Hebrews 3:6

‘Whose house are we, if we hold fast our boldness and the glorying of our hope firm to the end.’

And we who are his are His house, one with Him and in receipt of all His saving benefits, as long as we are truly responsive to Him, as long as ‘we hold fast our boldness and the glorying of our hope firm to the end.’ His house includes the house of which Moses was a part, and over which Moses had authority, for He built it, but His house has expanded far beyond that of Moses.

We should note that it is not a question of comparison between Moses’ house and Messiah’s house. Moses was a part of the house, which could be called ‘his’ because of that fact, because he belonged to it. But Messiah was over the house, and it was totally His, and is called ‘His’ because it belonged to Him. The house is true Israel, the Israel of God, for the early church also saw themselves as the true Israel and the unbelieving Jews as having broken off from the true Israel (Romans 11:13-32; Galatians 6:16; Ephesians 2:11-22).

We should note also that here in a second major exhortation he stresses the human side of salvation, ‘if we hold fast our boldness and the glorying of our hope firm to the end.’ For the test of whether we are truly His is that we remain, not necessarily perfect, but faithful. Let them therefore so consider Him that they do remain faithful. That they continue to boldly proclaim Him in the face of persecution, that they continue to glory in the certain hope which they have in Christ and His sacrifice for us (Hebrews 6:18-20) and in the eternal future which is theirs, and retain that hope to the end. Let there be no going back.

We must remember as we consider this that he has already emphasised the divine side in chapter 2. He has already spoken of the Sanctifier, the Trek Leader, the High Priest, and he knows that they cannot fail. But he is also aware of how men can deceive themselves, and imagine they are what they are not. A devout Christian was once asked, “Do you believe in the perseverance of the saints?”, and he quietly replied, “No, I believe in the perseverance of the Saviour”. It was that too in which the writer believed. While he wants to stir them against thinking of ‘going back’, he has no doubt in his heart that if they are truly Christ’s He will fulfil His work within them, working within them to will and do of His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). He will make them holy before God. He will Trek-lead them to glory. He will assure their acceptability to God through His own sacrifice. But he nevertheless understands the need for a firm warning. He does not forget Jesus’ teaching which clearly linked being true believers with lives that revealed the fact in obedience to God’s word and satisfactory behaviour (compare Matthew 7:21-27).

We should, however, carefully note that important early witnesses (for example P13, P45; B) omit ‘firm to the end’, although the phrase is still implied by the sense, which may be why it was added from Hebrews 3:14.

‘If we hold fast our boldness and the glorying of our hope firm to the end.’ Here is the test of whether someone is truly His. They are known by their fruits. They remain bold, they continue glorying in their hope. There may be hiccups, there may be times of failure, but in the end they remain firm because God is at work within them. This now leads on to an example of those who did neither, and the warning that Christians should not be like them but should enter into God’s rest.

A Warning Against Turning Back On The Basis of an Example From Israel’s Failure In The Wilderness (Hebrews 3:7 to Hebrews 4:13).

Having compared Jesus Christ with Moses and Aaron (Sent One and High Priest), and especially with the great Moses, the writer now takes the example of the behaviour of Israel under Moses and Aaron, against God (Psalms 95:9) and against Moses (Exodus 17:1-7), and warns against similar behaviour by professing Christians against Jesus Christ. The faith which perseveres is the condition of God’s blessing while unbelief can only result in losing the promises (Hebrews 3:7-19). For God now has a Rest for His people, and we must not fail to enter into it (Hebrews 4:1-13).

That this is intimately connected with the saving work of Christ as God’s Sent One (Apostle; including Sanctifier and Trek Leader) and especially as High Priest, which is all intimately connected with His suffering (Hebrews 2:9-11; Hebrews 2:17), comes out in that the idea of High Priesthood both introduces it (Hebrews 2:17 to Hebrews 3:1) and finalises it (Hebrews 4:14 onwards), leading on to more detail about His High Priestly work. What is said must therefore be seen in the light of His saving and High Priestly work.

This Psalm quoted here, Psalms 95:0, was central to synagogue worship, and thus engraved deeply into the memory of every Jew, and may well also have featured importantly in Christian gatherings. Certainly it would be well known to his readers.