Read Hebrews 10:35-39. What is God saying to us in these verses?
Endurance is a characteristic of God’s end-time people, without which they will not be able to receive the promises (Revelation 13:10, Revelation 14:12). In order to endure, however, believers need to “hold fast” their faith (Hebrews 10:23, Hebrews 4:14).
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Paul has shown that the desert generation was not able to receive the promise because they lacked faith (Hebrews 3:19). Hebrews portrays believers as also at the threshold of the fulfillment of the promises (Hebrews 9:28; Hebrews 10:25, Hebrews 10:36-38) and need to exercise faith if they want to receive the promises (Hebrews 10:39).
Paul introduces his exposition on faith with a quotation from Habakkuk 2:2-4. Habakkuk had asked God why He tolerated the treacherous people who oppressed the righteous (Habakkuk 1:12-17). The prophet and his people were suffering; thus, they wanted God to act. God answered, however, that there was an appointed time for the fulfillment of His promise, and they needed to wait (Habakkuk 2:2-4). Habakkuk and his people lived, like us, between the time of the promise and the time of its fulfillment. God’s message continued in Hebrews, “He who is coming will come and will not delay” (Hebrews 10:37, NIV; see also Habakkuk 2:3).
The message refers to Jesus. He is the righteous one, the embodiment of faith who pleases God and provides life (Hebrews 10:5-10).
Why, then, would He “delay”? He won’t. He has already come to die for us (Hebrews 9:15-26), and He will surely come again at the appointed time (Hebrews 9:27-28; Hebrews 10:25).
God’s message continued: “my righteous one shall live by faith” (Hebrews 10:38, ESV). Paul states the same in Romans 1:17 and Galatians 3:11. Romans 1:16-17, is especially enlightening because it explains that the righteousness of God is “revealed from faith to faith.” What Paul means is that God’s faithfulness to His promises comes first, and His faithfulness produces, as its result, our faith and/or faithfulness.
Thus, because God remains faithful to His promises (2 Timothy 2:13), the righteous, in response to God’s faithfulness, will remain faithful, as well.
| Why is it important to recognize that our faith results from and feeds on God’s faithfulness? How can we learn more to trust in His faithfulness to us and to the promises He has made to us? |
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