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Let us hold fast the profession of our faith, etc.

I. THE EXHORTATION TO CHRISTIAN FIDELITY. "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope, that it waver not."

1. The object of our hope. That in Christ we have at present forgiveness of our sins, the right of approach unto God, sanctifying influences, etc. That through Christ we shall attain unto the future and perfect rest - the sabbath-keeping which remains for the people of God. Or in brief, that Jesus is the Christ of God, and that in him we have salvation in its beginnings here and now, and shall have it in perfection hereafter.

2. The compression of our hope.

(1) The confession made. The Christian baptism of these Hebrew Christians was a confession of their faith in Christ. When the hope is clear and assured, it "cannot remain dumb; it must speak, and give a reason of its own existence. It utters itself in a frank confession, which we are to hold fast." This confession is obligatory upon believers in Christ Jesus (cf. Matthew 10:32, 33; Luke 12:8, 9; Romans 10:9, 10; 1 John 4:15).

(2) The confession maintained. "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope, that it waver not." It is implied that there was a danger of their relinquishing it. They were in danger by reason of persecution (cf. John 9:22); and by reason of the ritualistic and other attractions of Judaism, and the simplicity and spirituality of Christianity. And a clear, consistent, and steadfast confession of our Christian hope is imperiled today by not a few influences. There is danger from Satanic solicitation, from worldly suggestion and example, and from the inclinations and disinclinations of our lower nature. Visible and material interests would draw us away from the claims of the invisible and spiritual. Having so much to do with seen and temporal things, there is danger lest we relax the firmness of our grasp on the unseen and eternal verities. There is danger, too, of attempting to base our hope upon Christ and something else, rather than upon Christ and Christ alone. "Let us hold fast the confession," etc. Let there be no uncertainty, no timidity, no wavering, in our acknowledgment of Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.

(a) Our own true interests enforce the exhortation of the text.

(b) The great company of the glorified call upon us to "hold fast the confession of our hope," etc. (cf. Hebrews 6:11, 12).

(c) God himself summons us to fidelity and perseverance. "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life." "Hold fast that which thou hast, that no one take thy crown."

II. THE ENCOURAGEMENT TO CHRISTIAN FIDELITY. "For he is faithful that promised." Many are the promises which God has made to his people. Promises to the penitent, the tempted, the afflicted, the mourner, the weak, the perplexed, etc. Now, all these promises are perfectly reliable. Of this we have many guarantees; e.g.:

1. His infinite intelligence. "When he promises anything, he sees everything which may hinder, and everything which may promote the execution of it, so that he cannot discover anything afterwards that may move him to take up after-thoughts: he hath more wisdom than to promise anything which he knows he cannot accomplish."

2. His almighty power. He is able to perform all and everything that he has promised. "Trust ye in the Lord for ever; for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength."

3. His perfect faithfulness. "It is impossible for God to lie" (Hebrews 6:18; Titus 1:2). "God is not a man, that he should lie," etc. (Numbers 23:19; 1 Samuel 15:29). "With him can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning" (James 1:17). "How many soever be the promises of God, in Jesus Christ is the yea," etc. (2 Corinthians 1:20). The fidelity of God to his glorious promises should ensure our fidelity in the confession of our hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. - W.J.

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KJV: Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

WEB: let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering; for he who promised is faithful.