Fidelis Est | Be Faithful

"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." - Hebrews 3: 14 (NLT)

Photo by Joshua Earle on Unsplash

The audience of the letter to Hebrews was the Jewish Christians who knew all the details of the Old Testament, especially the five books of Torah and Psalm. We have a clue, in the other chapter, that the people of this audience were facing persecution and imprisonment, because of their association with Jesus. Some of the community were walking away from Jesus and even abandoning the faith. The author urged to remind his audience, which is Messianic Jews, not to accept local Jews teaching that was contrary to Christian faith and to keep loyal to the Messiah.

One of the teachings the author exhorted the audience was that Jesus was greater than Moses, the most important prophet in Judaism. Moses was a faithful servant in God’s church, BUT God, who is the builder of the church, has all the glory. Jesus, the Son of God, is in charge of the Church.

So, who is the Church? The church is you and me, our self, if we walk with Jesus and never abandon the faith.

Difficulties in life can make us walk away from Jesus. The first example is the life pressure during the pandemic - such as losing jobs and economic fallout - which has taken a toll on families. Some of us try to control our lives and solve problems with our own strength and mind. Others tend to take the way out that the world offers by compromising our commitment to Jesus. Second, we are leaving in the era of overloaded information. Too much mislead information and religious persecution during pandemic around the world could lead us to abandon our faith. According to the letter to Hebrews, we can see how crucial it is to stand strong in our faith. No matter what position we face.

So then, let us not be like the rebelled Jews who left Egypt - led by Moses, but never entered the Promised Land. God warned the Israelites to persevere in their faith, but most of the first generation did not. They wandered in the wilderness and died, never reached the promised land.

Today, what is our “Promised Land” according to the Letter to Hebrew? It is Salvation - the new creation. God never boasts about the salvation. He never lies. All the books of the Bible show that God is consistent in his promises.

Then, how do we achieve our Promised Land?

1.            Do what God asks us to do.

2.            Persevere and when things get tough, do it one step at a time.

3.            Stand strong in our faith in Christ. No matter what.

Reflecting this passage, I was enlightened that God almighty is a consistent God. As a quite logical person, I need a longer time to grasp the meaning of salvation. Today I am certain that God is not just boasting about the salvation through Jesus Christ. The Bible (from Genesis to Revelation) shows how consistent God is in His promises. The letter to Hebrews shows the connections clearly. Every promise He said He fulfilled it. Now or later. Immediately or in thousands years. Salvation, the new creation, does really exist.

"Today, if you hear his voice, graciously offered the salvation, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion" 

Reflection on Hebrews 3:1-19 by Veralin Uneputty 

(Listen to the Podcast here)