see the connection? Do you see the focus? Is it on the Hebrews, or upon their faith … as if their faith was something of themselves? No!
The force behind this holding fast is that the Hebrews were being challenged to hold their confidence according to a reality that was found in who Jesus Christ was and in what he had already accomplished. They had been challenged to hold the profession of that confidence up against the truth as had been declared in the word spoken to the fathers in previous times so that its certainty will be seen for what it is, which will declare Jesus Christ to be the very one who accomplished all he was sent to do.

…firm until the end?

but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house–whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end. Hebrews 3:6 NASB

For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end, Hebrews 3:14 NASB

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If we need more …

Colossians 1:23 (NASB)
if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.

Colossians 1:22-2:7 yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach– if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister. Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions. Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me. For I want you to know how great a struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea, and for all those who have not personally seen my face, that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument. For even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ. Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.