BETTER THINGS
Hebrews 6:9-12 NKJV
9 But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. 10 For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. 11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
The writer, in the sixth chapter of Hebrews, has just talked to Jewish believers about falling away from the faith. It is sobering stuff. But when he gets to verse nine, he expresses confidence that these believers who are reading his letter will not fall away from their faith. He is confident of better things for them, things that are part of salvation.
One of those things is God’s faithfulness to remember the work and labor of love they have shown toward Him. By ministering love and service to their fellow believers, God receives those acts as being done toward Himself. That is a big benefit. Whatever we do for others in genuine love and service is received by God. These Jewish believers had sown good seeds, and a harvest was coming their way. God does not forget.
The writer encourages these believers to continue to love and serve. The NIV says in verse eleven, “We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized.” And then, the writer goes back to prodding these believers to keep pushing and keep holding onto their faith.
“That you do not become sluggish.” Sluggish is a nice word for lazy. I like sluggish. For me, it conjures up a graphic word picture. A slug is not getting much done. And the writer warns these believers to not be that way. If you are not going to be sluggish, what is the opposite? That would be earnest, diligent and energized. And imitate the people who, through faith and patience, inherit God’s promises
This is an important verse. The people who see God’s promises fulfilled are those who believe. We spoke of faith being the important ingredient that we must add to God’s word. Without faith, the children of Israel did not go into the promised land God had for them. The land was given to them, but they did not inherit it because of their lack of faith. That may sound harsh to some, but if you go back and read the account of Israel rejecting the promised land in the Book of Numbers, chapters 13-14, we see their refusal to believe what God had said kept them out of what God had promised.
Now, the author of Hebrews adds another ingredient into this Christian life. Patience. The word means having long forbearance. The word speaks of someone who exercises self-restraint before acting. A person who has the power to avenge himself but refrains from doing so. This word is also translated as long-suffering, putting up long with people. The word patience is also translated as endurance and perseverance. So, we must dig into the scriptures to find how the word patience is being used. Endurance and perseverance means bearing up under difficult circumstances. Patience and forbearance is bearing up with difficult people.
So, what do we need to add to our faith? We need to keep believing in the face of difficult circumstances and difficult people. And that should pretty much cover it. Believing God’s promises but not backing up due to hard times and hard people. We continue to love, serve, and believe.
PRAYER
Lord, help me become one of those who honors You by serving others. And one who receives from You all You have promised.