HEBREWS
In This Section:
HEBREWS 2:1-4, 3:6, 3:13-14
Starting out, to get a proper understanding of passages in Hebrews, we must get a proper understanding of Hebrews itself. As a foundational starting point, it is important for us to realize that Hebrews was written to actual Hebrews. The epistle was written to Hebrews by a Jewish Messianic follower of Jesus, traditionally recognized to be Paul the apostle. Going through Hebrews, it is quickly made evident that the epistle is written from the author's expertise in Judaism, and his revelation into various aspects of the New Covenant that was instituted by the Hebrew Messiah, Jesus. It is important to realize that Hebrews is written to an audience made up of the ones to whom Messiah was promised to come according to the Old Testament prophecies. These Hebrews had been looking for, and expecting the Hebrew Messiah. The language and flow reflect this fact. Additionally, the contents of Hebrews reveals that it served several purposes:
1) Hebrews is apologetic; meaning it offers a defense of the faith to any unsaved Hebrews who would read it, hear it read, hear quotes from it, or indirectly be influenced by the doctrine it contains.
2) Hebrews is evangelistic. It is meant to be an instrument in leading any unsaved Hebrews to receive Jesus as the true Messiah that they have been waiting for. Most, if not all, of the unsaved Hebrews knew about the miracle working Messiah. They were familiar with the Christian community and the movement. In fact many of them were in and among the Christians. Nevertheless, many of the Hebrews had not embraced Jesus as Messiah and sacrifice for their sins, so they are not saved. At the writing of Hebrews, they do not believe Jesus really resurrected from the dead, so they are lost. They know Jesus really existed, but merely being aware that Jesus was real does not save anyone. There is a similar group that is also the evangelistic focus of Hebrews. They are the unsaved Hebrews who claim to follow Jesus and his teachings, but they are selective. Their selectivity is like that of the Judaizers of Galatia who taught that to be justified, one must do something else. One must do some other works in addition to the work that Messiah did. The writer of Hebrews calls these works, "dead works" in Hebrews 6:1. So, the problem is that certain Hebrews, such as the Judaizers, have looked to the Messiah, yet in an inadequate manner, (in other words, on their own terms, as all cults do); because they seek other means to atone for their sins, they are not saved. The point is that Hebrews explains that the only way of salvation is through Jesus' completed work, completely on His terms, and the epistle lays it out in easy to understand language.
3) Hebrews is also theological; meaning it lays out truths that are important for all Hebrew people (both saved and unsaved alike) to understand important revelations concerning Jesus as the true Messiah, and His unique establishment of a New Covenant which supersedes the old one made 1500 years earlier with Moses. Actually this is the main theological thrust--preaching the superiority of Messiah and God's New Covenant through Him in fulfilling God's promises to the Hebrews as opposed to the Old obsolete Mosaic Law Covenant, (cf. Hebrews 8:13).
The overall destination the letter was meant for is a general Hebrew target community that is predominantly composed of those who already believe in Jesus as Messiah. Nevertheless, directives, warnings, and restated evangelistic urgings within the letter, demonstrate to us that the broad Hebrew audience to which the epistle is intended to reach, has unsaved Hebrews living among it--a fact which will be explored in our verse to verse exegesis of the pertinent texts. The unsaved Hebrew audience is treated like they already know of Jesus and have a basic knowledge of His claim to be God's Messiah. The saved audience is getting a lot of teaching that builds upon the foundation that was already laid in them. So, it is important to understand that Hebrews is a letter that is intended for all Hebrews in general--both saved and unsaved. This particular point is important because it is a vital key to unlocking the meaning of the sentences that are wrongly interpreted according to the NEST.
Unfortunately, some expositors have been resigned to dismiss important texts in Hebrews, that are typically used to build the Not Eternally Saved Theory, to the realm of exaggerated hypothetical fiction. In other words, it is arbitrarily asserted, by some well meaning teachers, that the writer relentlessly warned Hebrew Christians (spiritually saved people) of consequences for the damning action of rejecting Messiah, but that the author did so while really believing that such rejecting actions are not something that they will, or can, possibly do. The primary reason for this has to do with the presuppositional bias that all the points made in the epistle must necessarily be directed to saved Hebrews. It is then postulated that no particular point, by way of necessity, is being directed to unsaved Hebrews who have had the true Messiah revealed to them, and subsequently needed to be urged to act upon their knowledge. This theory is just as wrong as the Not Eternally Saved Theory. Recognizing this errant hermeneutic, we will approach the epistle of Hebrews in recognition of the fact that the author meant what he said to really apply to the particular people that such points were directed.
This leads us to recognize one more important consideration that we must keep in mind in our exegesis of the following passages. Namely, the writer of Hebrews uses pronouns in a very loose and abrupt way. Just like Paul does this in Romans, and Galatians, the writer of Hebrews will speak of "we," and "us," and then will abruptly say "those," "they," and "you," but he will do it in ping-pong fashion from sentence to sentence. Such communication was not a problem for the original Hebrew audience. But, what this means for us, in our time, culture, and ingrained ways of thinking, is that if we try to blend all the various Hebrew groups together in each of the writer's points as a matter of arbitrary preference, then we will end up misunderstanding what the writer meant by a certain directive, urging, or warning, which is a mistake that is typical of those who believe in the NEST. The important task for us is to identify each Hebrew group, and in so doing, clear up the passages that are wrongly interpreted according to the NEST.
With the above things in mind, we will comprehensively exegete the important passages by starting at the beginning of the epistle. and move forward for proper contextual clarity.
Starting out, the epistle of Hebrews begins explaining how God spoke to the Hebrew forefathers in the prophets. But now God has spoken through His Son--through Jesus. Jesus is called the "heir of all things," in 1:4. This is so vital to our salvation, because Paul explains in Colossians 1:12-14 that in salvation, we are in Messiah the first born heir. Paul also expresses the truth well in Ephesians,
"11 In him ..." (Ephesians 1:11)
[the place is in the sphere of Messiah. Continuing;]
"In him we have obtained an inheritance, ..." (Ephesians 1:11)
[Notice that Paul says we already have obtained the inheritance. Paul is speaking primarily of the apostolic group here in his introduction to Ephesians. Paul makes the same kind of reference in the next verse, but goes on to say that these principles apply to the elect Gentiles, (cf. Ephesians 1:13; where Paul refers to "you also"). The primary point to remember here is that the inheritance has already been attained. Paul goes on,]
"... having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Messiah might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him [Messiah] you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, [this is our glorious future] to the praise of his glory" Ephesians 1:11-14 ESV.
The principle is that in the 'heir' all saved people have previously obtained an inheritance. His Holy Spirit seals the saved person in this current life on earth as a guarantee of the birthright in its future aspect in the resurrection. It is expressed in Galatians 4;
"6 Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!'7 Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God." (Galatians 4:6-7)
Saved people, whether Hebrew or Gentile, are the inheritors because God's Son is the heir. Peter repeats the beautiful truth, where he says that God
"3 ... has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Messiah from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you," (1 Peter 1:3-4)
This rebirth that is caused by God through the resurrection of Christ is the only way anyone inherits eternal salvation. In heaven, the undefiled, imperishable qualities of the inheritance are reserved for all who are eternally spiritually saved in Christ right now.
Keeping these important details in mind concerning the inheritance of the Christians in the first born heir, which is Messiah, we continue in Hebrews 1. Messiah is being compared with the glory of the Father, and is being shown to be One with the Godhead. All throughout chapter one, the Old Testament is quoted heavily to proof-text the writer's points. The Hebrew people will immediately see the significance of this. In verse 3, Messiah is described as purifying someone from all unrighteousness.
"When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high," (Hebrews 1:3)
He made purification of sins for someone. The question is "who? The someone's He did this for, are the elect--the same ones He purchased in the business deal of the cross. Those elect people are the once saved in eternal spiritual salvation ones of His eternal covenant. Those are the people who are made manifest in their salvation by grace through faith.
Most of the rest of chapter one explains Messiah Jesus as being greater than angels. More Old Testament passages are quoted, and chapter one ends with this wonderful statement;
"14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?" (Hebrews 1:14)
We need to take special notice of this verse. This is a passage that reveals to us that there are identifiable people who necessarily will inherit eternal spiritual salvation. The fact that they are known as one's who will inherit salvation, is how the angels know to render service to them. Now we go into the next chapter, where we come into the first passage out of Hebrews that the NEST uses.
HEBREWS 2:1-4
"1 For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. 2 For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, 3 how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord [Messiah Jesus], it was confirmed to us by those who heard him [Messiah's students and apostles], 4 God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will." (Hebrews 2:1-4)
According to the typical interpretation of those who believe in the NEST, this passage is said to mean that saved people, who do not pay attention to what they have heard, will drift away from the gospel. Additionally, NEST adherents declare that saved people can neglect their salvation; the consequence being eternal damnation.
The NEST is wrong.
A KEY
This passage is easy to understand as not remotely suggesting any of the speculations of the NEST when we consider that the Hebrews letter is written to Hebrews, and the writer groups Himself in with the ethnic identity of genetic Hebrews in general. That is the key. The writer here (who, as has been said, is traditionally considered to be Paul the apostle), is not concerned with losing his own salvation. Far from it. The writer is writing a very thorough apologetic for the Messianic faith in Jesus, as one who believes wholeheartedly what He is writing. In fact, we Christians believe that the writer is writing as a saved person under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. So, when the writer says,
"For this reason we ..." (Hebrews 2:1 emph. mine),
The writer is talking about "we," ethnic Hebrew people in respect to the Messiah we have been awaiting. The sense is that of an urgent alert to the descendants of Abraham through Jacob, to pay attention to the announcement that Messiah has come and has been identified as the promised Anointed redeemer. He is Jesus, and He is known to be majestic; both according to what He said, the apostles say, and what the prophets foretold. So, the writer says
"For this reason ..." (Hebrews 2:1)
The writer is referencing everything he wrote in chapter one concerning Jesus' equality with the Father; His superiority over angels; the fact that He made the world; Jesus is the firstborn heir of all things; the fact that He made purification for sins, and is resurrected from the dead and sitting on the great captain's chair at the right hand of the Father. It is important for us to realize that most Hebrews of that age, who had a preconceived idea of who Messiah was supposed to be, would be asking what Jesus had come for, what Jesus had done, and where He was now. Chapter one quickly covers all of that. So the directive comes next,
"1 For this reason we [Hebrew people] must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, ..." (Hebrews 2:1)
[What the Hebrew people have heard is the gospel revealed in these days concerning Messiah, and all the Old Testament prophecies that are quoted in this first chapter. The reason is;]
"... so that we [Hebrew people] do not drift away from it. 2 For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable [reliable, steadfast], and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, ..." (Hebrews 2:1-2)
[In other words, God's word has always stood, and his punishment has always followed disobedience to His word. The penalty for disobedience to Jehovah is something that all Hebrews have been familiar with from childhood. Now verse 3;]
"3 how will we [Hebrew people who have had their Messiah come to them] escape if we neglect such a great salvation? ..." (Hebrews 2:3)
[The answer is that we (the ethnic Hebrews) can not escape. We (the ethnic Hebrews) are judged condemned if we Hebrews neglect the great salvation through Jesus the true Messiah. Every Hebrew is accountable for rejecting or receiving Jesus. Continuing,]
"After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, ..." (Hebrews 2:3)
[In other words, Jesus came as all four gospel histories record, and He spoke of His salvation over and over to the Hebrew people. What He spoke was salvation in Himself as the true Messiah sent from God (cf. John 3:15-16). Going on]
"... it was confirmed to us by those who heard him, ..." (Hebrews 2:3)
[The writer is connecting with ethnic Hebrews as he reasons with his people in a familial sense, ie. Israel. The evidence of what Messiah spoke and taught concerning Himself was confirmable from living eyewitnesses at that point. Such people were in, around, and among the Hebrew community of that generation. Their confirmation is just as important and unalterable as those of the angels (cf. 2:1-2), being first spoken through Messiah Who is also Lord, and then through His followers. The "us" that the gospel preacher witnesses confirmed the message to, would be any, and all, Hebrews who urgently must pay close attention so that “we” Hebrews do not drift away from what they are telling us Hebrews about our authentic Messiah. Now verse 4 goes into the big confirming defense of Jesus as Messiah]
"4 God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will." (Hebrews 2:4)
The testimony to Hebrews by God through the apostles by signs happened on so many occasions. They started with Jesus Himself, where He said to Hebrews in John 5:20,
"20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you [The Messiah is talking to Hebrews] may marvel." (John 5:20)
Again, Jesus said to Hebrews,
"Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves." (John 14:11)
Then later, the apostles showed signs, wonders, and miracles by the Holy Spirit in testifying of salvation in Messiah Jesus. Paul said in defending his apostleship,
"12 The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles." (2 Corinthians 12:12)
The bottom line concerning this Hebrews passage is that it is not remotely teaching that one can lose one's salvation, or that a saved person must keep salvation secure. It is an evangelistic urging to all Hebrews to quit neglecting so great a salvation that God has made manifest in Jesus the Messiah, and get with the program of following Messiah by grace through faith. Therefor this first passage out of Hebrews, that is used by those who believe in the Not Eternally Saved Theory, is cleared up as not remotely suggesting that one can lose one's existing state of eternal spiritual salvation, gain eternal spiritual salvation by meritorious effort, or maintain keeping eternal spiritual salvation secure by meritorious self effort.
HEBREWS 3:6
Proceeding through chapter 2, Messiah is compared with angels, (cf; Hebrews 2:5), backed by more Old Testament quotes. Messiah was made a little lower than angels so He could die. The reason is,
"... so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone." (Hebrews 2:9)
Jesus experienced death for everyone, but God is not a universalist who saves everyone, and so the "everyone" here is identified as the "many" in the very next verse,
"For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings." (Hebrews 2:10 emph. mine)
"Many" is the defining amount out of "every," (see also Matthew 20:28). It is the defining amount of every Hebrew who has had their salvation authored. Jesus is the author of the many son's "faith" according to Hebrews 12:2, and here Jesus is the author of the "salvation" of the many sons. It is a miracle, and so the miracle, by God's authoring hand, is described, where we read next, in verse 11,
"11 For both He who sets apart and those who are set apart are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brothers," (Hebrews 2:11)
A KEY TERM
It is all God's work, and "all" of the "many" who have had their salvation authored, have been set apart by God's hand. The Greek word for "set apart" here is agiazo. It also translated as "made holy." It is also translated as "sanctified," and "consecrate." Saint, is from the same root word. A saint is someone who is set apart (by God). This is significant because these people that Jesus is not ashamed to call brothers are Holy brothers. These particular brothers are made holy, which means that, in being made that way, they are set apart by Jesus Himself. This is the only way Jesus can call them brothers and, at the same time, not be ashamed to call them brothers. This kinship occurs only, and exclusively, by making them holy. This distinction is one of the most important clarifying distinctions for understanding the epistle of Hebrews. This distinction is what the writer uses in the letter to distinguish between unsaved Hebrews, and saved Hebrews. We will explore this particular distinction in more detail as we proceed in our exegesis, but the main point at this time that we need to focus upon is that these saved Hebrew brothers are holy, sanctified, consecrated, brothers. As we continue analyzing Hebrews 2, we see that Messiah is described as partaking in flesh and blood to render the devil powerless, and free the many sons from death, (cf. Hebrews 2:17). What is vitally important for us to notice is that genetic Hebrews are still being referenced here. In verse 16 we read.
"... He gives help to the offspring of Abraham." (Hebrews 2:16)
The writer is talking about the broad category of Hebrew people, which goes into the next verse where we read that Jesus,
"... had to be made like His brothers [ethnic Hebrews] in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people [certain elect Hebrews out of the whole race]." (Hebrews 2:17)
Jesus, the promised Messiah, came, and as the ultimate high priest, He made propitiation for the sins of His ethnic Hebrew brothers. He did this to purchase, and make holy (set apart) certain ones who would then be called "Holy" brothers in this epistle as a special identification marker. When the writer identifies what Messiah did by making propitiation for a remnant of Hebrews out of the whole genetic Hebrew race, the writer means that Messiah came to make full satisfaction to God concerning His wrath in complete payment for sin. This is an easy to understand definition of propitiation. In simpler terms, it means to make wrath absorption for the sins of the people, where the propitiating sacrifice actually becomes the wrath absorbing substitute for certain people. The wrath absorbed, is the wrath that those people deserve. This propitiation is what happened on the cross. Jesus became Gods' wrath absorber; the propitiator for those He is not ashamed to call brothers. He is not ashamed to call certain Hebrews brothers, because through the propitiating offering of Himself, He makes the certain ones, (which are the elect Hebrews out of all Hebrews) into holy brothers.
Remember these facts as we come into chapter 3 and onward to those sentences used to build the NEST. In verse 1, the writer groups himself with the Hebrew followers of Jesus as he urges them concerning all that He just wrote about Messiah, and so the writer says,
"Therefor, set apart brothers, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession;" (Hebrews 3:1)
Right here is an important place to focus upon that key distinction between unsaved Hebrew brothers which are not set apart, not holy, not consecrated, not sanctified brothers who are the offspring of Israel, on one hand, and then on the other hand, the saved Hebrew offspring of Israel which are actually the ones who God set apart in Messiah. They are the holy brothers, which are saved people. Paul made the same distinction in Romans, saying,
"6 ... they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; ... 27 ... Though the number of the sons of Israel be like the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that will be saved;" (Romans 9:6, with 9:27)
Recognizing Paul's insight into God's true New Covenant people, by way of repetition of principles that have already been covered in this chapter, we must remember the terminology that the terms holy brothers; sanctified brothers; consecrated brothers, set apart brothers; and saints are all the same people. They are terms that refer to the "remnant" out of Israel that Paul mentions in Romans 9:27. On the other hand, unsaved Jews; unsaved Hebrews, are not set apart in Messiah, so they are merely ethnic brothers in respect to being Hebrews, Jews, and Israelites. They are not spiritual Israelites, so they are "not all Israel" in respect to the New Covenant, though they may claim ethnic decent.
As a point of further clarification and understanding, it is important to recognize that the term "brother," or "sister," by itself is often used in other New Testament writings to refer to Christians, but "Holy," "set apart," "consecrated," "sanctified," brothers or sisters (New Covenant saints) is never used of non-Christians in, and under, a New Covenant context. Here in Hebrews, if the term, "brothers" is used by itself, but means a holy, sanctified, consecrated brother in Christ, it will be qualified in some manner as referring to a Christian, for example, in Hebrews 10:19, where "brothers" is qualified by Hebrews 10:10 as sanctified, holy, set apart, brothers; or in the case of Timothy "our brother" singular in Hebrews 13:23, who is naturally qualified as being saved by the fact that we know (and the primary recipients of this letter knew) Timothy was saved. We know this from information about him in other epistles. Though Timothy's mother was Jewish, which would make him a Hebrew brother, Timothy was also saved, which would make him a holy, sanctified, set apart brother, ie, a Christian. Similar is the instance of the writer's closing remarks to the "brothers" in 13:22. We know that in this instance they are qualified in the context as being "in the body," in Hebrews 13:3, not having deserted, Hebrews 13:5, and have God working in them through Jesus Messiah in Hebrews 13:20-21. So the closing personal remarks are to those trustworthy brothers in Messiah who would initially receive this letter in hand to share with the broader Hebrew community of ethnic brothers, as was typical of the fact that every epistle was entrusted to mature dependable Christians (probably elders) in primary reception for guarding, reading aloud, and further distribution. The point is that the immediate antecedent describer of being holy, set apart, consecrated, and sanctified, indicates a Christian. If the immediate antecedent is absent, then the flow of the context will qualify the term brother (singular) or brothers (plural) by indicating, in some manner, that the brother or brothers are saved, or not saved.
To demonstrate this consistent language of unsaved Hebrews being referred to as merely brothers to other Israelites, but not holy, sanctified brothers of the saved remnant of Israelites, we will look at what Peter preached at Pentecost to the unsaved Jews. He says,
"29 Brothers, [Peter is talking to his own ethnic Hebrew people] I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day." (Acts 2:29)
These ethnic Israelites are not yet saved. They are not set apart, but to Peter, at this time, they are Hebrew brothers. We find Paul the apostle making the same reference when he preached in the Jewish synagogue to the unsaved Jews in Pisidian Antioch, saying,
"Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you," (Acts 13:38)
Paul's ethnic brothers in this context are not set apart. They are not holy brothers. They are Hebrew brothers according to the flesh. Paul makes the distinction crystal clear in Romans 9;
"3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Messiah for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh, 4 who are Israelites, ..." (Romans 9:3-4)
This grammatical distinction of Hebrews according to the flesh, and holy Hebrews according to the Spirit, is exactly the same one we find here in the Hebrews epistle. Concerning the New Covenant's superiority over the Old, we read in Hebrews 10,
"10 And by that ["that" is the New Covenant sacrifice] will we ["we" is a reference to the saved Hebrews] have been set apart [sanctified, made holy by God] through the offering of the body of Jesus Messiah once for all ... 14 For by a single offering He has perfected for all time those who are set apart [made holy by God--sanctified]." (Hebrews 10:10, 14).
"Those who are set apart" in Hebrews 10, are saved Hebrews who have been perfected in Messiah for all time. Once we familiarize ourselves with this language, it becomes quickly intuitive to read the writer's intended meaning. As a final example, the distinction is made crystal clear in Colossians where Paul says,
"To the set apart [holy, sanctified] and faithful brothers in Messiah who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father." (Colossians 1:2 emph. mine)
The set apart, holy, and faithful brothers in Messiah at Colossae, are of course, saved people. It is easy to see, because we know the language. Now that we understand the distinction without equivocation, we come back to chapter 3, where the Hebrew Messiah's comparison is made with Moses. Moses is the great ancient hero of the Hebrew people. Messiah Jesus is shown by the writer to be an even greater hero of Hebrews than Moses was; in fact the greatest hero there has ever been by virtue of being God manifest in the flesh; the Savior of the world.
In Chapter 3, the writer starts out addressing Hebrews who are already followers of Messiah in verse 1, and then he starts explaining to them that they need to consider the facts about Jesus that they confess in salvation;
"2 He [Jesus Messiah] was faithful to Him [Jehovah God] who appointed Him, as Moses also was in all His house. 3 For He [Jesus Messiah] has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by just so much as the builder of the house has more honor than the house." (Hebrews 3:2-3)
God's house here is Israel, which is the ethno-covenantal sphere of all Hebrew people. We see this house of Israel label in a few chapters in Hebrews 8:8 and 10 where the writer quotes the prophets of the Hebrews,
"8 ... 'Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, ... 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: ..." (Hebrews 8:8-10)
The writer is quoting Jeremiah 31:31-32 in the ancient prophecy, where God calls the Hebrew people the "house of Israel," and "the house of Judah." When Peter preached to Hebrews at Pentecost he said,
"Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that Jehovah has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified." (Acts 2:36)
We find that Messiah Jesus Himself referred to Israel, Judah, and the Hebrew people as "the house of Israel" in Matthew 10:6, and 15:24. But, one of the most important quotes concerning the house of Israel is Stephen's sermon that he preached to Hebrews in Acts 7, where he chastised them for rejecting and killing the Messiah. Stephen goes into the history of Israel and then explains the Exodus by God's deliverer in the house of Israel, which is the great hero Moses, (cf. Acts 7:35-38). Then Stephen explains that some of Israel turned away from God--repudiating Moses, and their hearts turned back to their place of bondage, which was Egypt and false gods, (cf. Acts 7:39). Then Stephen quotes Amos 5:25,
"Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices, during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?" (Acts 7:39)
Stephen goes on to indict the current house of Israel for turning against God and betraying and murdering their promised Messiah, (cf. Acts 7:52-53). Back here in Hebrews, the Holy Spirit is conveying here that Jesus has more glory than Moses because Jesus is the builder of the house of Israel, whereas Moses was merely "in" God's house--the house of Israel. So, the writer now explains Messiah's superiority to Moses over the house of Israel, and he does it in a big way in verse 4 with a declaration of the deity of Messiah as the very builder of the house. This is the flow as we come into the next passage that is used by the NEST. In verse 5 we read,
"5 Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later;" (Hebrews 3:5 emph. mine)
Moses was a faithful servant in the house of Israel--God's house of which Hebrews find their ethnic identity. But listen to what the writer says next in verse 6,
"6 but Messiah is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our boldness [confidence] and our boasting in our hope firm until the end." (Hebrews 3:6 emph. mine)
Notice the difference between Moses and Messiah. Moses, as an Israelite, is a faithful servant in the house of Israel. Jesus, the builder of His house, is the faithful son over His own house that He builds. This is the flow, and it is the writer's main point.
Nevertheless, there is still the erroneous interpretation that is typical of the NEST, of which must be addressed. According to the typical interpretation of NEST concerning this passage, the writer is saying that truly born again followers of Messiah run the risk of not holding fast their boldness, confidence, and hope firm until the end, and so truly spiritually saved Christians can lose their salvation.
This wrong interpretation is easily cleared up when we look at the contextual flow and choose to recognize that the house of Israel is being referenced, which are Hebrew brothers according to the flesh, and then the house that Messiah is "over" is also referenced, which are the holy set apart brothers that He saves. So, the point is that the saved Hebrews among the house of Israel, are truly saved under Messiah in His current house, if, of course, they hold fast their boldness, confidence, boasting, and bragging in Messiah their hope, firm until the end. If ethnic Hebrews do not, then they demonstrate that they were never born again. They are like the Jews who actually heard Messiah--saw the miracles of Messiah; liked the miracles of Messiah, yet they never truly received Him as their Messiah, and so in the end, it will be made evident that all such Hebrews are the ones who did not have boldness, confidence, boasting, and hope. The true followers of Messiah of His house that He is over, will necessarily as a point in logic, be manifested in the end as having held fast their boldness, confidence, boasting and bragging in their hope, which is Messiah. In other words, they will be manifested by the logical fact that the end will demonstrate who they are. It is a simple proclamation. We prove we are God's house if we hold fast. Endurance is proof of the reality. Endurance is not a supposed contingency a saved person struggles in so that they will earn the reality they already have.
By way of analogy, in respect to what the writer is talking about in this passage, if I were to show you a large sugar crystal in one hand, and I were to show you a carbon crystal (a diamond) in the other hand, and you happened to be a gemologist, you might be able to tell the difference between the two. But if I cut and fashioned each crystal to look exactly alike, and you could only observe the two crystals from a distance, and you notice that they have the same color, clarity and cut, from your limited perspective, you would probably say there was no observable difference from your restricted view that helps you determine which is which. But, if I drop both crystals in a glass of water, something would happen that would demonstrate to you which one is the diamond and which one is the sugar crystal. The sugar crystal, in the end, would not endure. It would dissolve away and permeate the water. The carbon crystal, on the other hand, will endure, and through its endurance you will know it is the diamond. This is what holding fast till the end means here in Hebrews. Only true diamonds, so to speak, go on to the end into eternal glory. The sugar crystals, though sweet, and though seeming to be saved, end up dissolving away, and in failing to endure, they identify themselves for what they always were--lost. With this in mind, we understand the writer clearly as stating,
"... we [certain Hebrews out of ethnic Israel] are [as a current state of being] His house if indeed we hold fast ..." (Hebrews 3:6)
To show that the writer is still having in mind lost Hebrews in general, while at the same time speaking to the house of Messiah in salvation, we must simply continue to read the next set of verses, which are Hebrews 7-11. The writer quotes the ancient prophets in a warning somewhat like Stephen did before being stoned when he preached to the unsaved house of Israel, and somewhat like Peter preached on Pentecost to the lost house of Israel. It has to do with Israel's history, where unbelieving Hebrew people disobeyed God to their own destruction. We read the warning to the Hebrews, where the writer expounds upon Psalm 95, saying,
"7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, 'Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, 9 where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works 10 for forty years. Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, 'They always go astray in their heart; they have not known my ways.' 11 As I swore in my wrath, 'They shall not enter my rest.'" (Hebrews 3:7-11)
This is both a warning and an evangelistic urging to unsaved Hebrews to follow Messiah, and the writer goes on to call them merely brothers. He does not say, holy set apart brothers. He is talking to his ethnic brothers; the Hebrews, verse 12,
"Watch, brothers, [ethnic Hebrews] lest there be in any of you [Hebrews of the house of Israel] an evil, unbelieving heart, that ['forsakes,' (NET Bible); or 'departing from' (NKJV)], the living God." (Hebrews 3:12)
This is typical apostolic preaching to Hebrews as we find with Peter at Pentecost, Paul in Pisidian Antioch, and in other places. The writer of Hebrews is not worried about saved followers of Messiah who have been born again by the Spirit. He is not worried about diamonds as the analogy above describes when comparing true diamonds with sugar crystals. This is a follow up urging that goes along with the references to the typical rebelliousness that occurs among dissolving sugar-type Hebrews as a matter of history. This is the writer's evangelistic warning to the typical Hebrew who will be influenced by other followers of Messiah who will receive this letter and preserve it to share with both saved Hebrews and unsaved alike. The writer just pointed out the Hebrew legacy as a bloodline of people who constantly turned away from God, and have shown, as a matter of historic record, a propensity to go astray in their hearts by forsaking Him (crucifying Messiah of course being the biggest factor to mar their history). So, ethnic Hebrews in that contemporary New Covenant Messianic age, need to be careful and need to watch out. The ones with an evil, unbelieving sugar-crystal heart, are the ones who forsake the living God and are made manifest in the end when there will not be any time left to repent. These people are different than the remnant of saved Hebrews of spiritual Israel, who will indeed hold fast their diamond-like boldness, confidence, and their boasting in their hope, firm until the end. The writer is not done preaching to the Hebrew people, both saved and unsaved, as we keep looking at the flow, we read the writer urging,
HEBREWS 3:13-14
"13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called 'today,' that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin [missing the mark]." (Hebrews 3:13)
"Deceitfulness of sin" is apate tes amartias, in the Greek, and it literally means the misleading deception of missing the mark. Here we see that these initial first generation Hebrew followers of Messiah are to encourage and exhort their fellow Hebrews who are immersed in Judaism as an ethnic, social, and religious culture at this time. Hebrews can be influenced by the insidious untruthful lying persuasion of missing the mark, more than likely in the form of:
1) Judaism, like what Paul preached against in Galatians;
2) outright rejection of the fact that Jesus is Messiah;
3) rejecting Messiah's crucifixion as the ultimate and final sin-offering.
Those three elements make up the seductive lie that hardens apostate Israel in much the same manner as the sin that hardened some of the Israelite people in the desert with Moses, (which we shall see is the writer's selected and intentional language in a few verses, so keep this in mind). The writer also makes the parallel, using the same selected and intentional reference to missing the mark, with the Gk. "amartesasin" in a few verses in his same comparison of Hebrews who reject Messiah now, to those Hebrews in the wilderness who sinned against God by rejecting Him. We will look at those 2 parallels in a moment, but first lets go on through verse 14, which is the next sentence that is sometimes wrongly interpreted according to the NEST;
"14 For we have become [past tense Gk. verb, gegonamen, meaning we have become already] partakers of Messiah, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end," (Hebrews 3:14)
Notice that this is essentially a repeat of verse 6, where we have read,
"6 but Messiah is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our boldness [confidence] and our boasting in our hope firm until the end." (Hebrews 3:6)
We remnant Hebrews are Messiah's house; holy, sanctified, separated by God; if indeed we hold fast our boldness, confidence, and our boasting in our hope until the end. The writer's meaning is that we are really saved if we are not fakes--and then here,
"14 For we have become ..." (Hebrews 3:14)
[The writer is speaking of true eternally spiritually saved Hebrews. The sense is that he is speaking of it as a matter of happening already, (as DA Carson demonstrates in "Exegetical Fallacies," p. 84). The writer continues,]
"... partakers of Messiah, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end," (Hebrews 3:14)
The big point is that not all Hebrews have become partakers in their promised Messiah, because not all Hebrews have embraced Jesus as Messiah. And of course, the only ones in the end who will be identified as truly born again Hebrews who have partaken in Messiah, will have been those who have held onto their original boldness, confidence, and boasting in Messiah as their salvation firm until the end (Reference the diamond vs. sugar crystal analogy in the above section dealing with Hebrews 3:6). All of this parallels those ancient Hebrews who were destroyed in the desert in the rebellion at the time of Moses in contrast to those who endured, thus demonstrating that the endurers always followed Jehovah until the end. This is so beautiful, because all people who are once saved in eternal spiritual salvation, will hold onto their original confession and assurance firm until the end. Rather than a lose one's salvation passage, this is an eternal security passage, where all who partake in Messiah, partake in the divine nature forever. "The end" here is really the beginning of the rest of eternity in super-glorification. On the other hand, the unsaved, unconvinced, Hebrews will simply demonstrate what they always were; Hebrews who rebelled against God with hardened hearts. The reason why context is so vital to interpretation, is because this is exactly where the writer goes next in his flow of his point. He makes it clear saying,
"15 As it is said, 'Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.'" (Hebrews 3:15)
We must notice the usage of the word, "harden" here again. It was mentioned above as being select and intentional in the writer's point. Born again Hebrews have already heard "His voice;" they listened, and they are saved. The unsaved Hebrews are being provoked here by the Spirit. We can almost sense the intensity in the urging: Receive and follow Jesus as your true Messiah! Do it today! Do not turn away from Jehovah's salvation in rebellion, like many of our Hebrew parents did in the desert, through hardening your hearts against Jesus. Do not do it!" So, with that, the writer preaches on, saying,
"16 For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses?" (Hebrews 3:16)
[The writer clarifies this in 1 Corinthians 10:7-10, by saying that it was only "some" of those who left Egypt who actually rebelled. Therefor, we logically recognize that the "all" who rebelled in the desert were "all" of the "some" among the house of Israel. Now verse 17,]
"17 And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned ..." (Hebrews 3:17)
[Here is the writer's reference to that second select and intentional word that was mentioned above. The word is "sin" again. It is the sin of ancient apostate Hebrews rebelling against God their Father the Despotes Master of the universe who bought them, and in our context, sinning against God now by rejecting Messiah Jesus the Kurios Lord. (See the chapter that deals with 2 Peter 2:1 for further clarification). Continuing with the flow, we read,]
"... whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? 19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief." (Hebrews 3:17-19)
This historic event has great New Covenant application for all Hebrews. This is exactly what Paul explains in Romans 9 through 11. God saves his people Israel, but only a remnant. Only a remnant are truly followers of Him. The rest are hardened; rebelling against God in "unbelief." It is the same way with all these Hebrews that this epistle is going out to. God saves his people through Messiah, but not all will enter God's rest, because not all will believe. Disobedience, in this context, is unbelief. The saved remnant will be made evident by not rebelling, and by persevering in belief. Chapter 3 is a classic evangelistic call, with an argument of historical significance for all those Hebrews there in the first century. The writer caps off his point with this comment;
"... they were unable to enter because of unbelief." (Hebrews 3:19)
The writer is pointedly stating that according to the gospel, there is no other way for Hebrews to be saved. They must obey God in following Jesus as the true Messiah. If they do not, then it is not as though they simply made an alternate decision to disqualify someone that they think is a false Messiah, and in so doing, can still be God's people. The reality is that ethnic Israelites rejected and murdered God's true Messiah in serious hardened-heart sin against Jehovah. This is a wake up call to Hebrews. They really are rejecting God in rejecting Jesus, and therefor they are not really following God. This applies to every generation, and to anyone who claims a genetic link to Israel according to the flesh. They are following after a false religion like many of their Hebrew forefathers did. So, with the proper context and point in mind here, we recognize that these passages do not remotely suggest that a truly spiritually saved person can lose salvation, gain salvation by meritorious effort, or maintain keeping it secure through meritorious self effort.
