The “Big Ifs” – Part II
Scripture Reading: Hebrews 3:1-6
Key Verse: Hebrews 3:6
But Christ, as the Son, is in charge of God’s entire house. And we are God’s house, if we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ.
We read the second “Big If” in Hebrews 3:14: “For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ”.
It is agreed among all evangelical Christ-followers that it is our faith that saves us, not our good works. In other words, we enter the family of God by our faith in Jesus and it is faith that keep us in God’s family.
Hebrews 3:3 tells us that if we are faithful all the way to the final breath of our lives here on earth, then we will share in all that belongs to Christ. However, if we don’t heed these warnings and we don’t trust God like we did when we first entered God’s family, then we leave God’s family when we choose to stop believing in Him.
I am grateful that no matter what is going on in our journey with God that He will never give up on us. God will be faithful to keep nudging us back to our original faith if we wonder off. In my opinion, it takes a very rebellious and stubborn person to walk away from the God that loves the way He loves them.
However, it might be like the couples that I have married that were so in love with each other in the beginning of their relationship, but their lives grew apart little by little because of their neglect of the relationship.
I think our Bible verses for today are trying to warn all of us Believers not to neglect our relationship with God. These warnings repeat what we studied in chapter two: “So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it” (Hebrews 2:1).
Now is a good time to evaluate how you are doing in the light of these warnings.
- Are you still confident that Jesus is the only one who can save you?
- Are you confident that you have not denied that Jesus is the only hope for you and the world, even though you have failed Him due to your weaknesses of the flesh?
- Are you conscious of any drifting in your walk with God?
- Are you still giving attention to your walk with God by reading the Scriptures and talking to Him often in prayer?
- Are you harboring any sinful behaviors that you have yet to confess to Jesus your need of forgiveness?
- Do you have any unforgiveness in your heart toward someone that has hurt you? If so, are you asking God to help you to forgive this person, realizing how much God has forgiven you?
The Apostle Paul tells us to “work out of salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12). Asking these questions is a good way to accomplish this.
Father, as I ask myself these questions, please bring to my mind the truth about our relationship! In Jesus’s Name I pray, amen.