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Hebrews 6.9-12
9 Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. 10 For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. 11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
Have you ever known a person who is a great starter but rarely finishes what they’ve started? Those people are found everywhere in the business world, non-profits, politics, and the church. They love the novelty of the new and, like a butterfly, flit from one new thing to another, hardly ever finishing what they started.
Don’t misunderstand me. These folks are a great resource for getting a project up and running but know that when the initial excitement wears off and the daily grind sets in and continues into months and even years, it’s a challenge to keep these folks motivated and focused. They need a constant reminder of the goal ahead if they’re to finish what they started.
The same thing can be said of the Christian life, and this is the situation that the writer of Hebrews is addressing in this passage. The writer of Hebrews points out that the Lord knows their good work and the love that they are showing one another. It’s an excellent start!
But Hebrews also gives a great word of encouragement in verses 11-12 to stay the course, to not get lazy, and to press on until the end. To be clear here, this isn’t about doing good works to gain God’s favor. I love how N.T. Wright expresses this in his commentary on the passage, “Grace remains grace; God loves us because he loves us, not because we manage to do a few things to impress him, or to notch up a few points on some heavenly scorecard.”
We can’t earn God’s favor by doing good works.
But faith in Christ is never a matter of checking off the boxes and then sitting back to see what happens next.
Throughout the New Testament, the encouragement is to constantly press on, living out our faith as we pursue our relationship with Jesus.
In Philippians 2.12, Paul wrote, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
The point Paul is making is not that one can earn salvation by doing good works, rather, just like any vital and active relationship we have in our lives, we have our part to play. We must actively pursue our relationship with the Lord, working out our salvation with fear and trembling.
Why should they do that? Philippians 2.13 gives the answer, “for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” We pursue our relationship with the Lord and take up the effort to grow up in spiritual maturity because God has loved us first, and we’re responding to His love for us.
What matters for Paul and Hebrews is that after we make a good start with the Lord, we then must patiently work hard as we pursue knowing, loving, serving, and following Jesus both as individuals and in the community of faith in which we’re planted. Again, not to earn the Lord’s favor, but as a loving response to His grace in our lives. We all need to constantly press on.
Paul certainly felt that way about his relationship with the Lord. Consider what he wrote about himself in Philippians 3:12–16
12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.
What is your next step as you pursue your relationship with Jesus?
God bless you, and know that I am praying for you constantly.
Scott
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